THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1906.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8248, 1 October 1906, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1906.

Among other questions that Parliament has discussed, this session has been that of the constitution of the Legislative Couuoil, the [occasion, of course; being the debate on Sir W. .1. Steward's Legislative Council Election Hill. . Mr Ell, iu supporting the measure, said it seemed ridiculous in a country like this, of 800,000 people, wo should have two branohes of the Legislature—cne branch to frame laws that are to go to the other branch, and that other branch to have power to rejenS them. Severn! very important branobes of the Dominion of Canada have,bat one branch of the Legislature, and they oarry on successfully. In view of these examples Mir Ell could see

no necessity for paying a second Chamber at all. It\was a needless expense to the country and a needless waste of time. Hi*poured a revising committee, oonsistin|kof ten or twelve experts, to go through Jtho la(»s after they had b«eu passed, arid |( to report upon any errors that had' orept into them in the same way as' the Legislative Council does. During the debate it was made clear that the demand, frequently made in various quarters some little time ago, that the Upper House should be abolished was not really to be considered within the range of practical politics. The proposed abolition means, certainly, a drastic in the Constitution of this country, and no change can be efEeoted witboat the assent of the imperial authorities. In the opinion of the Premier, the abolition of the Upper House could only be brought about after some fifteen or twenty years continuous agitation. Even when its advocates had succeeded in educating public opinion up to the point of gaining sufficient unanimity to bring the electors to say it was a proper oourse to take, they would have to face the position of such a very material change in the Constitution not being assented to by the Imperial authorities, and, in his opinion, they would have considerable difficulty in getting that assent even after the very persistent and continuous agitation that would be needed in the country itself. The Premier defended the present Constitution, remarking, inter alia: "Unless there is a better method brought forward to take the place of the present one, I will be one to urge that we should let well alone. Until we have a better proposal submitted fchaD that of asking the members ot Parliament to elect—which I admit is the best of those hitherto suggested —or the abolition of the Council, or the direct return by the people by widened electorates, I am bound to say that I prefer the proposal of thei honourable member for Waitaki. Still, I'must say that I have not seen any action of the second branoh pt the Legislature—-certainlj not sinoe I have been in Parliament—.where they have taken a continuous direct etaod in resistance to the will of the people. They have, it is true, stopped a measure until the voice of the people has been pronounced." The Leader of the Opposition urged that the Gournii should be elected by a modification of the Hare system. In the course cf his speech, Mr Massey said: "In nearly every oountry whore the bicameral system is in existence there is discontent and dissatisfaction, and the fact that discussion of the reform or the abolition of one brauoh of the Legislature is in the air seems to point to this fact: that the second Chamber—the Legislative Oouuail as we call it here—is not of itself a neoossity. It is said that something in the nature of revision of the work done in the lower Chamber should take place. I agree to a certain extent that that possibly may be an advisable thing, but I say that ail that is necessary I might be accomplished by a small [ body of men expert, skilled, trained men—whose duty it would be j merely to revise the measures sent to them without any power of introducing measures themselves, without the power of propounding a policy, and whose sole duties should be to revise, for the purpose of making thoroughly workable and in accord with the existing law, whatever measures or liills were placed before them." The present aystem really amounts to this: that the reigning Premier, whoever he may be, fills the Tncunaies in the Upper House when they occur. Of oourse he does nut do the gazetting, etc., but everyone knows whoao is the power behind the throne. To make the Upper House elective by the Lower House i*, generally speaking, a democratic movp in (he right direction, but obviously it does, not find favour wHh the Government, and still more obviously is it objectionable in the eyes of Legislative Councillors.