, 1880-12-25
THE "SCRUTIN DE LISTE."
(From the SPECTATOR

ScTattn de Lasts is becoming the dominant
question in French politics, and it is worth
while, therefore, to study that proposal and
its probable effects, more especially as the
scheme has never been tried in any country
except France. NJ. Bardoux proposes,
then, with the approval of NJ. Gambetta,
FssAst election by districts should be abolish
ed, and that each %elector in a Department
should have as many votes as there are
candidates assigned to bis Department. He
cannot lump his votes, or plump for any
body, but must give in a list, containing as
many names rs there are vacancies. Sup.
posing for example, that the Departments
of Bouches du Rhone (Marseilles) is allow
ed eight members, each citizen must vote
by q card, inscribed with eight names of
legally-quali6ed candidates. AS he proba-
bly, will not care about eight, or even
know eight, he will either take the list
prepared by his party or his group en- bloc
or he will erase from it q name or two,
Inserting those of his own especial favour.
ties. AS a rule, Of course, he will inlu-
ence the list as much as he can before the
day of election, and then vote the ''party
ticket" as faithfully as an American does
in a contest for the Presidency. The
effect will be that whichever party has a
majority in the Bouches du Rhone will
seat the whole of its candidates, lsaving
the minority in that Department entirely
unrepresented. The name of a candidate
locally popular might possibly creep in,
being inserted on thousands of tickets, or
in certain circumstances, the Committee OF
Caucus might, as a compromise, admit
hostile names as, for instance, il Clericals
and Extremists Joined to carry Avignon
against Bonapartists- but as o rule, each
Department would be represented by it's
dominant party and that alone. Any d.
vision of it Of o different colour Of opinion
would fail to send up o representative.
The objections to this method of. electlon
are patent, and are very grave. In the first
place, local minorities are extinguished,
and will either decliue to vote altogether,
or sympathlse with agitators who advise
resort to methods other than the ballot
to plebiscites, or even military ~revolts.
The former result, indeed, is anticipated,
aud will be the justification for M. Bar
doux's suggestion in his Bill that all
voting should be compulsory, under penal
ty OF a moderate but sufficient fine. In
Departments of which great cities are the
centre. the peasantry may be totally silenced
by the workmen while in Departments
which are really only great cities, the
wealthy, who live 10 quarters by themselves
will be absolutely crushed Paris, for ex.
ample. might. aud probably would, send
up twenty Clemenceaus. The whole in-
fueuce. therefore, of each Department
would be thrown one way, and the minori'
ty, though, no doubt it's opinions might
be reflected in the Chamber by strangers
from q distance. as the Conservatives OF
Glasgow are represented by the senior
members Tor Liverpool, would lose the
qualification of seeing :hem represented by
men whom it had itself elected. 1t would,
therefore, lose much OF its acute inter-
est in politics, as has happened with the
cultivated and wealthy in America. More
over the divisions of party would tend to
become geographical, or as the Americans
say sectional" or as the Italians prefer to
say, ''regional." The old provincial boun-
daries Of France had often sound bases In
differences either of character or circum-
stance, and entire regions, like Brittany,
might be exclusively represented BY the
locally dominant party of the hour. How
dangerous q mistake this might be has
been shown ia the whole modern history
Of France, and especially in that forgotten
HIT dopoororn r,ovomonf thn nrniaetpd