measure. There is no need here to describe in detail a scheme which was
foredoomed by its fantastic character to failure. It confused great
issues; it brought into play what Mr. Bright called fancy franchises; it
did not lower the voting qualification in boroughs; its new property
qualifications were of a retrograde character; and it left the working
classes where it found them. It frightened staid Tories of the older
school, and excited the ridicule, if not the indignation, of all who had
seriously grappled with the problem.

[Sidenote: LORD GRANVILLE'S IMPOSSIBLE TASK]

The immediate effect was to unite all sections of the Liberal Party.
Lord John led the attack, and did so on the broad ground that it did not
go far enough; and on April 1, after protracted debate, the measure was
defeated by a majority of thirty-nine votes in a House of six hundred
and twenty-one members. Parliament was prorogued on April 19, and the
country was thrown into the turmoil of a General Election. Lord John
promptly appealed to his old constituents in the City, and in the course
of a vigorous address handled the 'so-called Reform Bill' in no
uncertain manner. He declared that amongst the numerous defects of the
Bill 'one provision was conspicuous by its presence and another by its
absence.' He had deemed it advisable on the second reading to take what
seemed to be the 'most clear, manly, and direct' course, and that was
the secret of his amendment. The House of Commons had mustered in full
force, and the terms of the amendment had been carried. The result of
the General Election was that three hundred and fifty Liberals and three
hundred and two Conservatives were returned to Westminster. Parliament
met on May 31, and Lord Hartington moved an amendment to the Address
which amounted to an expression of want of confidence. The amendment was
carried by a majority of thirteen on June 12, and Lord Derby's
Administration came the same night to an end. The result of the division
took both parties somewhat by surprise. The astonishment was heightened
when her Majesty sent for Lord Granville, an action which, to say the
least, was a left-handed compliment to old and distinguished advisers of
the Crown. Happily, though the sovereign may in such high affairs of
State propose, it is the country which must finally dispose, and Lord
Granville swiftly found that in the exuberance of political youth he had
accepted a hopeless commission. He therefore re