The Sun. — London, England, 1831-04-18 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THIF. PUBLIC JOURNALS. The Treasury minute respecting the salaries of the various Members of the Administration, which :vas alluded to by Lord Grey on Friday, is expected with some impatience. If rumour speak correctly, this return will reflect the highest honour on th , ? present Administration. If a dedeetion of nearly 20,0001. a year shall be made from the pay of about a dozen offices, we suppose the bitterest opponents of 'the nnistry will allow them at least the praise of disinterestedness. The Duke of Richmond and Lord Durham have, it is understood, refused the salaries of their respective offices. This, however honourable, appears to us to be wrong in principle. Sinecures should be unflinchingly cut away, bet an efficient officer ought to receive an adequate remu neration for his services. Sir James Macdonald has set an excellent example by giving up the salary of his sinecure in the Privy Seal Office. W e t r ust that the other sinecurists in the same department (Mr. Caries and Mr. Fane) will not be slow in imitating the conduct of the Hon. Baronet. We hope, too, to see some further instances of personal sacrifices for the public good among the borough-proprietors and those who hold under them. Mr. Hyde Vil liers and Mr. Hawkins have adopted the noble pre cedent of Mr. John Smith, Mr. Russell, and Sir Sandford Graham; and, unless we are misinformed, this evenin' will witness some further manifestations of a generous preference of the nation's benefit to heft r. dual interests.— Times. We do not shut out from our observation the fact Out considerable alarm has been expressed in VA rivarters, during the week just expired, respect ing the disposition of certain personages towards the Reform Bill ; and likewise with regard to the ques tion whether his Majesty's Ministers possessed re solution enough to qualify them for a contest, not with the King, but with the Court f necessary, se cure as they have a right to consider themselves of the stanch, thoroughgoing, and unflinching adherence of the whole British nation. 'We have treated with disdain the gossip of intriguers who would avenge themselves for their failure to poison their Royal' Master's ear, with misrepresentations both of his loyal subjects and of his upright and prudent Minis ters, by again misrepresenting to the people the en lightened sentiments arid honest coesistency of their King. The Duke of Wellington, indeed, had on sine grand occasion of his life a formidable task as signed to him—he had to fight his Catholic Relief Bill against the prejudices of King and people, with nothing but the Duke's own native firmness to rely upon, and the confidence derived from truth and justice,—allies of whose aid, in politics at least, it argues a brave and powerful mind to estimate the entire value. The Duke of 'Wellington, in spire of all the opposition which We have remed, and with no other assistance, carried tri umphantly the Bill of Catholic emancipation. Lord Grey, on the other hand, has had his i'tfajesty's full and formal permission to urcorn plish this great measure. He has with hint, beyond dispute, and almost without so much as individual dissent, the whole body of the English, Scotch, and Irish rations, wroneht up to a pitch of eager ness and enthusia m of which there is no example in modern times. Whence comes it, then, that any thing like distrust or apprehension has shown itself as to the success of the present Cabinet in consume mating a work undertaken upon such high autho rity, and countenanced by a degree of encourage ment from the whole empire, so unanimous and so perfrc•ly ? Can it be that Lord Grey, es compered with the Duke of Wellington, does ot inspire the same full conviction of his lofty, firm, and inflexible purpose, to execute what (under auspices so infinitely more favourable) his Lordship 115* attempted ? If this be the view which timid or ill-informed men have taken of Lord Grey's cha racter, and of that of his colleagues, we do not hesitate to express our belief that it will turn out to be most fallacious and unjust. Our persuasion is, . and we do not speak at random, that Ministers wilt be found to act in a spirit of manly and unsullied good' faith ;—that they will maintain untouched and in its purity, the great principle of substituting a real for a nominal representation of the people of England ;—that they will not lend themselves to any wretched system of party partiality, although their political enemies, themselves the paramount iebbers of the country, have accused them of it, or to any false and mischievous plan for setting up one class or interest of society to the detriment of another. If the principle of the Bill - was to enfran chise or disfranchise boroughs accor , ling to their real population, and if the returns have proved in some few cases to be incorrect, it is no departure from . .he principle, but au homage to it, that the be nefit of a more err yet return should be given to a place which had suffered by a false one, provided that in no instance shall a rotten or close borough have that which the measure, as