Many persons of intelligence will regard this as the only means of successful assault and permanent overthrow of extra-legal and unpopular government by politocrats. They are therefore content to sit still and await the millennium of self-taught political education which will enlighten the voter. The difficulty is that dissipation of political ignorance by such means will never occur. Since political education is not compulsory, we have to deal, not with the political knowledge which the voter might conceivably obtain, but that which he actually secures. The fact is the electorate is the sole judge of how much work it will do in securing political knowledge and performing political duties. On occasions it may be aroused to an exceptional activity; on other occasions it may do nothing at all. Obviously then, in order to obtain the highest percentage of intelligent voting on an average it is necessary that the political duties of the electorate be adjusted to the amount of self-taught and self-acquired political education that the electorate will generally and in the long run secure. If the political duties and education required are out of all proportion to what the electorate will obtain for itself, then political ignorance and neglect of political duties follows as a matter of course and is a fixed and continuing condition. It is futile then to insist upon the performance of duties which the electorate will not perform or the attainment of a political education which the electorate will not secure by its own efforts and which cannot be had in any other way. The proper course is to readjust the political duties of the voter so that what he is called upon to do he will accomplish with the minimum amount of ignorance in view of the effort which he himself is likely to develop to inform himself and make an intelligent choice. When, therefore, we find an extra-legal unpopular government by politocrats established by reason of the long-continued and increasing political ignorance of the voters, who are on the whole an educated and intelligent class of citizens, the necessary inference is that the political duties of the voter and the requirements of self-obtained political education have been placed far beyond his willingness to perform, or perhaps even beyond the possibility of fulfilment by him. To insist then upon self-taught political education which the voter has not in the past and will not in the future and perhaps actually cannot secure is to all practical intents and purposes to ignore utterly the cause which makes the existence of extra-legal unpopular government by politocrats permanent. It offers no means whatever for ridding ourselves of such government. CHAPTER IV THE AUSTRALIAN BALLOT AND CIVIL-SERVICE ACTS