The Sun. — London, England, 1831-03-30 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF TIM PUBLIC JOURNALS. Ilowever irregular might have been the discussion a the House of Lords on Monday evening respect ing the Reform Bill, as yet before the Commons, it was nevertheless of high interest and of great im portance. We trust that, both in numbers and res. soning, what has now passed may be accepted as an earnest and pledge of the approaching fate of the Bill when brought before their Lordships. The measure must triumph. It was on a motion for papers connected with the plan of Reform, that Lord Wharncliffe took occasion to treat of the whole subject ; and -we put it to any impartial person whether his speech were not more calculated to prove the necessity of the Bill than to evince its danger or establish its insufficiency. It is very true, as his Lordship stated, that if the Legislature had but been in reason disposed to impart the elective franchise to the great and populous towns, the country might have been content, at least for a series of years, with these concessions. And what does this prove but the moderation of the aggrieved people of England, and the untoward insolence of their enemies and oppressors ? Let, then, what has passed afford a lesson for the future. The people would have been perfectly sa tisfied with minor concessions for the sake of peace, but not without the perfect knowledge and con sciousness that they had a right to much more. It was the stupid refusal of the lesser demands that has provoked the greater : so, also, at present the na tion is content—nay, it is delighted—with the pro visions of Lord John Russell's Bill. If these are rejected, it will demand yet more; aye, and in the end, it will seize yet more. Such things as univer sal suffrage and election by ballot have been heard of. We hear no snore of them now, neither shall we if the present reasonable Bill succeeds. It will root out all these theories. Lord Wharneliffe spoke of the influence which, should this Bill pass, the people would exercise over the House of Commons. But what class of people are they who are supposed to exercise this influence? Not the lowest, as is too frequently the case at present—not a mere houseless mob; it is the tendency of the Bill to diminish the nitmher of these : and over the lowest class of the new voters, those possessing houses of 101. a year, it cannot be but that the higher orders, Members even of the House of Peere, must, through their property, ex ercise great influence; so that influence will act cir cuitously and in a wholesome manner throughout the general mass of society. The whole number of persons to whom the elective franchise will be given is estimated at only 378,000, from a population of 14,000,000. These, as we have before stated, are to possess all of them houses worth 101. a year and upweirds, whilst a vast mass, the number of which has not yet been calculated, not possessing houses of that value, must in time "go out,' —become ex tinguished as electors; so that both the quality (so far as wealth is a proof of quality) of the electors Nvill be raised, and the numbers probably diminished. The Duke of Wellington acknowledges, that essen tially he was obliged to go out from an appre hension of the Reform question. He resigned on the Civil List question; but it was because " he did not wish to expose his Majesty and the country to the consequences that might re sult f:ctn the Government going out on the success of the question of Parliamentary Reform." Weil, then, what would be the consequence if this Ministry were to go out because they cannot carry the Reform question ? Why, that his Majesty and the country can have no Ministry what ever. Oh ! but it may be said, that a new Ministry would propose a more moderate plan of Reform. Moderate in what they conceded, we presume; and immoderate in what they refused to the just demands of the nation! With respect to the moderation of such a class of men, let it be recollected that they are those who have already refused to bestow on 'Manchester, Birmingham, and Leeds, the franchise which had been forfeited by boroughs convicted of corruption. We have only to say, that there is nothing which such teen can bestow that will impart the least satisfaction to the people, or will include them to abstain one moment from carrying on, even with increasing energy, their machinations for a real Par liamentary Reform : whereas the present project sus pends at once all such machinations, and has already almost thrown the terms ballot, annual Parliaments, and universal suffrage, into oblivion.— Times. We recollect no instance in which any important public measure was not attended with a vibration and a tendency downwards of the funds, as tempests always shake and depress the mercury in the baro meter; yet, in violation of this rule, the funds are now said to have advanced, only, or chiefly, because the success of the Bill which is to produce so im portant a change in the state of our representation is becoming more certain. This should occasion serious reflection on the part of those who oppose the Bill, and induce them to adopt it, as we have before urged, on the principle that its adoption is the surest course ; for if the funds rise before the success of the Bill is supposed to be certain, of what nature is that danger which would result from its rejection ? It is not the danger springing from a mere Ministerial defeat within the walls of Parlia ment : it is the danger which would be occasioned by the very great and general dissatisrattion of the people, if their favourite measure were frustrated.— The Bill, therefore, ought to be adopted as a peace-maker. And let it not be supposed that the present is no more than a temporary or capricious feeling of the people of England.— • Their zeal, ardour, and passions are, no doubt, greatly inflamed by the apparent piBxity of the object which they hope to obtain; but the necessity of a Reform is the settled conviction of their souls, which nothing can shake. It is a conviction, not of yesterday, but of the last half century. Among the apprehensions which have been entertained respect ing this measure, one is, that it is only a stage in the journey, and that we shall not stop here. It is very probable, in truth, that when the Bill is passed, and its working observed, it may be found neces sary to facilitate its operation by some minor changes or correction of its mechanism; but for our own parts a e cannot see why the reformed Parliament is not just as likely to adapt the measure to Tory prin ciples and feelings, as to the principles and feelings of the Whigs and Radicals. it may be said, be cause the present Bill is a 'Whig and not a Tory measure, that the power which has carried it will be likely to assimilate it yet farther to the popular taste : this would be true if the Bill were the act of one party exclusively : but it is the work, or when carried will have been the work, of various parties. Are Lord Winchilsea and the Duke of Richmond Whigs? When the Bill is once carried, ' it is no longer to be expected that the same coin bleeder) will exist to give it or its principles yet farther extension. The Constitution will be left to vibrate, as it has hitherto done, between the co-equal powers of the state; and we may hope, we trust, for getters' tranquillity.