The Press.
London, England, 1857-04-18 00:00:00

EXTENSION OF THE FRANCHISE.

I HAVE given you the general ideas which prevail in
the Conservative party upon electoral reform. The
Conservatives think that any DEGRADATION of the
existing franchise would tend to swamp the influ-
ence of property, and to give mere numbers a most
unfair and most dangerous preponderance over
those other elements of representation which are
entitled to great weight—as intelligence, station,
and wealth. But to any EXTENSION of the franchise,
as it. exists, the Conservatives will not be opposed.
Let me endeavour to make this distinction perfectly
clear.

The franchise, as regards boroughs, would be
DEGRADED were it reduced from 101. to 51. houses.
The practical effect would be, to introduce a lower
class of householders. In very many boroughs the
vast majority of householders would be composed of
the class who occupy houses between 51. and 101.
per annum, and this class would, if the franchise
were degraded, return members to the exclusion of
all other classes.

Do you want an illustration of this position ?
Well. I take a letter in the Times of this day from
an elector of Kidderminster. The number of elec-
tors at present is 495. The Times correspondent
says that if the franchise were reduced to 51. houses
the number of electors would be 2,400. Is It not
evident that in all such cases the electors occupying
houses between 51. and 101. would form an over-
whelming majority—that they would he the govern-
ing class—and that all the superior classes of voters
would be as much and as totally excluded from a
share in the representation as if their names were
struck off the registry ?
I take this one case as an example of what would
result from a DEonAnATIox of the franchise. Let
us now consider the result of an EXTENSION of the
existing franchise.

The borough of Kidderminster is surrounded by
an arbitrary line. All 10/. houses within that line
possess the franchise ; all 10/. houses without that
line are excluded from it. Why should these
borough electors be so highly favoured? Who are
they ? In this very letter from Kidderminster in the
Times it is stated that out of the 495 electors 70 are
publicans and 39 beershop-keepers, together 109.
Is it surprising that in the elections for this borough
gross drunkenness and bribery prevail ? What
should be the remedy? To degrade the suffrage?
No, but to extend it, so as to bring in a purer class
of voters.

All 10!. houses in the rural districts around
Kidderminster should confer the franchise for the
borough ; and in this manner a constituency of
three or four thousand honest electors—removed
from the degrading influences of the beershop and
from the radical agitation of the factory—would be
formed. This is the kind of electoral reform that is
required. The boundaries of boroughs must be so
enlarged as to entirely abolish pure nomination, to-
gether with poihouse influence and radical dictation.
I know it for a fact that at one of the borough elec-
tions just ended a Conservative candidate was
offered a sufficient number of voters to secure his
election at a pot of beer per head. .

The Conservatives have nothing to gain by main-
taining this degrading system. As the principle is
recognised that the occupation of a 10/. house should
confer the franchise, let it be fairly acted on. Every
403. freeholder in the kingdom, and every 30/.
tenant-at-will in the kingdom, have a vote for some
county or other. Why should not every 101. house-
holder in the kingdom have a vote for some borough
or the other ? By such a measure the borough con-
stituencies would be greatly extended, and on the
whole the new voters would be of a far higher class
than those which at present exist.—London Corre-
spondent of Essex Gazette.

THE BOROUGH OF KIDDERMINSTER
AND ITS ELECTION RIOTS.

(Abridged from a Letter to the Editor of the Times.)
Sir,—The public press continues its indignant com-
ments oc the recent " stoning" of the Vice-President
of the Board of Trade and the principal and most in-
telligent of the citizens of Kidderminster. I am a
Worcestershire mai, and, I am sorry to confess, an
octogenarian, having been upwards of half a century
thoroughly acquainted, as your readers will perceive,
with the "ins" and " outs" of the borough. My facts
and retrospective review will cast some light on the
transaction.

