The Sun.
London, England, 1866-01-26 00:00:00

LONDON, FRIDAY, JAN. 26, 1866.

Whenever a great question of public interest is
under discussion, there is sure to be plenty of
specifics for its treatment, plenty of private schemes
and individual devices for attaining all the desirable
objects and getting rid of all the attendant incon-
veniences. The topic of Parliamentary Reform is
no exception to this rule, and the general belief
that the coming Session will not pass over without
some active measures being taken has brought for-
ward a number of theorists, who have each some
suggestion to make or some plan to propose for a
better and more satisfactory settlement of a con-
fessedly difficult question. A sign of the improve-
ment which has taken place among our politicians
of late years is to be seen in the fact that Parlia-
mentary reform is no longer treated exclusively as
a party matter, on which Whigs and Tories, what-
ever their individual shades of opinion, must rank
themselves on opposite sides, but it is rather re-
garded by the more thoughtful and intelligent men
of all classes from the same point of view—a desire
so to enlarge and adjust the representative system
as to give a fair representation to every class of the
community, while preserving unchanged those con-
stitutional guarantees which have hitherto proved in
spite of every obstacle and deficiency the safe-
guards of European liberty. The tendency towards
dealing with the matter of Reform in a cautious
and yet comprehensive manner is shown by the
growing objection to retaining a mere money
standard as the qualification of the voter. There
is certainly no logic to prove that the man who
lives in a £lO househas superior capacities or claims
than the man who pays £9, and the same argument
may be adduced against any limitation of the kind.
Again, if we accept a system of household suffrage,
why are we to include a man who pays £5 a year
for his house and exclude a man who pays £5O for
his lodgings, when the one has, perhaps, no inte-
rest whatever in the maintenance of our political
system, and the fortunes of the other are identified
with it. In spite of Mr. BRIGHT'S objection to the
c 4 fancy franchises," there is a very strong feeling
in favour of their adoption, at least in part. It is
certainly very desirable that our electoral system
should be as simple as possible, but at the same time
it must be comprehensive, and in our com-
plex•,,,;lisation there must be something
a mere rule of figures,
more' elastic then
if we wish to have an actual representation of the
people, not a mere theoretical House of Commons.
Mr. CLAY'S ViCWS on the subject are just and sen-
sible, and he has recently taken the opportunity of
explaining them to a reform meeting at Hull. He
has a plan of his own, which we will not dignify by
the name of a Reform Bill, but which he calls a bill
for a supplementary franchise. He intends to intro-
duce this bill in the new Parliament, and its object
is to admit every man to the franchise who is able to
pass through such an examination as is required of
the out-door officers of Customs. Indeed the ex-
amination
which Mr. CLAY proposes as a test of
political intelligence is less rigid than that to which
the Custom-house officers are subjected, inasmuch
as ho does not, of conue, include the knowledge or

weighti and measures indispensable to their position.
He would have an examination of reading, writing,
spelling, and the four rules of arithmetic;_ and this
proposal of his concerns two classes—those who
already have the requisite knowledge and those who
have not. The first of these divisions would include
all the members of the professions, the clerks in
commercial houses, the sons of shopkeepers
who live with their fathers, the shopkeepers
assistants, &c. All these classes already possess the
requisite knowledge, and a good many of the work-
ing classes may also be included in the computation.
As for the working men who cannot come up
to the necessary standard, they cannot com-
plain of the exclusion. Mr. CLAY says,
from a long and intimate acquaintance with
the subject, that it only requires a working
man of average intelligence to devote his leisure
hours for three or four months to the acquirement
of the knowledge necessary to pass the examination to
' gain it with ease. No man, therefore, can reasonably
claim to influence the legislation of the country
who is not willing to devote this time and trouble to
a little mental training. We fear, however, that
there will be some difficulties in the way of any such
measure. Objections will be raised against any
departure from the ordinary routine, and there
will be prejudices of various kinds to con-
quer and overthrow. Still it is quite cer-
tain that our representative system can never
be permanently settled at the limit of a par-
ticular rental, when every year in our populous
cities the number of intelligent, conscientious, and
educated men who are now householders is on the

increase.

