30 Proportional Representation. 



Instructions to Voters. 



1. Each voter has one vote. 



2. The voter is to put on the right-hand side, opposite the 

 names of the candidates, the numbers i, 2, 3, and so on, in 

 order of his preference for them. 



3. His vote will be given to the candidate against whose 

 name he puts the figure i, unless that candidate have enough 

 votes to secure his election, when it will be given to the candi- 

 date who has the figure 2 against his name ; or, if he have 

 enough, to the candidate who has the figure 3 against his name, 

 and so on. 



4. It is not necessary to put numbers against all the names. 



5. The same number must not be put against more than one 

 name. 



The lecturer explained that the test election was not a 

 political one, but that votes were expected to be given upon 

 literary distinction. The voting papers having been marked, 

 collected, and counted, it appeared that 196 persons had voted. 

 The right hon. gentleman said : — The first thing to be done is 

 to ascertain how many votes are necessary to bring a candidate 

 in. That I have not explained. There are three to be elected, 

 and you may think that one-third of 196 is the necessary number 

 — 65 and a fraction. That is not the case. Divide 196 by 4 — 

 that is one more than the number to be elected — and the quo- 

 tient will be 49. If anybody gets one vote more than that — «>., 

 50 — that person is sure to be elected, and for this reason. If 

 out of 196 — those who have voted — you deduct 50, there will 

 only be 146. The number 146 is less than three times 50. It 

 is impossible to distribute it amongst three, each of whom would 

 be above the man who has got 50. Inasmuch as one man has 

 got 50, three other persons cannot be above him, and therefore 

 he is certain to be elected. In other words, if the number of 

 persons to be elected is three, the necessary number to bring a 

 person in is the total number who have voted divided by four, plus 

 one, which divisor is one more than the number to be elected. If 



