Readjustment of Electoral Boundaries.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 2662, 2 June 1908, Page 5

Readjustment of Electoral Boundaries.

The Hon. T. Mackenzie, M.P., speaking on the above subject at Goodwood on the 15tto inst., said a clever satire appeared in a northernpaper the other day, wherein two gentlemen who had been born tired discussed the recent inventions of "scientific books," as they called them. They referred to wireless telegraphy, smokeless powders, and horseless cabs ; and they said, " Why not give us wireless wire-netting, frothless beer, workless jobs, and speechless politicians V They might have extended the list and said "and memberless upcountry districts." The readjustment of boundaries was going to deprive the country people in Otago of a fair voice in the affairs of the Dominion. Twenty years ago there were 12 country members and five or six city members. Now Otapo would have only four purely country electorates, because Clutha largely fell into Southland, and Oamaruand Chalmers had both a large majority of borough population. That was how Otago wis affected. The position from a town point of view was this : The increase in cities during last census was 25 per cent, in population, as against 10 per cent, in country. A The figures showed that the cities had increased from 350,000 to 425,000, and the country from 418,000 to 459,000. What did that meau ? It meant that gradually the power would be transferred from the , country to the towns, and that legislation would be passed voicing city ideas; and everyone knew what those ideas were regarding land tenures and property. When they realised that from the land came something like 16 millions out of the 19 millions of exports it surely was wrong that this should be so. Another matter was this : It was a sound principle in representation that the further from the seat of Government the greater should be the proportional representation, because centres like Wellington had an enormous influence upon the members who wont there, in the same manner as the Otago Education Board had influence in Dunedin ,far out of proportion to her representation on : the board. As they all knew, it was about as difficult tor a country teacher to obtain a city appointment as it was for a camel to pass through the'eye of a needle. Tho, North Island had three seats \ more than the South Island, but in the.South Island there were 138 more electors than there were in the North Island. Last year he pnposed a scheme for retaining the representation in the south—a scheme which would have been absolutely just to the north, because in effect it would" give each island one member for every 12,500 nominal population, and meant two more seats to the north. In 1890 the niimber of members was increased, the North Island receiving four additional seats, which gave her two members more than the South Island. His proposal was this : That a bill should be brought in fixing the number of members for the South Island at the 1908 olection at 38 (pakeha), with proportional representation to the North Island, bnngiug its representation to 44. The nominal population of New Zealand at fast census was 1,018,381. His proposal would work out as follows :

Population Quota, Members South Island 474,362 12,483 38 North Island 544,019 _; 12,483 44