BY E. L. PIESSE, B.SC, LL.B. 73 



The third method is not again referred to in this paper. 



44. An account of the rules which have been used in 

 various countries for the allocation of seats to competing 

 lists is given by Mr. John H. Humphreys in an article in 

 Representation for October, 1903 (Vol. II., pp. 67-81), and 

 also in his work Proportional Representation (London, 

 1911), Chapter VIII. It seems that the rule-of-three 

 method, with the condition that seats not allotted to com- 

 plete electoral units should go to the largest remainders, 

 was the first to be used, when a party-list system was intro- 

 duced in Switzerland in 1890. This condition was after- 

 wards abandoned, and instead the seats not allotted to 

 complete electoral units were given to the largest parties, 

 without consideration of the size of the remainders. 



45. Neither of these rules was found to be quite satis- 

 factory. Of the substitutes proposed the best known is 

 the method of Professor Victor d'PIondt of the University 

 of Ghent. This is embodied in the following articles of 

 the Bielgian Electoral Code (^^) : — 



Article 263. — Le bureau principal divise sucoessivement 

 par 1, 2, 3j etc., le chiffre electoral de chacune des listes et 

 range les quotients dans I'ordre de lour importance jusqu' a 

 concurrence d'un nombre total de quotients egal a celui des 

 membres a elire. Le dernier quotient sert de diviseur 

 electoral. 



La repartition entre les listes s'opere en attribuant a 

 chacune d'elles autant de sieges que son chifFre electoral com- 

 prend de fois ce diviseur, sauf application de Particle 

 264. ... 



Article 264. — Lorsqu'un siege revient a titre egal a plusieurs 

 listes, il est attribue a celle qui a obtenu le chiffre electoral 

 le plus eleve et, en cas de parite des chiffres electoraux, a 

 la liste oij figure le candidat dont 1' election est en cause qui 

 a obtenu le plus de voix ou, subsidiairement, qui est le plus 

 age. 



46. The working of the D'Hondt rules will be clear from 

 the following passages from Mr. J. H, Humphreys: (^*) 



Let it be assumed that three lists have been presented ; 

 that they have obtained 8000, 7oOO, and 7000 votes respect- 

 ively, and that there are five vacancies to be filled. The total 

 number of votes for each list is divided successively by the 

 numbers 1^ 2, 3, and so on, and the resulting numbers are 

 arranged thus: — 



List No. 1. List No. 2. List No. 3. 



8000 ... 7500 4500 



4000 ... 3750 ... 2250 



2666 ... 2500 ... 1500 



(") See (6), p. 15. 



(8) Representation. Oct, 1908 (Vol. H., pp. 71-73), and Proportional 

 Representation, pp. 179-180. 



