LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. Friday. REPORT OF SELECT COMMITTEE ON DI QUALIFICATION.

Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 673, 12 September 1876, Page 2

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. Friday. REPORT OF SELECT COMMITTEE ON DI QUALIFICATION.

The Lion. Mr \V<iCerhouse brought up the report of the .Select Committee ou i ho question of Disqualification, wtiich wms :o*d as follow* •.—. — Tuo Couiautt.ee appoiated to report whether member* ut .tuts .Executive Council not coming within the exemption to the Disqualification Act coinprued in tiie 7th clause of the Civil Lut Act, 1863, Amendment Act, 1573, are entitled to lit and vote in lha proceedings of Parliament, have the uouor to report that with a view to enabling them to come to a decision upou the iiaporUut subject rotered to them, when they have taken the opinioa of Mr itoid (Solicitor General) and Mr W £ L l<avin, barrister, i'uese opinions they hae appeuded. Your committed have no hesitancy in itpurtmg that, m their optutou, auy member of the Jixecutifo Cuuucil uot comiug with the exeinptieus to the Disqualthcatiou Act, comprised in the 7th clause- of ttie Civil Lut Act Amendment ace, 1873, i» nob entitled to ait .aud vote iv Jf.trliameat. — J ilicbaideou, Chairman Disqualification Committee. Wellington, bth of December, 187b". The following are the legal opinions refeired to; — To the lion feir J ilioaanlsou, Chairman of Disqualification Committee, Legislative Council, Wellington. Sir, — I have tne honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of ihu date, conveyiug copy of n lesolutioa of the Diaqualitioatiim Committee of tba Legislative Council, aad requesting me to aavio«., u the tubject of tuat resolution. Iv- reply, 1 big to say that the Civil Liat Act Amendment Aot, 1873, does uot limit the number of members of the Legislature who tnay be appointed member* of the Executive Council to nine, iuolosive of two Maori members, but znoioly limits the exemption oontained in the sixth section of the Disqualification Act, 1870, to such nine members of the Legislature, including two Maori members, who ni«y be appoiuted to the Executivo Council, to whose office the saUnea fixed on the second schedule are attached. The disqualifying section of tne Act, 1870, only apphss to persons, whether numbers of the Executive Council or not, accepting any offiae, commission, or umployirent to which any saUry, feei, wages, allowance, emolument, or profit of any kind is attached, and tho questiou, therefore whether a member of the Legislature accepting any ofhee, commission, or employmem is disqualified or uot, depends on whether aDy iiJary, &c, in attached to the office so acuepte.l. — Wm. T L Travers."— ' Welliogton, 7th heptember 1876.-Th 9 Hoa Sir John X cuardson' Chairman of Disqualification Committee.' Wellington.— S r,— With r>;i«,>« aC o to our conversation thu morning. I now supplement tQft opiuioa whioh L gay« yvsWrdav with reference to a resolution of the committee of which you aie chairman. It appears to me to be perfectly clear' so far as the legislation of this colony goes, that the governor is not linited as t j the nttinberg uf persons whom ha insy appoint tj be members of his Executive Council. The Civil List Act Am-^ndmeut Act, 187J hiwever, expr<h»ly limits the uuinbur of members receiving salary to 9— namely. 7 not Maori or half-oasta aud two Maori or haif-caite, aud requires that each one of t&e nevvit who receive a salary shall h >Id vue or more of the offiuos mentioned iv the third schedule »t> the Act; but th > four h sectiou ot that Act gives to every mtuiher of tUe Executive Couucii, whether holding aoy of the offices mentioned in the t;nid acl'edule or not, a right to a uiomed allowance not exceeding £2 a day, whilst, ei.gigid in travelling within the oolon , Th u Act i< • lem, as o the mauue-r in which the question of allowance ia to bep4id, but however this is to <>c done, it is clear that a uionied allowance is alt ioheii to uffioe of member* of < he Executive Council. Auy member o> thu Legiilaturn accepting the offij,. of Ex«cativeCou oiilor, and uot holdn.g ona or mom of th» ; ffiow menu, n.d in tv thud Module,' would, 1 think, « t »m e vr'it'ia tb« provifliont of tho Hfth

