y possible
difficulty now would be to say what other choice, under the existing
conditions, he could possibly have made.

[Sidenote: 1831--Need for secrecy about the Reform Bill]

Tuesday, March 1, 1831, was the day fixed for the introduction of the
Reform Bill in the House of Commons. In the mean time, as we learn
from all who can be considered authorities on the subject, the nature
and the plan of the proposed reforms were kept a profound secret, not
only from the public at large, but even from members of the House of
Commons itself, with the exception of those who belonged to the
Administration. Ministerial secrets, it is only fair to say, are
generally well kept in England, but instances have undoubtedly occurred
in which the nature of some approaching measure, which ought to have
been held in the profoundest secrecy until the time came for its
official revelation, has leaked out and become fully known to the
public in advance. There is, of course, great difficulty in preventing
some inkling of the truth getting prematurely out. Cabinet Ministers
generally have wives, and there are stories of such wives having caught
stray words from their husbands which put them on a track of discovery,
and not having the grace to keep strictly to themselves the discovery
when made. No such mischance, however, appears to have attended the
preparation of the Reform Bill. It is said that there must have been
more than thirty persons who had official knowledge of the Ministerial
plans, and yet it does not appear that any definite idea as to their
nature was obtained by the public.

It may perhaps be asked whether there was any solid reason for
attaching so much importance to the keeping of a secret which on a
certain fixed and near-approaching day must, as a matter of fact, be a
secret no more. Of course the imperative necessity of secrecy would be
obvious {135} in all cases where some policy was in preparation which
might directly affect the interests of foreign States. In such a case
it is clear that it might be of essential importance to a Government
not to let its plans become known to the world before it had put itself
into a condition to maintain its policy. In measures that had to do
with commercial and financial interests it might often be of paramount
importance that no false alarm or false expectations of any kind should
be allowed to disturb the business of the country before the fitting
time came for a full dec