The Express.
London, England, 1861-07-26 00:00:00

AI cc

Os the notice for going into committee upon thin hill,
The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH stated his objection to
the wienbianno of the Supreme and :Wilder Court urging
the anomalous nature of tbe plan and the difficulty which
it would hare in working.
Earl DE GREY emphatically defended the principles of
the bill, which introduced into the administrationof justice
among • nixed population exactly that special knowledge
which was requisite to be applied to dealing with the affairs
of every class
Lori K I NGSDOWN, in an elaborate speech, stated ob-
jections, principally of detail, against the measure.
The LORD CHANCELLOR replied, pointing out bow,
in his opinion, the result of the measure would be to esta-
blish a better more of legal procedure.
After 11010111 observations fro= Lord WILVSLETDALR, the
hone west into committee, when the Earl of Emits-
sonocou moved the omission of the second clause.
After debate the clause was agreed to on a division by 4d
to 42.

—The recosioiai claims were p►wd.
The last ludis Civil Service Bin peened through com-
mittee.

The Dealers is Old 31vtals Rills was red a wood time.
The Duke of ARGYLL moved the second reading of the
Parucbial cud Burgh Schools (Soothied) Bill, the object of
which is to add to the salaries of parochial wthoolmasters.
Some objection was made to it by several noble lords,
but it was read a locoed time.

The Public Werkail;eietid) Advance* and Repayment of
Mosey Bill, end the White Herring Fishery (Sootland)
Bill, were read a third tints and pawl, as was the Probate
and Letters of Administration (Indeed) Bill.
The Volunteers Tolls Exemption Bill and the Voters
(Inland) Bill peeled through committee.
ITNIVIIISITY ELECTIONS BILL

On the motion for the committal of this bill,
The Bishop of OXFORD said he did not deny that it
offered many advantsges ; hut as the whole the disadvan-
tame of the measure appeared to him greatly to prepped*.
rate. At first sight it might he thought that a university
constituency was precisely that to which the liberty of
voting on paper might be safely exteuded ; but he was aim-
vieced that there were many others to which It might be
given with far more benefit. The members for the univemities
were, stnctly speaking, intended to be representatives of
the universities themselves; and the special life of a uni•
venity was undoubtedly in its resident members. At pre-
sent the Don-resident voters were prevented to some extent,
by the difficulty of coming up to poll, from overpowering
by their numerical superiority those who were more em-
phatically interested in the university. Besides, when non-
resident voters did come up to vote, it was often from
remote districts where perhaps •their opinions were totaled
by the single ueespeper they read, and being thus brought
ado personal contact with these who lived more in the
heart of things, their old opinions were sometimes quite
remodelled. All that, however, would be quite done
away with if the bill pawed. Again, al-
though he did not think the bill intrOduesd
the system of voting by proxy, it would enable cartels
residents to accumulate •grest number of votes, and One to
sway the election one way or the other at their pleasure.
Ludy, he was informed that that great university with
which he (the right rev. prelate) was connected, so far
from having originated the proposed, bad actual) y peti-
tioned against it ; awl he could not help thinking that for
all these masons it would be inexpedient at this season to
go into committee on the hill. (Hear, hese)
-

The Earl of DERBY regretted that the right rev. prelate
had not been present at the snood reading of the bill. The
bill bad been under consideration during the greater part of
the session ; it had had no petition prmented against it limn
any of the three universities, and it had passed the House
of Commons by a large majority. He most say also that
the arguments of the right rev. prelate were neither con-
clusive nor consistent. He quite admitted that the con.
stituency should represent the mind of the university, but a
great number of the clergy who were member' of the uni-
versities ware unable, except at very great inconvenience,
or at some expense, to express their view at an election.
The first argument of the right rev, prelate was
that the bill gave too much power to the non-residents, and
afterwards he had objected that it placed the power in the
hands of the reailente- The right rev. prelate said that
there were other coustitunicies to which this principle
might be more advantageously applied. He should be glad,
with a view to the suppression of corruption at elections, if
this principle were extended to other esestituencies, and it
was one of the provisions of the measure of parliamentary
reform which he introduced that votes should be taken at
the election of members of parliament. by means of voting
papers. It was no doubt very deniable that all who
were entitled to vote should have every facility
afforded to them to record their votes ; and
there was a peat body of poor country clergymen
who were entitled to rota, awl who, to exercise
their right, meet pay their own travelling expenses, which
emey ruses they could ill afford, or must be taken to the
gime of election at the expense of the candidate, thereby
menderably increasing the expense of the election. But
the right rev. prelate considered that great advantage was
obtained by members of the university who lived in distant
parts—persons who read but one paper, and took their
opiniona from it coming together, and mixing with the
university to become acquainted with its mind. Surely, in
the sloe or two hours when a man came up to record his vote
at a matieted election, he could not be expected to gather
the epint of the university. (A laugh.) But these
reser were not compelled to mend up votes, to
seed op esslieg papers, it was only optional for them
to do so if they did not wish to incur the expense of going
to the plain ei election. The great objection to the bill,
however, apparel to be that it was introducing a system of
vutieg by proxy ; but the pencil who handed in the vote
was no MOM the proxy fur the man whose vote he held than
wee the Postmaster-Grimed, through whose hands the
inter paned. He did not mean to say that there were not
proven/Is in the bill which might be imeroved, or that the
machinery might not have been better adapted to the per-
fume, but be did not come to the conclusisie therefore that
it was undesirable to pass the bill; on the contrary, he
thought it would not be expedient to lon the
besefit of the measure because it was introduces'
late in the session, and there was not time fully to consider
its machinery, hat rather to leave the amendment of its de-
tails to a future time when experience pointed out defects
in its epantioe. He believed this to be an experiment that
could be safely applied, and if found to be beneficial in this
18/11111111111 he should be inclined to advocate a further exten-
sile of the principle.
The Blabop of LONDON believed the bill would inflict
mop 111110118 injury upon the University of Oxford, of which
he wee • member. He had had something hide with reforms
istreilesed into the university, and the principal object was
always te imams the importune of the resident mem-
big% Owl the alert of this bill would be quite
lie swamp their
remarks in sportance.
After same upport of the bill from Viscount
Viscount Ebnegton, and the Bishop of
The Dube of NEWCASTLE said that the attention of
wide lade led been diverted from the real point at issue.
• ler as be was concerned, he did not differ
mob IN= the principle of voting papers being •p-
-eledSe ether coestitmecies, if any means could
ibeeleed of etroiatieg the frauds to which the
system woo esterieeely exposed ; ae to this. he con-
fined he wee sot eteguiee. But he doubted whether thwes
partiouler aseieltereelea were the beet on which to make