TASMANIAN POLITICS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 452, 10 March 1909, Page 2

TASMANIAN POLITICS.

A LEGISLATOR INTERVIEWED, THE HARE SYSTEM OF VOTING. Tho Hon. P. M'Crackan, a member of tho Legislative Council of Tasmania, and formerly a membor of tho Lower House, had an interesting conversation with a Dominion reporter about tho political situation in the smallest State of tho Commonwealth; Ho remarked that Tasmania was about to mako its third trial of the llaro system of proportional represor.tation. Tho Act under which the system was first established remained in force for a period covering two general elections, and was then repealed, but 111 1007, after a reversion to the old method, an improved Hare system was embodied in legislation, and this would be put into practice at the general election now pending. Mr. M'Crackan explained that for the election of tho Lower liouso Tasmania was now divided into fivo electorates, and each of theso would return six members. Tho different parties would bring out their candidates pretty much as they would under any electoral system. The voters would ba required to .mark tho candidates' names on the ballot paper with the figures 1, 2, 3, etc., in tho order of their preference. Oil the first count of tho votes, every candidate who had obtained a certain number of "firstchoice" votes, called tho "quota," would bo declared elected. Votes in excess of tho quota wero called tho "surplus." A number of votes equal to the surplus of tho highest candidate would then bo divided among the others in the proportion indicated by tho second preferences (figure 2) marked on all tho ballot papers assigned to the highest candidate of tho first count. This process would bo repeated according to fixed rules until six of the candidates wcro credited with a quota. Mr. M'Crackan, who had himself boon elootcd to tho Lower Houso under tho old Haro system, was satisfied that in ono form or tho other it was the best electoral system yet devised. It made the Houso, in his opinion, a truer reflex of tho state of parties in tho country than any other mode of election. Asked whether tho electors found tho system too difficult or complicated, Mr. M'Crackan replied that there wero fewer informal ballot papers than under tho other system, and, curiously, most of tho misapprehension was 011 tho part of tho educated classes, who apparently took tho least trouble to inform themselves. Really, tho task of tho voter was simple in tho extreme. It was in tho counting of tho votes by tho polkilcrks.that tho complications bogan. Tho procedure had, howovor, been carefully worked out, tho clerks wcro properly instructed, and it was not necessary that every elector should grasp tho whole series of calculations, Coming to party politics, Mr. M'Crackan said the Opposition in Tasmania was in a very weak and disorganised condition. _ Its leader, Mr. Nicholls, had accepted a judgeship, and another prominent Oppositionist, Dr. M'Call, had been appointed AgontGoneral. Tho Labour party, which now had fivo members in tho pouse, expected to increase its strength at tho electiou, but tho probabilities wero that tho .Premier, Captain J. W. Evans, would bo returned to power. Captain Evans was very popular in his own district, and had done'good work while in office. It would ho remembered to his crcdifr that 110 had reduced the floating deficit and provided more mojiey for public works (including some needed railway construction) than had been available for some years previously.' \ ■