THE DANISH PLAN OF SECURING THE REPRESENTATION OF MINORITIES.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 77, 25 November 1864, Page 3

THE DANISH PLAN OF SECURING THE REPRESENTATION OF MINORITIES.

The British Government -has just published, and the Daily News t has circulated a very singular paper. It is a report by Mr. Robert Lytton, Briiish Secretary of Legation afc Copenhagen, upom tho structure and .working of the •Danish, electoral system. It ia one of a sorus of political reports which the Secretaries of Legation all o^er the world have been, in the last few years, ordered to send in, -and which promise to bo of very unexpected political value. Mr. Lyttou'o report is far too long fa. 1 too literary, an.l ourh.ii d with a needhss discus don -of mafchooati -al obj^ cbions, but it deserves the' careful perusal of all who believe as we do, that the .-anker at the root of representative institutions is the tt-nJeney of the m ji.ihy to monopoly *epresentativ«3 power. Tiie l'ramers of tho Danish Oonstitution', it appr-ars, entrusted tho preparation of the 'electoral law to Mr. Andrce, Finance Minister of the Kingdom, and a man of high local repute for thoughfulness -and mafchematio.il knowledge. This gentleman had deeply coniidored the problem of representation,- and hadarrived at a conclusion identical with that so often ,)iM.-^ita-d by Mr. Hare, that tho detect of th A ii\odm\ t-Aimisflntatovo system in oil countries^, the diuiinutv'of senuring adequate expression $o tlV ft *i W 9i[ wnnimte, 1

