The National Register. — London, England, 1819-11-01 00:00:00

ON TIIE ZRITISA CONSTITUTION. _ _ The annexed observations on tho qnestion of Reform ore extracted ft um an ',strut little work seeetoly ptilil shed, retitled" A Copies • awl Impartial Mussy on the BMWs Con saikijuit." The al•lbCti• ut, as we can collect from his titte rer., a feel cf or and he has ahem' in his hook levy extensive legal reading. His object seems to lease I tree to present to the pebile a clear historical statement of she laws affecting Use prerogatives of the Cross it, am' the privileges of the people, conceiving, in the present state of the cottony, that nothing could more effectually con tribute towards removing erroneous impressions, aid leading the public mind to form correct siews of what amnia be coneidesed public ribbrs, than a Wainer and perspienotis exposition of the principal laws on which the tato ic of um political eyett in is erected. In Mk under taking he has 'lwo is diligence and research, and his book cannot fail of provitie nseful to those who wo u ld wish to that branch of legal learning their study. To his legal tract be has annexed sonic gella4l sconarks upon elections, the Imiongli system, mid the expediency of Re form; but although the author earuestly desire, a Reform, his k not that scheme of Reform which would captivate the visionary polii Wians of the present day. So fur is lie 'from adeocating Uulversal Sudtm e, 1114/ he seems to think the right of Suffrage is already too generally ex le ceded. The trialitit alien of forty shilliegs ft (-timid pro pel •.y, isi his opinion, might no longs r to be übserved, "as -it opens a door to the title of eon-option tit contested elections." Ile, however, advocates the expediency of I. mit ing the dos Mimi of NI hielltellt to the tel of thlee saes. 'the following remarks Cu the question of a re. l'ortu iu the mode of electing Members to serve in L'artio meta, will also spew the general style of the work The purity of our Constitution many enlightened men have conceived has been contamitaatcd, and there fore a radical Reform should take place, first by a more equal representation of the people he the House of Com mons, and lastly by an immediate reform in the domes- ' tic economy, by the abolition of all sinecures, useless offices, and unmerited pensions, &c. " Chaque nation snit se aouverner scion le besoinde sea Janes et la con servation du bien publique :" This idea also coincides with the popular sentiment that has prevailed many years past ; which leas by some been deemed indispensable to our national welfare, and particularly as our taxes at this present time are necessa rily very heavy. It is therefore hoped hat the Committees of the House of Coinmons will be productive of much good. Every candid person mint admit, that when .Nlioisters themsels es acknowledge (by certain newspa pers) that the sale of seats in Parliament has been the practice and established custom of their predecessors, as well known, &c. as that the sun cloth shine at noon day, it is time for such a subject to be again and again discussed (if necessary) by their delegates in Parliament; for when an innovation of this d ingerous complexion begins to foul the spring of purity, we know not to what extent the stream may be tainted with it. in process of time, if a remedy be not soon applied to the bleeding would. Alontesquieu says, " When once a republic is corrupted, there is Ito possibility of remedying any of the rising evils but by removing the corruption and re storing lost principles : every other correction is either useless or a new evil." And again he says, " Whets once the principles of government are corrupted, the very best laws become bail and turn against the state." Whatever veneration the people of the present day might have for the practice and precedents of their an cestors, yet when the former is bud and the latter inap plicable' measures and resolutions founded on them Cannot he justified. As to precedents, both statesmen and lawyers in my humble conception, pay too much deference to them : and certain- it is, th it one precedent can rarely be found to be completely applicable to two cases at remote periods; therefore,. though precedents snight assist and be useful, implicit deference ought not to be paid to them; for if we do (after a time,) we shall become mere mechanics, and be apt to adopt precedents for principles, and thereby never exercise our own judg ment sufficiently, acid cointuon sense would be stioul dared out of the qoestion. Ha critical and important case of national moment come beihre our present Ministers, 1 should hope and believe they are fully adequate to display as muck wis dom in their measures or resolves as any of their psede tenors : and why should we doubt it ? lam not con vinced that men of the present age (take them generally) are inferior in capacity to their forefathers: then cer tainly the exigencies of the times should be first consi dered before precedents. By way of strengthening my argument, I will now take the liberty of quoting a sentiment from Sir Thomas Tortott's speech on the question of the Regency : he said, the absurdity of acting implicitly upon precedents brought to leis recollection souse lines be had learned at school : " Herr standsa precedent, W hu pot it there ? A better man than . .1 . 