The paper read by Lord HENRY LENNOX, in the
Hall of the Society of Arts on Wednesday evening,
was very interesting, and its subject was one which
could not fail to attract. " The Uses of National
Museums to Local Institutions" is a question which,
at the present day, can hardly fail to meet with
serious attention, for we are becoming more and
more alive to the necessity of improving our posi-
tion respecting those matters, and of keeping
pace with foreign countries in all those matters
in 'which we have lagged 'behind. Lord H. LEN-
NOX'S remarks appear to be very sensible in most
points connected with this important subject, and
he takes a very fair view of the state of the
case, both particularly and generally. It is now
a quarter of a century since this subject was first•
Mooted in the House of Commons, and among
others Mr. JOSEPH HUME condemned the manner
in which these national collections were conducted.
It has happened, however, that up to this period
nothing effectual has been done on this subject,
although from time to time many suggestions have
been made, and Parliamentary Committees and
Royal Commissions have advised the adoption of
various changes. Several causes have led to this
inactivity in high places, but, as the noble lord stated,
we may now consider that the case is much altered.
Mr. - PANIZZI, ho is the chief officer at
the British Museum, has resigned, and only continues
to hold his appointment until matters have been
arranged in a suitable manner.
We cannot doubt that the Government have at
last awoke to theknowledge of their responsibilities,
and that they are fully determined to do something
in a definite form. It is therefore evident that now
is the time for a careful consideration of the subject,
in order that the proposed changes may be conducted
in a manner that will redound to our credit as a
nation, and to the interests and instruction of the
community. It is a curious coincidence that the
National Gallery has also lost its chief by the death
of Sir CHARLES EASTLAKE, and here additional
reasons are found for alluding to these institutions,
and for making plans and forming projects for their
alteration and improvement. The time had indeed
arrived when some amelioration in our system was
loudly called for, and as the noble lord very truly
said in his comprehensive paper, " While the
governing bodies of the national collections have
been slowly jogging along, or rather standing
stock-still, regardless of the wants of the age, and
apparently blind to the vast changes that are every
day taking place around them, the public taste for
the beautiful and scientific has remained equally
stagnant. Unaided by Government support,
and untutored by those who should be the
promoters of knowledge and the refiners of
the public taste, the general tone of the community
has been elicited, and the want of mind is every-
where discernible in the most striking and satisfac-
tory manner. In several quarters of London
strenuous efforts have been made to establish local
museums; but they met with no success, on account
of the apathy and indifference of those who should
have fostered and encouraged them.
Lord H. LENNOX was not flattering certainly, but
he was a faithful portrayer of circumstances which,
he said, the British Museum was the same as it had
been 50 years ago, and not at all in consonance
with the wants and requirements of the age, and
' cannot be called " educational." The reading-
' rooms and library are closed at dusk, just when
they would be most useful to a numerous class.
Most mistaken views have been taken of their
responsibilities by the Trustees of the British
Museum, and they totally ignore that they are
called upon to support and encourage branch
institutions in Liverpool, Manchester, Dublin, &c.
The management of the Museum at South Kensing-
ton offers a commendable example in this respect,
and it has been recognised by the Parliamentary
Committee as most efficient in promoting the im-
provement of the public taste.
The plan of circulating pictures is very advan-
tageous to the provincial student, and it may readily
be conceived how vast is the gain thus afforded to
those who have no other means of studying diffe-
rent styles. As for the objection which might be
raised by the Directors of the National Gallery, that
damage and disaster would arise in consequence
of the removal of the pictures, the noble lord
briefly disposes of that by referring to the
fact that the two most remarkable of modern
pictures, FRITH'S " Derby Day" and ROSA BON-
HEUR's
" Horse Fair," that were confided to
the keeping
of the trustees of the National
Gallery, have been allowed to leave this
country, and to encounter perils by land and water
in travelling round the globe " for the benefit of a
distinguished publisher." After referring to the
death of the late lamented Sir CHARLES EASTLAKE,
and the great toss thereby sustained by the
National Gallery and the Royal Academy, the
noble lord said that he had on more than one occa-
sion heard Sir CHARLES express himself on the
various " controverted points" relating to art, and
he felt convinced that the " principle of irre-
sponsible Boards without Parliamentary chiefs
met wish no sympathy from him." The
trustees of the National Gallery, however, are
not nearly so formidable a body as the trustees of
the British Museum, who are hedged in and fenced
round with conventionalities, until, as is appropri-
ately said of them, they " form a board which, in
the words of JEREMY BENTHAM, is a screen." The
nation at large has acted very differently to the ex-
clusive mode adopted by the guardians of the
treasures in Bloomsbury, and, following the example
of the QUEEN, nearly all the chief objects in the
principal collections of the country hays from time

