The Express.
London, England, 1860-06-12 00:00:00

REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE BILL

On the order being read for resuming the adjourned
debate on going into committee,
Lord J. RUSSELL rose and spoke as follows :—ln
rising to address the house upon this question I must in the
first place say that it is impossible for the government to
accede to the motion of my hon. friend the member for
Rye (Mr. Mackinnon), and it would be most inconvenient
to the house itself, if, in deciding upon the question of a
reform bill, they were to fix • time to which it should be
postponed, or if they were to commit themselves to any
such motion as that before the house. I trust, therefore, my
hoe. friend will not persist in his am ailment. But I have
a further statement to make to the house with respect to
proceeding with this bill, and in doing so I beg to say that
it is cot my wish to excite any hostility in this debate, or
to refer more than in passing to what took place the other
evening. On that evening my noble friend stated the case
in favour of this bill being passed and against any delay,
and I do not wish to abate • single word
from what my noble friend said on that occasion ; but
having said this much it is not necessary for me to repeat
any arguments used on the former occasion on the part of
the government. It is known to the house that 250 mem•
ben have declared for the postponement of this bill during
the present session. I say the postponement of the bill,
because if we had taken a different line, and said we would
go on not only with the English bill but with the Scotch
and the Irish bills, it would have been said as strenuously,
and to my mind with greater force, " You cannot expect to
carry these three bills, but you may carry the English
hill ; but if you attempt to carry the three bills for the
representation of the people, it is obvious there
will not be time for the performance of the duty."
I say there were 250 member' who voted for the affirmation
of the proposition of my hon. friend, and that being so the
government thought themselves bound to consider seriously
the position of the question, and what was their duty to
the home end the country. I must say that I think if we
ere not of opinion that we can succeed in carrying this bill
through both Houses of Parliament in the present session
it would be idle, and perhaps culpable, to go into committee
for some four or fire nights, and make the delays which
would arise in committee a reason for abandoning the bill.
(" Hear, hear," from the Ministerialista.) The position,
then, is this : We have not on the 11th of June gone
into committee ; that on the lth of June there were
2.50 members who voted for the postponement of the mea-
lsure, and that there are some sixty or seventy amendments
proposed for the consideration of the house in committee.
It cannot be expected that all these amendments would be
discussed The question of the representation of the people
in parliament is a very large one, and in tho discussion of
the bill before the house there is no great objection to the
introduction of any topic immediately connected with the
representation of the people, for the argusuents upon one
point of the bill bear upon another—as for instance those
with regard to the franchise, the distribution of seats, and
other subjects, though not contained in the bill,
belong to the question of the representation of
the people. It would, therefore, be • matter which
must take a considerable time. But then if we were able
to cornmeal all the time from the 11th of June to what
may be presumed the time for the usual closed the session,
I should then say that it was our duty to proceed with the
bai, sad even rats bite period propose it for the considera-
tion of the other house of parliament. It happens however
that there are other questions which must be considered,
and some of them would be interposed during the progress
of this bill through committee. These are questions which
have arisen very recently—questions with regard to supply,
which depend upon the news received from China, and
which puts an end to all hope that our dispute with
the Chinese can be settled without hostilities ;
and, therefore, the house will have to consider what sup.
plus are necessary for the operations of the army sad navy
now in the Chinese sees ; also the ways and means which
maybe required for obtaining those supplies. There is
another question which my noble friend mentioned the
other night, via., the question which will arise out of the

coosiderition of the report of the committee appointed to
inquire into the defences of the country, and no one will
pretend that these questions arising out of the China war
and those in reference to the defences of the country
will allow of the government postponing them, they
being questions of great urgency and magnitude.
Well, then, considering the question whether we
could go through committee with the Reform Bill, we
came to the conclusion that though there might be a pro-
bability of our going through committee and obtaining the
assent of the House of Commons to the various amend.
meats in the time to be devoted to the measure, yet there
is • farther objection, via, if we were not able to carry the
bill into a legislative act, it would not be fair to the House
of Commons to ask them to decide any question which
would thereby fetter their discretion, and then Imre the
question 'pas for another year. Well, then, @apposing that
Ws measure could be passed through this house in the ordi-
nary time of the session, it would not be posible to
cam it in such a period es to go to the House of Lords and
enable them to decide upon it. There arose a question
whether by any extraordinary means, instead of the pro-
rogation at the usual time, it would not be possible to carry
this measure this session, but d think it is evident that ire.
portant as the question is, there is not that immediate
urgency respecting it, and I may say, there is not such a
demand in the country as to justify the government to
resort to an extraordinary step of that kind. (Hear,
hear.) Such being the case, we have come to the con.
elusion which I will state to the house, viz., that it is not
our intention to attempt farther to proceed with the bill in
the present session, but I shall on the other head
propose not to proceed with the bill. I think I
should hardly be justified if I did not refer
to some other questions which may be noticed, and perhaps
against which some protest may be addressed to the govern-
ment. It nuy be said that on the 4th of June we asked to
go into committee, and that if we had pressed it earlier in
the minion we shoal have obtained the opinion of the
house upon it. Bat upon this point I must remind the
house that the first questhin in the session is that in refer-
ence to the usual supplies for the army and navy, and the
government at a very early period this year brought for-
ward questions of the utmost importance, and not only
of the utmost importance, bat of the greatest gravity.
We thought it ear duty to conclude a commercial
treaty with France, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer
proposed various measures connected with it, and which
affected the finances of the country. These were very
great questions which it would not have been right, accord.
ing to our views, to have postponed to an indebuite time,
bemuse they were questions which, on account of their
affecting the trade and industry of the country, it was rme.
°memory to Massed with without delay. Well, they occupied
a vary— idoeahlo time ma &bees, sail I Menke*