The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1877-11-25
EXTENSION OF FsUFFR4Gs IN ENGLAND.
GLADSTONE RAISES NEW ISSUE.
Rapid and Constant Advance OF the Money Power

Rapid and Constant Advance OF the Money Power.
Prom L j. Jennings London letter in n. Y. World.
| 1t is some satisfaction to find that Mr..
Gladstone has ceased to write pamphlets or
make speeches on the Eastern war, and
that he has turned his attention to q ques-
tiOn which will undoubtedly be very much
discussed Ia the next session of Parliament
| and that is the expediency of extending
household suffrage 20 counties. It always
! seems to me to be waste of time to argue
out q question which is practically settled,
| as, believe this one to be. We kcow by
| the experience of late years that nothing is
long denied to popular agitation. Now the
demand for an extention of the suffrage in
counties is loud and general. Already the
agricultural laborers have appeared in
London streets claiming their "rights."
They will be here again soop, and perhaps
pull down the ratings of Hyde Park. Tue
Government will probably make show of
resistance and then yield. The change
may or may not be wise one, bot come
it must, and it seems scarcely worth whiie
for ordinary men and women to follow the
discussions which will preeede it.
Mr. Gladstone and Mr.. Lowe have, how
ever, opened the bail, the latter in the
FOrtnightly ReUiear and the former in the
Nineteenth Century. Mr.. Lowe has consis-
tentIy opposed the wide extention of the
snhrsge-his speeches against the Reform
bill Of 1867 are not forgotten by people
who take aA interest in politics. Mr..
Gladstone 10 in favor of this extention, and
his article in the November number of the
Nineteenth Century will no doubt be read
with interest by such of your readers as may
happen to sec it. The ex- Premier takes
what may fairly be described as the Amer
lean view of this question, namely, that
the voting power is q part of the liberties
of free people, land ought to be extend
ed to the furthest point compatible with
the we'll being of the Constitution" The
article ls very able argument in support
of that proposition, but its force is wesken-
ed by certain fatal admissions, as will
show you.
Mr. Gladstone feels himself compelled
to own that the ola unreformed Parliament
did in all essential respects work quite as
well for the nation as thas which exists to-
day. He ssys that the old Parliamentary
Constitution was one of the 'sWonders of the
world" sIt included every variety of fran
chiEe-"it made an admirable provision for
diversity of elements, for the representa-
ton of mind, for the political training,
from youth upwards, of the most capable
material of the country" This is great
deal for statesman to acknowledge who
bas taken the chief part III overturning
that system and replacing il "ish another
which is still new in this country. Bot
Mr.. Gladstone goes on 10 make a statemsnt
which, l must coUfess, ! read with even
greater astonishment. l had better quote it in
MS own words: Gin those day q the i'd ga of the
reprssen tation of labor oy members of the
laS0fiBg class had not come to the birth |
il it had, who shall say that greater diff
Guilty than now need have been expert
enced in giving It practical effectf Gen
orally in the special respecss have named,
the old Parliamentary Constitution was.
believe, intrinsicGlly more farorable to the
public than our present system 1t might
also be held that expenditure was more
economical, aud that mere ciiqaes and
sections of the community had not means
ously employ for pushing their own inter
este against the intereets of the nation"
do HoS remember that Mr.. Lowe or any
other opponent of q wide sWeepiug suffrage
bas brought q grayer indictment against
tie system than this. Mr.. G!adsIous goes
but many Liberals have been alarmed and
panied by them. and believe that nothing
can undo the effect of the passages have
quoted. They heartily wish that the
article bad never been written. Yet Mr..
Gladstone is far too experienced q contro-
veEstatist to make any presents to his an
tagoBlsts which he cannot partially at least
recall. He debates that people need not |
fear giving votes to the masses, because
the popular judgment is often s'more |
just than that of the higher ORDER" The |
extention o! the suffrage has, he contends, |
worked well. "Our iast great experiment |
has now been at work for decade of |
years: one Parliament has lived and died.
another has been born and is growing old !
and not a single act of injustice has either
of them perpetrated in the interest of the |
laboring class. And Mr.. Gladstone touches |
on q very strong point when he contends |
that universal suffcage in England would |
be '.mitigaced,' 80 to speak tit is not Mr.. |
Gisdstone's "ordl, by the popular love of
q lord: The worship of the aristocracy is
''a religion = it is, says Mr.. Gladstone, ian
inseparable essential element in our polit-
icaf habits of mind, and asserts itself at
every step in the processes of our systen."
YoR might give a vote to every man in
England, and if they bad to choose be-
tween an untitled man and q titled one,
they would choose the latter. People who |
imagine that workmen will eagerly elect |
one of their own number to Parliament
little know human nature. There are but !
two men now out of the 65s members of |
the House of Copmous who have any pre-
tence for claiming to belong to what are |
generally called the working classes. There |
might be at least a hundred if artizaus and |