month of April, and, having thus attained his object of
keep- Redistribution is perhaps the most important part of Irish ing things quiet, he declared in the end of June, at the instance Reform, as it will certainly present the most formidable diffi- of an Orange deputation, that the state of the country would culties to Mr. Disraeli. So far as the counties are concerned, prevent him from touching the franchise in Ireland. From unless a very large number of seats are taken away from the: this position, so audaciously taken up, the unanimous expres- boroughs, no extended rearrangement will be found needful on sion of Liberal indignation compelled him to recede hastily. desirable. With one exception the Irish counties have, in two. A pledge was extorted from him that he would treat the ques- members a piece, their fair share of political power, but that tion in a Government measure early in the next session. His exception is rather notable. The county of Cork is by far excuse, in fact, was thoroughly worthless, inasmuch as the the largest county in Ireland. Its population is more pros most distinct promise of an Irish Reform Bill had been given perous, intelligent, and independent than that of any other part in the House of Commons more than a month after the Fenian of Munster. At the last census it amounted to 544,000, not- rising of Ash Wednesday. withstanding a diminution of one-third since the date of the Without doubt, Mr. Disraeli will be closely kept to his famine. Under the occupation franchise it has more than, agreement. Ireland must have Reform, not that she asks it 15,000 electors on the roll. Yet it has only two members,. loudly, but that we can hardly deal out the rudest justice to the same number enjoyed by the Orange county of Fermanagh,. an unrepresented people. The plan which the Ministry hinted with a fifth part of the population. It may be observed that, at in the House of Commons this year will hardly suit the while Fermanagh returns such staunch Tories as Captain exigencies of next year. That plan was borrowed from Mervyn Archdall and the Hon. Henry Cole, Cork has been' Mr. Chichester Fortescue's scheme of 1866, and was based usually Liberal. But it is when glancing at the county on the theory of Mr. Gladstone's unsuccessful Bill. But representation of England that we see the most glaring in- what we have now got to apply to Ireland are the prin- equality. Cumberland, with a population of 149,000, Leices- ciples of the Reform Act of 1867, and the Reform Act tershire, with 170,000, and Shropshire, with 185,000, have- is something very different from either Mr. Gladstone's each four members, or double the representation of " the• Bill or Mr. Disraeli's. It will be interesting to attempt Irish Yorkshire," with its half a million of inhabitants. We hypothetically to make use of these principles in refer- cannot believe that Mr. Disraeli, who expresses himself in ence to Ireland, to see how far they are applicable to the terms of such heart-felt compassion on the subject of the- condition of that country, to note any practicable modifications political injustice done to English counties, will pass over this. of them, and most of all, to come to some conclusion as to case of electoral destitution. It will not be difficult to obtain. the political changes they are likely to work. Let us recall the necessary seats, and a division of the county would be the principles which have been laid down in the English Bill, in every sense equitable and useful. In dealing with the first, with respect to the franchise, and next, with respect to boroughs upon the principles of the English Act, it is plain,. the redistribution of seats. The great change, of course— in the first instance, that Mr. Laing's clause cannot operate in that reducing the borough franchise from " the hard and Ireland. There are no boroughs having a population of less. fast" 101. line to a ratepaying qualification—will apply to than 10,000 which return two members. Even Sergeant. Ireland almost as extensively in comparison as to England. Gaselee's rejected amendment for disfranchising towns below The present borough franchise in Ireland is an 8/. rating, the 5,000 line would not apply to more than five boroughs,— which in most cases works up to a tolerably high rental. By two in Ulster, namely, Dungannon and Downpatrick ; and the application of the English principle all burgesses whose three in the south, viz., Kinsale, Mallow, and Portarlington- occupations are valued at 4/. and upwards—no rates are levied This calculation is based, of course, on the Census of 1861, in Ireland below this line—would obtain the suffrage. and probably many of the towns which then were ranked in the The 10/. lodger franchise might be applied without altera- class having between 10,000 and 5,000 population have now, tion, but except in