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The Advertiser
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1871.
It is a great pity that before another ap- <*>
peal was made to the constituencies some
reform in the Electoral Act was not car- <*>
ried. The fundamental principle which
is supposed to underlie an electoral law
is the equalization of the number of
electors in each'district—that is, that the
colony should be divided into a certain
number of districts having about the
same number of electors in each. It re
quires very little thought, however, to
see that this principle cannot in all cases
be carried out pure and simple; and,
therefore, another has to be recognised—
community of interest. It is some years
since we had a new Electoral Act, and
since it was passed the conditions of
several of the districts have .very
much changed. In a new community
population is always shifting, being
attracted in one direction or other by
adventitious circumstances. Not many
years ago, when the north country was
very sparsely populated, the District of
Burra and Clare included all the country
north of Barossa and Light, except the
pastoral district of Flinders. As new
agricultural lands were discovered, and
the country now included in the District
of Stanley became populated, it was found
necessary to divide the Burra and Clare,
and to form a new district. Since then
population has still gone northward, and
Stanley has outgrown its original dimen
sions, and it is now necessary to form a
new district.
The same thing has been going on in
other districts. When Torke's Peninsula
was only a sheep run, it was properly
enough regarded as belonging to the Dis
trict of Port Adelaide ; but after the dis
covery of the vast mineral treasures in the
Wallaroo district, a new . population
gathered there in thousands who had not
the slightest community of interest with
the Port. Indeed, it was soon found that
their interests were antagonistic. A
policy which would suit a shipping place
like Port Adelaide was opposed to the
interests of a mining district like the
Peninsula. At every election, therefore,
there was a conflict of interests. At first
the Port influence prevailed, but as the
mining district became larger and the
people settled there became alive to their
own interests, they gradually supplanted
the influence which the Port exercised
on the elections ; and at the last election
it was the Peninsula, and not. the Port,
that returned the members. And so we
believe it will be this time. Three can
didates are already in the field for Port
Adelaide, and it is a noteworthy fact that
they have all begun the campaign on the
Peninsula. Up to the present time
no meeting has been held at Port Ade
laide, and no candidate has appeared be
fore the electors there. The gentlemen con
testing the district know very well that
if they secure the votes on the Pcnia
sula they need care but little about the
Port votes. Now this is a very undesir
able state of things. Port Adelaide is a
very important place in the colony ; it
has interests not only of a local nature,
but whieh are bound up with the interests
of the whole province. And yet by its
union with Wallaroo district it is prac
tically disfranchised. Just as a few years
ago the Port electors swamped those on
the Peninsula, so now the electors on the
Peninsula Bwamp those at the Port. It
may almost be taken for granted that the
choice of the Peninsula will be the mem
bers for the Port.
As great an anomaly is seen in the
District of Victoria. This district may
be divided in two, and the electors south
of the line of division have interests
altogether different from those north.
It is a patent fact that for several years
past the members for Victoria have been
the representatives of the Mouut Gam
bier end of the district principally. The
interests of Narracoorte, Lacepede Bay,
and East Wellington have been lost
sight of when they were supposed to
come into collision with those of Mount
Gambier, Port MacDonnelL, Penola, and
Robe. The northern part of the district
is therefore practically disfranchised. It
is as certain as anything can be that the
members for Victoria, returned at ihe
present election, will be really the mem
bers for Mount Gambier and Penola.
To meet this anomalous state of things
the Committee which recently sat on the
Electoral Bill recommended the creation
of three new districts. The Port was
to be divided into two districts, j
the new district being Wallaroo,
including the three mining townships, j
the Troubridge Area, and the whole
of the northern part of the Peninsula.
We have but little doubt that when the
Bill igain comes before Parliament this
recommendation will be carried ont.
Then it is proposed to take a new district
principally out of Stanley, and to call it
the District of Gawler. It will include a
good portion of the agricultural land and
the settlers thereon north of Barossa and
Light; and this too is likely to be carried j
into effect. It will reduce the District of !
Stanley, which has largely outgrown its
original population within reasonable
di tensions. The same arguments will
apply to the new proposed District of
Albert, which is to be taken out of Vic
toria, and include Narracoorte, Robe,
Kingston, Meningie, East Wellington,
and Border Town.
Should these suggestions be carried out,
we quite admit that the new arrangement
will still leave some inequalities in the
several districts so far as population is
concerned. But if population oloiie is
made the basis of a new electoral scheme,
we shall never reach a satisfactory
conclusion. It is better to sacrifice
numerical symmetry in order to obtain
as far as possible a community of inte
rests in the several districts. It will be
seen that the suggestions of the Com
mittee will, if adopted, necessitate an
increase to the number of members.
Instead of thirty-six we shall have forty
< two, and there are strong arguments in
favor of this increase. With a larger
House, Ministries in power would have a
better prospect of obtaining a working
majority. But it is not so much on this
account that we advocate the change, as
because we see no other way so easy and
so likely to be efficient to meet the
glaring anomalies which now exist in the
three districts we have specified.
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