The Sun. — London, England, 1831-02-02 00:00:00

GPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. The - privatc accounts from Dublin announce unani mously a decided improvement in the state of the public opinion throughout Ireland within the last few days; and, by consequence, a sensible abatement of the hopes and spirits of the agitators, as may indeed be collected from the increased fury and extravagance of their language. The gratifying f a ct abov e m e ntioned may be ascribed to two causes, dependent on each other, and operating almost simultaneously—viz. the exasperation produced (as we had prophesied it would be) in the minds of all the trailing classes of the country, by O'Connell's frantic run upon the banks, and the public developement of that feeling in the tesolute address of the great banking, mercantile, and tra iing bodies of the Irish capital to the Lord Lieutenant, presented at the very moment when his Excellency's law officers were prosecuting Mr. O'Connell and his compa nions ;n turbulence for illegal and seditious practices.— The commercial property and respectability of Ireland may now, therefore, be said to have declared themselves against the repeal plot, as the landed proprietors had already done by their signature of the Leinster declara tion But there seems to be another cause fur this bene ficial change in the aspect of Irish affairs—one which, though less definite and tangible than the former ones, is rioted in the nature of things, and could not fail, even if unaided by the recent vigour of Government, or by the indignation of the higher landed and commercial classes, to contribute somewhat towards the re-establish ment of peace. We mean the weariness of the people themselves, overstimulated as they have been by O'Con nell, and with no visible, nor any probable, advance to wards that consummation for which he had hallooed them on against the laws and Government of the realm. The project of a separation from England was one, which any man, not bursting with vanity, might have known could not be carried by sudden storm. His only chance of suc cess was by persuading the intelligent and independent pu t of the Irish nation, and a large portion of the Eng- list., that it would be good for both countries to dis solve tl.eir Union. Reason, temper, argumentative discussion, motions in Parliament, supported by a profound knowledge of the subject in its facts and principles,—great forbearance towards those who dif fered float him in opinion, great patience, and the in fluence of time itself,—these were the weapons to which au intelligent Statesman would have resorted for ef fecting a great legislative change, on which the right and wrong of the question—that is, the justice or injustice of the pi oposition—was not, as in the case of the hideous penal code, a matter for common sense and right feeling to decide upon without much difficulty. But does Mr. O'Connell, because he flattered himself with the notion of 'teeing carried the Catholic Relief Bill by " agitation" —that is to say, by throwing the physical weight of the multitude into the scale of reason and p itriotism, when the sympathies of all enlightened and honest men had placed themselves there before he began to " agitate,"— does he fancy that the mere mob would enable hint to pro delve a similar effect on another question, when nothing but the mob is in his favour? We say that no excite ment of the populace could ever have promoted (it did, in fact, for some time retard) emancipation, if the more enlighteeed classes had not been already roused; and as suredly the gradual progress of their sentiments on the subject Itml not been the work of such coarse blusterers as this would-be repealer of the Union. We say next, and repeat. that with any view towards a repeal of the Union, Mr. O'Connell ought to have laid the ground-work of his proceedings, not in the mob, but in the educated and in dependent classes, inasmuch as it was a measure, the fitness of which ought to be determined solely by a calm and discriminating calculation of complex interests. Well, then, wh it does ho do? He begins with the mob of Public. He inflames the wretched creatures against Erglish policy and against Irish property, by way of diminishing the manifold obstructions in his path. What does he do next ? Having chosen the mob for his instrument, how does he employ that instrument? It is another name for physical force. An able and con sistent revolutionist, seeing that he had armed himself with an engine adapted only to sudden and overwhelming vio lence, would have employed it to its natural purpose, and addressed it in characteristic terms. He would have said " Here we are, 5,000,000, 6,000,000, or 7,000,000" (as the muster roll of the Learned Gentleman's imagina tion might have served him)—" here we are, boys. A fig for the cowardly English—we defy them ; a fig for Lord Anglesea ; let us storm the Castle and hang him." That would be throwing away the scabbard—that would be cutting off all retreat—that would be a course con sistent with tie means and resources of a thorough ruffian 'e l der. Emmett and his companions, ite 1798, were unfortunate in their undertaking—they misjudged strength;their but they did not commit the wretched blunder of talking to a mob, as if it had been a legislative assembly. No, the chiefs of the rebellion sat in secret conclave—they argued the political questichs among themselves—the use they made of the multitude was the proper use—they wade an army of it, and sent it forth to battle. So the younger Emmett, in 1803—so the Belgic conspirators in 1830. The first failed—the second succeeded; but they both showed an infinite superi ority over O'Connell and his agents. They did not tell the rabble, " You have all these several sorts of mo tives and reasons for being dissatisfied : therefore, because we are sure you don't understand one particle about the matter, go and discuss—and instruct the upper classes; but, above all things, obey the laws I" Why, a mob once inflamed, and brought into a state of eagerness for posi tive action, will after a little while begin to laugh in the face of any pedantic blockhead who enjoins them to " obey the laws," which he had spent so much breath in giving them a thousand reasons why they should disobey and °vertu! n. Mr. O'Connell, then, has, in a very silly and preposterous manner, mistaken—first, the only rea sonable means by which a repeal of the Union could have been carried ; and then, having made that first blunder, the second is, the applying the mob, an instrument unfit in itself for his purpose of repealing the Union, in a way according to which it is impossible that a mob could be employed successfully to any purpose whatever,—namely, the attempting to make of it an argumentative or contro versial engine, instead of simply a fighting one. The true state of the case, then, seems to be, that the rabble power begins to be fatigued at the same moment in which the intellectual and wealthy power of Ireland begins to show i , self,—a coincidence doubly ominous to Mr. O'Con nell's Vot. Our Irish letters give some particulars touch ing the law procedure.