THE FRENCH ELECTIONS.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."1
Sin,—The chief feature of the General Election in France is the crushing defeat of the parties of the Extreme Left, but the extent to which these parties are supported among the electorate cannot be gauged from their success at the polls. Elections have been held under a system which is by no means Proportional Representation. Its effect in operation has much affinity to the block vote, as it enables the largest party in a constituency (whether a single party or a coalition) to obtain either all or an overwhelming proportion of the seats. A party therefore which is subject to a combined attack from others may poll a substantial proportion of votes and obtain hardly any representation. Whether the present results will prove a cause for ultimate congratulation to France time will tell, but the general experience of history shows that the best safeguard against extreme and violent opinion is to give it the full publicity which adequate representation in the Legislature supplies. This will not be the case under the new French Law.
—I am, Sir, &c., Jolts II. HUMPHREYS, Secretary. The Proportional Representation Society,
82 Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W. 1.
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