The Waikato Times, THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE, AND KAWAHIA AADVOCATE. Established Thirty-Four Years. THE OLDEST DAILY NEWSPAPER IN THE WAIKATO. THE LARGEST CIRCULATION OF ANY DAILY PAPER SOUTH OF AUCKLAND. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1906. THE REPRESENTATION COMMISSION.

Waikato Times, Volume LVII, Issue 8061, 21 November 1906, Page 2

The Waikato Times, THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE, AND KAWAHIA AADVOCATE. Established Thirty-Four Years. THE OLDEST DAILY NEWSPAPER IN THE WAIKATO. THE LARGEST CIRCULATION OF ANY DAILY PAPER SOUTH OF AUCKLAND. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1906. THE REPRESENTATION COMMISSION.

Tin Representation Commission, whicli liao lui; sitting in Wellington I during tlif last few iL>,: lias had a diliictiii. task in re-arraugina J.,, ! electorates of >hv colony on n rational basis. Particularly in the North Island, which Ua* heen allotted three additional seats, has tin. reform been ' pressing. The weird foiins taken i, some of the electoral districts, differ : ing entirely in many cases from the' Joca) {jnverninent areas, have caused i endless confusion and placed 1111necessary dilliciilties in !hu way of their representatives. I i,<iu existing conditions it is absolutely ii«. i possible for several members to keep I in tlie close touch with portions of their constituencies that is desirable, especially in the more iveently settled districts, whose exigencies demand continual Parliamentary activity, j for instance, the Kgmonl electorate is so amazingly planned, that the member, who resides in New Plymouth—the principal polling booth ' is ui VVaitara, seven miles distant - ha*, to take H.tcamci' to Oneliunga and travel down thiough the Waikato and King Country to consult with a considerable proportion of bis constituents. Jt would be difficult to] imagine a more inconvenient arrangement, or one that would do more to' discourage aspirants for political liunouie from wooing the electors of Kginont. Al electorate so constituted imposes a itrribiy severe strain on its member, especial-lv if t> pays t he conscientious ail •ntiun lo his duties that Mr Jennings. At the last election I he candidate for the I'j'gtuoiit seat ; whose claims were championed by : iht; Political Labour League con-; ducted his entire campaign mi { foot, and it is a tribute to his pluck and tenacity in what the result proven ,to 1-. ;< hopeless enter- j prise that he addressed luoetiugs of electors at every polling piace. . Egmont is by no means the onl\ | electorate thai presents much features ' We might mention half a dozen con- i stituencies in the North Island that ; exact the most exhaustive work of! then representatives. The average country member, if he discharges his i obligations conscientiously, has not I much time to call his own, even I

though his electorate be a comparatively small one. It is certainly unfair (ii demand of him long and exhausting journeys to reach the on! lying portions of his distriel The electors are inconvenienced in many oases no loss than the member by being situated in uiiweildh districts. The reporl of (he Commission will be awaited with interest, and ii is to be hoped thai the recommendations it will doubtless contain will be adopted, and thai Ihe boundaries of many electorates which now trace such fantastic designs on the electoral map, will undergo considerable alteration before the nexi general election. It is extremely satisfactory to learn thai the .North Island is to be given three new scats. This will allow of a more ecpiitabledistribution and will go a long way towards removing the feeling of resentment against the South Island on the subject of representation. We understand that one of the new electorates will iuclude a portion of the W'aihi district, an arrangement reudered possible by the re< struct ion of the two electorates adjoining. The additional representation thus provided will be a decided advantage to that important district. DKOKKASK IX CKIMK. Till. Auckland province has I'oi some years possessed the unenviable reputation of showing more serious crime in proportion to the population than any other part of I lie colony. It is therefore gratifying to note that the calendar to be dealt with by His Honour Mr Justice hid wards, at the present session of the Supreme Court is lighter than has been the ease for many years, and that there is a marked diminution in the number of offences against women and children. The relation of crime to general prosperity has for years been the subject of searching investigation by criminologists, and it has been indisputably proved that the fluctuations ol crime correspond more or less closely with the conditions of life prevailing. Thus in times of plenty there is little of the more sordid description of evildoiug, such- tus offences against the rights of property, 'this characteristic, however, has not. been noticeable in the same degree in the case of crimes of violence. Accepting the dictum that prosperity and crime are closely allied, it is to be assumed that at the present tune the province is enjoying ;i higher prosperity, and that the number of people out of employment is inconsiderable. The decrease in numbers in the second class of crime mentioned may perhaps in pari be attributed to the deterrent effect of I lie salutary sentences indicted on offenders, and in part to the efficiency of the police fence, which renders the prospects of ultimate escape from justice

remote. We nuiv uuiignitulutu ourselves on the iucreiisinjxly healthy moral tone of the community, which theft' is every reason to hope will, with a rising prosperity and the consequent improvement in the conditions of life, .-till more markedly pervade all classes of society as years go by