The Sun.
London, England, 1858-12-25 00:00:00

REFORM

We stated yesterday that a public meeting of the
inhabitants of Leeds, convened by the mayor (Sir
P. Fairbairn), in pursuance of a numerously signed
requisition, was held on Wednesday morning, to
consider the subject of Parliamentary Reform, but
that in order to afford an opportunity for all classes
to be present, it was adjourned to Thursday even-
ing. The adjourned meeting accordingly took
place on that evening, at the "iictoria Hall, when
there were nearly 3,000 persons present, the ma-
jority of them being of the working classes. lii
the absence of the mayor, Mr. J. D. Ltmek.was
called to the chair, and was well supported by
many influential inhabitants of the town.
The CIIAIRMAN said they were met to exercise a
most important constitutional privilege; and it was
the pride and glory of their country that they could
assemble together to express their wishes on all the
great and important subjects that affected the wel-
fare and wellbeing of society. (Hear, hear.) The
great matter which was now before them was a
reform in the representation'of Parliament. (Hear,
hear.) One strong reason why he deemed that such
a reform was necessary was, that he did not believe
that the House of Commons as at present consti-
tuted faithfully represented the feelings and wishes
of the people. (Applause.) If it did, why was it
that those great measures of liberty—Catholic
Emancipation, the abolition of the Test and Cor-
poration Acts, the abolition of the Corn Laws,
Municipal Reform, and the Emancipation of the
Jews—had been so long delayed ? Why had the
voice of the people not been heard in Parliament,
and why had those great measures, against which
nothing was now said, though so many evils had
been predicted—why was it that those great mea-
sures had been delayed so long ? It .was because
the voice of the British House of Commons was not
heard so distinctly as the voice of the people.
(Hear.) If it had been, the House of Lords, who
listened solely to the voice of the House of Cora-
-1 mons, would long before that day have granted those
reforms to -which he had referred, but the House of
Commons did not knock loud enough at the door of
the House of Lords, and the consequence was, that
the Lords said, " The people don't care about these
things, and we don't care ;" and the consequence
was, that those measures were delayed a great deal
longer than they ought to have been. (Hear.)
Now, they;could not be surprised that such should
be the result when they considered the present con-
stitution of the House of Commons, when they
found it stated that there were 71 boroughs, each
having a population of not more than 10,000, who
sent 117 members to Parliament, and that there
were 54 boroughs returning 89 members. He was
not surprised that the result should be what he had
stated. The truth was that the Lords exercised too
great an influence over the election of members of
the House of Commons—(hear)--and when they
found that, out of an adult population of six mil-
lions, the franchise was only enjoyed by one ; and
that 330 members, more than half the whole num-
ber, were returned by 200,000 electors, one-fifth of
the electoral body, he was not surprised at the pre-
sent apathy, and want of zeal in the cause of the
people shown in the proceedings of the House of
Commons. (Hear.) What then was the remedy
for this evil? There were three important mea-
sures in his opinion which were necessary. One
was, a considerable extension of the suffrage ;
second, the enfranchisement of many large and im-
portant boroughs ; and third, the disfranchisement
of a great many of those snug boroughs which were
under the entire influence and control of members
of the House of Lords. (Applause.) The extent
to which that suffrage should go was a matter upon
which reformers were greatly divided in opinion ;
and they of the middle classes might, perhaps, be
considered by some of their more ardent friends as
rather timid. It might be thmight that because
they had obtained the franchise themselves
they were not satisfied and willing to extend
that franchise as far as their more ardent friends
would desire, but what they asked them to do
was this : They asked the more advanced
reformers to go with them so far as they could—
(hear, hear)—for they might rely upon it that it was
their wisest and best policy; and when they had
gone with them as far as they could, they could
then strive to go- a little further, and take them
with them. (" Hear,- hear," and applause.) This
was the policy of wise men ; but if, instead of that,
they were determined to pass a resolution which
was in opposition to their wishes, and which they
could not conscientiously support, they would be
under the necessity of withdrawing from them.
