POLITICAL NOTES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13524, 23 August 1907, Page 5

POLITICAL NOTES.

WHEN MR. WI PERE WAS KING

VARIOUS TYPES OF TOHUNGAS.

IY TICI.I-.GKAI'H. —SPECIAL ' CORRESPONDENT.]

Wellington*, Thursday. Tin* sombre dignity of the Legislative Council was relieved this afternoon by some unconscious flashes of humour from Mr. Wi Pere, who unburdened himself at length on the Tohtinga Suppression Bill. According to the hon. gentleman, there are tohttngas and tohifngas. Some there are who are filled with a desire to alleviate pain and suffering, but others, he regretted to say, had ulterior motives in view. He went on to speak of Rua and

his prophecies concerning the arrival of King Edward VII. in Gisborne on a certain date, when, according to the prophet, His Majesty was to present his native subjects with a-number of diamonds. The appointed day came, but the King did not arrive. "On that day, however," said Mr. Wi Pere, "I" (with an emphasis on the pronoun) arrived at Gisborne from Wellington." Run received him, and said,

" You lire the King." Sir. Wi Pere went on to say that lie admonished Rua, and advised hi in (this with a. dramatic wave of the hand) to go away home." "Rua would not go, whereupon I told him that if he did not go, I would bring my 50 soldiers and drive him back." This terrible threat apparently had the desired cft'ect, as shortly afterwards Kua took himself with his band of follow- a ers to a spot some 50 miles distant. Mr. t Wi Pere, with delightful discursiveness. " wandered oft' into various side tracks of 1 !' thought, and in the eouise of his speech J I he deemed it necessary to make an explan- . i fit ion concerning a memorable speech in | " anotiier place," in 1905, when he stated | t that if lie could raise *1000 soldiers he j t would clear the pakeha off the lands of the •; t colony. He explained that he said that j I only because a suggestion had been made j that the Government should clear the j Maoris off their lands. There was a tur- j moil within him. Anger lilied his heart, Hid the only way in which he could soothe his savage breast was by invoking the displeasure of the gods upon .the hateful pakeha. As soon." lie added "as I had cursed the pakeha, I felt all right." [Laughter.) The term " toliunga,in the opinion of the Hon. Mr. Scotland, is apparently cap- . able of a wider interpretation than is ] usually assigned to it. Speaking on the | Tohunga Bill, just after Mr. Wi Pere had. ( spoken, he said that the measure appeared , to he too lukewarm. It was not farreaching enough in its scope. There were ( European tohungas, he said, and why should they not be brought under the law? "What," he asked, "about the clairvoyants, fortune-tellers, and the people who I run the totalisators?" (Laughter). OCCUPATIONS OF MEMBERS. The occupations of members elected in 1905 show that farmers or runholders furnish more members than any other class of occupation. There were 21 of these (besides lour given as " settlers") returned in 1905, and there were nine barristers or solicitors, and five journalists. The following is a detailed list oc the occupations:—Secretary, Y.M.C.A., 1; barrister or solicitor, 9; journalist, 5; mining advocate, interpreter, lecturer, or teacher, 3; chemist, 1; insurance manager, 1; land broker or estate agent, 3 ; director of financial company, 1; native agent-, 1; stationer, bookseller, draper, grocer, or butcher, 3; merchant, iron merchant, or timber merchant, 3; storekeeper, 2; commission agent, clerk, accountant, or commercial traveller, 3; tailor, shoemaker, dyer, 3; millowner, shiprigger, builder, metallurgical engineer, or mine manager, 2: railway employee, 1: blacksmith, 1; printer or newspaper proprietor, T; farmer, 16 : shecpfat mer, run holder, grazier, or slockowner, 5: contractor, 3; settler, gentleman, etc., 8. THE REPRESENTATION QUESTION. An instance of the effect of the census in adjusting the representation of the people in Parliament is afforded by the figures relating to the North and South Islands for successive census years. The electoral districts arr constituted on a population basis, and the results show that at the time of the census of 1891 there were 30 members for the North Island, and 40 members for I lie South Island ; in 1896, 31 and 39 ;in 1901,34 and 36; in 1906, 38 and 38. The districts have been again defined on the basis of the population, as shown by the census ttiken in April, 1906, with the result that the South Island will, at the next general election, return only 35 members, as against 41 for the North land. WOMEN VOTERS. In no fewer than 14 constituencies the women voters on the roll"worc in excess of J the men voters at the last election. These Electorates were: Marsden, Auckland West, Grey Lynn, Parnell, Nelson, Ivaiapoi, Avon, Christchurch East, Christchureh South, • Ashburton, Chalmers, Duuediu, North Duuedin, and South Caversham. The members in tho present House of Representatives returned from these electorates are: Messrs. Slander, Poolo, Fowkls, I. a wry, Graham, Buddo, 'Tanner, Davey, Ell, McLachlan, E. G. Allen, Barclay, Arnold, and Sidey. It is strange that amongst all these- there is only one unmarried limn, vi/!., Mr. Poole. In all New Zealand there were at the last election 476,473 names un the roll. Of this number 263,59? wero men anil 2.12,876 women. The number of men who voted was 221,611, and of women who voted, 175,046. The males who voted were 84.07 per cent, of those, on the rolls, against. 78.44 pot cent, in 1902. The number of women who voted was 82.23 per cent, of those on the rolls, while in 1902 there was the lowc. proportion of 74.52 per cent., so that there is evidence of a, greater willingness now on the part of women to go to the ;011.