originally an nounced to Parliament, would have denied to a right of representation. If Parliament should de cide, which we trust it will not, that the gross num bers composing the House of Commons shall not he at all diminished, we feel satisfied that Ministers, in filling up the vacancies created by the disfratichi,e meta of worthless boroughs, will proceed through out upon the predominant principle of the Bill, and divide between the agricultural and commercial irverest the extended rights which must then be brought into operation, as well as in the selection of 'mew towns or districts for the return of Members to Parliament, be governed by a regard to populatioo in s-signing the right to representatives, and by pro perty in distributing the votes. We repeat, arid a few hours must now put the justice of our anticipa tion in evidence, that Ministers are honest, stanch, and resolute; and, backed as they are by the King and by the people of England, will bring this vast struggle to an honourable ;tad happy re:ult. So confident are we of the result, that our anxiety has ceased, and, in the words of the poet, " We await the issue in repose."-- Tinies. We will not occupy the time of our readers with any further notice of the various rumours respecting the inclinations of their Majesties as to the Reform Bill. The Windsor Express, from which we give an extract, returns to the subject of the intrigues at 'Windsor ; but the article is written in ignorance of the letter from Mr. Legh, in the Chronicle of Satur day. We, of course, cannot know his Majesty's thought;; but we know how he ought to act; and we think we are tolerably certain of the manner in which the Ministry of Earl Grey will act, if they do not find themselves properly supported. Lord Grey is not the man to hold office one moment longer than he possesses the full confidence of the King. We ive the declaration of the Ministers th..t they will ~a t depart from the principle of the Bill. This im plies that they are determined to adopt whatever measure is necessary to give effect to their resolu tion. If they are not allowed to do this, they have only to throw themselves on the country; and on their heads who force them to this step, be the re sponsibility of all to which it may lead. No Mi nistry, formed on the principle of cheating the nation out of reel 1 teform, by giving a pretended Reform, more acceptable to the oligarchy, could hold to gether a single week.-- , -Morning Chronicle. It is confidently stated that, after denouncing, in common with his coadjutvrs, all Reform beyond the paltry, mendacious, and pitiful system of punishingglimongering, from the luckless bunglers borou time to time detected in the manour, Sri R. P ee l rn means to produce some scheme of his own, in the hope of supplanting Lord John Russell's ineasure. The Ex-Minister has, cut and dry, his usual coMmon pia,ces of yielding to the decided sense of the people, arid his inability (Heaven calm his uneasy con 4cience !) to defend the gross venality and corrup tion which, of course, according to his plausible ritual, he would be the last man to screen. So far we may predict the languag e he will employ, but by what process of smooth and sinuous dexterity he is to approach the vices of the system, or by what wetly Of operation he is to remote the gangrene irom the Con•titution rv:! cannot divine. At al! • - . • 7,7 . • •: . empiric of Sir Robert's class will seek only " to film the ulcerous sore," so as to re,:tore the outward appearance of health ; but that no such grand and searching mendicamcnt as the constitution of the patient demands to root out the seeds of disease, and to give strength, purity, and vigour to the body will be compounded in a laboratory over which he presides. But it will not do ; the pc.tied for delusion is past ; the country and Pariit&ent ap prove the principle of the meksbre of his Majesty's Ministers, and will held to it, despite of all the petty cavils which perverse ingenuity, sharpened by bitter hostility, may make to the detai:s. The needful amendments and alterations, if any, will be made ; but any new scheme, how plausible soever, in con ceding the principle of Reform on whirl the nation has pronounced a judgment rct now to be reversed, and, if at all, not icr; delayed in execution, will be viewed with deserved suspicion, coming as it does from the avowed opponents of that principle, and peremptorily rejected accordingly.—M. Chron. TO THE ~NDITO.R OF THE SUN. Sz.r.,...