The Sun.
London, England, 1851-09-22 00:00:00

prehension, and a warning to defendant, and a table of
fees, are given in schedules annexed to the Act. Such
are the leading provisions of this Act. That it will
be found extremely serviceable in counteracting the
designs of fraudulent debtors, cannot be doubted. Its
distinctive feature is the extension of power already
possessed by the judges of the superior courts to local
judges, by which the delay which has operated so un-
favourably to the interest of creditors is in a great
degree avoided.—Law Times.

THE PREMIER'S NEW REFORM PLAN.
Much anxiety has been expressed in all quarters to
get at the details of the new Reform Bill, which will
most likely prove the cheral de battaille for all parties
in the House of Commons during the next session.
The clerks in the office of the Board of Trade are
already busily engaged, as we are informed, in work-
ing at the statistical papers necessary for the comple-
tion of the proposed arrangements, and the following,
as we- learn from accredited authority, is the plan
which it is the intention of the Prime Minister to
place before Parliament.
In addition to the present constituency, a new body
of electors will be constituted, consisting of all persons
who can prove that they pay taxes and rates to the
amount of 151. yearly.
Whenever in any district or parish such electors
may amount to a certain number or quorum (to be
defined in the Bill), then such district or parish (as
Kensington, St. Pancras, &c.) shall be entitled to
proceed to the election of one representative, and re-
turn him to the House of Commons as its Member.

That all votes shall be taken in electoral colleges,
as in France.
The 40s. freeholders to be disfranchised.

These are the details of the new Bill, subject to
certain slight modifications. Lord John Russell is
said to have given up, after anxious consideration,
the literary or "degree" qualification, which he had
originally intended to propose. The voting by elec-
toral colleges is a novelty which will not be very
generally admired. By this means the electors will
first return their member to the colleges (a fine word
for polling booths), and then the member will be re-
turned or not, as the number of colleges or polling
booths have majorities in his favour.
Simple as this system may appear, it has been found
in France, even with the additional protection of the
ballot-urn, to give occasion to much corrupt canvas-
sing and bribery, and, in some instances, has even
operated to throw out the Members actually having
the majority of voters. The disfranchisement of the
forty-shilling freeholders will narrow the rural con-
stituency in a manner exceedingly injurious to the
friends of progressive reform, who after having had
for years to fight an up-hill battle in the counties, had
just obtained a point d'appui for the future operations
on this very section of the franchise. The Freehold
Land Societies, also, a most useful new order of in-
stitution, by which the savings of the artisan classes
were beginning to be largely invested in the land,
will be nipped almost in the bud • so that the lever
that would have moved the whole fabric of aristo-
cratic classes and family government will be at once
snatched from the hands of Mr. Cobden and the Fi-
nancial Reformers. What wonder, then, that a
stormy session is anticipated for the next year's Par-
liament ?—Sunday Paper.