The New York herald., 1868-03-27

reduction Of the franchise short OF househod surage
because there was no resting point between that and
stand a man saying, as believe him to have said,
and as ! can well understand the members Of the
W aSoy ns 70 @ nave said hre Is no resting
hold suffrage, and as household sufrage Is danger
GUS, we win resist any reduction" But that is to-
lower the f10 franchise unless you 20 down to house.
hold suffrage, and therefore we will adopt household
and unwse in politics; but it is Perfectly defensi-
BILE one. therefore concluded from Mr. Disraes
not having defended himself against Lord Cranborne
made speech q great power In this House. in which
he disclamed f0r himself the suspicion that all the
franchise he had made up his mind to vote for still
greater reduction and who, to prove his sincerity
gave 19 the seals OF the Colonial DepartmentM say
Of the charges, but conclude that they were true,
therefore, raere1ore when @ read in conservative
had stated sonat Il seems no,o Is quiie
a mistake, could not but believe 1t. Mr..
coa eStseq 70 prepare s aa S@ cou ee
ana TO educate-if 1t be not arrogant to use such
phrase-to educate our party. 1t is large party,
had to prepare the minds OF Parliament and OF this
country for the question of REFORM" If was guilty
the whole country loud cheers) If the right hon
Orable gentleman had to educate the country and II
his party required some pressure could not be upon
tne nve points mentioned in his letter. AS my noble
friend has shown it would not require any pressure
at all to adopt those points, but 1t did require some
pressure to induce them to adopt that reduction Of
the franchise against which they had for many
years always violently protested (Cheers.) must
say that II Mr. Disraoli was misunderstood, think
IL was pardOnablc In me, and in many others.
(Cheers) must now advert for few moments to
those five points. In the first place he tells us that
"complete;" but "completen measure could
not be without satisfactory redistribution Of seats;
fortunate in the making final settlement of that
matter. The next point was that the representation
OF no place should be entirely abrogated. Now.
agree that except there Is very strong of pub
Tic necessity the disranchisement Of represented
borough is not justiilabe. But when you had to
deal with places as they dealt with in 1881, or
when my noble friend proposed to dsfranchise some
other places last year, | think that such step was
justable. But when the First Lord OF the Treasury
introduces this article as one OF those upon which
his party had to be educated suppose that It is one
Of the principles upon which the government mean
the borough franchise should be established on the
principle Of rating, The proposition means very
a rental Of f1o. Or, again, when we proposed in
1852 20 rental we proposed what was equivalent TO
rental Of 96 or f7. Thus the right honorable
gentleman's point might mean any one OF
three entirely different propositions. 1t might
be equivalent to the old f10 rental, rental of f5
or f6 or TO rental Of 1Os 5s., or nothing. 1t
does not therefore contain any declaration of princ
pie; u IS merely an elastic sort OF principle upon
l., winch any practical proposition might be founded.
Lord Derby and Mr.. Disraeli, and the Lord Privy
Seal, educating their party to accept the principle OF
pressing the f1o franchise The idea so ridiculous
thdt can hdrdty suppose Mr.. DiSrdeH acdS serious
1Ueh ne tod his EitRb1g te,adS that that lCS the
principle aohtch he meant TO adopt (Cheers) There
are two views in which this matter may be regarded
One-which rather believe to have been the true
onc-ls, that his own opinion, and the opinion Of
Lord Derby and his colleagues except OF course the
three who separated from the governmeut), was that
there should be considerable reduction Of the fran
chse; that they would even go as low as household
suffrage; but that they did not give out that
opinion generally but nstilled gradually into the
m mi prnS
as Mr.. Dlsraeli says with view that 1t should be
ultimately adopted. But there is another view,
OF rating which the noble lord on the woolsack thinks
more important. That view is that their decided
opinion upon great question of state involving
great organic change in the constitution Of this coun-
try, has been deliberately sacrificed for the manten-
ance OF ONCE and power (Cheers.) Now | will tell
your ordshps what Mr.. Disraeli said in 1S65:-"Al-
though we did in 1852 to certain extent, agree to
some modification of the fl0 franchise, l confess
that my present opinion is opposed to that course. 1t
the proper sense Of the term-that Is to say, gov
ernment by the best men OF all classes-and demo-
cracy. IL Is well that the House, before II comes to
vote, should consider that the real issue Is between
the present constitution and democracy should
like to know whether that Is the opinion
which the present Prime Minister holds at
this moment Cheers.l 1t was not an opin-
for thirty years taken Appointment part in the debates
OF Parliament. IL was not an opinion formed with
out that consideration which the present Prime Min
lister is no doubt so well able TO give. The passage
have read was followed by one OF the most eloquent
TO be found in any speech made In Parliament by any
of the great men of former generations. 1t is de-
scripton of what must follow If this country should
be ruined. The right honorable gentleman said that
France or Germany might apparently be overthrown,
and yet either might recover; but he said that II this
country fell could never again rise regain its
former prosperity and power. Now want to know
whether that Is the opinion OF the Prime Minister at
this moment. Because J IL Is he has done a much
gfdUer Ming-he has committed a much grdDey Of
tehce-than ne nad conced,ea ms opinions Jor
round its opinions 10 his ocn. (Cheers.) For 1chat
has he done? F0rte sake OF this prize or the sake or
retaining Office fOT tro or three years. he has enddn-
ge,ed tchdt ne calls The drfStocTdtfc constitution or
the country but 1rhat Is IN fact monarchy founded
upon ne aristocrucy ana deraocracy ne has done
all IN his potcer according 10 his o,rn opinion, to
change that constitution into pure democracy.
That is not my opinion. l do not think the act OF
last year Will produce any such effect. (CheerS.)
But the right honorable gentleman entertained the
opinion that 1t would-an opinion formed alter many
engaged in political life. In 1865 he delivered that
opinion in Parliament, and he afterwards repeated it
at his election for the county of Buckingham.
graycr responsibility was never incurred by any
man. Never was there worse bargain made by any
statesman OF this country. loud cheers
The Earl OF MALMEsBURY said the discussion was
one the like OF which he had never before heard In
that House, and the like or which he trusted he
should never hear again. Generally speaking their
lordships kept strictly to the subject OF debate and
they did not bring forward one thing when they
pretending to bring forward another. (Cheers.)
The noble Earl In conclusion vindicated the
conduct OF ministers, and argued that they had
only at last succeeded In settling the reform ques-
ton by treating II no longer as one Of party, but by
consulting the House OF Commons itself on the sub
ject of Ms own reconstruction. The result that
the bill which had been passed was far more the
work OF the Commons than oi her Majesty's govern
ment. If the measure inflicted a hardship upon
certain class of occupiers he was sure 1t would be
considered and redressed; and with that end in view
the matter was sbeing Investigated by committee
Did Disraeli shake Hands with the Lord Chan.
cellor CA Grand Cabinet Question.
From the London Post March ls.l
We understand that the paraQraDh which