WELLINGTON NOTES.

Hokitika Guardian, 10 November 1924, Page 4

WELLINGTON NOTES.

FAJ’CICA L ELECTORAL SYSTEM. (Special to “Guardian”.)

WKLLIXGTOX, Xovember 7

During the stone-walling of the Gaming Amendment Dill, -Mr V. 11. J’otter, tlie meinher for I’oskill, claimed that the 29 inemhcrs who had fought the Dill represented 2.‘>tl,<lUo odd electors and were, therefore, entitled to consideration. A correspondent in a local paper points out that -Mr Potter was ludicrously inaccurate and goes on to say that in the twenty-nine electorates represelitd hy the stonewallers there were at the hist general election 2-IS, 171 votes recorded. Of these 129,911) were cast for successful candidates and 125,2.‘U for unsuccessful candidates, consequently neither Mr I’olter nor any other ol the twentynine stone-wallers had any mandate ol anv kind Iroiu the latter voters, the most .Mr Potter and his associates can claim is that they represent one-hall of the voters in the twenty-nine constituencies. .Mr Potter, individually, is not even aide to do as much as this. He is among the ten of the twentynine who did not poll as many votes a, did their opponents. In lairness to the twenty-nine, however, it must lie added that tlie remaining forty-seven Kurnpean members of the House are only in a little less unrepresentative position than they are. One ol the forty-seven. .Mr K. S. Williams, was elected unopposed, hut tile remaining lorty-six had I Si,.‘Hi votes cast in their favour and 171,110 against them. If we assume that the voting in the llav of Plenty constituency would have been the same as that lit the bv-elee-tion, which first, sent Air Williams to the House, tlie respective totals will he and l7d,N7(i, and the writer goes on to say: “ Put sticklers lor absolute accuracy will demand that the comparison should he between Lhe votes polled at the General Itleeliolt by the. twenty-nine members who wished to kill the Hill and the forty-nue who wished to keep it alive. Of fours? there is no reason to suppose that all the absentees would have voted to save the Dill. Anyway, the votes polled for the thirty-nine members (excluding the two Maori members) who were present. and voted in that direction totalled U 9.200. Here again, the number of votes jlolled hy .Mr A\ illiams at the by-elect ion are assumed to he the number he would have polled had there ljeeii a contest mi lus constituency . 'The simple fact is, therefore, that neither side, judged by the number ut votes its adherents polled represented as much as one-fourth of the electors. Of the (i11),707 votes polled at the last general election (including those polled for .Mr ‘Williams in the previous byelection) the thirty-nine members who supported the Gaming Dill received only 1-19,2011 of them, while the members who opposed the measure receded only 129,9 111. Such are the vagaries of our atrocious electoral system. TIIK WOOL TP A OK.

Wool has been coming into Wellington very slowly and the inclement weather of the past few days. together with the difficulties ol road and tail transit through Hoods is making the outlook for the opening sale of the season on November 17. look very P ni,l ‘ so far as quantity. A small catalogue will scarcely give a fair idea ot market prospects, and yet the concensus ol opinion is that values will he up to the highest level of the past season with every probability of it going higher. All the conditions point to a more buoyant trade position. '1 lie political element wliii h unfortunately is so closely associated with trade and lin,’llloo, is also favourable. A stable

Conservative Government in Britain and a Republican President seated at 'White House, Washington, are political factors making for optimism. Ihe wool trade will benefit by tlm more promising conditions and oiilleob. Tie \mein.in- have oot mM.-inled in

wool to any cMeill for .-nine tune and (lie Presidential eleetieii was overshadowing and depressing. Now that All (’indulge lias been elected 1 le-nh lit there is every likelihood that the wool (alill will not be disturbed. Me may look for American competition tit the wool sales for the Americans want wool and', will pay for it- ’1 be Continental buyers appear to be going strong on line wools, but they too. -..i1l be (basing after New Zealand cross-bred wools. At present there is no wool Committee in existence, but there is tit the liniment nothing for this Cnininittee to do. When this Committee is set up, as no doubt it will be in the course of a week or two its functions will consist of fixing fbo limits of the quantities of wool to be offered al the several centres. It is not expected tbaL there will be any need for limits this month and next for there will not lie much wool for sale at any centre. In January and February there is a pressure of supplies and if is then that the Committee will require to step in. When a limit is fixed by the Committee for a sale then comes the trouble of appointing the- quantity to be offered among tbe selling brokers and this gives rise to much disappointment and complaints. This season the Wellington stock brokers are proceeding on a new plan. The offerings of each travelling firm will lie based on the quantity held in store by the seller, relative to tbe limit fixed by the Wool Committee. Brokers will lie unable to say until a day or so after the close ol the catalogue whose wool lias been held over. Wool will bo catalogued in rotation according to time of delivery in store, consequently Wellington brokers will be urging their clients to send in their wools as speedily as possible, and for this reason there may lie a congestion when the consignments are heavy as is generally the ease towards the end of December and early in January.