The Press. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1893. BARE MAJORITY RULE.

Press, Volume L, Issue 8677, 29 December 1893, Page 4

The Press. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1893. BARE MAJORITY RULE.

Wb wonder if those who are so confident that wisdom resides in bare majorities only have considered where this principle will lead us to, i£ it is to be carried out to its full extent all over the Empire. We suppose that now tha. the franohise has been granted to women in New Zealand, without, as yet, any very remarkably disastrous consequences having become apparent, it is only a matter of time before the franohise will be extended to women in the other colonies and in the Old Country itself. As in Eugland the women out-, number the men, the granting of the franchise in England on similar conditions as here will mean simply that the control of tbe Empire will be handed over to the women of England. | We are believers in the courage,, capacity, and good sense of British women, but only comparatively so. They may be as courageous, as cauable, and as sensible as their menkind, but they are not a whit more infallible, and they have the prejudices of their sex, one of which, for example, is a horror of war. This is a very proper feeling, but it may be carried 100 far. The nation tbat is desperately anxious not to fight is just the nation which may find itself forced to fight, and is unfortunately likely to be somewhat unprepared to fight. We I do not believe in brag aud bluster in.! the intercourse of nations, but a nation is heavily handicapped in its diplomacy if it may fairly be suspected that its rulers will give up almost anything rather than fight for it. It is doubtless always a difficult matter to hit the happy medium between the extreme of Jingoism on the one hand and the desire for peace at any price on the other. But the latter extreme is as foolish and as likely to lead to trouble as the other. Fortunately in this colony our Legislature has not to decide upon questions of peace or war, indeed it has not to treat with any matters affecting our relations with other nations, consequently there is* not on this score likely to arise any danger to the commonwealth from the admission of women to equal right, with men in the government of the country.. But it is not so in England. We s_._in.aia that if women are granted the franohise there on the same conditions as

here the risk of the Empire drifting into a bloody war which shall become a desperate struggle for existence will be considerably increased. ; But tbe government by bare majority principle, if given full effect to, may have in the distant future other unpleasant consequences. *ar and away the largest proportion of the subjects of the British Sovereign ,are people of dark skins. The scores of millions of dark skins in India outnumber many times over the white population, not only in India, but in', all other portions of the .Empire. The tendency of the * times in connection with the Government of India is to grant more and more forms of self-Government to the dark skinned people of India. We may expect in the distant future, if ever the dream of the Federationist is realised, to see the Government of India represented in the Councils of the Federated Empire, and that moreover a Government in the constitution of which the dark skins shall have a preponderating voice. In other words if the passion for bare-majority-Government Burvives for a generation or two we may find it leading to a Government of the white skins by the dark skins. Can we imagine that this can even be desirable. Should not reflections like these tend to render us less satisfied than we sometimes are that whatever the bare majority decree is sure to be right.

The odd thing is that the section of our community which is most enamoured of bare majority rule at present is a party which is undoubtedly very ranch in a minority. It does not follow from that fact that the views which they Beck to give effect to are not sound. Io may be so or it may not be so. We do not offer an opinion just now. It is not necessary for the purpose of our argument. Indeed, every good cause is for a large part of its history the property of a minority. Minorities are often right. They often begin to go wrong ouly when they have succeeded in converting themselves into a majority.

tinder a democratic form of representative Government we are not prepared to suggest a better plan than bare majority rule in the councils of the nation. There are so many checks upon hasty legislation in our system of Government that a bare majority in Parliament for tbe passage of any important measure is generally representative of something much stronger than a bare majority out of Parliament. The Parliamentary machine works so slowly, owing- to such checks as the second Chamber, the power vested in small bodies of obstructionists, the talkativeness of members and so on, that an important measure does not often get through if only supported by a bare majority, unless that majority is representative of something more than a bare majority.

But when we resort to direct popular. Government, whether it be by plebiscite of the electors ou the drink question, or by /the vote of the ratepayers on a loan or other concern of the local government, then, if we apply the bare majority principle, we may do a great injustice. The bare majority of the people voting may be a minority of the people who have the right to vote. As we have said, a bare majority of the representatives of the people is, or at any rate may very possibly represent a substantial majority of the people represented. The very faot that the question to be decided is one which, for some reason or other, we are not willing to leave to the representative Government, but iv regard to which we iusisc on the direct vote of the people, shows that it is one in regard to which we do not thipk there should be any change unless there is a decided preponderance of the people In favour of it. It is a question oh which we cannot trust the representatives. We must go direct to the people. Surely, therefore, it is not unreasonable to insist that on such a question the people shall speak with no uncertain sound if they wish change. In other words, that if they want change they shall come to the poll in such numbers as to ensure an actual appreciable majority for the change.