Proportional Representation.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 17016, 13 December 1920, Page 6

Proportional Representation.

Tho refusal of tho Auckland and Wellington City Councils to adopt proportional representation will -no doubt add to the grief of the friends of that system of election. Already some of them are » little ill-tempered over the lack: of a satisfactory answer to the crucial objection to tho imposture whose elevensyllabled name works like Mesopotamia, in their blood. Everyone knows that tho Liberals desire proportional representation only because they hope it may help their party, which somo of them think is still alive. If they could faco the fact that that party is dead, thoy would perhaps bo disposed to consider tho inutility of P.R. with an open mind. The solo ground upon which P.R. ia recommended by its more dis-. interested friends i 9 the exactitude (as they claim) with which it will give representation to all tho groups and parties that may-organise to obtain a share in the government, general <*r local. In actual practice P.R. does appear to secure for the contending parties repre- j sentation proportional to the votes they obtain at the poll. We use the word "appear," "Because some reservations and qualifications aro necessary. But these may he waived, for the real qties- 1 tion is -whether this lcind of represents-j tion is as good as tho advocates of ?.R. j assume. Thoy have no ground for their, assumption. Nothing is more certain than that if P.R. became the generally established system of election there would be a large increase in the number of organised parties We saw-the other day that a section of the sporting community is thinking of taking advantage of the system to put up "sport" candidates for the City Council. In due course each local or general election would $nd a dozen or moije parties coming forward with their candidates, and if P.R. can do what is claimed for it we should find the governing body—the .City Council, or the House of Representatives, or whatever it might be — composed of a dozeii parties, each a minority. Since the Gcnternment of the country cannot he carried on without an Executive, some dominant majority would have to be arranged. Such a majority could not be arranged, except .through a network of concessions and bargains, and it is surely obvious that each, concession and each bargain would mean the defeat of somo interest which had trusted to P.R. to give it representation and protection. Stable n nfl coherent government would become possible only through substantial sacri-1 fices of principle and betrayals or trust. I Of course, it would be advantageous in some respects to have a system of election which would enable every sort and kind of group or party to see that it had one. or more representatives in the House of Representatives. But since the making of the machinery of government effective in practice would necessitate bargains and intrigues, the temporary pleasure of. some of the groups and parties would come to an end when those groups and parties wero sacrificed and reduced to nought. P.R. is in force in some countries, but we have yet to learn that it has in any instance led to better government or a higher standard of political morality. There is in London ono man whom any city in the world would be glad to "claim as a citizen. There aro many others, of course, of whom as much could be said, but this particular individual has one trait or hobby which makes him especially desirable. He is an old man, of about 75. dressed with extreme and ono day in October ho stupefied tho secretaries of a number of charitable institutions by walking into their offices, handing them a £000 Bank of England note from a bundle carried in an old canvas bag, and rushing out without waiting for either thanks or Teceipt. His campaign of practical philanthrophy opened at the Royal National Orthopedic Hospital, where, having first ascertained that the institution was in debt, he handed over a £500 note, and asked that it should bo used for the benefit of the patients, and not for building. Remarking that he was an old man, and had not much use for his money, he repeated this welcomo performance at tho Middlesex Hospital for Cancer, and then loft a similar amount, which he j referred to casually as a "small donaj tion," at tho Deaf and Dumb Institu- ' tion. Another £500 note found its way i to tho Shipwrecked Mariners and i Fishermen's Society offices, and at least i two other institutions benefited by his • generosity. No one knew him or where ho came from, or had ever seen him J before, biit those who met him aro .! Quito willing to make his further ac- • quaintance. He certainly chose a novel I and pleasant way of spending an after- | noon, and it is a pity that there are "\ not more with similar tastes. • j" Everybody is acquainted, by hearsay J or personal experience, with the ati traction exercised nowadays by the

"movies " Some figures quoted lately by a Sydney paper regarding the magnitude of tho interests involved in this class of entertainment convey a good idea of its development in popularity. There are, to begin with, more than SCO picture-theatres in the Commonwealth, about fifty moro are being built : at moment, and one of them, the Regent, in Sydney, will be the biggest theatre in Australia, with a seating rapacity of 4GOO. Its cost is reckoned at a quarter of a million, and the firm that is erecting it is also going to build i; similar theatre in Melbourne, and is already engaged in putting one up at Perth, which is to cost £ICO,COO. Careful estimates show that practically five million people—a number approximately : that of the population of the. Common-j wealth—attend the picture shows every ' wool:. To provide amusement for them involves tho employment of some 14,000 . people, whoso wages amount to about j £2,030.020, and a total capital of about | £'5.000,0C0. The public that has now to be catered for is, we are told, far. more critical than used to be the case —j it follows producers rather than "star:;.'' Tastes vary, of course. Some patrons prefer tho American cowboy pictures, which others will not cross the street to see, some go to see the incredible adventures that picture artists) have to go through, while others want only broad farce. Just now it is asserted, audiences sated, possibly, with murders and crime, prefer good ligla comedy, wholesome drama, and pictures with good scenic settings. Those who rather resent the domination of the picture screens by American films will be glad to hear that English productions are coming into favour. The full effcet of the "movies'' upon the legitimate drama has yet to bo seen—in New Zealand, so far, it has been rather unfortunate. Hut whether for good or ill. and nobody will deny the immense possibilities of "the pictures,"' they have certainly como to stay. The greater part of A"eu* South Wales, in which severe drought conditions existed less than a year ago, is now being scourged by high winds and torrential rains. This unfortunate sequence of events is not uncommon in Australia, but it is rendered doubly unfortunate on this occasion by % the fact that tho untimely rainfall threatens to ruin a large part of ono of tho finest wheat crops that tho State has ever had. Following tho breaking of the drought, rain fell while the wheat was growing just as* the farmers would have wished, with the result that more than a month ago the Tiarvest promised to he exceptionally good, tho official estimate of the yield for the State being forty million bushels. Even then, however, it was recognised that the height of the wheat, which was unusually heavy-headed, would constitute a danger jf wind and heavy rains were experienced. What was feared has como to pass and to-day we read of thousands of acres being flattened and spoiled. The best one can hope for is that these early reports may prove, as is not unseldom the case, to be exaggerated. It would bo disastrous if, after the painful experience of twelve months ago, tho New South Wales farmer was again to see his harvest ruined.