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

THE PUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, DECEMBgIt 25, 1858,

FOREIGN.

REFORM .211EL'772V-(; AT LEEDS.

Railways.

paid. Closing I Business
Price. Done.

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 victoria Hall, when
there were nearly 3,000 persons present, the ma-
jority of them being of the working classes. In
the absence of the mayor, Mr. J. D. Lii?ock was
called to the chair, and was well supported by
many influential inhabitants of the town.
The CHAIRMAN said they were met to exercise a
most important constitutional privilege; and it was
the pride and gloty of their country that they could
assemble togethero 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 Com-
mons, would long before that dayhave 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 thought 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 co ald—
(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 him 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 him 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 wzs loudly applauded on
rising to move the first resolution. He 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

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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 alwayabeen anxious to free them 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 Actor 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. (Cheers.)
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 thought it 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 of the 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, an d there
they declared their principles under these three
heads :-Ist, a large extension of the suffrage ; 2d,
vote by ballot—(cheers)-3d, a more equal appor-
tionment 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 theyi were
properly carried out in detail by Parliament, e 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

infer for themselves from the facts that he laid before
them and the principles he should express. (Hear,
hear.) His first reason for thinking that the suf-
frage might be extended with safety was this, that
he thought now, and lie always thought, that the
Reform Act of 1832 did not extend the suffrage so
far as it might be extended with perfect safety
—(cheers)—and that being so, he called upon his
fellow-townsmen and his fellow-country mcn to
testify whether the suffrage was not much too
limited now. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) And now
he wished to state his reasons for thinking that
it was too limited, believing that you need
no longer confine the suffrage, as it was then con-
fined, mainly to the middle classes, but that it
might be very well extended to a large number of
the workint, classes of this country, and that they
were morally and intellectually entitled to have the
franchise thus extended to them. (Cheers.) His
first fact was founded upon returns which he found
in the census of education taken in the year 1851.
It was a most satisfactory return ; it showed an
immense advancement in the education, and there-
fore in the intellectual condition of the people of
this country. He did not know how anyone could
hear or read the figures he should give, resting as
they did upon official authority, without delight.
It was stated that the number of day scholars in
the year 1818 was 674,883. He asked them to bear
that in mind. In the year 1833, a little after the
Reform Act had passed, it had risen to 1,276,947;
but in the year 1851, at the date of the last census,
it had risen to 2,144,378. (Cheers.) So that they
had the day scholars in England between theyears
1818 to 1851 multiplied threefold. And now, re-
member that it was the day scholars of 1818 who
became the voters of 1833, because the men of their
day were those who were in school ten, twelve, or
fourteen years ago, and therefore the state of edu-
cation in 1818 showed the state of the voters in
1833 ; and so it might be said that the state of edu-
cation in 1851 showed not exactly what votes were
now, but what they would be some four, five, or
six years hence. He was sure the whole of them
would admit that Sunday Schools had rendered an
immense benefit to their country. (Cheers.) Hear
what the numbers of Sunday scholars were in those
years. In 1818 the number was 477,225 ; in 1833
it had risen to 1,548,990; and in 1851 it had risen
to 2,407,542—that was five times as many as were
found in the Sunday Schools in 1818. Did not
these facts prove, beyond all dispute, a very great
improvement in the intellectual condition of the
people of this country? (Hear, hear.) Lest it
should be said that he overlooked the fact of the
growth of the population during the time he would
mention that he did not do so, but the proportions
were those that the day scholars and the Sunday
scholars bore to the population. There was
one day scholar for every 171 of inhabitants in
1818; in 1833 there was one day scholar for
every 111 inhabitants ; in 1851 there was one
day scholar for every 81 inhabitants; an improve-
ment of more than double in the proportion which
the scholars bore to the population. With regard
to Sunday scholars, there was in 1818 one Sunday
scholar for every 24 of the population ; in 1833, one
in 9 ; in 1851, ono in 71 of the population, showing
an enormous improvement in the number of persons
found in Sunday schools between these years. The
advance was great, rapid, and continuous ; and it
proved beyond all possibility of dispute that there
must be a much higher degree of education, and