— Times. - - Every man has a right to draw his own political infe• rencee from any given facts, but no man has a right to vio late the truth of history in support of his political opinions. As long as politicians support fallacious doctrines only by false or casuistical reasoning, their errors or deception may be at any time exposed and refuted ; but when they mis represent facts it is necessary that detection should imme diately follow, lest the fiction of to-day may become the established truth of succeeding ages. In General Sebas tiani's attempted vindication of the policy of France to wards Belgium, he has endeavoured to support his argu ment by taking a very great freedom with historic truth. He gi avely says, " As soon as the late grand separation had taken place, without looking at the condition of our strength, we hastened to proclaim the tutelary principle of non-intervention ;—we need not be afraid of saying that France saved Belgium from foreign invasion." Now, if what the French Government did to avert the threa tened violation of the Belgian territory by the " armed legislators" of the despots had been all that had happened to prevent that calamity, we are of opinion that, long before this, Diebitsch, with his Coceacks, would have un dertaken to cut the " Gordian knot" of the Belgic question which it now tasks all the ingenuity of the diplomatit.: artist , of the Five Great Powers to unravel. No—if the French Government, " as. soon as the late grand separation had taken place," proclaimed the tutelary principle of non intervention, they did it in so weak and timid a voice that it is uo wonder it rather e ncouraged than repressed the warlike preparations of Russia and her Allies. Notwith standing the proclamation of the " tutelary principle," every succeeding arrival from Germany brought accounts of new levies of troops and movements of armies by the Northern Autocrat and his brethren of the Holy Alliance. Russia had not assumed so military an attitude since she had collected her stiength'throughout her vast dominions for the war that subjugated the Turkish empire. But Turkey was then tranquil, Persia submissive, and Poland had given no sign of awakening from the long torpor of suspended animation. The revolutions of Rance and Bel gium could alone account for the sudden activity with which the Muscovite e ag l e w h ette d h er b ea k an d plumed her wing for some far and fierce flight of desolation and of conquest. In the mean time France, lulled into a fancied security by either weakness or treabanii remained supine, without making a single effort to pl ace h erse lf i n a position of vigorous defence. It seemed as if her political sagacity and martial energies bad pin e d a aw - b e neath the benumbing influence of the idle garru lity of the Chamber of Deputies. Nothing like genius enlightened her debates—nothing like original vi :grew of intellect directed her Councils. It seemed is if all her feelings and powers were absorbed by the comp a _ ratively insignificant subject of the trial of the Ex-Mi nisters —as if the fate of four miserable culprits, who had no longer any power to do harm, was worthy of such ex clusive consideration while the destinies of thirty millions of people were at stake ! Yet we caw all Paris—nay, all France—kept in agitation about the fate of these wretched men for the space of nearly half a year, during thegreater part of which time thg dangers which threatened the inde pendence, or rather the existence, of revolutionized France, excited little or no attention on the part of the French Government, and produced no corresponding preparations to preserve peace, if hostile demonstrations, on the defensive, could preserve it, or to meet invasion, if that should be inevitable, with energetic resistance. It is notorious that at the accession of Marshal Soult to the Ministry, France was in the most deplorable state of military decrepitude and weakness. No step had been taken to raise the levies that h td been spoken of in "the Chambers, or to put the forces which the Government of the Ex-King had deteriorated into an effective condition. The new Sovereign contented him,elf with talking of the warlike exploits in which he shared at the commencement of the former revolution, but he did not consider that, if France had at that crisis exhibited the same supineness and insensibili►y to foreign dangers, the invading army of the Duke of Brunswick would not have been swept from the earth by the legions of young warders who formed a Spartan rampat t round the threatened institutions of their country. Under such circumstances what was it that saved Belgium, and, with Belgium, saved France from invasion ? It is clear it was not the " tutelary prin ciple" which France so inefficiently proclaimed. We will tell General Sebastiani what it was. He will find it written in that page of modern history which records the recent change of Ministry in England. Here was the event which first made the Holy Alliance pause in their wicked and ambitious project—and the Revolution in Po land luckily succeeded, to make the intended invasion of Belgium and France appear still more desperate. Though we cannot approve of all that our present Ministry have done with regard to the Belgic negociations and to some other matters at home, yet to them undoubtedly belongs the credit of having, for a time, at least, and we hope per manently, stopped the mad career of despots, who, in their hatred to freedom, and in vindication of their usurped au thority over the rights of nations, were preparing to inflict Europe with the curse of a war, of which no man could forecast the tremendous consequences.—Morn. Herald. Our Paris correspondent inform■ us that it was confi dently reported at Paris that the Duke of Nemours bad been chosen King of Belgium. We suspect the report originated in the confident anticipation of such a choice. That the Belgians and French intend a political marriage we do not in the least doubt ; and, considering all circum stances, we should doubt either the wisdom or policy of forbidding the banns. Annexation of territory by forcible means is quite distinct from such a re-union as that of France and Belgium. The Belgians know that, but for French protection, they would have been delivered over to the King of Holland by the Alliance ; they look on France as the only Power disposed to protect them ; and they are, besides, anxious to obtain the benefit of the French market for their industry. As to the balance of power, the less that is said about it the better, so long as Europe is doomed to connive at the partition of Poland by Russia, Austria, and Prussia, who retain the spoil in defiance of the public opinion of Europe. The lovers of good Government are certainly far more deeply interested in the strength of France than in the strength of the three powers, banded against all improvement in the institutions of nations. Far be it from us to wish to abet France in any ambitious views of aggrandisement ; but this we say, that France is not the Power of which Europe has at pre sent the most cause to be jealous.