ELECTORAL BOUNDARIES

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 9, 5 October 1917, Page 6

ELECTORAL BOUNDARIES

NORTH ISLAND GAINS THREE

SEATS

ONE IN MANAWATU

COMMISSIONERS' REPORT

Reference lo the redistribution of scats by the Boundaries Commissioners was made- in the House of Representatives vesterday. Mr. R. M'Callum asked the Prime Minister whether lie had any statement to make about tho report-of tho Commissioners. Mr. Massev said that the Commissioners had completed their labours tho previous evening, and he was; endeavouring to get a report from the Department that afternoon. As a matter 0 fact, three scats had gone from the. South Island-Selwyn, Motueka, and Central °An°'hon. member: Threo good men g °Jtr Massev said that two of the new scats'would be in Auckland. An Son. member: Where is the ether °Mr Massey: Tho name of the new- seat ,wi be Manawatu. and that will give an indication of its locality. I vndcrstand that tho centre of the electorate Will you put these, three members into the Upper House? Mr. Ma"sey: Oh, it doesn't follow that because a man's seat is gone he is to be out of Parliament. awot Later in the afternoon Mr., Massey tabled the report of the Commissioner*, the text of which follows:— The report of the North and South Island Representation Commissions, citlin? as a Joint Commission, has now been received by His Excellency the GovernorG TnTcommlssion found from the report of the Government Statistician and from Returns furnished by the Defence Deraitment as to the number of persons abe t with the Expeditionary r'orce,. that the total population of the Domin--0 on the night of the. census wa= U-2,f181 (exclusive of Maoris and inhabitants of the Chatham and Kermadcc Islands and interned aliens), distributed as ' f °Th7po~P»lntion in fifty cities and boroughs of over 2000 inhabitants, including those on shipboard, amounted to 558 334. and tho urban population v.ithn five miles limit of the chief post offices of Auckland, Wellington. Christchurch and Duncdin cities, exclusive of tne population in cities and boroughs 0 0 or 2000 inhabitants within that limi . amounted to 36,343, making a, total urban Population of 574.677, leaving a rnrr.l population of 587.04. addeil M per cent to the latter figures, the total nominal population of tho Dominion amounted to 1,300.054. This divided bj 7(1 the total number of members, fixed % q was a fiirthfascertaine ( l/that the total actual population of the INorth Island amo„nted> 671,101, eqinvalen fa a nominal population of <^ s - wise it was ascertained that the total actual population of the South IslandL including Stewart Island, was 4fi(,900, equivalent to a nominal population of of these "Pi™» »hw«l that the number of members to which We North Island was entitled was represented bv the figures 44.78, and the boiitli Islam 31.22. As the fractional par in tho first caso was greater than that in he'second, tho number of members for tho North Island was fixed at 4a,, oM that of the South Island at 31. I»ib resi -increased the number of mem bo* for the North Islnnd by three and iedTced that of the South Island by a corresponding number. . . . In accoi'danco with the provisions of the Legislature Act, notifications will shortly be published in the New Zealand. Gazette describing proposed boundaries of tho electoral districts and giving paiticulars where maps of the proposed districts mav he seen, and also V*™™lars as to the lodging of objections to such proposed boundaries. The principal effect of the proposed alteration is as follows:—

North Island. Owing to the changes in incidence of the population of the Dominion during the period which has mm. since the apportionment of the Douunion into electorates in 1911, it was found that tho North Island would gam three uiembeis and the South would lose a corresponding number, which, of course, meant the creation of three new electorates 111 the North and the elimination of three in the South. This could not be dono without considerable disturbance of existing electoral boundaries. The preliminaiy map supplied by the Commission shows, however, that they have been able lo adopt these old boundaries to quite a remarkable extent. Of the three now electorates in the North Island, one (Roskill) has been formed in the suburbs of »uckland, and is almost entirely an urban electorate. It is contiguous to the Men, Grey Lynn, Parnell, and Manukau electorates, and is bounded on the south by Manukau Harbour. It comprises portions of the existing Eden and Manukau electorates and very small portions of Grey/ Lvnn and Parnell adjoining Mount Eden. Tho second electorate has been-Earned Rotorua, and is surrounded by Bay or Plenty, Hawke's Bay, Waimarmo, Waikato, and Tanranga electorates -It is principally made up from Bay of Plenty Taumarunui, and Tanranga electorates, and includes a .small portion of Waikato. The third district has. been named tho Manawatu, and takosAn portion of the Otaki, Rangitikei, arfd PaWrston elec°\\'ith regaTdrto certain alterations of names of electorates in the North Island, they have been made so as to better indicate the localities of the and the same consideration has led to the adoption of the names of the new Cl Th°e ra only effect tint, ihe alterations have made in respect of wet and <lry "strict* is that it has been found necessary to include in "dry" districts >o small hotels-one the White House at Kumeu Junction and the other the WaThou Hotel, which has been taken into the Ohinemuri electorate.

