Time required for counting votes.
One of the minor objections urged against proportional representation is that a considerable time must elapse between the close of the poll and the declaration of the result. It will not be possible to announce the figures on the day of the election. It is doubtless desirable that the result of an election should be ascertained without unnecessary delay, but it is far better to wait a day in order to obtain a true result than to adhere to an electoral system which gives a false result, and on which a government may have to be based for a period of five years. With most proportional systems only one day's delay occurs. The Under Sheriff of Somerset has estimated that it might take him two days before he could complete the return for that county, as it would probably take half the first day to verify the contents of the ballot boxes. On this point the verdict of the Royal Commission on Electoral Systems is as follows: "On the whole it is probably safe to say that in a constituency where 60,000 or 70,000 votes are cast, such as would have to be contemplated in this country, the results should be declared with efficient arrangements in the course of the second day after the poll. Where the constituency was compact, e.g., in the case of a large town like Birmingham or Manchester, the count of first votes could be finished on the night of the election, and the remaining operations of elimination and transfer completed in a long day's work on the following day; but a longer time would have to be allowed in the case of extensive rural districts."[1] It has also been alleged that there may be a greater number of petitions for the recounting of votes under the transferable vote system. But neither Tasmanian nor South African experience gives any ground for this statement, and as the Tasmanian Agent-General has pointed out, there is as much difference between the counting of votes under the improved system and under the existing rough and ready method as there is between book-keeping by single and book-keeping by double entry; the sorting of the votes is carefully checked at each operation, and all errors in the counting of votes must be rectified before any new stage in the process can be entered upon.
Fads and sectional interests.
The objection that a proportional system is too complex for English electors and returning officers thus completely breaks down. But it remains to consider whether the other objections which have been raised against proportional representation are of sufficient weight as to render its introduction undesirable. It is repeatedly asserted that proportional representation will encourage the undue representation of faddists and of sectional interests. For example, Professor Edward Jenks alleges that, "If we had such a vast constituency as Manchester, or Liverpool, under the proportional system we should certainly have a member for teetotalism, a member for vegetarianism and the like, and each of these, in all probability, would be instructed rigidly to oppose everything inconsistent with the special ideal of its constituents."[2] Now under a system of proportional representation a candidate in any constituency, were it Liverpool, Manchester or Glasgow, would have to secure about 10,000 votes before he could be sure of being returned, and it is incredible that in any of these constituencies so large a number of voters would support candidatures such as those described by Professor Jenks, or that political feeling is so weak that Liberal, Conservative, and Labour candidates would be set aside in favour of candidates standing for a single interest only. The character of the objection shows that the true working of a system of proportional representation is completely misunderstood, for a proportional system reduces fads and sectional interests to their proper proportions; it is the existing system of single-member constituencies which confers excessive power upon insignificant sections of the whole. Were there 10,000 electors in Manchester who, as suggested, would regard vegetarianism as of greater importance than any other political question, and were these electors scattered throughout the city, then there would be an average of more than 1500 such electors in each of the existing divisions. A body of 1500 voters in a division of Manchester prepared to place their particular fad above all other political questions have now the power of determining the result of the election in that division; the 10,000 electors similarly minded would have the power of extracting a pledge in support of their proposals, and probably an effective pledge from the successful candidate in each division. Under a system of proportional representation they might possibly secure a few seats, but under the present system they can affect the election in every constituency. It is well known that a large number of members of Parliament pledge themselves at election time to the support of movements with which they are not fully in accord. Probably their seat depended upon the answer which they gave to the leaders of some small body of electors holding the balance in the constituency.
Mr. Henry Vivian, M.P., thus refers to the pressure which small groups of voters bring to bear upon parliamentary candidates: "One serious evil which he hoped might be abolished by a change of system was the ragging of constituencies by a comparatively small number of busybodies interested in some particular fad. A large number of members of Parliament really had to bend to some two or three hundred electors, although there might be 20,000 in the whole constituency. He had the misfortune to be elected by only a gross. It was strictly true that in many cases a candidate was compelled to consent to support something that he felt strongly against, merely because a certain percentage of the electors insisted upon it. He was not suggesting that proportional representation would entirely get rid of this evil, but he was satisfied that proportional representation rested on a larger basis—that they would have larger constituencies and a number of men from whom the elector might make selection; and therefore there would be a possibility of their lessening, if not altogether getting rid of, this most intolerable evil. He was not at all sure that he would not at times rather be out of political life than in it; it became so threatening that he absolutely refused to reply to the letters at all, or to be dictated to, in the way that these people attempted to do. He would venture to say that with a system of proportional representation they would be able to get rid of some at least, if not of most, of the objectionable features of the present system."[3] The same feature of our electoral system has been condemned in the strongest terms by Mr. Balfour. "Everybody," said he, "who has watched the actual course of a contested election in a constituency where parties were fairly evenly balanced, knows perfectly well the monstrous power which is given to a very small minority to exact a pledge from the candidate, not that he should support this or that great policy, but that he should help their small and particular interest. I know nothing which is more corrupting, both to the electors or to the elected, than that process; and although I have fully seen the difficulties which attach to what is commonly known as minority representation, it surely is an extraordinary criticism upon our existing system that, while a small handful of interested people can turn an election one way or the other on their own personal issue, huge minorities, like the minority of the Unionists in Scotland, are utterly and grossly unrepresented. We give every privilege to the little knot of people in the individual constituencies; we ignore the great mass who under our existing system find no representation at all comparable either to their numerical strength or to their public spirit, or to any other quality which makes them useful, able and independent citizens."[4]
The organizations of different branches of the Civil Service have, in furtherance of their interests, sought to bring pressure to bear upon members of Parliament, and in consequence of this action it has been suggested that civil servants should be disfranchised. In other words, it is proposed to meet an evil encouraged by defective electoral methods by inflicting a gross injustice upon a large body of citizens, the majority of whom, like other citizens, consider political problems purely from the point of view of national advantage. The true remedy for the unfair pressure of small sections must be sought in such a change in the method of election as will allow the country to appraise them at their true value. Direct representation, by means of which sectional interests can, if necessary, be defended or advanced within the House of Commons, is far less injurious to the State than a system which allows such interests to bring unfair pressure to bear upon a considerable number of members of Parliament, or to enforce their demands upon the nation by linking themselves to a national party. There is, however, but little danger of any large number of members being returned in support of single interests only. The results under systems of proportional representation show that the members elected are returned upon political grounds, and when any question has attained such importance as to command the support of 10,000 votes in any constituency, doubtless that question has become ripe for discussion in Parliament, and can no longer fairly be described as a fad.
