THE COUNTY FRANCHISE.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CVI, Issue 12560, 23 July 1901, Page 4

THE COUNTY FRANCHISE.

The members of the deputation that waited upon the Premier yesterday to present the resolutions that were passed at the recent Counties Conference in Wellington can hardly have been surprised by Mr Seddons cold reception of their franchise proposals. They might reasonably have expected, from the frequent expressions of public opinion on the question, that the Premier would have brought down a much more Radical measure than the one he has submitted to Parliament. The franchise recommended by the Conference, the one provided by the Counties Act of 1886, practically gives all the voting power- to the large land-owners, and has been the came of constant complaint since the land policy of the present Government created a large number of small settlers. It allots one vote to the earner of property valued at not more than £IOOO, two to the owner of property valued at more than £IOOO and not more than £2OOO, three to the owner of property valued at more than £2OOO and not more than £3OOO, four to the owner cf property valued at more than £3OOO and net more than £7500, and five to the owner of property valued at £7500 and upwards. The franchise provided by Mr Seddon’s amending Bill is a vast improvement upon this, but it still leaves a good deal to bo desired. It divides the electors’ qualifications into four classes, freehold, rating, residential, and mining, and defines the rights and powers of each, A freehold qualification is enjoyed by the beneficial owner of a freehold estate in land of the capital value of not less than £25; a rating qualification by the occupier of any ratable property in the district; a residential qualification by the tenant of any building valued at £lO a year, and a mining qualification by the holder of a miner's right. The holders of freehold and ra ting qualifications are allotted one vote for each thousand pounds’ worth of ratable property up to three, which is the maximum number of votes, and the holders of residential and mining qualifications one vote only. Holders of other than freehold or rating qualifications are not allowed to vote on any proposal relating to loans or rates, and they must be actual residents in the district to vote at all. Wo should have thought that there was nothing sufficiently revolutionary in these proposals to alarm the most timid property-owner in the colony, but it seems that the members of the Conference look upon the admission of the small settler to the franchise on anything like terms of equality as an extremely dangerous innovation. We have little doubt, however, that Mr Sodden will adhere to his proposal, and that he will receive the support of a large majority of the Liberal Party in placing it on the Statute Book. It is certainly the very least tho country can expect from his repeated promises of reform.