WELLINGTON TOPICS

Hokitika Guardian, 18 December 1931, Page 7

WELLINGTON TOPICS

ELECTORAL REFORM

NEW ZEALAND’S APATHY. Special Correspondent. ' WELLINGTON, De c . 15. It might seem from the illusions to the subject made in the correspondence columns of the Wellington daily newspapers since 'the recent general election that the subject of electoral reform really had taken hold of quite a number of thinking people in the Capital City. 'The great majority of correspondents, however, appear to have but a hazy notion of what is the matter with the existing system, and consequently, none at all of how it might lie improved. So long ago as the sixties of last century, when Hare’s system of voting was scarcely known except to students and the elect, Sir Francis Whitaker suggested it as a foundation of an effective Legislative Council; but it found no favour with his contemporaries. Hence it was left to Mr Massey in 1914 to revive the proposal and to place it on the Statute Hook in 1914 whero it still, stands in suspense in conformance with a compact made betwen Mr Massey and Sir Joseph Ward on the, outbreak of the war and tluv formation of a National Government.

THE POLITICIANS, Whether or not Mr 'Massey or Sir Joseph was very ardent in his support of proportional representation at any stage of their long careers is open to to question. Sir Joseph put the Second Ballot on the Statute Book in 1903 thinking it would save his party from vote-splitting at the polls; and Mr Massey, having rid himself ot this nostrum, essayed to make the Legislative Council an elective body in which he. would be assured of the assistance of his own nominees lor at least seven years- The readiness of both Air Massey and Sir Joseph Ward on the outbreak of the war to postpone the conversion of the Legislative Council, into an elective body shows they were not disposed to enter upon party wrangling during such a crisis. It now remains for Air Forbes and Air Coates to determine what is to he done with the Act which has hen suspended in mid-air since 19 and may be brought into operation at any moment by an Order-in-Council. BEHIND THE WORLD. It would not be correct to say that in electoral methods New Zealand :s behind every other country in the yvot'ld. The Mother Country, Britain itself, with a slice of Ireland thrown in, is as bad. The recent general election at Home, indeed, was worse. The size of Its constituencies varied f,;olii 10,000 electors to one hundred thousand, while ■ -roughly, - • fourteen, million Government votes seculhd notl seats, and seven and a half bullion Opposition votes secured only sixtytwo seats. Something relatively similar to this occurred at the genera! election here in 1919 when the Rtform Party with 206.461 votes secured forty-four seats, while the Liberal Party with 196,337 secured twentytwo seats, and Labour and Independent between them 139,387 votes and ten seats. A somewhat similar development occurred at the election of 1922, owTig to the doubling of the Reform Party; but three years later Air Coates had the satisfaeion of more than repairing the losses of his chief. N NEED OF REFORM. Reform by this time should h’ave accomplished all the reformations with which Air Alassey set out tw or twenty-live years ago and should be turning its attention seriously to this question of parliamentary repiosentation. Turning over such information ns we have of the constitution of the House of Representatives and the Legislative Council it is not easy honestly to satisfy ourselves that the members of these chambers to-day are quite so impressive,- let us say, as were those sixty years ago. It has been suggested that a im asure of decline in manner and culture and ability has drifted into both the Houses with the measure of perquisites that are available there. This is sc. <• credible. It is more likely that a rough system of electioneering, such as that in city constituencies, for instance, where Labour, with its widened vision, is bound to prevail, restrains business and professional men from mounting the platform lor so meagre a. reward. "VVere propoitional representation adopted not only would it be fairly and certainly distributed, but it would also be a certain index to the will of the electors.