The Sun.
London, England, 1858-12-31 00:00:00

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districts." Equal electoral districts, I a
—and all reasoning men ware equally
arc impossible, and if possible would nk
able. (Hear, hear.) We-now come to a .
on which you had some difference of opinion—t,
with reference to the ballot. And lam very glad
this meeting has had the opportunity of hear-
ing all that can be said against the ballot-L-and
very ably said, by my friend Mr. Irving, who I
hope is still here—and by other gentlemen who
have addressed you. But if my friend has not left
this meeting, I would ask him carefully to consider
himself whether the premises on which he starts are
right ones. He says that a man should vote openly
because the non-elector has a right to know how the
elector gives his vote—that is to say, that the
franchise is a trust for other people. (A laugh.) I
do not think so. I belive it to be a right inherent
in the man himself.
I, as a representative, hold a
trust ; and there is the greatest difference between
the elctor and the representative. The elector is
made the elector by law. The law confers the
right, and the law should protect him in its exer-
cise. (Hear, hear.) lam not made your represen-
tative by law, but by your free choice; and if you
return me to represent your opinions, and you do
so because you believe that there is a sympathy, of
opinion and of principle between us, how arc you
sure whether that is so or not if my vote is secret
(Hear.) The great difference, therefore, which I
would urge our friend, Mr. Irving, to recollect, is
that the representative holds the trust, whereas
the elector possesses the right. (Hear.) But I can-
not believe that any man like myself can have re-
presented a large town like this for many years—
that he can have gone through very severe and
exciting election contests, without being convinced
of the necessity of the ballot for the protection of
some of its voters. (Applause.) This subject of
the ballot reminds me of the chief Liberal states-

I.tlat

man, who, I am sorry to say, has alway been
opposed to the ballot. I mentioned him before—
I mean. Lord John Russell. Now, I wish neiTr

to mention that name—whether in good reportor
in bad report as it may be among my hearers—
I wish never to mention that name -without ex-

pressing all the gratitude and admiration which
I shall 'always feel for old F services in
the cause of reform. (Cheers.) I Anil almlitys're-
member his services—l am even willing to forget

his faults. (Hear, hear.) His name was once one
of great power with the people ; he for many years
led the Liberal party in the House of Commons ;
he hoped to lead them again. But the leader of
the popular party in the House of Commons must
be in sympathy with that party, and the pOpular
party must be in sympathy with the people. Nov,
it is my belief that the great majority of the Libe-
ral constituencies of this country will not tolerate
their members in following Lord John Russell as a
leader-as long,as he remains openly hostile to the
ballot. - (Heat,• hear.) I trust he may give way on
another point. >:.llc does not fully sympathise with
us in our feeling. as to church rates. (Hear, hear.)
Now, these are the two points on which, if Lord
John RuSSell Wishes ever again to lead the Liberal

party, it is my belief, and I trust it is your belief,
that these are the two points on which he must
modify his. opinions. (Cheers.) If he does so, we
may see the Liberal party once again following its
old leader. —The liberal party arc at the present
moment without a leader, and if they take my ad-
vice—l at least shall set the example—they will
take no leader until they very precisely know the
journey which he means to take them. (Cheers.)
I will say a word or two as to the reasons which in-
duced the members of the Radical party generally at
a meeting and conference which you have heard of
in London, to consider that it would be advisable
that they should themselves bring forward, through
one of their members, a reform bill of their own. I
am in no secrets as to the reforms to be proposed ;
and if I were I could not betray those secrets. I
do not know what Lord Derby proposes, but I do
know.that he is a very able man ; and I do know
that he has_ one at least most sagacious colleague.