—Times. It is now understood pretty generally, that several Members of the House of Commons, who opposed the second reading of the Bill, have announced _their intention either of supporting Ministers on the Committee, or of staying away from whatever .tlivisiotis may be called for, and forbearing to vote t all. The latter of these two proceedings would be at once useless and. contemptible ;—contemptible, for the want of manly resolution implied by it; and usclessi, forsits inefficacy to screen from observation a pitiful and sneaking motive. It is still just pos sible for some of those Members who have been, by whatever feelings of party confrateinity or other pardonable inducements, - "led to give a reluctant vote against the great measure of Reform—it is, we say, possible for them to re-dem themselves with the country; and surely they cannot be censured by 'their political friends if, now that the principle of the Bill is tarried, that Parliament has by a majority, and the nation with unanimity, declared in favour of the Bill of his Majesty's Ministers, those Members hence forth set themselves heartily to promote a cause which, whether they serve it or not, is destined to be.if down all opposition before it. These gentle. • • : men have satisfied the point of individual honour ; they see how abortive have been the calculations of their political leaders,—that a more dogged and pertinacious resistance would, even if for the mo ment successful, produce an instantaneous dissolu tion of Parliament, or a general convulsion through out the realm ; and therefore that nothing can be gained by efforts tts fritter away the Bill, but that something may be recovered towards their own re demption in the eyes of the people of England, by an earnest endeavour to facilitate its future progress. As for the course to be adopted by Ministers, the choice is clear, and the pursuit, in our opinion, easy. If the Cabinet be sot assured of a powerful majority they ought at once to advise the Crown in favour of an immediee dissolution. A small majority in fers a tatmerous minority; and a minority strong in numbers, arid acting under men who have already shown that despair has few scruples of con science, and moreover with the Means of gaining time, and taking their chance for the numberless Godsends incidental to a system of manoeuvring for the sake of procrastination,—such a minority, though it cannot in the end succeed, may, before its final overthrow, entail inevitable embarrassment and mis chief on tht country. The career, therefore, of a strong minority ought to be cut short at once, and a dissolution would effectually destroy it. Then it is not to be questioned that the fate of the measure in the House of Lords may depend, riot merely on its passing the Committee and the third reading in the other House, but on the amount of the majority which there supports it. The public must recollect how their Lordahips formerly thought fit to treat the Bill for Catholic emancipation, after it had passed the House of Commons. The public and the Ministers ought to be aware, that their Lord ships in Parliament assembled, if slow of apprehen sion 0-4 to Matters of reasoning, are less incompetent upon matters of fact,—that they are more given to the exact than to the speculative sciences ; and al though they may be perplexed and lost in the vastness of that inquiry which seems to have so bewildered the Duke of Wellinglon respecting the precise value of petitions, exhortations, public - meetings, &c. &c., from most parts of Ergland in favour of Reform, they can be brought, without much difficult study, comprehend that a majority of 100 in the House of Commons is a majority of 100;—that such a majority in an assembly so constituted, could not have arisen from any intrinsic or self-acting virtue of those who are called (ironically) representatives of the people, but must have been produced by the external pressure of the people themselves, and therefore my Lords will be apt to say, " If the ma jority of Members of the House of Commons have voted against the borough system, it is a proof that they have been frightened into such a vote, and therefore the people must be strong, and it might be dangerous for us, any more than for the House of Commons, to oppose tbem." Now we verily be lieve that we have not much over-rated the un derstanding of many of the Peers of the realm, in ascribing to them some such language as the above. They may not themselves, as we have said, feel quite " up to" a fair appreciation of the force and value of public opinion throughout England, when brought to bear directly upon their own resolves; but, as most people, unused to free arid strenuous discussion, are apt to be swayed by arguments from authority, the Lords make out their notion of the probable power of the national spirit upon them selves, by getting a third quantity—viz. the House 9f Commons, wherewith to compare and measure it. Let Ministers, then, by all means insure a large majority either in the present House of Commons, or in a succeeding one, for the support of Parlia mentary Reform. It will be a " reading made easy" to the noble optimists of the aristocratic chamber, who, reposing on their bed of boroughs, can see nothing but the incomparable parts of the Constitution, unless they be roused, by some poli tical earthquake like this, to a more just and accu rate survey of the dangers and the duties which en velope them. The more we reflect upon the sub ject, the stronger is our conviction that the prospect of a bare or feeble majority ought not to satisfy Lord Grey, but that he ought to reinforce himself by such a power in the House of Commons, as may launch the measure into the Lords with an impetus riot there to be resisted.