THE PELORUS GUARDIAN TUESDAY, APRIL 1, 1890. THE ELECTORATES.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume I, Issue 20, 1 April 1890, Page 2

THE PELORUS GUARDIAN TUESDAY, APRIL 1, 1890. THE ELECTORATES.

Constitutional privileges have always been recognised as part of our grand system of government ever since the days of Magna Charta, the Petition of Rights, and the Bill of Eights, which Lord Chatham named “ The Bible of the English Constitution,” and, therefore any action which tends to weaken, or even partially disfranchise, any portion of a constituency must be carefully watched, and their interests jealously guarded by every one who is anxious to promote the lasting welfare of their country, and benefit the people in it. The reduction in number of our representative power was a question of such grave issues that it ought to have received far more consideration from Parliament before being placed on our Statute book, but having become law it only remained for the Commissioners to act in accordance with the instructions laid down in the Act for their guidance when allocating the number of electorates required. We admit the difficulties were great, but we fairly claim the , consideration due to present boundaries —: community of interest, facilities of communication, and topographical features which had not been accorded when apportioning the new Waimea-Picton electorate. Taking these consecutively, we affirm that Nature had provided a boundary in the Wairau River that could not have been mistaken* whereas the new lines selected will, for a time, puzzle even surveyors to find. Next our interchange of products, Crown Lands office, Education Board, facility of communication and topographical features are all in favour of our amalgamating with the Wairau, as we have to travel, after leaving Wakapuaka some twelve miles through another district, comprising, Nelson, Stoke, Richmond and Hope, to even shake hands with a brother elector in the Waimea. Of course we admit population had to be studied, but not so closely as to upset the stronger reasons contained in equity and justice, and we notice in the North Island the Commissioners have not allowed numbers to be the over-ruling influence as will be noticed in the following electorates:—Hutt 7,056, Wairarapa 7,112, and Rangitikei 7,063, all in close proximity to towns with first-class railway communication, while on this island we have Inangahua 7,148, and Duller 7,395. Therefore we argued that, findingit was impossible to join the whole of the northern portion of Marlborough with the Wairau, no injustice would have been committed by starting from the Wairau River boundary, and making up the quota from Motueka. This plan would have added some few hundred to the Buller, but that district eould easily part with others to the Inangahua, and the Commissioners should be requested to consider this before the 21st inst., but not under any circumstances think of adopting the preposterous schemes advocated by our member, Mr Seymour, viz., only to add the Sounds and Picton to the Wairau electorate.

REPRESENTATION OF MARLBOROUGH.

Oub Picton contemporary does not seem very clear in its Wader of .the 27th ult., when it first argues against; its own constituency by saying the injustice to the, people on the other side of the Maungatapu range is surely bad enough without us adding to it, certainly a most christian-like spirit;

but are we to suffer the injustice and not attempt to retain the representation we have always been accustomed to ? They are not asleep or unmindful of their own welfare, and really we cannot help smiling at the quotation from Mr Seymour’s argument—-viz., “It was not so much a question of securing the chance of an additional member this side of the range as of keeping up a community of interest. If we were joined to Blenheim we could only rely on having a Wairau man to represent us, who, knowing the district and its wants, would do so satisfactorily.” Now, we ask, are we to believe that an additional representative from Marlborough would be a great injustice and against the interests of his constituents; or are we to inffl||that the member from the other aM&flpe range could not represent us Because, later on, we are told it is impracticable to include all the Sounds, and Pelorus District in the Wairau electorate, so • the editor’s “we” can only mean Picton and its surroundings, yet our I Mend feels sure the settlers i would receive more attention at the hands of a Marlborough man than if a Nelson candidate won the seat. Then why not work with this end in view ? because the greater part of the provincial district is, and always will be; represented by a member. It is the lesser portion we have to deal with, and if Mr Seymour’s recommendation became law Marlborough would never have more than one representative. However, we are pleased to see that our contemporary finally agrees with Mr Mills in hoping that Marlborough will be represented in the House by two members next Parliament.

