and prevent the union of heart and hand in defence of our common country."

Lord John Russell, in reply, noticed some of the chief attacks on his motion by the leading members of the Government. He went into some particulars respecting the retirement of Lord Plunket, who first desired to withdraw from his office, and though

he subsequently revoked that wish, his resignation was not forced from him. Lord John Russell then vindicated his own views respecting the Church, and other topics that had been adverted to, On a division the numbers were

for the motion, 225; against it 334; majority for the Ministers, 99.

are acknowledged by members on all sides of the House. When the Irish Reform Bill was introduced, it was distinctly stated by Lord Althorp and Lord Stanley, that if experience should approve the registration system then introduced into England, it would be right to consider the propriety of extending its operation to Ireland. Some evils pointed out by ten years' experience were amended by the Act of last Session; and the present working of the system is quite satisfactory. That system, then, mutatis mutandis, he proposed to introduce into Ireland. The Lord Lieutenant in Council will be empowered to divide the different counties into polling districts, assigning to each such district a polling place, at which a revising barrister will hold an annual court of revision and registration. In England it was necessary to make a new creation of revising barristers; but in Ireland the existing assistant barristers will be intrusted with the duties of revision. In England the right of appeal from the decisions of the revising barristers has been vested in the Court of Common Pleas in Ireland it will lie to the Court of Exchequer. As the judges are much absorbed by business, seven out of the twelve will be allowed to constitute a quorum. The duty of preparing the lists will devolve upon Baronial Collectors in counties, and on the Clerks of the Peace in boroughs. As in England, the polling will be limited to two days in counties, and to one day in boroughs. The names of the electors now on the register will not be disturbed, but will remain unchallenged for the period of eight years to which the voter is at present entitled, except

in the case of the actual transfer of property for which the vote is registered.

The subject of qualification is at present in a very doubtful and unsatisfactory state. By the Act of 1829, the forty-shilling freehold franchise was abolished: there were then 216,000 electors, of whom 102,000 were registered for seven counties. In 1831, before the Reform Bill passed, the number of electors in Ireland was 52,000; in 1843, 63,000; 11,000 only having been added in the twelve years by the effect of the clause relating to leaseholders. When the Reform Bill passed, the holding of the occupant leaseholder or freeholder was required to be of a certain clear value to him:' those words were struck out in the House of Lords, against the opinion of Sir Edward Sugden, who said that the omission would occasion much doubt and confusion; and to obviate the difficulty, Mr. Lefroy introduced the words beneficial interest;' but those words gave rise to the most conflicting decisions as to what is beneficial interest, and the con fusion is aggravated by the fact that the minority of judges and of assistant barristers refuse in the practical administration of the law to be bound by the opinions of the majority. Looking to the intentions of the Legislature, the decisions of the majority of the judges, the franchise in England and Scotland, and to the established constitution, which requires that there should be a bona fide property arising out of land, Government have determined to render the Irish law conformable to the law of England and Scotland, and to require that the holding of the occupant leaseholder or freeholder

should be of the clear yearly value of 107. over and above all rents and charges." Lord Eliot admitted that the effect of that solvent-tenant test would be to disfranchise the class of voters to the extent of twothirds of the present number, which is 40,000. The remainder would not be a number adequate to express the opinions and feelings of the people. "As it is expedient, however, to give to Ireland substantial equality of rights and privileges with the people of England and Scotland, it will be necessary to give some compensation for that deduction. The object is to supply a class of voters in an independent position: and to that end, the franchise will not be based on the amount of rent paid, but will take a poor-law-rating as the test of the franchise; and Government believe that a man rated to the relief of the poor in the amount of 301. a year would be possessed of sufficient capital or stock to make him an independent elector. There are about 76,000 persons thus rated in Ireland; but, making deductions for widows and minors, and for persons otherwise disqualified, the additional constituency will be about 51,000. After allowing a further deduction on account of the more stringent registration, the net increase on the whole will be about 30,000. Government also desire to create a class analogous to the English yeomanry; and they propose therefore that all persons in Ireland who possess a freehold of inheritance of 51. clear yearly value, above quit-rents or any other kind of rent, or who possess a lease for lives renewable for ever, which is tantamount to a freehold of inheritance, shall hereafter have a vote without actual occupancy, which

will not be required in any freehold above 101." That the immediate effect of such a system would be considerable, Lord Eliot was not prepared to say: he had not been able to ascertain the number of small freeholds of inheritance in Ireland, but he believed it to be very small; whilst in many parts of the country perpetual leases are by no means uncommon. Such a system would, he believed, hereafter have the effect of adding a considerable number of respectable and independent voters to the lists.

