We suggested last week that Edinburgh might be first to
try the experiment of applying the Hare scheme to municipal elee- tions, and the citizens seem doubtful if the hint was an imper- tinence or a compliment. We intended neither, but only a practical suggestion. Edinburgh could try the experiment better than most cities, because she has a population intelli-
gent enough to understand it, an unusual number for her size of citizens of mark, and a certain distinctiveness which would induce other boroughs to note the results. The influence of boroughs on opinion does not depend on their size, or their wealth, or their politics, but on a certain notableness which has its source in their history. Merthyr Tydvil or Barrow-in-Furness might try experiments for ever, and nobody be the wiser, while an ex- periment in York would be carefully watched and recorded. A method of voting shown to be successful in Edinburgh would impress electors everywhere, as the same method in the far richer, bigger, and more active city of Glasgow would not. Glasgow, we should be told, is a peculiar place, and no test for anything.
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