LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

Wanganui Chronicle, Issue 19896, 13 September 1913, Page 4

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

COMMITTEE'S REPORT. POPULAR ELECTION CONDEMNED* ELECTORAL COLLEGE PROPOSED. (By' Telegraph.) (i'Vonl. our Parliamentary Representative.) WELLINGTON, Sept. 12. The select committee appointed by th© Legislative Council to repjortw upon the reform of the.Constitution of that Chamber to-day presented its' report to tho Council. Its general trend is against the policy of the Government, as it condemns the provision for an election by the people, and advances instead that members of the Council shall be, elected by the members of the two Houses. , • The report as presented embodies formal resolutions upon the basis of which* \& new draft Bill is issued. This first resolution was passed unanimously:— '"That it is expedient that the constitution of the Council b© changed wholly ■ or partially from the present system oi" appointment by nomination to some system of elect ion.?' The following resolution proposed by the Hon. H. D. Bell was defeated by five votes to three:— "That tli© system of election of the' .. , Council be direct at the polls by the yame franchise as for the House of Representatives." The Hon. J. R. Sinclair's motion "That, as vacancies occur three-fourths of the number of European Councillors be elected directly at the polls, and that one-fourth of such Coun- ' cillors be nominated," was negatived by six .votes to two. ■, The next resolution proposed by the Hon: J. D. Ormond, "That it is expedient that the number of {European Councillors be limited to the present number (40), arid that all vacancies .as they occur be filled by election by members of the Council and of the House of Representatives by ballot," was carvied by five votes to four. On the basis of this resolution the Committee amended the Bill, clause by clause, to agree with the principle proposed. By the same majority of five to four this resolution, also proposed by the Hon. Mr Ormond, was/passed :— '•'That itt the opinion of the committee : the coming into operation of the Act, if passed, should be deferred until after the next general election." The committee recommended finally, that subject to the decision of the Council upon this last resolution* the Legis- , lative Council Reform Bill should be .. s .amended to agree with the draft Bill submitted.by the committee. THE DRAFT BILL. The Bill as drafted by the committee provides that -the members of the Council shall be forty, exclusive of members of the Maori race. Whenever a va->—^^ cancy occurs a member shall be elected by the votes/of members of .the two Houses of Parliament. When the Speaker issues his warrant to the Clerk of the Council for an election, this intimation shall be gazetted with the date of nomination and the date of election, which shall be fourteen days after the .nominations have closed. A candidate must be nominated by at least two members of either House with his consent intimated to the clerk. -• When an election is necessary the clerk shall send forthwith by sealed letter addressed to each member of either House of Parliament a voting-paper bearing the names of the Candidates and the hour and day when the election closes. Members desiring to vote, shall indicate their preference by a cross opposite the name of the candidate, and shall forward their papers to the clerk in proper time. The day after the close of the poll the Clerk of the Council, in thepresence of two persons, one appointed : ;by the Speaker,:of each House, shall . open and examine the voting papers, and. the candidates who have received the greatest number of votes exceeding the number of vacancies, shall • be declared elected. In the case, of an , equality of Votes a- decision shalll be arrived at by lot. SPECIAL PROVISIONS. It is specialy provided that the member whose term of office expires on October 16, 1913 (Hon. T. Kelly) shall continue in office until December 22nd next !

Of the 12 members, of the Council whose term of office expires on January 22: 1914, three shall retire, then three shall remain in office until February 22 next and then retire, three shall remain until March 22 next and shall then retire, < and the remainder until April 22 and then retire. The order in which these members are to retire is t0 be determined by lot. Every member elected to the Council shall hold office for seven years. The Governor's powers of nominating two Maori members are not interfered with. The Governor also may summon to the Council any duly qualified person being a member of the Executive Council.. AN ENGLISH MODEL. *

In Part 2, relating to the powers of the Council and the House'respectively, an iamendment is proposed which has for its model one of the most important provisions of the British Parliament Bill, designed to prevent blocking by the House of Lords. This clause provides that after a joint sitting of the two Houses has been held (as proposed by the Hon. H. I) Bell's Bill), and the measure- as last proposed by the House is not affirmed, by the vote of a majority of that joint sitting, and the same Bill is read a third time in the next succeeding session iand sent up to the Council at least one month before the end of that session, and. is not passed by the Council or is materially altered; then the Bill on its rejection for the third time shall, unless the House direct to the Contrary, be presented to the Governor, and become an Act of Parliament, notwithstanding that the Council has not consented to the Bill. This provision is not to have effect unless at least two years have elapsed between the date of the second reading on its first introduction and th© date of the third reading in the last session concerned. Other machinery .alterations are provided to carry out the effect of these provisions. No other material .alterations are made in the pr nc'plc of the Bill.