THE HARE SYSTEM.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXIV, Issue 114, 15 May 1890, Page 2

THE HARE SYSTEM.

In addressing his constituents last weok. Mr Ballauce said that the Hare system was beyond the comprehension of the average "elector. Experiments, however, which have recently been made in England do nob bear out this statement. In speaking on the subject recently, Sir John Hall quoted the following extracts from speeches recently delivered in that country. One gentleman said : —

"We have explained this method at popular meetings to crowded audiences, amidst all tho tumult aud excitement which prevails at popular meetings, and the persons present have there and theu been .asked to vote upon the papers tendered to them for that purpose, containing six, seven, and even as many as, I think, in one or two cases, nine names, and they have been asked to mark off three or live persons who were to be elected. They have voted then and there ; the papers have been taken into an adjoiniug room, and in the course of half an hour, in the presence of a committee, all of whom almost, with the exception of the deputation who came to the meeting, were new to the process, the whole thing has been done, the election has been ascertained, aud before the meeting was over the result has been announced to the persons present. The percentage of error was extremely small." Auother geutleman stated — "I should like to pay that there was an experiment tried in Leicester of a very interesting character. There is a very large Club there composed entirely of working men. It is called ' The Borough of Leicester Working Men's Association.' The Mayor was good enough to preside, aud two gentlemen assisted him. They were quite novices in the matter of counting. I think the Mayor had only seen one election. There were something like 260 or 300 of the working men there. There was an election, and the whole thing was done in about three«quarters of an hour. It turned out clear and satisfactory, and the working mea themselves were very much gratified., We purposely put on the list one or two names that we knew would form very good instances of congestion of votes. The votea were naturally very much congested upon these men, but the distribution was extremely simple. They took come great political character, aDd I think he received something like two-thirds or more of the total votes. The numbers were taken off that he lequired, and the balance was passod on to others ; and the whole thing was bo extremely dimple, that everybody I

said the result was quite satisfactory,' Then, the same gentleman farther Fays — " I would say of the villages what I hav6 said of the towns, because we have tried the experiment, anl it waa quite successful, and everybody present seemed satisfied that it was not only fairly done and easily done, but in that way the proper feeling, the average feeling, was represented in the result that came out,"