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¦ TT!ftA THE LEAD E B. [JSTo. 448, Octob...
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TWO BIG AND TOO LITTLE CONSTITUENCIES. P...
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TO REIGN POLICY OP NAPOLEON III. Waxt of...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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What Is Social Science ? The Many Days' ...
the constitution of man , and that the two guide and govern his life . Only scheming politicians— like the gentlemen at Liverpool , who usurped the . name of social reformers—only Whigs and Tories who grasp at power while they pretend to promote the welfare of society , practically adopt the principle that evil calx be got rid ofa and therefore , even wh . en ^ they proclaim as the foundation of their own power the inherent wickedness of man ; try to legislate it out of the world . It is part of the experience of modem times that the efforts of legislation for this purpose have all been , very lamentable failures . To get rid of evil is not possible ; to inflict it from fancying ^ that good will result from it after the manner of conceited Whigs and place-hunting Tories , in spite of experience , is very foolish , not to say absurd .
¦ Tt!Fta The Lead E B. [Jsto. 448, Octob...
¦ TT ! ftA THE LEAD E B . [ JSTo . 448 , October 23 , 1858 . iJLdvf . . ¦ . __ . - ¦ ^________ ^— .
Two Big And Too Little Constituencies. P...
TWO BIG AND TOO LITTLE CONSTITUENCIES . Pbetmonitory signals are daily more perceptible tfhat we are on the verge of a general move onwards hi the direction of Parliamentary Reform . Candidates , whether calling themselves Liberal or Conservative , are eagerly bidding higher and higher for popular favour . Mr . Angerstein , who a few weeks since hesitated to pledge himself to anything definite , now finds it necessary to tell the electors of Greenwich , that he has made up Ms mind to a 5 ^ . franchise , the use of the ballot at the option of -e ' ach constituency , and the ending of the glaring -anomalies presented by inordinately large and
preposterously small electorates . Among the many anomalies in . our present electoral system with' which the framers of the forthcoming Reform Bill will have to deal , none more imperatively calls for impartial care than that which consists in the excessive disproportion in the size of various constituencies . There are in Great Britain sixty-two boroughs which do not contain five hundred electors ; and there are in Ireland twenty-three which do not possess that number . On the . other hand , there are in the United Kingdom seventy-four counties and cities , each of which lias a nominal constituency of upwards of five thousand . We
purposely avoid discriminating between town and country , because we are altogether opposed to the retention of opposite rules for the two great divi-. sions of the community : and we purposely deal ¦ with the facts presented by different parts of the -United Kingdom without any distinction or reservation , because we have always held that there ought to be but . one Bill for England , Ireland , and Scotland , and that all three should be treated in the same spirit , and made to feel in future that they are governed by the same law . We are well aware that in both respects we shall provoke the cavils of the
red-tapists of every school , The precedent of 1832 -will be quoted by narrow-minded Whigs for the continuance of the existing distinction between counties and towns ; and we shall bo warned , no doubt , by all manner of confidential nods and winks , that to apply the same rule to merchants and farmers , tradesmen and graziers , would give a eortaiu advantage to the Conservatives as a party over the Liberals . But we say at once tliafc we cannot , for our part , recognise any such considerations . The new Bill , if it be good for anything , must be n great act of national justice . It is proposed at a time when party heats have subsided , and men arc disposed ou all hands to forgot past strifes . To
reopen suoh conflicts when undertaking a great act of » ational resettlement might serve the purposes of aristocratic faction , but it could only tend to balk the aims which the people at large have in view . They will have none of it . There is no honest reason why the same holding , whether house or land , in a country village , should not confer the same franchise as it would have done in a borough . And let us own frankly that we think it will need all the popular feeling and sympathy of country as well as of town to win any extension of suffrage in
cither that would be worth asking for . It may be also that inveterate prejudice will prompt a certain section of Tories to seek the rotowtion of hateful distinctions between opposite sides of the olumnel ; but wo have not now to make up our minds as to the folly and wickedness of legislating against raco or creed ; and tho history ot what took placo in 3 , 88 s ,, when the . same thing was voted by tho same men to'be black in England and white in Ireland , is too fresh iii men ' s memories to permit tho samo system of blundering and injustice to bo tolerated again . Haying said thus much , let us now recur to the figures abovo stated .
