The Express.
London, England, 1867-03-23 00:00:00

ten.

On Thursday aftern oon,-a conference of re-
formers from the various towns throughout Scotland was
held in the Religious Institution moms, Glasgow, to con-
sider the government Reform Bill. The conference was
convened by the executive of the Scottish National
Reform League, and was attended by 102 delegates,
who represented the following places :—Edingburgh.
Glasgow, Aberdeen, Alexandria, Aloe, Barrhead, Blan-
tyre, Crieff, Dairy, Dumbarton, Dundee, Galashiels,
Colston, Greenock, Haddington, Hamilton Ilawick, KU-
barchan, Kilmarnock, London, Neennihni,
Paisley, I'artick, Parkhead, Perth, Pollockshaws, Port-
Glasgow, Renfrew, Selkirk, Stewarton, Stirling, sad
Wallow. Councillor Burt, of Glasgow, the president of
the Scottish National Reform Lesgue, was called to the
chair, and briefly explained the object which the
league had in view in calling the conference, explaining
that the Reform League in Glasgow had worked vigor-
ously since the peat demonstration last year, and now
numbered thirty branches throughout the country,
containing in all from eight to ten thousand members.
A letter was read from Ifr. Bright, MX., in which the
writer said :—" My own opinion is that reform should be
in the hands of its friends, and not of its enemies. The
present government is not able or not willing to dad with
the question, and I think the interests of the country re-
quire that the bill and its authors should be got rid of.
I wish the question could have been fairly met and
settled, but it seems to me im under the conduct
of Lord Derby and Mr. Disraeli. It may be necessary to
hold meetings greater even than those of last year." Mr-
John Stuart Mill, M.l'., wrote :—" Disapproving, as I do,
of the limitation of universal to manhood suffrage as well
as of secret voting, I nevertheless think it incumbent
on all earnest reformers at the present moment to exert
themselves to further their opinions, whatever they may
be. I wish you very hearty success in your endeavours to
procure some more enlarged form of representation than
that which we possess at present." Mr. I'. A. Taylor,
hf.P., in a letter, suggested the appointment of a
" People's Parliament, or Convention, composed of dele-
gates from all parts, to act permanently in London, ready
on the one hand to warn the government and the House of
Commons of the least that the people will *wept, and on
the other indicating to their constituents what to do, and
how, and when.' Mr. Stansfeld. M.P., wrote that
he had no doubt the conference would clearly and de-
cidedly express its disapproval of the government measure.
Among the resolutions adopted was one to the following
effect :—" That this meeting, having duly considered the
government Reform Bill, records its disapproval of the
checks whereby the offer of household suffrage is neu-
tralised, the restriction of the franchise to boroughs to the
exclusion of counties, the Opportunities fur fraud aflorded
by the proposed voting papers and fancy franchises, and
the absence from the measure of a liberal lodger franchise,
and rejects the proposed investment of wealth with
double votes and special privileges as dangerous to peace
and order, and revolutionary in destroying the ancient
equality of all citizens before the law, and =ill, upon the
country to resist to the uttermost this renewed attempt to
disgrace the statute book with the immoral doctrine that
property is more than man." Another resolution declared
that no mourns of reform could be considered final which
was not based upon manhood suffrage and the ballot.
In the evening a public meeting was held in the Circus,
in Hope-street ; Councillor Burt in the chair. There waa
a large attendance, and resolutions similar to those
adopted at the conference were unaninioualy adopted.
Mr. Dalglish, M.P., was present towards the close
of the meeting, and spoke in favour of trying to improve
the government bill in committee. It would nearly treble
the number of electors in Glasgow, making the consti-
tuency fifty-eight thousand. It was, therefore, an im-
portant step in the right direction, and be thought the
liberal party should not resist the second reading, but
give the bill fair consideration, and try to make it a good
measure in committee, and government would accept
amendments. It was unanimously agreed that copiers
of the resolutions should be forwaide,l to the Chan.
cellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Gladstone, M.P., Mr. Bright,
M.P., and Mr. W. Graham, M.P.

CHURCH RATE DlvisioNs. —The following firms
show at a glance the varied fortunes of the Church Rate
Abolition Bill, from the time that it first obtained a ma-
jority in the House of Commons until Wednesday last,
when the second reading was carried by the largest ma-
jority yet recorded in its favour:-1854, secoiel reading,
minority 27 ; 1853, ditto, majority 28 ; 1856, ditto, maje.
rity 43 ; 1858, ditto, majority 53 ; 1858, third reading,
majority, 83 ; 1859, second reading, majority 74 ; 172.9,
ditto (new parliament), majority 70; 1860, second reading,
majority 19 ; 1860, third reading, majority 9 ; 1861, se-
cond reading, majority 15 ; 1881, third reading, ti. : 1862,
second reading, majority 1 ; 1863, ditto, minority 10 ;
1866, ditto, majority 33 ; and 1867, ditto, majority 76.
The opponents of the bill have not mustered in such small
numbers (187) since 18.9, when they had but 168 votes,
and, by a curious coincidence, the " Noes " this session
(187) were exactly 100 fewer than they were in the session
of 1862 and 1863. When the bill was rejecte.l by the
Rouse of Lords in 1858 the majorities in the Commons
were 53 and 63, and in 1880 but 29 and 9. In the first
session of the last parliament the abolitionists had n majo-
rity of 70, which dropped in the second session to 29 and
9 ; whereas in this parliament the majority has risen from
33 in the first session to 76 in the second.

BOARD OF GREEN CLOTH, MARCH 19. —The
Queen has been pleased to appoint the Hight Honourable
Charles, Earl of Tankerrille, to be Lord titewaid of her
Majesty's Household, in the room of the Alost ble John
Winston, Duke of Marlborough, resigned.—Go etre.