Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB

more.

If Scotch towns have outgrown the representation, give them, if you please, seven, or even ten, seats But do not take away from the representation of England in order to effect that object, thus raising the question as to the desirableness of rendering Parlia ment more unwieldy than it is. You will probably find that to any such project reasonable men on both sides of the House are opposed. On the same grounds we must object to giving a member to the Scotch universities, unless you either erect them into an additional constituency, or find room for them in your electoral list by disfranchising some Scotch county or group of boroughs. Looking at the subject in an abstract point of view, we should be glad to see, not only the Scotch universities and those of London represented, but the University of Durham likewise, and even Sir Robert Peel's godless colleges the Queen's University in Ireland. But then we protest against doing all this at the expense of that English constituency, which forms now, as it has always done, the backbone of our system of Parliamentary government. The proposal to bestow a threefold representation upon Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, South Lancashire, and one or two counties besides, deserves a larger share of attention, which we will endeavour to give to it, as far at least as this may be done within the limits still at our disposal.

Mr Disraeli is perfectly right in objecting to the device with which the Chancellor of the Exchequer has favoured Parliament, on the ground that it is inconsistent with our electoral system, which "recoils from plurality of voting." He is right likewise in asserting that no benefit could accrue from it to the local interests of places so represented. But this is not all :

"If you once adopt the principle that the population and property of places are only to be considered in apportion

ing members, you cannot stop at three, and the small constituencies may be by You will degrees entirely absorbed. have trains and troops of members coming from one county and one place to this House. It is absurd to see six members for South Lancashire walking into this House, six members for only one Riding of Yorkshire, and three members for this town, and three for another. By this system the members will be so increased that, instead of this being a classic senate, it will have something of the turbulent character of a Polish diet." (Laughter and “ Hear, hear.")

All this is quite just, and we hope that when the time comes for discussing the question in Committee, Mr Disraeli's views will be affirmed; but if they be for any reason rejected, then it will become the duty of moderate men, wherever they may sit in the House, to see that, in order to gratify these favoured localities, injustice be not done to all the other constituencies in the kingdom. And a gross injustice it will be if the electors of Liverpool and South Lancashire be allowed to give three separate votes to three separate men, while the electors of Canterbury and East Kent are allowed to give two votes only. On the other hand, the principle which "recoils from plurality of voting" will be amply guarded, if, in these three-cornered electoral districts, you put the same restraint upon the exercise of the franchise which you have established in other places. Whether Liverpool return three or only two members, each elector will in this case be restricted to one vote, which he may either plump in favour of the candidate whom he prefers, or divide between two; but by which it will not be in his power to give a third section to a third candidate. Mr Mill, if we recollect right, has written in favour of some plan which should allow minorities, as far as possible, to be represented; and here are the means ready prepared by her Majesty's Ministers for partially trying the experiment. Let us not, however,

be misunderstood. We are no advocates of the representation of minorities for its own sake. We infinitely prefer the good old English custom which recognises two members for each borough, and for each county or the division of a county. But if in any case a third member be forced upon us, we recommend Whigs as well as Tories to fight for such third member becoming the representative of the minority-to whatever party the minority may belong.

And now a few words, before quitting the subject for the present, respecting the course which the Government has been constrained to adopt, and the obvious duty thereby imposed, not so much on the Opposition as on the House of Commons generally. We are to have in the end what we ought to have had at the beginning a measure complete in itself, which is to provide for first, the lowering of the franchise in counties to £14, and in boroughs to £7; next, for the grouping of small electoral boroughs together, so as to enable seventy-one seats to be transferred to larger constituencies; and, lastly, for settling the boundaries of boroughs upon a principle which is not settled, and scarcely professes to be settled. Every one of these three propositions demands the closest consideration, not merely as involving points of the highest importance separately, but as bearing with such immense force one upon another that it becomes impossible to calculate with any degree of fairness what the consequence of each will be, except by looking to the effect which it must inevitably produce upon the whole in combination. Consider, for example, what the effect must be upon county constituencies of letting in upon them shoals of £14 occupiers from all the outskirts of all the populous towns and boroughs already represented in Parliament. Consider, too, the confusion which must inevitably occur when, for want of clearly