—Morning Chronicle. Blackwood's Magazine, and other publications of the same sort, are heaping every species of abuse upon Mr. Poulett Thomson for his reduction of the duties on ba•. rilla. They ascribe to the late Order in Council the ap proaching ruin of the kelp manufacturers, and affirm that it will throw 60,000 persons oat of employment ! Those conversant with the real state of the fact do not require to be told that there coir!d not even be the shadow of a foun dation for such a statement ; but as the confidence with which it has been put forth may impose on others, it may be worth while to offer a few remarks upon it. Every one, the*, who knows any thing of the matter, knows that the kelp manufacture has been substantially annihi lated for these three years past, and that its ruin was brought about, not, as is pretended by those who know better, by the reduction of the duties •n barilla, but by the repeal of the duty on salt. The purification of kelp, so ss to render it fit for soap-making, is a much more troublesome and expensive process than the decomposition of salt; and as soon as the duty on the latter was taken off, the alkali made from it almost entirely superseded that of kelp. Had the duty on salt been continued, kelp might still have been manufactured, notwithstanding the reduc tion of the barilla duties. During the war kelp was occa sionally as high as 201. a ton; and the price was reckoned low when it was underlo/. orl2/. ; bat during the last threeyears it has only fetched from IL to Si. a ton—a sum quite inade quate to defray the cost of its production. In conse quence, its manufacture was last year almost totally extinct, and shores that had formerly brought 5001. a year of rent would not bring a single shilling. We have at this moment before us a letter from a most intelligent Ross-shire Baronet, himself a large proprietor of kelp-shores, dated the 10th of October last, in which he says, in answer to some queries that had been addressed to him on the subject, that " the manufacture can hardly be said to exist at all." And he also says, it is quite idle to ascribe its fall to the reduction of the duty on barilla. After this decisive statement, we trust we shall hear no more of the ruin of the kelp manufacture being occasion by Mr. Tnotnpson's order. We believe, indeed, that his predecessors in office intended to issue an order of the same kind ; but whether this was the case or not, the measure is one for which Mr. Thompson is well entitled to the thanks of the public. The use of barilla is of vast consequence in many manufactures ; and the imposition of a high duty on it was in every re , pect most mischievous. The abuse:of Mr. Thompson in the Journals in question is too contemptible to deserve notice. It is heaped on him, in company with many other distinguished persons, and is really a tribute to his talents and principles —Morn ing Chronicle. A Twkith physician, who had been sent to Russia to investigate the causes and effects of the cholera morbus, reports it to be the fever common in some parts of Persia and in the lower part of Smyrna ; and that it is contagious to the greatest degree he had ever experienced. TIFLIS.—A reading-room and library has just been established at this distant watering-place. It already possesses two newspapers, one of them in the Russian language, which appears twice a week, under the title of Gazette of Tiflis ; the ether in Persian, and published daily.—Literary Gazette. HINT TO ANGLERS.—AII American Paper states that a person at Enfield, crossing a pond, being thirsty, and perceiving a hole cut, he stooped down to drink ; being possessed of a long red nose, a fish, suppos ing he had some bait, made a bold snap at it, when the man threw back his head, and drew out a trout, weighing 31b. 4oz. A young woman, named FANNY FOWLER, was last week sentenced to six months' imprisonment in Abingdon House of Correction, for bastardy, it being her fifteenth transgression. The fashionable coterie so strikingly described in the new novel of " Mothers and Daughters," with its Lady Barringhurst, Lady Robert Lorton, and Mrs. Grandison, is evidently intended as a lively contrast to that pourtrayed in " The Exclusives." A circle of such unequalled fascination as that whose secrets are now tan talizingly revealed, might reader any one an Exclusive.— We have not heard what disappointment has provoked tl.e noble author to withdraw himself from its incantations.-- The lovers of wit and polished satire will, however, con gratulate themselves ou the occurrence of a provocation which has drawn out for the first time such brilliant powers as those displayed in the above work. The late Dr. CURRIE of Liverpool, the judicious biographer of Buitxs, in one of the letters published by his son, gives the following satisfactory reasons for extending the elective right to heads of families :—After mentioning that he was not disposed to go the length of universal suffrage, he says, " The- young, the idle, the profligate, and thi se wretchedly poor and ignorant, form a large class of society, that do not suffici ently understand or sympathise in the interests of the whole ; and those I would propose to exclude. in a great measure, by adopting another fundamental principle : giving the elective franchise, not to persons, but to families; in a word , to the father s of families only. Such men have a valuable stake in the community, however small their property ; and they are (not without many exceptions, indeed) a selection from the general mass, as to sobriety and industry. B y ado p tin g this principle, the greater and most dangerous part of the mob of great cities would be excluded ; the greater part of the army and navy, and almost all the ser vants of great families—perhaps as vicious and dan gerous a part of the community as any other—beings who possess at the same time the vices of luxury and ignorance." The Literary Gazette remarks that these thoughts " bespeak a man of a good heart and a sound understanding." " A family," says the late excel lent Bishop o f L LANDAFF , "i s a sma ll na ti on ." I ts h ea d isits natural representative ; and his vote is the vote of the whole.— Glasgow Chronicle. REFORM IN PARLIAMENT. ST. LUKE'S. On Monday evening a numerous meeting, com posed of the inhabitant householders of the parish of St. Luke, Middlesex, was held at the Work house, City-road, "to take into consideration the best means of supporting his Majesty's Ministers, so as to enable them to carry into effect such a Re form of the representation of the people in the Com mons House of Parliament as will ensure to the country at large the benefit of good government at the !wait possible expense consistent with the well bAng of all classes of his Majesty's subjects." Mr. WALKER, Churchwarden, in the Chair. The resolutions were then read. The substance was of the first, that the British Constitution ori ginally vested the supreme government in three in dependent branches of the Legislature—King, Lords, and Commons. The second :—That the Commoners, instead of being the independent re presentatives of the people, were at present returned by the Aristocracy and by the Crown, and that nu merous abuses had been the consequence. The third :—That to prevent a convulsion a revision of the elective franchise had become necessary. And the fourth :—That the shortening of the duration of Parliaments, and the vote by ballot, should form part of that Reform. Mr. RicitmoND rose to propose the first resolu tion. The people were now much less represented than they were two hundred years ago. Since then many cities had sprung up—trade and manufac tures had greatly extended—yet the agriculturists, now so inferior in property, intelligence, and num bers, to the rest of the nation, retained the almost exclusive possession of privileges, which had been given them only because they formed at the time the mass of the community.