THE POLITICAL OUTLOOK.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1049, 11 February 1911, Page 10

THE POLITICAL OUTLOOK.

||||^^ ,;• '-,/J [^^IIiTHBJKJEPRESENTATION^. :^v. 4;^Spß?f idN.~;'"f. ■■•. n. jIHE; CONSTITUTION IN CONFLICT DEMOCRATIC-iIDEALS. !. i£\'ft- '-'"-.;■:■-■'";. :--■■■'.■.. .;'';."■ : '. ','• .:.'.'

&U'^'..';:-' [ .\ (By .''Dcmp'crat."), ; : :

VvNew Zealand has been unthinkingly'do•,ecrib«l:as "the freest democracy in the .•{.world." The users of tho phraso intendX'W'it.ns'a compKinrat; they, appear to J.haveromained' altogether unconscious of J-lts'.' irony. ■ Of ,fho^two,Chambers constl■{'tuiing .our .Legislature, enly one can 'Vclaim to be °f tne people.'-/.The hominfftivo Chamber is out /■off'toubh ■ with i thoSectors;, it'. renders > them'no account of'itsiiorvicesj'it is al:i together.' indifferentf)toii public.- opinion, r/and'exists mainly as'S" weak relies of Vjltnisterial" opinions. When ; visitors <-■ boiho to our 6hores, to inquire into our' \l methods .of government .and legislation, ~-ih'»y are corlfr(mted;witOho, , nnbmalons !;.\spectacle -of a' professedly .-'domocratio [Vpebple allowing somo eight or nine men IV to'appoint thirty or,'forjy .others ito a Chamber wielding'; aluibstytdt;ntical powders'of. legislation vjitn,thd Houso of Re-1-presentatives.. They naturally want to '.know how it is that, in a cquntry where Vth«'-j«6plo 'ore' supposed • memSibersoftho Cabinet deny.them tho right saying; who shall represent;them in a ((House' of ( that ,jiolds„ : prac- ? pavers of! legislation •with tie Kepresentativo'Charaßer. They ! further want .to know why.tho peoplo of submit to a state-pf ; things i" that! makes the members , of ; te!nanls aUmu bf t'.the GoyernnJaut.' Questions such as these ''<• demand «• attbodoh; ''oonsideratibni; and ', Btraightforwanl answers. l Ministers would reply .to them, by saying-tbat t tho amiointmonts they mako. are diatatcd fieolely in tho pnblio interest, and byvlrI'tue! of!tho powers delegated toj/them.by Ijj'the Vpeople. iTho Minister ; and *dertifn.io£-his colleagues, who have sup;(ported"Sir,'TO'lliam . Steward's'-BiHsivTor !! ! Iher reform of - tho legislative Council, i.might oven'iphiad that they are'in-faj 1 - ail electiTe Upper; Hoiise. But the "-plea can,' availV them little','or'. nothiAgj f? for i't'prbvbkes tho'obvious retort: "Then j/.why, your party .having held 'office for J-twenty vears, nave you not made it clecj'tivep, ;Why,hoi/o'you.'Continucd tho patVTOljagO'system and reduced the ChamirVber'ro the level of a mere recording ma-. ; chine?',-For -all practical purposes the Council, as now constituted, k iis; representative of tho ono •' political -,iparty;only.' > Of.its 4G. members,. 37 ,have. b'been.'appointed'by• the continuous Libj: eral ''Administration, and aro dependent tV.upon .the- favour of tho,.Gbvernment.tliat : J::has; called them to that Chamber for, jf 1 their.continued political..existence at the t'-i'ißnd of i the seven years for which'- they t! are appointed, s And, by/reason of that, their' hands, aro tied. Inij- dependent .and intelligent criticism .of \i\ Government measurcs'is.-practically imp/.possible', 1 -, because, in tlio rare instances ■ have asserted themfc»olvflsi'''trie'iGovernment<has' forgotten to !-•;Teaopnint. th'cm when their, term of office ■'•' r-x "■ : '.-■'

