The Dominion. SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 1910. VOTING VALUES AT HOME.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 710, 8 January 1910, Page 4

The Dominion. SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 1910. VOTING VALUES AT HOME.

; ;; OaR/readers, arcvfamiliariwith.tiie , ; many;'issues-."iibjv, being' submitted: to'. ■ ithevHonie constituehcies;.; 're-, ; formi',the upholding;ftf:iic;6onstitu-- : tibn, - anti^Socialisiriy: . a'f.'big".: :, ;aga'lnstvtho : Budget;: Socialism, : the destructiori.of. tho,;House';.;: of i"Lords,; virree-tra'de,' ;Home'Rule,'etc. V;To us'in.New.:Zea-. ', land it; miist, .as we .recently 'pointed ■'. out,; : ;seem/;difficult 'for"' V eloc^p'ii : '.to.:be'.'coriclußiye,.bh;'any;'ono • of- tiine ■' it must be. recognised'that. of recent, years political;'education.'.:.atvHoine■.. has"trayelle'dv bo. : closoly|;along;one pi [ \ .; to. a ;largo':'extent.the convinced>l be- I .liefer;'in .one of; the .'main articles of; '! .a^p'a'riiy's : l programme'Jß|;. , ■; ;'.time i V ; :not..'.metbly'-'.[a.'/formal;,;but''a r convinced,' believcr" ;in.:tlip jothe'r arti--'; -\ !.cles;;.';lf is,..;6f'coursei; conceded, that . a section:of the.Unionist;Free-trad-: 'I ers;,mus't be' ; excepted:|rom this argii--! '■} .ment, and ;■ they;'vcbrtainly;'',■';'ob'mplK.. ' cate;the position:■-.The-Budget : .must' ] ■also;be.;regarded; : as; a new factor-'dis-turbin'g; established/ideas.; That.th'e 'j opinion of the, nation.wiU not be'as .-) accurately,: ropresentedvby. the, : nuin- i ber> of: representatives';,'with;.' whilih' i :each ;'party : 'emerges from .the v. con-. < ■flictj'.asjit might bevmadovto ;.dp,is .' fairly..certainiXhowever, for < anoticr ] reason ;thani'that, mentioned:; ..Thie -j reason 'liesvin the huge' in ; size.'.of■ thc^various:,electorates, and. -I ; the -unequal'' ropresentation; given -to i the ; three :';.countries\[!;forming - the: ;-j :Union,:asVjudged'byv : th6';bniy-;;fair ' 'test, •.viz/,, the .'.number- of yregisfcred ? ( ■'electors,'-.-- We; w;ll.illustrate our.mean- ;j ing,;,taking ;■■,our illustrations; 'only. i fr'om':single-niember : cpn'stituchcies in "< London,■'.the..countiesi~and the'; : bor-: £ bughs,' apd'.using the.1906 figures, as' , c we;haye as yet only; a. summary of .-' tho'so ;bn ;which : the-:election"wiir be; \ fought.:.. The largest London division j had, in:rpund numbers, 31,400 elec- !i tors,'; 1 the: smallest 3250; the| ; largest i English county''divisibh , ' had: 45,600,- } 'the smallest 4050; the largest English 1 ' borpugn;'-,had^H2li2oo,;.';the v -'.smaließt- | 2600..'; The largest Scotch county;had. [ 21,600,:the;'smallest ■ 2800;. ■ and the: ( .largest: Scotch; :city:prNburgh--;had : r ;i9j4op,' 'whilst : thc.;smallest.had-;2900.- c •The .largest Irish county , had }■ the smallest 3650; >whilst tho'.'largest; c Irisb.town had 16,000, and;the' * est 1653. Kilkenny's 1553 electors hayo; as, much [ power, in "de- c the.affairs of the.nation as the t 45,579;.e1ect0r5, of the Eomford; (Es- , £ sex), division... With'these figures on J record,;it:is; not.'altogether surpris-. | ipg to fiiid .that thoughvthe- Goyern'r- q polled , 4 per. cent, more j votes' than the Uni0ni5ta;(2,446,47l to "a they had , 4O.per cent.: , more t representation.; There is-a'measure s of truth in- the suggestion that when; £ the Unionists are vietors.'they.benefit v in the same manner. But they never ■:. benefit to the same extent, and for : : this 'reasbri :■ 'Gome fair. ■• i come foul, the Liberals arc alway b i ccrtainof the , , great majority of. the 5 Scotch.seats;- ' for .nothing• can:' exceed, [ tho! consistency of the. Scot in vot-. ' ing for anything tliaf is labelled' '] ''Liberal" j: and Scotland is a coua- t