Dublin it would have very little effect. after six years of emigration, sunk below the latter limit. Of The ratepaying qualification, however, would introduce a very these we may count five in Ulster—Armagh, Carrickfergus,. large proportion of Catholic voters of the poorer class into Coleraine, Enniskillen, and Lisburn; and eight in'the South— the towns of the south and west ; in many boroughs this viz., Bandon, Carlow, Cashel, Ennis, Athlone, New Ross, infusion of new blood would turn the scale against family Dungarvan, and Youghal. All these are represented, and give TOPICS OF THE DAY. influences. Thus the Bernard family would be certainly ousted' from their old stronghold, Bandon. Even in the most for- midable fastnesses of Orangeism a large reinforcement of the A REFORM BILL FOR IRELAND. Liberal ranks by the enfranchisement of the poorer Catholics- WITH all Mr. Disraeli's skilful pilotage, for which he has would make a perceptible difference at elections. At Derry, been at least sufficiently praised, it must not be sup- at Enniskillen, and even at Belfast, the minority made a good' posed that he has yet succeeded in steering his party clear out fight in 1865, and part at least of the representation of these of the shoal water of Reform. The grand difficulty indeed is and other Ulster towns may be wrested from the Tories. In- passed, without any popular convulsion or external danger ; Dublin, again, the freemen, who are the arbiters of the pre- the country gentlemen of England have accepted the rule of sent elections, and who are Protestants, in the Irish sense, to the Householders, and with it the certainty of vast and un- the backbone, would be swamped in the influx of the small known changes in policy. Yet it may be doubted if even this ratepayers. There can be no question but-that on the whole costly price has really purchased for the Tories that brief the general gain to the Liberals by the lowering of the borough, lease of power, undisturbed and dignified, upon which Mr. franchise in Ireland would be considerable. Whether the cha- Disraeli seems to have cast a longing eye. However pressing meter of elections would be improved may be doubted; the new may be the long deferred problems demanding legislative voters would scarcely be of an intelligent or independent class, solution, the Parliament of 1868 will be compelled in the first but they would, at all events, be too subject to the influenee- instance to finish its task of reforming the representa- of the priest to be open to bribes. And in view of the experi- tion. The sister kingdoms cannot be excluded from the ments we have made in the small towns of England, it would influence of the new and yet unmeasured forces which be unreasonable to object to the Irish Householders. Turning- Mr. Disraeli has introduced into English politics. As to the counties, the principles of the English Bill, pure and respects Scotland, the claim of the people to a better repre- simple, would be inoperative. The occupation franchise is at sentation has been freely acknowledged ; there a change present 121. rating, and is not likely to be disturbed. This is- cannot hurt the Tories much, while it may indirectly benefit the clause which enfranchises the mass of the Irish tenant, them. In Ireland the case is very different ; the domination farmers, and, until something is done to establish a small pro- of the squires in that country rests on an artificial and very prietary in Ireland, it would be foolish to go lower down the fragile basis ; and the smallest disturbance of forces is certain scale. The copyhold and leasehold franchises at 51. would not= to give it a severe shock. For this reason, the astute Chan- be felt in Ireland. There are no copyholders, and the small cellor of the Exchequer, who is glad to use, while he despises, number of leases is yearly diminishing. It would be desirable, the band of Orangemen from Ulster and the landlord deputies however, to provide by such clauses as these for the possible- from the southern and western counties, has attempted to creation of an independent peasantry. And, for a similar avert the consideration of the subject altogether. Early in reason, as well as with a view to the maintenance of equality the session, to meet the possible inquisitiveness of Irish mem- between the kingdoms, it might be useful to revert to the bers and to defeat any personal efforts on their part to bring forty-shilling freehold qualification. But the main points in, the question to an issue, Mr. Disraeli gave us an outline of the which the Irish county representation is now defective, cannot shape in which he wished to mould the Irish representative be amended by any change in the franchise. The independence. scheme. He repeated his assurance more emphatically in the of the voter must be either directly or indirectly secured.
