The Feilding Star, Oroua and Kiwitea Counties Gazette. Published Daily. MONDAY, MAY, 10, 1909. The Second Ballot.

Feilding Star, Volume III, Issue 874, 10 May 1909, Page 2

The Feilding Star, Oroua and Kiwitea Counties Gazette. Published Daily. MONDAY, MAY, 10, 1909. The Second Ballot.

With the near approach of tho Parliamentary session one naturally makes conjectures as to tho trend legislation is likely to take, and it is impossible to think it possible for tho Government to allow that parody on statute law known as the Second Ballot Act to remain the law of the land. Apart altogether from the fact that its operations were so disastrous for the Government, every reasonable objection urged to its enactment was fully borne out in tho result. It is expensive, cumbrous, unfair, and harassing, and docs not in any way accomplish the result hoped for uy its supporters. It wasi rightly looked upon' as one of tho signs of weakness in an otherwise admirable administrator that the exMinister of Lands should allow his maturely thought out preferential vo to .system to go by tho Board m favour of the German system when no- one "knew better than he did how b*adly it had worked and how little use it would be in attaining tho object aimed at, majority representation. u'Bujt ?we doubt' whether even Mr|MojNab ever dreamed that such extraordinary results would be obtained /under the Seeori^l Ballot Act as w^re accomplished at.' last election. ls'i& unnecessary ty ' <|vote all the cases hearing out our contention, hut- it f 4s sufficient , to" <juote a few. In /Wellington North,, for instance, tho \Gowr nment candi-

_____ . dates polled 3GDI at; the first ballot, against 28'JG by tho Opposition. In the second ballot tho Opposition candidate received 3(339 and the Government candidate 2824. In Dunedin North tho Government candidates received 381G in the first ballot against 3066, and in the second only 3376 against 3382. In Tuapeka the Government candidates received 2853, against 1433, and in the second >only 1783 against 2477. But the mosc amazing result was (in Wellingtibn ISast, where the three parties polled : Opposition 2412, Government (two candidates) 2381, Independent, 1746; and in the second ballot the party with the smallest total of the three secured the seat. It is of the utmost importance that the Parliament should be composed of the best men available, and it is a fancy statement to say that the last Parliament was the most inane mid medicre assemblage New Zealand. has ever been inflicted with. To improve such a state of affairs is tho duty of every well-wisher of the dominion, and that can only be done by making our representative system one worthy of the great country in which we live. Parliament may do a great deal to improve tho conditions of life, to lessen the burdens of those who arc too heavily dealt with, and to render tho lot of the majority less irksome and unfair. But before that is accomplished the 'men to whom the work is entrusted must be fitted in every sense to take upon themselves tho great task before them, and to regard with jealous eyes the sacred trust placed upon them by their fellows. Tho most- important step, therefore, is to recast our electoral system, ami that should be done in the direction of .giving tho electorates more, community of interest and simplifying the elections &o that everyone who desires the welfare of the dominion should bo able to cast a vote in favour of the- candidate considered most fitting to represent tho people.