On the subject of Reform, Lord Hartington reproached the Leeds
and London Conferences with having neglected prac- tical difficulties, to press on a measure which could hardly be shaped until the practical difficulties had been overcome. He thought there would be great difficulty in either abolishing the 40s. freehold qualification for counties, or in extending that qualification to boroughs, and yet with- out some decision on that point, even the Franchise Bill could not be introduced. He saw still further difficulty in either excluding Ireland from its scope, or in extending to Ire- land a measure which must increase the numerical strength and
the political power of the Irreconcileable party. He did not in the least suggest that these difficulties were insurmountable, but he did wish that more effort had been made to surmount them by those who pressed the Franchise measure so urgently upon the Government.
