Star. — London, England, 1820-03-10 00:00:00

eiy description Of undue patronage wets, with the matey of the People, its own legitimste..prise.• But tkis pamphlet contained so much of highly useful Liformation, that it ought to be read by all the People c f England, because it furnished the most'decis►ve, evidence of tl►e. necessity of Reform. And now, upon t . nis subject of Reform, lie must say, .-without intend ing any personal disrespect, or feeiin any degree of political acrimony, that he differed in opinion with tne Gentleman on his left, who was lately a Member for this City—he meant, that he differed from the (Tinton which that Gentleman had thought proper to espies in the House of Commons. That Gentle. man there said, that he did not think the cause of' RefOm wai aJvancing. It was, no doubt, correct to say, that this great cause wa, stationary in the lime of Commons ; but he (Sir Francis) main tained, that it was extremely incorrect to say alit Reform was not advancing among the People. Thi►t it was so adv.mcing, indzed, was obvious, from the conduct of the House of Commons itself; for that House felt obliged to throw off the mask, and, in order to impede the progress, have recourse to vio lence. by muzzling the People. Yet his late colleague had thought proper to remark, upon the discussuin of a motion brought forward by him (Sir Francis Burdett), that since he (Sir Francis) was placed at the head of Reform, where the lion. Gentleman stationed -him, that measure had only kept time with the feet (which idea the Honourable Gentleman expressed in some military term), without making any ad vance whatever. This, he must say, was tether, a discouraging observation from a colleague, whose -support he naturally expected upon an oc casion so important to the People at large, and so eagerly. oe,iied by the Electors of West sninster. •Tne Honourable Gentleman,• no doubt, expressed his readineis to punish corruption when'. ever it wasAletected; but if nothing were to be dont for Rennin, unless in case.: where corruption was de tected or legally proved, suck doctrine must serve to place the complete Reform which the People de sired, at an immeasurable distance indeed. He (Sir Francis Burdett), however, did not merely complain of detected guilt in the system of our Election, but of that guilt which was undetected; for who that knew anything of the constitution of the House of Commons, or of the manner in which its Member were chosen, could doubt of she existence of general, ray, he would almost say., of universal guilt? He would ask, as he had asked in tin, House itself, who were the Members that were' not guilty.'—which of the Members of tha House were entitled to throw the fir.t stone at corrupt election practices ? Yet his late colleague wou.d consent to Reform in that case only where guilt was legally proved. This appeared to him a most extraordinary proceeding, when it was quite notorious that the general conduct of Elections formed a conspiracy on the part of the House of Commons against the liberties of the People: But he tltally differed from his late colleague in consider ing Reform in so-minute a point of view, who said 'that hetruly 'could not regard Reforrit of so math importance as to form a panacea, as he called it, for every public evil. He (Sir F. Burtlett)thought, how ever, that Reform would operate as a cure for every one of the evils which afflicted this country, for such he. firmly believed would really prove the result. But if the system of petty Reform went on as some Gentlemen recommended these Gentlemen would only produce the effect attributed to travelling tin kers, that. is; making two holes in Mending ones 'These Gentlemen indeed, only served to throw dusti in the eyes of the Pe.iple, by professing or pretend ing to remove the evils of corruption by the little partial course of Reform which they appeared dis pose.l to pursue. But to think of effecting Reform in the House by such means was really ludicrous. No power under Himrin could indeed produce any effect in the House of Commons, or do good for the People in the present state of the Representation. Hai a man the eloquence of the spheres, he could not hope to make any impression en an assembly, the Member., if which contrived to make fortunes for thern,eives by ruihing the fortunes of others. Those Members indeed were like weeds in ..esmagnificent ruin, in which their own roots contributed to pro mote the ultimate destruction of that ruin. While the House of Commons coutinued iu that state, it was quite puerile to ioripose that any partial aeform .c rid do good. Such a state indeed precluded the hope of removing any grievances, upon the exist ence of which the wbearilat Ministerial retainer con nived to subsist. He would take the Lottery for in stance, to re Dove which every effort had proved un availing, notwithstanding the scandalous character of the intitution, notwithstanding the notoriety of the cheat, and the small revenue it afforded to the State. But still it was maintained, because there were some Commissioners connected with it, and they would lose their employment and profits if the system were done away. Such was really the motive for main taining a system of gambling, by Ministers too who boasted of their solicitude for religion and morality ! I The produce to the Revenue from this . 