The Committee has done a very foolish thing. By a
majority of one it has advised the retention of the uproarious farce called a Nomination. The reasons assigned are nearly unintelligible. The majority say :—" The abolition of the present system would tend to fetter the free choice of the electors, and would deprive a candi- date of an opportunity of setting himself right with a constituency the event of misstatements as to his opinions or his character, and it would make it extremely difficult to prevent the putting ?forward of persons as candidates for mere purposes of annoyance, or the fraudulent withdrawal of others who were in favour with the electors." The candidates are not chosen by show of hands, -the electors can vote for anybody they like, and a candidate who is misrepresented can talk from a window as well as from a ricketty platform in the market-place. As to fraudulent withdrawals, that -is, we suppose, withdrawals without the candidate's consent ; how -are they prevented now ? Any printer can forge a resignation, if be likes to take the consequences both at law and at Lynch. The -only uses of the nomination are to increase rioting, to raise fury, and to plunder the candidate.
Previous page
