THE REFERENDUM.
[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]
Sta,—I beg to thank you for permitting me to state—in severely condensed form—my fears of your Referendum. May I say that I do not think you have quite grasped my views, which is doubtless my fault ?
I did not intend to advance an "argument against all democratic Government," though any survey of the present state of Europe would supply such an argument. The principles of democracy are unchallengeable ; but, for various reasons, they have never been effectively applied on the national scale. We have not yet discovered any accurate means of ascertaining the will of the majority, which is usually in a state of turbid solution, and my , contention is that the Referendum cannot help us in this quest and may involve greater dangers of misconception than already exist.
It is necessary to define what meaning ought to be attached to this overruling will ; but that would absorb too much of your valuable space. I can only say that the will of a flock of sheep may be determined for them by a few wolves, and that this is a common phenomenon in democracies, ancient and modern. As Governments and Parliaments easily dis- appear, while the verdict of a Referendum may be irrevocable (my second point), the inducements to, and the opportunities,
not for "the demagogue," as you put it, but for expert pro- paganda of the kind to which we are becoming accustomed
and which all modern inventions tend to facilitate, must increase. The Referendum, therefore, in my view, confers a premium on propaganda, and its frequent use, which you, Sir, cannot prevent, might (my first point) destroy all stability in foreign or domestic policy. The experience of little Switzerland, with a population far less than that of London, does not impress me in the least, and as you will remember the recourse to this political device proved very expensive to the thrifty Swiss. As you justly say, the "mob at Jerusalem" was "stirred up" by a minority. That has always happened in all revolutions, and mobs are not mere local assemblages. You admit, I thankfully note, that "it is possible that the Referendum, like every other form of Government, contains within it the seeds of destructive revolution." That I rate the fertility of the seeds more highly than you do is really our only difference, and I sincerely wish I could believe you to be right.
Meanwhile, the will of our people has emphatically declared itself against Socialism, and this, as you strongly hold, is "the only final and ultimate foundation" of our national
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