THE SECOND BALLOT.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXV, Issue 10713, 8 November 1913, Page 5

THE SECOND BALLOT.

A REPEALING BILL.

VIGOROUSLY RESISTED BY THE OPPOSITION.

(£« TtUgravh, — Prm Auoeiation.} WELLINGTON, Last Night. In the House of Representatives this afternoon, the Hon. F. M. B. Fisher moved the first reading of the Second Ballot Repeal Bill.

Sir Joseph Ward said the Bill was a deliberate attempt ta deny the people the" right to return members to Parliament .by an absolute majority. The Government were afraid of the people, because at the lost elections they were 100,000 votes behind, j Mr Hihdmarsh: It won't go through this session! ~, Sir Joseph Ward, continuing, said the Government should place their ideas on electoral reform before the people, but they were afraid to trust the people. They were afraid of a majority of the people of the country. If they were not, why did they bacfc down on the Premier's own statements? '

The Hon. W. F.,Massey interjected that he never advocated proportional representation for the Lower House. :: Sir Joseph Ward insisted that he had done so. If the. Second Ballot Act were repealed, it should have a substitute. The Government were guilty of political cowardice in the .matter. They were afraid to act on the lines proposed by themselves. An Act of 22 clauses was proposed to be repealed by a Bill of two clauses. Government members were trembling like:aspeira to find out whether they could got back "again on a minority vote. The country would, not go back td tlie single ballot, and would mark the men who introduced it and supported it. Thousands of people in this country desired the majority to rule, and they positively would not sub-init to the proposed change without a substitute. Ho would be satisfied with'a'system of one transferable vote, but he was surprised" that the Government should come down with such a retrograde proposal.

Mr T. M. Wilfoird said the reason Mr Massey did not favour- proportional representation was that he was afraid that Labour tiould secure more representation in the House. He qiioted Hansard pf 1911 to show that Mr Massey had then said that under that system Labour would be more •equitably represented, and now he had backed down. /. Mr Sidey argued that the Liberals would have repealed the Second lot had'they remained .in, office, but wouli have substituted something Mr L. M. lstfSflfes sorry for the price the Minister of Marine had to pay for his association with the Cabinet. He contrasted Mr Fisher's Radicalism of a few yea re ago with this present retrogressive proposal. Mi- D. Buddo said the experience of the Grey election showed that the Government had but one-third of the electors at their backs. Mr G. W. Russell said he would be prepared to isee proportional representation brought in as it would most assuredly more truly reflect the public opinion, but he recognised that in a young country such a system was very difficult t 0 operate. He mention that in 1908 twenty-two candidates who were at'the top of. the # pole in the first ballot did not succeed at the tfoctmd, and", at the 1911 election, thirty. The debate was continued until the dinner adjournment. On tho House resuming, the Hon. W T, Massey mojwl to. postpone the orders of the dayfiu order to finish tho debate on the motion to introduce the Bill. Tho motion drew Sir Joseph .Ward to his feet with a priStest against the postponing of discussion on an important measure on the order paper If the Government tried to , put "the Bill through, he could assure them that they would be there till Saturday night. The Opposition had done so before, and would do it again. . , ■Tim debate on the Premier's motion resolved - itself into a mild stonewall, Opposition members declaring their unrelenting hostility to the Bill.