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    freely your franchise , but only return such men . to Parliament as are possessed of 10 , 000 ? . in the Three per Cents , or 300 ? . a year in some other kind of substantial property . I confess it rather ruffled roe at the threshold that my private affairs should he so investigated , that your verdict was not sufficient , that my right to sit in that House as your representative was to be called in question because I niight be in possession , only of a professional income . I say , sir , that one of the first things we have to do is to abolish this property qualification . ( Cheers . } Being duly armed with a document testifying to the fact , for -which vay signature was required , I enter tLe House of Commons , and there I find another obstruction : I see three mysterious-lookias gentlemen with

    wigs and . gowns sitting ; at a tahle with si number of paper tallies ahout a yard long , with certain strange hieroglyphics pasted on them . These I found to be a long series of oaths , which have been characterized by the Prime Minister of this country as almost blasphemous , and which are universally aclinowledged to be exceedingly ridiculous . ( Hear , hear . ' ) A number of members yrere there to be sworn in ; and the rapidity with which these oaths are read over is al ) surd . I could scarcely « dge in a word , and I found myself landed , ' on the true faith of a Christian' before I knew what "I was saying . ( Laughter . ) Now , gentlemen , I appeal to you , is tins a rational mode of proceeding , —that the only men who are deemed fit to govern you , the only men who are

    qualified to lie Governors-General in India , should compel us to " subscribe to a number of ridiculous oaths directed against the Pretender and the Pope ? "We were compelled to take these long oaths-without sense or meaning , by the noble lords who call themselves the leaders of the country , and this in the teeth of overwhelming majorities in the House of Commons . Whj-j those axe not leaders . ( Hear 7 iear . ) You , the people , are the leaders , if you would take the lead into your own hands . ( Cheers . ) You must tell those gentlemen tliat they have too long ruled the country , that they have too long monopolized power , and place , and patronage . ( Cheers . ) The only privileges which have been allowed vou are those of work and overwhelming taxation .

    ( Hear , hear . ) Gentlemen , it is high time to put an end to such a system as that . ( Hear . ) It is the people that do the . work ; it is the people who ought to have the power- ( Cheers . ) The people who do the -work are interested , in retrenchment , —not those noble lords who profess to lead you . ( Hear , hear . ) If you but express your "wish in a peaceful but resolute manner , I tell you your thraldom will be at an end . It requires but a word from the great municipal constituencies of the country , and your bonds will fall from your hands and you "will be what you never have been since the Norman Conquest , —you-will be a freely governed people , a people governed by themselves . ( Cheers . ) Well , gentlemen , I swallowed the oaths—( laughter ) , and I confess after

    having gone through the ceremony I felt that I had been humiliated . Perhaps that is one of the objects of enforcing oaths of this description . One of our first duties was to elect a Speaker . A highly accomplished gentleman was selected to fill that office ; and for my own part I can testify to the very able , efficient , and impartial—for Speakers are not always impartial—manner in which he filled that office . We were then a duly elected House off Commons . We had selected a Speaker , and it then became our duty to go and hear the Queen ' s speech . So our Speaker leads the way , and we follow in a somewhat noisy manner to the bar of the House of Lords , -where we , who hold the purse-strings of the country were treated as if we- had been coming to receive sentence . ( Laughter . ) There ¦ we saw a noble lord dressed in the most astonishing paraphernalia — ( laughter )— -presenting an appearance

    something between a beadle in full-bottomed -wig and a Queen's coachman —( laughter )—with a three-cornered hat fiercely cocked over his right eye . He held a document in his hand which he proceeded to mumble , not one word of which , I confess , did I hear . On the scarlet woolsack on which bia ainple sides reposed were also seated four other gentlemen , cla < l in scarlet and ermine , and looking , with thoir cloaks wrapped round them , cold and melancholy beyond description . I do confess that tbe whole affair put me strongly in mind of Dickey Doyle's l Manners and Customs of ye English in Punch . ( Laughter . * ) This , gentlemen , is Vhat is deemed necessary to i ? nj ) ose on the people and their representatives , but for myself , and I trust also for you , I declare it is utterly contemptible . ( . Hear , hear . ) I declare that woolsacks and horsehair do not impose on us at all . This , gentlemen , is what they give us