It is, however, said that the direct representation of sectional interests will enable these to exercise in Parliament the same pressure that they at present exercise in the constituencies. This statement also is based upon a misconception of the changed conditions which would result from a system of proportional representation. A small body of electors can at present exercise pressure in the constituency, because the result of the election is in their hands. A small group of members could only exercise the same influence in the House of Commons if the large parties were willing to bid for their support and were, at the same time, able to enforce upon their followers the observance of any agreement entered into. The great difference in the new conditions of party discipline will here come into play. Members of a party who have been able to win elections in spite of the opposition of sectional interests, would be able to withstand pressure in Parliament. They would know that they could appeal with confidence to their supporters in the constituency to endorse their action, and, indeed, they would much more likely lose their seat if they acted contrary to the wishes of those who had returned them. Any sacrifice of principle by a party for the sake of conciliating a small faction would cause a loss of support greater than the gain. When proportional representation is established such grouping as may take place within the House of Commons will be based upon political affinities.
The representation of localities.
Another objection which is often brought against proportional representation is that it will destroy the intimate relation which exists at present between a constituency and its representative in Parliament. Here the arguments used are not only as a rule self-destructive, but they are obviously in conflict with the suggestion that proportional representation would give undue weight to sectional interests. "Parliament," said Burke, "is a deliberate assembly of one nation, with one interest, that of the whole; where not local purpose, not local prejudices, ought to guide, but the general good, resulting from the general reason of the whole. You choose a member indeed, but when you have chosen him he is not a member of Bristol, but he is a member of Parliament. If the local constituent should have interest, or should form a hasty opinion, evidently opposite to the real good of the rest of the community, the member for that place ought to be as far as any other from any endeavour to give it effect."[5] Were the primary duty of a member for any constituency to consider the special needs of that constituency, local considerations would outweigh national interests.
Yet Burke's declaration is not intended to relieve the representative of a constituency from the duty of attending to its administrative necessities. "Only members of Parliament," said Mr. Gulland, M.P., "appreciate how largely their time is taken up with local matters. They have to approach the different Government Departments upon an endless variety of topics." But Mr. Gulland proceeds: "These matters as a rule have no reference to existing Parliamentary divisions, and in a city it would be very much better if a man were member for the whole city rather than for a division. And in the case of a county, including burghs, it would be better that the general interests of the county should be attended to by members representing the county as a whole than by a member who is only the representative of the burgh."[6] It is also possible that the interests of some division of the city or county might be opposed to the interests of the city as a whole, and this is an additional reason against the subdivision of such constituencies for the purpose of parliamentary representation. An admirable illustration occurs in a speech made in the Canadian House of Commons by Mr. F. D. Monk, K.C. "In a very large constituency," said he, "say of the size of the entire island of Montreal, it would be impossible to resort to the promise of a great many small public works, which by the admission of everybody are not at present advantageous, when we have such large problems to solve in connexion, for instance, with the problem of transportation. Nobody in a constituency such as I have just indicated could advocate the construction of a small wharf or a small public building, but would be obliged to consider the relation of such a large territory as the island and city of Montreal to the all-important question of transportation. He would be obliged to lay before the electors, not promises of small and very often useless, though comparatively costly improvements, but the necessity of carrying out such a plan of transportation as was laid before the country and the Government some years ago by a commission composed of very experienced men, who after considerable labour had in my opinion solved that very vital question in every part of the country."[7] If local representation is necessary it would therefore appear to be most desirable that the representatives should be able to speak in the name of the whole of the town or of the county, as the case may be, and that is the kind of local representation which a system of proportional representation provides. The members for the larger area can and do take a wider view than the member for the smaller electorate.
But what kind of local representation does a system of single-member constituencies provide? A large number of constituencies are represented by members who have no connexion with the locality other than that of being its spokesman in Parliament. Mr. Winston Churchill, defeated in a division of Manchester, is elected member for Dundee, a Scottish constituency. In what sense is the local representation of Dundee preserved? What were the special qualifications possessed by Mr. Churchill for giving utterance to the needs of a Scottish constituency? Doubtless Mr. Churchill made every effort to become acquainted with the local conditions of Dundee, and the necessity of doing so must have made considerable demands upon his time and energy. Yet it is more than doubtful whether Mr. Churchill can ever be an ideal representative from the standpoint of locality of a constituency to whose local life he is a stranger. Mr. Churchill's experience is in no sense singular. Mr. Gladstone found it necessary to leave Greenwich for Midlothian; Lord Morley to leave Newcastle for Forfarshire; Sir William Harcourt to leave Derby for Monmouthshire; Mr. Balfour to leave Manchester for the City of London, and, however honoured the new constituencies might be by the distinction of their members, it cannot be said that the intimate relation between the representative and the constituency was maintained. Under proportional representation the representation of localities becomes much more real. Excellent examples can be seen in the working of the system in Belgium. Before the introduction of the new methods leaders of political parties in Belgium were compelled, as in England, to leave the towns with which they were identified and to seek election for constituencies, in which, comparatively speaking, they were unknown. Here the cause was not the subdivision of constituencies but the absence of any provision for the representation of minorities. M. Anseele, the leader of the Socialists in Ghent, and intimately acquainted with the life of that city, had to seek entrance into the Chamber of Deputies as one of the Socialist representatives of Liège. Similarly, M. Vandervelde, whose activities had always been identified with Brussels, had to proceed to Charleroi in order to secure election. But on the introduction of the proportional system, M. Vandervelde returned to Brussels and was immediately elected as one of the Socialist members of the constituency, of whose special requirements he could, if need be, speak with effect in Parliament. M. Anseele returned to Ghent and was elected as one of the members for the city with which the whole of his life had been associated. He was relieved from the double burden of continuing his work in Ghent and of acting as the representative of a constituency in another part of the country. It is abundantly clear, if it is desired to maintain the local character of representation, that a proportional system secures such representation in its most efficient form.
So flimsy and contradictory are some of the arguments brought against proportional representation that it is not surprising that certain critics, impressed by such facts as are recorded in the previous paragraph, have alleged that the system will so favour the representation of localities that no one but a local candidate will ever have any chance of success. The conclusion is drawn that proportional representation will militate against the return of eminent politicians, and is, for this reason, undesirable. But the facts cited as to Belgium bear no such interpretation. It is true that under all electoral systems the local candidate has, other things being equal, an advantage, and rightly so, over candidates who are not directly connected with the constituency, but it is also true that under all systems local candidates give way, if necessary, to distinguished statesmen. In Belgium the Socialists of Liège and Charleroi willingly accepted as their representatives M. Anseele and M. Vandervelde when these failed to secure representation in their own towns. So welcome are eminent politicians that there can be no ground for supposing that they will suffer from a proportional system. Indeed, large constituencies returning several members give to these a much surer foothold in Parliament than they can possibly secure with single-member areas. The distinguished candidate can appeal almost with certainty of success for the "quota" of votes which is sufficient to secure his election. The only change that will be made by the proportional system is that he will be able to retain his seat in the constituency with which he is really identified; he will no longer be compelled to wander from place to place with every swing of the pendulum.
The member and his constituents.