010:11 it if you dare." Rut to return to my positir . ln on the subject of Reform. The cry of innovaii.m, and these ale he times, by the opponents of Reform, brews absurd when the canker is supposed to he still consuming the very vitals of our constitution ; and I beli.se no nalimial consequences can arse LI taking away certain privileges, the loaves and fishes, front a new closr cringing luinkterial boroughs and rich monopolizing corpoiations, (with resixet to seturnina .Nletithas of 1 1 ..irliainent), and gramma and distribmitna sue sante privileges and irauch:ses elsewrwre upon popular and sound cinisinuiional principles. Many gem:eaten who c:loose to &ascii titettiselt es to the c•ost nilteiinin, ate unjustly stigiu:stiaril with the odious rpm.ets of fetchers and j tetibitis, win. deservedly intern Site name of fit patriots, and indeed Lie tery Lest ifiess.ls Alta protectors of tit' cuitstiiiatiom„ and who wooed, iu t.y opinion, be .in first and foremost so r..11y sound anti prtsertc the sacred edifice arum emistitunon iturtmat. :10111 the mock of fret% it s and tile insidious attack of lurking c.nruptiom The fear 01 a ten/W(1011 111 aCCOMI/11ii11111 this great and of Reform, even at this juncture, is, I presume, THE NATIONAL REGISTER. grmitildes* and imaginary , although I have been lately told from the pulpit, by au old Divine, that the refor mers and their demagogue have nothing to lose, and that their sole object was to produce anarchy and con fusion in the state, and an equal partition of property Pray have Sir Francis Burden, Mr. Ilubhouse, and Sir Charles Wolseley, nothing to lose? Lord Treasurer Burleigh, knowing the revenue of England to be so immense, says, "England can never be ruined but by the corruption of her Parliament." I will now conclude with the exclamation of Horace— " Qui d [eget sine minibus ranee profeiuni :" and perhaps another such sentiment of this author will apply to the present degenerated age—". Elsa paleraftsin pejor aria litlit, atos negalorts niox daluros progeniena viliosorena"—"' the age of our fathers, which was worse than that of our ancestors, produced us, who are shortly to raise a pro geny even more vicious than ourselves." Some have gone so far as to say, " Clare flame villa *sores aunt . '— " What were once vices are now the common planners of the age i'• but certainly of all corruption the con Tinton of the great is the worst—" Carresjetio optimi pea sinus." It is a maxim► evtr held by the wise in all ages, " that when the morals of a prince are corrupt, the nobles and plebeians generally follow the Sallie fatal priticipfes; and thus the nation gradually sinks into effeminacy and consequent decay." 1 have quoted this sentiment merely to shew the con tagion of vice and the dangerous consequence of evil example: and, in toy humble opinion, if a public cha racter of rank and fortune falls and indulges himself in vice and folly, such a person sins doubly ; for as I have just intimated, vulgar minds are greatly influenced by the example of their ►uperiors in rank. Much in vain is the gospel preached from pulpits to the poor, if met) of literature and elevated situations in life treat all its precepts with insignificance and contempt. I have further to remark, corruption engenders wa►, and war misery and poverty ; but I ant here happy to remark, that throughout the war, and in all battles and contests in winch the English antis have been fairly engaged, both by sea and land, that they have shone copspicoottsly and gloriously: in fact, the valour, cou ra,e, and physical strength of the English troops have not been excelled. It might therefore be truly said, England has an ived at the summit of military renown, as the page of history . will record. I believe our national debt now exceeds eight hun dred millions of pounds, which of course most be the cause of a heavy taxation for many years to come. Mr. Hume says, that" Either the nation must de stroy public credit, or public credit will destroy the nation.' However true this assertion might prove by any possibility, it roust be admitted that it behoves every patriot to promote public credit. It may not perhaps be here impertinent to remark Baron !Montesquieu s observation on the character of