for the extension of the boundaries of | did so with very little hope of the Motion boroughs before extending the franchise, leading to a successful result, for he unand he now said they should assimilate derstood that a more than usually urgent the law of the two countries. It had summons had been issued by the Gobeen stated that the people of Ireland vernment to their supporters to attend had no great feeling on that subject; but in force and crush this demand of the he asserted that it had been much dis- Irish Representatives. He was informed, cussed throughout Ireland by public moreover, that individual Members of the bodies, who had shown great interest in Government had exercised personal presthe proposal, and were uniformly in fa- sure on hon. Members opposite, who were vour of it. Petitions had been sent in, really in favour of the Motion, to induce but the question was too serious to be them to vote against it on this occasion. decided by Petitions. The feelings of Yet when they considered that the Gothe people of Ireland on the question vernment usually commanded a majority would have been perfectly well known of 60, and that this measure, proposed if not a single Petition had been pre- by a private Member on the Liberal sented. The rejection of his Motion side, had only been defeated by majoriwould, he was convinced, produce great ties of 5, 13, and 8, it must be admitted disappointment, and even exasperation, that they had virtually gained the vicamong the Irish people. In addition to tory. There had not been a shred of the restricted nature of the franchise in argument against the proposition. It Ireland, the enjoyment of that privilege was said that an assimilation_of_the was further circumscribed through the Irish borough franchise with the Engoperation of the rating laws. He would lish would swamp the existing constiappeal to the independent Members of tuencies and revolutionize the representhe great Conservative Party not to tation. Had the change made in England allow the influence of the Government in 1867, and completed in 1869, had any on that occasion to deprive Ireland of such effect? Why should that be bad the redress which she now sought. In in Ireland which was thought good in the interest of the Constitutional Party England? By the legislation of 1867 in Ireland, as represented in that House, and 1869 the English borough constituhe appealed to them as Englishmen de-encies were trebled, and the Government sirous of maintaining the union between deemed the change beneficial because it the two countries to do what was fair, had brought them into power. The prejust, and honourable in that matter, and sent proposal, on the other hand, would not to throw out his Motion. If that not even double the Irish borough conunion was to be continued, he asked stituencies, and yet it was held up as a them not to permit Party considerations revolutionary measure, which would deto interfere with the vote they were stroy property by the force of numbers. about to give. Early in the present That argument exemplified the saying Parliament the House had refused to that any stick was good enough to beat yield to the great pressure of the Go- a dog with. What had puzzled him vernment, and had virtually affirmed most in considering the attitude which that the borough franchise of Ireland Ministers had taken on this question ought to be extended, because the Mo-was-what was the real motive which tion was defeated only by a majority of was actuating them? This Session had 13, which he regarded as a practical ex- no doubt been initiated by a policy of pression of the opinion of the House exasperation towards Irish Members; that the advocates of the proposal had but there must be some motive underreason and justice on their side. Last lying that. A desire to irritate and Session, again, there was only a majo-insult could not account for it. There rity of 8 against them; and he thought the time had now come when that question ought to be settled. The hon. and learned Gentleman concluded by moving the Resolution of which he had given Notice.

MR. GRAY said, he rose to second the Motion for the third time since he had been a Member of the House. He

must be some motive underlying the determination of the Government to delay this measure, which must be granted sooner or later. Could it be that Ireland had been so tranquil that, as the Coercion Act was about to expire by lapse of time, the Government hoped, by exasperating the people, to drive them to some act which would furnish an excuse