defined limits to special constituencies, claims are set up by some occupiers to vote in one direction, and by others to vote in another. And, above all, calculate, if you can, the consequences of giving to the working classes such a preponderance as this Bill secures to them in boroughs, without any steps being taken to secure to the upper ranks a safe majority in counties. We say nothing of the gross injustice already done to these latter in the superior representation awarded to boroughs over counties, which, but that among the smaller boroughs the land still finds its supporters, would be ruin. But ruin will come, in the long-run, beyond the power of redemption, if the Ministerial scheme be adopted in any one of its leading features; and ruin will come at once if it be adopted in its integrity. On this head, Mr Dudley Baxter-whose admirable brochure, just published, has reached us-speaks with the distinctness of a man who understands what he is saying. The statistics in his second pamphlet, 'The Redistribution of Seats in the Country,' are compiled with the same care and accuracy which formed the great characteristic of his calculations on a previous occasion; and we defy Mr Gladstone, with all his ingenuity, to escape from them. We cannot at the close of a long article go into them all, nor, indeed, is it necessary to do so, because the pamphlet is one which every member of Parliament, whether he be a Liberal or a Conservative, will study for himself. But the summing-up stands well out from the reasoning; and we therefore give it entire :—

"RECAPITULATION.

"I trust that these remarks will have

proved the following points :

"As regards the Counties"1. That there is at present a glaring anomaly in the relative numbers of the members returned by the counties and boroughs, which is most unjust to the greater population, electors, and rental of the counties.

"That the allotment of 26 fresh seats to the counties does not sufficiently remedy this injustice, and that a considerable proportion of the counties to which new members are given will, under the Franchise Bill, be swamped by town

voters.

"That any measure which should fail to give a proper proportion to the counties ought not to be accepted.

"2. That, in prosperous boroughs, the town populations have far outgrown the borough limits, and are dividing with the country populations the scanty number of members allotted to the counties.

"That the remedy proposed by Mr Gladstone is not practical in its character, and that it would be attended with serious delays, and probably have very inadequate or unfair results.

"That the Enclosure Commissioners would be a far better tribunal, with a rule that the boundaries should have as nearly as possible a radius of three miles.

"3. That the borough freeholders ought not to have votes for the counties with which they have no connection, but ought to vote for the boroughs of which they naturally form part.

"That, if it is impossible to carry this just measure, we should at least give an option to the borough freeholders of registering for their boroughs instead of for the counties.

"4. That for the same reasons the borough leaseholder clause is inadmissible.

"5. That the £14 franchise would be unfair to the counties, which have no population of a similar rental to counterbalance that of the towns, and that this franchise ought to be raised to £20.

"6. That county members sitting for boroughs are members on sufferance, and that seats on sufferance cannot be relied on in vital questions where the interests of the boroughs and counties are seriously antagonistic.

"As regards the Boroughs"7. That the Redistribution Bill scarcely modifies the conclusions arrived at in my former pamphlet respecting the large number of seats which would immediately be handed over to the working classes, and the absolute predominance which they would speedily acquire in the majority of boroughs.

"8. That the effect of an £8 franchise would be to give the working classes at

once

"Absolute majorities in the election of 48 members.

"Nearly majorities in the election of 70 members.

"And that a very few years would give them majorities for the whole of these 118 members.

"9. That the ratepaying clauses ought not to be abolished, being useful in themselves, and having been in force from the earliest commencement of our constitutional history.

"That they afford a solid reason for fixing the franchise at £8, if it is to be reduced at all.

"10. That great exaggerations are employed in describing the number of those excluded from the franchise.

"That the only class admitted by the Legislature, or proposed to be admitted by Mr Bright to vote for boroughs, is the class of male occupiers.

"That nearly one-half of this class are enfranchised under the present law.

"11. That since 1832 the number of £10 occupiers has very largely increased in proportion to the population, so that the number of £10 electors has risen from 23 to 34 per cent, showing that the £10 franchise is an expansive one, and must be bringing in a constantly increasing number of the working classes.

