REPRESENTATION

New Zealand Times, Volume XLII, Issue 9783, 5 October 1917, Page 7

REPRESENTATION

BOUNDARY COMMISSIONERS’ REPORT SOUTH’ ISLAND LOSES THREE SEATS. The anxiety of members of the House of Representatives to know the result of the labours of the Boundary Commissioners was voiced in Parliament yesterday by Mr R. McOaUum, H. P. for Wairau, who asked the Prime Minister when the House could expect' to have the Commissioners’ report and the plan of. the new constituencies. Mr Massey stated that, as a matter of fact, the Commissioners had completed their labours, the previous night. Ho was endeavouring to get a statement from the department that afternoon, .and' he would be pleased to lay it before the House. He might say, however, that three South Island constituencies- —Selwyn, Central Otago, and Motueka—were to bo eliminated, and three additional seats were to ho given to the North Island. One of tlsese extra seats would be in the Wellington province and two in the Auckland province. The new Wellington seat was to be called the Manawatu seat, and Foxton would be the principal centre. ■ Mir McCallum; “WiH you put the three members who have lost their seats into the Upper House Mr Massey laughingly promised ; to consider the proposal, but added that it did not follow that because a man’s constituency was gone he lost his seat in the House. TOO MANY WELLINGTON MEMBERS. Mr J. ■ Anstey, M.P. for Waitaki, asked the ' Prime .Minister whether, _ in view of the gross oyer-representation of Wellington in Parliament, and the ease with which Wellington residents could! present.. their .views to the House, a privilege of which they often took advantage,, would the Government consider the redistribution of Wellington’a ,: representation: in. ■ Parliament, so that its over-representation could be transferred to those districts which, awing, to their unwieldy size and remoteness, were not fully represented in Parliament. The hen. member pointed out that there wore at least six resident Wellington members of Parliament, ■ and at least ten Ministers lived in the city practically the whole of the year, and, eighty members of Parliament had to reside there from three to five months in the year. He believed that if there were no direct Wellington representative at all in the House the city would still bo largely over-represented. If his suggestion were adopted, the Government would only.be following the precedent of the United States of, America, where the city' of Washington had no Rairfiammtairy representation, at ah. The House had had experience this session, and in previous- sessions, of the fact that the Wellington people had ample opportunities of representing their interests in -Parliament by depuitationising Ministers, oven .sometimea attempting almost to , terrorise the Government. He asked the Premier whether other districts should not have an opportunity to equalise matters in the way he suggested. Sir Massey replied that there was something in what. the hon. member .had suggested.; He had had,' experi-: ence of it-—just a little. (Laughter.) ~ Mr O. Witty (Ricoarton): “And they frightened you, too. (Laughter.) I don’t say last night.” (Laughter.) Mr Massey: “Nor any other;time.” (Hear; hear, and laughter.) Only that morning he had received seven' deputations, besides attending a Cabinet meeting. A member: “Were they all from, Wellington?’* Mr E. P. Lee (Oarnaru): “No; one consisted of Auckland ladies.” (Laughter.) . Air. Massey: “Yea; but I don’t know how the hon., member came to ■know that they were Auckland:ladies. (“Ah I ah I” and laughter.) The matter to which the hon. member for Waitaki refers will have serious consideration when legislation dealing with electoral matters comee before Parliament.’’ (Hear, hear, and laughter.) REPORT OF COMMISSION POPULATION OP NORTH ISLAND, 674,101; SOUTH ISLAND, 467,830. Later, Mr Massey made .the following statement to ■ the House: —- “The report of the North and Sleuth’ Island Representation Commissions, sitting as a joint commission, has now been received by His Excellency the Governor-General. “The Commission found from the report of the Government Statistician and from returns furnished by the Defence Department as to the number of persons absent with the Expeditionary 'Force, that on the night of - thie census tho total population of the Dominion (exclusive of Maoris and inhabitants of the Chatham and Kermadeo Islands tand interned aliens) was 1,142,081, distributed as follows; . t _ “The population in fifty cities and boroughs of over 2000 inhabitants, including those on-shipboard, amounted to 538,334, and tho urban population within the five-miles Emit of the Chief Post Offices of Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin cities (exclusive of the population in cities and boroughs of over 2000 inhabitants within that limit) amounted to 36,343, making a total unban population of 574,677, and leaving a rural population of 567,404. “Having added 28 per cent, to the latter figures, the total nominal population of the Dominion amounted to I, This, divided by 76, thie total number of members, fixed the quota at 17,118. It was further ascertained that the total actual population of tho North Island amounted to 674,101, equivalent to a nominal population of 766,618. Likewise it was ascertained that the total actual population of the South Island (including Stewart Island) was 467,980, equivalent to a nominal population of 534,336. NORTH ISLAND MEMBERS, 45. SOUTH ISLAND, 31. “A consideration of these figures showed that the. number of members to which the North Island was entitled was represented ’ by the figures 44.78 and the South Island 31.22. As the fractional part in the first case was greater than that in the second the

