The Sun.
London, England, 1859-01-19 00:00:00

REF 0.12.111 MEETING AT CHATHAM.

One of the most crowded meetings ever held in
Chatham took place in that borough on Monday
evening in favour of a measure of reform. The
meeting was held in the Lecture-hall,. which was
filled to overflowing, and hundreds were obliged to
leave the doors unable to obtain admission. It was
calculated that 1,200 persons were present. The
meeting was held under the auspices of the reform
party at Ciiatham, and among those present were :
—Mr. Wilkins (in the chair), the Rev. Mr. Mac-
donald, M.A., Mr. Councillor Everest, Messrs. Pat-
tison, Whitehead, Wm. Swan (secretary of the
Political Reform League), Mr. Ernest Jones, &c.
Mr. CooK, after going into some statistics in
reference to the present electoral system, moved the
first resolution :—" That this meeting is of opinion
that the present representative system is defective,
unjust, and. shows great necessity for a new reform
bill."

Mr. W. T. SWAN, the secretary of the London
Political Reform League, seconded the resolution.
He said he had been present at one or two elections
in Chatham, and observed hoW they managed these
things in their borough—(laughter)—and he had
ever since considered that Chatham was a standing
argument in favour of the ballot. (Cheers.) To
have a fair representative system they must have
the ballot, and in perhaps no place was the ballot
more required than in Chatham, where there was a
great amount of government and other influence
brought to bear upon the electors. (Applause.)
The ballot he looked to as one of the principal re-
medies for the present disgraceful system, which
was now in force at all their elections. He was
sorry Mr. Bright had apparently gone aside from
the views he originally enunciated at Birmingham,
when he expressed himself to be in favour of the
widest possible extension of the franchise, whereas
the views he had since advocated of a rating fran-
chise, and a redistribution of seats, would virtually
throw the whole political power into the hands of
the middle classes, to the exclusion of the working
classes. (Applause.) He was sorry Mr. Bright
did not propose manhood suffrage, irrespective of a
man living in a house of a certain rating, a pro-
posal which was so unjust that it would not give
satisfaction to the people at large. (Cheers.) It
was a libel on the working men of this country to
say that if they were entrusted with political power
they would make an improper use of it. (Cheers.)
Depend upon it principles were better than expe-
diency—(hear, hear)—and if they acted on that
principle, and gave each working man a vote and
an interest in the affairs of the country, nothing
would tend more to advance its greatness and
liberties.
The resolution was then put to the meeting, and
carried unanimously.
Mr. PATTISON proposed the next resolution :
" That this meeting is of opinion that anything
short of a registered manhood suffrage, vote by
ballot, shortening the duration of Parliament, and
more equal electoral districts, would be ineffectual
and inefficient."

Mr. F. WHITEHEAD seconded the resolution. '
Mr. ERNEST JONES next addressed the meeting.
He thought no one would deny that if the people
were to be allowed to vote, it was absolutely essen-
tial that the vote itself should be free, a reality,
and not a sham. (Cheers.) A vote was only free
when the . thing that conferred the vote was the
property of the voter, and not the property of ano-
ther
man. Base the vote on a house, a ratebook, or
anything else, and in nine cases out of ten that
vote would not be his own property, but would
depend on the will of some other man. He accord-
ingly set his face against either a household. or
lodging franchise, because the great body of work-
ing men would not thereby be enfranchised. In the
manufacturing districts the millowner now built
cottages in which he compelled his workmen to
reside, and therefore in a house rating their votes
would be entirely dependent on him, because by a
rating clause he could virtually disfranchise the.
whole of his servants. But some might say that
the landlords would not use such a power ; he (Mr.
Jones), however, would reply that it would be
wrong to give such a power. (Cheers.) They were
promised that the present Reform Bill was to work
so beautifully ; but how had it proved ? Why, that
register
eo
onpmp
oesreed qeuv iebrbyltehsi. ng Oe
2rn
etphtaat
ngi
ar
no uh 101
odd,
numbers of £lO householders had been struck off
c
tt hh ere r registre, ef
go
rise
t,
franchise. Depend upon it, any other, than that of
manhood suffrage would be a failure. He did not
wish to lead the people to Mr. Bright but Mr.
Bright to the people, because, if the peoPe wished
it, Mr. Bright was prepared to ask for 'manhood
suffrage. The people had always been right in
their demands, and, although he did not think 4hat
a reform bill would pass this session, he
rusted
the masses Would demand the widest e
)r.;ension of
t
the franchise, which had long been
'promised, but
somehow the people never got it, • Even now there
would be some false cry raise?... to lure them off the
scent, and at present the', e was a collusion going
on between France £I,P:
Austria to get up a sham
quarrel. (Cheers
.`j All the crowned heads of
Europe (with
were in leP.gue with the aristocracies ; but while
the exception of our own Queen)
despot squabbled were we at home to be denied
reform ? No. let us rather set an example to the
nations of Europe by showing that the best way to
gain the love of the people to their own country was
to obtain their goodwill by granting the reforms
they demanded. (Loud cheers.)
Several other gentlemen having addressed the
meeting, the resolution was carried with but two
dissentients amidst loud cheers.
The proceedings terminated with a vote of thanks
to the chairman.

Two MORE WOMEN BURNT TO DEATIL—At
Freuchie, the other evening, Mrs. Henderson was seated•by
her fireside in company with another woman, when her
dress took fire, and before the flames could be extinguished
sho was so severely burnt that she died. Last week a girl
named Marshall was severely burnt at Prinlaws, by her
clothes becoming ignited,. from the effects of whicil she died
s'lcrtly afterwards.—Fifeshire Advertiser.