PARLIAMENTARY REPRESENTATION.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXX, Issue 14978, 26 April 1909, Page 6

PARLIAMENTARY REPRESENTATION.

If Mr J. C. N. Grigg had troubled to look at the figures himself he would not have told the members of tho Ashburton branch of the Farmers’ Union at their annual meeting on Saturday that in tho last Parliament there were “ vory low men ” representing tho farmers. However much biased he may he in his politics, ho is at least honest in his intentions. As a matter of fact, tliero were more farmers in tho last House of Representatives than there wore mombers of any other profession, trado or calling. There were twentyone of them altogether, excluding four gentlemen who preferred to call themselves “settlors,” while thoro were nineteen professional men, including mining advocates, an interpreter, a lecturer and a chemist, seventeen commercial men, and only five wage-earn-ers. The farmers, constituting 10.9 per cent of tho breadwinners in the community, had 27.6 per cent of tho representation, while the workers constituting 14 per cent of the breadwinners had only 6.5 por cent of the representation. The advantage of tho farmers was much greater than appears from these figures, because in the statistics wo are quoting farm labourers, and all those wlio earn their living from tile land, aro counted as farmers. The farmers Mr Grigg had in mind do not amount to moro than 25,000 at most, and these q.nd their families, assuming them each to have a wife and two children, would havo been adequately represented by eight members in Parliament. But oven on tho figures we have used tho farmers had nearly three times as many members as they wero entitled to, and tho commercial men twice as many, wliilo the unfortunate workers bad not half tho number they should have had. Mr Grigg says that there was “ a great improvement,” from the farmer’s point of view, at the last general election, and his statement helps us to understand why the workers are calling out against the domination of the country party.