The Sun.
London, England, 1866-01-17 00:00:00

Parliamentary Reform.

DEPUTATION TO EARL RUSSELL

A deputation from the Reform League waited on
Earl Russell yesterday, at his official residence,
Downing-street, for the purpose of laying before
his lordship a statement of their opinions respecting
the question of Parliamentary Reform. The depu-
tation included Mr. Edmond Beaks, Captain
Dresser Rogers, C.C., Mr. Edward Owen Green-
ing (Manchester), Mr. J. Scott (Belfast), Mr. C.
Keen (Maidstone), Mr. Samuel Plimsoll (Derby),
Mr. H. J. Slack, Dr. Perfitt, Mr. M. E. Marsden,
Mr. T. Allsop (Plymouth), Mr. Geo. J. Floyd
(Greenwich), Mr. H. Webber, Mr. J. A. Nicholay,
Mr. Thackstone (Maidstone), Mr. Holyoake, Mr.
R. Moore, Mr. J. R. Taylor Ellis (liveryman,
Cooks' Company), Mr. G. M. Murphy (Lambeth),
Messrs. Leno, Facey, Culley, Odger, Hales, Howell,
Bradlaugh, Ellis, Bainbridge, Truscott, Finber,
Henrietta, Campbell, Lucraft, Cremer, Potts,
Connolly, Bubb, Bowan, Burgess, Bell, Hartwell,
Lester, Whitehair, and Booker.

Mr. EDMOND BEALES introduced the deputation,
which he said waited upon his lordship in compli-
ance with a resolution passed unanimously at a very
large public meeting of the inhabitants, but more
especially those of the working classes of the me-
tropolitan districts, held at St. Martin's-hall on the
12th December last, and convened by the council
of the Reform League, of which he (Mr. Beales)
was president. The numbers attending that meet-
ing were so great that, the large hall being unable
to hold them, two supplemental meetings were held
at the same time, one in the smaller hall, and one
for a short time in the adjoining street. The
speakers at all these meetings were, with the excep-
tion of himself as chairman of the principal meet-
ing, working men, and at each of the meetings a
resolution was unanimously adopted appointing a
deputation to wait upon his lordship, as the head
of the Government, and on the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, as leader of the House of Commons, and
respectfully urge upon their consideration that the
measure of parliamentary reform alone calculated to
be satisfactory to the great body of the people, as giving
them their due electoral right, would be one founded
on the principle of residential and registered man-
hood suffrage, protected in its free and efficient
exercise by the instrumentality of the ballot ; and
especially that any continued restriction of the
suffrage to householders, or a merely rating fran-
chise, would still shut out from the pale of the con-
stitution, particularly in the metropolitan districts,
large numbers of persons abundantly qualified and
entitled, in point of intelligence, ability, and trust-
worthiness, to be admitted within it. (Hear, hear.)
And as it was highly desirable that his lordship and
Mr. Gladstone should hear from the lips of working
men themselves their reasons for asking for the ex-
tension and mode of suffrage to which he had re-
ferred, he would content himself with saying with
regard to it, that it was a mode of suffrage which
appeared to him to be entirely and in fact most
consistent with the theory and principles of our own
constitution, and of all real representative govern-
ments most calculated to render the House of Com-
mons practically and truly the House of the Com-
mons of the United Kingdom, and imperatively
required to raise our countrymen in this the oldest
representative country, or at least one of the oldest
representative countries in the world, from being
now left behind in the progress of freedom, and
placed in this respect in a position of degrading
inferiority to the people not only of our own colo-
nies and of the United States of America, but almost
of every Continental State in which the principle of
representation is now in operation. He would only
further add that whilst considering it their duty to
make known clearly and distinctly to his lordship
and the Chancellor of the Exchequer the feelings
and desires of the working classes on a subject so
important to them, and so materially affecting their
rights, character, and interests, they did so with
sentiments of profound respect and attachment for
yourselves personally, of deep gratitude for your
many and great and ever memorable labours in the
cause of civil and religious liberty.
Mr. ODGER, as representing a large portion of the
working men of the metropolis, said that the work-
ing men who originated this movement did so with
great repugnance, as they would much rather con-
tinue to devote their individual attention to those
questions more immediately affecting their social
condition ; but finding that a large number of his
class were beginning to grow hopeless on the sub-
ject, four or live governments having from time to
time failed in their promises to the people, and that
many of his class had in consequence sought Ame-
rica and the colonies, where those privileges they
sought for, and to whichthey felt they were entitled,
were not withheld, it was thought that no further

time should be lost, and the present movement was
the consequence. After touching upon various
points in connection with the question, Mr. Odgers
concluded by hoping that the Government would
take up the matter with some earnestness, and in-
troduce a bill with the same vigour and force which
characterised the bill of 1832, and stand or fall by
it. If the Government did that he believed they
would gain for themselves the thanks and gratitude
of the people.
Mr. Connolly (stonemason), Mr. Greening (Man-
chester), Capt. Dresser Rogers, Mr. De Gwyther
(representing the Marylebone district), Mr. E.
'Marsden, Mr. J. R. Taylor, Mr. Bradiaugh, and Dr.
Perfitt, also addressed his lordship, after which
Earl RUSSELL—I shall not be able, having an im-
portant engagenlent, to listen to you any longer. I
have heard the opinions you hold stated with great
ability, and I am 'very happy to find that some of
the working men hAvefio ably stated those opinions.
I have been always of opinion that great injustice
has been done to the• working man by attempting
not only to deprecate their ;talents, but their
habits of life. With r.c.,ga,rd. to this question, while
I have listened with great respect, as I am bound
to do—it being part of my duty—to the state-
ments that have been made, it is impossible for
ine to say that I agree with the sentiments that
have been expressed. I consider that it will be
our duty to introduce a measure that will, in our
opinion, improve the repr.,3sentation, and that
will be likely to obtain Ole assent of Parlia-
ment. That is what we shall endeavour to do,
and we will stand by the meas,ire which we think
is calculated for that purpose, al 'ld which we expect
to carry.
The deputation then withdrew.