The Sun.
London, England, 1866-05-31 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAIY[ENT

HOUSE OF COMMONS—LAST EVENING.
The SPEAKER took the chair at 12. o'clock.
PRIVATE BUSINESS.
_ _

The following were read a third time and passed :—The
Economic Telegraph Company and Severn Junction
Railway Bills.
ELECTIVE FRANCHISE BILL.
Mr. CLAY moved the second reading of this bill, the
object of which was to confer the elective franchise upon
all persons of full age, and who were capable of under-
going an educational test iz reading, writing, and arith-
metic.

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said he
must oppose the motion, and in doing so he thought
that course was much better to pursue than to follow the
course which was in fashion elsewhere, to pick certain
portions of the bill and show that it fell short of the object
intended. If he thought that all the conditions of an
educational test could always be obtained, ho should not
object to it ; -or if a test of that description could be formed
on extreme simplicity, he should not so much object
but to take, for instance, the test of writing a
signature, why it was patent that the signatures
of some of the most highly-educated of our men
were illegible. He objected to the bill because there was
no presumptive or prima fade ground for it, and also be-
cause it proceeded upon the principle of universal suf-
frage. Of course it was desirable that education should
become universal, but that time had not yet arrived in
England. He thought it more desirable that the father
of a family should receive the elective franchise rather
than that privilege should be conferred upon a young
man just fresh from school. The right honourablo
gentleman proposed that these should undergo
a test of writing from dictation and elementary arithmetic.
Such a test was much more severe than was required by
the Civil Service Commission from those who applied for
clerkships, and it was just ono of those things which broke
down more applicants than anything else he could men-
tion. (Hear, hear.) Then, with respect to the arithmetical
test—with addition, subscraction, and multiplication there
would, ho apprehended, be no difficulty ; but he should
like to know how many labourers in this country could
pass an examination in division of money—(hear, hear) ;
but, flying at -higher game, he should like to know
how many members of that house could,undergo success-.
fully such an examination. He should like to knOW how
many members could take a given uneven large sum of
money and divide it by £2 13s. Bd. (Laughter, and cries of
" Oh, oh.") He did not mean to say that there were not
some members who could perform the operation, but the
majority he contended in that house—
Lord R. MONTAGU said that no division could be
worked out with such figures. (Loud laughter.)
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said one
illustration was worth a thousand arguments—(loud
laughter)—and yet the noble lord opposite was one of the
financial authorities in that house. (Loud laughter.) He
was fully alive to the high intentions of the right hon.
gentleman who had introduced the bill ; the Government
had no fear of the £7 franchise, but the qualification pro-
posed by the bill now under discussion was of a nature
that would produce nothing but failure. It was quite
true that where some men saw daylight, another saw
nothing but darkness, and giving the highest motives to
the hon. gentleman, he thought the bill would act directly
the reverse of the object intended, and therefore he
should move that the bill be read a second time that day
six months.
Lord R. MONTAGU said he did not rise to complain
of the extremely conservative tone of the speech, but to

_ .
express his hopo that when the bill was read a second
time, it would be referred to a certain committee as
a complement of the Reform Bill. He felt certain
that there were many highly and respectable and
intelligent men who never could hope to exercise
the elective franchise without an educational test
was adopted. If the test proposed was more severe than
the test adopted by the Civil Service Commissioners, then
he thought that test was altogether a farce, and the sooner
it was remedied the better. With respect to the arith-
metical problem of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, he
contended that you could divide by sum but not by money,
and Professor de Morgan would bear him out in that opi-
nion. The only claim that he regarded to the electoral
franchise was intelligence : if the man had the knowledge
how to give a vote for the benefit of his fellow-citizens,
then in his opinion he had a right to the elective franchise,
and therefore he trusted that the bill would be amalgamated
with the Chancellor of the Exchequer's, and he should vote
fur the second reading.
Mr. CLIVE said the speech of the Chancellor of the
Exchequer had heightened his opinion of the bill, because
the right hon. gentleman had entered into an elaborate
description of the measure before he bad even read it
through, or he would not have fallen into so many mis-
takeS with respect to its enactments. He preferred the
text of the bill to that of the Government, because
he looked upon the £7 franchise as merely a compromise
proposed by the Government between contending parties.
Mr. EWART supported the bill.
Sir J. PAKINGTON said ho had heard-nothing from
the Chancellor of the Exchequer that ought to deter the
house from considering the bill in the fullest manner, be-
cause it appeared to him to contain materials which evi-
dently might lead to the settlement of the vexed question
of reform. Ho doubted whether, if the bill was rejected,
the houso would be so submissive to the will of the Govern-
ment that they would continue their sittings until October.
He could not, entertaining the sentiments that he did,
consent to vote against the principle laid down in the bill,
but in giving his vote in its favour he reserved to himself
the right of objecting to many of its provisions in com-
mittee.

