It may perhaps be asked whether there was any solid reason for attaching so much importance to the keeping of a secret which on a certain fixed and near-approaching day must, as a matter of fact, be a secret no more. Of course the imperative necessity of secrecy would be obvious { 135} in all cases where some policy was in preparation which might directly affect the interests of foreign States. In such a case it is clear that it might be of essential importance to a Government not to let its plans become known to the world before it had put itself into a condition to maintain its policy. In measures that had to do with commercial and financial interests it might often be of paramount importance that no false alarm or false expectations of any kind should be allowed to disturb the business of the country before the fitting time came for a full declaration. But in the case of such a measure as the Reform Bill it may be asked if any great advantage was to be gained by keeping the nature of the measure a complete secret until the hour came for its full and official explanation. With regard to this Reform Bill there were many good reasons for maintaining the profoundest possible secrecy. If any premature reports got out at all they would be sure to be imperfect reports, indiscreet or haphazard revelations of this or that particular part of the Bill, utterly wanting in balance, symmetry, and comprehensiveness. The whole thing was new to the country, and there would have been much danger in fixing public attention upon some one part of the proposed reform until the public could be in a position to judge the scheme as a complete measure.
Lord Grey's Government had to deal with two classes of men who were naturally and almost relentlessly opposed to each other--the more clamorous reformers and the enemies of all reform. It was of immense importance that the latter class should, if possible, be prevailed upon to see--at least the more intelligent and reasonable among them--that the Government had not gone so far in the direction of reform as to make it seem a threatened revolution. It was, on the other hand, of immense importance to prevail upon the former class to see that the Government had not so stunted and dwarfed its proposed reform as to render it incapable of anything like a political and constitutional revolution. Any sudden explosion of feeling on either side brought about by some premature { 136} and imperfect revelation might have caused the most serious trouble in the country.