The Press. — London, England, 1857-01-10 00:00:00

60 and broke in pieces, while tho ermine slipped from the Emperor's shou lders to the ground. After the coronation came the faes, among them the grand review, at which— Many of the Russian soldiers bad helmets with bullet marks ; but I suspect they must have been of their own making, or their heads would not have escaped at the same time. Then came the feast of the people, eaten up by inis take at the rehearsal. The lecturer here, by way of illustration, alluded to another banquet:— There is an account of an enormous feast somewhere in the Bible, which I looked for and couldn't find, hut which must. have been very like the one 1 beheld at Moscow. After a description of his feelings as he gazed on the field of Borodino, Sir Robert Peel concluded his address with the following very original remark for an Englishman:— I would close my observations with this sentiment, which cannot fail to be that of every one who hears me ;—great as Russia is, when I contemplate the power of my own country, I would ten thousand times sooner repose in the lap of Britannia the humblest citizen in the land than own the allegiance or bow the knee to the power that sways the sceptre in Russia. tact.carrtsgaitt ELECTORAL INEQUALITIES. Letter VIII. TO THE EDITOR OF THE PRESS. Sir,—This is my last letter. My subject is almost exhaust() I : indeed, once the fact was established that a county population of eleven millions returned only half as many members es a town population of eight millions, the case was at an end so far as argu- ment went. All that remained to be done was to exhibit the injustice in different points of view. and, by turning it over and over, to attract the attention both of those who suffered from the wrong and those who profited by it, so that the former might be in cited to insist on redress, and the latter shamed into the surrender of their unjust monopoly. Now, the wrong done is so glaring that I cannot suppose I have altogether failed in both my objects. But even if I have, the question is sure to force itself on public attention in another form. All parties now agree that the Reform Bill must be overhauled—that, whatever other system may be adopted, the present will not be allowed to remain. Lord John Russell's finality measure must go the way of French constitutions. Now, in this inevitable break-up the case of the county constituencies cannot b. 3 overlooked, as it is demonstrably the most flagrant injustice in the system. I know well every attempt will be made by the tribe of Whig place•holders and place-hunters to distract public attention from this abuse, by a violent attack upon innocent anomalies, and by schemes for the extension of the suffrage—by education qualifications, by vote by ballot, itc.; but the Conservatives will not a second time lie driven off the scent. Anomalies will be left to take care of themselves, it being plain that their removal would, if anything, be a relative advantage to the country party ; nor need they fear a more popular appeal to national sentiment. In these matters they may safely take the Whigs on their own principles— taking, however, anxious care that these principles lie honestly carried out. But if once these modifica tions shall have been conceded to the Whigs, to their great surprise and disgust the Conservatives will hark back to their main chase, and say,—Gentle men, you have now a tine popular franchise ; let the privileges which belong to the franchise—namely, the right of electing members—be equally distributed among all the voters. Don't say to a man that because he is an agriculturist he is to have only half a franchise, and that another, because he is a shop keeper, is to have, not only his own franchise entire, but also the half of which you have robbed the farmer. Give equal privileges to both, else your liberality is fudge ; and the resources of fudge were exhausted in 1832. But as it is likely that some change in the fran chise will be mooted, it is as well to be prepared, and therefore 1 throw out a scheme of my own for ventilation. I propose to have one simple qualification, viz., payment of a certain amount of income tax (say, for example sake, 51.), with additional votes on an abruptly increasing gradation to those paying higher,—an additional vote to a men who pays 2W., three votes to one who pays 1001., four votes to one who pays :100/. income tax. The advantage of this franchise is, that while it is the simplest which can be imagined, it is thoroughly representative both of property and numbers. To he sure the very poor classes would have no votes, but we must stop short of universal suffrage ; and the prospect of rising into the voting class would be an incentive to industry. Neither can I see my way to the practicability of an educational qualification : but an educated man, if worth anything, will soon have to pay income tax. This is the first part of my scheme, and has nothing THE PRESS. new in it; but I now proceed to make a proposal which I have not seen before, and which dovetails with the main object I have in view. It is clear that. if the franchise I propose were adopted, the number of electors in the kingdom would bo ascertained from the books of the tax col lectors by a little clerkly trouble. Suppose it done, and, for precision sake, let us assume the aggregate to be 2,000,000. Divide this sum by the number of members of Parliament in the present house—viz., 034—and you will have 3,154, or roundly 3,000, as the average constituency to return a member. Now go hack to the counties, and get hold, in the case of each, of all its collection-books. That done, find how many there are within the bounds of each county who have the income-tax qualification : divide their num ber by 3,000, and you will find the number of members of Parliament to which each county, with the towns it contains, is entitled. The next step is to divide the counties into electoral districts, and to distribute the right of electing the members in as just a way as local cir cumstances will permit. Here I despair of theoreti cal justice. as it would confuse ancient territorial arrangements, and necessitate some troublesome geometrical geography. But a much nearer approxi mation may be obtained to justice than under the present system, with no farther inconvenience than an alteration of the spick•and-span arrangements of 1832, which confused most of the ancient landmarks of the country. And I do not see any necessity for insisting on the maintenance of the distinction of town and county members; but where it can be done without disturbing any arrangement existing prior to 1832, I should like to see the distinction rounded off, or even obliterated, so that the members elected by the voters within the county bounds might feel that they were as much town as county members, as much representatives of the commerce as of the agriculture of the kingdom. One exception only my plan desiderates, and that is in the case of London. Wealth there is so concen trated that my system would give the metropolis one fourth the