try of small electorates, with about ■.. half ai-dozen exceptions. The position is somewhat the same in Wales. ; .Turning to the question of nan reprenentatioh; wo find thai; B England and Wales .return 495 q membors, Scotland 72,- and Ireland d 103.- But on the basie we have aln ready used (and tho result would be ' almost the.same on a population , basis), England should have',' 535 >- members, Scotland 69,' and Ireland 66. In other words, a coneiderable percentage of English electors are - virtually disfranchised, 1 so that -Irob land may have an undue share of jj. representation. Until these inequalie ties arexorrectbd, a reasonably exact |- expression of the nation's opinion I cannot be obtained. 'It never'-.will !1 be obtained "until the modern- prin- ''■ ciple of ono vote ono'value,.with its ■:• corollary',, equal, electoral .districts, : is accepted and established; .-.lt seems ;, passing strange that a question of so : • much national importance as,this is not made an-issue in tho programme ofi cither party.'.•'. To some, it might, with, reason seem more pressing than- '■ any of those now before the country, > with, the exception of,■■ national".:de-. !'■ : fence, which is not strictly, a party- ,':■ question at ; -But so itis.;v Why. '.; both parties are- so shy; on this matter is by no means'clear.:; It may be .: that neither party can forecast what , , effect,-.redistribution' on'':.an" ,: : heroic' scale■ wpiilcl'havb on; thejr immediate \ political: fortune's. ■ 'P.erhapsj": : .:tod,. '-' neither party'is anxious to give Ifev land another ''grievance,'' as .they ; : iwould most assuredly do, if her re-, t presentatiori was reduced in strict > 'accord; to population. , . It. is-quite;, as ;: difficult now,? as it was when we .last ' Wrote on the ; subje6t, to suggest the • : ultimate^.result'of the:.elections'.'Tho ; protninence given to Home Rule, the , " striking .and. welcome interest'in ye-: . fence matters created by Ilk. Blatoii-: v foiid;and,Lord Gawdou, -tlie';advd-'; : cacy of the Liberal cause by; the .per-, i ;, man" : i)ress-; ; thbj.'ae'tiyb: part , takien.in| , the: ejection..;by; vindividual-.-,Eee'rs, ? ; .who,:contrary-tb.much v New\Zealand, '; are-almost invariably,-pei'spn-' ally. 1 popular .where they. are'-.best. '■\ known,:and;thejnatural fears of;the: : smail,' tnrifly.;6w'nefs : .6f:property'bf- ' ovary; description i.\ all -these . seem , likely .to; impei , : the silent voter '■ to once-more throw : his: great inJ3u T . ■ enco iri-favburo'f. the Unionists.; It ; is nbt.out of .plaw;to;p6int;oiit that ; at the!last election.the.Liberals:won ." 43 seats .from; the Udidnists.'by:.malessithan 50p:votes,''whilst : )ie;-^hiQnis)isVpniyVwbn'>five;!f : :'JMt':a': .transfer, of, : ''nt;:the-'m05t,7251 : vbtes ; in , bach-'pf; :'.i3. , electorates;. : ;','br .■io,Bopl : y<)tes/;in , Valiv' : aiicl';;thc;;trnibh : T' ists :-'haye,' per;'ceht.r ; -.against.them.; i ' :