j!\^^ 4- i^i^^^^t^ THE COUNTY FRANCHISE DIFFICULTY BOW REMOVABLE BY FKEDERIC HILL ' Take but degree away, untune that string, And, hark, what discord follows!' — Shakspebe LONDON LONGMANS, GEEEN, AND CO. 1878 Trice One SJdlUng LONDON : PRINTED BY SPOTYISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE AND PARLIAMENT STREET THE COUNTY FRANCHISE DIFFICULTY, The question of extending household suffrage to the counties is exciting much attention ; and well it may do so, for it is one of momentous importance. Tiio&e who think with Mr. Gladstone demand such an exten- sion in gross ; those who hold with Mr. Lowe would reject it altogether. May it not be wise to consider, with all earnestness, whether there be not another course, which, Avhile giving effect in some measure to the views of one party, may avoid most of the objections raised by the other? The hope of aiding, however slightly, in attaining this object leads me to tender the following remarks. In further justifica- tion, however, I may be permitted to state that I have long studied the subject of Parliamentary repre- sentation ; that many years ago I brought forward a principle, the adoption of which would^ I believe, admit of a very large extension of the suffrage, without the dangers by which such extension must otherwise be attended ; that when the subject was B 2 THE COUNTY FKANCHISE DIFFICULTY. next before tlie public, prior to the passing of the Act of 1867, I again urged a consideration of this principle ; and that subsequent observation and re- flection have but confirmed my confidence in its soundness. The principle I refer to is that of a graduated scale of franchise ; which in other applications has long been established ; since not only has it been in use more than forty years in the election of the Guardians of the Poor (in substitution of that of equal voting, in which there was notoriously much jobbing and dishonesty), but is in use in the election of our Boards of Health ; in, I believe, all our com- mercial companies ; and, as long as India was under the government of a company, was in operation in the choice of the rulers of that vast empire. I venture to say that if, at a meeting of one of our great companies — such as the North-Western Rail- way Company, or that of the Westminster Bank — a member were to propose that the rule under which shareholders have votes in relation to the extent of their stake in the concern should be abrogated, and that, thenceforth, all should be on an equality — the holder of a single share having as potent a voice in the election of the directors as the holder of 50 or 100 shares — such proposal would be regarded as so defying common sense that its proposer must be little better than a madman; and that all but himself would feel that the adoption of his motion would place the company in the greatest peril. Yet, in effect. THE COUNTY FRANCHISE DIFFICULTY. 3 this would be but another application of the practice which, in the selection of men of much greater im- portance — those forming the House of Commons — has so many supporters as to make it too probable, unless the country shall awake to the danger ahead, that our noble institutions, and our mighty store of freedom and wealth will eventually be placed at the mercy of the ignorant, the needy, and the reckless. If three persons contribute to a fund, say tlie first two 10/. each, and the third 80/., then to give all three an equal right to fidminister that fund would evidently, to the extent of 70/., be to allow two men to handle a third man's money ; a thing to which the most ardent advocate of ' inalienable rights ' would not, we may be sure, in his own case, for a moment consent. But the same remark is applicable to the taxes. If three persons pay taxes in the proportion just named, and, in political power, they are placed on an equality, then those who pay the smaller sum have, in like manner, to the extent of the difference, the handling of other people's money ; so that to a certain degree there is taxation without representa- tion — a violation of the great principle of our con- stitution. When last I urged the principle of a graduated scale, I had reason to believe that the plan proposed would have satisfied the most intelligent and better portion of the class not then in the enjoyment of the franchise ; and however incomplete, as a test of good, mere satisfaction may be, this was a belief pleasant B 2 4 THE COUNTY FRAXCHISE DIFFICITLTY. to entertain. Indeed, the upper portions of the working class, like the middle and upper class, have a clear interest in withholding undue power from the lowest portions; an interest extending, in truth, could they but see it, to the lowest portions themselves ; who, in the event of the security of property being- impaired, would be among the earliest and keenest sufferers. In any desire, moreover, to give satisfaction in the matter of franchise to the lower classes of the com- munity, it must be borne in mind that satisfaction is a good thing also for the upper classes; and that the way to afford the greatest general amount of satis - fiction is to do what is just ; by conferring on every class, and on every member of the class, as far as practicable, a fair share, neither more nor less, of political j_)Ower ; that is, doing towards all what, in his recent speech at Dublin, Mr. Gladstone stated had been the object, as regards all concerned — farmers, labourers, and landlords — of the framers of the pre- sent land laws in Ireland. At present there are two classes in this country who, as it seems to me, have just cause of complaint: those who are wholly exckided from political power, and those who, though included, have less than their fair share ; and in any alteration regarding the fran- chise both these classes should be kept steadily in view. As regards the injustice done here to the upper class, Ave have, at any rate, the satisfaction of know- ing that, at present at least, it exists in a much Jess THE COUNTY FRANCHISE DIFFICULTY. 5 degree than in America and France ; and that, conse- quently, the feeling on the subject is much less galling here than there. It is notorious that in the United States, either because they shrink from associating with others much inferior, both in knowledge and refinement, to themselves, or because they feel that even if they became candidates for election to the House of Representatives they should not be chosen, or that if chosen they sliould be swamped by mem- bers narrow-minded and selfish, the men best fitted for becoming legislators, as a rule, stand aloof; and thus leave the grandest work that could occupy them to men of lower stamp ; nay, often to the plausible, the unscrupulous, and the self-seeking ; who by 'lobbying' (a practice for which, happily, we have no term) and administrative corruption make, no doubt, a rich harvest. How little prepared those now elected to power in the United States are to put an end to administra* tive corruption is shown by the refusal of the Senate to sanction even a first step in that direction. With reference to ' lobbying,' I may state the fol- lowing fact. At a meeting of the Committee of the Society for Promoting the Amendment of the Law, appointed to consider the subject of International Copyright, with