PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION.

Waikato Argus, Volume VI, Issue 407, 9 March 1899, Page 4

PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION.

The following paper was read by Mr I Pratt before tho Paeroa Debating Club :- The paper that I am about to read to you is a critisism on the present system of electing representatives of Parliament and embodies the detailed scheme for greatly improving it, The scheme is founded on a system propounded in England by Mr Hare and also on a modification of that scheme which is set forth in a pamplet written by Mr W. J. Speight of Auckland about 15 years ago. For some time past a few of the citizens of this District have been in the habit of holding occasional meetings to consider the details of this scheme of improvement. I had the honour of being invited to take a part in these conferences and now have the additional honour of being deputed by these gentlemen to read before you this paper which is the joint production al all those who took part in the conferences. We have to acknowledge considerable indebtedness to Mr W. J. SpeighVs pamphlet of which whole paragraphs have been copied into this paper. _ _ The object of this paper is to criticise the present system of election of members of the House of Represetatives and other representative bodies and to suggest improvement on that system. It will be readily conceded that if Parliament is to be a mirror of the mind of the nation it is of the first importance that the whole nation as far as may be.ahall be represented and that since every individual cannot be present in person, every person or at least every person having suffrage shall be able to point to some one member of Parliament as his or her representative. An absolutely perfect system of election would be such as would give every voter equal personal representation in Parliament, but in practise it is hardly possible that this height of perfection can be reached. . It can be shewn that the practical results of the present system range far below this ideal; that it giveß a certainty of a large minority of electors having absolutely no representation, and still worse it affords the possibility of a majority having none. This latter result, so preposterously inconsistent with the principles of Democracy, has occurred again and again in New Zealand. Results of elections will be adduced to establish the truth of this statement. Similar results have occurred in England, America, and other countries which are presumably democratic. A simple illustration will be given showing how this may occur. We will assume the case of an electorate which returns only one member and that this electorate consists of 6000 voters. Three candidates may be nominated—one may receive 2100 votes, the second 2000 votes and the third 1900 votes. The one who receives 2100 votes is, of course, elected, and the 3900 voters for the unsuccessful candidates go unrepresented. This large majority may possibly hold views diametrically opposed to those of the elected candidate. The candidate thus represents a minority of the electors of the district In New Zealand almost all the electorates return only one member each, and it might possibly happen that in many of these electorates candidates might be returned by minorities through results such as we have indicated. To follow the possible consequences still further, it may happen—and we believe that it frequently does happen—that taking the members of, Parliament as a whole, they might represent a minority of the electors of the colony. In contradistinction to this present ineffective system, we propose to show that a system of election can be presented which shall be capable of adoption in practice, and will afford the certainty of nearly the whole of the electors of the colony having direct personal representation in Parliament.and will even afford the possibility of the whole of the electors gaining this boon, though in practice such a degree of perfection may seldom be attained. In addition to this much higher degree of direct representation, it is also claimed that more capable and more public-spirited men will be chosen under the system we propose to describe, than under the present system. When the electoral reform popularly known as "One Man One Vote" was attained, followed later by the establishment of female franchise, it was supposed, by most of the followers of Democratic principles, that the country had at last attained the realization of the ideal which is expressed in the phrase, '* The Government of the People by the People for the People." But previous to these reforms being effected, there were many who perceived that the non-representation in parliament of large proportions of the electors is a radical defect in our electoral system, and one which tends to act detrimentally to the public good, and notwithstanding the reforms above mentioned these still perceive that in the true sense of the terms the government by the people, for the people.has not yet been attained, and something further is needed to secure this end. The following figures show the actual results of the election of 1896, leaving out electors in four cities : Electors on rolls 262712 Number of persons who voted... 202363 Members elected 104039 Number of persons who voted who are not represented ... 98326 Number of persons on rolls represented 104039 Number of persons not represented 158675 Number of votes exercisable in four cities > ... 167673 Number of votes recorded in four cities 157041 Number of votes for elected members 80892 Number of votes for defeated candidates 76149 Again, nearly half of the electors were and still remain unrepresented in the City Electorates. Number of votes on rolls represented 80892 Number of votes on rolls not represented 86781 These figures shew that those to whom the Government was entrusted, represented but a portion of the electors of the colony, and ensured the Government of the people by only a portion of the people. This result is quite inconsistent with the democratic principle upon which our political system is founded. The fault lies in the electoral machinery which is supposed to give effect to those principles and is due to the erroneous assumption that a " mere majority vote " will give due representation to the voters. We contend that it will not, and that if a system can be framed and practically applied, which will give very much wider representation to the voters, it should be preferred to the one now in use. The evils of using a " mere majority " vote in deciding the election of candidates are most clearly perceived in the results obtained in single electorates, that is, those which return only one member. In New Zealand, with the exception of four city electorates, all the electorates are on this basis. They are known as equal single seat electorates, and contain as nearly as possible the same number of inhabitants. The candidate who is highest on the poll is elected, We contend that this class of comparatively small electorates favours parochialism, and tends to create and perpetuate a degree of selfishness and petty local feeling utterly destructive to high ideals _ of national poliay and incompatible with the pursuit of the good of the conutry as a whole. The question at election time is not—what will this man do for the country— |

but it is : What will he do for our district or town. Or perhaps i» small knot of voters working together for some object which may be disapproved of by the large majority of ths electors, can hold the balance and decide the election according to pledges they may be able to extort from the candidates. Or again, after election, let Borne district gain an advantage or benefit from the government, the constituents _ of other districts actuated by a sort of jealousy immediately clamour for equal benefits and intimate to their representatives, that unless they bestir themselves to gain such and such concessions from the Government, they need not seek reelection. Human nature is weak and confronted with this alternative, members of Parliament may not infrequently prefer to work in tho interest of the locrl district rather than the country. Thus a cynical disregard of public morality and public interest is engendered anrlthe practice, commonly known as logrolling, is of no infrequeut occurence in our houses of Parliament. We draw particular attention to this, as the system we advocate does not favour this practise, which all must deprecate. In seeking election in such electorates as these, the public spirited mon of the colony are placed at a disadvantage, and thus it is that some of the ablest, most honest and most needed representatives are rejected at elections, while some of the least qualified by ability, wisdom or honesty, men essentially not needed in the Councils of the Nation, are elected. (To be Continuid.)

'•A flock of two or three hundred sheep," says the New Zealand Times of Saturday, 25th ultimo, " apparently in the sole custody of an easygoing collie, mysteriously appeared on Lambton Quay yesterday afternoon. They spread across the roadway and footpaths with strange unconcern, but presently taking fright at an approaching butcher's cart they madly stampeded into a well-known drapßry establishment. Before the startled shop-walker and his assistants could repel the intruders the establishment was full of prime crossbred wethers, which jumped over the band-boxes and counters in great style, and jostled in a most unbecoming manner amongst the immacu-lately-clad tailor's dummies which ornamented the premises. As soon as the staff recovered its presence of mind, the unwelcome visitors were hunted out, leaving the usually spick and span emporium in a state of general disorder. When last seen the animals were vanishing in the direction of the wharves, probably to make a trip to Christchurch, en route to London, as ' Prime Canterburys.' "