    instead of law reform and reform of all kindsnoble lords seated on woolsacks , crowned with horsehair , and topped with cocked hats . ( iMughter . ') Gentlemen , I toll the aristocracy of this country who call themselves the leaders of the people that , the time for tUcpo absurdities is gone by—( Jtear , hear )—that wo are aick of nil such nonsense—that we want to got rid of shams and come to stern realities and common sense . ( Cheers . ) I -will now refer , gentlemen , to a few of tho most important questions on which we divided . The first on my liat id tho Ballot . ( Hear , hear . ) Well , gentlemen , we divided on the Ballot , and wo divided in nvery handsome minority . But I must tell you that unless tho constituencies will support thoir representatives by public meetings and by pressing tho question on tho attention of the Legislature , it is impossible for the Liberal

    minority— -and I am sorry to see that it is no larger than it is—it is impossible for the thorough-going Liberal minority in the House of Commons to carry that important question . Upon the Ballot , as also upon the Oaths Bill , the country gave no sign , and wo were invariably met with the taunt , 'The country does not care about it . ' The ballot , after all , is a mere mode of taking votes , whether secretly or publicly . It does not involve a great principle as does the Oaths Bill . Now , gentlemen , I say again , it is for tho constituencies to be up and doing . You must empower your members to tell this House of Lords on your behalf that they are really behind the times , that they are of a bygone age . ( Cheers . ) It was all very well in the days of the Normans ; but society is too far ahead how . " ( Hear , hear . ) It is the aristocracy of brains that ought to govern the country—( h-ear , hear )—and the brains will have their

    way ; yea , in spite of ten thousand Houses of Lords , that great principle of civil and religious liberty which was proclaimed at th e time of the Reformation will be carried out—( hear , hear)—and whether it be Baron Rothschild or not , I tell those noble lords that the Jews shall sit-, in the House of Commons —{ cheers )—but it is the people who must place them there . ( Hear , hear . ) Don ' t you send us , a miserable minority , iiito the House of Commons to fight your battles , and then shrink out of tbe way as if it were no concern of yours . It is like a forlorn hope sent to storm a breach . I am not afraid of forlorn hopes , but you ought to back me up . ( Hear . ) Then , gentlemen , we had another division . It was riot Church-rates—( laiujliter ')—we had no time for Churchrates last session ; so they told Sir John Trelawnew

    \ ve did the next best thing , however—we abolished Ministers' money . ( Hear , hear . ) I was quite willing to take that as an instalment ; but , gentlemen , I hope that you are of my opinion—that we shall not be satisfied with that instalment . ( Ckeers . ~ ) I trust , therefore , that the Church-rate abolition will soon be carried . ( Hear , heai : ^ ) But I may here say that I do not blame Lord Palmerston for not having carried it . 1 think Lord Palnaerston last session disappointed the expectations of a . large number of people , who really thought that Mr . Disraeli was a true prophet when he said we had been sent in merely to waste the year . They were quite surprised to find that we had done more than had been done hi almost any year before ^ We had : carried important measures of reform . I ; say a harder-working House of Commons had scarcelv ever been returned .

