John Stuart Mill: A Criticism with Personal Recollections

in?
suggestions. In 4-w o-" + nwp, in5*?>nee!, M*
remarks "bore the lnrnros<* o* Ms
He soon
publication.
^commenced an
The
active carper of
and, as HP tells UP, wpe never to "he
Hip -npT^hlpt on
to
ypprp
rrpf. On this he rpmprlred in p, letter
-"Grote, I pm pfrnid, will nrt like it, on
sccount of the "bpllot, if not other T>oints.
But I attach inmortence to it, PS B sort of
revision of the theory of rerresentptive
government. 1* A few dpys Ipter, he *rote-"Grote
knows thpt I now differ with hira on the "bpllot,
pnd we hpve discussed it tog-ether, with no
effect on either"
Of course the -oprrrohlet ws well
"but the cpse pgainst the Bpllot hpd not the
strength thpt I should hpve er-nected. The
main conriderptions t>ut forwp.rd pre these
-first, thpt the electoral vote is p trust,
pnd therefore to he ottenly erercised; second,
thpt, PS P matter of fact, the coercion of the
voter "by "bribery pnd intimidption hps diminished
pnd is diminishing1
. The pr^rument from "P trust"
was net new; it hpd "been ret>eptedly pnswered "by
his fpther, "by Grote, pnd "by others. The repl
point pt issue wps-whether withdrpwine; the
elector from the legit impte control of Tyiiblic
opinion, "be not a less evil thpn 1
err.osine him
to ille^itimpte influence; pnd this depends on
the stpte of the fpcts as to the diminution of
such influence. Ercerience seems to "be p^pinst
Mill here: pnd it is unfortunpte for his
politicpl spg-pcity and -orescience, thpt the
Legislature ^as converted to the "ballot, pfter