The Press.
London, England, 1854-03-11 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

THE

THE REFORM BILL.

229

On the order of the day for the second reading of this bill,
Lord J. Russet'. said : Sir, I rise, in pursuance of notice given so far
back as the 3rd of March last, to make a motion upon the subject of the
Reform Bill. Sir, my opinion of that bill is, that it is the very best
bill which was ever introduced into this House. ("Hear, hear," from
Lord Palmerston.) That bill, sir, as it appears to me, does away with
all the imperfections of our electoral system, and restores our Consti-
tution to that state of perfection in which it was intended by Provi-
dence to be exhibited to the world. It is, sir, unnecessary for me to
remind the House that this is the month of April, but I do so to show
that precedent is strongly in favour of the course which I shall pro-
pose. The great Lord Somers is well known to have preferred the
month of April to any other month in the year for considering impor-
tant changes ; for he says, " You are then betwixt cold and heat, and
as it were in a temperate clime, best fitted for sober thought." Mr.
Fox had a great respect for April, which, in the humorous and playful
manner which endeared him to all his friends, he described as " a
brick of a month ;" and Lord Grenville is known to have thought so
well of April that, when he was informed by his valet that April had
come in, he immediately gave his tailor an order for new leather
breeches. Therefore, sir, in asking the House to consider this bill, I
am fortified by the most illustrious names that have shed a light upon
the roll of time. I admit, sir, that there are certain reasons which
would seem to dictate a postponement. In this bill, among other
changes, we give a vote to any person with 501. in the savings bank.
But, as my hon. friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer is not ready
with his Savings Bank Bill, it appears to me that it might be unde-
sirable to proceed with this part of the question. Again, we give votes
to graduates, but, with the excitement of the Oxford Reform Bill before
us, we can hardly discuss this with advantage. Then we give a vote
to the payer of 40s. income tax, but, as this tax is now doubled, it
may be a question whether we ought to trouble a man about voting,
when his mind is full of the difficulty of raising the money for the
collector. Next, sir, we proposed to give members to Chelsea and
Kensington ; but the excitement among the Chelsea pensioners in
regard to the war is so great that possibly we should not introduce
the political element into the district, especially as Cremorne Gardens
are now open. Again, sir, we make it unnecessary to pay up rates and,
taxes ; but I need hardly say that with a war expenditure in hand w
need every stimulus which can tend to bring in the money. Thes
sir, I own are five reasons which might induce me to think that the
bill had better not be proceeded with at the present time, and I doubt not
but that they will be found of the same cogency and weight as those
upon which I originally based my argument that the measure ought
to be discussed, and as those upon which, three weeks later, I rested
my conviction that it ought not. But, sir, there is another point of
view from which the bill must be regarded, and this is the paramount
claim which my own consistency has upon me. The bill is my own—
at least, all that is good in it—and I am not inclined to throw it over
simply because the balance of argument might seem to suggest my
so doing. I have, therefore, finally made up my mind that the bill
shall be pressed, and I can only say that if I am successfully opposed
her Majesty's Government will lose a humble but faithful leader, and
the nation will be deprived of the services of the man who (as it seems
to me) is capable of conducting the affairs of the State upon the prin-
ciples of the Constitution. Sir, I move the second reading of the
Reform Bill. ( Sensation).
After a pause, Lord PALMERSTON moved the adjournment of the
House, which was unanimously agreed to, and the House rose at half-
past six.

A SUBJECT FOR THE PILE -RAPHAELITES. - Sir JAMES GRAHAM
blessing the Baltic Fleet.

fere. The consequence of all this was an increased
exertion from the Greek priesthood to maintain
their exclusive supremacy. The Russian consular
authorities were constantly intriguing in support of
claims of the Greek Church, and supported them in
every measure of tyranny and coercion ; and for this
the Czar went to war. The British Government was
repeatedly compelled to interfere against the reli-
gious outrages of the Russian agents, and he quoted
several instances from the despatches of Lords
Aberdeen, Palmerston, and Stratford. The conse-
quence of Turkish toleration, more especially towards
Protestantism, involved the secret motive of the
Czar's proceedings : the spirit of freedom was to be
put down, and hence the Menschikoff note, the
meaning of which was to wipe out all acts of toler-
ance towards Protestantism for the last twenty years.
The Czar had long but secretly embraced this policy.
Alexander had been a different man ; he had warmly
supported religious instruction and the Bible rocie•
ties, which it was one of the first acts of his successor
to suppress. During twenty years Turkey had per•.
mined more for the advancement of civilisation than
Russia during four hundred. Had Turkey been less
liberal, there would have been no Menschikoff note.
He trusted that additional security to progress would
arise out of the present contest.
The Earl of CLARENDON said that nothing could be
more culpable or less successful than the Russian
proceedings. No man—not even the Russians them-
selves—was deceived by their religious appeal. The