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Asst. Prof. Chanmiki war, Northeast Adventist College, J. S. MILL VIEWS ON REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT, According to J.S. Mill the best form of government is not necessarily the one which was most efficient but the one which promotes the virtue and intelligence of the people and train them in the art of citizenship. Mill considers the representative government as the best form of government because it improve the moral and intellectual qualities of the citizens. However it may be noted that Mill favoured the representative government only for the advanced nations and did not favour it for the backward nations. Mill was also aware of the shortcoming in the representative government prevailing in England and therefore suggest the following number of reforms to improve its working and to make it fully representative and democratic:, Proportional Representation: Mill was quite unhappy with the inadequate representation accorded to the minorities and the tyrannical rule of the majority. He therefore advocated the system of proportional representation to ensure that minorities got representation in proportion to their voting strength. He argued that in a really equal democracy every section of community must be represented proportionally., Right to Vote: Mill believed that all should be given the right to vote. He argued that the voters should have certain educational qualification. He would grant universal adult suffrage to all men and women knowing the 3 R'S. But he would give weighted suffrage i. e plural votes to higher educated citizens. A voter should be at least able to write, read and perform the common operation of arithmetic. Giving the right to vote to a man who cannot read is just like giving it to a child who cannot speak., Public voting - Mill advocated open or public voting instead of secret ballot. He says that secret ballot tend to make people irresponsible and dishonest. Voting is a public duty and like other public duty it should be performed in the eye and criticism of public., Women Suffrage - Mill stood for equal treatment of both men and women. He pleaded that women should have the right to vote. He argued that sex alone should not be a disqualification. He does not see any justification in denying the political right to women because there is no different between man and woman other than sex. Mill said that external differences between men and women would disappear once women were given social and political freedom., Parliamentary`s term : Mill did not favour the idea of annual elections to the parliament. The term of the parliament should not be less than five years, for a shorter term would make it weaks and vacillating in its work, and a longer term would make it irresponsible., Non Payment to M.P. - According to Mill membership to parliament is an honour and service and for that the members need not be paid. This non- payment will secure efficiency and purity in addition to economy. Economically the members should not be burdened. Expenses incurred in election should not be a charge on the candidate himself., Conclusion, Idea of Mill that everybody did not possess ability to rule over others is correct to a great extent and this is one of the argument sponsored by the opponents against the democracy. His idea that voting rights should be given only to educated persons had not been accepted anywhere in any democratic country. In the same way his opposition to secret ballot and support to open voting is difficult to accept as in open voting weak and poor will never get chance for free choice. His support for women franchise shows his farsightedness and it has been accepted in majority of the democratic countries. Idea of Mill that Government should consist of talent as well as democratic elements reminds us about Greek political thinkers and are correct and feasible to a great extent and are followed to some extent in (British) Commonwealth and in many other countries.