The Sun.
London, England, 1866-04-03 00:00:00

franchise to the property qualification would have
given just that elevation of tone that is so greatly
needed without producing any perceptible altera-
tion in the working of the existing system.
At Sheffield the meeting was also large and intel-
ligent, and its verdict was also favourable to the
Ministerial measures. Mr. BEAUMONT, M.P., who
was one the principal speakers, candidly confessed
a feeling of disappointment respecting the bill on
its first bearing. In this he expressed a very gene-
ral sentiment, since, after all the talk about Reform,
and the promises and professions of the great
things to be done with the Ministerial majority, the
Reform Bill of 1866 is at best but a partial measure.
However, there is a homely adage which tells us
that " half a loaf is better than no bread," and the
great thing to be done is to secure all we
can get, and then take care that our donors
do not " rest and be thankful," but give
us the other half. Mr. BEAUMONT was bold enough
to say that if the measure was to be divided, for his
part he should have liked the redistribution
question to be taken first, because then
we might have had a better Franchise
Bill. The present extension, Mr. BEAUMONT
thinks, is not sufficient. He would have liked to
have seen it lower, but it is at least a movement in
the right direction, and the most haste is sometimes
the worst speed. After he had given the Bill some
careful consideration, however, Mr. BEAUMONT said
he had thought better of it, because as far as it
went it would benefit all classes, and therefore
he was prepared to give it his utmost support.
Later in the evening came forward a speaker,
who was received, as he deserved to be at a Reform
meeting, with protracted cheering. Mr. ROEBUCK,
in spite of crotchets and eccentricities, in spite of
alternately attacking and defending almost every
successive Ministry, acting like mothers do towards
spoiled children, scolding themselves but letting
no one else correct them, is, and always has been, a
genuine Reformer. His sincerity is above question,
for it is no part of his political character to court
popularity ; in fact he sometimes seems to brave
public opinion for the indulgence of his contradic-
tory humour. This has been especially the case in
regard to foreign questions, as in his defence of
Austria and her Government ; but in domestic
matters Mr. ROEBUCK generally shows himself an
independent and straightforward Englishman. Mr.
ROEBUCK has already spoken of the new Re-
form Bill in the House of Commons, and then,
as now at Sheffield, he criticised and censured it,
but agreed to accept it as an instalment.
He says justly enough that it cannot rightly be
called a " dishonest measure," and he intends to
give it his support, because it deals with some, of
the points to which he has paid particular attention.
As a reformer of thirty-three years' stand-
ing he had been fighting against the
ratepaying clauses, and they are now to be done
away with. It adopts some of those " fancy
franchises" which were sneered at by Mr. BRIGHT
and his party, but which have so much common
sense and fair play to recommend them that they
have received the decided support of the public.
Mr. ROEBUCK reminded his hearers that he had
once incurred their displeasure by supporting a
Bill with fancy franchises, but he was glad to see
people come to his opinion. The new Bill, more-
over, enfranchises classes not hitherto enfranchised,
and for these collective reasons, and partly, per-
haps, from his old habit of voting with the Govern-
ment, though he speaks against them, Mr. ROE-
BUCK intends to support the Ministerial measure.
These meetings seem at all events to show that
there is a strong feeling in the country in favour of
Reform, and that the people are willing to accept
even a partial, and in some respects unsatisfactory,
measure rather than submit to further postpone-
ments and delays. Only it must be remembered
that it is only as a partial measure that they accept
it, and their approval must be held to be only con-
ditional on the full and free redemption of all the
Ministerial and Parliamentary pledges.

CORRESPONDENCE FROM PARIS.