The Sun.
London, England, 1860-01-07 00:00:00

In. 10
In. 4

in.l9
al. 4

Db. I

THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ROOMS,
Mgh liolborn (formerly CASINO DE VENISE).—
This Establishment, re-eminentlyp distinguished for the
elegance and matchless beauty. of its decorations, combined
with the perfection of management is OPEN EVERY
EVENING. The celebrated band, under the direction of Mr.
'W. 31. Packer, plays
a nightly-varied selection of the miltapproved classical and modern musts. Doors open at hall-
tast R. Overture at 9. Closing at 12 punctually_ Admission,
half-
One Shilling-.

DR. KAHN'S MAGNIFICENT ANATO-
MICAL MUSEUM, Top of the Haymarket (acknow-
ledged by the whole of the Press to be the most useful and
instructive of any in existence), is OPEN DAILY (for gentle-
men only), from 12 till 5, and from 7 till 10. Admission,
One Shilling,. Descriptive handbook gratis. Dr. KAHN'S
Popular Lectures on the " Philosophy
of Marriage," daily at
3 and 8 o'clock precisely. SYLLABUS.—Happy and Unhappy
Unions, and their causes—Youthful Vices and Indiscretions,
and their results —Disqualifications for Marriage, and their
Cure—the Physiology of Reproduction—Self-inflicted Miseries
Sterility and its causes—How to secure Moral and Physical
ifltipines B.
N.B.—Dr. Kahn's Treatise on the above subjects, entitled
"The Philosophy of Marriage," *ant post-free on receipt of
twelve stamps, dire et from the Author, 17, Harley-street,
Cavendish-square. W.

tURR.OWS AND CO., Wholesale Wine Mer-'
chants, LIVERPOOL.
Stores
Lime-street.
Offices 54, Duke-street.
The Proprietors beg most respectfully to call the_ atteniOn
of the trade, noblemen clergy, &T,c., and the public in general.
to their extensive stock of Choice Wines, of rare vintages.
BURROWS and Co. are not disposed to comment upon the
purity et their wines, which is daily most laudably acknow-
ledged by the public and, eminent medical men of all coun-
t&finasdtihseainsuemrecaiseinnig ratronage of the highest families in
They beg to call partienlaarnte4iention to their pure Tonic
'Win"' as beinr, so valuable to Invalids and persons of weak
stomachs. '
A RaIRPle
orwardeeod :
6Tll.l.lobreat, dozen ef
ontaining three full-sized wine bottles,
It is a
~ . . rt It
.n 3' address on receipt of P. 0.0. for 6s.
'veil-Known fact that impure and adulterated wines
are the greatest foes to health, producing acidity in the
!_t.oinesach and debilitating the gemtive
siren
win will accelerate the digestive powers, invigorating,
organs, while pure
gthening, and bracing the nervous system.
Their Tonic Wine admittedis to be most essential to in-
'Nide, both old and young, Ina homes of the weak a ickly. Its properties are duly
nd should never be absent from
acknowled and an
8 . the leading men of the
faculty, Dottedat home and abroad.
appreciatedby
of the
To p are; 4f imposition each bottle is sealed with the name
All •
• Orders to be made payable to HENRY Bunnows.

G.LENFIELD PATENT STARCH,
&V.D USED IN THE ROYAL LAUNDRY,
lonorzoinqczn BY RER MAJESTY'S LAUNDRESS to be
THE FINEST STARCH SHE EVER USED.

WHEN TOU ARICEOR
GLENTIRLD P &TENT STARCH,
SEE TUAT YOU GET IT,
As inferior kinds are often substituted.
Sold by all Chandlers, Grocers, dm, Sz9- WOTHERSPOON & CO., GLASGOW AND LONDOW

__........... _.._ _______
il OPAL NATIONA„L LIFEBOAT
.i-u INSTITUTION.—The Committee of this Institution
earnestly APPEAL to the public for PECUNIARY ASSIST-
ANCE to aid them to meet the present heavy demands on
the limited funds of the Society.
• . THOMAS BARING, Chairman.
THOMAS CRAPMA.N, Deputy-Chairman.
14, John-street, Adelphi, W.C.
Batikers—Messrs. Willis and Co. ; Contts and Co.; Herries
end co.

ROYAL FREE HOSPITAL, Gray's-inn-road.
Open to the Sick Poor night and day.
re-
lieved, the past month (October) 10,275 persons were re-
The u
t Pital Is wholly dependent on legacies and rolun-
a7. cont oribut ions.
Ve AID of the benevolent is urirently solicited.
Tr_Pntributions may be paid to Edward Masterman, Esq.,
„a_lurer. and banker, Nicholas-lane, Lombard-street ; or at
itospttal, from 10 till s.—By order.
STANFORD S. SMITH, Sec.

'erdse
at. 12
crisis

erdus
ii. 12

MEDICAL
FRIEND AND MARRIAGE GUIDE.
To THE NERVOUS AND DEBILITATED.
--Sent free on receipt of two stamps, for postage, &c.,
ItIPKEY,O7, Alfted-place, Bedford-square, London,
• " THE GUIDE TO SELF-CURE."
iteitritelirl. first man of the day in these complaints."—Medical
the Those about entering the Marriage State should peruse
health invaluable little work, as the advice he gives on
ide:".rea:trtdrztidisease reflects much credit upon him as a sound
4,149 Philosopher."—Critic.
3e Grdde toraltaczisenew.ho desire a speedy and private
`he absurar-A7 AMERICAN DISCOVERY' demonstrates
plaint,, ot the English mode of treating such corn-
knelt.
repair e a blesiing to the afflicted, who may safely
let",i."—E,7ePristine health by adopting the means pre-
CAUTto Star.
Public Zen ran"B a duty due to the profession and the
doßbtsDr. Rapkey advises all persons havin.,
or parti" 'fie legal qualifications of their medical attendant,
from the whom they may be about consulting, to procure
of R RoYal Colleg,e of Surgeons, London, the Official List
eZistered Members, price Is., or Dr. R. will, on recelpr of
Price in stamps, gladly assist and protect the afflicted
Public by forwarding the same.