Kidderminster anciently sent members to Parlia-
ment tWillis, in the " Notitia Parliamentaria,") and
by the writs of the Record Commissioner;' publica-
tion, sent two members to Parliament, with wages,
temp. Edward 1. The town afterwards relapsed as a
" decayed borough," or it was 4, disused." A century

3t'Y

ago the manufacture of carpets was fortunately in -
troduced. The population doubled between 180 1
and 1831 ; in the latter year its inhabitants
numbered about 15,000. It contributed its Political
Union in aid of Birmingham. Lord Grey's Reform
Act bestowed upon the town, with a properly en-
larged boundary, the right of returning one member
to the reformed representation. Kidderminster
came just within the scale, and had friends at Court.
In 1832-3 the first election for this " virgin
borough" was disgraced by an expenditure of several
thousand pounds on both sides, the late Mr. Godson,
a Tory, polling 172 votes, and defeating a Liberal
( the present Sir G. It. Philips), who polled 159 votes.
Both candidates expending in "treating" and hired
mob partisans large sums' a petition could not
expediently he prosecuted. In 1835 the tables
turned, Mr. Philips winning by 197 votes, Mr. God-
son polling only 124. A similar profligate expendi-
ture accompanied this contest. In 1837 Mr. Godson
ecovered his ground, defeating Mr. John Bagshaw
(the present member for Harwich) by 198 to 157.
In 1841 Mr. Godson again met an opulent opponent.
Mr. Sampson Ricardo appeared, as a stranger, on
the issue of the writ, but polling only 200 against
212. This contest was the scene of riot and costly
drunkenness. It is notorious in the borough that
the defeated candidate within a week expended
4,0001., that his successful opponent exceeded that
sum, and that the "managers" of both parties did
not abstain from bribery. Hired mobs were the
order of the day. In 18-17 Mr. Godson walked over
the course, his purse and his invincible determina-
tion affrighting all corners. It is equally notorious
that Kidderminster cost that gentleman "a fortune."
On his death, in August, 18-19, Mr. Best, a barrister,
son of a local merchant, became the " Protectionist
candidate." The Liberal party, disgusted by the
previous costly and unsuccessful management of its
interest, resolved to fight a "pure e,ection." The
late Mr. Thomas Gisborne was their chosen candi-
date. He polled 200 against 217. It is well known
that Mr. Gisborne might have bought the return by
purchase of a small and floating party, but he de-
clined the bargain.
Such were the earlier contests and the state of the
borough parties when the dissolution of 1852 oc-
curred, consequent on free trade. At that
period, the local parties much broken up, the leading
men of all sections deemed it high time to make
common cause, to combine in the election. The
"influence" of Lord Ward has been mentioned in
relation to this borough. The fact is that his lord-
ship's influence is small, though, of course, desirable,
but that nobleman acceded to the selection of a
creditable candidate. Mr. Lowe contested the re-
turn, as the elect of the large majority of all classes,
ousting Mr. Best by 240 votes against 152. On
accepting office Mr. Lowe was re-elected without
opposition. His returns, to my knowledge, have been
perfectly pure. I now arrive at the last and eventful
election. The result is before the country, in the
disgrace of the borough and the temporary embitter-
ing of classes. On previous occasions " treating "
had been the benefit of publicans. But, to the
honour of the former class, the large majority
disinterestedly supported Mr. Lowe. Nevertheless,
I cannot but complete my local statistics by the re-
cord of the extraordinary number of publicans and
beershop-keepers in this thirsty borough. The
Parliamentary Licence returns of 1852 exhibit the
almost incredible figures of 81 publicans and 00
beershopleepers ! Of this "licensed" body 109
persons were on the register of parliamentary
electors, in a gross constituency of 491—viz., 70
publicans and 39 beer retailers !. .

An extension of the franchise in Kidderminster to
M. rated occupiers would raise the constituency to
2,400 electors. If this increase be effected by a
coming further Reform Bill, and without conditions
for a purification of such an electoral qualification,
or unaccompanied by an improved mode of record of
the vote, what may be the character of the next con-
test, or of the successful candidate'

AN OLD REFORMER
(A Surviving Member of the Society of the
Friends of the People).
Richmond, April, 12.

