THE TWO-MEMBER SYSTEM.
(To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."]
Sta,—You express great contempt for the two-Member system ; but it reflects better than any other the natural instinct of the average man. If he is asked, "Do you support Mr. Gladstone, or Lord Salisbury ?" he is likely to say "Mr. Gladstone," or "Lord Salisbury," or " I have not made up my mind." And these are the three answers which the two-Member system gives to a constituency. The one-Member system takes away the chance of answering, "I have not made up my mind ;" and I cannot help thinking that this suppression would be a hardship to the constituency as much as to the individual. Neither a man nor a constituency wants the refinements of the propor- tional system, "three-fifths of my mind for one and two-fifths for the other ;" but it is mere tyranny to say, "You may not stand neutral between them."—I am, Sir, &c., T. C. Sxow.
[Where is the difficulty of standing neutral in a single-seat constituency ? Is not neutrality better expressed by not voting at all than it is by voting for both the contending causes P—En. Spectator.]
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