—You have so liberally opened your columns to both sides of the arguments for and against the great once tion of Reform, and so boldly advocated that cause, that I trust you will use the following comrarnts on an Anti- Reform eonnty meeting, held lately in the town of Elgin; and the more particularly so, since you are well aware how much our provincial press is encumbered with a bits which prevents free discussion. The first impulse of my mind on perusing the speeches of ou self-elected Provosts and their partisans, at the county meeting referred to, was amazement at their bare , faced assurance, at their hypocritical cant, and et their miserable effort to cajole those who bane been too long op pressed by them, in the appesrance ot whining attachment to, and anxiety about, interests, which never gave them a moment's real concern. The next impulse was to give a detailed reply to the speeches ; this, however, would be a work of snpererogatien. To decypher the Nairnshire p tlitical status: of moat of the individuals composing the nine " Wise Men of the East," will, to every reflecting person, answer all the purposes of reply ! Was more than once a self-elected, I. Sir Archibald Dunbar, non-resident Provost, and. la now a the Chairman, self.elected, non-resi•lent Councillor of the burgh of !C airn. cHas been over and over again, and La 2. Sir IN. Cumming, -/ now the self-elected, non-resident, C Prevost of the burgh of Nairn. )' Has been several ti rnee th e se lf -e l ec t e d , a Major Cumming, the non-resident P rovos t , an d i s now a Provost ofNairn's brother, self-elected, non-resident Councillor _: - .,itbe burgh of Nairn. 1 Has been a fixture, as a self-elected, 4. Dalvey, tion , rcedint Councillor of the burgh of ;V ..Nairn for many years. Has been for many years a Paper And, 5, C:otonei Hay, oßfaaronny,Litchrliputtioani%ndtli county,is e , ofror,e a rti i the " Freeholders" list of Nairnshire. Having thus given the political relations of those of the meeting, unfortunately fur us connected with this burgh and county, constituting a majority by one of the Elgin county meeting, I leave it to some one of your intelligent Moray-shire correspondents to specify the weight justly attributable to the political opinions of the remainder. Looking then at the political character and connections of more than one-half of the persons who composed the county meeting held in Elgin on the 29th March, can any one wonder that a last puny effort was made by such men, to support their beloved and " perfect system" of corrup tion, and in the midst of sanguine feelings on the subject, that they were led into many absurdities? This burgh passed into the hands of its present owners come forty years ago for a trifling pecuniary consideration, and if you had leisure to refer to your own file of December last, yon would there see, in a letter, signed " Verax," a pretty accurate detail of the scandalous mis management ever since, and what sort of gratitude this community owes to them. The heritable property of thins burgh, not many years ago, was miles in extent, ex cepting a small hit of commonty, and a moss, this extensive subject is irretrievably alienated front it. This fact alone is sufficient to show, that the sooner our system is changed the better ; and, so far from the self-complacent assertion being true, that "if the occupancy of our' Civic Chair was to be decided by a poll election to-morrow, the unani mous suffrage of the people of Nairn would raise the pre sent Provost' by acclamation to that well deserved dignity," I speak advisedly when I declare, that rather than be forced to continue such an it:tliction on themselves, the burgesses and inhabitants, with the exception of the few involved in the present system, would deliberately and unanimously petition to be utterly disfranchised ! ! Is it not an extraordinary proceeding, Mr. Editor, that our rulers should go upwards of twenty miles away, to Elgin, to sound their own praises, and to make declara tions which they have not the assurance to tome forward here to assert? If the confidence they place in the com munity of Nairn he such as they would make believe, why, when a public meeting, the most numerous that ever was held here, on any political snhject, took place, did they not come forward as men, and convince the inhabitants that it was the 1)&4 ; and the most honourable course for them to keep silence, and retrain political slaves ?—Nu__ this they knew, (though several of them were tlott evening in the tntvn) would not suit their purpose. Pacts, stub born facts, not very pleasing to the ear, would have been told them, and they kept aloof. The above meeting was held immediately before his Grace of Wellington's heartless declaration. There has been a subsequent meeting, for a similar purpose, held in this burgh, approving the Minis terial pl in of Reform ; this second opportunity was not embraced, not one of the municipal authorities appeared, excepting one, who chose (according to the " hole and corner" practice) to conceal himself behind the door!! I challenge the advocates of corruption on their own grounds. They have nearly ruined this burgh by their culpaltle negligence and mismanagement. Their power, however, thank Heaven, is not merely on the wane, but the extinguisher is about to put it out for ever ; therefore, I shall have mercy on them, in hope that the latent ener• ties of the liberal-minded residents shall shortly be employed to remedy the evil consequences of the veriest corruption, and most unrestrained political bondage, that ever disgraced This htirgh, whose inhabitants, with the exceptions al ready noticed, are united and determined as one man, con sists of but a small community, yet we indulge a belief that some good has been done by our frequent, orderly, and lord public meetings in support of our King and country, were it only by opening the eyes of the sublic to their truest interests—to the ahatne!ess abuses, consequent, una voidably so—of the corrupt system ; and by endeavouring to point out the tree remedies. With such a coadjutor as you: free press, we do not despair of shortly seeing the oppressor put to shame—the reign of right instead of might established—and the rich made to pay, et least in equal proportion to the pour, for the support of the state. I am, Sir, your very obedient servant, RATIONAL REFORMER. P.S.