The Sun. — London, England, 1831-11-08 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. The intended meeting at White Conduit-fields, which was to have taken place yesterday, was hap pily prevented by the decision of the Government, arid, we may add, by the vigilance of the Press. - It no other precaution bad been taken than that of up pealing to the different parishes to provide, by the appointment of special constables, for the preserva tion of peace and the protection of prop( sty, the readiness with which the call was obeyed, and the extent to which it was carrel in the way of pre paration, and might have been called into action at a moment's novice, would, we doubt not, have been - sufficient of itself to put down any attempt at out-' rage which the profligate and the base, disguising themselves under the name of " the working classes," , would have dared to perpetrate. The precaution, however, was not limited to that measure. Every arrangement was made in the police department to render it available to the full extent of its capabili ties, should the occasion require them to he p ut forth. The - military too had their orders, and, if outrage had raised its head but fir one mo ment (we speak not in the spirit of prophecy, but on the calculation of previous arrangements), the next moment would have crushed the rash attempt. Our readers are already aware that the meeting had been formally postponed by those who were instrumental in convoking it. Still there were some persons unwilling to be dis appointed. Accordingly they repaired to ate 'scene of discussion ; but it did not prose h scene of outrage, for none but idle bore and curious and foolish spectators contributed with the evil-disposed Individuals to make up the group, which never, in the course of the day, exceeded two thousand, The working classes were not amongst them. The in dustrious men of the metropolis were otherwise and much better engaged ; so that the field was left en tirely to the idle, the diteolute, and the unthinking; but they were well watched. We believe that not even an ordinary disturbance, not a single street frolic, took place on the occasion, which is likely to come under the jurisdiction of a police Magistrate. This is a happy result. It shows how little chance there is for the emissaries of mischief, in the pre sent sober, settled, and determined state of the public mind. Will the Anti-Reformers take no lesson from such a fact ? Perhaps not—but, .if not, they must take the consequence. There is another class of politicians who will do well to meditate on the same fact—we mean the political unionists The attempt at such a meeting was cne of the first fruits of the political unions. Is the cause of Reform so desperate as to call for the establish ment of institutions which, in their very commence ment, threatened the metropolis with a visitation that roused the indifferent from their repose, and put every man upon his guard, as if to ward off some approaching calamity ? Again, is the cause of Reform so desperate as to require that those unions should be armed bodies, as some of our con temporaries would recommend ? It is not difficult to foresee the consequence. Those who reason, sword in hand " will sometimes find a shorter way to victory than argument. The attempt to organise, or rather disorganise, society by the introduction o this new system of popular combination, of which we have heard so much of late, is as dangerous as it is absurd. We have already received one lesson ; it is to be hoped that lesson will not be lost upon those who have influence enough to apply it.— elforning Herald. The precautions taken by Government to pre -vent a disturbance of the peace, in consequence of the intended meeting of the working classes at White Conduit-house, yesterday, were called for by the occasion, and were such as the public safety de manded. We do not say this because we put the least faith faith in the reports that the mechanics and workmen of London contemplated any enforce ment of their opinions by a violation of the law, but because the congregating of large masses of people at the present crisis would, in all probability, have been taken advantage of by the apostles of mischief, who care nothing for the working classes or their wants, but who eagerly watch for an opportunity to make the prevailing excitement relative to Reform subservient to guilty projects of violence, disorder, and confusion. We do riot believe the avowed and visible leaders of the " working' classes" had any intentions of this sort; but if the current of mischief had once, by accident or contrivance, been put in motion, the acknowledged leaders moat have swam with the stream, or have been swept away. As to the charge of high-treason made against the meeting by Lord Melbourne, we must, with all deference to the law officers of the Crown, dissent from the opinion. The doctrines oi Annual Parliaments, Universal Suffrage, &c., which the late Duke of Richmond, and after him Sir Francis Burdett, so zealously advocated, are neither treasonable nor seditious, though they are very foolish. They are ridiculous and impracticable theories, which we wonder any man of the least un derstanding could ever have seriously entertained or propounded. But while the working classes are censured for adopting such visionary notions, let us recollect that those notions were not generated among the poor and ignorant, but descended to them from the higher grades of society. The hands of rlch and titled men planted this tree of specula tive folly, which bears such bitter fruit. The meet ing, then, if treasonable at all, could only have be come so by adopting the proposition that " all lie. reditary distinctions of birth are unnatural, and op posed to the equal rights of man, arid therefore ought to be abolished." But the merely adopting this sentiment, even if it were of a treasonable na ture, would not be treason, unless sorne step were taken in furtherance of it ; for words cannot be treason ; but it is necessary that crime should be manifested by some overt act. But what is this opinion in reality ? As it is expressed in the words of the very intellectual leaders of the Wittenagemote of White Conduit-house, it is rank nonsense. When we are told of hereditary distinc tions of birth, we should like to know what heredi tary distinctions there are which are not of birth. But leaving the words " of birth" out, the sentence will then read thus :—" a'l hereditary distinctions are unnatural." This is nothing but a mere truism, nor can the utmost refinement of Crown-law inge nuity make it any thing more. Are we to be told, as a novelty, at this time of day, that no hereditary distinctions came from nature ? Is Lord Melbourne to be startled by such a proposition ? All here ditary distinctions are the artificial creation