The Sun.
London, England, 1867-05-24 00:00:00

LONDON, FRIDAY, MAY 24, 1867.

There seems every reason to believe that the
Reform Bill is in a fair way to pass the House of
Commons, and that in spite of the many minor
difficulties which yet obstruct its progress the end

is at last in view, however distant. All parties and
all politicians will no doubt be heartily glad to have
the matter settled, since the disturbed and uncer-
tain condition in which it threatened to remain was
damaging alike to the general interests and to the
reputation of our public men. Last evening the
Chancellor of the Exchequer informed the House
of the mode in which the Government intended to
proceed with the measure. lie promised that to-day the
plan for carrying out Mr. HODGKINSON'S amend-
ment should be in the hands of members to-day,
and he told them that the Government found upon
consideration that they would be able to deal
both with the Small Tenements Act and the Private
Rating Acts. The Chancellor of the Exchequer
proposed that after disposing of the 4th clause,
which relates to the county franchise, the com-
mittee should pass at once to the consideration of
the 34th, so that the borough franchise should be
finally dealt with. Another suggestion made by Mr.
DISRAELI for the conduct of public business is likely
we believe, to be received with favour. The Leader
of the house suggests that the Reform Bill after
this week should be taken on Tuesdays and Fridays
at morning sittings, and that to make these more
practically serviceable the hours should be for this
session at least changed. Hitherto, as we all know,
morning sittings began at twelve o'clock, an hour
which found the house very thinly a:tended, what
with the duties of Parliamentary committees, the
claims of private business, and the fatigues of
fashionable life. Then at four o'clock when the most
of the M.P.'s had an hour or two to spare, the sitting
broke up, the House resuming again at six, though
there was seldom much accomplished until the ine-
vitable dinner hour was over, so that with a good
many hours apparent business comparatively little
was usually really done. Mr. DISRAELI'S proposal
will alter all this. He suggests that the morning
sittings shall this session begin at two o'clock, and
be continued till seven, when the two hours interval
will first adapt itself to the customary dinner hour.
We have little doubt that this plan will be favour-
ably received by the Commons, and we may hope
that it will assist the rapid and steady progress
which all desire to see made with the Reform Bill.

With regard to the bill itself, the proceedings of
last night did not help it forward very far. The
House resumed with clause 4, the county franchise,
when Mr. VIVIAN moved an amendment extending
the franchise to all leaseholders for terms over sixty
years of the annual value of not less than £5, which
the Chancellor of the Exchequer did not oppose,
and which was, after some little discussion, accepted
by the committee. A little further on, however,
a hot dispute arose, and the figures in the divi-
sion lists presented some curious variations.
Sir C. COLEBROOKE proposed an amendment de-
signed to prevent the creation of faggot voters,
which required that a dwelling-house should in all
cases form part of the occupation qualification.
Two divisions took place on this proposal, which
singularly enough contradicted each other. The
first division, proposing to omit the words of the
clause, left the Government in a minority of 3. The
second, proposing to insert the amendment in the
vacuum, left the Opposition in a minority of 3 !
The difference was explained by the entrance of
some additional members, but the result
was a condition of hopeless perplexity.
Some hon. members, in despair, took refuge in
proposing that the Chairman should report progress,
which the Chancellor of the Exchequer strongly
objected to, observing that it was unreasonable to

talk about morning sittings and adjourn at eleven
o'clock ; as is often the case the dispute about the
adjournment filled up the leisure interval, and at
last finding npthing was to b.e done, the leader of
the House agreed to report progress, and the Bill
stands over till Monday.
Mr. BRIGIIT took the opportunity of deprecating
party fights on the clathes, and said he un-
derstood it was agreed that all parties were
to do the best they could with the measure
before the House. He objected on his own part to
doing anything which might limit the franchise ;
at the same time it was necessary to take some
security against the creation of faggot votes, which
all parties were agreed in opposing, as they were
as likely to be played off against one as against the II
other. He proposed that the Chancellor of the
Exchequer should take the matter into considera-
tion, and see whether he could not find some
means of meeting the views of both sides of
the Roust. No doubt Mr. DISRAELI will be
able to accomplish this, and if the House will give
its candid and unbiassed consideration to these
minor difficulties, we have no fear but that they
niay be dealt with in a fair and liberal spirit. Very
much has been already gained, since we find the
heads of the rival factiuns no longer attacking one
another, and disputing the ground inch by inch for
the mere pleasure of party triumph or oratorical dis-
plky, but combining their energies to improve and
consolidate the measure before them, which all
have apparently agreed to accept as a foundation
for practical legislation.

