POLITICAL EDUCATION.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 396, 24 August 1889, Page 3

POLITICAL EDUCATION.

It is impossible to predict at present, with certainty, what will eventually be the out_ come of the deliberations of the present session of Parliament, but there can be no doubt whatever of , one .thing, and that is, that the proceedings generally have done more to educate the people in political matters than any session or sessions that have gone before it. When business is brisk, work plentiful and wages good, very little attention unfortunately is paid to the character of the work performed by legislators at Wellington ; but when times are bad and things generally siack and depressed, then much greater interest is taken in the members' movements, as a .feeling gets abroad that somehow or another Parliament has it in its power, if it choose, to improve matters. There is ' a phrase very frequently used now, which is quite a novelty in its way, and extremely radical in its character, but which has been more than once made use of by speakers at recent public meetings, and always received with applause ; it is in effect that the only hope for New Zealand is to sweep away entirely those members composing the present House, and elect new men, who will frame laws and legislate for the . good of the whole community, and not in the interest pf any class. We are also continually reading .in extracts from letters from members ab Wellington that the present Hodse is -utterly demoralised, and that ibis impossible to- eicpect from it any useful or satisfactory :.work. All this sorb of thing is gradually but surely opening the people's, eyes to the true position of our affairs political, and when they once see an,d realise that after all, they, the people .themselves, are primarily responsible for the spectacle now being spread out before them, it is only reasonable bo .suppose that they will take the earliest opportunity at their disposal to place matters on a different footing. There are two measures which have been brought before this meeting of Parliament, upon which the public have formed very strong views. They have been the subject of frequent publicdiscussion, and the actual position in which they stand is well known by all. One is the abolition of plural voting, the other the repeal of the property tax. The first has for years been advocated by all true Liberals, and over and over again have those advocating it brought it before our Parliament, only to lose it—sometimes by a vote in the House of Representatives, sometimes, when it-had passed that House, through the hostility of the Lords. This session the Bill for the Abolition of Plural Voting, introduced by Sir George Grey, was carried by a very large majority, and for the first time all the Auckland members but one, Mr JT. 8.- Whyte, voted for the Bill. It was not ever thus. In 1884 eleven Auckland members voted against it, and only seven tor it. In 1885 nine voted for it and six against. 'Now this -year the whole of the members, bar one, support it, and it is only natural to ask the,' question, how has this great and important change been arrived at ? Is it possible that all those members who were' formerly hostile are now convinced 'that the measure is a necessary one ? By no means. In the course of the debate upon the second reading, many members gave their reasons for voting in favour of it, and those reasons are somewhat remarkable. Mrst of all they disallow that the passing of the measure is a really democratic progressive step ; they say " it is is really not a matter of any great importance, ' but our constituencies have taken it into their heads that it is a vital matter, and therefore we shall vote for it." Rhyming upon this tune, many of the Southern papers, in commenting on the passing of the Bill, make very light of it, some indeed contending that those who are now agitating for the reform will be the chief losers by its being cai'ried. They entirely overlook the great redeeming featuie of the measure, and that is, that no matter who wins or who loses by its becoming law, the one great principle of equal electoral rights for all is perfectly established. To say that the Conservative party in this colony view the passing of this measure with' entire unconcern is .a bib too thin. It is easily seen through ; if it is of no consequence this year, how was it that party have fought so hard year by year to l^etain the privilege? It there is really nothing in it, how comes it that the Liberals and Radicals in the Old Country make this one of the leading planks in their political platform ? But there is another thing may account for the members voting for the passing of the Bill by such a large majority. In the face of their constituents they did nob dare do otherwise, and there is little doubt that in their hearts they felt pretty sanguine that the Legislative Council would get over their difficulty by doing as they did on a previous occasion, throw it out. Seeing the state of the times, recognising the intelligence of the mass of the people on this subject, we have little doubt that a repetition on the part of the Council of their previous conduct in regard to the measure will cause such a feeling of indignation throughout the country as will in the end tend to work some very radical reforms in that extremely Conservative institution. The question of the property tax, and with its abolition the imposition of a land tax, are subjects with -which the general public now are thoroughly conversant, and upon which they have most of them made up their minds. The history of the various attempts made in , the House to carry out these proposals, how year after year the Premierhaspoi ited out the time was then inopportune for altering the incidence of tax-ation,-"but-how he would the following session s.et ap.art a time for its discussion/i.andipw, ,when the following session came, he rose up gaily with the same old arguments, and."ho.\y those pledged to act ma contrary manner submitted humbly to the Fash qt his 1 stock-whip — is not all this ehro|iicle*d l in' rt 'liansard," and is it nob well knowfl^to ihe masses of the people ? Therefore we sky, whatever happens this session, the,result cannot but have a very great educational effect for good upon the people generally, as their eyes are turned upon .Parliament, they know what they want, and' if. by political intrigues and humbugs, they do nob get it, in all proba'biliby that "^cle'answeep" we haveheard so much ' of lh/bely will be made rather sooner than honourable- members anticipate. — " Auckland Star," August 14.

A meeting of importers, growers, and other's c'onn^ctecl'with the fruit trade, held the other day 'in Melbourne, condemned the proposal to inprease the duty on fruit. It was stated that? irorn the manufacturers' point. of view it was an injustice to the sister colony- A letter was read from the fruit-dealers in Sydney, strongly condemning the proposed duty and hinting that New South Wales might be expected to retaliate. One speaker stated that 164,000 cases of fruit came from Sydney, and if an extra 9d were put on it would prevent the manufacturers taking it. The meeting resolved to collect information and statistics to be placed in the hands of members of Parliament, with the view of having the duty opposed.