The Sun.
London, England, 1849-06-06 00:00:00

constitution which allowed things to come to that pass
without providing a remedy. The Noble Lord carried
the Reform Bill, and to enable him to do so, the con
stitution was helped on by brick-bass, and the carriages
of Noble Lords end H. n. Gentlemen, who opposed that
Bill, were smashed over and over again in the towns and
villages of the country. Well, he could not think that
constitution to be the best which required such acts as
these to give it a fillip.—(Hear, hear.) When slavery
was abolished, it was notorious that an insurrection of
the slaves in the colonies was deemed to be improbable.
And Sir Robsrt Peel could not make an alteration in
the corn-law until a famine occurred in Ireland, and thus
removed all pretence for continuing that law. Upon the
subject of the public expenditure, this House legislated
as if there were no British nation, and tax paying was
unknown within the limits of the United Kingdom; but
if we had a House of Commons that fairly represented
the people, there would be no one question so carefully
and constantly discussed in this House as that of the di-
minution of the taxation which now pressed so heavily
upon the people. Again, he would take upon himself to
say that the Noble Lord and the Right Hon. Baronet had
both been aware for years that the laws, with regard to
land in Ireland, were in a most defective and mischievous
state.—(Hear, hear.) He ( Sir. Bright) had not spoken
upon any Irish questions during the last three or four
years without mentioning that question ; but it was not
until 500,000 of the subjects of the Queen bad been laid
under ground by famine that the Minister dared to pro-
pose the measures which he had brought forward this
year. Now, he (Mr. Bright) must say, that he had no
respect for a constitution, or a system of Parliamentary
representation, which required aids like these to keep it
in motion. But the system, if it did not work well in
this House, worked quite as badly out of doors. From
1836 there had been an incessant movement in all parts
of Great Britain in favour of an ex:ension of the suffrage;
and out of it had sprung Chartism—which bad proved
frightful because, during its discussion, passions had been
stirred up and false principles often inculcated, and ani-
mosities engender, d. There was no doubt of the fact
that a wide-spread discontent prevailed in the country,
amongst a large, intelligent, and it might be a
powerful class in the country, and a hatred
of the law which men sitting in that House ought
to be the last to encourage and maintain.—(Hear, hear.)
The Noble Lord on a former occasion said that reform
was not wanted by those out net doors. The Noble Lord
referred to the comparative absence of petitions on the
subject. He admitted the fact that the petition.; were
fewer than usual, but the reason was to be found in the
cause that operated to prevent the corn-law abolitionists
from petitioning the House of Lords. They felt that
the Lords had made up their minds on the subject, and
that the only argument they would be likely to listen to
was the argument of 1846, which was applied, and for-
tunately listened to.—(Hear, and cheers.) The Hon.
Member for Warwickshire had given an excellent ad-
vertisement to the scheme for creating votes. He would
tell the House that the plan was progressing rapidly;
many towns had come into the plan. The plan was de-
scribed as a conspiracy by the Hon. Member for War-
wickshire, who said, according to the true interpretation
of the constitution, such votes ought not to be created.
Now, in reply to that, he would quote the opening of
Lord Chief Justice Tindal, who, though opposed to his
party in politics, was too upright a judge to allow
that circumstance to bias his decision. Lord Chief
Justice Tindal said, "the object of increasing the number
of freeholds, so as to confer votes, was not against law,
morality, or sound policy. It was one of the essential
objects of the Reform Act, to enlarge the number of per-
sona who enjoyed the elective tranchise."—(Hear, hear.)
He (Mr. Bright) was of opinion that it was to be ap-
proved of, for a man to put by money to get a vote with.
But he would advise Honourable Members and the Go-
vernment there was one circumstance not altogether o:
a favourable character connected with this new plan, and
which he wished could be avoided. The men who came
forward to purchase these votes did so under a strong
and intractable conviction that they were buying a right
from which they had been unjustly shut out.—(Hear.)
When those men came within the pale of the constitution
in sufficient numbers to speak out, it might be they
could prove themselves the victors, you the vanquished.
—(Hear, hear.) It was better, therefore, to give these
men their rights before exasperation or irritation had
imbued their minds with dislike to the institutions of
this country.—(Hear, hear.) He hoped the Noble Lord
would. not make poverty a reason for excluding persons
from the pale of the constitution.—(Hear.) Ther,
were 30,000.000 of people, with 6,000,000 of adults,
and only 1,000,000 of electors; 5,000,000 of men, not
slaves—not ignorant of the principles of government.
and that government affected their material condition—
not below that House in information on important sub-
jects—those 5,000,000 had asked year after year in vain
for their rights. They stood about the hustings longing
in their inmost hearts to be admitted to those elective
rights which the constitution intended they should have.
