CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTIONS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27259, 9 December 1949, Page 9

CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTIONS

Sir, —In the Daily Times of December 2, we read that the first item in the National Party programme is “ the possibilities of introducing a written Constitution for New Zealand will be examined.”- Considering the. state of the British Empire, Ithink it would be very dangerous to write a Constitution for New Zealand at this time. I agree with Mr W. L. Burn, who wrote in an article titled “ Contemporary Conservatism,” in the Nineteenth Century and After: “ Political thinking is at too low an ebb in this country to be fit for the task of writing a new Constitution.” That was written in 1947, and applied to New Zealand also. The real British Constitution is an organism, and grew. What is necessary is to clear it of the weeds that are choking it, and to restore its power and effectiveness. Another item which also calls for attention is the retention by the National Government of a Central Milk Council. This was established by the Socialist Government, and from it Dunedin and other cities have a Metropolitan Milk Board, despite the fact that in 1944 23,000 people

in Dunedin voted against centralised control of milk.

And all these plans by the Government (whatever Government) come about because we do not give any direction to our representative when we vote him in. There is no provision made for that to be done under the present Electoral Law. The ballot today is secret and irresponsible. A demand from the people for an open, recorded and responsible vote would be a first step towards the recovery of our once-great British Empire.—l am, etc., A Reader.