TOPICS OF THE DAY.
REFORM DISCUSSION : OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. IN noting from time to time the progress made in the discussion of principles and schemes contributed by various public writers towards the Reform Bill of next session, we do not of course pre- tend to analyze all the articles that appear from day to day and week to week in the principal newspapers, and to reproduce in half-a-dozen paragraphs matter that has occupied scores of the columns of our contemporaries. Marked indications of points to vihich public opinion has advanced or receded, and suggestions of individual writers that from their originality or their sagacious combination of familiar ideas, are fitted to enlarge the scope or per- fect the details of the promised measure, are alone noteworthy ; and the residuum, the gold-dust deposited by the river of speech that Rows loud-voiced and many- tongued to silence and oblivion, scarcely rewards the watchfulness and toil of the seeker.
The leading contributions, since last we touched this topic, have been a series of articles in the Times newspaper, and a series of letters in the Morning Chronicle signed "'W. R. G.," develop- ing one by one propositions already advanced in the _Edinburgh Review and alluded to in this journal at the date of their first appear- ance. It is needless to say that we look to the Times for its indi- cations of public opinion—to W. R. G. for his suggestions : the first is a barometer, whose function is to tell us the state of the political atmosphere—the second a compass, which points the
• course we ought to steer; and, if we may pursue the fancy, the • other journals can be compared to little else than the sea-birds and fishes that follow a ship's wake, and by their monotonous cries or scarcely more monotonous silence indicate simply the respective classes of the animal world to which they belong.
The articles in the Times are indeed carefully abstinent front suggestion, and studious in their avoidance of the least attempt to raise the aspirations or guide the conclusions of the nation. The writer aims, as it would seem, beyond all other things, at not out- stripping the plainest understanding in apprehension of the changes
• required, and at hitting the level of political invention and public spirit to be found in that large class of Englishmen whose business is neither statesmanship nor political speculation, but which yet has an interest in peace, quietness, and good government, and has no special interest in proved and acknowledged anomalies and
• corruptions. Under this inspiration, he arrives at the conclusion that the equalization of the town and county franchise, with the dismemberment of small boroughs and the disfranchisement of free- men, form the main elements of the bill to be desired. Abhorrent, however, of anything that approaches so near to theory as to embody a principle, or even to recognize one, he poohpoohs alike the doctrine of class representation and the opposite doctrine of representation of numbers. Setting up an absurd misapplication of the former princi- ple, he presents us with a picture of the country "split up into guilds." "Scientific men must elect scientific men, and lawyers, soldiers, sailors, and doctors, each come as the representatives of their own profession." Aghast at his own prophetic fancy, he enters "his protest against such newfangled doctrines, which never were, and we hope never will be, any part of the British constitution." A tolerable Parliament might probably be assembled by this process, but it is not the process which is implied in the doctrine of class- representation. The phrase is founded upon the fact that civiliza- tion—the combined agencies by which our race advances from one stage to another—tends, by subdivision of labour, accumulation of wealth, and progress of speculation, to form classes in a community. These classes will view public questions from different points and on different sides, as self-interest and habits of thought may direct their minds ; and each will arrive at different conclusions, likely, when brought together, debated, corrected, and finally allowed to shape the decision of the community, to render that decision more wise, more comprehensive, more in accordance with the laws of social science, more conducive to the national interests, than if it had proceeded from one class alone. The theory of representation of classes, as opposed to the representation of mere numbers, mere property, mere anything else that can be set up as a qualification, aims at harmonizing the political institutions of a civilized state to the social facts of such a state, instead of raising them upon a basis only true of a savage tribe, or an imperfectly developed COMMA.. /UT in which some important organ has been stunted. We are not prepared to say precisely what doctrines have at various periods helped to shape the synthesis of institutions under which British liberties have developed to their present maturity and strength, still less to assign to each its due share of the grand results; but we see in the doctrine of the representation of classes as thus stated, a key to much that would else sadden us in our history—a refuge from the unwelcome hypothesis, that all statesmen and parties who have opposed change in our electoral system, and refused to suppress corruption and eradicate anomalies, have been simply selfish and hypocrites to boot, since they alleged as an excuse for both corruption and anomaly, the necessity, as they deemed it, of preserving the balance of the constitution. Like the balance of Euro- pean power, this phrase may have veiled a great deal of unmixed ini- quity and selfishness,--may, nay, must in many mouths, have been mere cant : but cant is only true meaning decayed or misplaced— the convictions of clearsighted and honest men forged and passed current by those who are neither one nor the other. And it does appear to us that this boasted constitution of ours, with its lions and unicorns, with its sovereign head, its church, its estates of the realm, its juries, its municipal bodies, its varied constituenoies,.—
