Page:Letters to a friend on votes for women.djvu/26

Let me here incidentally call your attention to the way in which the very objects for which representative or Parliamentary government exists are, when properly understood, inconsistent with the idea or the delusion that every citizen has a moral right to a vote. Representative government, just because it is a form of popular 'government,' is intended to secure for the people of a given country what I may call the 'legislative effectiveness' of Parliament—that is, that Parliament shall consist of some of the best and most judicious members of the community, and shall enact good and wise laws. Representative government, further, just because it is 'representative,' is intended to secure what may be called 'legislative representativeness' of Parliament, or, in other words, that the laws of a country shall be in accordance with the wishes, the habits, and even the prejudices, of its people. These objects are each of great value. It is certainly desirable that the laws under which a country is governed should be wise laws. It is also desirable that these laws should be in harmony with the wishes of the people who have to obey them. Now, it is