The Express.
London, England, 1852-02-14 00:00:00

THE NEW REFORM BILL

Chas two Deity Nsea)
No constituency, however small, sycophantic, or
subservient, is to be a holly disfranchised by Lord J ott
RESSELI:I6 new plan. Facilities fur accusing, and
convicting, particular places of bribery, and punish-
ing thtm when so proven guilty by separate bills in
each case, are, it is true, to be pros ided. But these
facilities must be considered rather in the light of
law reform than of electoral improvement. At any
time a disfmnehinoment bill might have been intro-
duced, and probably would have been passed on ade-
quate evidence being widowed of lent corruption.
What is therefore now to be flow in this
respect ought to be treated as • judicial proceeding,
not a political change.
But so the proposed Reform Bill no borough is
to bo disfranchieed. Seem sixty-seven of the most
notoriously effete are to be what is called reinvigo-
rated by ihe infusion of adjacent strength; and the
experiment is to be tried whether electoral innocence
can be wedded to electoral vice without being defiled.
But beyond this corrective process of addition, no-
thing is to he done by was of material alteration.
Far teem contemplating the exposure and punish-
ment of that greatest of political frauds—direct
nomination of members to serve in parliament
by peers and large landed proprietors, it would
appear that this is not to be grappled with
in any way. Their pernicious influence may in
some instances be mitigated; in others it may be
driven to resort to the supplementary aids of inumi-
dation and corruption exercised through the me-
dium of neighbouring squires and family con-
nexions. the contributory towns will be
brihed, while the old centre continues to be
bullied as before. Here and there the federation
system may work eventually • system of mutual
emancipation, and we do not desire to see the chance
of amelioration which it holds out rashly thrown
away. We must, however, contend that it promises
after all no more than amelioration and alleviation—
that, in its present shape, it has in it little flavour or
cesenve of genuine reform.
What, then, is to be done? We any by all means
let the people's real friends in the House of Com-
mons strive energetically. and at the same time pru-
dently, to improve the bill. Every amendment in-
volving a principle will be met, no doubt, with the
cry front the official flunkeys, " You will endanger
the bill!" Of course; that is always the logic
of legislative lacqucys—the philosophic rhetoric
always must popular at Deo-oar's, and among the
Lords of the blitchen. If such tuggistions were at-
tended to, we &hue Id never have got even thus far on our
way towards popular representation. All the diners-
out went. disgusted with HENRY BIWEGMAM no
relation teethe eccentric nobleman of that name
when ho not having the ease and comfort of the
Whigs of 1100 before his eyes, persisted in threat-
ening that lie would bring the revolting state of the
repreeentation before parliament and the country on
a given day in November with the avowed p
of propounding an efficient remedy. He wasluZard
over and waylaid with judicious advice of
all kinds—but he was obdurate—and hence
the Reform Bill of 1831 ,• for it is impose
Whit) to doubt that had he at that en-
ticel juncture abandoned his position as a pledged
reform r—a reformer in reality and not in sham—we
should now be in a far worse plight than we now are,
and far less able to wage further war against the
oligarchy. And so my we now. Let the cabinet
proposition be accepted as far as it goes; but let not
those who represent independent constituencies hesi-
tate to perform their bounden duty of stating plainly
wherein the ministerial proposition falls short of just
expectation, of trying in detail to assert the right
and to redress the continued wrong. If the bill, as
propounded by the PRIME MINIsTER, is taken sneak-
ingly by the liberal party, without any earnest Wort
to improve or modify it, the people will hid, sok
what is the use of sending men of talent and elo-
quence to parliament to play the part of wmatorial
mummers, or only to be of consideration when utter-
ing the monosyllabic "aye" or "nor A set of ra-
dical machines made to go seven years and to strike
" aye" and " no" at appointed intervals would do
just as well, and would in all probability be found
much more regular in their movements and reliable
in their utterances.

Taking for granted, however, as we are in courtesy
and charity bound to do, that when the bill gets
into committee the whole subject will be considered
open, and that a bored fade determination will be
shown to put the house to the test of sincerity
.on
each point of importance, we repeat our suggestion
that (non all boroughs which now return two mem-
bers, and whose constituents do not exceed 300, oar
member should be taken, in order that populous
places like Croydon, in Surrey, Gravesend and Mar-
gate and Ramsgate in Kent, and those numerous
northern seats of manufacturing induatty, which
are now wholly unrepresented, should at once
obtain their due and deserved share of consti-
tutional privileges. Lord Hartman at present
nominates two gentlemen to represent Finn, beams
he is all powerful at Cirencester. Will Lord Joint
Itusszu. venture to argue that one representative of
H Lord BAT URST'S individual feelings might not in
future suffice? Lord Sitirrtailuee nominates two
gentlemen for Dorchester; but even his relative,
Lord Pal..mataTos, who, as a member of the cabinet,
agreed to the general plan, will hardly stand up in
his place and contend that so loquacious a personage
as the noble esrl requires two prow in the lower
house now that he has soated sat, the regions of
the upper. 80, in like manner, we make little ques-
tion that Lord SANDWICH would be better pleased
to be permitted to return two private friends of his
for Huntingdon, as Lord ZerLsen does Br Rich-
mond, and Lord Da Gm for Ripon. Bet the
people of England want "le knew the rams why."
We do not dispute the prepriety of the Duke of Btu-
rout's choice when be lest-a sinews liberal like
Mr. TKELAWNT terslisHH4 for his mil=
borough of Tavist I neither iS any ene
to find fault with Mr. HRATHOOAT Br levies
thought fit to nominate Lewd Palmation as
one of his representatives at Tindall. What
we complain of is, that it skald depend
on the digestion of his Gram, or of say
individual, whether good or bad sue should be re-
turned far them or similar please. And, admitting
for argueinnt's sake (what we should be slow to
admit in soy ether asses), that Mid distranchisment
is not the seitslis timedy far eash-41ws we my, at
least, take swag me maim foes sash, and maw
the seat thee pined apes isms hitherto unrepre-
sented centre of trade, iatell sod industry.
Surely it is bad enough Br these ■ssmen sad
tlemen to be left in the et joyssuse their
of nominating one member; and, ampailly,
of the new lease of power they new lope to pet
the bill, will very much depend upon the prudent
forbearance they display in surrendering all that
common sense and common decency forbids their
attempting to retain.