The Press.
London, England, 1858-08-21 00:00:00

LONDON, SATURDAY, AUGUST 21,1858.

through the potent agency of Illenumerous pub- •
lie-houses which the Firm to which he belongs
could control, and employ 'to 'control others :
added to the circumstance, that, thOugh professing
to be a religious man, he was found, on the Jew
question, to have an " accommodaiing canseienee."
Birth may be a very good reason why a man
should be chosen, if with birth there be brains ;
but why beer without brains should represent a
large intellectual constituency, it would puzzle
the most astute politician to say, unless it be that
drunkenness requires protection. It is, we be-
lieve, an unquestionable fact, that there are more
large brewers sitting in the present Parliament
than ever sat there before. And even where the
representatives are not brewers, as in Lambeth,
and other large but low constituencies, it is the
potency of the public-house influence that carries
:-f- Parliament. Or, when not

CONSERVATIVE REFORM.
THE great battle-field of Party, in the coming
session, will undoubtedly be Parliamentary Re-
form; unless, indeed, some unexpected event should
arise to divert the public mind into another
direction. It is not that the people generally are
eager or anxious for another Reform Bill—they
have seen the futility of the last ; but that failing
party politicians are anxious to bid high for
restored influence. The demand for Reform now
comes rather from those who have been disap-
pointed in the results of the former Reform Bill
than from those who never expected it to work
any beneficial change. It was to have given the
Whigs a permanent rule in this country ; it has
given rise to a new intermediate party, and ended
in leaving them weaker than they were before.
As it was the Whigs who tried their hands a
Reform on the former occasion, and had it a'
their own way, it is but fair that it should
the lot—as it' seems likely it *lll this thilliAo
the Conservatives to show what they can do
amend the representation. The Bill of 18
though coming from the Whi, was intended to state of gs things to continue ? Who can say
be Conservative ; but conservative of what ?—of this is a true representation of the collective
their own paramount influence : this they sought English people ?
to conserve by disfranchising the close borough§ of It is certain that some remedy must be pro-
the Conservatives, and preserving their own in- vided ere long for the evils and abuses that have
tact. The Bill of 1859 or 60, though origin- spranc, up under the last Reform Bill. Parlia-
sting with the Conservatives, will, we venture ment will lose the confidence of all the more
to foretell, be genuinely liberal; or, in other intelligent members of the community, and all its
words, truly conservative. It is no uncommon proper influence, if something be not done to raise
phenomenon in that strange contradictory thing the character of the Legislative Body. The
called " human nature," for those who are highly question, then, arises, What direction shall Re-
liberal in theory to be tyrannical in practice, and form next take ?—what shall be its distinctive
for those who are rigid in their professed prin- feature 9
ciples to be the most considerate and just when
" Nothing is a due and adequate representation
they come to apply them. " of a State that does not represent its ability as
What are the defects in the working of the last " well as its property." Such is one of the prin-
Reform Bill? On this point let us hear the ciples laid down by that profound political philo-
Times. In its leader of May 7, 1849, it corn- sopher, BURKF.. Here we have the principle
plained that the Reform Bill had " left the re- that should guide us in any new Reform. In the
presentation of the people to men with large last Reform Act the only two things considered
" purses or accommodating consciences ; to men were property and numbers. Education has
" who will bribe with money, and those who will made immense strides since that period, and
" bribe with servility railway directors or would advance still more rapidly if an educa-
" platform declaimers." This is too true. tional qualification—such as the new A.A. degree
But the Times might have gone even fur- after twenty-one years of age, with a number of
ther—at least we may go further now— others--entitled to a vote. An educational fran-
and say that it is birth, brass, or beer that in very chile is what we now require, both to restore the
many constituencies now rules the day. Look at balance of influence in the State among the
the metropolitan county of Middlesex, which is, different orders, and also to elevate the character
in point of fact, one great city. Is it not a of the House of Commons. Mere numbers never
humiliating thing that this great constituency, can be either a just or a safe basis for granting
comprehending more of the property, rank, learn- electoral powers. For, multiplying fools by
ing, and intelligence of the age than any other thousands will not create one single wise man.
constituency in the world, should be represented It is those who understand the nature of their
by two such men as a BYNG, for his birth, trust, and are too independent to barter it for a
and a brewer, for his beer ? There cannot be bribe, that we want to exercise the duty of elec-
a doubt that it was the name of Byng that tion. It is not lowering the franchise, but raising
caused the one to be returned, and that the other the character of the qualification, that will re-
was returned, notwithstanding his unfitness, medy the defects in the last Reform Bill. And
Linn EDITION.

let no. one say that this principle of Reform is not
•
"liberal" : it would be " liberal " in the true
sense of the term, and at the same time large, inas-
much as it would include all those who have had
a "liberal" education, and these are now no
small number.
While we adopt BURKE'S principle that
" nothing is a due and adequate representation
" of a State that does not represent its ability as
" well as its property," we adopt it with his own
limitations, namely, that property must have a
predominating influence over both ability and
numbers in the representation to secure the
safety of the State. For, first, ability being an
active and vigorous thing, and property sluggish
and inert, if property were not made secure,
by the larger number who represented it, against
being overborne, it might soon fall a prey to
the invasions of ability. In the second place,
property must be represented in great masses,
and not as diffused in evil .portions through
large numbers of persons ; because the same
amount of property divided between five thousand
citizens, each of whom has a vote, as is in another
case amassed in one individual, would have a
manifest overwhelming advantage over the latter,
if his individual person only was to be considered,
and in the other case, each man's property, as the
ground of his qualification. The characteristic
of property is, that it will always be unequal.
The great masses, therefore, which excite envy
and tempt to rapacity, must be put out of all pos-
sibility of danger by the greater weight given to
them in the State. Thus treated, they form a
natural rampart about the lesser properties, and
keep every man's own secure.
The great fault of the last Reform Bill was,
thatait gave to mere numbers in certain localities
a predominating influence. It was not that it
did not secure still to the large properties of the
country adequate protection (the great Whig
proprietors took care of that) ; but that it pan-
dered to political party, by giving to numbers in
large towns, where Radical sentiments almost
always prevail, the virtual power of returning
the members, without regard to any other quali-
fication than the renting a ten-pound house.
This it was that has swamped all the intelligence,
respectability, and independence of the more
educated classes in these places. What a perfect
mockery, for instance, it is to give to any clergy-
man, or solicitor, or doctor, or artist, or school-
master (unless he happens to be an extreme
Radical, which in such a
borough as Lam
or in our great
influence is aim
As well might
to present it
sequence is,
have almost
Both as respects
men chosen,

eh is very rare) a vote in such a
Ambeth, or Finsbury,9Lßallthwark,
tat mercantile hpviliskr —ltilol-64, c 5
tbsolutely overy7e •,, '• 1•• l ': " ' llir.
tt he throw his rapti4-"
at the polling ~. 41
..vi'. t . .f.f.
that in these ccitlaiti."ititk -I.* ,
entirely ceasedgie ..,L,
espects the ch.• -,V,7;:i,1411.74
1, some rectificido

_A