The Sun.
London, England, 1867-04-01 00:00:00

gentleman

Mr. GLADSTONE—Oh, no ; you are not arguing
against me, Mr. Beales. I am quite impartial.
(Laughter.)
Air. BEALEs quoted some views expressed else-
where, to the effect that the franchise should be
limited to the occupiers of houses. So to limit the
franchise was, he sail, unconstitutional. The fran-

chise ought not to depend upon a person's name ap-
pearing in the rate book, for he was liable to be de-
prived of his franchise—to forfeit it, as he had said
before, by the non-payment of rates. The same
reasoning applied to the lodger franchise. The league
claimed the lodger franchise, add any bill without
it would be a mockery. (hear.) And the lodger
franchise was not to be limited, they held, by the
amount of rent paid, any more than the house fran-
chise. The League held that the only limitation to
the right of the franchise, to both householder and
lodger, should be registration. They did not want
the vote to be given to paupers, to beggars, or to
convicts ; but only to men who registered them-
selves as residing in a place. It was not wanted to
restrict the number by the long residence principle
or by the rent paid. It was needless for him to go
into the question of the fancy "franchise," but with
regard to the counties they thought that the prin-
ciples laid down for the borough franchise would
meet the case for the counties. Then with regard to
the question of residence required by this bill, it was
the opinion of the League that the term required was
too long. The great body of the people who
changed their residence from time to time did so from
no fault of their own ; their occupations compelled
them to change, and nothing else. Even a twelve
months' residence clause would operate as a dis-
franchising clause to a great extent, especially
looking at the fact that the working men were
often obliged to shift their residences according
to the change of job ; going, for instance, from
Lambeth to Marylebone. The League considered
that six months' residence would be quite suffi-
cient. Of course he should not attempt to dictate
to the right hon. gentleman, but as the deputa-
tion unquestionably represented a very large portion
of the people of this country they had thought it
right to lay before him their views. It was a re-
markable circumstance that the League had held
large meetings all over the country, and there had
never been a single attempt to move an amendment
to the extension of the franchise the League ad-
vocated. (Hear.) Under these circumstances they
had thought it their duty to come to the right hon.
gentleman as representing the Liberal party at this
crisis, and to ask him to consider the points they
had urged, and to act upon them as in his judgment
he might think best. As there might be in the
deputation some working men who would perhaps
like to supplement his (Mr. Beales's) remarks with
any point which he might hava omitted, doubtless
the right hon. gentleman would hear them.
Mr. GLADSTONE said he should be glad to hear
any one who liked to address him.
Mr. WESTERN (joiner) said he desired to say a
few words upon one of the points of the proposed
fancy franchises—namely, the proposed savings-
bank qualification. The men whom this franchise
would qualify would be the least deserving men of
the working classes, seeing that the saving men
generally took no action whatever in political move-
ments, no interest in trades unions, and so were in-
tensely Selfish.
Mr. G LADSTONE—IIid you sAy they were selfish ?
Mr. WEsTERN—Yes ; the men who left their M-
LA'S to struggle for political rights, and who did not
assist those of their class to raise themselves, were
sei.fish ; and th... 11 for them to be the first to re.Tive
entranehisQuient was felt to be a great injustice.
This the working men felt very strongly. lle illus-
trated the intensely Sc'.tish ehar.teter of saving men
by sayiirg that one- whom
cook a gentleman;he knew used to visit a
food,
family for the purpose of
having the scraps of
and yet such a man as
this would be enfranchisedby
.this bill. Such a man
was the last man to have a vote
him, for he
would certainly sell it if he hadthe
chance. The
name, " fancy franchise," would enable the upper
class
to carry out universal suffrage among their
servants, and to swamp the workinn.
classes. (A.
laugh.) That particular franchise
might be made
a means of giving increased power to the richer
classes, without giving
least worthy of the workine.
.classes. Another point
he urged was that he could not see how the man
who saved in a savings bank was any better than
the one who made a provision for his family
by