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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 of Great Britain and Ireland |
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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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