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Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 74, 14 August 1912, Page 4

J PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION'. The Proportional Representation Society of England lias published a brief analysis; of the last Canadian elections to support .the argument that the system of single-member constituencies com- | plotely fails to secure a representative j character for the elected assembly. * All parts of the Empire, says the Society's I statement, followed the course of the elections with eager attentiou, and publicists have deduced from the remarkable turnover in seats that there lias been an equally marked change in the opinions of the Canadian electors. Aci cording to the official figures, however, Sir Wilfrid Laurier's 'majority -in 1908 of 45 seats represented a majority of only 1% per cent, of the electors;, whilst Mr. Borden's majority in the present •election of 49 seats represents a majority of nearly 3 1 /? per'cent. The electoral system has thus given to the world a falso impression of the strength of .political tendencies in Canada. In most of the provinces the numerically superior party, with a lead in votes, secured a greatly exaggerated majoritv in representatives, this was notably the i case in Onta'rio, which returned 73 supporters of the. present Government out of a total of St>. As the Government's majority in the Dominion House of Commons is only 49, the importance- of the Ontario result need not be emphasised. The official figures show tliat in this province the Government with 269,930 votes, won 72 seats, while the Opposition with 207';,079 votes obtained only 12.' (Two seats, one on each side, wasuncontested). In British Columbia the Opposition failed to get ,a single seat, though they polled 10.350 votes against the Government's 25,622. In Saskatchewan and.Alberta, on the o'.her hand, the Government supporters in their turn narrowly esßaped'y'umplete political extinction. a In- the' former the Government won one sett with -34,700 votes, while the Opposition, with only 52,824 votes-, won nine seats. In Alberta 2!),675' Government- votes, sccirred only one seat, while 37,-208 'Opposition votes secured six scats. The iigun-s for Quebec were: Government, 159.292 votes, 27 seats; Opposition, 207.078 voles, 12 seat. 1 ;. Foi 4 Manitoba the figures were: Government, votes 40,356, seats 8; Opposition, votes 34,781, seats 2. The result for tl[e whole Dominion was nearer in proportion to the votes cast than in any province, but as the figures show the i Government's majority in the House is greater than its majority in the country. The total of the votes ea-t for the Government was 669,587, giving 133 seats, arid the total for the Opposition ,was 62)5,096, giving 84 seats.