WELLINGTON TOPICS

Hokitika Guardian, 21 February 1923, Page 1

WELLINGTON TOPICS

ELECTORAL REFORM. PROMISED BY PRIME MINISTER. SPECIAL TO GUARDIAN. WELLINGTON. Fob. 10 The most important incident ol tinshort session of Parliament in the estimation of people who profess to be more concenied for democratic progress than for party advantages, was Air Massey’s announcement of his intention to give the House an opportunity to deal with the question of electoral reform during next session. "I am not sure what shape the matter will take, the Prime Minister said on I-riday after announcing his intention, ' hot perhaps we shall rotor it to a committee ol the House." Of course the mere tael of giving the House an op jmrtunitv of dealing with the question will not commit Mr Massey to any farreaching reform, or. indeed, to any inform at all. The promise may have been extiaeted trom him by the three Liberal members who voted with the Government on ihe tto-eoiifidom-o motion, as it certainly might have been extracted by the leader of the Gppnsi tiott, |irnbab!y in a more definite lortu. had Mr Wilford been disjmsed to asst i the Government out of the difficulty in which it found itself after the gen end election. There is no obvious reason to suppose, however, that Mr Massey is not in earnest about the matter, or that the lacililies he ha - ornmised w'ili ho only a pretence, asome of hi- critics already are suggesting. XATTRK OK REFORM. N. t .-.rally cm-".' Mr .la--;." i:ug taunted with having deterred to the elamour tor relorm onl\ alter

tirst-pasl-tlie-post -vs! cm, wltich serve-1 him so well iti PHI and still better in 1019, had frivcn him ore t'f,l!owors tha it he wa- entitled to by the numb*ol vote- his jiartv polled. Bill lie inot the only politician whose views on this subject have been shaped by personal exjK'rience, and Ids sensible crifies will he content io let bygone- be bv-gones provided lie now seeks to settle parliamentary representation on a broad democratic basis. In the days of hi- political youth the I’riim-

ter was a strong advocate ol proportional i-c|)icsentation. hut a year or two before he look office ] ~ renounced ihiparlii'tilar faith and when he mounted the T'-easurv Bciu-l-.es he repealed the second ballot with a promise to introduce a better system. This promise lunever has found it convenient to fulfil, lint it is i!ii(|uist.n(if| non* Hint tho system hi* Ins hi min«! is proloront is»l voting, uj.ich ihoorof irally, at any nil<* wotilii irivo the samo rosulls as fhr suroiul Imllot without the dohiy and cost am! npportuioMt-s for intriguf* involved in that svstem. TMK C'OrXTiJY OI’OTA.

] > reforent'ial voting hears little resondil;; uc*o io proportional representation, tint it ai least would put an end ( > i |t{> vote-<plit t ing ami minority rejuv'C ;(:• ? if>n ihat an* so prevalent at the |• r'.*si*ut time. firsl- holpittg one party am! t!ieu another .without; any regard to the wishes of a majority of

the ch-cfoi-s. Proport iottal representation is undoubtedly the most, democratic ami the most ollY'elivo ol all the systems, but tin- difficulty of reconciling ii to the ‘‘country quota” winch none of the parties yet has had the courage to denounce, makes it ex-

tremely unpopular with Ihe represenia:ive- ot tlu* ruri'l constituencies. This r-itrious survival (rum the later eighth"’ •if last century provides that ihe commissioner- in dividing the country into electorates on a population ha-t- shall

,-pilot a hundred pe-'ole living otllsidc a radius of five miles from any borough a- town containing 2.0(10 inhabitants or more as 12'- people. Ill,' cheat ot thii- that while, say. 20.000 people arc required to constitute a purely urban electorate only P1.02.T are required !o

constitute a. purely rural electorate Comparnl ivolv lew ol the eleelortiies

remain purely rural and in those where the rural nominal population atm the urban actual population arc evenly balanced the advantage is with the urban elector- since the actual voler-c.-m be prodm-'-il and the merely nominal one- cannot

TI! !•: LINK UK I.KAST II ESIKTANCK. ! i i-, not ipiite i'orrei-1 to -ay. ns Mr Mas-ey and his IV. oils an; saving, that the adoption ol proporiional rei,resent nt ion nonld involve the nhoii lion ol the “eonntry ipiotn." Ii is true, however, tlint the preservation ol the "quota’ under this’ system ol election would involve n grouping of eon•i i loem-ies, whieii in some eases might 1,0 neither contiguous nor no-sessed ol what is called ooinniuuilv <>l inteiests. i’.tli the "fountrv (|llota" Hsell is a tla.o-atulv uuil.-niiiei-aUe provision. I-.veil "hen Xen Zealand was boasting of it- prog:' ive electoral hi". ds universal -i|!!'r:r:". '.!* one 'del tor one

■, „tr and t in' re-i . i' had on its Statul Hook this residential distinction. t i i j n ~ nv odjfi* !isiii y n cor. ~ |,;,q irtv.'s till' tHtSIU! li'.lii in the country :> per < cut more rep,.

~,,ii ,iiou lhaii lie person living in ih t,..... 1,. The ineotigruin still remainand :mt a single member of I‘arlm Hunt except.' perhaos. a p' rt i.-u I-m t. in espoll“ihl-- I .alio " represent a tin ‘- : *red I" -is" his voice ... i^ites. In fliese ei'.-umsi i”.:-:- the i

elef-tnral tefor.net - .an expect iron, nm Government is preferential voting, which without being reyolut n.nai > would remove some of the glaring I'eets of the present system and prcpaic the wav for a more heron- measure.

SAN'DER AND SON' S ETC AI.A PTT EXTRACT, proved at the Supreme Court of Melbourne to possess far greater antiseptic power than any other eucalyptus examined, is specially prepared for medicinal use. SANDER’S EXTRACT is manufactured under the constant, supervision of a medical man, and its attributes are efficiency and uniformity. Obtain tie GENUINE SANDER EXTRACT, which protects from all infections, influenza, etc-., cures wounds, burns, skin diseases, and does not depress nor irritate like the common euealptus oil or the so-called ‘-extracts.’’