WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Hokitika Guardian, 19 June 1922, Page 2

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

MR DOWN'D! STEW 7 ART’S POSITION.

SPECIAL TO GUARDIAN

WELLINGTON, July 16.

The Hon. W 7, Downie Stewart’s assumption of ai certain measure of “independence ” before the last general election fond been almost forgotten here until ho referred to the incident himself when addressing his constituents in Dunedin W r ost the other evening. Apparently someone had been repre- j seating him as coquetting with the liberals three years ago and in order to j clear himself from this imputation he . made a clean breast of the whole mat- : ter. He remained pledged to vote , with the Government on a wnnt-of-eon- . fidenoe motion, he explained, but lie , reserved to himself the right to assist j the liberals in forming a Cabinet should they return from the constit- j uencies the stronger of the two older j parties. Tt evidently was in his mind j that these two parties would lie evenly j balanced in the new Parliament a,n<l | tiiat it might become bis duty to side | with the. Liberals in order to prevent j Labour bolding the balance of power. J Of course this might have been . the view of any conscientious political!, ohc-ssed with the notion that Labour must be kept down at any price, and no one is likely to quarrel with Mr Stewart over bis candour. A VICIOUS ELECTORAL SYSTEM. But when the Minister proceeds to state that the general election of 1019 “disclosed an over-whelming opinion m favour of Air Afassey and the Reform P;,rty H he i« rooentim; a piece of hhm long'since discredited. On that occasion oofi.OOO vote were east for Reform candidates. 100.090 for Liberal candidates. 127,000 for I a Lour candidates, and 19 000 for Independent candidates , (not including Mr Stewart! a total of I 011 000 Of this total 200.000 votes i were east for file Government and 323,000 against it. without taking the Independents fAfr Mitchell and Mr Stithaml iiito account, niid vet All Stewart' holds that the polling ‘ disclosed an overwhelming opinion in favour in favour °f Air Massey and the Reform Party.” Of course the figures would he affected to some extent by | Reformers and Liberals voting for LaI hour candidates, in constituencies where tliev bad no candidates of their ' ow;1. but this would not affect the re- | In five positions of th.e main parties materially. No one in these days is ■ grudging Air Massey bis success, but a I system of election capable of producing such results cannot be regarded a a reliable guide to the popularity of any politician or any party. PUPLTC SERVANTS’ PAY. The 10-al brain lies of the Public Ser- ! vi-e Association, Railway Officers’ Institute. Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, and the Post aluh Telegraph Officers’ Association have joined in addressing a circular letter to the Wellington Members of Parliament setI out reasons "liy the second saltir> ! cut’cine ill ‘.Jillv should not be enforced. , Oii pliper their case seems a strong j oho, the Albitnitioh Court having cmite ivrr.it Iv pronounced the decfiil--1 in the COS! of living to be rather less I than the ji.mor.ut already deilucfe from tlm public servants’ sab; vie- 1 m c.ircular letter declares that it the s cond cut i< put into operation it I nluime many families into actual war t, attendant suffering to thousands of innocent little children, m order that rehates may he given t wealthy land owners and income tax 1 pavers.” The appeal has a militant flavour ill that it gives the members Of I Parliament to whom it is addressed to it will be assumed they are not m sympathy with the movement. This is election year! , „ THE AIKAT HOARD. The. method of electing the producers’ representatives on the Meat Producers’ Board, prescribed by regulations published in yesterdays gazette” seems at first sight to be quite unnecessarily complicated. F>«*st of a there are to be two electoral rolls, one for stockowners and the othe sheepowners. A stockowner is a P s „n owning at len,t lbO sheep and 2o cattle, and a sheepov.ner is a person owning at least 100 sheep. Stockowners wiU have their names on the stockowners’ roll, and sheepowners then “on both rolls Then the Dominion is divided into two electoral d>s tl «[cts which betweeti them will return. roughly seventy stockowmers and seventv sheepowners to meet m eonte enee to elect the, producers representatives on the Meat Hoard. This was the scheme of Section hv the Advisory Producers C« n ™ e _ which is largely responsble foi the ad vont of the Meat Pool. No doubt the appear less cumbersome than. it doe „ t present, but meanwhile even hose closelv associated with it seem a little dismayed by its requirements.