The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 1914. THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 58, 29 July 1914, Page 4

The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 1914. THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

T<; those who are not acquainted with 1! the. actual faets concerning the personnel j of the Legislative Council of New Zea- j land, the members of the Upper House may appear to be composed of men of mature judgment, practical experienco, and superior wisdom, which fitted them | to exercise the functions of a revising chamber and act as a safeguard against hasty or faulty legislation. No greater ■>wi-,!i than this in possible. Let anyone interested in the matter take a view of these gentlemen as they pass into the Upper Chamber, and then sec theiv at their work. All preconceive! notions of their superiority will vanish like magic. There are, of course, exceptions—the two Taranaki representatives are notable exceptions —but they only emphasize the decrepitude-, mentally and physically, of the generality. When it is considered that some of the members were appointed for life, and that others diii not "receive a call," as the process of political patronage ii usually called, until after they bad'reached the allotted span of life —three score years and tenit is no wonder that the Council has come to be regarded as a sort of glorified Old Men's Home for political derelicts or party servitors. Tf the recent J appointments by tbe pres.mt Government, —which was to reform all the evils that had ever fastened on the State —are reviewed, it will be found that one was 77 years of age, another 70, 75 and 73. . five being 65 last birthday, one 64, the ages of two of the others not being available. Then it should be remembered that it is a rule of the Govern- I ment ..'at all Civil Servants must retire I at the age of 65, and that is also the ] age at which old age pensions are grant- ' ed to all male citizens of the Dominion whose income falls below a certain amount. If it is considered detrimental to the interests of the, State to employ ] a Civil Servant after he attains the age i of 65 years, why is it politic to appoint ] or retain legislators who have long since 1 passed that age? It may be argued 1 that many of the leading statesmen, lawyers, judges, and professional men of the great Powers have shown that ! their mental powers were still exception- ' ally brilliant at even 80 years of age and over, but these are all exceptionally giited men, and no sane person would for a moment compare them with the dear old gentlemen who are pitchforked into the Upper House of New Zealand. It has even been said, by one who can speak with authority on the subject, that the Government should be indicted for cruelty to old, respected an.l estimable gentlemen in taking them away from comfortable family surroundings and plunging thorn into a blustering place like Wellington. A man who works a horse that is past work is dealt with by the law. Where is the dilfer-

enco? Only that between compulsion < and acquiescence. It must not, however, be thought that these Legislative Councillors are useless. They are useful lin one way—as 'buffers between weat. kneed members of the Lower Hosse and ; their constituents. A member who dare not offend his voters by blocking a Dill that is in their, but against his own, interests can, and does, persuade the | members of the Upper House into i throwing the measure out. Whether that sort of usefulness appeals to citizens as a whole may safely be left to their judgment. For every disease there should be a remedy, and in these days even noxious weeds have to be eradicated. New Zealand has patiently suffered the farce of the Legislative Council to continue, and as it cannot be mended satisfactorily it should be ended, being replaced by a vastly different .chamber. What the Dominion urgently needs is a Revising Chamber, composed of thirteen or fifteen men possessing the necessary qualifications for the responsible and technical work which they would have to perform. The legislation of the past has been a bye-word amongst the judges of the land, full of ambiguities, contradictions, and makonstruetion. ft is time this blot on the country should be removed by the appointment of a body consisting of eminent lawyer;-, well versed in the legal effects of the various clauses of Acts of Parliament; leading commercial men who can judge of the practical effect of legislation, and one or two representatives of agriculture and shipping. There should be no grudging such men a proper remuneration for their services—£looo a year each not being a penny too much. They should be in the prime of life, and probably the best plan of nomination would be for the Government and the Opposition to each nominate twenty gentlemen and then by conference to redHCe the final ballot list to twenty. There would be no difficulty in satisfactorily arranging the. ballot paper so that only ■a specified number of 1 awycrs, commercial imen and others should be elected. It has been Xew Zealand's boast that she has led the way in manydirections of administration. Here is a chance to show the world that in the highest branch of Government the Dominion can effect a reform that may well be copied by the older countries. This would be a real and beneficial re form, whereas tinkering with the 'Legislative Council as at present proposed will only result in getting out of the frying pan into the fire.