The Sun.
London, England, 1861-11-21 00:00:00

REP ORM CONFERENCE.

LEEDS, WEDNESDAY.
The Conference of Delegates on Parliamentary
Reform, which held sittings here on Monday and
Tuesday, brought their proceedings to a close by
what they termed a " demonstrative meeting,"
which was held in the Victoria-hall, and was well
attended, there being from 1,800 to 2,000 persons
present.
Mr. E. BAINES, M.P., took the chair amid very
loud manifestations of approbation. He said they
were then met together at the close of a Conference
of Delegates on the question of Reform—a Confer-
ence which he boldly pronounced to have been one
of the ablest in the way in which it was conducted,
one of the calmest, and at the same time one of the
fairest in the tone of its discussion that he ever at-
tended in his life. (Applause.) He did not think
it was possible that there could be any subject of
greater weight and dignity than that which had
called together that assemblage that evening.
(Hear.) There had been in this country during the
last 30 years an unparalleled progress by the people
in prosperity and in a great many things of which
they had cause to be very proud ; but, unhappily,
there was one thing in which there had been no
progress whatever—nay, there had been actually a
retrograde movement, and that was in the less share
which the great body of the working classes of Eng-
land, the representatives of labour, three-fourths of
the people of England at least, and those upon whose
labour the prosperity of the community defended, had
in the representation of the people than they had
30 years ago. (Hear.) Before the Reform Acta much
larger proportion of the working classes possessed
the franchise than possessed it at this moment.
Even after the Reform Act was passed there still
were left such a number of the working classes
as freemen, burgesses, scot and lot voters, and
other forms or classes of old voters, that there
were no less than 100,000 out of 400,000 of the
borough voters under these varied classes, a greater
part of whom belonged also to the working classes.
When the last Parliamentary return was made the
number had dwindled down from 100,000 to less
than 50,000 ; every year it was growing less. He
believed there were very few large towns in this
county in which the working classes formed any
appreciable element in the Parliamentary constitu-
encies ; and as to their share in the county fran-
chise, why the number was certainly infinitesimally
small. When he took upon him, at the instance of
many friends in and out of Parliament, in the
course of last session to introduce a bill for the ex-
tension of the borough franchise, there were two
main points that he was anxious especially to meet.
The first was to prove that the number of the
working classes which would be admitted by a £6
rental franchise—which was the same proposal as
was introduced by Earl Russell in his bill—would
still leave in the hands of the upper and higher
classes of society, a considerable numerical majority,
so that they had no reason to be afraid, or to make
that a bugbear to frighten the country. (Cheers.)
The second object he had in view was to prove that
the prodigious advancement made by the unen-
franchised classes in intellectual and moral quali-
fications entitled them to receive the franchise. The
increase of the population since the passing of the
Reform Bill in 1832 had been 40 per cent. Dating
the same time the number of day scholars had in-
creased 68 per cent., the members of mechanics'
institutes had increased from 7,000 in 1831 to 200,000
in 1860—(cheers)—the number of newspapers had
increased 273 per cent., while there was a cheap
literature—scientific, literary, religious, and moral
—which had been created during the same time,
and was read almost wholly by the working
classes. The issues of Bibles and religious publica-
tions had increased fourfold ; the number of letters
sent by post had increased sixfold; the quantity of
paper—the raw material of the literature of the
country—had increased 256 per cent. ; the number
of depositors in savings-bank had increased 250 per
cent.; and they had now £40,000,000 sterling in
those banks. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) The number
of members of friendly and provident societies had
risen to the enormous amount of £3,ooo,ooo,having
a capital of £12,000,000, and paying £5,000,000
sterling every year for mutual insurance. (Cheers.)
The members of temperance societies, including
members of Bands of Hope, might be put down at
3,000,000. There had also been a vast increase in
the general prosperity of the country, and in the
comforts of the working classes. The amount of
pauperism had been reduced to one-half of what it
was, and crime had been very greatly diminished.
(Loud cheers.) He did not know how any candid
or honest man could hesitate or affect to despise or
fail to see how overwhelming these statements were
to prove that the classes interested were qualified
to exercise the franchise. (Hear, hear.) But they
were met with two excuses. It was said, " This is
not the time." Another excuse was that the work-
ing classes did not want the franchise, and upon
this the whole question at present hinged in this
country. If the working classes did not want the
elective franchise most assuredly they never would
get it, most assuredly the time for getting it never
would come, however high their qualifications
might be. If they did want Reform they must say
so, loudly, distinctly, perseveringly, and earnestly,
and depend upon it the time would come, and very
speedily, when they would get their rights. (Loud
cheers.) It was the fashion before the passing of
the Reform Bill to say that the abuses in the repre-
sentative system were so gross and so scandalous
that Reform was absolutely necessary. He held that
the shutting out the mass of those who represented
the labour of the country was a much greater evil, a
far more grievous injustice, than the exclusion of the
large towns before 1831. (Cheers.) What was
implied in the exclusion of the working classes ?
They had in England and Wales a population of
20,000,000 souls. Of that 20,000,000, 5,0'10,000
were men of adult years ; but less than 1,000,000
of them had the elective franchise, leaving 4,000,000
entirely excluded. Now, those 4,000,000 unrepre-
sented, unenfranchised men, represented the whole
of the labour of the country—that labour which
gave vitality and prosperity to all the capital and
all the ingenuity of the land. (Cheers.) The
1,000,000 were connected with property, and it was
assumed that they alone were the holders of pro.
perty. He denied the assertion. (Hear, hear.)
He said the working classes had property, and he
would prove that they had millions and hundreds
of millions. (Cheers.) They had 4,000,000 work-
ing men in England and Wales, and, taking them
and their families together, he thought they might
fairly take their average earnings at £1 per week,
which would give no less than £208,000,000 per
annum._ (Cheers.) Had they any other property ?
Yes. They had furniture, and clothing, and orna-
ments, and he thought they could not value these
at less than £lO per household, which, if multi-
plied by four
millions, Would give forty millions of
property thus belonging to
(Cheers.) That wag the working classes.
not all. In the savings-banks
of the United
Kingdom they had forty millions
sterling, of which thirty-six millions belonged to
the people of England, and in a great
the working classes. (Rear, hear.)
measure to
that r q
they
that was
not all. He had told them
y societies
million members of provident and eei„ell had three
in the country, having an accumulated capital of
twelve millions, and paying annually five
millions. There were, in addition 100,000 mem-
bers of benefit building and land societies, some
of the largest of which they had in Leeds,
and he was informed by Mr. Taylor, of
Birmingham, that they had a capital of six
millions sterling, and were paying yearly
£1,270,000. They had also a number of co-opera-
rading societies—(chcer,)--foeictics admirably
conducted by the working classes, and having an
estimated capital of one million sterling. (Wear.)
Then there were a considerable number of working
men who did not possess the franchise, but had
made themselves owners of their own cottages, ".rd
he did not think they ought to put down the aggre-
gate value of those cottages at less than six millions
sterling. (Hear, hear.) There was one other fact.
Of the unenfranchised millions he had referred to,
it was estimated that there were about 400,000
Tho were not working for others, but were obtain-
ing t‘ living either as small shopkeepers, handicafts-
men, pe masters, and each of these men would have
a stock of toolsor materials, and certain debts re-

