LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL REFORM.

New Zealand Herald, 29 June 1914, Page 6

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL REFORM.

By no straining of the facta can the suggestion made by the Leader of the Opposition that the Government has no mandate to change the constitution of the Legislative Council be justified. Reform of the Council was one of the chief issues at last general election and a majority of members were returned to vote out the party which brought the Council to its present level of ineptitude. Shortly after Mr. MasBey came into power he tested the opinion of the representative chamber with a series of resolutions. A

motion affirming that " it is essential that an alteration in the constitution the Legislative Council shall be effected by an Act to be passed by the present Parliament" was carried on the voices. The House divided on the second clause, providing that the election should be by direct vote of the people, and the proposal for a and representative Upper House was carried by 39 votes to 17. In thus recording its opinion that the Council as now constituted had outlived its usefulness, the House was fairly reflecting the opinion of the country and it is rather late in the day to declare that the Government; has no mandate. The debate in the; House of Representatives on Friday j was typical of the character of the; opposition to Legislativo Council reform. When it comes Co a clear issue whether the Council shall continue as a party machine, attempting neither to lead nor to follow opinion in the country, or whether it shall be made representative aqd vital, the opponents of reform are beaten. They find it better to evade the clear issue and obstruct the progress of amending legislation with criticisms which are not usually sincere, or if sincere, not sound. The anxiety evinced by ihe Opposition over the proposed appointments to the Council is somewhat belated, lliore would have been no need, on the eve of a general election, for appointments to keep the Upper Chamber up to its full strength had the Council accepted the decision of the electorates and the House that it was in need of reform. The House has been flouted during two sessions by the Council, and now that Mr. Ma&sey is in a position to give effect to the will of the House by swamping the anti-reform majority in the Council, ho would bo failing in his duty as leader of tho House if he [ did not do so. To have an election to the Council immediately afterwards would make the Upper Chamber altogether too large, and this is tho only reason for postponing the operation of the amending Act. The suggestion that it is intended to make the Council a champion of land monopoly is so obviously a vain party imagination that it requires no answer. If it did, the Prime Minister answered it effectively in stating that the present Government has subdivided and settled over 1,500,000 acres in two years. The country is entitled to expect that Parliament will pass the Legislative Council Reform Bill during the present session and Mr. Massey will bo heartily supported in making whatever appointments are necossary to effect this purpose.