The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1866-05-12

Russell-Gladstone ministry to Parlia-
ment has at last secured the enthu
slastlc support of the English masses.
and crowds of excited men now
throng the entrance of the House of
Commons, and cheer the friends of
that measure and hiss it's opponents.
after the fashion of reform mobs" of
by-gone days. The new reform bill is.
however, trumpery affair, rs it is
merely an extension of the right of
FRANCHISE to persons with property
qualification income of seven pounds
per annum, and will not add more
than 1000 voters to the present
number of English suffragans. For
this tlmid, halfway concession to the
clamor of the masses for an extension
OF the franchise, the English people
would not care q farthing, had not
the landed aristocracy played into the
hands OF the friends of reform bv a
most violent opposition to the mca-
sure. That for which, had it been
unopposed, the masses would have
cared nothing, they now regard rs a
priceless boon, and Gladstone finds
himself suddenly the recipient of all
those popular honors which used to
be heapcd upon O'Connell and
Wilkes.
The American press, in view Of the
sudden outburst of British cnthu-
slasm over the reform bill, seem to re-
gard the proposed extension of the
right OF suffrage us likely to produce
Il radical change in the whole charac
ter OF Parliament, and of English DO
litical life.
As one of the results uf the triumph
OF the reform bill, they claim for the
Progressive party, to which Bright
and Mills are 4 proliSio,s Increase of
power Tory squires and land-own-
crs, they argue, must how make way
tor manufacturers. merchants, and
democratic Sclf-madc men. Neither
the trends nor the opponents of the
proposed extension of the franchise
seem t" entertain such opinions OF its
results; neither Il" they fear that the
extension OF the right of suffrage will
be followed by separation Of Church
and State, destruction of entail. aho-
lltlon OF law of prlmogenitur.. facili-
ties for the transfer of real estate and
extension of tn" principle "i free
trade.
The despotic power of the land.
owners and capitalists does not fear
the accession of 100, 900 operatives
and tenants to the list of voters. The
IRON has entered the souls of the la
boring classes too deeply FOR them to
turn upon their m:tSttrs They have
been, We fear, ''hcre,litarv bonds
men too long to venture upon any
radical change in the established
order of things in England.
The English masses are Thoroughly
understood by the men who drafted
the reform bill. They know that t,,.
democratic sentiments and discom-
tent of til" disfranchiScd English
operatives can be- cured by the pro
posed extension of the franchise.
They are simply %oin@ forth amuny
the ScowllnG. uiscnutrntru llhnriny
classes to recruit 100. .0Ou supporters
OF the landowners and capitalists.
An American writer. in i leading
English journal, Very ably contends.
Forget the prodigiuus difference in
all the characteristic circumstances of
the two countries their social and
political traditions, their pruscriptivc
uSaSrS. their moral atmosphere.
" hllc IN Inns country I'LL is >hiftinu
and changing, in England all is fixed
and almost lmmut;,hlc In this coun-
try 4 mcasurclcSS extent of unowncl
on abandoned territory forbid, the
attachment to an ancestral home and
WcakcnS the courS. of hereditary MS
sociatlons. Perhaps not one family
III Il hundred belonging to the North
ern States has lived ON tho. property
which WAS owned bv its grandsirc
Not One American artisan or small
farmer has known what 1t is to be-
born under tn" shadow of an ancient
family mansion and to feel ;n hrrrdi-
tary interest in It's inmates. The
people VIII" occupy old mansions in
crmont, Connecticut or New Jersey.
know very little of the men who built
them and gave names to them: the
small proprict"rS or mechanics in the
nclghborhood know still less. There
Is no family history, 10 traditionarv
ASSOCIATE IN, except in tie Southern
States. which, links the name of any
wealthy American family with the in
terests and fortunes of his County or
District. There is nothing in his
position as a proprietor to influence
the votes or politics of his poor neigh
I,,,