therefore a much higher degree of intelligence, in
the latter period than in the former. Mr. Baines
gave many other facts, upon which he founded
strong arguments in support of an extensive and
effective measure of parliamentary reform, and con-
cluded, amidst great applause, by moving the reso-
lution which he had already read.
Mr. W. BROWN seconded the resolution. All
the great political parties in the state, whether
Tory, Whig, or Radical, had declared through their
leaders that the time had arrived when the consti-
tution of the House of Commons required a large
and a liberal renovation, in order that it might be
placed on a wider and more popular basis, and re-
present more truly than it now did the wants and
requirements of the people. (Hear, hear.) It was
felt and acknowledged that there were large num-
bers of men—worthy, industrious, and intelligent
men—both in the counties and the principal manu-
facturing towns of the kingdom, well fitted to ex-
ercise with advantage to the State that franchise of
which they were now deprived. The large increase
of population in some districts, and the progress of
material prosperity and general intelligence of the
people, demanded, in his opinion, a redistribution
or transfer of the members now representing the
smaller boroughs, which were principally in the
agricultural districts, to new, larger, and.more po-
pular constituencies, together with a large exten-
sion of the franchise, based upon worth and intelli-
gence. He maintained that this would not be a re-
volut:.onary but a trulyconsery at ive measure—a mea-
sure tending not to:uproot anddesti oy,but to renovate
and strengthen. It would make the basis of the
constitution broader, and add to its stability and
greatness, by embracing a larger garrison to up-
hold and defend it. (Hear, hear, and applause.)
They had, certainly, not now the corrupt and fin-
grant abuses to deal with which existed under the
old, the " rotten borough" system, which the Reform
Bill of 1832 extinguished ; but there were still
great defects and anomalies to rectify. He had no
desire to speak of class interests, or to excite class
feelings. He wished to see all classes in that great
community, both manufacturing, agricultural, and
commercial, blended in one common prosperity, and
working together in peace and harmony ; but he
did desire to see the activity and the intelligence
of the commercial communities more fairly and fully
represented in Parliament than they now were. He
believed that the time had come when Parliament
would have to deal with this important question in
a large, a liberal, and an enlightened manner.
(Hear, hear.) He believed that the opinion had
gained ground that the House of Commons, as at
present constituted, did not represent the wealth,
the population, and the intelligence of England as
it ought to do, and it was these feelings and this
conviction that had induced him to come forward
on that occasion to second the resolution which Mr.
Baines had proposed. (Loud applause.)
The CHAIRMAN then put the resolution, which
was carried unanimously, and with acclamation.
Mr. CARTER moved, and Mr. Councillor Mus-
GRAVE seconded the next resolution—" That such
measure of reform should include a large extension
of the suffrage, with the protection of the vote by
ballot ;" to which Mr. Councillor NEWTON moved,
as an addendum—" Such extension of the franchise
to include in England and Wales every male per-
son of full age, and not subject to any legal inca-
pacity, who shall occupy, as owner or tenant, any
premises which are rated to the relief of the poor ;
and also, in counties, the occupiers of houses paying
a rental of £lO per annum."—Mr. 1). CAMPBELL
seconded the amendment.
The CHAIRMAN then put it to the meeting, and
declared• it to be carried, the majority being about
three to two.

Mr. JOHN HOLMES then moved, " That such
measure of reform should also secure a representa-
tion more in accordance with• the wealth, popula-
tion, and intelligence of the country, with a shorter
duration of Parliaments than that fixed at present
by law." In explanation of the course which he
had pursued in voting, he stated that he did not
wish to vote against the amendment, nor yet in its
favour, although he was prepared to vote for the
original proposition. He was sorry, therefore, that
the Chairman had not put the original motion, be-
cause he believed the decision was not that which
the, meeting really meant. (Disapprobation.) He
might be mistaken, but it would have been more
satisfactory had the amendment and the original
proposition been put together, so that the real de-
cision of the meeting would have been made clear.
Mr. PERRIGO seconded the resolution, and on
being put it was carried.

Mi.NliwToN then moved the adoption of a
petition to Parliament embodying the above reso-
lutions.
The propositions having been adopted, three
cheers were given for Mr. Bright, after which
Mr. NEWTON moved a vote of thanks to the
Chairman, which was carried by acclamation.