(" Oh, ch," hisses, and disapprobation.) This did
not alarm him, for he told them what he believed
would be the practical working of any such im-
prudent proceeding. (No, no.) If they passed a
resolution that night which was not in accordance
with what those around hini believed to be the
policy of this country, and they could not go with
them, the consequence would be that they would
stand alone--(" no, no," and renewed disapproba-
tion)—or they would secure nothing. Therefore,
he would urge them most sincerely on that occasion
to go-together; to sink their minor differences •,
and if they thus acted together with heart and
hand, they would be able to procure for those be-
fore kim an advantage and position which they did
not at present possess, and which, if the more ad-
vanced reformers did not go with them in this way
they would be sure to forfeit.
Mr. EDWARD BAINES was loudly applauded on
rising to move the first resolution. 14e congratu-
lated the people of Leeds upon meeting under cir-
cumstances so immenselymore pleasant and favour-
able than they met under on a similar occasion, in
1817, in favour of those great principles of reform
they had lived to see carried out and triumphant,
and the benefits of which they were enjoying at
this day. His opinions upon the subject had never
altered. He had always thought that our repre-
sentative institutions were the glory of our land,
and the chief support of the liberties of England.
He had always been anxious to freethem from every
defect and abuse, and to extend the franchise as
fast and as far as the moral and intellectual im-
provement of the people justified us in extending
(" Hear, hear," and cheers.) He venerated
the constitution of his country. He believed it
was the means of giving us a greater amount of
true and well-regulated liberty than existed in any
other country on the face of the earth. He also
venerated the Reform Act of 1832, which he among
others did his hest to obtain. (Hear, hear.) But
nothing was perfect. It was in vain to say that the
institutions should be immutable when the people
for whom they existed were changing and ever im-
proving. (Cheers.) We lived in an age of great and
rapid improvement, and it was a happy
circum-
stance that we had now arrived at another
of those
great constitutional epochs which would be consi-
dered memorable in the history of our country,
which called for another great improvement in the
representative institutions of our land. (
The fact which he had mentioned of the early pe-
riod at which the borough of Leeds took a part in
this great question of reform was one consideration
which led him to think that it became them to
meet and show their interest in those principles in
which their fathers took a part, and who struggled
in times less favourable than those in which we
lived ; and he thoughtit would be a most unworthy
thing on the part of the people of Leeds, if, when
they knew the question of reform was to occupy
a most important part in the deliberations of the
next Parliament, they manifested no concern in the
matter, they sat still and were perfectly indifferent
—they, who had been professing year after year
that they saw defects which ought to be remedied,
and improvements which ought to be made in our
institutions, when the time came they said nothing
whatever, but allowed a measure to be introduced
without manifesting the least interest on the sub-
ject. (Hear.) He thought it became them to meet,
and he trusted that that meeting which, as had
' been said by the chairman, was the first great poli-
tical meeting that had assembled in that hall, would
be a meeting that for many years hence they would
look back on with pleasure and honest pride, as a
meeting altogether in its tone, spirit, and resolutions,
worthy ofthe inhabitants of this important borough.
The 'resolution he had to move was " That this meet-
ing is 'decidedly of opinion that an extensive and
effective measure of reform in the representation of
the people in the House of Commons is of urgent im-
portance." After reading the 2d and 3d resolutions
intended to be submitted, in order that the meeting
might understand better -what was to take place,
Mr. Baines proceeded to show how nearly they
were in accordance with their friends the Parlia-
mentary Reform Association of Birmingham in the
line that was proposed for adoption. He said he
held in his hand an address from the Reformers of
Birmingham to the Reformers of Great Britain and
Ireland. It was signed by Mr. Muntz, the son of
the gentleman who for so many years was the
popular representative of that great town, andthere
they declared their principles under these three
heads :-Ist, a large extension of the suffrage ; 2d,
vote by ballot—(cheers)-3(1, a more equal appor-
tioninent of members to population. (Hear, hear.)
These were the same things which they asked the
meeting to advocate and to resolve in favour of, and
they added one thing more—namely, a shorter
duration of parliaments. (Cheers.) If the Reformers
of England should unite to claim those great prin-
ciples, and should then watch to see that they were
properly carried out in detail by Parliament, he was
persuaded that we should have to date from the
year 1859 another great and essential improvement
in the, institutions of our country. (Hear.) He
would now state the reasons which convinced him
that a great extension of the suffrage was a measure
that would be just, safe, and expedient. (A voice,
" What extent?") He did not define the extent. He
thought it not desirable ; but the meeting, should