THE PRESENT READING-ROOMS Or THE BRITISH
MUSEUM will be closed after the 30th inst. During
the first week in May, when the Museum will be
closed as usual, the library of reference will be re-
moved from its present locality to the new reading-
room; and in order to avoid unnecessary interrup-
tion while this operation is being carried on, no
strangers will be admitted to the libraries for any
purpose whatever. On the Bth of May the new
reading-room will be thrown open to the public
generally, who will be allowed to visit it freely until
the 16th, after which day it will be devoted exclu-
sively to the use of the readers. As the entrance to
the new reading-room is through the front hall, it
will be necessary that readers should bring their
tickets of admission with them until they have be-
come known to the doorkeepers.

')

378

lon* a 0 Colonial ptaligtne.

FRANCE.

The Neufchatel Conferences have not been
resumed. The Federal Government declines to
make any further concessions, and refuses to recog-
nise the rights of sovereignty claimed by the King of
Prussia.

The Bund denies that the Federal Council
has ever consented to admit as just the payment of
an indemnity by Switzerland to the King of
Prussia :

It is possible (adds the Bead) that the plenipotentiaries
may have admitted that condition into the project of
arrangement, hut Switzerland has not given her consent to
this combination. The government of Berne, on the con-
trary, maintains its first opinion not to pay anything as an
indemnity.

The same journal declares that a direct under-
standing between Prussia and Switzerland is impos-
sible, and expresses the opinion that probably the
plenipotentiaries will draw up a project of arrange.
ment, which they will propose separately to each of
the two powers interested.

The Grand Duke Constantine is expected at
Toulon on the 20th or 21st.

The expedition against the Kabyles, which forms so
prominent a topic in Frenzh military circles, is fixed
to commence on the 10th of May. The Moniteur
Algeria gives the following details :
The first movement of the troops necessitated by the
campaign of Kabylia has commenced to-day throughout
the whole extent of French Africa. At Algiers two brunt-
lions, one of Zouaves and the other of infantry of the line,
have commenced their march on the road leading to Denys;
and, to-morrow, two other battalions will follow for the
same destination. The expeditionary army will be com-
posed of about 20,000 men. It will have an imposing
force of cavalry, amounting to not less than eight squa-
drons. The cavalry in this campaign will fill a double
office, equally important and useful ; it will in the first
place occupy the high grounds, and, after having ceded
that position to the infantry, will guard the valley of the
Sebaon, in order to prevent the Kabyle contingents from
coming to the assistance of the enemy. The army, which
will be divided into several columns, will first operate on
the territory of the Tizi•Ouzous and the Guechloulas, in
order to attack the Ileni•Rattens on two sides at once. The
last-named tribe are about 3,000 in number, but this
number will probably be increased by contingents from
t ie neighbouring confederations.

General Bonrbakai has been appointed to the com-
mand of a division.

AUSTRIA AND SARDINIA.
A letter from Vienna in the Augsburg Gazette
states :

A camp for manoeuvres is to be established this year
near Somme, in the environs of Sesto Calende, and
another near Barlassina. Both these places are in Lom.
hardy. In the neighbourhood of Vienna two are to be
established, one near Wollerdorf, at a short distance from
Solnan, the other near Wimpassing. In the autumn a
large camp of cavalry, consisting of fourteen regiments,
under the command of Prince Charles de Lichtenstein, is
to be established near Pahrendorf, beyond the Leitha.
In these camps the troops are to be exeieited by brigades
fir forty days.

This statement, immediately after the assurance of
the Ost Deutsche Post and the Oesterreichische
Zeitung that no counter-demonstration against the
formation at Alessandria by Sardinia of a camp of
20,000 men would be made by Austria, must be
received with caution.

The report that the Sardinian Government would
form such a camp of 20,000 men at Alessandria wa.4
premature. The subject will be discussed in the
Chambeis.

A letter from Vienna, in the Lloyd of Pesth, de-
nies that M. de Bourqueney has taken any step to
prove that France has the intention of assuming the
role of mediator in the Austro-Sardinian difficulty, or
that Count Buol has declared in a note his readiness
t) accept that mediation.
The journey of the Emperor of Austria into Hun-
gary is announced by the preparations, which are
being made on a grand scale.
His Majesty's departure is fixed for the 3rd of May,
and his return for the 20th of June.
The preliminary negotiations for the restoration of
friendly relations between the Courts of Turin and
Rome have been completed.