—Times. The Duke of Wellington's eulogy of Parliament since the peace, reminds us of the anecdote of the horse, which died just when its owner was about succeedin, in getting it to live without food. " As to the present House of Commons (said his Grace), I maintain that it is as complete and perfect a legi slative body as can be required. I assert, that espe cially since the peace it has shown itself the most efficient guardian of the stability of the Throne, the interests of the nation, and the rights of the people. 1 say further, that it has done better service as a legislative body than any assembly of the same cha racter at any former time, and for an equal period, and that this beneficial course was only interrupted by the introduction of this discussion.—( Hear, hear.)" Now let us hear what his Grace himself says of this present Parliament. Speaking of the early parr of the Session, he says, " Then came tl:e question of the Civil Lis'. 1 do not assert that there was actually a combination of parties on that occasion against the Government ; but I certainly heard it ; and whether it were or were not by con cert, parties certainly did unite, Ministers were left in a minority, and we thought proper to resign. This I bet , leave to state, however, that the question of r Porliamentary Reform had no more to do with our resignation than it had to do with any other part of my conduct. We were out-voted on Mon day, and next morning I resigned ; and for this reason, I would not expose his Majesty, and the country, to the inconvenience of being outvoted on 11w subject rf Reforms in Pailiament. There is the truth. I repeat it : we resigned on Tuesday, because we did not choose to expose the King and the country to the inconvenience of our being defeated, as we probably should have been on the question of Re form." So that this admirable Parliament, which, as a legislative body, answered its ends far better than any other that the wit of man ever devised, at the very time when its merits were at the highest, were about to commit fclo de se! Did it never occur to his Grace, that the very circumstances mentioned by him, as reasons why Parliament ought not to be reformed, are among the chief causes of the disposition to Reform in the Parliament ? When the means of corruption arc lavishly distri buted, majorities in Parliament will be large. But the nation after the peace began to show an " ignorant impatience of taxation ;" and retrench ment having been forced on Ministers, their in fluence, in the bad sense of the word, experienced a decline. Every vote for retrenchment improved, of course, the character of Parliament ; but it brought matters nearer to the crisis, which has at length arrived. To govern by influence means to sup ply Members with other motives than mere cogency of arguments for their votes. To govern by influence and to retrench are, therefore, objects counteracting each other. All those who are not iVuenced, must be convinced; every diminution of the influenced adds:to the number of the to be convinced; and when the latter are so numerous as to find themselves prepon &rant, they do riot w ish to he disgraced by associa tion with corruption. It requires no great penetra tion, therefore, to discover that it is precisely be-' cause Parliament has, since the peace, been improv. ing, that it wishes to improve itself still farther. The honest part of the House of Commons, who seek conscientions'y to discharge faithfully their duty as guardians of the public purse, must always look with an evil eye on the expenditure of money, not f , r the Nvants of the State, but for the purpose of commanding majorities in Parliament ; and they must always be disposed to countenance a Reform which should flee the Government from the neces sity of purchasing venal votes with meal or malt. Besides, retrenchment, as far as it goes, diminishes the ability of the boroughmongers to keep up the machinery by %VIM) Members ure manufactured. There are few patrons of boroughs who are not under the necessity of expending considerable sums n Co:porations and voters. They must draw from the public enough to enable them to meet this ex penditure, otherwise the borough would be to them a losing concern; and if the Corporation and voters be not bribed according to their expectations, they will pretend to a conscience of their own, and return honest Members. Thus the cha racter of Parliament improves more and more, and thus the difficulty of managing the honest Mem bers throws the Government naturally on the availing itself of the honest to free itself from the importu nity of the corrupt. The Duke of Wellington might have learned, from the history of this country, that whenever the means of influence have been wanting, the Government has been obliged to give way to the people. Sir Edward Walker tells us, " that that which e'sentially was destructive (to Charles the First) was, that the King was not in a capacity to gratify all his Parliamentary claimants, which had this effect, that some of them grew envious, others factious, because they were not ems ployed; others ungrateful, because denied something they aimed at, how highly soever obliged. . They being numerous and not all to be satisfied, have done more mischief by becoming factious and affecting popularity than could have been appre hended from their ambitions." The Duke of Wel lington,,es he is opposed to Parliamentary Reform, ought, if consistent, to have opposed economy ! But, instead of that, he and all the Ministers for the last ten years have forced economy on an un willing Parliament. How often have we not heard Mr. Herries and other Ministers, when hard pressed by opposition Members, urge in their defence that they were disposed to go further in the way of eco nomy than Parliament was disposed to go with them ! And is it not well known, that in order to be able to resist the importunities of interested Members, Ministers of late years have had re course to Committees composed generally of the more honourable and disinterested part of Parliament, whose recommendations to retrench they have opposed to the claims for place. All this was very proper on the part of Ministers, but all this was undermining the governing by corruption. The Duke's allusion to the recent history of France indicates the same inability to take a comprehensive view of a subject, which he displays in his astonishment at the dispo sition to Reform growing with the improvement of Parliament. " He adverted (he said) to what, of his own knowledge, had occurred in France on the subject of the election law, since 1817. Two changes had subsequently been made in that law, and two general elections had taken place,each more unfavour able to the Gov, rnment ; and this result had been the formation of a Parliament with which it was im possible for any Ministers to co-operate. He denied that he had been in any way connected with the French Ministers; that he had ever written to Prince Polignac; to Charles X.,previous to his abdi ca,ion; or to any member of the French Cabinet, without the knowledge or participation of his col leagues. He would, therefore, tell the Noble Lord on the Woolsack that he had no more to do with the French Government than the Noble Lord him self—perhaps not so much.