(1) that each member
would have a knowledge of the merits of all the ten candidates, (2) that
his estimate of the respective candidates would vary arbitrarily
between nothing and a maximum degree of merit, (3) that each member
would express his honest preferences. The Block Vote, on the other hand,
assumes (1) that each member can pick out the five best candidates, and
therefore express his opinion as to how the committee should be
constituted, (2) that he will be inclined to place these five candidates
on one plane of favour and the other five on one plane of non-favour. We
submit that the latter assumptions agree more closely with the actual
state of affairs. The members can distinguish between candidates who
have merit and those who have no merit or of whose merit they are
ignorant; to force them, therefore, to place all the candidates in order
of preference is to make them express preferences where none exist.[8]
On the whole, then, the Block Vote is more likely to place the
candidates in their real order of favour.

But some reservation must be made. The Block Vote works best when the
number of candidates does not exceed two or three times the number of
vacancies. Suppose, first, that the candidates present in the final
result a fairly regular order of favour from lowest to highest. Each of
the successful candidates will then be supported by at least an absolute
majority of the members, providing the number of candidates be not
greater than twice the number of vacancies. But if there are four or
five times as many candidates as vacancies, none of the successful
candidates will have the support of a majority of the members. On the
other hand, however, the candidates do not usually present a regular
order of favour from lowest to highest when there are a large number of
candidates, for there may be a long "tail" of candidates who receive
very few votes. The following general rule may therefore be laid
down:--The Block Vote works best when the total votes given to rejected
candidates do not exceed the total votes given to successful candidates.

The difficulties indicated above were met by the Australian Natives'
Association by a plan which provided that no candidate should be elected
except by an absolute majority of the voters. The Block Vote is used
throughout; and if at the first ballot the required number of candidates
do not obtain an absolute majority a second ballot is held, from which
those at the bottom of