The Sun.
London, England, 1859-05-02 00:00:00

popular, I believe there were other portions of it
which would be received most
favourably by the
country. (Hear, hear.) While it was framed in a
Conservative spirit—framed with .a view to main •
taining a House of Commons which would support
and uphold our institutions—l contend it was also
framed in a spirit of liberal concession ; and I believe
it would have added very much to—l doubt if it
would not have doubled T-the constituencies of Eng-
land. (Hear, hear.) Two parts of it were very much
criticised; one was what was called the disfranchise-
ment of freeholders ; the other was the portion which
whilst lowering the county did not lower the
borough franchise. Now, except in the case of
double votes, there was no disfranchisement. I say
that this is a very delicate question, because if
double votes were to be allowed, I think it may
be possible that that principle may be pushed a
little further ; for those who may be anxious to
adopt the double votes, as a fair example, may
found upon them an argument for increasing
the n ember of votes in a ratio with the amount
of property. I do not mean to say that lam
an advocate for that. Quite the reverse ; but I
think it dangerous for the Liberal party to advocate
double votes ; and except in the case of double votes
I deny any disfranchisement by the Government
Reform Bill. All we meant by the clause referring
to these double votes was to revert to the ancient
principles of the constitution, and to provide that
men should vote where their freeholds lay—that a
man residing in the borough of Droitwich, instead
of voting in the county of Worcester, should vote
in Droitwich, where his interest lay. That was
only in accordance with an old principle of the
British constitution. It was only applying to the
smaller freeholds under £lO the principle which
the Reform Bill of 1832 applied to the large free•
holds above £lO, and no one heard a complaint of
that. (Hear, hear.) I shall not dwell longer on
the subject. I shall only say that the bill was
brought in in a fair and liberal spirit of concession,
and the best proof of that was—and I am sorry to
say it—that, such as it was, it caused us (the Go-
vernment) to lose the assistance of two right hon.
friends to whom, speaking personally, I have long
been attached—two as honourable and as amiable
men as there were in the House of Commons—two
men of great ability, who afforded the Government
valuable assistance in Parliament. On the one
hand, though I am sorry to say I cannot agree with
those two distinguished friends of mine, on the
other, deeply as I regret their loss to the Govern-
ment, it is at the same time a matter of great satis-
faction to a Conservative Government to feel that
when we proposed a measure—whether it had this
fault or that I shall not say—which would have
extended the franchise in a very liberal manner,
though we lost the assistance of two distinguished
members of the Cabinet, our party supported us
with a unanimity that has hardly been exceeded in
our Parliamentary history. (Hear, hear, and great
cheering.) I think, too, that while the difficulties
of the Government, in dealing with this question
hereafter, have been greatly increased by what has
taken place, yet that if we look across the house to
the justly eminent men who have opposed the Go-
vernment on this question, we shall not find great
unanimity amongst them. (Hear, hear.) I think
there has been a want of caution on the part of
statesmen on the other side. They have been in a
hurry to declare what their intentions on the sub-
ject of reform are, and the result is that from four
gentlemen of great political eminence we have four
plans of Reform, and no one of these plans agrees
with any of the others. (Hear, hear, and laughter.)
There is the plan of Mr. Bright, the plan of Sir
James Graham, the plan of Lord John Russell, and
the opinion, if not the plan, of Lord Palmerston.
Mr. Bright's plan I will not dwell upon ; but I
only do Mr. Bright justice when I say that I be-
lieve there is not in the House of Commons—l
believe there is not in this country, many men of
more distinguished ability than be; and I will say
something more for Mr. Bright than that—namely,
that so far as I know him, and I have known him
both privately and publicly as a member of the
House of Commons for several years—l doubt
if there are in this country many men who are
more honest in their puposes and convictions
than Mr. Bright. (Hear, hear.) I believe him
to be a man who in his public career acts
honestly in his purposes and convictions, but I
believe those purposes and convictions which he
so honestly entertains are not purposes and convic-
tions shared in by the majority of the people in this
country. (Hear, hear.) I think he wants to make
our institutions more democratic than is consistent
with the monarchical form of government under
which we live. I think he wants to assimilate
those institutions to the institutions of the United
States to an extent which would not be approved
of by the British people, and to an extent that I
shall raise my voice in warning against when-
ever the opportunity is afforded me, for this reason,
that I firmly and conscientiously believe that if
Mr. Bright could carry out his views, and assimilate
the institutions of England to those of America, to
the extent which he would desire, he would strike
a blow from which we should never recover at the
real liberty we at present enjoy. (Hear, hear.)
