The Sun.
London, England, 1867-03-20 00:00:00

7:7
,
SUM

LONDON, TVEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 1867.

The perusal of the Lew scheme of Reform, which
has to-day been printed, will, we think, tend to
confirm the favourable impression it produced in
the House in general, which in no wise sympathised
with the speakers against it, who betrayed them-
selves by their vehemence and bitterness of feeling.
The chief thing that strikes one in the considera-
tion of this measure is its comprehensiveness, for if
any political sage had predicted some months ago
that a Conservative Government would propose
Household Suffrage, how many would
and declared that
hare discredited it,

it was quite idle to indulge in such
speculations. It seems not only ungracious, but
also very impolitic, for objections to be made upon
matters of detail when once a principle like this
of household suffrage is laid down, which certainly
goes far beyond what many might reasonably have
expected. Every man who has occupied a house
for two years and paid poor rates will be entitled
to a vote under the propositions of this measure.
The county franchise is to be fixed at fifteen pounds,
which will be a considerable reduction, and though
we believe some disappointment is felt that it does
not go still lower, still there is no denying that a

decided change for the better has taken place. The
educational franchise we look upon as one of the
best features of this measure, and in this it bears
unquestionably the palm over the schemes of pre-
ceding Ministries. The pecuniary franchise is also
a good one, and well calculated to confer the privi-
lege of voting upon those who are the safest mem-
bers of the community, or the least likely to rush
into wild extremes. We miss the lodger fran-
chise, which is the more strange, since the
Government of Lord DERBY in 1859 were
originators of the proposal, and they have had the
satisfaction since of finding others come round to
their views. Indeed, some seem to think it a clever
dodge to attack the Conservatives with their own
weapons, and to denounce them for omitting all
mention. of a proposal which they were once
greatly blamed for proposing. At any rate there
can be no possible reason why the Ministers should
not insert a clause to this effect in committee, and
we hope that they will do so, because such a plan
cannot but conduce to the practical advantages of
the measure.

The redistribution part of the business is the
most awkward, and perhaps the best way of getting
out of the difficulty would be to extend the number
of the members. There is no practicable virtue in
the number six hundred and fifty-eight any more
than in any particular figure for the limits of the
franchise ; and although the red-tapists and
conventionalists might be startled at first,
we think that they would see the wisdom of it before
long. We have no doubt that considerable im-
provement can be made in the bill in committee,
and let it take place then, but not till then. Any
attempt to prevent the second reading of the mea-
sure will be factious in the extreme, and cannot
possibly advance the interests of the cause of Re-
form. We hope that all those who are easily in-
fluenced will take heed to their ways, and judge
for themselves, so that they may rightly esti-
mate the costs and consequences of their actions.
We do not stand up as the defenders of the mea-
sure coute qui coute. We do not say that it is as
good a measure as could be penned, but we think
that it is far better than we might have expected,
and much more liberal than any of the schemes of
late years ; and an attentive survey of its provi-
sions should convince impartial politicians that it
would be a sin and a shame for them to condemn it
to the company of its predecessors, and thus waste
another year and disappoint the expectations of the
people.

The interval that elapses between the introduc-
tion of a measure of importance and the time when
the sense of the house is taken on its merits is gene-
rally occupied with various questions relating to it
of more or less interest, but which are all really out
of place, because it is putting the Ministers of the
day in rather an unfair position, and placing them
at a disadvantage by considering the matter in de-
tail when it ought to be regarded as a whole. Last
night Mr. BRIGHT put a question to the Chancellor
of the Exchequer respecting the Representation of
the People Bill. He said that the reason why
he put it was that the answer might affect the
vote of many hon. gentlemen on his side of the
House. He asked, with respect to " dual voting,"
whether the Government intended to adhere to that
provision of the bill, or whether it was to be re-
garded as an unimportant part of the measure. To
this Mr. DISRAELI replied that he had no objection
to answer the hon. member, but the bill was only
just in the hands of members, and he wished
them to consider it ; so that, when every important
part of it had been fairly considered by both sides
of the House, at the second reading they
would find the legitimate occasion to express
an opinion on so important a point. Mr. BUTLER
JOHNSTONE went still further, and asked if the
Government would not best consult their own
honour by giving some intimation of what they
would do in the event of their bill being rejected,
but he was stopped by cries of " Order !" The
Chancellor of the Exchequer very truly remarked j
that the proper mode to deal with this subject was
to give what explanation was necessary at the time
when he and his colleagues had a fair opportunity of
reviewing the whole subject; but by answering
those questions without such an opportunity
occurring a false impression was created. This
is a very wise rejoinder, and we hope
that for the remaining time that will
elapse before the second reading honourable
members will abstain from putting these irrelevant
queries, which only serve to confuse things. An
amusing episode in the evening's occurrences was
created by some questions put by Mr. BAGGE to the
Chancellor of the Exchequer respecting corrupt
practices at elections, in the course of which he in-
troduced the names of some gentlemen, and asked
if they were the same as those concerned in elec-
tion transactions, and were members of the House,
and whether the Government would think fit to re-
move them from the various commissions which
they held. To this extraordinary question the
Chancellor of the Exchequer made an amusing
answer, treating the matter in the most proper
manner as a joke. He said that he must be careful
in giving an answer, because " mistaken identity"
was a startling circumstance in the annals of juris-
prudence. There was certainly a similarity in the
name ; but then, again, there was prima facie evi-
dence to show that these gentlemen referred to
could not be the same alluded to as members of
the House, since they showed " invariable readiness
to condemn anything like Tory corruption," and
always adopted a highly liberal tone. He con-
cluded by advising the hon. member to take a surer
way of finding out-the truth, and to try the effect
of a select committee.

Mr. GLADSTONE was greatly displeased at the
tone in which the Chancellor of the Exchequer
answered this question, and at a later period of the
evening called him to account for the course thus
pursued. We think that it is much to be regretted
that the right hon. gentleman should so far forget
himself as to seize the pretext of any discussion that
came up before the House in order to make
attacks upon the Government. Such a plea can
scarcely fail to betray itself at the outset;
and Mr. NEWDEGATE'S retort upon him last night
was quite carried out by facts. There was no
mistaking the extreme bitterness which actuated
the Leader of the Opposition when he accused Mr.
DISRAELI of being like the engineer " hoist with his
own petard," falling back on words of wisdom when
too late, and so on. We warn Mr. GLADSTONE that
he himself will be the greatest loser if he persists in
this vindictive spirit, and no injuries he inflicts on
his opponents will equal the damage he will do to
his own reputation by showing himself so hostile
and uncompromising. What with the one thing
and the other we Seem to be on the point of wit-
nessing party squabbles instead of the calm conside-
ration that is due to the discussion of a great ques-
tion ; and for all the loss to the cause of Reform and
the injury to Parliament the Leader of the Opposi-
tion will be responsible if he persists in exerting his
considerable influence to aid and abet the spirit of
faction.

The arrival of the Java, from New York on the
Gth, brings us a good deal of intelligence. The
Tetzel had been delayed by the sacra easterly gales