The Sun.
London, England, 1866-05-08 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

TIMES.--The Bill for the Redistribution of Seats I
introduced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer
last night is so simple in its conception, so practical
in its details, and, as far as we can at present de-
termine, so just in its principles, that we ask with
wonder why it was not introduced before. A ready
answer would be that the plan of the bill has
only recently been accepted by the Government,
and it might even be insinuated that it had been
moulded to suit the temper of the House of Com-
mons ; but, if Mr. Gladstone was rightly under-
stood last night, this explanation of the mystery
must be set aside, since he insisted that the Cabinet
had all along determined upon what they intended
to propose. We are driven to attribute the great
mistake which has been committed to some evil
genius whose baneful advice lured the Government
to the very brink of ruin. Nothing has been gained
by keeping back the Redistribution Bill ; on the
contrary, much precious time has been lost, and sus-
picions of the designs of the Ministry excited, which
are more easily roused than allayed. The chief re-
sult of the false strategy adopted is that -we have
now before us a complete measure, which, with some
few alterations not affecting its principles, might be
made acceptable to reasonable men of all parties,
and serve as a settlementof reform for a generation;
and we are distressed by doubts whether, by any
possible compression of debate, the measure can be
passed beforeParliamentis prorogued. The question
is one of time, and we have lost so many days in
the preliminary skirmish that the result is doubtful.
The outline of the Redistribution Bill is simple. No
constituency is disfranchised, but some constituen-
cies returning two members are deprived of one of ,
them, and no less than 41 small boroughs are
grouped together according to their geographical re-
lation in 16 groups, returning one or two members
each, according to their population. Forty-nine seats
are thus obtained, 26 of which it is proposed to dis-
tribute among the counties, 16 among the boroughs,
and seven are to be bestowed upon Scotland. Par-
liamentary are to be made conterminous with mu-
nicipal boundaries now and henceforth, and a bill is
to be laid upon the table giving the Queen in coun-
cil authority, subject to the assent of Parliament, to
extend municipal boundaries from time to time,
upon the petition of the inhabitants of the boroughs
to be extended and of the suburbs to be included
within them. These are the principal details of a
scheme which can shock no one either as inadequate or
too sweeping., The boroughs deprived of a member
and grouped together are those whose population in
1861 was less than 8,000. In proposing to diminish
the privileges of these petty towns, Mr. Gladstone
acknowledged that according to recent experience
they did not serve now as the nursing-places of
young statesmen, whatever they may have done for-
merly; and it is not necessary to serutinizetoo closely
his statement, indicating some lingering fondness
for them, that small boroughs are not proved to be
more corrupt than their larger neighbours. The
resolution to deal only with boroughs numbering
less than 8,000 inhabitants according to the census
of 1861 will, like any other rough-and-ready rule,
produce many anomalous results, but it cannot be
suspected of being adopted for party purposes. Ta-
vistock had a population somewhat exceeding 8,000
in 1861, and keeps its two members •, but the popu-
lation of Tavistock is now estimated at more than
9,000; while Stamford, which had 8,047 inhabitants
in 1861 and now has no more than 7,638, is equally
fortunate iii preserving its privileges. Chichester is
another place which keeps its two members, though
its population has fallen below 8,000. There is,
so as to leave some
ant
undoubtedly, scope for management in the group-
ing together,redomin, but we do not
dis-
coverf
traces of it in the groups proposed by the
Government. Boroughs in which Cabinet Ministers
and prominent members of the Government are in-
terestedfare no better than the rest. It is intended
to give one member to each group containing less
than 15,000 inhabitants, two members to the more
popAlous groups ; and, accordingly, we find Totnes
coupled with Dartmouth and Ashburton, so that
the three will return but one member instead
of four, Richmond and Northallerton returning
one instead of three, and Ripon, Knaresborougli,
and Thirsk returningtwo instead of five. We do
not think any objection can reasonably be taken
to the groups proposed to be formed, but it
would have been an obvious improvement if
other small towns not now represented at all
had been added to these groups. The million of
L such towns would .help the process of purifica-
tion which it is one object of grouping to attain,
and would have been a prudent concession to the
jealousy which apprehends that county constituen-