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Dunstan Times, Issue 1285, 15 October 1886, Page 1

particular clause I refer to; but, with regard to Provincial Councils, as well as with regard to this Legislature, the absolute rule was that the number of electors was the basis according to which members were to be elected la some localities women and children superabound. I have no objection to women being represented. To the great annoyance of the present Minis-, ter of Lands, I once moved that “ person” should be struck out of a Bill; but I venture to say now, with a little more experience, that I will not at. tempt to put that “ person" out again if he puts her in. But, with regard to children, no one has yet ventured to propose that they should have voting papers thrown into their cradles. What is the consequence if you take population as the basis 1 You virtually give votes to the children. You give each man, in his capacities of father, husband, or brother, six or seven votes,' I hope the opponents of plural voting will remark that, because that is plural voting, with the additional iniquity that so many votes are conferred on one man under one franchise. If you want to enfranchise babes in their cradles, do so straight and honestly, not indirectly and by a aide-wind* Members who look at the recent census returns will see that the largest proportion of women and children are in the town districts, and therefore with a population basis a larger proportion of representation is given to those districts than is given to the country districts. That is altogether contrary to what should be. I say that we should take the number of electors or the approximate male adult population as the basis ci the distribu* tioa of the representation of the people; and, if six thousand was the number for the largo town districts, then five thousand should be enough for the country districts, and four thousand for the sparsely-settled districts, so as to have something like an equal res presentation of the interests and re* quirements of ihe country. Something in that direction. I have to admit, is professed to be an object or mis xnu , but the framers Lave apparently upset the thing, and put it exactly the converse way. The Bill says,— “In no case whatever, at the time of making any such division, shall the population as aforesaid of any district exceed or fall short of the quota—“(a.) By one thousand if a borough or city j or By five hundred in any other case." I think and hope the framers of the Bill meant it to be exactly the opposite. These words would have exactly the contrary effect to what has been stated to be intended. For instance; if six thousand were the standard number for a borough or city, it might be left at five thousand; but in any other case there must be five thousand five hundred. Having pointed out that population does not mean electoral capacity, I will give another and more philosophical reasons why electors rather than population should be ac* copied as the basis of representation. It is this ; There is a far larger degree of political intelligence in the country districts than exists in the towns.— (Oh ') —I do not want to be misunderstood about that—l will not be misunderstood about it. Ido not say the people are more intelligent, but I use the word in its legitimate and grammatical information, and I say there is more of that in the country districts than exists in the towns. Proof: Who are the readers of Hansard 1 Are they the townspeople! Who are the readers of the jiarliamentary papers! The townspeople! Not a bit of it. But these things are read from beginning to end iu the country districts—by the farmer at his fireside, and by the miner always; they are read everywhere, their substance is committed to memory, men talk over them, and I venture to say there is not a member iu this House who could stand before a mining constituency without getting a pretty good “ heckling” as to what ho had clone tor years past. An Hon. Member.—You know it. Mr PY K K.—Yes : I speak feel* ingly; and I speak thankfully, because a constituency which understands political questions and studies them, as mine does, it is an honour to repre* sent. 1 would not give a fig to represent a constituency of people who take no interest in politics. I have heard it said again and again by peo« plo who live in towns, by men of education and position iu the world, men in what is called good society, that they do not care for politics—they will declare ostentatiously that they do not dabble iu politics. Why, the humblest man in the country ought not to care