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4 CHAPTER XXV.. » 
One member of that Commission, who opposed special representation for 
particular interests, advocated the introduction of adult suffrage in certain 
industrial areas. 
A Method of Election. 
If special representation is to be given to industrial labour, the 
method which, in our view, is most likely to be effective in securing the 
return to the legislatures of the best representatives of labour is that of 
election by registered trade unions. The working of this method should 
also exercise an important influence on the healthy development of trade 
unionism. ‘Where only one seat was given, the trade unions might elect 
the member ; where more than one seat was allotted to labour, the unjons 
could either be grouped for the purpose in separate constituencies, possib- 
ty according to industries, or they could elect the members jointly. As 
regards the details, we recommend the setting up in each province of a 
special tribunal to determine before each election the weight which should 
be given to each registered trade union. The tribunal might consist of 
three members unconnected with industry or labour and presided over by 
a high judicial officer. The Registrar of Trade Unions should not be a 
member, but should give the tribunal such assistance as they require. The 
grant of votes should be limited to unions which have been registered for 
not less than one year, and it would be the duty of the tribunal, after such 
investigation as was necessary in the case of each union, to determine the 
actual paying membership and to allocate votes accordingly. ‘We recog- 
nise that this method may not be everywhere applicable under present 
conditions, and, if it was found to be impracticable in any case, recourse 
would be necessary for a time to some other method. In Assam, for 
instance, where more effective representation of the plantation workers 
is required, different methods will be necessary. 
Local Self-Government. 
In this connection we would observe that the participation of 
labour in the sphere of local self-government is no less desirable. In the 
past, industrial workers had no voice in municipal councils and other local 
bodies, even where they and their dependents constituted the bulk of the 
population. Recently labour members have been added to the Bombay 
municipality, but it is still very general for those who are vitally concerned 
in municipal administration to have no representation on the council. As 
a result, councils tend to be composed mainly of those who, if their inter- 
ests do not conflict with those of the workers, are insufficiently acquaint- 
ed with their needs. The proper representation of industrial labour 
should lead to more attention being given to health and housing than in 
the past. It will be difficult to secure the changes in policy advocated 
elsewhere so long as municipal councils are not made more representa- 
tive of the population for whose welfare they are responsible. Notwith- 
standing that it is customary to base representation on the payment of 
particular taxes, we consider that, where there is a substantial industrial 
population, it should be allowed to take a share in municipal government. 
We recommend that it should receive, either by means of a franchise