Against this evil the
system of personal representation, proposed by Mr. Hare, is almost a
specific. The minority of instructed minds scattered through the local
constituencies would unite to return a number, proportioned to their
own numbers, of the very ablest men the country contains. They would
be under the strongest inducement to choose such men, since in no
other mode could they make their small numerical strength tell for
anything considerable. The representatives of the majority, besides
that they would themselves be improved in quality by the operation
of the system, would no longer have the whole field to themselves.
They would indeed outnumber the others, as much as the one class of
electors outnumbers the other in the country: they could always out
vote them, but they would speak and vote in their presence, and
subject to their criticism. When any difference arose, they would have
to meet the arguments of the instructed few by reasons, at least
apparently, as cogent; and since they could not, as those do who are
speaking to persons already unanimous, simply assume that they are
in the right, it would occasionally happen to them to become convinced
that they were in the wrong. As they would in general be
well-meaning (for thus much may reasonably be expected from a
fairly-chosen national representation), their own minds would be
insensibly raised by the influence of the minds with which they were
in contact, or even in conflict.
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