Vruniutial.
REFORM AT MANCHESTER.
The Reformers of Manchester held a meeting in the Town Hall on
the 12th, and founded a Political ReformAsseciatian. Alderman Hey- wood occupied the chair. He pointed out that formerly the working classes. tried to'stop the supplies of Public opinion by refusing' tp hear views opposed to their own. Now they no longer act as obstruetives but are ready to:assist any men in expressing their opinions. Mr. II00- son held sacred the people's charter, and advocated manhood suffrage on the ground that it is a natural right. lie combated the notion that the people would he led away by demagogues. Have not the middle classes and the aristocracy their leaders ? The middle classes hold that man- hood suffrage is going too far, but when have the wealthy classes sup- ported a movement at its initiation ? " Working men do not like poli- tical agitation, but the obstinacy of the upper and middle classes render it netieary. • I say to the middle classes destroy that agitation by taking your stand upon manhood suffrage." Dr. John Watts =piffled the same argimients, but founded himself on the social contract and the
good of the community. Why should property rule poverty. Every man called ,upon to obey the law should have a share in making it &c. All men are held eligible to make laws, why not all eligible to elect the lawmakers ? With regard to manhood suffrage and the ballot he should say " No compromise l " Mr. Edmund Potter said that he had conferred with the working classes and had found but little difference between them and himself. He did not waist to smother the question of manhood suffrage. He
wanted to argue it fairly and calmly. He held a very strong opinion en these matters—much stronger than was palatable in the circles wherein he moved ; therefore perhaps he might be allowed to mediate between the two classes and their opinions, to see if some common ground could notbe agreed upon. lie presented himself in that meeting as one of the "cal,'" class, but notion that account grown selfish, for he could assure them he had won his position too hardly to forget from whence he sprang, or to lose his sym- pathy with those who had still to rise. He believed that representation was now a monopoly, which was one of the greatest social evils of the day. But the great stumbling-block to obtaining reform was one that was con- tinually thrown in his b.-Tth by certain classes with whom he was iu the habit of occasionally associating. He had been told by statesmen—leading statesmen—men who ought to be the heads almost of Cabinets, within a very short time, that the people cared nothing about reform, that they were apathetic on the subject, and that in none of the elections did more than a third or ,fourth of the electors throughout the country take the trouble to vote. So long as it was so, what argument had men like himself? He took it for granted, then, that they did not mean to be apathetic any longer, hut would turn over a new leaf and exert their moral force—which was the only force they ought to exercise—in order to change the state of the representation. What he wanted to see conceded was one vote for every ratepayer—one vote only to every man who was a ratepayer iu any way throughout the entire kingdom. He did not want county votes, he wanted no distinctive votes, lie did not want that men should hold a dozen county votes, but that every man who paid rates should be able to vote once in one year in one particular place. The would tell them why ho would limit the franchise to ratepayers. At present the franchise was confined within one million electors. That he considered to be a monopoly. He asked them to go withiiim for a ratepaying suffrage—as an instalment, if they liked—which would give them three and a half millions more. That was the fact. He would endeavour to show that this would not be a very aristocratic measure. There were in Great Britain and Ireland six and a half millions of adult males. Of houses rated there were, perhaps, 5,100,000; he could not say to a hundred thousand exactly, but he had not overstated the number. Now, supposing the ratepaying suffrage were granted, what did they suppose the rate of franchise would be? Half the houses would be rated between 51. and 61. Ile thought, then, it would be apparent that this was rather a democratic measure. Half the electors of the country would be rated under 6/. Did he dread such an extension ? Nothing of the kind. But what he dreaded, and what he thought we might all dread, would be the refusal of the suffrage to half the ratepayers in Great Britain. Ho believed that any measure which did not give a rate- paying franchise, and which would omit half the ratepayers of Great Bri- - tain, would be unsound. What, then, was the difference between him and those who had already spoken ? About a million and a half of electors. In taking the ratepaying suffrage he believed he took the best part of the community—lee did not say in point of property, because he threw that over- board altogether, and he wanted them to consider the franchise as an affair of mind and of morals, and not property. Ile preferred the ratepaying suffrage, because he wanted a simple uniform suffrage, to know where every voter was located, and lie wanted no register but the ratehook. lie did not care how low it went, even if a man were only rated at 20.e. a year, if only he had a habitation, where he could be found when he was wanted. If the elector had a wife in that habitation, Mr. Potter should like him all the better ; because-then he should regard him as a thoroughly responsible citizen. He wanted only to find out who the citizens were, and not to have a rambling, loose class—if he might use the expression—of which we might expect to get some 200,000 or 800,000, or perhaps more under a manhood suffrage. Not that he feared the extension to manhood suffrage. He really believed that would not be worse than the present, or inflict more evil upon the great body of the people. (Cheers.) Those who advocate manhood suffrage propose a register of some kind. The curse of the present system is the register system, and they propose a registration more cumbrous and more difficult, more open to fraud of every kind, than we have now. *- sides, let it be considered how many of these 150,000 excluded would every year get married and become settled in a habitation. No doubt a hundred thousand every year, out of the six hundred thousand who might belong to the-working class. What, then, was the use of splitting straws on such a question ? ("Hear, hear !" cheers, and a voice : " Why don't you go on then" ?) He asked them to consider calmly what would be best for the entire people. Did they think the rating suffrage would, after all, refute the other if it was right ? Hail they no faith that it would be followed by manhood suffrage, if that was right) Then he asked them to take the rate- paying suffrage as John Bright's Bill, and to trust themselves in John Bright's hands." (Loud cheers.)
Mr. Beaky said a few words but did not commit himself beyond a rate-paying suffrage.
The Manchester election passed off with great quietness on 'Wednes- day. All the real speechmaking had been done before. Mr. W. B. Watkins proposed and Mr. Langworthy seconded Mr. Thomas Baxley. No opposition was offered, except from a local bore, who vainly tried to speak, and Mr. Braley was declared duly elected. His speech on the oc- casion was short 'and uninteresting.
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