THE MINORITY PRINCIPLE IN THE HANDS OF A GREAT MAJORITY.

[TO THE EDITOR OF TILE SFECTATOR."]

Snt,-After what has appeared in your columns on the subject of the minority principle, it might be interesting to your readers to bring under their notice the subjoined scheme, which was proposed to the Liberals of Glasgow, for the distribution of their votes at the late Parliamentary election. The scheme was published in the Mace, of March 9th, simultaneously with the dissolution of Parliament, but was, I believe, privately in the hands of the Liberal Executive several weeks before, and was adopted by them pure and simple, and with what success the annexed copy of the official analysis of the voting will show. When the scheme was drawn up, Messrs. Anderson, Cameron, and Tennant were the sitting Members, all Liberals, the last of whom had got into Parliament at a by-election unopposed, in room of Mr.

Whitelaw, Conservative, deceased. When Mr. Tennant agreed to contest the counties of Peebles and Selkirk, Mr. Middleton was substituted as the third Liberal candidate for Glasgow in his stead, and Messrs. Anderson, Cameron, and Middleton are the thre3 Members for Glasgow. Subjoined are,-(1), Copy of the article proposing the scheme ; (2), copy of official instruc- tions to the voters in terms of the scheme; and (3), copy of the analysis of the voting, showing the working and results of the scheme :-

(1.) Distribution of the Liberal Vote.-If each of the electors of Glasgow had three votes, the Liberals would certainly carry their three candidates. The Liberal majority is so large that each elector with only two votes could with open voting certainly carry their three candidates. They did so in their first election as a three-cornered constituency, and it was done by voting always for the two Liberals lowest on the poll, the state of the poll always being declare& But the Ballot Act changed all that, the Liberals in the second three- cornered contest, in 1874, carrying only two out of their three can- didates; and the question for the third contest now is, how to dis- tribute the Liberal vote so as to secure, as in 1868, an almost equal number of votes for each Liberal candidate, and the object of this article is to answer that question. The number of electors at present on the roll is 61,069, of whom not more than 15,000 are Conserva- tives and 5,000 Home-rulers. In the 1874 election the successful Conservative candidate-Whitelaw-had 14,134 votes; and next to him was the second Conservative candidate-Hunter-with 12,533 votes; and 4,444 voted for Kerr, the Home-rule candidate. From these votes, given at the height of the Conservative reaction, and making due allowance for the increase of the electorate, the inference of 15,000 Conservatives and 5,000 Home-rulers is derived. The electoral roll being accessible to all, it can be ascertained how many voters' names begin with A, how many with B, how many with C, and BO on through the alphabet. Let it be ascertained that those whose names begin with A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H are 20,356 voters ; those whose names begin with I, J, K, L, M, N, 0 are 20,356 voters ; and those whose names begin with P, Q, R, S, T, II, V, W, X, Y, Z are 20,357 voters-these three groups of numbers being the total number of the electors-thus, 20,356 ; 20,356 ; 20,357 ; total, 61,069. By our hypothesis, 15,000 of that number are Conservatives and 5,000 Home-rulers, therefore 20,000 from 61,069 leave 41,069 Liberal voters ; and by an analogical application of the principle, " What is ta-ne of the whole is true of its parts," the same pro- portion of each of the three groups would be found to be Liberal. also; therefore, as 41,069 Liberal voters is to the whole elec- torate of 61,069, so there would be 13,690 Liberal voters to the 20,356 of each of the three groups. If the first group of 13,690' Liberal voters vote for Anderson and Cameron, the second group for- Cameron and Tennant, and the third group for Anderson and Tennant,. we would have the same result as in the first three-cornered election in 1868. The following table will illustrate the working of the plan :-

Gaon. I.

Those whose Names begin with the letters A Anderson. Cameron. Tennant.

to H are 13,690 Liberal voters, and give one vote each to Anderson and Cameron, l 13,690 13,690

GROUP II.

