THE MAORI VOTE.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3374, 31 December 1919, Page 7

THE MAORI VOTE.

SPECIAL REPRESENTATION _ UNNECESSARY.

The Christchurcli Press thinks" that the time has arrived .when special Maori I‘Cpl‘ESCll'l'.ll'l.oll in Parliament should cease. Our contemporary says: There is ample evidence that in -many cases the privilege of electing a membcr of their own race is not prized by the M-aoris, with the result that one or two of the native members represent not only a smaller number of electors than do the individual white members of the House, but only a small proportion of the natives in their respective districts. "Thf. constituency represented by Mr Uru, for instance, comprising the Whole. of the South Island, contains barely :1. thousand native voters, 2000 or 3000 other natives being on the European rolls, and voting for European members. It is an ano--maly that the 068 Mam-is who Voted for the Southern Maori member should need a special representative. In the North Island, in neither of the contested Maori elections, was the number of voters -as large as in the average European ‘constituency. The cost of this special Maori representation is out of all proportion to the advantages it confers on the natives concerned, whose particular rights and pri. vileges "could be guarded just as well if some r-able member of the race was appointed Native Minister, with Ia seat in the Upper I-louse. -