for the continuance of the Coercion Act? | there were more Irish voters than in [A laugh.] The right hon. Gentleman Dublin. These men had commenced to opposite (Mr. J. Lowther) smiled; but make their power felt by means of the idea was not so far-fetched. When organization. Now, if by the refusal of the English people desired a reform of the present demand and of other claims, the franchise they took determined mea- the Government could obtain an excuse sures, in order to show that their wishes for applying to the Irish Party excepshould not be resisted, and hon. Mem- tional legislation, they might be able to bers had not yet forgotten the disturb- excite such a prejudice against the Irish ances in Hyde Park. If, however, in England that the fact of the Irish. similar riots occurred in the Phoenix vote being cast in favour of a candidate Park at Dublin, the Government, in- would rather injure than serve him. Or stead of appointing one of the promoters it might be that they had a still more of the movement to a Judgeship, would pettifogging motive. It might be that probably violate the law, as they had they were merely postponing a settledone on previous occasions, and instead ment until after the General Election, in of granting to the Irish people a Reform the hope of keeping a seat or two for a Act, which was their right, would give few years longer. These motives might them a Coercion Act. Every expression be natural enough; but were they such of public opinion in Ireland was treated as ought to actuate statesmen? He as sedition. As to the allegation that seconded the Motion without the slightest the Irish people had not sent up Peti- hope of its being carried. But in spite tions in favour of reform, he might re- of the present majority of the Governmark that they might naturally feel dis- ment, in spite of the Whips, in spite of inclined to petition Parliament, inasmuch the pressure on individual Members, as their opinion, when expressed consti- who, if left free, would vote for the Motutionally through their Representatives, tion, the time must come when this was not received in the House of Com- question would be settled; and all that mons with the slightest regard or re- the Government would gain by their spect. The action of the Government attitude in exasperating the Irish people had taught the Irish people that they would be to make them feel that what were regarded as being outside the Con- otherwise they might be grateful for as stitution, and that any concession that a measure of peace, conciliation, and was given to them was given for the justice to the country, had been obtained policy and convenience of the Govern-in spite of them and not by their help. ment, not for the benefit of the people, and it was never given in the manner nor at the time that the people required it. In point of fact, however, there had not been during the Recess a single public meeting in Ireland at which a Resolution was not passed in favour of assimilating the Irish to the English franchise. The popular Press of Ireland was also unanimous on the ques--instead thereof. tion, and had written warmly in support of the Motion. What further expression of public opinion could they have? If the motive he had suggested with respect to the Coercion Act was not the real spring of the action of the Government, he could suggest one even more ignoble though perhaps less criminal. They might, perhaps, have thought it desirable to exasperate some of the Irish Representatives in that House, and thereby to obtain an excuse for applying to them some exceptional measure. So many Irishmen had been enfranchised in England that in Manchester alone

Amendment proposed,

end of the Question, in order to add the words "the restricted nature of the Borough Franchise in Ireland as compared with that existing in England and Scotland is a subject deserving the immediate attention of Parliament, with a view of establishing a fair and just equality of the

To leave out from the word "That" to the

Franchise in the three Countries." (Mr.
Meldon,)

Question proposed, "That the words proposed to be left out stand part of the Question."

MR. CHARLES LEWIS, in opposing the Motion, said, that if he had to trouble the House with arguments and figures that had been previously used there, it arose from the necessity of the case in the Mover of the Motion not having given the House a scintilla of fact, and only laying before them one part of the case. He had carefully confined his remarks to considering popula

tion only, and a reference to what he and superstition, and a class subject to called a policy of exasperation. Such a those particular faults; and, above all, policy was not inaugurated on the Go- would not be handing over that electoral vernment Benches, but by those below power to persons utterly unable to hold the Gangway on his own side of the the status of citizens in any ordinary House. It had commenced in that sense. The Seconder of the Amendment House, and had been reiterated over had said that the House and the Goand over again, with every sort of ex-vernment never showed any respect to travagant threats, out of the House, Irish opinion or Irish Petitions. Well, both with regard to the Ministry and he knew something about the Sunday hon. Members; but they would certainly Closing Bill, and he believed that the have no effect on the Ministerial side of House and the Government had subthe House. For if he knew anything of mitted to it against their will in the spirit or sense of honour which in- deference to Irish opinion. Again, spired hon. Members on the Government was the Irish Church Act and the side of the House, it would certainly not Irish Land Act passed by Parliament be by threats such as had been used because they liked those measures? that their conduct on that or upon He believed he was correct in saying any other question would be influenced. that there was not even a division on The Mover of this Resolution had said the second reading of the Irish Land that the whole of the Conservative Press Act, though many in the House thought of England were in favour of this it an infringement of one of the great measure; but he (Mr. Charles Lewis) safeguards of property-the right of ventured to doubt that statement. The free contract. With regard to the Rehon. and learned Member had evidently solution, he observed that it did not been misled on that point. The subject deal with the question of re-distribution; of the extension of the Irish borough because the worst thing for the borough franchise, no doubt, appeared to many Members would be to touch the repreto be an easy one; but until people took sentation of boroughs in Ireland. ["No, the trouble to study it, they were mis- no!"] How was it that the eager exled by the fine phrase "assimilation of ponents of Irish opinion were found, the franchise in England and Ireland." not in borough, but in county Members, The House was told that all his hon.and that, on every such occasion as this, and learned Friend modestly asked for was that a Conservative Government should do now for Ireland what they did for England in 1867. But there was one thing which they did not do, and that was to hand over the electoral power in one part of the United Kingdom to persons rated below £4, and that was what was now proposed. So long as they excluded women from the franchise and required a man to pay rent and occupy a house, and so long as there were endless barriers to the introduction of that which he hoped he should never see in England-universal manhood suffrage-they would have to fall back on the principle from which the Legislature of England had never departed that the franchise was not a mere right without conditions. One of the conditions necessary to annex to any lowering of the franchise in Ireland beyond the present point would be to show that the class which came in was qualified to exercise, as a body, the franchise conferred on them that by doing so the House would not be enfranchising ignorance, bigotry,