There is perhaps one other aspect of the representation of localities which deserves attention. The fictions are still maintained that a member of Parliament represents and is intimately associated with all his constituents. As regards the latter, it is obvious that only in a very small constituency can a member become personally acquainted with the electors. This might have been feasible in the days of the restricted franchise prior to 1867, but in modern constituencies which, on an average, contain some 11,000 voters it is impossible. Further, in respect of representation, since votes, save those of ignorant and corrupt electors, are given more and more on political grounds, an elector can derive but little consolation from the fact that he is "represented" in Parliament by the candidate whom he did his best to defeat, nor does such an elector, should he take a considerable interest in political work, care to approach the member in any cause; he prefers to seek help of a member of his own party who is the representative of another constituency. If a member of Parliament is elected to defend Free Trade he cannot possibly represent the political convictions of constituents who believe that Free Trade is disastrous to the country. But under a proportional system Free Traders and Tariff Reformers would each have their own representatives, and whilst all the members would be able to speak for the constituency when its local interests were concerned, the various parties within the constituency would find expression given to their views when the question of Free Trade or of Tariff Reform was under discussion. So far as modern conditions permit, the relations between the member and his constituents would be of an intimate character, and at least there would be that bond of sympathy which springs from identity of purpose and of political faith.
Objections of party agents.
Count Goblet d'Alviella has stated that the most strenuous and persistent opposition to the introduction of proportional representation in Belgium came from party agents and from the political men, that is, from the extreme partizans. It is perhaps only natural to expect that party agents should object to a system which would introduce a considerable change in the method of party organization and in the conduct of elections, but a good many of their fears are based upon misapprehensions. It is true that political organizations might not control nominations as much as they do now, but the work of organizers would perhaps be even in greater demand than now. Thus, in Belgium, before the introduction of proportional representation, many constituencies were uncontested, some not for twenty years, and the political organizations of the minority in these constituencies fell into decay, in many places being completely abandoned. Similarly in England, it is often extremely difficult to maintain political organizations in those constituencies in which the position of the minority is hopeless. The new electoral methods have been followed in Belgium with a great increase of political activity; no constituency is now uncontested, and each of the parties maintains an active organization in every district.
The objections generally advanced by party agents are the increased inconvenience and cost which would result from the enlargement of the constituencies. It is alleged that it would be impossible for candidates in country areas to make themselves known to the electors. But to what extent does this objection hold good? Prior to 1885 many of the constituencies were much larger than they are to-day. The county of Northumberland, which is now divided into six divisions, was then divided into two. With the more rapid means of communications and of transit now available a candidate can cover a county constituency with much more ease than was possible a generation ago. The decrease in the size of constituencies since 1885 has not given any greater leisure to the candidates during the period of his candidature. Every moment of his time is filled up and, indeed, there is often an unnecessary expenditure of time and energy upon public meetings, the number of which, owing to an insane competition, has been multiplied to an absurd degree. Candidates are now expected to address meetings at the breakfast hour, meetings at the luncheon hour, and meetings in the evening; if constituencies were enlarged the time of the candidate would doubtless be carefully mapped out to meet the new conditions. Moreover, the constituencies required by a system of proportional representation in the United Kingdom would still be small compared with the constituencies in the Colonies, and even though large electoral areas may have some disadvantages the benefits to be gained from a true system of representation completely outweigh them.
Alleged difficulties in the organization of elections.
Some valuable lessons were learned during the course of the Johannesburg municipal elections in 1909, as to the organization of contests under the system of the single transferable vote. There was no previous experience to guide either the candidate or their agents. The methods pursued differed according to the rigidity of the discipline existing within the party. A committee representative of commercial and other interests, presided over by the Hon. W. A. Martin, M.L.C., selected the names of ten candidates—there were ten vacancies—and this committee asked the citizens of Johannesburg to vote for the candidates whose names figured upon this ticket—the "ticket of the ten good men," as it was called. The committee did not attempt to instruct the electors as to the order in which preferences should be expressed for these candidates. The electors were asked to place them in such order as they pleased.[8] The candidature of the ticket, as such, was in some respects also loosely organized. The various candidates gave separate and special attention to the districts with which they were most closely identified, but they also appeared in twos and threes on the same platform at public meetings. In every district the names of all ten candidates appeared upon the posters, but special prominence was given to the name of some one candidate—the candidate associated with the district. The final appeal to the public, in the form of a specimen ballot paper, had all the ten names printed in bold type. In this way the committee was enabled to appeal to the town to support the ticket as a whole, whilst the individual members of the ticket were free to solicit first preferences in the districts and circles in which they were best known. Such an arrangement shows how easily the difficulties of candidature under the new system can be overcome. If the arrangements outlined above were adopted by party organizers the difficulties of an electoral campaign would be no greater than with a system of single-member constituencies. Each candidate on the ticket would canvass a portion of the constituency—which would be no larger than a single-member area—whilst at convenient centres the members of the ticket would appear upon a common platform. The campaign of the Labour Party was more rigidly organized. The leaders nominated a ticket of three candidates, but instead of leaving their supporters free, instructed them to vote for the candidates on the ticket in a definite order, although this order was varied in different wards. In the official instructions the elector is asked to vote by placing the figure 1 opposite the name of the candidate he likes best, and some risk is run by an organization which advises its supporters to express their first preference for some candidate who is not the party's true first choice. It is sufficient for organizers to advise their supporters to record preferences for all the candidates of the party, leaving the elector free to decide the order in which those preferences should be given.
Alleged increase of cost.
These elections threw some light on another difficulty urged against proportional representation by party agents, namely, the increased expenditure involved. Considerable sums of money were certainly spent in the prosecution of the candidature of the "ten good men," but these elections proved conclusively that excessive expenditure had much less influence in determining the result than in our parliamentary and municipal elections. The total expenses of the three Labour candidates in Johannesburg were returned at £18, 5s., and even if there is added thereto the expenditure incurred by the Labour Representation Committee, amounting to £34, 3s. 6d., the total sum cannot be said to be excessive. Two of these three candidates were successful. The expenditure of the successful Labour candidate in Pretoria was practically nil. Further, the Mayor of Johannesburg, who, relying upon his record of past work, personally took no action beyond the issue of a manifesto to the electors, was returned at the head of the poll.
Mr. Ramsay Macdonald also objects to proportional representation because of the cost involved in contesting large areas.[9] Johannesburg, for the purpose of its municipal election, was polled as one constituency, and the evidence furnished by this election is, therefore, of considerable value. Further, this evidence is confirmed by the experience of Socialist parties in Belgium, in Finland and elsewhere, which apparently find no difficulty in fighting large constituencies. The electoral conditions in these countries doubtless differ from those in England, but an analysis of the expenses incurred by Labour candidates at home show that single-member constituencies and small expenditure do not go together. The cost of these candidatures, even apart from returning officers' expenses, usually exceeds £500, and sometimes £1000. Such sums could be spent to much greater advantage in large areas in bringing all the adherents of a party to the poll.
