t a solution
which would tend to the advantage and benefit of the country. And
yet, says the right honorable gentleman, it was only in 1860 that
the portentous truth flashed across the mind of the country--only
in 1860, after so many ministers had been dealing with the question
for so many years. All I can say is that this was the question, and
the only question, which engaged the attention of Lord Derby's
cabinet. The question was whether they could secure the franchise
for a certain portion of the working classes, who by their industry,
their intelligence, and their integrity, showed that they were
worthy of such a possession, without at the same time overwhelming
the rest of the constituency by the numbers of those whom they
admitted. That, sir, was the only question which occupied the
attention of the government of Lord Derby and yet the right
honorable gentleman says that it was in 1860 that the attention of
the public was first called to the subject, when, in fact, the
question of Parliamentary Reform had been before them for ten years,
and on a greater scale than that embraced by the measure under
consideration this evening.

I need not remind the house of the reception which Lord Derby's Bill
encountered. It is neither my disposition, nor, I am sure, that of
any of my colleagues, to complain of the votes of this house on that
occasion. Political life must be taken as you find it, and as far as
I am concerned not a word shall escape me on the subject. But from
the speeches made the first night, and from the speech made by the
right honorable gentleman this evening, I believe I am right in
vindicating the conduct pursued by the party with which I act. I
believe that the measure which we brought forward was the only one
which has tended to meet the difficulties which beset this question.
Totally irrespective of other modes of dealing with the question,
there were two franchises especially proposed on this occasion, which,
in my mind, would have done much towards solving the difficulty. The
first was the franchise founded upon personal property, and the second
the franchise founded upon partial occupation. Those two franchises,
irrespective of other modes by which we attempted to meet the want and
the difficulty--these two franchises, had they been brought into
committee of this house, would, in my opinion, have been so shaped and
adapted that they would have effected those objects which the majority
of