a view, if possible, to obtain justice to this country in that matter, one of the speakers, who with the same object had lately been over to America, said that he had called on some of the principal publishers there — the chief opponents of an 6 THE COUNTY FRANCHISE DIFFICULTY. International Copyright — and had endeavoured to convince them of the injustice {dishonesty would perhaps have been the more correct term) of their proceedings ; but that he could make no impression on them ; and was told that all his efforts would be useless ; as they had a fund of more than 100,000/. (if I remember the sum rightly) ready to be used to defend the existing law : that is, national robbery ; a robbery, however, in which, to their honour, some of the chief American publishers refuse to partake — it being a rule with these gentlemen to make to foreign authors the j>ayment to which, so far as they are concerned, such authors appear to be entitled. I trust that no American friend will think that I press hard on liis country by these statements. I feel sure that he and the best portion of his fellow- countrymen feel such wrongs as much as we do, and are ashamed of them ; but that they regard them- selves as almost helpless to obtain redress. Indeed, with the frankness which seems to be a character- istic of our race, many Americans denounce the wrong-doings in their land in language at least as strong as any that we employ — as shown by the American correspondent of the Times in his letter which appeared in that journal on October 27 last, containing an appalling list of frauds and bankruptcies (the latter including not fewer than thirteen Savings Banks- — some of them State Banks) in the short space of six weeks, and involving the character of several persons of high official rank. THE COUNTY FRANCHISE DIFFICULTY. 7 While, however, referring to the foregoing facts it is but just to the United States to remember the noble example they have set — contrasting, we must confess, with our own slow action — in the vio'oro us reductions they have made and are making of their National Debt. Still I must, to my reu^ret, differ widely from the view of the political condition of the United States just put forth, in the Nineieenth Century^ in his paper in favour of extendino; the household suffrao^e to the counties, by Mr. Gladstone. Speaking of the recent great strike in America, referred to by Mr. Lowe, Mr. Gladstone declares that it was not comparable in extent to some English strikes, under the ten pound franchise, within the memory of our own generation. On this point I would state that having, through the whole period named, taken a special interest in questions of la- bour and capital, I do not remember any strike in this country which in magnitude, in destruction of property, and in resistance to constituted authority even approached this strike in America. As regards the strange anomaly in the suffrage produced in the South by the slave system, does Mr. Gladstone remember that slavery was not merely connived at but supported in the North, which, with a voice so popular as to make counter-utteranxje diffi- cult and even dangerous, went so far as to establish the iniquitous Fugitive Slave Law ? Li saying that there is not a man in the vast 8 THE COUNTY FKANCHISE DIFFICULTY. territory of the United States wlio is not loyal to the constitution, Mr. Gladstone must surely forget that, in the deathlike struggle, not yet twenty years old, one party or the other, each counting its miUions, must have been fighting to upset the constitution. Is he unaware that, though open war has terminated, a contest, by no means without loss of life, is still maintained between former holders of property and power and those on whom has been newly conferred the right of voting? While, even in the North, what must be the feeling towards the constitution of those who witness under it the prostitution of the Civil Service to the despicable purposes of party and pelf ; who can see under it the appointment of a judge by a set of plunderers; the carrying of measures through Congress by notorious bribery; and who, in the ab- sence of adequate protection for life and property, resort, or calmly see others resort, to the barbarous expedient of Lynch Law ? Lastly, can Mr. Gladstone have adequately in- quired into the strength of loyalty to the constitution to be found in those millions who under it were robbed of all that is dear to humanity ; and who still suffer from those grievous wrongs which such a con- dition, even when formally abolished, inevitably, and in this case notoriously, leaves behind? As respects France, a friend of mine (a staunch Liberal), who has been for some time resident in that country, writes to me as follows : — ^ Universal equal suffrage is evidently a great THE COUNTY FRANCHISE DIFFICULTY. 9 mistake. In this country, at the present time, by giving the wealthier and more highly-trained and educated classes much less than their proper share of direct influence in the government, it is rendering them dissatisfied, and making them almost revolu- tionists — some of them quite so. And, although my opinions go very much with Simon and Gambetta, I sympathise with the aristocracy of the country in so far as it is not duly represented.' Mr. Gladstone, in his paper in the November number of the Nineteenth Century admits (p. 545) that it would be unreasonable, nay, absurd, to hold in the abstract that all ought to have an equal share of political power. But I venture to think that it would be absurd not only in the abstract *but in the concrete ; and with regard to the scale to which he adverts, according to intellectual and moral fitness, I would observe that, as a rule, the possession of pro- perty implies, in my opinion, the possession also of intellectual and moral qualities; as I believe would be admitted by everyone who would take the trouble to make a list of all the persons, rich and poor, of whom he has any knowledge. Moreover, I cannot agree that even if the great difiiculty could be over- come of framing such a scale as Mr. Gladstone speaks of — a scale from which property, as such, would be excluded — such a scale would be fair ; as it would ignore the spirit, if not the letter, of the great con- stitutional principle that taxation and representation should go together. 10 THE COUNTY FRANCHISE DIFFICULTY. Those who have conversed with intelligent Ame- ricans and Australians must be aware that, instead of regarding a wide -spread and equal suffrage as a blessing to their country, they look upon it as a curse. We know that in America this suffrage Avas found consistent with slavery and conscription ; that it is also consistent there wath grievous adminis- trative corruption ; consistent, moreover, with trade ' protection ' — another form of interference with pri- vate liberty — and, as lately mentioned, consistent with extensive attacks on railway and other property ; while in Australia a low and uniform suffrasre has been attended with the return to Parliament of not a few men of bad character ; and with the entertain- ment, as pointed out by Mr. Lowe in his able article in the October number of the Fortnightly Review^ of a project of confiscation ; and has caused the con- tinuance, long after its abandonment by the mother country, of trade ' protection.' ^ In France, again, universal and equal suffrage has been seen to tolerate a political despotism of eighteen years' duration ; established amid a violation of oaths, a firing on innocent people, and a condemnation of a large number of persons, without trial, to prison or to transportation to a pestiferous climate ; the whole system brought at last to an end, not by public indig- nation and the election of a virtuous Legislature, but by a criminal war — entered upon to uphold a bad ^ These views are strongly supported by a letter in the Timefi of November 29 from Mr. R. D. Adams, of Sydney, New South Wales. THE COUNTY FRANCHISE DIFFICULTY. 