It has already been shown that the practice of "nursing" a constituency is one of the indirect results of the single-member system. Indeed, no system gives so great an advantage to the candidate with a long purse; he can more easily influence those non-political electors whose votes may decide the issue. A consideration of the working of the new system will show that the cost of elections will in all probability be greatly diminished. At present in a city returning seven members a party must find seven candidates each with his separate organization and separate expenses; with proportional representation there will be but one organization for all candidates of the same party, and as no party can hope to monopolize the representation, it is unlikely that any will run as many as seven candidates. A well-organized party will get its due share of representation without subscribing to clubs and flower shows. The illegitimate power of money will be weakened, and the total amount spent considerably reduced.
The accuracy of representation.
A final criticism made against proportional systems of voting is that they do not secure the exact representation of all the electors in a country. Thus the Royal Commission on Electoral Systems, whilst admitting that the new method would generally produce more accurate results, mathematically at least, than the existing method, qualified their statement by saying that their success "in producing in Parliament the 'scale map of the country,' which they held up as the ideal, can be only partial"; and in another paragraph the Report contains this remarkable statement: "On the assumption, however, that proportional representation is desirable, can any system yet invented be guaranteed or reasonably expected to ensure it? In our opinion, only in a limited and generally unascertainable degree." No responsible advocate of proportional representation has contended that proportional systems, save when the country is treated as one constituency, will result in a mathematically accurate representation of opinion. But the close approximation to accuracy obtained in the practical application of proportional systems is so pronounced that the statement of the Commission is wholly misleading. The following figures of the Belgian election of 1910 will show to what extent accuracy is obtained by a proportional system, even when, as in this case, the mechanism slightly favours the larger party:
BELGIAN ELECTION, 1910
Seats Seats in
Parties Votes. Actually Proportion
Obtained. to Votes.
Catholics . . . . . 676,939 49 47.0
Liberals and Socialists . 561,052 36 37.5
Christian Democrats . . 16,170 —— 1.0
Independents . . . . 20,428 —— 1.5
In Finland, where another system of proportional representation is in operation, the result of the election of 1909 was as follows:—
FINLAND ELECTION, 1909
Seats Seats in
Parties Votes. Actually Proportion
Obtained. to Votes.
Social Democrat . . . . 337,685 84 80
Old Finn . . . . . . 199,920 48 47
Young Finn . . . . . 122,770 28 29
Swedish . . . . . . 104,191 25 25
Agrarian . . . . . . 56,943 14 13
Christian Labourers . . 23,259 1 6
The single transferable vote has yielded results which are remarkably accurate. It has been used in Tasmania, with adult suffrage, in the Transvaal, with the municipal franchise, and in the election of the Senate for United South Africa, by members of Parliament. Each of the five constituencies in Tasmania returned six members, and the total result was as follows:—
TASMANIAN ELECTION, 1909
Seats Seats in
Parties Votes. Actually Proportion
Obtained. to Votes.
Labour . . . . . . 19,067 12 11.7
Non-Labour . . . . . 29,893 18 18.3
These figures speak for themselves. In the municipal elections in the Transvaal each of the parties obtained its fair share of representation. In Johannesburg the elections were fought by a commercial ticket of ten candidates, a Labour ticket of three candidates, and ten Independent candidates; the number of valid votes was 11,788, and the quota—that is, the proportion of votes which would ensure the election of a representative—amounted to 1072. The ticket of "ten good men" polled in all some 6185 votes, or 247 votes short of six quotas, and the ticket succeeded in returning six members. This result was strictly fair, for the deficiency in votes was made up by those supporters of independent candidates who, having failed to return their first choice, had indicated members of this ticket as their next choice. The three Labour candidates polled in all 2126 votes, or 18 votes short of two full quotas, and the Labour Party was successful in securing two representatives. The remaining two seats fell to two Independent candidates, each of whom had a considerable personal following. In the third test, the election of South African Senators, each of the parties obtained representation in proportion to their force in the Parliaments of the respective colonies. The details of the voting have not been published,[10] but the returning officers have all borne testimony to the satisfactory working of the system and absolute fairness of the results.
In the light of these facts, what meaning can be attached to the statement that proportional systems only secure proportional representation in a limited and generally unascertainable degree? The results of proportional systems are seen in a still more favourable light if contrasted with the working of non-proportional methods. Thus the Liberals of Surrey, Sussex, and Kent were without representation in the Parliament of 1910. The Unionists of Wales were in the same plight in the previous one. In the election of the Australian Senate (1910) the Labour Party obtained eighteen seats, all other parties none. In the same year, the Municipal Reformers elected all the aldermen of the London County Council, the Progressives none. In the election of Representative Peers of Scotland no Liberal peer is ever chosen.
Summary of objections.
The various objections which have been raised from time to time against proportional representation have been almost wholly disproved. Before it was put into operation it was said to be impracticable; wherever the new methods have been introduced the proceedings have in every case passed off without a hitch. Proportional representation, it was said, would result in unstable governments; now complaint is made that it has been difficult in Belgium under the new system to effect a change of government, the majority of the electors apparently being content with things as they are. It was alleged that faddists would obtain undue representation; it is now complained, under some misapprehension, that independent political thought will fail to secure an adequate hearing. Objections of a minor character are also raised; that proportional representation will increase the difficulties of electioneering; that it will increase the cost of elections—a conclusion not in accordance with the experience of countries in which it has been applied; or that it will destroy the sporting element in politics, as if the pursuit of politics by itself was lacking in interest. Yet all the time the demand for electoral reform is increasing, and whilst the figures in the foregoing paragraphs show to what extent proportional systems secure accuracy in representation, it can also be shown that proportional representation will facilitate the solution of those other electoral reforms which are also demanded upon the ground that they will add to the representative character of the House of Commons.
[Footnote 1: Report of the Royal Commission on Electoral Systems (Cd. 5163), par. 81.]
[Footnote 2: The Albany Review, October 1907.]
[Footnote 3: Annual Meeting of the Proportional Representation Society,
June 1910.—Representation, vol. iii. p. 79.]
[Footnote 4: Scottish Conservative Club, Glasgow, 5 October 1910.]
[Footnote 5: Speech to the Electors of Bristol, 3 November 1774.]
[Footnote 6: Minutes of Evidence: Royal Commission on Electoral
Systems (Cd. 5352), p. 118.]
[Footnote 7: 15 March 1909.]
[Footnote 8: The following is taken from a letter sent to the press by the Chairman of the Committee: "I am aware that many people are opposed to the principle of a ticket on the ground that it savours of 'dictation,' &c. &c. We are exceedingly anxious that every voter should be in a position to exercise his privilege of choice to the fullest extent…. It is not reasonable to expect him, without advice, to express an order of preference in the case of men he does not know. This is exactly one of the strongest justifications for a representative committee to come forward as we do, to say: 'We have carefully inquired as to the character, capacity, and ability of all the candidates, and having taken everything into consideration we recommend you to vote for the ten whose names are on our ticket, placing them in such order of preference as you please.'"]
[Footnote 9: Labour Party Conference, Leicester, February 1911.]
