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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Canterbury Provincial District]

[introduction]

The City of Christchurch is a triple electorate, and the suburban districts of Avon and Riccarton send one member each to Parliament in addition to the three city members. The number of voters on the electoral roll for the last general election in December, 1899, was 20,750; against 18,336 for Auckland City, 18,874 for Wellington, and 20,084 for Dunedin. Out of 9976 males, 8026 voted; and of 10,774 females, 8294 voted. The electorate of Christchurch is remarkable for the large proportion of women on the roll—10,774, against 9976 males. Dunetlin is in much the same position—10,438 females, against 9646 males. Auckland, on the other hand, has nearly 400 more men than women on the roll, and Wellington has over 1000 more men than women. The only electorates in which the women are in a majority on the roll are Christchurch, Dunedin, Parnell, Avon, and Invercargill. In Christchurch a rather higher proportion of men voted than women: 8026 out of 9976 men, as against 8294 out of 10,774 women. In Auckland, the position was much the same; 7102 out of 9335 men, and 6517 out of 8981 women. In Wellington a much higher percentage of men voted than in either Auckland or Christchurch; 8533 out of 9946 on the roll, and a slightly higher percentage of women, 7080 out of 8928. In Dunedin about the same proportion of men voted as in Christchurch, 7786 out of 9646 on the roll; and a slightly lower percentage of women, 7775 out of 10,438 on the roll. The returns for all the great centres show that the value of the vote is keenly appreciated by women, and that female franchise is a most important factor in the political present and future of the colony. In Christchurch city, the women actually polled a clear majority of votes over the men—8294, against 8026. Parnell was the only other electorate in which the same result can be observed; in Dunedin, the votes for male and female sections of the electorate were nearly equal—7786 men, against 7775 women. The returns certainly point to the high degree of interest taken by Christchurch women in political matters, and probably also to the better organisation of the female vote. In Wellington, where there are only 1000 less women than men on the roll, the women's vote was in a minority of 1500.

The boundaries and numbers of the electoral districts in both islands vary from time to time according to population. Two permanent Commissions sit to determine what proportion of the seventy members shall be elected in each island. When this matter is settled the Commissions act independently for the two islands. Every 100 persons living in the country districts count as equal to 128 living in towns with a population of 2000 and upwards. The populations of the chief towns and country districts in the two islands are approximately equal. The figures for the four triple electorates in 1901 were: Auckland 39,232, Wellington 39,977, Christchurch 37,993, Dunedin 38,082. Of the single electorates the largest in the North Island is Ohinemuri 15,353; in the South Island the largest is Caversham 13,147. In the North Island the smallest single electorate is Wairarapa 8432, and the smallest in the South Island is Bruce 8139. The representation of the two islands is thus being rapidly equalised. In 1893 the South Island had thirty-nine members to thirty-one for the North, in 1896, the numbers were changed to thirty-six for the South Island and thirty-four for the North. At the present time the South Island (with Stewart Island) includes thirty-two districts, with thirtysix members, and the North Island contains thirty districts with thirty-four members. It is probable that by next election the representation for the two islands will be absolutely equalised.

All registered male electors are eligible for a seat in the House of Representatives, so long as they are not civil servants, and do not enter into contracts with the Government to the extent of more than £50 a year. For some years prior to 1901, members of the Lower House were paid £240 a year with travelling expenses to and from Wellington; and £2 per day was deducted for every sitting day above five on which a member was absent from the House, unless in the case of sickness or unavoidable detention. In the session of 1901 the statutory honorarium for members of the House was raised to £300, and for members of the Council to £200.