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" their hands. Without these cannot a city be 

 " inhabited ; but they shall not be sought for in 

 " public council, nor sit high in the congTegation, 

 " they shall not sit on the judges' seat, nor under- 

 " stand the judgment. They cannot declare justice 

 " and judg'ment." I wonder which is right, this 

 old Hebrew or Mr. Bright.* In theory it seems 

 desirable that the working class, as well as every 

 other large class, should elect a few of their number 

 to enunciate their little thoughts in Parliament. 

 For no doubt, in any country the opinions that 

 there are of every sort and size, had better be 

 known if possible. But how is it possible. How 

 is it possible to get five millions or so working-men 

 to elect suitable representatives. Take a navvy, for 

 instance, working on a railway. Who can doubt 

 what he would say if he were canvassed for his vote 

 for some fitting man. Who can doubt that he 



would say " I don't care a , I'll vote for my 



" mate Jem. He's the fust chap in England, and 

 " can sing as good a song as any on 'em." And 

 quite right he would be to vote for the " fust" man 

 he knows. To arrive at correct opinions about 

 these subjects, the first requisite is knowledge of 



* I found one day in Hazlitt's writings a curious catalogue 

 of the qualities he considered necessary to make a first-rate 

 popular orator. These were "force," "self-confidence," 

 "want of refinement," "shallowness of thought," "absence 

 of originality," "being neither superior nor inferior to hi 

 audience," " passion" and "clearness." 