n. 10
U. 4

p 5.
n. 11

erdn•
a. 4
U. li

n. 11

n. 10

DU
BARRY'S RRVALENTA ARABICA
rCHOCOLATE POWDER Contains the greatest
ount of easily assimilated nourishment for strengthening
Vdeli Rte persons, children, and infants with weak stomachs,
iest or nerves, and, at 3-pence per meal, affords a delicious
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thie t
D, I reParation, and maybe
.eaten either alone or mixed with
u Harry's Revalenta Arabic». Food. Admirably adapted to
rear Infants with. In Tins at ls. 6.1 ; 11b., 35.; 21b., ss. 9d. ;
alb, 1.2,4..
, 121 h.. 265. The 121 h. forwarded carriage free, on
rec'elPt of p thee order. Du Barry and Co., 77, Regent-
street, Londo°nBt:°and through all Grocers and Chemists.
NO MORE MEDICINE'-
tioDu'll 1"1-tY'S
110VAI Peffectually Indigos.DELICIOUS HEALTH-RESTORING
o( 8-
ePR p, flatulency, phlegm,
dy 1, ARABICA FOOD Cures ,
nes listless, liver complaints, hysteria, neuralginalesleep-less-
inteadath,cacilitnyo,ispeaslyitation, heartburn, eruPti°tl', impurities,
h —" T, low Spirits diarrhoea, dysenterY,
Pains h hemorrhoids
in tile head and ears, debility, diabetes,gpasms
„m between the shoulders, despondency, cramps, .
fits.mea, and sickness (during pregnancy or at seal, stnkin
et" c°ugh, asthma, bronchitis, consumption, also Children's
~..olaints.
141,:t ittract a few out of 50,000 expressions of gratitude.fresolo:6
yeatiVs thus cured : Cure No. 1,771. Lord Stuart dc Dem, I
-1
clesciTara' dyspepsia. Care No. 49,832. "Fifty years n
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elcuellebAnd vomiting, have been removed by Du Barry's
snail the 1i'6,06," Maria Joly. Cure No. 53,816. Field Mar-
vougne,, „ ‘l,,ce of Pluskow, of dyspepsia, constipation, ner-
and ito '4l', liver complaints which had resisted all baths
Jacobs, eodical treatment. Cure No. 47,121. Miss Elizabeth
spirits, „,i., a"treine nervousness, indigestion, gatherings, low
Ure, of --,„--„- nervous fancies. Cure No. 18,216. Dr. Andrew
No. 34 eirrs.,"Pation, dyspepsia, andnervoua irritability. Cure
3.8,.,2:1_
11::er4:or.i Shorland, of dropsy and debility. Cure No.
D;. ?. Cantaln Allan, of epileptic tits. Cure No. 36,418. Rev.
cramps, spasms and daily voinitings. Cure No.
ttl4lB Dr.liervey, of di arrheea and debility. Cure No. 29,628. Dr.
veurrtzerof consumption. Cure N 0.46,270. Mr. James Roberts.
cult , chant, Primley, Surrey, of 30 years' diseased lungs, spitting,
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',gilt years' dyspepsia, nervousnese, debility, with cramps,
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wry, Norfolk."—Cure No. 3,906, of thirteen years' cough,
lidigeation, and general dehility. James Porter, Athol-street,
Perth. Sold in canisters, 11b. 2s. 9d. ; 21b. 4s. 6d. ; 121 b. 225;
Super refitted quality, 51b. Vs. ; 101 b. 335. The 101 b. and 121 b.
ministers are forwarded carriage free, on receipt of Post-office
Fortnum, Mason,
; o order, Barry Du Barry and Co., 77, Regent-street, London
fr
13raalsson, and Co., purveyors to her Majesty, 182,
certBlltreeeaadrlde ; 49 and 60, lilshopsgate-street ;
-at tio, Gtr racechurch-seet ; 330, Strand ; 4,
Dr. Butler, 105 and 63, Oxford-
; 85, Tottenham-court-road ; also -in Liverpool, at
Nixons, 1, Castle-street L, and Co. :n,
Medical Hall ; Meeds
anchester,Reinhardt ShaplandDub
BOolitt ;
X dinburgh, Ethane and Ca

..w.

ison-
of $

den-

vest,
:sq.,

ror-
vey,
mt.-

VIII.
r of

:lid.