"Such are the conclusions which, without further comment, I place before the public. I trust that no bill will be suffered to pass which is not a perfectly fair bill, remedying the present anomalies, and making a just and permanent settlement of this great question."

The peroration of Mr Disraeli's great speech may well serve as a fitting pendente to this most lucid statement. The assertions which he hazarded are as strictly true as the advice which he tendered is sound. If Ministers be wise they will follow that advice; thus keeping their places, though they cannot save their reputation. If, in their obstinacy, they persist in bringing conclusions to an issue, they must lose one, and may not improbably lose both.

"Sir, ignorance never settles a question. Questions must be settled by knowledge, and it is not the vexation of an Opposition, from whichever side of the House it may come, that prevents this bill from advancing. It is that we none of us see our way-I say it with a frankness that I trust will be pardoned. I don't believe the question of Parliamentary Reform is thoroughly understood by the country (hear, hear),--is thoroughly understood by this House (hear, hear);

and, although I dare only utter it in a whisper, I don't believe that it is thoroughly understood by her Majesty's Government. (Cheers and laughter.) I recollect a passage in the classic Plato where the great sage descants upon what he calls "double ignorance," and that is where a man is ignorant that he is ignorant. (Cheers and laughter.) But, Sir, in legislating there is another kind of double ignorance that is fatal to proper legislation. There is, in the first place, an ignorance of principles, and, in the second, an ignorance of the facts upon which those principles are based. And that is our position in dealing with this important question. There is not a majority in this House that can decide upon the principles upon which we ought to legislate in regard to this matter; there is not a man in this House who has at his command any reliable facts upon which he can decide those principles. (Hear, hear.) But then the question arises--What are we to do? I admit the difficulty. I do not shut my eyes to the position in which we are placed. The country, the House of Commons, are-it is a classical although it may seem an idiomatic phrase, as it was used by Dean Swift-in a scrape. (Cheers and laughter.) And I should despair of escaping from this perplexity and this predicament had I not an unlimited confidence in the good nature and the good sense of the House of Commons. We must help the Government. (Cheers and laughter.) We must forget the last two months. The right hon. gentleman must re-cross the Rubicon, he must build up his bridges, and we will supply him with vessels. The right hon. gentleman is in a position in which he can retire from this question of Reform for the moment with dignity to himself and to his colleagues. He must not sacrifice his country, his party, or his own great name to a feeling of pique. (Hear, hear.) He is still supported by a majority; he is not in the position of a Minister whose reputation and the fortune of whose Cabinet are staked upon individual measures in a House wherein it is known that he is in a minority. That has been the unfortunate position of others, but it is not his. He occupies a far different position in deference to what I believe to be the wish of the country and the desire of the House of Commons. Now, what

has he to do? It seems to me that the most advantageous and the most dignified course for him to adopt would be this:-Let him at once give instructions that complete and accurate statistics shall be prepared with regard to the borough franchise-not hurriedly, but with time and with attention, and in an impartial manner, so that no person shall be able to rise and say that we are called upon to legislate upon this question upon facts which are utterly untrustworthy. Let him, recognising the unfortunate admissions which the Government made under the mistaken views which they adopted with reference to the county constituencies, give immediate orders that the most ample information should be acquired as to the share which the working classes of this country possess in the county franchise; let him direct that such information should be provided with care and discrimination. I think such inquiries may be trusted with safety and security to those persons who have provided us with the information we now have relating to boroughs, and which I believe to be imperfect merely on account of the hurried manner in which it was produced. Let the right hon. gentleman, then, to-morrow, after consultation with his colleagues, give orders that subcommissioners, acting under the Enclosure Commissioners, should visit all the Parliamentary boroughs of England and examine and report upon their boundaries. (Hear, hear.) Let the right hon. gentleman give up this scheme of grouping represented boroughs, which he must see is entirely repudiated by both sides of the House; let him boldly acknowledge that the proper way of dealing with the subject is to appeal to the spirit of justice of the represented boroughs to spare him a few members from their superfluity; let him prepare a well-digested and complete scheme, which will give representation where required upon the principle of grouping the unrepresented towns of the country; and, having done all these things, let him consider the results with his colleagues, and when Parliament meets again he will have the opportunitywhich I am willing to give him every credit for-of submitting to our consideration a measure which will command the sympathies of the country, and which will obtain the sanction of Parliament."

