The Press. — London, England, 1858-11-27 00:00:00

No. 291.—V0L. VI. LONDON, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 1858. UNS ST kMPEmD D. SIXIWICC EIV E. rA.EPENCE more fit, if not as an orator, as an independent Member of Parliament, and as a representative of that valuable class to which he especially belongs, to meet Mr. BRIGIIT on his own battle field. this his favourite battle-field, and exhibited the fallacy of his position with a lucidity and terse ness which will enable the least practised in figures to comprehend and realize the truth, that if the Country Party has more influence in Par liament and upon the country than the Members for the towns, it is not because they count more noses, but because they are truly regarded as the impersonation of a larger propor tion of the people proper, of their property, their intelligence, and their interests, than the Members of the towns. In truth, the very fact of the predominance of country influence, admit ting it for the sake of argument to be a real fact, would of itself disprove Mr. BIUGHT'S theory, that representation to be true must be founded upon numbers. The following table will show our readers clearly and succinctly the position which Mr. NEWDEGkTE has established with regard to the apportionment under the present system of representation to population and to house property : Vrtss. DON,S'ATURDAY, NOVE.IIBRIZ '27, 1958 The Duke of AnGvm. has already, in an able speech, defended his own Order, but no one had, up to this time, set clearly before the public the true position of the school of Bright politicians with reference to the masses of the population and the rights of labour. Mr. NEwDEGATE has supplied the deficiency, and, looking at the already well -tattered coat of his opponent from a new point of view, has, in a speech which a con temporary of Whig politics has pronounced to be one of remarkable ability and clearness, success fully shown to the People that the self-declared Apostle of Liberalism is fundamentally an Ab solutist and the Advocate of Democracy essen tially a Bigot. It was a telling hit and a great and useful truth which we earnestly recommend the working classes to lay to their hearts, to accept as the good ground did the seed, and to give it fair play to bear fruit. Let them remem ber that, as, in former times, the Barons of Eng land stood between the People and the Despotism of the Crown, so, in these latter days, have the gentlemen—the country gentlemen—stood be tween the Labouring Classes and the Absolutism of Capital. It is to them, and not to leagues or platform orators, that they owe the freedom which they enjoy from unlimited labour-hours—to them they owe it that their wives live the lives and fulfil the functions of women, instead of bending their backs to the labour of men—and to them they owe it that their children have time for the cultivation of their minds and hearts ; and equally it is by their efforts that their families are enabled freely to buy their food and their clothing in the cheapest market, instead of being ruined by the tyranny of the truck system. Who is the Bigot ? Is it the Conservative who abolished these evils, or the professing Democrat who battled for their maintenance ? THE BIGOTRY OF DEMOCR.VTS. frequency of communication and the ities which our network of railways has iferred upon all classes for passing front place place, have undoubtedly had the effect of ensibly augmenting the political action of the population at large. The entire country, by the instrumentality of clubs, of dinners, of agricul tural shows and platforms, occupy themselves throughout the autumn and winter with dis cussing with their representatives the policy of the past and the prospects of the future, and thus correct and settle their own views, and impress in a large degree those views upon the component parts of their Parlia ment and their Government. Every week brings contributions from one district or another, and we have gladly given our attention to the speeches from all quarters, because we consider ' these discussions are an admirable prepara for the Parliamentary Session, and save the Ise of Commons from much impulsive pres from out of doors during the actual transac . of business. Among such speeches none excited so much nterest in anticipation, or so much sensation upon actual appearance, as that of Mr. BRIGHT. Journal after journal has pounced upon it, and torn it into shreds. Held up to the light now, it is as full of holes as a Rapnaree's