The Sun.
London, England, 1866-05-22 00:00:00

STAJIPED

..m.

Englishman possessed his property, and whatsoever
deprived him of that right deprived him of his birth-
right. The full effect and meaning of these words
had been attempted to be frittered away by Sir
Hugh Cairns, but he utterly failed in the attempt.
Lord Somers, when he used the words, knew too
well the importance of the occasion to have used
them in the sense which Sir Hugh Cairns now at-
tempted to put upon them. There was, in fact,
language
could state, that the franchise was the
birthright of every Englishman. Besides, Lord
Somers did not stand alone in that opinion, for he
IwiaosltsaunPdP°Liteordd and
tbhoarmn e. out
andint
iiitu
sb yt
hey Chief
hJa
had.
s ttihcee
law of the franchise laid
down by the greatest jurists
and statesmen this country had ever seen. Let them,
then, do their utmost to obtain a franchise such as
those great men delared E
to. No doubt the present xliasshetunefn were Commons entiwtleads
not the house of the people, but it ought to be so,
and let it be the firm resolve and determination of
the people to make it so. (Cheers) Let it not be
said that in their efforts to do so they wanted to in-
jure or impair the Constitution of the country.
(Hear.) It was because they loved that Constitu-
tion that they wished to reform and improve it, and
render it suitable not only to the exigencies of the
intentions.timesbu t conformable(che. to its
theirefforts original principle and
to do this
they should Americanise their institutions, it would
be the fault of others, not theirs. (Hear, hear.) It
would be the fault of those who wet, opposed to all
progress, and who denied the people their just
rights. (Hear, hear.) They took their stand on
the Throne, the Law, and the Constitution ; and let
those who opposed the people in every effort they
made to obtain the rights which these conferred on
them take heed in time lest their opposition might go
too far. (Cheers.)
Mr. CREMER then moved the first resolution,
which was----" That this meeting, whilst adhering to
the principles of manhood suffrage and the ballot,
as advocated by the Reform League, earnestly urges
her Majesty's Government to resist to the utmost
any alteration of the bill now before Parliament for
the representation of the people which shall in the
slightest degree tend to raise the franchise for
county voters above the proposed limit of £l4, or
that for borough voters above the proposed limit of
£7, or to curtail the proposed occupation franchise
for counties; and this meeting emphatically declares
that any such alteration will meet with the most
strenuous opposition of the people throughout the
country." In support of the resolution Mr. Cremer
referred to a statement made by Mr. Lowe in the
course of the discussion on the Government mea-
sure, to the effect that it would be most dangerous
to lower the franchise. Now, keeping the danger
out of the question, he at once admitted that it
would be impossible to lower the franchise, for it
had already become so low that it would be impos-
sible to make it lower. (Laughter.) But, then,
where was the danger in extending it? Two or
three years ago, when the workpeople of Lanca-
shire were suffering the greatest privation, when
they were starving with hunger and cold, there was
not one of them put out his hand against his neigh-
bour's person or property, and they all maintained
the greatest respect for law and order.
(Cheers.) He would ask how many of Mr.
Lowe's class would have shown the same resig-
nation and good order under such circumstances ?
(Cheers.) At the time all the? school of the
Adullamites were loud in their praises, but
now, when these same men asked to have the fran-
chise extended to them, " Oh," it was sAid, " they
are an ignorant, drunken rabble, and the conferring
the franchise upon them would be to endanger the
Constitution." But the real cause of all this opposi-
tion to giving them the franchise was not because
those parties believed them to be ignorant, but be-
cause they knew that they were intelligent. (Cheers.)
They knew that if they had the suffrage there were
many things perpetrated now in the public depart-
ments and otherwise which would not be permitted
then, and hence all the opposition to their obtain-
ing it. He trusted, therefore, that they would do
their utmost in supporting the Government to carry
this measure. It was but a small instalment of what
they were entitled to, but it would open up the way
to further progress. (Cheers.)
Colonel DICKSON seconded the resolution, and in
doing so alluded to the inconsistency of having a
sort of universal suffrage prevailing in their colo-
nies, while in the mother country the great body o:
the working classes were deprived of the franchise.

Mr. LUCRAFr having supported the resolution, it
was put from the chair, and unanimously adopted.
Mr. BRADLAUGII next moved a resolution to the
effect that the meeting also earnestly urged the Go-
vernment to extend the lodger franchise to occupiers
of lodgings, whether furnished or unfurnished, of the
yearly value of £lO ; to relieve such lodgers from
the burden of being obliged to renew yearly their
claim to be registered; to withdraw the 16th clause,
relating to the dockyard voters ; and to extend the
time for polling in all cases to a later hour than 4
o'clock.

Mr. Wrightley having seconded the resolution,
it was supported by Mr. J. R. Taylor, and unani-
mously adopted.
A vote of thanks to the chairman terminated the
proceedings.

The Alleged Case of 111-treatment at Epsom.

EPSOM, Monday.
A very extraordinary case has been heard before

the magistrates in petty sessions, which had attracted

considerable attention in consequence of a highly_
sensational paragraph which appeared exclusively in
The Sun on Thursday last, that a welsher, in the
presence of hundreds of policemen in front of the
Grand Stand at Epsom, had been set upon by
members of the betting-ring, " bustled, .beaten,
kicked, and finally stripped naked and turned
out
bleeding and insensible on the heath, no policeman
raising a finger to protect the poor devil, or to arrest
his cowardly assailants." The true circumstances
will be seen in the following report.
Thomas Hodson, of Holbeck, near Leeds, com-
mercial traveller, was charged with stealing £7 Os. 6d.
from the person of James Hartley, otherwise John
Hargreaves, on Epsom Downs.
Mr. Harrowell, solicitor, of Epsom, defended the
prisoner.

James Hartley, the prosecutor, said he lived at the
" Brunswick Hotel," Piccadilly, and attended Epsom
races on the " Derby Day." He was a betting man,
and was in Langland's stand. Some dispute arose
with persons betting with him on the Derby, and be
was surrounded and knocked down, and his money
taken out of his pocket. The prisoner was amongst
those who assaulted him. He (prosecutor) saw n
put his hand into his (wituess's)-
not swear that he took anything on•in pocket,S
plain clothes but could
Some
police-
constables came, and witness saw one
apprehend the prisoner. jj'ltness lost his watch and
chain, and between £l2O and £l3O in gold and
He was struck and kicked
sandihr e hisr out of
clothes hispockets.
tore o
ffb is back.

Cross-exa,mined by Mr. Harrowell. --Witness
changed his name from Hartley to Hargreaves be-
cause he betted with the list. It was not because he
had not paid his bets. He always paid his bets. He
did not remember seeing the prisoner before the
disturbance. The ticket produced was one of his
(witness's) betting tickets. The disturbance began
a little before three. It began by people who had
betted with him demanding their money back. They
did not tell him he had been welching them, or was
going to welch them.