LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

REFORM BILL AND MAORI REPRESENTATION ' The Legislative Council continued its ! consideration of a proposed amendment yesterday afternoon to the Legislative Council Bill to provide that Maori representatives should be elected, not nominated as printed in the Bill. The amendment was tn the name of the Hon. Sir George M'Lean. ■ The proposal was strongly criticised by the Leader of the Council (Hon. H. D. Bell). How long did they think, he said, separate Maori representation was going to last? Probably it would not be for very long, and in the meantime, was it worth while to go in for a system of election of the Maori members. There waß not nearly the objection to the nomination of Maoris as there was to the general nominative system. Servile attachment to a party was less .true of a Maori than of any European member. The Hon. Mr. Parata said that the original clause had been translated into Maori and circulated among the Maoris in both islands, and the only objection they had to the clause wag that it made the term six years instead of seven. Otherwise, they were quite satisfied with the clause and with the nominative system, which they held was best. The Maori was not clamouring for an elective system, though they believed in it for the Lower House. They regarded the Upper House as more dignified, with men 'of high standing and high' principles. They wanted to have their most influential chiefs, the chiefs with the most mana, appointed. The Hon. Sir William Hall-Jones said that the chiefs might be in favour of nomination, but what they wanted to, know was what the Maoris * who were not chiefs thought. The chiefs of any race wanted nomination; it was the people who wanted election. The time was drawing near when the abolition of special representation of the Maori must, come. This nomination of Maori members was a blot on the Bill. On a division, clause 20, as printed, providing for three Maori members to be nominated, was carried by 16 votes to 10. The Noes were: George; Paul, Barr, Louisson, Jones, Beehan, Baldey, Ha 11-Jones, Harris, and Thompson. The Bill was reported with amendments. The Banking Amendment Bill (No. 2) was introduced to the House and put through all stages and carried.