Chapter I: Introduction: By Lord Courtney of Penwith

I believe this book will generally be welcomed as opportune. Proportional Representation has made very rapid, almost startling advances in recent years. In one shape or another it has been adopted in many countries in Northern Europe, and there is a prospect of a most important extension of this adoption in the reform of the parliamentary institutions of France. Among ourselves, every political writer and speaker have got some inkling of the central principle of proportional representation, and not a few feel, sometimes with reluctance, that it has come to stay, that it will indeed be worked into our own system when the inevitable moment arrives for taking up again the reform of the House of Commons. They know and confess so much among themselves, but they want to be familiarized with the best machinery for working proportional representation, and they would not be sorry to have the arguments for and against its principles once more clearly examined so that they may be properly equipped for the reception of the coming change. This little book of Mr. Humphreys is just what they desire. The author has no doubt about his conclusions, but he goes fairly and with quite sufficient fulness through the main branches of the controversy over proportional representation, and he explains the working of an election under the system we must now regard as the one most likely to be adopted among us. His qualifications for his work are indeed rare, and his authority in a corresponding measure high. A convinced adherent of proportional representation, he stimulated the revival of the Society established to promote it. He was the chief organizer of the enlarged illustrative elections we have had at home. He has attended elections in Belgium and again in Sweden, and when the time came for electing Senators in the colonies of South Africa, and Municipal Councils in Johannesburg and Pretoria, the local governments solicited his assistance in conducting them, and put on record their obligations for his help. The reader can have no better guide in argument, no more experienced hand in the explanation of machinery, and if I add that Mr. Humphreys has done his work with complete mastery of his subject and with conspicuous clearness of exposition, I need say no more in recommendation of his book.

It may be objected that the Royal Commission which issued its Report last spring, did not recommend the incorporation of proportional representation into our electoral system. This is most true. One member indeed (Lord Lochee) did not shrink from this conclusion, but his colleagues were unable to report that a case had been made out for the adoption "here and now" of proportional representation. Their hesitancy and the reasons they advanced as justifying it must lead many to a conclusion opposite to their own. They themselves are indeed emphatic in pressing the limitation "here and now" as qualifying their verdict. They wish it to be most distinctly understood that they have no irresistible objection to proportional representation. They indeed openly confess that conditions may arise among ourselves at some future time which would appear to be not necessarily distant, when the balance of expediency may turn in favour of its adoption. They suggest "that some need may become felt which can only be satisfied by proportional representation in some form or another," and I do not think I misrepresent their attitude in believing that a very small change of circumstances might suffice to precipitate a reversal of their present conclusion. All who are familiar with the conduct of political controversies must recognize the situation thus revealed. Again and again have proposals of reform been made which the wise could not recommend for acceptance "here and now." They are seen to be good for other folk; they fit into the circumstances of other societies; they may have worked well in climates different from our own; nay, among ourselves they might be tried in some auxiliary fashion separated from the great use for which they have been recommended, but we will wait for the proper moment of their undisguised general acceptance. It is in this way that political ideas have been propagated, and it would be a mistake if we were hastily to condemn what are sure and trusty lines of progress. When the Royal Commissioners, after all their hesitations about the intrusion of proportional representation even in the thinnest of wedges into the House of Commons, go on to say that "there would be much to be said in its favour as a method for the constitution of an elected Second Chamber," and again, though admitting that this was beyond their reference, express a pretty transparent wish that it might be tried in municipal elections, the friends of the principle may well be content with the line which the tide of opinion has reached. The concluding words of this branch of the Report are scarcely necessary for their satisfaction: "We need only add, that should it be decided at any time to introduce proportional representation here for political elections the change would be facilitated if experience had been gained in municipal elections alike by electors and officials."