of so ciety. However necessary in the social state some of those distinctions may be, they are all the off spring of positive law. We never heard of nature creating an order of Peers. But to say that here ditary distinctions should be abolished, because they are not derived from nature, is as absurd as to say that the whole system of society should be abolished because man, as a social being—enjoying the lights and performing the obligations which society imposes—is no longer in possession of the wild freedom and savage ignorance of a state of na ture. We dislike to hear speculative folly of this sort dignified by the name of high trea son. We would as soon see the fires of Smith field lighted against religious fanatics, as wit ness the axe of a State prosecution uplifted against every silly theorist in polities. There can be no treason in England but what is clearly and precisely defined by some Statute. There is no Statute in existence which makes an abstract ah simlity, like what we have quoted, treason—and we hope never to see, on any pretext whatever, the doctrine of constructive treason revived. As to the word "aboWhed," it may mean " abolished by law." We said the other day that a Government which allowed voluntary associations to take out of its hands the protection of the public peace, would thereby acknowle e . 'teelf virtually deposed : We are glad to find .14 ~_ eekurne took . this view of _....., the subject when:heel e e ekb:tletraders of the Wh i te Conduit-house CeOlitien , Pat if Government allowed th* meetings'liiil. scA, , it might he COnSi ' , dered defaiii4,'" One ofiiiie f ers hiss since issued , his procterfliirion to the to how mail Soye-1 3 1 • gii4o . . \-- 4 acl o.imee reigns we are to have we know not ; but, at all events, we think it well that the meeting was pre vented—riot because it was treasonable, but because it was dangerous to the public Htr. The projected meeting at White Conduit-house did net take place, and yesterday passed over with ' out any interruption to peace and order. It is very gratifyitt to learn, that in all the parishes of the metropolis, the inhabitant householders, high and low, came forward with the utmost promptitude to he sworn in as special constables. The calami•y of Bristol has taught the inhabitants of every other place an important lesson, to check in the first be ginnings all attempt to produce confusion. If any persons hereafter, under cover of meetings of any class of the population, conceive the ressibility of producing confusion with 0 view to piofit by it, they will find the i!thar,',itants of the metropolis pre pared to met titem. It is of the utmost importance that Y.etormers should carefully distinguish between meetings of the people for the futherance of the great object which all g ood men have at !malt, and meetings called for objects calculated to fill the possessors of property with apprehension. What has hitherto rallied the nation round the standard of Reform, is the conviction that without it we can have no seculity for property. Whatever the people possess, they h&c' at the discretion of the borough mongers. Tin the great question with the bo roughmongers is settled, we may expect that the two classes of robbers, from a sympathy not diffi cult to be undf rstood, will play into the hands of each other. The robber ltt a coach and the robber who goes a-foot have equally an interest that pro perty 7!hotild be unprotec'ed, and are equally anxious that the mass of property should not have its fair influence. Reform alone will extinguish the hopes of both. The insolent boroughmonger will be com pelled to rely solely on the influence to which the legitimate use of his property and his good conduct entitle him; and the justice of a Government really responsible to the people, arid not to a rapacious oligarchy, will in time destroy the business of the panderer to the passions and prejudices of the rabble.—Morning Chronicle. We give in this day's Paper another specimen of the glorious "re-action" which is taking place throughout the country ! Verily it would seem as if the "re-action" would never have an end. fires acqurit eundo ! It is to be met with every where, and instead of being weakened, seems only to in crease in vigour and intensity, in proportion as it spreads. The specimen of re-action to which we refer, is to be found in the great meeting of the county of Worcester—a meeting characterized above almost all others, by the presence of the ~ Tentry and Nobility of the county—by the una nimity of its sentiments on the subject of Reform— and by the eloquence of the speeches. We com mend all of them to the perusal of our readers, and more especially the speech of Lord Lyttleton to those of them who are in search of re-action. It is a splendid specimen of the alleged repentance of the Reform Peers !—Morning Advertiser. The outcry; pretty loud throughout the nation, and pretty general, against the enormity of some 200 Peers exercising an unresisted dominion over the King and Commons, and a very large minority of the Peers themselves, backed by the whole body of the people of England, except those individuals who have, for reasons good, become the sworn tools of the Anti-Reforming portion of the Peerage,—the burst of national indignation against that monstrous and hardly conceivable enormity, has been met by a low whine from the borough interest to this effect : —" May not the Lords vote as they think fit ? Are they not an independent branch of the British Le gislature ?" Admitted : they are so. But when the people come to ask why the Crown has not created a sufficient number of Peers, not merely to carry the question through a House the existing majority of which has been sedulously, skilfully, and notoriously packed for the maintenance of the borough faction iii the seat of power, but likewise a sufficient number to satisfy the doubting and anxious people of this country, that Ministers have not a second time miscalculated their own strength, and will not subject themselves and the empire to the risk—the fatal risk,—of a second overthrow of a measure by which both " must stand or fall,"—when such a question is asked, and such a proposition implied by it, nothing can equal the horror of your constitutional Tories. " 'What!" they cry, " make Peers for the sake of procuring a Ministerial majority? Didany one ever hear of such an abomination ? What! drown the old aristocracy in such a plebeian deluge ! Why, we'd impeach Lord Grey if he attempts it." Soft ye now. If it be the prerogative of the Peers to vote Bills or reject tl - ,em, it is no less the preroga tive of the King to create Peers, or summon them. If the Peers may so vote as to inflime the nation, and without timely interference entail on it the cer tainty of a violent, and we acknowledge most de plorable attack upon