Page:History of the Radical Party in Parliament.djvu/284

 270 History of the Radical Party in Parliament. [1834- on the 1 4th of August, he was supporting a proposal for the introduction of life-members into corporations. He said that town councils, constituted as they would be under the bill as it stood, could not safely be entrusted with the extensive powers which it conferred upon them. They were to be elected by the whole body of ratepayers, and all experience showed that they would act under the control of the persons by whom they were elected. This is the secret of the enmity of the Lords to all reform a fear lest the people should obtain the full management of their own affairs. Of the injurious amendments introduced into the bill in the Upper House some were rejected, a few were accepted, and several were modified,* and ultimately, on the 9th of September, the measure became law. The Ministry were less successful with the Irish tithe question. They carried through the Commons a bill which included the disputed appropriation clauses. The Peers passed the other part of the measure, but struck those clauses out. The Government had declared that they meant to stand or fall by the principle, but, being defeated, they decided to stand without it for a time, and eventually to desert it altogether. Having once accepted defeat, they became gradu- ally feebler in disposition and weaker in popular support, 'and subjected themselves to the well-deserved rebuke of the men whom they had driven out of office on this very question. The absolute surrender was deferred for three years, but it was inevitable from the time when without resigning they accepted the destruction of the bill of 1835. The Whigs had practically decided neither to strengthen the Ministry by any additions from the Radicals, nor to adopt any of the principles of that section of the party. The Radicals, on their side, not being able to carry any measure in opposition to the combination of Whigs and Conservatives, and not feeling justified in leaving the Government to the August, when some very strong language was used about the House of Lords by Roebuck and O'Connell.
 * The consideration of the Peers' amendments took place on the 3ist of