Mr. Gerald Balfour, who, as President of the Local Government Board,' is to have charge of the Redistribution pro-podals of the Government, issued the scheme at the beginning of the week together with an elaborate explanatory statement. It has excited great interest, but not much enthusiasm, It has obviously been designed to reduce the representation of Ireland as much as possible, while interfering as little as possible witt the electoral divi-ions in the other Kingdoms, The same statistical rules are to be applied all over the United Kingdom, and on this ground its authors will contend that it does equal justice but the ingenuity with which the des.red result has been achieved will probably prove excessive. The Irish Nationalis's are, of course furious, since they stand to use twenty-two seats; but that the Goveroments expected; bat what is more serious for them is that a considerable section of their own followers are bitterly d appointed with the measure. Sir H. Kimber and the Committee of Unionists who have been urging the Government to take up this question of redistribution, had a rough plan of their own which involved the disfranchisement of all boroughs having loss than 5,000 electors. This would have involved the extinction boroughs in the United Kingdom. d of this, Mr. Balfour's scheme disfranchises only those Parliamentary boroughs which have less than 18,500 of population, and of these there are but four in the United Kingdom. Had the more drastic plan been adopted only two more Irish seats would have boon "extinguished.
"@ne Vote One Value"
Briefly stated, the scheme is as follows Every borough with less than 18,500 people to conse to be separately represented every two-membered borough with less than 75,000 people is to lose one of its members; every big borough and every county is to have applied to ib a standard of 65,000 people per member. If it is over-represented on this standard it is to lose one member for each complete 65,000 of deficiency; if it is underrepresented it is to have an additional member for each complete 65,000 of excess. It is frankly acknowledged that on basis there will be scarcely an approxi: tion to the principle of "one vote one value." For instance, Whitehaven, with 19,600 of population and Lewisham, with 127,500 will have equal representation. But beyond this numerous other anomalies are pointed out by critics of the Bill. Thus Cornwall, with a population of 322,000 and six members, an average of neatly 54,000 per member, will lose, ove of its members, while a score of little boroughs with less than 30,000 population will be left untouched.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.