[Footnote 10: Owing to the small numbers taking part in the election, the publication of the details might possibly have furnished a clue to the votes of individual members of Parliament. For this reason the returning officers and the scrutineers were pledged to secrecy. The fairness of the results were fully recognized by the press, as the following extracts show:
"The result has demonstrated the absolute fairness of the single transferable vote."—Bloemfontein Friend.
"The system proved in practice as simple and accurate as it was scrupulously fair in character."—Bloemfontein Post.]
CHAPTER XII
THE KEY TO ELECTORAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM
"De la manière de régler le suffrage dépend la ruine ou le salut des
Etats."—MONTESQUIEU
Electoral problems awaiting solution.
The Liberal, Conservative, and Labour parties are all agreed that a large measure of electoral reform is long overdue, but hitherto the various parties have contended only for such reforms as would strengthen their own parliamentary position. Liberal and Labour politicians, looking at the inequality in the voting power of electors, have demanded a reform of the franchise; they urge that every man should have one vote and no more. The Conservative party, looking at the inequalities in the size of constituencies, have demanded a redistribution of seats on the ground that all votes should be of equal value. Liberals, again, feeling the difficulties which have attended the emergence of third-party candidatures in the constituencies, ask for a reform in the method of voting so as to ensure that the member elected for any constituency shall represent a majority of the citizens. Apart from the question of the enfranchisement of women, which involves considerations of a different order, these are the three electoral problems with which public opinion has been chiefly concerned.
The efforts of parties to give effect to the reforms in which they have been more particularly interested have so far ended in failure. In 1905 Mr. Balfour introduced a Bill for the redistribution of seats, unaccompanied by any reform of the franchise. The measure was met with the cry of "gerrymander!" and its disappearance with the fall of the Government was regretted by few. In 1907 the Liberal Government attempted to deal with the franchise problem, apart from any scheme of redistribution. It endeavoured in Mr. Harcourt's Plural Voting Bill, a highly complex measure, to give effect to the principle of "one man, one vote." This Bill was strongly opposed on the ground that the reform was partial in character. If, said the opponents of the measure, it is unfair that one elector should have twelve votes whilst another elector has but one, it is equally unfair that the vote of an elector in one constituency should be twelve times as valuable as the vote of an elector in another constituency. The justice of the argument must be admitted, and explains why the rejection of the Plural Voting Bill by the House of Lords aroused comparatively little public feeling. Yet the rejection of this Bill has focussed attention upon the deficiencies of our franchise laws, and the eyes of all politicians are turning towards that more comprehensive measure of electoral reform which cannot be indefinitely postponed. Such a measure has been categorically promised by Mr. Asquith on more than one occasion. So far back as 1908, soon after his accession to the Premiership,[1] he made the following public declaration: "I regard it as a duty, and indeed as a binding obligation on the part of the Government, that before this Parliament comes to an end they should submit a really effective scheme for the reform of our electoral system."
The simplification of the franchise.
What are the lines on which a really effective scheme can be framed? The fate of the partial measures already referred to is at least an indication of the difficulties which will attend any attempt to carry an incomplete scheme. It may be assumed that an effective scheme must deal with the three problems named: franchise (including registration), redistribution, and three-cornered contests. Each of these factors must be dealt with as simply as a due recognition of the problem to be solved will allow. The complexity of Mr. Harcourt's Plural Voting Bill was due to the fact that we possess no less than twenty[2] different franchises. But the remedy is easy. "If," said the late Sir Charles Dilke, "they wanted to cheapen the cost, to remove the disgrace from this country of having registration more full of fraud and error than anywhere else, they could only do so by some simple franchise. All registration reform was condemned to failure until they made up their minds on a simple and easy basis for the franchise, sufficiently wide to enable them to absorb all existing franchises." Such a simple franchise is to be found in manhood suffrage, which would admit of the easy transfer of electors' names from the register of one electoral division to another. The chief objection to this solution, which arises from the fear that the most numerous class in the country may monopolise representation, may be met by linking the adoption of a simple franchise with a system of election which shall give due representation to minorities.
Redistribution.
Redistribution must be treated with like boldness, but before considering the principle on which this reform must be based, it would be well to give some indication of its urgency. Here are the figures of four of the largest and four of the smallest English constituencies as given in the Parliamentary Return of 1911:— *** Constituency. Electors. Constituency. Electors. Romford (Essex) 55,951 Durham. 2,698 Walthamstow (Essex) 42,029 Bury St. Edmunds 2,878 Wandsworth 39,821 Whitehaven 2,989 Harrow (Middlesex) 38,865 St. George's, Tower Hamlets 3,252
Should be automatic.
It will be observed that an elector in Durham has twenty times the political power of an elector in the Romford Division of Essex. Nor are these discrepancies confined to England. There are great divergencies between the electorates of individual constituencies in Scotland and Ireland, and any measure of redistribution which attempted to deal effectively with these would necessarily have to be of a far-reaching character. Even were it possible to effect a readjustment by the creation of parliamentary areas containing an equal number of electors, so rapid are the changes in the electorate that the scheme would be out of date almost before it came into force. Mr. Ellis T. Powell has published a valuable table entitled "the process of electoral evolution,"[3] in which he has arranged the constituencies in the order of their size as measured by the number of electors who were on the registers in 1886, and again in 1906. The table shows how remarkable has been the change in their relative importance. The rapidity of the change is still further indicated by a comparison based upon the 1908 register. Any one who has the curiosity to count the number of constituencies which retained the same position on the list both in 1906 and 1908 will find this to be the case in nineteen constituencies only out of a total of 481. So great, indeed, has been the change since 1901, the date of the last census, that no satisfactory scheme of redistribution could be framed upon the population figures of that year. It would seem that the only satisfactory principle upon which the problem can be solved is that of an automatic redistribution of seats on the completion of every census, but the difficulties associated with such a solution, if the present system of single-member constituencies is retained, are so overwhelming as to render it almost inadmissible. True, the South African Constitution provides for the automatic redistribution of seats after every quinquennial census,[4] and the Canadian Constitution contains a similar provision, but the inconveniences attaching to a rearrangement of boundaries are not so great in new countries as those which obtain in an established country. Moreover, as time goes on, the inconveniences associated with rapid changes in boundaries will be felt more and more both in Canada and in South Africa. For local authorities[5] rightly complain of the difficulties which arise from the creation of different areas for different purposes and the consequent overlapping of boundaries, and these difficulties would increase were fresh parliamentary divisions created every ten years. The problem which would be involved in the creation of new parliamentary divisions for London is such as to render a satisfactory scheme almost impossible. Apart, however, from these considerations, the difficulties of another kind attendant upon the creation of new constituencies are so great that it is quite easy to understand the unwillingness of the leaders of both political parties to embark upon schemes of redistribution. The influence of boundaries upon the political fortunes of parties is so well known that any rearrangement, whether in the metropolis or in the large towns, would probably be looked upon with very grave suspicion, and the more so that in several towns party organizations have already endeavoured to obtain the maximum of party advantage under existing conditions.