—(Laughter.) These proceedings in France rendered a revolution inevi table." His Grace here a.sumes, that the business of a Parliament is merely to register edicts. The people of France and their Government thought differently almost on all subjects. No representa tion, therefore, which at all expressed the sense of the nation, could avoid coming into collision with the Government. But if the French Government had chosen, instead of lending itself to the views of a small minority, and becoming the tool of a bigotted priesthood, to govern in accordance with the views of a great majority of the nation, the revolution might have been avoided. The Duke of Welling ton, we see, would, like Prince Polignac, have been for making short work with the Parliament; for if it was impossible to govern with the Parliament—and men must have some Government—why, he would have been for governing without the Parliament. In short, his Grace's notions of government are very good for an army, but by no means adapted for a free country. With him it is command on the part ,of the Government, and blind obedience on the part of time Parliament. After all, however, the Duke of Wellington is the only consistent opponent of Reform. He thinks that Parliament ought to be controuled, and of course the more the representa tion approaches perfection the more difficult it must be to controul it. He opposes effectual Reform, be cause opposition is more likely to be successful now than after partial Reform. As for the bit and bit reformers, they are quite inconsistent with them selves. They object to the Reform of Ministers, because it cuts up corruption by the roots, and yet they would concede some Reform, which would not sati'fy the people,while it would give to them power to obtain more. " The people, disappointed of their just expectations (said Earl Grey eloquently), would I be inflamed with resentment, and would eventually demand, with a voice of thunder, that which it would be found impossible longer to deny; but the granting of which would not only be unattended with the advantages that would now accompany its concession, but in the strong excitement that would then exist might be productive of evils which no man could foresee—evils that might throw the whole country into irremediable disorder.—Morn. Chron. The debate in the House of Lords on Monday night was full of interest. The two classes of op ponents to the Reform Bill were well represented by Lerd Wharncliffe and the Duke of Wellington. Lord Wharncliffe is one of the reluctant moderate reformers, and the Duke of Wellington a thorough going Anti-reformer. Unquestionably the principle of the Bill having been established by the vote of the House of Commons on the second reading, its effi cacy runs more risk from men who profess the prin ciples, or who, rather, express the contradictions of Lord Wharnchffe, than from the downright and soldier-like opposition of the Duke of Wellington and Sir Henry Hardinge. These pretended mode rate reformers admit the voice of the people to be unanimous and irresistible, they further admit that no paltry Reform will do—nay„ they yield to the ne cessity of disfranchisement ; but to the first clause of the Bill, which favourably responds to that voice, which puts all paltry Reform out of the question, by a disfranchisement co-extensive with the necessity, they are inveterately opposed. The irresistible and unanimous voice of the people calls for an extension and improved distribu tion of the elective franchise ; but to all and each detail by which the demand may be satisfied, they apply every objection that hatred can suggest cr sophistry express. Because common sense and na tural justice point out uniformity of qualification as the basis of the elective franchise, they are ena moured of variety ; as well might they assert, be cause one uniform colour is naturally most suited to the robe of a divine or a lawyer, that the motley garb of a Harlequin can alone secure orthodox reli gion and legal knowledge. Lord Wharncliffe ob jects to leaseholders for twenty-one years, because they are few in ember; and he objects to copy holdees because they are too many. His Lordship regrets that the right of sending Members to Par liament was not long since granted to Birmingham and Leeds, but he deplores the influence of such towns on the representation of the country, by the proposed introduction of leaseholders and copy holders into the electoral body. He admits that canvassing a county is a great source of ex pence; but he asserts that their division into dis tricts, which must narrow the range of canvass, will increase the expense. He knows that the duration of an election adds to the charges of the candidate ; and vet he maintains that the limitation of the time of polling will have the same effect. The uncertainty of the right of voting, produced by the so much extolled variety of franchise, has been a fertile source of litigation, and consequent expense, before Committees of the House of Commons ; but Lord Wharncliffe is spe cially opposed to the details of the Bill by which it is intended readily to ascertain the right, and to prevent the dispute. In short, Lord Wharncliffe is a reformer in words, but a strenuous upholder of the present system in practice. Perhaps, in saying this, we go too far. His Lordship and themgde rale reformers would indeed admit Members from Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, and Sheffield, to the House of Commons—they are ready thus far to strengthen the popular party in that House, for the Members of the close and rotten boroughs would gill remain a band of immortals to vindicate the irresp onsible y and " illegal authority of the Upper House.' The proprietors of these boroughs are to be the trustees of the British Constitution—but, alas, they are irresponsible trustees; they may traffic with their trust—they avowedly, in many in stances, have done so. In some the trust has been honourably exercised, but it is a trust not recognised by common sense—not known to the law of the land; and now that the continuance is claimed, not upon sufferance, but upon positive right, it must be set aside. The Duke of Wellington ap pears determined not to flinch from his