Page:History of the Radical Party in Parliament.djvu/491

 1867.] Death of Palmer ston to Reform Act. Conclusion. 477 informed Parliament, in the Queen's speech, that its attention would again be called to the state of the representation of the people, and the hope was expressed that its deliberations, " conducted in a spirit of moderation and mutual forbearance, may lead to the adoption of measures which, without unduly disturbing the balance of political power, shall freely extend the elective franchise." That this determination was occa- sioned by pressure from without, and was not the result of the conscientious convictions of the Cabinet, was scarcely con- cealed. The ministers, indeed, did not pretend even then to have arrived at any definite opinion as to the advance which was to be made. Their action declared, as plainly as any words could have done, that they were ready to make any concession to the popular demand which was shown to be inevitable, and instead of submitting any distinct proposals of their own, they invited Parliament to declare, in the shape of a series of resolutions, how far it considered that the nation desired to be carried. For themselves, they would not refuse to be the medium of carrying out the wishes of the country, and desired that at the outset it might be understood that the success or failure of any particular measure should not affect the existence of the Administration. The royal speech announced the intention to deal with two other pressing questions the land law of Ireland and the relation between workmen and masters. These promises, together with the statement that the condition of Ireland would allow of the cessation of exceptional laws for the preservation of order, made up a speech to which no objection could be taken by Liberals, and the address was unanimously adopted. In speaking in the debate on the address, Disraeli gave notice that he intended, early in the following week, to state to the House the course which the Government proposed to take on the subject of reform. In accordance with this notice, the Chancellor of the Exchequer rose on the nth of February to explain the intentions of ministers. He proposed to lay upon the table a series of thirteen resolutions, to which he invited the con-