number of members for the North Island was fixed at 45, and that of tho South Island at 31. ; This result increased the number of members for the North Island by three, and reduced that . of. the. South -Island by a corresponding number,. . -I‘ln accordance 'with-the provisions of the Legislature Act, notifications will shortly .be. published, in the ‘New Zealand Gazette,’ -describing .;-tbo proposed boundaries of-tho districts, and . giving., particulars; as_ to where maps of the proposed districts may bo seen; also particulars ;as to the lodging of objections to such "proposed boundaries...,- . •

EFFECT OF THE CHANG'ES. ~ , “The prindipJiil effect’ ot[ f tjie , ed alterations,’ so far as, the NdfthIsland is concerned, is -as - Owing to the changes in iacidehce- of tho population of the Dominion dur-; ing the period whichhaa elfipsed since the apportionment ‘of ‘the Dominion, into electorates in 1911, it was found that tho North Island would; ‘gainthree members and the -South would lose a corresponding' number, which, of course, meant the creation of three" new electorates in the North and the elimination -pf -three in-v-lfe,-:"Soiitlji. This could not be done -without cofi~,, adorable disturbance - of "' cxisti^ig. electoral boundaries. y Thd fpitelijijtin•ary map, supplied by ission shoWs, however, that they. havo_ been able to adopt their bid boundaries--to quite a remarkable extent, oi t - ' - THE NEW ELECTORATES.,

“Of the three nfew -■ electoral et t Mi tho North : Island, one (RoskiU) has been formed in the suburbs of (Auckland, and is almost, entirely o.ll’ ‘Wtm ban’ electorate. -lids'contiguous-to the Edon, Grey " Lynn, Parneß and Manukau electorates, and is bounded on the south by Manukau hatbbur;-.lt comprises . portions of thc ! existing, Eden and Manukau ’ electorates.,and very small portions ,of Grey Lynn,, and Parnell adjoining Mount Eden. , a / “The second electorate has been _ named Rotorua, and is surrounded, by the’ Bay of Plenty, Hawke’s. Bay,. Waimarino, Waikatqj , .arid" ,Tauranga electorates. It is principally inade up from the Bay of Plenty, Taunmr. tinui and Tauranga electorates^' and includes a small portion df ; Waikato. The third district has, been named the Manawatu, and takbs in portion of the Otaki, Rangitikci, and ' Palmerston electorates. ' . ■ .

“With regard tor certain alterations of the names of electorates. in ■■ tho North Island, -they havebeen msde so as to better indicate the localities of the electorate^,, and the same consideration | has led do the addition , of; the names of the new-electorates. .. ; TWO HOTELS BECOME “DRY.” “The only : effpot that the alterations have made in respect of ’wet’ and, ‘dry" districts is that .it has i been; ; found necessary to indlude in drv.districts two small hotels—one the WJwio Sous© at Kameu Junction, -Jwnd tbo 3 other the .Waihou .Hotel, which -has been taken into,, the Ohinemuri elector--ate.... -vo ‘-’d* 1

