INCOME TAX ELECTIVE FRANCHISE. (Hansard, 26 June 1855)

§ MAJOR REED
said, he rose to move, pursuant to notice, for leave to bring in a Bill For conferring the Elective Franchise upon persons—not being Aliens—who are assessed to the Income Tax, but are not upon the Register of Electors for any part of Great Britain and Ireland. He would endeavour to avoid exposing himself to the severe criticisms of the right hon. Member for Buckinghamshire (Mr. Disraeli), of which, on a former occasion, he had had the proud distinction of being the object. There were in this country many gentlemen of high position and of great intelligence, who did not choose to undertake the onus of housekeeping, but who lived in apartments, and who, although contributing a large amount to the direct taxation of the country, were still deprived of the privilege of voting at Parliamentary elections. The landlords of such people, although they might live in their kitchens, and be almost entirely dependent upon the rental paid them by their lodgers, possessed the franchise, while the superior beings who lived above, and who were generally far better qualified to exercise the franchise than their landlords, were not allowed to do so. Indeed, persons who possessed a large amount of funded property, and who were qualified to sit in that House, were yet incapable of voting for Members of Parliament. It sad been always an objection to propositions 207 for an extension of the franchise that such extension was likely to lower its character by placing it in the hands of a class who were likely to abuse it; but such an objection could not, in fairness, be made to the proposal which he was now bringing under the consideration of the House, since he desired to extend the franchise to those who, from their position in the country, might justly be supposed to constitute the educated classes. He would appeal to the Administrative Reformers to give him their support on this occasion, for they could not have administrative reform unless they had representative reform. This was exactly the time when the House should extend the franchise in the direction in which he was proposing to extend it. The Government called on the people to contribute the sinews of war—to give their money and their blood towards the prosecution of the contest with Russia—and if they could make the people a recompense for that, it was surely their duty to do it. Therefore, in the name of the people of England, he appealed to the House not to call on them to subscribe to the income tax, unless they had a voice in the expenditure of the money. The poor curates in the country were especially interested in this question. They were not at all adequately represented in the House of Commons. It might be said that they were more than amply represented through the bishops in the other House; and that might be so in theory, but not in fact, for no one supposed that those big-wigs took any very great interest in the smaller fry of clergymen connected with the Established Church. Again, there was the case of the commercial travellers. He had not the honour of knowing many commercial travellers; but he did not think that any of them would reflect dishonour on that House. That class of the community amounted to something like 30,000, and they spent yearly in the country something like 900.000l. or 1,000,000l. per annum, including their stipends and the money they were allowed for travelling expenses. One-half of them might be married, and had houses, in respect of which they enjoyed the franchise, but the remainder had no votes, although they had a stake in the soil. The next class were the clerks of the public offices and of private establishments, many of whom, although men of great intelligence and independence, had no vote because they lived in apartments. 208 [Cries of "Divide!"] He was not to be put down by unstatesmanlike clamour. Hon. Members might bear with him for a very short time, for he often listened to others in debates in which he took no interest, and he should never think of interrupting other hon. Members in that way. Hon. Members opposite might find his Motion inconvenient, but they could go. He would now move for leave to bring in the Bill, though he could not hope to carry it through the House at that late period of the Session.

§ VISCOUNT PALMERSTON
Sir, the hon. and gallant Gentleman will, I do not doubt, admit that it is rather late in the Session to bring in a Bill on a subject of this kind, especially as the Bill takes under its scope one part of a very large question that has excited a considerable variety of opinion in this House. However, the hon. and gallant Member, in bringing in this Bill, probably only desires to state his own opinion and to submit it to the consideration of Parliament, and does not expect this Session to carry his Bill to a conclusion in this House. Without, therefore, being so discourteous as to offer any opposition to the hon. and gallant Member on the terms he has proposed, I must say that I do not think his Bill is very likely to be adopted. At the same time, I do not at all mean to imply that when an extension of the suffrage comes to be considered, some extension to the suffrage, in proportion to direct taxation, may not be a very fair subject of consideration. The hon. and gallant Gentleman seems, however, to have selected as a test of qualification an interest that, whatever may be anticipated as likely to happen from the course of events, is not one which, in its nature, is likely to be permanent. Under these circumstances, so far as I am concerned, I shall not offer any obstacle to the hon. and gallant Gentleman in bringing in the Bill.

§ MAJOR REED
said, he was extremely obliged to the noble Lord for the kind manner in which he had assented to the proposition.

§ MR. DISRAELI
said, that last year great complaints were made as to the increase of the printer's bill, which was thought to be a subject worthy of the consideration of the House. Nevertheless, they had already that evening added an item to the bill of next year which he thought scarcely justifiable, while the extreme readiness with which the noble Lord 209 had assented to the introduction of the Bill of the hon. and gallant Member for Abingdon would tend still further to increase the public expenditure. It was important, also, that hon. Gentlemen who gave up their energies to the service of their country should, during the recess, have that tranquility which was necessary to prepare them, when they met again, to fulfil their duties to their constituents. Whether the agitating question introduced by the hon. and gallant Gentleman would conduce to that end, was a point which Government should have considered before consenting to the introduction of the Bill. On that ground, he thought it would have been as well if the noble Lord at the head of the Government, giving the hon. and gallant Gentleman full credit for his intentions, had, for the sake of the public expenditure, and for the tranquility of the Parliamentary mind, not consented with such facility to the introduction of the measure. No doubt, the question was an important one, and it had been brought forward in a manner quite worthy of it; hut they ought to consider whether gentlemen living in chambers and clubs, and not performing those duties which every father of a family was obliged to discharge, should enjoy the privilege which it was now sought to confer upon them. For his own part, as a householder, paying a great many rates and taxes, and endeavouring to fulfil all those duties which he owed to society, he was not prepared to admit that gentlemen who lived in apartments, and enjoyed clubs, were entitled to the privileges which the hon. and gallant Member for Abingdon seemed to think were their due. However, after the able manner in which the question had been brought under the notice of the House, and the graceful assent which had been notified from the treasury bench, he would not give the House the trouble to divide, though the noble Lord had spoken with a volatile rashness which he could not entirely approve of.