THE POLITICAL OUTLOOK.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1073, 11 March 1911, Page 7

THE POLITICAL OUTLOOK.

IS IT SATISFACTORY? VI.—GOVERNMENT BY REGULATION. HOW THE AUTHORITY OF PARLIAMENT IS SUPERSEDED. : (By Democrat.) •Liberal rule in Now Zealand is full of anomalies.- • Tho political creed of tho party that has held offico so long is subversive of many of tho most cherished principles of Liberalism. It is a small thing to say, that representative government in ■ this country has been shaken to its foundations by the autocratic action of Ministers of tho Crown, who are continually reaching out after greater powers. The Statutebook, laden with legislation as it is, does not j contain half tho laws that govern us. Regulations innumerable tell us 'what we.may, and may not, do, and theso regulations are mado by tho Governor-in-Council (otherwise the Ministry of the day), and have all tho forco of law. Or, yet again, they receive authority under the Arbitration law, and have to bo observed with as much caro as if they really had received tlie imprimatur of Parliament itself. Scarcely an Act of importanco becomes law that does iiot confer upon Ministers powers that aro autocratic in their scope and effect, Empowered by such laws to "make regulations" that, in some instances, may bo actually mado to supersede tho law itself, tho wonder sometimes is that Ministers condescend to seek tho help of Parliament at_ all. Tho Ministry should certainly bo in a position to lead tho House, but there is no'need; for it to usurp tho functions of tlio Chamber in tho matter of legislation. Government by_ regulation should not bo necessary/ in a country -ruled by "Liberals," yet it bulks largely in ■ th'o administration ■of the affairs of this Dominion. And tho; idea .grows apaco..Tho Consolidated Statutes of 1903 form an .interesting .'study in this direction.. Tho legislation-prior to that year has been incorporated in 208 Acts of Parliament, and no fewer than 92 of that number confer far-reaching powers upon:tho "Governor-in-Council" in tho direction of making regulations that have all tho forco of statute law. Some. of these aro, of course, quite in order,' and (in so far as tlicy merely affect the machinery, of administration) actually necessary. But there is a growing disposition,. in the later Acts, to encroach upon the legislative rights of-Parliament, and to placo in the. hands of Ministers the authority in slich matters that rightfully belongs to Parliament alone, and that is indeed-the prerogative of the' people's representatives. Tbo movement in this direction has been more pronounced since 1906. That, it will be remembered, was tho year iii which Sir Joseph Ward formed bis'.Administration, in succession to th'at of Mr. Hall-Joiies,. and becama directly responsible for tho conduct of our public affairs. During tho. five years that havo intervened, somo 69 Acts of Parliament havo been passed, conferring upon tho Governor-in-Council (that is, upon Ministers), wider powerscoadministration than lyero claimed,in mpst-. instances by..'-Mr. Seddon . him;feWUSo» jn.,some;,cases ll they havo right, to mako" -regulations ■ that may statute law..

Excessive 'Powers cialmsd by Mlnistors. Although, strictly speaking, not responsible, as - the -head of the Government, for tho extension of tho powers previously, enjoyed by the Administration,. under Section 5 of tho Public Revenues- Act, 1900, Sir Josei>h Ward has certainly benefited by tho increased authority taken' 'by' Ministers, under which they are enabled to increase the "unauthorised expenditure" from £150,000 to £200,000. The Bill introduced on June 26, 1906, giving them power in that direction, was most certainly concurred "in by Sir Joseph,'and his Administration has taken advantage of it, whenever its members have felt it necessary to do so; and it is, to say tho least, somewhat significant, that tho most noteworthy act of tho stop-gap Ministry, formed by Mr. Hall-Jones, should be found in this amendment of tho Public Revenues Act. That was a small matter, however, by comparison with the powers the-Ward Government Bought :under- its first Land .Bill, introduced in September of the samo year. Revolutionary as were tho proposals contained in that measure, the real sting-of-the'Bill, and its most objectionable feature ttas contained in Section 18, which proposed to perpetuate tho growing tyranny of tho Government, in, its, steady enroachmonts upon tho powers of tho Legislature, by removing from the purview of Parliament, • tho Administration of both leasehold, and freehold lands, coming within the scope of the Act. and conferring upon tho Executive autocratic powers of a nature never contemplated by the Constitution and peoplo. of New Zealand. The powers proposed to be taken would have given Ministers authority to alter an Act of Parliament to suit their o«'n purposes, and would have placed both the Laud Valuation Department and tho \ aluer-Gencral beyond Parliamentary control, besides increasing the powers of tho latter in an obviously unsafe direction. In matters of the most vital concern to the communitv the Executive would have been invested with the absolute power of legislation, and Parliament itself would have been unable to interfere. The Bill, as wo all know, wa" withdrawn, but in some 1G Acts passed that year (1906) Ministers took power to themselves, through tho Governor-in-Council, to "mako regulations ' for . "any -object or purpose deemed necessary for the efficient administration" of such Acts. Under the Government Advances to Settlers Act, for instance, the Governor was empowered to make regulations for "tho principle and method to bo adopted in valuing lands, ' . and "specifying the .rules or good husbandry," and was empowered also to alter the forms in the schedules to the Act, "from time to time." Spmo of the3o latter wore of a very important character, including as they did tho scale of payments, the covenants implied in every "mortgage docket," the scale of costs and fees, ctc. Under the New Zealand ami South African' Customs Duties Reciprocity Act, passed the following year, power was again taken to determine' "without rofsroncs to Parliament," the Reciprocal Agreement mado between New Zealand and South Africa, Section 2 of tho Act providing that it was to continue in force "until terminated by the Governor by Crder-in-Council gazetted." More serious inroads upon the authority of Parliament were, however, contained in the Land Laws Amendment Act-, passed the same year (1907), which was simply honeycombed with provisions conferring upon the Gover-iior-in-Cnuncil the power to make reguupon all sorts of matters.

