The Sun.
London, England, 1867-04-09 00:00:00

to the credit of the Government, while it realises
the expectations of the people and gains the ap-
proval of Parliament.

It was no doubt with feelings of deep gratifica-
tion that the Chancellor of the Exchequer yester-
day gave audience to the very large and influential
deputation of working men who addressed him on
the all engrossing subject of Reform. Deputations
and delegations are no very uncommon things, and
every Minister of State sees plenty of them during
his tenure of office, but the numerous assembly
which gathered yesterday in Downing-street was
something more than an ordinary meeting. In the
first place, it was composed almost exclusively of
working
thebona' fide mechanics and work-
men,
whose ranks there is to be found so
men,among
much genuine English feeling and sound common
sense. Men like these are no doubt liable, as we
all are, to be specially impressed by fervent elo-
quence or misled by ingenious sophistry, but it is not
easy to convince them against the evidence of their
sen
adosessh.Tw hey may be willing sometimes to accept
the for the substance, but it is difficult to
persuade them, when the substance is within reach,
that it is nothing more than a shadow. Having,
therefore, wished and laboured for years to obtain
an enlarged reduction of the franchise, they cannot
see why they should refuse it when it is offered
them. Very few expect or even wish for manhood
suffrage in any class, but supposing that there was
a stronger inclination for it no one could hope to
see it carried at present. What, then, is the safest
and most liberal suffrage which can be granted by
an established Government and accepted. by the
people ? The answer is easy. A household suffrage
under certain conditions, combined with a lodger fran-
chise, authorities of all shades of opinion from Lord
BROUGHAM to Mr. BRIGHT have endorsed this
proposition, and there is no doubt that its prin-
ciple is fully in accordance with English habits and
feelings. A householder who bears his part of the
public burdens has surely a right to give his vote
on matters of personal government. If he is
competent to elect the municipal officer to have a
voice in the guardianship of hundreds of helpless
and desolate paupers, to decide on the
.life or
death of a human being, he is certainly capable
of choosing a man to represent his opinions in
Parliament. The principle then which lies at the
foundation of the Ministerial measure is one
which commends itself to the common sense
and judgment of Englishmen, and we are
not surprised to find that it should have
been cordially accepted by so large a num-
ber of working men in all parts of tho country.
It was the great variety of places represented that
gave importance to the deputation of yesterday ;
Birmingham was strongly represented ; Leeds,
Huddersfield, Halifax, Macclesfield, Kidderminster,
Coventry, Derby, Exeter, Portsmouth, and Ply-
mouth, sent spokesmen, and it is fair to the intelli-
gence and education of the unenfranchised classes
to notice the ability and straightforwardness with
which they spoke. Some of them represented
Conservative working men's associations, but others
did not pledge themselves to any political party,
only they were anxious to support the Government
in what they believed to be in the main an honest
and satisfactory measure. Mr. EDWARDS, of Bir-
mingham, said he came from the most Radical town
in England, the stronghold of traditional Radi-
calism. his acquaintance with working men was not
he said drawn from statistics, but he lived and moved
among them ; and he affirmed that if you took the
first twenty working liken you met with, half of
them would have no confirmed political opinions,
five of them would be men of moderate principles,
and the remaining five political partisans. This is
no doubt a very fair estimate, as we believe it would
be of any class. Why then should it be supposed
that an increased representation of the working men
would give irresponsible power to any one particular
party ?

Mr. DISRAELI, having listened to the several
spokesmen of the assembly, addressed them at some
length. He accepted them as being really repre-
sentatives of a large proportion of the working men
of the country, and expressed his pleasure at
finding himself in direct communication with
them. Leaving for the moment the question
of Reform in abeyance, he proceeded to vindicate
the character and conduct of Lord DERBY'S
Administration. He reminded his hearers that the
foreign relations of the country had been since their
assumption of office in a most critical position ; that
Ireland had been during the whole duration of their
Government in a state of extreme danger and diffi-
culty, and boldly declared his belief that the man-
agement of our foreign affairs by Lord STANLEY,
and the government of Ireland by Lord NAAS and
Lord ABERCORN, were two results which would en-
title any Government to the confidence and candid
consideration of the country. The condition of the
finances was also, he declared, satisfactory, and
they had succeeded in passing two of the great mea-
sures promised in
North the QUEEN'S Speech--the Con-
federation American Provinces and
ofthe
the Reform of the Poor Law. Their op-
ponents, however vehement, have not, says
the Chancellor of the Exchequer, presumed
to express a vote of want of confidence
in the Ministry, neither have they opposed their
principal measures. What, then, he asked, is the
measure respecting which they find so much diffi-
culty ? After referring briefly to the leading
features of the Reform Bill, he declared that the
Government were fully resolved firmly to adhere to
the vital principles of the measure. The House of
Commons, he declared, had given them, on the
whole, a candid reception, and he believed that
there was a sincere desire on the part of the majo-
rity that some measure should be passed adequate to
the occasion, and passed by the assistance of the
independent mnabers. The subsequent events of
the evening proved Mr. DISRAELI to be right in
this calculation, and his opinions of the manceuvres
of his opponents were evidently not altogether
different from those of the independent Liberals.
Mr. DISRAELI declared he could better have
understood the attack had it been led by
one who was ambitious of dealing with the ques-
tion, and had confidence in his own success; but its
Leader had already as a Minister had every advan-
tage, and who yet misused his golden opportunity
and completely mismanaged the business. The
Chancellor of the Exchequer, who was listened to
with deep attention throughout, was warmly cheered
on his conclusion, and his intimation of a probable
appeal to the country was enthusiastically responded
to. Happily, as we have seen, the necessity for
this last resort vanished with the day, but it is well
that our working men, more especially from the
busy mines of industry in the North, should occa-
sonally come face to face with their Ministers re-
presenting their own opinions with courage and
simplicity, and receiving in return the respect and
attention due to sincere and conscientious English-