The Sun.
London, England, 1859-08-31 00:00:00

THE BALLOT.

The question of the ballot is not only. one of the .-
profoundest, but alSo one of
.the most complicated ,!
ever invented to tax-the ingenuity are.: mt
not surprised that they who once 'take :it -;up; •
Mr. Henry Berkeley, thenceforth do little else, for
it is quite enough to occupy one maft's allotted por- •
tion of time; opportunity; and intellect.- -Incited, it t
requires the exclusive devotion of a 'society, and,, a
new league may"iiortliiiy; if not profiiablv, enifilev
ten years in attaining to the first principles. of .the
question. This is evidently Mr. Cobden 's opinion,
and the fruit of his transatlantic observations,
when he recommends the Rochdale Reformers to
begin with the ballot. The question " What is the
ballot ?" may appear fundamental v.nd readily an •
severed. But even
.on this preliminary question
the great apostle of the ballot staggers us with a
dictum which we sliciad haveflio4;ht.ntletleieif.,
He does not consider it essential -to the " exist- -
ence" of tbe ballot, buj only 4 question of" mode," ,
Whether it be secret :or open. The Ainerieani lie

admits to hate the ballot,"andlO:haVe it quite sub
fleit ntly to_ be regarded_as a precedent, for our itni-
-tation, though everybody there knows how eVery- -
body. votes: 'Not ( illy does this totally/-itlter the-'
ease between us and Mr. H. Berkeley,.. but it pnts,_
an end to the.controversy. If the; voting is.,to be •
open, we really'do rot care a straw howffic'otes
are given. -on:this:dew of the ease vote by ballot
was a,prominent part of LorciL)erby'alteform Bill,
for a letter by post is a ballot, 'and the letter-box.
receives a new sanctity as the ballot-box. But; as
we always supposed;. the diiifiate7regArde'd- o'nl3-r
secrecy of the proces3. _ The convenience of voting
papers is an
.affair of minor importance, aid ope to.
which we have not given a serious cotiiideraTibe • -1"

Mr. Dana has stated the summary of -Arne-lieut.:T.: 1.-
experience so clearly, succinctly, and.focciblyithat
we cannot do otherwise than quote his very w.ordi :
" 1. The ballot (secret o 1 cipen) ie prometivefor•-
quiet at polls, and under our system of general fut.-
frage,.and of the multiplicity of officers to be voted,
.for at the- same time, is almost_ necessity, thq
grounds 'of convenience.
__l'. 2—lt is found in practice that the ballot can-he..-
sufficiently guarded against fraud, but in securing
this result we have deprived it of the element of

secrecy.
" 3. The attempt to introduce a mode of ballot
which shall be at once secret, and secure against
fraud, and reasonably convenient, has so far failed
with us.

" 4. What may be the present opinion of the
majority as to the principle of the secret ballot is
matter of conjecture. A large and influential pro-
portion oppose it on principle, and what with this
difference of opinion on the principle, and what with
the difficulties in details, the secret ballot has been

abandoned and the open ballot fallen back upon,-as
affording as much protection to the voter as in the
opinion of some is desirable, and of others is prac-
ticable."

Had this appeared in our columns as an expres-
sion of our own views, we should have expected a
vigorous onslaught from our old and frequent cor-
respondent, most probably with a reference to the
States, and some gentle remarks on our own

profound ignorance and utter incapacity. So we
could scarcely draw breath when we read, in Mr.

•
r

H. Berkeley'; own handwriting, that America has
the ballot quite enough for all practical purposes.
As a matter of fancy, indeed, just as a man may
like a horse of one colour rather than another, but
may still be fond of horses just as another man is
fond of horses, Mr. Berkeley himself prefers the
secret ballot. There are people who like night
travelling, or who always dine by candlelight, or
who like wax better than oil, or a shade over their
lamps, or bronze better than marble, and in the
same way, simply as an affair of taste, which does
not admit of discussion, Mr. Berkeley prefers to
have his ballot secret. Well, as a matter of taste
we crefer ours open. On the whole, we like a wide
landscape better than a bare view, though the latter
has its charms. In crossing the Channel, with 150
passengers on board, we should prefer remaining
on deck to sleeping below. We like a Hansom cab
better than a four-wheeler: and would rather re-
side in Grosvenor-square than where we could shake
hands with our opposite neighbour. These are all
matters of taste, and there are ten thousand more,
if it were worth while to enumerate them. Accord-
ing to Mr. H. Berkeley, the secret ballot is one of
them. The ballot is the thing. Secret or open is
a matter of no political importance. Can't we com-
promise the dispute, and so liberate Mr. H. Berkeley
for other questions of a more substantial character
There used to be a question between buttoning up
your coat and leaving it open. We can remember a
time when to be buttoned up to the throat out of
doors had a smack of patriotism, and a man who
wished to be a Brutus or a Cincinnatus would show
no waistcoat or linen. Our young men button still,
but just with one button, and no more. Well, let
us have a ballot with one button, just to keep
things tidy and straight, but conceal nothing. Will
that satisfy Mr. H. Berkeley ? It will make a
closer fit by a good deal than the American ballot,
which has not even a button or
.a button-hole,
but flaps about and shows everything.
o the industry
wt:avesistltle_
do, we are agreed; and the details of the one button
great
we leave to our constitutional tailors. Mr. H.
to Berkeley
great
can
Gothictheti
question, transferuest ohni,s
rmintshteergßreelaltqcuelosetikans orh,ordthe great Clock question,
or question,
or start some
new game of his own, very interesting, bnt war-
ranted not to over-excite the nerves of the public.
sacadin•cieisl3s-iocno,nstihstaetntno withsoonth ple
asing
Mr.
and
H.
IB‘reilertnkdeillseyy made it than off he goes to Australia.
"Why are our flourishing 'Australian colonies so
carefully ignored in the columns of the Times t'"
" Why should the perfect unanimity of all classes
which exists in Australia as to the beneficial re-
sults of the adoption of the ballot be so studiously
avoided?" "In an Australian election," continues
Mr. H. Berkeley, "personation is just as easy of
detection as at an election in England." "In Aus-
tralia the power of detection," &c. After riding off
on this new hobby, Mr. H. Berkeley concludes,
taking leave of Australia and his readers together
in a sentence which reads rather as if the Austra-
lian ballot was very like the American, and one
that we should no more object to than we should
to the particular species of contrivance by which a
bellhanger or a locksmith might please to do his
work, so long as he did it. "If it pleased
the Legislature to make such a law, and to
turn their attention and abilities to its comple-
tion,we may reasonably expect a mole perfect and
complete statute than that which has proved such
a blessing to Australia." So the measure which
has not only proved sufficient for Australia, but
elicited Mr. H, Berkeley's ecstatic admiration,
is not perfect—not complete—can be improved
upon, and perfected, and completed by the Bri-
tish Legislature, if it will concentrate on the
subject its attention and its collective wisdom.
What can this all mean? Does it mean that the
Australian ballot is as open as the American ? We
may be excused if we wait for an answer ; but if
the Australian ballot be really secret, how can it
possibly be improved upon ?—Times.