    There might not be amongst them great orators , Burkes , and Grattaus , and Foxes , and it . was rather the tone of the public press to abuse us as a worthless good-for-nothing set of fellows ; but I can assure you we were very hard-working fellows , and also that the } ' were "very honest fellovs . ( Hear , hear . ) The divisions that took place were not mere party . divisions . For ray own part , I aln a 3-s endeavoured to vote -upon the merits . " Mr . Coningham proceeded to discuss the Divorce Bill , the administration of the National Gallery , and the Indian mutiny . "Why , gentlemen , in old constitutional countries like this , where any respectable blockhead does for a monarch , and any respectable blockhead is qualified to sit in the House of Lords , tliat kind of thing may be of little importance ; but when you invest a man with supreme power over 200 millions of men and place in his hands 200 , 000

    soldiers , I say very different qualifications are required . ( Hear , hear . ) I say it is not aii aristocratic qualification that is necessary , but an aristocracy of talent , of brain , as I siiid before . ( Cheers . ) Have you , the people of England , not witnessed with wrath and indignation the mariner in which you drifted into a Russian war from the incapacity of your rulers ? On a second occasion you see yourselves drifting into an Indian mutiny , your brothers and female relatives massacred , slaughtered , violated , and abused by a set of savages . ( Hear , hear . ) It is for you not to allow , by a mere change of system , a throwing from one hand into another , a juggle , those who are responsible to escape from a searching investigation . It is for you to find out what is thecause of those disasters . " After some remarks on the history of tho English in India , Mr . Coningham went on to say : — " I Hay one of the most effectual remedies for crime is to diminish taxation .

    ( Hear , hear . ) But we cannot get it diminished unless you back us up . I divided the House on the Princess ' s Dowry , with a fearful majority staring me in tho face ; but 1 was determined to interpose , and , if possible , put a stop to the Government putting its hands into the people ' s pockets . ( Hear , hear . ) Tho public were asked to vote 40 , 0007 . down in hard cash , and 8000 ? . a year as long as the daughter of the Queon lived . ( Hisses and applause . ) I took upon myself to divide tho llouso when the report was brought up—( hear , tiear ) — and when , I assure you , I did not know that I should have more than my seconder to divide with me . I did it as a

    protest . I took my stand on a great principle . I flay it' tho Queen has a large family she cannot expect tohavo them so well provided for aa if she had a small one . Sho is not exempt from the laws of nature . ' Tho more tho merrier , tho fower tho better cheor , ' applies ixb well to n queen aa to a peasant . ( Great apjilamc . ) What ia the use of preaching political economy in tho -workhouse if tho pnlace is to ignore itn principles V ( Hear , heao' . ) I had intended to divide when the bill was first brought before us , and 1 luid actually risen « t the sumo time na Mr . Roebuck . Some of the members of tlio ltadlcal party who ant behind mo said , ' Mr . Roebuck

    has got an amendment in his hand ; better let him pro pose it . ' I gave way to Mr . Roebuck . I intended to reject the 8000 ? . a year proposed and to have given the Princess 100 , 0007 . down . ( Hear , hear . ) Mr . Roebuck got up and moved his resolution and made a speech . I rose and stated that I would support him . There was a good deal of conversation at the time , and I did not hear what was going on ; and to my great . astonishment the first intimation I had that the amendment was -withdrawn was seeing all the members rushing out of the house . I can only say that it was a very indiscreet step for Mr . Roebuck to take . There was a strong feeling on the subject on the independent benches where I sat , and . I must say that I think it was an error of judi ' -

    ment on Mr . Roebuck ' s part ; for I am convinced that if we had divided then , we should have divided in a large minority , perhaps a majority . I was determined at .-ill hazards to divide the House . I should not have alluded to the matter at such length but that I have been violentlv assailed for what I did on that occasion ; but it -will be for you to decide whether 1 did Tight or -wrong . ( Cheers . ) You can have no conception when these estimates are laid before us how bewildering is the chaos of items that are presented to us , and the immense difficulty -we have in finding out what ought to he reduced and what is a fair demand on the public purse . I say that when you look at the enormous revenue of the Crown , something like 400 , 000 / . a year , Buckingham Palace , a palace at

