above them.  The single vote system (so far as the franchise has any influence at all) depresses and demoralises every class, as reducing all to one dead level.  The ballot plan is now law and cannot well be done away with; but it is manifestly a humiliation for intelligence to have to sign with “his mark” in order that ignorance may thus feel itself on an equality; and for honest geniality to be hushed into silent secresy, that it may not put to shame the cunning fraud of a partizan who wishes to hide his real opinion.  However, it is now too late to mend the ballot-box:  let it be, and let the single voter use it if he pleases.

Another and a wiser scheme presents itself, practically (if possible) even now to avert the national ruin wrought by the machinations of a rash and blind self-seeking spirit of party, often, seen “hoist by its own petard,” though too liable to destroy the foundations of society in the explosion.  Shortly and simply, the scheme is this.  Let every man, high or low, add to his one vote others as he may and can.  Be there a vote for the Victoria Cross, another for the Albert Medal, another for long good-service in the household or the farm, another for any such intellectual exploits among the poor as Samuel Smiles has recorded; all these being accessible to the humblest, and so elevating them thus far.  And now to ascend a few rungs, let additional votes be given to owners of a stated number of acres, to possessors of a certain amount of money, to those who have been deemed worthy of public honours, and the like.  A little further, let every mayor of a town have his official vote, and the Presidents of the Royal Society and Royal Academy, and perhaps two or three other chiefs of science and art; and so forth.

Thus, then, we might get, by way of counterpoise to the voting power of a bare and overwhelming proletariat, the worthier and far sweeter voices of those who have virtues and excellences of various kinds to recommend them,—­so that if the lowest constituent counts for one, the highest may add up to six or eight.  And thus, while no one of the mob is denied his one vote, those who rise above the crowd receive the more than one they have earned by good-doing or position, and plump them all accordingly to the worthiest candidate.

The method of ascertaining and ensuring such votes might be this.  Let each man who has more than his single suffrage apply for the paper specially prepared to indicate the additional votes.  They might be much as thus:—­

Surplus Claims—­One Vote each.

For the Victoria Cross Signature of Claimant. 
For the Albert Medal ditto. 
For faithful domestic service in one
  family twenty-five years ditto. 
For field-work on the same farm thirty years ditto. 
As a famous self-taught naturalist ditto.