§ Sir George Warrender moved the order of the day for the farther consideration of the report of this bill.
§ Mr. C. Tennysonwished it should be postponed.
§ Sir G. Warrendersaid, that sufficient time had been allowed for considering the subject, and bringing forward all the objections to it.
Sir C. Monckthought, that such an important alteration as this in the qualification required, in order to be a representative for England, ought not to take place inconsiderately. If a Scotch candidate, with only a Scotch qualification, was made eligible for a seat in England, Ireland, and Wales, there should be at least a reciprocity. Now this bill offered no reciprocity. It gave to Scotchmen, or Scotch qualifications, an eligibility to represent counties in England, without rendering Englishmen, on English qualifications, eligible to represent Scotch counties.
Mr. Gordonsaid, that his hon. friend had mistaken the state of the case, from a want of acquaintance with the Scotch laws of representation. In Scotland, the candidate to represent a county, must be an elector in that county. A candidate, for instance, who had estates only in the county of Edinburgh, and was eligible for that county, could not stand for Lanark- 1418 shire. An Englishman, therefore, was not placed in a more unfavourable situation than a Scotchman, as the latter could only represent a county in Scotland where he had property, which an Englishman might likewise do. He saw no objection to the bill, which only assimilated the situation of a candidate possessing property in Scotland, to that of one possessing property in England, as regarding English representation, their situation being already alike, as regarded the representation of counties in Scotland.
§ Mr. Boswellcontended, that the bill would have no other effect than to put the representation for the counties in the two kingdoms on the same footing. A Scotchman could by it stand for an English county on a Scotch qualification, as an Englishman could stand equally with a Scotchman for a Scotch county on an English qualification. They could both stand alike for the boroughs by former laws. In the Scotch counties, the law affected Scotchmen as much as Englishmen.
§ Mr. C. Tennysonsaid, that he could not, with satisfaction to himself, discharge his duty to his constituents and his country, without soliciting the earnest attention of the House to that change in the constitution of parliament, which this bill sought to introduce. By an article of the Union, in Scotland none were to be eligible to represent a shire or borough of that country in the parliament of Great Britain, who had not, by the laws of Scotland, been previously eligible to serve in the Scottish parliament. This was a reasonable provision for securing to Scotland the integrity of her intended representation by forty-five members, and had been closely adhered to; for at present, no individual but a person possessing a superiority, or tenancy in capite of a peculiar description within a Scottish shire, could represent that shire. But immediately after the Union, it was found that there was no correspondent provivision on the part of England; therefore the statute of the 9th Anne was passed, the preamble of which stated, that it was for securing the constitution of parliament; that was, the frame of parliament as then lately constituted by the act of Union, requiring that, in future, no person should represent a county, city, or borough, of England or Wales, without the present well-known landed qualification, situated in England or Wales. This 1419 act was not only, therefore, for restoring the old constitutional community of feeling between the members of that House and the people at large, but also for counteracting that article of the Union in favour of Scotland to which he had referred. He was not aware that any change had taken place in the relative situation of the two countries, to justify the measure of the hon. baronet, which, without offering any equivalent, now sought that Scottish gentlemen should be permitted to represent English, Welch, and even Irish counties, cities, and boroughs, and thus increase the proportion of forty-five members. The two countries were still living under different systems of law, different Forms of worship and church government. He was aware that, because Ireland had, at the Union, been admitted to community with England, as to qualification, it was a pretext for admitting Scotland to what was now asked for. But what was done as to Ireland, was conformable to an express provision in the articles of Union with that country; besides, the laws and established religion of the two countries were similar; and, above all, Ireland offered an entire reciprocity. Scotland had he reciprocity which she pretended to offer, except fifteen burgh seats, and those were accessible at the period of the union with that country; and as compensation for this accessibility, the hon. baronet gravely asked for accessibility on the part of Scotland, to 613 seats in England, Wales, and Ireland. He thought Scotland should have reformed the representation of her shires before she asked for this advantage, and then she might have negotiated on equal terms. If parliament acceded to the present demand, they must, by a parity of reason, gratuitously accede to the admission of Scotch peers into that House, or to any other advantage given to Ireland at the Union, for which she had furnished an equivalent. He did not mean to cast the slightest re-flexion on that most valuable portion of the House Which was returned from Scotland, but he could not discharge his duty without moving as an amendment, "That the Report be considered that day six months."
§ Mr. Primrosethought the bill just, both in its principle and application, and expressed his determination to support it.
§ Sir George Clerkspoke in favour of the original motion.
The report was agreed to, and the bill 1420 fixed for the third reading on Wednesday next, Mr. Tennyson having withdrawn his amendment, in order that the debate might be resumed on the third reading.