the English nation: he says we are incapable of bearing the delays, the details, and the coolness of negotiations : " In these they are more unlikely to succeed than any other nation; tience they are apt to lose by treaties what they obtain by their arms." Li concluding th.ssubjeci, I am sorry to have occasion to remark, that although England is rich in soil, and productive of the necessaries of life; at: althottgh the late harvest has been abundant, yet provisions are now dearer in this county, than per haps any other in Europe. It is therefore an indisputable fact, that the ways of man have perverted the ways of Providence ! * The dissipation in the metropolis amongst titled °vo lcano ceitainly cusifiamed me in this opinion. CO.‘STITU i lON SOUCH AMERICA. The Constitutional Act of the United Provinces on the Plate, which was completed mid published at the beg' • gof May in America, has reached this country, aid been published here in a translation. As it is pos sible that it may be destined to form the basis of a lasting political system, it may not be uninteresting to give a brief account of its contents. Like the French char ter (and very unlike the constitution formed by the Spa nish Cortes,) this document is short and precise. It consists of 1.38 articles, which describe and limit the, legislative, the executive, and judicial powers. The Roman Catholic religion is declared the religion of the slate. legislative power is to be exercised, as in the North American States, by a uational congress compo sed of two houses, that of Representatives and that of Senators. Tile former is composed of delegates elected in the proportion of one for every district containing 25,000 inhabitants :. (the population of the United Pro vinces is about 1,300,00 u.) The deputy must he Up wards of '46 years or age, must have been 7 years a cou. Zen previous to his nomination, and must possess 4,000 dollars of properly, or some equivalent which is nut well defined in the article. The represenuatives sit lot 4 years, but a half 01 the chamber is renewed every years. 'l'he House of Deputies, like the British House of Commons, originates all money tolls, dila • av he special right of impeaching Ministers and use high errs of state. The Senate is to C01151b1(11111e v 41111: . I her of prosiucial senat rs as there are provmees ; of three itailhary setiattirs, our bishop, and three rckst aatics ; of a represkittativ2 ut each universt.y, mid rit dlrek•tur whoa perltid 01 glnfer:inlelil I Sevilis miller iirfallev Mega. Wily Dale Mill lary :co:horst. lore apVOl 11111 l till of the beiratots Is sor mitt Vile) Ille.vt al theft atioll Wire a'• iaimd the a i t,e o 30, having beet, 9 ears a Ca: .Zeit. .I . llls al f.lllAelliclii struts Well caieldared to give Ntaiiiili j to !he ss stein, JUil Ultras imen.iell to su IA) III.: W.lll of an h e redeary motto.. 'for mode to ei cwig toe vielialivS is 100 ethli i iliCalell to .11111.11 Oi 0. 4411,10.. 11. 1015 S.lllll. t•kele , l. Lati4lslaUll•C is i 0 su 1 . .1 ti 1111 l tlik: year : tney n a ve It.. ~0111 .1:. rile 11/11e1 preu.Aes ~1. , 46 11 ,o,e. <.i iii. power ..• cl. u. .t .1 • Ant it ... A . it IKlilate 1,11001 sc I WI. /J. In .. las% .•• S. agreed to by bola tie.: ate to be ttat•suitit‘u tk. NOV. 1. fire linecttoi fin his sanction, who must return thein its 15 days, either with his approbation or objections. If he approvesolie bill becomes a lair; if he states objec tions, these objections are CollSitiCted ; but if two-thirds of the members of both nooses support the origival project, their votes constitute a final sanction without a second application to the Director. Th e siipretue Di. rector is elected by the two Houses assembled. lie is to be supreme chief of all the land and sea forces. Ile is to open the sittings of the Legislature; he appoints all the officers of the ptiblie forces, envoys, consuls, and others; lie chooses and dismisses his Ministers, who are responsible for their conduct while employed under him; all objects of finance, police, public, national, and scientific establishments, as well as all those formed and supported by the funds Eddie State, are confined tir his supreme charge and in s pe c tio n . e has the power of pardon, except in cases of State conviction. 'I he sc_ prelim judicial power of the State is to reside in a su preme court, consisting of seven Judges and two Recur. ders, nominated by the Director ; every one of whom must have been a regular barrister eight years, and have attained the Mrtieth year of his age. This Court shall, exclusively, take cognizance of all causes relating to envoys and consuls from foreign nations, all causes in which a province may he a party,.all those concerning public functiottaries, all those relating to c r s corn. omitted against the law of nations, &c. The members exercise their functions during good behaviour. The Supreme Court,.as well as the other tribunals, is open, to the public. 