'form could not be the reason for supporting it, as that was cotn- . paratively insi i inificant ; but even if a pepper-corn were not brought into the Treasury, the inettsute would be supported while it provided for some Mi nisterial teraineru No redress then could be looked for in this and various other points, if the constitu tion of the House of Commons . were n. )t brought back to its original principles. If such a restoration or re form did not take place—if the People were not al lowed to have their due controul over the disposition f their own money, he could not help regretting the conduct of our ancestors- in the reign of Charles 1:-, A Revolution then took place, and the Monarch. imself was brought to the bloci, for raising money' -vithout the consent of Parliament, altisouos all. the Crown Lawyers of the day maintained that thecon ecctef the Monarch: Was luitieuittAtiartd finnal. But what win the difference to the People , :nether their property were tailt,tt Won thett With= It their consent, by tilt/W.of theCrbihr, or by the ~ . rbittary will of a body of Horntiennorigets iR the :douse of Commons libr his ant part, he bed fro .liesitation in saying, that he shotildprelbr therein/ter rsystem, because be felt that it would be lets harden tome to the country to comply with the demands of cnie family en the Throne than with that of one bun-. cred and fifty families in the Rouse of Commons.-•-% The cupidity of the 'one could, he was persuaded, be much more easily gratified than-that-of the other; ',is indeed was evident, among . otliet . seasons, frend a fact stxted in the pamphlet to which he had before Or let ha of Ke he -hii is •a &a' so sni ex . cvi fcn tec pL sir Fr of of kn CL 7111 IV4 th , th on to qc fo t7i ini . th in cv CI of he B G kr it Pr rn in la of a ti I. r. t t 3 1 4 3 referred. 'From'.tlJs p mplh A et gppeare Oat thsre ' was indaid the • mote reason to. calculate. .as -Mr.' C. , tairxt-teitproposeciMr.-}iiikaisc.—lliis Mr. Waid Vas Superinnuatediiilllo6, and ever Since , there was in. this instance no reason to .etpeet-tlias 'WA secondtd .by: Mr. DATE et. allowed E. 19 04 a-year, .al i thatigkhe was engaged in :.elitraordinary kindof coalition whickserved so, much Mr. Honstovan then came forward; :rid was re .ml' active office, in ase perf4rnaaice Of the duties of i to r prdmote the- return of Mr.-L*mb at: the last -Elec- I ceired with the most enth utiastic apt/tante. He began which he thibited stins s i. nf suieranktation.—. ricm. Such a coalition was, ha undetstood, not to be by alluding to the pledge which he had given them But the fact wits; that this . Gentlemai, of Whose pub- calculated up o n o n this occasion. But whatever at the last-Eieerien, always- to Ise ready when e.pp . or . lieseinvices he had never heardanything, 'was super- 'might be done on-the part.of his late colleague, he tnnity offered for serving-them ; that pledge he had annuated at the age of thirty-sii. He was, however, ensertained • a hope an d Confidence • that the -jade- ' already partly redeemed; and he now came f orw a r d the brother-in-law of altlotaeruais, at preient a .€ll7 Nendeht Electors of Westminster would support their to redeem the rest. -He might say, that he bad never bidet Minister, and this pensioner bad, he beliesied, osen dignity, and consulting their reputation and in • been far behind in the ful fi lment of his promise ; tth a t throughout flowed Smoothly. 'down the stream of teretf, 'make adequate provision, by activity and 'he had taken every opportunity of making thartiro -cortuption.(4jifassat). the Hon. B:;ronet thankdd , ardour, to insum a triumphant issue to this great mice ' good ; and had shewn what he m i g h t bestha -'4%vs for the Meet Ors for the frequent marks of apprObation aid cOnctirrence with which Die) hid honoured hiin; but they formed an. honest -Jury, . pronounCins 'an unbiassed 4erdiet upon the 'merits or . the ica:se, and he hoped he should meet With an ettstally honest in, dependent Jury at LeicOstii ' *he - reins was shorty to appear, (Laid-appleisse). T-othat-Jary he would confidently appeal; for there be wotild .