The Sun.
London, England, 1859-03-24 00:00:00

NAVY.

Mr. Sergeant DEASYtaed-;he First Lord of the Ad-
miralty whether he had received any communication com-
plaining of any alleged undue interference with the religion
of any of the sailors serving on board her Majesty's ship
Ajax at Kingstown ; and whether he had caused any in-
quiry to be made into the truth of such complaints
Sir. J. PAKINGTON had received some information on
the subject which induced him to think that the interfer-
ence alluded to did not take place.
SLAVE TRADE ON THE WEST COAST OF
AFRICA.
Mr. KINGLAKE asked the Under Secretary of State
for Foreign Affairs, whether any negotiation was pending
between her Majesty's Government and the Government of
France with respect to a French vessel, called the Phoenix,
of Nantz, alleged to have been prevented from taking slaves
from the west coast of Africa by her Majesty's steam sloop
Alecto ; and asked whether there would be any objection to
lay the papers relating to this matter upon the table of the
house.

Mr. S. FITZGERALD said he had directed inquiries to
be made, and until he had received an answer he could not
give information on the subject.
THE GOVERNMENT REFORM. BILL.
In reply to Mr. MITCHELL,
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said there
was no provision in this bill which would not be submitted
to that " calm and impartial consideration"—(laughter)—
which the house had piomised to her Majesty's Go-
vernment it should receive, and without which promise
considering the circumstances under which they accepted
office, it would not have been introduced. (Cries of " Oh.")
The following bills were read a second time, and ordered
to be committed :—Masters and Operativeg, Ecclesiastical
Courts and Registries, and Patents for Inventions (Muni-
tions of War).

REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE BILL.-
ADJOURNED DEBATE.

Mr. M. GIBSON resumed the debate. The Govern-
ment bill had failed to solve the question now attracting
public attention—namely, as to how they were satisfac-
torily to enlarge the franchise in England and Wales.
He would confine himself to the Government measure and
the amendment of the noble lord (Lord J. Russell). The
right hon. gentleman the Chancellor of the Exchequer asked
for indulgence to a measure of this description, consi-
dering that it emanated from a Conservative Government.
Now, he was bound, as a member of that house, to look to
what would be the effect of the bill on the interests of the
country, and in his opposition to that bill he was
not actuated by any party consideration what-
ever. It was said that they should settle the
question of Reform, but he could not see how the object
was to be effected in a bill in which there was no Reform,

e denied that there was any apathy in the country on the
question, although the subject was treated now with a calm-
ness that did not exhibit itself in previous manifestations on
political matters, and the petitions that were poured into
that house against the Government bill proved that the in-
difference attributed to the community was merely fanciful.
(Hear, hear.) He wanted the Government to tell the
house plainly and clearly what use to the country would be
the peculiar operation of the bill with reference to borough
and county constituencies. He thought it would be very diffi-
cult indeed to show the advantages of the electoral alteration
proposed by the right hon. gentleman the Chancellor of
the Exchequer, and he was satisfied that he would find it
extremely difficult to enumerate any one of its benefits.
He thought the amendment of the noble lord
(Lord J. Russell) was appropriately moved, and he
was sure it would receive from the house the most
attentive consideration. In withdrawing a number of elec-
tors from the counties, to effect what was called a counter-
poise, they were depriving counties of one of their valuable
elements, politically considered, namely, independent elec-
tors—they were doing a most positive injury, that more
than neutralised any benefits that might otherwise result
from the bill. It might be an old-fashioned notion, but
he was one of those who were strongly in favour of main-
taining the distinctive character of borough and county
constituencies, and any such change would in his opinion
strip the country of the most valuable portion of the elec-
toral community. Men living in masses together, thinking
on and discussing subjects together, would return represen-
tatives more suited to popular wants than could be effected
by any system of electoral division. (Hear, hear.) He
agreed with his hon. friend the member for Birmingham
that a bad bill was the most revolutionary measure that could
be devised ' • and, for himself, he regarded the present bill as
no bill at all. (Hear, hear.) The noble lord (Lord
Stanley) represented himself as the friend of the middle
classes, and yet he came forward. with a bill that ex-
cluded the working community from a participation in
political power, and held up as a delusion to the
operative a franchise derived from £6O lodged in a savings
bank. lie called on hon. members to vote for the amend-
ment, and not waste the time of the house by discussing in
committee a bill that could not possibly be so altered
as to suit. (Hear, hear.) The question of Parliamen-
tary Reform was one that essentially belonged to
the Government of the country, and if they did not deal
with the question which came so legitimately within their
Ministerial functions, and the manner in which it acted in
regard to the present bill it had more than ever disentitled
itself to the confidence of the house and the country.
He hoped yet to see the rights of the working classes con-
ceded to such an extent as would enable them to assume their
proper attitude with regard to the electoral franchise. For
himself, he could not see hew any adequate extension of
the franchise could be effected except through the medium
of the reduction in the qualification of the voter. (R
hear.) He hoped yet to see a proper Reform Bill passel
into law, and then they might expect to see a Government
who enjoyed the confidence of the house, and a house that
enjoyed the confidence of the country. (The right hon.
gentleman resumed his seat amid loud applause.)
Mr. ADDERLEY taunted the hon. member with having
only recently given expression to his sentiments on the sub-
ject of reform, having been silent in reference to it for ten
years. He strongly deprecated the conduct pursued by the
noble lord the member for the city of London,
who, he thought, would have acted much more consistently
if he supported the present bill. But the fact was the noble
lord showed a hostility to tho bill from the Ant)

and seemed to consider that the question of re-
form should be a monopoly in his hands. He denied
that there was anydifference in
.principle between the noble
lord's proposition and that of the Government- but- our
of detail. The Government proposed a £lO franchise,
and the noble lord a £6 franchise, which proved his
(Mr. Adderley's) assertion. He was ready to go into
committee with the noble lord as to the respective merits
of the amounts, and he contended that the £lO franchise
was a close approximation to universal franchise, in the
mildest possible form ; and he believed that very few men
of industry and spirit, who possessed the intelligence,
who would not be able in boroughs to have the franchise
under that qualification. He attempted to turn into ridi-
cule a speech of the hon. member for Birmingham, which
was received with derisive plaudits. The extremes
to which some parties proposed to go, would make consti-
tuencies of the country in reality the tools of demagogues.
(Hear, hear, from the Ministerial benches.) The proposi-
tion of the hon. member (Mr. Bright) proposed to place the'
franchise in the 'hands of the least educated portion of
the community, who, by their majority would have the pre.,
ponderance of the less numerous, but better educated, and,
consequently more intelligont voters in tho country-.
(Cries of "No, no.") .He repeated ' that must
be the inevitable result of such an extension of the
suffrage as was advocated by what was called the Man-
chester school, would be what he described.
[LEFT SPEAKING.]
BIRMINGHAM RACES.

(THIS DAY).

[BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.]
SELLING STEEPLECHASE.