INDEX TO VOL. XCIX.

ABACUS POLITICUS, THE, 647.
Absolute, the, Stuart Mill on, 22 et seq.
Addison, Steele's connection with, 728,
736 et seq.-the quarrel between them,
740.

Africa, Lamoricière's services in, 227
-the negro in, 586, 587.
Aldie, cavalry fight at, 96.
Aletsch glacier, an excursion to the,
50 et seq.

Alpine air, the beneficial effects of, 47.
A MAN'S A MAN FOR A' THAT, 770.
America, gradual disappearance of the
Indian from, 590.

Anderson, General, at the battle of
Chancellorsville, 559, 560.
Ariosto, the religion of, contrasted
with that of Spenser, 200.
Ashton, Thomas, head-master of Shrews-
bury, 423-his ordinances, 426.
Atcherley, Thomas, head-master of
Shrewsbury, 440.

Baillie, the gipsy family of, 570-Cap-
tain, his adventures, 578.

BANK OF ENGLAND, REFORM OF THE,
322-sketch of its history and consti-
tution, 324.

Bank Acts, passing and results of the,

322.

Baptism, Frederick Robertson's views
on, 116.

Barber's Cross-Roads, fight at, 179.
Barksdale, General, during the bom-
bardment of Fredericksburg, 308,
309.

Baxter, Mr, his speech on the Reform
Bill, 665.

Bayard, General, killed at Fredericks
burg, 320.

"Beef Row," the, at Shrewsbury, 444.
BELGIANS, THe late King oF THE, 129.
Bells, superstitions regarding, 512.
Berkham, Major, successor to Pelham,
752, 753.

Berlepsch, picture of the Roththalsattel
by, 56.

BIG TREES, A VISIT TO THE, 196.
Blackie, Professor, on the Reform Bill,

671.

Blanc, Mont, the ascent of, 46.
Boating at Shrewsbury, 445.
Bohren, Peter, an Alpine guide, 48.
BORCKE, HEROS VON, MEMOIRS OF THE
CONFEDERATE WAR FOR INDEPEND-
ENCE, by-Part V., 83-Part VI.,
173-Part VII., 307-Part VIII.,
448-Part IX., 543-Conclusion, 747.
Borrow, Mr, and the gipsies, 566, 571.
Bower, the, life at, during the Ameri-
can war, 83, 87.

Bowie-knife, the alleged use of, during
the war, 181.

Brandy Station, fights at, 544, 545, 547
--great cavalry battle at, 752.
Bridal Veil Waterfall, the, 196.
Bright, Mr, his Bradford speech, 147,
et seq. pass.-upon Breeches, 375.
Brighton, life of F. Robertson at, 118
et seq.

BROOKE'S LIFE OF FREDERICK ROBERT-
SON, review of, 103.
Bullock, Captain, death of, 460.
BULWER LYTTON, SIR E., THE LOST

TALES OF MILETUS by, review of, 616
-his speech on the Reform Bill, 666.
Bunyan, was he a gipsy, 572.
BURIDAN'S ASS, OR LIBERTY AND NE-
CESSITY, 614.

Burnside, General, M'Clellan succeeded
by, and his movements, 188-defeated
at Fredericksburg, 313- his retreat
after the battle, 450.

Bushby, Captain, visit of, to the Con-
federate camp, 463.

Butler, Samuel, head-master of Shrews-
bury, 440.

Byron, his treatment of love, 52-his
Manfred,' ib.

Cassilis, Lady, and the gipsies, 570.
Castelfidardo, Lamoricière's defeat at,
233.

Cattle plague, the conduct of Govern-
ment on the, 389-the debate on it,

393.

Cattle plague bill, the conduct of the
Ministry on, 519.

Ceylon, demonology and exorcism in,
503 et seq.

« ZurückWeiter »