The Star. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 1925. SOUTH ISLAND DISABILITIES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17524, 29 April 1925, Page 6

The Star. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 1925. SOUTH ISLAND DISABILITIES.

In the re-shuffle of railway time-tables in the North | and South Island, the Minister appears to have overlooked | the inconvenience that js caused every winter by ibe irregularity of the ferry service. Thus, with the announcement of a speeding up in the Chrislchurcli-Invcrcargill connection j comes word that the s.s. Mararoa is to resume her running • in the winter ferry service. This veteran steamship, which ] was launched forty years ago, has been able to keep up ] appearances to some extent since she became an oil-burner, but her average time of arrival at Lyttelton, even under the best conditions, gives southern passengers an anxious scramble for seats in the express, and on many occasions she misses the southern connection altogether. This state of affairs is not likely to be improved under tiie new winter time-table of the Invercargill express, for the train will leave Christchurch at the usual time, and tiie reduced running time will be reflected in an earlier arrival at Invercargill. It would be possible, of course, to start the ; express an hour later, and thus reduce the risk of a I failure to connect with the ferry steamer, but it would he more satisfactory if the company could he induced lo despatch the vessel earlier from Wellington, and with Ibis object in view the New Plymouth and Wairarapa expresses | could he speeded up or their time-tables altered to bring ; them into Wellington an hour earlier. For, after all, the I principal South Island grievance with the winter ferry i service is not so much the occasional failure of the mail connection, exasperating as it must be to the whole community south of Christchurch, as the consistently late | arrival of northern mails in this city. In the past these mails have arrived so late that it has been impossible, at i times, to deal with northern correspondence in time to 5 catch the return mail. This difficulty will be overcome to j some extent by the fact that the s.s. Mararoa will take her i departure from Lyttelton at a later hour, but even then I the position will be unsatisfactory. the real difficulty lies in Government neglect of South Island interests, a lact which was glaringly illustrated on Anzac Day, when an express from the South was run to enable northern passengers to catch the ferry steamer on Saturday night, although the four hundred odd passengers who arrived in Lyttelton on Saturday morning had no means of travelling further south Ilian Christchurch. A correspondent whose letter is published to-day professes to be in doubt as to why the ‘'Star," in supporting the Citizens’ ticket at the municipal election, should condemn an electoral system that promises to give that party a clean sweep at the polls. The answer, of course, is that (he system is so faulty that not only may il deny minorities j the right of representation in proportion to their strength, but it may swing right round in the opposite direction and enable a well-organised minority to impose its will on a divided majority, in defiance of the unchallengeable principle of majority rule. It so happens that the Citizens’ Association, as far as the election of councillors is con- | cerned, really represents a grouping of forces in opposition j to Labour, but if once a breach could be established in this | coalition, similar to that which has placed Mr .1. W. Beanj land in the field for the mayoralty, the majority would very soon lind that the Labour minority stood to gain most by the first-past-the-post system. Proportional representation, on the other hand, would set an absolute limit to the number of seats that any group of voters could secure, and would do away with the necessity for coalitions and party tickets, thus inducing any reputable citizen to offer his services to the city without first obtaining a party label. And if preferential voting were introduced for single member constituencies such as the Mayoralty, the citizens would he I aide to look beyond party considerations and vote on the ' individual merits of the candidates. j The decision of the Appeal Court in the matter of suburban shop hours leaves the Arbitration Court in i possession of the field lor the time being. Ihe original t position was that the grocers of Sumner and Brighton had ! declared for a Wednesday half-holiday, hut 'die Arbitration | Court insisted that they should observe a Saturday half- ; holiday as well, while pointing out that they might stii! 1 obtain a certificate enabling them to open on the statutory Wednesday half-day. Such a decision is harsh and | unreasonable, for it is obvious that the suburban grocers should be allowed, in accordance with the Shops and Offices I Act, to fix their own half-holiday, and there is no doubt | that their businesses must lie greatly interfered with by a ! Saturday closing edict. But. apart from tiie merits of the j case under notice, the Appeal Court’s decision is of much i wider interest for if, as it holds, the Arbitration Court’s i judicial acts arc “not subject to examination or control, whether on tiie ground of error, irregularity or otherwise,” il is obvious that the Court enjoys legislative powers, which it should be divested of at the earliest possible moment. And Parliament, at the same time, should living in legislation that will clear up any doubt as to the right of suburban shopkeepers lo decide what half-holiday they shall observe.