The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1870-04-12

carrying provision that the; fetnrniDg
officer should appoint 6svutinse.a in
pairs, one to represent ea0h party, and
|Ihata IT, k6nalhird oeSths electors were
|tdissatisaSd with the nominations, the
|sorutipeefa SD honld be elected by ballot,
|isach electorSoting only for one of each
|tpair.s This sdnables the minority to se-
cure that the election is fairly conducted.
This mode of electing scrutineers exists
in Pennsylvania and other parts Of the
United States. Proportional representa-
tion was also advocated at Zurich during
the revision of the constitution in 1868,
and propospal to inquire into the subject
met with considerable amount Of support.
It is, moreover, noteworthy that the re-
vised Constitution of Zurich not only
provides for all laws and large money
grants being submitted to a vote of the
whole people, ian institution which, under
the name of referendum, has been intro
duced into several other cantons,) but
even enables the: people to make laws
without any intervention on the part Of
their Representative Assembly. This
new provision oannot but be regarded as
sign that the ordinary representative
system has not worked satisfactorily,
however sceptical one may be as to the
wisdom of the means adopted for supple
menting and controlling it.
FRANcE.-In France! M. Leon Say, q
member of the commission lately ap-
pointed by the Olivier Ministry to pre-
pare scheme for the reorganization Of
the Municipality of Paris, has proposed
to the commission that the new NUM-
cipal Council should be elected by cumu-
lative voting, each reimbursement elect
ing three members. nj. Emile de
Girardin, another member of the COM
mission, has proposed second scheme,
likewise based on the principle of pro-
portional representation, of which he was
one of the earliest advocates. NJ Pre-
vost Paradol, in q recent article in the
De6ats, warmly supports NJ. Leon Says
proposal, speaking of proportional rep
resentation as can improvement upon
the system of representation now in use
as evident and almost as important as
the application of steam to industry. "
The introduction of proportional repre-
sentation into the election of the National
Legislature has also attracted good
deal of attention in France, especially
during and since the general election last
summer. The arbitrary alterations which
had been made by the Government in
Wiz OASotOhol AlStItCGS lldu DlbC6u III Il
tconspicuous light one of the most serious
defects of the election by maiorities, viz:
the facility. with Which. the representa-
tion ofa district can be transferred from
one party to the other by slight change
in its boundaries. Among tho numerous
pamphlets and articles which have ap-
peared on the subject in France, I may
mention, as specially deserving, two
pamphlets by Baron de Layre, and NJ.
Boreley, and an article in the Journal des
Econonaistes for June last, by M. Furet.
GREAT BRITAIN. will perhaps be
said that cumulative voting and proper
tional representation have nothing to do
with Mr.. Hardcastle's bill for abolishing
the limited vote. But the main issne
argued and decided in Parliament in
1867 did not relate to the limited vote or
the cumulative vote. or any other parti-
| cular form of voting It was simply
whether the exclusive representation of
majorities should be maintained, or some
provision made for representing minori-
ties also. Until after the debate in the
House of Commons, July 81 the pro-
posal before the public was the cumula-
tive vote; and probably the principle
reason for substituting the limited vote
IN the House of Lords, was that it had
fol med part of the reform bill of the
Aberdeen Cabinet in 1854. Even if it
we're held that the limited vote does not
work satisfactorily, the substitution of
some other provision for the representa-
tion of minorities in the same con-
stituencies would cause much less dis
turbance of the settlement of 1867 than
the complete abolition of oil representa-
tion of minorities.
Mr.. Hardcastle's preamble about "re-
storing to the electors those rights which
by the ancient law and customs of the
realm belonged to them" looks as if it
had been originally written for some
Uitra-Tory bill, intended to repeal alto
gether the reform bills of 1882 and. 1867,
and restore the exclusive rights of free
holders, freemen and corporators. But
the issue he thus raises is clearly one of
right, and not of expediency. It is,
therefore, avery material circumstance
that on the continent and in the United
States there is strong and growing
opinion that the only really just system
of representation is one in which the ma
jority has no more than its proportional
share Of the representatives.
Com apfip~ kb;a ort;ol1 ILL., NJ.