THE Manawatu Times. SATURDAY, NOV. 15, 1879. AN ELECTIVE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 92, 15 November 1879, Page 2

THE Manawatu Times.

SATURDAY, NOV. 15, 1879. AN ELECTIVE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

" Yt'drds are t'liugs, and a drop of ink fallir.s like "■ dew upoiiu i.icught. y.rodncos fc'.it which makes UIOUSUUIIa, pcrhr.pa millions think." ■--•

As might have been expected, the faction of- Sie Gjeohoe GrJttEy m moving with regard to an elective Council, has been the signal for all the; ocgans of ,.th.e -,> G-qyerament to, eoncl'iinuthe. ; pso:pcKsitio.n, and sfcraiige ■ as-it may appear tliay aecually base 'their opposition to it, on account; of the good bodies so constituted have accomjjJiMhc-.l elsawhei'e. The line of argument u.sed by a Napksr paper, Ayliieh quotes. Victum .as. its sample is, .that" bo&itise"" the Upper Hou^e o.pposed j>i?oLo^tivp du-io-s until'-fur- . thi'P p.ppu..Jtio.n became iaipjsaiblo ; I^eea,ukd ir op^sod a granting of a •gratuity to -a. Governor for unconstitutional assistance rendered to the Xl'iuist rv of thu 'day ; and aijjj pay--mont of inen'ibors,. it \vqy.ld not be wise for •■Ne.u Zoiiland to follow m wake, and romjdei its CondiiUftioii u;)oi] tlio s-q,:i)j basis. V/V hav'j so "ofien writt'eu at length upon the '.many reasons for abolishing the iioUpper House, thafc were wo to enumerate;. th'eiri now, they would be nothing uipre ustyu a niore recapitulkttoll ot' : . tHe'"aVgum6iits?£iddiu-ed before. It-may, hovvever, be of in- ! te-i'esfc to give cjouio fc\y - fstatish'cs? with regard to theother Uolonie.-, so that coniparisou caa be made ? and 6iil* readorw 'dr;i>v t!;oi.' o\\n deduc■tious. JMew'iknitii VYalos, tae ■'oidosb of the &jvem .»Si«ster»<, ha.>, 'certainly a nominated Council, but notwithstanding the,. fact {.hat it- can boast of a population, of fully double that of New Zealand,- its tipper Hquse is eo mppsed of t>\ uu ty , aud its Lo wer of seveuty-two meu'iDors. Queenslaud, also, the youngest of the Australiaii Colonial, wliicii in' lßs9, an--pa rated from Now South Wales, ana undertook -Responsible Go. e'ruinout, lii f nvming its Cuiißtitution adopted the lioiuinct} Co uucil, which is cjinposed of thirty membors to fortythree representatives .ehoseu by the people, who sit iii th^ Iq I oouth Auotraii% liowaver, on 1 the • : contrary, the Legislative Couucil is oiedtbd-^by the wholes Colony Voting as one district;. It v is «onip ( osed of eighteen members, si^.'pf vviaqm re - ;- ti'ro every four years,' their successors being then elected for. twelve years ; but, as m Yiutoraa,, the Executive has no powe.r to dissolve that body, and the;y only r.ejiwjuish their seats by resignation or the effluxiou of time. Tlie. £owe,r. House is comrposed of for.ty-six members^ and it 'also bears /« ■'Biu^ilitode to its sister Colony v»,f Victoria, inasmuch a.s the term qf sfcpi'esentation is for three ye^rs, There is, liowever, one dilfor'iii\ce. m those two Constitutious, i which m a» great niiv:»y ways su.clowely u^cb. otUur j uiul tiiu.t U t

that while m Victoria any member who joins the Ministry, -by the acceptance of office, vacates his seat and has to go before his Constituency for, re-election, m South Australia such is not the case, and the same practice which rules m New Zealand holds sway. It has been urged by the opponents of the measure Roiagli.t.jti)_i>^ij^x^4. ll ?.?. < l^l * ne a^ e fremiQEj-thjit iv yßtaiuing^tEJe,lS[omiV •.E<^_jsyjteih "of" govern ment, ; : the Crown cahren^TO^^diD^uTt'y'should the occasion arise, , G-ranted-, /..But oii-the' otlier ihartdthe Ministers' m power have it witnin their reach to flood the Upper Chamber with mercenary tools or antiquated fossils, which besides saddling the country with expense, actually . -^jaake the work of legislation a farce. The main objection to the mode of filling the Higher Chamber at present existing is that it places m the hands oF $ti ! un|?cru?pulojte;|f^vv'; a powe,r which is deuied the people at"large. It is proposed to increase the representation m the Lower Chamber, but to do this a special Act has to be passed , -yet m the f^ce of this a i supreme power is given to the Gtovernment of the day to create new peers, .without the electors or their representatives in v .Parliament assfembldd^' bei tig / a]lo,wed „a : yoi cc m the ■'matWtf'. ' 'It' mky [ 'appear 'somewhat strange that while New Zealand should apparently have a Constitution somewhat similar to those of y JjTe.w. > Squth ir Wales and Queensland— that is, "a liomi nee Uppsr House — such a vast disparity should exist m the number of the representatives m. that Chambei*. as we have already- pointed out New South Wales has. but twenty Legislative Councillors ; Queensland, thirty ; South Australia, eighteen ; andjYictacia,', thirty members sitting 'm JheXdhamber of ;Pe|r^', \New -Zea- • iand .\. lorn. \ ;i np i:je?a j 116---1 ?ro tn t Ms i t vvill be seeii :.tji itj 7 Ne w Zealand has taken pore' advantage of the power of nomination than any of the Australian Colonies and has gone;on,persi.s.tently_ ingre.asing the seats m j>he Cou|icii{fmitil|he bodies" of Legislature are sadly out of pro-, ; portion, when viewed by comparison; with similar institutions elsewhere. Fop this reasoA, we hail the advent of the measure propo^jed Sii? G-korg-b G-rey, which we; trust H;o see placed upon the Statue Book.