Referendum

Canada.—The referendum in the legislative sense has, when resorted to, been as a rule the result of special laws, and particu larly on the question of prohibition. The suppression of the liquor traffic was thus carried out in Alberta, 1915, Manitoba, British Columbia and Saskatchewan in 1916, and Ontario in 1919. In 192o, however, British Columbia by means of a refer endum, reversed its decision and adopted a system of government liquor control—an example subsequently followed by Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and Ontario. Under United States influence the referendum has been widely introduced into local government matters, more particularly as regards the submission of by-laws about money to the people, and in this restricted sense has oper ated successfully, though upon occasions it has proved difficult to induce any large number of voters to exercise the franchise.

Irish Free State.—The Irish Free State Constitution, 1922, requires a referendum to be taken on any measure passed by the Dail, if a demand is made by either one-fifth of the senate or one-twentieth of the electorate.

European Countries.

The Swedish Constitution, dating from 1809 and subsequently altered on several occasions, con tains a provision for referring measures of importance to the opinion of the people. In 1922 a referendum on prohibition was taken in pursuance of this provision and owing to the action of the electorate in the large cities the proposal was defeated. Sev eral Constitutions, framed since the World War, have incorpo rated the referendum as part of the machinery of government. The German Constitution of 1919 empowers the president to order a referendum when he sees fit, and provides it also as a means of escape from a conflict between Reichstag and Reichsrat. It was used on June 20, 1926, to decide the question as to whether or not property of the Hohenzollerns or other former ruling houses should be confiscated. Over 15,000,000 votes were cast for confis cation, but as less than half the total votes was polled, the pro posal failed. The Constitutions of some of the constituent States of the Reich (such as Bavaria and Prussia), adopted since 1919, also contain provisions for the initiative and the referendum. (See GERMANY.) The Estonian Constitution of 1920 uses it as a means of resolv ing a deadlock between the two houses of legislature. The rejec tion of a measure passed by the representative assembly involves the dissolution of the assembly and a general election within 75 days. Provisions for a referendum also occur in the Constitutions of Lithuania and Latvia.

The Austrian Constitution provides for a popular initiative demand for legislation when supported by 200,000 voters or by half the voters of three Provinces. This demand must be expressed

in the form of a draft bill. Under this Constitution, every gen eral alteration of the Constitution must be submitted to a refer endum, and in certain circumstances, any partial alteration of the Constitution or any law may be referred to a popular vote. In the Constitution of the Czechoslovak republic, it is provided that the Government, if unanimous, may refer a bill rejected by the national assembly to a popular vote, but no such referendum was to be placed upon any government proposal to amend the Constitution.

The United States.

The legislative referendum was formally adopted by Arkansas and Colorado in 191o, by Arizona, Cali fornia and New Mexico in 1911, by Nebraska, Idaho, Ohio and Washington in 1912, by Michigan in 1913, by Mississippi and North Dakota in 1914, by Maryland in 1915, and by Massa chusetts in 1918. Its chief adherents still lie west of the Missis sippi River, only five eastern states having adopted it, i.e., Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Ohio and Michigan,—and 26 states have made no provision for direct legislation.

On the other hand the constitutional referendum, which con templates only proposed amendments to the state constitutions, is in force in every state with the exception of New Hampshire and Delaware, and this is the form in which the referendum has been usually resorted to in recent years. The constitutional prob lems most persistently laid before the electors for decision were female suffrage and prohibition. As a result of referenda, the suf frage was given to women in some states, e.g., Washington in 1910 and California in 1911, but refused in others, e.g., Oklahoma in 1910 and South Dakota in 1911. The subject of prohibition was thrashed out over almost the entire United States by means of referenda, until the matter was removed from the cognizance of the state legislatures and electorates by the eighteenth (prohi bition) amendment to the federal constitution. Apart from the wider state spheres of action, the referendum has been adopted in local government matters, particularly in the matter of money bylaws which in certain circumstances have to be submitted to the taxpayers for their approval, and also in connection with the adoption or otherwise of the commission and city manager sys tems of municipal government. In some of the States an analo gous institution, the "Recall," enables the electors of a district to determine the office of a popularly elected judicial or administra tive officer prior to the close of the term for which he was origi nally elected.