11 dynasty — and so conducted as, after an immense ex- penditure of blood and money, to bring the country to a state grievous not only to itself but to its many foreign friends. How far. universal and equal suffrage, in the opinion of Louis Napoleon and the accomplices in his crimes is favourable to real freedom, was shown by their at once re-establishing it on their striking their coup d'etat and before calhng for a national verdict on their deeds ; and the long continuance of these men in power showed that in their measure for enabling the ignorance of the country to overbear its intelligence they reckoned correctly. That England with its more limited franchise is really freer than the United States was shown, as conclusively as wittily, in the speeches, some time ago, of the Governor- General of Canada ; who, indeed, demonstrated that she is not only freer, but, in the true sense of the term, more Republican ! In making this statement, however, I wish to guard against being supposed to look upon limitation of the franchise as abstractedly desirable ; for, dan- gerous as I regard a wide suffrage with equality in voting power, yet admit but the principle of a gra- duated scale, and I should be in favour of extending the suffrage further than Mr. Gladstone or even Mr. George Potter has indicated any wish to carry it. An opinion was expressed during the late criti- cal state of France that universal suffrage was that country's safeguard ; and the same opinion seems to 12 THE COUNTY FRANCHISE DIFFICULTY. be entertained by Mr. Gladstone ; but to me, on the contrary, this suffrage, on its principle of equality, seems to have been one of France's chief dangers; inasmuch as it tends to give substance to what other- wise would be a mere phantom, not likely to affect any large- number of minds — the fear, under the name of the ' Red Spectre,' of the lowest classes crushing the upper classes. At present, indeed, the lower classes are acting well — surprisingly and most gratifyingly so ; but just now they are under the in- fluence of good and prudent leaders, strongly contrast- ing with those — some bad and others crack-brained — who were at their head (in Paris at least) seven years ago ; and, as a permanence, this happy circum- stance is not to be counted on. Moreover, the middle class, in France, members of whom now lead the lower class, made special efforts, during the late general election ; giving freely both money and time, to bring the constituencies to a sense of their duty, and to remove from their minds the fear of injury if they ventured to vote according to their conscience. But can we in prudence forget that very different manifestation which makes, and will long make, the term ' Commune ' a word of detestation and of fear ? Can we forget the Communistic excesses that so promptly followed the surrender of Paris, falsifying the trust so vainly entertained by that distinguished patriot Jules Favre? Must we not remember that those whom he fondly counted as ' all citizens * not only rose in insurrection, even when a foreign enemy THE COUNTY FRAXCllISE DIFFICULTY. 13 was yet at the gates, but exercised tyrannical au- thority upon all within the range of their power ; closing their foul career with the murder of more than fifty innocent, unarmed, and helpless men, falsely called hostages, and that amid the insulting and applauding shouts of more than a thousand spec- tators? Are men like these to be trusted with poli- tical power equal to that allowed to the best and wisest citizens? The greatest of all single securities for the posses- sion of the intelligence, industry, sobriety, thrift, gene- ral self-control, and other virtues befittino^ a voter for a Member of Parliament being, as I hold, the owner- ship of property, and the amount of a man's property being, as a rule, a tolerable index of his contribution to the taxes, I submit that property should be the main regulator in determining the number of votes to be assigned to each member of a constituency. As every adult, not a pauper or a criminal, is a contributor, through the indirect taxes, to the cost of Government, it seems right that every such person should have at least one vote ; additional votes being given according to the amount of his property ; though the scale of increase should rise in a diminish- ing ratio ; an arrangement justified by the considera- tion that concentrated votes are more potent than votes distributed. In the North-Western Railway Company the fol- lowing is, I find, the scale of voting : For every 100/. of stock up to 1000/., one vote ; with an additional 14 THE COUNTY FRANCHISE DIFFICULTY. vote for every 500/. beyond 1000/. up to 10,000/.; and a further additional vote for every 1000/. beyond 10,000/. Thus while the holder of 100/. stock has one vote, the holder of stock to the amount of 20,000/. has 38 votes. In citing this scale, however, I must not be sup- posed to recommend so unlimited a rise in the Parlia- mentary suffrage. At the outset, at least, I would susfxrest that the maximum number of votes allotted to an individual should not exceed ten. Neither do I propose any retractation of what has already been conceded ; retrogression even if pos- sible being very difficult. But I venture earnestly to recommend the application of this principle of a scale to every class that shall be newly admitted to the franchise. Mr. Gladstone, indeed, in his first paper on the subject, points out (page 445) that property has already, through plurality of franchises, arranged under rules to which the country is accustomed, a considerable sphere of direct operation ; and adds that no one wishes to disturb this arrangement. But surely such general acquiescence is tantamount to an admission of its fairness ; in other words, to a recognition of the principle of graduated suffrage. And the principle being thus recognised, it only remains to consider what form the principle should take, and how it should be applied. But why should the principle be restricted to one kind of property — land with its appurtenances — and not applied to property of other kinds ? And THE COUNTY FRANCHISE DIFFICULTY. 