THE NEW REFORM BILL.

North Otago Times, Volume VI, Issue 119, 31 May 1866, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE NEW REFORM BILL.

The House of Commons was crowded on Monday evening last to hear the speech of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in introducing the Reform Bill for England. The Hon. gentleman rose at a quarter to five, and spoke for two hours and a half. After a few preliminary observations, he went on as follows : — The present bill was confined to a consideration of the franchise. He admitted that the present plan upon which that franchise was based wa<* incomplete, and in asking the House to complete it, he believed that the present Parliament was perfectly competent to consider and discuss the whole subject. In dealing with the question, the Government had considered it advisable to divide it into two parts. In the first place, they took the <sounty representation, in regard to which there was less jealousy and apprehension than on the question of representation of the boroughs. In 18G0, the bill of Mr Locke King proposed a reduction of the occupation franchise in counties from L50 to L10. They did not think it necessary to adopt that bill, but what they proposed now was a modification of the proposal contained in it, and they proposed tj reduce the occupation franchise from L50 to LI 4, and to render it an occupation franchise not of land alone but of a house with land. The amount of enfranchisement which that change in the law would effect, would correspond as nearly as possible with the effect of a LI 4 rating franchise, and it would add about 171,000 persons to the county registry. It was further proposed to extend the priveliges now enjoyed by the 40s freeholders to persons holding copy-holds and lease-holds to a similar amount. A clause would be introduced into the bill giving to the possessors of copy-hold and lease-hold property within the limits of boroughs, and subject to the definition which now gives the right of voting beyond those limits, the same powei's as if they were freeholders within limits of boroughs. In the next placed he proposed to establish a savings' bank franchise which would place upon the register a large number of persons who could not be affected by any other means. There would be no complication of title, but from the nature of the class to vote the claim must be made annually. He proposed that all adult male depositors of L50 and upwards, who had been possessed of that deposit for two years in a savings' bank or in a Post Office pavings' bank, should be entitled to be registered for the place where they resided. This would add from 10,000 to 15,000 additional voters to the register, and the effect would be to diminish rather than increase the workingclass preponderance in the representation. Ho came next to the borough franchise. The inhabitants of towns who could exercise the franchise formed four distinct classes : — First those who inhabited a separate house or building, and paid their own rates ; secondly those who inhabited houses but did not pay their own rates; thirdly, persons whose holdings were not separately rated, on account of their inhabiting only a portion of a house ; and lastly, lodgers, properly so called. The town franchise was the question on which there was the most feeling and apprehension, and it would be best to dissipate those feelings by laying before the House the whole facts of the case. In 1832, the aggregrate constituencies was 182,000; in 1865, it was 463,000— showing an increase of 82 per cent. The populations of the towns during that period had increased 89 per cent., or only just below the increase of the constituencies. With respect to the working classes, he proceeded to analyse the returns, and showed that of the present constituencies 26 per .cent, may be strictly considered as belonging to the working classes ; but the number varied extremely — in some cases it was one-third, and in others not more than one-tenth, and this inequality was to be observed to be prevailing most where it ought to be least. The enfranchisement of the working ni*n by the Act of 1832 was not excessive, but since that time the advance of the working classes, in everything that entitled them to some share in the government of the country, had been great and undeniable. In 1832, the proportion of the working classes enfranchised was 31 per cent., but that proportion in 1865 had diminished to 26 per cent. The first question that suggested itself to Government was whether they were to take the Bill of 1860 in its simplicity as the basis for the towns. Looking back, however, at the fruitless discussions on that bill, they did not think that they could be satisfied with it, although they were not dissatisfied with the extent of enfranchisement proposed in that bill, which Sir G. Lewis estimated at 160,000, and Mr Bright also placed at about the same figures. They also found that the operation of that bill would be very unequal between the metropolitan and the country town constituencies. A great number were virtually disfranchised in the metropolis owing to the value of the ground and other special reasons, although entitled to it by law. They also found that in the qountry constituencies many persons, by the operation of the law, owing to conditions of residence, time, and paying taxes and rate?, were disfranchised. Although they were declared by law qualified to vote, they found that the effect of the rate-paying clause might debar a man from his vote for a year

after he was entitled. He proposed to abolish the rate-paying clause, which would add 25,000 to the register, and to treat compounding householders exactly like rate householders. At present the law was defective, inasmuch as the name of the compounding householder did not appear on the rate book, but in an amendment, which would shortly be proposed in the law of rateiug, the parish officers would be required to place upon the rate book the name of the tenant well as the person who paid the rates. The effect of this would be that hereafter the holder of a compounding house would be put on the list without claim by the same spontaneous process as that by which the man who paid his own rates came upon it. The alteration proposed with regard to compounding householders would give an addition of about 35,000 voters, principally in the metropolis. Nothing was proposed to be done with the third class of persons, those who inhabited flats or portions of houses, who although they paid taxes were not subject, to separate raleing. They would be left just as they were with the power of claiming, as they paid more than L10 a-year for the apartments they occupied. He now came to the lodger franchise. He proposed to place lodgers properly so called, on exactly the same footing as those who held tenements or apartments, or rooms in a house with no separate rating. If they could show that the rooms they inhabited were of the clear annual value of LlO, then they would bo entitled on claiming from year to year to be placed on the roll. There were insuperable difficulties in dealing with lodgers occupying furnished apartments : but he proposed to put them on the same footing as occupants of unfurnished apartments, and give them a vote, if they could show that the rooms, excluding the use of furniture, would be worth Lib a-year. Coming next to the question of the general qualification of borough voters, the right hon. gentleman proceeded to draw a comparison between a rating suffrage and one based upon the gross estimated rental, and said it was proposed in future, instead of taking the gross estimated value, to base the qualification upon the gross estimated rental in all boroughs. With the exception of thirty, the gross estimated rental was equal to the rack-rent, but in those thirty there was considerable inequality, owing to the operation of the Union Assessment Act not being complete. The Income Tax return showed that the rack-rent was L39.2 18,000, and the gross estimated rental was placed at L37, 375,000, showing a very trifline: difference. The present number of voters in boroughs was 488,000, of which 126,000 belonged to the working class. It was proposed by the alteration he had shadowed forth to give 60,000 more, all of whom would be of the working classes ; and as a L6 rental would give an addition of 242,000 more from the same class, thst would place the woiking classes in a clear majority an.ong the town constituencies, which was not the intention of any bill yet proposed, and was not a proposition likely to secure the sanction of Parliament. He did not think that it was prudent, or that they were called upon to go to such an extent ; for it was not certainly advisable at once to give over a majority of the representation to the working classes, and they proposed to give a L7 clear annual rental, the result of which would be, according to the returns before the Houee, to give a gross addition to the town constituency of 156,000 ; but making allowance for the freemen who now enjoyed the franchise, the net additionwould probably be 144,000. Mr Gladstone then went into a long analysis of the returns, and showed that the proposals he had made would add 224,000 to the borough constituencies, and 171,000 to the counties, making about 400,000 in all — a larger number than was enfranchised by the bill of 1832. The hon. gentleman concluded with a glowing peroration. A number of members expressed their opinions. Mr Lowe moved the adjournment of the debate at 12.45 a.m.