TO,
112,

Yesterday evening a public meeting was held in the
Town-hall, Birmingham, for the purpose of giving an oppor-
tunity to the representatives of the borough, Mr. Schole-
field, M.P., and Mr. Bright, M.P., an opportunity of ex-
pressing their sentiments on the question of Reform. The
hall was very densely crowded in every part, and the meet-
ing was altogether of an enthusiastic character.
The Mayor of Birmingham (Mr. Lloyd) occupied the
chair, and was supported by Mr. Bright and Mr. Schole-
field. There were also present Mr. G. Edmonds;-Alderman
Baldwin, Alderman Sturge, Mr. Wright, Mr. Holland, &c.
The platform was crowded by a vast number of gentlemen
who take an interest in the question.
The Mayor having taken -the chair, called upon Mr.
Alderman BALDWIN to more the following resolution :
" That the necessity of Parliamentary Reform being ac-
knowledged by all the groat political parties, and her Ma-
jesty's Government being pledged to introduce a Reform
Bill during the ensuing session, it is the opinion of this
meeting that any bill to be useful to the country and
satisfactory to the people must provide for a large exten-
sion of the suffrage, for vote by ballot, and for a better ap-
portionment of members to population."
The resolution was seconded by Mr. G. EDMONDS, and
carried amidst the cheers of the meeting.
Mr. SCISOLBFIELD, M.P., then rose, and after the cheer-
ing had subsided, spoke as follows :—My friends and fellow-
townsmen, after an interval of nearly 30 years men of all
parties in tho State, Conservative as well as others, seem to
have arrived at the conviction that a Reform Bill is abso-
lutely necessary. (Hear, hear.) What may have been suffi-
cient for the year 1830 by no means applies to'the thange of
circumstances in 1856. (Hear, hear.) Tho enormous in-
crease in the wealth of the country is in itself one very
important element which should govern our future consi-
deration, because that wealth has now diffused itself among
all classes of the community. The working classes have
shared as amply as others in the great prosperity of past
years, and that being the case, there is no question that
the education of the country has elso made enormous pro-
gress, and has reached even to the poorest classes in the
country. The consequence is that the middle class men of
the year 1830 were scarcely up to the mark of the great
body of the working classes in the year 1860, and yet
in spite of this the working classes as a body have still
no voice in the representation. Now, Ido not mean to tell
you that I think the working classes are more honest or
more intelligent, or more patriotic than their fellowmen in
other classes. I have never attempted to rouse your pas-
sions by any such statement, but I do say this, and I say
it with the utmost confidence, that the working classes are
no less intelligent, honest, or patriotic. (Cheers.) If
this be so, the working classes as a body have the fullest
right to a share in the representation. Now I do think
that on a retrospect of what has taken place during the
last thirty years, even the strongest Conservative may
take heart of grace and put all his alarm on one side.
We remember what were the prophecies of a large num-
ber of men in the highest position in the country at the
time the first Reform Biil was under discussion. We were
told that we were on the eve of a revolution, that England
was to sink to the level of a second-rate power, that the sun
of England bad set for ever, and yet what has been the
fact ? Why, that so far from this having been a revolu-
tionary measure the first Reform Bill,• if it had one striking
feature more than another, was that it averted revolution.
We have had the freest press, free trade, and greater free-
dom of religion ; and, upon the whole, we have had a vast
increase of contentment and prosperity throughout the
country. (Cheers.) 'Well, then, I believe that we shall
have a Reform Bill next session ; and I say so in despite of
certian rumours to the contrary. It has been said that the
Ministers have not yet prepared their bill. Of course it is
impossible for any persons out of the Cabinet to know what
has passed at the board ; but if the Ministry have not yet
made up their minds as to the nature of their bill, they
have very ill conducted themselves during the recess. We
are also told that there is an intention on the part of the
Government to divide their bill into two parts—one part to
apply to the franchise, and another to the manner in which
decisions shall be come to in the great contres of represen-
tation. Now, Ido not believe that, for Ido not bellows that
any body of men composed as the present Ministry is, would
seek to do it. As my hon. friend (Mr. Bright) has told you
over and over again, it is impossible to separate the two
questions as to the extension of the franchise and the mode
in which you will give to different parts of the country the
power of sending members to Parliament. We must re-
member that, whatever we may think of the Reform ten-
deucies of some members of the Government, there are
men in it, among others Mr. Milner Gibson, who have
earned the confidence of all true Reformers. (Hear.) We
must not forget that a neighbouring borough has returned
one who is a member of the Government, and who always
will receive the applause of his fellowcountrymeu as having
been the first •man in this country who mooted with any-
thing like success the question of free trade. I mean Mr.
Villiers. (Cheers.) We must not forget that these gen-
tlemen are members of the Government, and I am content
to believe that in that Government these gentlemen will
not remain unless that Government consents to a Reform
Bill based on sound principles. But supposing wo may be
disappointed in this respect, we are not without able and
willing leaders. We cannot forget that we have my hon.
colleague, whose consummate ability and vast eloquence
have been acknowledged on all occasions in defence of the
rights and liberties of the subject. Even should the Go-
vernment be deficient in its desire to promote reform, I
have no doubt we shall find some means of showing that
the liberties of the people are not forgotten in the existing
House of Commons. The question is, what shall the re-
form which is required amount to. I am not here to discuss
the bill of my hon. colleague, which has received the sanc-
tion of all classes of the country. • We cannot discuss the
bill of the Government, because we do not know what the
provisions of that bill may be ; but I think we are in a
position to declare the broad and general principles on which
any reform bill ought to be based. (Cheers.) Tho resolu-
tion states that we will net bo satisfied with any reform which
does not give us a very great extension of the franchise—l
would say a franchise equal to that which Lord J. Russell
proposed of a a rating ; and I say this because I believe that
in any measure which we adopt we ought to do that which
we can do well. (Hear.) Although I look to the widest
extension of the suffrage as the point to which I think we
ought to go, I never would refuse any measure which
honestly and seriously attempted to give the people any
portion of their rights—(cheers)—because I am quite sure
that every extension of the franchise will be the lever of ob-
taining that which many of us hope to obtain. (Hear.) The
second object is that which refers to the more equal appor=
tionment of members to the population. I will not say what
boroughs ought to be disfranchised, or what boroughs ought
not to be enfranchised, or the number of members to be
given to this or to that district, because these are matters
which will be discussed in the Government Bill. (Hear.)
But I may say this, that unless we have a more equal appor-
tionment of members to the population we shall not obtain
anything like what we have a right to expect. (Cheers.)
The resolution mentions the question of the ballot. I do not
wish to diminish the importance of that subject. I have
always voted for the ballot and shall always wish to see that
a part of the means by which members are to be returned to
Parliament. But if the resolution means that the ballot is
to be made a sine qua non in any bill, that we are to reject
any measure which does not include the ballot, I must re-
luctantly demur to the conclusion of the resolution. I should
be glad to accept an honest reform bill even without the bal-
lot, not because I undervalue its importance, but I wish you
to bear in mind the circumstance that a great portion of the
Government are against the ballot, and that you have not
a pledge that the ballot shall form any part of the Go-
vernment measure. I do not wish to see our public men
dragged through the mire so as to pledge themselves to
support opinions which they do not entertain. Ido not
wish to see the leading members of the Government who
object to the ballot coming forward and saying that the
arguments of the public have convinced them that the ballot
ought to bo adopted. I would much rather see the public
make their representatives pledge themselves, when the
time comes, not to vote for any Ministry which will not
takecarry a tnhye
hb
oa
eost
t.
measure ( Ch e e r (Cheers.)
of)
eßf
eurt
mI
wshouldhod
hbee
Governmentto
adlt ohpat
ss ,beeve eunthoughsaidu thet a
lkballotgreat mdaeya
In
about
Ri n
ee
fl
oudrme d—iwn
hiat.
t
do you mean to do when you get it ? Now, in the first
place, I would say, if you get nothing else you would get
this, you would place every man who felt he had a right to
vote on the same footing in that respect as the richest man
in the country. In that sentiment is embodied that which
constitutes loyalty to the Queen and love of the country, for
no man can feel that he is *an Englishman unless he pos-
sesses all the rights of an Englishman. (Cheers.) Well
then, I think beyond this that the House of Commons itself
would be no worse off if we had a little infusion of fresh
blood. I mean no disrespect to that house—which, with all
its faults, I look upon as still the noblest representative as-
sembly in the world—in saying that its deliberations would
bo greatly improved by having in it some men who should
be more immediately the representatives of the working
classes. (Hear.) There are many questions in which such
representatives could give an opinion, which, if not sounder
and better than that of other men, would satisfy the work-
ing classes of the country that their wishes were represented
in a manner which they themselves understood, and with
NO MORE MEDICINE which they sympathised. (Hear, hear.) I feel also, that
Price 21., free by post, a popular treatise, sixty-four Pages,
THE NATURAL REGENERATION of the DIGESTIVE in the coming session it would have been an immense ad-
ORGANS, vantage if we had in Parliament men who would represent
practically illustrating the effectual Cure, without Medicine,
of Indigestion (dyspepsia), habitual Constipation, Flatulency' the working classes on the question of taxation, and
Acidity, Palpitation of the Heart, Torpidity of the Liver, which is a question that there is reason to believe will
hilous Headaches, Nervousness, Biliousness, General. Debi.
lity, Cough, Asthma, Consumption, Despondency, Spleen, &c., be subjected to revision next session; nor do I think
without Pills, Purgatives, or Medicine of any kind, by a that the question of the revision of the taxation of the
simple, pleasant, and infallible means; adapted to the general
reader. London: Barry Du Barry & Co. 77, Regent-etreeti country could be introduced to the house by an abler

The Fourth Edition, Just Published, Bvo, in cloth, price ss.
by post free, ss. 6d.
nN TRUE and FALSE SPERMATORRHCEA ;
V with the View to the Correction of wide-spread Errors
in relation to the Treatment and Cure of Sufferers from De-
bility of the Generative system, or Sexual Hypochrondriasis.

