Part 25 (1/2)

CHAPTER XLII

POLITICAL

Throughoutof a zealous politician Well acquainted, as I have been, withhadof Ulysses, who had ”seen the cities of many men and had known their minds,” I know perfectly well that there are in every school of thought good ed principles, and I a to believe in an _honest_ man, and stand by him if need be In that spirit, for many years when I was a West Surrey voter (indeed I aive one of , and the other to Drummond, the Tory, because I knew and trusted both of theht ether as our Parliamentary representatives As a ,--for they were partisans and I was not,--so in that as in some other matters I have always been a dark horse, quite independent, and of the broadgauge pattern rather than of the narrow

For instance, having known hie, I do not even yet despair of Gladstone; though I have reone doer, step by step, to a zero of--what is it?--inverted aly descend with him; and yet, I do not count him an enement of the Man thirty years since, printed in No

53 of h youth and manhood many a year My constant heart hath followed thee with praise As 'good and faithful;' in thy words and ways Pure-minded, just, and simple, and sincere: And as, with early half prophetic ken I hailed thy greatness in ladly that instinctive prescience then Now do I see fulfill'd--because, thou art Our England's eloquent tongue, her wise free hand To pour, wherever is her world-wide mart, The horn of plenty over every land; Because, by all the powers of mind and lip Thou art the crown of Christian stateh praise was once well-deserved, and was cordially given: but since, alas! according to reat man's rock of peril, whereon to wreck both his country and himself, is that fatal eloquence by which all are captured, but (as with birdlime) are captured to their loss But I will not reproduce invidiously--as if false to a fifty years' friendshi+p--any harsh reproach, however conscientious, whereby I may have publicly withdrawn my praise Rather will I pass on,--and after my own fashi+on will here show my ambidextrous muse in a brace of political unpublished lyrics on either side

”_Popularis Aura_”

”Liberty! dragg'd fro froht upon zenith-borne wings!

Spread to thy breadth froes, unbound lilad service still yielding to Him Who ruleth in love by the sceptre of law!

”Nations have torn thee by fierce civil strife Froave up agonised life That superstitions be drown'd in hot blood!

Theirs was the battle--the conquest is ours-- Free souls and bodies the death-wrestled prize Won frocraft, despoiled of its powers, Wrench'd from false priestcraft in spite of its lies!

”Godhis brother the shackle to wear; But all those fetters are loosed in the grave, King, priest, and serfequally there; Here, too, and now, in these swift latter days, Freedoht, speech, and action, enfranchised all ways, Eager for service in Liberty's ht”

That may be truly labelled Liberal: the next, in honour of Beaconsfield, may be fairly ticketed Tory:

I

”Great Achiever, first in place England's son of Israel's race!

Man whom none could ue and pen In the hearts and hty people's power, Wise to scheme, and bold to do, Who can this be,--history, who?

II

”Heaper of a new renown Even on Victoria's crown, Mightiest friend of blessed peace By co faction still, Swift in act and strong of will, Forcing every foe to cower Under Britain's patient power, Like himself, firm, frank, and true, Who can this be,--justice, who?”

For other of my politicals, take this common-sense essay from my pen, hitherto unpublished:--

IS THE ONE-VOTE SYSTEM RIGHT OR WRONG?

In a nation self-governed through its own representatives, it seems reasonable to admit that each citizen should have a vote; each citizen, we say, simply as such; whether male or female, labourer, pauper, civil, military, naval, or official, every one not convicted of crie, of sufficient capacity (evidenced by being able to read and write), celibate or married, rich or poor,--every person in our commonwealth should equitably, it overnment of the country Poverty is no crime, therefore the Workhouse should not disfranchise; sex is no just disqualification, therefore the woman should have her vote as freely as the ation and disgrace by denial of the coht of citizenshi+p as its penalty; the soldier, sailor, policeovernment-official, and any other class which ht by law or custom, should certainly be admitted to the poll like other patriotic citizens; in short, ued, is just and wise--ested above; for even a wife either sides with her husband or controls him in common cases; and in the less usual instances where he rules, there need be no more tyranny about political matters than about domesticities, and so the home would scarcely be any the worse even for partisan zeal

However, whilst ad the theoretical propriety of a one vote for each citizen in the state, there reher practical justice of th of a people; if of inferior quality they are rather its weakness For the Parlialand representation is demanded of all the virtues, talents, and acquirenorance, poverty, and other evils s of the social ladder than to those above thele vote system (so far as the franchise has any influence at all) depresses and de all to one dead level The ballot plan is no and cannot well be done aith; but it is n with ”his norance eniality to be hushed into silent secresy, that itfraud of a partizan ishes to hide his real opinion

However, it is now too late to le voter use it if he pleases

Another and a wiser scheme presents itself, practically (if possible) even now to avert the national ruin wrought by thespirit of party, often, seen ”hoist by its own petard,” though too liable to destroy the foundations of society in the explosion Shortly and sih or low, add to his one vote others as he may and can Be there a vote for the Victoria Cross, another for the Albert Medal, another for long good-service in the household or the far the poor as Sa accessible to the hu thes, let additional votes be given to owners of a stated number of acres, to possessors of a certain amount of money, to those who have been deemed worthy of public honours, and the like A little further, let every mayor of a town have his official vote, and the Presidents of the Royal Society and Royal Academy, and perhaps two or three other chiefs of science and art; and so forth

Thus, then, wepower of a bare and overwhel proletariat, the worthier and far sweeter voices of those who have virtues and excellences of various kinds to recommend them,--so that if the lowest constituent counts for one, the highest ht And thus, while no one of the mob is denied his one vote, those who rise above the crowd receive theor position, and pluly to the worthiest candidate

The ht be this Let each e apply for the paper specially prepared to indicate the additional votes They ht be much as thus:--

_Surplus Clainature of Claimant