REPRESENTATION liV THE TRANSFERAHLE VOTE. (jc; 



hers for Piulawayo vvitli its 2.440 voters, l)ut each of these voters 

 has three votes, one for each memlxn- ; and yet Mr. Gordon 

 Forbes advocates for Rulawayo three single-member con- 

 stituencies each with a single vote. This would deprive tlic 

 Western Division voters of two-thirds of their present votes. I 

 am not surprised ; for this block vote, at present in operation, 

 works badly ; the minority are not only once beaten at every 

 •election, but three times over, once in the case of each of the 

 three members. Mow can one ex])ect them to go on voting; how 

 can one prevent their becoming apathetic and staying away from 

 the poll, knowing, as they do, that they will always be beaten 

 three times at every election? If the minority stay away from 

 the poll, what stimulus is there left for the majority of voters 

 to prevent their staying away also, feeling sure, as they well may, 

 that their members will be returned without the effort or troul)le 

 of voting on their part? Hence comes apathy, not only at elec- 

 tion times, but always; ancj loss of interest in the doings and 

 sayings of the members, whom they do not help to elect. 



With the transferable vote, Mr. ( jordon Forbes would get the 

 equivalent of liis three one-member constituencies; and not only 

 that, but would give each voter the certainty that his vote would 

 become efi'ective. Fach quota of the Western Division electors 

 could elect their member, who would get nearly 778 effective 

 votes in place of now, as at Gwelo, 117 effective votes. 



Salisbury would be affected in the same wav so far as regards 

 its block vote for two members; and Colonel (irey in his tem- 

 perate, well-balanced a])peal for the Northern Division showe;! 

 that it could give the quota, so far as numbers go, to three 

 members. He gives the registered voters for his division at 

 2,360, those for the Western Division as 2,240, and estimates the 

 other two at about 700 each. This gives a voters' register of 

 •6,200, and for seven members a quota of 776, while he reckons 

 the voters at Hartley, Lomagundi and ^lazoe as about 787. The 

 '686 votes cast at Gwelo show that the Midland Division pro- 

 bably is underestimated at 700 ; but in any case they presage 

 a fine contest for the next election. 



13. There will be a contest wliich will bring into strong 

 light the justice of the claim of the rural voters all over the 

 land to have the opportunity of voting at every Civil Com- 

 missioner's office, and every post office, or railway station, or 

 school and church, and thus to get some sort of approximation 

 to the facilities the urban voters enjoy. 



The transferable vote, we have seen, makes in practice every 

 vote effective ; let us shortly consider how this affects the \'oter, 

 the Candidate, the Member, and the Country : — 



14. First as to the voter: — The knowledge that iiis vote will 

 be effective will help that man of his choice, who needs his 

 vote, to secure his quota and his election, will make him vote, if 

 you give. him the facility to do so; it will further make him 



