The Press.
London, England, 1857-04-04 00:00:00

326

conclusive evidence that a majority of the new
House of Commons will be favourable to the
principle of some kind of change in the pre-
sent system of representation.
The Minister himself, it is believed, still
hesitates. He personally hates Reform. Of
that there can be no question. If he sees his
way to goieg on without raising this dreaded
question, he will resort to any shifts and ex-
pedients to avoid beine, entangled with it.
But he will not allow Lord JOHN RUSSELL or
Sir J. tin/owe to press before him on this
question, so as to take the lead of the Liberal
party out of his hands. He is a practical
man. He would not sacrifice one day of office
for any principle whatever. He will make no
attempt to breast the current, whatever direc-
tion it may take.
On the one side, he has to consider that the
number of Liberal members pledged to elec-
toral reform is greater than in the last Parlia-
ment, when his Government narrowly escaped
defeat on Mr. LOCKE KING's !notion ; and, on
the other side, he has to consider that any
measure of Reform must be attended with
great difficulties, and, if carried, would imme-
diately necessitate another appeal to the
country.
Lord GritANVi U.E, in his reply to Lord DERBY
on the 16th of March, distinctly stated that
the Government were favourable to the prin-
ciple of Mr. LOCKE Rise's proposed measure,
and only opposed it because they found " the bill
" to be dran4.,,lited in such a shape us not to per-
" mit the amendments which the Government
" thought it expedient to propose." Mr. LOCKE
KING himself denies the truth of this repre
sentation. His motion was for leave to intro-
duce a bill, and, as no bill was before the
House, the objection of Lord GRANVILLE could
not possibly apply.
This view of Mr. KING is borne out by what
Lord PALMERSTON said in the debate (Feb. 19).
He opposed the bill on the just ground that it
would entirely destroy that essential and im-
portant distinction between the county and
borough franchise which is coeval in England
with the existence of the representative
system.
We leave Mr. LOCKE KING to settle this
point with the Government It is only im-
Lortant fOr us to note that the declaration of
rd GRANVILLE has led many Liberal mem-
b3rs to make specific mention of the proposed
m asure of the Honourable Member for East
S trrey, and to declare that it shall receive
tueir strenuous support. Moreover, the mes-
s ire has some reason to recommend it. Why
terould an arbitrary line be drawn about a
c' aster of houses, and all houses within that
Rue of the yearly value of 101. confer a vote,
while all houses of the same value without the
line confer no vote at all? The force of the
argument becomes much stronger when it is
considered that many of these favoured
boroughs comprise only two, three, or four
hundred voters, who are either venal or sub-
missive, while thousands on thousands of
honest and independent householders exist in
all directions around the favoured line.
But to the proposed measure of the Hon.
Member for East, Surrey there arc two objec-
tions of the gravest character.
The first is that urged by Lord PALMERSTON.
It is unquestionably an ancient, fundamental,
and vital principle of the English representa-
tive system that the franchise for counties
should be distinct from the franchise for
boroughs. The reason is obvious. The knights
of the shire arc presumed to represent the
land of England, with all interests immediately
connected therewith ; while the members
for boroughs are presumed to represent the
trade, commerce, manufactures, and profes-
sions of the county. This distinction is
enforced by every writer on the British Con-
stitution. BLACKSTONE writes of it :
The counties are represented by knights elected by the
proprietors of lands ; and the cities and boroughs are re-
presented by citizens and burgesses chosen by the mer-
cantile part or supposed trading interest of the nation.
The Chandos clause, in extending the right
of voting to the occupiers of lands, rather eon-
firmed than invalidated the general principle—
that the county members should represent
the land and its interests.
Now, the.proposal of Mr. LOCKE lima would
.
hjokr ate this principle. It rould
97rs
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