Mr. GOSCHEN said ho was much gratified by;the speech
of the right hon. baronet who had just sat down, because
he admitted the one qualification that was required in the
working class to entitle them to the franchise was fitness. If
hon. gentlemen intend to vote for this bill as a supplemental
measure to the Reform Bill introduced by the Government,
they would be but acting precisely as they had on Mon-
day night, namely, throwing every obstacle in the way of
the passing of a measure they had declared ought not to
receive the assent of Parliament. He did not know how
hon. gentlemen opposite bad given their consent to the
bill, especially as they had not called for statistics, which
were invariably required by the honourable member for
Stamford. (Hear, hear.) The bill was in principle
ono of universal suffrage, whilst in principle it would ad-
mit but very few to the privilege it sought to confer. It
appeared to him that the bill was supported by the oppo-
site side of the house merely to obstruct the measure in-
troduced by the Government, and not with any real desire
to extend the suffrage in the manner it proposed.
Mr. B. HOPE said he should vote for the bill in the
hope that it might be referred to an immaculate committee,
which was to produce a perfect and complete reforni bill
under the guidance of the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Mr. DENMAN objected to the bill, because by the test
proposed a larger number of working men would be ad-
mitted to the exeroise of the elective franchise than was
desirable. He thought an educational. test altogether a
mistake when it was proposed to adopt It in political
matters.

Mr. WHITESIDE admitted that the principle of au ndu-
tional franchise was Conservative. He affirmed that it
was preferable to confer the right of voting upon persons,
even without property, who reached a certain standard of
education rather than to give the franchise to persons who
were not so intelligent although they were possessed of a
certain amount of property. The hon. and learned member
quoted from the writings of Mr. Mill as showing that the
latter was in favour of an educational test, which would
leave the suffrage in the hands of the best of the working
classes. But the hon. member for Westminster proposed
to give the franchise to ladies ; he recommended him to
withdraw that, proposal at his next election. The ladies
would turn out 'all the Radicals and put in Conserva-
tives, and he therefore warned him what would
take place. (Laughter.) He did not want to swamp the
middle classes, for he believed that if a preponderating
power was put in the hands of the lower classes the

try would go to ruin. lie meant this as a supplementary
measure to make up for the want of property by the pos-
session of intelligence. The Chancellor of the Duchy of
Lancaster complained that they had no statistics, but he
(Mr. Whiteside) did not know what statistics he could

to for the emancipation which -they claimed, and not
any fanciful propesition. (Loud cheers).
Lord CRANBORNE said. the Government bill would
increase corruption, which they did their best to remedy
on Monday night, but they had another objection to the
bill—that it would give power to ignorance, and they
were now doing their best to remedy that also. He
urged the house to accept the bill of the hon.' member for
Hull as a most valuable corrective to the measure of thu
Government.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said the conduct of the
Opposition called to his mind the words which they had
often heard—organised hypocrisy. (Cheers.) He deprecated
amplicatiug the reform question by lending thebill before
the house to committee, and tendered his thanks to the
hon. member for Birmingham for the great public service
he had done by disclaiming the advocacy of the extreme
and revolutionary measures which had been so frequently
attributed to him. •

Mr. ADDERLEY advOrted to tko principle of the mea-
sure saying that no argument had been adduced against it
except on points of detail.
Mr. LOCKE was at a loss to know how two things tend-
ing in the same direction could be a check upon one another.
He thought the hon. member who had just sat down had
treated ,the hon. member for Birmingham unfairly, for he
was not aware that the hon. member for Birmingham had
ever expressed an opinion at variance with that to which he
ihad given utterance to-day. He objected to the bill because
t was not to apply to committees. If it was necessary to
increase intelligence in cities and boroughs, afore/om, it
was necessary to increase the intelligence of the counties.
In fact, he thought the bill was more necessary for the
(
counties than any other part of her Majesty's dominions. Laughter.) And what would be the result if this bill be-
came law over the country. The noble lord the member for
Stamford—and he was not the only one who would do so
would
tvio-oaulced togof atctlawsso
would not beatmn aaalldnt they should understand the rights of the
consteeieatecuahtaiaotrhieomrtthulet wants of the constituency; all they would have to dO would
be this—they would have to
go
then the noble lord wouldlet wth_rieitin_ng
to the examination well
crammed with their reading,
nity for the rest of their lives. What class andsaes
su
poaofr
ni
vt hot
the
er
set i
oc ,wmoi niudd-
that be? The Opposition had been very philosophical, but
he wanted them to come down to the region of common
wtoitile-ohtehaes they thought. He
sense, whicelti ttoaugthhits tbhileml,
was oppos
characterised as a
new-fangled scheme, on grounds similar to those ex-
pressed by the hon. member for Birmingham.
Sir S. NORTHCOTE said one of the most remarkable
conjunctions that had occurred during the debate was that
of the Attorney-General and the hon. member for Bir-
mingham. (Hear, hear.) The two members were
now in perfect accord, and he thought such
a - coincidence was peculiar. With respect to the
elective franchise, he thought that whatever they
intended to do it was best to do that effectually, and at
once. He thought ifit was the opinion of the house that
the franchise was to be lowered below XlO, then
suffrage, buten it would be
desirable to go down at once to household
such a proceeding he should always most strenuously op-
pose.
Mr.A
latterc
iAN p
hen.a n d gentleman Mr. ll.eliAMZEsßSaodpdporessseidn
addressing
ethbe Luse
Thebill.
when, at a quarter to six, the debate terminated, in accord-
ance with the standing orders of the house
The other orders of the day were disposed of, and the
house adjourned.