A few words may be permitted in reference to the line of defence advanced by the Commissioners against the inroad of proportional representation. Mr. Humphreys has dealt with this with sufficient fullness in Chapters X and XI which deal with objections to proportional representation; and I refer the reader to what he has written on the general subject. My own comment on the position of the Commissioners must be short. Briefly stated, their position is that proportional representation "cannot be recommended in a political election where the question which party is to govern the country plays a predominant part," and, as elsewhere they put it, "a general election is in fact considered by a large portion of the electorate of this country as practically a referendum on the question which of two governments shall be returned to power." The first remark to be made upon this wonderful barrier is that a general election avowedly cannot be trusted as a true referendum. It produces a balance of members in favour of one party, though even this may fail to be realized at no distant future, but the balance of members may be and has been under our present system in contradiction to the balance of the electors; or in other words, a referendum would answer the vital question which party is to govern, in the opposite sense to the answer given by a general election. This is so frankly admitted in the Report that it is difficult to understand how the Commissioners can recommend adherence to a process which they have proved to be a delusion. Even on the bare question of ascertaining what government the nation desires to see installed at Westminster, the present method is found wanting, whilst the reformed plan, by giving us a reproduction in miniature of the divisions of national opinion, would in the balance of judgment of the microcosm give us the balance of judgment in the nation. If a referendum is really wanted, a general election with single-member constituencies does not give us a secure result, and an election under proportional representation would ensure it. A different question obviously disturbs many minds, to wit, the stability of a government resting on the support of a truly representative assembly. Here again it may be asked whether our present machinery really satisfies conditions of stable equilibrium. We know they are wanting, and with the development of groups among us, they will be found still more wanting. The groups which emerge under existing processes are uncertain in shape, in size, and in their combinations, and governments resting upon them are infirm even when they appear to be strong. It is only when the groups in the legislature represent in faithful proportion bodies of convinced adherents returning them as their representatives that such groups become strong enough to restore parliamentary efficiency and to combine in the maintenance of a stable administration. It may require a little exercise of political imagination to realize how the transformed House of Commons would work, and to many the demonstration will only come through a new experience to which they will be driven through the failure of the existing apparatus. Meanwhile it may be suggested to doubters whether their anxiety respecting the possible working of a reformed House of Commons is not at bottom a distrust of freedom. They are afraid of a House of chartered liberties, whereas they would find the best security for stable and ordered progress in the self-adjustment of an assembly which would be a nation in miniature.

COURTNEY OF PENWITH

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Current constitutional and electoral problems cannot be solved in the absence of a satisfactory method of choosing representatives. An attempt has therefore been made in the present volume to contrast the practical working of various methods of election; of majority systems as exemplified in single-member constituencies and in multi-member constituencies with the block vote; of majority systems modified by the use of the second ballot or of the transferable vote; of the earlier forms of minority representation; and, lastly, of modern systems of proportional representation.

Care has been taken to ensure accuracy in the descriptions of the electoral systems in use. The memorandum on the use of the single vote in Japan has been kindly supplied by Mr. Kametaro Hayashida, the Chief Secretary of the Japanese House of Representatives; the description of the Belgian system of proportional representation has been revised by Count Goblet d'Alviella, Secretary of the Belgian Senate; the account of the Swedish system by Major E. von Heidenstam, of Ronneby; that of the Finland system by Dr. J.N. Reuter, of Helsingfors; whilst the chapter on the second ballot and the transferable vote in single-member constituencies is based upon information furnished by correspondents in the countries in which these systems are in force. The statistical analyses of elections in the United Kingdom were prepared by Mr. J. Booke Corbett, of the Manchester Statistical Society, whose figures were accepted by the Royal Commission on Electoral Systems as representing "the truth as correctly as circumstances will permit."

The author is greatly indebted to his colleagues of the Proportional Representation Society, Mr. J. Fischer Williams and Mr. Alfred J. Gray, for the cordial assistance rendered by them in the preparation of this book. Acknowledgments are also due to the editors of the _Times_, the _Contemporary Review_, and the _Albany Review_, for permission to make use of contributions to these journals.

