and his friends. I have not changed
my opinions upon the subject of what is called Parliamentary Reform.
All that has occurred, all that I have observed, all the results of
my reflections, lead me to this more and more--that the principle
upon which the constituencies of this country should be increased is
one not of radical, but I may say of lateral reform--the extension
of the franchise, not its degradation. And although I do not wish
in any way to deny that we were in the most difficult position when
the Parliament of 1859 met, being anxious to assist the crown and
the Parliament by proposing some moderate measure which men on both
sides might support, we did, to a certain extent, agree to some
modification of the 10 pounds franchise--to what extent no one knows; but
I may say that it would have been one which would not at all have
affected the character of the franchise, such as I and my colleagues
wished to maintain. Yet I confess that my opinion is opposed, as it
originally was, to any course of the kind. I think that it would
fail in its object, that it would not secure the introduction of
that particular class which we all desire to introduce, but that it
would introduce many others who are totally unworthy of the
suffrage. But I think it is possible to increase the electoral body
of the country by the introduction of voters upon principles in
unison with the principles of the constitution, so that the suffrage
should remain a privilege, and not a right--a privilege to be
gained by virtue, by intelligence, by industry, by integrity, and to
be exercised for the common good of the country. I think if you
quit that ground--if you once admit that every man has a right to
vote whom you cannot prove to be disqualified--you would change
the character of the constitution, and you would change it in a
manner which will tend to lower the importance of this country.
Between the scheme we brought forward and the measure brought
forward by the honorable member for Leeds, and the inevitable
conclusion which its principal supporters acknowledge it must lead
to, it is a question between an aristocratic government in the
proper sense of the term--that is, a government by the best men of
all classes--and a democracy. I doubt very much whether a
democracy is a government that would suit this country; and it is
just as well that the house, when coming to a vote on this question,
should really consider if that be the real is