(NE HUNDRED POUNDS REWARD ON

The fearful dang CONVICTION.
ers to invalids from spurious imitations of
DU BARRY's invaluable HEALTH-RESTORING ItEVA •
LENTA AR ABICA FOOD led to an investigation, and.
upon application in 18.54 for protection, the High Court of
Chancery granted an injunction restraining Alfred Hooper
Nevill, and his agents, under a penalty of .£5,000, from selling
any article resembling or being a colourable imitation of Du
Barry's Revalenta Arabica, of ,which we are the sole pro-
prietors. Now, therefore, this We give notice that the above
reward will be paid, upon convielon, to anyone giving infor-
mation of any breach of the injunction. An intelligent
public requires no admonition to shun all shopkeepers who
May attempt impositions. London :1111ARRY DU BARRY
& CO,
NO MORE SICKLY OR ILL-CONDITIONED HORSES

OR OTHER CATTLE.
RA REY'S TTORSE and CATTLE-IMPROVING FOOD
restores the efficiency, vigour, endurance, and muscle of
conditioned or apparently worn-out Horses, Cows, Bul-
locks, Calves, Sheep, and Pigs. In a short time it improves
-Their appearance and value by 20 and 30 per cent. RAREY
knd Co., 77, Regent's Quadrant, London. In tins at 35., at 65.,
lls. ; in casks, of about 450 feeds, 50s. ; of about 1,000 feeds,
E 5, being about lid. per feed.
Forwarded on receipt of Post-office orders.: The casks free
of carriage.

colleague in endeavouring to make a broad, honest, and
effectual Reforim Dill. (Cheers.)
Mr. BRIGHT, on rising, was received with loud and long
continued cheering. lie said, I feel very sure that you will
agree with me when 1 say that I think it a wholesome thing
that constituencies and their representatives should meet

as we meet to-night, for the purpose of discussing questions
of vital interest to the community—questions which must
very soon come before Parliament, and which pre-eminently

call for legislation. (Hear.) But if these groat questions
—vital as they are to the interests of the community—can
only be determined by Parliament, hew necessary is it that
that Parliament to which these great questions arc referred,

should fairly representthe great interests and the intelligent
mind of the people of this country. (Cheers.) I think Ido
■ot overstate the case, when I state thatformany years past
there has been a growing conviction, notamongst the unre-

presented classes only, but amongst all classes, that the
}Louse of Commons in this country—the chief house of le-

merit formed. The great point upon which the house and e
the country differed from Lord Derby was upon the ques•
tion of Parliamentary Reform, and if there be anything in
the world to which the statesmen now in office are pledged
more than any other, it is to a measure of Parliamentary
Reform, such as shall be clearly distinct from, and better
than that which they rejected when Lord Derby proposed
his bill. The promises of the leaders of the Whig party
gained them power, and having acceded to power, the time
for action, and for the fulfilment of their premises, is now
come. (Hear.) In making these observations, do not fora mo-
ment imagine I ern doubting the course the Government will
take. I am merely stating the facts that they may be in •
your recollection, and the recollection of the ,country, if
by any possibility there should be hereafter any necessity
to recall that which has passed. (Cheers.) But now
what was the measure which Lord J. Russell proposed ?
Reform, as we all know, is a question of degree. In a
great tsany countries of the world there are Legislative
Assemblies elected by constituencies. They are elected in
almost all kinds of ways, and therefore a proposition may
be made which is not mine, or which is not yours, but still
may have value in it, and may be worth fairly considering.
The proposition which Lord J. Russell made befoie the dis-
solution appears to me to be one of that character, and we
shall not waste our time if we devote a few minutes to an
examination of what it really is. The bill must necessarily
be something in the shape of a compromise. It will not be
a mere deception, like the bill of Lord Derby, and, cer-
tainly, if he adheres to what he proposed, it will not be as
full and as comprehensive as the very moderate proposition
which last year I was permitted to submit to the considera-
tion of public meetings in various parts of the country. It
will be more moderate—l am confining myself now to the
question of the suffrage—it will be more moderate than a bill
which Mr. Pitt was ready to submit, and I think proposed,
about 70 years ago. It will be more moderate and more re-
stricted in its suffrage than a bill introduced by the late
Lord Grey, and supported by Mr. Fox 60 years ago. It will
be more moderate than the bill or the proposition that was
made by Lord Durham about 30 years ago. It will be very
much on a par with the bill of Lord John Russell in 1852,
and it is that kind of a measure which I presume, in the
course of the month of February at the latest, we shall see
brought before the House of Commons. Now, I shall con-
fine myself to the question of the borough franchise, as the
House of Commons has already agreed to the question of the
county franchise. The £lO occupation franchise in the coun-
ties appears to be agreed upon generallyin the House of Com-
mons, but there still may be a difference of opinion with re-
gard to the boroUgh franchise. In large towns a £6 rental
franchise will ad d very largely to the conetituency,though, as
appears from the returns of small occupiers, which have been
sent up to the Poor-law Department for the use of the Govern-
ment in discussing this question, not nearly so largely as
might be imagined. I, however, take it fur granted that
in all places which, are large, like Birmingham and Man-
chester, and which are full of manufacturing activity, like
Wolverhampton and many of the boroughs in Lancashire
and Yorkshire, a £6 rental franchise will double, and per-
haps in a few eases will rather more than double, the exist-
ing number of electors. In other towns, teo, which aro
what is called "unfinished"—(laughter)—towns, where
there has not been a new street, and perhaps not a new
house, in the memory of anybody living—(laughter)—in
towns of that kind, Where there is no commercial or manu-
facturing life, the increase in the number of electors will bo
comparatively small. I believe there are many in which
the increase will not be more than 10 per cent. ; and I be-
lieve that if we take such a city as Exeter, which has a very
considerable population, but is still not a town of great com-
mercial life or activity, the increase in the number of elec-
tors will not be morn than 20 per cent. I mean by this that
if tho present number of electors is 1,000, the addition will
not be more than 200, making the register in future 1,200.
It is quite clear, then, that that would not be a particularly
destructive measure, and a man must have eyes of a highly
magnifying power to enable him to discover that it was so.
(Laughter.) Now there is one point which is very impor-
tant in considering this matter. There are 134 boroughs
in this country—l am speaking now of the United King-
dom—returning 198 members, which are so small that it is
utterly impossible for any extension of the franchise to give
an adequate constituency to them. For instance, there are
56 boroughs, whose average population is only 5,900. The
average number of electors is only 324 voters, and yet they
return 87 members. (Hear.) If you give a £6 rental in
these places, and rents are much lower than at Birmingham
or Manchester, you will find that you add very few in
deed to the constituency, and therefore the proposition of
Lord John Russell will be found wholly inadequate for
such boroughs. Then, again, there are nine boroughs in
Ireland with a population of 5,600, in which the average is
173, and yet they return nine members. There are also
69 boroughs whose average population is 11,300. The,
average number of voters is 453, and these 69 boroughs re -
turn 102 members to Parliament. (Cries of " Shame.")
Although this bill will give a great accession to Birming-
ham and Manchester and to large towns of commercial
activity and manufacturing life, if you come to the list
which I have read, you Will find that there are 200 mem-
bers returned from boroughs whose constituencies will be
altogether insufficient for a proper representation if that
bill should pass. (Hear, hoar.) But, now, look at the
large boroughs. Thom are 23 boroughs with a population
between 54,000 and 127,000, which return only 42 members,
and thero aro 12 boroughs with a population over 127,000,
which return 21 members. • These 35 large towns return 66
members, and whatever may be the extension of the suf-
frage in these boroughS, they would still only return 66
members. If then, it should frighten anybody to be told
that the number of electors in these boroughs will be
doubled, they will know, at the same time, that they would
have 134 boroughs returning 198 members, in which this
bill will make hardly any perceptible difference in giving a
free and sufficient constituency. , It is not, then, for those
who are against Reform to say that the great boroughs
will have too many electors ; but it is for us, who are in
favour of Reform, to say that these small boroughs under
this bill will have a number of electors wholly ineuffieient to
justify Parliament in co-, firming to them the privileges they
now enjoy. (Hear.) It is impossible to say what will be
the whole number of electors added to the boroughs of the
United Kingdom, but I make a sort of guess, which will
bo sufficiently near to enable us to argue from. At pre-
sent, in the United Kingdom, the borough voters are about
500,000. I am of opinion that a £6 rental franchise will
not add 60 per cont. to the whole of the borough consti-
nencies of the kingdom ; but I take it at 60 per cent.

