POPULATION AND REPRESENTATION.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13899, 24 January 1916, Page 8

POPULATION AND REPRESENTATION.

- ■ .. ,» THE DRIFT NORTHWARD. ,'. . WH&r IT 'MEANS. -^-Special Correspondent.,)'' VA ..WELLtNCTON, Jan. 19. When the estimates were under discussion m the House of Representatives towards the close of last session^ a suggestion that the census due this; year should be postponed till after the war, m order that J. 60,000 or £70,000, might bo. saved, met with the warm approval • <uf a number .of' membara. Mr McCombs. Avas, indeed, I jmembeiA who' voiced any objection to the suggestion, his argument being -that the (Juinquenr' nial stock-taking "m cC ••"-yO'ang- •••cottnfcry like New Zealand seiTed many useful puuposes ol more- iniporKCn.-fr}-o;.th--'k!oift-; ■• iiiaiiity than would, be the -iiving. • ot £70,000. The Minister for Internal Affairs,,., yr\\q js; m charge of th« department cpntr_runj_ u snch matters, discreetly abstained ,ixom saying am thing at all cominittju ' oh the subject . at that time, but-ritlis "un^B?l3.q<i";<l.te has since urged upon the i Cabinet -the propriety uf readjusting the parliaj'nentary representation without nutting -the Dominion to the espei)pe of *\"He usual elaborate ; invesUgation. His plan yould be to estimate tlie movement- of populatiou -from, tlie ele9-, toral !)!,'i'.rr, of last .year/ and juavcu th« Representation Commission to re-arraiigo the boundaries of the various electorates as best it could on this basis.. . E^TIIUNTINa THE P(JEUL4IT6%J!..tbf .-..niy purpose of the census were to obtain the ii<jcessai*y • data foi , .''tiio^ixsi. .idjustmciit of the eleptoral .boundaries-Mriß-usg-^H's plan ■ would ,be* entitled* to very -serious consideration. Up to a' certain point the electoral figures show the drift of the population,/, .platfily eiiough ior all practical purposes; but, of fbto'S tf, they throw no ' light -upon what, has happened -aiuce, 1914 r ,o-:, iipoji wliat will happen before thb next appea4 to the constituencies. ■• Tlie - censuiiH bnwhich oui- "present parliamentary, repreBentation . f.sr .based, wa$ v taken^ iv . A^rij, 191 li~ That'is nearly live years ago, aridwe t-4Ji only tho drift that took, place between tho general election of 1911 and the general election of 1914. ' Thisj however, we can-do. witji some:approach to precision. During 'recent years the number of valid votes recorded, at a general* election havo represent- : ed, roughly, half the population of v the ! Dominion. ' I£-we-a&wu*je,this.rulevliold9 good" in constituencies and provineiai districts as well a« m the Doniinibit as a whole, mo* can' get what seems to; bo .a fau-ly accurate view of the movements of population between, tho lastjiwo^geil leral*electiona( 1 THE "DRII;^ '• NORTHWARD.V AA, , THtjb2JP^ m "U bn , ■for•• th c . pu rpose pfithi^ , illustration , may :be divided^ iiitb .^'Joiir, laj'gjet.V'p'i'OVinrial districts/.jtho A'uc^anil districv:- e-m.-trucing '21 • eonstitueuciesj andUthc TWellington district, .'*' 20 • c6ii r . stituencies, iv the North. "lsland,-, and .the Canterbury; distript,. 20 constituencies, and tho ■-. Otago district, : .14 , constitu^. enci«ißi.Viii,tlie' Sbuth -Island. The^olr/ lowing ; figures, represent- the ■ rotp» .pplfed m these districts at the electioiis of 1911 and 1914:— ' '.;, 1911 1914. Auckland 140,597. , 165^261 Welliii-lon ... ... 125,311... 130,U1b Canterbury ... 124,960 131^69 Otago - 88,822 88,671 Theso figures show 'an increase of 24,654- m Auckland, of ; 5505 in,' Wellington , of 6,309 m Cinterbui-y, , «,nd a ?deerea.se. of 251 m Otago., ' 'lt shpuld v v (je explained that' no election having taken place m Oisliorn.o m. 1911, 7500 : voics 'were credited to that constituency for tiiCr purpose of this cpmi-ai-isbn. .. i Translating "the votes into., pbpulationj on ''|He -wsstogtion already meritipned, it. would appear; that "th a Ajphpu ljjjibn p£ the Auckland district -increaeed^fcy tf9^Soß;idjirif)'g; the three years, the' population'' of Wellington by lljOtO.and the- population of Canterbury byl2, i 618,' while "the popula- j tion of Otago' decreased by. 502. j

THE CABINET'S DECISION . ' Thc ilicYeases of population suggested by. the above tigures approximate fairly closely to the average increase m the Dominion during recent years, but they necessarily take no account of the movements of population since 1914. Any estimate of these would bo the merest guess-work, and probably to induce his' colleagues from tlie Auckland district to forego the census Mr Russell would have to'-oencede that the drift northward had continued up to the present time. Al : ready tho Auckland district seems ' entitled to three ne~v members, two probably to be drawn lrom Ot&go and one {rom the northern part of the South Island., and if its population continues to increase and multiply it may secure four or live on the next re-adjusi.uieut of , representation. It is reported that tjie Cabinet has ' definitely declared against Mr Russell's suggestion to post,ppivQ. the. ,eensns till after the war, but i£ ife nb\V iriiptfssible to take it at tlie usual time, and it may be held over tilt tlie meeting of Parliament, or even till April of next year. i