Page:Letters to a friend on votes for women.djvu/28

 but it is also certain that the imposition upon the electors, either in the United States or in England, of an educational test would in each country detract from the representative character of the National Legislature, which would clearly cease to represent the most ignorant part of the present electorate. On the other hand, increased representativeness may sometimes mean a decrease in legislative effectiveness. It is at least arguable that the establishment of household suffrage has lowered the legislative capacity of the House of Commons. Bold, indeed, would be the paradox-monger who maintained that in no State belonging to the American Commonwealth has the introduction of universal suffrage lowered the moral or intellectual character of the Legislature. We must always, therefore, in legislation which affects the constitution of Parliament, weigh against one another the different qualities of representativeness and effectiveness. Practical wisdom often requires some sacrifice of the one of these qualities to the other. From this necessity the result follows that the mere fact that persons of a particular class