The Dominion. TUESDAY, AUGUST 15, 1911. THE ELECTORAL BOUNDARIES.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1206, 15 August 1911, Page 4

The Dominion. TUESDAY, AUGUST 15, 1911. THE ELECTORAL BOUNDARIES.

• The anxiously-awaited report of the Commissioners appointed to adjust the electoral boundaries in accordance with the figures of the recent census will be received with mixed feelings. There is' an unpleasant impression amongst a large section of the community that the constitution of the 1 Commissions as, at present provided for does riot afford an absolute assurance that the only

issues taken into account in the readjustment of boundaries will be population and community of interest. How far this is justified we cannot pretend to say, but a cursory glance at some of .the new boundaries just announced discloses circumstances which will probably provoke comment and call for explanation. In several cases it is very clear that strong Opposition electorates have been strengthened at the expense of weaker Opposition electorates; and weak Government electorates, such as Nelson and liangitikei, have been strengthened by the exclusion of hostile voting centres. It must be clear to the public that unless there is some reasonable guarantee of impartiality in the fixing of tho boundaries, these happenings, however innocent of party bias, are bound to provoke adverse comment. For instance, let us take two electorates in tho North Island—Taranaki and Stratford.' Taranaki is a safe Opposition seat, Stratford not quite so safe. At the last election Me. Hine won the Stratford seat at the first ballot on the overwhelming majority he secured at Inglcwood; It is obvious that if lnglewood is moved into the Taranaki electorate adjoining, it will weaken the chance of the Opposition candidate for Stratford without really benefiting the Opposition candidate for Taranaki beyond needlessly increasing his majority. In any case it is better for the Government to have one overwhelmingly strong Opposition seat and one weak one to_ fight rather than two strong Opposition sdats to compete for. lnglewood has now been taken out of the Stratford electorate and handed over to Taranaki. There may be some reasonable explanation to account for this, but the case illustrates very well how easy it is to readjust boundaries so as to make the alteration favour one party to the disadvantage of another. Then take two_ South Island seats, Nelson and Wairau.' An Independent Opposition member represents Wairau and a Government member Nelson. At the last election the Government member for Nelson squeezed in by 14 yotes. The weakest spot in his electorate porhaps was a portion of the Marlborough Sounds. That portion has now been cut off—had Mr. Graham been permitted to carry out the task himself lie could hardly have done it better to suit his owii interests. There are other cases of a similar kind and so far as can be seen from the hurried scrutiny possible in tho time available since the publication of tho now boundaries the Government have been singularly fortunate in many electorates.

So far as the Wellington city and district seats are concerned the changes made do not appear unreasonable. Wellington North has been extended to include a portion of Wadeslown, the whole of Northland, and a portion of Kclburnc Extension, and has lost Woolcombe Street. This should not. qJtor the position of parties materially. .Wellington Cen-

tral has been extended to take in the residential and business quarter between Tory Street and Clyde Quay and Kent Terrace up to Buckle Street on the eastern boundary, and it extends up Tasman Street and right across from Tainui Terrace by way of Hankcy Street to the Nairn Street liescrve on the south. The eastern extension of the Central electorate carries Mr. Fisher into an uncertain quarter of the East electorate, but the spreadng of his southern boundary line takes him into a quarter in which Mr,. Wiugiit polled very heavily at the last elections, The Central seat also takes the, Woolcoinbe Street electors cut off the North electorate. Wellington East loses the slice between Tory Street and Kent Terrace given to Central, makes a move in the direction of Kilbirnie which does not mean any material difference in the class of votes likely to be polled. Mi:. Wright, Wellington South, loses a strong area of support in the vicinity of Thompson and Webb Streets, and is forced into new territory at the Newtown end of the city, where, however, he is well known and can hold his own. It is in Wellington Suburbs that the most marked change has been made. This electorate now extends right through to Porirua and Pahautanui, which arc cut off the Otaki electorate at one end, Foxton being tacked on to replace them at the other end of that electorate.' The community of interest between Miramar and Pahautanui is a little difficult to perceive, but the Commissioners had to make up the Suburbs quota somehow and they have done it in this way. The new electorate gained Dy the North Island is, as we anticipated, in the vicinity of the northern end of the Main Trunk railway. Several electorates have been mutilated' to make room for it and as it is sandwiched between two Government and two Opposition seats there is ample room for speculation as to the likelihood of its political leanings. Mp,. Massey's seat has been shorn of Pukekohe—his heaviest polling place at the last election—to assist to make the nc.v electorate, arc inclined to' the opinion that with a few notable exceptions the readjustments now announced will be found on closer examination to be reasonably satisfactory. But until the electorates arc made larger and a system of proportional representation is provided for, there will always be room for doubt in ccrtain cases as to the influences which have been at work, so long as the persons who decide the alterations are the nominees of the Government of the day and Government employees subject to Ministerial control.