38 SANDFOED FLEMING ON 



Referriug to the present system an eminent writer asks : " Is Grovernment only pos- 

 sil)le by the conflict of opposing principles?" The familiar expression, "government 

 of the people by the people " cannot be held to mean government of the whole bj^ a part 

 or by the conflict of hostile parts. It must be obvious the united energy and wisdom of 

 of a whole nation directed towards one end can only be fully realized, when the supreme 

 power is vested in a Parliament chosen by the whole people, and fairly representing the 

 whole people. This is the great problem for solution and it is manifest that if such a 

 Parliament is ever to be constituted, the people, in choosing members to represent them, 

 must in some way be brought to act not in contestation and conflict, but in concert 

 and in concord. 



If it be one of the first of political desiderata to have no large minorities left unre- 

 presented in the national assembly, it appears to me essential to seek for some means of 

 securing the cooperation oF the whole body of the electors in the election of members 

 to sit in the High Court of Parliament. To obtain this result it is obviorxsly expedient to 

 adopt a system which necessarily does not develop animosity or provoke hostility ; the 

 aim should be to promote friendliness and agreement in a matter which concerns all 

 alike. It cannot be denied that the whole community is concerned in having in Parlia- 

 ment, not men of extreme views, but moderate-minded men of good common sense and 

 good conscience, capable of representing the more enlightened electoral mind. By electing 

 representatives on the principles laid down, these desirable objects would undoubtedly 

 in a large measure be attained ; every step would be deliberately taken, free from the 

 excitement and heated feeling which so frequently accompany ordinary elections. In 

 every stage of the proceedings there would be a tendency to return only the best men. 

 At the very first step it is obvious that a candidate must be a person respected and 

 supported by a hundred electors. It is presumable that no hundred electors of any class 

 or race or creed would deliberately put forward a base or unworthy or cA'^eu an inferior 

 individual ; it is not to be supposed that they would choose one of the least intelligent 

 or least honest or least reputable amongst them as their representative in the candidature. 

 As a rule, electors of one mind would arrange themselves into groups of one hundred, and 

 each group would select some man, who on his merits as a citizen would creditably 

 represent them, or who as a statesman commended himself to their favor. In their turn, 

 those selected by the hundreds would follow the same course, selecting generally the 

 best, the worthiest and wisest men until the final choice was reached and a member 

 selected to represent the constituency in Parliament. 



It can scarcely be doubted that if such a system could be put in force, the tendency 

 would be upwards from first to last, and that there wo\rkl be drawn to the legislature 

 accomplished statesmen, men endowed with wisdom and patriotism, practical know- 

 ledge and experience. The inevitable effect would be to allay the spirit of faction and 

 remove political rancour. In a higher degree than under the ordinary method of electing 

 members, the system would attract within the pale of Parliament men in generous 

 sympathy not with a part only, but with the whole people. Thus might be constituted 

 an august body which as closely as possible would be a true mirror of the enlightened 

 mind of the nation to reflect its opinions, its wisdom, and its virtues. 



In a Parliament so constituted, perfect unanimity on all questions, perhaps on any 

 question, is not to be looked for, and each separate question would have to be settled, 