-avow his. desire for a substantial, Jectual Reform, and, hi. would add, a Radical Reform,- that is, a .Reforrn which should tear up the cerruption of the -House of .Commons by the eery roots (Loud ANA use). In looking for this Reform, he cared not to what ez tent the right Of Suffrage might be carried—whether to persons of 21 years of age, or of any age. His ob .._ ject was so to diffuse the riiht of -Suffraii as to ren dor the Howe of Commons the organ of independent public opinion : and for himself he would say, that if every man in England, with a reienuz of £lOO year, were invested with the right of voting, and-to such a plan none but public plunderers could object, he was persuaded that great good would be the re sult. Here the Hon. Baronet, disclaiming any per sonal ill-will, took occasion to refer to the practices at the last Election, especially in producing the dip . _ contest—( . .Lewd plaudits). Several persons then called ont for the nomination of Mr. Hobhouse; but upon the High Bailiff ob serving that it .had always been the custom to give precedency to the nomination of the old Members, silence was restored, and • Mr. WitiRART addressed the Meeting. The Gen tle Man (Mr. Lamb) whom he had the honour to pro pole, had sat for two Sessions in the House of Com roCais, during which he had uniformly supported the interests of the Country, as well as the local interests ref this City. He had, indeed, uniformly voted for Reform and Retrenchment, and this was acknow ledged by the thank, with Which he was honoured • the upon unanimous vote of a full meeting of the Electors, not long since held in that Garden. Mr. EVANS, in seconding the proposition, ex pressed his entire confidence that Mr. Limb would be re-elected by a most triumphant majority-44p plause and hisses). Mr. LAMS then stepped forward, and, amidst a tumult of :tpplause and hisses, commenced his ad dress. He could assure them, that it was no wish of his to take preCedence of Mr. Hubhouse. Had the I bled to do, if allowed to act in a more extended sphere. He now again s tood f orwar d a C an did ate for their suffrages. He felt perfectly the necessity If union in times so perilous, and they might rest 'as sured that he would not have come forward to dis turb the unanimity of the Election upon a tiieitig - •occasion. -But it was no trifling point upon which 'he differed from Mr. Lamb. It was a point which concerned essentially their welfare and existence as a free people; and knowing, as, he had many opporm siit:es of doing, the opinions of the F:lectors upon th:s subject, he conceived that the return of Mr. Limb upon a former occasion -had been effected contrary to their wishes. It was a well-known fact,. that- if those persons whose votes had been rejected, •hitd _ _ _ been permitted to vote, that Mi. Lamb would never have been returned, and that .he (Mr..Hob house) would have been their •Representative:s— boubtless many who beard him might be of a very different opinion; but he stated it ai his •solettm.ffe liet; in the face of the Electors of Westminster, and the country itt large, that -such was a positive fait, and that had not the tight of voting been violated, Ur. Lamb would never have been elected. Batthe great point upon which he deemed M. Lamb am- High Bailiff decided that Mr. Hobhouie should ad , dress them first, he would willingly haye agreed to it; because it appeared to be more satisfactory— (Hisses). It was a poor compliment to Mr. Hob-1 house, if they would not listen to him. In addressing, them, he should endeavour to imitate the worthy 1 Baronet, in abstaining from all personal remarks, and' stand before them merely as a Candidate for their suffrages, without any diminution of that friendship which he certainly felt for Sir Francis Burdett. It was a very short time since he had lait addressed them ; so short, indeed, that he thought the noisy advocates of Annual Parliaments themselves must now be convinced that Annual Parliaments would not constitute a panacea for all their grievances— (Loud disapprobation). However averse he might be to Annual Parliaments and Universal Suffrage, still it was his opinion, that a Member of Parliament and his Constituents could not meet too often ; and, for his part, if, as it had been said, he really was not the choice of the Electors of Westminster, he had much rather retire at once. to a private station, than sit for a place which he could not with pro priety be said to • represent—(tkrlause). He, how ever, felt that this was an untounded slander.