The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1883-07-03 00:00:00

THE COMINO WORM BILL.

In order to ascertain the opinions .d the bulk of the
Liberal party as to the lines on wloic'i th.. coining
Iteform Bill should be drawn so as to satisfy the
wishes ..f the country, the committee of the National
&storm Union issued to its loranchee and leh.ing
.. ember. • circular couta;oing 10 qu-stions, in which
the important point. c nonected with the sulliot are
detailed. The circular tr.. issued in March, awl the
following is an abetract .d the answer• recoived :
Among the asnoci.tions and clubs-171 .d which lo.ove
sent in their replies—there is a pretty geuerol ....ll-
:mans of opinion on the varioun plate c ntainesi in
the questions. Thus, speaking roughly, there i. prac-
tical unaninoty on the following points :-(1) Al 111
the advisability of dealing with the re listrihntion of
seats separately from the extension of the frauchino in
the counties; (2) as to the wisdoin ..f
In the Redistribution 1301, • purely populstimal
basis ; (3) &I to the ilefledeitY of minority
repreeentati on ; (4) as to the need of a rotor.o in the
present system of the registration of voter., in the
direction both of shorttniug the time of qual gation,
and of protecting the duly-qualified 1...r50n fr,,ln
losing hie vote through the neg•igenc. of
local officials or the int...foram:o of p aty agents.
Again, four-fifths of the individuals, and eleven.
thirteenths of the sperbiations and clubs that have
replied. strongly insist that when fratiohis.s arc seniin-
listed tuey should also be simplified, and that one
uniform residential or rating franchise, with an elf cc.
tire lodger franchise, should be eat', unbent throughout
Groat B.itain an I Ireland. So. too, there is a wide
, agreement, among those who ewe.. any opini on MI
the subject, as to the following pints: (1) that the
official expenses of el ctions should be thrown on thy
rates; (2) that public.houses should be closed during
the time of elections; (3) that canvassing should be
abolished; (4) that at • general election all el.-cti on
should be held on one and the same day. Several
important suggestions are mate independ-ntly .d the
qupetiona c ontaiued in the ci.culsr—e e., (1) that the
illiterate voter" should be diefranchised, or at all
events should receive no official recognition ; (2) that
the Ballot Act 'humid be exten led to the elections of
Loc.' Boards and Boards of Guardian.; (3) that the
Universities should be disfranchised; (4) that woman's
suffrage should be included in the next Reform Bill.
There are also severed association. and clubs which,
while arcepting the simplified basis of the franchise
above referred to, openly declare their preference
(theoretically, at tenet) for manhood or universal adult
suffrage. The plan of equal electoral db.tricts finds
very general, though by no mean, universal, favour
among the Committees, the alternative plena extend-
ing the area. of existing borough, so as to inclu le
sufficient portions of the surrounding country diatric's
to equalise the anomalies, b-lug accepted by several
in preference. About two-thirde of both associations
and individual' approve of 0 ybden's plan of one
-
membered constituencies. Many extremely practical
suggestions have been sent for the improvement of the
working of the Ballot Act, the prevention of corrupt
practices, the redaction of the cost, of election., and
the simplificati4o of the present system of registration.
Bat as it is almost impossible to claseify them, &art ea,
though very valuable, they do not bear directly on
the subject of the coming Reform Bill, the Committee
has decided to exclude them from the report.