Secures neither one vote, one value nor true representation. Further, it has been proved beyond question that a redistribution of seats will, if single-member constituencies are retained, fail to accomplish the end which its advocates have in view, namely, one vote one value. For redistribution can only secure equality in the size of electoral districts, and this is not the same as equality in the value of votes. With equal electoral districts it would still be possible in two adjoining constituencies for one member to be returned by a large majority and the other by a small majority. In Wales it might still happen that a Conservative vote would be valueless for the purpose of obtaining representation. Equality in vote value is only secured when the votes of electors of all parties are equally effective. This can only happen when the representation of parties is brought into agreement with their voting strength.
The Royal Commission on Electoral Systems entered very carefully into the probable effect of redistribution upon the representation of parties within the House of Commons, and came to the conclusion that, so far "as facts can be adduced to test it, the theory that the varying size of constituencies accounts for the exaggeration of majorities falls to the ground." This conclusion—and the Commission could hardly have come to any other—is in agreement with the opinions expressed both by Mr. S. Rosenbaum, of the Royal Statistical Society,[6] and by Mr. J. Rooke Corbett, of the Manchester Statistical Society.[7] The following summary of the results of Mr. Corbett's analyses of the eight General Elections 1885-1910 shows conclusively that redistribution would fail to remedy the inequalities in representation arising from a system of single-member constituencies:
GENERAL ELECTIONS, 1885-1910
Majority Majority Year of of seats under system Majority under Election Party. actually of equal a proportional gained. electorates. system. 1885 Liberal 158 178 86 Liberal 1886 Conservative 104 102 8 Liberal 1892 Liberal 44 46 34 Liberal 1895 Conservative 150 172 12 Conservative 1900 Conservative 134 150 16 Conservative 1906 Liberal 356 362 104 Liberal 1910(Jan.) Liberal 124 136 66 Liberal 1910(Dec.) Liberal 126 122 38 Liberal
"It is sometimes said," states Mr. Corbett, "that if the single-member constituencies were made equal in size these inequalities of representation would disappear. It is difficult to understand how any one with even the most elementary knowledge of the facts can support such a proposition. An examination of the foregoing summary will show that no readjustment of the electoral constituencies would do much to remedy the enormous inequalities which occur at present. In fact strict equalization of the constituencies would be as likely to make matters worse as to make them better. Thus, in the year 1885 the Liberal majority of 158, which under a proportional system would have been 86, by a system of equal electorates would have been transformed into a majority of 178; in the following year a Conservative majority of 104, which, with a proportional system, would have been a Liberal majority of 8, would under a system of equal electorates have been transformed into a Conservative majority of 102." Mr. Rosenbaum states: "I am firmly persuaded that it is not possible for redistribution alone to effect those particular reforms which the advocates of proportional representation urge…. Proportional representation would secure in the House of Commons a representation of each party in strict arithmetical proportion to the number of its supporters in the country. Redistribution can remove anomalies due to over-representation in one part and under-representation in another part of the country. So far as the over-representation in one area is accompanied by an excessive proportion of members of one party, and the under-representation in another area is accompanied by a deficiency of members of the opposite party, redistribution might have some counterbalancing results. There is, however, no real security that redistribution by itself might not aggravate rather than mitigate this particular trouble."
The problem simplified by proportional representation.
It will have been observed that the difficulties of redistribution arise from the system of single-member constituencies, and it is this which also renders all schemes useless for the purpose of securing equality in the value of votes. An effective and simple solution of all difficulties is available. Abandon the system of single-member constituencies with their ever-changing boundaries, and treat the natural divisions of the country (its counties, large towns, &c.) as permanent constituencies with representation varying with the rise or fall of their population. This is the scheme of redistribution required by a system of proportional representation, and its adoption would simplify the most difficult of all the problems of electoral reform. It would make possible that automatic redistribution of seats, which must be an essential feature of any satisfactory scheme of redistribution, without involving these alterations of boundaries which, in addition to their other disadvantages and even dangers, interfere so seriously with administrative efficiency. With such a system the areas for local or parliamentary purposes might easily be brought into agreement. Already "we have strong county patriotism fostered by tradition, by ecclesiastical and judicial affairs, county council government, county territorial organization, and even county cricket and football; to have, therefore, county electoral areas would be at once popular and intelligible to all; besides, it would be a reversion to an old tradition";[8] and if the large towns were made parliamentary constituencies this also would be a reversion to the conditions which existed before 1885. It would be infinitely easier to add representatives to or take them away from such electoral areas than it would be to redivide the boroughs and counties for the purpose of creating new constituencies.
Commenting on the work of the Delimitation Commission, to which was entrusted the duty of creating the new constituencies for the South African Assembly and Provincial Councils, the Secretary, in a letter to the author, says: "The task set the Commission proved exceedingly difficult. While it was, so to speak, imperative to give due consideration to all the principles enjoined by the Act, the great object naturally was the framing of constituencies both for the Union Assembly and for the Provincial Councils which would be able to send representatives who, in turn, would reflect the will of the various sections of the people. The conditions enjoined by the Act made it very difficult to produce schemes which could on all hands be considered entirely satisfactory…. Good as the result is, there is no question that had the first recommendation of the South African Convention in favour of proportional representation been adopted, the work of the Commission would not only have been much simplified, but the chances of framing constituencies with representatives forming a true mirror of the various sections of the people would have been increased by more than fifty per cent…. If there had been any doubt in my mind my work on this Commission has removed that doubt, and proved to me that the only remedy for our various electoral ills is a system of proportional representation." This considered testimony, from one who has been immersed in the practical details of redistribution, is of great value, but it can occasion no surprise, for proportional representation admits of automatic redistribution of seats, provides for the permanence of boundaries, renders gerrymandering impossible, and, above all, secures equality in the value of votes.
The case of Ireland. There is one special difficulty,[9] however, which must be faced in the consideration of any scheme of redistribution for the United Kingdom—the number of representatives to be allotted to Ireland. The permanent over-representation of any one part of a kingdom united for common purposes cannot easily be defended, but the South African Constitution furnishes an example of a larger representation being accorded temporarily to the smaller states for the purpose of facilitating the union of all; whilst in South Africa, Australia, and the United States the separate states or provinces have equal representation, irrespective of size, in the Senate. If the continued over-representation of Ireland would in any way facilitate the process of the unification of the United Kingdom, that in itself would be a very powerful and sufficient reason for maintaining the number of Irish members at its present level. A system of proportional representation might simplify the solution of this particular difficulty, for the over-representation of Ireland would not have the same disturbing effect upon the composition of the House of Commons if the different divisions of political opinions within Ireland obtained their fair share of representation. For proportional representation would produce a very important modification of the electoral conditions within Ireland. According to Mr. J. Rooke Corbett, the Irish Unionists who, at the General Election of 1906, obtained 18 representatives, were entitled to 34. But that is not the only change that would take place. There would result a softening of those racial divisions which are now the chief characteristic of Irish representation. Moderate opinion would be encouraged to take a more active part in elections and to seek representation. Nor can it be said that the political conditions of Ireland are such as to render proportional representation within Ireland either impracticable or nugatory in its effect. Mr. Archibald E. Dobbs, High Sheriff of county Antrim, has framed a scheme with special reference to Irish conditions[10], and Lord MacDonnell, who was intimately associated with the details of the Irish Council Bill of 1907, has said: "He made the subject the matter of as close a study as he could at the time, and everything he read more fully satisfied him of the great desirability of the system. He felt that it was more needed in Ireland than in any other part of the British Empire, because, although for the purpose of general politics the division into Nationalists and Unionists could be defended, for the purpose he had in view—the internal administration of Ireland—it was essential that all views, not only the Nationalists and the Unionists, but the great political school of thought under the name of the old Whigs should also be represented. The results of his labours perhaps it would not be discreet for him to disclose, but he was quite satisfied of the practicability in Ireland of a scheme of proportional representation[11]."
