The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-02-23 00:00:00

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—MoNoAr.

:,..,....e.ttu,inos..NTAity st iiuronS BILL.
Lora.S. R6'siii.t: moved the oi'der 'of the day for the third
reining of this lull.
Mr. MACI.EAN rose to oppose the third reading of the bill,
because be considered it but the commencement of a seties of
changes which would becoustantlY urged forward, until all the i
vilal principles of the constttution would be gone.
Sir R. t'gg.t. wished to leave a record of the grounds upon..
which .ire opposed this bill; and the main one was, that he con-
sidered it was only one step io the alteration of the principles
of that measure which they were inthicetl' to consider as Ilse
set t tem ent of a-great quest ion. (Hear,' hear.) The noble lord
(J. Russell) had refet red th the zeal with which he (Sir R.
li. Peel) had throughout all its Stagts opposed the reform bill..
He vindicate' that conduct. (Hear; and cheers.), There could
be not hiug inure consistent thsu every-opposition to
that hitt during its progress; hilt when it did pass—When it was
accepted as a great national settlement—was he to propose or
'sanction iefortii on reforms ?,- lie would resist • every thing
which'went to break down the ptorisions of that measure, be-
Use greater evils sprung from agitating those changes th in
ever good could flow from then. (Hear, hear ) The- reform
bill established three tests fur lhiquality iii enters now under.
consideratiou,-first, that they shouts' be "resirlents.tu the tette
ments they occupied fur twelve months; seconillvi. That their.
tenements shimid be of.the value of ten pounds per annum;
and, thirdly. that they should have paid on theist of July the
rates and taxes dire ou tire 6th of April. nose three tests were
or course designed as proof of pecuniary competency. The
qualification eta by the present bill still the same—the value
tn. 1.:10 was still the saine—but the alteration introduced by the.
noble.lord was, that the voters should have a longer period for
the payment of their rates. BY the proposal of the noble lord,
six months additional were given: The house tax had been re-
petted, the window tax reduced ref half itsaumuut, anti the poor
rates brought ilo'wa fetrist' £8,739 831. to .f.4.,&10,000; and there-
fore the pecuniary qualifications 'in' 1832, by'.l he operation of
these acts. had been greatly reduced. Oa the ground that the
present bill was. not an unprovement. but, on the main ground.
that he would not appear to acquiesce in an 'unnecessary and
uncalled for change in. the elective franchise, and one which
'would_ lead, to greater changes in the representative system,
be (Sir It. Peel) opposed the third reading of the bill.
Lo'd J. lit;ssk.-.i. said, with regard to the present bill being
an alteration of the ieform bill, had they not on more than one
occasion altered that measure? Had not bon. gentlemen op-
posite, who pow wei e so etaniorons against any alteration them-
selves, urged many changes,? (Cheers from the ministerial
benches.) The days of election hail been.aliered itt one in-
stance, the f places in another, and other chauges had
been proposed and carried -The hon. gentlemen opposite had
no ot.reci ion to the amendment of that provision oft he reform
will which fixed tiro charge of Is.sipon.freemen on their admis-
sion-1 hear,heart—vet rocs had every. ,ol,,jectiOa to the alter
aeon ut the provision which directed the LEO occupation. , The
voter was in the first place, to entitle lido° a place its the re-
gistry, to pay his taxes up to the preceding sth of April; but in
after years only to the nib of October previous. The trouble
and vexation to the voter would
,ihns be rendeted as light as
possible. Every one knew that, although electors might pay
teat attention to the preservation of their franchise in the fist
instance, yet that, subsequently, the same iudividuals might
floc Lie able to pay their taxes up so promptly. However, the
previous entries would show that they were the original voters;
anti they might be tolerably sure that they were seivetit, and
-.living in Lilt houses, and then thev'tseed dot look so strictly to
points of time in the payment or
Mr Gotteoi.eNe said if the noble lord persevered in his alter-
ations and tainperings with the substantial protections provided
in the reform 1011, he might still, indeed, have what he called
ER/ voters, but he would lose the means or testing and ascer-
tatning them to be such by the payment o? the king's taxes and
poor rates.
Colonel SI faHeRP said, the present measure wasone of those
`horrible ministerial tricks—(a laugh)—those underhand whig
naeasures—( laughter)—sti eh which the nniilit lord bad rendered
them raMiliar. He begged to be uodeastood, that in voting
vgainst.the (sill he did nut wish tooppose the repeal of the stamp
'duty nfkw po.id by Freemen: but lie made it a point to oppose
every Nag bt'ought in by the present corrupt government.
(Cheers and laughter.)
Sir W. leo Li.ari sitids,thati. he for one, would vote against the
*bill, not because it repealed the freemen's stamp duty, but be-
'cause it introduced the subject of that repeal in such an under-
hand manner as it' it were a.boon or a brfbe to permit the alter-
ation of the franchise established by the reform bill.
The hisuse then divided, and there appeared—Avg 189 ;
noes, 172; majority for the third reading, 17.
'roe house then went into committee tin the Irish poor law
bill, and proceeded as far as' the 56th clause ; when the chair-
man reported progress, and obtained leave to sit again. The
house adjourned at half-past twelve o'clock.
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