England, in part by wide varieties of constituency, ■ ftofe'S^Wgreatthatrtp mention onlyi oneinsUn.ee j« the 800,000. Catholics,, ia England can only s^at' one member, t lmd^hat~for" s 'Ve^ « anb^s'oourd "not^Yen ; "seaTthls;ro'ner '"MrrAndrar,"tomeet this evil devised, and&hefEirig"! earned out, a system of election which vis substantially identical with thatfOf Mr.JHare] which has worked ; with success for eight years, -and which has apparently .-succeeded , in. the endj^for whij-h it- was. designed. It is, perhaps^ too" ; compliciited' for adbp tion in this couhtTryjiandis Vhable to some objections which Mr. Lyitoh ha3_ not perceived ; but a system .of , renresentation actuaUy at. work, which does allow for ' mihorities/is a'subject of higli interest to all thoughtful-English politicians. The scheme is: ba3ed,-.itt > thei-lir3.fc-;]>lace,jVipoTi*a martial but not complete rejection biftlie local idea. ■ a contempt for which was one of. the f, defects of Mr. Hare's able plan.,^Tlie.cpuTjtr^ds^ divided inio districts; covering a' certain ""; number of seats, and each voter sends in_theiiames of as many _persons,as. he likes, not exceeding the number .of "mem bers^'in "the "order "^of-" his .jpreferenee. ,; y The.^ returning dfficief. 1 first 'cbuhtsiup the : number of' 'voters, and ffien-^mUesythem^ by the^uljnber^f , , seiitsj:^the,^ .quotient,: givhig -the'^ huinber'^of; ybte^ ; whieh'ina^e'arf eleetioh sure.-' Tdmake afpjocess'. which looks complicated appear'as l^^ simple : as' it 'isp we , will tram/fe ri'tKeJscehe to Lohlioiii.'and romit all 'details notabsolutely '-fessentiaUtbthe principle of HhW'st;nehse.'i"Su^ all 'twenty members;; iand^-suppose ooni apyf'-given •election lOOjOOO electors ought to go. to. thejjpll.. }^-Then anyiperson whose; name is inscribed on; 5,000; ,papers is at once.declared . duly: elected, <and ; there J is ; : an end of discussion as v far.as'f heds^cohcerned. But one man — say Baron, Kbthschild—^-may have more than his quotap'l' If' sOjtlie'Teturriingiofficer, stops when-ihisy quota' Jis I complete,;-! -and- hi alh fremaining voting papers -.carries.. the Baron!s name to tlie-eredit of the' person* naniedifirstin'sUch of the remaining 'papers as- Tiame the .Bardh also. His surplus of votes; iheref ore, o cannot be 1 carried to Tory credit, for no Tory w-oiiWinsert) the name, but can be carried stb:. credit :lof' the-.persoh."whom the Liberal voter likes hfext'. to ? or" better than the -'.Baron. But it may happen, that' 'theowhole body of electors donotgo to thepolLi'Thedaw provides for that to the extent of "allowing sa'smanXwho is necessary to fill^'up the) number eof seats, but who has not got theprbperquota ofivbtesj-.to befelected if he has half. Li' he has -less 'than rhalfy then the seat, as a punißhrnentTtOi'^joters;for.;;neglecting their duties, remainsfunfilled,r^ah-;anomaloiis and very useless provision. 'v^ -Under ithis system, it is clear that the Libera ! sf:of >London,v. with their enormous majority,-^wbuld. succeedidn-'seating a majority of the^Lohdon ; menibers| but the Tories, not beingfbeaten' in. :detaill borough!: by 'borough, would," by ; clubbing i'tbgether,: seat- also a certain number, and instead, as Jin: London; .of <6nly one party beings representedj-. both) wouldjSseat a proportion of members varyingas their strength. Indeed, a sub- variety of electors-r-say,.for -instance, the Jews — could, by ali'votirig, together, -ensure the return of their man also. If'the.Lib'eraKelectors, for instance, were 60,000, candlthe Tories 35,000, and the Jews s,i)oo,;the -Liberals wbidd seat twelve, and the Tories seven; and: the;; Jews^oney and the, minority would have- precisely; its; duo Tshare of influence, no r - more' ahd>: ho l less.- . ; 'The: in j ustice which now exsts, that; the; immense Tory population of England is totally unrepresented, put to silence as it were, and that- instead of the metropolis sending representatives, to Parliament, only the dominant party sends thdin, 1 would tlren cease. [ This injustice, which is the one great evil of local , repr t.-ntation, is by the Danish constitution cooipletoly, .eor'rected.vo Mr,'.Har^9' \soheme7.th.erefplie, bo far from being a. theory,- is there, fW.ith!.OE[e v im- fi portant modification, a practical fact, and according to Mr. Lytton, although- not popular, really sends intq,.the^Rigsraad. the best men of both parties. '"T f 'may mention," says Mr. Lytton, " that -"h -ve -been assure! by M-. An re that in u hiFdpiiii6n--tne"general' : "s " tative.characier. -supplied <bythißila.w i isf;tjielseßt "and .highest. in. the .QountTy ;;.jindjhat. although " he does , not: consider that, a sufficient time has " yet elapsed /whereby to'testhhe^ "effects of "the law "upon the cpnstituenQies r ,themselves, he is ne^er- " theless of •bpitiioh nhdei'-its' operation, the " character of the voter as a class has improved and "is improving. I have every reason to believe, "moreover, that bribery? is almost unknown in " the constituencidi^forytne'Rigsraad." The plan, we are bound to add, i3 in "Denmark unpopular, first, because Mr Andrse -j has made it unnecessarily complicated, and secondly, because- the majorities, feel that, their.; monppolyj of- ppwer is constantly marred' by the" full "and "adequate expression which the system gives to the will of minorities. That objectionwould, we fancy, be strongly felt in England ako,, an ,electoral^district, say like the cbtton'-coUntry; -grieHng' fo'fiiid^ts immense liberal influence diminished by the -full rep e'sentatlon of its Tory ■minority-. The objection, however, is based, not on justice, but on feeling, and the existence, in a European State,- of system of representation thoroughly liberal, allowing *of local feehng, yet providing for^ the^ right- of him<jrities, is a fact of very hig ! > interest, and one which may one day considerably influence English politics.. Englishmen s : are (very- -slow! to receive ideas, very quick to apprehend their action when visible in "any concrete -form.— Economist.