ELECTORAL REFORM.

Auckland Star, Volume LIII, Issue 247, 18 October 1922, Page 5

ELECTORAL REFORM.

PRIME MINISTER'S ATTITUDE. | A BAREFACKI) RECANTATION. ' iß.v Telegraph. -T]ieir:*i t<« "Star.") ; WELLINGTON. Monday. j It sei-me that Mr. Massey's illtitilde, i pHsi ami present, towards elai-tornl j reform, and particularly towards proI'ortioiial representation, will form one [ of the chief counts in tin- indictment the ; Opposition will lew! Mpeinat. the 0!o\ ■ j j eminent during tlic approaching election ! campaign, There are h mimlier of imli- j cations that this will lie the case. The j ahortive negotiations between the ! J Leader of tin- Lilicral-Labuur party and j i the militant section of the Labour party, j to take one of them, were instituted liy | the ardent advocates of proportional i representation with a view to making their panacea for all the ills of the i j hodv politic practically the oiilv issue. I so far «s the Opposition was concerned, ! lat the polls in December. The idea was ' that by abstaining from wrte-eplitting the two parties should secure a majority j in the now Jlouee favourable to the j reform and, after passing the necessary ; lej'islat'njii to give effect to their aspirations in this respect, should again appeal to the constituencies. That ' scheme failed because a majority of the ' members of the Liberal-Labour party ! were averse even to the appearance of j any sort of Rvopiatiou with militant I Labour, and the only result of the move- ' : ment. was to provide Reformers with a j rather feeble election cry. I THK DKAI) PAST. But neither the Liberals nor the . Labourites are allowing this failure lo i discourage them in attempting to make i j party capital out of electoral reform. ! Towards this end they have material j and to spare in the Prime Minister s i own utterance* in regard to tlie subject. | In th< memorable sjieocli Mr. Mauley ; ■livered in the Wellington Town (fail i [on the eve of the jreneral election of i I 1911. which marked the beginning of ; .lie revival which ultimately curried the; Reformers into office, the leader of the j party definitely pledged himself to elec- ] toral reform on the lines of proportional representation. "If reform was nece-s- . eary in the House of Lords." the widely ! distributed official summary of his . i words ran. "it wast twenty times more ■ ! nemKSUiry in the cKSv of our I>ejrislaf ive j Council. . . . The system of appoint- • nifliil for a term of seven years was unsatisfactory. He could not underI stand any country allowing etu-h a body jto make laws. . . On behalf of his | |>arty he suggested reform by rcpluHtiji the present nominative Council with one elected on the same franchise as the | House of Representatives, on the pro- | portional system of voting by larjrer electorate*."' This, of course, did not commit Mr. Massey nor his friends to j the application 01 proportional representation to the House; lint there was more to follow. "A SOCNI.) PRINCIPI.I-:.'" ' | Early i» t' , * , session of l'Jl-l, when Mr. Ma-tsey had heen in ottiee for nearly three years,. Mr. Veih-li introduced a I bill to make tiie Mouse elective under| the system which would give proper-1 fiona! representation, ami the Prime Ministrr speaking in the se.oiul i-eadingi debate said, in effect, lie had no doubt | the principle of proportional rejire^enta-1 tion was sound and eventually would be applied to all popular assemblies in i progressive countries: but he thought! it would be better to try the M-tein in j the legislative Council before introdno-i inp it to the House. The hill was re-! jected l>v four or live Mite-, one or two of the Government's supporters voting i with tlie minority, and a little lat«r tilt , j liill applying proportional representation' to the Legislative Council, piloted! through the nominated chamber by Sir Francis Bell, made its appearance in the* House, and in due murse reached the Statute. Book. L'p to tin* point Mr. | Massey had done nothing to stultifj himself in connection with h!> promises. He had fulfilled bis election pledge. RKi'A.VTINHi. ; Rim in applying proportional repre-j *eutatii>n to the Legislative Counril. thej Prime Miuisler liad taken care that the; reform should not have full effect for six years, and that in tin* interval liisj own' nominee- ti. I iie t liaml..-r should! hold tiie balance of \ otitic -.tr-nirtlt. ! This meant, in practice, liiat t lie ('.lllll-: eil, with tlie jiouer of nomination would l>e dominate.l l>y [It , former* dur-j In? the lives, of two I'arii.liiH'iit*. no i 1 matter w'uat niiyiit happen ;it "h" two| intervening general election-. This, oh-! vioiuly. was a party ruse, though per- ! hap* 110! a very hcinrm* one. and thr j fact explain* why the members of I'm , ! Liberal-Labour Party offered strenuous! ■ ip;>o»i : ioii to the passage <.f tie and stipulated for its suappiieinn mi ihe formation of the National ( abineLj Their objection iva« not to prouoi tionil : representation but to iiie metlioil of its «ppliea;ion. Of more immediate »-oii«e-1 uueiiv'P just now. however, i< the f a ,t j tiiHt Mr. Massey has recanted and is 1 i no longer favourable 10 the application I tf the >v»teni to either (.hatnWr. ■ 1