The Press. — London, England, 1854-02-18 00:00:00

Vrott6ings in Varliament. THE NEW REFORM BILL. The legislative business in the House of Commons opened for the week on Monday with the introduc tion of the promised Ministeilal scheme for represen- tative reform. Lord J. RUSSELL, in moving for leave to bring in the two bills into which the measure was divided, began by endeavouring to cool what he characterised as the exaggerated expectations and apprehensions which the proposition had called forth on one side and the other. These he attributed to the associa tions connected with the very name of Parliamentary Reform, and which arose from recollections of the famous bill of 1832, and the conflict it provoked. That measure had, indeed, been discussed amid furious party conflicts, with tierce popular excite ment out of doors ; with Bristol and Nottingham in fl a mes; with the country apparently on the verge of revo lution ; with violent contests in both Houses of the Legislature, and a collision between them in the end. The present measure, he contended, was but a supplement to, and improvement upon, the act that had already taken root in the constitution, could be discussed calmly, arranged deliberately, and ad justed into working order without shock or disloca tion to the machinery of legislation. Under the same view of the measure he denied the cogency of the arguments which were founded on the prospect of war, and which urged thepostponement of the scheme until our foreign horizon cleared up once more. He saw nothing in war that should stop internal amelio ration ; and added that in the war which now seemed pending there was no reason to anticipate any serious dangers, or the necessity to put forth those extraor dinary efforts that had in former periods absorbed all the interests and strength of the country. Prece dents, also, were in favour of the same conclusion. The objection that the country was on the brink of war or actually engaged in it did not prevent Mr. Pitt from proposing a Reform Bill in 1782 ; nor did it weigh with Fox or Grey in 1788, 1797, and 1810, when the nation seemed in far greater peril. Lord J. Rus sell then described the state of the representation in 1890, recapitulated the changes which had been since effected, and mentioned a number of important acts that had been passed since, of which he assigned the credit to the Reform Act of 1832. He then al luded to the defects and deficiencies which he be lieved to exist notwithstanding that act, and for which he now intended to suggest remedies. These he classified into three heads—defects in the sche dule of places disfranchised ; defects in the schedule of places enfranchised ; and defects in the electoral qualification. He went on to discuss and remedy these alleged deficiencies seriatim, laying down the principle on which every separate m odification was pro posed as he went along. First, of disfranchisement, the rule was simple and intelligible : " At the time of the Reform Bill I said there were a certain small number of boroughs which would still have a sufficient number of electors to enable them to make an independent election of members to serve them iu Parlia ment. I find the number of electors which I then stated I thought all boroughs should have at the least, to enable them to send members to this house, was 300. I find, however, there are several boroughs whose constituencies fall below that number. I find, likewise, that there are borough which, although they have more than the number of 300 electors, are yet of a population which is not consi derable—in fact, falling below 5,000. 1 should propose, therefore, to deal with the boroughs which are in that po sition. (Hear.) Going on to some of the boroughs which are not so small, I find there is a certain number of other boroughs which have less than 500 electors, and others which have a population of less than 10,000, though more than 500 electors, which return two members. I propose to deal with those boroughs by taking away one of their members. The number of boroughs—taking the double return of electors and population, which come under 300 electors, and the others which have 300 electors and a po pulation of s,ooo—are 19, and they send 29 members to this house. (Hear, hear.) The number of boroughs which will come into the next table, which have either less than 500 electors or less than 10,000 population, are no fewer in number than 33 Now, therefore, if the former bo roughs were entirely disfranchised, there would be no less than 62 seats by which the number of this house would be diminished." Secondly, of enfranchisement, he found much to ob ject to in the suggested system of " equal areas " or equal population, believing that many advantages ac crued from a measured degree of variety in the dis tricts returning members to Parliament. His plan for filling up the vacancies above mentioned was ac cordingly somewhat complex. The noble lord gave the following details : " I have stilted more than once, in answer to honour able gentlemen who complained that there were places of 8,000 or 7,000 inhabitants which returned as many mem bers a 8 places having 60,000 or 70,000 inhabitants, that, if we were to reform our representation according to the numbers of the people, the towns of 10,000 or 15,000 inha bitants must yield their claim to great counties which had 200,000 or even 400,000 inhabitants. I remember the right honourable member for Bucks maintaining that ar• gamest with great ability, in answer to the preposition THE PRESS. which was made in this house during the time he was Chancellor of the Exchequer. It appears to me that that argument is founded in fairness and justice. (Hear, hear.) We should propose, however, to take population generally as the rule, but to be applied with some modification. We take, in the first place, the West Riding of the county of York, which has nearly 800,M)0 inhabitants, besides the inhabitants of the towns which are represented ; and iiw e i take also the county of Lancaster , which has, l think, n its southern division about 500,000 inhabitants. We pro pose to divide these two divisions of the counties, but to each of the