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Hokitika Guardian, 21 June 1929, Page 4

A general election in the aggregate is usually an uncertain business. This lias been remarked frequently of late, for there have been several instances of the vagaries of the voting system mostly in vogue. Usually it is “the first past the post,” and in cases where there are more than two parties, the upshot is not a fair allocation of the representation in proportion to the votes cast. There is in many places the inevitably reaction against the electoral system by those not favoured in the result. Tile outcry raised is that the dominating party does not represent a majority of the people, but a minority. This is blaineabie to many causes, but the chief one is the voting system itself. There are many anomalies coming to mind through a minority party ruling, but it is not easy to plan a complete or acceptable remedy. The ultimate vote has been suggested, but again there is the trouble through party interests causing- vote splitting. Sir Joseph Ward once tried the Second Ballot as a remedy, but the theory did net work out in practice. For tiie second ballot there was a regrouping of the electors, and the second result was often less satisfactory than the first. Proportional representation has been sug- | gested as the truest panacea Jor politi-| cal emancipation. Tt may bo tried for local body elections, and is tried in places, Christchurch City Council to wit. It is a very complex method and has been much-criticised as to its details. Tt is said that though it is cumbersome, it is fair, but it is vorv costly, and the final resn'ts are not roudilv ascertainable. With the tendenev for threv. yar-ios in politics, the weakness of “the first past ( the post’’ system is often very pronounced. The British elections are very noticeable iii

that rosjH.'ct, and the Liberals in particular have .suU’eretl severely. The system, however, is generally satislactory to the part which creeps into power, and it is not prepared to handle t..e posit.on witii any drastic amendment. Mr .Masaev, who suffered under the Second Ballot system promptly lepealed it, but he never had the courage to replace it with remedial legislation. as he promised to do. The most that has been done of late- is to widen the suffrage as much as possible. There has been in attempt at co-or-dination of voting. The present Parliament of New Zealand will not be keen to do so. Parties are so divided that the Government depends on the unity of at least two of them, and there is not likely to be that unity of feeling necessary to bring about a drastic reform in voting. So we must go on complaining and waiting for tne ripening of time to bring the reform which will come eventually.