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    THE BALLOT. Mr. Beekeeey brought on his ...

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    History Op Parliament. The Mii.Itia. Me....

    tin * over money to be invested in the railroads of a se Vhich if the professed terrors were real , wo must na ° , ^ be ^ Stiff of bandits . Had the French no believe toba a ?^| ar of .,. etribution , no wealth to be ""^ ST What possible object could France have in P * vin & us ? And here was a proposition for taxation ? ^ n amount which ought rather to be taken off various Plaining interests . We were perpetually increasing rSTandwhere was such a course to end ? The wt of Government was no * that \ ykich would tend to C A « Tnte eoo'd feeling between ourselves and France , which , F nation £ as admitted to be pacifically disposed , while ? L ruler ' s ' peaceful intentions were guaranteed by Lord K-bvand Lord John BusseU . The people of England were opposed to any measure of this kind . He suggested nnosals for mutual disarming , declared that we possessed nwers of destruction prodigiously superior to those of TVance and ' announced , his determination to give the Pnvernment measure his decided opposition . At the same time with char acteristic-caution , he expressed his willingnpss ' to vote against the introduction of the bill , although h shrunk from moving an amendment to that effect .

    Major Bebesford , Admiral Berkeley , Mr . Fox MAXIM :, and Mr . Newdegate , Captain Bomxebo , and the O'Goemak MASO 2 T , supported the measure , while Mr . Hobhottse opposed it . The ChanceI / Loe 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 Riding , who had made one of those able and agreeable speeches which he always listened to with nleasure , though he disagreed with them ( a laugh . ) His

    argument was not against a muitia , but against all delence ; against the line , household troops , artillery , and cavalry . ( Cheers . ) It proceeded upon the assumption that , in the present state of the world , no country need defend itself . He c ould not agree w 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 ho had stated . When he ( the Chancellor of the Exchequer ) recollected that in the course of eight weeks four pitched battles had been fought , and the Adriatic was blockaded , lie could not agree that the era to which the honourable gentleman had

    referred was exactly that halcyon period wmch 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 think that 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 o f 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 apj ) lied with great , aud even complete , SUCCtiho . Mr . BbIght 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 coming from the right honourable gentleman . Ho supposed that when an honourable gentleman had passed a fortni ght on the Treasury bench , ho acquired a gravity

    of face which enabled him to ask anything of the membors opposito to him . ( Oh , oh . ) The - right honourable gentleman sat , on the Ministerial sido of tho House by tho violation of the very rule which ho now asked tho House to observe . ( Cheors from the Opposition benches . ) Ho should havo borne that rule in mind before ho enlisted under tho banners of a vindictive noblo lord . The right honouvablo gontloraon would find it much easier to got volunteers in somo of tho south-western counties , where wages wore onl y a shilling a day , than ho would in Lancashire and Yorkshire , whore thoy ranged from half-acrown to five shillings . In Lancashire and Yorkshire , therefore ho

    , must havo recourse to tho ballot . Tho right i ft ) " ! Sontlomnn proposed to ballot all tho mon from w n ; 7 Ottra of ft f ? o , employed in manufactures ; and ho woum tako from tho mills men ongagod in delicate , and tuicult , n "d "killed processes . Well , how would this project operate in tho manufactories P bocauso that waa a question that must l > o mot , and could not bo evaded . vuca . r . ) it WftH au y cry wo ] 1 for ] lonourftb ] o gontlomcn in f ,, irV- IOU 8 i ° to do ftH ifc wa 8 Hai ( 1 tho nobl ° lor < l tho member < u j . jvorton had dono tho other night , namely , « to tuko an Sm ° ° Iu < it « 8 h lion' ( laughter ); but whon this sysw-in caino to bo applied in Lancashire and Yorkshire , not lm , -. i i CftPllali » ta alono , but tho workmen who wore to ul ^ i i * 1 Vom lhoir regular and well-paid industry , mo , ,, fouml Bt 0 ft ( l y »« d implacablo opponents of this

    • iv ° rcfit ' Ejected that tho culling out tho inuitiu would disturb tl « s industry of tho countvyj and ™ f ? j ? OBto < Ulwt ' it should bo deferred until tho next " Mr . WiiiTEfliDU supported tho measure of his Ooununent . Mr . BoEUtrorc nnd Mr . Osboiine united t L ? fi S tlmfc tho bU 1 h ( i introduced , and laid on iioxf V tlwt no iurihQV 8 t ° ps ** taken wntil « parliam ent .. But as no member had tlio courage nnd ft ° . diroct n ° gfttivo , the motion was agreed to . ; attor disposing of some routine businoss , tho Houho a < yourned .

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    ;;¦ ¦ , ¦ ' . ¦ ¦ . ¦¦ ' " 'W- ( - ¦ ¦ . •¦ ¦ . ¦ : ¦ . ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ . ¦ ¦ .. ¦¦ ¦• . ¦ ¦ ¦ .. ,- ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ . ; . APftIL 3 y 1852 . ] THE LEADER . Sit

    The Ballot. Mr. Beekeeey Brought On His ...

