The Sun.
London, England, 1866-04-07 00:00:00

exclusion of a particular class, not for t he retention
or extension of an especial franchise, by Lt an earnest,

eloquent, and impassioned discourse„ setting forth
with all the abilty of which he is ma; aster the true
merits of the case. As for the Co rernment Bill
itself we honestly believe that Mr. GLADSTONE can
hardly be entirely satisfied with it. No doubt he is
sincere in his efforts to carry it thro ugh Parliament
and to recommend it to the public. No doubt he
firmly believes it is the best and most liberal measure
which the present Government, with all the recu-
sants in the council and traitors in the camp, can

propose with any hope of success. But the details

of. the bill hardly realise Mr. GLAZSTONE'S often-

repeated convictions. lie asks whether any one

could seriously believe that an arbitrary limit of
£lO could suffice to us for any length of time. But
we should have been glad to have seen him admit
the feasibility and the justice of an educational
franchise, in conjunction with that mere money

qualification, which is in itself so unsatisfac-
tory and so shifting in its nature. Had Mr.

GLADSTONE been allowed to consult only his own
wishes, and what he believed to be the interests of
the people, we have no doubt that he would have
framed a really comprehensive and liberal mea-
sure, which would have laid the vexed question

of constitutional reform at rest at least for our

generation. As it is, he has had difficulties
to contend against without and within, and

the worst that can be said of the bill is that it
does not go far enough. It at least admits those
principles which Mr. GLADSTONE has consistently
upheld, and which he never advocated with more
force and eloquence than last evening. Arguing
first from the fundamental principle?, of constitu-
tional government, that taxation should be the basis
of representation, Mr. GLADLTONE proceeded to
examine into the facts of the case. The in-
come of the working classes he estimated at
about three-sevenths of the whole income of
the country, while they have only oae-seventh
of the constituency. He further declared his
opinion, founded on no insignificant official expe-
rience, that at least one-third of the revenue, as it
now stands, is contributed by the working classes.
"With what justice," he exclaimed, " can we ask
the working population to pay this proportion of
taxes and put them off in return with the miserable
fraction of one-seventh of the representation ?"
Passing to a survey of our social condition, Mr.
GLADSTONE declared that the most superficial ob-
server must perceive the vast improvement which
has taken place during the last five-and-thirty
years. The improving agencies of religion,
of education, of the Press, have all been
actively at work in promoting the moral, and
social, and intellectual elevation of the people,
and the result has been that contentment and in-
dustry have taken the place of that bitter and un-
settled state of mind which took pleasure in ridicule
and abuse of the existing authorities. But having
achieved so much—having used every means to
raise and improve the working-classes, we are to
turn round in defiance of our own work, and refuse
the very men
,we have striven so hard to elevate
their natural and proper reward. The manner in
which the national strength is augmented from time
to time by an extension of political privileges was
aptly illustrated by Mr. GLADSTONE by the Volun-
teer movement. The great bulk of that force, he
said, belong to the very class which was enfranchised
in 1832, and though, before that time, Englishmen
of all ranks would no doubt have combined for the
defence of the country in presence of an immediate
danger, it would not have been possible to have
called forth anything like that spontaneous move-
ment 40 years ago. Mr. GLADSTONE drew a fur-
ther illustration of his argument from the unity
and force with which the popular will is expressed
on the other side of the Atlantic, though he dis-
tinctly disclaimed any sympathy with the Ameri-
can form of Government. With happy eloquence
he described England as occupying, politically, the
same position which she does geographically. " She
has inherited from bygone ages more, perhaps,
of what was most august and venerable
in those ages than any other European
country. She has likewise been exposed in the
highest possible degree to every moderate influence
which the nineteenth century has brought into
activity. As geographically she stands with Europe
on one side of her and America on the other, so she
stands between those feudal institutions in which
European society was formed, and which have given
her her hierarchy class, and on the other side those
principles of equality which form the basis of society
in America. Mr. GLADSTONE'S own temperament
and principles incline him to look with sympathy
on both sides, and to perceive the possibility of
uniting the merits of both the old and new systems

in one harmonious action.
With regard to the measure of which he was the
special advocate, Mr. GLADSTONE declared, in no
measured terms, the resolution of the Government
to stand or fall by it. They were, he said, fully
conscious of their responsibility, and did not intend
to shrink from it, a declaration which excited the
most vehement demonstrations of approval, the
whole audience rising to applaud. They staked, he
said, their existence as a Government, and their
political character, upon the main provisions of the
bill ; and he said this in full knowledge of the
strength of the opposition which it is likely to en-
counter. The men who censured them for not having
given enough were really those who complained of
their giving anything at all, and the meaning of their
motion, as he declared on Thursday evening is,
"We don't know how to get rid of the bill by
direct means, so we will do it by indirect means."
But, Mr. GLADSTONE asks, " What will the defeat
of the bill procure ?" An interval, but not of re-
pose—an interval of fever and expectation. Of this
we have of late years had more than enough, and
it is more becoming the dignity of the Parliament
to make the necessary concessions with grace and
promptitude than to delay and delay, until the
heart, sickened of hope deferred, has produced that
L feeling of irritation and suspicion during the exis-
tence of which no statesman can legislate.

Austria and Prussia are still vacillating betweei
peace and war, and it is extremely difficult to say
what they will do next, for it rests upon a chance
whether they patch up a reconciliation or proceed to
warlike extremities. No doubt for many reasons it
would bo unfortunate if hostilities commenced, but
at the same time there is much to dread if a sort of
truce is completed. We know from experience that
Prussia is so exacting in her demands, and so per-
severing in her efforts, that it is almost certain she
will in the end gain her point, notwithstanding all
the efforts which the Austrian Government may
make to preserve the balance of power and
maintain' the division of interests. Count
KARALYI'S Note seems to have produced
great effect upon the minds of the Berlin
Cabinet, and they have made a semblance of stop-
ping their warlike preparations, which they were so
hastily pushing forward to watch the Austrian
efforts. The reply of Count BISMARK is, to all
appearances, however, decided and satisfactory,
and he repudiates the notion that there was any
intention' on the part of the Government of King
WILLIAM to provoke hostilities. It would appear,
indeed, as if the two German rOlYgrii had been