I believe that the present Goverxment contains
many good and honest men. I wish to avoid any
kind of exaggeration, and I will not therefore say
that Lord Derby's reform bill must of necessity be

a sham Reform 3111, or a trick or delusion. On the
contrary, I believe it very likely that, as far as it
goes, it will be an improvement of the present sys-
tem. The present system is so faulty that the Go-
vernment must be -bunglers indeed if they do not
produce a measure which will, more or less, amend.
it. If Lord Derby, or lord anybody else, will intro-
duce all that the Radical party require, I take it
that I and every honestman will support them fully
—whether it comes from him or any one else. (Ap-
plause.) But I do not think it is too much to believe
that any Reform Bill coming from the present Go-
vernment must fall short of that which we conceive
we have a right to ask. Now, therefore, if the Go-
vernment brought in a Reform Bill—some improve-
ment on the present system—l do not quite see he it
the liberal members of the House of Commons could
have voted against that bill on its second reading,
.when its principle came to be discussed—presuming
it to be some improvement on the present system,
if they had no bill of their own to vote.for. -They
would have been obliged to vote for it and go into
committee. Once in committee, Heaven help us—
(laughter)—two or three months in discussing all
sorts of details, amidst which you forget its princi-
ples—spent in the hottest weather, with the Thames
in its most offensive state, and opponents wily, care-
ful to take every advantage of the disunion which
would be sure, on some points, to prevail amongst
us—fighting one part of the party against the other,
the result would be, that after months of the hottest

work, and a vast amount of confused labour, we
might probably pass a bill which would be little
better, or perhaps worse than none at all. (Cheers.)
Now, if the Radical party throughout the country
meet as you have met—define as you have defined,
that which they require—if Mr. Bright, who is not
pledged to any particular principles in this matter,
but who is most anxious to collect the desires and
the wants of the country on the subject, embodies
in his bill those your requirements, we then have a
proper and legitimate weapon to oppose to the Go-
vernment Bill, if the Government Bill, although an
improvement of the present state, does not go far
enough to satisfy us. We then vote against that
bill because we have had the courage to propose a •
better of our own. (Cheers.) It was for that rea-
son that the conference in Loudon selected Mr.
Bright, and requested him to prepare a bill. That
conference was called by the Parliamentary Reform
Committee—a committee of which I have the
honour to be a member, which has been in exist-
ence for about a year. Its duty had been to collect
from all parts of the country, and by very volumi-
nous correspondence, the opinions of all sections of
reformers as to the amount of reform which they
thought it safe and best to ask for. The answers,
of course, have been very various, but from the
immense mass of correspondence that we have, we
decidedly made up our minds that the great majo-
rity of feeling in the country was in favour of
precisely, the measure of reform which you have
embodied in your resolutions to-night. Under these
circumstances, Mr. Bright honestly, and, as I be-
lieve, wisely said, " I will bring in a bill, but
understand I do it on my own responsibility ; I will
not be tied by this programme—that which the
committee present me." My belief is that in the
end his bill will be found very much what that
programme was—that programme being, as I tell
you, as nearly as possible those resolutions which
you have passed. (Hear.) But I think it right to
mention that Mr. Bright considered himself pro-
' bably free to bring in any bill of any sort or kind
' he liked, in:order that it may be remembered that
under these circumstances even those who asked
him to prepare the bill have the right to judge of
that bill when they see it, and are not pledged
beforehand to anything which they do not know.
Now, you have decided on what you want, but I
should think you will hardly ask me in what way
you are to get it, for I have told you so frequently
that you must be tired of hearing me. (Hear.) You,
and you only, can carry a reform bill. (Hear, hear.)
You, and you only, carried the old reform bill.
You did that work yourselves ; and trust me if on
this occasion you leave it to others to do for you,
it will probably not be done at all, or if it is done
it will be done in an unsatisfactory manner.
(Cheers.) Let your voice then be decided, and let
it be heard. It will be easy to make it heard in
the House of Commons, but let it also speak in
such tones of thunder that it shall make its way
through the deaf doors of the House of Lords.
(Applause.) Remember you will be opposed to an
enemy, excellent tacticians, careful to take advan-
tage of your disunion. And listen to my earnest
prayer, that you will bury all small differences. Do
not quarrel as to the more or less of reform—you
are all going by the same road ; some of you may
stop short, othprs may go farther ; but you are all
going in the same direction.

MANSLAUGHTER IN LIVFRPOOL.—Robt. Mitchel
Nims (yesterday (Thursday) committed for trial by the
Liverpool corer on a charge of manslaughter, for having
knocked down and killed a man named Doyle, in Beau-
street.
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