Year: 1868

06J8lk0 aware
preposterous consequences which would arise from


the adoption OF rating instead Of value for the fran
chisen Hearl This was the Language Of the minis.
engaged in pressing this as the most important OF


his I'VE points upon the conscience Of his party ae
that he had read He was willing 70 admit the force
OF passage In speech OF Mr.. Disraeli In wncn re


% o s n I saa viii not


dwell on this complaint. anfwing 70 take pupnc pic


fe nnd IT, He was too WILING 20 10 .aaT nd IN


than he was to admit that their opinions were liable
placed. Some opinions they were obliged to modify


under the responsibility Of otice; Others they might


tfmRssa htRerao q he political parties
| had at least manfuly avowed the object for which


they avowed The objects for which they had ceased


to Contend. These attempts bannb0Ozle Parliament


fns ana EDosa n Paatae and he said that they ten
| ded to degrade the noble contests OF public life


(hear hearand the honorable rivaries OF political
people were really deceived. He believed that they


knew perfectly well that this account Of the reform
contest which the First Minister OF the Crown has
given them was wholly inaccurate and entirely un-
justified by the facts Of the case But he grieved to
observe that people more amused than shocked,
and that they beginning consider these things
as the ordinary tricks OF professional politicians.
be elected by household Suffrage, was this the
example that they were to give to those whom
they were accustomed to call the lower classes Of
this cOuntryp He rejOiced that the tones OF moral
Indignation, which were healthy ones even though
they should be stied and suppressed elsewhere, yet
found an echo In the HOusee Of Peers. They could
come nom no man better than from his noble friend
(Earl RusselD. In the course OF long and ilustr


bered when most Of them were FORGOTTEN. the noble
earl might sometimes have changed his course or
modified his opinions; but he had always manfully
avowed those changes and explained their reasons
He (tne Duke OF Argyli) for one, would not accept
public life on the conditions which the First Min
Ter OF the Crown offered It to them ut least not with
out observation and without protest lCheers.) He
now asked her Maiesty's government what measures
they proposed to take to remedy the great evils and
Inconvenience which had resulted from course
which he believed they had adopted from nothing
69t desire to hide and to conceal from the people
which had taken place in their opinions and ideas.


The Lord Chancellor said:-The noble duke who
has just resumed his seat has addressed to your lord
ships speech dealing with two subjects very diff
term personals and to that with your lordships per-
mission, viii for moment defer my reply. The
o.ner part OF ms speech which venture to think Dy


last session, and to its effects, far as we are


quanted with them upon the rating and raepayers of
the country. No sooner had the government
which the Prime Minister had been called upon to
form been completed and its various members taken
your ords6ps oa der "s said d' he @ such


government can feel no confidence whatever in
them any way, because they have confessed them
selves through the mouth OF the Prime Minister that
they, the leaders OF the conservative party through


series OF years were furthering design to intro
duce and TO pass q measure which all the While they
were persuading their own supporters to op.
pes.,o. pose" And the noble earl said Talk Of
would be pursued, will not say merely by great
and illustrious men like Mr.. Fox, Lord Grey and
insignificant men, like Mr. Pitt the Duke Of Weine-
ton and Sir r. Peel. earl Russell made gesture of
dissent) The noble earl denies the statement Now,
my lords, have got the report, and the noble earl
VIII tell me whether 1t Is accurate or not. He says


as to the comparison with bygones, "That is course
ol conduct, must say, which not only men Ike Mr.


Fox, Earl Grey and Lord AlthOrpe would have
spurned, but which men like Mr.. Pitt Sir X. Peel,
and the Duke Of wellington would have disdained to
adopt" tCheers.) But, my lords, there is much
more important point. The charge OF the noble earl
against the Prime Minister is charge which, If 1t be
well founded, Is one relevant to make even in your
lordships house; and show your lordships that
the noble duke has ingenousy retreated from that
charge, and asked your lOrdships to entertain and
follow him through another discussion. My noble
friend the Lord President expressed wish for
explanation as to some words which fell from the
noble earl, and the noble earl said:-"lf the noble
duke wishes to know what mean, am referring to
Ednburg in which the course: taken by the govern
ment was not called OF deception; 1t not
called as Mr. Disraeii called the government of Sir
Robert Peel, hypocrlsy-H acds called process or
education. But the use of that word does not pre-
vent the fact being quite clear, which the present
First Loro OF the Treasury dd not attempt to
or apologize for; that for seven years. during which
the fears OF the country had been excited respecting
the reduction Of the franchise against which Mr. Dis
raei protested in the House OF Commons; during the
whole OF that time he had been educating his party
with view to bring about much wider and greater
reduction Of the franchise-what he would at
time have called greater degradation OF the fran
chisethan any Of his opponents would have passed."
Now, ask Is that stated accurately-is IL the case?
Observe the point OF it, II is not question whether
that is what the right honorable gentleman did
not, bift whether Mr. Disraeli at Edinburg
said that he did it, The noble earl goes on,
"Of course / have no confidence in a govern
ment which confesses that for series OF years
they intended to bring forward measure which they
had opposed, government the Prime Minister Of
which confesses that during that years he had
been educating his party with view to bring about
u greater reduction OF the franchise than was ever
before proposed.n The noble duke entirely ignores
the charge and the noble earl does not subsantate
1t. The noble duke takes new issue and asks the
House 10 consider not whether the statement made
by the noble earl was correct, but whether wholly
different statement which the Prime Minister has
thought necessary to put before the country as 10
what he said at Edlnburg was correct or not. The
question Is whether II is well founded charge which
the noble earl made against him, and whether that
government, through the First Minister OF the Crown
stood confessed that 1t had pursued such conduct
defy the noble earl to substanate IL. ! Indignantly
deny the statement OF the noble earl that anything OF
noble duke became extremely fervd and eloquent
about the tricks of politicians and the honor OF
your lordships, house. ! rejoice 10 think that in
your lOrdshipS' house accuracy OF statement has
always been regarded as 1t ought TO be. tCheers.) l
think, therefore, that before any member of the
House makes a charge against the First Minister OF
the Crown, who cannot be here to rebut 1t, to the
effect that he made at Edinburg a particular state
ment which would have the result of deprlving his
government OF confidence he ought at least to be
satisfied that such q statement was made. (Cheers)


Earl RussELL-My lords there can be no doubt





Crown has been inirusted to very able and very
skilful advocate. The noble and learned lord was
not member Of the Cabinet which brought forward
the reform bill In its altered shape last year. but he
has made kind OF speech which we all used TO ad-
mre when delivered I'm the Court OF Chancery,
fun Of ingenious argument, full OF learning
and acquaintance with details, therefore worthy
OF your lordships' attention. but ! VIII say that
neither one part nor the other OF the argument
OF my noble friend turns the debate, and neither
in the part which he considers the least important,
but which consider the most important, nor IN the
other part has he at all shaken the arguments OF my
noble friend the noble duke. IN these ddys,
1chen the debates or the House Of Commons are
printed IN ere7'V daily newspaper, ana tchfn Meg
are read bp the ,rh0te country, tre cd7nOt, MINK,
pretend 10 iqaore ,rhdt has been said IN Me other
House, mean In Its general erect though we can
not depend on the particular words that In some
cases are reported Looking, then. into the reports
OF the daily newspapers, which are afterwards en-