COMPULSORY VOTING.

Auckland Star, Volume LI, Issue 195, 16 August 1920, Page 2

COMPULSORY VOTING.

; • I "L.U'-GFRD OUT OF COURT,'' j . iFmni Onr >*r«"-iaJ Correspondent.! ! . IjONDON, June ii. | -V\e don't want to vote, and by jingo J I we're not n-oinj. to he compelled to do i 160," is the rjifflishmanc attitude as re- ! flocted by the House of (Commons yes- ! tenia v. when Major Archer Shoe, the ; member for Finsbiiry. sou.rht. leave to introduce a bill "to make tie.Uer pro- | vision for the exerci-e of the Pa,rliaj mentary franchise." The Major is ; deeply concerned at tiie low percentage of die electorate wltich voted al the last '«reneral election, and put it to the House that something ought to be. done to try jto obtain from the people what their I opinion upon lotjrislatrve proposals and the acts of their representatives in Parliament. The House seemed to be in j cordial atßrreemerit with the Majors! I general principle, but when the gallant] soldier came to outline his proposals for | "bricking up" the electoral slacker and ! ' thus securing a fuller expression ot j [national feeling, members first gasped. I and tbon lauglied. "The bill." he blandly \ announced, "impose? a tine of £1 for not overcising the vote, and for a second or surmtK.uent ofTVnce £2, or a month's imprisonment." The notion of such draconic treatment of the malt or woman who failed to ; exercise their vote momentarily stunned . the House, but presently there were | chuckles of amusement. developing gradually into loud laughter, which did j not entirely subside when tbo Major explained that his proposal carried exemptions, namely, illness, absence on military, naval, or civil duty, a distance of more than ten miles from the polling booth, or any other reasonable cause which in the opinion of the retimting officer was allowable. When Major Archer Shee a lded that the bill was intended as a "strmu+us-" to people to use the vote, members laughed again, as they pictured errant electors being : marched away to durance \ile. Leave I to bring in the bill beitijs. the! tspoakor put the i|uestion. There was a loud shout of "No," and the House went I to a division, in which the me-mber for' Fin&bury was bcalen )>y two to one—i 158 to 74. and tbe scheme for making a; perfect nlextor by Act of Parliament was literally "lpjrlied out" of the House. i So, sin-cv persuasion seems t|uite in- j effective, and the Uommons will not ] hearken to suggestions of compulsion,, about half tbe Knglrsh electors will pro-j bably continue to exercise their right to stay away from the polling booth, and to grumble furiously because their abstentions produce lesrislative results which disagree with their pocket and their convenience. In other words, they will continue to permit new shackles to be placed upon them by ibe minority who do exorcise their votes, rather than take the trouble to record -U»eir ovm. But the House of Commons' attitude towards Major Archer-Sheens bill suggest* that if his proposal "a plank" in any general election platform tiie "free and enlightened" electors mijrht be expected to roll up "en masse' i to record foeir protest against what would be really only an attempt to compel them to look after their own interests. At ihe last general election considerably b?»ss than 60 per cent, ot the voters in tbe United Kingdom took the trouble to go to tbe polls, and the percentage at the last municipal electrons were much poorer still.