The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1867-02-19 00:00:00

THE REFORM RESOLUTIONS.

Notwithstanding the vagueness of the Ministerial
resolutions, the Times say. that u a whole they point
to • complete measure, and it warns Parliament that to
to reject them, or to refuse altogether to consider
them, the settlement of the question will be
put off (ether than ever. " Ills the part of practical l
wird, m under any circumstances to eke the good,
eliminate the bed, supply what is deficient, and amend ,
what is capable of oorrecti ,o." The Times does not
anticipate that an opposition will be offered to the
first, third, and fourth resolutions, but bolds that the
fifth, " potting forwent the invidious and impossible ,
principle of plurality of voting, must be summarily
thrown aside." According to the game journal, after a
substitute has been found for the fifih, then the second
resolution may be taken up. "The redistribution of
mete, which is dealt with in the sixth, seventh and
eight resolutions, depends like the figures of the occupa-
tion franchise, upon the substitute provided for the
fifth resolution. The necessities of Parliameaary
warfare may possibly explain the proposal that no
borough shall be wholly disfranchised, thumb, with the
Liberal party in opposition and a conservative Govern-
ment in power, a bolder policy will we hope be enforoed."
The Few is aid hopeful with regard to the prevention
of bribery and corruption, which forma the subject of
the next resolution, bet remarks that the remaining
P"Aarare unexceptionable.
ilMorning Herold say. the Government is freely
willing to admit an exceedingly large body of the
working clues to the franchise, but wilf maintain at all
risks that this must not be done et the cost of transfer-
ring supreme political power from the higher to the
lower clam of the community. Giving to poem pos-
sessing certain oualitication either by property or
edeciatios a plurality of votes is a remedy which appears
as ample as it is obviously far and just. It is not to
ateemosed that this principle is to be applied on the
scale, as some of our contemporaries appear
S. gemelude. Her Majesty's Government have not the
el‘tristides of giving the Marquis of Westminster such,
• plurality of votes as will enable him solely to returns ,
member for the city in which his property is aerated.
On the contrary, we have reason to believe that two
votes will be the highest number accorded to any quail-
imam whatever, while the proposal is wholly divested
of • party char/refer by the face that the rating at which
the 'rant of the additional votes will commutes will be
fixed so low as to tooled' even the lower sections of the
middle claw Lord Derby's Government have discerned
at ones the danger of the crisis and the meang of escape.
They invite the home to accomplish itself the work
which it had refused to allow Governments and parties
to perfect. They ask the hones t,, declare freely upon
what principles it is willing to legislate and if its
atheneum are such as • Conservative Government can
swept, they will make the 411111Ver the basis of the ,
measure which they will eatunit for the adoption of the
home. But the Conservative party are quite aqua to
the Usk of guarding their own honour, sod while they ,
are ready to make conossoloas and illerillOOS to solve for
=say years to come the problem which has thwarted '
the umfulnees of the Legislature since 1862. there I. •
well dolma point at which submission will he equivalent
to degradation, and thee they will not shrink from
telling the Huse of Commons that it moat And other
instruments to do its work.
The Deaf firma says that it would be an evil day for
B which should use such • principle as plurality of
voting
ginsuguratedL For it 'mold make clear to all who
are poor that they were treated as senentially inferior,
for that reason only, to the rich: to all who work with
their bands, that there is a hoiden gulf of social and
political separation between them and capitalists. But
when thug England sue divided into two sharply dis-
criminated sumps, which side woad win? Dose • thou.
seed • year put more strength in the right ann or does
a University degree make a Samson? When Mr.
Disraeli and Conservative doctrinairiea have established
by law that a poor mu is but a fraction of humanity,
have they no fur of a challenge to try whether nature
has ganotiosed the distinction? If they can by force of
argameet persuade the poor man that it Is good for him
to be emoted as only one-tenth of • human being, by all
means let them do it. Bat if poor men will not be De .
IMI:, do they seriously imagine they can establish
B:ril ly ~Sim that he shall bees counted? An
Act Of Parligeolli is very powerful, but when it defies
human nature it is but a rope of straw.
The Morpoog Poet gays that the question which
naturally erase I.—bow should these resolutions be
resolved by the Oppoeitku 1 There are manifestly two
main courses open—the one is to rioter into disengage
upon the resolutions, and to accept, reject, of mend
the.. as may be thought proper; the other to refuse
ems to Into committee upon them at all, or to engage
in any whatever upon them, as the basis of •
Rayon. nil it is manifest that the decision between
INNS two puree, mist be guided by the estimate which
Is formed of the resolutions themselves. It it is held
that they afford a ressocattle probability of being made
the beige of • saideatory bill, it would be the duty of
the Liberal party to use them to that end • if, however,
it is had that they are too had even for limit, it will be
lees „weedy the duty of the Opposition to take its
:read at the outlet, and to refuse even to entertain a
1 mama* which it .waders illusory and igoi likely to lead
to • askiebutory result.
' /I. oireeneig 8!os says that there Is no man of
Intelligence in either of the great parties, whether
within the walla of Parliament or out of it, who does
' not know that the resolutions now submitted to the
I won on the Reform question are dishonest. Never
b.f.,. .0 impudent an imposture been attempted to
. be
sb...uponiu Pwruieneopos
tat an:bolder pretenth. Lislatof
ißef.p.wronn,
earl
Ilis for all the exothermal, oesfugion, end
bttimsuaem which ere &eased% be the teem%

imperial Warltantrnt.