The Sun.
London, England, 1848-06-21 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, JUNE 21, lB4B.

his questionable testimony. He would call for ant of the
Honourable Member for Reading (Mr. Sergeant Tilfourd),
who, as it had been said of Akenside, that he had
breathed the spirit of Plato into English poetry, night be
said to have invoked the spirit of Euripides on thi British
stage, and not invoked in vain ; or of him vho had
also gained latirels, though in a different field if exer-
ticn. and of whom it would ever be a subject of grateful
recollection that, with the fine perception of taste aid with
the generosity of,genius, he saw and recognised tin powers
which were revealed in the Purgatory, ,f suicides though
written by a self-taught cobbler, and gave the author facili-
ties for coming before the public which would othersise have
been difficult of accomplishment.—(Hear.) When this
whole literature was considered, from the time of Ebenezer
Elliot, the Sheffield worker in iron, it would be fond per-
vaded by the spirit of indignation which would arise among
men who felt themselves reduced to a slave class, tireaten-
ing the disruption of that nationality the unity of wlich had
hitherto constituted the glory of this country. The stream
of mind was separated into two distinct courses; ant if they
did not recognise the claims of a class already repreginted in
the noblest arena, that of their national literature, thry would
exhibit to the world a most deplorable spectacle; the genius
of the country would become suicidal by the antagonism of
its elements. Future collections of poets and h,storians
would not be complete without the authors of those produc-
tions. They had a niche -in history. They had a place
among the laurelled, but they were not admissible into the
society of 10/. householders.—(Hear, bear.) In all ranks
high talents and great information were the exception ;
but they very much misunderstood the working classes who
thought that among them were not diffused the mind and
the intellectual aspirations which rendered them not un-
worthy brothers of such as he had named; uay, wlich ren-
dered them not unworthy countrymen of those Brea: names,
such as those of Nikon and Locke, which constituted
the brightest glory this country had yet achieved.
What was the Legislature to fear ? That those men
would render this House a less decorous and less dignified
scene? Would it be thought that thoie men would return
from their body—still less from the refuse of that body—
persons to claim fellowship here, who would turn the House
aside by personalities and sarcasm from every great topic of
discussion ?—(Hear, hear.) Would they send thither men
elated, not with champagne or burgundy, but with beer or
brandy, to throw disorder in the midst of their business?
Would they send people who would make a taxon property?
Why, property—the love of it was instinctive in an English-
man.—(Hear, hear.) They could not propose to him a" land
scheme," or anything of the sort which he could call his
own—(" Hear," from Mr. O'Connor)—even with the most
forbidding prospects of attaining his object—(A laugh )—but
he would make the attempt to acquire property. Nor was
there any participation in opinions which strangely had found
their way into a document which had found its way to the table
of the House. He had consorted with working people—not as
master, as landlord, as employer, or as patron—and he had
found in them that intelligence and those qualities which
kept alive faith in human nature. They had the spirit of
freemen. But it must be considered to what they were ex-
posed. There was a locality which he had known for upwards
of fifty years. He first remembered it with a constituency as
pure as could be found throughout the length and breadth of
the land. Of late it had gained a name for venality ; and
how ? Parties were kept up in the town ; partisans were
led to bid against one another in corporation as well as Par-
liamentary contests; and by keeping it before the people
that their vote was always to be sold, by this mode of prac-
tical teaching corruption was instilled into their blood.—
(Hear, hear.) It was the tempter who ought to be the ob-
ject of indignation. The briber was a thousand times worse
than the bribed, and when those people did fall there was
something which ought to abate the severity of the judg-
ment on their conduct. One poor man said he had never
taken a bribe, but he was in the workhouse, and he took
the bribe in order thathe might liberate himself from what
he thought a poor-law bastile, and consort again with his
fellow-men. Another man, who was invited by a Noble
Lord to take his place in a xarriage, and go to the poll,
replied, "No, my Lord, I will walk to the poll, and will not
disgrace-you by riding in your carriage." The working
people would not elect men of their own class as representa-
tives unless under very strong inducements. In France,
with its universal suffrage, they had chosen about 30 or 38
from their own class among the 900 representatives. What
would they do here? They would look to persons of local
importance, to local benefactors, and to men of national
reputation. These were the men who were desirable for
that House, rather than those who were unknown to the
locality, or who went rambling about with their heavy
purses—(Hear, hear) seeking where they could find a
constituency to corrupt. Under such a system as had been
presented to the notice of the House, the latter class of can-
didates would be found generally to fail, and there were
only two classes of candidates whose claims would prepon-
derate iu the choice of the constituency. Under such a
system there could be no such degrading practice of canvass-
ing as now existed, and which • only brought the poor and
the rich together for their mutual degradation. With
large constituencies that would not exist. Men of infor-
mation and talent, for whom little boroughs were said to
provide seats, could more easily find their way into the
House through large constituencies without subjecting them-
selves to any of those degrading practices which polluted
him who gave and him who received alike. It was of im-
mense importance that they should be a united people, that
they should not have a class unrepresented, whether on ac-
count of their industrial undertakings, their relations with
other countries, or their internal and external prosperity.
