The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1860-01-10 00:00:00

PARLIAMENTARY REFORM MEETING
AT BIRMINGHAM.

BIKMINCHAN, Friday Night.

A meting to consided the question of Parliamen-
tary Reform was held in the Town-hall here to.
; the Mayor, Mr. Lloyd, presided. He
entered the ball at half-past 7 o'clock, accompanied
: by Mr. Bright and Mr. Scholefield and abont a
dozen gentlemen of local note accompanied the
Mayor and the hon. members. Among these were
; Mr. Alderman Sturge, Mr. Alderman Manton, Mr.
I Alderman Baldwin, Mr. Edmonds, Clerk of the
l'eare ; Mr. 3lidillemore, a borough magistrate, and
a few members of the Town-council, and there were
about 7,000 people in the ball; but, as far as the
character of the meeting and the persons present
possessing local influence, it reflected exactly the
requisition described in the Times of Monday
week: it WAS a very meagre exhibition of men of
mark and position.
Mr. Alderman Baldwin moved the first resolu-
tion :--

"That the necessity of Parliamentary Reform having
been acknowledged by all the great political parties, and
Her 'Majesty's Governnient being pledged to introduce a
Reform Bill during the ensuing session, it is the opinion
of this meeting that any Bill to be uscfnl to the country
and satisfactory to the people must provide for • large
extension of the franchise, for vote by ballot, and for a
better apportionment of Members to population."

Mr. George Edmonds, Clerk of the Peace,
seconded the resolution, and in doing so complained
of the absence of any stimulant on the part of the
press in support of the movement. The press of
Birmingham he held responsible to the people of
Birmingham for this neglect. As for the people, be
held that they were bound by their loyalty to put
an end to the present anomalous state of things in
connexion with the representation.

Mr. SCHOLEFIELD supported the resolution. In
the presence of Mr. Villiers and Mr. Gibson in the
present Cabinet they might and would entertain the
hope that the Reform Bill to be introduced in the
next session of Parliament would be based on a
sound and honest principle. For his part be would
accept an honest Reform Bill, without the
With all its faults, he admitted that the present
House of Commons was the noblest representative
assembly in the world; but it would be much im-
proved if some men obtained meats who more directly
represented the working classes.
Mr. BRIGHT, who was most enthusiastically
received, said he felt sure they would all agree with
, him that it was a wholesome thing for constituencies
and their representatives to meet periodically, as
they had met on that occasion, for the purpose of
discussing great questions of vital interest to the
community which must very soon come before Par-
liament. But, if there were great questions affecting
the vital interests of the community, which were to
be determined, and could only be determined, by
Parliament, how necessary did it seem that Parlia-
ment, to whose jurisdiction those question. 3 were re-
ferred, should fairly represent the great interests and
intelligence of the people of this country 1 Mr.
Bright went on to discuss the circumstances which
led to the withdrawal of the measure in that year,
and the subsequent introduction of a Reform Bill
under Lord Aberdeen's Government, and hoped
that the struggle would not be abandoned until this
bill was obtained.