THE Marlborough Express. WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 1879.

Marlborough Express, Volume XIV, Issue 1154, 23 July 1879, Page 5

THE Marlborough Express.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 1879.

" Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience, above all other liberties —Milton.

There are certain statistics relating to the Representation of the People of this Colony, that are deserving of general attention. In bringing them to the notice of our readers, the time will doubtless appear appropriate, as the Legislature will be asked this session to deal with the very important question of the redistribution of seats. As to the manner in which the Government propose to treat this subject, it is not our intention to discuss in the present issue, but simply to place a few facts before our readers, leaving them to draw their own conclusions. It will be remembered that when Mr George McLean addressed his constituents at Waikouaiii in May last, he spoke at some length on the question of Electoral Rights, and as many of his statements have been allowed to remain unchallenged, an additional reason is afforded for correcting any misapprehensions which may have arisen, either through imperfect information or erroneous teaching. From the statistics of the Census Papers, now in course of publication, we learn that last year there were 65,111 names on the Electoral Rolls of the Colony. At the same period there were 116,008 adult males in New Zealand, exclusive of Maoris and Chinese. From this it will be seen that over 30,000 of our male population either failed to register their votes or were disqualified from so doing. If we make the statement that over 60,000 persons failed to exercise their rights as electors, the assertion cannot be called in question, for we have no means of knowing how many names on the rolls were repeated in several boroughs. One illustration will suffice to show our meaning. In Newton, the district so ably and faithfully represented by Mr William Swanson, there are 1483 names on the roll, whilst there are only 1,378 adult males living within its confines. Were population alone made the basis of Representation, the North Island would lose three seats, and the Middle Island would reap the loss. In the same manner, the northern and western portions of the Middle Island would be certain to lose four if not five seats, which, together with the loss of the North Island, would fall to the lot of Canterbury and Otago. But there are several aspects of representation calculated on the basis of population, in which the question of redistribution may be regarded. Thus retaining the same number of members in the Lower Chamber we find that each member represents. or' should represent, of the entire population 4929 souls, 1381 adults, or 775 electors whose names are on the rolls. The electoral districts failing to possess these qualifications are as follow: —Egmont, Rangitikei, Waimea, Wellington County, Grey and Bell, Mount Ida, Invercargill, Collingwood, Totara, Port Chalmers, Riverton, Motueka, The Hutt, Wallace, New Plymouth, Picton, Waipa, Waitemata, Waikouaiti, Akaroa, Parnell, Lyttelton, Onehunga, Dunstan, Nelson suburbs, Avon, Cheviot, Wairau, Rodney, Clutha, Geraldine, Waikato, and Mongonui. As, however, the question of re-distribution is viewed in so many different lights at present only an imperfect idea of the wants of the community at large can be obtained. The number of names on some of the rolls deserves attention. Thus Waimea has 410; Collingwood 348, Wallace 227, Nelson suburbs 315, Cheviot 252, and Waikato 338. These are the lowest numbers on the roll lists, but their electoral strength does not represent their numerical status. For whilst Waimea has 410 names on the roll and an adult male population of 695, Wallace, which has only 227 registered names, contains 1169 trial ft adults. Taking the large centres of population we perpeive that Auckland with three members has a population of 13,750 souls in its electoral districts, Wellington, with two members, i 18,953; Christchurch and Dunedin having respectively 13,425 and 22,525 inhabitants, three members each. Therefore the four centres of the colony have an aggregate population of over 80,000 people, viz., nearly one-fifth of the entire population of New Zealand, and return only eleven members to the House of Representatives. Looking at the population from an educational point of view it will be seen that Taranaki has the unenviable distinction of having the largest percentage of people who cannot read or write. They being in a proportion bent—the reaspn possibly of its manifest over-representation. Canterbury

and Otago, strange to say, carry away the honors for ignorance from Auckland, as in the Northern City only 21.82 per cent are unable to read, whereas in Otago and Canterbury the per centages are 23 - 30 and 24 53 respectively. Of all the Provincial Districts Nelson stands highest educationally, only 21 - 61 per cent of the population being unable to read.