Mr. Bright spoke twice at Keighley yesterday week, once at
lunch and onceud an evening meeting. At the lunch he do.. dared his belief that the House of Lords was not absolutely unteachable, and that to speak of it as a. Home for Incurables was needlessly harsh. They would hardly resist, he thought, the assimilation of the County and Borough Franchise, since that would weaken them for forcing a dissolution on the Re- distribution Bill, which he believed that they would prefer. In the evening he made a rather feeble apology for the property qualification in counties,—the qualification of which the Anti- Corn-Law League made so effective a use forty years ago, but which will not be wanted when once household suffrage is extended to the counties. Mr. Bright apologised for the 40s. freehold, as a means of enfranchising widowers or young men who do not want to have a house of their own ; but if the lodger franchise is not to be discontinued,—and we have never heard this pro- posed,—it would be easy for such men to secure a qualification by contributing towards the cost of the household in which they reside. The truth is that it will be really impossible to get rid effectually of the faggot-voters, unless we get rid effectually of the property qualification. Mr. Bright also de- clared himself hostile to universal suffrage. "I believe, if you cannot have a good Government with a representation based upon your household franchise mainly or generally, a good Government is not to be had for the people of this country."
