, 1866-04-02

listens intently. foT though he is no deep DO
iticiau, be Is aware that legislative changes
this kind affect every institution of the cou,
Try. In the front row Of the gallery, oppt
site the speaker, are two other cabinet mini
tcrs, listening with all their powers Of after
tiou to the statement which Is to affect th
fate Of the ministry, together with the polit
cal destinles Of the nation Earl Granville
who leans forward on to the rail in front, hi
head between his two hands,. and his eye
fastened eagerly on Mr.. Gladstone, !
perhaps learning tho art Of 1eadin
party md introducing. cabine
measure. The Duke Of Argyll, who, accord
ing to bis wont, has pushed his long sand
hair as far oH his forehead as 1t will 60,
realizing to himself the ideal Of IN " intel
lcctunl" statesm IN. A number of foreie1
faces make up the foremost row, and behIni
1t, standing up are several notable people
amongst others the Austrian Ambassado
who stood listening the whole time Mr.
Gladstone was speaking-two hours md
half. Mr.. Adams had seat. The othcl
rows behind are crowded, aud o
course those at the side of the Chamber, op
portfoned to members, are In the samc con
dition. Most Of the hon. gentlemen both NJ
stairs and down, wear their hats whiI(
scated,-thcy must uncover immediately
! they stand up OF wa1k-but the strangers
present are bare-headed and the mass of hat.
less heads at the end galleries is In curious
contrast to the rest Of the house. All u.e
more or less interested In the speech and ab
solutc quiet prevails.
ME-. GLADsroSE's srEEcu.
You know what the propositions of the
Government arc. have already given thei,
| substantial effect, but may allude to one OF
two parts Of the speech which were specially
effective. One was his Illustration oi the un.
equal representation Of the working men In
| the large towns of the north, when he stated
that In towns like Oldham and Halifax, the
working class electors arc but one In ten oil
the population at Stockport one In eleven
at Bradford one In twelve; at Leeds one In
fourteen. "Last Of all, continued the right
honorable gentleman, "there is q town that
deserves specia1 mention":
"Imcan the town OF Rochdale, not only on account
Of ihe distinguished man by whom Ii was about
twelve Inon'hs ago represented MI. Cobden,, bat
for another 1eason-it = he town that probably has
practical minds the case tor tue acknowledgment ol
the working cla-t-the town where Originated that
remarkable syttem, At trst sight, don hesitate
trader and tAklER into stleir own hands ths means
or ihcir supplies md who. BY their intelligence and
telfEnidlnE power, brought 10 a successful itsue
case In Kocnda1et With a constituency OF i. is.
the I. f. sncnlsed working elass stands only g.
These arc all large towns, and the centres
ofsuch discontent as exists In England respect
Ing our electoral system. The prcroratIon,
though parodied last night by Nj. Lowe,
was extremely telling, and warmed the
House into loud and prolonged applause
It may be worth giving as m example OF
modern British oratory. After referring to
the mode In which he contendcd this bill for
enflanchislng large classes Of the community
should 10 regarded, be went on to say, speak
Ing slowly and with concentrated meaning:
I'VE cannot look upon it a. the Irqjan horse
approaching Ike walls Of The sacred city, ind fed
D. Cation We clnnot Join In comparing Il win
that fon'tFnun tN5ttE-He cannot FAY
o=audit fataltE m.ehsna mnros,
"f@ta asmfs: nediEqus nlnans tllaoitur u1bi."
enlta1chteo ought rather to be welcomed IL you
would welcome recruits TO your nrmy. THeaF
near:j We ask yoa 70 efve within what yoa con.
epecf1on, hui. having determined those limit, 10
r,!c wi.h m sncrudeing hand. liIear. hear.J Con
.ides .hat Iou ao ta'ely and jn.ty aIotd to do n
Of the tasAamentarJ constitution; aud. hartaR
so considered 1t, don't do It a. Il you were COM
pounding witt danger and mi.lotiune- Euest,
hear:1 Do II a. II ron were conlezrtne boon thai
VII be ft!s and rcctptpcated IN grateful attachment,
Gixe 10 thete peIrons new ntereats in The Con.tl-
iutlon-nsw interests which b., the benencsnt
ehan heEet IN them new attachment to the ConsIi-
iution, for tle attachment Of the people 10 Tho
Throne and to The laxs under which they five is, A.
than Jour feets aud your ssn,es, At once the
strtngta, the glory, and the safety OF the land"
The reception given to the speech was
rather that oi anxious consideration than of
enthusiasm. Members appeared afraid of
committing themselves before studying the
matter more closely. II was attacked after-
ward, and agniu last night, but at the right
time, there is bind Of telling Liberal speak
cTs who Will come to It's defence. Neither
the Tories nor the Tory Liberals will have It
all their own way. The Government havenot-
to fear, think, direct vote for the bill or
against It; what Is most to bo apprehended
is a skilfully drawn resolution, the result of
the joint efforts Of the Tories and tho Tory
Liberals,-lntimating the regret Of the House
that the bill does not deal with the whole
question,-wl the redistribution Of scats
as we'll rs With the numbers who nrc to vote.
A defeat Of this kind, however, would cause
break up Of the Ministry, and doubt
whether the majority Of the House arc pro.
pared for such an event.
NOISES n THE HOUSE.
Strangers in the House OF Commons are not
allowed to Intimate the slightest sign of ap-
proval or disapproval OF what they hear, and
the rule Is q salutary one. They mnst not
look at 4 newspaper, or use IN opera glass, or
speak above the fafuteBt whisper to each other.
II q biscuit Is eaten, It must DO done surrep-
titiously. But members themselves a1e often
uproarious enough. II an unpopular gentle
man Is tirfng their patience, they interrupt him
with noises that would not disgrace chnrtlst
meeting. To one fanatical man-one Whalley
they often cry out Using siugn' hut the
Speaker has Just lutcrfered about this, aud the
great dread Of appearing in print, which
would follow If he were to take official notice
Of The offender, will, II Is to be hoped, save
the decorum Of the House from this gross yio-
lation,
Members do not pretend to listen II d dull
gentleman Is on his legs. Thus, when the |
person who followed Mr. Gladstone on Mon
day WIS pounding away on the dangers of de-
there Was loud buzz oil over the
chamber. Why men should keep on speak
ing under such circumstances Is puzzle to
me. Their colleagues arc busIly engaged In
the reporters cannot catch
word, they tthe bores) can hardly hear their
'wn voices, and get yonr veteran constitu-
ional hum.drum still keeps on mcandering