the Peerage,—all this, too, without suffering an argument to be raised touching their right to perpetrate such a heinous abuse of power,—is it too much to demand on behalf of the Sovereign, that he may be permitted to exercise his undisputed prerogative, in such a manner as to allay he national ferment, and to avert that convulsion, in the imminent hazard of which the refractory Lords have, in their anointed madness, threatened to in vol veat once themselves,the throne, and the people? Thus we see the value of constitutional theory, as preached in the Tory schools. With them it is treason to deny that the Peers may embroil the country, or to affirm that the King may tranquillize it. But the present Government is not to create Peers who may happen to agree with them in opinion that the people of England are justifiable in their eagerness fur Reform. What, then, is the history of the Peer age for the last half century, but that of hundreds of creations from among men who were ever after wards most conspicious throughout the kingdom for their zealous support of Tory Ministers, and their antipathy to Reform ? Is it fair play that a parti cular faction shall not only, while in office, exhibit on all sides such a broad and sweeping exercise of the prerogative as tends to perpetuate its own dominion, and to close the doers of Government, and the Royal ear, against all Statesmen of other principles, but shall, even when expelled from power by the unani mous effort of 22,000,000 of men, have the impu dence to denounce as unconstitutional a far less ex tensive application of the same prerogative, though grounded on a general conviction throughout the empire, that there exists at present no adequate counterpoise to the ascendancy of the borough-be gotten Peers manufactured since 1760; and that without a fresh infusion of wholesome blood into that assembly, a Government inclined to legislate for the people, as contradistinguished from the rotten borough interest, must be hourly perplexed, and finally overpowered, by this ermined faction, at whose mercy the abused prerogative of 70 years has placed the King and country ? The deprecatory clamour against creating Peers is but another say of importuning Ministers not to do any thing that may fortify themselves in office, or impede the re turn of our old task-masters, the Tories. But this modest counsel, we hope and trust, will pass un heeded by his Majesty's Ministers. They may not care for office, but they are condemned to infamy if they abandon the Bill, and they do abandon the Bill if they omit any exercise of constitutional power by which their own tenure of office may be con firmed, on which depends the passing of the Bill. We have not dwelt so much as we might have been disposed to do upon the plain justice of restoring the House of Lords to its equilibrium, nor touched at all upon those details in the analysis of the mo dern Peerage which expose the precise nature, depth, and magnitude, of the evil to be cured, because this has been done with great dili gence and success in a little pamphlet of which we now present a few short extracts. It is in the form of a letter to Lord Grey, on the " adjustment of the House of Peers." That the Peers have riot usefully reconsidered their opinions on the Reform Bill, so as to ensure a reception for that measure more palatable to the nation than the last, has within these few days become a matter of widely-diffused ettapH cion. No proof, indeed, of the contrary has yet been adduced, nor any facts which carry much weight or authority on the face of them. If, therefore, Ministers, once already deceived and disappointed,— once already instrumental, no doubt innocently, in the heavy disappointment of the nation, —if they have not more materials for confidence in the self eformation of the House of Lords than have yet reached the public eye, and still do not lend them selves with instant vigour to a re." adjustment" of the Peers, the concluding passage of the following extract may be found to express a feeling by no means confined to the am hor, who begins with some caustic, though grave reflection on the Bishops, and on the Scotch and Irish Peers : There are soma powers lodged by the Constitution which never have been exercised ; from which a strong argument might he derived against their exercise at the pre s!nt time. But this is not one of them, for it has b een exercised, and exercised one way, viz., against the people. There is no rea.on therefore, in the outset, why it should not in turn be exercised in their behalf. " And first, of the Bishops, it may be asked, whether as conscientious and honest men they will deny, that they or most of them are individuals picked fur their zeal and talents by former Ministers, to he placed in the House of Peers for the express purpose of upholding the system of tl'ose Ministers by their votes whenever the occasion should arrive. It is not mentioned as matter of blame to tern ; the sin and duplicity would 1) , , if it were possible it should he Oenied that they are the elite of the troops of former administrations, distinctly posted where they are, for the purpose of acting against the present. And if so, is the country bound to submit a secular question to their votes, when the Constitution has provided the moderate and per fectly pacific measure of neutralizing them by the introduc tion of new Peers ? " Of the Representative Peers of Scotland a different view must be taken. It is not intended to deny, that they are a highly respec al le, and even venerable, remnant of the feudal :ages ; possessing much of the interest attached to the relics of gone-by grratnts4, and the dignity of decay. It is not intended to assert, that, though they undoubtedly gratified their own inherent notions by falling in with the opportunity the borough system offered them, they were the crewures of the Ministry for the time being, or are to be viewed in any light hut as a race of faded territorial sovereigns, s horn the progress of the times has happily de posed. But what it is intended to assert is, that the Peers of Scotland are not the men to settle an English question. —th at they were not brought into the House of Peers for any such purpose, and that the modeand instrument through which the Constitution provided against their being ever applied to such an end, was the authority lodged in the King to neutralize their power by making Peers in the event of the case arising. If at the p-riod of the Union with Scotland, the qua stion had been asked of the English people or Government, Do you then intend, if ever the sixteen Peers of Scotland, or a majority of them, should be opposed upon some English object, that the carrying of the English object shall be prevented by the Peers of Scot. land ?' The answer would instantly have been 'No ; there is a