declaration against any Reform whatsoever. He takes a plain military view of the question. The people of Eng land are the common soldiers of the national array, and he only wonders how they ever should have been allowed to have a voice in the ordering of the battle. His Grace, forsooth, cares little for the composition of the electoral body. " Tell me," says he , "how you mix up your House of Commons." " I want," says the Noble Duke, " a House of Commons that will carry into effect the views of the King's Go. vernment. I never wish to hear of the people, during peace, but as shopkeepers, artisans, and pea sants, and, during war, as soldiers and sailors." The affairs of eivil Government, even in the Duke's opi nion, require the machinery of legislative bodies; but those should be, as he thinks, utterly beyond popular influence. The representation of the people, quasi people, is nonsense; lout there is some use in knowing the opinion of lawyers, bankers, merchants, manufacturers, and machinists, in their respective occupations; and there is no disadvantage inabring ing them together, provided their exuberant knowledge and vulgar pretensions be restrained within bounds by the superior numbers and awe.in spring presence of their Aristocracy. Direct nomi nation by borough proprietors to seats in the Lower House appears to the Duke of Wellington to be the wonder-working principle of the British Constitu tion. How it got there he does not trouble himself to inquire, but he believes it to be the key of our civil position, and if that be carried by the reforming enemy, he considers the battle lost; for it is strange enough that the Duke of Wellington, and all the opponents to Reform, will never view the people but as the natural enemy of all rational government, that is to say, they confound authority and des potism, and therefore conclude that the one, like the other, has no security but in the fears and want of combination among the governed. The Duke flatters himself that the people of England will submit to the rejection of the Reform Bill without a " murmur." "Rn‘ticus expectat dual tran‘eat ainnis." The Duke is not speaking to diecoreented and re monstrating soldiers—their duty is to place unli mited confidence in the justice and talents of their• commander—civil life and free institutions know no such confidence, and no such submission—personal rights, and political franchises, transcend the claims of authority however ancient, or the respect due to names however illustrious. The petitioning Com mons of Great Britain will cahnly, but certainly, attain the object, and it will be for the Duke of Wel lington and his anti-reforming friends to witness an effectual change and improvement in our represen tative system without a murmur.—Morn. Herald. It is now currently reported that there has been a very considerable ratting from the anti. Reform ranks since the second reading of the Bill, and that if Ministers are defeated in the Committee, or on the third reading, it will be but a very trifling ma jority. We believe such to be the fact, from infor mation which has reached us, that the loaves•and fish men are scampering with as much haste, and as much fear and trembling, from the tottering walls of Toryism, as they lately clung to them as their only means of subsistence; but still the public must not be thrown off its guard by the conduct of such prties. The zeal which has been manifested for Reform must not abate,—the energy which has been exhibited must not be diminished,—unanimity must be cultivated,—and to every other virtue in the maintenance of the great cause, must be added perseverance. Thus, and thus only, can we finally triumph over the selfish few, who, not contented with having plundered us of our rights, our trea sure, and our blood, would still,—if they could, — persevere in their oppression, and hand down their tyranny as an heir-loom to their descendants.— Morning Advertiser, It has been ascertained that upwards of fil yof those Members who voted for the second reading of the Reform Bill are determined to destroy its character in the Committee. Ministers will there fore will be left in a wortil minority when the first clause comes to the vote. No wonder their Journals urge a dissolution, but the King positively refuses to grant one; so here again Ministers are impeded in their revolutionary course. It is quite true that the Duke of Gloucester is deeply impressed with a sense of the danger which the country would incur by adopting Earl Grey's Benthamite Constitution. The Queen is also known to entertain a very natural antipathy to it; and a Noble Earl, whose Lady is at tached to her Majes'y's Household, has expressed in dutiful but energetic terms his apprehensions of the dangerous ,consequences which must result from the establishment of a Democratic Legislature. To the appeal of these able Councillors his Majesty has, we are assured, listened with characteristic kind ness, and the baneful officious meddling of a person whose weakness is only equalled by that of his friend Lord Goderich is, we believe, beginning to be appreciated by his Royal Master. To that gentleman we sincerely recommend a reference to the sentiments and opinions of those in the sunshine of whose royal favour he se long basked, by the breath of whose nostrils he once lived and had his being. Their familiar friend and servant whom they trusted should mark his:respect fortheir memory by acting the part of a go-between with Whig Re formers and Revolutionists against the political supporters of a Wellington,—that he of all men should thus throw discredit upon their patronage, is indeed a fearful sign of the timed. We have al ready once warned him against the course he is pursuing, and we now repeat that warning.