The Sun.
London, England, 1868-05-29 00:00:00

BPIF, THE PUBLIC ,;JOURNAZS;

The Mmes draiiii attention to the aii4ussionwhichiarose
incidentally on the Reform Bill, on the principle of the
representation of minorities, adopted rant year. The dis-
cussion arose on a proposal by Mr. Graham to divide
Glasgow into three wards, each returning one member. Mr.
pladstone said of this scheme that it met the views of those
who advocated the minority clause withtint running coulter
to the opinions of those who opposer:l'dt. This is a 40M-
pletemaistake, and it is strange any one could haveper-
Buadedlimself that two opposite principles could be satisfied
by one machinery. Mr. Gladstone hots been misled by
IVIr.-Cobden's letter, written in 1865, to which Mr, T. B.
Potter referred later last night. Those who quote that
letter do
.the most cruel injustice to Mr. Cobden's
memory. They repeat the common but miserable expe-
rience of disciples who catch up chance words of their
master while-disregarding his spirit. The, truth is, that
when Mr. Cobden was in his last illness, and but a day
or two beforethis death, he was asked what he thought of
the represen ration of minorities. He answered that it
deserved exaLt;nation if it were only out of respect to
those who recorunended it, but his prepossession—due, it
may be remark al, to his acquaintance with the American
plan of " district: rig "—Was in favour of the subdivision
of large constitt wicies. Mr. Cobden never delivered
a deliberate opilion on the subject, and had his
candid intelligenca been directed to it, he would
have abandoned thv first impression which his un-
thinking friends wotxl,l stereotype. It is impossible
to secure a varied repre stntation by " districting" a homo-
geneous constituency. 2,,,rr. Bright himself has pointed
out that the process of suillivision is unavailing to secure
the ends sought by the advocates of what is called the
representation of minorities. If you went through Bir-
mingham, he said, from end AI end, you would find in
each part of it the same opizio.us predominant, and this
is true of Glasgow as of Birmingi tam. Those who desire
to secure the representation in their degree of all opinions
—those who cling to what Mr. MU described last night
as "not only the most democratic of all principles, but the
only true democratic principle of representation, the prin-
cipal apart from which a true system,of representation is
impossible,P must reject altogether the proposal of sub-
division, as it was rejected by the House of Commons last

zilght.

The Post szy.s that if Mr. Graham's proposal had been
accepted, a p?..aledent would have been created for the
division of borowla returning more than one member to
Parliament into tNvo or more constituencies ; and, if the
principle was appficd in one case, there would be no reason
why it should not bt• applied at all. It is certainly true
that the main objeat of the member for Glasgow was
to prevent the application in that city of the novel prin.
ciple of giving to aminarity the power of returning a repre-
sentative. Although a-vel-se from the innovation effected by
the English Reform Act„ we confess that we think the
committee acted judicicanly last evening in adhering to
the vote of last session. Whether it be advisable or not
that minorities should be represented is one question, and
whether it is right that the sy4 item of parliamentary repre-
sentation in the three kingdoms should be uniform, is
another. Having decided that in England and Wales
minorities in what are termed three-cornered constituen-
cies should have exceptional privileges, no course was open
to the House of Commons but to Apply the same principle
in the kingdom of Scotland.

The Standard says that the House of Commons arrived,
by a very large majority, at a decision more wise, more
just, more fraught with hope for the future, with benefit
to the country, with advantage to the Constitution, than
any that it has given this session. The majority of fifty-
nine against Mr. Graham's amendment may be set against
the majority of sixty on M. Gladstone's anti-Church reso-
lutions, as evidence that some degree of true constitutional
feeling, some courage to make head against democratic
passion and prejudice, Some loyalty to principle and public
duty, may still be found among the Opposition.

The Star expresses its opinion that everything which
could influence common sense or appeal to the higher
political wisdom was in favour of the amendment moved
by Mr. Graham last night. Glasgow is undoubtedly
entitled to have three representatives. The question is :
are they to be given in such a way as to allow her really
the benefit of increased representation, or by the three-
cornered process which virtually cuts her down to
one representative. Mr. Graham therefore moved as
an amendment to the clause of the Scotch Reform Bill,
that Glasgow, instead of being made three-cornered,
should be divided into three districts, each of which should
return one member. Now, on the very face of the thing
and apart altogether from the comparative merit of the
two systems, this amendment offers direct and clear
advantages. Everyone admits that some plan must be
adopted to get over the expense, the difficulty, the
labour, the waste involved in the election of
representatives for such large constituencies as
that of Glasgow will presently be. The plan Mr. Graham
advocates has long been considered as practicable and desi-
rable by some of our most enlightened statesmen.. It was
warmly advocated by Mr. Cobden. Most people think it
will have to be adopted before long in all great cities. It
is, therefore, at least worth a trial ; and here was an ex-
cellent opportunity. The trial which was not accorded to
it in connection with the English Reform Dill might be
conveniently given to it in Scotland.

