The Manawatu Times. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1879.

Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 25, 1 February 1879, Page 2

The Manawatu Times. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1879.

Tate Hon. the Attorney-General sine* 3 his acrcessioCtb office has fairly, earned the tifle^of the Minister of Reforms, but we would bex better satisfied could we admit that his efforts for reformation have been -always of : a useful or beneficial character! Some of the measures ' introduced by the member for, I)unedin City, it must' be confessed, were calculated to benefit legislation— such as the ! Representation Bill, — biit- there has always been a screw loose m the machinery of, the Act which disarranged the whole fabric, and made it dan'serous to put m motion. This was notablj' observable m the Bill to which we have made allusion, for although m many phases preferable to the counter measure introduced by his rival the ex-At-torney-General/the insertion of the, unwise and unjust clause giving a duality of votes to Maori electors very properly prevented its becoming law. To Mr. Sror/t also is the- country indebted for that time-losing, temper-trying, roundabout,useless, worthless innovation with regard to the new law stamps. What , earthiy benefit caii possibly accrue From the introduction of -such a regulation is kuown..j— ; or su.pj>Qsed^-ts 7be*-lfn6«'ii—-to the astute mind of the First Law Officer, and to him alone". Tt is a worryto the officials, a soul-imperiilitig trial of patience to clients, and a useless waste of the funds of the State. As "Mr. Stout did not succeed during the last Session m placing his pet scheme upon the Statute Book, it is more than possible He will take the opportunity to reintroduce it at the next sUt.ing of the Assembly, when possibly, 'having learned wisdom from experience, ho Will have made such wholesome modifications as will make it acceptable, instead of, as hitherto, an insult and injustice to the members of every electorate m the Colony. ..Having remodelled his. scheme for; the election of representatives, it would be well if the desire- for reform should go a step further, and extend- to the 'length of a reeonstr-ietion of both Houses of the Legislature, but more particularly "with regard 'to the Upper House.' -The system of appointing uiem- • bersLrif* the Council is. wi.tjiout precedent m Colonial legislation, is radically bad, and leaves an opening for the perpetration cf flagrant abuses. -Tliere are- at i present eighty membersOf the' House of Represehtiitivus, and forty-siS Legislative Councillors, aiid it is proposed to further increase the nmnber : of ••the-lat-ter.' Until very lately— -arid -we-aVe'riot. quite sure that the Act has yet received ! the Royal assent— Vietovia; with apo)>u'latioh of Closeupon a million, was s'ati^'li'ed *i<'ith thirty Legislat i ye Coiinc'illors, ■tfhd ninety- members of Assembly, the proportion of the Lower to the Lfpper House bpihg three to one; while New, South Wales with its population of /7O0 f OOO has pnly^ twenty-one Counciirorjs «hd seveWty-two Representatives.. -The -Cape of-Good Hope — which at-4ko- lasjt census proved to have 700,000 inhabt-tant^^gets-its work oF legislation done by t^ver.ty-one Councillors and sixty-six members of the' House of Assembly. Thus it; will 'be seen that m evoryinstarice is . tbe. : excess of hurabei^bf'the 'Coioimbn>?'bfer |the' Lords to 'the'prbporx()dii of .'tji'^ed t;o'one|" while in' New South Wales it. is almost fo'uV^ In comparison to these: t hit t. the UppeiLHbi.ise pi Nett- Zt'iilaud is moi-e than j-faif : [ that ;. of t|lte:Becpnd ibrancjii of tli^L^vslaVu re, andlftiiC Question be asked ivliy" it is !' ho, * it'wili be. -readily fouud 'in : the' fact that while'. -it Ji^ajnonViVie'e' instead of, au elective ! bod'yiLthe Constitution Act makes no * provision for ; a li mit tot he j number > of nomination^' It is entirely lin the hands' of the Ministry of the hour to ; fl'-io'd the Legislative Chamber with itrf partisans, and should its supporters be beaten at the poll for a scat m one House, the i door of the other is at their service.- Had tho nominee system been dominant m Victoria when the deadlock occurred under Sir Charles DarLl?fO*S regime, no doubt a very speedy .settlement could have been effected by swamping the Council with adherents of the Government ; but the danger and evils .resulting from such a course might,, and no doubt would, have cul*,mihated m riot, disorder, "anil bloodshed. While the New Zealand Lords are! created upon no order or principle, to fill up no vacancy' ,*P c r?'§?. rn^ n «ly f° r no. other end than te strengthen the poiitical party of . tbe Ministry m that Chamber, their tenure of oifi.-e is for

wiih an addition of .€2OO directly as a honorarium, and indirectly a " much larger sum. Small as has been the number of Councillors m Victoria, and short their tenure of oiiiee, it has been deenied wise to still further reduce the list, while the tenure for which a representative shall hold office has been reduced from ten to six years. The nominee system is a monstrosity which should '•' never have been allowed to creep into the Constitution Act, its only metit— -a very questionable one at best — being its similitude to the House of Lords. But there is a very wide difference.between the men who are, by being raised to the Peerage at home, made life-long legislators, and those to whom the latter privilege is granted m the Colonies. In the Mother Country no one enters the House of Lords — save by hereditary birthright — who has not well merited the honor, either iby prowess m tho field, ability m the forum,contribution to literature, or some other especial service to the State ; men whose deeds have raised them above their fellows, and whose fame has become the property of the .country. In this Colony there is no such safeguard, and m nine cases out of ten, an elevation to the Upper House is followed by a storm of reproaches from both Press and -public^ Ot- course there are some notable exceptions, as m the case of Air. THOMAS-'HuNTER-REYXotVs, whose quarter of a century's servitude of=tho people deserved rest and recompense ; but- theAex'ception is by no means the rule, and such cases are remarkable simply for their rarity. Next with regard to'the House of Representatives, the division of representation is by no means weil allotted. For instance, we find that while Taranaki with a population less than 10,00') has three members, Wellington City, with a population of 19,037, has but two. Then again, the Thames, with 12.310. has two members ; Hokitika, witli 5'.)75, two members; Napier, with 8860, two membars; Franklin, with 941), two members ; Auckland City West, with 9469, two members ; Nelson City, 6693. two members; and Wanganui, with 7730, two members ; while Dunedin and Christchurch, tho one with 22,490, and the other with 24,976, have but three each.. In the face of a number of the foregaing places having two members, it seems rather strange that Caversham, with 8931; Taieri, with 8592; Coleridge, with 9227; and Heathcote, with a population of 9207, should each have but one. Moreover, it will be perceived that m those cases where there are two or three representatives for one constituency, such as Dunedin, Christchurch, or Auckland, there is no provision for the representation of minorities, In the three-cornered constituencies of England provision is made for this, and minorities are represented. There electors can only vote for two candidates, and m this way the minority is enabled. to return one representative. If tho Attorney-General be anxious to reform not only the Constitution but the construction of both Houses, then there should be a complete re-adjustment of electoral districts, and care should be taken to secure a representation of all opinions, as far a< possible. For this purpose we would venture to recommend that cq-inl electoral districts, that is, that all electoral jhs trusts should ha va an equal number of inhabitants, calculated on the basis of the last censm, who would be chosen upon the principle of the three-cornered constituencies of England. Indeed wo would be inclined to go further, and adopt tho cumulative principle— that is, allow each elector either to split his vote, as it is termed. befcweeu two candidates, or it he should prefer to do so, to give two votes to one candidate. A House elected on tluss;' principles would represent the- people of all shades of political opinions as perfectly as possible.