Three-cornered contests.
But even if the Electoral Reform Bill provided for a simplification of the franchise and a redistribution of seats, yet such a measure could not be described as a complete and effective scheme of reform. The Bill must provide a solution for the further problem arising from three-cornered contests, which have greatly increased in number in recent elections. On what principle is this difficulty to be solved? Formerly there was a strong demand for the second ballot, but its defects have been so constantly exposed that the remedy more generally advocated is the one recommended by the Royal Commission on Electoral Systems, viz., the adoption of the alternative vote (the transferable vote in single-member constituencies). This proposal, however, ignores the real difficulty, which is found in the fact that three parties, and not two, are now seeking representation. Three-cornered contests have, so far, affected adversely the fortunes of the Liberal Party; and the alternative vote, whilst tending, at least temporarily, to redress the situation, does so without providing any adequate guarantee for the fair representation of other parties. Were this remedy adopted it may be assumed that Liberal candidates would be nominated in those constituencies which are now represented by members of the Labour Party, and at least there would be a cessation of the process of withdrawing Liberal candidates from other constituencies ear-marked by the Labour Party. Were all these constituencies contested by the three parties it might easily happen that the smallest party would obtain no representation whatever. Conservative electors might record their second choice for the Liberal candidate, and in this way secure in each case the defeat of the Labour candidates. On the other hand, an alliance between Labour and Conservatives might procure the defeat of the Liberal candidates. The representation of any one party would depend upon the action taken by members of other parties.
As the probable effects of the alternative vote becomes more fully understood its inadequacy as a remedy will be more clearly realized, and this proposal, instead of facilitating, may hinder the passage of a comprehensive measure of reform. On the contrary, the wider reform of proportional representation, providing as it would for the just and fair representation of three parties (and this is the problem for which a solution has to be found), has far greater claims to the consideration of practical politicians. It simplifies the problem of redistribution; it is the way by which equality in the value of votes can be secured; it provides for the fair representation of three parties, and, in guaranteeing the adequate representation of minorities, facilitates the adoption of a simple franchise. Proportional representation is, as it were, the master key which unlocks the difficulties associated with a comprehensive measure of electoral reform. Based on a broad simple principle, the justice of which is apparent to all, it provides the means by which each of the separate parts of such a measure can be most easily and effectively dealt with. Indeed, it is difficult to conceive on what other principle any permanent solution of the electoral problem can be based, or by what other means the difficulties inherent in a comprehensive measure of reform can be successfully overcome.
Partial adoption of proportional representation not desirable
Some who recognize the great merits of proportional representation have suggested its application to urban constituencies by way of experiment. Thus, Mr. Winston Churchill has expressed the opinion that "the proportional representation of great cities was a point upon which electoral reformers ought to concentrate their minds."[12] A partial application of the reform might be of value as further evidence of its practicability, but there is no need for this further evidence. The full benefits of the system cannot be expected from such experiments, and although a partial measure is apparently working satisfactorily in Würtemberg, the history of the movement shows that such schemes usually arouse fierce opposition. An attempt to introduce a partial scheme in Belgium provoked a storm of indignation and had to be withdrawn, and the amendment to the original draft of the South African Constitution, carried in the Cape Parliament, limiting the proposed application of proportional representation to the towns, resulted in its complete abandonment for the elections for the House of Assembly. All partial applications of proportional representation are apt to work unfairly. In Belgium, the Catholics were stronger in the rural districts than in the towns and the proportional representation of the towns alone would have strengthened the political position of the Catholics. Similarly the limitation of proportional representation to the towns in South Africa would have strengthened the political position of the Dutch in those constituencies without giving a corresponding advantage to the minorities in the country areas. Were a partial application attempted in Great Britain it would be necessary to overcome the initial difficulty of selecting the constituencies to which the experiment should be applied, and in the absence of an agreement between the parties, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to escape the fatal charge of partisan selection.
Proportional representation and democratic principles.
What hinders the adoption of a complete scheme of proportional representation? Is it not primarily a lack of courage and of trust in the principle of democracy? But does it need a greater courage, a greater belief in the value of the democratic principle than the grant of self-government to the Transvaal and to the Orange River Colony within a few years of the Boer War? The courage and faith in the latter case have been abundantly justified, and were statesmen actuated by a similar courage and belief in democracy to propose a system of proportional representation there would undoubtedly be a public response which would astonish them; for reforms which are obviously based upon justice are quickly and gladly accepted. Democracy cannot be carried to its highest pitch of perfection if the electoral methods by which representative institutions are brought into being are fundamentally defective. "By proportional representation," said Mr. James Gibb, "if electors were enabled to put more intelligence and conscience into their votes, the nation would be the gainer. The character of the electorate is of paramount importance, one outcome of it being the character of the House of Commons. The electors have not yet had a fair chance of showing what they can do in the making of a House of Commons. The question put to them is in such a form that they can hardly give an intelligible reply. The single-member system seems to imply a belief that the elector's liberty of choice must be narrow. We have now arrived at a point when another step is due in the evolution of the people's liberties, when an individual elector should obtain a greater freedom of choice and therefore a more intimate relation to national affairs.[13] Further, the smooth working of democratic institutions requires that no section of the electors should be permanently divorced from the governing body. Such separation begets a feeling of hostility towards the institutions of the country. Thus, Lord Dunraven has referred to Ireland as a country in the government of which some of its best citizens are not allowed to take part. Similarly, many British settlers in the Orange Free State, although resident for several years, never had any representative in the State Assembly. The natural feeling arose that the government of the country was a matter which did not concern them, and they never attended the meetings addressed by the member of the Assembly for the district. It may be true that minorities must suffer, but there is no reason why they should suffer needlessly. Here justice and expediency go hand in hand. It is to the advantage of the country that all should be associated with the representative body which speaks in the name of the whole, whether that body be a town council, a county council, or a House of Commons.
Constitutional reform.