all real and most valuable safeguards against that unite de pou- voir which is, whether in its monarchical or republican form, fatal to true liberty,—is nothing more nor less than an elaborate and wonderful machinery for embodying this very principle of repre- sentation of classes. Or, if this be too arbitrary an extension of the phrase, we may at least say that the representation of classes, in its more limited sense, aims at objects kindred to those secured
• by that distribution of powers which characterizes the English constitution. It aims at securing that great interests, widely- spread modes of thought, vast masses of knowledge and opinion, shall not count for nothing in the legislative assembly of the na- tion, because other interests happen to be greater, other modes of thought more prevalent, other opinions and a different range of knowledge in the ascendant. Not, be it understood, that the greater is to give way to the less—that the minority is to di- rect the final decision instead, of the majority—but that in the discussion which precedes decision all should be heard, all listened to ; and this not at all more for the sake of the minority than of the majority, but for the sake of wise national councils, a stable policy, and a general acquiescence in the laws. We can comprehend what the Daily News and those who agree with it mean by denying the right of a minority to be represented; we en- tirely appreciate the force of their objections to the theory of class representation : they would approximate as closely as they can to the simplest means for ascertaining the notions of the majority of the adult male inhabitants of the country upon any political question, and for giving those notions the force and form of law with the least possible delay. This is a comprehensible course, consistent with itself ; and it has not yet been quite proved that the United States of America have been ruined by acting on it. As the 2Yme8, .however, has no wish to assimilate our con- stitution to that of our cousins over the water, we are at a loss to understand why it directs sneers against the only principle -effectual to resist such a change. Undoubtedly, the via inertise may for a long time resist, and practical good sense may help it ; but the human mina seeks after principles, and the more eager- ly in proportipikias it is cultivated. Even in polities those views will ultimately prevail which base themselves on distinct intel- ligible principles. And, agreeing with the Times heartily in its sense of the danger of so lowering the franchise as virtually to throw the representation of the country into the hands of the lowest class exclusively, we are glad to strengthen ourselves by reposing on a principle that is justified alike by experience and theory, and to declare the representation of classes in opposition to the representation of numbers. We have no such particular pre- ference for one scheme over another that we would reject any pro- posal honestly recognizing and practically carrying out this prin- ciple. But the principle is essential. And if we proceed to do away with such imperfect, irregular, and corrupt means for effect- ing a representation of classes, as have grown up in the working of our electoral system or were originally designed for that purpose, but have been found involve great accompanying evil, without at the same time recognizing the principle more distinctly than before, and providing regular and pure machinery for its operation we had better a thousand times make up our minds to leave well alone, and to be content with the best legislation and the most effective instrument of even popular will in Europe. We can understand those who think that class representation is ef- fectually secured by our present system; though we imagine that such reasoners must leave the proletariat class quite out of their con- sideration, and have a lower opinion than we ourselves have of the value to be attached to a body of Members specially representing the " elerisy of the nation." But we cannot comprehend how the indirect representation is any longer to be effected, even in its pre- sent limited degree, if anomalies are to be removed ; and the whole pith of our argument is that the natural tendency of public opinion is to sweep them away ; a tendency with which we heartily sym- pathize, for they offend alike the love of directness and the moral sense. Only, while with one hand we sweep away, with the other we would erect ; what is immorally and imperfectly effected now, we would effect by pure and simple means,—avowing as the principle of action that the political institutions of a nation must be so arranged as that wealth, refinement, knowledge, are not subordinated to and swamped by mere numbers, but so coordinated as that all the ele- ments of a nation's greatness, permanence, and progress, have their due weight in shaping the laws and giving utterance to the national will.