The Telegraph is anxious to know when Parliament is
going to be dissolved. The Solicitor-General has com-
puted that the register might be easily completed by the
20th of October, and that the new constituencies might
exercise their rights immediately after that date. Sir
Robert Collier and Mr. Douverie think the appeal could
not take place before November, and that the new Par-
liament could not be sworn in and fairly got to work
much before the middle of December. There is a wide
difference between this computation and that made
by the law officers of the Crown. If the two
Opposition members are correct, the pledge of an
autumnal session cannot' be kept. There is, however, a
serious error in their calculation ; for they assume that
the writs for a new Parliament could not issue until after
the register is complete, and consequently that in accord-
ance with the present law thirty-five days must elapse
between the completion of the electoral lists and the actual
votings. But, as the Solicitor-General pointed out, there
is no reason why these thirty-Eve days should not be en-
tirely saved ; there is no reason why the royal proclama-
tion for a dissolution should not be issued in anticipation
of the period when the register will have been finished.
The computation that a new Parliament can be convoked
before the end of October has undergone considerable dis-
cussion, and has not been seriously assailed. Time can be
saved at several steps of the elaborateand intricate process
of making up the electoral roll of the United Kingdom.
Particularly the period allowed to the revising barristers
for their work, and to the town clerks in boroughs and
clerks of the peace in counties for arranging and printing
the lists, may be materially abridged.

THE GOVERNMENT TELEGRAPH BILL. —On Thurs•
clay a conference sought for by Mr. Graves, M.P., took
place at the rooms of the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce,
on the subject of the bill introduced by the Government
for the purchase of the telegraph lines. Mr. Scudamore,
of the Post Office, was present, and was able satisfactorily
to answer several questions as to the working of the pro-
posed arrangements in detail.

An inquest has been held in Bethnal Green,
respecting the death of Anne Arnold, aged 48 years. The
cute excited great interest, in consequence of its having
been rumoured that the unfortunate woman had been left
to die of starvation after a dreadful injury had been
inflicted. Deceased was discovered in a sad condition of
filth, and prostrated from want of proper food and care.
Sores and wounds on her head led to the suspicion that
her death was not the result of natural causes. The coroner
adjourned the inquest, and told the police to discover the
whereabouts of the husband.

INFANTICIDE.—Mr. Carter, the Surrey coroner,
has received information that the bodies of three newly•
born infants had been found in different parts of a field at
Peckham. There were no marks of violence upon the
bodies, but they bore' evidence of an attempt to destroy
them by the application of quick-lime. During the last
three months no fewer than eleven corpses of newly-born
infants have been discovered in this neighbourhood, in
close proximity to the Queen's•roa,d and Rye-lane railway
stations.

A letter from Aguila says : " A new kind of bri-
gandage has lately made its appearance in this province.
The forests are deprived of their oldest and finest trees,
which are put on board ships and sent off to Trieste. The
cases we speak of are not by any means isolated. One of
finest woods of Cantalupo was lately invaded by the
whole population, who carried off everything worth
taking. The authorities were obliged to display an enor-
mous amount of force, not to prevent the expropriation,
bit to cave the remnants of this magnificent domain from
pillage."

ALBERT GOLD MEDAL OF THE SOCIETY OF ARTS.
—The council of this society have this year awarded this
medal to Mr. Joseph Whitworth " for the invention and
vanufacture of instruments of measurement and uniform
slandards, by which the production of machinery has been
Lrougbt to a degree of perfection hitherto unapproached,
t,) the advancement of arts, manufactures, and commerce."
'..1 Ile medal was instituted to reward "distinguished merit
promoting arts, manufactures, oi commerce," and
among the recipients in former years have been Sir Row.
land nal, ProrPiso; Faraday, 4114 4.11_94m. _k 9 And.
Wittatoliu,