WELLINGTON TOPICS

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3414, 19 February 1920, Page 5

WELLINGTON TOPICS

E ELECTORAL REFORM. I E T l gm. JOSEPH WARD ’s VIEWS. 1 (-Special Correspondent.) i . _____._ V , ‘ WELLINGTON, Feb. 18. } Amidst the methodical hustle of packing papers, and ’ correspondence ‘ previous to his departure this evening for the South, Where he is to be banquetted by his late constituents, Sir Joseph Ward found itime——a little | broken, it must be admitted—-to say a few words to the representative of the “Times” concerning the need for electoral reform. “I am not finding fault with the present system of election because. it has put me ‘out of public life, at any rate for a time,” Sir Joseph said, as he resigned himself to Speaking a piece. “Years ago I realised that there must be something i wrong with a system which allowed a 1 candidate with only a minority of the votes polled, it might be only a third, I or even a. smaller proportion, to be returned to Parliament. But it was not ‘ till I became head of the’ Government ‘that I had‘ an opportunity to‘ attempt a remedy, and in 1908 I ‘introduced the second ballot, which came into opera‘tion for the first time. at the election I of that year. I am free tel confess new I that it was not altogether satisfactory. ‘lt gave us a‘ nearer approach ‘to majority representation than we ever had had before, but it strung out the election for a 'furth'er fortnight, causing a good deal of unrest and uncertairrty, and it added materivally to the cost of ascertaining the will of the E constituencies.

BACK TO THE OLD SYSTEM. “When Mr Massey and his friends‘ came into oflice in 1912,” Sir Joseph went on to say, “tli6y set about the repeal of ‘the second ballot, and so took us back to the old “first. past the post” system. During the debate in‘ the House on the subject, Mr Massey gave most of us t6"l‘l‘llderstand that Who second ballot was being repealed withi a view to the introduction of a better system. Many of us assumed he had in his mind. the system of preferential vo'ting, which would have -given practically the same results as the second ballot had, Without the delays, and to this I should have offered no objection, though there are, of course, systems and systems at‘ proferentilz-11 voting. However, Mr Massey and his colleagues, having ithought the matter J over decided to stick to the old system, and as we all “know, it has serv- I ed them very well.” At the election of I 1914, while in a minority of some! 30,000 in the constituencies they ob-I tained a majority of itwo in.» the House», : and at the recent election, while in a minority of 10,000, as against Libcrall and Labour, in the constituencies they obtained a majority of twelve. European members in the House. It is not 1 for me to find fault with Mr Masscy’s preference for the ‘first past the post’ system, which gives sifch results, as I presume my old leladers, Mr Ballance. and Mr ‘Seddon had a similar preference.” ' PROPORITIOIXALV REPRESENTATION. “But,” Sir Joseph added with deliberation, “I don’t think lthe electors with the grotesque travesty of democratic representation they now have beiifore them are going to tolerate much | longer the system by which it was produced. My own preference is for proportional representation which by the ‘operation of the single transferable vote would give every considerable section of the community the exact pro}portion of represenfiftion Ito which it ‘was entitled by its numbers. Under this system minorities, as wen as majorities would be represented in I Parliament, not in the haplrazard fash- ‘ ion in which they are repr*esented now, ‘but in proporltion to the number of votes they could muster. I am not i sure, however, that the country it yet i ready for this full measure of reform. We could not discuss it during ‘tho war, {because it was a controversial parity ‘question, and those’ of us in the (cabinet were ton-gue-tied. This being i the case, public education on the ques- } tion has proceeded very slowly, and as la stepping stone towards proportional ‘ representaltiqn I should be prepared to ‘accept in the meantime preferential lvoting, which would give us ‘at least ' majority representation, and go far to heal the breach between the progressive forces, Liberal and Labour, which ‘has just put our reaeltionary friends the Reformers into ofiice and power. wProportional representlation must. come with education and under standing, but while we are waiting for .these preferential voting would be a vast improvearnenit on the present inequimble systern.”