(he Popular Will. ~ CA.'Thcro is, boweverj more Berifrjous efdfe'fttf{this busmeSJ. It is indisputr/eblor'rthat, of tho 37, : Governmen- npfVjioihtees, .the' greater, number have .been with seats nVaToword.'for'sit- [£ .vices'-rendered to tho Government'party. 4 BiOf 'these, several ; aro tho- political rel;■■ 'jecis. - of. the constituencies—men , whom s.j'tho : ..olectoTs,' by their -votes,' 1 distinctly k-declared' should riot;Jie>nllowod a'say .in l;'. thoftcgislation of {jsCß>untry. 'Amonest I'•: the":thirteen members "called", ; to the py Legislative Council on January 22, 1907, ~ thereiwas ono gentleman who is credited "with having ..wooed, the electors of differ- ; J constituencies- on five, different i Decaff 6ions, ; . and,-on ; . each, the- majority was '.'against him. ":How is .itipossiblo-'to jus-/ ?: tifyi'ljsuch J an'- appointment? Can -it-be (..viewed in any oilier light than as indi"eating a contemptuous disregard for the .i.wiU ;.of tho. majority,'; that. is. distinctly vj at-,varianco with'itho' professions! of tho ■fj Government, that,-its chief desiro is to tV.hbld office only by tho\ will of tho people, jtiand to' govern 1 tho country on purely ;t democratic lines?, Can»it be truthfully, 'i .claimed that the Legislative Council, is reprcsentativo -of 'tho "people or in ft.; keeping r witn ,iho. dein.o?ratic: spirit that M:js'supposed to permc'a'to the- Government 1 !of tho. country? ■■'■ Cah-it-'bo-claimed-that-il it is in kecpingovith-Libcralideals? Is : ;'.it not; rather ah anachronism? Its' roeiri?'i bors are neither in-touch with publicsen-i-.timent, nor, with a fow exceptions, can ;i : they claim to represent the brains, or the of the country. Hy compari>;>6on tvith tho elective-ITpper Chambers of It: other Parliaments they suffer in every "\wa'y. .What is more, they must continue f ; to .suffer, from the standpoints of intclli,,.pence, initiativo ability, and'self-reliant I imdependehce.' ■ -It-• is. .perhaps, only' i ;-nalural,'-with,;a, certain '-class~of --people,Vjnnd more particularly with, thoso who •yhave- unsuccessfully contested scats in the ■;. 'People's Cliamber, that they should, when ■-.•' they, aro appointed as iubmb.ors;of the; !•' Upper' Jlouse, Ecok|",f'o fiirthcK Ufio, onter« |v ests of -.the Government appointing* tllem," | "even at tho oxpenso of the peoplo themj. twelves.:: They to .and talk J- that thefo'isno excuse for denriving them f / of their ; comfortablb"billotJs, n"t'thb end of l, tho tcrm.for which they were 'appointed. fvy.'Andy; should they .bo tempted to i travel -.along independent, lines,.- they'.- are not i' without .reminders, of'tho' fate'of thoso i'i who, acting similarly, hdva been'siinply [.-dropped'by, the Government at, tho end '; of,the seven'years. V ■' • ■-•'■'- '•' ■'■ ,

