The Express.
London, England, 1867-10-30 00:00:00

like which had been made in the act of 1832 of omitting
the labouring classes from the franchise. He himself had
bad to prepare the mind of the country for this bill and to
educate his own party to it. For seven weary and toil-
some years he had endeavoured to impress upon the con.
science and conviction of parliament five leading points
which were subsequently included in their comprehensive
measure of enfranchisement. They had not, however,
established, as some had said, household suffrage, for only
a million and a half of householders out of four millions, it
was estimated, would obtain the franchise. Were
they to be frightened st an increase of half •
million, end to believe that it was equivalent to the
establishment of democratic government? They had a
policy of their own, and from that policy they had never
deviated, and the getting rid of the compound house-
holder was the very triumph of their own principle. Re-
ferring to the political criticisms in the current numbers of
the Edinburgh and Quarterly, Mr. Disraeli continued—" He
who has written the summary of the session in the Edin-
burgh is not mounted on the fiery barb of Francis Jeffery,
he is rather placed upon a hearse horse, with which he
consummates the entombment of whig principles. (Loud
laughter.) The conservative surrender, to borrow ex-
pression from the pleasing volume of art of
my, friend the chairman, is what on. would call a
regim. Yon find the subject treated in speeches,
in articles, in reviews, and sometime' in mani-
festoes. (Laughter.) The colouring is not without
charm, but the drawing is inaccurate—the perspective is
false—the subject is monstrous. (Great laughter.) Far
be it from roe to discover a man from his style, for it is
thus commemorative for ever of the character that knows
you under these circumstances. If, therefore, I make an
observation on the " conservative surrender," it
is founded entirely upon abstract principles.
(Laughter.) I should say that article was written
by • very clever man who has made • very great mistake.
The leaders of the conservative party are traitors. The
. conservative party are false. They do not know that they
have been abused. They have not recognised that their I
confidence has been betrayed and outraged. (Laughter.)l
I see many gentlemen here who have been, I have no
doubt, inspectors like myself as magistrates of peculiar
' asylums, who meet there some cases which I have always
thought at the same time the most absurd and the most
distressing ; it is when the lunatic believes all the world
is mad, end that he himself is sane. (Loud laughter and
cheers.) But to pus from such gloomy imagery; really
these //din/meta and Quarterly Reviews, although no man
admires them more than myself—l admire them
as I do first-class first-rate poet home, which in
old days for half a century, or so, to use a
Manchester phrase, carried on a " roaring trade; soon
there comes some revolutions or progress, which no person
ever contemplated. They find things so altered that they
do not understand them ; and instead of that intense com-
petition and mutual vindictiveness which before distin-
guished them, they suddenly quite agree. The boots
of the Blue Boar, and the chambermaid of the
Red Lion embrace, and they are quite in accord
in this—in denouncing the infamy of railroads. (Loud
laughter, and cheers) Mr. Disraeli then went on to
speak of the Scotch Reform Bill, contending that the re-
presentation of Scotland could not be increased unless
the number of representatives in the House of
Commons was increased also. The government in-
tended in February to propose a considerable
increase in the number of Scotch members to be obtained
in the manner he had referred to, and they would stand
by that proposition if the Scotch members supported them.
There was no cabalistic charm in the number Gss. Ad-
dressing himself to she question of education, the right
hon. gentleman said its advantage to a nation was signally
proved by the country of which he was then the guest.
Although inclined himself to attribute much to organisa-
tion and race, he was bound to say he had never met a
Sootehman yet, even if he were the confidential adviser
of • pasha, who did not tell him he owed his rise to his
parish school. The report of the Scotch commission bad
been considered by the government, and he hoped that
in this session they should bring forward a measure upon
national education, and that it would pass the legislature.
Ho would say he did not believe that any form of educa-
tion, founded upon a compulsory principle, and of neces-
sary adoption in every part of the country, could be suc-
cesaful. He was not prepared to admit that the British
nation generally is an uneducated nation ; the in-
fluence on the free press in this country is never
fully considered. This press, continued Mr. Disraeli,
conducted by whatever party, is, on the whole, conducted
with great energy, with great intelligence, and with high
moral feeling, and it perhaps imparts a secular education
to the people of this country which none of the boasted
climes that have been held up as models we cannot
rival, can, for a moment, compete with. Ido not
care what may be the opinions or feelings of those who con-
duct the press of this country. It is immaterial whether
they are animated by a high moral feeling or motive, but
this is quite clear they cannot successfully direct their
labour, to any great class in this country unless they give
that class credit for that high morel feeling, and therefore,
without indulging in any cant upon, the subject, I say the
condition of our press, which fur energy, general intelli-
geuce, information, and moral feeling cannot be excelled,
is a sign of the sound condition of the country
and of the progress of secular education
highly profitable which is at present going on.
I can't deny that the great measure which has been passed
this year will give in some degree a new character to our
constitution, and introduce some new powers and influences
into its action ; and indeed to accomplish such ends was
the object of those who brought it forward. I hear every
day that in consequence of the changes that have been
effected we must expect great questions to arise.
Well, no doubt great questions will aria*, and I