Untitled

Waikato Times, Volume XII, Issue 961, 20 August 1878, Page 2

The second readingof Mr Whitaker's Representation Bill came before the House for discussionon Wednesday. As many ©f our readers are m ignorance of the system invented by Hare, and known as the Hare aystero, we give the following synopsis of the working of it, as provided m the bill now before the Assembly. On receipt of a warrant from the Government, the Chief Registrar proceeds to issue warrants, specifying the day upon which the elections, are to be held throughout the olony, the writs to be returnable within 90 days. Any person on any roll may be nominated for any district by 10 electors of the same, or may nominate himself on a deposit of £10, subject to forfeiture if he fail to . poll one-fifth of the final quota of . votts. . The returning officer at once publishes such nomination as received, and sends the same to the Chief Registrar, who publishes a daily ' Gazette ' at Wellington of all nominations, which he sends again to every returning officer. The poll is by ballot. Every voter may write on his voting paper the names of 10 candidates or. ' less, m the order of priority m which he hopes to see th6m returned. It is not intended that he need only name candidates for any one district, but any candidates for any district. At the close of the poll the contents of the ballot-boxes at each district are counted by the Returning Officer, but not examined, and sent to the Chief Registrar, as soon as all the boxes have arrived, and m ca3e any should not have arrived, a second election is to follow. The Chief Registrar, together with the Clerk of the House, is to count each parcel received, and thon, put j the one into one heap, according to what candidate stands first on the voting paper.. The duties of tho Chiof Registrar are laid down m clause 04 : — " The voting-papers shall then be doalt with by the Chief Registrar, m tho presence and with the assistanc3 of the Clerk of the House of Representatives, and one of the Commissioners of Audit, as follows :— l. lie shall first reject all voting papers on which none of the names of the candidates arc legibly written. 2. He shall erase from every votingpaper ovcry name which is not

legible. The voting. paper shall st-.mil good for tho other names j thoroon that are legible. 3. When- . over a greater number of names are : written on any voting-paper than ten, ho shall erase sufficient names, , commencing from the bottom, to reduce tho number to ten, and the voting-papers shall stand good for | the names loft thereon. 4. He shall ' erase from the voting-papers the ] names of the several candidates (if any) who have resigned, as herein- , before . provided, , and the- voting- i papers from which name 3 are erased . shall be dealt with as though the names erased had never been inserted. 5. lie shall then arrange the voting papers, by placing m seperate parcels those given to the several candidates, appropriating to each those voting papers to which such candidates' names stand first. 6* He shall the proceed to acertain a'• nnsil quota!" as follows :•— -He shall first acertain the aggregate number of ; votes : polled for the number of candidates to be elected who stand highest on the poll, counting 1 only those voting papers iv which. candidates stand first. 7. He shall divide the agregate number by the number of candidates to be elected, disregarding fractions (if any) ; the quotation shall be the "first* quota." 8. He shall then appropriate to the candidates who are thus found highest on the poll such number of voting papers as shall be equal to the first quota, seleotiug those voting papers according to the alphabetical order of the voters' surnames. 9. He shall then | transfer the unused voting papers of the candidates (if any) next designated thereon, and the votes thus transferred shall be deemed to have been given for them respectively. 10. He shall then ascertain the aggregate number of votes of the number of candidates to be elected, who then stand highest on the poll. 11. He shall then divide the aggregate number thus obtained, by the number of candidates to be returned, disregarding fractions (if any ;) the quotient shall be the "second quota." 12. The same process of appropriating excess of votes, and again computing successive quotas shall be repeated until the uniform quota can be no further reduced. Tho crowning wonder m complexity ot calculations seems to present itself m the remarkable 13th schedule, which prescribes the "mode of calculating the final quota at an election " ; take the case of seven candidates, of whom five are to bo elected by 200 electors. A receives 37 first votes ; B, 14 ; C, 31 ; D, 45 ; E, 24 ; F, 29 ;G. 30. To obtain the first trial quota, the five highest, which are— D, 45 ;A, 37 ; C, 31 ;G, 30 ; and E, 24, are added together and the result, 167, divided bys=33, which is the first trial quota. A'a D's number therefore exceeds the quota by 12 (25—33), these 12 votes are then distributed to the candidates whose name follow his on the voting paper. Cis sup posed to stand next on three of the papers, E on six, G on three. These votes are added to those already given to those candidates, and if A'a four surplus votes (37 — 33), being set free, belong to B, and C's last vote (34—33), to^B, the five highest will now be found to be _D, 33 ■ A, 33 ; C, 33 ; G, 33 ; E, 30. These numbers must again be added together, and the result, 162, divided by 5=32, which is the second trial quota. The same process must again be repeated ; D's surplus vote (34__32) giveu to G, whose name stands next on the voting paper ; A's surplus vote to B, C's to B, G's two last votes (one received from D) to F. The five highest are now — I), 32; A, 32; C,32; G, 32, E, 30 ; added together, equal 158, divided by 5=31, which is the third rate quota. D's surplus vote may now be set free, and E's names following on the voting paper is given to E, A's to B, O's to B, G's to E., which gives E one suplns vote. Supposing this vote, when set free, to belong to E, we have now— D, 31 ;A,32 ,C, 31 V ; G-, 32 ; E, 31. These five candidates are therefore elected, with a quota of 31.