THE Temuka Leader TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 1892. WASTING TIME.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2410, 11 October 1892, Page 2

THE Temuka Leader TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 1892. WASTING TIME.

There can be no doubt but members of Parliament earned their salaries last week. They sat almost night and day, but there was no other way of getting the business through. The Opposition determined on stonewalling everything, but the Government resolved not to be beaten so it. was war to the hilt. The Government of course having the biggest battalions succeeded in tiring their opponents out and winning the battle. The unexplained, and unexplainable part of it all is the conduct of the Opposition all through the session. Let us, for instance, suppose them in the right; let us say they are the purest, the most patriotic,, and the wisest body of men that ever assembled together, and let us on the other hand suppose the Government party the greatest rascals on the face of the earth, what was the good of wasting time? The Opposition Knew from the beginniag that they

would be defeated : they knew that the Government had a majority determined to stick to their leaders through thick and thin, and they knew thatjthey could carry whatever they liked. In the face of this fact can the Opposition be said to have acted like reasonable beings in wasting time as they have done ? Is there any sense in it ? Could they not have entered their protest and placed on record their dissent, and their reasons for dissenting, without resorting to stonewalling everything that came up ? We are sick and tired of pointing out Mr Rolleston's unfitness for a leader, and there cannot be the slightest doubt that he is responsible for the greater part of the muddle. His presence in Parliament will undoubtedly cost the country many thousands this year. The whole idea underlying the action of the Opposition may be summed up in a few words as follows : —''Let us prevent the Government from doing anything, and when the country comes to find that nothing has been done the people will blame the Government and turn them out." That is the whole idea of the Opposition, but it appears to us, that they will find out their mistake yet. The Government has done a lot, so far, and has secured the gratitude of the people, and the Opposition will find this out when they appear before their constituents. They will find that the people do not believe in obstructing business for three months, and then rushing it all through in three or four days at the end of the session. One month wasspeHtindebatiugthefinancial statement, yet millions have been voted away in one night. This is scandalous. But to come back to the hard work done by members, it is really astonishing how men can be got to leave the comforts of home and work as they do in Parliament. For most of the time they work 18 hours a day—and wearying work it is, to. —sitting up until all hours of the morning in a badly ventilated chamber, or walking in draughty lobbies at the risk of their lives. There is not the slightest doubt but Sir Harry Atkinson's life was shortened in this way, and we are greatly afraid our present Premier is not long for this world. The symptoms of his illness appear to be somewhat similar to those from which Sir Harry Atkinson suffered, but as he is younger it is to be hoped he will recover. He is undoubtedly the ablest statesman that New Zealand possesses at the present time. Looking at these facts, it is really most extraordinary how men can be got to undertake the work, and yet they can without the asking. It is not the pay that is Pttached to it—no man in New Zealand has made anything out of politics; it is the honour and glory of the position which tempts them. It is, however, fortunate for us that we can get men to undertake such positions, and consequently, however we may disagree with them, we ought always realise that our public men are doing us a great service by representing us in Parliament.

THE WOMEN'S FRANCHISE. The Women's Franchise lias been ruthlessly killed, and the question is Who killed it ? The Opposition say it was killed by the Government ; and the Government say it was killed by the Legislative Council, and between the two assertions it is not easy to arrive at the truth. One thing is certain. There was not a measure rejected by the Council last year which the Opposition did not attribute to the insincerity of the Government Our readers will remember that when the Council mutilated the Land Bill and other measures last year the Opposition said the Government did not want them passed. The accusation we know was not true as witnessed by the fact that the Land Bill has been passed this year. The excuse of blaming the Government for everytning is therefore getting stale, and we must look for other reasons for the rejection of the women's franchise measure. We know that this measure was originally introduced by Sir John Hall. For several sessions he advocated it, but could not succeed in getting it passed into law, and at last the Government took if up and embodied it in the Electoral Bill. Now, if the Government were not genuine in the matter why did they take it over from Sir John Hall—one of their bitterest opponents? Does this look like want of micimtf ? Last year it was taken before the Legislative Council by the Government in the Electoral Bill, and rejected by a majority of one vote, and only for 1 it the Electoral Bill would have passed. The Government dropped the Electoral Bill—one of their pet measures- Jast year because of this, and we ask again, Does this look like want of sincerity? Again the Government this year embodied the female franchise clause in the Electoral Bill, and passed it, and it went pretty early in the session to Upper House. Here comes the '-"facts. The Upper House interest)i. a -*»»p.nelectoral rights: decided to give w 0... -t .come to that is a woman need n*..

record her vote like an ordinary elector, but could post it through the post office. The Government said this would lead to impersonation, destroy the secrecy of the ballot, ami bring servants under the influence of their employers. Managers were appointed by both Houses, but they could not agree, and the Government appointed fresh managers which included Sir John Hall, the father of the measure, but they also failed to come to any understanding with the Council. It was then said that Mr Seddon desired to kill the bill, and so Mr Seddon appointed fresh managers for the third time, and sent Mr John McKenzie instead of himself, but the third effort proved as futile as the previous ones. The Council would not give way an inch. The managers from the House offered to accept the proposal of the Council provided all post offices were juaUe polling booths, but the Codicil

would not agree to that; they would j only have their own way and would I not yield any concession. The | point of difference therefore was this: the Government would accept the Council's proposal provided every post office was made a polling booth for women : the Council would only agree to receive women's votes at the central post office in the electorate. The object of the managers of the House was to prevent impersonation. For instance, supposing a woman sent to Ternuka from the Mackenzie Country by post her electoral right, the postmaster here would not know whether it was right or wrong, but if placed in the hands of the local postmaster, he could easily ascertain, if he did not know it himself, whether the person lived in the district. The object of the Government was to prevent anything of that sort, and it looks to us very much as if the Council connived at giving the outlying districts means by which they could resort to all kinds of the most abominable corruption. Looking at the matter fairly and squarely in the face, without any bias, it appears to us that the Government did their best, and that no blame can be attached to them for not having this important measure passed into law. However, there is no reason why it should not pass next session with fresh blood in the Legislative Council, so we take it as not altogether lost yet, and it may become law before the next election.