provision for such a case as that ; there is the power of the King to make sixteen new Peers.' With out an understanding of this kind, the Union with Scot- I and would have been to'ally impracticable and unreason able ; no man durst have proposed it, no man would have submitted to it ; the existence of the Union is evidence of the existence of the right. _ _ _ " If it should be asked whether Peers will be created to support the Peers of Scotland in resistance to Scotch Reform, the answer is, that the nece'sity of Scotch Reform is conceded on all aides. The parallelism of the case is non tat inr•entns. " Of the Irish Representative Peers, the most moderate, conciliatory, and tranquillizing thing that can be done or said is, to point to their names and ask them whether it is not the boast and glory of the greater part of them, that they were selected for their personal merits and capabilities, is support of one side of the great question now at issue; and whether they can in honour aver, that in this light they are fair referees of the English people, without an equal number being put in on the other side. It may, in the actual circumstances of a country, be avowedly proper and expedient that the decision of a question should be referred to the ancient magnates of the land. Rut it never can be fair, that it should he referred to a portion of them selected by the influence, direct or indirect, of one of the parties at issue, without the other party having the opportunity, at all events, to put in an equivalent. It would be like deciding by a Jury where a known portion of the Jurymen had been nominated, it matters not how many years ago, by one of the parties to the case. If this portion cannot be removed, let the other side put in an equal number in its turn, and then there will be a chance that the remainder, who were neither put in by one side or the other, will effect a fair decision. But till this is done it is plain that justice does not stand straight upon her legs. " This last operation with a Jury, if a case can be con• ceived where there should be no other resource, is what, in the metaphor that has been facetiously put forth, would he called swamping a Jury. It is left to the common sense of mankind, whether the proper phrase would not be, that it was bringing it to an even keel. " The claim, therefore, on the part of the people of the portion of the United Kingdom called England is for the immediate neutralisation of the Spiritual, Scotch, and Irish Lords, by the creation of 4.2 more Peers; and when this piece of naked, abstract justice has been performed, it will be time to debate the exped i ency or non-expediency of creating new Peers to carry a particular Bill if required. There can be no mistake. What is advanced is, that till this is done, the English people labour under a denial of justice ; and that where justice ends, and not before, the question of expediency begins. a a a a a • a " If the reasonable, limited, and moderate demand for an adjustment is not acceded to, the people of England must sit down under the consciousness that their Reform has been withheld because it displeased the Bishops and the Scotch and Irish Peers: and because the Whig Mi nistry, for reasons known to itself, refused to go forward after being lifted to the top of the rampart on the shoulders of the people, and declined advising the exertion of the constitutional power provided for the case. " Why an Administration which has hitherto led gal lantly and been gallantly followed, should in this manner turn round when all the enemy's defences are at its mercy, is what, if the case happens, time will show, and pos terity assuredly inquire. " The only conceivable excuse is, that the Ministry has not been asked, or not been asked sufficiently. There is time left for the people to correct this want. If they do not con ect it, and effectually, in a fortnight, the Reform Bill may be held to be withdrawn by the consent of the English nation. " A mode of arrangement that may suggest itself to same is, that if the Bishops and Scotch and Irish Peers would agree not to vote, the necessity for creating Peers would be removed or reduced to something of inconsider able amount; while any number of individual recusants might be balanced by creations as before. And it is riot clear, that when we are told to shut our eves and open I our mouths and see what Heaven will send us, some ex pectation of this nature is not at the bottom of the advice. " To such a plan the objections are,— " First, That there is no reason why the Whig4,—who, though nut the abstract idols of the people's worship, are undoubtedly more the friends of the people than the oppo nents of the Bill,—should lose the advantage of permanently establishing a battery of 42 Peers upon the breach. Hei mihi rusticitas, non pudor ille fuit.' " Secondly, That such arrangements are sure to end in dis content and charges of misconduct on one aide or the other ; and, therefore, the wisest way is to use the power in hand, and court no arrangements for the comfort of the enemy. " Thirdly, that it would cut off the effect the creation of Peers would produce in foreign countries ; where the character of the English nation is at this moment tra duced and vilified i❑ a way which nothing but a vigorous movement can put an end to. " Fourthly, which is of vastly more importance than all the others together, that if it its not done, and that without delay, the people of England will conduct them selves as on the certainty of final disappointment, with all those evils to the country which are the necessary conse quences. Give us our 42 Peers, and then Ministers may take a month or two of recreation without danger; and the nation will he content to have Reform when it can get it. The pretence that the Peers would reject the Bill in revenge for their numbers being increased, is an inven tion of the enemy ; they would no more do it than they would jump overboard to revenge being crowded in a steam-packet. Refuse it, and whatever may be the con sequences, let it be stipulated that one is—that there shall be no ill-will against the people for believing, that as sure as man ever cheated woman, they are going to be de ceived. The perils of delay are great and manifest. There never was a British Sovereign to whom the people would more gladly say, 0 King, live for ever ;' but the King will not live for ever, and if he should die now, it would be hard that the nation should be deprived of the legacy of his good-will. The cholera may come and put th e people beside attending to their temporal concerns, which would be a perfect god-send to the opponents of the Bill. The test is, whether the Bill shall be anchored i n sa fety now? If it is not, the plan is clearly that it shall be cast adrift. There may be plain speaking in all this, but ao man ham ever suspected your Lordship of any of the qualities to which plain speaking is abhorrent. No apology there fore is required in saving I am, my Lord, your Lord ship's most obedient humble servant.