AUCKLAND INSTITUTE

Auckland Star, Volume XVIII, Issue 257, 1 November 1887, Page 8

AUCKLAND INSTITUTE

The ordinary monthly meeting of the members of the above body was held last night in the iccture-room of the Museum. buildings, Princes-street. The attendance was not very large. The President, Professor Thomas, occupied the chair. New Members. — T"he Secretary, Mr Cheeseman, notified that MessrsjH. Dunbar Johnson, Government Agent, Rotorna, and W. J. Speight, of Auckland, had become members of the Institute.

Donations! —Mr Cheeseman also read the following list of donations received to the library and Museum : Proceedings of the Royal Colonial Institute, Vol. 17, the Colonial Institute ; report on the eruption at Tarawera, S. P. Smith ; Australian fringed lizard, opal from Queensland, H. Parker; Helix Hochstellari, T. B. Huffam ; collection of minerals and rock specimens from the west of Nelson, H, P, Washbourn; aurifefOUß quartz from Collingwood, directors of Johnstone's United Gold Mining Company; silicified wood, S. E. Slader.

Hare's System of Representation. ~ The meeting then proceeded to discuss the paper read by Professor Aid is at the, previous meeting upon the above subject. Mr Vaile explained that the secretary had asked him to take part in the discussion, and as lie knew little of the subject he had asked Mr Speight to take a lead in the discussion, and he believed lie had prepared a paper) which he was now prepared to submit. Mr. W.J. Speight said that he had prepared a few facts* and figures. There was now in England a large society formed for the purpose of forwarding the method of proportional representation, and that Society included not fewer than 170 members of Parliament. He then proceeded to show the discrepancy which occurred in the English elections, and gaVo the facts in regard to the election of 1886, Comparing what the results of the election would haVe been had the elections been under Haro's teuton). He gave a full explanation of the working of the system of voting under Hare's system, showing that it was fairer than any other, that fev/er votes wore wasted, and that there would be a better and fuller representation. Mr Speight then dealt witii the probable results had such a system been in vogue in Now Zealand during the recent elections. He pointed out that for the whole colony there were polled 110,429 votes. 86 seats were contested by 222 candidates. The successful candidates got 58.871, the non-successful 51,658, lttfl|ority 7,313; average vote electing, 684, which under the Hare system would havo been 1,270, showing a waste under the present system of 51,558, plus majority not needed. Under the proportional system only 1>209 could have been wasted. He said ho quoted the figures to false a discussion on the subject as to whethet' the present system, which shut out half, and that, perhaps, the bettor half, from any representation whatever, was the best. The system was in operation for thelasfc. thirty years in Denmark, and a modification of it in other parts of the Continent, and he hoped tliere would be a spirit of enthusiasm evoked on the subject. It would place a legislator above tho mean cringing which at present existed, and nmsb exist, under the present system. Dr. Purchaß and Mr Vaile also made a few remarks, tho latter rather objecting to Haro's system, as fie feared that it would lead to locality representation in its worst form by a local man having the ; whole district plump for him. He thought Sir John Lubbock's scheme' was the best, and that there should be a feed number of members, which Lubbock's system would seoure; and it would do away with the bribery 1 and corruption which at present existed. Kono but those who contested an election knew what it was. Mr Vaile theu referred to tho recent alleged roll-stuffing at City North. — Professor Aldis briefly replied. He said that it was iiow 25 years since he wrote his tirst article on this system, and it seemed to him as the most likely to do away with the evils which now existed.

Deposits ix Kent's Cαverx.—The Rev. W. Tobbs read a paper on the age of the deposits in Kent's Cavern, Devonshire, ac an index of tho age of ethnological and zoological remains. He illustrated his naper by reference to diagrams which he had prepared. The paper was a criticism on Mr Pengelly's lectures, who argued that the excavations made in Kent's Cave showed that a million years musb have elapsed since man first existed in Devonshire. Sir James Stewart cited instances to prove how unsafe ifc was to measure epochs of time by deposits. Owing to the lateness of the hour, a paper by Captain T. Broun, on new species of coleoptera, and another on new species of spiders, by Mr A. T. Urquhart, were takep as read. Mr W. H. Blyth's paper <?h "The Whence of the Maori" was postponed. ■