ELECTORAL BOUNDARIES

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 2467, 15 August 1922, Page 4

ELECTORAL BOUNDARIES

KAIAPOI AND RICCARTON. WELLINGTON, Aug. 11. Resuming in the House of Representives' to-day the interrupted debate on the presentation of the representation commission’s report, Mr Jones referred to the statements affecting the boundaries of Kaiapoi. He said that Mr McCombs had charged the representation commissioners with being “got at” and being guilty of corruption and “gerrymandering” the electoral boundaries for the benefit of the Reform Party. So far as Kaiapoi was concerned, a number of people at Papanui, in the adjoining electorate of Kiccarton, had protested against pait their electorate being included in Kaiapoi because they felt that their position was safer in Riccarton. People in the Kaiapoi electorate protested against too great a body of city being imported into Kaiapoi. Kaiapoi s protest did not gain much, while the Riccarton people got most of what they asked. Mr Jones declared that Mr McCombs’ object was to attack him, and he protested against such an attack in the circumstances. Mr Witty pointed out that the petition was got up by people who considered their community of interest lay with Riccarton, not for the benefit of any particular section of the electors. The Hon. E. P. Lee declared that nothing had been done by anyone concerned that could be stigmatised as wrong in getting the transfer of people from the new Kaiapoi electorate to Riccarton.

The South Island representation commissioners have warmly refuted the insinuation that their decision regarding the alteration of the boundaries of the Kaiapoi and Riccarton electorates was influenced by political considerations.