IV

There are two modes in which constituencies may be made. First, the law may make them, as in England and almost everywhere: the law may say such and such qualifications shall give a vote for constituency X; those who have that qualification shall be constituency X. These are what we may call compulsory constituencies, and we know all about them. Or, secondly, the law may leave the electors themselves to make them. The law may say all the adult males of a country shall vote, or those males who can read and write, or those who have £50 a year, or any persons any way defined, and then leave those voters to group themselves as they like. Suppose there were 658,000 voters to elect the House of Commons; it is possible for the legislature to say, “We do not care how you combine. On a given day let each set of persons give notice in what group they mean to vote; if every voter gives notice, and everyone looks to make the most of his vote, each group will have just 1,000. But the law shall not make this necessary⁠—it shall take the 658 most numerous groups, no matter whether they have 2,000, or 1,000, or 900, or 800 votes⁠—the most numerous groups, whatever their number may be; and these