The Sun.
London, England, 1866-04-28 00:00:00

LAST LIGHT'S DEBATE.

The Times says, after a debate prolonged through
nine nights, and not unworthy, in the distinguished
ability displayed throughout its course, of the most
illustrious periods of our Parliamentary history, the
House of Commons divided this morning on the
Franchise Bill. In a house which, considering the
numbers struck off by election committees, was full
beyond precedent, the amendment of Lord Grosve-
nor was defeated by a majority of five. All the
power of Mr. Gladstone and the impetuosity of his
eloquence was never more apparent than in his reply,
but have thus proved unavailing to avert a practi-
cal defeat. All the desire of the House of Com-
mons to preserve the Ministry, all the loyalty to
party of members who voted for a measure they dis-
approved rather than oppose their leaders, could not
screen the Government from what is, in fact, a vote
of censure on the line of conduct they adopted. All
the concessions promised from time to time to the
just complaints of their ordinary supporters could
not free the Franchise Bill from the objections in-
separable from its nature. The measure submitted
to the House of Commons was conceived in a spirit
of suspicion and distrust of the House, and as the
debate proceeded the distrust was more frankly
avowed. The House was asked to requite distrust
with .confidence, to yield the most absolute faith
where it was treated with the most insulting suspi-
cion. It was asked to sanction the plans of a Mini-
stry while they were still unrevealed, to give in its
adhesion to a policy the principles of which were
kept secret, to express its approval of a scheme of
Reform without knowing what the scheme was to
be. The vote of this morning was the answer to
these unexampled demands. When the present
House was elected it was calculated that the work-
ing Liberal majority was upwards of sixty, and the
first time that the existence of the Government was
assailed—within three months of the assembling of
Parliament—the Government is nominally victo-
rious by a majority of five.
The Morning Herald says :—Last night witnessed
the close of the greatest debate that has occupied
the time of the House of Commons and the atten-
tion of the country for many years past. A larger
question, a more momentous issue, could hardly
have commanded the energies and eloquence of
public men. And if the discussion has sometimes
flagged, or failed in interest, it is only because the
disputants were unequally watched. The Liberal
party—even that section of it which has supported
the bill—is not deficient in eloquence, in statesman-
ship, or in power of argument ; and if it has been,
as it undoubtedly has, signally worsted in debate,
and if it have displayed a want of power, of orato-
rical fire, and logical ability, strikingly contrasted
with the superior energy and genius of their adver-
saries, it is only because the course which- the Mi-
nistry adopted was one which left no scope for ar-
gument, which defied logic, and disheartened do- I
quence. Their ill-advised original policy, their
subsequent concessions, narrowed the issue before
the house to one on which every one—their habitual
supporters as much as. any—felt that they were
hopelessly in the wrong.
The Daily News says it was not Lord Palmerston,
according to Mr. Disraeli, that could have saved the
unfortunate British Constitution, had he lived, but
Sir Cornewall Lewis, whom he amented as if Sir
Cornewall Lewis had been Mr. Gladstone's intimate
enemy. And the upshot of all this mild and mode-
rate appeal for information as to the county fran-
chise as a plea for supporting Lord Grosvenor's
amendment, was nothing less than a declared re-
solve to rescue the constitution of the country--
King, Lords. and " the Estate of the Commons"
(into which he is willing to admit the choicest of
the " handicraftsmen," on the old Plantagenet prin-
ciple)—from the,parricidal hands of Mr. Bright, and
Mr. Bright's " confederates" on the Treasury Bench,
who are conspiring, it seems, " to reconstruct the
British Constitution on the American model." No
wonder that as soon as the furious attempt of the
Opposition to silence Mr. Gladstone yielded to the
calm appeal—" Am I to be permitted to proceed ?"
—the Chancellor of the Exchequer uttered an ex-
clamation of relief at the discovery that a bill for
the admission of 200,000 of the middle class and an
equal number of the working class to the electoral
franchise in counties and boroughs was interpreted
by the leader of the Tory party as a conspiracy to
reconstruct the British Constitution on the Ameri-
can model ! his masterly speech worthily con-
cluded this great debate, and was immediately fol-
lowed by the critical division for which the whole
country has been eagerly waiting.
The Morning Post says :—At a quarter past 3 this
morning the House of Commons divided on the
motion for the second reading of the Reform Bill.
The result was that which was generally anticipated.
In a house composed of the almost unexampled
number of 636 members, inclusive of the Speaker
and tellers, the number of 318 voted in favour of
the measure, while 313 supported the amendment
of Earl Grosvenor. The Government thus obtained
a net majority of 5. That the motion for the second
reading would be carried was universally admitted';
but those who professed to be versant with the
exact state of parties in the house ventured to anti-
cipate that the majority would not reach two figures.
The result proves them to have been correct.A
majoritysuch as this cannot be regarded as substan-
tial,
and there can be no doubt that, although the
Ministry have gained a nominal victory,. they have,
in truth, sustained a fatal defeat. Nothing remains
for them but to resign.
de-
The Morning Advertiser says :—Though the
bate has had no practical result, and now cannot
have any, in the shape of legislation, it will not be