, 1874-11-29

| Great Britain naa us pouLlcol revolt anC
revolution last spring; We had ours the begin.
| ming of the present month That the two
had anything to do with each other, in the
| relations of cause and effect, need not be
asserted; but that they present some inter:
/ esting analogies, may be easily seen. The
leading article in the last Westminster Recie1t
is devoted to an explanation Of what is
termed "The Revolt of the Residuum." It
is an uncommonly instructive chapter in con-
temporary history, Reformers, and legisla-
tors, and social scientists generally, may find
in it sundry stubborn facts which it will be
infinitely better for cur people to appreciate
now, than it would be to postpone thought
and action respecting them to the future
The tsresidu11m refers to the masses Of
il1iterate voters, who, without property,
character, OF intelligence, are always NOM
inally our tsovereigns," and every now and
then emphatically SO. They stand at the
bottom Of society, and yet, through the lev
erago of the ballot and the balance power,
are liable almost any moment, when some
endemical impulse seizes them, to emerge to
the top, and turn a considerable part of the
world upside down and wrong side out.
The extension Of the franchise during the
Gladstone Administration doubled the num-
ber of voters. And last spring the great
tribune of the people got his pay for it, when
the residu,1m got their backs up and revolted-
It need not bGassumed that Mr.. Gladstone re-
grets, OF has reason to regret, any measures
that we're proposed by him. Only such is
the way they have. For their own private
reasons-it would be absurd to say it was
from considerations Of the public welfare
they suddenly changed front The army of
uliterates carried their votes, almost en- nsusse,
over to the Tories! The mu1htudes who in
England hover between uncertain poverty
and absolute pauperism nearly all sided with
the Conservatives, and joined in the shout,
stDown with the Liberals
Now, no one ewil1d deny that here was acurious
phenomenon We're the peupers alarmed for
their property? We're they suddenly afraid
of the spread Of democratic theories and ten
denotes Did they suspect some ''Grecian
gift" concealed under A1r. Gladstones en-
thusiasm for the institution of a national sys-
tenn Of education , Or was the panic of the
.sresiduum occasioned by dread lest rude
hands might be laid upon the religious Estab-
lishment? Not much. Other causes conspired
to bring about the startling result but the
decisive one was of very different sort. It
was pot Of beer and glass Of grog that
tipped the Gladstone Ministry into the
Thames.
II Aa rt17,+ e1-+ la
incurnble, the tenderest spot about the aver
age uneducated British voter is tho handle to
his mug OF ale. His self-respect will submit
to anything else sooner than that another
should forcib1y restrict his personal liberty
there. Tell the English publican that he
must close his bar at II o'clock instead Of 12,
and m insnrrection begins to brew ct once
and the next opportunity that offers the party
Of the second part, with all their hosts Of re-
tainers, the well-dri11ed army Of il1iterate
q 'soyereigns," will swear in the face of
John Bull himself that they will sue
cumb to no such tyranny. The high
est claims Of gratitude, the most be-
nefcent achievements Of craftsmanship,
will all go for nothing, until the Government
finger has been taken of the beer pitcher.
An aspirant for Office may be an Atheist or
Papist, q Tory OF Radical, 1T is allthe same,
unless he promise to let the publican and his
thirsty customers alone.
The first Inference from facts Ike these is,
that "government Of people by the peo-
pie" is never safe SO long as there remains
large proportion Of i1literates~ They cannot
be safely trusted It may be the grim neces-
sity of the situation that they must have the
franchise inhusted to them; but the expert
ment is frnught with peril. Ignorance is al
ways niscalcu1ating. And disappointed ig-
no1ance quickly turns to caprice and fury.
Another Inference Il, that the ve1y Arzt law