The Press. — London, England, 1853-12-10 00:00:00

• 756 -., . SATURDAY, THE PRESS. REFORMERS IN COUNCIL. " The above form the Cabinet." Lord GRANVILLE (laughing) : Very good—very good, indeed ,—but, come, I say, we are really making no progress at all. We began with considering clause 4 of the Reform Bill, and we have somehow got back to a dispute on the meaning of clause 1, illustrated by ,an anecdote of Palmerston's. At this rate we shall sit here till Christmas-eve. Lord JOHN Rrsext.t.: You look at me as if it were my fault. It certainly is not. If you could all only agree to everything I propose, I should be the last person to be troublesome. Lord Ansaozr.% : I ant very sorry to have to say anything which can possibly be deemed offensive to any of my colleagues, but I must observe that throughout all these discussions Lord John Russell has lust sight of the agreement upon which our Coalition was founded, — namely, that we should all forget all our antecedents. Sir CHARLES Wow): Yes ; and all our relatives. Ha! 1m: (The speaker suddenly looked blank, recollecting that this ►ras rather an owlesrard joke front him.) Sir JAMES GRAHAM : Wood, with his usual neatness and dexterity, has sought to save Lord John Russell the necessity of reply to the Premier's very just observation ; but I fear we must recal attention to it. Now, I have made a few memorauda—( Takes out papers)—of which I would humbly solicit a very few moments' consideration. ILays them on table and begins to examine them through glasses.) Now, I find that on the oth of February, Ik'►t, which happened to be Monday—l don't know that the fact is material, except that the day proved Black Monday for my noble frien.l—Ha ! ha !—my noble friend introduced his own Reform Bill. Ho said— Lord PALmEnsTos : My deur Graham, we heard the speech, ► uu l I think you will allow that men at our time of life ought not to be asked to listen to such an address twice in two years. (Laughter.) Sir Gususm : I will not read it. But I ►oust point out this. By that bill the county franchise was reduced, the borough 10/. v o ters were swamped by 51. voters, and franchise was conferred on all who paid forty shillings direct taxation. Boroughs with fewer tho u ► 500 electors were tacked to other boroughs ; parliamentary qualifications of membe►s were abolished ; Jews were to be let in, and Papists relieved of all oaths they did not like. Mr. 6 t.AnsrosE : Don't say Papists, (iraham, please. There arc three other courses open to you. Call them members of the Catholic Church ; sulOcts to the l'►otaan See ; or adherents to the older creed of Christendom. Why shock people's feelings ? Sir J. GRAHAM : Anything to please you. We'll call them developed Puscyites if you like. lint do not let us turn aside to trifles. There WAS our noble friend's old bill. Ile will have, in March or April, it' he ennuot put it off 'later, to introduce that which we are at present con sidering. It is clear that, if this new bill lie a s►ualler measure than the old, his yours° in defending it will not be all easy one. Lord .1. IlessEt.t. : I shall feel obleeged to you not to concern your self about that. I believe tt►yselt' I►ert'eetly ei , invetetit to advocate any measure whatever. Aprce urcii the 161 i :mil leave tilt' to make its eel►;j,sy. Bill from a Cabinet of which he is a member ought to contain an ex tension of the franchise in boroughs, and that if it do not contain such extension he ought to resign office ; but sir W. MoaEswoirrit : Stop. I did not say that. Sir J. GRAHAM ( Mustily ): I ant sure I beg your pardon. But, as no two honest men can differ on the point, I ventured to say what I believed you would say. But to proceed, for, after all, Molesworth 's consistency is a trifle which should not detain us, there is another reason why the borough franchise should be extended. It is this. I pledged myself in my- Carlisle canvass that it should be. Sir C. Wool) (simply ): But, bless you, the same rule will apply in your ease as in Molesworties. If the bill has not the clause you think needful and just, you ought to resign. Sir J. (insus3t (amain!, eqmpassionately): Poor dear Wood ! He does not see the difference between the necessity of retaining the presence of an amateur politician and the service of a real one. Sir C Wool) (smartly): Conte, 1 know something about baronets, and Molesworth is the eighth of his line, while you are only the second of yours, come. Now then : take eight front two, there remains six. Sir J. OautiLtm : Yes : that's the way you used to do the arithmetic in your budgets, to the great delight of the audience. Lord J. RessELL : Waiving the question of Giuliani's pledges, which he can hardly—ha !ha !—expect us to value at a higher rate than—ha ! ha !—he has been teaching us to do by his own regard to them for the last quarter of at century—ha! ha !