The Hare System of Voting

Feilding Star, Volume XI, Issue 13, 16 July 1889, Page 2

The Hare System of Voting

The Hare system of voting at elec tions seems to be hotly opposed by certain members, not, as oue said, because it will be impossible to educate the public to understand it under 50 years, but because it will go far to sweep the House of useless lumber and ensure the best men being returned. Each voter can surely number the candidates in the order he prefers them, and that is all he has to do ; so where the fifty years' education is required we know not. In our school days we read of a popular election, we think in Sparta, .vhere each voter gave names in order of preference, the result being that each man named himself first and they all fixed on the same individual for second place. Of course the value of such a vote was to place the right man in the first rank. This took place a good many years ago (more than fifty) and yet we shall most likely find a majority, of such members as are present elected, refuse to see the advantage of estimating the value of the whole suffrages over a numerical majority, whom alone are now represents* There is only one sound and uuselfisli objection to the Hare system; and if the districts are kept within moderate limits, that objection vanishes. The " Own Correspondent of the Auckland Weekly News," or, to use his own words, " competeat and intelligent staff," now makes amends for his slur on our district by saying : " There is, as I have further stated in a former communication, plenty of good land aot far from Feilding, where settlers can make comfortable homes without any danger of being swept away by the flooding of any rivers." His previous article having inferred rather the contrary this may be taken for the amende honorable, and it makes us sorry that we held him up to ridicule by quoting him, but " the competent and intelligent " staff is surely bordering on the funny again when he suggests that a "crow flight" for ten miles to the Manawatu might enable us to foil >wing down the banks of that river to its mouth, and observe some portions that the river overflows when in high flood. Thank you ! we w ould rather not; and we will accept the testimony of " the competent and intelligent" as to its being probable that swamps are to be found in lowlying places. We have tried to meet his friendly attempt at " dropping into poetry," like the immortal Silas Wegg, but confesses to being beaten, as the effort of the " competent and intelligent staff " is evidently original, and unless we plagiarised Browning, we could not approach it, And live.