One advantage of such a subject as the present being dis-
cussed at the present moment was', that it brought the
middle and the working classes into more harmonious con-
cert than had existed for many years. It afforded a fair
means of amalgamating them together, and it was for the
aristocracy to consider whether they would do well in with-
holding themselves from that union which, with, their
assistance, would become the union of a threefoldcord which
could not be easily broken. It was not in our armaments

—brilliant as were their exploits, and magnificent as were
such means of defence—it was not in these that our great
glory and influence consisted. It was in the indomitable
energy and enterprise of the people, in the course of opera-
tions which depended on the working classes as our main-
spring; it was on these that our power and safety must
rest ; it was from the progress of mind must come our
security. Unite this class on such harmonious terms—
disregard theological difficulties—spread education with a
bold and free hand over the country—throw wide and open
the doors of the constitution—give the people an equali-
sation of the burdens of taxation, which' surely was their
right, whatever elpe was-..-do this, and they would hot the
millions ne,longer an alienated body, but the teal and firm
base or the social pyramid. -By these means, we should
•achive far nobler conquests in other countries than our
armies had ever yet won; for we should bring back
voluntary tributes from every clime to which our
commerce penetrated —we should raise more hon-
ourable trophies, trophies not watered by blood—
than we could do by the most sanguinary victories; for
these measures would be the source of union with, and
peaceful dominion over, other nations, and as in war, so
in peace, we should continue to be powerful and uncon-
quered. Untax the population, so far as their taxation was
unequal—educate the population, enfranchise the population,
and then they might arm the population without a shadow
of fear for the result—(Laughter from the Opposition
benches)—for should the nations of the world be banded
against us we should be perfectly able to drive from our
shores the world's hostility.---(Cheers.) He would only say,
without entering into metaphysical speculations about
natural right, but taking suffrage as the rule, and showing
the cases for exception, that to accomplish all that the
working classes required the Legislature must do them jus-
tice; in the words of the Great Charter, " neither denying
nor delaying justice." He begged of that House, therefore,
justice—equal, universal jusiice—justice to the working
people of the British empire. (Cheers.)
Mr. DISRAELI—The address of the Hon. Gentleman
who has just sat down is professedly founded on the motion
of the Hon. Member for Montrose. The Hon. Gentleman
has avowed himself to-night the advocate of those whom he
describes as serfs; but I cannot find in the resolution of the
Hon. Member for Montrose that he is prepared to enfranchise
those serfs.—(Hear.) No one can suppose for a moment that
the project brought before us to-night by the Hon, Member
for Montrose is one that at all aims at elevating the condition
or the position of those persons in the social or political sys-
tem. Whatever may be the prejudice of the Hon. Gentle-
man who has just addressed us against a 101. elector, it is
not, as I understand it, the proposition of the Hon: Member
for Montrose that a person—who is found starving under a
hedge—is to be entitled to the suffrage. Whatever may be
the sentiments of the Hon. Member for Oldham, I cannot
understand how, entertaining those opinions and animated by
those feelings, he should have found it his duty to be so de-
cidedly the friend of a plan, the object of which is
rather to increase the difficulty of the class
whose interests, I believe, he most sincerely advocates.