divisions we propose to give three members. Proceeding with the counties and towns, we propose to give an additional member to each county ur each town which has more than 100,000 inhabitants. (Hear, hear, hear.) But then we propose that, in giving their votes in these cases where members are to be returned, the electors should vote as they do at present, only for two candidates out of the three. The consequence of this alteration would be to give to the West Riding of the county of York four additional members, and four to the southern division of Lancashire. There would then be, I think, 38 mem bers for the other counties, making 4(1 altogether. With respect to towns having more than 100,00 1 1 inhabitants, there are nine which come within this category, without including those which are metropolitan boroughs, for we have considered the metropolitan boroughs as forming parts of one great city, and not as separate cities an . d towns. (Hear, hear, hear.) There would be, as I s aid, eight towns of more than 100,000 inhabitants, to which one additional member would be given, and to Salford, containing upwards of 80,000 inhabitants, one member would also be given, being an addition of nine for towns which now return members. We propose also that one member be given to three towns which are not at present represented : they are Birkenhead, Staleybridge, and Burn ley. (Cries of " Oh, oh !" from the Opposition benches.) Each of these towns contains shout 20,000 inhabitants. We then propose to give effect to that proposition which has often been asked in this house, that Kensington and Chelsea should be made into a distinct borough, to which two members should be allotted. (Hear, hear.) There is another kind of representation which has been often spoken of, and to which we propose at least to give some parts of the seats which will be at our disposal. The first which I shall mention of this kind are the inns of court. ( Laughter, and expressions of dissent from both sides of the house.) I know that some honourable gentlemen think that alreadythere are a sufficient number of lawyers in the house—(renewed laughter)—but my persuasion is that there would be a great benefit, when we put the represen tation in the position in which we propose to place it, that we should have two of the most eminent lawyers in the country returned to this house ; and I believe that while of course lawyers will have as good a chance if not better than other candidates—(a laugh )—the lawyers connected with the inns of court would take pride in choosing two of the most eminent men in their profession to represent them in Parliament. (Hear, hear.) I cannot but think, and I trust the house will concur with me, that it is of great importance to have some of the most eminent law. yens in the country possessing seats in this house, and able to prevent, by their advice, honourable members from being misled by the legal doctrines emanating from those honourable members who may not have had so much ex perience or attained to so much eminence in the profes sion as themselves. We propose also to give one member to the University of London. (Hear, hear.) I consider, as the two great Universities of Oxford and Cambridge are so much connected with the Church, that it is but fair that a university open to the whole country should have the power also of sending members to the house." While discussing this branch of the subject the noble lord admitted his belief that much reason could be found in the arguments adduced on behalf of the representation of minorities. There were many instances where an electorate of several hundreds, or even thousands, found themselves very narrowly surpassed by their opponents, and justly complained that their votes were swamped and their opinions unrepresented. By way of partial remedy for this injustice, though without appearing to consider it a vital element in his measure, Lord J. Russell pro posed, in cases where three members were returned for any district, to give every elector only two votes. By this contrivance he calculated that whenever in such localities the minority of votes on any side did not fall below two-fifths of the number of their an tagonists they could, if they pleased, return one member out of the three, and thus obtain a propor tionate weight in the house and upon divisions. Passing on to the third point, the electoral qualifica tion, Lord J. Russell, with many reasons for the step in every instance, proceeded to indicate his intention of proposing that the privilege of voting should be granted under the following conditions : " We propose on the present occasion that there should be several franchises, which should be common to coun ties and towns; that a person having any of these qualifi cations should vote in the place in which he resides, and should exercise his vote there, whether he be resident in a county or borough returning a member to Parliament. The first of these qualifications which we propose is 1001. a year of salary derived from any employment, whether public or private. (Hear, hear.) The amowat:of salary stated must, however, be received half-yearly or quarterly, in order that this franchise may not include those persons who are paid by weekly wages. The next franchise which we propose is one of 101. a year derived from dividends from property either in the funds or in Bank Stock, or in East India Company's Stock. (Hear.) The third is some what similar, though rather higher than that which I pro posed two years since—viz., a forty-shilling payment either of income tax or assessed taxes within the year. Those who SATURDAY,' now pay the income tax will be entitled to the vote, and, when they lose the vote in consequence of this part of the qualification ceasing, they will receive as a compensation for their loss the benefit of having got rid of the tax. ( Laughter. ) We propose that all graduates of any university in the. United Kingdom—suitable means being, of course, devised for compelling persons claiming this franchise to prove their right—shall have the right of voting, because they may be fairly considered as being persons of education and intelligence. We propose