For these reasons I am happy to believe that how-
ever honest and however able Mr. Bright may be,
his views and opinions will not find favour with the
people of this country. (Hear, hear.) Then we have
the plan of Sir James Graham. He says the
great fault in the Government bill was that it did
not lower the borough franchise ; and his argu-
ment then is in effect this :—" You must lower the
borough franchise. You must find a principle
upon which to rest that franchise, and I see no
principle upon which you can rest it but house-
hold, that is, municipal suffrage." That is
the avowed opinion of Sir James Graham. He
avowed it in his speech in the House of Commons,
and avowed it since in a speech delivered by him
at Carlisle. Lord John Russell differs from Sir
James Graham. He says, " Let us have a £6
occupation franchise for boroughs." The day after
Lord John Russell made this avowal to gain what-
ever benefit he could by it, Lord Palmerston said
that he agreed with the opinions uttered by his
noble friend on the subject of reform, with one ex-
ception—namely, he did not agree with him in
what he had said about a borough franchise.
(Laughter.) Indeed, Lord John Russell's words
on this point were scarcely spoken when Lord
Palmerston expressed his dissent from them to an
hon. friend of mine. Here, then, are four plans
from the opposition. Is it not evident that there
is no harmony amongst them on the subject of
reform ? Thus the work is one of difficulty.
(Hear, hear.) While we have given no pledge that
we are to be expected to grapple with the question
in the beginning of the coming session, I will e•
peat this, that I think any government of the day,
be it ours or be it that of those who may succeed
us, must deal with the question as one which ought
to be speedily settled ; and I think we may safely
make great concessions after the experience of the
last quarter of a century. We ought to make them
liberally, but at the same time in a safe, moderate,
and conservative spirit—(hear, hear)—and I have no
doubt that before much time has elapsed we shall
feel it to be our duty to grapple with the matter.
Neither have I any doubt that should we not con-
tinue in office our successors will feel it to be their
duty to do so. By whatever party the matter shall
be approached I hope it may be dealt with in a spirit
of patriotism and with a wise and proper caution ; and
that while, on the one hand, they remember the claims
of our fellow-citizens, they w ill not on the other forget
the liberties so long enj eyed under the glorious consti-
tution which England has the happiness to possem
You, I presume, feel it to be impossible that I should
pass over in silence the painful subject which must be
at this moment in every man's mind in this country,
far beyond the reform of Parliament or any other
domestic question; I mean the dreadful misfortune
—for I can view it in no other light—of war, which
is likely to break out —which I fear I may say has
broken out on the Continent. (Hear, hear.) Gen-
tlemen, this state of continental affairs must be a
subject of pain and regret and anxious reflection to
every citizen of this country; but I am sure you
will believe me when I tell you that, as regards
those who have the responsibility of conducting the
affairs of this great country, it is really impossible
to exaggerate the anxiety which is felt by men in
such a position, or the deep sense of responsibility
under which we take every step that we may feel
it to be our duty to take. (Cries of Hear, hear.) I
can only tell you as regards the past, that there
has been the most sincere and anxious desire on the
part of the Government to preserve the peace of
Europe. We have been accidentally in a position
t
which gave the greatest weight to our interfer-
ence,
e s
tWi
ne
thisha noNT
unhappy immediatequarrel. part—no
All
our
anxiety
immediate
has been—not only for our sakes—not only for the
deep interest which England has in the preserva-
tion of peace on her own account,
but for the sake
of social progress, for the sake of civilisation to
bring about an amicable solution of those con-
tinental difficulties. (Hear.) For every legitimate
interest that can be imagined it is most desirable
that the peace of the world should be maintained,
and we have spared no means, no exertion up to
this moment to secure that object. (Hear.) How-
ever, gentlemen, such have been the passions, such
have been the various objects operating against us
among certain of the great Powers of Europe, that
I am deeply sorry to say that I fear the moment
has come when it is impossible to deny that those
efforts of ours have failed, and that what I fear Will
prove to be a sanguinary war is on the point of
breaking out. And speaking in the interests of
truth—speaking in the interests of this and
other great countries, I cannot refrain from
expressing my sense of the great respon-
sibility which rests at ouch a moment
on those who conduct the public press