presenting the floating capital of his business, and it
would be a very reasonable computation to estimate
these various things at £lO per head. This, multi-
plied by 400,000, would give property to the value
of four millions. (Hear, hear.) Now what was the
conclusion he drew from these figures ? In the first
instance, they had the annual income of the work-
ing classes estimated at £208,000,000 sterling, and if
they added together the various items he had men-
tioned they would have a further sum of
£105,000,000, and all belonging to the working
classes of this country. (Cheers.) But suppose it
should be said, " This property is considerable, but
it is not equal to the property of those belonging to
the middle and upper classes." Well, then, he said,
" If you calculate so nicely, I throw into the scale
4,000,000 heads, 4,000,000 hearts, 4,000,000 con-
sciences, 4,000,000 families, 4,000,000 homes, and
these, be the other scale as heavy as it may, will
kick the beam." (Loud and prolonged cheering.)
For all these interests, and these interests repre-
sented so fully by those who were so dear to him as
his own townsmen, whose worth he knew—on these
accounts, for their sakes, and for the sakes of the
working classes of the kingdom, he felt it his duty
to take the stand he did take in the last session
of Parliament. (Hear, and applause.) If the work-
ing men of England would do their duty as his
townsmen, the working men of Leeds, had done
theirs—(cheers)—they would soon see a disposition
on the part of Government and Parliament to listen
to them. Then it would be declared that the time
had come—(hear, hear)—and then they would get
their rights. (Loud cheers.)
Mr. Smith, of York, then read letters of apology
from Mr. G. Wilson, Mr. F. Crossley, M.P., Mr.
Roebuck, MX., Mr. Bazley, M.l'., and Mr. West-
head, M.P.
Mr. W. E. FORSTER, M.P., was received with
loud and enthusiastic cheering. He said that the
few remarks he should offer would be directed