VOTES FOR TROOPERS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXV, Issue 16646, 3 September 1914, Page 9

VOTES FOR TROOPERS.

CHANGED. l PARTY ALLOCATION, . UOTQtJE' ELECTORAL MEASURE. ; OTO.COREESI'OXDKNf.] WELLINGTON, September 2. Thej Expeditionary Forces Voting BUI, was referred for, consideration to a select committee last night, was-returned to the House this evening with radical amendments by the committee. ,: The chairman, Mr C. E. Statham, prefaced his explanation of tne Bill, as amended, by saying that very little • of the original Bill was left. Instead of the votes of members of the .expeditionary Force being- taken abroad, all the voting was to be done before the troops left the dominion, with, of ; course, the exception of members ot the. advance guard already abroad. 1 ;A: VOTE FOR EVERY MAN. EVery; member of the force, whether he "had reached the'age 1 of twenty-one year's !or.„not, 'would be given a vote, the', reason for that course buing that thpse Igbiiig were eithe*; older or. very near, that age, while.some would bo twenty-one. years old before the host' ©lections'took place. . Instead, there-. making ~ a , lot of machinery clause*,:ta-coveri^tho^e-.cases, .the. com-mittee-thought that, under the Circum-stances,-it, would be well to give every, mail of tae-force a vote. So far, as tiie. licensing issue was concerned, members ojNtlie force would give a straight-out tote one way or the other. In- the- case of the general elections ' however, the voting paper shown in the schedule directed, the, voter to.express his opinion assto whether the representative he was voting for. was to be. a Government, Opposition, or a Labour candidate, so that the voting would be strictly upon ■ party lines. Provision had been made in the Bill. that votes given for the Government or the party should l be counted as votes in favour jf the candidate, who had been declared by the Prime Minister or the leader of the -Opposition, as the candidate representing the particular party, as the case might be. > , - .. Labour votes may be counted, but every vote, given for the Labour Party would count as a vote in favour of the candidate who had bjsen declared by any two members of the present Labour Party in the House as the candidate representing the party. Tf no candidate were declared as representing the Labour Patty in the electorate.; then the vote would not be counted. The also provided that eyiery declaration should be gazetted not less than five days after nomination 1 day, and provision had been made for the taking of. the votes of members:.of-the advance guard abroad. , COMMITTEE. £*Miv'-Statham added that the oomififttee had" endeavoured to meet the many ''difficulties,''',.'and had come to wltat- f the Kneinbers considered was a happy.solution. l The Bill, as amended* was," the committee* considered, the best solution-under the circumstances. No--:division-had been taken, the Bill being i agreed, to in its present form unanimously.-, by •■? the committee. . Ward stated that an smendment-was to be moved in the Hquso: with the committee's concurrence, which would enable two Labour members.-,in Parliament to be. appointed to decide which candidates should bo regarded as Labour candidates for the purpose of counting the -, , >< ,t ??: Independents would be in a position which ought to be satisfac■WL them. It was a highly difficult ..subject, but the committee had Jjrovided-a good solution. agreed to regard the Bieasure as an urgent one, and it was taken through all stages. . INMOST EXTRAORDINARY. ' jpt* & ?• M /,?V^ sher ; that while. he still believed that his

original Bill was the better, there was very .little of. it left in the present Bill. It was the,most extraordinary electoral measure which had ever been placed on the Statute Book. But, of course, the ctircii instances were extraordinary. Ah electoral.officer would be -despatched to Samoa, who would take the poll there. As for the Labour vote, the idea was to appoint a member representing the Social Democratic Party ancf the United Labour Federation to allot the Labour votes. "Supposing there are two Lnboui candidates in the same constituency?" r.skcd a member. .''."'' The Minister: Precisely what will happen if they are umbla to agree :s not contained" in the B ; ll. There are various points in the Bill likely to produce some interesting discussions at a later st?.ge,of the country's history. AN UNRECORDED MOTION. Sir J6-eph Ward asked why the first resolution he moved at the afternoon meeting of the committee was not recorded in the minutes. ' Mr Fisher asked if it was the one to the effect that the Labour Party should be phced in the' same oosition in the matter of votes as the Government and Opposition, and that the Labour members of the Ho'usa select-two of their number to net- accordingly? Sir Joseph Ward said that tint wa3 the motion, and that it was carried. Mr Statham said that he remembered the motion, but neither he nor his clerk remembered that it had been put. Sir Joseph Ward: I know you put it and the others know. • . ' • ■■■' Mr .7. M'Gombs: That is so.'

The Minister of Marine said htsidea was thft + he resolution, was put.; :■ ■ Mr M'Cembs it* ted that the motion was.adop/ed. but tliOvcla.jj.se in'the B'll. didjiot f-.'low +he instruction, ina-much as the BiH did not provide for. the House.resolving to appoint.two Labour members.- ... .<...

M- fs'tt as)-»d if tho orovi-ions of tb" Elcotoral Act applied to the rotin?.

The Minister of Marine: Yes. A LABOUR ANOMALY.

Mr W. A. Veitoh declared that the Government party, by providing in the Bi'l th-t Labour votes allocated to a constituency in which there was not a Labour candidate would v not count, were securing the same r ? vantage as they hoped to get "out of the repeal of the Second Ballot Act. Men who voted Labour would almost, certainly be against the Government, and, in common fairness, all Labour votes should, be allrcated by the two Lnbour members when tliTo was no Labour candidate in a. constituency.

EXTRAORDINARY INNOVATIONS. Mr J- Hanah contended that the Bill contained no power to enable an adjustment of tho votes in the event of no Labour candidate being nominated. The Minister, he declared, should in.ert a provision for such adjustment being made.

The . Hon A. T. Ngata complained that there was no specific provision in the Bill for Maori votes, adding that a number of half-castes who went' away with the advance guard were probably on the Maori roll. Again, the Bill was not by any means clear that two Labour members were to decide who the particular candidate was who should receive the Labour vote in any electorate. The Bill; he argued, was extraordinary in several respects. Probably 10 per cent of the members of the Expeditionary Force would not be entitled to a vote at all had they remained in the Dominion. It also gave Maoris power to vote on tho licensing issue. Supposing a Maori contingent were to leave these shores prior to the general tion. By so many Maoris who left the votes on the licensing issue would be increased. He also considered that some specific provision should be inserted to connect the Bill "with the Legislature Act, otherwise the votes.exercised under it might be found to be of no value at all. The Minister stated that the law draughtsman had assured him that this last suggestion was unnecessary.

SORTING OUT CANDIDATES. The second reading was agreed t to, and then, in committee the Minister moved to so alter the clause dealing with the identity of the candidate to receive the Labour vote that his selection should be decided by two members appointed b'y resolution of the Houso on the recommendation of the Labour members of the House. Sir Joseph Ward expressed the opinion that under the voting method proposed a large number of men would be .cheated out of their* votes. Rather than do that, it would be better to adopt the proxy system. THE BILL PASSED.

After considerable discussion a division was called on a sub-elause providing that, if no candidate is declared as representing the party for. which the vote is. given, the vote shall not bo counted. When the doors were locked, however, the demand for the deletion of this proposal was not pressed to a division. The Bill was reported with amendments, nnd read a third t' me - The House adjourned at 12.12 a.m.