The Express.
London, England, 1866-01-24 00:00:00

TIU OPPOIIIIIIITaI Of IITOBJ4

The Daily News observes that in the matter of
parliamentary reform the government is not called upon to
bring oar representative system to perfection at one stroke,
but to redeem a pledge and to redress what is admitted by
politicians of every shade of opinion to be a crying evil—
the non-representation in the House of Commas of working
men. Influential journals which oombat the idea of
• mere suffrage bill may without lack of charity be
suspected of desiring to defeat the Reform Bill, which they
do not want. If such a measure would be toe large to pass
through the narrow portale of the House of 0011111201111, it is
hard to see that a suffrage bill, pit a redistribution of seatm
would have a better chance. The primary object is to extend
the suffrage ; sad to bring in a bill emaciating other and
secondary purposes with this, et the risk of defeating them
all, would be an evasion of a pledge almost more
discreditable than open renunciation et it. The ques-
tion of the suffrage is the weakest point of the anti-re-
formers, and there is good generalship in dealing with it first.
But in addition to open or scarcely concealed enemies the
government may have to contend with fainthearted
friends. The small coterie who call themselves " thinking
liberals," who are afraid of the representation of " mere
numbers," and who suggest all kinds of ingenious expedients
for reckoning the many as if they were few and the few ea
if they were the many, are really though unconsciously
tories, their cobweb speculations proceeding from a profound
distrust in the natural forces of human nature and of
society. The principle of leaving natural forces and tend-
',leis.to work out their results unfettered by arbitrary re-
strictions, which is the real heels of freedom of trade, of
thought, and of worship, is the only sound foundation of a
Biscay of representation.

_ .
The Post thinks it not unreasonable to presume that the
scope ►nd purpose of the ministerial scheme for amending
the representation will have been determined upon before
any announcement on the subject is made in the speech
tram the throne, and it also assumes that owing to the
consternation excited by Mr. Bright's speech, the theory of
instalmentatmay be supposed to be virtually abandoned, and
that consequently, • comprehensive measure of parlia-
mentary reform, something that will last for a generation at
least, hu to be framed and matured. The work of months
must be pulled to pieces and shaped anew in the space of a
fortnight ; and, what is worse still, the members for the
doomed boroughs may Bad in Mr. Bright's speech an ex-
cise for voting with the opposition. Meanwhile the ex-
perience of a quarter of a century has convinced the
csintry that the existing borough suffrage requires exten-
sion rather than reduction, and, if Lord Russell is not pre-
pared to subscribeito the opinion it will be for parliament
to take;the work into its own hands.

The Telegraph remarks that loug experience ham taught
the conservatives that opposition to a reform bill is more
effective in the way of finesse, than by point blank
The latest plan of obstruction is to complain that the libe-
rals demand too little, bat reformers will be on their guard
against such appeals from the enemy, and will have too
much good sense to declaim against "bit by bit reform."
At the same time, until the liberals have before them, not
only the exact proviaions of the measure, bat the facts
elicited by the government inquiry, they can hardly be in
a position to settle what should be the scope of their own
demands. Nor let' it be forgotten that, whatever the bill
may be, there can be nothing of finality about it. We do
not propose to legislate during next session for the year
1900.