In the Commons onMonday the rejection of the Plural Voting
Bill was moved by Mr. Hume-Williams, who maintained that it made no attempt to remedy any real injustices of the present system. Those could only be removed by a Redis- tribution Bill giving one vote one value, and that remedy, though promised by the Government, could not possibly be Secured by this Parliament. The Government, in short, were hoping to pass a Bill which they frankly admitted Would give them a party advantage, while they left alone other and greater anomalies. Sir J. Handles, in seconding the rejection, insisted that the Government were in honour bound to pass a Franchise Reform Bill before the General Election. The anomaly dealt with in the Bill before the House was 'a. mere trifle compared with the present anomaly of distribution. Sixteen hundred and seventy-nine votes were enough to secure the election of the Member for Pontefract, while sixteen thousand five hundred and ninety-nine were registered for the Member for Newcastle-on-Tyne, and sixteen thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight for the Attorney-General• at Walthamatow.
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