The Wairarapa Daily. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 1831.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 3, Issue 881, 23 September 1881, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 1831.

There are some who advocate a single Legislative Chamber for New Zealand as an aid to law-making ; there are others who would go further and abolish another check in the shape of our Governors, as they are at. present constituted. In theory, the proposal fur doing away with the legislative Council in this colony is attractive. There would be an animal saving of an expense of no inconsiderable amount, and there would not bn the ineonswency of two bodies doing the work that one. hotly might be supposed to c'o. We would be glad ourselves to see the Upper House abolished were it not that experience amply proves that the result would he disastrous to the colony, We might point to the course of legislation during the present session as an unanswerable argument in favor of the retention of the " Lords." The members of the Lower House having wasted the ordinary period allotted to their sittings in profitless discussion, during the last few days rushed a large number of measures through the House pell-mell without the slightest attempt to-discuss or examine them. Every one of these measures slioulcl be labelled, as,." dangerous," and it is not this session, but almost every other one, that the same thing occurs. The Lower House is absolutely and admittedly untrustworthy as a legislative body when parties in it begin to logroll, The only protection that colonists then have for the public interests is the Legislative Council, Even this body is not altogether a reliable safeguard. It works in some sort under a sense of apprehension of the superior power of the Lower House, and only exercises its veto to a very moderate extent, But it does discharge its duty as a revising body in some measure, and it does tone down the sins of commission and compensates to a certain extent for, the sins of omission of the Lower House. Take as tin example the Wellington and Poxton railway, There has been considerable log-rolling with this and other lines of a somewhat similar character in the Lower House during the present session.. It was apparent that these' lines could not be made vithout a heavy loss, and that the traffic on them would not pay interest on the cost of construction, but yet it was determined that these lines ghouUt he mack. Tho-question really fought out k tho Jjiower w&s "who were

to bo robbed to malje these linos," and it was; agreed that local shareholders should 1.6 mulcted to a small..extent, that the colony should lie let. in; Tor a much larger slice, and the confiding British money-lender should b<i "had" for the lion's share. Of course it was the duty of both Houses of Parliament to protect the colony from being bled for the bcnclil of railway speculators, but log-volling in the Lower House was too powerful to allow it to stand between the promoters of the companies and the public interests.- The Upper House,, however, has stepped in, and though it c6ndemned the measure as corrupt, it permitted it to pass with certain amendments which, will partly protect the colony;from spoliation, In acting as a brake on this one measure—the Railways Construction Bill—the Council has saved the colony probably as much money as will cover the cost of maintaining our establishment of " Lords" for the next ten years, We hope, the time will come when the Lower Housp may be sufficiently pure to be entrusted with the entire work of legislation, but that they are not so at present no reasonable man can deny, Public opinion in the colony is not as yet ripe for extinguishing them, and though log-rollers may sharpen their swords and threaten thorn with instant annihilation, there is no fear of the Lords being:in any real danger. If the irpper House totters it will not be trom assaults without, but from weakness and vacillation within.