THE NEW MODE OF ELECTION IN FRANCE.

Globe, Volume XXIII, Issue 2236, 2 June 1881, Page 3

THE NEW MODE OF ELECTION IN FRANCE.

The " Sydney Morning Herald" thug ex plains the difference between the two systems of voting, which the French Chamber of Deputies has for some time been discussing, with the result as stated in yesterday's cablegrams, that election by scrutin de liste has been resolved upon:— " The law now orders that every arrondissement has to elect one deputy, and if its population is in excess of 100,000, an additional deputy for each 100,000, or portion thereof. Under this system, whioh goes by the name of the uni-nominal one, an elector can vote as he pleases, or decline to vote if there are no candidates that he likes. Moreover, as the electorates are out up into small divisions, as a rule, the electors have only single votes. Under the scrutin de liste the arrondissements will be dispensed with, and the electors required to vote for whole departments. Thus, supposing that the proportion of one member for 100,000 voters is retained, a department containing 500,000 voiers would return five members, and every voter would have that number of votes. He would also be required to exeroise them. Plumping would be illegal. If a department is entitled to return five members, each voter must support five candidates. Should he objeot to any of the candidates proposed, he must get others in their places. In the event of his being unable to find a candidate whom he approves he must vote for one whom he disapproves. " It will be said that under suoh a system electors will not vote at all; but it is proposed to make voting compulsory, or at least to impose a fine on non-voters. It is probable that under a pressure of this kind the bulk of the electors would go to the poll, and as a large number of them must of necessity be ignorant of many of the candidates they may find it necessary to support, they will have to vote under the direction of party leaders. This is what the advocates of the proposed system aim to secure. Election by scrutin de liste would mean election by caucus ; its tendenoy would be to destroy personal influence in political contents, and to make party influenoe supreme. On the approach of an eleotion the wire puller of a party would prepare a list of party candidates, according to the custom in America. And the adherents of the party would be asked to vote for the bunch, and, as a rule, would do so. Thus, if a majority in any constituency are Radicals, only Radicals would be returned ; if a majority are inclined towards Conservatism, only Conservatisms would be returned. Under such a system certain parts of a country would be represented by one set of politicians, and others by another. Itß effect in France for the hour would of | necessity be a large accession to the Republican majority, and that would mean a vastly increased support for M. Gainbetta."