The Dominion. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1911. THE DUTY OF THE VOTER.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1279, 7 November 1911, Page 4

The Dominion. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1911. THE DUTY OF THE VOTER.

9 The only good thing that can bo said for the idea of compulsory enrolment and compulsory voting at Parliamentary elections is that it might secure that nearly everybody entitled to vote would do so. But the evils of any such system are likely to outweigh many times its incidental advantages, and we are glad to think wc helped a little to frustrate what was clearly a feeling by the Government towards establishing that system. Nor do wo mind that we are accordingly obliged to give no small amount of our space to an endeavour to impress electors that they have no higher public duty than to enrol themselves and thereafter, to exorcise their votes. Important at any time, this duty is specially important just now,' for more than one reason. There is an excellent prospect that the country, weary of an Administration that is now almost undisguiscdly a "spoils - ', party—devoid of any definite political principles, ready to adopt any line of action that it thinks will suit its present purpose, desperately indifferent. to the value of prudence and economy to a young and growing country, concerned only to keep its grip upon office in order that its friends may -grow fat—will follow Canada's example by declaring for a new Administration and an overhauling and clcaning-up of the machinery of government. Even if the Government is not removed from office the country will benefit beyond all calculation from the further strengthening of the Reform party. Even if it wins only eight or nine scats the end will have come of the gross political and Parliamentary abuses that have disfigured the nation's public life and injured the country's health and stability. But to achicve this result every friend of Eeform must cast his vote. The Government, party will_ take care that every supporter of it will be enrolled and wilt go to the poll. It has a material incentive to attend to this; with our "Liberal" friends it is a question of avoiding, not merely political loss, but a personal and material loss! The only incentive of the Government'!! opponents is a desire for good government. Their motive is impersonal, they are moved only by patriotism; and fine a motive as that is, it would be absurd to pretend that it can , competc on even terms in jjolitics

with a personal and material inspiration. A man fightinq only for a principle cannot have tlic anxiety and energy o£ a man lighting for his life and his pocket. Every friend of .Reform, therefore, who allows himself to bo only a looker-oil at the fight 19 not merely, a non-combatant; he is a vote for the Government. The feature of the 190S elections, apart from the largo increase in the strength of the Reform party in the House of .Representatives, was the cutting down of Ministerial majorities in electorates all over I'Jew Zealand. They will be cut down still further this year; and in some cases the margin will bo so small that a single vote v;ill be of far more importance than ever. The first duty of the clector is to satisfy himself that ho is on the roll for his district. He may hav6 filled in an enrolment torm and handed it to. the Deputy-Returning Officer, but mistakes may happen. He may have handed his enrolment form to a trustworthy person for transmission to the enrolling authority, but ho will be foolish if he supposes that that is the end of the matter. There may be some small but sufficient informality; the canvasser may inadvertently omit to hand in the form, or may unluckily lose and forget it. After every election the newspapers arc full of complaints from voters who, trusting to the fact that they voted at the last election and have not changed their abode, have found themselves left ofi the roll. These are always people who have not troubled to satisfy themselves, either by personal inspection of the fresh roil, or by inspection on their behalf, that they are enrolled. This year there has been a fresh complication through the electoral census. The Government lias done, it says, all it can do to cancel the widespread disfranchisement that resulted from that stupid and inexplicable, and expensive and useless, innovation But many people must still be fancying that, having filled, in tho census forms, they are thereby enrolled. This lamentable delusion will, wc fear, result in much disappointment on polling day. We can only adjure those who have had this idea to abandon it, and inspect the roll at once, which they can do at any candidate's com-mittcc-room, at any Returning Officer's office, and at various places easy enough to find. Everybody who is not a fool wishes to exercise his vote; but only those can be certain of avoiding regret and humiliation on polling day who assure themselves in some positive way that, their names are on the roll. Enrolment is the easiest thing in the world. And it is one of the most important things to secure.