The Press. — London, England, 1857-05-23 00:00:00

518 a nation more happily placed than England is at present, or that had a future to which it might look forward with so much satisfaction. (Hear, hear.) Well, if that be a true and fair view of our situa tion, it is certainly very remarkable that this is the moment in which we hear so much of approaohing political changes, and that it should be at a time when the great body of the people are satisfied, con tented, and prosperous, that we should hear of great impending innovations in our political institutions. (Hear, hear.) It becomeS us at the present moment well to consider the position that we now occupy, and what may be the course which it will be our duty to take should these changes be proposed. (Hear, hear.) I shall take the liberty, with the utmost brevity of which the naturo of the case admits, to state my opinions on this subject. In fact, it would be a mockery for one who holds the important post of your representative to meet you here to-day and not revert to what seems to be the consequence of the last dissolution of Parliament—namely, that in due time, and when our rulers think tit, we shall be called upon to consider great changes in the political constitution of the country. With regard to Parliamentary Reform I would presume to say this—that I have no prejudices in favour of the existing system, which was brought into operation in lEal. I believe when that great change toooklplacs its conception was not altogether exempt from the spirit of faction. (Hear, hear.) I have always thought, and always expressed my be. lief, that when the reform of Parliament was brought forward In DM it was not framed with a just regard to the interests of those connected with the property and the cultivation of the soil. I think also, although this is a very minor point, that in arranging the boundaries of boroughs and many other matters there was all that jobbing, contrivance, and mancouvre which are, probably, inevitable when such a measure is prepared by a political party so circumstanced at the moment of effecting, the change as to be irre sponsible. But, though I have held that:opinion, I have also thought that political change, unless called for by a political necessity, is, in a country like Eng land, a great social evil. (Hear, hear.) And I have looked always—not, I believe, without reason—to the remedial agency which would be exercised on some of the arrangements that might have been very factiously brought about, by the good sense and com mon feeling of Englishmen—influences which would, in the long run, tend to remove some of the evils and alleviate some of the injustice which are now pretty generally acknowledged. to mark the settle meat of 1.833. Bat, although I believe there is no feeling whatever in the country in favour of what is commonly called Parliamentary Reform ; though I think:l may say that the Parliamentary Reformers in the present day are only to be found in Parlia ment; yet, when you look to the position of the question, and find that the Prime Minister has acknowledged—no matter what may have been the cause of his decision—that it is his intention next year to introduce a measure of Parliamentary Re form, leaving it probably to public opinion in the in terval to give a tone as to what the character of that measure may be, I think we should be totally negli gent of our duty, quite unworthy of the privileges of Englishmen, if we passed such an occasion in silence, and did not attempt, by calm consideration and by investigating the merits of the case, to arrive at some conclusions that may guide our conduct when we are called upon to act. (Cheers.) Now, although for the reasons I have assigned I am unwilling that the present system should be dis- turbed, although I think political change the greatest of all social evils in its consequences, although I may not be'prepared—and yet it has been announced in some public journals of the greatest eminence that I am—with a Reform Bill of my own —(laughter)—l am not prepared, on the other hand, to say that if the Minister on his own responsibility bring forward a measure of that character, I will not give to it a candid and sincere consideration on its merits. (Hear, hear.) THE PRESS. There is great discussion at the present day as to what is the proper element of representation. Some tell you that population is the element of a repre sentative system ; others tell you property is the proper element; a third party tells you that pro perty and population should be taken together ; and a fourth tells you that population and property always go together, and cannot be separated, But I think there is one element in a representative Go vernment which is still more firnportant than even population or property. I mean prescription. (Hear, hear.) An old European country, and especially England, obeys the authority to which it is accus tomed. But no country of the antiquity of our own, no country where so artificial a system of society and of credit exists as in this, ever can sustain per petual ehenges of Government, and will always have a bias for obeying the authority which is traditionary. (Hear, hear.) Therefore, supposing the Minister next year brings forward a scheme of Parliamentary Reform.l shall, though adverse as a general rule to political change, give to his proposition a candid con• sideration ; I shall ask myself whether the proposi tion which he makes is one that is calculated to concede that justice which I think has been hitherto denied to your claims, but which I would not have disturbed society by demanding, and yet which, if by the act of the Government themselves the country is called upon to investigate' the question, I think it the duty of the classes connected with the land clearly and earnestly to place before the Legislature. Let me illustrate my meaning by an instance. The popular idea of Parliamentary Reform may be fairly stated in this manner. A gentleman who is a Parliamentary Reformer takes a small borough—for example, Buckingham or Wycombe—and he says, " Here are two boroughs with a constituency of 300 voters each, and here is the city of Manchester, in the county of Lancaster, with a population of 300,000 inhabitants, but with only two members, or the same number, in fact, as the little borough of Buckingham. What injustice ! What anomalies ! It