It is impossible to look at the glaring disparity between the two extremes of size in our constituencies , without being conscious that there is something essentially faulty in the system which perpetuates it . Without entering into the discussion raised some time since by ' Edinburgh Review , as to tho advantages of diversify in the extent of constituencies , we may take it for granted that no set of rational men will be found now-a-days to contend , as the Tories did in 1 S 32 , in favour of direct purchase , or direct nomination , in obtaining seats in Parliament . Now it is notorious that the influence either of property or of money absolutely
decides who shall be members for the dwari boroughs alluded to above . Election , in any ordinary sense of the term , there is and can be none for places like Arundel , Midhurst , liipon , Game , Eye , Thetford , Dungannou , Downpatrick , ' or Portarliugton . Now and then : i rush may be made when the keeper happens to be asleep , or in trouble , or absent , and the passive , unthinking captive may be bamboozled or bullied into spending an incoherent hour in the market-place , at the end ^ o . f which some hardy intruder is said to have gained the day . But cheats , at surprises of this kind , however legitimate hable for
in mere party warfare , or laug as topics ephemeral gossip , have really nothing to do with the question . They have no more to'do with any sober or real system of popular representation than the winning of " the Oaks" by drugging the favourite , or bribing a rival ' s jockey , has to do with the breeding or training of thoroughbred horses in general . Seats for such boroughs as those we have named are practically , and to all intents and purposes , as much the property of the proprietors of the estates where they lie as the manorial rights attached to them , or the privilege of shootin" - over the farms of which they are made
up . Law for it there is none , 'tis true , as i-ar as the statute book is concerned , but prescription , custom , and usage there i § , quite as strong as any Act of Parliament , and too strong for anything but an Act of Parliament to put an end to . There are , indeed , places included in the catalogue of stunted constituencies whose plight is still worse , morally speaking—places where the dictation of one piedominant family has ceased to exist only to make room for a base and uublusliing system of traffic in votes at each miscalled election . Every one knows that in communities so limited the traditional
taint is utterly incurable . Accident may sometimes cause a walk over , just as itbas sometimes caused a bloodless victory , or saved two drunken bravos from the trouble and shame of c street row . But no one , who sincerely loathes the practice of corruption , or believes in its deleterious effects on national character , can find it in his heart to say that Sudbury , Borsham , Sligo , Pontcfract , Weymouth , Cashcll , Barnstaplc , Athlone , and a score such like , ought not , to be disfranchised . Equally indefensible iu every sound point of view is the' continuance of overgrown constituencies like the West Riding , South Lancashire , or the for
county of Cork . It is palpabl y impracticable any man , however diligent aud faithful , to discharge one fourth of the duties which , us representative , lie has undertaken when elected by such communities . The mere correspondence incident to such a position would consume the time and \ ycar _ clown tho spirit of any man capable of conducting it ns it- ought to bo conducted by the representative guardian of so many interests , and representative exponent of so many opinions . The absolute impossibility of performing the duty aright leads to its practical abnegation , save in particular cases . Tho largo constituencies are obliged to put up with such a species of representation as they emi gel ; : they aro not satisfied , but they cannot help themselves . We have named some of tho inordinately largo counties , but there aro still moro numerous instances of
excessively numerous borough constituencies . And hero the evil is in many respects still worse Tho inhabitants of a particular district of tho West Riding , failing to sccuro tlio undivided attontion of their county members , seek tho subsidiary aid of tho representatives of tho next borough situated within its confines . But no such alternative exists in case of need for a particular section or class in Glasgow or Manchester , Marvlebono or tho Tovvor Hamlets . We should be sorry to bo misunderstood as using these names in any other sense than that of illustration . Wo aro confident , however , that tho honourable gontleincn who sit for the p laces wo havo named , will bo ready to agree with us that their burden is greater than they can bear . Wore any of them coxcomb or orazy enough , to deny it ,
we should not on that account change our opinion , but simply find in the boast , an additional proof of how really limited the choice of such constituencies must be . The mere cost of printing and public meetings which every candidate is obliged to incur in itself amounts to . a protecting duty ' favour of enormous wealth and ' egregious prodigality ; and unless something be donc _ to reverse the infamous Act of last session legalising indiscriminate treating under the pretence of conveying voters to the poll , the cost of contesting any of our great const ilucucies will amount to an absolute \ y , w against all fair competition for the House .