—October 19, 1831." Times. The second edition of a pamphlet under the title of " A Letter to the Mayor and Corporation of the City of Bristol, upon their judicial conduct and the local Jurisprudence of the City," by C. 11. Walker, which has been sent to us, contains a variety of statements respecting that Corporation, that a o far to account for the eversion of the people of Bristol to their Magistracy. We suspect it will be found almost uniformly that functionaries neither named by nor accountable to those whose affairs they admi nister, will display very little anxiety to deserve their approbation. It has been thought by many that the Aldermen of London would be materially improved by giving to the Livery, at certain in tervals, say every seven years, the power of electing others in their stead. But London is perfection itself when put in comparison with Bristol. " I have now lying before me (says Mr. Walker) a little pamphlet, written and published by the late Mr. John Rose, a very worthy and honest man, in the year 1792; it is ended ' Free Thoughts on the Office of Mayor, Aldei men, and Common Council of the City of Bristol.' In this pamphlet Mr. Rose con trasted some of the rights and privileges of the Corporation of London with those of 3ourselves ; and surely a greater contrast, so far as it goes, could scarcely be imagined. I need only to transcribe it to demonstrate the fact : IN LONDON. IN BRISTOL. The Mayor is elected by the The Mayor is elected by the Livery. Common Council. The Aldermen arc elected by the The Aldermenare electetf.by the Inhabitants of the respective Mayor and Aldermen. Wards, who pay scot and lot. The Common Council are elected The Common Con itcdttre elected annually b} the inhabitants of for life, by the Common Coun the respective Wards paying cil. scot and lot. The Sheriffs are elected by the The Sheriffi are elected by the Livery. Common Council. An account of receipts and dis. No account is rendered, bursements is published annu ally. " Will any man tell me why a more arbitrary and uncon stitutional power should exist in Bristol than in London ?" The Corporation is as rotten as any thing known in Scotland. Are we to be astonished then that the Magistrates live in the constant violation of their oaths—that they convert their offices into si necures? It is expressly ordered in the charters, " that all the Aldermen (the Recorder excepted) shall be resident within the city of Bristol, the su— burbs, liberties, and precincts of the same." So far from this being the case, Mr. Walker says that, with one exception, all the Aldermen are non-resi dent. Some of these live in remote counties, and in the metropolis, filling situations under Govern ment, and only visit Bristol occasionally to enjoy their share of feasting arid plunder. The Corpora tion possess large revenues, and have the manage merit of several wealthy charities, and they deal out to each other handsome incomes out of the funds tinder their controul. It would seem that even Judge Jeffries was ashamed of the daring wicked ness of the Bristol Corporation in the time of the Stuarts. There is, it seems, extant a charge of this Judge in 1685, in which he charges them with making justice subservient to the basest purposes: " Gentlemen," he says, " I find a Special Commission is an unusual thing here, and relishes very ill ; nay the very women storm at it, for fear we should take the upper hand of them too ; for, by the bye, I hear it much in fashion in this city for the women to govern and bear sway Gentlemen, I have brought a brush in my pocket, and I shall he sure to rub the dirt wherever it lies, or on whomsoever it sticks. I shall not stand compli menting with you ; I shall talk with some of you before you and I part. I tell you-1 tell you, I have brought a besom, and I will sweep every man's door, whether great or small. Come, come, gentlemen, to he plain with you, I find the dirt of the ditch is in your nostrils Good God ! where am I? In Bristol ? This ci'y, it seems, claims the privilege of hanging and drawing amongst themselves. I find you have more need of a commission once a month at least. The very Magistrates, which should be the Mi nisters of Justice, 1.11 out with one another to that degree that they will scarce dine with each other ; whilst it is the business of some cunning men that lie behind the cur tain to raise divisions amongst them, and set them toge , Cher by the ears, and knock their loggerheads together. Yet I find they can agree for their interest, or if there be a kid in the case ; for I hear the trade of kidnapping is of much request in this city. They can discharge a felon or a traitor, provided they will go to Mr. Alderman's p:antation at the West Indies! Come, come, I find you stink for want of rubbing. Gentlemen, what need I remind you of these things ? I hope you will search into them, and inform me. It seems the dissenters and fanatics are well among you, by reason of the favour of the Magistrates ! For example, if a Dissenter, who is a notorious and obsti nate offender, comes before them to be fined, one Alder man or other stands up, and says, ' he is a good man' (though three parts a rebel!) Well, then, for the sake of Mr. Alderman, he shall be fined but bs. Then comes another, and up stands another good-man Alderman, and says, I know him to be an honest man' (though rather worse than the former !) Well, for Mr. Alderman's sake, he shall be fined but half-a-crown ! So manus mamas ,fricat ; you play the knave for me now, and I will play the knave for you by and bye- Gentlemen, these things must be looked into. I shall not now trouble you any further. So adjourn," &c. The chronicler of this charge adds—" Upon affidavits read, and other evidence, against Sir William Clutterbuck (the Mayor), Alderman Lawford, and others, for kidnap ing, there being bills preferred to the Grand Jury by John Ramsey, the Town Clerk, and being found, the Chief Justice made the Mayor and Aldermen concerned to go from the Bench to the Bar, to plead to the information, say ing of the Mayor, ' See how the kidnapping rogue looks !' " Mr. Walker, alluding to this subject, quotes the following passage from the B iographical Magazine, published in 1775 : " It appears (says the writer) that when he, Judge Jeffries, was under no State influence, he was sometimes inclined to protect the natural and civil rights of mankind, of ,which the following instance has been given ;—The Mayor and Aldermen of Bristol had made a practice of ilanngtato ttransporting selling convicted ri criminals o t f o t t r h a e d e ;tli American us tn r ri p good account when any pilferers or