— He felt that his connexion with Wegtdrinster had been strengthened by recent oircumstlinces, and that they had, as well as himself, derived from it considerable satisfaCtion. The circumstance of so short a time having elapsed since he last stood before them, was to him a considerable advantage. It frequently hap pened that a Representative, in the course of a long Parliament, forgetthe professions which he made to them at his election. He felt confident ahat his con duct, during the short time which had . elapsed since his election, had fully redeemed the pledge which he had given, and had rendered him worthy of again receiving their suffrages. Upon the subject if Re form, he would make one ottwo remarks. He would ask the Honourable Baronet, what vote of his he could object to ? . Certainly none. The Honourable Baronet had said, that he did not receive from him all the assistance he had expected. He now asserted; that in the grand work of Reform, he had given him every assistance. But the Honourable Baronet's mo tion was an indefinite one, and in speaking upon it, he (Mr. Lamb) had given an independent opinion ; he had acted as an honest and upright man, without paying any regard to the opinion of those with whom he might be associated, or to whom he might be opposed. The Honourable Baronet had misre presented what he had said, respecting the punish.: meat .of bribery when it was discovered. Whatever he had said, it was rather singular that the Hotioutu able Baronet had not noticed it at the time.-- He had treasured it up for a Whole year, and now brought it forward, whea he probably recollected it better than he (Mr. Lanib) did. The opinion which he then gave was this; he wished to see the right of voting given to those large towns which did not now' possess the privilege, and, when bribery and comp-. tion were discovered in any Borough, he wished the right of suffrage to be taken from that Borough, and placed in the hands of the People at large. He thanked a' friend for calling his attention to one sub ject which he had nearly forgotten. It was true, as the Honourable Baronet had stated, that he had said that Reform was making little progress. But, in say ing this, he meant that wild and ihcottsistent plan of Reform (Lead tiproar)i which, he had no hesitation in saying, was impracticable. He agreed with the Ho nourable Baronet in believing that Ocient Reform was making progress, and he could assure them, that in Promoting such Reform, he would always be found zealous and consistent, and sirduld JO:trance it with all the ability which le possessed, and which,, for their sake, he was sorry was not greater. He had no*, he hoped, answered thane charges which the Hon. Baronet had made against him. He felt surprised that the Hon. Bart. should have adopted this course. .For his own part, he had steadily ',adhered to the practice of making no allusion to past tient'. But he Might reel to their rettillietiOn hclii he ?Witten interrupted and hooted—,ho* his firiendstad been insulted and Abused, itid host, int ttOlit Octasionsi Ile I'frld been silent& Ma ihottiVasttided. Otrr word 4dfe 'open the idhitierot flit *lridela charge. The libridred OTOSiutiteri hOcl been called upon in put-- Wince sof one Of otri' Most ancient It Anti he felt that the . Worth Biltaret shOuld declaim it hew *Mattis pr Alta, Major- Cartairight i had sd Rattily itiptituded,oiril hlinsilf diktiered batf tetideaf cif, new 'that it we 'twined agaitist'hirttielt W W "rep . rd tn beitti!ai he had always op'phieit thlnti . it tail tall the girtineN fur* till Aar+ ftl add: 10 thetfie . teddld she* the vitfltf Nit - he * 0 *ot eititt I It s'tti try iI ifivtigteattirm.". . . IT franchisement of so many Electors by thidecision, he would not say of the High I3.iilif, but by that of his legal adviser, or what was called his Assessor.— This Assessor was, it seemed, a sort of perspn who i took from the proper Officer his due responsibility,l and Ministers had their Assessors in the House of Commons.; for, notwithstanding what was said of their responsibility, the fact was, that they had no real responsibility, thoe who we•e to judge of that responsibility being always participators in their acts, as those acts were uniformly sanctioned by the House of Commons. But with regard to the Assessor of the High Bailiff, those decisions of his which disfran chised so many voters at the last Election had been set aside by a Court of Justice, lay which it was laid down that a resident householder was entitled to a vote, whether he had paid his rates or not.