J.H.H.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I

THE HOUSE OF COMMONS AS AN EXPRESSION OF THE NATIONAL WILL

The spread of Representative Government--The House of Commons and sovereign power--The demand for complete sovereignty--Complete sovereignty demands complete representation--Strengthening the foundations of the House of Commons--The rise of a new party--The new political conditions and electoral reform.

CHAPTER II

THE DIRECT RESULTS OF MAJORITY SYSTEMS

The exaggeration of majorities--The disfranchisement of minorities--The under-representation of majorities--A "game of dice"--The importance of boundaries--The "gerrymander"--The modern gerrymander--The "block" vote--The election of the London County Council--The election of aldermen of the London County Council--The election of Representative Peers of Scotland--The Australian Senate--London Borough Councils--Provincial Municipal Councils--Summary.

CHAPTER III

THE INDIRECT RESULTS OF MAJORITY SYSTEMS

False impressions of public opinion--become the basis of legislative action--Loss of prestige by the House of Commons--Unstable representation--Weakened personnel--Degradation of party strife--The "final rally"--Bribery and "nursing"--The organization of victory--Party exclusiveness--Mechanical debates--Disfranchisement of minorities in bi-racial countries--Defective representation in municipal bodies--Wasteful municipal finance--No continuity in administration--The root of the evil.

CHAPTER IV

THE REPRESENTATION OF MINORITIES

The Limited vote--The Cumulative vote--The Single vote--The need of minority representation.

CHAPTER V

THE SECOND BALLOT AND THE TRANSFERABLE VOTE IN SINGLE-MEMBER CONSTITUENCIES

Three-cornered contests--The second ballot--Experience in Germany, Austria, Belgium, France--The bargainings at second ballots in France--The "Kuh-Handel" in Germany--The position of a deputy elected at a second ballot--The Alternative vote--The Alternative or Contingent vote in Queensland, in West Australia--Mr. Deakin's failure to carry the Alternative vote--Probable effect of the Alternative vote in England--The Alternative vote not a solution of the problem of three-cornered contests.

CHAPTER VI

PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION

The essential features of a sound electoral method--Constituencies returning several members--Proportional representation of the electors--Experience in Denmark, Switzerland, Belgium, German States, France, Holland, Finland, Sweden, Australasia, South Africa, Canada, Oregon, The United Kingdom--The success of proportional representation in practice--An election by miners.

CHAPTER VII

THE SINGLE TRANSFERABLE VOTE

Its present application--An English movement--The system in brief--Large constituencies--The single vote--The vote made transferable--How votes are transferred--The quota--A simple case--The transfer of surplus votes--The elimination of the lowest unelected candidate--The result--Different methods of transferring surplus votes: The Hare method--The Hare-Clark method--The Gregory method--The Gove or Dobbs method--The Model election of 1908--The counting of votes: general arrangements--The first count--The quota--The transfer of surplus votes--The elimination of unsuccessful candidates--The fairness of the result--Improved arrangements in the Transvaal elections--Criticisms of the single transferable vote--Effect of late preferences--Elimination of candidates at the bottom of the poll--Quota representation the basis of the system.

CHAPTER VIII

LIST SYSTEMS OF PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION.

The Belgian electoral system--The Franchise--Compulsory voting--Partial renewal of Chamber--The presentation of lists--The act of voting--The allotment of seats to parties--The selection of the successful candidates--A Belgian election, Ghent, 1908: the poll--The counting of the votes--The final process--Public opinion favourable to the system--The relation of the Belgian to other list systems--The different methods of apportioning seats to lists--Criticism of the d'Hondt rule--The formation of Cartels--The different methods of selecting successful candidates--Panachage--The single vote and _case de tete_--The limited and cumulative vote--Special characteristics of Swedish and Finnish systems.

CHAPTER IX

A COMPARISON OF LIST SYSTEMS WITH THE SINGLE TRANSFERABLE VOTE

The influence of previous conditions--Party the basis of representation in a list system--The freedom of the elector within the party--Comparative accuracy--Panachage--Applicability to non-political elections--Bye-elections--Relative simplicity of scrutiny.