    Windsor , yachts , another country palace in the Isle of Wight ,-with purchases of land going on every day , a palace down , in Scotland , 20 , 0007 . a year from * the Duchy of Lancaster , upon which the Chancellor of the Exchequer was dead silent , but of which I took care to remind him—{ hear , hear )—and we are told that the Duchy of Cornwall has accumulated 1 , 000 , 0007 . for the Prince of Wales—with these enormous revenues at their disposal , I for one protest against the Crown corning down and demanding the hard earnings of the people . " ( Cheers . ^ Recurring India , and adverting to commercial topics , Mr . Coningham entered iipon the question of Reform . " There is one final question to which I wish to allude before 1 sit down , and

    that is the question of Reform . (_ Hcar , hear . ) Gentlemen , there seems a disposition in some quarters , to burke the Reform Bill which we were promised . I do not remember the exact swords made use of by Lord Pahnerston ; but certainly there was a general impression throughout the country that he pledged himself last session to bring- forward a Reform Bill . ( Hear , hear . ) We are : now . told , that- having the Indian . Mutiny and Charter to discuss , and this banking question to deal with , it is quite impossible that the Reform Bill can be taken into consideration . With regard to this Indian question , I should have very much more confidence in the result if 1 foresaw that the ¦ whole question of the administration of India was to be discussed ma reformed

    House of Commons . ( JIeur , hear . ) 1 am not a Doctrinaire Reformer , gentlemen ..- I do not fancy that there is . any extraordinary mystery in the question of reform ; but one thing 1 see cloarly—that you , the electors and non-electors of this country , are governed by st House of Commons in which neither the population nor even the wealth ' of the country is fnirty represented . ( Hear , hear . ) Two or three facts which I shnll quote will satisfy you on that point . On turning over my papers the other day , 1 found some data which will conclusively show that neither tlie population nor the property —I am . not sure that I might not say also the intelligence—of the country ore fairly represented at present . At the time these statistics were taken it was

    estimated that tlie population of boroughs amounted to 5 , 800 , 000 , returning 32 U members ; 1 G of those boroughs with an aggregate . population of 2 , 017 , 000 returned 38 members , an < l tho other half of tho population , that ie , about 2 , 900 , 000 , returned 209 members ; 22 boroughs -with a population of 200 , 000 , returned 42 members , and 22 other boroughs-with a population of 3 , 780 , 000 also returned 42 members . Then , with regard to property , Sussex , rated ntl , lG 9 , 00 O / . returned 18 members ; and Middlesex rated at 7 , 293 , 000 / ., returned only 14 members to Parliament . Liverpool , rated at 845 , 415 / . returned 2 members , mid lloniton , rated at 9880 / ., also returned 2 members . Is there any sense in such a system of representation us that ? ( Hear . ) I say that -without

    the Ballot , —leaving everything as it ia and simply by a change in the rejiresentatioii based on population , — -I feel convinced that you , the people , the liberal , intelligent peoplo of this country , tho possessors of tho brains nnd of the hands that produce tho wealth , would be represented in Parliament hi u manner highly satisfactory to you . I declare for my part I Rhould be quito satisfied with such a change , trusting to the future to introduce any other alterations that might bo necessary . I 3 » t , gentlcmon , I must again remind you that unless you exert that mental and rihysical energy you possess , noil to

    which you havo exerted in taking the necessary steps reconquer tho Indian Umpire , you will obtain no Reform Bill ; and if you do not -wish to rco a repetition of s « tl 1 disasters , you will take the Government , the monopoly of Government , out of tho hands of tho aristocracy , i "' you will decline yourselves n freo people , grown to yearn of discretion and eapnblo of governing yourselves-( Applause . ') You are tho be « t judges of what is for yout own interests , and I call on you , gentlemen , to express your opinions on tlii . s question of Reform , to toll I-iord I'almcrHton and his government -whether oi

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    JSg ^ l _^^ .- ^ .---l-- ^ ± ll _ .- . igLgJ 5 ^ .. ? A 5 _? J *? -- . ' O ° 401 , ' November-28 , 1857 .

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 28, 1857, page 1132, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2219/page/4/