The Dominion TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 1917. WAR AND POLITICAL PROGRESS

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3044, 3 April 1917, Page 6

The Dominion TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 1917. WAR AND POLITICAL PROGRESS

It is a hopeful fact that the War which has'brought so much misery and destruction of life and' property in its train has also had tho effect of potently stimulating the spirit which makes for social progress and reform. It is not yet possible to measure the benefits which humanity will derive in, this way as an outcome of events otherwise so calamitous, but they "promise to be vast and far-reachirig. In the principal Allied countries the process of national awakening is plainly apparent. It is not only in Russiarythougb, the llussian revolution is to data by far the greatest political event of the / war—that the process is to, be seen in working operation. Britain also is feeling and responding' to the influence of tho times in matters of social and political organisation, and is attacking political problems with a cheerful disregard of usage and tradition which is in remarkable contrast to her past methods and; procedure. Striking evidence of tho new spirit was afforded in the unprecedented reconstruction of the Imperial Cabinet carried, outsat the, end of last year, and. it may be possible to add before long that war conditions have made it possible to surmount also the difficulties which oppose? the political organisation of the Empire on lines which will givc the people Dominions ;in effective voice in Imperial affairs as well as a share "in defending the, Empire against attack. Still another indication of the political awakening in Great Britain which has directly resulted from'tho war is- to be found in the recommendations of the Speaker's , Conference on Electoral Reform, which the Imperial Government has now announced it will i presently submit to the Houso', of Commons in legislative form. Though' they emanate from a conferenco on which the various political parties were represented, the recommendations are above all remarkable for their democratic tendency. They represent in cssence a bold attempt to impart ai truly democratic character to a constitution, which at present has many: shbrtcomings measured by that standard. The principal reforms recommended are a wide and liberal extension , of the franchise, including the enfranchisement of women (residence becoming an electoral qualification), the' adoption in certain constituencies (about onefourth of tho total number), of proportional representation, aud the abolition to a great extent of multiple voting. • It is proposed, however, that electors who reside in one constituency and occupy business premises in another should retain tho privilege of voting in both, and as tne recommendations stand it would apparently remain possible for a University graduate to cast three votes, one in a University constituency, another under tbo residential .qualification, and a

| third._ as tho occupier of business premises in a constituency othc>• -than that in which ho rcsidas. It is tolerably ccrtain that lacking some extraordinary influence like | that of tho-war no such liberal measure of electoral reform would have been formulated iu Great Britain by a compromise decision of party delegates. The element of compromise appears most obviously in the recommendations relating :to woman suffrago, an item. in its order- of reference upon which the conference failed to roach unanimity, and it may be taken for granted that the limitation it is proposed to impose upon'the- female franchise will bo at most of a temporary character. The conference decided by a majority that some measure of woman suffrage should be conferred, and it is probable that the same view will. prevail in the House of Commons, and, though possibly not without some preliminary opposition, in the House of Lords as well. So much tho concession of voting privilege's at a later age to, women than to men will certainly fail to stand the test of time. It is safe to assume that in rccommanding that limits should be set to t/iie grant of the female franchise the conference was not actuated by lack of belief in the ability of women'under thirty to raa-ko intelligent use of electoral priviloges. The reasonable explanation is that it shrank from recommending ' thai Parliament should at a single step create a majority of women voters. Women were in a majority in GreatBritain before, the war. They will be in a still jarger majority after the wai\ This boing so, tbe hesitation o£ the conference is ' understandable, though it .is hardlv warranted by tho oxpcrience of the Dominions ih which full woman suffrajre has, been conoeded! .. . the exception of tho age limitation proposed in the case of women, the adoption of the conference's .recommendations by Parliament /"would moan practically the concession of universal manhood and womanhood suffrage in Great Britain. In a country where at present only about one-sixth of the population aro electors (as against about five-ninths under universal •franohise in this Dominion) this would be a very notable forward step in. democratic progress. If in one main section of its report the inference has been cautious and somewhat hesitating, it has in,others launched out in a boldly experimental way. Tho adoption of proportional 'representation, for instance, would not only be an innovation in Great Britain, but would give- a lead to most of tho oversea Dominions. The conference recommends that, in . contiguous borough constituencies entitled to ,rci turn three members or more the election shall bo held on the principle of proportional representation, the group constituencies ftjrmodfor this purpose to return not less than threo membors, nor more •than nvo. It has been computed that the number of seats affected by this change would be 168 .or thereabouts, out of a total of 670. Matters not less' important than the extension of electoral privileges are dealt with by tho conieroncc in recommendations that the permissible maximum of election exponsos should 1m not moro;than £400 in a county contest, or £300 in a borough, and in the case of joint candidatures considerably bolow that level, and that tho law 'should be amenacd in tho direction-of controlling expenditure by political and other organisations jat election time. In its report the Conference stated that it realised the difficulty of dealing with the .political expenditure of organisations (the difficulty may assume even more serious importanoo than .at present where proportional representation is applied), but considered it, in the .dimensions it had assumed, a contravention of the, spirit of tho Corrupt and Illegal Practices < Prevention Act. It recommended accordingly -that any person incurring expenditure 'by holding public meotings or issuing advertisements or publications for the-purpose of furthering the election of a candidate should be deemed guilty of a corrupt practice unless such expenditure was authorised by the candidate and returned as part of his expenses. As a whole the report of the conference represents an obviously honest attempt to 'meet, so far 'as electoral methods and privileges are concerned, .the demand for democratic reform, to which war conditions have lent irresistible force. •Experience in this Dominion aid in others has demonstrated very clearly that a liberal franchise is not in itself a guarantee of sound government. But a liberal franchise is the only basis of governlitent which deserves; or will roceivo, consideration in any British country, and the recommendations of the Speaker's Conference are to be welcomed, not as promising a panacea for human ills,' 1 but as. a .necessary concession toiithe progressive spirit of reform which has been keenly stimulated in Great Britain and elsewhere by the. conditions arising out of the war.