A MANIFESTO.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1329, 5 January 1912, Page 5

A MANIFESTO.

THE GERMAN ELECTIONS. 1 QUESTION OF VITAL INTEREST. By Telcnrapa-Press Aesoclation-Copyrtelil Berlin, January 3. A Government election manifesto has been issued. It emphasises the need for tho Reichitag to bo ready to prolong the present economic, fiscal, and social policy, to maintain the army and fleet permanently at tho highest efficiency, and to fill gaps in armaments. "Therefore," urges the manifesto, "the final defeat of the Socialists, whose existence imperils national unity, is a quesvital interest to the Fatherland." THE POLITICAL PARTIES. The present Reichstag is the product of the- "block" election of December,. 1008 (says the "New York Post"). Prince Bulow dissolved tho Reichstag in that month in order to break the power of the Clerical Centre, with which he had quarrelled irrevocably over certain now forgotten matters of Colonial administration. To compass tho downfall of his enemies, he organised the block of Conservativo and Liberal parties against the Contra and Socialists. The election was a surprise for every one. There was a vast wave of national sentiment in favour of the Government, but the Centre came t.ack in full strength, and with undiminished prestige. It.was the Socialists who had paid tho bill. They lost nearly half their representation iu the Reichstag.

The present Reichstag began. its career with no less than nineteen parties, inchiding the Danish party of one. There arc- now two less, the three radical groups having fused into a single party (Vorsch-rittlich-Volkspartei) about fifty strong. For practical purposes the nineteen parties may be divided into the following five main groups from right to left-.—Conser-vatives 109, Ccntro (Catholic) 129, National Liberals 55, Radicals 19, Social Democrats 13. The smaller groups, Hannoverian Welfistj, Independent Conservatives, and Liberals, etc., hardly make a dozen members altogether. Tho important Polish "fraction is counted with the Centre. The figures given are those of tho last election. Since then the Socialists have raised their strength to S3, at the expense of Conservatives, National Liberals, and Centre. They lost thirty-six seats in 1907, however, and have a long leeway to make up.

The essence of n German election is the Eecoud ballot agreement. Under the German'system the first,ballot does not settle an election unless one cf the candidates has an absolute majority. That is generally not tho case in a country with twenty political parties, and a second ballot has to be fought off between the two candidates polling the lurgest number of votes at the first. The issue then depends on which way the beaten parties who have no candidate of their nvii at the second ballot give their votes. Thus, if a Conservative and a Socialist have the largest number of votes at the first ballot, • the Conservatives having 2000 votes more than the Socialist, while Ihe National Liberal , received 1000 votes and tho Radical 2000, the Socialist will get the Radical vote at the second ballot, which will make him level with tho Conservative, and all will depend upon the party for whom tho National Liberals • declare. Centre and Conservative will support each other everywhere in the second ballot?, and where they cannot support each other for want of a candidate to vote for, will help any one rather than a Socialist, although this rule may not always hold good. Similarly, Radical and Socialist 5.i1l help each other against any block candidate. What the National Literals' will do is uncertain, but probably their tactics will vary in different parts of tho countrv. The strength of the Centre is in' Catholic south and west Germany, that of the Conservatives in agricultural Prussin, and that of the Liberals and Socialists in the great towns, which, however, are .nmlerrepresentted in proportion to th'cir''population in consequence of their rapid growth. There are 397 seats in the Reichstag, so. that if. tho Socialists . return a hundred; strong and tho Radicals gain, say, twenty seats, , the block majority will be in the power of the National Liberals, pven allowing that the latter lose twenty teats. . ■ ■ .