NEW ZEALAND FOE NEW ZEALANDERS.'

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume XXI, Issue 3268, 24 May 1895, Page 4

NEW ZEALAND FOE NEW ZEALANDERS.

CosmUBTTTED. From the last Census returns it will bo seen that nearly half of the adult population of this Colony have been born in it, and if children are included considerably more than half of the present population are New Zealand born, and as I said befoie nearly all of those in power, whether in local or general government, are to all intents and purposes foreigners. What is required is organisation, and I will veDture to propound a scheme whereby elections of every kind could be run and won in the interest of Young New Zealand. First of all we want a prophet or high priest, one who is New Zealand born and burning with a desire to see his countrymen administer their own affairs, at the same time endowed with sufficient power to fire others with his enthusiasm. Then he starting in a small way would form a society or party composed entirely of people born in this Colony or at any rate who came here at such an eaiiy age as to know no other land. This having been done delegates from this first centre could be sent to other places near at hand, where branches would be formed say throughout one electorate. The object of the society would be to educate its members up to all matters pertaining to politics, and when it had been sufliciently long established, and an election was about to take place, to nominate members in various parts to become candidates with the ultimate object of choosing one of these to become a candidate for the election. Voting among the members of the society would be gone on with, all receiving a certain proportion of the votes, being retained for a final ballot, until one was decided upon by a majority of the members, and this one representing his electorate in the general election would be sure of return as all the members of the society would make a point of voting for him themselves and inducing others to do the same. Of course funds would be necessary to successfully fight an election, and these could be easily obtained by a levy of a penny per week on each member, General elections only taking ])lace once in three years gives sufficient time to raise funds at this very small rate to serve all purposes. Say that in an electorate, even of so scattered a nature as the Bay of Plenty, that there are one thousand New Zealand born adults, a levy of a penny per week would give an annual income of £200, and allowing that the cost of running the institution for room, lights, correspondence and printing ran away with two-thirds of this sum, the time that elapses between each election would give a sum equal to one year's income wherewith to run the election. New Zealand people are so well off that it is very few indeed that think anything of the penny piece, yet I have shown what could be done with a weekly income of that amount from a thousand people. And I say it deliberately that there is not one adult in a country electorate that would feel the loss of a penny per week, however poor he or she may bo. I do not intend it to be inferred that a Young New Zealand Party should only be organised in one electorate, but without doubt a start will have to be made somewhere if a party is formed at all. This Young New Zealand Party would have no connection with the so called Liberals or Conservatives, but would be purely and simply one with the object of having New Zealanders in power. If among the members of the first started branch there was one who had the power of organisation strong within him he could be sent out to promulgate the theories of the society after such had been well considered by the various branches at that time in existence, and seeing that in every town or city there is a large proportion of New Zealanders he would be sure of being able to sow the seeds which in time would go into a tree having branches covering the whole of New Zealand, and if the members were not too precipitate a majority of young New Zealanders could be returned to the House of Eepresentatives. E. E.