The working of democratic institutions? ii the . various ■ colonies of Australia is a 1 sub jeot of .deep interest to the politician. \I is said to be generally understood =ii Melbourne that’ the’ Prime Ministers b New Zealand and Victoria have exchange! notes in regard to the policy to be pursue! by "each’ of them;- and* if this be true it, is .of special importance : in thi country oarefulljr ’ to observe th course of- events in Victoria. ' In tha colony!. democracy is of a much more pro nounced’ character than it is in New Zea laud as yet. The tenure of the .Legislativ Assembly . there is, for. only three,years whilst v our House of Representatives; ha a tenure, of five 1 years, i Manhood auffrag obtains' there, 1 whilst here the suffrage i of a more conservative ' character. 11 Th members , of: both Chambers there ar salaried) by ‘law, each receiving £3OO year. With us the payment is considers merely 'as honorarium, being a recoup c personal expenses, the amount being fixe at each session, and in no case as ye having reached more than £2OO for th session, being two-thirds only of tha paid in the sister, colony. In New Zea land ;the Upper House is nominated, i Victoria it i is ■ elected. There is in Vic teria no means of preventing an absolut deadlock between the two Chambers, foi except, in regard to Money Bills, thei pbwers 'are ' equal, and unless they b sensible enough to come.to a oompromu on a matter of : dispute, they ma hold’ out till L lim country is brougl to the..brink of*estruction., In Nei Zealand, in ah extreme case, as in Gref Britain, there exists the power of,oreatin new members.; ' The knowledge that th power exists is usually sufficient! to mail the opposition moderate; it could,howevei be safely exeroised.orily .when the Goverr ment ofthe dayhnvoa decided majority hhd'when their proposed action in regar to cresting ') new members would,' I sanctioned: by tlie country. It is argue in favor of r triennial Parliaments that tl population is of such a shifting charact* that ideas spring up and fructify i
rapidly in the colonies that three years there are virtually longer than doable that time in the mother country. But it may fairly bo questioned whether the, people in the colonies are not • perhaps over-hasty, over-impatient. Those . who have profited by . the lessons of history are aware that all changes of an important; character,which are safe, are of very slow: growth, and ■ that there; is a constant danger of making laws uuauited to the occasion as then existing. Against the three years’ tenure there is also to be urged the great expense of elections occurring so frequently; moreover, : there is an immense quantity of work for a new member to do in learning the forms of the House, existing legislation, &0., before he can be anything more than a mere voting machine. Law-making is a profession requiring long and earnest study, and it does not increase a man’s ardor to overcome its difficulties to find that-he must lose his seat at a not distant date. The history; of. Victoria for the past few years certainly does not afford a very cheerful picture of the advantages of manhood suffrage. It may reasonably be doubted whether this franchise, however just and excellent it may appear in the abstract, has accomplished in Victoria nearly all that its champions claimed for it. In regard to payment of fixed salary to members, the results of pretty lengthened experience ’in Victoria are decidedly against it. . There can be no question that the Assemblies antecedent to its introduction were of a higher tone and better class than have come into existence under its regime. It appears to have brought out a class of professional politicians. There are said to be in the present Assembly of : Victoria many members who depend almost wholly upon politics, and cannot be said to be representatives of any particular class, or of any particular opinions. The points which we have noticed have a special importance in view of the future, _ when the rhapsodies of Prime Ministers on the, stump here, as in Victoria, may take the concrete form of projects of law submitted for the consideration of the Legis-. lature of the colonies which are gifted, respectively, with statesmen like Mr. Graham Berry and Sir George Grey.
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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5366, 8 June 1878, Page 2
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730Untitled New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5366, 8 June 1878, Page 2
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