As pointed out in the opening chapter, the question of electoral reform is intimately associated with the constitutional problem which has occupied Parliament since 1906. This problem contains two factors—the relation between the two Houses of Parliament, and the constitution of the House of Lords. The House of Commons claims greater power in legislation on the ground that it is the expression of the national will. This demand has called forth a movement for reforming the House of Lords in order that it may fulfil more adequately its duties as a Second Chamber. The Unionist leaders have proposed that the peers should delegate their powers to a small number and that the House should be strengthened by the introduction of nominated and elected elements. With regard to the suggestion that a certain number of Lords of Parliament should be nominated by the Crown, all evidence points to the fact that such nominations invariably become party in character. No Government can afford to ignore the claims of the party which supports it, or to miss the opportunity of strengthening its position in one of the Houses of Parliament. The Canadian Senate, which is a nominated body, fails to give satisfaction, and there is a strong demand for its reform. At the conclusion of Sir John Macdonald's long lease of power the Senate consisted nearly wholly of Conservatives. Now that the Liberal Government has been in office for a good many years, the Senate is nearly wholly Liberal. Obviously, the introduction of a nominated element will not provide a Second Chamber that will command public confidence.
The elected element might be chosen indirectly by the County Councils or by the House of Commons, or the much bolder course of direct popular election, advocated by Sir Edward Grey, might be adopted. Direct election is distinctly preferable to indirect election by bodies created for other purposes. The experience of the United States, France, Sweden, and all other countries where the Upper House is elected by local legislatures, provincial councils, or municipalities, show that elections to the local authorities are fought on questions of national politics. But whether indirect or direct election is determined upon, it is already clear that the only possible method of election is that of proportional representation. The Royal Commission on Electoral Systems has reported that there is much to be said in favour of the transferable vote as a method of election for a Second Chamber, and this verdict has since been endorsed in numerous articles in the press. Thus a writer in the Quarterly Review says that: "If an elected element is thought to be necessary for the popularity and effectiveness of a reformed Upper House, then let a certain number of members be elected in large constituencies by means of proportional representation."[14] Were the minimum age qualifying for a vote in such elections raised to twenty-five or more there would naturally be provided the conservative tendency to which that House is intended to give expression, and were peers eligible as candidates doubtless such peers as were interested in politics would experience little difficulty in securing election.[15]
The principle of election has been adopted for the Senates of Australia and of South Africa. In the former the majority system with direct election is used; in the latter, a proportional system with indirect election. The difference in the results is most striking. In Australia each of the States is polled as a separate constituency, each elector having three votes. The result of the election of 1910 was as follows:—
AUSTRALIA: SENATE ELECTIONS, 1910
State. Votes Polled. Labour Non-Labour Seats Obtained. Votes. Votes. Labour. Non-Labour. Victoria 648,889 692,474 3 — New South Wales 736,666 735,566 3 — Queensland 244,292 124,048 3 — South Australia 171,858 148,626 3 — Western Australia 128,452 109,565 3 — Tasmania 92,033 75,115 3 — ————- ————- — — 2,021,090 1,997,029[16] 18 —
It will be seen that the Labour Party polled 2,021,090 votes and obtained 18 seats, whilst their opponents, with a poll of no less than 1,997,029 votes, obtained none. So effectively does the majority system in the form of the block vote blot out minorities. The Hon. W. Pember Reeves, in commenting upon these figures,[17] said that: "Such results give rise to revolutions."
In South Africa each State is represented by eight Senators chosen by the local Parliaments by means of the single transferable vote. The first elections gave the following result:—
SOUTH AFRICA: SENATE ELECTIONS, 1910
Seats Obtained. States. Dutch Parties[18] British Parties[18]
Cape Colony South African 6 Progressive 2 Transvaal Het Volk and
Progressive and Nationalist 5 Labour 3 Natal Dutch 1 British 7 Orange
Free State Orangia Unie 6 Constitutionalist 2 — — Total 18 Total 14
In the one case minorities are completely suppressed; in the other the minority in each State obtains representation.
These two illustrations show that if the House of Lords is to be strengthened by the infusion of an elected element chosen by large constituencies, a true system of election must be adopted. This is the conclusion arrived at by Professor Ramsay Muir[19] after a careful examination of the different methods by which a Second Chamber can be constituted. All suggestions as to the selection of peers by hereditary peers, of peers qualified by service, by nomination, by indirect election, by direct election on a limited franchise, are ruled out and the direct election of a new Second Chamber by the single transferable vote is advocated in order that the new House may contain those elements which fail to secure representation with a system of single-member constituencies. But if, by the adoption of direct popular election and proportional representation, the Upper House were made more truly representative than the Lower, then whatever resolutions were passed defining the relations between the two Houses there is not much doubt that power would tend to pass into the hands of the more representative House. In commenting upon the Royal Commission's report The Nation[20] said: "Perhaps the most pregnant sentence in this whole report is that in which the Commission suggests that proportional representation might be a suitable basis for an elective Senate. We have our liberty of choice, and democracy may find its account in either alternative. We may prefer to retain an imperfectly representative Lower House. But if we place above it a really representative Senate the whole balance of the Constitution might be altered, and the Senate become the more venerable, the more democratic, and in the end, the more powerful Chamber. We may, on the other hand, reform the House of Commons, and render any Senate superfluous. In either event, proportional representation may become the ultimate key to our constitutional problem."
Federal Home Rule.
The same question, the method of election, must enter into the consideration of those larger schemes, Federal Home Rule and Imperial Federation, which have been mooted in the discussion of the constitutional relations between the two Houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. A writer in The Times,[21] whose series of letters attracted considerable attention, said that the "central idea of Federalism appears to be that our present single Imperial Parliament, which does, or makes an attempt at doing, all the complicated work—first of the Empire, and second of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and third of the various countries which together make up the United Kingdom—is no longer adequate to the purpose. The Federalists therefore propose that the Imperial Parliament, while maintaining its supremacy absolutely intact, shall delegate a large part of its functions to a number of subordinate national or provincial Parliaments, who shall manage the domestic affairs of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, or of such other territorial divisions as may be agreed upon. These national or provincial Parliaments will be entirely independent one of another, but all will acknowledge the full and absolute sovereignty of the Imperial Parliament." Mr. Birrell stated that "Federation beginning here at home, as it is called, is ripening for a speedy decision. Such a Federation once established would be able to find room for our Dominions overseas as and when they wished to come in. We should have then a truly Imperial Parliament, at the door of which any one of our Dominions could come in, and as it were hang up its hat and coat in his Mother's House and take part in common Imperial proceedings, and in the government of this great Empire."[22] These are great changes, and without entering too deeply into details of how these new bodies are to be brought into being, it is certain that one of the conditions of their successful working is that they must be fully representative. It is inconceivable that a national council can be set up for Wales, or for Scotland, or for Ireland, without provision for the adequate representation of minorities. Lord Morley, in instituting the new Councils in India, was compelled to make provision for the representation of Muhammedans. Mr. Birrell, in the Irish Council Bill of 1907, proposed that minorities should be represented by members nominated by the Crown. It is impossible to reconcile this reactionary proposal with democratic principles, and there can be no possible reason for its adoption when there is a method of election available which enables minorities to choose their own representatives.