On Monday the Government took the bold course of announcing,
in both Houses simultaneously—in the one by Lord Granville, and in the other by Mr. Gladstone—that though they could not take any step with regard to Re- distribution not of a character to ensure the passing of the Franchise Bill, yet if they had adequate assurance of the passing of the Franchise Bill, there was no step likely to be desired by the Opposition to which they would not be willing to accede. They would be quite willing to make either the main provisions of the Redistribution Bill, or the draft of the Bill itself, the subject of friendly communication with the leaders of the Opposition, and to make every effort—" every reasonable effort "—for accommodation. Or, if the Conservative leaders did not wish for that, they would at once introduce a Bill on the lines already sketched by Mr. Gladstone, which Mr. Goschen had approved and Sir Stafford Northcote had referred to with something like approval. In the next place, they would under- take to push on the Redistribution Bill at once, and move its Second Reading simultaneously with the Committee stage of the Franchise Bill in the House of Lords. Finally, they would make the passing of the Redistribution scheme a vital question for the Government, if the Franchise Bill were once secured.