SOUTH ISLAND,-.' ■

“Owing to the injfclio .ppptiT . lation in the Sou.tlrTsland,' iihp exist*lag electorates have bebri from, 34 to 31, tlxo. being-l.Motuelia, Sphyyn , arid Otago Central. Portions'Of tbcsoShaye twn j absorbed by Grey, Buller', Neteon aiid ■ Wairan, Ellesmere, I ere, Wakatipu, and. ; pctoratas.’ -■ **>l' n id;to be call-

new district* -proposed to bo called ‘Tnapeka,’ has been formed out of tbjo existing electorate of Bruce an(t part of Otagb Central. . “As the preponderance of population Va the proposed new electorate ,is now in . a.,, ‘dry’, area, , this will have the effect'of turning .‘dry’ a .largm pror portion of the‘‘wet’, area bf ; ,Taicri and . i small portion of tec Tuapeka county,. apparently necessitating Thm closing. ,ot, licensed houses at the next election., “The name Tuapoka was adopted as suiting a large ■ part .of the proposed electorate . t and'.on -Turmeroua objections to tlio namo mg eliminated hy the last Representation Commission. . , «. . “The now lapparently elimin^fephe. I lic6imea.hope . at Windsor, -and ’ fine -new -Ashburton electorate will do ,tee'<-samo ‘-thing at ChertseyJ’ local constituencies; OHANGEB IN CITY SEATS,. '

Of the country district, Wellington Suburbs, retains only Makara and thp farm portion of Karon. From-, The. map, it seems that. Wellington ■ Su|£ urbs takes Lowry Bay and Eastbourne, from Butt; and it is. also,.compensated for its losses 1 to’ Otabj by_the North-: t land, Karorj, Orangi-Kaupa.pa, Tfmfcori ’ North, and 1 South, portions of.. Wellington j , wo Wellington North,’ -in tuffi,-. tekps small portions from Wellington Central, and all the outlying part beyond' Herald street from Wollihstoh c .Sou}h.j Wellington South otherwise remains, unchanged. ■ '■'> f- I '- Wellington East is also unaltered. On the harbour 'front, Wellington? North now extends to Taranaki street, taking in that part ' of : Wellington Central bounded by Taranaki -street, the harbour front, Dixon street, and; the old Wellington North boundary. The other part taken from Wellington Central is the square portionabounded iby portions of Upper Willis street, Wellington terrace, Ghuznee street, and Dixon street. 1 NEW’ MANAWATU ' SEAT. - -

The new Manawatu. electorate comprises portions of the Otaki, Palmerston North, and R-angi-titoi seats. Otaki loses to it at’ the northern end the ,boroughs of Poston, Shannon, and Tokomaru, Oroua Downs, Rangiotu,Taiborea, and Glen Oroua. In addi--tion, the-new constituency embraces all the flaxmills and farm settlements - on the Slain Trunk line between Palmerston and Foxton, which are partly token from Palmerston and partly out of Otaki; while from Eangitibei it> receives the township of Bunnythorpe, Eon got ea, Carnarvon, Awaliuri, Sanson, Bulls, Turakina., and• Wangaeliu,with the surrounding country;. ... » ri,;

Rangrtikei, which is . practically a new constituency, is compensated by the outlying northern part of tho - Oroua electorate and the southern pori tion of Waimarino. , OTAKI ELECTORATE, Otaki in turn, is compensated.' from the Wellington Suburbs and the‘Butt, electorates. So far as can be judged' from tho map - dismayed-last, night -in tho Prime Minister’s - Otaki gains "Upper Butt-, and Mangaroa from the Butt constrtuoncy, the new boundary following tho railway line from the

bridge at Silverstrca.ni to the BaniTitakas. • From ■Wellington Suburbs Otaki gains practically the whole of th©.. country ’ distanot * portion. Otaki now. takes in Pukercwa, Plimanerton, Pahautanni, Parernata, Pbrirua, Tawa -Flat,-and Ohariu Valley. HAWKE’S BAY CHANGES. So far as can bo gathered from the map, . Hawke’s’Bay loses Hastings and Havelock North, both of which are put into the AVaipawa electorate. Ihe Tatter 'also takes in part of Pahiatua from the mouth of Porangahau-" river to Dannevirke —but loses Dannevirke itself to Pahiatua. It is difficult to see, however, how .■Hawke’s Bay is compensated for the loss: oi - the big Hastings population-It-takes-in part.of Gisborne, including ■apparently the whole of TVairoa, or at .least’ a large part of it, and all of Frasertown. Hawke’s Buy, also, so far as can he judged, gains Pakawahai nnd- part of Pukota.pu from Napier, - whsch-thus" becomes rather more compact than before. But none of the .districts added to the Hawke’s Bay electorate contain any great population, ,