The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. MONDAY, JUNE 7, 1909. PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXIX, Issue 7815, 7 June 1909, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. MONDAY, JUNE 7, 1909. PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION.

The electoral method var'tiNsjy kr.<v,\n as proportional represeiihuioii. i lie Haro system, or effective ■ voting, has several times been described m these columns. The first to place it clearly before the British student of politics was John Stuart Mill,' and it has, within the past thirty years, beeir repeatedly.,expounded m the Parliament of New Zealand, especially by the '. men of fully twenty years ago, when public life attracted more, thinkers and scholars than it does to-day, amongst us. The proposal that, the system should be adopted here has, however, always been-cold-shouldered by'persons with a leaning to professionalism m politics, and %y those acustomed to wire-pulling under existing conditions, for such persons do- not care ior an adequate expression of national intelligence or of the public conscience m connection with the constitution of Parliament: Other colonies have been less backward than New Zealand m this respect ; m some—Tasmania, for instance —i.t has been brought into practice, while m-others there are well organised and intelligently, conducted leagues devoted„ to advocating its adoption. There has been a strong party m favour of its-introduction into the ,new constitution of confederated South Africa; and two (or three days ago General Botha stated m the Assembly at Pretoria that the Transvaal had abandoned proportional representation only m the face of the grayest opposition ; while qther speakers' also expressed their disappointment at its withdrawal from the new constitutional scheme for the whole of South Africa. However, its time will yet come there, as well;as an" New Zealand, and probably m every constitutionally:governcd country ,m the world. ' In the meantime, it may be observed that, though the principle - of proportional representation is fairly well known and widely m favour, very few indeed are acquainted with the true, story of its origin. This, however, is most .interestingly told m The Spectator for April 10, by an indomitable intellectual lady' of eighty-tKree; namely, Miss Catherine Helen Spence, of North' Norwood, Adelaide, South Australia. "South Australia," says Miss Spence, "was the first place where quota representation was first tried, for the Municipal Bill for the infant city of Adelaide contained a clause allowing one-twentieth part of the ratepayers to combine lor the election of one Councillor instead of voting for eighteen. My father, David Sponce, was town clerk m 1840, and explained to me, then a girl cf fifteen, the unique provision by which two Councillors were chosen the day before the ordinary election. The city was too small and too poor to carry on municipal government for long, and there was a gap of many years before it was revived without the clause, which had been inserted by Rowland Hill, afterwards the Post Office reformer, but who was secretary to the Colonisation Commission for South Australia at the time of its foundation m 1836. When m 1859, fifty years ago, I saw Mr Hare's great scheme of proportional representation, it was to me like an old friend. I felt that this would make our Australian democracy real and safe and progressive. It has been the main object of my life for fifty years to secure effective voting, which is the term we use here. In order to advance it I have travelled many thousands of miles and delivered hundreds' of lectures, with ballot-papers and counting of votes, m three Australian States, and spent ten months m the United States and Canada lecturing m the principal cities m 1893-94. Once I spoke at the house of Mr Hare's daughter (Mrs Westlake) at the River House, Chelsea Embankment, along with Mr A. J. Balfour, Sir John/-Liib-bock, and Mr Leonard Courtney m 1894. But South Australia has not yet adopted the reform, for year after year our Bill is talked out. Tasmania, however, has re-enacted it from a conviction that its partial application to the cities gave better representation during the years m which the Act of 1896 held good than before or sine*, and the progress of the principle all over the world of late years is most encouraging. We m South Australia see success within a measurable distance,, and at the age of eighty-three I hope to live to see the fruits of fifty years' labour before I join the majority." Why, this has the call of the clarion m it, and the vigour, sanity, and clearness with which Miss Spence' writes/justify her hopes; for the realisation of which all who are capable of admiring her courage and constancy m a great cause, and all who can anticipate and appreciate the good that would come of its triumph, will pray with their whole hearts. Flokeat CataEINA.