—(Hear.) Resolution agreed to unanimously. Mr. WOOD proposed the second resolution. Now or never was the time to obtain Reform; they had a Ministry pledged to Reform. It was the duty of the people to petition Parliament'' in support of Ministers, who were no less the Mi nisters of the people than of the Crown.—(Cheers.) Mr. PALLISIER seconded the resolution. Mr. SMITH proposed the third resolution. Mr. GREIG seconded it. A person present said that nothing would be effectual short of extended suffrage, universal suf frage, vote by ballot, and annual Parliaments. The resolution was then passed. Mr. TAYLOR proposed the third resolution. It recommended the shortening of the duration of Par liaments and the vote by ballot. The advantages of ballot were obvious, and the word had been received with such cheers that he should not detain them upon that subject. Mr. JANISSIN proposed that the words " universal suffrage " should be introduced into the resolution. The CHAIRMAN observed, that it was obvious that the resolutions should pass unanimously. How ever, if the amendment were seconded, it was his duty to put it.—(Cries of" Put it, put it ;" "No, no," and considerable confusion.) The amendment having been seconded, it was put and rejected amidst loud cheers. The original resolution having then been agreed to, Mr. litcllmoND proposed that petitions founded on the resolutions be presented, one to the House of Lords, by the Lord Chancellor, and one to the House of Commons, by Lord Althorp.—Agreed to. Thanks were then voted to the Chairman, and the meeting broke up. MEETING AT READING. Yesterday, pursuant to requisition, a meeting of the inhabitants of Reading was convened by the Mayor, in the Town-hall, to take into consideration the propriety of petitioning Parliament on the de fective state of the representation of the people, and on the numerous mischiefs and grievances resulting therefrom ; and also for the purpose of obtaining a rational, practical, and efficient Reform in the elec tion of fit persons to serve in the Commons House of Parliament. The MAYOR (J. J. Blandy, Esq.) took the chair. There were also present—Mr. Fyshe Palmer, and Mr. C. Russell (the two Members for the borough), Mr. Mona, Mr. Marsh, Mr. B. Simonds, Mr. Salmon, Rev. Mr. Richards, Rev. Mr. Valpy, Mr. H. Russell, Mr. Harris, Captain Hall, Mr. Weedon, &c. The hall, which is large, was completely filled. After the requisition had been read by the Chairman, . . _ Mr. MONCK rose to submit a petition for the consideration of the meeting. It could not be de nied, he observed, that the safety of the Constitu tion depended upon the integrity of the House of Commons, and the House of COIIIIIIOIIS could not be useful or efficient unless it emanated from the people, and possessed the public confidence. The question then was, whether the House of Com mons was constituted as it ought to be; and whe ther the Members of it were in connection with the great body of the people; or whether a great part of them had no connexion whatever with the people, and had few or no constituents ? He would refer the meeting to a. petition which had beer. presented to the House of Commons in 1793, by Lord (then Mr.) Grey, from the Society of the Friends of the People, accompanied by a declare don that they were ready to prove the allegations at the bar of the House, wherein it was stated that 84 individuals directly returned 157 Members to Parliament, and 70 individuals returned indirectly 154 Members; so that 154 persons actually re turned a majority of the English Members in the House. He would, however, refer to a case more recent and near home. In the county of Wilts there were 34 Members returned to Parliament-2 for the county, and 32 by 16 towns, including Sa lisbury. Of these 16 towns, three only possessed any thing like a popular representation Three places, Cricklade, Wootton Basset, and Hinton, were the closest and most corrupt in all England. The meeting must not suppose that the year 1793 was the acute; then the revenue was about 2,000,0001.: now it was about 60,000,0001.; and when this expenditure was considered, and the sources of patronage which it opened, if the repre sentation was corrupt then, what must it be now? It was a misnomer to call the Members of some places representatives of the people : they had not only no constituents, but the places were not acces sible to candidates. There was a political embargo laid upon them ; they ought to be called the repre sentatives of my Lord So.and-so, and my -Lady Such-a-one; for ladies now possessed political pa tronage, and if he (Mr. Monck) mistook not, a learned gentleman who had once been, for a short time, a representative of this town, was now Serv ing for Ripon under the best of all banners, that of the petticoat.—(Loud laughter.)—This might be ludicrous; but it was a serious evil to the country, for it showed that we had no security for our inte rests, and that persons so returned were at liberty to pursue their own, and prepared to sup port a bad Government, or to be an impediment and clog to a good one.—(Hear.)---When the eight Members for Middlesex, London, and Westmin ster, representing so much_ intelligence and wealth, could be outvoted by nine Members for corrupt boroughs in Wiltshire, was that, he asked, the vir tual representation so much vaunted ?—(Bravo.)— Yet, in the opinion of the Duke of Wellington, human ingenuity could not devise a better system. —(ob, ob.)—After some observations upon our criminal code, and upon the oppressive operation of the game laws, the speaker proceeded to read the petition, observing that there was one thing omitted to which he hoped some speaker would advert—he meant the vote by ballot.—(Loud cheers.) Mr. VINES, jun., seconded the motion. Our re presentative system was founded on no intelligible ?iinciple. With respect to the vote by ballot, he was firmly convinced that it was the best means for securing to the people a Just representation. The petition was then agreed to unanimously. Mr. MONCK moved that the two representatives of the borough be requested to present the petition and give it their support. Mr. PYSIIE PALMER cheerfully accepted the pro posal; first, because it was the wish of the meeting —secondly, because the petition expressed his own opinion as to Parliamentary Reform, and which he had advocated for the last 15 years. With respect to the plan of Reform contemplated by the present Mi nisters, it was not in his power to say what it was ; but he agreed with the petition, that, after mention ing the mischiefs and the grievances to which the present system gave rise, the meeting had a right to call upon Ministers to correct them, leaving it to them to provide the remedy. The meeting might depend upon his doing all in his power to effect an efficient Reform in the representation.