The Press.
London, England, 1858-05-08 00:00:00

MR. LOCKE KING'S MOTION.

THERE probably never was a proposal so capable
of being placed in opposite lights as this. It may
be regarded, on the one hand, as a very Radical
measure ; but it may also, and with as good
reason, be deemed, on the other, a thoroughly
Conservative proposal.
In dealing with any projects of Parliamentary
Reform, we should be careful not to neglect the
lessons which we have recently received from
the elections of France, and Belgium, and Sar-
dinia. From the experience of those countries,
we ascertain that not even universal suffrage,
or, as it is now called, " manhood suffrage," is
perilous, if care be taken to balance the town
population by an equal suffrage for the rural
districts.

Looking at the Continent from the high ground
of realized liberty, and feeling that such nations
as Belgium and Sardinia have an enormous lee-

435

way to bring up, we are often apt to sympathize
rather with the town-electors—the movement
party—of Belgium and Sardinia, than with the
Conservatives of those countries, the agricultu-
rists. But, whichever party may be right in the
present struggle, it is quite clear that the move-
ment party in the towns is held in check, alike
in France, and Belgium, and Sardinia, by the
Conservative or priests party in the country
districts.

And yet, in dealing with Mr. ImeKE KixG's
motion, the Conservatives often seem afraid of
the result of an enlargement of the rural con-
stituencies; whereas we believe the plain proba-
bility of the case to be that, if we could but
gain more power for the rural districts, more
votes and more representatives for the counties,
we should end in securing, in the safest way,—a
Conservative House of Commons.

At present, the majority is gained for the
Liberals by dint of the plainest injustice. It is
assumed, that the voters for boroughs have a
right to twice or thrice as much power as the
voters for counties! Some of the Whigs have
scoffed at the Attorney-General, for appearing
to countenance the idea of more equal electoral
districts. We believe that Sir FITZROY KELLY
had well considered what he then said ; and that
he knew, with certainty, that more equal repre-
sentative districts, and more equal rights, for
town and country, would give us a much safer,
a much more Conservative, House of Commons.
Something may be gathered from the samples
we already have, of representatives for the agri-
cultural boroughs, where country-gentlemen are
chosen, and where no Coppock from town dis-
turbs the natural course of things by "intro-
ducing a gentleman from the Reform Club."
By " the agricultural boroughs," we mean such
towns as Andover, Buckingham, Chippenham,
Christchurch, Cirencester, Dorchester, Guildford,
Hertford, Horsham, Huntingdon, Leominster,
Maidstone, Marlborough, Marlow, Midhurst,
Petersfield, Shoreham, Thetford, and Walling-
ford. The representatives of these towns are
almost invariably gentlemen of the neighbour-
-1 hood. Taken as a class, they are equal to
any section of the House. They are generally
chosen without any . improper expenditure.
Their seats are gained by first securing the re-
spect of the people. If we assume it to be pro-
bable—and we think that this may safely be
assumed—that these gentlemen are a fair sample
of what the ten-pound voters in counties would
send into the House of Commons,—then we
should say, "Let this clam be augmented, if
possible." True, we find no Roebucks, Brights,
Ayrtons, or Milner Gibsons, among their num-
ber. But, although it may be a weakness on our
part, we own that we prefer the country-gentle-
man class to the metropolitan-demagogue class.
And surely, to increase the first of these classes,
in numerical strength, must be admitted to be a
Conservative measure.

But further—let us ask, whether one natural
and necessary result of the success of Mr. LOCKE
KiNu's motion is not overlooked ? It would
enormously increase the county constituencies.
Well, we wish them increased ; because then we
shall most justly demand, in the next place, a
proportionate increase in the number of their
representatives.
Supposing the motion carried, and a Bill to
effect this change passed, and made a law ; its
immediate result would be to place among the
first claimants for an augmented representation
nearly all the counties in England. At present,
Leeds and Manchester, Liverpool and Birming-
ham, are loud in their complaints that Bucking-
ham, and Devizes, and Guildford, and Huntingdon
should, each of them, send as many representa-
tives to Parliament as the " hardware village,"
with its 200,000, or " the cotton metropolis,"
with its 400,000, inhabitants. But the moment
the ten-pounders in the counties are admitted to
the franchise, this cry dies away or becomes
harmless. There are but some twelve or four-
teen boroughs which could advance the claim to
have more than two representatives. But, if
such a claim were for a moment entertained, it
would be instantly neutralized, for thirty or forty
counties would immediately show an equal or a
stronger case. Hence, if any concession were
made to the mobs of the towns, on the one side,
it would be much more than counterbalanced by
the larger concession which must be granted to
the agricultural districts on the other.

A

436

On the whole, we sum up the case in two or
three brief observations

:-

1. If the Liberals have, as they claim to have,
a majority in the House of Commons at present,
they owe that majority to the borough-repre-
sentatives.

2. But these borough-liberals possess an unfair
advantage, inasmuch as it has been often shown,
that 607,579 of electors, in the rural districts,
have only 243 representatives; while 497,138
in the towns have as many as 411.
3. Hence, to bring about a more just and equal
representation, it is chiefly to be desired that this
advantage given to the boroughs in the present
system, shall, in sonic way or other, be discon-
tinued. Let 100,000 men, or 10,000 electors,
residing in the rural districts, have as large a
share in the representation as if they dwelt
in Leeds or Birmingham,—and soon we shall
see the unjust preponderance of Liberals in the
House of tommons cease and vanish away.
4. And, as a first step to such a Conservative
reform, we ought perhaps to view without any
fear or regret the probable success of Mr. LoeKJ
KING'S motion.

We admit, indeed, that the Conservative
feeling of dislike to a frequent meddling with the
representation is worthy of respect. But we doubt
whether it is possible any longer to remain silent
or inactive in this matter. We believe that Lord
STANLEY spoke advisedly and discreetly, when he
said, at the Lynn election :—" No one denies, in
" whatever part of the House he may sit, that
" the Reform Bill of 1832 requires some modi-
" ti cation."

And we think, also, that in attempting a reform
of the Reform Bill on Conservative principles, an
enlargement of the county-constituencies, to be
immediately followed, or perhaps accompanied,
by an enlargement of the county representation,
is the very first step which ought to be taken.