;''; ;;. A Chamber 6f Medlocriiies.V . f ; .Could' greater condemnation' bo-' passed |-'iupon.the constitution of th'o Legislativo I ;.Council than was east upon it by the npi pointment of a rank outsider, as the GOVS'eminent representative o in tho Upper J:."/Home, when. Colonel Pitt died, in NoveniT ber, IM6? ■ ,Out/of,'tho '38 ' : Government [.V 6URportei-s*'rema:uiiig- iiv tho ," Chamber, ■ when; tho then Attorney-General passed r,- away, not ono was doomed to'possess sufv . icicnt intelligcuco or foreo of character X? to act -'as" Leader of the llouso and to f/'eomtaand tho Government following tj-.IIenDO tho choico of Dr. Findlay, a gentle. jv: man of very estimable qualities no doubt, s, but.onfe'who had not'beon ablo to iuspiro' \-\ tho electors with sufficUmt, confidence.in iS his judgment ,to tccufo 'election' to tho lv House of Representatives,'when standing f.-i ns n candidate for that Chamber; and f," thus, it'eamo about that "triumphant !- Democracy" in Now Zealand had to witf ness' tho extraordinary, and in eomo rel:_ epects mortifying, 6pectaclo of a profess-j/.-edly-"Liberal" and Democratic Govern. pi ment' elevating a privato citizen, .and a K political reject at that, into tho position f.j of a member of Parliament mid a Minisj'tcr of tho Crown, oniono nnd the same >*"doy, without the least prctonce of conf. Bulling tho electors upon tho subject. If, f" when tho practico was abolished, under [which Ministers of tho Crown had to go I before their constituents for rc-olcclion i , ,m accepting office, it could havo been E.foreseen" that tho day would couio when-a [• man would bo made a member of PortiaI; ■ ment.nnd a Minister of the Crown by tlio f grace- of tho Leader of a so-called "Lib- [/ ernl" Administration, our, legislators =:• would nrobnbly havo thought twico before Ji abolishing that safeguard of tho pcoplo's \- ! '/rights. Dr. Fyidjay's-appointment, and ?'•. tho circumstances'- attending it, afo probably uniquo in tho history of tho self' ': 'governing colonies., Thcro is no desiro on [.' the. part of tlio undcr-oslimoto Dr. ability, .capacity, or fit- : ness for tho' offico ho holds; but his ap- ■ pointment as Attorney-General was obvi- ; otisly. impropor, from tho democratic i . standpoint, and all' trno Liberals must J? 'regrot that tho hon. gentleman stands as '.'.':',. part of a 6ystcm,that is innately, vicious. j ; Tho abolition of that system, ; which con- ;;-: etitutcs what haa already been described i as tho worst: form of political patronage 'should bo tho aim of every elector who p. desires to eco tho rights and privileges V" of tho democracy preserved. Now that r wo havo dovelopcd tho "professional polii ' tician" in this country, and 60 many men !■ enter Parliament simply "to livo by tho I • game,"-it U'Of paramount importanoo { that tlio interests of tho people should [':■•': bo.considered at every point. It is essera r tialto the good govornraent of thecoun-. ¥■'• try. poop,lQ-BlonQ should, taio

tho determining voico in the appointment of members to both- Houso' of ment. :