I cannot find out how the Hon. Gentleman, consistently with
his philosophy, can support the proposition of the Hon.
Member for Montrose.—( Hear, hear.) With regard to that
andHou
esei m
are i airn par opos
positioni different from that of the Hon. tion; the gentlemen on this side of the
Gen-
tleman and his supporters, and also from that of the mem-
bers of her Majesty's Government. It is not for us, Sir,
either to defend or attack the Reform Act. We obeyed it.
It received from us that allegiance which the law in this
country always commands. The practical good sense of the
country no doubt prevented much of the evil which we then
anticipated from the operation of the measure. Bat when I
say that we neither defend nor attack the Reform
Bill, I cannot believe that it is consistent with our duty, or
with the position which we occupy with regard to our con-
stituency and the country, as the representatives of a
party who were opposed to the change of 1832, that we
should evade the difficulty of a debate which some are in-
clined to think rather fruitful in difficulties, and therefore I
jTushtehHeaornd.,
Gentleman
whon is prepared
told
us tleman
wish to take this opportunity to make some observations on
a project which has been so sedulously prepared, but the
II that
true character of which has not been sufficiently appreciated,
and which, I am clear, has not been understood by the elo-
quentto
he w
enfranchisea
tadvocatehe advocate
imaginaryho m
feoserfs. havefis c
jec ref t
o ray. elt but sligh observed
tly on
the great propounder, of this pro
I have watched wit h. aetvt ee rnyt i
bo
rn
o,
u occasiona ng dh readfor
financialww forward,
rt
dh,
that doctrine.
observationdoctrin e.
t
of no careless character, the proceedings of
s
mbl
ans meetings
his
friends,t h. a t have
an
dboetfehnte
plea
haroet
etsfeoonlra
sudpte.st attended
Parliamentary
aymtehdtea,hnteat
atnhr.adye
.yoi .hhaGavveeen
reconstructiontaolffewme Gentleman
to the consideration
the
been increase in the expendi-
turetr (H
s
and taxation of the country.—(Hear, y.— ear, hear.) I have
faaaonnnudddn dtitphsotealhiattal
ittcrhaeoelfnorreen
reform
principaloe
lr
huyaopportunity—onionbeenhas
ostentatiously
had occasion this afternoon to listen to the presentation of a
great number of petitions. They all talk of the increased
and enormous expenditure of the Government, and the enor-
mously increased am
wl
amount of taxation of the country. I want
to know what is the reason that to-night we heard so little
of fiscal and financial reforms?—(Hear, hear.) I can easily
on•
aGentleman
on emtahnatwho has just ad-
dressedsubject. He is a
m
statistics of a different kind to those
master
understandter ot
the
statistics,
H w hny e
dh
did
du
not 1 It
we are accustomed to hear in this House. Those statistics
of e sta
ainodnfi
sacral, n
roe
may be very important in their Way, but the amount of
penny publications, the great increase in cheap literature,
the increase of railway intellect, and of all those productions
statistics which youw
by find
chat
form. I think the House will agree with me, that all Eng-
land has been told, during the last four months, that there
has been in this country an enormous increase in taxation,
and in the expenditure of the Government. This has been
told to the people of this country in order to impress on
touthtehequteesrtmionin of financial
them that, in consequence of our excessive taxation, and the
great expenditure of our Government, there ought to -be
changes made in unison with changes that are being made
in other countries.—(Hear.) One word, then, as to the
enormous increase in the taxation of this country.
in round numbers. How is it possible,
take the period of twenty years ago. The revenue
before them, that Honourable Gentlemen
raised in this country in 1828 was 49,500,000/. ; in 1848,
actsthe position. that the taxation of this country
has been progressively increased ? But the revenue of
4w:aintslloo these
maintainl.
1828 was not only 2,000,000/. greater than that of 1848, but
the revenue of 1828 was raised from a population, in
round numbers, less than 23,000,000, 'while the revenue of
1848 has been raised from a population of 30,000,000.
The burden of taxation per head in tkose two periods, in
1828 amounted to something like 21. 12s. 2d. a head, and in
180 it only amounted to 1/. 105► and a. fraction.—(llear,