Ile had shown the House that the constitution was in-
capable of governing the country before very great
changes were made. The Noble Lord said the peopl.
of the country had great influence in that House. H.
denied it. The titled classes alone had influence.—
(Cheers.) Look at the Cabinets. If there was anything
popular in the constitution of Cabinets they would
invariablyno: he chosen from one class. The constitution
of that House was aristocratic, not popular. Of the
fourteen members of the Cabinet seven were peers
Lords Russell and Palmerston were not peers, but of
the same class. There were four baronets, and one no,
a baronet. These baronets were all connected with peers
by blood or marriage.—(Hear.) Some day the Hous,
would find out that the people considered this was wrong
As the present system existed it was impossible e
have a Cabinet so composed as that the interests of five-
sixths of the unrepresented should be regarded or
attended to. A change, however, would not take place
until the danger became so great that it could no longer
be refused. He would ask whether the five-sixths of th,
people who were excluded from the franchise were
body of men for whom they hit neither respect nor con-
fidence? Why, where would be the greatness, the his-
tory of the past and future, and the security of this
country, but for those who were denied the franchise?
All sirtue, industry, integrity, morality, and religion, die
not reside in the sixth, who are represented in that
House. \Vas the constitution worth preserving? W ere
the institutions worth encouraging which stood in fear of
this class?. He was not the friend of order—(Laughter)
—he meant disorder. He believed the party he was con-
nected with was the true Couservetive party in that
House. He was not unmindful of the liberties and pri-
vileges which the country enjoyed, but he was satisfied
that all the advantages that we enjoyed would be conso-
lidated by passing the present measure.—(Hear.)
Mr. NEWDEGATE said a few words in explanation.
I.ord JOHN RUSSELL—Whatever I may think of
the motion before the Houee, yet I cannot enter upon
the discussion of it without paying a tribute to the mo-
deration and fairness, to the total absence of bitterness
of language, which marked the speech of the Hon.
Member for Montrose in introducing it.—(Hear, hear.)
For my part, I am happy
to see him again amongst u
in renovated health—(Cheers)—and, although I differ
in opinion from him, I can have no doubt that nothing
but the most-patriotic motives has induced him to bring
the motion under the consideration of the House with a
view to improve the representation and correct the
defects of our institutions.—(flear, hear.) But with
respect to that motion I must say that if there was much
doubt and obscurity both in the past year and in the
present year in the views of the Hon. Member for
Montrose—if he came before the House telling us that
he meant to give the franchise to all householders, but
that who he meant by householders he was unable to
tell us—(Hear, hear)—and that the old understand-
ing of the word " householder" as a man who
held a house was not his definition of the
word—if, I say, there was some obscurity about
the proposal of the Honourable Member for Mon-
trose, the speech of the Hon. Member for Manchester
has cleared it of all ambiguity—(Hear, hear)—and I '
think must have shown the House that, whatever might
be the wishes of the Hon. Member for Montrose himself,
whatever might be his respect for the ancient constitu-
tion of this House, and however he might reverence
those forms which have enabled him to act no undistin-
guished part, and to confer n• small benefit upon his
country, those who aid him, and in aiding overpower him
—(Cheers)—have no limitation in their designs—that,
to use the words of the Hon. Member for Manchester.
they have no respect for the Constitution—(Hear, hear)
—that they do not propose to stop short of admitting
every adult male to the enjoyment of the franchise; and
that, although this would not be obtained by the motion
of to-night—although it would not be effectual in carry-
ing the six points of the Charter—yet that is the end
to which the Honourable Member for Manchester is
directing his efforts.—(Hear, hear.) In considering this
proposition I must refer to what fell from the lion.
Members for Bradford and East Surrey. Those Hon.
Members having said they wished they bad seen me, as
the author of the Reform Bill, taking a lead in this
movement, I must refer a little to the considerations
which actuated those who framed that Reform Bill. I
should rather say, to some of the considerations; because
I do net intend to weary the House by referring to them
all. It so happened that in the 1821 I brought forward
an enlarged plan of reform in this House, and that in
1831, as the organ of the Government, I proposed a
Bill which was carried, and the main provisions of which
became the law of the land. In framing that measure
our view was to found it upon the ancient constitution
of the country, to consider what were the defects in the
representation of the people in this House, and to amend
thsse defects in the spirit in which the constitution was
ldwaasgrteoeamweinthd
the various parts of our ancient, free, and
o respect for that con-
stitution.—(Cheers.) originally
so aas that
framed.
our Our object,amendmentsl ihkeeawsr
.hi)soeu,
We were not
If there was no independ-
ence the franchise, you
among
gus t
Iciza:tiityuht(i)oin;r7g!:idnn,
We held that it was essential that
stitution.—(Cheers.)
those who had the franchise should be possessed of inde-
epnennedeinncethaendpienrsteolnlisgewnhceo.
could have no expression of the public will.—(Hear,
hear.) It' they had no independence you could not ob-
tain that which is the object of representation—the
good government of the country. I was happy to hear
Hon. Member for Montrose assert to-night that which I
asserted last year—that the object of representation
should be to obtain, not mere conformity to abstract
rights, but the welfare of the community at large, and
that therefore that system of representation which con-
tributes most to the good government of the country is
superior to any theoretical plan of perfection which may
be devised for the purpose by persons who are mere
speculators. Such, then, being the object of obtaining
independence and intelligence in the electoral body, let
us consider for a moment in what condition we found
the representation of the country, in both these re-
spects. We found in the counties a 40s. franchise,
which as we thought it secured as much independence
as it was possible to secure we retained. With respect
to the towns, we found the ancient household franchise
ifs existence, but, as in modern days it had become ply.