, 1866-05-03
TIE ENGLISH REFORM BILL.
Great Speech OF John Stuaft Mill In the
Honsc Of Commons. AptU l3, 1856.

Great Speech Of John Stuarr Nllll In the
Honso OF Commons, AptN l3, 1856.
Although the question which will be put
from the chair rcl1tes ostensIbly to the mere
order OF proceeding, It will hardly be denied,
and least OF all utter the speech Of the right
honorable bs1onet, that the question We arc
really discussing Is whether the bill ought to
pass. lHear, hsar:1 Indeed, the noble M lord.
speaker on the Opposition side who has ar
gued the nominal Issue as II he thought that
It was the real one, or has even mid any great
stress upon II, That noble lord, in speech
marked by oil the fairness md candor which
even more than the ability-at least
by more varied md sustained ability
has snid, I think, the most and the
best that can be said In tayor of the
amendment, considered as substantive mo-
well calculated to make an impression, but
only on the part of his audience-ou those
who, though they must be willing to consent
to somo reform, look With extreme jealousy
on the most important part Of 1t, the cnfran-
chisement Of = portion Of the working classes
who regard this less IS q good to be do
sired, than as very doubtful experiment,
and tre1nble less they shonld eventually find
themselves committed to giving these classes
trife more representation than they were
dn]y wanted Of beforehand. (Cheers. What
is the very worst extremity of evil with which
the noble lord threatens the House In cnse 1t
should be unguarded ns to pass this hill with.
out the other measures Of Parliamentary
Reform by which 1t Is to be 6ucceededs
Why. It Is this, that il something happens
which 1t REQUIRES the most Improbable con-
eurrence Of chances to bring about-some-
thing against which the personal hononr OF
the Government, nor the incxorahle dates fix
ed by the Registration Acts, nor eren the i'm
pressed Will ot Parliament, can guarantee us,
in this all but impossible case, then may hap
peu-what? That the redistribution of seats
may, IN spite Of MI that cnn be done, possibly
devotye upon House Of Commons elected
under the enlarged franchise. {ucaE, hear.)
Now, put it 10 the noble lords clear intel
lect-and impartial because clear-is this an
any D0uy VINO thinks the 1ninrged franchise an
Improvement |chccrs} who thinks 1t calcn-
lnted to give US . better llsis1atrroa r the
Legislature !. gives rev Us M is = better one for nll
this.puEp0ses lfit can be trusted to govern us,
II can be trusted to tax Us, If it can be trusted
to lesislate for us, can It not be trusted to re-
wise its own Constitution. Does experience
teach Us to expect that this Of all things Is
ernl, md British Parltnmcnts In particular,
are likely to be rash, hcadstsoug, precipltnte,
submissive, revolutionary. [Loul checrs+i
l think, sir, that a Parliament which w1s
cautious In nothing else might be depended
On Tor caution In 1ncddllng with the coudi-
this formidable Instance, in q thousand With
which the noble Lord threatens us, |, Is only
terrific to those In whose eyes the bill Is .
rash and pretentfous transfer OF power 10 the
Working classes. To those who think that
themselves, eyen il there wore no re-
distribution of seats, and still better If
there Is. this phantom of evil has no
tesrors. And that believe to be the opinion
Of the great body Of Reformcrs, both in and
say. as sincerely deslrons as the noble mover
oi the amendment that family and pocket
boroughs shou1d be c1tinguished, and the In.
ordinate political influence Of q few noble
and opulent ianilles abridged: We are, I be-
wealth possesses of buying It's way into The
House Of Commons, and shutting the door
| upon other people, Us the Wenlthfest gentle
man present. Hear, hear But though we
arc quito orthodox on these great points Of
and look forward With delight to an expected
! co-opcration with gentlemen on the opposite
benches in the congeninl occupation or con-
yert1ng them from theories into facts
(" hear, hear" and laughter]-we yet
think that q measure OF enttauchlsemcnt
mo1 moderate than Il desired by the major
ity Of Reformess, but which does make the
working-classca substantial power In this
Uouse-E not only nlanblc part Of a
scheme Of Pasllamentar Reform, but highly
| valuable. even II nothing else were to follow.