— It would, indeed, be very unjust if the determination were otherwise, particularly as there was reason to suspect that Collectors had kept out of the way at the last Election, in order to avoid receiving the Poor-rates from people ready to pay them. There: fore the decision of the High Bailiff, which was now reversed, would, if it were persisted in, enable the Collectors of the Poor-rates ro trick men out of their elective frariphise. Now, however, it was settled, that whether men paid their rates or not, the law.did not subject them to disfranchisement. aid this been allowed to be the law at the last Election, he had no doubt that Mr. Hobhouse would have been the suc cessful Candidate, and that Mr. Lamb would have been rejectedipplause). Another unworthy prac tice at the last Election was, the employment of armed ruffians about the hustings and elsewhere, to knock out the brains of persons coming to the poll.. But he was not surprised at this conduct on the part : of the partisans of his late colleague, for they must' know, that unless the Electors of Westminster lost' their brains, they would not vote for that Gentleman! —(Laughter and applause). There were also obsta cles to ale progress of the poll at the last Election,' which did not offer at present. Of the persons who created those obstacles he would not now say much, as they were not present ; he would only observe of them, that he believed the Meeting was not less re spectable in consequence of their absence--(Applaese). There were also some Cavalry introduced at the last Election, which, however, did not much injure the cause of independence, by the advocates for which both horse and foot were soon put to Sight.— But as to the breaking of windows on that occasion, it would be remembered that some persons were obliged to pay &tiers' bills who had nothing to do with the outrages. TM's exaction was, however, made under an old law, not at all applicable to the . present times—for that law wa's enacted at a time when, according to law, every man was a peace officer, and being bound to preserve the peace, was very naturally answerable for its violation. But now that Government and its officers were alone armed and competent to preserve the peace, it was palpa bly unjust to make the unarmed people responsible for acts which they had not the power of prevent ing. Such a course of proceeding was indeed as oppressive as die conduct of the Egyptians, who were charged with calling upon the Jews to make bricks without straw! (Ai:phases). He called these circumstances to the recollection of the Meeting without any desire, he declared, of etching the slightest pet sonal animosity ; on the contrary, baying nO Mich feeling himself, he hoped it would not be entertained by others, but that the Electors of West rainster would continue to conduct themselves with that good order and good temper which had hitherto marked their character, and which had operated so' much in favour of the prineiples of Parliamentaty Reform. The Electors or westroillstef would, he trusted, uniformly present this respectable example —that they would - comport themselves in such a manner as not' to deserve reproach, whatever tricks or artifices aliglif 14 eldiploy*d against them, and tricks and artr6ces they. had reason to apprehend from thearperiunce of the last Blettiets (Appiarees). Arndt tistr - WOrett of these artificer was the attempt of filet eppotfftf riot only to tetta upon them any provocation- that might have been °feted, but to charge them with being the' worse of the very evils under which they therntellits hid suffered. 'Thus their assailants, ihstead of she‘eing any toMpiltietiOn for their misconduct, imputed to themselves that very misconduetfrOm which. they smarted. tiothlng 'could be baser than-welts-system; but the expedient mkt not. tot:reed *vein, and- chi riCollertiOn a it ust serve to stimulate t h e friends Of Keratin ofd dependence to increased elestiticis en this qsdasiOno iegainst opponents of such a deseviption. Through exertion, he had no doubt tififtifit Oentelti vihishlit , ;nowaitsfgned to the hstsft et v stitt_ttvi %reiti d i produce a tiVeIIITA :in t. VOA ' flew r 'O w _ . . worthy of their suffrages (and upon many minor points he had no hesitation in saving that heagreed with Mr. Lamb), was, that he did not agree with the Electors of Westminster as to the essential add paramount importance of a general Reform. Let. Mr. Lamb put whatever interpretation he pleased upon the speech which the Ilonourable Baronet had alluded to, still he never would convince them that his sentiments upon this subject accorded with, and were similar to their own. Mr. Lamb, in advert ing to this speech, had referred the Electori to the Parliamentary Register. He could save