HOW THEY DO IT IN FRANCE

New Zealand Mail, 29 November 1900, Page 17

HOW THEY DO IT IN FRANCE

FEATURES OF A GENERAL ELEC- / x TIOX AGjvOSS THE CHANNEL.

.In France the agony of a general election is not undiuy prolonged. me poling in every constituency takes place on the same day a Sunday an., though owing to the existence of the second ballot all the individual results Am not immediately known, a general idea of the outcome of the contest is at once secured.

In England I liave often heard its introduction opposed on the ground that it would cause endless confusion and cxpense. Experience does not justify these objections to. the system. The second ballot- certainly prevents a constituency Cemg represented by a member who lias secured a minority of the votes polled., >. 0 it gives the electors a wide ciioice of candidates.

• ‘A P°htical aspirant can take liis seat n raruament unless he has secured an ac ual majority of the votes- recorded. Mo working of the second ballot, which ..ecures this result, is simplicity itself. 'tiicn l^ 6 candidates put up for a constiS? J 'rt B ° lleval (Royalist), Durand (Re.pubhcaii), and Dupont (Socialist). Bonevotes, Durand 2800 and t,^ 11 in similar 'ohfai n 1S i anCe i S Ronoval, although lie had btamed only 3000 of the 7700 vptes secVrhf Wn U<J he elected.; in. France a "£ d bal!ot ,s taken, and Durand re'fcrtw finest of the votes given in the is Nf S an . ce t° Dupont, who withdraws, (mned at the head of the poll. sif ting-out PROCESS. foka^eart 1 'T balt 81 A 0 ?®?- candidates that ’ - *t 1,1 practice it works out Tty,at ."V 10 , a y, e MI j 1 hopeless minortfelnkf c' n ballot withdraw-, and ieave cured' it b f 't to - the two .who have sesome ra ~ e %gest number f _of votes. In f tecomm' S ® S i T he - candidates' withdrawing Fofle n f fT d , their supporters to vote for tfevV-oPw t ' vo w }i° remain; in others tefnHa er are , silent or suggest that .fttrthn.. OV ’ e . ls should abstain from any • t^»|,A) M j > ? r , txc, P a tion in the‘-combat. JjjiU l igntmare of official expense does ■arv Erin e a, i aspirant' for ParliamentThere is no heavy fee to H ,e P resi dino officidi; the ar*l *? r receiving and counting die ~b ein£? ina de by the mairie of ‘foTbo nC Y 4 candidate may thus go : 'theinfl, « without spending a sou, C0 I l } rso > it is-usual to indulge -of an i'tei'ature and similar means tfiicocr nf' t° the principles or preiueral a V- le elcctoi 's- At the.last genti,bim,ffn Ctlo, i a “cainelot”—one of the aJLj™• vendors of Paris—an(%eWf;hlms?lf as a candidate, posted i!on':th« tlp n address vv 'fch his own hands seCnrnV' a ls °T the arrondissement. and But ir scor , e or so of votes, be « n f •' 0n the other hand, a candidate tn le . ccnipelled to indulge in expendiJ ; ’ 1,0 m ay, on the other, spend un-

limited money to secure his return. Brihery is rigorously forbidden Uy the law of t rance but the law does not, as in England, declare that so far may a eanfmtho e i- g ° thG ' Way - 0{ e W® and no tuitnei. Stories are torn of fabulous sums lavished at the last elections by a well-known member of the present Ciiam-

A CANDIDATE’S QUALIFICATIONS. A candidate for the Chamber oi Deputies must he twenty-five years of age and an elector, and must have completed Ins jN™ 1 f °L c ; oi ? P A llsory service, or other,u.r® fulfilled tne requirements of tire lmlitary law. There is no. property qualification of any kind. Hence the poorest citizen who can find a sufficient number of- electors ready to vote for him encounters no monetary stumbling mock on the road to the Paris Bourbon. The result is that many men possessed of no financial resources present themselves as candidates, and a certain number ox gentlelTien who succeed in obtaining the position of deputy, with its emoluments ot -twenty-five francs a clay, draw a larger income as Parliamentary reoresentatives than they would easily earn in other capacities. That there are men w r ho make financial sacrifices for the sake of a political career goes without --avmg.