—Morn ing Post. The speeches of Lord Wharncliffe and the Duke .of Wellington in the House of Lords on Monday night have made a deep and happy impression on the public mind. Even in the impr o b a bl e even t o f th e revolutionary Bill passing the House of Commons, the fair and calm discussion of the question by the House of Peers will tend to satisfy the artfully ex cited portion of the people, that in the passion of the moment their true interests have been neglected, and the peace and happiness of the country disre garded, in the mischiev ous d es i gns o f f act i on , an d the insane projects of an imbecile Ministry. Hope the most cheering .therefore remains to the nation that through one branch at least of the Legislature, we shall be saved from the direful effects that would inevitably result from the adoption of the re volutionary measure now in progress in the Lower House. Already has the sensation pro duced by the French and Belgian revolutions subsided; and the people of this country, see ing their ruinous results, have become sufficiently Nvorned by the severe sufferings of their neighbours. But the friends of radical change in England argue that those deplorable consequences were produced from the want of Reform, and even go the dan gerous length of insinuating that in the event of Reform being denied, similar evils must ensue in this country. Now without stopping for the pre sent to observe Upon the toral disregard; manifested by our reformists of the woeful effects arising to our n eighbours from their blind adherence to infamous faction, and of the important and useful lesson they have received from them, we shall content ourselves with denying altogether the assumed fact of the Revolutions in France.and Belgium having resulted from the denial of Reform: In the former country no , . Reform had been called fer ; the people had uttered no complaints; and the only innovation committed (until the ill-advised Monarch was driven to extreme measures for the maintenance of his due power in the State) was that so long and so stu diously planned by the revolutionists,—who by the most vile means had attained an undue iathience among the multitude,—for the overthrow of the legitimate Bourbon throne, and the consequent vio lation of one of the most prominent principles of the Constitution. In Belgium, the people uttered no complaints, for they had in reality none to make —they were merely seduced by the worthless revo lutionists to follow the baneful example of the fac tions of France ; and the frightful results of each, as we have already observed, have read salutary lessons to the people of England, who will he careful how they permit themselves to become the dupe; and slaves of the prevailing factions among us. We repeat, then, that the melancholy effects of revolu tion in France and Belgium were not produced by the denial of Reform, for no such demand was ever made by the people of either country. They were the obvious fruit of mischievous design, such as is now daily making the most fearful strides in Eng-. land, and the full accomplishment of which cannot fail to be produced, in the event of the plan of Re form now before Parliament being s: tiered to become the law of the land.—Morning Post. FROM THE GAZETTE OF LAST NIGHT. St. James's Palace, March 23, The King was this day pleased to confer the honour of Knight hood upon Captain George Francis Seymour, of the Royal Navy, Knight Commander of the Royal Hanoverian Guelphic Order. War (Mice, March 24. MEMORANDUM.—His Majesty has been pleased to nomi nate Lieut.-Col. T. Lord Grantham, of the Yorkshire Hussar Yeomanry Cavalry, and Lieut.-Col. E. Baker, of the Royal Wilt shire Yeomanry Cavalry, to be his Majesty's Aides-de-Camp for the service of his Yeomanry Cavalry. War-Office, March 29. MEMORANDUM.—The half-pay of the under-mentioned Officers has been cancelled from the Y9th instant, inclusive, upon their receiving a commuted allowance for their commissions : Ensign D. Costello, half-pay Unattached Ensign \V W. Leslie, halfpay 59th Foot Assistant-Surgeon R. Macleod, half-pay 100th Foot Ensign J. Birney, half-pay 49th Foot Assistant-Surgeon T. Howell, half-pay- Hospital Staff Lieut. R. Gregory, half-pay 49th Foot Lieut. E. Lewis, half-pay Unattached Ensign T. W. Craig, half-pay 35th Foot Ensign J. Atkinson, half-pay Unattached Lieut. J. Warner, late of the New South Wales Veteran Com- ponies Lieut. M. Fitzgerald, half-pay Unattached Ensign T. K. Holmes, half-pay Unattached Surgeon J. G. Playfair, half-pay Hospital Staff Lieut. K Armstrong, half-pay Gth Dragoons Ensign H. H. Slade, half-pay 43d Foot Lieut. W. Warren, half-pay 37th Foot Lieut. J. Currie, half-pay 60th Foot Lieut. A. G. Lewis, half-pay 68th Foot Lieut. J. S. Kelly, half-pay 4th Foot Lieut. A. Macfarlane, half-pay 57th Foot Lieut. C. Irwin, half-pay Royal Waggon Train Lieut. C. de Merwede, half-pay Light Infantry Battalion King's German Legion Assistant-Surgeon R. Moorhead, half-pay Light Dragoons Assistant-Surgeon J. NAshwood, half-pay liith Foot Ensign F. de Ronne, half-pay 3d Line Battalion King's German Legion Lieutenant A. W. Honne, half-pay Ist Foot Ensign W. Constantine, half-pay Bth Foot Assistant-Surgeon D. Browne, half-pay lit West India Regt. Lieut. R. H. Dwyer, half-pay Unattached Lieut. Hon. E. S. Pery, half-pay 7th Light Dragoons Cornet J. Sparrow, half-pay 17th Light Dragoons Ensign and Lieut. Sir T. E. Croft, Bart. half-pay Ist Foot Guards Lieut J. F. S. L'Ecolier, half-pay Bourbon Regiment Assistant-Surgeon W. Moffatt, half-pay 49th Foot Lieut. R. S. Amiel, half-pay 25th Foot Ensign R. Blake, half-pay 4th West India Regiment Lieut. R. Dering, half-pay Royal York Rangers Ensign J. C. Probe, half-pay 21th Foot Staff:Surgeon J. Beresford, half-pay Hospital Staff Ensign J. De Courcy, half-pay 2d Greek Light Infantry Ensign Sir G. Rich, half-pay sth Garrison Battalion Lieutenant J. Canny, half-pay 30th Foot Ensign G. A. Hill, half-pay 27th Foot. Commissions by the Lord Lieutenant of the County of Somerset. To be Deputy Lieutenants—The Right Hon. H. J. G. Herbert, commonly called Lord Porchestcr ; W. E. Pickwick, Esq , dated March 9, 1531; and W. Clark, Esq. March 15. Commissions by the Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of the County of York. To be Deputy Lieutenants—H. Roughsedge, J. W. Foster, and M. Wilson, jun. Esqrs., Feb. 4. Yorkshire Hussar Regiment of Yeomanry Cavalry. E. H. Reynard, Gent. to be Cornet, vice Toulson, resigned, Feb. 8. Commission by the Lord Lieutenant of the County of Renfrew• Renfrewshire Regiment of Militia—A. Speirs, jun. Esq. to bj Lieutenant-Colonel, vice Mure, promoted, March 19. Commission by the Lord Lieutenant of the County of Kent. West Kent Regiment of Yeomanry Cavalry—G. Albert, Gent. to be Adjutant, with constant pay, March 21. Whitehall, March 25, The King has been pleased to present the Rev. David Bell to the church and parish of Kennoway, in the presbytery of Kir kaldy and county of Fife, vacant by the death of the Rev. Patrick Wright. Whitehall, March 28. The King has been pleased to grant to Christopher Hodgson, of Great Dean's-yard, Westminster, Esq., the joint office of Secretary and Treasurer to the Governors of the Bounty of Queen Anne for the augmentation of the maintenance of the poor Clergy ; the office of Treasurer having become vacant by the death of John Paterson, Esq. DECLARATIONS OF INSOLVENCY. JAMES MOORE, Bermondsey-wall, Surrey, master-mariner. WILLIAM DRABBLE, Leman-street, Goodman's-fields, pewterer. RICHARD SMITH, William-street, New