The Sun.
London, England, 1854-06-14 00:00:00

EXCHEQUER BONDS (6,000,0001.) BILL.

Earl GRANVILLE moved the third reading of this
bill ' • and in the course of a very few observations, he de.
nied that it was a loan bill in the proper sense of the
term.

Lord MONTEAGLE said he could not assent to the
third reading of this bill without calling attention to its
peculiar provisions. Complaining that the bill had been
introduced without explanations, and that it was liable
to be productive of signal disturbance in our financial
arrangements, he asserted that it was a loan bill and no-
thing but a loan bill. To deny this proposition was to
embark upon the intellectual effort of proving a distinc-
tion without a difference. It was proposed to raise
6,000,0001., at 4 per cent. This was a rate of interest
disproportionate to the rates paid on Consols and Ex-
chequer-bills, but the Government were obliged to offer
it because the security was distasteful to the public.
And this was done at a time when the rate of interest
upon the best securities in France had been lowered.
He asked whether it was not strange that in the course
of one year the rate of interest upon our unfunded debt
should be raised from 1,4 to 4 per cent. ? Yet this had
been done by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and he
contended that such a fact was unexampled it the mone-
tary history of the country. The bill called upon Par-
liament to cast on the years 1858, 1859, and 1860, an
annual burden of 2,000,000/., in addition to the ordi-
nary ways and means of each year. This was incon-
sistent with the notion of providing for the service of
the year within the year ; while there was obvious risk
in saying beforehand what would be the financial posi-
tion of the country in those years. But it was said that
when those years arrived the bonds would be replaced
by other bonds. If this were so the bill was an impos-
ture, for it contained no such power of substitution. This
might be one cause of the unpopularity of the new secu-
rities ; but there was another cause, which he would
point out. The public did not like any security which
was small in amount. A public security, to be effectual,
must be of sufficient extent to make a market for itself,
but in this case the 6,000,000/. had been divided
into three series of 2,000,000/. each, which was far
too small, while by the arrangements that had been
subsequently made, there were no very great facilities
for their transfer from hand to hand. His great objec-
tion to the bill, however, was to the power which it gave
to the Government to interfere with the Savings Banks
Act, by enabling the Chancellor of the Exchequer to
sell savings banks stock, and of investing the money in
the purchase of the new securities. He regarded this
power as extremely dangerous, and, observing that it
was not contained in the original bill introduced into
the House of Commons, he contended that, after 1858,

it would become part of the permanent debt of the
country. Thus the Chancellor of the Exchequer was
practically doing that which he professed not to do.
Adverting to the question whether these 6,000.000/.
was a loan, he submitted that, whether regarded by the
inspirations of common sense, or tested by the nature of
the case, it was a loan, and nothing but a loan. It was
said to be a provision for the temporary raising of money.
What was this, he asked, but a loan ? In conclusion,
he admitted the general merits of the Government, par-
ticularly in their selection of war taxes, and said it was
with regret that he had felt himself compelled, by a
sense of public duty, to make these observations.
Earl GRANVILLE, in reply, said the noble lord
bad entirely failed to make out a case against the
bill. He denied that the new security was dis-
tasteful to the public ; and said the noble lord, in com-
plaining of the rise in the rate of interest, had entirely
omitted from his consideration the state of the harvest
and the breaking out of war, circumstances sufficient to
account for the advance. There would be no embarrass-
ment whatever in providing for the payment of these
bonds in 1858, 1859, and 1860. 'We were now accus-
tomed to provide every year for 16,000,0001. or
17,000,0001. of Exchequer-bills ; and surely there would
be no difficulty in meeting 2,000,0001. a year for three
years. It was, in fact, idle to talk of difficulty from
such a cause. The omission in the clause relative to the
savings-banks, which the noble lord had mentioned, had
been made advisably, inasmuch as the words, had they
remained, would have led to ambiguity as to the powers
of the savings bank trustees to exchange stock for bonds.
After a few words from Lord MONTEAGLE, the bill
was read the third time and passed.
The Railway and Canal Traffic Regulation Bill was
read a third time and passed.
Adjourned.

HOUSE OF COMMONS-(YESTERDAY.)
THE BALLOT.