15 why not carry out the principle fully and syste- matically, as in our public companies, though under such limitations as a careful consideration may sug-o^est ? At present, landed considerations apart, a coster- monger, paying only four shillings a week for his lodgings, may have as potent a vote in Parliamentary elections, not only as the wealthiest and most culti- vated resident in his borough, but even as the greatest capitalist — as Mr. Morley or Mr. Brassey. Nor can I think that there would be any great difficulty in the application of the principle. Two or three modes appear available. One that is evident would be the returns for the Income Tax; a standard implying three important advantages : first, facility of proceeding ; second, an additional inducement to fulness in return of income ; and, third, a self-acting corrective to degradation of suffrage ; since every increase in the amount paid would involve a corres- ponding increase in the voting power of the con- tributor. Nevertheless, to this standard there are serious though, perhaps, not insuperable objections. In the first place, income is a very imperfect indica- tion of property ; in the second, troublesome accounts would be necessary to ascertain what portion of each person's income is paid by public companies and other bodies on his account and of which he himself makes no return ; and lastly, very many persons regard the Income Tax as temporary only, and would be averse to the adoption of any scheme which might tend to make it perpetual. 16 THE COUNTY FRANCHISE DIFFICULTY. Another basis for the scale might be found in the House Tax ; but this, I presume, would be even a less true measure of property. Though, whatever objection there may be to these criteria, surely either would be far better than the abandonment of all dis- crimination. Upon the whole I am disposed to think that the best criterion would be found in the amount of proved possession ; every person being allowed to claim votes according to such amount of his property, whether whole or otherwise, as he may think proper to demonstrate ; a demonstration involving, I should suppose, no great difficulty ; though error, especially if intended, might be made visitable mth more or less of penalty. It should be borne in mind that if wealth be not allowed its just share of power there must always be a danger of its owners (who can easily unite) com- bining to seize the ruling authority ; and, unless deterred by a high sense of morality, of ousting the poorer classes not only from any undue elective powder they may possess, but from all such power ; or of their even w^elco:ning a military dictator. Again, it must be recollected that when property has its fair influence in voting, any bad powder to which wealth might be applied is, in a great measure, prevented ; seeing that bribes would not be accepted by the well-to-do classes, to whom a large part of the voting power is entrusted ; while under a system of equal voting bribes become efficacious. THE COUNTY FRAXCHISE DIFFICULTY. 17 There is good ground for believing that, moderate as is the extent to which a graduated scale of voting has been adopted in the elections of Guardians of the Poor and of Boards of Health, were it not for the existence of this scale, bribery — which is not now heard of, I believe, in these elections — would become frequent. In proposing that such limited influence as I have named be allowed to property, I see no reason to fear that a dangerous power would be given to wealth ; that the country would fall under the rule of a pluto- cracy ; a danger against which, I trust, we are abun- dantly secured by that minute gradation of wealth for which England is so remarkable ; whereby the aggregate power of the moderately rich or even of the tolerably well-to do would far more than counter- balance that of the millionaires. In support of the policy of giving great political power to the lower classes, Mr. Gladstone expresses it as his belief (page 545), that, on a certain number of important questions, the popular judgment (mean- ing evidently that of the lower classes) is more just than that of the higher order. Even if such be the case, the question remains what proportion does this number bear to the whole list? And what is the case as regards the majority of such questions? For if a preponderating power were given to the lower classes the application of this power could not be confined to a ' certain number ' of important questions, but must extend to all. c 18 THE COUNTY rilANCHISE DIFFICULTY. But including, as for the purpose under considera- tion we must, the middle in the higher order, as also the well-to-do portion of the working class, how many important questions are there in which tlie lower class have shown themselves more in the right than the upper class ? What are the chief important questions that have been decided since the Reform A'^t of 1832 ; and in which class was the judgment most decisive in their favour ? These questions may perhaps be enumerated as follows : — 1. Abolition of slavery in the British Colonies. 2. Opening of the trade to India and China. 3. Municipal Reform. 4. Reform of the administration of the English Poor Law. 5. Estab- lishment of National Education in Ireland. 6. Com- mutation of tithes. 7. The passing of the Factory Acts. 8. The passing of the Bank Charter Act. 9. The cheapening of Justice, by the establishment of County Courts. 10. Introduction of Penny Postage. 11. Repeal of the Navigation Laws. 12. Abolition of the ' Taxes on Knowledge.' 13. A large reduction of taxation generally. 14. Repeal of the Corn Laws and the general establishment of Free Trade. 15. Introduction of a Poor Law into Ireland. 16. Admission of Jews to all the civil rights enjoyed by others. 17. The establishment of Limited Liability ; rendering it possible for all classes to enter safely into partnerships. 18. Formation of a Volunteer Force ; to serve as an auxiliary military THE COUNTY FRANCHISE DIFFICULTr. 19 defence. 19. Colonial Reform. 20. Disestablishment of the Church in Ireland. 21. Improvement in the laws concerning the tenure of land. 22. Improvement in the laws relating to Employers and Employed. 23. Establishment of National Education in Ens:- land. 24. A measure of Army Reform. 25. Adop- tion of the Ballot. 26. Passing of the Prisons Act. 27. Payment out of the pubUc exchequer of a large portion of local taxes. Of the twenty-seven measures just enumerated, I cannot iind more than three concerninof which there is, in my opinion, solid ground for maintaining that the judgment of the lower cLass was more just than that of the higher class ; while as regards all the others (the great majority of which most persons must now pronounce to be good), the lower class, as a body, were, to the best of my memory and belief, either silent, passing no judgment at all, or passed judgment in a much feebler manner than the higher class. The three measures to which I refer are, first, the Factory Acts ; secondly, the alteration in the laws relating to Employers and Employed ; and thirdly, the Ballot. The laws regarding Employers and Employed have certainly been changed for the better. The Factory Acts seem to have the sanction of public opinion. The benefit of the Ballot Act still remains in question. As respects the repeal of the Corn Laws (a c 2 20 THE COUNTY FRANCHISE DIFFICULTY. question in which the humbler classes might have been expected to take a special interest), it will be remembered that the vast funds, and the long, arduous, and persevering labour required for en- lightening the public mind on the subject, were contributed almost exclusively by the middle class; w^hose patriotic