As it seems likely that the Liberals have almost made
up their minds to make the Small Tenements' Act universal below houses rated at 5/., and then to make the borough suffrage and "personal payment of rates" conterminous, there is a special interest in a
Teturn moved for by Major Jervis, which shows in parallel columns the numbers of present electors for each borough, and the number which would be enfranchised by a 71. rental suffrage (Mr.
Gladstone's of last year), by a 6/. ratal suffrage,—Mr. Disre.eli's 4' ten minutes" Bill,—and by a 5/. rats! suffrage. The totals for
England are as follows :- Present ten-pound occupiers now on the Register 439,981
71. rental occupiers 828,600
6/. rat-al ,, 783,922 51. „ 1., 914,404
But the totals are not very instructive, as there is the greatest possible variety- between different boroughs. Thus in the follow-
ing it stands thus .—
lot. Voters on Register.
Si. Rental Occupiers. Si. Rata. U. Ratal.
Leeds 7,217 ..... 13,289 13,863 18,033 Lichfield 397 593 502 680 Newark 540 912 911 1,129 Bradford 5,189 9,253 8,819 13,045 Blackburn ... 1,894 2,931 3,091 4,832 Gloucester ... 1,255 2,138 1,949 2,043
In the last case Mr. Gladstone's 71. rental gives the largest con- stituency of the three ; usually, however, the 5/. ratal gives the largest, and fortunately not generally as much proportional increase in the small boroughs as in the manufacturing towns.
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