The Irish standard., 1911-01-07
Fully $18,00O,OOO Was Spent For
This Purpose in the Re-
cent Contest.
Proved More Expensive to Poll Scot
land Than Either England
or Ireland.
1t Cost the First Named $1.O8 Per
Vote, England SO and Ire
land 88 Cents.

Getting John Bull to express his
opinion by way of a Parliamentary
General Election is costly job, says
the London correspondent of the New
York "World." In the declared ex-
penses of the candidates British
General Election costs the enormous
sum Of nearly s6,O00,OO0. This works
out at practically 81 for every vote
cast. The actual figures of such out
lay at the last contest in January of
this year amounted to $500, go,
or an average expenditure of 99A
cents for every vote polled. The num-
ber of votes recorded was 5,645,1O4.
Heavy in Scotland and England.
But the real sum spent on the cam
palgn is more than three times the
total given in these figures. It is
little to be wondered at that the
tradesmen regard with dismay the
withdrawal of so vast sum of money
from the ordinary channels, especially
at the Christmas season. Curiously
enough, it is more expensive to poll
the frugal and thrifty Scot than e,-
ther the English voter or the Irish
man. What is equally surprising,
perhaps, is that of the three part
ners the Irish costs much the least.
In Scotland the average cost of poll
ing the 811,350 voters who recorded
their choice in the last General Elec-
tion reached no less than $1.OS per
vote. The English 4,SS0,O73 ballots
cast cost SO cents for each one of
them. But the Irish 153,6S1 votes cost
only 8S13 cents each.
The difference in the three coun-
tries is still more striking when the
cost of the individual elections is con-
sidered. In Scotland the cost of
electing seventy-two members of Par
lament amounted to $9,225.6O per
member elected. The election of the
four hundred and fifty English and
Welsh members ran up to $9,660.5O
each, little more per head than in
Scotland. But the one hundred and
three Irish members averaged an ex-
penditure of only $1,47323 each.
Average of $4,ses Per Member.
For the six hundred and seventy
seats in the British Parliament, 1878
candidates went to the polls in the
great struggle early this year. Ac-
cording to the official returns of their
expenses the sum spent averaged
$4,399, for each aspirant for the honor
of being a Member of Parliament
These individual expenses varied re-
markably. Some of the Irish Ma
tionalist members returned unoppos-
ed, paid out only the Returning Off
GERS fee of $50. Irish Unionists M.
P.'s returned unopposed, like the
Marquist of Hamilton for London
derry, spent more The Marquis got
through most cheaply among them.
He laid out only $5S513. At the other
end of the Irish Unionist list was
Capt Bryan Cooper, who held South
Dublin County for the Tories at a
cost of $5,721.6o.
The next cheapest place is Wales;
where unopposed candidates obtained
the honor of being British legislators
for $125 to $155. In England John
Wilson, the veteran representative OF
the northern miners, held the mid
division of Durham County unopposed
at an outlay OF $3.50. The Speaker OF
the House Of Commons, Hon. James
w. Lowther, returned unopposed for
the Penryth Division of Cumberland
County, spent $3.50 to retain the
chance of his job. No one is able to
get off cheaply in Scotland. The next
lowest figure given was $825. The
next lowest was over $4,000. Some Of
the sums spent in the industrial con
stituencies of England recall the OLD
/ days before the passing of the Ballot
act, with its penalties for corrupt prac
tices. In those times no elector would
dream of condescending to record his
vote at less than $25. The expenses