efforts too often encountered not support but interruption and annoyance by portions of the lower class who adopted the foolish notion that cheapening food would lower wages. Thus, even in educated Scotland, at one meeting held in Edinburgh in favour of the repeal of the Corn Laws, an amendment to the first resolution was moved urging, instead, the adoption of ' The five points of the Charter ; ' while at another meeting the gas-lights were put out. How, then, can I concur with Mr. Gladstone, who in his last paper (page 200) places the abolition of slavery, the abolition of the Navigation Laws, and the general establishment of Free Trade among the measures en which the judgment of the lower classes (for so the context compels me to interpret the am- biguous term ^popular judgment ') was more correct than that of the upper classes? I am some years Mr. Gladstone's senior, and throughout my life have been an earnest observer of all public matters ; yet I have no recollection of any movement of the lower classes in favour of the abolition of slavery (taking the term, of course, in its usual acceptation), and several persons yet older than myself, whom I have THE COUNTY FRANCHISE DIFFICULTY. 21 consulted, are alike ignorant. I have, on the con- trary, a clear recollection of the demand for the abolition of negro slavery being met, by many of the lower class, by a cry for the abolition of what they called 'white slavery '; thus implying, and at times openly declaring, that they themselves were in a state of bondage as galling as that of the negroes ; and I may add that in such monstrous ideas even Rowland Detrosier, who will be recollected by some of the older members of the present generation as one of the most enlightened of the working class of his time, publicly joined, wondering ' how anybody could be found to wag a tongue about blacks while so much wrong still pressed upon whites.' I venture to affirm that the abolition -of negro slavery was the work, not of the lower but of the middle class ; aided by a part of the highest class. And I feel bound to particularise the sect of Quakers ; who have so often been in the van in labours of bene- volence. To what I have said about the Corn Laws and Free Trade I do not wish to add ; and as respects the Navigation Laws I would simply state that I am equally oblivious as to any, even the slightest, ex- pression of opinion by the lower classes concerning them ; indeed, I much doubt if one workman in a hundred even understood the term or ever thought on the subject. The other subjects named by Mr. Gladstone be- long to a period prior to that which I have myself 22 THE COUNTY FRANCHISE DIFFICULTY. taken ; but I cannot agree with him that in any one on his list the opinion of the lower classes was more correct than that of the great body of the upper classes. As respects Parliamentary Reform, indeed, it must be admitted that, in this century at least, it was the working class which first raised and loudly asserted the demand for change. But it was not until the extravagant views which they propounded and enforced were superseded by sounder concep- tions, put forth higher in society, that the cause made progress. And though it must in justice be admitted that the working classes in the main frankly joined in the movement, and that with no expecta- tion of immediate extension of the franchise to them- selves, yet there was no inconsiderable portion who stood forth as obstructives ; denouncing the great Reform Bill, on the ground that it did not go far enough ; while, on the other hand, mobs at Bristol and Nottingham disgraced the cause and impeded the movement by breaking out into destructive riots. Not only during the period under review, but in all previous times, so far as I am aware, it was the middle and upper, and not the lower classes which most effectually aided the cause of liberty in this country ; the attempts of these latter classes, whether under the leadership of Wat Tyler, Jack Cade, or any other man of their own body, having always failed. Thus it was the Barons who compelled the tyrant John to sign the Great Charter ; a charter in favour of the freedom not only of their own order THE COUNTY FRANCHISE DIFFICULTY. 23 but of orders far below. It ^\as a nobleman, Simon de Montfort, who, in the reign of Henry III., was chiefly instrumental in establishing in this country our grandest characteristic, the very edifice one part of which is now under discussion — Parlia- mentary Representation. In the person of John Hampden, it was a member of the middle class who struck the first blow for liberty in the reign of Charles I., when that monarch usurped the authority of Parliament to levy taxes. It was Elliot, Prynnc, Bastwick, Leighton and others that underwent im- prisonment, maiming, and, in at least one instance, even death, in the same good cause ; and it was chiefly by leaders belonging to the middle class that the contest so begun was brought to a tsuccessful issue. Again, it was by the middle and upper classes that the Bill of Rights was forced on the acceptance of Charles II. ; and lastly, it was by these classes that that wretched compound of folly, obstinacy, and cruelty — James 11. — was removed from his throne, a constitutional king substituted, and Parliamentary Government, with all its blessings, firmly established. Let it not be supposed that in these remarks I cast blame on the lower classes, or that I would wantonly wound their feelings. For the great majority of them I entertain sincere respect ; a respect much more sincere, I believe, than do many of their flatterers ; a body against whom their un- doubted friend, Mr. John Stuart Mill, warned them ; designing and mischievous, or at any rate, thought- 24 THE COUNTY FRANCHISE DIFFICULTY. less men who studiously dwell on all the good deeds of the class they address and the misdeeds, real or imaginary, of those who rank above them ; but by whom the reverse sides of the picture are carefully avoided. No one has witnessed with more pleasure than myself the noble conduct often displayed by our humbler countrymen ; the splendid heroism with which a number of them — common soldiers — stood firmly and mutely while the boats of the ' Birken- head ' carried to the shore the women and children, and they themselves sank slowly to the bottom of the sea ; the uncomplaining fortitude with which the misery in Lancashire was borne, caused by a dearth in the supply of cotton; a dearth which the work- people regarded as part of a necessary sacrifice for obtaining the abolition of negro -slavery in America ; the amount of charitable relief given in this country by the poor to the poor ; or the readiness and even eagerness with which men always come forward, at the risk of their lives, to rescue sailors and passengers from sinking ships and miners buried under falling coal or struck down by burning volumes cf gas. But courage, fortitude, and benevolence, even if they extended to the whole body concerned, and were always accompanied with sobriety and industry, are one thing ; and a knowledge, even the most ele- mentary, of the science of politics, with a power of selecting as representatives in Parliament persons who are likely to possess this knowledge in a high THE COUNTY FRANCHISE DIEFICULTY. 