Year: 1867




UPoN THE PEOPLE.


LoSDos, April 70, 1867.


Unless the Atlantic Gable serves America ns II too
often does Europe-Farnishing unimpOrtant and ig-
noIing important news-it will have informed You
that last night after the stormiest struggle OF the
sessou, the present Government has gained victory
over Mr Gladstone and the opposition on the sub
ject OF Reform That victory sto all appearances de
cisiye and it now seems inevitable that Dsraoli is
to have bis name historically associated with the
next great Reform bill which is 10 be given TO the
people Of England Fortune befriended your cor
respondent and he was enabled 10 be one of the
crowd that sat patiently for II hours in the gallery
to wit from o'clock p. to Of the next morning,
to witness this great historical conflict. say for
tune for the old and yeXatiOns system OF getting into
the strangers gallery by dummies" has, within
the last two or three weeks, been abolished,
Formerly there might he seen at the midnight pre-
cediDg the evening which any great debate was TO
awIetched ragged Falsta regiment of beggars
and blacks, each bearing III his hand the order of
a member OF Parliament and when the door under
Westminster Hall opened next morning these-tramp-
ing OIL and fighting each other-crowded in and got
places, on the principle of first come first served,
which they held as dummies for the gentlemen to
whom the orders were gwen, and who came and
claimed the seats q half hour before Parliament
opened. This was very VeXatlons, for you had 10
hunt up dummy, and tTequlTed from ten shlllngs 10
guinea before you could get yOur seat. But III the
recent reform debates this rise to such scenes
that alteration was made. and now If there are
more persons holding orders than seventy-the num-
Der that can be accommodated in this gallery-the
orders are all placed III glass globe and drawn ont
by officer, each one entering his name is called
Thus it was that destiny gave me front seat last
night. IL evident from the first that the debate
was TO he stormy. The noise began early. The ut
most skill had been displayed by Disrael and Glad
stone the arrangement of their respective PROPOSE
tions. Each may fifty be described az cock with
two wings a conservative and q radical wing. 1t will
he remembered that the Government had introduced
a scheme of reform which dealt with the buIrough
franchise-whch is the allimporant one IN the fol
fTageo with the restriction that only those
Occupiers of households could vote who
paid personally the rates upon their houses. Now
F" household suffrage" is the most charming phrase
to the English Radicals ear. The Reform League Is
for manhood suffrage but Bright, Forster ana other
Radicals in the Parliament have never put forward
demand beyond household suffrage. Dsraeh hoped
to allure such these under that wing OF his scheme
On the other hand he sought to allure the Conserya
tiyes under the other wing-that is by adding the
restriction about the personal payment of rates This
restriction is very severe; Tor at present IN i0ur-
ffths of the great boroughs the small householders
have their rates included III their rents, ana
the landlord pays them to the Collector in
a lump. This saves the Occupier more
than half of what his rates would be If he paid them
personally and separately 10 the collector. And this
rate added TO the rent of his house makes Disraeis
bill really equivalent TO giving the franchise to be-
tween seven and elght pound renters nevertheless,
many of the Conservatives had the acumen TO see
that the principle of household suffrage once intro
duced into the English Constitution would be an
immovable cornerstone, while the wooden structures
temporarily built upon it would speedily pass away
Lords CranbOuTne CaInarvan, and Gen. Peel left the
Cabinet because Disraeli's bill seemed TO them
fundamentally democratic, as it certainly is and
many good radicals perceived that the Tory
leader was doing more for them than for
his party Nova Mr.. Gladstone, it must be ad-
mitted hates the idea Of the Tories succeeding in
Reform bill, and thus gaining an indefinite lease OF
power and be also saw that long as the personal
rating restriction lasts IL would make the bill any
thing but generous measure Of Reform. In franz
inr his counter-prOpostiOn he had the need 10
angle for Conservatives THAT Disraeli had 10 angle
for Radicals So he put forward % proposition, by
way Of amendment, which had also liberal and
conservative wing His liberal amendment was that
the franchise should not be based upon personal
rating but upon the compound rating described
above His Conservative wing was that the franchise
should be giyep 10 al occuRers Of houses rgted at