Inordinate Powers of Control. In tho Land Bill of 100G, a separate section was devoted to the powers proposed tc he taken by tho Governor-in-Council to make regulations, and it was' possible to see, at a glance, the scope anil extent of such powers. The outcry made.in certain quarters was, possibly, responsible for tho change made in tho Bill of 1907, now tho Statute Book. The, Act itself has to lie carefully analysed .to ascertain just in what direction powers have been taken by Mill-, isters. First, in regard to Crown lessees going to arbitration, power is

taken to dotermino by regulations the "powers and duties of tho arbitrators, their modo of appointment, the procedure to bo observed in any such arbitration, and tho payment of the costs," tho odds being 'thus all against tho lesseo (vido Section 12, Sub-Section 3). Regulations again, mado in tlio samo fashion, govern tlio acquisition, by tlio l.i.p. holder, of the fee simple of his land, or its conversion into a renewable lease. Under Section 22 regulations may bo made modifying (Clause D) "tho provisions of tho principal Act," and tlio clauso proceeds: "Tliis Act shall bo deemed to bo modified, in so far as they aro inconsistent with the regulations, but not further or otherwise." It is true, in this case, it is provided that all such regulations aro to como beforo both Houses of Parliament for approval by tho Lands Committee of each House, and by members of both Houses. But this is tho only instance in whioh that provision is made. Again, regulations mado and gazetted by Order-iu-Council, aro to govern tho method of recording tho l.i.p. holders improvements, such regulations also'"providing for tho payment by tho lossco of the costs and expenses incurred by the Commissioner, in ascertaining tlio particulars so to bo recorded," and (so gracious is the autocratic mind), . "such regulations may provide, for the supply to any person interested, of a copy, of any such record." In the Native Land Settlement Act, passed the same year, wide powers are also conferred upon, or taken by. Ministers in the samo way, including all "such matters as are necessary for the efficient administration of this Act." That of necessity may mean a very great deal, because of tho slip-shod methods of legislation adopted by the Government. And just hero it may bo of interest to refer to the very largo number of amending Bills that aro introduced, session after session, in conscquenco of the faulty legislation for which tho Government is directly responsible. During tho fivo sessions for whiitf the Ward Administration is responsible, the number of public Acts passed was 319. Of those, 36 were Money Bills (Appropriation, Imprest Supply, or Financial measures), tho remaining 283 being of a general character. Moro than half, of these wero amending measures introduced to mako good the deficiencies arising out of former faulty legislation, and, in practically every instance, the amendments wero in respect of measures passed by tho Continuous Liberal Administration. It will probably bo within the recollection of the readers of this .journal, that one such measure (tho Firo Brigades Act) passed in 1907, was declared, by Dr. Findlay, to bo so hopeless as to bo incapable of amendment. It therefore became necessary to recast the whole measure, and an entirely new Bill was brought down by the learned Attorney-General in 1903,. which became law. But, even then, it became necessary to amend it the following year. So much for the caro that is displayed in tho preparation of Government Bills!

The Encroachments Upon Parliamentary Authority, It is impossible to do more than lightly touch upon tho further action j of the Government, in taking such exccssivo powers of control into its own hands. Thero must bo a reason for it, ami it is not a very difficult matter to arrive at that reason. • The uninterrupted enjoyment of power often leads to its abuse. It would appear to bo so in this case. To merely deal with two other instances.. The Valuation of Land .Amendment Act, 1908, gives tho Government power to .make regulations; 'pres. scribing the procedure in appeals under the Act; tho mode-in. which notices pf now - valuations lind i 'iib't l ic6k n ßf!' t ip}ieSl! shall be given, aild the fees payable in such cases. Tliero is scarcely a Department of State that has given greater dissatisfaction, to those doing business with it, than the Land Valuation. Department;, nor one from which tliero is greater need of appeal to the people's representatives; yet the Ministry is made the sole arbiter in all disputes, and the Department is practically left to wreck its sweet will upon the public <!oing_ business with it. Again, take tho Native Land Act, 1900. Thero are very few Acts of Parliament that invest a Government with greater powers than are given to the Administration under this Act. And it does not. sceem possible to seriously contend that the exercise of such powers is either necessary or justifiable, more particularly when that power is practically in the hands of ono mail —the Minister for Nativo Affairs. All appointments arc to bo mado by tho Governor, and such appointments continue only during tho Governor's pleasure; tho Governor may mako rulesof Court; may .confer special jurisdiction ; may make rules for tho Appellato Court; may mako order vesting property upon the creation, or alteration of Maori land districts; .may prohibit ascertainment of customary title; may prohibit alienation, and may, "if ho thinks fit," do all sorts of things, that he ought not to bo able to'do, without Parliamentary sanction. The Act is a veritable labyrinth of legal puzzles and anomalies, the prevailing idea of which seems to bo the power vested in the hands of the Governor, or, ia other words, the Ministry. It is fittingly supplemented, by the Hating Amendment Act, of last session,, which gives tho Governor-in-Couneil power to exempt Native lands from rates; and this, in spite of tho Prime Minister's promise thut such lands should bo mado to bear their fair share of local rating. Tho sooner tho Government is deprived of such powers as those it now exercises tho better for tho people. Tho peoplo should insist that no regulations mado by Ministers should come into force until they had been approved by Parliament. Only by so acting can the House hope to retain its prerogative, to make the laws that govern tho country, and to curb the ever-growing power of the Executive, which is certainly not good for the country..