The Sun.
London, England, 1856-12-13 00:00:00

THE "BALLOT" IN AUSTRALIA.

We have received the following letter from Aus-
tralia, regarding the working of the ballot at the
elections in the colony
Sir,—As the first trial of the ballot has b.en a com-
plete triumph, it may be interesting to the frien is of the
ballot in Manchester if I give them, through the medium
of your columns, a few particulars respecting the modus
operandi, as I hope the ballot will soon be the law of
your country. Booths are erected in the different dis-
tricts, as in your own town. There is in each polling
booth but one room, with a writing table in the centre,
around which sits one agent foreach candidate, called scru-
tineers, and the returning officer. Beyond these no one
is.allowed to remain in the room. I may also say that
the electors go into a gangway similar to those at the
ticket windows of Xoglish railway stations, and paQs out
by another, which preserves order in case of a rush, of
adoptedwhic h ,
here,t however,h e themre
is h
nothing ni
ng to be
no
fear'asg under the plan
gained by it, and
the voters come in regularly during the whole of the day.
Pearspu s lat the questions just gs
up
the
egangwayto the table, the presiding ofl-
c as yours does, to ascertain
that be is the elector whom he represents himself to be.
The oill.ter being satisfied, hands him a paper upon which
is printed the names of all the candidates. He goes alone
to the end of the booth, and enters one of three compart-
ments, similar to the compartments in front of a pawn-
broker's counter. They are only open in front, and have
a desk and pen and ink in each. The elector, unassisted
and alone, draws his pen across the names of such of the
candidates as he may wish to reject, and leaves untouched
the names of such as he may wish to return ; but he must
act
not leave more Lames entire than there are vacant seats,
as
ta suchce s aan n
any
invalidates
have
a second paper, or leave the
room with his paper; but if be cannot
read, he may get
s c
person
his paper. Under no circum-
stances
the returning officer, in the presence of all the scrutineers,
to mark off for him such names
as herejects. erejects. Thet,lector,
whilst in this private office (or box), folds his ballot paper,
returns to the table, and, in the presence of the scruti-
neers and returning officer, deposits it in a box which
stands on the table, with a niche in the lid. This box is
not opened until the close of the poll, which continues
from 9 eau till 4 p.m,, when the booth door is locked,
the box is opened, ad the votes counted by the scruti-
neers and a teller, in the presence of the returning offi.
cer. Such, sir, is a brief outline of our mode of voting by
ballot. And now, if I am not tedious, will you allow me
to point out a few of the advantages derived from this
un-English mode of voting. First, it is a true reflex of
public opinion, for nothing but the ballot could have
thrown out the three unsuccessful candidates for the
Central Proviocs ; one of whom is the thrice elected
mayor of Melbourne, who owns nearly all the public
house property in the city ; the next being Thomas
A'Becket, a first class solicitor, who makes out the Go-
vernment conveyances of land. Mr. A'Becket was a
nominee member of the old council, and has just pub-
lished a defence for state aid to religion. 'rue last of
the three is the Solicitor-General. This gentleman was
so confident of success that he made his appearance be-
fore the electors but once previous to the election.
Indeed, sir, the result took everybody by surprise. In
the next place, it effectually prevents bribery, oorrup_
tion, intimidation, treating, and all unnecessary excite-
ment and excess, and it saves a candidate from those
ruinous expenses to which be is subjected under the old
system. A stranger passing through Melbourne streets
whilst the polling was going on could see none of the
usual indications of an English election day. There
were no cabs engaged by any of the candidates ; every
elector had to walk or find his own conveyance. Your
Guardian once said in one of its leaders that the ballot
would not prevent bribery, inasmuch as those who
wanted a bribe for their vote would hold back until the
last half hour, when the corrupting agent
would buy
the whole batch of unpolled voters, the bribe to be
given only on condition that the stipulated candidate be
returned. This is obviated by the ballot-box being kept
closed until the close of the poll. Allow me, sir, in
conclusion, to tell all my old friends of the working
classes that it is my firm belief that the ballot is of
more importance to them than the remaining five points
of the " People's Charter."—yours truly,
jAine WFALL.
35, Flinders Lane East, Messrs. Minheali°o
Boyd, and Co., Melbourne.