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introduced, apropos of the floods of Conservative 

 oratory, a story of Miss Baring's about an 

 American publican who said that the Falls of 

 Niagara would be all very well if it were not for 

 the poverty of the material." 



The introduction of a new Reform Bill brought 

 into prominence the question of the best method 

 of representation. Sir John Lubbock had taken 

 great interest in it, being strongly in favour 

 of a proportional representative system, and it 

 was on January 16 of 1884, in Mr. Beaumont 

 Lubbock's house in Clarges Street, that the 

 Proportional Representation Society was formed. 

 Sir John states his main argument in favour of 

 the system thus lucidly : 



It is obvious that the present system leaves much to 

 chance. Suppose, for example, there are 12,000 voters, 

 of whom half are Radicals and half Unionists, in three 

 Constituencies. 



If the votes are divided as follows : 



Constituency Constituency Constituency 

 A. B. C. 



Radicals . . . 3000 1500 1500 



Unionists . . . 1000 2500 2500 



it is obvious that the Unionists would have two seats and 

 the Radicals only one. But if the votes happened to lie 

 as follows : 



Constituency Constituency Constituency 

 A. B. C. 



Unionists . . . 3000 1500 1500 



Radicals . . . 1000 2500 2500 



it is clear that though the numbers are the same the 

 Radicals will have two seats and the Unionists only one. 

 Many of those who defend the present system do so 

 under the belief that, if not altogether just, it merely 

 gives the majority somewhat more than their share. 

 This however is quite a delusion. 



Suppose, then, in the preceding illustration the 

 Unionists had 6250 votes and the Radicals 5750 ; the 

 Unionists would have a majority of 500. Of course, 



