The Sun.
London, England, 1867-08-09 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

HERALD.-We do not know whether any vote
given in the divisions of last night was determined
by the debate. it is the fashion to assume that
divisions are never influenced by speeches, and
although we believe the assumption to be far too
sweeping we will not now quarrel with it. But
certainly if it may be supposed that votes can be
affected by speeches, there were two delivered yes-
terday evening singularly calculated to influence the
decision of the House of Commons. They were
made by the leader of the House and the leader of
the Opposition, but their effect—an unintentional
although not altogether unrehearsed one—was un-
doubtedly the same. They, we will not say induced
any member, but almost persuaded a good many, to
vote for the most important of the Lords' amend-
ments to the Reform Bill. The Chancellor of the
Exchequer displayed in the speech in which he re-
commended the House of Commons to accept the
principal amendments of the Peers even more of
consummate appreciation of the spirit of parliamen-
tary government and of happy tact than he has
shown during the whole session. He first drew the
attention of the Commons to the fact that although
this bill was of the largest and most comprehensive
character the Peers had challenged no one of its
principles, and had left the franchise it established
unchanged, except on one small and unimportant
point. They had made two alterations of import-
ance—one in the teeth of the Government and against
its most strenuous opposition ; the other a restora-
tion of a clause contained in the bill as originally
adhered to, being supported by an overwhelming
majority of the Peers. The first it with some 're-
luctance assented to, and recommended the house
of Commons to do so likewise. Mr. Disraeli de-
clared that his own opinions upon the principle of the
representation of minorities were unchanged ; but
he said that he felt that the almost unanimous vote
of the Lords ought to be deferred to, and asked the
House of Commons to recognise the rights of the
Upper House, and its bearing in this matter, and
give way. We should not, of course, put the ad-
vocacy of the Lords' amendment upon such a
ground ; but this was the only argument the Go-
vernment could consistently urge in favour of its
acceptance, and it was an argument which must
have commended itself to the minds of many of those
who regard the principle of the representation of
minorities with much suspicion. So long as Eng-
land is.the country of practical politics, so long as
it recognises rights which legally exist, so long will
the necessity of regarding the wishes of the House
of Lords influence very materially the course taken
by the House of Commons ; and when Mr. Disraeli
pointed to the conciliatory and cordial conduct of
the Peers in reference to this bill, he supplied a very
excellent reason to the minds of many men for some-
thing more than a candid consideration of their
amendments—namely, a deference to their wishes
in a matter which was not vital to the bill. The
other convincing speech of the debate was delivered
by Mr. Gladstone on the question whether the Lords'
amendment providing for the representation of