petty rogues were brought before them, they threatened them with hanging, and then some officers who attended, earnestly advised the igonno as t t h a e n o d n yn t w itn a i y da t t o ed sa c v r e ea th tt e ir m es ; beg for fo g r en tr e a r t a is i x r their ta advice was followed. Then, without more form, each Alderman took one, and sold him for his own benefit; but this infamous trade, which had been carried on for many years, at last came to the knowledge of the Lord Chief Justice, about the year 1684, who, on inquiry, finding that the Mayor, Sir William Hayman, was equally in volved in the guilt of this practice with his brethren, made him descend from the Bench, where he was sitting, stand at the Bar in his scarlet and fur, and plead at a common criminal. He then obliged them to give security to an swer objections; but the proceedings were stopped by the Revolution." According to Mr. Walker, the Corporation is still distinguished by the most unblushing violations of justice; and in truth it seems high time that Go vernment instituted some inquiry into this den of iniquity. We are not astonished that Bristol should be distinguished for its riots; for the iniquity of the Corporation has on several occasions led to riots which have terminated in the concession to fear, which would not have been given to justice. Is this Turkish system of allowing iniquity full swing, subject only to the dread of mob vengeance, to be tolerated in the 19th century ? Mr. Serjeant Lud low, the Town-clerk, is charged by Mr. Walker with violating the law by non-residence; but, says he, " it struck me as being within the range of pos sibility, that if you assailed Mr. Out-of -Town Clerk, Mr. Out-of-Town Clerk might assail you." He knows too much to be meddled with. Mr. Walker transcribes a bill of costs of a Mr. Jarman, an at torney, in which several items of a startling nature with regard to Mr. Ludlow appear. We shall not at present enter into the transactions alluded to; but if Mr. Walker's statements be correct, all we shall say is, that we are surprised at nothing that has taken place. When men in authority set such examples, what are we to expect from the poor and needy ?—/Iforning Chronicle. In the present situation of the country, when all t h e quiet and loyal and well•disposed part of the people live in daily a pp re h ens i on o f o utrage, rob bery, conflagration, and murder, there are two or three measured which it especially behoves Uovern- merit to adopt, and which nevertheless cannot be expected from the present Administration by any one who has watched its past conduct, or obtained any knowledge of its partialities, sympathies, or connections. To uphold the majesty of the law, and to show to all who may he disposed to violate it that no force or ebullition of rabble violence shall be permitted to interrupt its proper and regular ad ministration, is the duty of Government at all times, hut this is peculiarly the duty of Government, at a moment like the present, when a di-position is ma nifested to set law and authority at defiance. If this be so, and we suppose none but revolutionists will dispute it, Government ought unquestion ably to send Sir Chalks Wetherell again and immediately to Bristol, for the trial of such of the prisoners as have been taken after the rabble Reformers had set them loose, and to prepare such a manifestation of the strength of the national authorities as to strike terror into the hearts of all who might be disposed to offer outrage or contumely to this Learned Judge in the discharge of his elevated functions. This duty we feel confident Government will not perform. And why ? Simply because the Reformers of Bristol, who began the tumults, which have in their na t ura l regress disgraced and devastated that city, are the friends and allies of Ministers ; and the latter are unwilling to mortify and humble these wet thy frien d s and allies for sake of matters for which they care comparatively so little as law, order, the dignity of Government, the peace and welfare of tle commu nity. .Again ; an extensive conspiracy was formed e other day in one of the parishes in the liberties of Westminster for the purpose of interrupting the performance of Divine Service in the Parish Church on the ensuing Sabbath, and of insult ng a PI eLite of the Church of England who was to have preached a Charity S.-Tmon. This, we suppose, Government need not be told was an offence on the part of every man who entered into the conspiracy that is punish ahle,both at Common Law and in the Ecclesiastical Courts. It is evidently the duty of Government to inquire after these offenders, to seek evidence of their guilt, which, with respect to the leading cul prits we take upon us to say might easily be pro cured, and. to bring them to condign punishment. No attempt of the kind has been or will be made, Why, again we demand, this abdication of the func tions of Government ? The answer is simple and easy. The conspirators are the staunch friends and allies of Ministers, the great promoters of the Re form meetings, committee-men of that consummate Reformer Sir Francis Burdett, safe and select per sons, with whom, had not Mr. Wakley prevented it, the wily Baronet intended to pack the council of his Political Union—housekeepers, forsooth, who move or second resolutions among parochial knots of revolutionists in vestry assembled—indi viduals who would pull down the British Peerage to their own level, and trample upon every class of society that they fancy to be below their own. How can any reasonable man expect his Majesty's Mi nisters to inflict punishment upon such good friends of the Administration and the Bill, or to intimate even an opinion derogatory to their character, their principles, or their feelings ? Once more. A se ditious placard has been posted and circulated for a fortnight throughout the metropolis, intimating in express terms that the King of England is an usurper, and the kingly office itself an unjust invasion of the rights of man. The au thors of this treasonable publication are known. They do not think it necessary indeed to practise any concealment, but, on the contrary, boldly avow their production. Have any of them been appre hended ? By no means. Several of their number have been honoured by confidential interviews with his Majesty's principal Secretary of State for the Home Department, and whether they took choco late or wine with the Noble Secretary we are not accurately informed. What is certain is only that not one of them retired in the slightest degree dissa tisfied with his entertainment. To impugn the title of the Sovereign is no doubt an offence for which the laws of England, and of every Monarchy upon earth, has provided a suitable, or at least a sufficient, punishment. But the laws of England are permitted to sleep, or such of them at least as are intended to protect the Royal authority ; and again, if the reason be demanded, we can only solve this as we have salved the preceding enigmas. The men who have made themselves obnoxious to these laws are ardent Reformers, firm friends of the Mi nisters of the day, movers and seconders of Ad dresses to the King, to thank him truly for his li beral desire to extend the constitutional privileges of his loyal and faithful subjects !