The Bill for Suspending the Habeas Corpus
Act in Ireland was read a second time last night,
but not without a fierce discussion taking place.
Mr. MAGUIRE delivered one of those intemperate
speeches which are happily now but rarely heard in
the House, and which cannot possibly further any
end of justice or improve the state of things referred
to. The attack made by the hon. member upon the
Government was quite unwarrantable, and we are
not surprised that Mr. ROEBUCK should have taken
the matter up so strongly as he did. In short, Mr.
MAG U IRE'S criticism amounted to this,that everything
the Government had done was wrong, they were
wrong in having relaxed the stringency of the law,
they were wrong in having sought to resume its
powers, and the worst of all was their present
attempt to continue it for a prolonged period.
Abuse is not argument, but it is quite impossible
to persuade prejudiced persons of the fact, and this
speech is a case in point of the injustice that can be
done by those who work themselves up into a
frenzy of indignation. The hon. member had taken
great pains to provide himself with quotations from
various sources respecting the wrongs and misery of
Ireland, but, like many others similarly situated,
he did not keep to the point. The subject before
the house was, whether it was necessary, under
existing circumstances, to keep the unusual autho-
rity now vested in the Executive in Ireland ; but,
to judge from the tenour of Mr. MAGurnE's dis-
course, we might well think that the debate was
addressed to the consideration of the state of the
country in the abstract, and not to any particular
case or individual proposition. Accordingly, un-
sparing censure was awarded to the Government,

and one extract after another was adduced to show
that, no matter who wrote, spoke, or thought about
Ireland, arrived at the conclusion that it had every
ill under the sun to complain of, and therefore there
was no wonder that disturbances and discord were
rife among its people. It is scarcely possible to
exaggerate the mischievous tendency of such lan-
guage, and as it is utterly impossible for any Go-
vernment to attempt to satisfy such complainants,
all ends in talk—that is to say, as far as the busi-
ness of the house is concernel ; but who can esti-
mate the injuries inflicted by the perusal of such
are sufficiently statements by those who

infatuated to put faith in them. There seems
room to doubt the truth of the assertion made
by the hon. member, as to its being the best portion
of the Irish. who emigrate. To judge from their
acts when they reach the land of promise in the
Far West, it would seem far otherwise. All these
exaugerated and extravagant statements are how-
ever common among those who dilate on the sub-
ject, but it is going too far for Mr. MAGUIRE to
charge the Government with insincerity in the
matter of their dealing with the insurrectionary
movement. The absurdity of the charge is almost
(Anal to its unfairness, as wh it possible good could
it do to the Government to have renewed dis-
turbances take place ? "The Government," he said,
" were aware of thesecret movementsof the Fenians
and their designs, and yet they declared in February
that no necessity existed for further exceptional
legislation, while they allowed an attempt at in-
surrection to be made in the following month."
Mr. ROEBUCK'S remarks were much to the point.
He addressed himself to the chief thing in Mr.
MAGUIRE'S statement—namely, that the Govern-
ment had men tried and convicted upon the evi-
dence of informers. " Why," said he, "no con-
spiracy can ever be proved but upon the evi-
dence of conspirators." He fully agreed with the
honourable member for Sheffield in his declaration
that there are obstacles in the way of improving the
state of Ireland, and among the chief of these was
the "language used by the hon. gentleman." Mr.
ROEBUCK defended the policy of the house towards
Ireland, and denounced in strong terms the course
pursued by Mr. MAGUIRE. Referring to the de-
claration made that the emigrant carried out of
Ireland a burning hatred to England Mr. ROEBUCK
said, " Is that just ? Is it the feeling of a wise man?
No, it is the feeling of an ignorant peasant, but it
ought not to be the feeling of the hon. member for
Cork, and he concluded his admirable speech by
declaring that the hon. gentleman talked of his good
intentions while he delivered his mischievous speech,
but there was a place, which he would not mention,
that was said to be paved with good intentions."

Lord NAAS met the observations of Mr. MAGUIRE
very successfully, and showed that no pains had
been spared on the part of the Government to
ascertain the state of the case as regarded the dis-
turbances in Ireland, and the progress that Fenianism
was making. It need not be said that on the part of
the House there was no desire or demand for the
said explanation, he was perfectly satisfied that the
best had been done which could have been effected
under the circumstances, but it was as well to have
the repetition made of the ridiculous charges pre-
ferred. When the QUEEN'S Speech was delivered,
it was naturally thought that nearly all the danger
was over, but the occurrences at Chester and else-
where showed that much mischief still lurked abroad,
and hence precautionary measures were adopted with
renewed vigilance on the part of the authorities.
Mr. BRIGHT made a few of his intemperate
observations on the subject. Ireland and its wrongs
is his last subject that he has taken up with great
power and zeal ; he endorsed all that Mr. MAGUIRE
had said on the subject of the great injustice done
to the Irish, and laid great stress upon the danger
that we should run in the event of a war with the
United States while Ireland is so disturbed and dis-
contented. This is another most untenable argu-
ment, and the members of the English Parliament
are not to be influenced in their legislation on
Ireland for fear of what the Americans may
think of their policy. It sounds very grand to talk

of Ireland being in an angry and disloyal state with
" another and beater Ireland within ten days of
steaming, to hold out its hand of sympathy to a

discontented people," but the Ame►ieans do not
seem to find it so easy to settle their own diffe-
rences that they should undertake the solution of
the problem that has baffled generations of states-
men. How is Ireland to he governed ? If
uncertain of which are the best means to
adopt we know the worst at any rate, and that
is to foster and encourage the spirit of discontent
which sets remedies at defiance, and regards friends
as foes if they tell unpalateable truths, and what but
encouragement to discontent and murmurings is the
sum and sulaztance of the impassioned notions of
Mr. BRIGHT and Mr. MAGUIRE. They either mean
nothing, or they mean that Fenianisin is the result
of the gross injustice heaped upon Ireland, and this
is not a statesmanlike or a patriotic manner of treat-
ing the question, as a little reflection must show.