Page:Thomas Hare - The Election of Representatives, parliamentary and municipal.djvu/374

322 quota by dividing the one by the other; but if only 8000 electors voted, the probability would be that the matter could not be worked out, inasmuch as no one member would get a quota. According to the bill, however, the returning officer took the number of votes actually recorded, and divided them by the number of members to be returned, in order to obtain his quota. In that way every man would have his vote used, without the possibility of loss. He believed the system to be a good one, and he would like to see it tried; and as there was a bill to amend the Municipalities Act now before the House, he thought a good opportunity was afforded of testing the working of the system. He would be willing enough to apply it to the Council elections if the bill were such a one that he could support.

Mr. would remove from the bill the part relating to Hare's system, for the simple reason that he did not understand it it appeared to be a very ingenious theory, but one that had never been brought into operation. The Government were bound to see that the bill, with the alterations proposed, was passed by the Upper House, and was not again sent back to us.

Mr. thought that the hon. member for New England (Mr. R. Forster) might, if he would only take the pains, easily understand Mr. Hare's system of representation. He would try to explain the matter to the hon. member. The system would give every elector the opportunity of voting just as if he knew the state of the poll. He would suppose that there were twelve hundred electors, and that there were three vacancies; the quota in that case would be four hundred. He would also suppose that the four Ministers were the candidates. First of all, the electors would vote for Mr. Cowper, who ought to be returned on account of his long services. Well, when the number for Mr. Cowper was made up the elector would give his vote for the Minister for Lands; and on Mr. Robertson's number being made up he would give his vote for Mr. Arnold. Every elector had the opportunity of doing what he would do if the polling booths had glass windows. Although the clauses were drawn up in legal phraseology, they were when examined easily intelligible. The instructions to the scrutineers were very complete and explicit. He looked upon this bill as merely a skeleton measure, and in voting for the second reading it was with an anxious desire to get this important matter settled. He did not, however, commit himself to any of the details. If he thought any bill could be so altered as to make it a satisfactory measure, as he thought was the case with this bill, he would support it. There was a good deal in the bill of which he quite approved, and more especially that clause which contained Hare's invention, as it might be termed.

Mr. said that, as to Hare's system, he must admit from the opportunities he had had of judging, it was his impression that nineteen-twentieths of the commimity did not and would not if it was passed, know how to carry it into effect. He thought the present system, which enabled the electors at the close of the poll to know which was the successful candidate.