'rise corporations and inagistratis inves ted with the legislative, executive, or judicial power, are the anomie' of the nation, and responsible to it in. manlier the constitution prescribes. rile constitution is ordered to be sworn to in the whole territory of the State, and no functionary shall continue in (Ace without taking the oaths to observe and sustain it. The names of the Deputies who passed this charter are appended to it. It is preceded in the present publication by a main. festo, " addressed by the United Pius inces of South America, to all nations, respecting the treatment which they experienced from the Spaniards, and which gave rise to the declaration of their independence' iu J 917. FROM TUESDAY NIGHT'S GAZETTE. CROWN oFytc!.. OCT. t 6, MEMDER returned to serve in this v presentFAßLlANlENT. County of Longford.—Sir Geo. Ralph Fetherston, of Ardagh. in the county of Longford. Butt. in the wont of Sir Thomas Fetherston, Ban. deceased. BANKRUPTS. M. and S.V. Thomas, Surrey Street, Blaeldriars Road, linen drapers. Solicitors, Messrs. Richardson and Miller, N,w Inn. E. Savage, Upper North Place, Gray's Inn Lane, grocer. Sul. Mr. Nl•Dulf. Castle Street, Holborn. J. Potter, From Selwooil, Somerset, clothier. Sols. Mesas, Nethersole and Barron, Easex Street, Stunt'. 11. White. Warminster, Wilts. linen draper. Sole. Messrs. Courtecn and Robinson. Walbrook. T. Woodhouse, Nottingham, lace manufacturer. SOIL Messrs. Chippendall and Son, Great Queen Street. W. Taylor, Little George Street, Bermondsey New Rosa, bricklayer. Sols. Messrs. Harvey and Wilson, Lincoln's lcn Fields. - C. Chown. Manchester, hosier. Sole. Messrs. Hurd and Johnson. Temple. J. Bidder, Newman Street, Oxford Street, dealer in .taint.: glass. Sole. Messrs. Fisher and Sudlow, l'havies Inn. 1). Pullen, Spread Eagle Court. Finch Lane, bill broker. Sol. Mr. Spencer, Belvidere Place, Borough Road. W. Thurnell, Gouldstone Square. Whitechapal, upholsterer. Solt. Messrs. Allitton and undleby, Freeman's Court. Cornbill. E. Jackson. Uley. Gloucestershire, clothier. Sub. Bourdillon and Hewitt, Bread Street. Cheapsitle. DIVIDENDS. Oct. 30, W. G. Hall. Gutter Lane, silk manufacturer-30, T. Lloyd and J. Winter, Blue Bull Yard, St. James's Street, sine merchants—Nov. 10, H. Webber, Bristol, merchant-17, J. Grant. Sculcoauts,York, beast jobber-18, T. Robotham, Derby, grocer-20, H. Daniell. Warren Street, Fitzroy Square, conch maker-16, G. Sizer, Holborn Hill, mercer-10, J. Appleton. Armley, York, nonehant-16, H. and W. Cutbush, Maidstone, carpenters —I6, 'l'. Cubby, Lower York Street, Rothethithe, timber merchant-16, S. Waltlegrave,Sewardstone, Essex, coach and post master-16, H. H. Payne. Stroud, brewer--R5, J. Ad cock. St. Mary Axe, druggist-16, R. Moye, Sloane Street, Chelsea, carpenter—Nov. 16, T. Willata, Great Queen Street, Lincoln's Inn Fickle, ironmonger -2, G. Pearson, Alacclestield, and W. Sykes, Milk Street, silk manufacturers-6, T. Jenkins, Judd Street, Brunswick Square, master mariner-19, W. Lose, Royton. Lancashire, machine maker-16. R. Outridge, Newport, Isle of Wight, iron founder—Dec. 7, G. M. Thurkle, New Street Square, wine merchant. CERTIFICATES to be granted Nov. 16. W. Reid, sm. Rosamond Street, Clerkensrell." watchmaker— W. J. W. Lindsey, Bath, silk mtrcer—L. Sims, Dunhill How, Moorfields. stationer—lt. Lodge. Blackburn, Lancashire, butcher —H. Rush. Wick and Allison, Gloucestershire. dealer—J. Birch, junior, Manchester, cotton spinner—E. Ki•{g;, Livetpool, master mariner. It was said of a York County Meeting held in the time of Sir George Savile, that there were in one room persons who enjoyed an aggregate income from landed property of 81)0,0001: a year ; and it might be asserted with equal truth, that the inconie of the nobility and gentry on the hustings at the late County Meeting, exceeded one million ster. ling; and yet this, say the Ministerial Papers, was a Radical Reform Meeting ! the persons constituting which, of course, according to the Loyal Declaration, wish for a division of property, eon " hold out the property of others us their inevitable prey." %That absurdities these people involve themselves in! . -DIN LlVltall, ()CT 25.—A terrible accident hap petted in the tai i ,libourhood of Cutinobies un Friday we. k. A genth...ian on his return from shooting, having a hailed gun in his hand, stet to toe road a young oinan of hts acquanitiriee, whom he a!- te.inpteii to kiss. A kind u. idripA r .e e nsued, in whir,. seine putt o; tut un:orta,ist, apparel Came in contact a it.. t l i ,vr he gnu weat . off, ind its contentsludgmg in her breast, she expire d on the spot! s' 4 r 7. fle. or<