To Reign Policy Op Napoleon Iii. Waxt Of...
TO REIGN POLICY OP NAPOLEON III . Waxt of confidence in the intentions of " our Great Ally , " . as Lord Palmerstou loved to call the present ruler of France , is fast becoming a "public secret . " The moneyed interest having ti ; o much to lose by openly confessing tho possibility of disturbance in Europe , continues stoutly to deny h ; but talk to anv man of profound knowledge or quick discernment of political facts , and he will tacitly , if not audibly , assert in a . whisper that several things have occurred ' within the last few months for which he cannot satisfactorily account upon the stand-atcase tlieorv of international relations . The partisans of the late administration clinic to the belief that
Louis . Napoleon is the great aimelidc of European peace , as well as of social order ; and having victimised themselves to maintain an interrupted confidence between the two Governments , they are terribly afraid of his turning out after all to have been a stealthy enemy of the old status quo . So Lord Clarendon anxiously pays his court to M . Walewski , and Lord Palincr .-tou gives out that he made up his quarrel wilb _ that functionary during his recent visit to Pan ' s : bat the French Minister uses no such terms of endearment , although civilities are kept up . When the present Cabinet was formed , . one of its chief boasts and recommendations was , that as Lord Derby had been the first English statesman to flatter and rxtol
Napoleon III ., and as Lord ALalmesbUry was known to have enjoyed his ' personal intimacy while resident in this country , the accession of the Tories- to power must tend * to draw closer the bonds of friendship and confidence alreading subsisting , T > nl it _ is no longer permitted us to . believe that sucJi conlidence reallv exists . Government men and Government journals are accustomed to swear hard ; imd . wc do nut , in fact , expect them to confess their suspicions and anxieties . But it needs very little penetration to discover that their councils , as far as Frnncc is concerned , bcain to be darkened with di > trust . The fact that the Donamverth and Ai ^ M-litz were actually on their way to Lisbon before 1 ho slightest intimation was given ( o our Govermen ! , and that ; the circumstance was lirst communicated to our
Foreign Oilice , as matter rather of sunni .-c Hum certainty , by an Entrli & h Consul , is unquestionable . It was only on explanations being demanded that , M . Walewski condescended to inform our I ' orei . cn Oliicc of the object of their mission . J \ obody will contend that iu thus successfully endeavouring to steal a march upon us , the Imperial Government ; violated any pact , or gave us any cause formally to complain . But alienation between friends and allies seldom commences in that wny . It ' * t , } conviction mutually created , of separate councils and secret purposes that contains the germ oj ultimate estrangement . Portugal , as the covenanted ally of England , was known to possess an absolute right to call , whenever Hircatencd , lor t-lio nrcsnimn of our fleet : the obieel . therefore , could not ,
havo been war . Too palpably the purpose \ ws , by «• suddun demonstration of nuval force in tin l « . g U ! -j . at a moment when it was well known no JJriusn ships were there , to obtain bolter terms Irom tie Portuguese Government than could otherwise no obtained , and then to boast in the fiico ol Europe that England had failed to sustain the pretensions of her " ancient ally . " Tho promp t , nnjiwininco oi our ships of war under Iho palaeo of tho JScee . ^ idmlea may lmvo thu effect , it is true , of bnlkim ? «»* ¦ »' " signs ; but very liulo increased lovo is like lo come
ol that achievement . Throughout tho Levant Frcnoh emissaries nio everywhere busily at work ingratiating themselves , under various specious protoxts of education , charity , or trade , with tho Latin and Armenian Christians . No buu knows precisely how or wiitn tho rosouroos nro supplied for carrying ou . tius system of ombracory . That it is carried on , lio'nover , to a marvellous extent , ovory ono who ua »
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Oct. 23, 1858, page 18, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_23101858/page/18/
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