West Coast Times. MONDAY, SEPT. 17, 1866.

West Coast Times, Issue 307, 17 September 1866, Page 2

West Coast Times. MONDAY, SEPT. 17, 1866.

The explanation made by Mr Sale at the public meeting held at the Court House on Saturday, was frank, and satisfactory. We agree with the chairman of the meeting, lhat it would have been better if the substance of* Mr Moorhouse's telegram and the reasons for the necessity for prompt action on the matter of increased representation in the General Assembly, had been communicated to the public. The advertisement in the papers by "G. S. Sale, Commissioner," invoking a public meeting for the purpose of considering " the measui es necessary to be taken in order to obtain increased representation," &c, would then have been divested of the air of mystery that attached to it in the form in which it appeared, and the result would, we believe, have been a much more demonstrative gathering than actually took place. We do not doubt that Mr Moorhouse intended that the substance of his telegram should be made public^ as the basig of his appeal to the people to " strengthen his hands" by public petition.* The " Grey Argus" acknowledges the receipt of a telegram forwarded by him direct to the editor of that joiu-nal — there being no Commissioner at Greymouth. Here, the telegram was received by the Commissioner, and was doubtless intended by his Honor to be communicated to the local press. .Had that course been adopted, instead of the expression of surprise, at "the unwonted character of the announcement which appeared in Saturday

morning's paper, there would have been afforded the opportunity of making an earnest appeal to the public to come to the aid of their representative. This is one of many instances in which Mr Sale has laid himself open to adverse criticism, from which he might have protected himself by a more timely explanation. "Although we may take exception to the mode of action adopted by Mr Sale, all thp credit accorded to him by the meeting was his just due, for the promptness with which he acted. . Under all the circumstances, the meeting was a most satisfactory one; t and it is to ba hoped that the manifestation of public opinion in Westlnnd will have some weight with the General Assembly. Mr Button stated, very forcibly and at the same time very temperately, the case of the district. That its representation should be limited to one member — its male adult population being something like 30,000 — Whilst a member is given to Ellesmere with a- male adult population of 270 only, and an electoral body consisting jof 69 voters ; a member to Omata with a male adult population of 32, and an electoral body of 39 (see official statistics of New Zealand, 1 864) : ami three members to the ' city of Wellington with a male adult populatibn of 1134, and an electoral body of 874 — is of course 'one of the grossest anomalies to be found in any political system "^existing in the wide world. It is not a case for argument at all. The man must be a fool who would attempt to, prove by any process of reasoning that, in a-free state, 30.,000 people, engaged in an active and flourishing industry, and in the maintenance of a vast commerce, pouring annually into the coffers of the State more wealth than any other district of the colony, are entitled according to the spirit— though not the letter — of the constitution, to no larger share of Parliamentary • representation than a little community of sixty-nine or ninetynine, vegetitino; in some village or pas.toral district. The. fact is, it is not a question 'of political right that the ' General^A-ssembly is dealing, with, but a question of party politics. It is likely enough that some members of the House of Representatives may be conscientious in-their scruples about giving < ■a lrttge permanent representation to a goldfield that may not itself b N e permanent. To thii-argument based upon the large population of Westland, they may reply : The-population is not the growth of an ordhiary development of industry ; there is )^et no fixed proof of the long duration df the goldfields; there is little sigiv of established settlement; the population on the ground this year may be gone the' next, or replaced by an entirely new set of people, themselves to be displaced in turn by another rush. But this argument, although 'plausible- enough to be accepted by some, in all honesty — and to serve in the case of others as a fair excuse for voting against the concession of a great public right — possesses really no substantial weight. Westland does not ask for a share in the /representation such as might be based upon its actual population. Were it to do so, how many members might it not demand ? In the year IS6-1 — the last census returns before vs — the total number of registered electors in the colony were 19,552; the total number of adult males, 62,197. Thus about one-thii'd of tho number of adult males were electors, under the qualification whicli requires a man td be a householder in order to be an elector., In Westland, where the right of voting is extended to all holder's of hiiners' rights or business licenses, the proportion of qualified electors is probably at least nine-tenths of the male population, which would would furnish an electoral body greatly in excess of the whole number of electors in all the electoral districts of, the colony put together at the date of which we -are speaking. In 1864 no separate representation had been granted to the Otago goldfields ; and nineteen thousand electors had the power of returning the entire House of Representatives, consisting of fifty-five members. If, then, we pushed the population argument to an extremity, it would result in this — that Westland is entitled to elect' more members than , the res£ of the forty or fifty electoral districts together. No argument of the kind has ever been used. Yet its use only could justify the objections of those who say " It is true , you have a large population ; but it is a shifting one." No man can honestly, or with the faintest shadow of reason, affirm that there is not a fixed and permanent proportion of settled population on the West Coast, to entitle it to at least four- members, according ,to the scale on which the representation is elsewhere distributed, In honest truth, however, it\is"as we> have said, not a matter to be argued at all.' We believe the real cause of the opposition offered to the bill proposing to give two o.r three additional members to Westland, is the one stated by Mr Sprat. Parties are very evenly divided in the House. Mr Stafford has sustained already one defeat in' the persons of his colleagues — and sustained it at the hand of Mr* Moorhouse. .He is. menaced with a second defeat ou the cardinal point of the new ministerial policy, tho proposal to levy additional taxes — and again the defeat threatens to come from the hands of Mr Moorhouse. Mr Moorhouse appears tp have taken a commanding position iv the House ; and' not only has a future before him, but is evidently conscious of the fact. It is not unnatiu-ally assumed that additional'members returned for Westland would swell Mr Moorhouse's following. In this hypothesis we have surely a sufficient explanation of the whole matter. . What Mr Moorhouse asks is a demonstration of public opinion on -. the part of the electors of this district,

so powerful as to put him in a position to say : the people demand the concession of an increased representation as a political right. Such an appeal to our public spirit can scarcely pass unheeded. The petition prepared by the committee has already been very numerously signed. its weight will greatly depend \fpoft the jiumber of signatures attached to it. No man ought to neglect to append his name. If it fa.il to have any practical effect in the present session, it will j\t all events serve as a strong plea iflr support of our future demands. The people of Westland will have no case to present to the House $>n a future occasion, if they neglect at this juncture to show that they have a deep sdnse of the injustice under which they are laboring. It is unnecessary for us to say more, beyond reminding the citizens that it is df the last importance that the committee should be put in a position to - telegraph within the next two days, the total number of signatures obtained, and to forward the petition itself by the steamer which leaves for Wellington on Wednesday. The committee have acted thus far most energetically, and it is to be hoped the people as a body will co-operate with them.