The Manawatu Times. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 21, 1878.

Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 90, 21 August 1878, Page 2

The Manawatu Times. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 21, 1878.

Th^ rival measures for electoral reform introduced'by the rival legal luminaries — the present and ex- Attorney-Generals — are worthy of .something more than a mere passing comment. The two Bills, though differing materially m some points* bear, a wonderful resemblance m others, some of the clauses, m fact," appearing to be perfect facsimiles. Although the Hon, Mr Sioux has the advantage of His opponent m the number of clauses and schedules which constitute his measure, that of Mr Whittajceb appears to , have received, more care and attention m the classification and arrangement of the various subjects, under respective heads. After devoling the first fourteen clauses to an explanation the "geheral provisions, the Attorney-tGeneral proceeds" to give the four headings under- which a qualification 89 elector can be claiiued: — Freehold, household, residential, and that of a ratepayer. Under the first a man must be the owner of property,- for six months previous to the date of his claim to vote, to the extent of £25 .at least.; as a householder, he must be the occupier of a tenement of the annual value of £10, and have been so for six- months ;pi'e;vious to the date of his clainif to be eligible under the residential clauso, "he must have resided for two years m the colony, and for six months m the district m which he claims to vote. This is clear and explicit enoijgh, and although some maintain that the measure has either gone too far or not far enough, aud having conceded so much should have stopped short of nothing less thau uuivcrsal suffrage, we aro not

altogether inclined to talce that view of the matter. It must be conceded m all justice that the qualification for both fieehold and household suffrage, has been placed at a minimum ; while the condition of a six months' residence is almost equal to an universal enjoyment of the franchise. In dealing, however, with the very difficult and delicate question of Native voting Mr Stout is by no means clear. According to the eighteenth, clause—" Every Maori shall be qualified to vote m the election of members for the House of Representatives, but shall only be so qualified if . his name be enrolled upon a ratepayer's roll m force within the district m respect of which he claims to vote. Standing by itself there would bo no doubt or difficulty m interpreting the meaning so explicitly conveyed ; but unfortunately thoro'is an addendum attached which is far from satisfactory, to the effect that ! nothing therein shall affect any right or ' privilege conferred or granted to Maoris under " The Maori Eepresentation Act, 1867." As, however, the public are not likely to be conversant with the statute referred to — as we freely confess we are not— it is just possible that certain clauses m it may nullify the one we have given above. We have carefully > gone through the one hundred and sixtynine clauses which constitute the proposed Bill, and m none save m that extracted is there any attempt at dealing with the Native vote. This we take to be a most serious omission, and calculated . to damn the measure. The Parliamentary Representation introduced by Mr Whixtakeb, on the contrary, grapples m a determined nianner with the question, and devotes no less than nine clauses to the matter, the mover being of opinion — and we must say we heartily endorse his utterances ---that the Maori votes should be restricted to the Maoris and the Europeans should have their votes confined to themselves. One of the grand results of such a law would be that it would forever put an end to the plottings and secret machinations of Pakeha-Maoris who fire ambitious to sit m the Assembly. At present it is a matter of perfect impossibility to guard against bribery, corruption, and false representation to obtain the Native vote, as the candidate for whom the Maori's choice will be registered can pursue his negotiations unchallenged, and Natives' names put upon the electoral roll at the instance of white candidates can be objected to only under very great drawbacks and at much risk of loss. But although Mr Whittakeb's measure would deprive the Native from voting for Europeans, he is prepared to grant universal suffrage to the race, inasmuch as the ninety-first clause proclaims that every Maori twenty-one years of age and upwards should bo entitled to be registered as an elector, and to vote for the election of Maori members. To do justice to the Native for any loss oE representaiion which he might suffer by the withdi'awal of the privilege of voting for European representatives, Mr Whittakeb proposes that the number of Maori members to be elected for the whole Colony shall bear to the : entire number of the members of the House of Representatives (exclusive of Maori members thereof) the same proportion as the number of registered Maori electors on 1 the rolls. This must strike everyone as being a most fair and equitable proceeding, giving the Maori increased representation of a nature that will be of benefit to hia interests, and for ever sweeping away all prospect of trading upon the cupidity or credulity of the Native elector by the unscrupulous and ambitious cancli- [ date. Without proceeding to further critioise by comparison either measure, we are bound to say that m taking precautions to sweep away the festering cancer, and stop the read of further abuse, the Parliamentary Representation Bill of the Opposition has far greater claims to support than the Government measure introduced by Mr Stout.