-211 - orning Post. RIOTS AT WORCESTER. SUNDAY MORNING, FIVE O'CLOCK. A public Reform meeting was held yesterday in this city, and it was expected, from some manifestation of feeling on the part of the lower orders, that a popular commotion would t Ike place. The meeting passed off well, and, with the exception of a few men of the lower orders in the streets standing about in groups, there was nothing to indicate any thing like a riot. Unfortunately, however, a fire accidentally broke out in one of the by streets, and this served as a beacon to gather the ill-dis posed. A number of boys at first congregated, and showed some signs of mischief. As it became dark, how ever, men began to join them, and a great number of strangers were observed among the crowd. They con fined themselves during the evening, up till about half past eleven o'clock, to parading the streets and shouting, groaning, hissing, and other demonstrations of riotism. The special constables, however, about 200 in number, whom the Mayor had taken the precaution to swear in yesterday, were amply sufficient to prevent any attack upon the public buildings, which seemed to be the chief objects of their attention. At about half-past eleven a much greater number of strangers arrived, nearly amount ing to 200. They began however, as they increased in number, to get bolder, and on some of them commencing an attack on the windows of the Town• Hall, two of the offenders were taken. This, however, appeared to infu ri rte the mob, who attempted to possess themselves of the iron railing, and other acts of violence. The two pri soners were lodged in the gaol, whither they next went masse, uttering the most horrible yells. The Mayor, Mr. Clifton, however remonstrated with them, and end:a voured to persuade them to go home. They solemnly promised to do so, on the liberation of the prisoners. The Mayor consented, and turned out the prisoners, and the mob then became more impudent than ever. A troop of the 7th Hussars arrived from Droitwitch, however, just in time to disperse them, the Mayor having read the Riot Act, and the constables being beaten into the hall. The mob then began pelting the troops, who, on receiving orders, immediately charged, and dispersed the rioters with the flat part of their swords. The mob pelted stones, and ran up the alleys. Fifteen were taken, but none seriously hurt. A company of the 91st foot has arrived, and, although every thing appears quiet now, nearly all the inhabitants are afraid to go to bed. I shall write again to-morrow, as the coach is starting. CURE FOR THE GRAVEL.—A writer iu the Political Examiner recommends the free use of honey for the cure of this painful disorder. A gentleman who had been afflicted with it for some years experienced imme diate alleviation by sweetening his tea with honey. He recoinmevded it to the writer, who also bears witness to its efficacy.— Vermont State Gazette. Orders were received here (Portsmouth) t.O - to place the coal vessels from Sunderland in quaran tine as they arrive; consequently two vessels (the cargoes of which had been sold), lying off the Hard, were Mum diately placed under restriction, and removed to the Mother-bank. This measure evidently results from some fatal cases of the cholera which have occurred at Sundel land and Newcastle, and ate attributed to an indiscrimi nate intercourse with some vessels from Hamburg, though it appears the crews of these ships are perfectly healthy, and no evidence is given that the parties who died have had any communication with the foreigners. By the Newcastle Paper (an extract from which we give in a preceding page), it will be seen that even in the instance which has caused this immediate alarm, the two physicians and surgeon who attended the case declare it was not o' foreign origin; and it is shown that the sufferer alluded ,to had been previously ill. A medical gentleman of ems• nence has also received a certificate this morning from Sunderland, to the effect that the eases which h ve oc curred there are those of the English eholera.—Hamp shire Teleyraph. POLICE INTELLIGENCE. MANSION-HO USE. A female, of rather respectable appearance , brought berme the LORD MAYOR, charge' having a goose in her possession, for which failed to account satisfactorily. A man who had often lost geee, saw the walking along near Honey-lane-market, W Oll head and pluck of a well- g r own goose hanging,. of her pocket. He asked her wh a t she had t!'l and she replied that it w as a duck, and she wis' to sell it. He inferred from so inaccurate a 61 ' 5c ti, n of the b:rd, that it Lad not been got !II o dinary way, and was confirmed in his 00 10 the subsequent c - induct of the woman. The LORD MAYOR asked whether a ny hi &aimed the goose P—Tt;e prisoner said that H° had a right to it but herself. She dealt veil' to e in poultry, and often purchased f ro m countty to sell a,ain. The Loup MAYOR—As nobody appears t° "v e , rify the goose, I shall miler that it be given WY: but alvi•e You to take care how you possess yo te of such goods. The priscner was then told she was dischacr ol and she was just concluding a sale of the goose tv man who was present during the examination, 0. one f the efficers cried our that the owner of bird that moment appeared. '['he new purchaser in a fright gave up il'e g ° , 6 ; and demanded his money, but the prisoner wa s g i old a hand to retwn the cash. " Let them Fue le d , guilty," said she, " and th en y ou 'll ge t your I e e n,hi but the goose is yours, for we can all swear th at. Ler d ayor gave it to e"—(Lauiter. A jo M urneyman butcher . then steppe gl d for ) war,'" i a the moment he saw the woman, he said, you, my Lord, that ere woman's a com mon Y.,;: e ) stealer. It was only three months a go s he rci u f„ur ducks from master whil e I was i n t h e shop; s how she got 'em out, I'm blowed if I liner. o 'ttr to bile she was a-talking she h a d n o thing at all ""' hands, and when slie wens, why thi y wa s gone i oo it. The LORD MAYOR—Perhaps, for all von t ' about it, they flew after her ? The butcherl i please you, my Lord, they couldn't do no s tic i jei thing, because they was all on 'em dead, l4 ' being plucked. , o+ilb The LORD MAYOR—And what was non‘• her oz. that occasion ? Butcher—She wag P - Jore np,—not afore you, please you my Lord, bu t bbt another beak,—and she got three months; I j o ' i pe d dn't