THE Manawatu Times. WEDNESDAY, JULY 30, 1879. THE MINISTERIAL PROGRAMME.

Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 61, 30 July 1879, Page 2

THE Manawatu Times.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 30, 1879. THE MINISTERIAL PROGRAMME.

" Words are thiuga, and a drop of ink falling li£e dew upon a thought, produces thut whiah makes thousands, pcrkaps ruiliioos think." "

Were it not for the, bitter experience of the very wide difference between the making' and perfq.rin.ing of promises the i Government/ we are bound to say that the programme which they have submitted to the country, is far from uninviting, and the various' proposed measures are well worthy qf commendation^ and suppqrt, Beyiewing them seriatim m order of importancev we have the Bill fqr a readjustment of representation, qf which notice h^s been given by the hpn. the.Premier. The measure is by up nieans a long one, for although' it purposes to effect a reform so sweeping as the breaking up 6f all the old electoral boundaries, and altering, the tenure of offipe by representatives, 'it has been compressed into : sixteen clauses. A Boacd is. to be appointed — consisting of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Chairman of oo m r mittees, the Colonial Secretary, aud the Auditor and Eegistrar-Grenerals — fwho shalldivide. all the electoral districts intq two classes, "namely, country districts and town districts. Seetiqns 2 to 7 of Clause 6, say :— Every borough baying a population of gf.-- over six thousand five hundred squls shall either form one town district fcobe diWhere the population of a borough is less than: six thousand five hundred it may be included m a count; y district, ofjgft'ith one or ';more;«bptigj^ffis /boroughs. .TheremaOTflrer'of the population of the colony shallvbe divided into country dis-' tricts, .'•■"... The total number ? of members .to be elected for country districts shall bear to the aggregate population of such districts a proportion exceeding by, as nearly as possible, twenty?iive per ceqt. the proportion borne by the total members to be elected for town districts to the aggregate population of the town districts. ..j The. Board shall diyide. tlia aggregate population of tlie country districts by the, total number of members 7 'to be elected for 'such districts, and the re3ult so obtained shall be, callpd "the normal number for country districts.^'; \; * -: /■ ■ It 'shall similarly divide the aggregate population of -the town districts : bj " the total, number of :inembers to be elected for such districts, and the result so obtained shall be called the " n.o^iual number, for town dis-. .tricfcs.'^. ; :■;::"■■■. 7"' ■--'. .'- ■•- ~ : - -^ y ■ " Thfe^divisipn of the colony into electoral 'disiTicts T sliallb3 effected' in such- lnannerv that each coiintry district shall contain^ population nearly as possible equal to the, normal ■number^&Bcpun.try districts, and^ that each town district slfall contain a population as nearly as. possible equal to the normal number for town districts. Ei'oin --t|iis it- WQ^W '. a pP e ar that eyerj constituency having. av>popula■tion of' 6j500. wi1l be entitled t©7 one member, if it be a town eleetqrate, but dbuiity Constituencies numbering 4,880 willalso be entitled to a member. This, at least, is our reading of . the clause; and -if we be cprrect m the; supposition, we feel bound to express our hearty concurrence with the idea. In previous atticles upon i;he^proposed^^readjustment q£?r e preBentatidn,' we have advocated 'the .same step, pointing out that while the eduntry electors had a stake m the commonwealth far m e.xpess of those upon "tie to "wn rolls, they were placed ,upqn a sirnila?^footing m the '^matter of representation. The next consideration of the matter is, m what way will the proposed^ alteration aftect Manawatu. At the last Census the population of this qquiity, exclusive of Maoris, was 4,85 C ■ It myst be borne m mind' that the Ceusus was t^ken on the night of the 3rd of March, 1878, nearly eighteen months ago, and that considering* the rapid manner m; which settlement hits been going on m the tipper portioh of the county since then, those would not much more than half represent the entire population now. In proof of this assertion, we extract the following figuresf rom the statistics of the .Registrar- General as to', the progress qf both 3feilding and P^lmerstqn up to th^ taking of the last census z-M , r; S ■■:;■ V "-. r.1874 : 1878 Foxton ... .;. 291 ... 563 Eeilding ... ... 195 ... 759 Palmerston... ... 193 .v. §80 This data shows, an increase m the four years of five hundred per ceiit., a progress which has not 3, parallel m the: whole yqlume presented i>ytte

Registrar- General. In analysing this most satisfactory, state of affairs, it is consoling to Jmow that the progress is npne the less permanent than it has been papid, and owes not its impetus to those evanescent breaths of prosperity which occasionally visit mining communities, deluding into high aspirations, only upon the collapse to leave ruin and desolation behind. With Manawatu the wealth is not m the ground, but the ground itself ; and consequently It is a mine whose ore , never runs out, and a stream of prosperity which never becomes dry. Taking the increase m population between 1874 and 1878 lys'a basis of calculation, it may be fairly argued that if it increased five fold m f our years, since - then it has fully doubled itself, and at the prespnt time the pgpulation of the county — exclusive, pf ICoaris — is abQve rather than below 9,000. Having these indisputable facts to adduce, then, we think it may be safely urged that Manawatu is fairly entitled to claim two members, and we will watch and guard with a jealous eye any attempt at dismemberment, to make up for the shortcomings of Rangitikei. This county has already suffered enough spoliationfor the enrichment and endowment of Wanganui, and we trust that the gentleman who has the safety of the interests of this constituency m his custody, will resist to the death any attempt to bolster up Rangitikei at the expense of Manawatu. It may be remembered that long before the meeting of Parliament, wo sounded the key note of alarm, and warned the electors that such a Bill would be brought forward. Of course it may be urged thab it is a matter m which Mr Johnston w ( ould be powerless to interfere, but m contradiction to such an assertion, we may quote the ninth septaon of Clause 6, which says :—^- The Census last taken before the Board makes syich a division, shall be sufficient evidence as to the population of the colony or a district, but the Board may take such other evidence as it thinks reliable. Thus it will be seen that a distinct provision has been made to meet cases such as Manawatu. Those remarks may be considered premature as the Bill has not yet come up for discussion, but we deem this precis of its principal provisions of interest more',particularly tojthis constituency, which it is bound to affect materially.