The Sun.
London, England, 1866-03-13 00:00:00

on the proposal when it emanatedfrom Mr. DISRAELI.
It is, however, only an act of justice on the part of
Ministers to agree to this and one that redounds to
their credit. Mr. BRIGHT, we presume, will be
down upon them for daring to thwart his views by
sanctioning his horror—the "fancy franchise." It
is to be regretted that the educational franchise of
Mr. CLAY should have been totally ignored in this
measure, but perhaps it is idle to expect that a
Liberal Government could venture to give such dire
offence to some of its impracticable, but yet very
influential, supporters. As for the £l4 qualification
for counties, the Reform Bill of the Conservative
Government went further, so that it cannot be
called a very startling change that is proposed. Like
his predecessors, Mr. GLADSTONE desires to deprive
dockyard labourers of their vote, which will be an
advantage in every respect.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer drew the atten-
tion of the Opposition to the fact that the metropo-
litan boroughs, which contained the fewest working
men in proportion, had been most noticeable in
opposing the return of Conservatives. Perhaps the
right hon. gentleman thought thus to disarm criti-
cism and propitiate his opponents, but he did not
appear to find many pleasant prophecies for the
edification of his own followers, to judge from the
tone of the members on the Liberal side. In fact,
the tone of the debate seemed to indicate that, if the
Government bill proves a failure, its most
dangerous enemies will be found in the
right hand of the Speaker. For many reasons it
will be matter of regret if this new scheme of Re-
form be consigned to the limbo of forgetfulness,
and share the fate of its numerous predecessors, as
it will look as if the question was not treated
with sufficient respect by Parliament ; but we
should have more confidence in its success if we
thought the Government themselves were more
hopeful, and especially if the Liberal ranks were
not divided against themselves, and did not abound
with those who preferred that their party should
suffer defeat rather than that pet prejudices
should meet with disregard. Mr. BAINES
was not pleased with the bill generally,
and highly disapproved of the Government fall-
ing short of his scheme of a six-pound rental.
He also considered that there was great miscalcula-
tion in the bill, and that the calculation of the Go-
vernment as to the number of the working classes
who would have a vote in the event of the bill pass-
ing was at least one hundred thousand too high.
This was so very necessary a censure that it is no
wonder the hon. member was met by cries of " Oh,
oh l"

Mr. HoßsmAN's elaborate speech doubtless did
great damage to the Government, and although he
is not one who desires Reform there was much
truth in some of his arguments. The best part of
his speech was that in which he denounced the
course pursued by Mr. BRIGHT in his agitation
on this question. The hon. member for Birming-
ham has rendered himself so obnoxious to the true
interests of the nation, in his vehement effort to
set class against class, that it is well his mischievous
tendencies should be exposed in an influential quar-
ter. Mr. HORSMAN declared that Mr. BRIGHT did
not address himself to the question of Reform in
the spirit which animated other members of the
House, but he began with finding fault with the
English Constitution itself, which is true enough.
" If," as Mr. HORSMAN says, " he who professes to
be a Reformer be a passionate admirer of Republi-
can institutions, if he openly owns that our
English institutions are faulty in those respects in
which they differ from Republican institutions ; if
he publicly deprecates and decries not the defects
of;our English form of Government, but the Govern-
ment itself, then I say that such a person cannot
sympathise with our views, cannot honestly co-
operate with our objects. He approaches the dis-
cussion of such a question as this, not in the spirit
of Reform, but of Revolution, and he is not the
friend but the enemy of the institutions which he
sets himself to alter." This is a very correct view
of the matter, and one special objection which may be
raised against the incomplete measure of Reform now
submitted to the house is that it leaves the field
clear for the complaints of malcontents and the
diatribes of agitators for some time to come. Who
can tell whether the Government of next year,
whichever side it belongs to, may be able to bring
in another instalment of Reform? Many circum-
stances may prevent it, and we are losing a period
of comparative calm in taking up the time it would
take to effect a lasting and salutary change in the
representative system of the country. We must
protest against the haste with which Mr. GLAD-
STONE seeks to force his Bill through the
House of Commons. It can answer no purpose
but to irritate members and render them
suspicious ; and it is quite absurd to shirk the dis-
cussion of a theme so momentous. There seems
likely to be little excitement about this Bill. It is
a very tame one, after all the fuss that has been
made about the veteran Reformer at the head of the
Ministry ; and it appears probable that it will
encounter neither strenuous opposition nor meet
with zealous support. It may pass the house quietly,
and it may, on the other hand, be put off to a more
convenient season, for it does not aim at settling
the question, so that it will lose the support of those
who seek to attain that desirable end.