gislation in the kingdoin—does not fairly include within it
a representation of all the interests and of all the classes
who belong to the great concerns and to the greatpopulation

of the kingdom. (Hear, hear.) And we have a most conclu-
sive proof of this opinion from the fact, that without any
great agitation, without any firm combination, or any series
of combinations throughout the country, the whole country
has come at last to the conviction that we must have another
Reform Bill, a far larger number of vpters, a better distri-
bution of members, and such changes as will make the Par-
liament more entirely a mirror io represent the public than
it does at present. {Cheers.) The question has grown
very quietly, but it has attained at last a giant's stature ;
and whether your Government be formed of men from one
side of the house or from the other, it is all the same.
They come down with one speech after another from the
Throne, proclaiming to the whole country that it
is the opinion of the Crown, as it is the opinion of the Go-
vernment, and, as I hesitate not to say, as it is the opinion
of the vast majority of the people, that we are entitled to
an extension of Parliamentary representation. (Cheers.)
It is a curious thing to watch the progress of this question.
When the bill of 1832 passed, there were many people in
Birmingham who thought it very inadequate, though they
had agreed to accept it, and had done so much to carry it.
For 20 years the authors—l mean the parliamentary authors
of that bill—the leaders of the Wliig party— steadily re •
fused to step one single hair's breadth in advance of it.
They justified, by their conduct, that which a friend of mine
who knows what took place at that time, told me, namely,
that he thought the people of Brookes's Club—the principal
Whig club in London—were about as much frightened at
the Reform Bill as anybody else. (Laughter.) It was not
till 20 years afterwards—till the year 1851, I believe—
that Lord John Russell—by far the most eminent, by far
the most distinguished, and, as I believe, by far the most
trustworthy of his party on this question—it was not until
1851 that Lord John Russell himself avowed his intention
. to offer a further bill, providing for a further extension of

the franchise to the consideration of the House of Commons.
In 1852 the promised bill made its appearance. It provided
for an extension of the suffrage in boroughs to this amount.
That every man having a house rated at £5, which I pre-
sume would be equal to about a of rental, should hake,
vote. With regard to Scotland, it provided that every per-
son living in a house not rated at but rented at £5 should
have a vote. Well, that was a large and sub►tantial offer
to Parliament and the country ; but the unfortunate quar-
rel which took place between Lord John Russell and the
chief of the present Cabinet, caused a change of Govern-
ment, and that bill was withdrawn. We step on now,
passing over the short Government of Lord Derby, to the
Government of Lord Aberdeen, and in 1851, Lord J. Rus-
sell, acting again as spokesman for the Cabinet on behalf of
the Reform question, brought in another bill, which was
not so good as the bill of 1852 with regard to the franchise,
for it raised the suffrage from a Li to a -..C6 rating, which is
probably equal to a £7 rental. That bill was withdrawn.
That Government—composed, as I believe it was, of three
sections of politicians, if not of three factions of politicians
—that Government allowed the country to drift into a
needless and sanguinary war, and therefore, as a matter of
course, all questions of Reform and improvement in your
domestic affairs were laid aside until the war was concluded.
Well, after that Government fell, we had the Government

which would give an addition of 300,000 voters, making the
present number of 500,000 into 800,000, and therefore fall-
ing widely short of doubling the present constituency. Now,
the county constituencies ofteUnited Kingdom have about
700,000 names upon the register, and I calculate that rea tie-
ing the county franchise to £lO will add, perhaps, 200,000
more, and bring them up to 900,000. Therefore the present
number upon the register for counties and borough being
4200,000, will be increased by half a million, but the real
number of voters will be not more than a million, as many
were upon both the county and the borough registers, and
the whole number of voters, if this bill passes, will conse-
quently not be more than a million and a half. I am quite
sure that the men who dread a measure like this, who fancy
that we ars extreme in our propositions, though this
you know is not our proposition, cannot really have ex-
amined it, or they would not say a syllable against it. What
did Mr. Disraeli say in that last memorable debate, in which
he fought for his political or rather his official life, and did
not succeed in saving it, On the 7th of June he said, " It is
unnecessary on this occasion to vindicate the measure which
we brought forward in the last Parliament, but I will state
one fact, not upon my own authority, but upon that of men
of high scientific character not connected with politics or
with parties, whose only object in their researches is to esta-
blish and promulgate truth, and that is, that our measure
would have increased the constituent body by not less than

of Lord Palmerston, with a good many promises, and not
only no performance, but no attempt at performance
(Laughter.) In 1858 that Government fell, and was sue.
ceeded by the Cabinet of Lord Derby; and, as Mr. Disrael
insists upon it that the Whigs have no right to a monopoly
in dealing with the Rgiorm question, he and his colleague■
proposed to deal with it, and at the beginning of last year
they introduced a bill which, as it had one evening devoted
expressly to it in this hall some three months ago, I think
we need not go into further to-night, and in avoiding any
discussion of it I think we shall only be acting with charity
and compassion to its author. (Laughter and cheers.) So
unsatisfactory was that bill of Lord Derby's to the House of
Commons and the country, that not only was it rejected, but
the Government was rejected too. (Laughter.) Lord Derby
took the opportunity, as it is reported, on one occasion of
making some not very pleasant observations upon me, in
which he said, if I recollect rightly, that the Queen would
not have me, the House of Commons would not have me,
and the country and the people would not have me. The
noble lord fell into precisely the same predicament. (Laugh-
ter and cheers.) The House of Commons would not have Lord
Derby's bill, and the House of Commons would not have
Lord Derby. (Laughter.) He then appealed to the consti-
tuencies of the United Kingdom, and with a power of cor-
ruption, which I suppose has never before been equalled ;
but he learned, notwithstanding, that the country and con •
stituencies would not have him ; and acting in accordance
with the Constitution, finding that the house and the coun-
try had decided against him, of course tho Crown would
not have him, and Lord Palmerston was called in to supply
his place. Now we come to the position in which we now
find ourselves in connection with the great question. On
the night—l think the very night the dissolution was an-
nounced—Lola J. Russell made a statement in the house
of what ho thought would be a liberal proposition for a Li-
beral Government to make—a proposition which he inti-
mated he would be willingto mike himself, if in a position to
do so. Well, we had the dissolution, and after the general
election we went up to London, and we had a meeting at
Willis's-rooms, and there was some discussion there on this
as well as upon other questions. It was determined that if
a majority of the House of Commons would agree, Lord
Derby's Government should be put out and a now Govern-

