REPRESENTATION BILL.

Westport Times, Volume IV, Issue 695, 9 August 1870, Page 2

REPRESENTATION BILL.

Animated debates have taken place on the representation re-adjustment question. Mr Gillies moved the following amendment on Mr Fox's motion, on Friday the 29th ult : "That as between the political divisions of the colony the representation should not exceed the present number of members, and should, as nearly as possible, be based on population." The effect of this resolution would have been to largely increase the representation of the mining population and give them a powerful voice in the government of the country. The proposal was rejected by 43' to 17. On Tuesday Mr Fox notified the intention of the Government to give one additional member to Westland North. The proposals, giving Auckland 16 members, Hawke's Bay 2 members, and Taranaki 3 members, have been adopted. Mr Kynnersley supported Mr Gillies's amendment, and spoke as follows:—" He could not see that the sytein of representation proposed was based either upon taxation, or trade, or population, or anything else. He was not going to enter into any discussion as to whether miners were entitled to the same representation as the inhabitants of the settled districts. He would simply trouble the House for a few minutes with a few figures, showing that the miners on the West Coast of the Middle Island were most inadequately represented. He was not speaking so much of his own constituency as of the district of Westland, for eight members were proposed to be allotted to the Province of Nelson. The population of Nelson was 23,600 ; of these people 10,600 were on the "West Coast and 13,000 in the settled districts. The 10,600 people returned one member to that House, and 13,000 people returned seven members. He was not speaking of his own constituents in this matter, because he was sure, as it was to be referred to a Select Committee, that the Select Committee would see the propriety of allotting three out of the eight members to the West Coast Goldfields. He

waß speaking more particularly on behalf of the County of Westland. It was proposed that that County should only have two members. The County of "Westland and the "West Coast of the Province of Nelson, as to the representation of these two districts, must be considered together. They were connected together by a unity of interests, and unless three members were to be allotted to Westland, it might not be agreed to allot two or three members to the West Coast of the Proviuce of Nelson. In looking over the customs returns he found that the imports for the three quarters ending 31st March, 1870, at Westport, Q-reymouth, Hokitika, Okarito, exclusive of Nelson, amounted to £393,757. The total imports of the Colony was £3,894,508; the imports in those West C< ast ports were more than one-tenth of the total imports of the Colony. The exports for the same period for those rorts amounted to £927,142, and the total value of the exports from the whole Colony was £3,463,334, so that the exports from those "West Coast ports in the Middle Island were more than one-fourth of the whole exports of the Colony. On that basis the West Coast, which returns to this House three members, ought to return eighteen. The population of the West Coast, that was, Westland and the Province of Nebon, was 24,000 out of a total population of the Colony of 250,000. But of the males above twenty-one years of age, he found that on the West Coast there were 18,000 out of 80,000 in the whole Colony, or one-fifth of the total adult male population. The West Coast returned only three members, but, on the basis of the value of imports, it would be entitled to seven members; on the basis of the exports, eighteen members ; and on the total trade —imports and exports—it would be entitled to twelve members; on the customs revenue, ten members ; on the basis of population, seven members ; and on the bad< of adult male population, ! sixteen m mbers. He would simply say, making a fair allowance for the • wandering habits of the m ; ning population, that they were entitled to a far greater representation than they had at present, and he would appeal to the sense of justice of the House to give them a fair representation.