The Sun.
London, England, 1858-01-27 00:00:00

received a very wholesome lesson on this point.
The Hon. Member, it appears, had told some of
his friends " that the feeling in favour of the
Ballot is dying out." No doubt he spoke the
truth in regard to the circle in which he
has chiefly moved of late in Lord PALMERSTON'S
Ministry, and perhaps there just in proportion as
an approaching Reform Bill makes the Ballot more
of a practical question, the feeling in favour of
the Ballot is dying out. We will not mention
names, but if we do not see some of Lord Pare
MERSTON'S supporters do something more than
give a silent vote for the Ballot, we and others
shall be obliged to suspect that the next step will
be to pair off on the question, and the next one

to walk out of the house before the division is

taken. The good folk of Aylesbury, however,

have held a public meeting on the subject, and
lest Sir RICHARD should be liable to any mistake,

they passed a resolution expressing their satis-
faction that the QUEEN had referred in her Speech
to the subject of Parliamentary Reform, and add
that "at the same time this meeting desires to
record its conviction that no extension of the
Suffrage will be satisfactory unless it be accom-
panied by the Ballot." The Chairman was
instructed to forward copies of the resolution to
Sir RICHARD BETHELL, the borough member, and
to the county members also. We commend the
example of Aylesbury to every borough constitu-
ency in the kingdom. It is the most efficient way
of dealing with Lord PALMEB,STON. He is com-
pelled, as all Ministers are, to look to the safety
of his own supporters. If he knew that his ma-
jority would be dismissed at another election if
they did not require the Ballot from him, even
he, with some wry faces, and a backstairs' mes-
sage to the House of Lords, would grant it.
Huddersfield, too, has done well. The meeting
there was called by 480 requisitionists of standing
in the town, and presided over by the Chief Con-
stable. Mr. ACRROYD, who succeeded in ousting
Mr. COBDEN, has, we fear, no other political merit
than that of Palmerstonism, which we take leave
to tell him will not serve as a political character
for ever. Resolutions, in favour of a rate•book
suffrage, and the ballot, were enthusiastically
carried, and two members demanded for the
borough. Lord GODERICH was to be entrusted
with the petition. It seems the advanced Liberals
of Huddersfield prefer their old aristocratic mem-
ber to their new manufacturing one. This ad-
monishes us, at least, that some of the aristocracy
are more trustworthy than some wool or cotton
lords ; Yorkshire folk are long-headed and honest
enough, and they would not leave their own class
for a lord without good reason.
We welcome Mr. COBDEN too, again, in his old
character of Reformer on this occasion. His
letter in defence of a suffrage as low as a rate-
book suffrage, is worthy of his old speeches in the
popular cause. He bears the testimony of a long
experience both as a master, and as a speaker at
all kinds of public meetings, to the good sense
and good feeling of the working men generally.
He denies that Socialism has any considerable hold
upon them, and says, truly enough, thatif they could
influence legislation in that direction they would
be amongst the first to suffer by it and to demand
its repeal. He shows that where the suffrage is
universal, as in Switzerland and Prussia, property
is quite as much respected as it is here. He
appeals to the impossibility of the multitude
playing the part of hypocrites and traitors, al-
though of course it may be misled as well as the
higher classes. His last remark is very just—
"lf the working classes had votes they
would be quite as conservative in their
tendencies, after a little experience, as any
other section of the community. They would not
separate themselves from other classes, but range
themselves under influential leaders, as they do
now, for there is a fireside jealousy which prompts
men to elect their chiefs from a higher class than
their own. It is this tendency which leads the
middle classes to prefer to follow a member of the
aristocracy to one of their own order."