possessed none from acts of arbitrary spoliation. Experience testifies that "if you transfer the power in the State to those who have nothing in the country, they will afterwards transfer the property" This is what is proposed by Socialism, whose "essential law is to assure the free exercise of the force of numbers"

But, short of systematic Socialism, incalculable mischief may result from the madness of the Many, intent upon levelling down in the economic order, by legislation utterly opposed to the true principles of political science

Is Socialism, then-whether systematic or unsystematic -the consummation coming past escape upon the civilised world? Or is there any cure for the prevailing corruption of the State which will save it from such dissolution? any antidote to the irrational egalitarianism which is the essential virus of False Democracy?

Seven such remedies which have been proposed will now be briefly considered

First. Popular Education. Is it possible by this means to qualify the average voter for the exercise of the sovereignty which False Democracy confers upon him?

It is manifest that the education capable of being imparted to him by primary or other schools, cannot possibly fit him to sway the rod of empire and to determine the fate of nations. Of all the manifestations of human folly, the glorification of the educational nostrum in politics is one of the most foolish

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Second. Compulsory Voting. It is proposed-in one
or two countries the proposal has been acted upon
-to compel voters to vote, under penalties
But there is something ridiculous in the notion of a
sovereign thus forced to exercise his sovereign
functions. Moreover, liberty to vote implies lib-
erty not to vote. The voter is the proper person
to determine whether he should vote. And to com-
pel him to do so is a gross violation of sacred
rights of conscience
Third. Double or Indirect Election. Some publicists
have recommended a system of double election, or
election by two stages, in the place of direct and
universal suffrage

The theory is excellent. But the actual result of this
system, wherever it has been tried, has been to
convert the electors chosen under it into mere
delegates. And that is entirely to nullify it, to
render it an empty form, worthless in practice
Fourth. Voting by Professional Categories. In this
scheme the electors in each electoral district are
to be classified in groups, according to their occu-
pations, and to each group representatives, to be
chosen from among themselves, are to be assigned,
according to their numbers
But number, the counting of heads, remains in this
scheme the point of departure, and that is its suffi-
cient condemnation. It is based upon that spurious
equality which is the very essence of False Demo-
cracy
Fifth. The Referendum. This is a popular vote on
laws and public questions, already discussed by the
legislative body. Its home is the Swiss Republic.

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By it

a distinct, definite, clearly stated law" may be referred to the judgment of the numerical majority.

Its success in Switzerland, which is pretty generally admitted, seems due to the extremely peculiar political conditions of that country, where something very like equality of fact prevails among the electors. It is inapplicable to countries where, society being highly complex and artificial, such equality of fact does not prevail

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Sixth. The Multiple Vote. This is a far more promising
device for mitigating the evils of False Democracy,
and Mill urged its adoption with much earnestness, 236
His main argument in its favour has never been an-

swered, and seems unanswerable. And the experi-
ence of Belgium shows that there is no practical
difficulty in working it

Seventh. A Strong Upper Chamber. Multiple voting,

however carefully and justly organised, would be,
at the best, but a palliative for the mischiefs of
False Democracy. Hence the necessity for a Second
Chamber composed of elements qualifying it to
oppose itself to the class interests of the majority,
and to raise its voice with authority against their
errors and weaknesses

In order to possess that authority, it should specially represent those factors in the national life which will never be adequately represented in an assembly due to the accident of popular election. This truth has been more or less recognised in the constitution of the Upper Houses in most European countries, and in the United States of America

. 236

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A scheme for such a reform of the House of Lords as will enable it to bring to the service of the country "better qualifications for legislation than a fluent tongue and the faculty of getting elected by a constituency"

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Is there any prospect that any remedies or palliatives for False Democracy will be adopted? Do the signs of the times point in that direction? There would seem to be such a prospect, however dim ; signs of the times do appear to be so pointing To determine great public issues by counting heads is as demonstrably absurd as to determine them by measuring stomachs. But mere logic goes only a short way in such matters. "A wave of opinion, reaching a certain height, cannot be stopped by evidence, but has gradually to spend itself " . 251 We must trust, however, that, in time, public opinion will recognise organic unity as better than atomistic uniformity: the force of reason as superior to the force of numbers

We may not believe that our race, of which reason is the most distinctive attribute, will permanently recede from rational principles in politics

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CHAPTER VII

THE SANCTIONS OF THE STATE

The thought which ended the last chapter may serve to begin this. It is, indeed, the keynote of the present volume. Reason, manifesting itself in ethics, is the right rule of human action, public or private. And law, which is a function of Reason, is the very soul of a body politic

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But a law implies a sanction. That is a necessary part of it, distinguishing it from a mere counsel. What are the sanctions of "laws politic ordained for external order or regiment among men"? Or, to put it more shortly, What are the Sanctions of the State? That is the topic of this chapter . 253 The first sanction of the State is in the individual conscience. We should obey "for conscience' sake." If laws are just, they have a binding force in the court of conscience, in virtue of the Eternal Law from which they are derived, and in which the rational creature participates.

But if a man will not obey for conscience' sake, there is another argument to enforce his obedience, the argument from "wrath." Law has a coercive sanction, although it is the reasoned conclusion of abstract wisdom and intelligence

It is this penal sanction which is almost always meant
when the sanction of a law is spoken of. There
cannot be a societas sine imperio. The civil magis-
trate, who is clothed with the State's authority,
beareth the sword, and beareth it not in vain. He
is
66 a revenger, to execute wrath against him that
doeth evil"

We will proceed to consider this penal sanction of the
State, inquiring first, what is the true conception
of crime, and next, what is the true rationale of
punishment
The conception of a crime, universally prevailing in the

world until quite lately, was an act threatened by
the law with punishment of a criminal, one who
wilfully commits such act, and who, therefore,
rightly incurs the punishment. The primordial

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256