HOUSEHOLD SUFFRAGE.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume XI, Issue 487, 24 June 1867, Page 3

HOUSEHOLD SUFFRAGE.

(Fro.n the KugiUb Independent.)

It five rears, five months, five weeks ago. it had been {"id us by some i olitiea! seer that on the 18:h day of March, Mr Disraeli, as leader in the Umise of Commons under Lord Derby, would probably brine in a Bill for establishing Hoii«eh«'ld •Suffrage, most of us would mid mbtedly hv? sail (hat the seer raw what would never come to pass. Avid we rhou'd 1.01 at ail have mod lied our judgment it tl.e seer had predicted that whether MV D,srai li did such a thing or no*, the Times md the Saturday lievicw would, a week or two before the date prefixed, take it for

c Ttain that he would, and labour to tract' iheir readers that lie I ad very good reasons for such a slept, diet, in sober truth, such is our strange position at this moment Mr I'lsraeli his nut actually bvougnt in n measure based on household snft rage, but it is fully expected that he will. I’hm wading members of the Cabinet have left it because they object to such a measure and (he limes umd Saturday lievicw dis cuss the prospect with philosophic calmness, and n tendency to self-gratulatbn It is a most strange situation, the consequence of a combination of most strange ■vents.

First of all in (lie enumeration of these causes must be put the insincerity of las'year. The country needed, rather than demanded, an extension of the suffrage to a considerable section of (lie four-fifths who wc-e excluded from it. Far.seeing and large-hearted statesmen desired to g ant that extension, but they werv thwarted by the selfish and narrow minded among their followers. ihese did not ■ (are openly 1° abandon their leaders, but ihey seer, ilv caballed, and iu points oi de’uil op posed. JSo the majority broke down, atiil the minority came into power. But the minority, being a minority had no chance of staying in power but by doing what the majority wi-hed, and to do only what had be lb re been oljeeled to was too palpably factious. Iu s. ii-Ut f■ ncc, then, he n ieority had to prepare soimthiut j different ; and since less could not be ac ceptej, it baa to propose more. But tor lits cxcu-e it had to devise some plausible

ground for proposing "'.o'.c, an;i nothing olf.-red than the suggestion that .by

■>o doir.E the question would be more eueetuslly settle' 4 . Aliantim', again, the defeat of (lie first proposal I 'd to an increase of agitation in the country. Men’s minds w.r r. u ed, a possibility of danger showed itself nheati, and a corn spo..dmg d sire was in.i-nieied among the ponceanie ot atl

eiasscs to concede whatever was necessaiy. njt on j to give present satisfaction, but !-3 jib te future agita'ion. And w. en this ~ m er b.came general, it began to be seen

that there was no resting-, lace tli.it could j be devised in mere arbitrary figures oij rent;;!, and that- n > pause in the caro.-r of change could be hoped for until we had! reached a point tuat involved not ouljj

a distinction of degree sad figures, but of principle and character. Nothing short of household suffrage presents such a point Ani thus it comes to pass that household suffrage is expected ef the Tories, and is by anticipation acquiesced in by the Whig? who would never hare desired to propose it themselves.

Such a history of the il?a goes, indeed, a long way to ja-tify it; for what many men have come, egumst their old pr«-ju-.lices, to think necessary, is not likely to bo inexpedient. But, though it is certain 'that if Conservatives propose a broad lie form, .Liberals cannot, as a body, demur to it, under penalty of losing their name eno place in the nation, ic is -quaky c.rtain mat many nmonz them will a.ercily cl read and deprecate so large an innovation. To this feeling Kail ilassdl gave no indistinct expression on kiondiy night. It is vain, for it is a protest agaiu-t fate. Ir.-esistihh is the destiny that sweeps us on when Oligarchy j »ius hands wit a Democracy. Isu< wo may so far defer to ancient prepssscs ■ions in lavour of a loss rapid movement, and perhaps so far also se -k to encourage ourselves in court ience, as to review ciluil. the reasons that suggest thernseUvs for s decisive & change, and the possible Consequences which it may engender.