CHAPTER X

PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION AND PARTY GOVERNMENT

Proportional representation and the two-party system--Burke's view of party and party discipline--Narrow basis fatal to a large party--Proportional representation and party discipline--"Free questions" in Japan--The formation of groups--The formation of an executive--A check on partisan legislation--Unlike the referendum, proportional representation will strengthen the House of Commons--Proportional representation facilitates legislation desired by the nation--Proportional representation in Standing Committees--Taking off the Whips--New political conditions.

CHAPTER XI

OBJECTIONS TO PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION

The question of practicability--The elector's task--The returning officer's task--Time required for counting the votes--Fads and sectional interests--The representation of localities--The member and his constituents--Objections of party agents--Alleged difficulties in the organization of elections--Alleged increase of cost--The accuracy of representation--Summary.

CHAPTER XII

THE KEY TO ELECTORAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM

Electoral problems awaiting solution--Simplification of the franchise--Redistribution--Should be automatic--Secures neither one vote one value nor true representation--The problem simplified by proportional representation--The case of Ireland--Three-cornered contests--Partial adoption of proportional representation not desirable--Proportional representation and democratic principles --Constitutional reform--Federal Home Rule--Imperial Federation --Conclusion.

APPENDICES

APPENDIX I

THE JAPANESE ELECTORAL SYSTEM--THE SINGLE NON-TRANSFERABLE VOTE

Failure of single-member system--Multi-member constituencies: Single Vote adopted 1900--Equitable results--The new system and party organization--The position of independents--Public opinion and the new system.

APPENDIX II

THE SECOND BALLOT: A NOTE ON THE GERMAN GENERAL ELECTIONS OF 1903 AND 1907

The effect of unequal constituencies on representation--The effect of second ballots--Second ballots and the swing of the pendulum--The second ballot and the representation of minorities--Summary.

APPENDIX III

THE SWEDISH SYSTEM OF PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION

The former constitution of the two Chambers--The struggle for electoral reform--The Swedish law of 1909--The Swedish system of proportional representation--The allotment of seats to parties--The selection of the successful candidates--Free voters and double candidatures--An election at Carlskrona--The poll--The allotment of seats to parties--The selection of the successful candidates--The election of suppliants--Comparison with Belgian system--The system and party organization--The great improvement effected by the Swedish system.

APPENDIX IV

THE FINLAND SYSTEM OF PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION

The influence of the Belgian system--Schedules and "compacts" in place of lists--An election in Nyland--Returning officer's task--The allotment of seats--Successful candidates in the Nyland election--Equitable results--Elector's freedom of choice.

APPENDIX V

STATISTICS OF THE GENERAL ELECTIONS, 1885-1910

Explanatory notes--The representation of minorities.

APPENDIX VI

PREFERENTIAL VOTING: THE TRANSFER OF SUPERFLUOUS VOTES

I. The element of chance involved: Its magnitude. II. Method of eliminating the chance element--Example.

APPENDIX VII

THE SINGLE TRANSFERABLE VOTE: SCHEDULE TO MUNICIPAL REPRESENTATION BILL, 1910

APPENDIX VIII

THE SINGLE TRANSFERABLE VOTE: SCHEDULE TO TASMANIAN ELECTORAL ACT, 1907

APPENDIX IX

THE SINGLE TRANSFERABLE VOTE: REGULATIONS FOR THE ELECTION OF SENATORS UNDER THE SOUTH AFRICA ACT, 1909

APPENDIX X LIST SYSTEM: BILL PRESENTED TO THE FRENCH CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES, 1907

APPENDIX XI

LIST SYSTEM: LAW ADOPTED BY THE CANTON OF BALE TOWN, 1905

INDEX

"The object of our deliberation is to promote the good purposes for which elections have been instituted, and to prevent their inconveniences."

--BURKE