abolition of small constituencies, protection to the voter in the exercise of his right, and more frequent
resort to general elections, as will suffice to make the proposed measure in all respects a real, and not
a mere nominal, recognition of those vast populations of manufacture and commerce which may be said
to have sprung into life even since the date of the last Reform Bill.

NARRATIVE OF POLITICS.

The second annual general meeting of the National
Freehold Land Society was held on the 28th ult., at the
London Tavern, Sir J. Walmsley, M.P., president of
the association, in the chair. The annual report was of
a satisfactory character. Of £230,000 stated to have
been received during the past year by freehold land
societies, this society received £96,137, and out of
15,000 new members, this society obtained 4231, and
out of 25,000 new shares, 9831 were issued by it. The
nett balance up to the end of last year was £3077 13s.,
out of which a dividend of £5 8s. 4d. per cent. would be
placed to the credit of such members as had not
received their shares, and the balance would be carried
to the reserve fund. The report was unanimously
adopted. Mr. Cobden, in supporting it, obviated some
of the objections to these societies, and pointed out some
advantages possessed by this society in particular.
"There were persons (he said) who were prevented
from joining some of these societies because, they said,
it would take them a long time before they could get
their lots. Now, in this respect the rules of this society
differed from, and were better than others, and it was
on this account that we made greater progress. Mr.
Taylor himself admitted with great candour that our
rules were better than his in Birmingham. Our plan is
to go into the market and buy an estate, and then to sell
it half to ready-money customers, and the other half to
subscribing members, who ballot for it. Now, in other
societies they have no ready-money customers, and they
supply the members in rotation with allotments. Now,
when the society numbers 400 or 500 this may do very
well, but when it increases to 1400 or 1500 members,
men say, if I join you I must wait many years before I
can get from the bottom to the top. Consequently
people ceased to join these societies, because they would
have to wait seven or eight years before they could get
their allotments. But the plan we adopt enables us to
buy a larger estate than the other could, and the
subscriber gets for his £30 a piece of land at the wholesale
price sooner than he would in other societies. That is
the whole secret of the advantage of this society. It
enables a man to get a piece of ground for £23, £20,
aye, and even £19, which had been found when the
revising barrister comes round to be worth 40s. a-year,
which is a large interest for his money."

A great Reform Conference was held at Manchester
on the 3rd inst., to consider what course ought to be
taken by the friends of Parliamentary reform in
consequence of the intimation made by Lord John Russell,
that it was the intention of the government to bring
forward a measure of parliamentary reform in the next
session of Parliament. The number present was about
200, among whom were delegates from different parts
of the country, and a number of the leading Reformers,
Mr. Cobden, Mr. Bright, Sir J. Walmsley, Mr. Milner
Gibson, &c. Mr. G. Wilson, chairman of the
Parliamentary Reform Association, took the chair. The
following resolutions, drawn up for the purpose of
embodying the views of the conference, were brought
forward by Mr. Bright:—

1. That this conference has maturely considered the existing
state of the representation of the United Kingdom, and has
deliberated upon the changes which are required to satisfy the
just and moderate expectations of the people, and to render the
House of Commons, in conformity with the spirit of the
constitution, a fair representation of the property, the industry, and
the intelligence of the nation.—2. That with regard to the
franchise, this conference is of opinion, that the right of voting
should be widely extended, and that the franchise should be
made more simple, with a view to the easy formation of an
honest register of electors; and it recommends that the elective
franchise be based upon occupation and liability to the poor-
rate, with such limitation as to period of residence as shall be
necessary to afford a guarantee that the occupation is bonâ fide.
In addition, the conference would urge the extension of the
40s. franchise, and its extension to the owners of property in the
United Kingdom of that annual value, whether derived from
freehold, copyhold, or leasehold tenures (cheers), with a view to
open a way to the right of voting to many who, from various
causes, would not be in the direct occupation of premises rated
to the relief of the poor, but whose claim to the franchise, from
industry, character, and station, is undoubted. The whole
constituency of the United Kingdom would thus consist of occupiers
rated to the relief of the poor, and the owners of property,
freehold, copyhold, and leasehold, of the annual value of 40s.—
3. That this conference is of opinion, that no extension of the
franchise will make the House of Commons a fair representation
of the nation without a considerable change in the distribution
of the electoral power; and it, therefore strongly urges, that,
where practicable and convenient, small and neighbouring
boroughs be united and form one borough. That, where such
union is not practicable, small boroughs cease to return members,
and that their existing constituencies merge in the constituency
of the county in which they are situate. That, corresponding
to the extent which small boroughs shall be united, or shall
cease to return members to Parliament, new boroughs be created
from the populous towns now unrepresented, and that additional
members be conferred on the metropolitan and other first class
boroughs in the United Kingdom. A guiding principle in the
changes here recommended should be, that hereafter no small
constituency should exist, and that no constituency should
consist of fewer than 5000 electors.—4. That this conference is of
opinion, that the adoption of the ballot is indispensable to an
honest representation; that it would make the convictions of
the electors, rather than his personal interests and fears, the
leading motive in the exercise of his franchise; that it would
repress the demoralising practices so humiliating to candidates
and so degrading to electors, which seem almost inseparable
from a canvass; and that it would aid most effectually in
preventing the turbulence and riot with which elections have
hitherto been too often attended.—5. That this conference is of
opinion, that the present legal duration of Parliament is too
much extended to secure to constituencies a proper control over
their representatives, and would urge the repeal of the
Septennial Act, and the limitation of the duration of Parliaments,
in accordance with ancient precedent, to a period not exceeding
three years.—6. That this conference entirely concurs in the
views expressed by the Prime Minister during the last session
of Parliament, that the property qualification for members of
Parliament ought to be abolished. That in the propositions
agreed to, and now submitted to the consideration of the country
and the government, this conference has been anxious to adhere
to the ancient landmarks of our representative system, and
within their limits to introduce such changes only as experience
has shown to be wise, and so to widen the basis of the representation
as to satisfy the just expectations of a people improving in
industry, in comfort, in education, in morals, and in the
appreciation of their public duties and public rights.

A long discussion took place, and some differences of
opinion were expressed on the various points involved
in these resolutions.—Mr. G. Thompson declared
himself opposed to the resolution having reference to the
electoral franchise, and said he was certain that throughout
the country nothing would give satisfaction but a
very large extension of the suffrage. He urged that
Mr. Hume's motion in parliament was more precise
than that of Mr. Bright, and included every man of
full age rated for the poor; and he moved an amendment
which included in the place of the words proposed by
Mr. Bright, with reference to the elective qualifications,
the following words: "The occupation of a tenement,
or a portion of a tenement, for which a claim shall have
been made to be rated for the relief of the poor."
Eventually Mr. Thompson's amendment was rejected,
having been supported by only seven or eight votes;
and the original resolutions were carried unanimously.
It was then resolved: "That a deputation be appointed
to wait on Lord John Russell for the purpose of pressing
upon him the importance of granting a large and
comprehensive measure of reform."—A large and crowded
meeting was assembled in the evening at the Free Trade
Hall. They were addressed by Mr. Cobden, Mr. Bright,
and Mr. Gibson, and the resolutions adopted at the
morning conference were proposed and enthusiastically
adopted.—Lord John Russell declined to receive the
deputation, on the ground that it was inexpedient to
receive local deputations on matters involving the general
interests of the country. Another meeting was