care nothin g a b ou t it, f or t h e m i nu te she i q C- ut I out she go e s f or t o p r i g a bi gger h an imal- ',OO l wouldn't a th o u g ht so muc h a b out i t if she " I always come when I was carving. The LORD MAYOR—That was unfair, ceri-e,i.es unless she fancied a live bird of the same 51)4' 4;0 0 Butcher—Please you, my Lord, it was a vi lla "o t robbery at this time, because, you see, there l'eeeit was a time when there was a call for so rna b l l g o 4l at Guildhall. It's a-- sh a m e f or to ta" e %iv one out of the place. (The simpli c ity with e 1 , e ,,); this sentiment was uttered had an irresistible e ° The LORD MAYOR—And can you swear Le lot goose ? Butcher—l con safely swear to I'tm's of you see, my Lord, we have a way of plucking ", , , c lO other poulterers has. "We plucks them in a p 3r ,,. - ftl' way, you see, my Lord; b ecause y ou s ee, if w', o o l ler, or wom an i t m i g h t b e , rich as the prison er 'ol! for to prig o ur bi r d s , we p us h es t h em u p to I s l e°l ' ,„° for persecution by hact of Parliament. The LORD MAYOR—WeII, I think we sh all se l l'j If this lady to Bridew e ll for th ree months, esP ecis e as I learn that she is known to have a sharp after poultry, and as this case may not convince Jury. (Olt The prisorer said th a t she knew nothing butcher, but that he acted unlike a gentlema4 point out a person he never had seen b efore as a cFO Butcher—Oh,you tell m e didn't like for to eat nothing half so well a 9 S oo of nice poultry, and didn't master take pity O H Y and tell you to go to h—II ? Prisoner—Well, that's an honest g ot 14 00-6 e bi when you de stone yr o u the hea r clucks she b s didn't any rate, and it's the property of th e gen tians° . just bought it of me. 0 11 The LORD MAYOR soon as c ert a i ne d from ° persons that the prisoner was an incorrigible 14 e to and ordered her to be committed, and the gsl er io be delivered up to the butcher, whom he co nsi ,io e to be a judge, from the evidently intimate acq"„ift' ante which the man had kept up with that der ment of the trade. Q UEEN- S Q UARE. 0 4 Nesterday a stout masculine-looking Nvon' a- , was very large in the family-way, apparentlY o o 30 years of age, was brought up by the over order to swear who was the father of the child', On being swain, she said that her name ' clt 6re : 'al ; Partridge, and that she lived in Leg-court, Peter -street, Westminster. ho " And pray," inquired the M a gistrate, o be the father of the child ?"—" That young moo t w il l said Miss Sarah Partridge, pointing to a IVY office, " his name is Thomas Luxton." tit Thomas Luxton, who is an apprentice to a - o tO f stepped forth, and the great difference of the v p ance of the parties occasioned some surprise. 001 01 Mr. GREGORIE—" Have you any thing t° to 6 ,1 the charge ?"—" I have nothing whatever tuft with the child," replied Thomas Luxtoo; none of mine, I'm sure." q 00' " Oh, Thomas, Thomas, how can you exclaimed Sarah Partridge. b `'Why, because I had nothing to do with replied Thomas. h r 41 : 0 " Oh, Thomas !" again exclaimed Sera - t or tridge, " you never denied being the father 1113' had that mone ft you." and 7e h v a e % r ,e ha y any n d othing m t o o n d ey o left ,i me," ti) t he replied Mr. GREGORIE asked how old the boy was informed that he was seventeen years owe Mr. GREGORIE said that he u n d ers tood th er o good bail in attendance, which the p ario,s would accept, and he had better reserve his 'o until an order was made upon him to OPP' child, if it was born alive. Bail was immediately put in. A labouring b gular manner in this town, a few days aga. p c.• man met with his death i n about to shoe an ox, and for that purpose had triPof up, and thrown it upon its back, when the blioju l animal struck him violently near the stomach, sou chto him so much that he died next day.—ShrervsburY ; laSSeS ' - this town last week showed some signs of disaff 6t r tr 4 the authorities were loth to los e th e p ro t ec tion °I t h ' ,oo of Hussars that have arriv e d her e . So fart - 0 0 nothing has transpir e d t o a l arm th em . The W ea fac t i or pretty well employed. Th e l arge car p e t man° ii e k firm of BROUGHAM and Co., which had partly 14- e rg( which it is c ilculattd had employed nearly :3, 00°P 4 has recommenced bu s i ness , an d t h e weave rs can „ •28s. a-week, payi ng th e i r d raw b o y s 4s. per W , weaver at this to wn h as thi s a d van t age , that he_ A '' Jj jo has a large f a mily, get them nearly all emplor' a 5 ( l . t the COU t °VNI by io ti , 'flat t he . o to Mett it ctu tria , r h et 11°,1 by vi e r. oo 4 ;,, 1141rI atl 11,eet t hat ° f w d ti ty Ati c i d 1 54 3.:, ft 'rri du; th, t - ct Poi d ki r , . ttL itr y, ---,z: manufactory, even to his wife ; and many of u ;',,,,ye'il 'NI , their families are now earning from 150/. to 20 0 ' . t 'l' , N.ll t ' a bou "L . I To prevent, however, the possibility of any riot: D ar t o kri special constables have been sworn in here. ' 1' .' 1, ( -- _, On the sth inst. at Milfor l3 d, li t t h i e ll lad S' y of Geo. Letu° tn e, :: ,i l4 , :::: 441) : Esq., of a son. y of 14 ' On the sth inst. at East-hill, Wandsworth, the lad It. Barchard, Esq., of a daughter. DIED. On the sth inst. at Abingdon-hall, CambridgeLott'' , N I , 4 AI Colonel G. E. Graham Foster Pigott, of Abington s ' , ,of ; ko. Nu,, late M. I'. for Kinross shire. sa ve, ij e itt 'ktt, ti " On the 6th inst. at Blackheath, J. S. Innes, Esq'' f Pl ° 'g, ' his Majesty's . lCustoms, port of Kingston, island ° oil" ta t i llt tit'', aged 44. ed t ili ll P 4 't d 14 On the 6th inst. Thomas Crook, Esq., of Wes • stt il Iv a Battersea-rise, in the 57th year of his age. Ai rs lSe i 4 VOi, l ' On the 6th lust, at Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, - c!' tr., .' Pr i lti Vlp aged 67. i ter 0 ik), So 11 On the 6th inst. at Lambeth, Margaret, dauo , o p' e. +iz t W. Agnew, Esq. j3cig , ,lkt ry On the sth inst. at Berwick-upon-Tweed, Mr. A. - f ee' . te. 1 , t N his 32d year. J. 4141 4 13 On the 6th ii,t. in Coleshill-street, Eaton-square' ofd 1, . R,, Everett, Esq. _idoo' y`ttli, . - - 41/ On the sth inst. at She.pherd's-bush Mrs. Fogg, ''''' • et. 'tel, 1 • __ ~..„,..". . tti ..' Fogg, late of Regent-street. I , ' -- 1 ---- u' PRINTED AND PlaiLlsUßD BY . ~...., 7 RD n ~.. YO U N Sus ()react, 112, STEAIII4 LOtip°'' 1 T a rai rks, at ki iERIF ou NTN b 4 the Bth .EO RG . Ret)leet 11,„ ed by l • That o f the! far aaternaen di r house ,:e f hi. Dt,„!_ c Nlu - ve ' c i hy 2 : Th at t ti al"t Y ' s I 4 rt re d o ` ( Z " . arii: 11:1 Pr 3* : th at nt " „ ""U knd , ts 't of • ""Ibl 3 44tion. env of h,f, .v t i by ptull 111 i'pe t •at t th t anent theAt /; t1 ?, eon 144 ie v e4 by to to , at t th t I : 9 'der or t i‘ing, t I tek , ti tr a4 d th ed by ko h . fat thi s 'ler 11 ' 4; l °44 't'd ..'ed :,t)t.ser, i ".