South Island. • Owin" to decrease in population tho «rfiin° electorates have been reduced from 31 to 31, viz.., Motueka, feelwyn, and Otago Central. Portion of these have been absorbed by Grey, Buller, Nelo, Wairau, Ellesmere, Asttburton, Chalmers, Oamaru, Wakatipu, and Wailfiefd?sU*ct proposed, to be called "Tuapeka" has boen formed out of tho existing electorate of Bruce and part of ° T th? preponderance of population in the propo ed new now in o "area, this-will Lave the effect of turning "dry" a large proportion of the "area of Taieri and a small portion of tho Tuapoka County, apparently Stating the closing o *veral licensed houses at tho next election. The name Tuapeka was adopted as «u ting a largo part of the proposed electorate and on account of .the numerous obiectionsio the name being eliminated bv tlln«t -Representation Commission. 'The neV Oamaru^electorate will apparently eliminate ono licensed muse at Wndsor, and tho new Ashburton decSilo will do the eame thing at Chertsey. 1

THE CHANGES ™^ar oKSffi land but in actual fact the boundaries of others nave been altered so much as to mako hem practically new electorates The new electorates are Kotorim, f liu-o tract of country in the centre .of ?i dnnii ■ Koskill, a suburban district of A Hand. £k& in all tho suburban portion of Eden, making Hie latter a country seat entirely; and Manawatu. a country district on tho West Coast, Wel : Sf Province. The name Tauma.nnmi disappears, because the town of TailSaul goes into Waimanno..The. name S the electorate will now bo Wa.ton.o and i? is much less in area than the old Taumarunui electorate. The new electorate of Manawata ex-

tends from the Turakina River, on the north, to the Mauawatu River on the south. Its largost town is I'oxton, and its other largest centres of population aro Shannon, Sandon, and Bulls. It contains most of tho flaxraills on the coast, but it is populated chiefly by small farmers. Very important changes are made in Otaki. The ilaxmills go nut into tho new electorate of Manawatn, and the Otaki electorate extends farther south to take in some of the country part of Suburbs electorate. Wellington Suburbs 'is left now as more purely a suburban seat. Hutt loses a small piece of country to Otaki, but no population centre of consequence. The Rangitikei electorate 'is considerably altered, and now resembles the Rangitikei electorate of five years ago. It now extends north to lake in the town.' of Taihape, formerly in Waimarino. Oroua loses its northern portion, but has been given a small piece from the Rangitikei electorate, including the ITunterville district. It also takes a little of PaTmerston district, including Wakaronsa and a small portion of Fitz- I ! Herbert East. Paliiatua lias been made a much more compact and homogenous electorate, the outlying portions liaving been put into Waipawa. '.The town of Dannevirko comes into Paliiatua. This electorate now ißrttafns three towns of some importance—Paliiatua, Dannevirke, and Woodvillc. . , Masterton receives a small piece of Wairarapa territory, all country settlement, and but for this trifling alteration the boundaries of Wairarapa. remain. Hutt electorate is practically unaltered. Tn the South Island Motueka electorate disanpears. Some of it goes into Bullor, wliich gives up Westpprt to Grey The Ttfnlueka part of the electorate of Grey is the most important section of it. Wairau extends west to the south ot Nelson, taking in much mountainous and soarselv-settled country. In tho south tiie Aw-atero country and part rt the liigher Wairau Valley-will go into Rnriinni, which is .now a bigger electorate than ever in area. , . Relwvu. is absorbed by the adjoining electorates of Ashburton, Ellesmere, Riccorton, and TCaiapoi. _ ■ Central Otago goes into Wakatipu almost wholly. , The name Bruce, Sir James Aliens electorate, disappears, and lh* name ot his seat is now Tuaneka. haitnngata out of tt<» district into Clutlia. _ ° The Prime Minister is not now a resident in his own electorate. His l-nme-Tilace. Mangere, lias been taken out ot Franklyn. j