month of April, and, having thus attained his object of keep- Redistribution is perhaps the most important part of Irish ing things quiet, he declared in the end of June, at the instance Reform, as it will certainly present the most formidable diffi- of an Orange deputation, that the state of the country would culties to Mr. Disraeli. So far as the counties are concerned, prevent him from touching the franchise in Ireland. From unless a very large number of seats are taken away from the: this position, so audaciously taken up, the unanimous expres- boroughs, no extended rearrangement will be found needful on sion of Liberal indignation compelled him to recede hastily. desirable. With one exception the Irish counties have, in two. A pledge was extorted from him that he would treat the ques- members a piece, their fair share of political power, but that tion in a Government measure early in the next session. His exception is rather notable. The county of Cork is by far excuse, in fact, was thoroughly worthless, inasmuch as the the largest county in Ireland. Its population is more pros most distinct promise of an Irish Reform Bill had been given perous, intelligent, and independent than that of any other part in the House of Commons more than a month after the Fenian of Munster. At the last census it amounted to 544,000, not- with the five smaller boroughs a total of 18 members. Between the 10,000 and the 5,000 line there are some unrepre- sented towns, of which the most considerable are in Ulster, Newtonards, and Lurgan ; in the southern provinces, Fermoy, and Nenagh. Between the 50,000 and 10,000 lines we have twelve represented and two unrepresented towns ; -Limerick, Waterford, and Galway, having two members each, Londonderry, Kilkenny, Drogheda, Newry, Wexford, Tralee, 'Dundalk, Sligo, and Clonmel one each ; while Kingstown and 'Queenstown, the former the fashionable off-growth of Dublin, -the latter the port of Cork, have no representation at all. `Over the 50,000 linewe have only three towns—Dublin, with more than a quarter of a million population, Belfast, with over 120,000, and Cork, with over 80,000 inhabitants.
These facts are somewhat perplexing to deal with. Unless by a disfranchisement of all the small and decaying towns under the 10,000 line, no radical redistribution could be effected. This is not likely to be attempted, but probably seven or eight seats may be got by abolishing the boroughs having less than 6,000 inhabitants. Of these two would be required for `the divided county of Cork. An additional member, with a minority vote, might be assigned to Dublin and Belfast re- spectively, and the boroughs of Kingstown, Queenstown, Newtonards, and Fermoy might be enfranchised. If grouping were considered advisable, the disfranchised towns might in most cases be joined with neighbouring enfranchised boroughs. A distance of twenty miles would scarcely separate interests to an appreciable extent, while the size of the united con- stituency would be increased beneficially. The amalgamation of Cashel and Clonmel, Bandon and Kinsale, Newtonards and Downpatrick, Armagh and Lisburn, Mallow and Fermoy, Youghal and Dungarvan, for electoral purposes, would bring some decent constituencies into being. Out of the seats so obtained a third member, with a minority vote, might be assigned to the counties of Down and Antrim respec- lively, and the Queen's University enfranchised. This latter institution, which has only been fifteen years in exist- ence, has already nearly seven hundred graduates, the great majority being Liberal. Upon the same principle as that to
• which the London University owes its enfranchisement, the Irish University ought not to be excluded from political power. At least, while the University of Dublin, the stronghold of the -most reactionary Toryism, retains its two members, the Liberal University ought to have, at all events, one. Mr. Disraeli, who copied from Mr. Gladstone's Irish Bill the clause enfran- chising the Queen's University, in speaking on the subject of Irish representation made a proposal on this point which was -scarcely noticed at the time, but was an effort of party tac- tics quite worthy of its author. He hinted at a wish or inten- tion on his part to, group the two.Irish Universities together. This plan is not only open to everyone of the objections that were urged against Mr. Mowbray's scheme for grouping the Univer- -sities of London and Durham, but is even more conspicuously a party dodge. Mr. Disraeli well knew that the Tory electors -of Dublin University, with whatever Conservative minority -might exist in the Queen's University, would swamp the Liberals, and so save the University representation of Ireland 'for the Tories unharmed. Next year, should such a trick be attempted, it ought to be at once defeated. The alterations in the representation pointed out in the foregoing remarks are the only ones possible in Ireland under present conditions, unless, indeed, we are ready to take the plunge into equal electoral districts. These, probably, would work better in the -sister kingdom than any shifting of the electoral pawns upon -the board ; but will not England fear to make an experiment even with an Irish corpus vile ? Will she not fear to hasten her own progress to the inevitable
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