The debate of yesterday week on Mr. Meldon's motion to
establish household suffrage in the Irish boroughs,—i.e., to assimilate the borough franchise in Ireland and England,—was a very interesting one. It elicited, for instance, a violent speech from Mr. Lewis, the Member for Londonderry, who maintained that it would hand over political dominion in the boroughs to the lowest, poorest, most ignorant and priest-ridden class, who lived in hovels along with four-footed animals; and a very statesman- like speech from Mr. Forster, who insisted that if we are neither to govern Ireland as a conquered country, nor to leave it to govern itself, we must treat it in every way as we treat the rest of the Empire, and cannot permit the suffrage in Ireland to be lodged in less than six per cent. of the population, while in England it is lodged in the hands of 14 per cent. at least. The answer of the Government was very temporising. Mr. Lowther, the Irish Secretary, maintained, oddly enough, that it would be
'treating Ireland worse than England, to plunge her into a new poli- tical agitation from which England is to be free,—whereas, as far as we can see, the agitation will be promoted by refusing equality with England, not by willingly granting it. Lord Hartington exposed the weakness of Mr. Lowther's speech, and Sir Stafford Northcote's plea was merely dilatory. A settlement had been arrived at,—why should it be needlessly disturbed ? And of course, the House went with him, rejecting Mr. Meldon's motion by a majority of 69 (256 against 187).
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