500,000, being absolutely a larger addition than was made
by the Reform Bill of 1832." Further on he said—" We"
—and in this ho was speaking of the monopoly which Lord
J. Russell and the Whigs had usurped on the question of
Reform—" we, who at least have prepared and introduced a
measure which would more than have doubled the constitu-
ency of the kingdom, are never to be allowed to give our .
opinions upon a measure of this kind." In one case he said
the bill added 500,000 ; and, in the other, that it more than
doubled the constituency of the kingdom. He know that the
bill had been a bill of exclusion against the working classes.
He and Sir E. Bulwer Lytton had taken credit to the Go-
vernment for excluding the working classes and having .
given the suffrage to the middle classes ; and he said, fur-
ther on, " The questior of the borough franchise must be
dealt with, and it must be dealt with, too, with reference to
the introduction of the working classes. We admit that
that has been the opinion of Parliament, and that it has
been the opinion of the country, as shown by hon. gentle-
men who have been returned to this house." He then goes
on to say " And therefore wo are perfectly prepared to deal
with that question of the borough franchise, a ad the intro-
duction of the working classes by lowering the franchise in
boroughs, and by acting in that direction with sincerity;
because if you intend to admit the working clakcses to the
franchise, by lowering the suffrage in boroughs, you must
not keep the promise to the ear, and break it to tire hope.'
The lowering of the suffrage must he done in a mannbr
which satisfactorily and completely effects your object, and
is at the same time—using the usual stereotyped phr.ise—
' consistent with maintaining the institutions of the coun-
try.' 'W ell, am I not entitled to say that if Government
bring in a bill for a £lO franchise in counties, and a LG
rental franchise in boroughs, which bill would not add
more than 500,000 electors to the register—am I not
entitled to say that such a bill cannot be opposed by Mr.
Disraeli after the extracts I have read ? (Hear, hear.)
Ile proposed to add 500,000 voters in his delusive measure.
He said it would more than double the constituency of the
kingdom, and he said, " If you admit the working classes,

yout must, do so completely and effectually." Of corn*,
so far as his own sentiments were concerned; it was a sort
of penitential declaration just before he was being expelled
from office, and when he wented to get a few simple-
minded gentlemen from our side of the house to vote with
him in the division; but the words were spoken in the
House of Commons—l heard them myself—and I • say
•that we should be entitled to call on him, and those who
believe • in him; to give their support to a measure
at least as extensive as a £6 rental franchise. (Cheers.) A
friend of mine who is not very enthusiastic in favour of.
Reform but who still believes that Reform must be granted,
,says this is a coarse manner of doing it—that if you drop
from £lO to £6 'you will take in all men, whether industrious
or stupid, or idle or profligate---that if you case your nets
into the sea you cannot expect that all the largo fish will
come up; but men do not give up putting their nets into
seas and rivers because they do not catch fish that are the
finest for the'table or the market. So in this case I main-
tain that there is no other test which can be compared with
the test of residence when you wish to elect a constituency.
It is the old franchise of the kingdom. It is asked, why do
you net like what is old ? We do when it is good. When
any borough was charged in old times to return members,
unless they were under restrictions, every householder was
directed to return members ; and the Reform Bill went on
the same principle, and intended that every person down-
wards should have the. franchise. Why should we depart
from the system of our ancestors for the sake of fancy fran-
chises, which Governments who do not want reform are so
fond of. (Hear.) Why should we say of having stopped at
£lo—if you go down to £6 or £5, it will include a greater
proportion of that which is real than heretofore ? Or why
will you say, with regard to these local boroughs of which
I have spoken, it is quite clear there is no remedy for them
except the one which surgeons take when a limb becomes
Incurable, and when the life of the patient is at stake—that
is, amputation—(cheers and laughter)—an unpleasant re-
medy for some gentlemen that I know who have bought
estates cies° upon some little borough—estates that pay but -
a very small interest, but which pay a political intsrest
which satisfies the proprietors for their outlay—it is a very
unpleasant thing for them, but I do not think it a very un-
pleasant thing for the electors in those boroughs. I do not
know if any of you are acquainted with those intelligent,
honest men, especially if they happen to be liberal in small
boroughs. So far as I have seen they, generally speaking,
rattier wish the good of the country than the permanence of
local or corrupt interests in the town. They are generally
of opinion that it would be a great advantage if these %mall
boroughs were disfranchised. (Hear, hear.) These bld
boroughs aro ruined by elections. Not long ago I mot a
nobler:Oen connected with one of them, who said that if it
had not been for the franchise the town would have been
twice as large and ten times as prosperous, and its ruin was
to be traced entirely to the profligacy and corruption arising
from elections. (Cheers.) I now come to the question will
the Government propose a bill, and if they do so, will they
be able to carry it. I think they wil! propose a bill. I know
no more than what every one knows who reads the news-
papers and reflects on current events. Lord Derby, before
he went out of office and his party with him would, I have ,
no doubt, have consented to an £8 rental as the franchise
for the boroughs. I do not know that they would not have
gone further if they had thought such a proceeding would
have given them an additional lease of power, for it is asto-
nishing to witness the elasticity of consciences of statesmen,
notwithstanding the pledges given by them when a political
course rendered them necessary. I have seen it alike with
respect to Whig and Tory. I have seen two of the most emi-
nent members of the Cabinet come round within the lasttwo
years, and who have unsaid everything they had previously
said respecting Church-rates ; and I am sure if they should
turn on the question of the Ballot we should not rejecttheir
aid and assistance. (Cheers and laughter.) Lord Derby's
party would, I believe, have given the id franchise in bo-
roughs. What will the present Government give? £7 ? Is
there to be a difference of only 20s? The thing is impossible.
