The Sun.
London, England, 1866-03-24 00:00:00

i•_:wsPAPER

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(laced, and we are to be favoured tj;P"
views of the Government upon
(Hear, hear.) True it is that .they
into the form of bills; but then they are,ls thn are
to be proceeded with. (Hear, hear.) Sir, thin tth is
trifling with the house. (Loud cheers.) It is obvious that
this great question has been introduced to us by men who
have not well considered it, who have changed their
opinions often during the time it was being prepared for
the consideration of the house. There.is evidence of great
inconsistency, of great want of judgment, of great waver-
ing on their parts ; and as always happens, timidity and
precipitation are nearly allied. (Cheers.) The right hon.
gentleman speaks as if he had solved the great difficulties.
But the fact is that he has not touched them ; he hyy
only evaded them ; an& the house is left in the sz4ne
nebulous state as before with regard to the policy of her
Majesty's Ministers. What security have we, if we pass tho
franchise bill, that any of those views of the Government
which are to be laid before us in the shape of bills will be-
come law either in this or in any other session? The,
consequence is that the house may he betrayed into the most
precipitate decisions upon points connected with a subject
which can never be brought to a happy solution, except
with a reference to other topics which tho Government
will not now deal with, and we are left thus, as.
regards this matter, in a state of complete mystificatio,o.
(Hear, hear.) If I may presume to offer any advice to her
Majesty's Government—(hear, hear, and laughter)—which
probably, with the numerous Cabinet Councils that are
now being called, and so hurriedly called, they may not be
in want of— (renewed laughter) —I would say this, that a,
Government which has to deal with a great question in
the House of Commons, and wishes to treat it successfully,
should, above all things, treat the house with frankness.
(Loud cheers )

Mr. B. STANHOPE called attention to the " Electoral.
Statistics" presented to the house, and particularly to the
absence of all information respecting copyholders and
leaseholders whose property is situate within the limits of
parliamentry cities and boroughs, and to the defective
character respecting occupiers in counties whose "gross
estimated rental is under £50."

A discussion followed, in the course of which the re-
turns laid before the house were criticised by several hon.
members in connection with the effect upon various con-
stituencies of a reduction of the fninchise to £7in
boroughs, and to £l4 in counties.
Lord 11. MONTAGU, replying # the defence of via,
returns sent up by Mr. Villiers on the part of the GOVern-
ment, spoke of the right hon. gentlemen as the pretended
friend of the working classes, and urged the necessity of
having the whole scheme of the Government relating to
the representation before the house.

Sir G. BOWYER reminded the house that another bill
besides that for the redistribution of seats was necessary,
and that was a boundary bill.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, guided by
the precedent of the Reform Act of 1832, considered that
no such preliminary measure was required. In fact, it
was a matter of secondary consideration. Seizing then
upon the remark which bad fallen from Lord R. Montagu,
the right hon. gentleman, in angry tones, retorted upon
the noble lord the phrase he had applied to Mr. Villiers as
the " pretended friend" of the working classes, and de-
clared that if working men were introduced into the house
they would set him an example both of courtesy and good
breeding. lle then taunted the Opposition, and Lord
Dello amongst them, with acting as if t'iey were endea-
svtoeuardinogf tdoeaasl
icnegr tawi ni t
ht h
to
hne numbero
wo f
saanhiine
evtas,d ifnegl l
oairvmoyistriina
--
pt i 1 "ant
as ,0
da
fnodr
tt
hh
ee
ii
rr
goowond
conduct,dandblowohdo,
hwandombortnheeydehstaid-
tution and almost starvation with a patience which their
superiors in the social scale would do well to imitate.
Lord CRANI3ORNE said it was of no use to give statis-
tics at all unless they were perfect. It was all very well to
come down and talk about those people being our flesh and
blood, and so on, but the fact was that they were not told
by the statistics how far the agricultural interest would be
swamped by the urban interest, and that in the boroughs
and counties they were told but imperfectly how far the
middle and upper classes would bo swamped by the work-
ing classes. He believed that the bill of the Government
was, in reality, a proposal to transfer the tax imposing and
tax expending power from one portion of the community
I to another.

After some remarks from Mr. GOSCILEN,
Mr. B. HOPE described the outburst of the Chancellor
of the Exchequer as mounting the bonnet rouge, and his
observations in reply to Lord R. Montagu as rampant non-
sense, or a direct appeal to the passions of the multitude in
favour of universal suffrage.
Mr. W. E. FORSTER believed there was no danger
whatever of the working classes banding themselves to-
gether for the accomplishment of any particular object.
They were less likely to do so than any other portion of
the community. But the way to make them act in that
manner was to show them tokens of hostility and suspicion.

