THE COLONIST PUBLISHED TUESDAYS, THURSDAYS, AND SATURDAYS. NELSON, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1875.

Colonist, Volume XVII, Issue 1980, 16 October 1875, Page 3

THE COLONIST PUBLISHED TUESDAYS, THURSDAYS, AND SATURDAYS. NELSON, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1875.

The redistribution of seats iv the House of Representatives is a question in which we are all interested. Quite rightly many members object to making ifc on the base of brute force, either of numbers or of property. W? are strongly of opinion that constituted as the political community now is, and must be, of uneducated and unreflecting persons, numbers or brute force should not be everything, though they should count for a ftood deal. Certainly wealth is an even more abominable basis for political power. A plutocracy, or government by rich men, is the most timid, oppressive, and unjust that can be conceived. England is the best proof in point. There for at least two hundred years the wealthy have governed and legislated. The result is, that mere preperty, even,the vague property of- a landowner in game, has been erected into a Divinity. A man may kill his wife more cheaply than a hen pheasant, if he only kills her by instalments, or gets her savagely drunk before he kills her. • This result of the legislation of proprietors and of magnates generally, of what Mr Arnold calls the barbarian class, is not quite reassuring. "We are not prepared, we confess it, to lay down any broad principle, which should cover representation; but we have some suggestions to offer. Clearly in this Colony one of our chief aims should be to de-localise, if we may coin a word. The natural structure of the Colony tends towards localisation. The public works, so far as the General Government goes, are guided by locality. Otago and Auckland alike want railways forming figures of S to each wealthy settler's backdoor. They combine, and these charming works are constructed at the public cost; were they not the reigning Government would be upset by the combination of Auckland and Otago. Probably something like Mr Hare's system which has proved during the last twenty or thirty years so successful in Denmark—one of the best governed States in Europe—might destroy this miserable parochialism, and make patriotism, devotion to the country possible. Meantime, however, ] we are not educated up to that point, or are not deemed so. But we might try to obtain, as a beginning a few representatives, not purely local, who might infuse a portion of their spirit into the Houses. If, for instance, the Upper House were not one purely nominee, but elected by the whole Colony as one constituency, it would become an i Upper House in reality as it would cease to be so merely in name. Itfo temporary Government could then swampit by an inundation of nominees. People would gladly respect it instead of looking upon it as a mere obstructive, qualified at best to hang up revolutionary notions upon the clothes-horse, or to give a voice to a Minister iv whom the Executive for the time, but not the people, have confidence. Such an tipper House would then cease to be one merely in name. la the Lower House, one constituency purely " unlocal " h suggested by British precedent. The graduates of English Universities throughout New Zealand wouid i constitute a constituency, whose representatives would command more respect than any other. They would necessarily be men of education and intelligence, and as representing no local interests in particular, would be much listened to by all. Mere canvassing and log-rolling would be impossible with uuch men. In like manner, schoolmasters holding a certificate authorised by Government would- form aa influential, intelligent, and, above all, an independent constituency, On the same principle, perhaps, lodgers, who do not own an acre of land, though they do possess a large share of the intelligence of the country might be admitted to the I franchise, and we have eeen that a bill*

was passed io effect this in the Lower House on Wednesday last. Doubtless, a Bystern of clasa representation might be carried too far, but within reasonable limits, we are persuaded, it might be adopted with advantage. Again, might not the ballot be so arranged that a reasonable amount'of education should be a necessary qualification. A gentleman, who is unable to write the'l.at'ne of his chosen candidate, and to sign Ms own, is hardly likely to have formed ah intelligent opinion as to the policy of the country. What little the bulk of the electors know of politics, and of the merits of our public men is gained by reading, and the accomplishment of reading is usually accompanied by that of writing. An instance has come ! within our knowledge, in which one of the | sovereign people, being instructed by his advisers to strike out the top name on the ballot-paper, and being guiltless of letters, struck out the name of the district, and left the names of the candidates untouched. This gentleman, whatever his natural powers may have been, was scarcely competent to*form an intelligent opinion on public affairs, which in his case could scarcely have been baaed on anything but current reports, or the conversation of the tap-room honored by his custom. Except in very remote districts, the amount of education necessary to enable a voter to read and write is accessible to all at a reasonable rate, if not without cost. Such a qualification may have been antidemocratic, when schools were rare in the mother country, and non-existent here. But the persons that would be unfairly disqualified by this qualification, is pretty nearly extinct now. They are scarcely important enough in numbers or intelligence to make their presence desirable in tke pollingbooth. These are a few of the suggestions that might be made towards the review of the present electoral arrangements. The tendency of such ' principles of reform towards securing the most intelligent constituencies j and representatives need scarcely be dwelt upon, and as they tend to promote the interests of no individual, or party or locality, are scarcely likely to obtain prominence in our Legislation as now constituted, The numerically weak, but relatively intelligent constituencies of the country have, however a very direct interest in demanding that something should be done, not to overpower, but to counterbalance local influences and brute numerical force.