LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

Southland Times, Issue 18850, 16 June 1920, Page 5

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

NEW APPOINTMENTS PENDING, RETIRING MEMBERS. (Special to the Times.) WELLINGTON, June 15.' It is understood that the Government will be making a number of new appointments to the Legislative Council either before the meeting of the House or very soon afterwards. The term of two members of the Council, Mr Earnshaw and Mr C. A. C. Hardy, expires during the present month, and these two members are practically certain to be reappointed. The report is that there are about half a dozen additional appointments to be made, and that there are among them some whose appointment to the Council was arranged in the time of the National Government. These gentlemen have not been reputed supporters of the Massey Government. Unless something is done about the Legislative Council Act in the meantime, a number of appointments will have to l>e made to the Upper House next year. The term of one other member expires late in the present year and of one other in January of next year. In July of next year a considerable number of members will retire by effluxion of time, these being the members appointed by the Massey Government when, after the Legislative Council Bill had been twice rejected by the Council, the Government followed the constitutional procedure of nominating a sufficient number of members to ensure a majority for the Bill, It was the biggest batch of appointments that had been made to the Upper House for very many years. Another question for the consideration of the Government in counting the numerical strength of the Legislative Council is that of the number of members now in such weakened health that, they are unable to give anything like full time to their Parliamentary duties. These gentlemen are still on the strength of the Council, but they can scarcely he called active members of the Legislature.