25 degree, and to have virtue and zeal to carry their knowledge to good account, is another ; and ifc is the latter with which we have now to deal. Considering their imperfect education, and the extent to which their time is consumed in manual occupations, it is no more than might reasonably be expected that the lower classes should be deficient in these powers ; indeed, it would be surprising if they were not ; and reproach in the matter is out of the question. As one reason for extending the suffrage — and that which he contemplates is evidently equal suf- frage — to all portions of the lower class, Mr. Glad- stone states (page 542) that he is inclined to believe that tlie lower classes are less selfish than the upper ; and, therefore, more likely to have a desire to judge rightly and patriotically of public questions. I have endeavoured to show that the mere desire so to act is not sufficient ; but I am bound, in honesty, to demur to this claim on behalf of the lower classes. In the first place, the demand for ' Protection,' which from time to time still manifests itself among them — openly in the United States and in parts of Australia, and even here under the specious name of ' reciprocity ' — we must all admit to be selfish ; inasmuch as it is a demand to tax others for their own benefit. And this selfishness is not confined to general ' Protection,' but shows itself, in a considerable portion of the working class, in attacks on workmen, whether native or foreign, w4io ofi*er to 26 THE COUNTY FRANCHISE DIFFICULTY. labour on lower terms than themselves ; in continual opposition to the use of machinery; to female labour (though, unfortunately, sex-monopoly in some degree pervades all ranks) ; to the free employment of ap- prentices ; to piece-work ; to rapidity in work ; and in the frequent resort to strikes — abrupt stoppages of work, involving injury not only to the employers but often to hundreds, sometimes, indeed, to thou- sands of fellow- workers, whose consent to the strike is not even asked for. It will be remarked that while these measures are all of them infractions of the laws of political economy, most of them, at least, are infractions also of those of morality ; and few will dispute that they are selfish. Confirmation on several of these matters, if con- firmation be needed, will be found in the Report of the Commissioners appointed, a few ^^ears ago, to in- quire into the trade outrages at Shefiield. Aofain, in the touchino^ memoirs of Mr. Samuel Greg,^ lately published, it may be seen how the very life of a benevolent manufacturer was made unhappy, and, in all probability, shortened, by grievous sorrow at the bad return for his effbrts to benefit his work- people. It is with great regret that on some of the matters I have spoken of, as in some also of which I have yet to speak, I cannot agree in the opinions of Mr. Gladstone; ^ Entitled 'A Layman's Legacy.' THE COUNTY FRANCHISE DIFFICULTY. 27 a statesman with whose general views I cordially concur, and whom I regard as having the highest claim to the nation's gratitude. I feel certain, how- ever, that he would not, for a moment, desire that this or any other subject should be discussed otherwise than with perfect freedom. Speaking of the Act of 1^67 — an Act of which what is now urged would be an extension — Mr. Gladstone terms this Act (page 549) a repetition of that of 1832, and observes that on its proposal the old bugbears were at once put in requisition. But I submit that the two Acts are essentially different. As pointed out by Mr. Lowe, while the later Act was enfranchising only, that of 1832 was not only enfranchising but disfranchising*; and it was so to even a greater extent than he insists upon; seeing that by its means the immense political power held by the inhabitants of small boroughs was either greatly reduced or swept away ; while a large reduction also was made in the voting power of many town corporations (then close oligarchies), and, in Scotland, in that of the small bodies which had ruled the representation of the counties. And it may be added that if the Bill had passed unaltered, the dis- franchisement would have included the large body of ' freemen,' who, as a class, had shown great willing- ness, not to say, eagerness, for bribes, and had evinced a general unfitness for the trust confided to them. Mr, Gladstone goes on to speak of the unwilling- ness or inability of the working classes to combine. 28 TPIE COUNTY FRANCHISE DIFFICULTY. With reference to this statement, I would point to the many and large Trades Unions in existence. But it may be remarked, in addition, that in lieu of combination of the working classes themselves, or indeed of any other classes, there may arise, and often does arise, another combination, and that of easy formation ; viz., a combination of a few energetic men who succeed, often indeed for good purposes but sometimes for purposes that are both selfish and bad, in getting the lead, and in wielding the power of the more numerous body ; an instance of which, so far as relates to a large number of voters, was afforded, in the last general election, by the publicans ; a subject on which the Spectator newspaper, though in the main supporting Mr. Gladstone's views, has spoken as follows : — ^ Mr. Gladstone himself admits that the more ignorant the electors, the more open are they to advice and influence ; or, as he subtly puts it, the more have they of the character of political '' adjec- tives," rather than of political substantives. But that being admitted, the question is, of what substantives do these masses act as the political adjectives? Is it of the men who have real political experience and knowledge, or rather of the men who from various causes, especially, say, because they are locally more substantial people, perhaps even because they are creditors, having a running account against groups of electors who are in their debt, and who are on that account all the more ready to defer, half unconsciously THE COUNTY FRANCHISE DIFFICULTY. 29 it may be, to the opinions of those whose hostility would be inconvenient — have power over them ? A constituency with a passive political mind on ques- tions of policy is verj^ dangerous ; because where there is no really popular opinion, the opinion of vulgar and interested men is far more likely to lead the crowd than the opinion of the few who really make an effort to form it on good grounds. Doubt- less the keepers of alehouses formed in a very large degree the opinions of the Conservative majority at the last general election. And these are not the sort of political substantives to which we wish to see the masses of the electors acting the part of adjectives; for though on subjects which reach the popular senti- ment, the masses generally judge better* than the middle class, on subjects which do not, they judge worse; because they judge under the influence of a more selfish and more ignorant set of prompters. Where the ten-pounders went with their own men of influence — possibly the deacon of their chapel, or the mayor, or the bank manager, or lawyer they knew best — the householders are too apt to go with the leading talkers of the alehouse at which they oftenest drink, or at the club to which they subscribe