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Bendinff over Jnoney to bo invested in the railroads of a nation tfhieh > if the professed terrors were real , we must believe to be a gang of bandits . Had the French no co mmon-sense , no fear of retribution , no -wealth to be Blundered ? What possible object could France have in attacking ws ? And here was a proposition for taxation to an amount which ought rather to be taken off various complaining interests . We were perpetually ,, increasing the army , and where . was such a course to end ? The conduct of Government was not that which would tend to nrnmote ffood feeling between ourselves and France , which ,
as a nat ion , was admitted to be pacifically disposed , while her ruler ' s peaceful intentions were guaranteed by Lord Derby and Lord John Bussell . The people of England were opposed to any measure of this kind . He suggested proposals for mutual disarming , declared that we possessed powers of destruction prodigiously superior to «* hose of France , and announced his determination to give the Government measure his decided opposition . At the same time , with characteristic caution , he expressed his willingness ' to vote against the introduction of the bill , although he shrunk from moving an amendment to that effect .
Major Bebesfobd , Admiral Beekeley , Mr . Fox Maui-E , and Mr . NewdegatEj Captain Boldeeo , and the O'Gobman Mahon , supported the measure , while Mr . Hobhotjse opposed it . The Chancellor of the Exchequer , delivered a short address , very much to the point . He hoped the House would not divide , as Ministers were acting in obedience to an order of the House . " He should not attempt to answer the honourable member for the West Hiding , who had made one of those able and agreeable speeches which he always listened to with pleasure , though he disagreed with them ( a laugh . ) _ His argument was not against a militia , but against all defence ;
agains t the line , household troops , artillery , and cavalry . ( Cheers . ) It proceeded upon the assumption that , in the present state of the worldj no country need defend itself . He could not agree with the honourable gentleman that the events of the last few years had . authorized his adoption of that opinion , although he had triumphantly referred to them as an authority for what he had statea . When lie ( the Chancellor of the Exchequer ) recollected that in the course of eight weeks four pitched battles had been fought , and the Adriatic was blockaded , he could not agree that the era to which the honourable gentleman had
referred was exactly that halcyon period which he seemed to consider it . But totally irrespective of the disturbances of the last few years , which we had unfortunately witnessed , there were features of long endurance in the political condition of the world , which made him thinkthat we had not entered Upon . a state of permanent tranquillity , "As long as he found the strongest places in the possession of the weakest powers , and the richest countries under the sway of the feeblest sovereigns , it was natural to look for such a settlement of affairs as would lead to great changes , and he could not believe that such changes could be effected by any other agency than war . "
As to the ballot , there was a conviction on the part of the Government that the principle of voluntary enlistment might be applied with great , and even completej success . Mr . Bright made some smart criticisms on the not ¦ unreasonable wish with which Mr . Disraeli commenced his speech—not to divide before they had the bill before them . " But it struck him that tho request was rather remarkable as cpming from the right honourable gentleman . Ho supposed that when an honourable gentleman had passed a fortnight on tho Treasury bench , he acquired a gravity of face which enabled him to ask anything 1 of the members
opposite to him . ( Oh , oh . ) The right honourable gentleman Bat on the Ministerial aide of tho Houso by tho violation of the very rule which he now asked tho House to observe , ( Cheers from tho Opposition benches . ) Ho should have borne that rule in mind before he enlisted under the banners of a vindictive noble lord . The right honourable gentleman would find it much easier to get voluntoors in some of the south-western counties , whore wages were only a shilling a day , than ho " would in Lancaahiro and Yorkshire , where they ranged from half-acrown to five shillings . In Lancashire and Yorkshire , therefore , ho must have recourse to the ballot . Tho right honourable crontloman nronosod to ballot all tho men from
18 to 85 years of age , employed in manufactures ; and ho would take from tho mills mon engaged in delicate , and aiflicult , and skilled processes . Woll , liow would this project operate in tho manufactories ? because that waa a question that muat bo mot , and could not bo evaded . + 1 * ° f ' ' * ' WftS a ^ vorv wo ^ ^ honourable gontlomon in that house to do as it was said tho noble lord tho member lor livorton had done tho other night , namoly , ' to tnko an airing on tho British lion' ( laughter ) ; but when thiB system came to bo applied in Lancashire and Yorkshire , not w » o groat capitalists alone , but the workmon who wore to bo withdrawn from their regular and well-paid industry , would bo found atoady and implacable opponents of this measure . "
For the rest , he objected that tho calling out tho militia would disturb tho industry of tho country ; and suggested thut it ehould bo deferred until the noxfc parliament . Mr . WiriTE 8 iDE supported the measure of his Government . Mr . itoBBtroK and Mr . Osboenb united J » suggesting that tho bill be introduced , and laid on the table ; but that no further steps bo taken until next parliament . But as no moinbor had the courage to move a diroot negative , tho motion was agreed to ; and after disposing of some routine business , tho Houso ad journed ,