Mr. BERKELEY, in rising to bring forward his motion
in favour of the ballot, said he did so undated by transeut
success and undismayed by usual defeat, for he was equally
persuaded that the measure was one required by justice
and expediency, and one which the house would never
agree to until compelled by necesssity. He justified his
conduct by the pertinacity of Lord J. Russell in respect to
the claims of the Jews, which were certainly not stronger
than those of the Christian electors of this country to pro-
tection. The case of an elector was surely as strong as that
of the Jew ; but the simple question to decide was, should
the elector elect ? Now on tide point nothing could go
beyond the reasoning and argument of Mr. Grote, and those
who followed that gentleman in the advocacy of the ballot
had only to contend with the ghosts of the arguments
which he had demolished. (Hear, and a laugh.) One of
the last spectres which had appeared was the theory that
the elective franchise was a trust to the electors, to
be used for the benefit of the non-electors, and that
the voting must be open in order that the non-elec-
tors might be made acquainted with the manner in
which the duty was discharged. A more delusive theory,
or one more dangerous in practice, could not be advanced;
for it was one which assuredly encouraged intimidation.
The elective franchise was a right, and not a trust; but, if
a trust, he contended the elector could not discharge his
duty under a system of open voting. But he denied that
open voting fixed the responsibility of the voter, and on
this point he again quoted the authority of Mr. Grote. To
show the danger of this theory, he would refer the house to
what were caliod the Parliamentary blue, but which ought
to be called the Parliamentary black books—the accumu-
lation of the committees who had sat on the proceedings
at the lost election—he meant the Cork election. At that
election Mr. Murphy, Mr. Fagan, and Colonel Chatterton
were the candidates. Murphy and Fagan were Liberals
and Roman Catholics ; Colonel Chattertou a Conservative
and "Protestant. It was in evidence before the committee
that the Roman Catholic priests took a warm interest in
Murphy and Fagan, and addressed their congregation after
Divine service, having evidently studied in the Russell
school—that school in whioh the Secretary at War had
taken his degree. (A laugh.) " You see, boys," said these
priests, " that the elective franchise is given to the electors
in trust for you, the non-electors; and, boys, all those who
vote for Chattertou are guilty of a breach of trust. Now a
breach of trust is a sin, and you are perfectly warranted in
preventing the electors from going to the poll to commit
that sin." (A laugh.) Well, the non-electors took the hint,
and did prevent the electors from going to the pull ;
but he would admit that the violence which took place
did not arise from the recommendation of the Roman
Catholic priests ; and he was bound to suppose that such
violence did not meet with the approval of the noble lord
the member for London. (A laugh.) The violence arose
from the dangerous doctrine promulgated by the priests
and by the noble lord ; for the nee-electors, acting as they
were desired, watched the polling-booths to see how their
trustees voted—(a laugh)—and when they found them vote
" sinfully" they chalked their backs—(a laugh)—and when
out of the reach of the military nearly stoned them to
death. (More laughter.) To prove the accuracy of this
description he need only refer to the speech of Colonel
Chatterton at the dinner given to Mr. Isaac Butt,
the member for Youghal. (Hear.) Speaking of the Cork
election the gallant colonel observed, that, although his
profession had compelled him to witness many scenes of
blood, he had never been more horrified than at the scenes
enacted at that election. He described the appearance of
the wounded " trustees" as most sickening, and nothing
could be more constitutional than the language of the
gallant colonel when ho asked whether mon would re-
cord their votes through such murderous scenes of
blood ? but he (Mr. Berkeley) confessed astonishment
at the concluding sentence of the gallant colonel's ad-
dress. After his description of all this bloodshed it
might have been supposed that some alteration in the
mode of voting would have been suggested ; but
the concluding words of the gallant colonel were,
simply, " Attend to the registry." (Laughter.) Attend to
the registry ! when the effect of the system was to doom
the electors to the martyrdom of St. Stephen, and to have
their brains knocked out. (Laughter.) The gallant colo-
nel said his heart and soul were bound up in the Conserva-
tive cause ; and it was well known that the protection of
the voter was a brand of heresy,in the Conservative creed.
The bruised and battered electors of Cork, than, must
turn to the Liberal members for Cork if they desired a
sincere advocacy of the ballot, and he trusted he should
have the assistance of the senior member for that city on
this occasion. Two principles he (Mr. Berkeley) contended
for ; first, that the vote of the elector should not be par-
ohased by money ; and, secondly, that it should not be
placed within the control of a peer of the realm. To pre-
vent the elector from being trodden down by the purchaser
or the peer, let him have the protection of the ballot,
which had never failed to give security to the voter where-
ever it had been adopted. In proof it was only necessary
to state that open voting had frequently been exchwegaeru,
for secret voting, but never secret votingopen.
hear.) America had been cited as an instance tue failure
of the ballot ; but the result of corre:pondeeence with able
ty which enrolled
men in America, and with a
George Grote, showed the
amongst its names that of Mr.
direct contrary. In America the ballot was in force in 29
• states out lof 31. It was instituted in Massachusetts in.
1.631, remained in o f rce to this day, and election dis-
turbances were unknown
.there. It was in force in
Connecticut, in Pennsylvania, New York, Louisiana, and I
Kentucky. ; and whereas, in the two latter states, before
the adoption of the ballot, in 1830, the fighting and ge-
neral disturbance
Six-mile our own election Scenes at Black-
burn, Clitheroe, -bridge, and Cork, the elections
were now conducted in the most peaceable manner. But
the ballot had worked equally well in Switzerland, Hol-
land, and Belgium. Yes, in Switzerland the ballot had
been found to work well iu Belgium, as he had himself
lately proved, it was equally successful ; and France af-
forded a third instance of its advantages, although it was
once the fashion to declare that it had been weighed in the
balance and found wanting, because, under it, the present
Emperor had been elected to power. For need he recall to
the recollection of the house that, at the time of the Coup
detat, the name of Napoleon was held iu about as much
reverence in this country as the name of Marshal
Haynau, of woman-flogging memory. (Laughter, and _ r
cries
of " hear, hear.") Why, the time was when my Lord al-
merston himself was almost hunted about the country like
a mad fox, because he was deemed not to be as much op-
' posed to the head of the French nation as th_esraerst.ofNhoirs
colleagues. (Renewed laughter, and cries of "b )
could he forget that Lord Fanmure, then a Secretary of
l State under a Whig Govertimettf, actugly deplared that
althVagh to had always supported the ballot, XI conla