BISMARCK,

One of our contemporaries appears to fancy that something dreadful is going to happen to Germany now that the figure-head of that great Empire has been removed from his prominent position. That Bismarck is a great man, and has done some great things in his time, no one will deny; but that he alone is capable of managing the affairs of an Empire will not be so readily admitted. We are rather inclined to think that the man of “blood. and iron” has had his time, or in other words, the time of his usefulness has now passed owing to the change in the world’s sentiments. _ The young Emperor appears to be doing all that is necessary to forward the best interests of the Empire and his subjects, and, to our mind, is bom for the times in which he lives, like the great Bismarck before him. It is necessary to be truly great to run in the current of public opinion, and so direct it as to obtain the best, results, and this is what we think the Emperor William is doing. Owing to the change in the world’s history Bismarck would he as likely as not to adhere to old principles, and thus act as a dam to the advancing current, which is too often the case with great men who have probably lived beyond their time in this age of rapid advancement. We do not wish to say that such is the case, but the world is full of examples of men and institutions having lived beyond their sphere of usefulness, and become more of a barrier to that advancement which they probably set agoing than assisting further progress. We are inclined to think this is the case with the great Chancellor, and that the terrible things which are predicted will happen through his retirement are more imaginary than real.

We are pleased to see our old friend Mr Buckley again at his post after a • well-deserved holiday of . two months, Mr Heney, who has had temporary charge of the office during Mr Buckley’s absence, leaves for Blenheim to-day. During Mr Heney’? brief stay in Havelock he has won the esteem of all who have had business with the Post Office by his courteous and obliging manner, and he will be missed by a large circle of friends here whose acquaintance he has made in his private relations in society. Mr Gaskill, who has made himself very popular in the district, is also about to leave ns. During his stay he has identified himself with all matters affecting the advancement of the town, and his exceptional vocal powers have always been at the service of the public. We feel sure his departure will be very much regretted by all. We would again remind those who are desirous of an enjoyable outing of the regatta to be held at Manaroa on Easter Monday, A trip down the Sounds alone affords real pleasure, but when there is a regatta at the end of the journey and a hearty welcome the pleasure is doubled, and we have no doubt many will be present from these parts. Definite arrangements have been made for the Waitapu to run on the morning of the regatta, leaving the Havelock wharf at 8 o’clock sharp* fare 3s 6d return. She will also call at Moatapu for passengers from Mahakipawa. Boats will be towed for 2s 6d each way. The rules of the Pebrus ProspectingAssociation appear in this issue. '. Mr D. H. Pattie, agent, of Blenheim, advertises money to lend.

The Primacy difficulty appears to be coming to a head, as all the Bishops have practically acknowledged that the Bishop of Nelson has the power to convene the Synod. The Bishop of Wellington has stated his willingness to resign as soon as Bishop Suter convenes the Synod. This really means that right has triumphed over wrong, and that the Bishop of Nelson is now acknowledged as Primate of New Zealand by virtue of his seniority. John Yorbach, blacksmith, &e., of Renwicktown, has an announcement elsewhere. A public meeting is convened for to-morrow night at the Town Hall to discuss the position of the new electoral boundaries. It is to be hoped sufficient interest will be taken in this important question for a large number to be present. Mr S. Bolton, of Nelson, advertises in this issue a variety of grass seeds , for sale. , ■ Mr E. J. Paul, of Renwicktown, advertises that he is to do carrying to any part of the district. We express much sympathy at the prospect of the Mahakipawa diggers protesting against the reduction of wages from ten shillings to seven shillings a day. We hope they will have a bumper house. Real diggers who put up with all kinds of hardships are worthy of better wages than the ordinary pick and shovel man, The schooner Clematis arrived from Lyttelton, yesterday after a smart passage of 48 hours. Mr Clapcott, the popular lecturer to the Government Life Insurance Department, will give a lecture on Thursday evening at the Town Hall. Mr Clapcott possesses that rare quality of so dealing with any subject as to i make it interesting and and ■ can keep his audience in a continual i state of merriment. We have spent i many pleasant evenings in listening to ; his lectures, and we would advise all i those who can possibly attend to do so. i The admission is free, and ladies are ; particularly invited. r An advertisement re grazing runs » will be found in this issue.