coat ; but still it exists, and still it is looked on by many unreasoning or ignorant enthusiasts as a Mani festo under which they are to fight for a hew El Dorado. Comment in newspapers had been nearly exhausted, and it was considered that the Times had given to the Bright Declaration of policy the finishing stroke. Singularly enough, however, no Member of the House of Commons had entered the arena with the author in posse of the new Reform Bill. We saw, therefore, with much satisfaction that the Member for North Warwickshire had at the Agricultural Show at Rugby, on behalf of him self, his constituents, and his country, grappled with the policy of Mr. BRIGHT, and with the spirit of his manifesto. There could not be a more proper man to do it. A country gentle man, with all the highest attributes of a country gentleman, a sincere Protestant and a sound and earnest Churchman, a Conservative of firm fun damental principles but liberal views, and a col league of Mr. BRIGHT, with some thousands of constituents in comma there could be no person Population. Houses. Memlwrs. Total .. 17,927,01*i .. 3,430,908 .. 490 Towns .. 7,431,079 .. 1,383,1t00 .. 337 Country .. 10 ,495 ,930 2,053,908 .. 159 Will Mr. BRIGHT be content to build his new system upon this foundation ; and will he, when he has mastered the truth exhibited by these figures, face the legitimate development of his numerical theory ? We suspect not. lie will probably rather try to give it the go-bye by some ingenious division of the country into elec toral districts. FRANCE AND HER LAWS OF REPRESSION. Six months imprisonment under the sentence of a police-court ! Tried and condemned as if he had committed petty larceny and despoiled a cabbage-garden ! It grates upon the feelings of the educated classes of Europe to see a man of the Comte DE MoicrAtiainEriT's fame and posi tion thus dealt with ; and it is revolting to the sense of the entire population of her free com munities to see the terms of his indictment univer sally disseminated and his reply to it stifled with sedulous despotism. This, however, has not been the only point upon which Mr. Mom' has misrepresented the posi tion of the country gentlemen in regard to the government of the kingdom. He has depicted them as having a predominance in Parliament in numbers to which neither the population nor the property of their constituencies entitled them. This assertion has been so repeatedly, so broadly, and so confidently made, that people who dislike or distrust figures have sought refuge from its assumed force in the proposition—a perfectly true proposition—that numerical representation is not in accordance with the theory or the usage of the British Constitution ; and Mr. BRIGHT and his school have been suffered to blow a perpetual note of triumph on this particular point. In the speech to which we have alluded Mr. NE DE GATE manfully met the shock of Mr. BBIGILT in We have not hesitated, although standing almost alone at the moment, to express without reserve our opinion that the pamphlet of M. Ds MOSTALk:MBERT had something of the character of a wolf in sheep's tion to admit its within our fold. we doubt not, took having regard to ceded and surrounded " aSbat sur l'lnde, eulogy of England, Riau clothing, and to declar!sliesita- author with hoplic,it contidesk9c, The Ensperoebt the \ • • ok somewhat t ‘, o the circums. ) ounded the p 04 4 nde," he saw • 6.744114.41.,*, and, or a d si L A surf. •.. • • r l? tie4,s 111111 -, LONDON, SATURD more fit, if not as Member of Parlis of that valuable belongs, to mee' LON" tIER 27, 1958 field. The Duke speech, defer /OCR ATS. up to this ti true positic ation and the with refer of railways has and the i taring from place supplied had the effect of already itical action of the new p temp tire country, by the one dinners, of agricul- ful' occupy themselves A nd winter with dis- F ntatives the policy of ,pects of the future, the their own views, e degree those view' parts of their Parli' tent. Every week brir district or another, i our attention to tern, because we ca that are an admirable pi lion ntary Session, and s lion coo much impulsi sure rs during the actua' tion !eches none excit Aation, or so mu ranee, as that of real has pounce Is. Held up to toles as a Rap 1 still it is loo' ignorant end tich they are comment in r Ited, and it vr given to ti he finishinr wever, no as had e in pow therefore, *r for NOY tral Show lonstituer e policy f his rar Roper r with all :man, a st Chu !ntal y ,ue of &tittle'