ESTABLISHED 1866. The Marlborough Express PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1913. PARLIAMENT AND THE PEOPLE

Marlborough Express, Volume XLVII, Issue 32, 6 February 1913, Page 4

ESTABLISHED 1866. The Marlborough Express PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1913. PARLIAMENT AND THE PEOPLE

Mr Massoy lias been telling a Wellington interviewer that already a number of important Bills are in course of preparation for next session. We are not very sure as to there being any feverish anxiety on the part of the public for much new legislation; indeed, the less new

legislation, at least of any experimental character, the better, so most people will say. But there are certain more or less important amending measures which are necessary, and these will, we trust, be introduced with the least possible delay after Lord Liverpool has made his first official address to his ."faithful Commons." For many years past Parliament has got hits a very bad habit of wasting the first four or five weeks oi" the session in trumpery discussion of even more trumpery questions, -. the real reason for this being found in the fact that of the measures outlined in tho Governor's address, nothing more than the bare titles were in existence when Parliament assembled. This is a bad precedent, which the country will expect Mr Massey and his colleagues to "scrap-heap" with all the promptness and ardor which should be the characteristics of a "Reform" party. The system, or want of system, under which Ministers met tho House with practically no business prepared for immediate consideration was time and again denounced by Mr Massey when he was in Opposition, and if he were now to backslide and adopt the same policy of unreadiness and procrastination he would lay himself open to some decidedly unpleasant taunts from his political opponents. With regard to to these new and important, measures of which the Prime Minister bas been speaking, we should vastly like to see Mr Massey further disregard precedent and circulate some at least of the Bills, especially those affecting municipal and'county councils and other local bodies, and such measures of legislation as the Government in the present disturbed state of the general industrial condition of the country may feel emboldened to venture upon introducing. In the past there lias been far too great a tendency on the part of successive Administrations suddenly to bring down measures for the consideration of Parliament tho full purport of whose provisions, often affecting quite numerous sections of the community in. a very marked degree, cannot readily bo grasped- by. the public. It is true that Parliament is supposed fully to represent public opinion; but in actual truth this is often very far from being the case. The fuller and the earlier the publicity given to the provisions of any important piece of new legislation, the better chance has the public of studying the measure in detail and estimating its probable practicability and value to the community. AYe see no reason whatever why all the principal policy measures introduced by the Government should not be circulated at least a month befoi'e each, session, so that the constituencies may be enabled more adequately to girasp the full import of these measures. Public bodies could examine the details of Bills by which the general structure of local government might be affected. The labor unions and employers' associations ought both to have reasonable opportunities for examining such measures as may change their legal relations, and with respect to social legislation, such as measures affecting gambling and the liquor question, it is specially desirable that the electors should have more facilities than at present for studying proposed new legislation.

It may Sand probably would be contended; that party advantage would be?'-taken of such a system of circulating policy Bills and creating a public interest in measures before they were introduced in Parliament, and that no Government could or should .be expected to "show its hand" in the manner we have suggested. But the country does not exist for the advantage of one party or another party, and party interests should, and if we are to have a really well-governed country must, be subordinated to those of the State, that is of the community at large. Far too much consideration has been paid in the past to purely party interests^ The party game has betn played too often with a complete indifference to the public which 'has to "pay the piper." We want the .Government of the day to take the people njore fully into its confidence, to trust [the people, not only in name but in "fact and deed. No Government which shows that it has honestly and sincerely the interests of the country at heart has "anything to fear from giving the country the earliest and' most detailed information as to the measures it proposes to.' ask .Parliament to place on the Statute Book. Confidence wouldrather;'encourage, and inspire confidence- The strongest political party must ever be ' the one which is courageous. A good, useful policy can nevQr lose by being disclosed in such time as to allow of the fullest examination and criticism. The "Reform" party should, and must, if it is to remain in power, live up to and fully justify the title its members have assumed, and no greater, more genuine reform could there lie- than the adoption of some such "system with regard to new legislation as that which is above roughly outlined. If Mr Massey be wise he will, now that he has the opportunity, prove that lie' can place country before party, and thus earn the honorable title of being an enlightened and patriotic' statesman, instead of being a mere ( .politician. Will he rise to the occasion ? '