Page:History of the Radical Party in Parliament.djvu/385

 1850.] Resignation of Sir Robert Peel to his Death. 371 the numbers were for, 85 ; against, 136. It was on the 5th of June that the more complete scheme was proposed by Hume, who moved for leave to bring in a bill similar to that for which he had asked last year one that is to include house- hold suffrage, ballot, triennial parliaments, and redistribution. On a division 82 voted with, and 268 against, the veteran reformer. The record of the numbers, however, was not the most important part of the proceedings. The education of some of the leading Whigs, and notably that of the Premier himself, was being effected. In the course of his speech on the motion, Russell was careful to repeat that he saw nothing in the Reform Act, or in any opinion he had expressed, that should debar him from adopting any plan by which the basis of the suffrage might be widened in favour of the working classes. In the course of a few years the progress of education had gone on so far that Lord John came to be considered by the official Whigs as being definitely committed to some system of reform. What seemed almost like the echo of an old agitation was heard on the 3rd of July, when O'Connor introduced a motion in favour of the charter, for which he obtained only thirteen votes.* The Radicals kept the mind of the nation alive on other important matters, with regard to which immediate action was not possible, but the formation of sound opinion was desirable. On the 1 3th of March Trelawny moved " That it is the opinion of this House that effectual measures should be immediately taken for the abolition of church rates." For this he obtained the full vote of the party, a division giving Fox, W. J. O'Connell, J. Walmsley, Sir J. Greene, J. Pearson, C. Heyworth, L. Scholefield, W. O'Connor, F.i Hume, J. Tancred, H. W. Crawford, S. J lellers ' Lushington, C. Thompson, Col. Nugent, Lord Thompson, George It may be noticed that Roebuck and Hindley, two of the authors of the charter, who were both members of the House, Roebuck having been returned in April for Sheffield, did not vote for the motion.
 * The names were :