The Daily Telegraph SATURDAY, AUGUST 4, 1883.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3761, 4 August 1883, Page 2

The Daily Telegraph SATURDAY, AUGUST 4, 1883.

In reference to the Leaseholders' Qualification Bill now before, (he House. the Chrisfehmrh Press .says tho right of leaseholders to vote was conferred by one ot Hie clauses of (he Constitution Art, but by some strange omission it did not form part of the Qiialilioalion of Electors Art, IS7!>. One of the immediate results oi (hat omission was to strike oil' the rolls, in Iho large centres of population, the names of a number of the most suitable persons iv tho country for exercising tho fntnehisu. At (he last clod ions wholo street* of yalu, able business promises .scarcely .supplied a ainglo elector lo the rolls. Tho freehold probably belonged to ouo man, to a corporation, a piililio body, or a i-brnvh. But tho properly on Ihu laud belonged to thft loa-io-lioUler.s, on whoao industry, enterprise aiul iwpHiil tho pmspwity ot' tlu> diwtnct largely (K«pf)ndo*l. Yot. they won, debanvd, owing to Hut omission to which wo huvo yoionvil, from diking uiiy part in tho political uttu+w of tho pliieii in wliich they oiimwl J-"- ,- ---tliuir oucuiputkui iuul Jhuir tux'- , -, '

injustice of the state of the law was so I keenly felt that largely signed petitions were presented to Parliament on tho subject:, Sir George Grey, if we remember correctly, taking charge of one of them. When the Representation Bill was going through Committee in 1881 Mr Moss proposed the insertion of a clause restoring the leasehold qualification. This was carried by 38 votes to 1"). Of course such a clause was out of place in a measure dealing with the redistribution of the representation, and the Government got the Bill recommitted for the sake of striking it out. This wis done and a separate measure introduced, giving a similar qualification to that proposed in Mr Moss' clause. The Bill was read a second time by -15 votes to IG. In Committee, however, provisions foreign to tho measure were carried, and although the Bill was subsequently recommitted, it was found that the obstruction had become so obstinate that it would be a great waste of time to persevere, and the Bill was accordingly dropped. Last session it was again introduced, and after a short debate the second reading- was carried by a majority of 10 votes, but was not proceeded with. As we have said, the leasehold qualification was granted by tho Constitution Act, and was included in the Bill on the subject introduced by Sir George Grey's Government, but strangely omitted from the one carried by the ilall Ministry in 1879. It is to be hoped, therefore, that nothing will happen this session to stop its progress through the Legislature.