- , Liberals Block the Way. [I A'Libofal, Government Hint deliberately -tlio way of reform is unworthy of :tbV name. Wo havo only to study tlio history of tlio last ten ycurs to too that the Continuous Liberal Administration JlfeJ v °f our Upper* Jloueoagaiiiraud again. «3Mio; Government wilt'ncithefV act own initiative nor allow others to tako action. It is fruo Sir Josoph Ward and other of his colleagues have voted for, and with, Sir .William Steward's proposal to substitute an elcctivo for the present nominativo Chamber. To that extent they havo shown themselves to bo; in supposed sympathy with, tho demand, for reform, But such action commits thorn to nothing, Ministers are under no delusion upon tho subject. ' They know that, until they tako ,tho rnattor up as part of their policy, there" is not tho least hope of the proposal -being carried. Reform is, therefore, out of tho question, and tho insincerity of tho Government is attested by ,its inaction. It declines to modify its powers.of dispensing political patronage, by constituting tho House of Representatives as an electoral body, for tho purpose, of" electing a new Legislative Council. But, even were it prepared to accept tho principlo that membors bf tho Lower Houso should havo tho right to appoint tho L members of the. Upper Chamber, and were Sir William Steward s proposal carried, the reform would still be. largely in namo, ,only. .Ministers would actually determine who should bo appointed. Tlioy might, and would, probably, consult tho party in caucus; out they would bo suro to hand tho Houso a ciit-and-dricd list for its acceptance. The only reform that. is. at all likely to provo acceptablo to tho country is that that will give tho electors tho right to consituto tho membership of tho Legislative Council. Wo havo beard much of the simple faith of tho people; as much of their "trust" in tho Government. ,Wo Jijtvo also heard it 'saidtthat the Govcru■thont "trusts" tho people.- It*used to be •Mr. Seddoh's. proudest boast, on behalf of his Government, that "Wo trust .tho people." But with all his simplo faith in the democracy, tho great .Liberal leader 'took: good- caro, to keep.- tho' key 'to tho Legislative Council iii his pocket. Only such men as ho aoproved of found an 'entrance 'there. ' His successors continue to "trust tho peoplo" in tho same fashion, by retaining tho key and by continuing tbiexorciso' political patronage, as a means of . rewarding their followers and- supporters.; ,Tho refor,m is not withheld because it is unasked, : or unwanted, but because it gives tho party tho "pull over Parliament audi tho peoplo that onablcs Ministers to rivet-more securely the chains that bind them to .office'

Aro There Any Obstacles? ■

Thero remain- to.bo considered such objections as are' urged,' from'timo'to'timo, by oppononbs of tho reform. It Ims been stated that it is iinpassiblo for tho Government to tako action until all tho "life members" aro disposed of. That is one of those fallacies that servo to blind the people to tho real facts. In any amendment of, tho Constitution, making •(Bo Legislative Council'elective, provision could bo made, not only for tho lifo members, but also for every other member whoso term of offico had not' expired' at tho dato of the. amendment. Another obieMoathat'is.just as easily disposed of i is..ih'o argument that tho Council would hot.Scccpt 'any, amendment of. .tho ■ ,:Constititf.on'makiijE.its, membors responsible ■ to-tho; electors/- Assuming that thcy.declirida'.to do to, tho Government is always in. a(position- to nominato, additional membors: to tho Council, .who could,, and would,i'*co to it that the desired roform was, .effected. Tho, -Homo'-. authorities wpuld.riq' moro think.of raising objections ,to tho, reform 'than thoy would, think ; of 'thtorfering with laws'.''lf th 6 ■ Govfl.-nincut took tho matter .earnestly, in 'ih'and;.the Constitution'could tho amended inside "six'months. 1 "Ifis'tfecauso of its tornct that 'system - has 'been"continued "for'tho past "tweilty-" ■''yeTlrsi'^iVliilff "*"" dthetr Second Chaaibors, ■ in. tho Commonwealth States, have .boon brought into touch with tho ronuireuients-of' tho people. All tho talk, ,woj how hoard aJx>ut,,.tho -#gmo people 'eleotinjc-'both "Jtous&s merely^togs■• tho question. ,Tho Council .would hnvo to bo elected' by-.'onkrgod constituencies, possibly by tho old provincial districts, tho .boundariesrof; which could bp.mad© to •servo for that purpose;-. That *\to should vastly improve, th 0,... personnel of tho Council, by.the change, goes almost with-, out saying. What wo waut"fa"soo is a Second Chamber, reflecting the opinions, not of a section of the community merely, or .representing.one particular class' or party, ;b.ut\tbointellii.'enc6 of tho'countryas a wholo; and, if tho electors aro,only in earnest over the business, the reform iCaiu'and \wjllU bo'fnidbtnplished, in spito of the obicct6Ts'"'h , ho«e interests causo thorn to cling so tenaciously to the patronage system. -. . . 1 [Tho next article -of'fiheiseries will be on "Political Patronage—lts. Effects on "tho-Pfopta"] ' : —..,-...