section of the Disqualification Act, even though th« whole nnnibT of members was under seven. Ho would equally come within the time provisions if he accepted one of the offices mentioned in the third schedule, if th-ra w««re already seven mem he's holding offiae whether with salary or not. In a'l respects the aV>ve rem-irk* would apply to the case of M*ori or h.ilf-caste members, in ckco?i of those r"c<iung the salary in the second part of the s-cond schedule. —I have, Ac , WT L Travers. The opinion of the Solicitor- General is ai follows :— I think that an appointment to a ■eat in the Executive Council, in excess of thje number of person* declared by the 7tb lection of the Civil List Act of 1873, to be exempt from the operation ol the D'squtlificUion Act creates a dirquilißcation within the meauiDg of the latter Act. Ihe sth section of the Disqualification Act JB7O, so f«r •• it affects this question, diaqoaliflcs »ny person holding an office under the Crown, to whioh any •"allowance" is attached, and the fourth section of 'the Civil List Act of 1873, provides that members of the Executive Council are entitled io certain trare ling allowances by the Civil list Aot of 187 », section 7. Exemption <f msmbers of the Exeout ye Council from th* operation of the disqualification, is limited to " any seven p rsons bsiug members of the BxecutiTe Council, and holding any one or more of the officers mentioned in the third schedule to thM Aot, and to other persons being of the M*ori race or halfoasten, and members of the Executive Council, <tc, ' There can be no question that ft member of Executive Conncil holds an offiae under the Crown. He is appointed hy the Crown, and according to the form of tho inattument of appointment holds the office with*' the nghti, profi s, pririleges, ami advantages thfreunto belonging or appertaining, in iho most full and ample inanuer." Nor do I think there oau be any queition that the right to receive the allowance* provided for in lha fourth section of the Civil Li«t Act of 1878 is attached to tie office. The mem bora of the Executive Council are entitled to these allowances virtute ojficii, an-l it would not matter whether tN>y were claimed or received by the person holding tb<» offlc >, bee* use they attach to th« office by force of tho statute, and do not depend on the act cf the party entitled. — (Signed) W S Keul. Wo quote tho following clauses form the Disqualification Act of 1870: — "5. No person except ail* hereinafter speciilly provided accepting or holding any office commission or employment permineiit or temporary under or from or bj or at the appointment or nomination of the Crown or the Governor of Kew Zealand by virtue of hi* office as Governor or at or by the nomimition or appointment of any officer of the Oovsrnment of the Colony of New Zetland by virtue of his office to which any salary fees waget allowance emolument or proit of ang kind is attached shall be capable of beiruj summoned toorof hjlding «i sent in the Legislative Council or of being elected to servo as a member of the House of .Representatives or of sitting or voting m u member either of tho said Council or the said House during the time he holds such office occupation or employment. "6. Nothing in tho last section stall render iicipnble of b'ing summoned to tlu Ehid Council or of being elected to servo as a member of tho said House or disqualify to sit or vot« in the said Council or House any person being ;v laember of the Executive Council of the Colony or any person being a ueinbsr of tho saii Executive Council and hoi iing any of the following offioes that i* to say of Colonial Secretary Colonial Treasurer Commissioner of Customs Postmaster -General or any person being a member of the said Exocuiive Council and a responsible Minister of the Crown i i New Zealand holding any office other than thoie of Colonial Score ai-y Colon al Tien^urer Comumsioner of Customs or PostiiuatorGeneral to which ho ha* been or may hereiifice be app hiilgA by the GoVdmor." Tho Civil List Aot Amendment Act, 1873 empowered Ministers to hold individually one or more of the offices, as vet down in the schedule attached to the Act, but enoh Minister was only to have one salary. This Act of 1873, after quoting the sixth section of tho Disqualification Act of 1870, which we have given above, proceeds thus :—: — '• Be it iherpfore enacted thak the exemption from tho provisions of the fifth section of the Disqualification Act 1J570 provided (or in so much of the sixth »eclion of the said last-named Aoc as it hereinbefore recited shall extend *nd apply only to tho following persons that is to cay, — "Any seven persons b -ing members of the Executive Commit tec and holding an; one or nioro of the offices mentioned in the third schedule to this Aot and two other persons bring of the Maori race or half-eiiBtes and members of tho Executive Council to whom the salary mentioned in the second part of the second schedu'e is payable. And tbo term * KespoDiifcfe Minister of the Crown in New Zealand' where used in the smd «urth section shall raoin and include only such officer* and persons aforesaid." ■ The following is tbo schedule referred to:

Third if eh bottle. Coloniil Secretary, Colonial Treasurer. Native Minister, Miunter for Public Works, roitm«ater-(J©ncr«l « m l Commissioner of Telegrapbf, CommisMoner of Telegraphs, Commiuioner ot Customs, Miuiiter of Justice, Attorney-General (when and so long as no appointment to the office i made undtr the AttorneyGeneral Act, 1566), Commissioner <i [ Stamp Dutin. Syuretwp for Crown Landt, Mi isier for Immigration, MiiJijter for Mines, Minister for Agri ulfcura.