ELECTORAL BOUNDARIES.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8291, 20 November 1906, Page 6

ELECTORAL BOUNDARIES.

The deliberations of the Representation Commissioners, now sitting in Wellington, viewing the large accession of population to the North Island will mean that the South Island loses three seats. The North Island will thus gain the seats lost to the South. Interviewed with respect to the position by a New Zealand Timea • bpresentative, the Hon, R. MoNab said the fact that the South Island was losing three seats was oausing some omment. Vlfc is a strange thing," the Minister pointed out, "that Southland gis tho only par ; ; of the South Island that. r hus got as great an increase, proportionately, as tho North Island. That is to say, while the whole of the South Island ban lo give up three members, about half or three-quarters of the balance of population goes to Southland. I think that one of the Otago seats will probably bo thrown into Southland—perhaps Wakatipu will be wedged into the province. In my own electorate, Matnura, I will have to someone else. Awarua gices ap a similar number: lnvercargill a to give somoS 2,000 of the population few more- than Awarua, and Wallace also has a while Wakatipu, Clutba, Bruce, Tuapeka, Taieri, and Mount Ida vary from 2,000 to 3,000 in numbors in the new quota. One of these seats will go out of existence and come tu the North Island. The probabilities are that it will, be Tuapeka or Taieri. Then it is accepted that a \ Canterbury Beat will disappear. It is known that one of the Canterbury seats must ooaio to tie North Island and, probably, also, another seat from the north of tho South Island will disappear. Some people appear to think that this seat lies in the vicinity of Nelson—either Motueka lor Bnller. In tegard to the loss of population in Otago, I think this is I due iu soma measure to the tailI ing off of the dredging industry, and the flax industry has also taken away a lot of men J to Southland, where flaxmills are very numerous. With reference to the general increase of population in the North Island, I believe it is due largely to the olimatio conditions being more 1 favourable, as people prefer the I milder climate to the more strenuous climate of the Sontb. Numbers of oar people having aoquired a competency leave the South and take up their residence in the North Island. I think that tendency is growing. The last census showed an increase of- 86,000 people in the North and only 26,000 in the South, or an iuorease of 60,000 in favour of the North."