The Taranaki Herald. PUBLISHED DAILY. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1890.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 8885, 19 September 1890, Page 2

The Taranaki Herald. PUBLISHED DAILY. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1890.

Parliament has been formally prorogued till October 2nd, but before that date arrives we may expect to hear of His Excellency the Governor dissolving the House, and the writs for a general election being issued. The House has been sitting about nine weeks, the acual number of days on which the members met being 57. The hours of sitting were 508, the daily average being 8$ hours. During the session 150 bills have been introduced, of which G3 were passed, and 87 were dropped or otherwise disposed of by the Legislative Council. During the last session there have been presented 308 petitions ; and there have been 13 Select Committees appointed, who have sent up 389 reports. The questions asked the Ministers numbered 465 ; the entries in the Journals of the House were 976 ; orders for papers, 90 ; and paperb laid on the table, 23*2. The numbor of divisions taken was 288, which shows th -.t the decisions were not given without a fight for it. Amongst the Acts passed about half were amendments. There were also three Impress Supply Acts passed, besides the Appropriation Act. The Labour Bills introduced in a half-hearted manner in the House all met with a "happy despatch "in the Council. And thns came to an end the fourth session of the Tenth Parliament of New Zealand.

The School Committees' Eleolion Act, which for eight yours has been annually brought up in the House and thrown out in the Legislative Council, has at last been passed, and the cumulative system of voting in a School Committee will be heard of no more. The principal argument in favour of th,e cumulative vote was that it allowed the representation of minorities, but the theory did not work out as intended, for whilst by the system the good mon were rejected, those who choose to manipulate the votts could ahyavi be

returned. There is anothor very necessary alteration in tho Education Act by this measure, and that is tho term "householder "is clearly defined. This measure was opposed by some in the Legislative Council because there seemed to be a fear that to once amend the Education Act was the commencement of breaking up of the system. The'rhembers who were opposed to these very necessary amendments in the Legislative Council were Messrs Baillie, Dignan, Johnston, Pharazyn, Richmond, Swanson, Sir G. Whitmore, Dr. Grace, and Dr. Pollen. It is very evident that none | of them had Been the evils the cumulative vote system led up to, nor could they have ever had the difficult question of "a householder " left for them to define according to the wording of the Act. The Hon. G. McLean intimated as much, for he said he was " satisfied that those who were opposing the bill had not attended school committee elections, otherwise they would very soon change their minds a good deal. He had been at elections whore people had been packed in a room like sardines in a tin, and many turned away with no possibility or chance of voting. It had been said that there had been no desire throughout the country for the alteration now proposed, but, as a mattei of fact, conference of school committees had year after year unanimously declared against the cumulative vote. Nearly everyone in tho district from which ho came unanimously declared that the Education Act was unsatisfactory, and asked for its amendment in .this respect. Moreover, many of those who had formerly opposed the present Bill, having attended school committee elections, had become quite converted to the principles of this Bill." Everyone knows this is but too true, and therefore the amendment to the still very imperfect Education Act will be approved of by most persons.