representation of the kingdom. To that London is not entitled, being already better repre sented than any other place ; for every member of Parliament, when once he comes to Westminster, besides being member for his own constituency, becomes a representative of London, and the aggre gate Parliament attend to its interests with a solici tude which the rest of the nation may well consider exaggerated. But even although no additional members were given to the metropolitan constituencies, my plan involves a greater change in the constitution of the electoral body than the simple demand of an addi tional fifty members to which I think the counties should restrict themselves. But a party may have a Utopian theory besides its practical one. The one the limit of what they ask, the other the minimum which they will consent to take—the one proposing an adjustment to last till the millenium, and, therefore, based on a qualification likely to last the interval; the other content with an adjustment which will stand together for fifty years. But let me not be mistaken. I have no strong conviction of the wisdom of my plan, and no great wish to see it put in practice. If any one can shape it to practice he is welcome; but at the best it is simply a theory, and there is no obligation on any one to take it up. But the disfranchisement of the counties is a wrong, and men are not morally at liberty to let a wrong alone, but are under the obligation to give redress by every effort within the limits of their legal powers ; and, therefore, it is the duty of the English as a nation to redress the wrong done by the Reform Bill to the county constituen cies. More particularly is it the duty of those who hitherto have profited by the wrong, and of the whole body of Whigs. who have been professing principles of justice and equity since they first began to attend to their private ends.—l am, Sc., J. A. G. LAW APPOINTMENTS. TO THE EDITOR OF " THE FRESS." Sir,—The subject to which in your paper of the 23rd ult. "A Solicitor" drew your attention and that of the public, is one of the greatest importance. One would think that a chief qualification for a judge or law officer should be purity of moral character. To reprove and punish vice and crime, and to avoid a gross inconsistency, we want, it is true, good lawyers ; hut no less should they be good men. So long as these can be obtained, we do not want persons of notoriously immoral habits condemning to severe punishment men from whom they differ only in the accident of birth ; we do not want a commissioner of bankruptcy, who sheltered himself from arrest under the much abused privilege of a member of Parliament, and who, on obtaining his appointment, was obliged to stipulate with his creditors for a payment to them of a portion of his salary ; we do not want a Crown officer, who from his immoral life is so deeply in volved in debt, that he is compelled to have a receiver SATURDAY, of his fees appointed, and who accepts from his creditors a salary out of his own earnings. Such men ought to be left to metropolitan and other liberal constituencies, who care not for independence or purity of character, and seek only for delegates having little or no status in the country, and who will promise anything on the hustings that they may acquire the right to put M.P. after their names, and turn it to their own advantage. And this is one cause of the number of the bad and inefficient laws which are passed; such men take no interest in the good of the country. You, sir, deserve the thanks of the public for your attention to this subject.—l am, sir, your obedient servant, Dec. 26, 1856. lertign Q,;orrtspont tutt. (From a Correspondent.) PARIS, JANUARY R. AT last the Moniteur has announced the settlement. of the questions which for ten months have kept Europe in perplexity. Russia (as I told you last week would be the case) gives up Bolgrad, and gets a tract of Moldavian territory on the Yalpuck river, comprising the town of Komrat or Conrad. Englami and Austria (as I told you would be the case) have , been required to leave the Black Sea and the Princi palities, and the 30th of March is fixed as the latest date at which they are to stay there. So now peace, which was concluded on the 30th of March last, has been concluded over again. What view will be taken of this peace in England, people here are very curious to know. There was, it appears, at one moment, every chance that the set tlement would not be attained. Our ambassador, Lord Cowley, created all manner of difficulties, as to whe ther the terms agreed on should be set forth in a proces verbal or a protocol, or whether they should, be worded in this or that way. Still greater diffi culties did he create with respect to fixing the date• of withdrawing the fleet from the Black Sea. He de manded that no period should be named; that Eng land should leave or not when she pleased. But the Russian and French Plenipotentiaries, and espe cially the former, were so firm on the point that he had to give way. His Excellency was, it appears, reproached for his unconciliatory " attitude." The murder of the Archbishop, of which Ow papers will give you an account, has created great consternation, though without just cause, as it is supposed that the murderer must have been a maniac. BRUSSELS, Jean. TIIE jour de Van and the festivities of the season tend to vary and enliven a dry attention to local politics, and the relaxation is to all an agreeable relief. On the Ist there was a crowded attendance at the palace, each notable being anxious to reiterate the loyal asseveration of the August fetes. The King looked remarkably well and in high spirits. He was surrounded by the members of his family, and his future son-in-law, the Archduke Maximilian Joseph of Austria, seemed well content at his ap proaching connection with a dynasty so deservedly popular. It is affirmed that his Imperial Highness has proved his qualification for the important posi , tion he is about to assume in Italy by a careful digest upon the state of that country. Amongst the. glittering decorations, the Crimean medals of the• English officers were conspicuous, and, with the Cross of the Legion of Honour in brave proximity,. afforded testimony of the national confraternity in the deeds of an heroic past, and of the " entente cordiale" between the allied nations. It is not sur prising that the display occasioned many a curious reflection amongst certain of the Belgians who might have remembered another version of affairs more palatable to their jealous prejudices—albeit, less• redounding to their interest. Hitherto the attempts to impede the progress of the Prussian and Swiss quarrel have been unavailing, and the hopes of the last few days have been destroyed by a succession of diplomatic failures. M. 1 Fay, the American Minister, could make no impres sion on the Court of Berlin, as it insisted strongly on the acceptance of its ultimatum without equivocal contingency—the unconditional release of the royalist prisoners. M. Ferrer was not more fortu nate in his interview with the Duko of Saxe Cobourg