THE REFERENDUM.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXXII, Issue 15557, 6 March 1911, Page 6

THE REFERENDUM.

“ Tirr. referendum ” is such a sweetsounding phrase in the ears of New Zealand democrats that they naturally find some difficulty in understanding tho disinclination of progressive statesmen at Homo to accept the reform it implies. The literal English translation of the phrase i 3 “ must be referred,” and when wo exteud it to mean “ mii3t be referred to the people ” it seems to suggest tho very goal to which every good Liberal is aspiring. But the referendum in theory and the referendum in practice are not always the same thing. The Bill which Lord Balfour of Burleigh has just introduced in the House of Lords probably differs very widely from the Swiss measure, which is so often quoted in this country. Its chief purpose is to intrench the position of the second chamber of the Imperial Parliament, while tho Swiss measure has nothing to do with the quarrels between tho two branches of the legislature. In Switzerland when the two chambers disagree their differences are settled by a joint sitting, a perfectly logical proceeding when they are both elective, but at Home we should have tho House of Lords appealing from the decision of the House of Commons to a section of the people and beclouding .the issue by the scores of devices that aro known to its members and its election agents. There are objections that might bo urged against the referendum even as it operates in Switzerland, and it is interesting to recall that- Mr W. P. Reeves stated these very frankly in our own Parliament nearly twenty years ago, but the point to bo remembered is that Lord Balfour’s Bill is mainly intended to preserve the existence of tho House of Lords while the Swiss measure provides a substitute for tho “hereditary check upon hasty legislation.” Probably when Mr Asquith and Mr Lloyd George have played their part by removing the veto of tho peers and giving the country a fairly representative second chamber still more progressive statesmen will arise to carry on their reforms to the length the democrats of to-day are seeking. But when the referendum does come as tiro result of an enlightened public opinion it will bear little resemblance to tho measure with which the Conservatives in their desperation are attempting to delude the British people.