N.Z. PARLIAMENT

Wairarapa Times-Age, 23 September 1943, Page 3

N.Z. PARLIAMENT

DEVELOPMENT SINCE EARLY DAYS EXTENSION OF FRANCHISE ROTARY CLUB ADDRESS “The Growth of Parliament in New Zealand” was the subject of an address given at today’s luncheon of the Masterton Rotary Club by Mr J. Macfarlane Laing.

A proposal by the New Zealand Company, said Mr Laing, to set up a Council of Colonists as the first attempt at self-government in New Zealand, died an early death and the colonists agreed to nlace themselves under the authority of the Governor. Captain Hobson. At that time, Now Zealand was a dependency of New South Wales but the colonists soon realised that a separation was essential and New Zealand was made a Crown colony. A legislative council was set up. There was a con-. tinned clamour by the settlers for the establishment of provincial governments in order to got away from the control of the British Colonial Office and in 1852 an Act was passed providing for a General Assembly for the whole colony and for a subordinate legislature — provincial councils — for each of the six provinces into which the colony was divided. The first session of the first Parliament of New Zealand opened on the Queen’s Birthday, May 24, 1854. There was one substantial defect in the system. While Parliament was a representative assembly, the Ministry comprised officials appointed by the Colonial Office, who were chosen by the Crown without regard to the opinions of the House, were responsible to none but the Crown and might act in direct conflict to the majority opinion of the House. There was much argument over the proposed change and after sitting for two and a. half months, New Zealand’s first Parliament. passed only one statute, a measure authorising the sale of liquor within the precincts of the House for the use of members. Mr Laing went on to refer to the setting up of the early Ministries and staled that in 1860, the membership of the House of Representatives was fixed at 53, a number that was increased from time to-.time to 80 at 1 the present day. There were various extensions of ,the_, franchise but perhaps one of the greatest moves took place in 1876 when the Maoris were given the right to elect four representatives. In 1870. the franchise was placed upon a residential and not a property qualification but plural voting was still permissible . and con/tinned until 1889. In 1893, the ri,frfrt to vote was given to women equally with men. In 1864. the seat of government was removed from Auckland to. Wellington and in 1869 the secret ballot method of election was adopted. The problem of the provincial governments became a burning question from 1870 to 1874. In 1875 provincial governments were abolished and the measure, though bitterly opposed, came into effect the following year. In 1908 the second ballot system was introduced but it was repealed in 1913. Originally the maximum duration of Parliament was fixed at five years but in 1879 it was reduced to three years. Earlier, the period of appointment to the Legislative Council was for life but in 1891 it was fixed at seven years, with the power of reappointment. From 1907, New Zealand had been a self-governing Dominion.