The Express.
London, England, 1867-03-06 00:00:00

MINI,TERTAL EXPLANATION.%

Deprecating debates which are simply piquant
from their oratorical merits or from personal recrimina-
tions, the Timis trusts that such evenings as that of
yesterday will now give way to more practical
work. The picture given by the retiring ministers,
by which it appears that the appearance of unity
was only maintained by doing nothing, gives rise
to painful reflections. It is not creditable to any one
that vital questions should be thus bandied about, at the
very time that parliament was amused with a show of
action ; and the good-nature which prompted Lord Derby
to give up the plan of reform he thought best for the
country in order to preserve his colleagues was criminal
weakness. It is by such good-nature that continents are
lost :old kingdoms reduced to the verge of civil war. The
mischief, however, has been done, and it is useless to dwell
upon it. Last night's debate sets only instructive as fore-
shadowing the discussion which any reform bill must
cause. If we arc to accept the doctrine of Mr.
Lowe that the reduction of the franchise is the
beginning of the end, we should indeed be in
I melancholy position. The Times does not be-
lieve that most educated Englishmen will share the
contempt which both Mr. Lowe and Mr. Bright feel fur
the compensating machinery. Artificial checks on the
power of the majority would indeed be of no avail, but
there are natural methods of protecting the representation
of all classes un which reliance may be placed. Such
safeguards as would give certain favoured voters,
or classes of voters, electoral power in excess of those
given to others must fail ; but on the other hand
if we nuke no distinction between voters, but simply give
to each liberty to do as he likes with the electoral privi-
leges he can exercise, we offend no prejudice and we raise
a permanent defence for the free expression of each form
of opinion. At all events, let the ministerial policy be
frankness, and let the design of each branch of the frame-
work of the Reiman Bill is fairly avowed at the outset.
It was leas Mr. Disraeli's meagre narrative than the ex-
planations of his two retiring colleagues, says the Daily
News, from which we gain the new illumination as to the
workings of the cabinet. Lord Derby and his ministry de-
serve credit so far as political sagacity is concerned ; but
at this point their statesmanship and their concord seem
to have ceased. Lord Cmnborne's knowledge of the
meaning of the resolutions appears to have been derived
from the parliamentary speeches of the Chancellor of
the Exchequer. He attributes his want of informa-
tion to the fact that he did not form a member of that
cabinet within the cabinet to which the initiative
of great questions of policy was referred, but
the explanation is insufficient, for a cabinet minister,
I whatever his standing among his colleagues, ought nut to
I learn their designs from their parliamentary speeches. It
is evident that the resolutions were really as ambiguous to
ministers as to everybody else. The alternative scheme pre-
sented to the house as embodying the common convic-
tions of a united cabinet, and based on a profound
political principle is described by the Daily News as
a hurriedly vamped up compromise. The revived
policy is assumed to include household suffrage in
boroughs, checked by plural voting, and though the
Daily News believes, with Mr. Lowe, Lord Cranborne,
and General Peel, that this would presently be household
suffrage without the accompaniments, it condemns the
scheme as establishing invidious distinctions, and as certain
to produce constant irritation and feuds between classes.
The project which ministers now entertain will not satisfy a
single section of the liberal party. A measure which falls
short of household suffrage, but which is plain and simple
in its provisions, will please even the advocates of house-
hold suffrage better than one which concedes that fran-
chise in name, but which loads it with conditions which
would neutralise it in fact.

The Standard regrets that yeatenlay's explanations were
not offered on Monday, for there was nothing to conceal,
and the story is creditable to the ministers who remain in
and to those who go out. Reviewing the explanations of the
night, the Standard says that Mr. Bright spoke with great
force and singular moderation. The conviction of an ap-
proaching victory seems to have inspired the honourable
gentleman with a certain calmness, fairness, and concilia-
tion which, could he have shown them before, would pro-
bably have brought him the victory long ago.
The Herald does not expect anything like justice or fair
play from any recognised section of the liberal party, but
it hopes if the house rejects the government bill, that
Lord Derby will not fail to appeal to the country.
The Star cannot suppose that the conservative party,
having sacrificed and borne so much far the sake of keep.
ing reform in Lord Derby's hands, will think it necessary
either to insist upon " securities " which will ensure their
defeat, or to exchange the simple basis which Lord Derby
has spiritedly chosen for one which, however liberal and
comprehensive, must be less permanent and less distinc-
tively defensible on principle. As for the cumulative
voting, why are we favoured with no such plan for the
divisions of the /louse of Commons ? Shut%) your elec-
toral arrangements as you will, the result comes at last
to be settled by a vote in that house ; and why is there to
be no plan for preventing • bare majority of free
traders from cruelly reducing to nothing the votes of
a respectable minority of protectionists? If Mr. Disraeli
has any idea of adopting the advice of Laputa, he is only
preparing for himself a ludicrous and ignominious fall.

Putting Lord Derby's explanations into plain English,
the TdeorapA says it means that he sacrificed what
be deemed essential for the country in order that be
might be able to bold offios • little longer, and to
keep the secession of three important ministers from
the knowledge of the outside world. Is it not a farce
to affect implicit trust in the statesman who could thus
postpone England to • batch of political friends, and to a
political difficulty ?

The Times finds in the speech of Colonel Dunoombe,
the new for the North Riding of Yorkshire, evidence
of the fact that opinion among the independent conserva-
tives has gone ahead of the government. The gallant
colonel said he would give to every respectable house-
holder who regularly paid his rates, and who had been
resident for two or three years, • vote for his borough.
This the Times takes to be a sign that the conservatives
who would oppose Lord Derby's more liberal plan would
be a small and powerless action. In another article the
Times thanks Mr. J. S. Mill for indirectly showing
the danger of following theory alone, by his declaration
that if theory is good for anything, it is good for enfranchis-
ing all women as well as all men. The question to be asked
about this and a dozen other projects is what would be
the good of it and would our laws be the better of it