I have seen very idle and very foolish mon, but I do not think
I ever saw anybody so idle an so foolish as to be a party to
forcing upon a country a general election, getting up a meet-
ing at Willis's Rooms, moving a resolution for an address
to the Queen, carrying it, after many days' debate, and then
after ejecting their opponents and taking their places, com-
ing forward and offering a bill only 20s. in advance of those
whom they have succeeded. (Cheers.) If I might offer a
word of warning to the present Government, I would say
to them, Remember this. At th's moment there is no great
majority in your favour in the House of Commons. Let
them remember that the policy they have pursued ever since_
the Reform Bill has been to damp tho ardour of the people
in every part of the country with regard to this question,
and that they have so successfully managed to influence a
certain clasp—those most connected with themselves—that
they have found the Tories, their ancient opponents, whom
they thought they had destroyed as a party, voting within a
dozen of themselves after a general election upon this very
question. Now, what the Government and what our poli-
ticians ought to do is this—they ought to try in • the first
place to be right, and having found out what is right, they
ought to nerve themselves with the responsibility of carry-
ing out the right. (Loud cheers.) And I believe there
never was a time when a Ministry would derive more
advantage from fairlyand resolutely dealing with this ques-
tion, and staking their existence upon carrying it through
both houses of Parliament. I do not think it will require
much to persuade you that the proposition of Lord J. Rus-
sell is a very moderate one. I think you are already per-
suaded of that. (Laughter.) And I want to show those who
think we are extreme men, that we are really very moderate
men. In England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, if every
man voted, you would not find a million amongst them. I
will assume, for the sake of argument, that they will repre-
sent a million of families—which, however, they do not,
because in many cases there are two persons in one family
having a vote—supposing one million of electors to represent
one million families, and each party to consist of five per-
sons, five millions of the population will be represented. But
the population of this country is 30 millions. And what
follows ? That there are five millions of men who have no
votes; five millions of families in which not one person has
a vote. Twenty-five millions of the population are as totally
unrepresented as if they lived in a country in which Parlia-
ment had never been heard of. Our unrepresented popula-
tion outside the constitution is greater than the population
of any country in Europe, except Russia, Austria, and
France ; as great as the whole population of the United
States at the last census. What is it that Lord J. Russell
proposes to do ? To add half a millionto that million. And
what will he leave when ho has done that? Ho will still
leave four millions and a half of men without votes—four
millions and a half of families, in which neither father, bro-
ther, nor son has a vote, and 221 millions of population as
entirely unrepresented as if they lived in the kingdom of
Naples. (Hear, hear.) I ask, is such a state of things as
that to be allowed to remain? (No, no, and cheers.) A few
weeks ago I made a speech at a meeting at Liverpool on
the subject of direct and indirect taxation, and stated that
the indirect taxes annually raised amounted to 42 millions
sterling, and I stated that 25 millions of unrepresented
people paid by far the largest portion of these items of taxa-
tion—the customs and excise. A gentleman in this neigh-
bourhood has taken exception to what I said, and not in a
manner particularly courteous, considering that he was vice-
president, or something of that sort, at the Council of Edu-
cation—an office wholly unnecessary. (Laugktsr.) As you
did not choose the candidate he provided for you, it is not
Hedy I should stand very high in his favour (Laughter.)
Mr. Adderley the other day, speaking of some argument
with which he was going to overwhelm me, said ho was
surprised that the Times had not hit upon that very
argument. I , am surprised too, but you cannot expect
even the Times, with all its capital and staff, to mono-
polise every bad argument. (Cheers and laughter.) If
the Times had proclaimed to the country and to the
world, which it did in effect, that if the working men
would keep carriages and horses for their wives to ride
out on Sundays like the wives of noblemen and such
people at the West-end of London, their employers would
be obliged to pay them wages to enable them to support that
expenditure. Mr. Adderley thinks that the Times, having
used an argument like this, ought to have used an argu-
ment like that which he was about to use. Mr. Adderley
says he had seen the point well met in a letter to the editor
of A ris' s Gazette. "Mr. Bright's'argurnent was simply this
—The working classes consumed the greatest quantity of
excisable articles, and were the greatest payers of excise.
But they were not so per head." Mr. Adderley goes on to
say—" If they take them per head they would arrive at an
exactly opposite conclusion." Now, if Mr. Adderley ex-
pected that a working man receiving 20s. or 30s
per week
was to pay as much as that gentleman himself, that was a
e
view which never entered into my mind at all. Mr. Adder-
ley went on to say that I would giv to the working men
the absolute command of the elections. Ho admits that
they, as a body, pay the groat bulk of the taxes, and be
knows that the great body are entirely excluded from the
representation, and that there is not a single member of the
Rouse of Commons who can be said to be returned by that
body. This only shows the line of argument that a man
may take who busies himself in finding reasons why power
should be concentrated in his own class, and why the great
body of his own countrymen should be excluded from that
which he so highly prizes. (Hear, hear.) My bill of last
year would have left a large mass of the working classes
unrepresented. To show how moderate was my proposi-
tion, and how anxious I am to obtain something substan-
tial and useful, I will state the extent to which I proposed
to go, which will justify me in giving my assistance to the
Government if they adhere to their measure and courage-
ously press it on Parliament. 1 believe the bill which I pro-
posed would not have done much more than the' Govern-
mentbill. It would not have done more thandouble the num-
ber of electors, generally speaking, because although it might
have done so in boroughs, it would not hive added more
than 200,000 to the county constituencies. My bill