rnised on The present occasion which seems
| to me in the smallest degree worth discussing,
l shall make no further apology for combining
mysc1t to It. tCheets.] Sir, measures may
be recommended either by their principles,
Or BY their practical consequences; and Ii
they have either Of these Recommendations
they usually have both Asfar rs regards tho
principle OF this measure, there IS but little
10 disagree about, for o measure which goes
no further than this does lot rais5 any Of the
questions Of principle On which the House Is
divided and feannot bnt think tia. the right
hon. barouet in intruding these questions
has caused the debate to divide somewhat
from ITS proper course. If it were necessary
to take into consideration even all the reason
/. able things which can be said pro and con
very different task before It. Bn. this Is not
Democratic measure, 1t neither deserves
that praise, nor. If hon. members will have It
SO, that reproach.. It is not departing from
what may be called the numerical theory OF
Iepresentat,on that = required by that class
view OF the constitution the fayo1ite doc
trtne. not only Of Whist arc called Conserva-
tive Rcformerf, but OF Conservative non Re-
formers as well. CHear, hear.l- The oppou-
euts Of Reform are accustomed go say thai
the constitution knows nothing Of individuals
but only Of classes. Individuals, they tell Us,
cannot complain OF not being represented, SO
long as the class they belong to Is represented
But II any class Is unrcpresented, or has not
Its proper ;ehare of representation relatively
need be asked ut present Is that this theory
be applied o practice. There Is q clas5 which
has not yet had the benefit Of The theory.
While SO many classes, comparatively insig-
niflcant in numbers, and not supposed to be
more free from class partialities or interests
than thelr neighbors, are represented-some
OF them, I venture to say, greatly over-repre-
sentcd-ln this House, there Is a Glass more
numerous than all the Others, and therefore,
as mere matter Of human feeling, entitled to
fore needing representation the more, but
daily becoming stronger aud more capable of
making Its claims good-and thls class
is not represented. We- claim then a
Es H6EEne sne hssta Sa eaase1s e1 tRs
theory Of the Constitution. We demand that
they be represented as c}ass, II represented
they cannot bc as human beings; and #e call
ecrity Of their convictions by extending the
benefit Of them to the great majority Of their |
tlemen say tne working olasses are already |
represented. Il has Just come to light, to tho |
.astonishment Of cycFybody. that these classes
borough constituencies. They kept the Sc: |
cret so Hen-ft required so much research to |
detect their presence on the register-thetr ]
votes we're so devoid Of any trnceahle conse-
our institutions, and so obsttna.e1y persisted !
In not doing lt-[loud cheersE Ethat hon
orahle gentlemen nre quite alarmed, and /
recon in terror from the abyss into
which tsey have not fal!en;: lReneWed
certainly seel.s that this amount Of enflau
chfsement Of ths working classes has doue no |
harm But II 1t h!~ not done harm, perhaps
1t has not done muci. good either; at least
not thc Kind Of good Which re nre talking
votes in erery constituency Z The kingdom,
and not obtain high representative in this
Housc. Their right Of voting nav bo only
the right oi being everywhere out7oted. Il,
indeed. the mechanism Of an elec.orA system
admitted representation Of minoritscs. those
who a1e out-yotsd IN one place could ioio
their votes with those who nrs out-Yoted in
another-then, indeed, forth part, even il |
only Of the borough clectctz, would boa a.1
s!antial power for It gta;aa mean e. fourth Of
ccatsated cen won}S Be- a considerable ropre-
seutatioD; ~ 26 per cent di1used was |
almost the same as none at all. The right !
Eonorabe Barpnets has said that e1ass,
aging its votes, be master Of the situation.
api that tenant farmers in Hertforshfre eau
AIRY IN election. They may be able to de-
eide whether tory or . Whtg shall be elect
may be masters oi sol small q I'll.
nation as that. fLaughtes.] But what ron
arc nflatd Of Is their carrying points on which
their interest as q class is opposed 10 that Of
NJ other classes IN which, Il they were only
= third Of the constituency, the other two
thirds Ssonld be against them. Do you think
they would be mastsrs of such asituation as
That -lcheersH Hfor there Is no known
by: which, In the long
'un, a minority can out-number ms
Eors can out-number the other ,two-thirds.