them the trouble, for he held it in his hand. The report he possessed was extracted from The Times, and he be lieved that, generally speaking, that paper furnished as correct and faithful an account as any other.,- His speech did not contain one word about Annual Parliaments and Universal Suffrage (for by these terms had Mr. Lamb endeavoured to explain it)'; -it was expressed in plain unequivocal terms, and the/ might judge from it the nature of that cordial -0- operation which Mr. Lamb asserted he had given to Sir Francis Burdett. If this was that Gentleman's method of seconding, it was like the Irish custom of yoking two horses before and two behind a car riage, and thus effectually preventing its program:— (Lmigliter) - .—They would find, that what Mr. Lairlb called seconding, was, in fact, a banter, and a must senseless and tasteless banter upon the speech of Sir Francis Burdett (Applause).—[Mr. Hobhouse then proceeded to read the speech in question, accompa nying it with comments, which alternately excited the latighter and the applauses of those who sur rounded him,J—He would now refer then to a letter which had been written by Mr. Lamb, relative to the Election. and they would find whc was virtu,ally the Ministerial Candidate.—The follow ing is a copy ,of the letter alluded to: - .. Whitehall Yard, 1%1.0-eh 2,182 C. " Sik—llaiing had the 11l luck of not finding you at hc;ine isiten I called some time ago, and being now confined by teri -literary iltdisposition, I take the liberty of writing to reqtett .your support during the ensuing contest for Westminster. ..iks there is no Ministerial Candidate, I should have reckoned my success certain, had it not been for the committal of Mr. Hob use to Newgate by the House of Commoni. That, llowreer, "as inspired a teal into his frltnds, and 'the loWer classes, width threatens a sharp struggle. If esenions are not made in rimy behalf, the House of Commons will have the morrificAlan of seeing a rejected Candidate obtain prosperity, il:erely from 02e circumstance of their having ventured to punish him, for a flt. grant in*lt and libel.—l hope I shall have your pardon for ttfe intrusion; mud have the honour to be, &c. " G. LAMB." —Was this then the production of a person who had professed so much candour and civility ? Could he thus express himself upon a proceeding which evert enlightened man in the Kingdom received hi the same light ; .avid unanimously concurred in repin bating ? It was a fact *ell known and easily CR . - , pable of proof; that half of the persons, who, upon tt tormer Election, had given their votes for Sit M. Maxwell,' and refused them to Sir S. Romilly, had, upon the last Election, voted for Mr. Limb, al though he stood professedly upon the same ground as Sir Samuel Ilomilly, Did not this clearly sheir that Mr. Lamb was in reality the Ministerial Candit date ? And did not the letter which had just bees read to them, prove that Mr. Lamb calculated upett •Ministerial assistance? Having said this, he feti confident that, in the eyes of the country, and even -of the Whigs themselves (many of whom he adMired and esteemed), he must stand actioitted in having .c me forward in opposition to a person who hid clearly shewn that he felt no sympathyotocongenia lity Of opinion with those he wished to Represent, tie now left his cause in their hands.. He ,knew, from what he had seen in Westminster, that the friend's Of Reform would ultimately succeed in supporting liiin, in opppsieion to a person who, if we mighk believe his own speech, had "the greatest respect for the` listill of Commons," and who hoped, ~ that in the tuarrp of debate he had said notiving. which could be •c derogatory to the dignity of the Honoutabie ,House." Mr. Hobhouse hire cone - hided a speeih,:de [livered with ranch energy, and which was repeadsitlif interrupted with amhi g hest applattse. • The Hints BAILIN? • trubmitted the names of the Candidates to the El s, and declared theshevs hands to be in favour of Sir Franca Burdett and Mr. Ilutphoure. A poli was detnaildeckfor Hi. Lamb, :which was adjourned until three o'clock.' . . . .." At a. little after four o'doCk• the state of the 'Poll was declared as follows 1 . -* , . Do F. mantra - , - 362 : . Hosuousit - - : It :l. r- • • Luria- -• • .rse4ii k . 4* . 01 Or — jibe . TS beittieritgiVea t ' littali KV ri l h e U ti k t , 2 39.4 113 C-•;.:. - i :. - - ..- ••—,. .. • • Sit Flu lieu': Ifiwpirr iciii . ' , sifp . Tions4.. ja i p fru stiisrilial the' , ilestilt -. dip one Uili's poll, .w j i le a N4 r.w liv t t_''' iiiiissr l u ilepAri u Vritiac spec " . ,. trd,Vofleodi. its t c 4 . *_Af titir - ila ' , 4.. i ;,..i . ton , , .1