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No. 32. Eighth Year. June, 1915. |
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REPRESENTATION |
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The Journal of the
Proportional Representation Society |
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THE SECRETARY'S TOUR
TO AUSTRALASIA AND AMERICA |
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SINCE the
outbreak of the War in August last the propagandist activities of the Proportional Representation
Society have necessarily been curtailed, the attention of the
nation and of its public men being absorbed in the great struggle now taking
place. In the circumstances the Executive Committee took steps to reduce the
expenditure of the Society; two of the three rooms used as offices were given
up, employment for two of the office staff was found elsewhere, and the
Secretary, Mr. John H. Humphreys, became engaged temporarily in the work,
directed by the Local Government Board, of receiving and distributing the
refugees from Belgium arriving at Folkestone. The inquiries upon methods of
election that continued to reach the offices of the Society, not only from
the United Kingdom but also from our Dominions overseas and from the United
States, were dealt with by the Assistant Secretary, Mr. Alfred J. Gray; Mr.
Gray also carried through the programme of autumn lectures arranged before
the declaration of the war. Meanwhile,
a critical situation had arisen in Tasmania, where a bill to substitute a list system of proportional representation for the single
transferable vote has been introduced by the Government, and is now (June,
1915) the subject of inquiry by a Parliamentary Select Committee. Also important developments
have occurred in New Zealand where (1) Parliament has passed an Act applying
proportional representation to the election of the Legislative Council; (2) a
similar bill for the House of Representatives was lost by one vote only, and
(3) an Act has been passed making the use of proportional representation
optional in local elections. In the case of the elections for the Legislative
Council the single transferable vote will be applied under conditions of a
difficulty unprecedented in the history of this method. In April, the Committee
of the Society came to the conclusion that it would be of the greatest
importance in the interests of the movement that the Secretary should pay a
visit to Australia and New Zealand. The Committee in so deciding were influenced
by the recollection of the year 1909, when Mr. Humphreys went to South Africa
at the request of the Government of the Transvaal and materially assisted in
preparing for the application of proportional representation in the election
of the South African Senate, and of the Municipal Councils of Johannesburg
and Pretoria. They considered that in the present conditions Mr. Humphreys should be able on a similar visit to
Australasia to place evidence of the highest value before the Tasmanian
Committee and both to give and to receive information in New
Zealand on the arrangements necessary to ensure the success of the first
elections under proportional representation. His presence, moreover, would be
an encouragement to our friends in Australia to whose unremitting efforts are
due the promising movements in practically all the States of the
Commonwealth. It is further intended
that Mr. Humphreys shall return by way of the United States and thus bring
the Society into more direct touch with those who are responsible for
reviving our cause in that country, especially in connection with the present
wide-spread activity in the revision of State constitutions and municipal
charters. The adoption in a few cities of a proportional method of electing
their executive councils might be the starting point of a great movement in
the United States. And, finally, from our point of view at home, successful
developments in other parts of the English-speaking world will be of the
greatest practical importance when the Irish question, and other problems of
home politics again come up for discussion. The Executive Committee, fully
convinced of the desirability of this undertaking and of its opportuneness,
appealed to their subscribers for the necessary financial assistance. The
response justified the hopes of the Committee and as a result Mr. Humphreys
is already on his way to Australia. The Committee take this
opportunity of thanking members of the Society for their continued support at
a difficult time. Letters to Mr. Humphreys
(from the United Kingdom) may be addressed as follows:- Up to the end of June:
c/o Mrs. Young, Drumcalpin, Victoria Avenue, Rose Park, Adelaide. Up to 15th July: c/o
Chief Electoral Officer, Wellington, New Zealand. Up to end of October: c/o Mr. C. G. Hoag, Haverford, Pa. * * * * * * * * * |
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