—(Applause.) Mr. C. RUSSELL had so recently expressed his opinion with respect to Parliamentary Reform, that, but for the importance of the subject, he should think it unnecessary to intrude any further observa tions. For forty years the question of Reform had divided the ablest men in Parliament : in such cir cumstances, he thought the wisest, the safest, and the fairest course, was to leave the details of the measure in the hands of those Ministers—(A burst of violent opposition interrupted the sentence.) The Hon. Gentleman resumed. It would be his duty to present the petition.—he should have great plea stile in presenting it, and also in supporting its prayer for a practical and substantial Reform.-- (Bravo.) A Reform, however, to be practical and substantial must be temperate and consonant with the principles and practice of the English Constitu tion. This was the principle proceeded upon by Lord Somers, and the framers of the Bill of Rights. If there was one principle which prevailed more than another in that our second Charter, it was a sacred—an almost religious—veneration, fur the established institutions of the country. The French had proceeded upon a principle the reverse of this; they proceeded upon new and experimental theories, in the abstraction of reason and the vain principle of false philosophy ; and they had, consequently, passed through every form of government and no govern ment. With these examples before him, the one a buoy to direct him, the other a beacon to warn him, he should steer in the broad, open, and safe channel of the Constitution. With respect to the vote by ballot, according to his present view of the subject, —no man would declare that he would not change his opinion,—but as he now viewed the subject, he must oppose the vote by ballot.—(Uproar.) Mr. SALMON contratulated the meeting on the unanimity with which they had carried the petition. It was, however, of little consequence if the object of the petition was gained, unless another measure accompanied it, and an additional protection was given to those who enjoyed the elective franchise against the influence of wealth and power,—to pre serve them from the torture of intimidation, and the seduction of gold.—( Applause.) To attain this end there was no better means than the vete by ballot.—(Loud cheers.) No less than 98 statutes had been passed to preserve the freedom of elec tions. Was bribery abolished ? Was terror dis armed ? If not, there was no such thing as freedom of election.—(Applause.) He had not heard any one proposition against the ballot which bore the semblance of an argument. It had been said in the House of Commons that a landlord had a right to the votes of his tenantry. He would re peat the answer that had been made to this argu ment—if so, an English freeholder might as well become a slave, have his face blacked, and live in the colonies, as to be told to vote for the man he hates.—(Loud cheers.)—He saw no sound sense or logic in any of the arguments against the ballot, and he thought it was time to endeavour to do that which 98 statutes had failed to accomplish.— (Cheers.) —He proposed the following resolution (not with a view of incorporating it with the peti tion) : " That it is the opinion of this meeting that no Reform in Parliament can be effectual, unless it be accompanied with the vote by ballot." Captain HALL seconded the motion. _ _ Mr. H. MARSH expressed his satisfaction at the excellent petition being carried unanimously. In advocating the vote by ballot he did not consult his own inclination, which led him to prefer the storm of an election ; but he was convinced there was no protection for the poor man against the rich but the ballot. Mr. GILCHRIST expected to have heard some ar gument against the vote by ballot. He had heard none. He should he content with moderate Re form; he should be content with triennial Parlia ments, and the limitation of the right of voting to householders paying scot and lot; but he should not be content with any Reform without the vote by ballot. Give him vote by ballot, and he would, at least for the present, be satisfied.—(Loud con tinued cheering.) Mr. W. BLANDY sincerely concurred in the prayer of the petition, but did not think the vote by ballot would effect the object desired. Mr. VINES, jun. supported the vote by ballot ; and remarked, that Mr. Russell had publicly pro fessed himself a friend to economy and retrench ment, yet the very first and the only vote he gave was in favour of an unexamined and exorbitant civil list, and in support of a Minister who had declared an eternal enmity to Reform.--(Loud cheers.) Mr. B. SIMONDS opposed the ballot, because it was neither manly nor constitutional. Mr. C. RUSSELL said that the vote he had given on the question of the civil list was, that it be re ferred, not to a Select Committee, but to a Com mittee of the whole House. A Select Committee sat with closed doors, had access to no papers, and could call no witnesses; whereas a Committee of the whole House was the arena on which Mr. Hume and other friends of economy fought their battles for retrenchment. He therefore maintained that his vote was not against, but for, economy and retrenchment, for it was a vote for discussing the question with advantages which never could be pos sessed by a Select Committee. But he did not de fend his vote on that ground: he gave it because he believed the life of the ministry was at stake; he had supported them because he believed them friends to economy and peace; and if the Adminis tration which had succeeded showed the same incli nation towards those two objects, he should give them the same support. (The Hon. Member then recriminated upon the party who made the charge, which produced a warm explosion of feeling respect ing the late election for the borough, in which Mr. Ring, Mr. Vines, jun., Mr. Salmon, sad other speakers, took part.) The resolution proposed by Mr. Salmon was then put to the vote, and carried by a large majority, ' there being not more than 30 or 40 hands held up amongst perhaps 700 persons. Thanks were then voted to the Mayor, and the meeting broke up. COUNTY OF ROXBURGH. On Tuesday a very numerous and respectable meeting of freeholders and heritors of the county of Roxburgh was held in the County Hall of Jedburgh, to consider the propriety of petitioning Parliament for an extension of the elective franchise in the counties and burghs of Scotland. Sir T. M. BRIS BANE was called to the chair. Sir W. SCOTT said, the Scottish Members of Par liament are professedly sent to a certain house to " work and labour" for the public benefit, yet the Scottish public have as little to do with sending them thither, as they have with