The Express.
London, England, 1867-03-14 00:00:00

OUR CONTEMPORARIES.

(THIS DAY.)

THE TRIATMEIFF OF IRISH DISAFTECTION.

The Times gives the Lord-Lieutenant and his
advisers much credit for resisting the demands for arbi-
trary dealing, which have been made by seine of the;c
amateur advisers. Happily for us the law under which
we live gives the Executive no such powers as the Irish
government has been adjured to exercise. The weapons
which the law places in the bands of the loyal are au&
ciently set forth in the memorandiun to magistrates which
has been seasonably issued from the Castle. Special con-
stables may be sworn in wherever credible persons
depose to reasonable apprehension of tumult, and
the special provisions for Ireland are wide enough,
if not too wide. Thus all persons armed with
any weapon, or appearing in any disguise, or wearing
any uniform or beige, or assuming any name or
denomination not usually assumed by ordinary persons in
their lawful occasions, who shall assemble or who shall
appear, alone or with others, by day or night, are guilty
of a high misdemeanour, subjecting them to penal servi-
tude, imprisonment, and whipping. Any two magistrates
having reasonable cause to suspect any person to be guilty
of thus assembling or appearing, or of having been at such
assembly, or of intending so to be, are required to summon
him, and bind him over to appear at the anises, and, in
case of refusal, to commit him to gaol ; and every magis-
trate has authority to summon any person in his jurisdic.
tion whom he may think capable of giving material evi-
dence, and compel him, under the same penalty, to answer
an examination on oath. These powers are almost wide
enough to repress the conception of treason. These means
of enforcing order are so stringent as to call for the
greatest circumspection in their exercise, and they take
away all excuse for giving arbitrary privileges to the govern-
ment.

The Standard says that persons of high respectability
and great experience are pressing for the proclamation of
martial law, but it considers that, under present circum.
stances, this would not only be useless and criminal, but
foolish in the lest degree, and would lend an importance
to this seditious movement which it could ther
wise obtain. We may safely rely on the energy of six
(lying columns of regular troops, thoroughly equipped, to
face all possible Fenian, in the field, and to the efforts of
three special commissions of able lawyers to punish the
unfortunate native dupes with sufficient, but not unne-
cessary, severity, and to teach such a lesson to all semi-
Yankee buccaneers whom they may catch as shall deter
their fellows from following in their track. The public
may depend upon it that all this is now in sure hands,
and will be done speedily, conclusively, and according to
law.

THE RZTORM

The Daily News quota; the reform demonstration at
Bradford on Tuesday with the late meetings at Liverpool
and Manchester in proof of the adhesion of the wealthier
middle dames to the movement in favour of en extended
franchise, Than Mr. Forster, whose speech gave addi-
tional importance to the Bradford demonstration, no man
is better qualified to mediate between the class to which
he belongs and the dames which stand above and below it
in the social hierarchy. With regard to the reform mea-
sure to be expected from the existing administration, it is
clear from Sir J. Pakington's speech yesterday that their
measure will be based upon household suffrage, but
the language as to the details is the reverse of assuring.
He speaks of an enfranchisement which shall include
occupiers who discharge all the burdens imposed on pro-
perty. Does he mean that the suffrage is to be restricted
to householders directly paying their own rates? Such a
measure would be what Mr. Forster described it at Brad-
ford—" the greatest sham that was ever produced before
any country." It would, as he said, be practically nar-
rower than the 6/. rating franchise. The expedients of
plural and cumulative voting are not apparently in favour
with the government ; but we are to have, it appears, sup-
plementary franchises, intended to secure the ascendancy
of the class which is at present predominant in the repre-
sentation. If these franchises are good in themselves, let
them be accepted ; though if they are framed for the
ulterior purpose which is avowed, they are little likely to
be admissible. Of disfranchisement and redistribution of
seats Sir John Pakington seems to have said nothing. How
could be, at Droitwich ? To do so would be as inconsiderate
as to discourse of graves and epitaphs by the bedside of •
dying man.

The HrraPl argues that unless some new tangled fran-
chises, u they are called, are adopted, the conservative
elements would be disfranchised by household suffrage in
all the borough constituencies of the kingdom. Parlia-
ment is bound to provide some means to prevent such a
result.

The chances, says the Star, appear to lie betweenapurely
radical measure, garnished with fancy franchises, which
Sir John Pakington seems to indicate, or, as is rumoured
to-day, a scheme of household suffrage with dual-voting
for certain favoured classes. If we were partisans enough
to desire to see the ministry upset, without reference to
the effect which such a result might have on the cause of
reform, we could not wish for anything better than that
such a measure should be introduced. The whole king-
dom would be united against the proposal to raise up a
new privileged class, recognised by the law, at the very
time when political equality is the demand put forth by an
overwhelming majority of the people.

IUB TOPICS.

The Tines regards the bill for regulating the traffic of
the metropolis which has just emerged from a select com-
mittee of the Lords, as the simplest possible remedy for
the nuisances of our streets. The passing of this measure
is only a question of time, and for all the Times can see,
the worst has been done against it, and it has every right
to pan now.

Commenting on the Italian elections, the Times observes
that not only is the government ascendancy fully secured,
but their SUCCeII must widely exceed all their most san-
guine expectations. It only remains to be seen bow they
intend to use their victory. Italy has had a narrow
escape from the open sea, but there are instances of ship-
wrecks in harbour. It is not only • large, but also •
" working" majority that Rieasoli needs.

All true friends of Italy, says the Daily News, must
anxiously hope that this new chamber will contain some
workers, and even some few statesmen and administrators,
who will teach their fellow-eountrymen to give up childish
things, slid leave off shouting, and illuminating, and
festa•making, and take to honest work, to farming, trade,
and manufactures, to the study of the simplest rules of
arithmetic, and of the methods of making two ends meet
in a budget. At present we find that beautiful country
sinking deeper every year into debt, and doing nothing to