New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1859-03-17
GREAT BRITAIN.
yHE NEW BRITISH REFORM BILL.

the House OF tOmuODb lhIo Iuo uJsbi CO VI I''
Government Reform Bill. That bill may be shorty
described IS Mr.. Locke Kings bill, for the reduc
hon from ESQ TO E10 of the county FRANCHISE, m'Ii-
gated BY the Acknowledgement OF the forty snIlng
freeholders residing in bOrOUghs, 30 far as tneh
county votes are concerned, aud embeLished ~
complex meoly Of fancy franchises, which, on oae
hand, are alt ge.her nugstory, and on the othsr
Assd, would only strengthen the existing Glass
monopole, The brosd questions OF admitting the
majority of the people into the electoral precincts
of eouszing the electoral districts, and Of protect
ing the vote by the ballot, are not even touched
spop The exsctDess Of my description Of the bill,
may be ascertained from the following summary OF
its ocipsl details: The occupation franchise is to
he reduced 70 one uniform standard, both for the
counties and boroughs; or, in other words, the
Cha, dos clause of the Reform Act Of 1882, which
established the $50 tenancy franchise in the coun'
ties. ia TO be repealed The occupation franchise s
extspded to all descriptions of real property,
whether a building is or is not included IN the
occupation. The introduction of the go coun-
~ franchise, would, according to Mr.. New
march's calculation, increase the number OF
county voters by 100000, while Mr.. Dsrael es'i-
mates the addition to the county constituencies at
100000 votes On the other hand, the forty shilling
freehold would nominally remain on its old bfsls,
but the forty shilling reeholders dwelling IN towns
who have heretofore exercised their suffrage IN tue
counties on behalf of their freehOlds, would
lose this privilege, being Obliged 10 vote ln
the boTOughs in which they reside By tins
process about COO votes would be transferred
from the counties to the bOrougbs, while about
10000, if not more, nonresident voters would
be disfranchised altogether. This is the pth
of the new scheme With the one hand 1t
would extract from the county franchise what IL
adds with the other taking good care to break down
whatever influence the towns, since the Reform
Act OfIS32 have welded on county elections by the
purchase of forty shilling freehold. Mr.. Dlsraeli
IN his long speech in bringing 10 the bill,
worked hard 10 show that during the last fifteen
wears the manufacture of forty shllng ireeholds on
the part of the boroughs, had proceeded at such
rate "that the number OF county voters VINO DO
"not dwell in the county, now exceeds the NUMBER
"who vote under the occupation clause; so that
on the election day ~ some large towns would pour
tout its legion BY railway, and oyerpo~er, by some
"Cmb in the town, the persons who resided ln the
"county." To this County gentleman's plea, MI
Bright made the following victorious reply:
"Your object is TO make the counties more exclu-
siye There Is nothing of which yod seem % be more
afraid than 20 have good constituency, especially IN
the counties. 1t is very remarkable fact that in
lsyge portion of England, the county constituencies
for considerable time past, have not been exeoded
but many Of them have been diminished. Mr.. New
march has shown that there are eleven counties 10
which in the space of fifteen years from 1887 10 1857
the whole constituency oimnish by not less than
1900 voters; whereas the whole county franehi.e OF
EoglsId and Wales only increased 10 theee hiteen
years by So 600 than IL 900 of that increase
took place in Lancashire Cheshire, and the West
Riding of You shire. In the rest of Eoglsnd, sach are
the eoultss in the purchase OF ireeholds such the
med IN which farms have been increased in tize that
Ill. Cttf Of IA
stationary OF has absolutely been diminishing
Passing now from the counties to the borOughS
we arrive at the new fancy franchises that are
partly derived from Lord John RusselTs abOrtVe
schemes Of 1852 and 1854, and sre partly due to
the genius which hatehed the cOnyoluted perplexl-
ties of Lord Enenborough's unhappy India bill
There are first, some so-called educational qualh-
cations which, as Mr.. Dsrael ironically remarked,
independent as they are of scientific requirements,
betoken the educstion Of the classes they concern,
"to have involved some considerable investment,
and NAV, therefore be considered to belong TO the
general category Of property qualifications. The
right of vote is consequently to be conferred upon
graduates, the clergy of the Church OF England,
ministers of all other denominations, barrlsters,
peadeIs and convey solicitors and proctors,
medical men, certified schoomasters; IN word on
the men bers of the different liberal professions or,
rs the French used TO call il in Mr. Guizots time,
on the capacities. " Since the greater
portion Of these capacities" already share
in the franchise as fl0 lessehOldeTs, this is
not likely 10 augment the number of voters in
any perceptble degree, although il may contrib
ute 10 an increase of clerical influence. The
other new franchises are created in favor of.
Lodgers or occupiers of any house whether
furnished or unfinished, at the rate of shllngs
per week, or go per annum; :. persons IN the
receipt OF al income from personal property III
vested i'm government funds annultes, East India
stock, or bank stock of El0 per annum; or
in receipt Of pension or approximation allowance
for services rendered in any department of the
army, navy, OF civil service, and not GA active
duty, of $50 per sDnum; 3. Depostors in saw
inss bank 10 the extent Of eco.
On first view it will be understood that
all these new franchises, while admitting
some new middle-class sections, are framed
With the express purpose of excluding the work
ing classes, and claiming them 10 their present
station Of political 9 pariAhs, as Mr.. Disraeh
had the lndiscTetlOn 10 call the nOD-vOters. Now,
il may be considered q new feature of the OpposI-
bon raised within the walls ofthe House Of Com
mons that all the adyersaries of the Ministry, from
Mr.. John Bright, down 10 Lord John Russell,
dwelt upon this point as the most objection
able feature of the new Reform bill. Mr.. DisraeI
himself stated, when the Reform bill was intro
daeed in 1881 it was generally avowed that the
oplect was to give legitimate opposition IN tae
Legislature to the middle classes of England
Wei, SIT, said Lord John Russell, " since the
time when 1 departed from the position of
hnahty, have done 30 on the ground, which
"apptared TO me the only ground for disturb
" ing settlement so vast and complicated as that
was, namely, that there was a great body of
"pers0ns, and those persons belonging 10 the
working classes OF this country, who are very
competent 10 exercise the franchise, excluded. -
"The bill of lsS2, " said Mr. Roebeck, 4" was TO