| SINCE the
outbreak of the War in
August last the propagandist activities of the Proportional
Representation
Society have necessarily been curtailed, the attention of the
nation and
of its public men being absorbed in the great struggle now taking
place.
In the circumstances the Executive Committee took steps to reduce the
expenditure
of the Society; two of the three rooms used as offices were given up,
employment
for two of the office staff was found elsewhere, and the Secretary, Mr.
John H. Humphreys, became engaged temporarily in the work, directed by
the Local Government Board, of receiving and distributing the refugees
from Belgium arriving at Folkestone. The inquiries upon methods of
election
that continued to reach the offices of the Society, not only from the
United
Kingdom but also from our Dominions overseas and from the United
States,
were dealt with by the Assistant Secretary, Mr. Alfred J. Gray; Mr.
Gray
also carried through the programme of autumn lectures arranged before
the
declaration of the war.
Meanwhile,
a critical situation had arisen in Tasmania, where a bill to substitute
a list system of proportional representation for the single
transferable
vote has been introduced by the Government, and is now (June, 1915) the
subject of inquiry by a Parliamentary Select Committee.
Also important developments have occurred in New Zealand where (1)
Parliament
has passed an Act applying proportional representation to the election
of the Legislative Council; (2) a similar bill for the House of
Representatives
was lost by one vote only, and (3) an Act has been passed making the
use
of proportional representation optional in local elections. In the case
of the elections for the Legislative Council the single transferable
vote
will be applied under conditions of a difficulty unprecedented in the
history
of this method.
In April, the
Committee of the Society
came to the conclusion that it would be of the greatest importance in
the
interests of the movement that the Secretary should pay a visit to
Australia
and New Zealand. The Committee in so deciding were influenced by the
recollection
of the year 1909, when Mr. Humphreys went to South Africa at the
request
of the Government of the Transvaal and materially assisted in preparing
for the application of proportional representation in the election of
the
South African Senate, and of the Municipal Councils of Johannesburg and
Pretoria. They considered that in the present conditions Mr.
Humphreys should be able on a similar visit to Australasia to place
evidence
of the highest value before the Tasmanian Committee and both
to give and to receive information in New Zealand on the arrangements
necessary
to ensure the success of the first elections under proportional
representation.
His presence, moreover, would be an encouragement to our friends in
Australia
to whose unremitting efforts are due the promising movements in
practically
all the States of the Commonwealth.
It is further intended that Mr. Humphreys shall return by way of the
United
States and thus bring the Society into more direct touch with those who
are responsible for reviving our cause in that country, especially in
connection
with the present wide-spread activity in the revision of State
constitutions
and municipal charters. The adoption in a few cities of a proportional
method of electing their executive councils might be the starting point
of a great movement in the United States. And, finally, from our point
of view at home, successful developments in other parts of the
English-speaking
world will be of the greatest practical importance when the Irish
question,
and other problems of home politics again come up for discussion. The
Executive
Committee, fully convinced of the desirability of this undertaking and
of its opportuneness, appealed to their subscribers for the necessary
financial
assistance. The response justified the hopes of the Committee and as a
result Mr. Humphreys is already on his way to Australia.
The Committee
take this opportunity
of thanking members of the Society for their continued support at a
difficult
time.
Letters to
Mr. Humphreys (from the
United Kingdom) may be addressed as follows:-
Up to the end
of June: c/o Mrs. Young,
Drumcalpin, Victoria Avenue, Rose Park, Adelaide.
Up to 15th
July: c/o Chief Electoral
Officer, Wellington, New Zealand.
Up to end of
October: c/o Mr. C.
G. Hoag, Haverford, Pa.
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