Manawatu Daily Times “The Lords”

Manawatu Times, Volume LV, Issue 6747, 4 January 1932, Page 6

Manawatu Daily Times “The Lords”

Tiie fact that a dozen members of the Legislative Council will complete their terms of office during the new year inis set on foot quite a number of stories concerning the intentions of the Coalition Government in this respect. Of the retiring members of the Council nine, Hon. E. W. Alison, Hon. David Fleming, Hon. George Garland, Hon. James Gow, Hon. Archibald Hawke, Sir John Sinclair, Hon. William Stewart, and Hon. W. H. Triggs will retire on May 7 next, while Hon. Leonard Isitt will follow them on October 8 and Hon. George Witty and Sir Robert Heaton Rhodes on October 28. These retirements, with the death of Hon. W. Earnshaw, ■which occurred last week, would reduce the strength of the Council, were there neither deaths nor appointments during 1932, to twenty-three members of whom at least ten or twelve might be regarded as well past the stage of active service. There will be only three members oL’ the Council due for retirement in 1933, Sir Francis Bell on May 21, and Hon. C. J. Carrington and Hon. J. A. Hanan on June 17, and lhe reappointment of the whole trio, .in the circumstances, would meet with general approval. Six Councillors will complete their terms of office in 1934, Sir James Allen on June 1, Hon. E. H. Clark, Hon. Robert Scott, Hon. G. J. Smith and Hon. Sir Edwdn Mitchelson on June 25, and Hon. William Hall-Joncs on October 6. Age abounds in this list, but Hon. E. 11. Clark and Hon. G. J. Smith still are active figures. Hon. W. E. Collins, a veteran of the Council, Hon. John MacGregor and Hon. Richard Moore will terminate their seven years on February 14, 1935, and will be followed by Hon. W. 11. Mclntyre, the Hon. William Snodgrass and the Hon. Thomas Sidey before the end of the year, There were no appointments to the Legislative Council during 1929, the only nomination made by Sir Joseph Ward during his second term of office being that of Sir Thomas Sidey on December, 1928, when that gentleman was appointed to the leadership of the Legislative Council. On June 11, 1930, however, on the recommendation of the Right Hon. George Forbes, by this time Prime Minister in succession to Sir Joseph Ward, Hon. J. Trevithick, Hon. David Buddo, Hon. Mark Fagan, Hon. H. R. McCallum, Hon. Robert Masters and Hon. William Stevenson were appointed to the Council, where Mr. Masters, as a member of the Coalition Government, now holds the portfolio of Education and shoulders other Ministerial responsibilities. Sir Walter Carncross, who sat in the House of Representatives from 1890 to 1902, now fills the office of Speaker of the Legislative Council, and Sir James Parr, a former Minister and subsequently High Commissioner, has quite lately relieved Mr. Masters of the leadership of that body. The sum of all this is that there are at present thirty-five members of the Legislative Council; that twelve of these will complete their terms of office in 1932; that three more will follow in 1933; six more in 1934; six more in 1935; six more in 1937; and two more, Sir Walter Carncross and Sir James Parr, in 1938. Meanwhile, “The Legislative Council Act” which was placed upon the Statute Book by Sir Francis Bell rather more . than seventeen years ago, was first suspended in order to bring the Reformers and the Liberals together during the Great Waland after the war was ignored by both parties in order that the constitution of the Council should remain rather in the hands of politicians than in the hands of the electors. John Ballance in 1902 had made some move towards popular representation in the second Chamber by limiting the appointment of councillors to seven years, but further than this none of his i successors have dared to mays, further towards reform, x