The Sun.
London, England, 1859-01-22 00:00:00

MR, BRIG.HT S REFORM BILL.

(From the ng' Advertise;.)
The Times is very unhappy in its opposition be
Mr. Bright's measure of Reform. It says that ti
does not do justice to certain counties, and install:pi
Bedfordshire and Berkshire, probably as the 11000
on the alphabetical list. Let us examine til
cases. At present we have four members returilor f
by Bedfordshire—two for the county and two w
the borough. Mr. Bright's bill proposes to ttlice
away one of the borough members ; and when w
consider this petty county town has only a poP9O
tion of about 12,000, we may surely consider Ito
representative quite sufficient for it. Bedfordslitof
will thus have three county representativen-:jed
the member for the borough can hardly be regain,in any other light than as an additional -repres:4,
tative of the agricultural population. Thus Po
it
fordshire, with a total population of 124,478, Pot
three members, or one member for every 41,50°00
the population. Mr. Bright proposes to give.,,v
town constituencies which make up the vast arnef
gate city called the Metropolis only one meol,
for every 49,000. Bedfordshire, therefore, Witt'
rural interests, plainly has the advantage.
Berkshire, with a population of 170,065 is to rot
taro seven members, or about one representative et
every 25,000 inhabitants. It only loses its mein,
for Abingdon and one of its members for Win"'
and by the new arrangement will stand thus
Meiabors•

County population 130,949 ..
Reading
Wallingford.
WindEor

170,065 7 noo
At present a borough population of about
in this county returns six representatives, Avllicto
arrangement any one can at a glance pereeivepy
be absurd and unfair. 'We have rather some!,:ire
son to complain that this and other counties '1"do
been too leniently dealt with ; and if the Whigo
not support the mea3ure of Mr. Bright they inol,t
almost certain risk of total extinction, for 08.0 e 15
one knows that the main reliance of their leader
placed on the smaller borough members. , ire'
The next county on the list is Buckinghainsa
which will be left with six members for a poPotloo,
tion of 163723, or one member for every 27,'
It lOses two representatives for each of the 5,111,he
boroughs of Marlow and Wycombe, and one
pair who ,sit for the county town. As amended
will stana thus :

County population 128,860
Aylesbury
Buckingham

Monibers'
3
2
1

163,723 6
So in this county also we have a manifest a
vantage and preponderance still left to the agric
tural interest. It will be in fact almost twice.ti
well represented Parliament as the great Ca
constituencies by the new arrangement. We
etso
not mean to say that this is invariably the ci-,re
with all the agricultural counties. Every meo'si,"at
must be in some respects a compromise, and "sv,'ir
,
the city constituencies lose in one direction b.'
are quite entitled to gain in another. Our poker,
ful aristocratic interest always gets plenty of Ifie
sons to bawl out and make a noise, whenever 't
smallest apparent injustice is done to any one P. `e,
of its protected interests; but we must, in just'
hear both sides of the question. - • vo
What most particularly concerns the inhabits r
of this metropolis in Mr. Bright's plan is Ow 601
rangement which will be made in the counties
Middlesex and Surrey.
In the former, a total population of 1,886,'%11
will return 34 members, or one for every 55,00vAt
the population, according to the last census. to
present the numbers would give a result still Pio
in favour of an increased representation for
ccl
metropolitan districts, which have largely incro*l
in population during the last eight years. We 04,
have in Middlesex, by Ali.. Bright's arraori
ment:—

County population 182,665
London • 127,869
Finsbury 323,772
Marylebone
Tower Hamlets 539,111
Westminster
Chelsea
Kensington

Member'.
2
4
6
6
S
2
2

1,886,576 34
Toe
We may observe here that very possibly 6°,ler
fairer arrangement of details may be made, in °r:ore
to give the county population of MiddlesoN-. 11
members; and no Liberal would object to sue.' of
arrangement, for the members for the count).
Middlesex have almost always been good incil'oco
The Eastern division of Surrey also, with its oil
large metropolitan boroughs of Southwarb:
,„re
Lambeth, might very well afford to have two hi it
county members. By the new arrangcluell
would stand thus :

County population .... 152,018
Southwark
Lambeth

l‘loilbers•
2
4
4

576,226 10 0
° f
0
This only gives one member for every 57,-0 (tri-
the population, while we have seen that the °7,01,
cultural constituencies about which the
.Times
plains, such as Berkshire, Bedfordshire, and etbber.
have a representative for a much smaller utilll.ol.
The imputation of unfairness towards the ug2 i}o
tuml interest which is brought against Mr. Bor the
proposal is evidently based on a false view' 4):
subject.