Kent-road, Surrey, victualler. BANKRUPTCY ENLARGED. THOMAS CH ARLES DE LACOUR, London, diamond. merchant, from April 1 to April 5, at eleven, at the Court of Commissioners. BANKRUPTS. BENJAMIN HAINES, Royal Hospital, Chelsea, grocer, to surrender April 1, at twelve, 19, awl May 10, at eleven, at the 'Court of Commissioners. Passmore and Taylor, Basinghall-street. GEORGE corrEE, Farnham, Surrey, bootmaker, April 5, at eleven, 12, at twelve, and May 10, at eleven, at the Court of Commissioners, Bailey, Ely-place, Holborn-hill. JOHN WOOD,jun., Grit's Green, Westbromwich, Stafford. shire, shoemaker, April 7,8, and May 10, at eleven, at Will day's Royal Hotel, Birmingham. Clowes, Orme, and Wedlake, King's Bench-wa,k, Temple, London; Collis, Stourbridge, Wor cestershire. MAURICE MYERS, Birmingham auctioneer, April 14, 15, and May 10, at twelve, at Wilday's Royal Hotel, Birmingham. Norton and Chaplin, Gray's-Inn-square, London ; Stubbs, Birmingham. GEORGE OSBORNE, Colchester, Essex, seedsman, April 4, 3, at ten, and May 10, at two, at the Three Cups Inn, Colches ter. Wittey, Colchester ; Stevens, Wood, 'Wilkinson, and Satchell, Little St. Thomas Apostle, JOSEPH DAVY, Devonport, Devonshire, brewer, April 18, 19, and May 10, at eleven, at the Royal Clarence Hotel, Exeter. Merry, Lincoln's-Inn-Fields, London; Birch, Evesham. HUGH WILLIAM DANSON. Bristol, merchant, April 12, 13, and May 10, at one, at the White Lion Inn, Bristol. Os borne and Ward, Bristol ; Meredith and Reeve, New-square, Lincoln's-Inn, London. MICHAEL EMANUEL, Birmingham, jeweller, April 8,9, and March 10, at twelve, at Wilday's Royal Hotel, Birmingham. Adiington, Gregory and Faulkner, Bedford-row, London ; Stubbs, Birmingham. HENRY SUTTON, Newark, Nottinghamshire, mercer, April 7, at six, 8, and May 10, at eleven, at the Bell Inn, Derby. Swettenham, Inge, and Swettenham, Wirkswork, Derbyshire ; Stevens, Wood, Wilkinson, and Satchell, Little St. Thomas Apostle, London. JOSEPH NALL, Manchester dealer, Aprill2, 13, and March 10, at nine, at the York Hotel, Manchester. Milne and Parry, Temple, London • Wheeler, Manchester. SAMUEL WOOD, Lingard's-wood, Yorkshire, elothier, April 13, at six, 14, and May 10, at ten, at the George Inn, Huddersfield. Battye, Fisher, and Sudlow, Chancery-lane, Lon don ; Sykes, Huddersfield. THOMAS BENSUSAN, Poland-street, Oxford-street, mer. chant, April 12, at ten, 15, at eleven, and May 10, at ten, at the Court of Commissioners. Abbott, Nicholas-lane, Lombard street. . . HORATIO WARNER, George-street, Adelphi, Strand, coal-merchant, April 5, at ten, 12, at twelve, and May II?, at nine, at the Court of Commissioners. Yates and Sydney, Bury-street, St. Mary Axe. JOHN WILSON, Cannon-street, Dowgate-hill, .wholesale grocer, April 8, at three, 12, at two, and May 10, at one. at the Court of Commissioners. fty, King-street, Cheapside. EDWARD PEARSON, York-street, Westminster, furniture broker, April 8, at ten, 19, at eleven, and May 10, at ten, at the Court of Commissioners. Smith, King's Arms-yard, Coleman street. THOMAS CROOKALL, Manchester, innkeeper, April 13, 14, and May 10, at two, at the York Hotel, Manchester. Chew, Manchester; Adlingten, Gregory, and Faulkner, Bedford-row. THOMAS MURRELL, Evesham, Worcestershire, grocer, April 11, at five, 12, and May 10, at ten, at the Norwich Arms Inn, Evesham. Merry, Lincol►'s-Inn-Fields, London; Byrd), Evesham. DIVIDENDS, J. Turnbull, J. Forbes, R. A. Crawford, and 1). Skeene, Broad-street, merchants, April 19, at eleven, at the Court of Commissioners—T. Dawson, Houndsditch, whalebone-cutter, April 19, at ten, at the Court of Commissioners—T. Roby, Tam worth, tanner, April 19, at nine, at the Court of Commissioners —J. Campbell, White Lion-court, Cornhill, merchant, April 19, at one, at the Court of Commissioners—J. D. Browne, Wal thamstow, Essex, surgeon, April 19, at eleven, at the Court of Commissioners—W. Down, Church-passage, Guildhall, Black well-hall-factor, April 15, at ten, at the Court of Commissioners —R. and O. Welsh, Liverpool, brokers, April 20, at one, at the office of Messrs. Lace and Sons, Liverpool—J. Hyde, Birming ham, common-carrier, April 22, at two, at the Court of Com missioners—N. Kirwan, Riches-court, Lime-street, merchant, April 12, at eleven, at the Court of Commissioners—J. Foulter, High-street, Marylebone, victualler, April 12, at eleven, at the Court of Commissioners—R. Wilkinson, Epworth, Lincolnshire, linen-draper, April 19, at eleven, at the Guildhall, Doncaster— W. Prince, Liverpool, tailor, April 30, at one, at the Clarendon Rooms . , Liverpool—G. Turner, Liverpool, merchant, April 21, at one, at the office of Messrs. Lace and Sons, Liverpool—J. Tarleton, Liverpool, merchant, April2l, at two, at the office of Messrs. Lace and Sons, Liverpool—J. Hawthorn, Newcastle upon-Tyne, brass-founder, April 21, at one, at the George Inn, Newcastle-upon-Tyne—J. Harrison, Bury, Lancashire, hard_ wareman, April 25, at ten, at the Star Inn, Manchester. CERTIFICATES—APRIL 19. G. P. Lamb, Skinner-street, Somers'-town, cheesemonger— T.Floud, Exeter, banker—S. and H. Horton, Star.yard, Carey street, wholesale-ironmongers--W. C. Parslow, Exmouth-street, Clerkenwell, cheesemonger. PARTNERSHIPS DISSOLVED. J. Wait and B. Goulden, Spital-square, silk.manufacturers— .l. Mortitt and C. Rhodes, Sheffield, coopers —R. J. W. and J. Power, Havant, Southampton, common-brewers—J. and 3. Arundale, jun., Newcastle-upon-Tyne, tanners—R. Schneider and F. Lamb, High Holborn, furriers—W. and A. Watkins, Mu seum-street, Bloomsbury, smiths—J. Creed and J. Harr►s, Chel tenham, plumbers—T. F. and W. Bick, Cheltenham, iamb dealers—P., J., and R. Massey, Manchester, porters—D. K And 'J. Langton, Gra% esend, Kent, shipping-butchers—K an d E. - Brigden, jun., Bristol, architects—J. H. Grieve and M. and S. Cook, Booth-itreet, Spitalnelds, silk-dyers—J. Peat, Huddle es t e l a i s l i‘ l i l zi e r t y c i ti ,o e r r t „ T. rat (de mTcbl:r°lnan' Cumberland, ship - a builders n — cl S J . . n c.. Barritt • Frceschool.street, Southwark, Surrey, bakers—J. Batiper and Willsea, Norwich, grocers—A. and 'l'. Nelson, O Not. tinghamshire, paper-manufacturers—J. G. D. and H. Tavi stock, Devonshire, mercers—H. Brettargh and T. Emery, Man. chester, commission-agents—J. Poulton and S. Lake tha n, Packet's-court, Coleman-street, wholesale tea-dealers—J. an d W. Mortlock, jun., Oxford-street, china-dealers—G. K. Long and R. Guy, Little Wild-street, Lincoln's.inn-fields, hgm-plate workers—J. Gale, jun. and 'l'. Gale, Shadwell, colour-Manufac. turers—S. and J. Jones, Worship-street, Norton Falgate, far riers—J. Pearson and P. Stainsby, Dowgate-wharf, Foal-mer chants—J. Barnett and M. King, Essex-street, Strand, navy agents—R. Sharp and H. M. Aldridge, Christchurch, South_ ampton, attorneys—R. Stevenson, F. G. and E. G. (30daell. Great Tower-street, wine-brokers—T. H. H. Davies 4. Wells, F. Verbeke, A. Burgass, and W. H. Klyne, of the Welsh Iron a nd Coal Mining Company. THE MARKETS. COUNTRY CORN MARKETS DURING THE AMEX. Wheat. Barley. Oats. Means. Per Quarter. s. to s. s. to s. s. to s. 4. to s. Boston 69 23 25 le Gainsborough 73 42 25 w. 42 Grantham 70 88 40 46 21 30 35 45 Grimsby 6O 72 30 38 20 28 30 38' Horocastle 6t 76 34 42 42 28 35 40 Lincoln 72 76 40 47 24 30 40 44 Spilsby 66 76 32 42 24 28 II 40 Stamford .r..,. 