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' * ~ mm lc ha t it th i A in Wws t t . oo mA annes »CC e ies o <ar 27 .. 1923. C TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 'P R , S i 7 ' tem in DUistavor; A. JYS8 T Legislat Refuses Use In Municipal Electi * s ® * wo-- l wronin mm manmeprmmmemememne Deculon Agamst Permlt- Hicks (South Huron). U. F. O. Whip, ( a who, taking his stand on a statement [ ting Propoced System In of fact, wasted no time in argument. * & He admitted that "P. R." had been Local Ballotmg Indi-- incorporated in the U. F. O. platform, » but hazarded the opinion that par-- cates Attltude on Gen' ties could change their platifot"in1 from time to time. '"This bill is di-- eral Issue--Warm De-- rectly in opposition to the wishes of & \the people I represent. I intend to bate Precedes Standlng | use my vote and influence to kill it » | right here,"' he said. Vote on K. K. Homuth's |-- J. M, Webster (U. F. O,., West E bl. B." \Lambton) was almost as brief and na Ing 1 ' quite as direct. To his way of think-- omm inreithe en reuye |ing, Municipal Counciis had troubles J | a--plenty without sitting up all night WEIGHT OF OPINION to count first, second, third and | fourth choices. '"Personally I am AGAINS,T EXPERIMENT content to accept the decision of | the electors, and if 1 don't get the t Is o l (C largest number of yotes I would go By a vote of approximately three hc'v}r}w." § h f j mak p e | on. larry Mills, Minister 0o to one the Legislature 3ee';erga) rt.z Mines, was the only member of the jected.a pr'oposal to ?1'9 ntario Cabinet who ventured an opinion. municipalities the option of using He supported the system on general the proportional system of voting at grounds, as did Peter Heenan (La-- local elections bor, Kenora), H. P. Hill (Conserva-- c an. , y is tive, West Ottawa), and K. K. Ho-- K. K. Homuth's bill to authorize muth (Labor, South Waterloo), the Municipal Councils to hold a pleb-- sponsor of the hill. iscite on the question on receipt of a f Hon. G, H. Ferguson commenced petition signed by five per cent. of his contribution to the debate by * D 3. wl h declaring that it was undesirable| the electors was thrown out on sec-- that proporiional representation ond reading. There was no formal shou'ld be allowed to inject factional division, but on a standing vote the feeling into munijcipal politics and five members of the Government ?eploren; the '"ridiculousness'" of al--} | owing five per cent. of the electors gWho supported the measure were to raise the issue. But from that| snowed under by an opposition which point on his argument was one of. included two--thirds of the U.F.O. denunciation of the system in gen--| members in the House, a solid Lib-- eral. A ; | eral bloc and an almost unanimous T would, he said, bring group| Tory group. government and that in turn would | s « * ~~mmnanennemmmemeninne mm mm n meuammmmmer . . While there.were only 42 mem-- mean '"the undermining and de--| bers in the Hquse when the vote was struction _ _of -- responsible govern--| taken at 6 o'clock, the result was ment." The truth of that state--| sufficiently representative to indi-- ment, he contended, had been ex--| cate that'the ad\'rncat'os of 'P.R." will emplified in every 'country where | M e uorerament move 16. sxpart 90 " System pid been tried out, "P.| | * = +' . T€ | ment with the system at the coming political cdh';zcsuy e dn abiifS and} | » « t | Provincial election come to a head. To add weight to his argument | TU.F.O. Members Divide. & the Conservative Leader then quoted Premier Drury, Hon. W. E. Raney, from '!etters received from Winni-- |Hon. Manning Doherty, Hon. Harry peg. These argued against the sys-- | Mills, Hon. Dougal Carmichael voted tem on the ground that in Winnipeg i for Mr. Homuth's bill, supported by it had resulted in the election of a | only five private members on their radical Mayor and the elevation to ! own side of the House and one Con-- the Manitoba Legislature as the servative, H. P. Hill (West Ottawa). representatives of the city of Win-- Eleven U.F.O. members voted with nipeg of "three or four ex--convicts." ; | the remainder of the Tories and the | Liberals to defeat the measure. Dc'ploms Winnipeg Rosult. i The debate which preceded the "The application of the system in decision was remarkable for the Winnipeg," continued the speaker,| warimth of the opposition which de-- "has had an effect on public senti--| veloped from unexpected quarters. ment that has resulted in a deplor-- This was all the more significant able state of chaos. Are we to ad-| when it is pointed out that the mit the thin edge of the wedge majority of speakers ignored the here?" The present system -- had| point at immediate issue--the advis-- been handed down from the past as | ability of sanctioning an ennabling the accumulated wisdom of the cen-- bill--and talked "P.R." in general turies. It provided the freest and, .. terms. most democratic method of selec-! Use by Municipalities. tion of legislators and ensured that| F. Wellington Hay, Liberal Leader, they represented the community as| 'And J. W. Curry (Liberal, Southeast * };vhole and not occupational 0"' fi'oronto). however, were among the ;'t ed' groups. '"P. R.,"' on the other minority who differentiated between nand, would leave the way open for "P. _ R." in municipal politics and agitators, extremists and all nar-- 'P. R.' as an electoral system. The row, s?.msh elements in the com--| former did not commit himself on munity" to secure direct representa-- the general issue, but took the tion in the legislative halls of the ground that the system would do Province. more harm than good in municipal + % & politics. Mr. Curry, on the other I"':'nm, More of "P. R." System. hand, voiced his belief in the useful. This is an idea born of com-- ness of the system in Provincial elec-- munism, a flame fanned by all sorts | tions, but followed his leader in dep-- of people opposed to constitutlonali recating its adoption at local elec-- sovernment,'"' declared J. E. Thomp--| tions. son, Tory representative of North-- _ Hon. G. H. Ferguson, Conserva-- east Toronto. The city of Toronto., tive Leader, and J. E. Thompson he continued, wanted none of it. If (Conservative, Northeast Toronto) the people who sponsored the idea did not mince matters, and roundlyv would undertake to look after their denounced the system as one which own business Toronto would look was calculated to wreck constitu-- after its business. tional government. -'cggfifigc'f'd Olf tht?t ;y'stem meant eals which exi the Says Constituents Object. gouth of Ireland, in Ger:ria::}. in First signs of a serious breach in Cepie, Gurope, and in Winnipeg-- the U. F. O. ranks came with the an. ,;u;);::e" Vlvil;erseaiéhey speak 47 lan-- ouncement of th ositi | ( * w _ / MAK e opposition of A. The speaker twitted Mr. Homuth . , with having fathered a bill which T. s i..___ s _ .