The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo. TUESDAY, JULY 29, 1913. AN ELECTIVE UPPER HOUSE.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 179, 29 July 1913, Page 4

The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo.

TUESDAY, JULY 29, 1913. AN ELECTIVE UPPER HOUSE.

For the cause that lacks assistance, For the wrong that needs resistance, For the future in tlie distance, And the good that we can do.

It is still difficult to predict what will be the fate of the Legislative Council Reform Bill in the Upper House; but it is at least clear that a considerable number of the members are strongly opposed to the principle underlying the proposed change. We might naturally expect that the members as a body would be disinclined to accept a measure that in many cases would probably result in their political extinction. But while we can understand the attitude that one section of the Upper House has taken np toward this Bill, we do not think that they will got much sympathy from the outeide public. Tho few Legislative Councillors who have bnldlv declared that

in their opinion a nominated Upper House is intrinsically superior to an elective one, Imvc thereby displayed their entire detachment from the main course of public opinion in this country. As a temporary expedient in a young and undeveloped community nominated legislative assemblies are often neces-

sary. But we can see no good ground for prolonging the cxistf-nci? of such a system in a country politically bo well organised and so mature our own. Appointment by nomination, apart from the fact that it necessarily implies political patronage, certainly affords opportunities for the creation of a privileged class, or at least for the maintenance oi privileges monopolised b} 7 a special cla-sa at the expense of the of the community. We believe that a Revising

Chamber is a necessarj' factor in the system of "checks arid balances'' which

makes up constitutional government in all British countries. But we bold that in a democratic country like our own the legislature should be in every part directly representative of the electors, and we maintain also that, by varying the areas and limits of the electorates,

.sufficient distinction can be secured between the Lower and the Upper Houses to enable one to act as a check upon the other, and thus fulfil the special function that it was originally called into existence to perform.

For these reasons we believe that the reconstruction of the Upper House on an elective basis is a necessary phase in the progress of our political development. The utmost that the Legislative Councillors now opposing this Bill can do is to delay the change for a time. We may point out, by t-he way, that by this date next year 14 members of the Upper House will have vacated their scats through effluxion of time, and on whatever system the vacancies are filled, it will be a simple matter for Mr. ilasaey

to secure enough support in the new Council to make certain of putting this Bill through Parliament in 1914 at latest. Meantime, while the fate of the measure i.s in suspense for this session, it is interesting to note that it is, in various details, a considerable improvement on the similar measure laid before the House last year. We have already referred to Mr. McNab's valuable comments on these proposals, and we notice that in his third "open letter"' to the Minister of Internal Affairs he approves specifically of three of the most important changes that Mr. Bell has Introduced into this year'e bill. Equality of representation, as between the islands, is avoided—thr North Island receiving 11 members and the South leland 0; the number of member* to be elected by the constituencies is in every case an odd number: and the

number of members for pacli ponetiluency is not reduced with the reduction in the area of the electorates. All these new features are. for reason,? we have already discisscd, distinct improvements. But Mr. McXab ie not satisfied

about the '-quota" or nuinbor of votes that a candidate muet obtain in order

to win a seat; and in hicj third letter to Mr. Bell he sets forth his reasons for rc-jcting the quota proposed in the new Bill. lie showe that the adoption of Mr. BelFs quota would result in the practical dififranohieeinent of nearly 17,000 voters in the North leland alone, while, under the Hare system—the original scheme on which all systeme of proportional representation are based— the maximum number of votes practically wasted in the North Island would be at meet 9,000, and there might be no eurplne votes at all. However, this is a technical matter which we must leave to experts to decide. But quite apart from these details, which will no ctoubt be discnased in full by Parliament, it eeems clear to us that the Legislative Council's Klection Bill is a measure that should commend itself to the approval of the whole community. For it is thoroughly democratic in principle, and in view of the proposed extension of the system of proportional representation to the Lower Hmise ac well, the reconstruction of the Upper House on these lines will be a very useful experiment, from which the country will be able to draw fke most yaiuable practical canehwkaie.