"The qualifications for voters in towns in England is the payment of poor-rates and the assessed taxes in Ireland, the Reform Act requires that the voters shall have paid all county and municipal rates and assessments. There are no assessed taxes in Ireland; but, to render the system analogous to that of England, it is proposed to take the poor-rates, borough-rates, police-rates, and town-rates, (for paving, lighting, and watching,) which would make up about the same sum as is paid by the English voter. The effect of the proposed simplification in augmenting the number of voters must be to a great degree a matter of guess."

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Lord Eliot, having thus explained the proposed Registration Bill, proceeded to move for the introduction of another Bill to amend the Irish Municipal Corporations Act. When that Act was passed in Parliament, it was impossible to apply to Ireland the English franchise-which is based on the occupation of a house and the payment of rates for a given time—because the Irish Poor Law had not been in existence long enough to allow the given time. Now, however, it is possible to

remove one cause of complaint by assimilating the English to the Irish law; and the municipal franchise will be given to every inhabitant householder who shall have been in occupation for three years, and have paid his rates and taxes up to that time. At present, a number of taxes are payable as a condition to the municipal franchise in some districts there are not fewer than twenty-two of these local taxes; and as many as fourteen, fifteen, or even sixteen, may fall upon the same individual: the Bill will give the franchise upon the payment of the same taxes as convey a title to the Parliamentary franchise."

A discussion, or rather a series of remarks, of a very general character, ensued. Mr. More O'Ferrall applauded the spirit of the Bill. He believed that Lord Eliot had gone as far as his party would allow. He had conceded almost every principle contended for by the Opposition, and had justified the complaints against the Irish Reform Act, and the amendments to it; but he had failed in carrying out the principles which he thus recognised. Mr. O'Ferrall objected to the new thirty-pound tenant-at-will constituency, as creating a class of electors subservient to the landlords; and he pointed out the manufacture of votes by landed proprietors, who grant rent-charges for the basis of a franchise, as an abuse which claimed special attention. Mr. Shaw complained that no Irish member had been aware of the intention of Government until that night. He expressed an opinion that with the pressure of landlords upon tenants-at-will, the tenantry would retain their objection to registering their votes;

and that till the system of agitation be abandoned in Ireland, the number of registered voters must gradually decline. He denied that any large number of voters was created in Ireland by rentcharges.-Lord John Russell objected to the new thirty-pounds' qualification, as a "Chandos clause," calculated to create more discontent in Ireland than it does in England; for here, the tenant was usually willing to vote with his landlord, while in Ireland the case was very different. He approved of the five-pounds' freehold franchise, but did not see why it should be higher than the forty-shillings' franchise of England. He did not think the Bill carried out Sir Robert Peel's wish to have perfect equality in the English and Irish franchise.Lord Howick advocated a clause giving the right to vote according to the amount at which the party was rated, without requiring registration. He denied that there is much practical difference between the independence of a leaseholder and of a holder from year to year; but thought that the five-pounds' franchise was higher than it need have been.-Sir Robert Peel reiterated, in different terms, parts of Lord Eliot's explanation, maintaining that the Bill established substantial equality of franchise between England and Ireland.Mr. Fitzstephen French, Mr. Hume, and Mr. Morgan John O'Connell, spoke slightingly of the measure. Mr. Montague Gore declared it to be perfectly satisfactory.-Mr. Wyse said, that the most valuable part of this discussion consisted in the doctrines which it had drawn from Sir Robert Peel and Lord Eliot, and which some years ago would