It is quite true that even household suf j I’rage (lues ur,.t present a strictly logic-dj .iuo of demurcati >;i between the eniranchiscd and the unenfranchised. If it .aeatts that a mail has a wife and family, the retort is ready, that, matrimony aml cluldraising are not rational buses of qu> till -arion. If it means that ammh .a a house and furniture of his own, or that hr pays rates direct y to the parish collector, it u quite fair to answer that possession of chairs and tables is no test of intelligence, and that a lodger who pays rent to hu ; landlord may p obably be q:;i‘e as worthy i moinb:r of society us the landlord, whs. out cf tnc lodger’s rent contributes ta the poor-rates. Hut yet there are some reasonidle, as weil as some technical di-dinction-oetween tile liousiholder and the average lodger, if or otic point, the householder i-t generally i)ie older; he is often the iodgei j ■ ipcned by age; and by so much he is ilu i nore experienced and the less reckless.' d, gi.ieiady speaking, he lias a family, | there is a s.rt of guarantee that he shall be somewhat more cautious, and somewha-1 less impulsive, if lie lias drawn together! a 11,tie property of his own, though only] m ihe shape ul chairs and tables, he ha# uj motive to avoid dunging his residence ori his place ct work, and therefore for cure-] uiuy Weighing every proposition which ius in it au element of uncertainly in its opealien on industry. All these tilings tend io encourage in him the sense of responsibility io winch the mere fact of the possession of a vole will itself give binh to in in- ■ liti’J. And when we add to them that a certain length of residence will be exacted, we seem to insure the demerits of as much prudence and stability as wo can reasonably expect Irani any general class cf the community.

That the want of a dcfi life logical distinction between the housetiolder and tile lodger will be urged us a reason for ex tending tuo suhrage to the latter cl is* a-wc-11, is, no doubt, to be expected. Bur, m Hie present co Birution ol society there will be nuny very poweii'ul counteracting mduerces against such a demand. Fur • ■ne tiuug, the more we admit under the iiousi-holding qualification, the smaller [wilt be the body who are exclud'd, and ;i !iereiure, the less will be th-ir power, f lien, no doubt, some “ fancy franchises,’ in the way of payment of taxes, wui be i.ieviscd, Unit wilt operate to admit ail the laigher class of lodgers, and so break tiici. pnula x. And, when thus weakened, ir wiii find great diificuity in making way agaiust the mere technical distinctions that divide those who arc lodgers from those alio are householders, 'lucre n a very atiadovry diaisioa between the h usehoidcr at£f aud me householder at£d rent iu .-oiiii) towns the six-potiuder occupies

.uglier social sonic man tun eigiit-p a under occupies in ottiers. But there is searcriy any such merging of t"e h-us. holier i.uo Dio lodger eias,-. Thie dillhre ee is wide and un.ycrsal, and when this is the oasa, its (allure i i being logical does not strongly affect public appreciation of its eouve -UO ;i'C. It is a slopping point beyond ,oabr, and uo longer a mere grade ia a Vuumg scale.

The chief apprehension, however, undoubtedly lies in lae mere numbers that iiouseiioid tuiirage wou d a unit. Hus source of alarm lias bee a pee.- iariy iite.i

silica by tile tvpi us use n*a ie ot figures test year, in llio effort to discriminate lh>reidiive strength oi tile *• working classes.’ lint it rests, alter all, on an assumption >v.d,-h lias no truth. .So maiter how ua uierous any so-called class may be, if, on every question, it is broken up into aciii rents oi uiliereut principles. .Now, LUis is ui.q ieslionab y tlie ease with the body cooed tne " wording clis,es .’ xnev arc’ not all Kaiicaii in politico,—there are! ma iy avowed Conservatives among them.j liven on questions Bobby aIT.-eiiug liieir own rank and their own h ibiis, such as i Sunday Ira.tuig, Su iday amusements, pub* jnc-iiouse rcgu.aiio s, and the tike, we see jihem openly Ciuided into dhierent camps, '.is to a general co i.b,nation to raise wages, jit wdl not be id the wolf s!i ill lie d;wn

iUi tiii; li i u lndl «c c-ii ill Sov t ui ick

listers coiuei.iing to raise bakers’ wage.-,) and so to increase tile pr,co oi bread, ot tmsers to raise lai iu labourers' ,-.iw to make corn dearer. Each class will fi 1,1 its own interests opposed to the scliah advantage of all the rest, and the result will I bet aa sbseacs of gaaerai coua&uiatiou, aud

in opposition to any special demands of •lass advantage. These consideration# ■nay ba fairly expected to rule the condu.l jf the mas’cs, when entrusted with power. Divided as they mast be, (hey cannot eijn. And in seeking for their fair iniurnce in public alibi'.-, we may be sur# hat tliey will not be blind to the claims of '•snk and ability since in drawing these to i.heir side, they will best enhance their ■>wn importance. On the one hand, then, oe may stdl expect to see men of distinc;ori and good repute supported by til* :avour of th ir fdio v citizens. Oa tha ■ther, if in the ne w iniution of numbers it -ho!! bo fou id tint there are some uaqaaliled. by wild of edaeatiod, to lake aa

intelligent pait in the national councils, here will ody be supplied an unanswerible argument for the r.ppkcAtoU of an e.lucitinu.il test ; c test no less broad, and after ad more rational, than that of hnuis■xold suhVage. This v.di! remlin as cur roscurce. Its application will bo easy, for ts need will bo apparent, and thcr: will he a m.ijo'htv in tit? aauv.iul constituency ible to enforce its adoption.