the curricle was harnessed with the hon. and learned Member for the county Kildare and the hon. Member for the county of Tipperary? And then the settlement the House was asked to deal with had been made in a Liberal House of Commons. No division was taken on the question of going below £4. The Liberal Party agreed to it because it was a far more liberal proposition than that which had been made by Lord Carlingford the year before, when he proposed £6. It was said they ought to assimilate the law between England and Ireland; but that argument proved too much, because, in that case, they ought not to have disturbed the balance between the two countries in the case of the Land and the Church. The fact was, the House of Commons had frequently treated Ireland more favourably than England in the matter of the franchise. Ireland had a £12 county franchise for some years; while, in the English counties, the franchise was £50. It was said that this Government would give Ireland nothing but Coercion Acts; but the fact was it

public events, home and foreign? Would they be free from improper influence, or, on the other hand, would they be amenable to clerical influence? Would they go to the poll to express their own convictions, or the wishes of the Church to which they belonged? He did not wish to say anything against any particular religious community, but when the whole of Europe was trying to resist priestly influence-when it was being resisted in England, whether on the part of one Church or another, he asked the House not to do anything to extend the priestly influence of any Church. In all the boroughs of Ireland, except the large boroughs of Belfast, Cork, and Dublin, there were only 24,463 male occupiers rated over £4. There were in those boroughs no less than 34,806 male occupiers rated at £4 and under. So that this proposal would bring in 10,000 more than the total number of existing voters. The English Reform Act of 1867 did nothing approaching that. He would include the three large boroughs of Belfast, Cork, and Dublin. In the whole borough constituency of Ireland there were 73,623 occupiers rated above £4; at and under £4 there were 56,902, or about 45 per cent of the whole were rated at and under £4. Now, he asked the House to consider whether they ought not to give a little weight to property and valuation. What was the valuation of the property of the two classes? The valuation of those rated above £4 was £1,226,000, while that of the class rated at and under £4 was £116,000, or an average valuation of £2 per head. In Galway, out of 3,554 houses, 1,896 were rated at and under £2. Galway returned two Members. There were 2,173 out of the 3,564 houses in Drogheda that were rated under 408. In Waterford, out of 4,544 houses, there were 1,878 rated under 408.

cut down by two-thirds the Coercion | gave attention to the discussion of great Acts it had found in existence-it had made them a humane instead of an inhumane code. It had done away with the midnight searchings and other parts of the law which had been found harsh in operation. He often wondered why his hon. Friends opposite were so fretful about the borough franchise. Surely they had got a pretty good share of borough Members! There were 37 borough Members. Twenty of them rejoiced in the name of Home Rulers. What that meant they had not yet settled. They had had recent congresses and conferences and leagues; but, as far as the result was concerned, they had only squabbled over £300, and had not yet decided whether they should go on with three or two Leaders or with none at all. That was the condition of the Home Rulers; but they were strong in Parliament. He admitted that there were 10 Conservative Members out of the 37 borough Members; they were not particularly strong, and several of them were threatened with extinction. What was the class that was proposed to be introduced by this measure? Were they intelligent shopkeepers, or the best part of the working class artizans, artificers, mechanics, &c., occupying a respectable position? No; they were men who lived in hovels, with members of the animal creation mixing with them. They were men who were rated at 108. per annum; men who did not occupy among the working class that position of solidity and respectability which was the ordinary character of the working class in all our great towns, and which they would find, no doubt, in the great towns in Ireland. They used to hear great speeches about what was intended and what would be done by every series of reform measures; that they would enfranchise intelligence; that they would enfranchise those who had been educated, those who were educating themselves, and who were a credit to the country to which they belonged. He had no right to lay too great a stress on rent; but it was one test. Living in a respectable tenement was a great social test. The vast majority of the persons who were proposed to be brought in were rated below £2. To extend the franchise to such people would be to degrade it. Would the class proposed to be brought in be men who read newspapers, who

In 1866 there were in the whole of the Parliamentary boroughs of England only 130,256 male occupiers under £4, while there were 1,222,300 above that amount; or, in words, onetenth under and nine-tenths above it. Let the House compare these figures with those which he had given with respect to Ireland, which showed that more than one-half the male occupiers were under £4. The Government was threatened with all sorts of pains and pe