the elevation of the Grand Seignor to the Musnud. I will not con sume your time, nor exhaust my own limited powers, by en'ering into the details of our inauspi cious system ; it is opposed to the energetic spirit of the times, whether I consider it in reference to our counties or burghs—l should say, royal burghs; the rights and privileges" of which, says th e Act of Union," shall remain entire as they now are, after the Union, and notwithst an di ng thereof." Our re medy is, in letting in the public voice more exten sively into our counties and burghs. In the large and important county of Lanark they have only about 200 voters for the Member who is to repre• sent all their opinions and interests in Parliament : iu the rich and thickly-populated county of Perth, the number amounts to little more : and the free holders of the whole country taken together corn pose but 3,500. I repeat, then, we must relax the cord, the chain by which we are bound—we must call in to our aid the public voice. Where is the Scottish Member, whether for county or burgh, who goes into Parliament with the conscious power and dignity that accompany the free representation of a body of free and independent electors ? The Hon. Baronet concluded by reading the first resolution. Mr. WILLIAM BELL rose to second the resolution. Though we had forty-five representatives for Scat land, yet when we looked back, scarcely one eminent man among them—scarcely one statesman who had gone to Parliament through the Scottish representa tion—scarcely one eloquent speaker, one great statesman, or one Cabinet Minister, had gone up as a representative from Scotland. Of the few who were eminent as Scottish Members, three had been dismissed by their countrymen. The first on the list was Mr. Joseph Hume. Then there was Sir R. C. Ferguson, who for twenty-four years had acted as an honest and independent representative, and all that time fought for the rights and interests of the people. Lastly, Mr. Robert Grant, who was so worthy to fill a place in his Majesty's Govern ment. All these eminent characters had been swept from the list of their country's representatives at the last election—and what was the consequence? Why, they had gone to the high places of England —to Middlesex, to Nottingham, and to Norwich, where they were returned by the independent suf frage of the people, and without the expense of a single farthing.— (Cheers.) Sir F. W. ELIOTT was happy to have this op portunity of adding his contribution to the general expression in favour of Parliamentary Reform. Several other gentlemen spoke in support of the resolutions, after which, a petition was proposed, and unanimously adopted. It prayed for such an extension of the elective franchise as would be con ducive to the welfare of the country, but left the de tails to Government. TV 0 OLER MEETING. (From the Tyne Mercury.) On Thursday the 13th inst., a public meeting was held at Wooler, pursuant to public advertise ment, for the purpose of petitioning for Reform. In anticipation of a numerous attendance, hustings had been erected in an open part of the street, an arrange ment which proved to be highly necessary. On the hustings, we observed, M. Cu!ley, Esq. of Fow berry, J. Grey, Esq. Milfield Hill, Messrs. Grey, of Skremmerston, Mr. Langhorn, Mr. Johnston, so licitor, Messrs. Jobson, James, Boag, Vardy, Alex ander, Hughes, Pringle, George Howey,Bolam, &c. Mr. CULLEY, of Coupland Castle, having been unanimously called to the chair, he opened the busi ness by reading the requisition addressed to the ma gistrates. He said he took the chair, to preside over his neighbours and countrymen, with alacrity and pleasure, although he had been advised other wise by very good, but not very wise person., and he was certain their conduct that day would prove that very false opinions were entertained of their sense and discretion. The people had a right to meet for all legal and constitutional purposes, and he considered such meetings were the safety-valve for popular feeling and excitement; indeed it has been found that wherever political unions and clubs ex isted amongst the people, neither burnings nor riots had taken place—let the wiseacres look to that.— (Cheers.) —Popular feeling cannot now be con trouled, if it were wished ; we now know our strength, like the Irish. Had Catholic Emancipa tion been granted ten years ago, it would have been thankfully received as a boon ; but it was extorted by force from a reluctant Government, and that the Irish we:l knew; they had thus learnt the power of agitation, and they agitate whenever they wanted to force any thing from the Government. It was dangerous to let a spirited horse compare his strength with his rider's—he is apt to put his rider in the dust—but the English nation have for years showed mere of the sullen submission of the ass than the spirit of the horse.—(Laughter.)—They were, how ever, then met to strengthen, not to perplex the honestest and ablest Ministry which ever tallied round the honestest and most English-hearted monarch that ever filled our throne.—(Loud cheers.) Earl Grey had been a steady reformer, although he did not in Mr. C.'s opinion go far enough. Had a moderate Reform been granted some years back, they should not have been there that day to demand it.—( Cheers.) He deprecated the urging of any ultra principles of Reform, and hoped there would be a perfect unanimity in the meeting, each laying aside his own peculiar opinions and asking simply for Reform.—(Cheers.) He had been a reformer all his life, through good report and bad report, and in the reign of King Castlereagh and his helpmate old goody Sidmouth had nearly pail the penalty. He certainly had never expected to see the present _persons in power, and nuking Reform a Cabinet measure ; we should, however, never despair, and he should conclude in the words of that immortal poet and lover of liberty, Lord Byron— " For freedom's battle once begun, " Bequeathed from bleeding sire to son, " Tho' baffled oft, is ever won."—(Cheers.) . . Mr. GREY then addressed the meeting at consi derable length, in a speech of which we regret that we are not able to give more than an imperfect out line. He said he had been called upon by the friends around him, to move the first resolution that would be proposed for their adoption, and would not apo logise for presenting himself thus early to the notice of the meeting. It was enough for him to know, that they were assembled to exercise the privileges of Englishmen, and to perform a duty, which, as Englishmen, they owed to themselves, to their coun-` try, arid to posterity.