as an insurance against sickness.' Was it not by a similar though far more direful combination that Robespierre, Danton, St. Just, and Barrere, with the support of the lowest classes, were able to establish their Reign of Terror ; and that, but the other day, the leaders of the Commune in Paris 30 THE COUNTY FRANCHISE DIFFICULTY. waged their war with humanity ? And was it not, by a like combination, that, in the United States, the New York ' Ring,' though falUng far short of such crimes as these, plundered, and, if all tales be true, still plunder, their fellow-citizens, giving part of the spoil to the large body of despicable voters who uphold them ? It is true that in none of these cases, save, per- haps, that of the Commune, the leading offenders were working men ; but without the support of very many of these, and of a large body still lower in the social scale, it would have been impossible for the leaders to commit their crimes. The worst of the foregoing cases are drav\^n from the experience of foreign countries; but, unhappily, we can find cases deplorably bad without going abroad. Witness the acts of the Fenians, including their murder of a policeman at Manchester, a few years ago ; the sympathy shown by large bodies of men in Ireland for agrarian assassins, and the great difficulty, consequently, in bringing them to justice ; the insane support given to that arch-impostor, Arthur Orton, and his principal champion, Dr. Kenealy; and the career, some fifty years since, of the fanatic Thom, in Kent, whom his followers believed to be invulner- able, but who showed the vulnerability of another man by shooting him dead. At page 546 Mr. Gladstone observes that if the objection drawn from the preponderance of numbers is good for anything, it is fatal to every true repre- sentative government in the world. THE COUNTY ERANCHISE DIFFICULTY. 31 If the meaning be that objection drawn from the preponderance of numbers strikes at any system founded on numbers alone, the proposition is ob- viously irrefutable; but if the meaning be that it is fatal to a system which takes note of quality, it is obviously erroneous. I submit that in the United States and Australia, where the preponderance of numbers exists, where there is no distinction between the rich and the needy — between those who contri- bute largely to the taxes and have a great stake in the stability of the country, and those who contribute very little and could, without much loss or incon- venience, move off to some other place — the ruling power resulting from the elections is not, in any valid sense, ' true representative government.' Mr. Gladstone adds that our knights and bur- gesses did not eat up our earls and barons. True enough; but it remains to be asked what sort of banquet might not have followed if the power ob- tained by knights and burgesses had been placed in the hands of the serfs; whether villains regardant or villains in gross. At the same page Mr. Gladstone states that by neither of the two Parliaments elected since the pass- ing of the Act of 1867 has a single act of injustice been perpetrated in the interests of the working classes ; a statement on which I would remark that the first Parliament was chosen before there had been time for the adjustment of joint efforts perniciously to influence the electors — as was the case in America 2 THE COUNTY FRANCHISE DIFFICULTY before the invention of caucuses. But that as regards the action of the second Parliament, I would submit that the change that has been made in the incidence of taxation constitutes a case in point. Surely the weight of taxation cannot be fairly distributed when a man earning, perhaps, nearly 150/. a year, by abstaining from the few taxed articles, may escape altogether from contribution to the require- ments of the State ; and thus enjoy gratuitously all the protection of a powerful and well-ordered Govern- ment, and partake in the benefit of good roads and bridges, paved and well lighted streets, public parks and innumerable other sources of health and pleasure. Mr. Gladstone says (page 553) that the supposed dangers of a numerical prepondenmce are set aside by the fact that the class which possesses the preponde- rance does not act for itself but for the country. 1 wish I could subscribe to this view, but I cannot; and many of the facts I have mentioned are inconsistent with it. Indeed, habitual action such as is described would bespeak an amount of self-denial and patriotism which, as it appears to me, it would be very unreason- able to expect ; exceeding, as it would, the divine injunction to love your neighbour as yourself ; for this would be to love your neighbour better than your- self. Moreover, a willingness to act for the country rather than for themselves would not be sufficient ; since while intending to benefit their country, they may, for want of knowledge, do it great injury. Thus many persons, indeed a large majority of one THE COUNTY FrvANCIIISE DIFFICULTY. 33 creed in Ireland, believed, till of late years, that it would be best for the country to place all Catholics under severe restriction ; while, on the other hand, many conscientious Catholics have thought, no doubt, that they were promoting the public good by burning Protestants. Again, it is stated (page 553) that the supposed dangers of inferior information and capacity in the masses not enjoying the advantage of leisure is com- pletely neutralized by their general disposition to turn to account the precepts and examples of those whom they believe to be better informed. This proposition, strongly as it is stated, would be perfectly true if the belief referred to were always sound. But are not information and capacity I'equired for the very choice of guides ? Do the masses alwa}'s select aright the precepts and examples to be turned to account ? On the contrary, has it not been shown above, and is it not notorious, that large bodies of them have at times put themselves under the guidance of the selfish, the cunning, and the brutal? Mr. Arch, in an article in the Nineteenth Century of this month (January), declares that he is ' inclined to think that the peasantry of no other country would have borne the insults and cruel treatment the English peasantry have borne this last six yea»^s in the same law-abiding, patient manner as the rural labourers of this country have done.' On this in- flated language I would only remark, first, that the D 34 THE COUNTY FRANCHISE DIFFICULTY. period on which he charges such special insults and cruel treatment is, oddly enough, comprehended within the very time that the household suffrage, which he so much desires to be extended, has, for the first time, been in use ; a coincidence which naturally leads to the conclusion that its operation, thus far, has been, not to lighten rural evils but to increase their load ; secondly, that I think it would much puzzle Mr. Arch to specify the intolerable insults and cruel treatment to which he refers ; not to speak of the duty incumbent on him, in making so sweeping a charge, to recoonise the s^reat items on the other side of the account; including the millions of money paid every year in this country (and in this country alone) to secure the poor, in distress, sickness, and old age, from hunger and cold. I, for one, gladly admit and afUrm that, for a long time, the English peasantry have been very peaceful; comparing, I doubt not, advantageously with that of most other countries ; yet within my memory and that of many others incendiary fires, under the orders of ' Swinge,' were so common, that no farmer's ricks in England were safe ; and even since that time such fires, though rare, have not been altogether un- known; as has also the destruction, from time to time, of agricultural machinery. I would further observe that no sooner has Mr. Arch spoken, in the strong terms quoted, of the patience and peacefulness of the English peasantry, THE COUNTY FRANCHISE DIFFICULTY. 