is absolutely necessary that we should disfranchise Buckingham or Wycombe, and transfer its two mem bers to Manchester." And it is astonishing how plausible this proposal sounds, and how easily it is credited even by those whose interests are not in volved in fits adoption. But, gentlemen, if you come to anomalies, I should like to know whether there are none in our representation infinitely more striking than this very popular instance drawn from the small boroughs with only 300 constituents. I have a note hero which is very brief but very preg nant. Take, for example, the county of South Cheshire, with a population of 206,000. There is only one town there, the city of Chester, containing 28,000 inhabitants, and it returns two members, while the county contains 178,000 inhabitants, and yet returns only two members. Thus the county of South Cheshire, with 178,000 inhabitants, returns the same number of members as the city of Chester with 28,000. I could go through almost every county in England and show the same anomalies. The subject is one on which it is of the utmost im portance that the people of this country should have the most accurate information, and that information they should learn, mark, and inwardly digest during the next nine months, so that when the proposition of the Government, or of any Government, is made they should be able to form a sound opinion upon it. I meet every day of my life men who are called Conservatives in opinion —fair and honourable men, who probably have not had time to examine this question, and who often say, "There are unquestion ably great anomalies in the present system. Why, the little town and the great city return the same number of members. Surely, you must disfranchise the little towns, and give the seats to the great cities." I am not opposod to every measure of Parliamentary Reform which any Minister may bring forward. I think it probable that any scheme that is introduced must do more justice to the claims which, I think, are not properly treated. But this is the point which I wish to press upon you, because it is upon it that your future conduct SATIJRDATI must depend. It is, that it' we are to have a new scheme of Parliamentary Reform, these claims ought to be admitted. Perhaps you will pardon me if put before you a few more facts. There is the case of North Cheshire, with a total population of 2-19,60:: inhabitants, and with the two great towns of Mae e i es. field and Stodkport. Well, the two towns, with a population of 93,000, return four members, while the rural population, consisting of 156,000, returns only two. Is not that an anomaly as striking as that pre. seated by the small county town and the large manufacturing city ? Another remarkable case that of the count,' of South Derby, which has only one large town, and a total pop ulation of 1116,001). The town of Derby, with 40,000 inhabitants, has two members, while the 'rural population, numbering 125,000, has but two. Is not that an anomaly (Cheers.) Again, take the county of North Durham. with a total population of 272,000, and having four towns, viz. :—Durham, Gateshead, South Shields, and Sunderland. The town population number, 136,000, or exactly the same as that of the county, and yet the towns are represented by six members, while the county has only two. (Hear.) Perhaps ought to apologise for giving you a statistical lecture, particularly in this hot weather. (" No, no," and laughter•.) But really we live in very remarkable times. I recollect no instance of a Prime Minister dissolving Parliament, and after a general election coming down to the new House of Commons, and saying his first important measure will be to reform and reconstruct them—(laughter) —but that as he has not made up his mind how to do it he will take a year to consider of it. (Renewed laughter.) I don't wish to criticiae the future policy of the noble loul, but I think we should be the greatest idiots in the world if we did not take the opportunity of instruct ing ourselves on this question, so that the noble lord may have the advantage of the expression of the opinions of Englishmen upon it, which may influence his measures ; and if his measures are not influenced by the just views that we are attempting to maintain, at least when his scheme is brought before us we shall be able to criticise them with that power which must accrue from a complete knowledge of the sub ject. (Hear.) Yon will, therefore, feel that I am only doing my duty as your representative at this . important crisis in laying these facts before you. Well, I come to the county of West Kent, which has 400,000 inhabitants. Its four great towns are Chatham, Rochester, Maidstone, and Greenwich, with an aggregate population of 160,000. These towns return seven members, while the rural popu lation, numbering 228,000, returns only two. That, I think, is another anomaly. (Hear, hear.) I take next Lancashire, that great county which has exer cised so considerable an influence on your fortunes and on the legislation, and even the history of this country. North Lancashire has a population of 460,000. Its four greet towns are Blackburn, Clitheroe, Lancaster, and Preston, which, with a population of 143,000, return seven members to Par liament, while the rural population, comprising 316,000, only returns two. I come next to that great centre of manufacturing industry—South Lancashire. It has a total population of 1,500,000, or as large a population as Denmark, and almost as large as that of Holland. Its towns contain 1,000,000 inhabi tants, and return fifteen members, while the re• maining 500,000 in the county return but two. Really, when we are going to have a Reform Bill, and when it is the opinion, not indeed of Lord Pal- merston—because he has kept that discreet silence on the subject which usually characterises him—(a laugh)—but the opinion of those reformers who are egging him on, that the measure to be introduced is to reduce the influence of the landed interest, and to increase the power of the towns, I think the time has come when we ought to meet and let the coun try know that we have investigated the subject and have some clear understanding upon it, and that if we are to have a new Reform Bill—which, if the country wants it, I shall not oppose—let it at least be based on principles more just than those estab lished in 1832. a ...