—I would call atten tion to one remark which I made in my lamentable speech in 1µ52. I represented, as the great merit of that bill, that it would leave the relative positions of the agricultural and the commercial interests just where it found them. Unless lam enabled to say us much— Lord PALMERSTON : As little ? Lord I{tssF:►.►.: Very Well, as little for the new bill ; it will be a eluestio►► with me whether I ought to introduce it. Sir C. Wool): Lor ! if it will be any convenience to you, I'll intro duce it with the greatest pleasure, and talk any number of hours. Lord .1. Russial. yreezingly); You are very good. Lord Pai.mmtsTos : We need not waste time. It is clear that John Russell emit say that of the new bill. When I say can't, I use too strong an expression, because there is no saying what my noble friend can't say ; but 1. mean that it would not be true. The ar►ange mcnt whicl► is to throw the borough voters into tl►e counties will most materially alter the relations of commerce and agriculture. Lord Am.:um:Ex : And here is the very thing of which I com plained at the outset. You are all trying back upon what you have said and done in other days. Why, if we are to apply that test, or encourage other people to apply it, what is to become of our union? There is no Past for a Coalitionist. imrd I'.u.mi:us•roN : Tl u ►t's true. He has enough to do iu looking to the particularly disagreeable future, as several respected friends 1 see around me acutely feel. Sir C. Wool): We are getting grammatical. I know in what tense the new Reform Bill is. lia! ha ! 1)o you give it up ? The imper fect. Ila ! ha! Lord 1. HAMILL": : Now it is nearly time to rise, and we have done nothing—ff ,►►• or mope ad maim. 1,0r41 ('L.tItENDoN . who .' 1.0r41 l'Armr !isms lymanattreediy. : Ile means its ch l ie. not sounded, 1I dear linsse•ll. next *law. Lord .1. HussErr: I don't cam : I don't pretend to talk French. Sir .1. 611AIIAM : Well, I thought you did pretend. Never mind. But, now, this new bill clearly does not contain the extension of the JO/. borough vote to the five-pound fellows. Sir W. Mot.Eswonm : Not w , at present framed. lint upon this subject I must request the attention of the Council. I trust to be able to prove, by logical inference, that a bill emanating from a clovernment of which I have the honour• to be a member ought to such extension. My lords and gentlemen, if we consider the condition of man before he united with his fellow-man in those links which are comprehended in the term society, and if, tracking him through the gradual ascent from savagely to civilisation. wr dis entangle-- Final e Puke of ARGYLL : You are &Mg your logie in a► deuced riumsy wily, I can tell yi n ►. Why not let me do it t'or you? Take as premises-- _ _ Sir C. 11'ooD: Those o(•enpieil lit In!. a year I like t o everything exactly before l proceed. Duke 4,1Aa01•t.t.: Tina nevounts for your never getting on at all. Sir .T. : 1)4 , not let u. be ,:evere. Perhaps I van put !klolesworth's ea , ,e for liim—not so eloquently /IS U - otild do. but bomorkat more bueeinctly. 1 quite agr4..e with hini that any livtvini Sir C. 11'4)4)1): liftben/ .)—that's bad. Do you call my joke bad? I;y Jove. 1 think it is very good ! Lord tiItANVILLE: My dear fellow. while the fact that you are in Alec is hefOre the world, von need not descend to any smaller joke. 1,441111. llrssmr.: Another meeting over. and nothing done. Sir .T. OnAnAm : 1 do not know whether it will induce great unanimity and expedition at our next Council if I mention one other little fact which appears upon my memoranda. On the 9th of Feb runt y, 157)2. as 1 have said, nay noble friend introduced a had Reform Bill. which failed to satisfy the country. We can, of course, do the smile thing again :—but mark. On the 23rd of the same February I tied my noble friend rising in the House, and stating that he and his colleagues held Ake only until their successors should be appointed. (Sensation). Lord l'ArmEasToN If/mare/0 : Deur me !—was it so soon after? Ala ! I was not in office at the time, and it escaped my memory. 'hard J. lirwell looks onytily at the lust speaker, and the Conned is fajaurtsed.) PARLIAMENTARY PROSPECTS. Sin ionxLirEns Sill:l.l4n' was called on at the Agricultural Society's (limier to return thanks tin• " the unsuccessful candidates." He said that " he b►ul striven to avoid false shame all his life, but that no man who had seen the superb show of sheep in that yard need be ashamed •it not being amongst the successful competitors. However, he would endeavour to du better next year." Inferences will, no doubt, be made as to sir 31 N . :4 pUrS('Veni nee in M1141141' plaee, and his declaration %%ill be the most unwelcome joke which has yet appeared in these