Those whose Names begin with the letters I to ) 0 are 13,690 Liberal voters, and give one vote', each to Cameron and Tennant,

13,030 13,690 Gaon. III.

Those whose Names begin with the letters P to) are 13,689 Liberal voters, and give one vote: each to Anderson and Tennant, 13,699 27,379

13,680' 27,380 27,379 showing a total of 27,379 votes to each Liberal candidate, or a majority of 7,379 votes over the highest number possible to the Conservative candidates in the circumstances most favourable to them ; and as- suming that they secured the Home-rale vote, a supposition not unlikely, shall we say ? seeing Lord Beaconsfield conferred her Majesty's lord-lieutenancy of the county of Roscommon on a con- spicuous Home-ruler. We shall not speculate on that point, but proceed to remark that, compared with the number of votes given to the successful candidates of former elections, 27,379 seems unusually- large. The reason is because we have assumed that every Liberal voter will vote ; but the probability is that one-fourth of the whole will not vote. Suppose that 31,000 only will vote, and the table will stand thus :- Group I. Group II. Group III. Anderson.

... 10,333 .. . 10,334 Cameron.

10,333 10,333 Tennant.

10,333 10,334 20,667 20,666 20,667 or 666 votes higher than the greatest possible strength of the com- bined Conservative and Home-rule vote. If the electoral roll be care- fully gone over and carefully compared with the roll of the first three-cornered constituency, and grouped according to the plan we have proposed, and if the Liberals be requested, by simple advertise- ment, posters, or circulars, to vote in groups as above described, we are convinced that in their present mind they would respond with an. enthusiasm and success equal, if not superior, to that which they achieved in the great contest of 1868.

(2.) Scheme of Voting.-The following division of the electoral roll has been agreed upon :-Surnames beginning with the letters A, B,

C, D, E, F, and G, to Go, have been allocated to Mr. Anderson and Dr. Cameron. Surnames beginning with the letters Gr to Gw, H, I, J, K, L, M, and 31‘A to 3PK, have been allocated to Mr. Anderson and Mr. Middleton. Surnames beginning with the letters M'L to 11-W, N, 0, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, and Z, have been allocated to Dr.. Cameron and Mr. Middleton.

(3.) Ana ysis of Voting.

Ballot Paper s. f oes or

Votes

t ei :

4

gi -a 93

Cameron. g

x•-•

El t

91 Anderson only ... ... 91

95 Bdill only. . ... ... ... 95

36 Cameron only... ... ... ... ... 36

22 Middleton only ... ... ... ... ... 22

369 Pearce only ... ... ... ... . . ... ... 369' 214 Anderson and Bain ... .. 214 '214

11,798 Anderson and Cameron .. 11,798 ... 11,798

11,469 Anderson and Middleton .. 11,469 ... ... 11,469

444 Anderson and Pearce ... ... 414 ... ... ... 444 89 Bain and Cameron ... ... ... 88 88

69 Bain and Middleton ... ...

69 ... 69

10,605 Bain and Pearce. .. ... .. ... 605 ,10

. 10,605 11,666 Cameron and Middleton .. ... ... 11,666 11,066

70 Cameron and Pearce ... ... ... ... 70 ... 70 134 Middleton and Pearce... ... ... ... ... 134 134- 312 Rejected Papers.

47,512

Total Votes for...

24,016 11,071 23,653 23,360 11,022 Total

Voters

Order of the Poll.

1. Anderson (L.) ... 2. Cameron (L.) ... 3. Middleton (L.) ... 4. Pearce (C.) ... 5. Bain (C.) Total Votes ... 93,727

From the foregoing figures, Leeds may learn how to carry three Liberals, and Liverpool that at general elections it need not try to carry three Conservatives.-I am, Sir, 8:c.,

24,016 23,658 23,360 11,622 11,071

7 Park Grove Terrace, Glasgow, August 9th. JAMES MILLAR.