to time been offeadto the inspection of the public, and
following other important efforts in the right direc-
tion, we are " promised a further advance still in a
collection of many of the finest national portraits,
which is to extend over to:the spirit and taste of the
Earl of DERBY." We cordially concur in the decla-
ration of Lord H. LENNOX, that "now" if " ever" is
the time for bringing about a reform in the matter,
and altering the relations between the Government
and the country and Board of Directors. He
proposes to place all the national collections under
the " immediate authority of a Minister of
the Crown, who shall be directly respon-
sible to Parliament for all that is ill-
done, or left undone in those collections."
If such a scheme be carried out no doubt we
should speedily witness a great and comprehensive
change for the better taking place, and these im-
portant collections, which should be rendered so
conducive to the interests of the community,
would stand a fair chance of fulfilling their mis-
sion in a worthy and creditable manner. It is
quite inconsistent with the spirit of the age and
the rapid development of taste that such serious
obstacles should be interposed to the efforts made
by those who seek to improve and elevate their
own minds and those of others. If the manage-
ment of our national collections have not hitherto
been confornied to the changes taking place
around us, it is high time that they should be so,
and that without further waste of time and loss
of opportunity.

The public meeting which was held on Wednes-
day last, at the Mansion-house, to consider the best
means of preserving the commons and open spaces
round London, was very large and influential. The
public are much indebted to those gentlemen who
have bestirred themselves in this matter, and who
are endeavouring to organise some scheme of
securing to the population of London those advan-
tages which threaten at present to melt rapidly
away from their possession. What is everybody's
business is nobody's business, says the proverb,
and, consequently, those individuals who have
identified themselves with this movement
deserve a double share of credit. It is quite time
that something was done, for all parties agree in
the statement that piece after piece of land is being
quietly enclosed, so that before we have done
defining the extent of the popular rights
there will be no rights to dispute about.
The Crown lands, thanks to mismanagement, have
fared no better, for the Government, when they
gave up the Crown rights in the forests of
Epping and Hainault, took no steps to secure
the rights of the people, and consequently in
Hainault Forest alone 100,000 oak trees have
been uprooted. As Mr. LEFEVRE very justly ob-
served on Wednesday, " What the public has to
fear is less the entire enclosure of any common
than the gradual taking of it bit by bit, the encroach-
ments of railway companies, and the general dete-
rioration of the commons." Mr. SCOTT (Chamber-
lain), in an amusing address, gave a very forcible
proof of the necessity of keeping some open spaces
about London. In 1801 he said it was calculated
that, were the population arranged at equal dis-
tances, every man would stand 21 yards from
his neighbours. In 1851 that distance was
reduced to 14 yards, in 1866 to nine
yards, and a similar computation fifty years hence,
allowing for the same rate of increase, would leave
only standing room for the population in a given
area! Mr. SCOTT, " seared at the sound him-
self had made," thereupon urged that the
proposed radius for the protection of open
spaces was not enough, but that 50 miles should
be substituted for 15. The fact is that London is
growing so rapidly that unless some means are taken
to preserve our commons it will soon be a physical
impossibility for families living in the centre of Lon-
don to walk out of the sight of streets and squares.
Our parks, beautiful and healthful as they are, can-
not supply the wants of 3,000,000 of people, and
even they leave something to be desired, for children
at least, who have no otherplayground. It is a public
question and concernsthe public health. Why cannot
the public money pay for what is wanted. It is a
matter, in fact, for the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer, and if he wishes to gain popularity he can
hardly follow a wiser course. Millions are given for
our armaments, and great sums for the maintenance
of our civil establishments. Wny is not the public
health as important as any other consideration ?
While Government is hesitating, doubting, and ob-
jecting, a valuable opportunity will be lost, for
which the people of this generation, and those that
follow it, will wish in vain. Let the matter be
boldly and persistently urged in the new Parlia-
ment, for the members may be sure that the com-
mon sense of the country will support them, and the
most inflexible financier must yield to the resolute
and reiterated demand of the people.