The "local" or "middle class" examination for the
degree of Associate, so laudably and public-spiritedly established
by the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and any similar ones
which may be instituted by other competent bodies (provided they are
fairly open to all comers), afford a ground on which plurality of
votes might with great advantage be accorded to those who have
passed the test. All these suggestions are open to much discussion
in the detail, and to objections which it is of no use to
anticipate. The time is not come for giving to such plans a
practical shape, nor should I wish to be bound by the particular
proposals which I have made. But it is to me evident, that in this
direction lies the true ideal of representative government; and that
to work towards it, by the best practical contrivances which can be
found, is the path of real political improvement.
If it be asked to what length the principle admits of being carried,
or how many votes might be accorded to an individual on the ground
of superior qualifications, I answer, that this is not in itself
very material, provided the distinctions and gradations are not made
arbitrarily, but are such as can be understood and accepted by the
general conscience and understanding. But it is an absolute
condition not to overpass the limit prescribed by the fundamental
principle laid down in a former chapter as the condition of excellence
in the constitution of a representative system.
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