The great debate on the County Franchise, raised by Mr.
Tre- velyan, came off on Friday week, and presented many points of interest. In the first place, the Liberals have accepted the redistribu- tion which mutt follow household suffrage iu the counties, and are ready apparently to take away upwards of 100 seats from little plabes, and give them to larger constituencies, whether in town or country. In the second place, the division showed that the Liberals, though handicapped by the hostility of the representa- tives of little boroughs, are almost united on the sub- ject. In a House of 496, they were only beaten by 276 to 220. Eve-y Liberal voted in the minority ex- cept Mr. Goschen, whose speech we have considered else- where, and Mr. Lowe, who is always opposed to anybody having the franchise. Only one Tory, Serjeant Spinks, voted with Mr. Trevelyan, but the Tories were evidently half- hearted. 'They did not lose their tempers, as they do when their minds are made up, and seemed to have a lurking idea that Lord Beaconsfield might one day wish to educate them again. Sir Stafford Northoote even argued rather for the inopportuneness than the mischievousness of Mr. Trevelyan's proposals. If the Tories remain in power, they will give us a Reform Bill yet.