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. •
would have raised the present number of eleelOCe4trie **:
millions.
What would have been the effect ? LOrtc-ke
Russell's bill would have left four millions and a half -
presented—mine would have left four mil iions unrepresented. •
If Lord J. Russell's bill wonldhave It ft twenty-two millions
and u half of the population unrepresented, mine weal,'
have left twenty millions unrepre- eated. • How modera,e,
then, was mjproject, and how unjust, hdw slanderous,
how false, and how malignant were the charges nude
against me in connection with that bill. (Groat cheering.)
Thee are here present many thousands who can answer,
not only for themselves but for their neighbours, and
would ask them, and any person who may be disposed to
be critical, this question—are the people of this country, as
a whole, so ignorant, so brutal, so destructive, so dangerous,
that when I exclude 20 millions and Lord John Russell
excludes upwards of 22 millions, there is still danger to
every valuable institution of our country: 'W hat is the
monarchy worth ? Whit is the House of Commons worth ?
What. is the Established Church worth? (Nothieg.)'
After these institutions have existed in this country for so
many centuries, the population is so ignorant and destruc-
tive, and so untrustworthy; that when 20 ad are put
aside and not entrusted with the frateelliee, three is still
danger on the admission of the small renotiaer of the
people. If any man opposes- this, put this seal upon him,
that he is against representation altogether ; that it. he lived
in a country in which there were no Parliaments, ho wouldl
be against Parliaments; that if ho had lived before the'
Reform Bill, he would have been against the Reform Bill;
and that in discussing questions of reform, his opinion is
of no value fur the settlement of such a question. I run
of opinion that there are many men of the Tory party in
the House of Commons who will support Reform next
session, Not a few of them pledged themselves to a
franchise before the last election. I must always
give credit to Mr. Disraeli that, after all, he has been
a great teacher of tbo party with whom he is con-
nected. They ised him at first to wreak their vengeance
against Sir R. Peel, but since then he has very successfully
used them. (Loud laughter.) He rarely makes a speech
in whin/the does not say something much 'More palatable
on.ouraide of the house than on his own, and I am inclined
to think that those speeches from which I read the extracts
showed a good deal of foresight, and he was likely looking
forward to the Reform of 1860, when this question of the
session having been shelved—not put away as lumber, but
settled in such a way that it could not be brought forward
session after session—he felt that he would have a better
chance in his contention for office against the tVhigs than
he has while this question remains in its present state. In
the House of Lords—oven in that assembly where day-
light only breaks in, as it were, through chinks and cran-
nies—there must be men who know perfectly well that
after this question has been put into the mouth of the
Queen session after session, everybody admitting that it
is a question which must be settled —there are men in that
house who will counsel a:moderate course. I will not pledge
myself for anything they will do until it is dens. But lam
not without hope that, as in past times, when the moment
arrives at which they are to say aye or no, and when the
"no" does not always appear to be maintainable or safe, it
is possible that they may say " aye," and that the bill will
pass. (Cheers.) Only look at the men in the Mouse of
Lords. What a magnificent position many of those men.,
occupy—a position not always fortunate for themselves, for
I do not think it always fortunate to be so privileged—a
position not for their countrymen; many of them have
great property, can boast an illustrious ancestry, and possess
vast influence all over the country. Can they shut out
from their minds that whatever is great or good in England
comes front whatever we have enjoyed of personal and poli-
tieelliberty ? Their position has not been made worse but
better by all that has taken place, and, it may be, that if they
would accommodate themselves to the growth of intelligence
and show themselves in favour cf some of the changes neces-
sary, they might maintain for a time to come, as long as they
have already occupied it, a position equal to that which they
now'hold among their fellow Men. (Hear.) If Englishmen
go, as they went 250 years ago, to America, or to any
British colony, they take with them the British constitu-
tion and the right of voting. If he goes to Australia, if -
he goes to Canada, if he goes to Van Diemen's Land—
wherever he emigrates under the Crown of England—in-
whatsoever colony lie bovines a resident, he is possessed of
a franchise which he cannot have in this country. Now I
want to ask you, is England to be the only country in
which the natural and inalienable rignts of Englishmen
according to the constitution shall be denied to them ?
(Cries of "No, no.") Can that which is good for America,
for Canada, for Van Diemen's Land, for the Cope, be an
evil for this country ? (No.) I cannot understand what
men mean by this dread of admitting a large number of
their countrymen within the franchise. There is nothing
in the history of the past to justify their fears, but there is
everything to encourage them in any forward step they
may make. If Parliament is goodlor anything, it is good
to preserve the peace, to manage national funds with
economy, to le' taxes taxes fairly. Look at what we have done
within the last twenty years. I was looking over some
figures the other day, and I discovered this astounding fact,
that we are paying now for military expenses alone
£10,000,000 a-year more than all your Government ex-
penses of every kind—military and naval—in 1338, exclu-
sive of the National Debt in both instances; and although
we are doing this, what is the humiliating position in which
we find ourselves ? We sometimes see amusing caricatures
of John Bull, which make men laugh. Suppose you saw
a caricature of this kind: that John Bull lived in a parish
in which the 'rates were twice as heavy as in any other;
that the police force was such that there was not the side
of a house which was not watched by a poligeman or a
sentinel, and yet such was his constant state of alarm that
this unfortunate John Bull was forced to sit night after
night at his, window, with cocked pistol and loaded re-
volver, and could not get a wink of sleep. (Laughter.)
Such is tho present condition of England. Great as is the
enormous coat of the navy now, in 20 years more it will be
double if you permit it. (Hear, heat.) Taxes are the moans
by which Government provides for the expenditure of the
country, and so long as expenditure is made a justifica-
tion for taxes, depend upon it so long will there be an ex-
cuse for the continuation of taxes. (Hear, hear.) You have
a Minister of War sitting in his room, and in comes an
alarmed admiral and an affrighted general, the talk is all of
rifle cannon, of breech-loading small arms, and rifle corps,
and the Minister himself gets so heated by the rarified at-
mosphere in which he is placed that he at length scarcely is
able to form any calm judgment on the state of the ques-
tion. (Hear, hear.) I do wish that Englishmen had a
little more coolness, and that we were not so easily led
away by a red herring on a string before us. After spending
£26,000,000 last year, which was twice as much as the
Duke of Wellington and Sir It. Peel thought necessary in
1835, the moment Parliament rises three-fourths of the
newspapers—who don't give you a single fact that can be
relied on—getup agitating statements, and then just before
Parliament meets, when they know the whole thing will be,
blown to atoms, they tell you that the reasons by which
they excited your fears were no reasons at all, but merely to '
prove an abstract proposition; that although you had spent
twenty-six millions for others to defend you, you must de-
fend yourselves. Ono word more, and I have done. Twenty -
years ago, the voice of the 25,000,000 of unrepresented
people in this country—the voice of 5,90,000 working men
was heard in angry mood. That is no longer heard because
the distress which pressed upon them has been removed.
But the work ing men have associations. They can get up
formidable strikes against capital. Sometimes it may be on
real, sometimes on fancied, grievances. I ask, why are not
these trade organisations made use of to 'obtain their poli-
tical rights ? I hope it may not be necessary to make use
ofsrem, but if the question is not fairly settled in the com-
ing session, I do hope that the working people of this coun-
try—those vast bodies of artisans whose skill and whose
labour fill all our warehouses, all our shops, all our ships
—will take some steps to bring about what I may call a
convocation of working men, with a view to bring their
influence to bear on Parliament at an early period.
(Cheers.) I don't fur a moment mean to use the lan-
guage of menace, fur I think that Parliament
requires the language of menace less, probably,
than at any former time ; but I trust that in the session of
1860 the Government will be honest and courageous, and
that the Parliament may be more sound than it has been
before. I have been assailed as being hostile to our politi
cal institutions, and especially to the aristocracy of the
country. I freely admit that I am hostile to institutions
which exclude five-sixths of my fellow-countrymen from
rt
any share in the representation ; and lam hostile to that
suPremacy of the aristocracy which is no pa of the Con •
stitution of this country. 111 I want is that the population,
the intelligence, the industry, the property of the country
should be fairly represented in the House of Commons.
The aristocracy themselves have not always been very par-
ticular in their contests with a power above them. Two
hundred years ago, or somewhat less, they were diecot •
tented with an English Monarch, and what did they do?
Our greatest of bards, Shakespeare, has put into the mouth
of an unfortunate Prince this sentiment,—
" Not all the waves in the rough, rude sea,
Can wash the balm from an anointed King."
Yet the aristocracy of this country, being discontented with
a king, expelled him from his throne, and by a force invited
from abroad expelled him 'from his country. I am making
no charge against them for this, but I say that we are not
proposing to treat them in a manner se harsh. (Hear.) We
have no objection to their occupying that place in the Con-
stitution which the Constitution has awarded them—we
touch them not, we only ask that the nation shall choose its
representatives to sit in Parliament--(cheers)—which they
have a right to do as fairly and as undoubtedly as the peers
have a right to sit in the House of Lords. (tlear, hear.)
This is a fundamental principle of the English Constitu-
tion, and I can tell this great and influential meeting that
the struggle on my part to obtain that right for the people
shall never be abandoned until it has been attained with
complete success. (The hon. gentleman then resumed.his
seat amidst loud cheers.)
A vote of thanks was then cordially given to Messrs.
Scholefield and Bright, and a petition to Parliament in
favour of Reform having been adopted, the proceedings
erminated.