—(Cheers.) He rejoiced to see an assemblage of the inhabitants of Glendale Ward, numerous beyond any anticipation he had formed, of men who knew their rights, and were sufficiently enlightened to resort to the constitu tional means of seeking the redress of their griev ances ; and he humbly thanked Heaven that they were not placed in those districts of the land, where ignorance and infatuation had been goaded on by poverty and discontent, to do the work of destruc don, to spread scenes of misery and discontent around them, and involve the innocent in the punish ment of the guilty. He then went on to draw a forcible contrast between the beauty and wisdom of the Constitution as established by theory, and the abuses and corruptions that are found to exist in practice, entering into various details in proof of his arguments. He had before now attended meetings for Reform, but more, he confessed, to ex press the wish for it, than with the hope of seeing that hope realized; but now he sincerely believed the time had arrived when right and justice would prevail over corruption and oppression. We had a King who recognised the rights of the people, and sym pathized in their sufferings; who had called to his councils the most able and enlightened statesmen that this or any other country had ever known, who were pledged to the cause of retrenchment and Re form, and who, if the people would support them, would, he was convinced, honestly redeem that pledge. They had opposed to them those who abetted corruption, and fattened upon the plunder of the people, but the voice of the people had dispersed one administration that had opposed Reform, and the unanimous voice of the people, firmly, and re spectfully, and resolutely raised, would overwhelm the minions of corruption, and obtain for themselves the restoration of the Constitution, and the triumph of those principles, for which the noble Premier of the present day had so ably contended through a life marked by a course of undeviating political rec titude, consistency, and honour. He then passed a deserved eulogium upon the character and attain. meats of Earl Grey, of whom this country especi ally had just cause to boast, and spoke in terms of high commendation of Lord Althorp, whom he de signated as the most upright of men, and concluded amid loud cheering, by strongly urging upon re formers every where to abstain from dissensions arising from differences of opinion upon particular views of the subject, and to unite themselves in a strrogeol pull, r: an u t t l io a n. pull altogether. He then moved the first i Mr. LANGHORN said, after the very eloquent and appropriate address of his worthy friend. M r. was not necessary for him to do more than!' the resolution, which was carried unanimousi/ The second resolution was moved by Wl' ston, seconded by Mr. R. Jobson ; the 01 1 Mr. Manly, Mr. G. Rea, Mr. Thompson , Rea, and Mr. W. Jobson. . GRE, C4 ZZED B (From the P The whole of the re s o l ut i ons were carne OtteWore, s indi of th e ca me til mously and with much c h eer i ng; w h e n mr Rea addressed the meeting at some length, 0 tittiblitrittetiiseldyeeoaml posed a resolution in favour of the vote 1 1 e 41.4.iust been hell This was seconded by Mr. MAULE, and °! e d I, l l e . w eather, relie a b : sition being offered, the resolution was ei rt d i A T h e High She though many persons afterwards expresse 1 4 :: UNDER S I 1 4 ,,J0r HANDL selves opposed to it , fe l l h..' bee n draw y h Thanks compliance‘v e r were voted h t i o he t l l v ie ish M es ag o i f st t r h a e te p l eopoot y, , r titi o u t e:whAicir i ii , to the Chairman for his impartial and monlYbed *it adop t th e tat in the chair; and, in return, he briefly thon" . ,oo &I' Your ap pr o. for their orderly behaviour, and patient 10%1 Ashonour to la gent attention to the business of the meetl i tr iCt recommended them to retire quietly to their e ; . [ Th e : 4 coo, and t repeat the news of the day to their gude Wi Y ,,,it texTt Part of educate their children in sound constitution oir , ti utli.. 4 "o calls u ples.—The meeting then broke up. !g th e Le g . ra k i,_ k ..... er or v LUDLOW. it 0 'oottred old- fai A greater pr o of o f t h e i ncrease d an d increalt Z il tzeo directly for Refor m cannot b e a dd uced than when, as in 01 } : a . " them lunc h - , sent instance, its cause is advocated in one of Of ' y: Pay directly i holds or fastne-ses of corruption—a close boroug h' he Pockets by i On Saturday the 22d instant, a numerous AO" he of the requisi table body of the inhabitants of this borough asse p pro perty misappi the Guildhall, pursuant to a requisition to th e t ) ty P e rtY called I calling upon them to convene a public m eetioo%.l l4 Y means t 4 the inhabitants an opportunity of expressing 44 7 Nir k tocl wheth, ments on the subject of R e fo rm . A mongs t thoonj i r t ero u'o to the tended the meeting, which consisted of nearly Stiv t k, th it t e e 'Proceed t table householders, were th e f o ll ow i ng p erso ns °' fl tr. a few obser tion :—The Hon. R. H. Clive, M.P. for the rotl* to t i e l n inYed, with Knight, Esq., P res id en t o f t h e H ort i cu l tura l ts t .; country. Lechrnere Charlton, Esq., th e H on . G us t a vus b ut Y supporting (son of Lord Boyne), &c. mave e greater ll' t h t . i p After the H 4 1 affi le HIGH BAILIFF, who was in the V: read the requisition, an d exp l a i ne d t h e o bj ects oft; ing, there was a general call upon Mr. Charlton , gentleman, having recently sustained a great dote r !amity, declined coming forward; whereupon Mr. ANDERSON, a solicitor, rose, and, in $ considerable power, showed the urgent necessitY• liamentary Reform, and pointed out numerol l9 o reasons for its adoption ; amongst others the rot of the borough of Ludlow in particular, which ; for so many years under the influence of a Ne b o and the electors were merely his puppets. 11 : 1 0 population of between 5,000 and 6,000 inhabiteo were only from 35 to 40 resident bur gesses , of • more than 25 were householders; and in these ] few" was vested the choice of Representatives in , went ! Mr. Anderson, amid s t l ou d c h eer s, C 0,1,11 teppti hoe : o u n en te c m e p a t ' 14 those wbc t l ° . live or the : the feelin, ll ) „F, hen he refit ti. l 2 l elitss and ii kr 4 , and illegii si e of the requis kiud e ,. t ote by ha tg.e history a l .111 pp Produced by L g e adopted a a uthority on 1 excellent anC ,th:t t elares that vo eS ki Zid he inve lengthened address by moving a string of refil l favour of Parliamentary Reform, vote by ballot) extension of the privilege of voting to all hough' the borough, and the shorter duration of Pgrlialt that a petition, founded on these resolutions, be to both Houses of Parliament. The Hon. R. H. Cr,tvx, M.P., after the absence of his brother and colleague ( stated that h. was averse to the ballot, ank himself for no system of Reform until took upect t con ocr "l ] to,ea, and t o y i ha . v ey t o lhali tberefore 4l lnti and SHY you Ord w tral hi plAn about to be proposed by the present T. A. KNIGHT and E. L. CHARLTO, acquiesced in the resolutions, excepting which the former declared to be " un-E dined moving an amendment. After a 'miff reply from Mr. ANDER! tions were put, and carried unanimously. that the petition to the House of Lords Lord Brougham, and that to the Hoes, by Lord Althorp, which was also carried the inhabitants, like those of Hythe, rt preferring to intrust their petitions to a than their nominal Representatives. We understand that a meeting of the in, parish of St. Mary, Lambeth, will be hel ten o'clock in the forenoon precisely, at the School, Lambeth-green, for the purpose immediate consider,tion