a bill upon the subject would be brought in, but
the early retirement of the ministry rendered this impossible, (p. 089)
and throughout succeeding years this aspect of electoral reform
yielded precedence to other matters.[125]

[Footnote 125: _Annual Register_ (1905), 193.]

A special difficulty inherent in the subject is imposed by the
peculiar situation of Ireland. By reason of the decline of Ireland's
population during the past half century that portion of the United
Kingdom has come to be markedly over-represented at Westminster. The
average Irish commoner sits for but 44,147 people, while the average
English member represents 66,971. If a new distribution were to be
made in strict proportion to members Ireland would lose 30 seats and
Wales three, while Scotland would gain one and England about 30. It is
contended by the Irish people, however, that the Act of Union of 1800,
whereby Ireland was guaranteed as many as one hundred parliamentary
seats, is in the nature of a treaty, whose stipulations cannot be
violated save by the consent of both contracting parties; and so long
as the Irish are not allowed a separate parliament they may be
depended upon to resist, as they did resist in 1905, any proposal
contemplating the reduction of their voting strength in the parliament
of the United Kingdom.

*93. The Problem of the Plural Vote.*--Aside from the enfranchisement of
women, the principal suffrage questions in Great Britain to-day are
those pertaining to the conferring of the voting privilege upon adult
males who are still debarred, the abolition of the plural vote, and a
general simplification and unification of franchise arrangements. The
problem of the plural vote is an old one. Under existing law an
elector may not vote more than once in a single constituency, nor in
more than one division of the same borough; but aside from this, and
except in so far as is not prohibited by residence requirements, he is
entitled to vote in every constituency in which he possesses a
qualification. In the United States and in the majority of European
countries a man is possessed of but one vote, and any arrangement
other than this would seem to contravene the principle of civic
equality which lies at the root of popular government. In England
there have been repeated attempts to bring about the establishment of
an unvarying rule of "one man, one vote," but never as yet with
success. The number of plural vot