The Sun.
London, England, 1866-05-23 00:00:00

PAMPHLETS

RELATING

Two MASTERLY PAMPHLETS, BY Mr. DUDLEY
BAXTER, M.A., of Trinity College, Cambridge,
have recently been published by Mr. Edward Stan-
ford, of Charing-cross. The earlier of the two has
already been honourably mentioned in the House
of Commons during the late debates there upon the
subject they refer to--among others, in terms of
high praise, by the Right Hon. baronet the member
for Herts. This earlier of Mr. Dudley Baxter's Two
Pamphlets on the New Reform Bill being a brochure
of 44 pages, having inscribed upon it as its title, "The
Franchise Returns Critically Examined." Together
with this critical examination of the Franchise Re-
turns, moreover—returns that were laid upon the
table of the house in such a hurry-scurry, at the
eleventh hour and three quarters, and evidently,
at the very first glance through them, in a state
that might be described (without the smallest
hazard of exaggeration) in Stephen Blackpool's
phrase, as " aw' a muddle "—returns, in fact, so
faulty, so glaringly and undeniably erroneous,
that they were repudiated upon the earliest oppor-
tunity in open house, and in the hearing of Mr.
Gladstone, by that right hon. gentleman's fidus
Achates, the member for Birmingham—together
with this critical examination, we say, of these
most unsatisfactory Franchise Returns, Mr.
Baxter supplies us in his first pamphlet, with
" A Table of the Future Constituency," and
with an account—his account of course (neverthe-
less he fairly challenges contradiction and therefore
ought to be listened to)—as to the " Proportion
of the Working Classes in Each Borough." This
earlier of the two pamphlet now more immediately
referred to has already, by this time, become so
thoroughly well known among the politicians of the
day, both within and without the walls of the
legislature, that it needs no other allusion to it
here beyond the notification of the fact of its
re-isaue in a revised form—a supplementary
but unmistakable attestation of its success. As a
companion pamphlet in every way worthy of the
one just now particularised, Mr. Dudley Baxter has
yet more recently issued from the press, through the
establishment of Mr. Stanford, another brochure,
this time one of 37 pages, relating to the second
moiety of the piecemeal Government Reform Bill,
and having as its title " The Redistribution of Seats
and the Counties." The motto selected by Mr.
Dudley Baxter for his new argument (of course
antagonistic to the Ministerial measure) is a thought
or aspiration rather from LEschylus to the senten-
tious effect—re S'ev vocarw—" May the Right Pre-
vail !" So soon as the House fairly gets into Commit-
tee upon the Two Bills, with the amiable intention
(suggested by Mr. Bouvcrie) of rolling those Two
Bills into One (if that ingenious feat should only
prove to be in any way practicable), certain are we
that Mr. Baxter's newly promulgated arguments
this time in reference to the Redistribution of Seats—
will be mentioned, and that, moreover, as formerly
upon the other Branch of the Reform Bill, authori-
tatively.
MR. LOWE'S GREAT SPEECH on the Second Read-
ing of the Representation of the People Bill—deli-
vered in the house of Commons on Thursday even-
ing, the 26th of April, 1866—a speech which for
two hours and forty minutes held one of the most
densely crowded houses we have ever seen collected
together at Westminster, enchained in breathless
attention—the orator being interrupted again and
again by explosions of admiration during the deli-
very of it—has just been published in the form of a
fourpenny Bvo. pamphlet of 31 pages by R. J. Bush,
of Charing-cross : the report thus issued separately
being carefully corrected and revised throughout by
the Right Hon. member for Caine himself.
REFORM AND REFORMERS—is the title of a read-
able little shilling brochure, edited by John Tillot-
son, and published by S. 0. Beeton. It relates to
the Question of Reform as it stood exactly one
generation since—namely five-and-thirty years ago.
The Reformers sketched off—some of them " to the
life"—being the great men of those times. Among
them Major Cartwright, William Cobbett, Daniel
O'Connell, Joseph Hume, and Jeremy Bentham,
Earl Grey and the Marquess of Lansdowne, Richard
Cobden and Sir Samuel Romilly. Happily there
are others who are still surviving—foremost among
them the Leader of Reform in the House of Com-
mons of those days, still the Leader not only of Re-
form in these present times, but the Leader also of
the Government —meaning the Earl Russell, K. G., of
to-day, the Lord John Russell, M.P., of yesterday.
Another veteran Reformer, great amongst the great
then, great amongst the great still, is not only
commemorated in these pages, together with his
then contemporaries, but has his engraved effigy
printed upon the cover of the little volume as an
apt symbol of the energetic fervour then, and let us
hope still, actuating Reform and Reformers. This
vera effigies being the counterpart presentment of
Henry Lord Brougham.