64 82 41 46 24 24 35 I 62 76 34 44 23 33 3¢ 48 LEWES MARKET.—March 29. I White Wheat (per quarter)......X3 18 0 to £4 0 Red ditt0....... 3 16 0 4 0 Barley • _ .............. 1 14 0 2 0 Oats New ...—.—..---...." 1 5 0 1 0 8eari5......... ......" 110 0 1 1 0 _ Oil Cake. New—,............-....... 12 0 0 per thoustord. NORWICH, March 26. Wheat (per qr.) « 6t.. 745. 78a. Beans (per qr.) Barley as 40s. 425. Pease, Grey Oats 28,. 325. 345. Flour, fine (per sack) CANTERBURY, March 26. Wheat, 745. to 78s. —s. 565. to 575. —s. Barley, Malting 3.84. to 4Si. Grinding.. 30s. tJ Oats . to 325. —s. t, Beans -....----. 31s. to 333. Old-- 335. Pease 383. to :103. 3.,5. :ETS —March 25. Wheat (bushel) —9s. 9d. te s.od. Barley 041 9 9 6 0 0 Oats Beans 6 ,5 0 Butter (lb) 1 I 1.1 Eas (15) 0 0 '1 0 Potatoes (peck) —0 0 10 6 IRISH MARKETS. DUBLIN MARKET NOTE.—FRIDAY, March 21 From To )4 P. 393 Wheat, per barrel 20 . stone 33 0 40 0 31, 6 0 Bes e l7 stone 9 0 0 0 O. 42 Barley .16 stone 17 6 19 0 0 ; 0 890 Oats _ 12 stone 14 6 18 a 15. '2 9414 Cwt. 9 stone 9 0 27 0 0 0 620 Oatmeal 8 stone 16 0 18 0 16 6 Sold to Bakers only. 8,485 Cwt. Flour . 19 0 27 . 0 22 Average price of Wheat and Flour 565. &1. per sack. Firsts, from 244. Od. to . s. Od. Sales of Do. 9,414 Receipts of Flour, 10,029 Seconds, from 19s. 6d. to . Od. from 9s. Od. to 1 Od. 36e. -8. 408. EXETER MAR] Beef (5c0re).....,., Be. ecl.lo .0(1. Mutton (1b.).---0 5 0 ei Veal and i =lb-0 6 0 7 I'rk —0 4 0 6 Geese (each) 0 6 0 Ducks (couple)-3 6 5 0 Fowls 0 3 6 PRICE OF BREAD. Quartern L0af—........«.....1014d. I Half Quartern MONTHLY REPORT OF CORN, BY THE CO\IMiSSIONERS OF HIS MAJESTY'S CUSTOMS. An Account showing the Quantities of Corn, Grain, Meal, and Flour, imported into the United Kingdom in the Month ended Ist March, 1831, the Quantities upon which Duties have been paid for Home Consumption during the same Month, and the Quantities remahiing in Warehouse at the close thereof. • (Published in conformity to the Gth sec. of the Act 9th Geo.,IV c. 60.) Species of Corn, Grain, Steal, and Flour. 'Quantities Imported in the United Kingiorn in the Month ended March 1, 1831. Imported from Foreign Countries. The Produce of, and Im ported frcim, British Posses- 1 signs out of I Europe. Wheat Barley .. Oats Rye Pease Beans Maize or Indian Corn Buck Wheat Beer or Bigg Total of Corn anti Grain Wheat Meal, or Flour Barley Flour Oatmeal Rye Meal Indian Meal Total of Meal and Flour Qrs. Bus. 17,016 6% 7,730 4 Species of Corn, Grain, Meal, and Hour. Wheat Barley oats Rye Pease Beans , Maize or Indian, Corn Buck Wheat Beer or Bigg Total of Corn and Grain Wheat Meal, orl Flour Barley Flour Oatmeal Rye Meal Indian Meal Total of Meal and Flour 2,3'26 7 4,740 6 272 5 2,752 6 1,556 5 36,396 734 Cwts. qrs. lb. Species of Corn, Grain, Meal, and Flour. Wheat Barley Data Rye Pease Beans Maize or Indianj Corn Buck Wheat Beer or Bigg ..... Total of Corn and Grain Wheat Meal, of Flour Barley Flour Oatmeal Rye Meal Indian Meal Total of Meal anc Flour 69,609 1 27 69,809 1 '27 Qrs. Bus. 1,156 2Y,I i 8'2,065 4 30 4 182 0 3,518 6 11 2 I ,66 I 6 765 0 89;391 0% Cwts. qrs. Qrs. Bus. 3,190 0 131 0 3,321 0 Cwts. qrs. lb. 509 0 4 509 0 p Qrs. Bus. 2,208 0 Total.. Qrs. Bus. 20,206 6% 7,730 4 131 It 2,326 7 4,740 8' 272 :► 2,752 6 1,556 5 39,717 7) Cwts. qrs. lb. 621 1 27 027 1 '27 131 0 2,3:39 0 Cwts. qrs. lb. 492 0 6 49 0 6 70,318 2 f 3 70,318 2 for Home Con. :ingdom in the 1 Total Qrs. 13i 3,364 24 82,0(i5 4 161 Vi 182 0 3,518 6 , 11 2 1 fi 705 4. 91,730 0$ Cwts. qrs. Ibt 1,119 2 1,119 2 !Quantities remaining in Warehouse in the United Kingdom on March 1, MI. Imported from Foreign Countries. The Produce of, and Im ported from, British Posses sions out of Europe. Total. ' ' Ors. Bus. 149,147 7 • 74,f:63 4 21,772 7 18,530 4 1:218 .1% 1,145 6 Qrs. Bus. 1,112 4 1,112 4 4 _ 4 sh-s. ma. 1ai,260 a 7,663 21, 7 79 7 . 18,590 C 1,218 1,145 6 5,333 5 929 1 273,903 , 754 Cwts. qrp. lb. 1 0 Curls. qrs. lb. 978 1 5 248,29 1 2 3' 21 20 0 0 855 0 Is I 3 0 249,169 3 ti 5,383 5 929 1 272,791 3% Cwts. qrs. lb. ,k 247,314 3 16] Quantities charged with Duty_ gumption in the United Month ended March 1, 1831 Imported from Foreign Countries. The Produce of, and Im ported from, British Posses sions out of Europe. '2O 0 0 843 0 15 217,316 I 16 1 1,853 1 20 By order of the Commissioners, T. WHITMORE, Sec. Custom-House, London, March 26, 1831. BIRTHS. On the '2,2d inst. at Edinburgh, the Countess of Ho2etoun, of a son and heir. On the 27th inst. at Kennington, Mrs. William S.nith, of daughter. year of his age, MARRIED. relatives ese r vedl a y nd friends. On the 26th inst. at Stoke Cannon, near Exeter, the Rev. lAr. G. Cookesley, to Augusta, daughter of the late J. D. Foulkei, Esq., of Dawlish, Devon. DIED. Esq. of Clapharn George, second s tt o h n i d ns s t o . n(tlodfs liei,morning),janiin Harrison , intie 17th Common, Surrey. On the 26th inst. at Weymouth, Villiers Gore, aged 15 mmitht, son of Lieut.-Colonel Melville Browne, late of the Bth or King's whose Market,llD respected, and Regiment. . , On the 25th inst. suddenly, Mr. Ra d Iph Foster, of the Apple On the 28th inst. at Cheltenham, Frances, the wife of the Rei. Charles Prideaux Brune, ,fPrideaux-place, Cornwall. On the 27th inst. Miss Mary , Ann Wilson, only daughter df Lieut.-Col. Wilson, of Upper Guildford-street. On the 28th inst. at Conduit-street, C. Robb, Esq. of Faxehard, Hants, agect SI. On the 26th inst. at Earl Stanhope., in Albemarle - street, Mrs. Fletcher. loss Manchester, w ll iv se,e severely y g e fe n i t t le b n y ma On the 28th inst. aged Sti, at Knightsbridge, Mr. D. Egg, of the Opera Colonnade, Pall-hall. On the 26th inst. at Maristow House, Devon, Sir Masseb Lopes, Bart, aged 70. Suddenly, in Gloucester-place, Portma are Sir H. Haws __ n.squ , ley, Bart., of Seybourne Grange, Kent, aged 55. On the :Nth inst. J m all J. : gnall, Esq., of AldermanbUrY, and Cranford, Middlesex. PRINTED AND Pt:ALIENED BY MURDO YOUNG, AT TEE . - • SUN-OFFICE, IJ2, STRAND,•LoNDON. _ fi hib 4 mu reit froi me ~.