    THE BALLOT . Mr . Beekeeey 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 bratibn-was the opening sentences onthe state of the country , considered from art electioneering point of

    ew" We had before us the prospect of an immediate general election ( laughter , and cries of ' Hear , hear' ) , when the electors would be exposed to the evils lie 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 , hoar . ) 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 Mv . 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 the intimidators and bribers , being smashed to pieces . Havine resided six years in Axaerica , 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 wanted in

    and intimidation , but that the ballot was ^ England , because , by the law of primogeniture and entail , properties accumulated , and the tyranny of classes was felt . The New York disturbance mig ht have taken place anywhere . An American gentleman of great respectability had written as follows : — " « My dear Sir , —The' 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 same . 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 tho votes by way of ballot has had anything to do with the difficulty

    is clean out of the question . You will find that the Governor of the State of Now York pa sses a censure upon the irregularities which have taken place , and calls attention to their prevention ; but casts not a word of doubt on tho subject of tho ballot . The destruction of the ballot-box will at onco point to tho fact , that it was held in no great estimation by tho promoters of intimidation and bribery , and I think I may venture to make tho calculation that we shall find that our local Legislature will pass a stringent law on tho subject of bribery , and in future recommend that our voting-urns bo located in a place of more security . ' In the Carolinas , Alabama , and tho southern states , tho ballot-box protected tho advocate of emancipation from Lynch law . ( Hoar . )"

    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 fire . In the course of his speech Mr . Berkeley alluded to South Notts election , where tho gentlemen of the county " routed out tho electors like vormin , and sent them like cnged ruts to tho poll , " amid some laughter ' . This brought u « Mr . Baiikow , tho member for that county , who said that Ins election was tho best proof that independent electors could return their own candidate . He was opposed to tho ballot , oven in clubs , and ho hoped that tho electors of this country would continue , us in his enso , to exorcise their francluHO independently , owning subjection to no human authority , save to the Queen nnd tho law . ( Cheers . )

    Sir Benjamin Ham ,, and Mr . W . WiLMAMfl ( whoso uprlso was greeted with impatient cries of " Oh , oh' ! " ) supported tlio motion . Mr . IUhvlih Coohbane , unable to obtain much nttontion for what ho has himself to say , mannged to mako an impression by quoting a speech doliveral in 18 < t 3 on Mr . ( now Sir Henry ) Ward's motion for tho ballot . Sir . Tomes Graham said" Tho whole system of secret voting is inconsistent with tho English character . If ho bo an honosfc man and a firm

    friend he will not want the ballot * If he skulls he will not avail himself of it . The only persons to whom the ballot would be valuable would be those dirty , hypocritical scoundrels —(< Hear , hear , ' and laughter)—men whoseiaces belie their purpose— -men who pretend to be your friends only to deceive and betray you—who flatter you with vain 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 , anarks them as the most contemptible of mankind . These are the men who demand a measure that is a mere recipe to Lend to lies the confidence of truth . ' (• Hear , 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 . Cobden 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 , 1 S 35 , 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 Derb y distinctly told them that he considered the tenantry of this country to he 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 onthe Parliamentary Voters Bill , sftid-r— „

    ' 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 b y calculating the number of tho great landed proprietors m the 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 were to be mode 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 he thought they were quite right , for tho dependent voter might be exposed to the influence of a great millowncr as much as to tho influence of a _ great landowner ; and he had always declared that tho object of tho ballot was to protect tho voters from any kind of improper influence , whether exercised by landowners , millowbcts . customers , priests , or mobs . ( Hoar , hoar . )"

    He wound up with a warning to the " young men " opposito not to commit themselves by voting against the ballot . Mr . WAxrOLE was put up to reply , and referred to two remarks made by Mr . Cobden , before entering on tlio general question . First , he claimed Mr . Cobden ' s vote against Mr . Locke King ' s 10 / . franchiso motion , if this motion for tho ballot waa rejected ; and then ho continued" Tho other passago of tho lion , member ' s speech to

    which I am about to refer I cannot pass ovor so lightly , and indeed ho muat permit mo to say that it was not worthy of him , because it was not an accurate representation of tho wor ds of tho noblo lord at tho head of tho Government . ( Hear , hoar . ) Tho words which the hon . member used wore very remarkable : ho said , that tlio noblo lord at tho head of tlio Government had mado uso of tho exp ression , that tho landlords of England looked on thoir tenantry aa political capital . Mr . Compmn . —No , I did [ not . ( Cries ' of " Oli , oh 1 " " Order ! " ) : - ¦ '

    Mr . WaJiVOMB . —I am not mis-stating what tlio hon . member said . " ( Cheors . ) Mr . Codwbw . —I road a quotation from Lord Derby's speech . ( " Order , order 1 " ) Mr . WAtPOiiii . ;—I boliovo tho words woro , tho tonantry of England woro political capital . ( Cheors from tho Minifitorial benches . ) Mr . Cobdkn t I wish to save tho time of tho lion , gontlomnn , instead of allowing him to wasto his own time and tho tiino of tho House in arguing on a different hypothesis . ( " Oh , oh . " } I quoted Lora ^ Derby ' s words from Hansard ; and I said in tho courso of my roraarjea , after some other

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), April 3, 1852, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_03041852/page/3/