REPRESENTATION BILL. GOVERNMENT SCHEME DISCLOSED. Wellington, this day.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 386, 20 July 1889, Page 5

REPRESENTATION BILL. GOVERNMENT SCHEME DISCLOSED. Wellington, this day.

The new Bill which came up for its second reading yesterday has two operative clauses. It repeals sub-sections 2, 3, 4, and 5 of •■ Suction 3 of the Act of 1887, and substituted two other clauses, of which the following is an ah bloviated veision. In computing for the purpose of the Act, the population of the cities of Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin, and every borough and town district, any part of which is within one mile from any part of any of these cities, a deduction of 25 per cent, shall be made irom the number of the population of such cities, boroughs, and town districts. The total population of tho colony (other than Maoris), less the deductions made from the citic», boroughs, and districts aforesaid, shall be divided by tho number of members, and the quotient thus obtained shall be the quota, Thero shall be lour city doctoral districts to bo called respectively, Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin, and there shall be assigned to each of them three meinbors. The oxtent of each of the said city electoral districcsshall respectively bo such that the population thereof attor making the deduction aforesaid shall not exceed or fall short of by more than 750 for each membor, the quota multiplied by the number of mcmbeis assigned to such electoral districts. In order to make up any city electoral district, where city itself shall not include a sufficient population, after making tho deduction there shall be included with the city such boroughs and town distiict? near fche city, as in the opinion of the Commissioners can be most conveniently included with tho cdme, and if there shall not bosudicicntpopulatiou within such boroughs and town districts after making tlie deduction, then there bhall be included such areas of the adjacent oi suivounding oountiy as can in tho opinion of the Commissioner*, be most conveniently included. The lemaindei of the colony shall be divided into as many district* as there arc other members (not Maori members) to be returned.. The extent of such last-men-tioned elcctoial districts shall respectively be such that one member shall be adaquato to each district, and that at the time ol making any deduction lequired by subsection two it shall not exceed or fall short of quota by more than seven hundred and fifty. The Colonial Secretary in moving the second reading of this Bill said it fixed the quota at 25 per cent, instead ot 10 per cent, and provided for the amalgamation of city electorates. The population of the principal cities and their immediate suburbs from which the 25 per cent, was to come would be Auckland, 41,508 : Wellington. 26,700 ; Christchurch, 34,112; Dunedin, 44,223. He asked country members to accept the allowance of 25 per cent, as a fair settlement of their demands. To give more would bo unfair to tho rest of the colony. Mr Mos« desciibcd the Bill as one of the most tortuous and clumsy measures ever introduced. Ho said it really granted 33 per cent, to the country districts. As the Premier objected to adjourn tho debate until the evening session he set him self to talk the half hour remaining, when Sir Harry gave in, and allowed the debate to be adjourned. On the House resuming at 7.30, the Colonial Secretary said that in the course of the debate he had contiadicted an hon. gentleman who stated that the 25 per cent, deducted from the towns was equivalent to 33\ per cent, added to the country. In the interval he had madea calculation and found out that what the hon. gentleman said was correct. M r Taylnr, Dr. liodgkinson. Messrs Taiwhanga, R. H. Reeves, Verral and Fish spoke to the measure. The latter dealt with it at considerable length, and intimated that while anxious not to bo factious in opposing the second reading, he would do everything he could to opposes its passage in Committee. Mr Allen then moved tho adjournment of the debate until to-morrow, and in spite ofstienuous opposition on the pait of Mr Seddon, this was earned. This Representation Bill is one of tho cleverest pieces of lcgeidcmuin Sir Henry Atkinson had yet had a hand in. He manipulated the iigiues beautifully and for a short time completely blnlled the town party. It had been intimated that the city party were willing to accept an incicasc in tho quota trom 18 per cent, to 25 per cent, as a compiomise, but the country party said "No ; we will take nothing less than 33 1 per cent, ; that is to eaj', they wanted 133 > to the towns" 100; while town members wanted 100 to 125. The country niembeis' pioposals gave them a quaitcr advantage over the towns, while tho town members' proposal reduced tho difference to one-fifth. Your leaders will see my meaning whon they divide and find that 33. is one-fourth of 133', and that 25 is onefifth of 125. When the Government brought down their measure deducting 25 per cent, from towns, tho town members at first thought they had carried their point, but Mr W. Y. "Reeves soon unravelled the skein and unmasked the cunning of the Government, He showed, and tho Hon. Mr Hislop afterwards admitted it as ccrreot, thap taking 25 per cent, from the towns was really equivalent to adding 33v per cent, for the benefit of the country dit>tticts This can clearly be seen when it is explained that by taking iis per cent, from towns there is still a quarter advantage given to the country districts, and this is what the country party have been fighting for all along.