10 WHAT AEE THE CONDITIONS WHICH DETERMINE, ETC. 



From this analysis we perceive that an ideally just repre- 

 sentation of the people must be based upon the family, 

 whose interests from a social point of view are in common, 

 and are usually centred in one person, who by nature and 

 affection stands as their natural guardian and representative 

 to the outer world. At this stage the foe to just represen- 

 tation at a later stage is rendered comp^iratively harmless by 

 the short range yet locally dominating altruistic attributes, 

 such as the spontaneous love, affection, friendship, or powerful 

 sense of duty, always more or less active, either in subduing 

 the narrower forms of selfishness within the family group, or in 

 so modifying its influence as to become beneficial, not harm- 

 ful, to the family interest as a whole. 



Any scheme of representation, therefore, which would aim 

 at penetrating the solidarity of the family by proffering 

 separate electoral rights to each of its existing component 

 members would do more harm than good, ior it would destroy 

 the true foundation upon which good government rests, 

 viz., the altruistic virtues evoked and fostered within the 

 family circle. The question of Female Svffrage is reduced to 



11 small compass when considered from this point of view. 



The natural guardian of each family is also, as a rule, the 

 breadwinner, and therefore the naiuvally e/ec^ecZ representative 

 of the dependent wife, child, or relative. It is manifest also 

 that artificial representation should only begin where natural 

 representation ends, i.e , in the natural representative of the 

 family. It excludes the dependants, not merely because they 

 are females, or because the male dependants are under 21 

 years of age, but mainly because all such are naturally com- 

 prehended in their natural representative — the householder. 

 There is no artificial determination of what constitutes a 

 householder. Whatever natural condition exists which calls 

 one person out to be regarded as the head of the family group 

 suffices — whether it be the father, widowed mother, elder 

 brother, or elder sister — so long as such one is regarded by 

 the family group as the nominal head or guardian. The 

 natural unit of the electorate of any population is the 

 "Householder" — not "males 21 years of age and over." 

 The males of a population, 21 years of age and over, as 

 such have no natural right to be singled out from 

 women and children as representative electors of the commu- 

 nity other than the savage one of being the stronger. Of 

 course there are reasons, if not rights, why single men of 21 

 years and over may have some claim to electoral privileges, 

 e.g.'. 1. They may not be represented by any natural guardian 

 or householder. 2. They may be independent breadwinners, 

 and thus independently contribute to the taxation necessary 

 for the government of the country. 3. They may specially he 

 drawn upon to defend the State in the case of war or disturbance 



