derstanding of the system a
certainty. To the majority of people an appeal to reason and
understanding is made much more easily through the eye than through the
ear. The year 1902 saw an advance in the Parliamentary agitation of the
reform, when the Hon. Joseph (now Senator) Vardon introduced a Bill for
the first time into the Legislative Council. The measure had been
excellently prepared by Mr. J. H. Vaughan, LL.B., with the assistance
of the members of the executive of the Effective Voting League, among
whom were Messrs. Crawford Vaughan and E. A. Anstey. The Bill sought to
apply effective voting to existing electoral districts, which, though
not nearly so satisfactory as larger districts, nevertheless made the
application of effective voting possible. With the enlargement of the
district on the alteration of the Constitution subsequent to federation
becoming an accomplished fact, the league was unanimous in its desire
to seek the line of least resistance by avoiding a change in the
Constitution that an alteration in electoral boundaries would have
necessitated.

To Mr. Vardon, when he was a candidate for Legislative honours in 1900
the usual questions were sent from the league; but, as he had not
studied the question he declined to pledge himself to support the
reform. Realizing, however, the necessity of enquiring into all public
matters, he decided to study the Hare system, but the league declined
to support him without a written pledge. Still he was elected, and
immediately afterwards studied effective voting, became convinced of
its justice, and has remained a devoted advocate. Our experience with
legislators had usually been of the opposite nature. Pledged adherents
to effective voting during an election campaign, as members they no
longer saw the necessity for a change in a method of voting which had
placed them safely in Parliament; but in Mr. Vardon we found a man
whose conversion to effective voting was a matter of principle, and not
a question of gathering votes. That was why the league selected him as
its Parliamentary advocate when effective voting first took definite
shape in the form of a Bill. When, later, Mr. E. H. Coombe, M.P., took
charge of the Bill in the Assembly although the growth in public
opinion in favour of effective voting had been surprising, the
coalition between the Liberal and Labour parties strengthened their
combined position and weakened the allegiance of their elected members
to a