the propriety of a Reform in the House of Commons, fur Assessed Taxes, and for Retrenchment h penditure ; and to come to such resoluti , be deemed expedient. It is expected ' will be attended by the whole of the rei tants of that district. We understand that a petition in favor tary Reform has been prepared at Banbt respectably signed. In that borough thi electors, much the greater part of whom sort iced it i 'iber) the : sieted of non-resident friends of the patron, - „d Clergymen who have held li v i ngs o f th e i r gifts in business with whore they have dealt; so the rest, who happen to be refractory, could Wi g numbered. The petitioners state that, fur tir . rial, the electors have returned a Member so n g i the patrons, without having on any occasild them; and that the Member was either a O h l tj just as the political opinions of the patron for 4 410 big might happen to be, without any regard ° fill ments of the inhabitant s o f th e t own , or even. .pt, tors themselves. We hope whatever be the etl, l question relative to Pathan:nitary Reform, t ' t , i lo never in future be considered as becoming reeP e4 „,l! as these electors are stated to be, to coatieV which has, probably f or a cen t ury , ena bl e d 11 , 0 0 realm to send a Member to th e H ouse of this borough. A meeting of the inh a bit an t s o f Lo s twithr l6 l I , w the Old Palace, in that b o r oug h, on Wecine e " s orr sider of petitioning Parliament in favour of 11 0 4 the representation. The attendance was 1111 Iles respectable. Wiliam Westlake, Esq., was ea tr get chair, and a petiti on was proposed, w hich, e ft/ the absolute necessity of a general measure of. securing the peace of the Country, redressiet grievances, and procuring the adoption of 10 , A as are calculated to r e mov e th e ex i s ting distrfpg store the national p ros p er ity, s t a t es it to be t 1 3 , 01, viction of the petitioners, that no measure," will he either effectual or satisfactory to the r " ) 1, shall not do away with the borough-syster n ' l 4l tion in favour of the vote by ballot was P • adopted by the mee ti ng , w ith th ree di s senties ts 1 0 4 veral gentlemen addres s ed th e m e eting gju i . P. P, l petition, &c. ; amongs t w h om were mes' l :;or Norway, B e lli ng , & c ., an d w h o mos t ebq 00 0 evils of the corrupt system under which ib e ote, so long and PO deeply suffered, and enforced t 'itr.' an effectual Reform by the most cogent argun r l e l the borough of L os t w ithi e l may be Tee e ll the strong hold s o f th e party in this ee lin t yliel Reform, no attempt was made to interre . P . if _ _ —ego I the rei ~iat i ;s ph the el 11 as f R y 41' as , t e rtiad u h at , does tha Coal • 'Aciet t j f 14 Paper ; a ;((7 upon ti 4‘4,11 wit 4 .) hver' ty) all ,of t upo 4 tnot ,sl et ' for 4 :Y_ leg!' I byiO and it t 1a k . °0 4 1 7„,'! e ; it a t „ , a elo rto u tout a'N't' 46° n bef .% ' a t with °' to tac tt ate °nt ta t ,You. ono, [tli a i; It efo 4l Pent Of 1, 1 4 4 4 t.ro wi 14 1 4 ._ alon e . h`gek equ iesty'l pi ort it ,ree of t 1 4 :44 44 led 'gait Y, at, Y thi ng ' l l 4 4 4 9 l ln t'ld his M. ,ittittatthe be t this 4 tt 44 \ thp:T M ntLep oll ue ( tel ik l k o r , Your al "Yo ‘tt> r " t4 witn° TI Atttka t , RUN of Nth\ oI Y Ith,,„4llafens', I 44 , to 11; _ salvor l„ t _ttr ea .. form : u "°4,1 414 eif Y ° PP "o 4 net frient 1 %. ti e 4 116, r ld tt N en , elf !st tu Step 7o tt :Yi Pres en hif 131 Y a ppy" t Q u W. th "'ober e lad tool r ay ti tax is I . the a ' 4o ur lai r esent, a ; tow 4 ate ifa faith debt, , all the I 'er, t o r ri t h e ci h as otl out el ou e to th e Peo it: an .4 3 , soft leas wi Will tr onet B komß , n h oc This 0 4111 can Of th , t ac i t 1 11. - of h: 4 et 4 P:u t°u ` N tt lAt a t% utit i, to Vit t tit tit er try et t I° '7, 4 1, t ee 1 11 " 4 4 .0re 41 bPoo Vir e I eeue , INtli Th e in tax, t . OD of the Grove, Great Guildford-street , I . 11 itid year of his age. fte lnc ere , rt $ On the 31st ult. at 30, West Smithfie,d. fees A d Mrs. Bedwell, the wife of Mr. W. Be tt ! ' es iio il by a numerous circle of friends and rela t h if p ,.iM , fit ' On the 31st ult. at South Lambeth, 3° g r. Smithson, solicitor. Boa of On the Ist inst., Thomas, youagett of Blackfriars-road. iff „ n o' 'Ol 4 PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY MU SVN OFFIy.B, tle kfe43..stit jeoovrtießinrrail‘ 44 e and we Ntt; Sri 3 h No e n, tillgidrn the minittr t . lo . e r itos. thi ^ • 12, I. th e ztvi, to eosasti .4 0 , 4. the w n i t g o r i : lie 0. ttl et 7 4,l lent ai be p 1 . 1. , for t use f ! led during isd hl e u t One 1‘ ;" a , 'ecen tl f he s 1 4: 41 attaC any itiotftit'efting ce lo tt .; for m tlv e th em inhabiw tot Niel'? I th e t lid to . , . t. abolitio e Bor ak !' ist ttit tt L t ute f or t m of N` ' I . ll e b - ; 10 (1 the A P* o 41 1C2 II ITIptio r a Re, kei tt r.ee h itve in the Pr 41 44 : 4 f ee li ng es i t: D b u e a:t t il l o g° '; ‘ tile et ke eis ::: Ittit t: o :a t i t ol : io7 f oyu t es of I,ll,Ptiot:lirvinced Dar o tl. , 'Nu, an d bri Daryl, i re lece ri d .here s ere ti t t H 1 has A lw" .on. tb!lri ...to., no attempt was maae to intc.• 't7 o ut - gu ins, which w ere mar k e d by the unea le3 ...o ' °f t) ; - 1 4 . of all present in the good cause, —by 1 0 Y — , jo, 1 4 Nth!, 0., triot King, and by confidence in the holle s ' o et e t the present Mini‘ters. The thanks of the e ,,, fof 1 1 : 1 1 0 „!Ilalt voted to our county Member, Mr. Penchir c t hv i4 ion duct in Perliament, and for 'the readiness b e of ti t tlll t hem when applied to at the county meeting' f °l. o ,oo#o N l tto ur te Ptes to present the petition to the House of % fi e 00; . 44 4, i i r it one be voted by the present meeting. chel h 1 %( meeting were voted by acclamation to the_ oe t k t ;4l.. his able and proper conduct in the chair, ' O l3O t 1 ,1 14 4; persons present withdrew. Thus have the g ,1 1 1 td ! . 1 . 21b1i 4 the borough of Lostwithiel nobly wiped ° it/ tol i ;glee fr cast on them, as being supposed to acqu-- oe t 'l t 4 system that deprived them of one of the m ho 0 I N: 4 for " el "'lieges of Englishmen, whilst it inflicted 'air,.,t4t e ver on the country.— West Briton. N t A t tr et" t it it BIRTHS. ji ff .4 41 !er e Old On the Ist inst. the lady of It. Bernal, riq't J. r , % %4 4 * e o cent, of a son. Isdi o f 4 4 64 ' ti On the 31st ult. in the Albany-road, the vt,i. • of a son. Sit J dli fie, On the 30th ult. at Brighton, the lady o f J Bart. of a still-born child. thrl ° l;ar: lts tts tl c"Oet On the 29th ult. the Lady Charlotte A rbu 4 , u tlf On the 30th ult. at Alford, Lincolnshire, . t he t, Op . t F. Laurent, of a daughter. „ w e, 2ero , On the 30th ult. at his residence in Mta" 1 1 , 4 4 4 „!. W. Frisby, of a daughter. , .ion MARRIED. 60100 On the Ist inst. at St. James's Church, ~a OO O / lti o , W. H. Phibbs, Esq., of Mortimer-street. Y gl q., ti v ‘i retl u . Sophia, eldest daughter of T. H. Plaskett , ‘ i t DIED. o f i 3i° On the 31st ult. John •Duddell, f 701 'Ay kI Within, aged 59. 50) , .., ° 014 S L t t , o 4 u rea On the 31st ult. Mr. T. Clark, jun., o n 4 „ — n th se' se' , of the GYIII7O most m rrs,d_ctreets ItoN-