The Globe. FRIDAY, JULY 12, 1878.

Globe, Volume XX, Issue 1375, 12 July 1878, Page 2

The Globe. FRIDAY, JULY 12, 1878.

We propose in this article to discuss the practical details of a self-adjusting scheme of representation, which if once passed into law woidd render unnecessary any future interference on the part of the Legislature. The first step to take would be to settle upon some intelligible basis the boundaries of the various electoral districts. In doing so as little change as possible should be made on the present divisions, as it is a mistake to upset existing associations, except upon urgent necessity. The aim should be to prevent the confusiau consequent upon the divisions between electoral districts being different to those of the local governing bodies. For example, the boundaries of Christchurch electoral district should bo those of the municipality, and a certain number of Eoad Boards Should make, up an electoral district, and

in no caso should a Road Board be com-

prised in two or more Assembly districts. By this means not only would the work of registration bo greatly simplified, but the residents in particular localities would acquire a community of interests which it is always dcsirablo to cultivate. The whole colony being thus divided in such a manner that each district would bo entitled to at least ono representative, the next stop would bo to fix upon a plan which would not only adjust the representation equally for the present, but which would furnish the machinery for doing so in all time to come. In former articles wo have endeavored to show that registered electors, and not population, should bo tho basis of distribution, but the plan wo propose would work equally well were population decided on. Tho writer from which wo quoted in a former article proposes that a clause should bo introduced into any Act settling tho representation of the colony as follows: —" Tho number of members for each electoral district shall bear tho samo ratio to tho number of members of the House of Representatives as the number of electors for such district boars to the wholo number of the electors of the colony: provided that in computing the number of members for each district, according to tho above rule, the fractional parts of all numbers above one shall bo omitted, and provided also that such district shall havo ono member at least." Of course, if population wore adopted, instead of electors, tho wording of tho above clause would havo to be slightly altered. It might also be necessary to add another proviso to the effect that when the number of population [or electors] of of any district fell bolow a certain limit it should no longer havo ono member, but bo added to some other district. Tho authority from which we have been quoting shows, at somo length, how the rolls would be managed. Tho claims to vote would be sent in, each year as at present, corrected and revised, and come into force in October or November. They would then be sent to the RegistrarGeneral, who would make the necessary computation and publish a " statement of the number of members each district would have." This he proposes to call the " Representation roll." This roll should guido all the oloctions from one general election to another. " The representation of the colony should remain unaltered during the lifo of each Parliament," for '' the essence of tho plan is that the ratio should be calculated at the same time." The next clause which ho proposes to introduce into the Representation Bill is as follows: —" Tho electoral roll for each district shall, so soon as the samo shall have been made up according to law, be transmitted to the Registrar-General, who shall immediately on the receipt thereof calculate the number of members which each electoral district will become entitled to elect in accordance with the rule sot forth in clause. —[This refers to the rule quoted above.] The RegistrarGeneral shall, on or before the first day of November in each year, publish in the Government Gazette a statement setting forth rbhe number of registered electors for each electoral district, and the number of members to be returned thereby, and such statemement shall be called the ' representative roll.' The representative roll shall come into force only in case a dissolution of the House of Representatives shall take place on or before the first day of November in the year following that in which the said roll shall have been published. And any Representative Roll so brought into force shall continue in force until the next subsequent dissolution of the House of Representatives and no longer." The above clause would have to be considerably modified were population made the basis. It would be impossible to number the people once a year, in order that the Registrar-General might compute tho number of members for each district. All that could bo done would be to estimate the population by adding the surplus, as shown by the births and deaths registered in the district to the census return. It would be impossible to calculato the increase by immigration. Once every five years, of course, tho adjustment would bo perfect when the census was taken. There are also practical difficulties in the way of accepting the electoral rolls as tho basis. Tho system would tend to encourage the placing of dummy names on tho roll in order to increase the power of tho district. We admit that this would be a serious drawback to tho plan. Were work of revision, however, placed in the hands of professional lawyers, as in the old country, this objection would partly disappear, and were the registrars of births, death*, &c, compelled to revise every year the rolls of tho districts comprised within their districts, the difficulty with regard to dead men would also disappear. However, we are not wedded to the details we have given above. What wo wish to seo adopted is a self-adjusting scheme of representation which shall avert the very great danger to which the colony is liable, so long as the distribution of members among the districts is made to depend upon accidental alliances, and log-rolling combinations.