REPRESENTATION OF MINORITIES.

Press, Volume L, Issue 8484, 16 May 1893, Page 3

REPRESENTATION OF MINORITIES.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE TKES3. Sir, —I sincerely wish that the general public were as anxious to see our electoral system amended as your correspondent " L." appears to be, but I should hope that under those circumstances they would be as much opposed to his suggested methods of reform as I am. " L." apparently disapproves of " local " representation, and evidently believes so strongly in Party Government that he would make the electors vote for a " party " in the first instance, and leave the selection of an individual member of the favoured party as a secondary consideration until afterwards. There is, however, no reason why " Party " should be dragged into the electoral contest at all. There are many reasons why it should be kept out as much as possible. A very large majority of our electors devote their attention mainly to their own. -well-being and ~~ the welfare of the locality where they reside. When an election comes round their chief desire is to select same one whom they can trust to look after their interests in Parliament, and to have explained to them, as an assistance in their choice, the way in which propoeed colonial legislation may affect themselves personally or the locality in which their interests lie. Under present circumstances, and in the interests of party, the number of candidates allowed to offer themeelves for selection is necessarily limited, and the choice of a representative (too often Hobson's choice) is made more difficult by the conflicting statements which are, made in the interests of one side or the other. If, therefore, we desire to have a true Democracy, and a Parliament truly representative of the people's will, we must prevent the minds of our electors from being confused by the intrigues of party ; we must afford them an unlimited supply of candidates from which to select; we must give them an opportunity of expressing an opinion on the merits of each of those candidates at the poll; and we must provide means whereby these several expressions of opinion can be reduced with mathematical ceriainty to the election of the one man wanted as representative of the electors in that locality. It must always be remembered that the -excellence of. our Ministry and our Parliament depends upon the quality of the individual representatives composing it; and by extending the privileges of electors on the above lines, racher than by "L.'s" curtailment of them, a truer representation and a better House is sure to be obtained.-— Yours, 4c.,

F. A. A.