MR WHITAKER'S REPRESENTATION BILL.

Globe, Volume XX, Issue 1407, 19 August 1878, Page 3

MR WHITAKER'S REPRESENTATION BILL.

The following is a report of the conclusion of last Wednesday's proceedings in the House, of which the telegraph agency omitted to send us a summary. The subject in debate was the motion for the second reading of Mr Whitaker's Parliamentary Eepresentation Bill. The report furnished gave only the speech of the mover, and for the remainder we are indebted to the "New Zealand Times" : The lion. Mr Stout said it was not his intention to follow at length the speech of the hon. member for Waikato. He (Mr Stout) had moved the second reading of a Bill on the same subject, and perhaps it was as well that he should postpone making any lengthened observations on the present Bill until he was called on to reply to the debate on the second reading of the Bill which he himself had brought down. But there were a few matters to which he desired to make a passing reference. He was sure every hon. member of the House would give the hon. member for Waikato every credit for the great care he had bestowed on the elaboration of the principles which were proposed in the measure now under consideration. But he (Mr Stout) must take objection to the very large powers which the Bill proposed by the hon. member for Waikato would place in the h. ids cithe Government for the time beiug. The hon. member for Waikato stated that his Bill provided for the representation of minorities as well as the people of the whole country. Now, in his (Mr Stout's) opinion no system of representation that could be introduced could effectually provide for the representation of minorities. By the Bill and the schedule to the Bill, second, third, and fourth votes, and votes up to ten, were entirely ignored. What was the use of creating all the trouble which the quota proposition would entail, if the result was that the men who had the majority were returned. What other result ensued from the present system ? No other result, and why, therefore, create so much unnecessary trouble as would certainly arise if the plan proposed by the hon. member for Waikato were adopted. The Bill brought down by the hon. member for Waikato proposed to empower electors at general elections to vote for candidates in any district in the event of his not caring to vote for those coming forward in the district in which ho resided, but such a system could not be satisfactorily worked, nor would it have the effect of attaining the end the hon. member for Waikato had in view—the representation of minorities. He (Mr Stout) did not believe that minority representation would be productive of any good to the country ; the only result would be the formation of a number of cliques, which ho thought the House should carefully guard against. However mucli ho felt inclined to give the hon. member for Waikato credit for the amount of attention he had devoted to the elaboration of the Bill now before the House, he could not see how the hon. member's proposals could be acted on with advantage to the colony. Mr Baeton said it Beemed to him that the Bill now before the House had been brought down by a very eminent member of the Opposition with the object of taking the wind out of the Government's sails by outbidding it for popularity ; and the hon, member for Waikato had engrafted on the Bill all that would prevent its being pernicious to the party by whom the Bill was brought forward. He hoped the House would take care to limit the exercise of the franchise to those who were able to follow intelligently the actions of their public men; to those who could read the papers, and could understand what was going on in the country as far as its public affairs were concerned. What did the Opposition ask the House to do ? To consent to open the door to the placing on those benches a Government which would not represent the opinion of the majority of the people of the colony, but a Government which would represent a minority, a number of crotchets. He hoped the House would hesitate before it did anything which would tend to destroy the government of the country, not only by a parliamentary majority, but also by a national majority. Care must be taken not to lower the franchise too far. The two most dangerous classes in 'any country were the highest class, which wa3 constantly looking after its own interests, and the lowest class, which did not know how to look after its own interests. The great safeguard of any country wng the middle class, who seemed to bring a greater amount of sagacity to boar on any great questions that were submitted for consideration. The evils of lowering the franchise too far were demon* 1 strated in the results that followed the Na-

poleonio plebiscites in France, "and centuries ago in the occurrences that agitatgd the populace of ancient Rome. He objected to the Maoris being placed on an equal footing with the Europeans in this colony. He believed in the Maoris being dealt with according to our judgment as to what wa3 right and just, but not according to their own notions on that subject. The hon. member then proceeded to protest against those portions of the Bill brought down by the hon. member for Wnikato, which placed certain large disoretionary powers in the hands of " the Judges or other servants of the public." The clauses with reference to costs were provisions made to help the rich. He saw all through the Bill the bias of mind that induced the iparty by whom the Bill was brought down to cling to the side of those whose interests they represented in the country. It was an attempt of a party to ape the manners and customs of their opponents ; and what was it done for ? —to induce the sheep to kill their watch-dog and let themselves into the fold ?. The Opposition came out in their true colors when they occupied the Government benches, but off those benches they aped the manners and customs of those by whom they were at present occupied. The Bill now before the House was a proof of what he said.

Mr Wakkmkld said he had no wish to detain the House at any great length at that late hour of the night. He had listened to the speech of the hon. member who last sat down, for three -quarters of an hour, and ho had not heard anything but the most shadowy kind of objection to the Bill brought down. The hon. member, with a very bad grace, had made a series of imputations against the Judges and registration officers —imputations that ought never to have been made, and which the Government ought not to have listened to. He did not think it was a speech which reflected credit either on the House or on the hon. member for Wellington. They did not wish to have election fights brought up in that House when those referred to were not in a position to defend themselves and when the minds of members were engaged with other subjects. Let those matters be brought forward at the proper time and in the proper place. He (Mr Wakefield) merely rose because he could not allow the speech of the hon. member for Wellington to pass by unnoticed. He wnnia Toto for the Government measure when the proper time arrived, in the hope that when in committee such amendments would be made as would result in a satisfactory measure becoming the law of the country. Mr Joyce moved the adjournment of the debate at 12.20 a.m.

After a f6w remarks from Mr Ebes against the adjournment of the debate, Mr Joyce asked leave to withdraw his motion.

There being several dissentients, the question of adjournment was put, and declared to be carried on the voices.

Mr Rees called for a division, but as there were not two tellers for the noes no division took place. The debate was adjourned until Wednesday next. The House rose at 12 25 a.m.