that any person having a de posit of 501. in the savings bank—(cheers)—and having had that deposit for not less than three years, shall be en titled to vote. (Renewed cheers.) I think if the term were fixed at less than three years there would be very consider. able danger of fictitious votes being created. (Hear, hear.) But, where bond fide holders of a sum of 501. in the savings bank can be found, I think the house will agree with me that such a depositor has given such a proof of his pru dence and prosperity as should entitle him to take part in elections for members of Parliament. (Cheers.) I now come to those franchises which belong exclusively to counties and to cities and boroughs. With respect to counties, it may be recollected that, at the time of the in. troduction of the Reform Bill, the Government did not pros pose to depart in principle from the general provision of our constitution—that, while occupation gave the right of voting in cities and boroughs, tenure should give the right of voting in counties. The forty-shilling freeholders, were added to by copyholders and others who had, in feet, smaller properties; but, with the exception of leaseholders holding for twenty-one years, it was not at first proposed to vary the nature of the right of voting for counties. But, in the course of the progress of the Reform Bill through Parliament, amendments were proposed and carried, by which all fifty-pound copyholders obtained the right of voting in counties. I sin far from making any objection to that class of fifty-pound copyholders, but it will be seen that it entirely changed the character and nature of the county franchise as it had previously existed, and it cer tainly tended to diminish the power of that class which I have always considered as the best and most independent in this country—the forty-shilling freeholders. When that principle was departed from, great opposition was mani fested, and many reasons were assigned why the occupy tion franchise' should not be extended further. I believe that such an extension would not add considerably to the numbers of electors in towns sending members to Parlia ment. At the same time I think it would be a very great advantage if those who live in towns which have not the right of sending members to Parliament should yet have in the counties in which they reside some voice in the county elections. We propose, therefore, to adopt the principle embodied in that motion which has more than once been made in this house, that the ten-pound occupier should have the right of voting at county elections. (Cheers from the Ministerial side.) With respect to this alteration of the franchise, we propose to check an abuse which has prevailed to some extent, founded on the words of the act any building or any lands occupied therewith.' Avail ing themselves of this phraseology of the act, persons have run up sheds of the value of not half-a-crown a year, and made up the rest of the qualification by land, thereby creating a species of voter on whom it was not intended to confer the franchise. We propose that in this respect the county right of voting, with the exception of houses being of no value, shall consist in the voter living or residing in it, but that in all other cases the building must be at least of the value of 51. (Laughter.) Of course I mean Si. a year. Suppose the house and land to be valued and rated at a value of U. or 2/., provided the voter resides in that house, he will be entitled to the franchise. But if the right to vote should be claimed in respect to any other building on the land, other than the house in which the voter re sides—it may be a cattle-shed or other erection of that kind—then this check shall apply, viz., that the building must be of the value of 5/. a year. (Hear, hear.) This, therefore, is the franchise which we propose to give in counties for voters, and the house will see that it has a very considerable bearing upon that question of the increase of members which I have stated we intend to propose for some counties. Out of the whole number of members which I have stated, we propose that 46 should be added to the counties ; but, as these counties will hereafter include all ten-pound householders, it is obvious that the representation of the counties will be less of a special character than it has hitherto been. (Ironical cheers from the Opposition benches.) It appears to me desirable that this should be so, because it seems to me that all these endeavours to run down the agricultural interest, or to run down the manufacturing in terest, are perfectly foolish and absurd, and that there could be nobetter representation than thatwhich takes into consider ation the whole of the great interests of this country —(cheers)—and which considers them all as contributing to the glory and prosperity of a great country. ( Cheers.) Now I come to the question of the franchise for the boroughs. It certainly appears to me that in making a ten-pound franchise we did not make a sufficient provision for the ad mission of the working classes into the right of votin g . (Hear, hear.) In the consequences which have followed that act I am prepared to maintain an opinion which I still think the right one. I think it was most desirable that the middle classes of this country should have a great influence upon its fortunes ; but, at the some time, looking at the character of the working classes of this country — seeing how much the wealth of this country depends upon them—(chars)—l think we ought to endeavour to give them a higher position in respect to election of members of Parliament than that which they now occupy. (Hear.) Now, I do not shrink from saying that I think that the ex tension of the franchise, as I proposed it two years since, to five-pound householders, was not too large in its extent. But at the same time I must own that that proposition ha been productive of great objections, and that it was gene rally considered as carrying the franchise too low, and that it would not obtain that intelligence and independence which it was desirable to secure. Yielding to some extent to the force of that opinion, I propose to take the limit 148