West Coast Times. MONDAY. MAY 14, 1866.

West Coast Times, Issue 203, 14 May 1866, Page 2

West Coast Times. MONDAY. MAY 14, 1866.

As tho electors will doubtless now begin to look about them for suitable candidates for the honor of representing the district in the Provincial Council ; and as it is quite possible that some gentlemen may be desirous of serving tho community in a position so full of opportunities of usefulness and distinction; it is desirable that wo should Seriously entertain the questions — To what extent is the pretended enfranchisement of Westland a reality under the operation of the actual law ; within what limit is the legal choice of the electors circumscribed ; and what are the most legitimate and effectual steps it could tako to assert its just claimsjo a bona fide participation in the political privileges, conferred upon tho people by the Constitution? We shall deal with these questions dispassionately; admitting that l«\u« Gerald, in securing the passing through the General Assembly of an Aot confering upon Westland the right of returning representatives, acted iii a spirit of perfect sincerity, and that it was by simple accident ho overlooked the fact that the measure which created a constituency with a special franchise, left the old law unaltered, which withheld the qualification to sit from all whoso names Avere not inscribed on the electoral roll of the colony. Practically tho object of Mr FitzGerald's Act was secured by the return of Messrs Prosser and Barff, but it was secured only because tho legality of that return was never called into question before a judicial tribunal. The possession of a miner's right, or of a business license, confers no more legal qualification to sit in tho Houso than the possession of a waterman's or a woodcutter's license. It is the impression of some" parties that, inasmuch

as tho persons to whom Rights and Licenses are issued aro" registered" in the Warden's Court, the provisions of the, law which require Registration as a qualification to sit in the legislature are, after a fashion, complied with — at all events to a sufficient extent to bring it within a liberal construction of tho Electoral law. We confess that wo can see no door whatever open to such a reading of the law. The registration of names of persons to Avhom Rights are issued, is no more the insertion of tho names on "the Electoral Roll of tho colony" than is tho Registration of persons to whom Butcher's Licenses aro granted. Wo put the case very plainly, because it is most desirable- that tho electors should understand precisely what thoy are doing; should entertain a correct appreciation of the invidious position in which they aro placed compared with tho other constituenees of the colony ; and should bring a full knowledge of the facts to the consideration of their duty under tho circumstances. These facts are, as wo have stated, that no member can be elected in strict compliance with the law, whose name is not on the Electoral roll of the colony ; and that whatever may bo the undoubted moral right of tho holder* of the mining franchise to choose any one from amongst their own number to be their member, the necessary alteration in the general electoral law to legalise that right has, by an ovorsight, been neglected to be made.

Wo by no means suggest that, acting in deference to this interpretation of the law, the people should confine thoir choice to tho few residents here whose names are enrolled. Our advice is distinctly to the contrary. The time has come when some decided and prompt steps should bo taken to effect an amendment in tho present most anomalous electoral system, and we question mucli if tho most practical courso would not be to send up members to Christchurch known to be without the technical qualification, and to let their return bo the occasion of raising the general question of electoral reform. If no formal steps were taken to call in question the A'ulidity of their return, they woul.l have the power 0 promoting an enquiry into a system so crowded with incongruities. And even if their return were disputed, the question would be raised in another shape. A committee of tho Council ought to be appointed, and tho bases of a bill drawn up to be submitted to the General Assembly, in tho first place conferring a real franchise- upon the miners by enlarging their power of selection, and by giving to every man on whom up tho right to vote is conferred, the right also to sit ; secondly, to amend tho provisions under which an elector transferring his residence from one electorate to another becomes by that act deprived of his citizenship; aud thirdly, to greatly extend the facilities and simplify the process of registration. As tho district chiefly suffering under the prosent disqualifying regulations, it appears to be especially the mission of Westland to move in this matter ; and to let its disabilities stand out prominently as illustrative of the defects of the existing law. Thero are large numbers of persons here engaged extensively in business, or otherwise filling responsible situations, who . are old New Zealand colonists, and havo been accustomed to take part in public movements, who have been deprived of their qualification as enrolled electors, because thoy havo quitted their residences elsewhere, and come to tho West Coast to assist in developing its vast resources. A law onco as anomalous existed elsewhere, under which a man lost his qualification by removal from ono house to another, so that if he prospered in business, or found it necessary to provide increased accommodation for his family, and left, accordingly, his modest cottage for a more spacious and pretending mansion, he became ipse facto disfranchised. The absurdity of this law led to its repeal. But it was not moro absurd than the regulation which degrades a man from citizenship, because he leaves behind, in another district, the particular dwelling-house in respect of which he was registered, to take up a new residence at Hokitika «r Greymouth, although he has never quitted the colony, nor ever ceased for even a week to be a householder.