PARLIAMENTARY REPRESENTATION.

Taranaki Daily News, 5 October 1917, Page 5

PARLIAMENTARY REPRESENTATION.

THE NEW SEATS. By Telegraph,—Press. Association. •Wellington- Last Night. In the House this afternoon Mr Mas* eoy made a brief statement regarding the recommendations of-the Representation Commissioners. In the South Island, Selwyn, Central Otago and Motueka seats would disappear. In the North Island, a new seat would be constituted, Manawatu, with Foxton" as the centre ; another with Rotorua as the centre, also one in the Auckland suburbs. SUMMARY OF COMMISSION'S .REPORT. THE NEW ELECTORATES.

Wellington, Last Night The report of the North and South' . Tsland Representation Commissions, fitting as a joint commission, has now been received by the Governor-GeneraL The' commission found from the report of the ■ Government Statistician, and from the returns furnished by the Defence Departmeat as to the number of persons absent with the Expeditionary Force, that the » population of the Dominion on 1 the night of the census was 1,142,081 (oxcloslw of ' Maoris and inhabitants of the Chatham and Kerniadeo Islands, and interned aliens), distributed as follows: TJie . population of fifty cities and boroughs of over 2000 inhabitants, Including- those on shipboard, amounted to 638,334, and ' the urban .population within the five miles limit of the chief post offices of Auckland, Wellington, Chrietchurch and Dunedin cities, exclusive of the .population in the cities and boroughs of over 2000 inhabitants' within Ijhat limit, . amounted to 38,348, making a total • i urban population of 574,977, leaving the rural population at 667,404. Having added 28 per cent, to tho latter figures, the total nominal population of the Dominion amounted to 1,300,954. This, > divided by 76, the total number of members, fixed the quota at 17,M8. , It ijfas further ascertained that the total actual - population of the North Island amount* ed to 074,101, equivalent to a nominal population of 766,816. Likewise, it was ascertained that the total actual population of the South Island, including Stewart Island, was 467,980, equivalent to a nominal population of 634,336. Consideration of these figures showed that the number of members to which the North Island was entitled was represent- , cd by the figures 44.78, and the South Island 31.22. As the fractional .part ia tho first case was greater than that in." the second, the number of members for the North Island was fixed at 43 and that of the South Island at 31.

In accordance- with the provision* of the Legislative Act, notifications Will shortly be published % the Gazette describing the proposed ttoundaries of the electoral' districts, • giving particular* where maps of the proposed dißtrieti may be seen, and also .particulars as to the lodging of objections to such proposed boundaries. H EFFECT OF PROPOSALS. i The principal effect of the proposed alterations is as follows: North Island.—Owing to changes ia • tho incidence of the population of tho Dominion during the period wthich elapsed since the apportionment of >tini Dominion into electorates in lflll, it was . found that the North Island'wouM gain tlirec members, and the South would lose a corresponding number, which, of course, meant the creation of three new electorates in the North and the elimination of three in the South. This could not be done without considerable disturbance of. the existing electoral boundaries. Th«'.• preliminary map supplied by the Commission shows, however, they have been able to adopt these old boundaries to . quite a remarkable extent. THE NEW ELECTORATES. Of the three new electorates in the . North Island, one (Roskill) has been formed in the suburbs of Auckland,.and is almost entirely an "urban" electorate. It is contiguous to Eden, Grey Lynn, * Pm|iell, and Manukau electorates,, and is bounded on the south by Manukau harbor. I-t comprises portions of the existing Eden and Manukau electorates and . very small portion's of Grey Lynn'and'" Parnell adjoining Mount Eden. The second electorate has been named Rotorua, and is surrounded by tie "Bay of Plenty, Hawke's Bay, Waitnarino, ' Waikato, and Tauranga electorates. It is principally made up from the Bay of' Plenty, Taumarunui,,and Tauranga elec- » torates. and includes a small portion of the Waikatpv ■ * The third district has ,boen named the jManawatu. It takes in a portion of the Otaki, Rangitikei, and- Palmerston- electorates.

With regard to eertyir, alteration* of names of the electorates in the North Island, they have been mac}? so at to* better indicate the localities of the «leci torates, and the same consideration has. led to tho adoption of the names of the' new electorates. The only effect the alterations have made in respect of "wet" .and "dry" districts is that it has been found necessary to include in the dry districts two small hotels, one being tho White Houes at .Kumeu Junction, and the other the Waitrou Hotel, whiebjhas been taken into the Ohinemuri electorate. . South Island.—Owing >to the decrease in the population the easting electorates' have been reduced from 34 to 31, viz., Motueka (B. P. Hudson), Selwyn (\V. J. Dickie), and Otago Central (R. Scott). Portions of these have been absorbed by the Grey, Duller, Nelson and Walrau, Ellesmere, Ashburton/Ohalmers, Oamaru,, Wakatipu and Waitaki electorates, A new district, .proposed to be called Tua-. peka, has been formed out of the existing electorate of Bruce and part of Otago Central. As the preponderance of population in the proposed new electorate is now in a "dry" area, this will have the effect of turning "dry" a large proportion of tho "wet" area of Taieri and a small portion of Tuapeka county, 1 apparently necessitating ithe closing wf several licensed houses at the next election. The name "Tuapeka" was adopted as suiting a largo part of the proposecj,' electorate, and on account of numerous objections to the name being eliminated by the last Representation Commission. The now Oamaru electorate will apparently eliminate one licensed house at Windsor, and tho new Ashburton elec-' torate will do the same thing at Ohertsey. Maps and detailed descriptions of the boundaries ; will not be available till Monday. __,..