The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1868-10-12
Probable Results Of the English Rcfornl
Bul.


While other European countries are arming,
drilling and garrisoning, or, like Spain, in the
agonies of revolution, England's interests are
centred in the electoral canvass and the regis
tra ton courts. The area of the House Of Com
mons Is the only battle field she expects to be
engaged on. There, in truth, some Of free
dom's noblest victories and the triumphs Of
free trade have been won. Tired Of the stale
and worn out subjects of discussion, the real
leaders of the reform movenent-not the
tories-are preparing for ''frssh fields and
pastures new" in legislation and when the
ratepaying clauses of the Reform bill have
been abolished and freedom of election
secured by the ballot Ito whose expediency
Mr.. Gladstone has just become q convert) we
may anticipate radical and rapid changes in
the British form of government and constitu-
ton. Whether or not the crown itself will be
suffered to retain the moiety of power now left
it Is question for time alone to settle. Though
Shakespeare tells us Of the divinity that doth
hedge in king, those who are living in our
days and witnessing what passes around them
can hardly be expected to reckon that among
the divinest Of his sayings.
Mr.. Horsman's electoral address, in which
he breaks ground on the question of an cleo
tive House of Lords, is one among many of
the shadows of coming events that will soon
show themselves. An hereditary House of
Peers is medieval institution which, however
appropriate 1t may have been to those days, is
out of time and place in England in the last half
of the nineteenth century. Proud, exclusive
and conservative for selfish purposes only, it
has opposed every movement for popular lib
erty, and would gladly, if it could, have kept
the people in political serfdom. Some one has
truly epigrammatized the British constitution as
a democracy ruled by an aristocracy. Now
that the democracy has learned and proved it's
superiority we shall find that aristocracy
brought to kneel before the people it once trod
on. The Entail laws, made by the lawmakers
for their own advantage and the more perma-
nent subsection Of the people, will soon be
swept from the statute book. Had Golden
lived he would have inaugurated, if necessary,
another League with all its machinery to
abolish these laws, whose destruction he con-
sidered hardly less necessary than that of the
Corn laws themselves.
The Irish Church establishment abolished,
the abolition of the English Church establish
ment will soon follow. The supporters of
that establishment have invited this issue by
adopting the suicidal policy Of asserting that
their existence was based on no better foun-
dation than that of the Irish Church. If so,
when the one perishes the other can expect no
better fate. As to the Scotch Established
Church, the people Of Scotland, by founding
the Free Kirk, which they have nobly en-
dowed, have anticipated the doom of Parlia-
ment on its Erastan brother. Vote by ballot,
life peerages, abolition of Entail laws and all
church establishments, besides a thorough
reform in the purchase system of the army,
present abundant occupation for patriotism
and ability. These and other measures little
dreamed Of will, we believe, be the results Of
England's last Reform bill.