The Express.
London, England, 1867-06-11 00:00:00

REFORM MEETING ON BLACKHEATH.

Last evening, a meeting, convened by the Green-
wich and Deptford branches of the Reform League, was held
on Blackheath " to assert the right of the people to meet
in the public perk', and to consider the present position of
the reform question." Mr. Beale' and several of the lead-
ing members of the executive council attended and took
part in the proceeding.. The selection of the time and
place for the meeting of course contributed to its numerical
strength, for Blackheath on Whit-Monday is, as is generally
known, the scene of a large concourse of holiday.makers ;
but independent of this accession in numbers the
South London and other branches of the League were
largely represented, several of their members having come
by omnibuses and van, to give their support to the
gathering. Three platforms were improvised for the coca-
Sion, at which Mr. Baxter Langley, Colonel Dickson, and
Mr. Luby presided. Mr. Reales spoke from Mr. Lang-
ley's, or No. 1, platform ; and Mr. Luby's, or No. 3, plat-
form was rendered very attractive by the presence of
Mrs. Harriet Law, who earnestly advised the leaguers to
have the women at their back, adding that by that means
they would get anything and everything. Lettersof apology
were read from Lord Robert Grosvenor, ALP., Alderman
Salomon', M.P., Sir Charles Bright, M.P., Mr. Doulton,
M.P., Mr. Hughes, M.P., Mr. Locke, M.P., Mr. Layard,
M.P., and Mr. Angerstein. The following resolutions
were proposed from the three platforms :--1. " That this
meeting is of opinion that no reform bill can be accepted
as a permanent settlement of the parliamentary franchise
which does not embody the principle of residential and re.
gistered manhood suffrage, protected by the ballot, and
that the bill now before parliament will be an unsatisfac-
tory and abortive attempt to even t. mporarily settle the
question, unless it shall confer the franchise upon all
householders, irrespective of the personal payment of rates,
or at least place the compound householder in the same posi-
tion with regard to the parliftinentary franchise in which
he now is as regards the municipal franchise, and unless it
shall clearly also confer the franchise upon all lodgers who
shall have occupied for twelve months, whether in the
anise house or not, apartments for which they paid • bona
fide rentof not less than 101. a year,without regard to ques-
tioned annual value, orany similar questions ; and unless by
the disfranchisement or grouping of the small boroughs it
shall equally and clearly apportion the representatives of
the population throughout the country, and finallyprovide
under proper conditions for the payment of the legal ex-
penses of elections out of the local rates, and substitute
the vote by ballot for voting papers." 2. "That this meet-
ing protests in the strongest manner against the attempt
proposed to be made by what is called the Royal
Parks Bill to prohibit altogether, or most vexatiously
fetter the right of the people to meet in Hyde-park for
the discussion and consideration of matters affecting their
social and political interests, and calls upon all true re-
formers throughout the metropolis and the country to
unite in denouncing and resisting this most unprovoked
and audacious attack by an unreformed and class-preju-
diced parliament upon the convenient and hitherto orderly
and peaceful exercise of one of the most precious, useful,
and constitutional of our popular rights." 3. "That this
meeting claims in every respect the same reform for Ireland
that it claims for Ragland and Scotland, and cordially de-
wires real union between the people of Great Britain and
Ireland upon the basis of mutual interests and equal
laws and rights, civil, political, and religious."

In the six Australian colonies—viz, New South
Wales, Victoria, New Zealand, South Australia, Queens.
land, and Tasmania—in 1865, the imports amounted to
34,976,6391., and the exports to 30,219,4111. The export
of wool amounted to 9,612,305/. ; of gold, to 11,165,811/. ;
of coal, to 274,303/. ; of copper ore, to 618,4721. ; and of
grain, to 1,335,7484 The tonnage inward mooted to
to 1,969,091 tons; and the outward tonnage to 2,018,224
tons. Excluding New Zealand, the number of hones in
Australis was in that year, 550,874 ; of horned cattle,
3,719,175 ; and of sheep, 29,293,744. In the year 1825,
there were in Australia 6,142 horses, 134,519 horned cattle,
and 237,622 sheep._

THE RITUAL CONIIIISSION.—it is not correct, an
• contemporary po
has been led to supse th at Lord
Shaftesbury his "given a wigging to Mr. Hiady," or that
he ever had sty communication on the subject of this
commission with the Home Secretary. Be ore a single
commissioner was nominated, and before be himself had
been invited to serve, Lord Shaftesbury wrote to Lord
Derby that be considered that neither himself nor the
Bishop of Oxford would be satisfactory members of • com-
mission intended fairly and judicially to investigate the
subject ; for that both were committed to strong opinions
on opposite sides. Mr. Walpole afterwards wrote asking
Lord Shaftesbury to reins.. 4 his objection to serve ; but
nothing passed as to the compoaition of the 00101111:111gOIL

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