seen, again and
again, that a man of high political character and commanding eloquence,
but having no money or other such influence to back him, would have a
far better chance at {148} the hands of a great popular constituency
than he would be likely to have in some small borough, where local
interests might easily be brought to conspire against him. But at the
time when Peel was making his speech against the Reform project the
patronage system still prevailed in politics, if no longer in letters,
and the unendowed child of genius would have little chance indeed if he
were to try to get into Parliament on his own mere merits. On the
whole, it must be owned that Sir Robert Peel made as good a case
against the Bill as could have been made from the Conservative point of
view, and it may be added that an equally ingenious case might have
been made out by a man of his capacity against any change whatever in
any system.

[Sidenote: 1831--The second reading of the Reform Bill]

The third speech to which we think it necessary to refer was that
delivered by the Irish orator and agitator, Daniel O'Connell.
O'Connell promised the Bill all the support in his power, but he took
care to explain that he supported it only because he believed it was
the best Bill he could obtain from any Government at that moment. He
described clearly and impressively the faults which he found with Lord
John Russell's measure; and it has to be noticed that the objections
which he raised were absolutely confirmed by our subsequent political
history. He found fault with the Bill because it did not go nearly as
far as such a measure ought to go in the direction of manhood suffrage,
or, at all events, of household suffrage. He contended that no Reform
Bill could really fulfil the best purposes for which it was designed
without the adoption of the ballot system in the voting at popular
elections. He advocated shorter Parliaments and much more
comprehensive and strenuous legislation for the prevention of bribery
and corruption. In short, O'Connell made a speech which might have
been spoken with perfect appropriateness by an English Radical of the
highest political order at any time during some succeeding generations.
O'Connell's opinions seem to have been at that time, save on one
political question alone--the question of Repeal of the Union--exactly
in accord with those of the Radical party down to the days of Cobden
and Bright.

{149}

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