THE ENGLISH BALLOT BILL

New Zealand Mail, Issue 45, 2 December 1871, Page 6

THE ENGLISH BALLOT BILL

This bill was read a third time in the House of Commons on Aug. 8. At the termination of a lengthy speech, in which he reviewed the principles of the bill and the action of the Premier, Mr Disraeli delivered the following peroration : " The right hon gentleman is not only Prime Minister of England, he is also leader of the House of Commons, an eminent and enviable position; he is the champion of our rights, and ought to be the guardian of our interests and of our honor. If he thinks the conduct of this House, or of any part of it, is not such as will redound to its reputation for discretion and good judgment, he is certainly not to show himself insensible to such a lamentable circumstance, but he should veil our backsliding and speak of it in the accents of mournfulness rather than of reproach; but instead of that, the right hon gentlemen thinks the way to manage the House of Commons, if we do not do exactly as he wishes us, is to get up and scold us—to rate and revile us. I must protest against this. I must protest when, as in the present instance, so erroneous an impression has gone forth to the country of the labors of the committee on the Ballot Bill, and when I say, without fear of contradiction from any impartial man, that the labor of both sides of the House redounded to their own honor and to the public advantage. This bill is probably soon to leave us. I regret its introduction, not merely on the grounds I have referred to, but, generally speaking, I think it is a retrogade measure. We have been now nearly for fifty years trying to get politics out of holes and corners. We began by getting them out of Old Sarum and Gatton. I acknowledge that 35 or 40 years ago there was a plausible case to be made out for the ballot; and the case for the ballot may be strong, if there be justice in that principle of politics, that the franchise is a trust —a principle in politics which has unfortunately been accepted by the House for a long time, and which those who have been great leaders of opinion have promulgated, but against which I have always protested, because, if the elector is a trustee, he may fairly say, " If there is a trust there must be unlimited confidence; you have confided to me this office, and I ask of you, the State, in turn to protect me in i ts exercise; and I cannot be protected unless I have the advantage of recording my vote without being responsible to any one; you have chosen me to be your trustee, I demand that I may be allowed completely to fulfil that trust." But all that is past; it is acknowledged now that

the franchise is not a trust, but that it is a political privilege, and, like all political privileges, it must be exercised for the common good, and cannot be exercised for the common good unless it is exercised publicly. The moment you had a largely extended constituency, you altered all the conditions of the case. If you pass this bill, you will be taking a retrogade step in divorcing political life from publicity. Without publicity there can be no public spirit, and without public spirit every nation mustdecay. (Cheers.)"