THE LIBERAL AND LABOUR COUNCIL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5736, 2 December 1896, Page 4

THE LIBERAL AND LABOUR COUNCIL.

o MESSRS COLLINS AND CULLEN. Tlie President of the Liberal and. Labour Council having written, criticising the attitude of Messrs Collins and Cullen towards some of the proposals put forward by that body, a copy of his letter was submitted to the two candidates, and their replies are now published with the original charges : — TO THE EDITOR. Sir, — That the public may know some of the speedy changes taking place in the views of men wishing to represent us in Parliament, will you kindly insert the following facts ? Mr Collins, in reply to a question asked in the Opera House, stated he had not written to the Liberal and Labour Council that he was in favour of the Elective Executive. Will you kindly place before your readers Mr Collins's own words? On Oct. 10, 1896, he wrote: — "Permit me in reply to your circular to say that so far as Sections 2 to 9 are concerned I am entirely in accord with your platform, and have already advocated these reforms in the House of Representatives." Section 4is the election of the Ministry by the representatives of the people in Parliament. In reply to Section 1 Mr Collins states, " I am not in favour of the admission of women to Parliament, but would remove all other disabilities. I should support the appointment of women to the Legislative Council, as in that Chamber they are without representation." Mr Cullen states in his circular he is a threefifths majority man, yet in reply to the Council'splatform,receivedSept. 10, 1896, he says : — " I consider it is an incontrovertible democratic principle that the majority shall rule in all matters. Vox populi, vox Dei is a mere travesty unless we admit the right of the bare majority." On the question of the Elective Executive Mr Cullen is quite clear, and that is my reason for wishing to quote his own words: — "I hold that precisely the same laws of economy that apply to the election of the executive of a wefl-organised Trades Union or Association axe logically applicable to the executive of a nation. That is, that just as the membere of the Union or Association appoint their own executive, from the head downwards, to hold office for a stated period, and retain to themselves the power of removing any one of the number whom they may consider is not acting in accord with the purpose of his office, so the members of the House of Representatives should have the power of electing and (if necessary) deposing the various members of the executive." I think from the above quotation your readers will see that the gentlemen named • are shakey whilst before the public. What will their position be when elected ? — I am, &c, S. BILLCLIFF, President Liberal and Labour Council, TO THE EDITOR. Sib,— lf Mr Billcliff can find anything inconsistent between my reply to a question asked in the Opera House and my answer to the circular of the Liberal and Labour Council he must have a peculiarly constituted mind. At the Opera House I was asked — "Was I in favour of the Elective Executive Bill." Now, the only Bill of that title is Major Steward's Bill, which I regard as altogether too crude for the purpose designed, and while agreeing that the Executive should represent the will of the House of Kepresentatives as that Chamber represents the will of the country, I could not assent to a Bill which, to my mind, is but #n ill-conceived attempt to attain the object aimed at. My attitude on the question of the admission of women to Parliament ought, even to Mr Billcliff to be perfectly clear, and my decision to assist that further reform is the result of a recognition of the fact that there are some measures in which women are particularly interested, but with regard to which they are both misunderstood and misrepresented. Their presence in Parliament would help to prevent this, and hence my determination to support that change. —I am, &c, W. W. COLLINS. TO THE EDITOR. Sib, — Mr Billcliff has resorted to the old trick of extracting only a portion of my reply to the Liberal and Labour Council, after the manner in which "the devil quotes Scripture." To get at my true opinion at that time, which is my opinion still, it will be necessary to quote in full my reply to two questions on the platform of the Council, also portion of a letter written by me, and which appeared in your issue of Oct. 9. The Council's platform: — Question s—"The5 — "The establishment of the referendum." I replied: "This is a most important measure, and would receive my most active support. But, to be effective, it would, in my opinion, be necessary to place the initiative fcr the movement of the machinery of such a law in the hands of the people. In every Bill which, passing into law, would involve momentous issues — such as abolition of the Upper House, the raising of loans, national prohibition, &c. — I would have a clause inserted that the Bill should be submitted to referendum." Question 12 — " That decisions on licensing questions shall be by a bare majority of the votes polled on these questions." I replied : " I consider it is an incontrovertible democratic principle that the majority shall rule in all matters. Vox populi vox del is a mere travesty unless we admit the rig-Xt ©£ the l>cvre majority. Bnt, as these questions belong to the class of legislation involving grave issues, and as the majority of the people [mark the words " majority of the people," not "of the votes polled"] may consider it unwise that a bare majority shall rule in, say, a national prohibition vote, any Bill having for its object this 'momentous issue' I should insist on being submitted to referendum of the people. As I believe in the referendum, this is a but a logical deduction." Then, as to my letter of Oct. 9, I wrote: " Now, as to my meaning of ' bare majority,' and proposals there anent. As a believer in the Referendum, I propose to refer to the people the question of what shall constitute the majority by which partial or national prohibition shall be carried, and that future legislation be based on the reply of the bare majority of the people, not of the votes recorded. I should most resolutely oppose any Liquor Bill containing the bare majority clause (except the people had first decided for this clause), as personally, I believe the question of prohibition, partial or national, should be allowed to settle itself by the growing sobriety of the people." So, you see, my attitude then was identical with my attitude now — as soon as we can get at the real mind and will of the people I will trust them. Till then, the threefifths majority is an imperative necessity. If it were not that justice to the electors compels me to answer, I should treat the old-fashioned trick of Mr Billcliffwith the contempt it deserves. Then as to the Elective Executive, it is one thing to believe in improving our form of government and quite another to vote for. a weak and inefficient Elective Executive Bill like Major Steward's, at the risk of turning out of office a strong and efficient Government like that of the Hon R. J. Seddon. — I am, &o, WILLIAM CULLEN. The. 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