REPRESENTATION.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12082, 10 August 1917, Page 4

REPRESENTATION.

ADJUSTMENT OF ELECTORAL BOUNDARIES. MR M'CALLUM'S SUGGESTION, [From Our Correspondent.] WELLINGTON, August 9. Thfi manner in which the growing population of the. North Island is ©very tiro years encroaching on the parliamentary representation of t-li« South Island has for long been a matter of vexation to southern politicians, who ni'A onee again within sight of losing j two or three seats in th 0 coming electoral boundary sliufdo. The ma.ter wai lirotighf. up in the House to-day by_ ill M'Callum, who urged the Prime Minister to give serious consideration to a proposal hi- had to make. The roembel said hf did nor. suggest any interference with the forthcoming revision of electoral boundaries, but in future h< thought, the position would be. greatlj simplified by leaving the South Island electoral boundaries as permanent boun* daiies by giving the increasing popula/ tion of the •> ort h Island its due bj increasing the number of seats ah ocoa» si on demanded. The member contended that, by Mich process much of the confusion arising from the present system would disappear, whilo it would also ho much i'oirer between license and nolicenso districts. At present, said Mr M'Cnllum, the Boundary Commissioners liad jiower to put a portion of license districts into no-license districts, which, lie urged, was a. most unfair procedure. Mr*Massey expressed the opinion that the possibility of license districts be- 4 ing placed in prohibition districts was minimised bv the Act passed, he believed. in 1914'; in fact, lie. thought anything of that sort was made impossible Dickson (Parneil): No, it does not make it impossible. Mr Masse.v: Well, it was intended to prevent any'future injustice being done. . There, certainly is provision to prevent that sort of thing if it is possible to do so: but I will look up the point, and if it requires amending I will be pleased to give members an opportunity of doing so. As to making the South Island boundaries permanent, it would, doubtless, be very excellent from the point of view of members of Parliament and candidates for parliamentary honours, but we ha vo to do justice to the whole population. The Prim e Minister went] on to point out that in some of the electoral districts of Britain the population was very little over a. thousand, while in others the population was nearly 50,000. That was the result of fixing permanent boundaries, and we in New Zealand would have to avoid anything like that. He had no doubt, however. that legislation would be put before Parliament dealing with the whol< question before another election occurred, whether it came in. a few month! or in eighteen months. Mr Pearce: We don't want to increase the size of the House. There flx< enough to talk in it already. (Laugfo . ter.)