We can hardly fix the Times to any definitely final statement of opinion as to what is the best plan for redistributing the Mem- bers to be taken from small and corrupt boroughs. The public has not pronounced, and when his oracle is silent how can the priest be expected to prophesy P Meanwhile, with respect to what the Times does consider settled, both negatively and positively, as well as with respect to its future records of public opinion, we think it right and useful to say, that the writer, in his desire not to be unpractical by advocating change that the nation will refuse to sanction, seems to us to have mistaken the lowest for the highest point of public opinion. He has, we think, taken an estimate rather of what the respectable part of the nation would suggest, if the question were referred to them man by man, than of what it would gladly accept when suggested by others if Ministers would only be bold and hopeful enough to propose it. It is to the writer of the letters in the Chronicle that we must turn for an exemplification of the valuable service rendered by the public press to the advance of sound political views—of something really influential in forming, not merely useful in declaring, public
opinion. Eminently suggestive, inventivq.comprehensive, and withal thoroughly practical, he has done more than any other per. son to help the publie to a right apprehension-, off> the problem to be solved, and to a right solution. Taking his ateaddikinlysan the principle of class-representation,—recognizing. itoasuthresafeguarg of liberty, and also as a means for practically improving thu cha- racter of the House of Commons,—he would disfranchise titaall boroughs returning about seventy Members, bestow about half these Members on the proposed educational constituencies, *lie rest on counties. But in arranging the distribution al the re* County Members he proposes not further to , subdivide meth. ties, but to allow more Members to singlwreleetcrial dis. laid; and in these cases to give the electors what called cumulative vote, so that if there be five •Menthers to be elected a voter may give one vote to each of the five ttr five votes to one. The bearing of this suggestion on the difficult question of the representation of minorities renders it interesting andimpore ant. He agrees in the now favourite notion of equalizing the•town and county franchise, and most energetically opposes any lowerieg of the rental qualification. But he repeats the proposal to bestow, the franchise on persons, not coming within the ten-pound qualification, who have fifty pounds invested in savings-banks or other institu- tions that can be guarded against fraudulent manufacture of .sueli votes, and upon foremen and labour-captains, subject, of course, to a like guarantee against fraud. This proposal appears to us (though subject, in some degree, to the objection that possible . changes in the value of money may materially alter its practical work- ing) to provide Lord. Sohn Russell and the Whig section of the Cabinet with that substitute for their own five-pound franchise which they may naturally seek as essential to their character for consistency. Such considerations are not beneath statesmen, and deserve sympathy from their colleagues. It may be, too, that in some such proposal may be found that com- promise between no extension of the suffrage to the hand-labourers and an extension that would swamp the voices of the rest of the community, apparently called for by the composition of the Government, and even more evidently by the balance of parties. Already the Daily News is denouncing hypothetical vengeance on Lord John for hypothetical desertion of his pledges and his prin- ciples. If we regarded W. It. G's. suggestion as unsound in itself, we should certainly not urge it on grounds merely personal to cer- tain members of the present Government : we do not believe they would hesitate to sacrifice a false consistency to higher considers- tions,—as Sir Robert Peel oftener than once did, and gained glory for so doing in the gratitude of a benefited nation,—as Lord Sohn himself did with respect to the Appropriation-clause; but in this , case consideration for the men and regard to party combinations, coincide with the soundest policy and the highest statesmanship.
Previous page