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THE BALLOT . Mr . Berkeley brought on his annual motion " for leave to bring in a bill to cause votes of parliamentary electors to be taken by way of ballot , " on Tuesday . There was a pretty good attendance , though , as the number who voted show , a great many members ' stayed away . ' * Mr . Berkeley made his usual smart speech on the . occasion , full of excerpts , and illustrated by anecdotes of contested elections . The novel matter in the oration was the opening sentences on the state of the country , considered > froni an electioneering point of
— " We had before us the prospect of an immediate general election ( laughter , and cries of ' Hear , hear' ) , when the electors would bo exposed to the evils he had for years been endeavouring to portray , and he now asked leave to bring in a bill with a view to alleviate those evils . ( Hear , hear . ) Last year we had a great influx of foreigners , and they found us a grave , sedate people , very much attached to order ; let them visit us a few months hence , and they would find the most admired disorder—a kind of electoral saturnalia ; and , witnessing such riot , confusion , drunkenness , debauchery , and tyrannical interference , they might imagine they had got , if not into a mere maison desfous , among a nation of madmen . ( A laugh . ) This , if any election , bade fair to be marked with violence ; a rich and
powerful party , after the lapse of several years , had just obtained power , and upon this general election it depended whether the honeyed bowl at their lips should be taken from them . Already the note of preparation for a fearful struggle had gone forth ; and herds of low attorneys had crept from the police and bankruptcy courts , where they had wrung fees from the hands of poverty and vice , to become electioneering agents in the hands of the great and noble . What was their agency ? A searching inquiry into the lives of the electors , in order to find out their misfortunes and liabilities ; and the devilish ingenuity with which they framed screws to force a dishonest and unwilling vote was almost beyond belief . ( Hear , hear . ) Their trade was the elector ' s conscience , their means the elector ' s misery , their employers the House of Lords , the result the House of Commons . ( Laughter . )"
He also read a letter in refutation of the charges made by Mr . Disraeli on Thursday week , against the American system of elections . " The Chancellor of the Exchequer , with the extraordinary ability and ingenuity which marked all his speeches , had seized the fact of disturbance , bribery , and intimidation , taking place at New York— -the ballot-box , the object of the wrath of Jthe intimidators and "bribers , being smashed to pieces . Having resided six years in America , he ( Mr . H . Berkeley ) could say he never saw elections conducted except with the greatest order . Americans said that they scarcely wanted the ballot , from the absence of bribery and intimidation , but that the ballot was wanted in England , because , by the law of primogeniture and entail ,
{> r operfcies accumulated , and the tyranny of classes was bit . The New York disturbance might have taken placo anywhere . An American gentleman of great respectability had written as follows : — " My dear Sir , —Tho statement made by Mr . Disraeli is no doubt substantially correct ; but I have grave doubts whether you will find any American who will consider that his inferences are the game . That intimidation has been resorted to , and very grossly resorted to , and that bribery has been partially successful and very extensively attempted , is , I believe , indisputable ; but that the taking the votes by way of ballot has had anything to do with tho difficulty is clean out of tho question . You will find that tho
Governor of tho State of Now York passes a censure upon the irregularities which have taken placo , and calls attention to iheir prevention ; but casts not a word of doubt on tho subject of tho ballot . The destruction of the ballot-box will at once point to tho fact , that it was held in no groat estimation by tho promoters of intimidation and bribery , and I think I may venture to make the calculation that we shall find that our local Legislature will pass a stringent law on tho subject of bribery , and in futuro recommend that our voting-urns lio locatod in a placo of more security . ' In tho Carolinas , Alabama , and tho southern states , tho ballot-box protected tho advocate of emancipation from Lynch law . ( Hear . )"
Those who refused to trust the people , and spoke of democratic tendencies , might as well anticipate from under the foundation of that House the outburst of subterranean firo . In tho course of his speech Mr . Berkeley alluded to South Notts election , where the gentlemen of the county " routed out tho electors like vermin , and seat them " liko caged rnts to tho poll , " amid some laughter . This brought up Mr . Bahbow , tho member for that county , who said that his election waa tho best proof that independent electors could return their own candidate . He was opposed to the ballot , ovon in clubs , and he hoped that the electors of this country would continue , ns in hit * ciwc , to exorcise their franchise independently , owning Hubjection to no human authority , save to tho Queen jumI tho law . ( Cheers . )
Sir Benjamin Ham , and Mr . W . Williams ( whoso uprise was greeted with impatient cries of " Oh , oh ! " ) supported the motion , Mr . lUlLLlE . CoonKANiVunublo to obtnih much attention for what ho 1 ms himself to soy , managed to lnako nn impression by quoting a speech delivered Sn 1842 on Mr . ( now Sir Henry ) Ward ' s motion for tho ballot . Sir James Graham fluid" The whole system of Hccrot voting in inconsistent with tho English character . If ho bo an honest man and a firm