The present Premier, M. Waldeek-J-Yousseau, is a ease in point. He gave up a practice at the bar worth, it is v-nd something like £IO,OOO a year in exchange for a Minister’s portfolio bringing with it a smaller and more precarious income and a certain and constant supply of scurrilous abuse. —AND HIS

In addition to his twenty-five- francs a day, the French _ deputy enjoys the privilege or travelling free on the railways. There is one section of Socialists, however, which requires its adherents in the Chamber to pay twelve and a half of their daily twenty-five francs into t..e party’s war-chest, a Spartan-like- arrangement which is not calculated to attract political Dugald Dalgettys to the party’s banner. Indeed, it has been the means of causing schism, for, after ail, a. pound a day is not an extravagant income for a legislator.

Every male who has reached the age of twenty-one and who lias not been deprived of liis electoral rights for an offence against the laws is entitled to vote provided his name has been duly placed on the register, which is prepared in January of each year. Soldiers and sailors while on active service are. however, debarred by law from exercising the franchise.

As in England voting is by ballot. Tiie persons who help m receiving and counting the votes are volunteers drawn from tlie ranks of the electors. Prior tc. the opening of the poll at each station the presiding official unlocks the urn provided for the reception ox the votes, and satisfies those present that it is empty. Ho then locks it again, places the key in Tils pocket, and hands a certificate tc one of his helpers, who are termed assessors. The poll is open from eight in the morning until six at night, and at the close the votes are counted cm the spot by tiie volunteer helpers. The result is then forwarded to the central bureau. “NO DECEr

In England the voter liiinselr places liis voting paper in the ballot-box; in France lie hands it to the president, who, after holding it up m such a way as to demonstrate that there is only one paper, drops it into the urn. There are seme curious features connected with French Parliamentary elections. For instance, no wall literature issued by a eancuuate or liis friends may be printed on white paper white being the colour reserved for official announcements. In the days of the Empire, when official candidates, were known in the land, the addresses cf-the GovernmeiiA’s nominees were printed on white paper, and this, no doubt, had clue weight with the more ignorant voters. Again, any- elector whose- name is mentioned in a newspaper can, if he feel himself aggrieved, call upon the editor to publish a reply. This, however, is not confined to elections, but is a rid it enjoyed by French citizens under the law of tiie country, ... . ... ,

The amount of life or bitterness introduced into a contest naturally depends to a large extent on local 01 special circumstances.. Charges, cf corruption are- made from time, to tune, .but as bribery is always difficult of pi oor, these generally end in talk. An old i electioneering, hand assure;? me that there is no ( cause for complaint respecting the manner in widen the volunteer counters and assessors carry out their work. -In Corsica, however, shooting riots, and the rape of voting-urns have before now been the accompaniment ot a hotly-contested election. ONE MAN; ONE SEAT.

When the figlit is over and done, the meeting of the newly-elected. representatives of the people is not attended by any eercinopy equivalent to the oatn'taking at 'Westminster at the opening.ot a new Parliament.-' The first thought of the new deputy is to secure a desirable scat, and with this end in view he anxiously consults the officials of'the Cham her, who indicate the places not already appropriated. At the Palais Bombon each member has Ins own permanent place—an arrangement eminently superior to the scramble at Westminster for seats in a chamber which has accommodation only for about half its members.

t , Le :I PPomted day the deputies nf *Ol ele f° a president, the doyen wffiVn Chamber taking the chair rnean- . nie Then the question of the valiciJD, eac ( election comes up, and after othei preliminaries have been duly enrned out the representatives of the" people proceed cheerfully with the task of making or breaking Ministries. J. E. WOOLACOTT.