PARLIAMENT REPRESENTATION

Auckland Star, Volume XLIX, Issue 126, 28 May 1918, Page 7

PARLIAMENT REPRESENTATION

DISCUSSED BY THE FARMERS. The question of Parliamentary rep- ' resentatioa was brougiit beiore tne, Auckland farmers in conk-rence by Mr. : -J. E. Makgill last evening, when he read ' three remits dealing with the matter, and stirred up a great deal of discussion. One of the remits spoke of the undoubted need for improvement in the system of Government, suggesting the present time as the most opportune for changing it. and calling upon the National Government to deal with the question. The next began in a similar ■way, and urged that this question of Parliamentary representation was a most important matter to the community. This remit urged the executive to originate public meetings throughout the country, "-svith the aim of bringing representatives of all sections of the community together to devise methods of evolving a more satisfactory system. Remit number three contained matter instructing the executive to obtain information on various forms of Parliamentary representation, and prepare means of disseminating this through the country.

In the expressed opinion of the mover, the points for consideration were: '"Is our Parliamentary system, our party system, or our scheme of representation satisfactory?" He said Parliamentary representatives are e.lected in many cases by a minority of the electorate. It was not a, democratic system. They must decide whether they were going to keep this scheme or to evolve another system. They did not get the best brains of even the representatives, and the name of a politician was vow practically a disgrace. If a politician was not a man of honour there must We something wrong. If they could not i say <r We could right a wrong," they j were wrong themselves. Politics were not clean, and it was the place of the citizen to clean them.

Major Lusk seconded the motion. He called attention to the Swiss system of an elective executive, and said that the present President of the United States considered this system to be "about the best," though it was not perfect. The present Government by party was the objection, for it meant that one party was always fighting the other. Members of the Government here had told him the whole system -was rotten. "Of course," he added, "none of those members occupied positions on the Treasury beaches." Two .bills had been introduced to Parliament some time ago on this question, and one had been nearly successful. It might have gone through but for the fact that members on the front benches realised that then their power would be gone. Captain Colbeck spoke rather facetiously against the remits. He had considered once, he said, that this Swiss system was a good idea, but his dreams had long since vanished. He realised that nothing could be done to better the present system, and he would advise the members present as he had advised them in the nast —that was, to run solid as a Farmers' party, and then, if they could keep together, they would simply have to go to Mr. Ross and say, "We want," and they would get. As a matter of fact, even now there was alwaye somebody in the House who was willing to do whatever was wished. Mr. Montgomery, Mr. Duxfield, Mr. Fisher, and Mr. Keenan diseuesed the question, and there was a good deal of cross-talk until the remits were put and carried. •