THE POLITICAL SITUATION.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 305, 26 December 1928, Page 6

THE POLITICAL SITUATION.

An aspect of the recent defeat of the Reform Government which deserves more attention is its bearing on the question of electoral reform. The late Government persistently refused to remedy the injustice of the "first-past-the-post" system, givin<» as its reason the fact that a clear majority in~the House was more likely to emerge from the three-party contest under that system than under any other. The 1925 election gave the Reform party a clear majority, with the perhaps natural sequence, a clear defeat at the 1928 election. I can understand Reformers quietly wondering whether they were wise when they praised the benefits of a stron™ majority, but I am frankly % surprised thai Liberals and other advocates of improvement in the electoral system have not pointed the moral more effectively and triumphantly than has been done. The large majority in the House resulting from a minority of votes in the country is an injustice to every unbiased mind, while to the keen' partisan it must now appear also as a mistake. LIBERAL.