Mr. FERRAND, in a house of eight members, which

was speedily reduced to one (the President of the Board
of Trade) called attention to the continued dangerous state
of existing public waterworks reservoirs, to the fact that
no provision had hitherto been made by Parliament to re-
tail a future supply of spring water for the inhabitants of
the districts from which the watersprings have been taken
away, and that the rights of landowners and farmers have
been entirely disregarded, and the public health injured
by the sources of rivers being withdrawn without suf-
ficient compensating reservoirs.
Mr. GIBSON said the Government had devoted consi-
derable attention to the subject, and that if the bill relating
to it then before the house went into committee, the hen.
member would have an opportunity of proposing clauses
to give effect to his views.
The motion for adjournment until Monday, the 9th of
April, was then agreed to, and at a quarter to nine o'clock
the house was counted out for the first time during the
session.

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

RAILWAY BILLS.

In the House of Lords' Committee yesterday the
following bills were heard :—The Caithness Bill to
raise £130,000 by shares and £43,000 by loan, and
to make a railway of 21 miles GO chains in length,
from Wick to Thurso ; this was reported, with
amendments. The Downs Docks Bill was also re-
ported, with amendments.
The Standing Order Committee, in the case of the
Bridport, Lyme, and South Coast Bill, reported that
the standing orders ought to be dispensed with. In
the case of the London, Chatham, awl Dover (new
lines) Bill, to make the following railways—the
first, of 69 chains, from Verne-hill to Knight's-hill ;
the second, of 40 chains, from the Loughborough-
road station of the London, Chatham, and Dover
Railway to Denmark-Lill ; the third, of 18 chains,
from Peckham to Rye-lane ; the fourth and fifth, of
2 miles 22 chains, from Peckham to Rotherhithe, and
the sixth, of 35 chains, from Lewisham road to
Greenwich—the standing orders were disposed with.
In Group 6, the opposition in the case of the Teign
Valley was withdrawn. The Central Cornwall and
the Kingsbridge Bills were to be reported. The op-
position in the case of the Tavistock and Guanislake
Bill was withdrawn. In Group 9, the preamble in the
case of the Macclesfield, Kuutsford, and Warrington
Bill was proved. In the other committee the Wrexham.
and Miners Bill was passed. The Wrexham, Mold,
and Connah's-quay (additional capital) bill
£300,000 by sh ares and £lOO,OOO by loan,
to raise
The Thames Tunnell Bill and the North-Eastern
(Durham new lines) Bill were also Passed•
1,426,000
Eastern (Yorkshire new lines)
BinttooMake 7 railways
by shares and £475,000 by
14 miles in length, and to construct
, was passed. The Maids kia a station in York,
and Ashford and the
was passed.
Wetherby branch) Bills
North-Eastern (Leedisit;
andll and Hornsea and North-
were passed. The
Eastern sio all + i -
Amalgamation Bill was passed. The Croft
of one mile 42 chains and 23 chains in
railways
ly, was passed.
head and Kilmarnock Eaten
chains
n i , .43 rna.,:e two
length
In the Referees Court (A) the South-Eastern and
London, Chatham, and Dover (London, Lewes, and
Brighton), the Huddersfield and VT
...alifax, and the
Lancashire and Yorkshire (West Riding Branches),
respective,
were adjourned.

Bristoxl6oan,odooPohrytih
rjauilis.inecttihoe:i RanefderAevesh'aCr foDuretp(oßt
buildings B ead Pier and Railway Bill, to
)B,iltlhwe
was
ripsatlleldi.a.rbTohuer
shares and £20,000. by loan, was
also passed. The Metropolitan
tPoisctorienfterßill
powerto
enable the company to acquire additional lands and
in certain districts, and
toßrui:do ai
e4r,oßin,
hoarmo, otherwise strengthen , any houses
The
within 100 feet of their railway, was passed.
and Clapham Extension Bill, to
raise £250,000 by shares, and /83,000 by loan, to
an aggregate length of four
make six railways of
Balham and Streatham to
miles six chains, from
Clpham and Brixton; and to authorise the Lon-
doan, Brighton, and South Coast Railway Company
to subscribe £200,000, was to be reported. The
London, Chatham, and Dover (Kennington, Clap-
ham, and Brixton) Bill to raise £2,000,000 by shares,
and £666,000 by loan, to make railways of' an ag-
gregate Examiner's
lengthof
Court7l9milesh
the
standingains,
waspassed.
In the orders
in
and
r werethe
not
the cases of the Solway Junction (Capital);e
Metropolitan and St. John's-wood Bills
complied with. The East Strathmore Bill was ltd.
journed. ~_ ~
.......,. ~ ~