35 than, if I rightly understand his rather cloud}^ lan- guage, he proceeds to hint that if their demands be not granted they will, after ^ a fair and reasonable time,' resort to force ! At page 553 Mr. Gladstone speaks of a falling off in the stock of young Members of Parliament who ought, as he justly remarks, to be the choicest in the country ; stating, however, that we have still a sup- ply in cases where high birth and family influence can be brought to bear. But are we sure that a supply of the fittest men, whether of high birth or not, will continue, if we go on to grant to lower and lower classes equal suffrage with the higher? To me it seems but too probable, if this course be pursued much farther, that the supply of the highly educated and best men for serving the country in Parliament will more and more diminish ; and that we shall gradually find ourselves in the condi- tion of the United States, where, as is well known and has already been mentioned, the men best fitted for becoming legislators as a rule stand aloof from politics. Mr. Gladstone's objections, at page 558, to the intervention of local representative bodies in the choice of Members of Parliament seem of doubtful weight, unless limited to bodies elected for that duty alone ; which, as shown by experience in the United States, have a strong tendency to degenerate from councils into mere deleo:ations ; while this could 36 THE COUNTY FRANCHISE DIFFICULTY. scarcely be the case where the one duty in question was combined with others involvino^ continuous labour and responsibility. But I admit that the electoral bodies, however well constituted, would too often, if not guarded therefrom by the cumulative vote or some similar expedient, deprive large minori- ties of that share in the representation which they now frequently obtain where the political division in particular constituencies approaches equality. But supposing this to be secured, great advantages might fairly be expected to follow. By such a change, the expense of Parliamentary elections might be brought down to little or nothing; while the choice of Members of Parliament would be entrusted to persons better able than the great body of the people to judge rightly of the qualifications of candidates, and less likely to be influenced un- duly by a mere power of public speaking. Every intelligent person is able to judge pretty well of the character and general talent of candidates for Town Councils or for the proposed County Boards ; but the selection of Members of Parliament is a very different matter and far more difficult. Who would advise that our officers of Health should be chosen by the mass of the people ; or that we should adopt the practice, in some of the American States, of so appointing the judges? On the con- trary, is anyone prepared to affirm that such direct election of coroners Avorks satisfactorily? So far as the proposed extension of the suffrage THE COUNTY FHANCHISE DIFFICULTY. 37 among the rural population is concerned, the following is a summary of the recommendations which I submit for consideration : — 1. That the suffrage be given to all county householders ; but that such suffrage, instead of being equal, be regulated according to a scale, as is now done in the election of Guardians of the Poor and of Boards of Health, as also of the directors of commer- cial companies. 2. That the basis of the scale be the presumable amount of contribution to the taxes, as indicated bv demonstrated amount of property. 3. That, as far as may be consistent with simpli- city, the scale be so arranged as that the amount of additional property requisite for a title to every addi- tional vote shall increase as the scale ascends. 4. That ten votes be the greatest number to be allowed to any one person. Such a plan, it will be remarked, would be inter- mediate between Mr. Gladstone's advice to grant the county franchise on the same principle as that of the borough franchise — that of individual equality — and Mr. Lowe's counsel to refuse the new franchise altogether. 5. That if, notwithstandinof the reasons a^^ainst the measure and the experience of our own and other countries. Parliament should determine to give to farm labourers a suffrage equal to that allowed to the largest contributors to the taxes, it shall proceed tentatively ; beginning with two or three counties, 38 THE COUNTY FRANCHISE DIFFICULTY. and carefully watching results before committing the country to a change on a larger scale. ^ As regards Parliamentary franchise, a feeling seems to prevail but little creditable to the intelligence and vigour of the country; and which is akin to that fatalism which paralyses all exertion and condemns its votaries to constant desire without the power even to attempt attainment. It is evidently imagined by many that, do what they will, the suffrage (that is an ungraduated suffrage) will be extended wider and wider till it becomes universal; and that, however much they may dislike and condemn it, onwards and to that goal will be the march of events. But surely this is an unwarrantable conclusion, and must often be a mere cloak for supineness and cowardice. Even if it were well founded, it should, at the very most, lead no farther than to inaction; but, under such an impression, to help on the change seems to me as mad as to leap from a precipice for fear of a push from behind; — to escape murder by suicide. To argue openly in favour of such conduct would be to manifest a degree of silliness enough to irritate the most patient listener. We are blessed in this country with a noble free- dom ; a freedom exceeding, as we may assure our- selves by a glance around, that enjoyed by any other country in the world. Surely so rich a treasure ^ Since writing the above, I have read, with extreme satisfaction, the able article on this controversy in the Tirnes of Dec. 7, urging the caution Avhich it has been my earnest desire to recommend. THE COU^^TY FRANCHISE DIFFICULTY. 39 ought not to be rashly hazarded nor left exposed to 'the unguided course of events. The grave change reluctantly made ten years ago, was spoken of by its propounder and his followers as a leap in the dark. Before making a second plunge should we not light up the lamp of discretion, and carefully seek the means of a safe and limited descent ; not shrinking from any step that justice may demand, nor yet so moving as to make justice in one direction injustice in another ; or rather a seeming benefit to a part — a real injury to all? los don : printed by spottisavoopt; axd co., new-street square a-nu parliament street \