friend he will not want the ballot . If he skulks he will hot avail himself of it . The only persons to whom the ballot would be valuable would be those ditty , hypocritical scoundrels —( 'Hear , hear , ' and laughter ) -r-men whosefacea belie their purpose—men who pretend to be your friends only to deceive and betray you—who flatter you with yam hopes of support , which they have no intention to realize —men who talk of intimidation , but seek the opportunity of gratifying their sordid envy , their revenge , and that bitter hatred which , combined with their cowardice , marks them as . the most contemptible of mankind . These' are the mon who demand a measure that is a mere recipe to * Lend to lies the Confidence of truth . ' (* Hoar , hear / and laughter . )" Of course , Mr . Cochrane opposed the ballot—it was " base and treacherous , " he said , and then quoted a quotation which Mr . Shiel had made from Demosthenes
to prove it ! Mr . Cobben spoke upon the necessity of the ballot to prevent bribery , intimidation , and electioneering immorality . Illustrating the necessity for protecting the voter by a reference to the conduct of the landlords , he said"On the 2 nd of June , 1835 , Lord Stanley said in that House that if they had the ballot he , as an English landlord , would not only see that his tenant voted , but would see him put the ticket in the ballot-box . ( Hear , hear . ) Now , a more unabashed act of despotism , a more scandalous outrage on the rights of citizens he could not conceive . ( Cheers . ) That a landlord , merely because a man
was employed in producing what was essential to human sustenance , though he might be as intelligent and as honest as himself , and as able to exercise the franchise , should declare that he would not even allow the ballot to protect him in his vote , was one of the strongest proofs that could be given of the necessity that existed for protection to the voter . He told Lord Derby and all the farmers' friends that it Was their object to protect the farmers against such inquisition , and that if the system of Massachusetts was adopted it would defy even the prying eyes of Lord Derby
to discover in what way a tenant voted . ( Hear , hear . ) On another occasion , Lord Derby distinctly told them that he considered the tenantry of this country to be the political capital of the landlords . ( Hear , hear . ) He begged gentlemen opposite to hear what he was going to read , and answer it if they could * It was the business of the Chancellor of the Exchequer to answer it , for the farmers would be sure to read this , and know the character of their leader . ( Hear , hear . ) On the 22 nd of February , 1841 , Lord Stanley , speaking on the Parliamentary Voters Bill , said : — : ^
* It was a matter of pride and satisfaction to the landlords of England that their tenants usually felt a desire to comply with their landlords' wishes . He neither sought to deny nor to apologise for it , while he condemned the exorbitant or undue exercise of the power ; for if it were pushed to an extreme , it was known , that when any man attempted to estimate the probable result of a county election , it was ascertained by calculating the number of tho great landed proprietors in tho county , and weighing the number of occupiers under them . ' But was it right that these men should be altogether deprived of their political rights in this way ; that they wero to bo made mere fagot voters for the landlords ? ( Hear . )" If the farmers would submit to this , the working classes would not . At a meeting in Stockport , a
resolution was passed to the effect that if the people could not have the ballot , they would not have the 51 franchise . ( Ministerial cheers . ) " It always puzzled him to know why gentlemen opposite cheered ; but ho thought ho could understand why they did so now , and ho thought they wore quite right , for tho dependent voter might be exposed to tho influence of a great raillownor as much as to tho inrtuonco of a great landowner ; and ho had always declared that tho object of tho ballot was to protect the voters from any kind of improper influence , whether exorcised b y landowners , millowners , customers , priests , or mobs . ( Hear , hear . )" He wound up with a warning to tho " young men " opposito not to commit themselves by voting against the ballot .
Mr . Walfole waa put up to reply , and referred to two remarks made by Mr . Cobden , before entering on tlio genoral question . First , ho claimed Mr . Cobdon ' s vote against Mr . Locke King ' s 101 . franchiso motion , t /' this motion for tho ballot was rejected ; and then ho continued" Tho othor passage of tho hon . member's speech to which I am about to rclbrl cannot pass over so lightly , and indeed ho must permit mo to say that it \ va 8 npt worthy of him , because it wat » not an accurate representation or tho words of tho noblo lord at tho head of tho Government . ( Hoar , hoar . ) Tho words which tho hon . member used woro very remarkable : ho said , that tho noblo lord at tho head of tho Government had made ubo of tho expression , - that tho landlords of England looked on
their tonantry a » political capital . their tonantry a » political capital . Mr . Coupmn . —Wo , I did not . ( Cries of " Oh , oh !" "Order !' . ' ) . V Mr . WApoM 8 . —I ain not mis-stating what tho lion , moinbor said . ( Cheers . ) Mr . Coimkar . —I road a quotation from Lord Derby's ppcoch . ( , " Order , ordor ! " ) Mr . Walpolk . —I boliovo tho words woro , the tnnantry of JGii tf lttrKl woro political capital . ( Chcora from tho Minifltorial bonches . ) Mr . ConnicN " : I wish to savo tho timo of tho hon . gontloman , instead of allowing him to waato hia own timo and tho timo of the House in arguing on a difforont hypothoais . ( " Oh , oh . " } I quoted LordDorb / a words from Hansard ; and I said in tho courso of my remarks , after somo othor
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A ?» ii . 3 , 1852 . ] THE LEADER . 3 li
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Leader (1850-1860), April 3, 1852, page 311, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1929/page/3/
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