—The silly allusions made by one of the speakers At the Elgin meeting to your exertions—to Mr. Hume— as well as to the present enlightened Ministry, are unworthy of much attention. Since writing the above, one of the parties who attended the meeting in question, and who made up the number nine, has declared in the Elgiu Courier that he neither agreed to the resolutions, nor signed the petitions. Nairn, April 9. • R. PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS. HOUSE OF COMMONS. NOTICES OF MOTIONS AND OB.DEI:S OF THE DAT WIIICH STAND IN THE ORDER BOOK FOE THE PRESENT WEEK. MONDAY, APRIL 18, ORDERS OF THE DAY. 1. Abjuration Oath Repeal Bill—Further consideration of Veport. 2 Land Tax Commissioners Names Bill—Committee. 3. Reform of Parliament (Ireland) Bill—Second reading. 4. London Coal Bill—Second reading. 5. Frauds on Creditors Bill—Second reading. 6. Suits in Common Law Courts Bill—Second reading. 7. Malt Distillation (Ireland) Bill—Committee. S. Reform of Parliament (England) Bill—Committee. 9. Land Tax Double Assessments Bill—Committee. 10. Money Payment of Wages Bill—Further consideration of Report. 11. Boman Catholic Charities Bill—Committee. 10. Vestries (Ireland) Bill—Second reading. !3. Liability of Landlords Bill—Further consideration of Report. 14. Charities Bill—Second reading. 15. Charitable Funds Recovery Bill—Second reading. 16. Printed Cottons Bill—Committee. 17. King's Message—Report thereupon. 18. India Supreme Com ts Bill—Second reading. 19. Waterloo Bridge New Street 13111—Report. 20. Arbitration Bill—Further consideration of Report. 21. Supply—Committee. 22. Ways and Means—Committee. '4l. Duchy of Cornwall Leases Bill—Committee. 21. Corporate Funds Bill—Third reading. 03. Elections (Ireland) Bill—Third reading. NOTICES OP MOTIONS. 1. Sir m A i i t l te dr e e w o i g e n e i w t e — fo ' r l i o n o move f Ia r a li z a l m l e n n s t t r ( t E i c ri t g i the Committee do con s ider the expediency of throwing t olannr) the ß il l ,Corni that. e smaller English Boroughs into Districts and of assigning One or more Members to each District, as in the Districts of Burghs in Scotland, and as in the places sharing in the Election of Burgesses in Wales ; and that no Borough whatever should be totally Disfranchised. 2. General Gascoyne--To move a Resolution, That it is the opi nion of this House, that the total number of Knights, Ci tizen 3, and Burgesses, returned to Parliament for that part of the United Kingdom called England and Wales, ought not to be diminished. . General Ga,:coyne—lnstruction authorising the Committee on the Reform of Parliament Bill, th4t they have power to insert a Clause, auth6rising any City, Town, or Borough having a Population of not less than 150,000 resident inha., bitants, and a constituency of not less than ld,ooovoters, to THIRD EDITION. SUN OFFICE, Ha : if-past Eight. IMPERIAL PAR LiAAIENT PHIS EVENING. HOUSE OF COMMONS. The galie.riee and every avenue l e ading to the H orne were crowded at an early hour, and every seat in the House was labelled with the name of a Member. Mr. J. SMITH presentfA a iietition in favour of Re form from the tie: _rants, bankers, and tradesmen of the city . ..•.;1' London. The petition was signed by 9,600 persons, and was agreed to at one of the most ex traordinary meetings that ever occurred in the city, the re being only two dissenting vnic , ?':'. The petitioners were of opinion thot en Til. from the proposed measure of Re form ': - .eing revolutionary it would give additional security to the establishments of the country. Mr. PHILLPOTTS presented a petition from Berkeley in favour of Reform, and another from Gloucester (from the Magistrates) against the recent alterations in the Leer Bill. Mr. PALMER presented a petition from Berkshire against the Beer Bill. He hoped Ministers would bring the subject before the House. Mr. F. PALMER, as a Magistrate, did not think the Beer Bill had bed the least mischievous effect. 1!r. 140DGES - pre;enteil a petition from Hythe and another place in Kent, in favour of Reform. Mr. HOWARD supported the retition, and would vote for the Bill threut,h an its stages. Mr. IBIDGES also presented a petition from Lowe atote, and another from the freeholders of Sussex, in fa vour of Reform. Alderman WINCHESTER—As one of the freeholders of the eounty of Sussex, from wh the petition just now presented by the Hon. Member for the county of Kent purports to be, I am desirous of ascertaining to what parts of the Noble Paymaster's Bill for the Re form of Parliament its prayer particularly alludes ; for if I understood the Noble Lord rightly, the other night, he declared his readiness to abandon a great r At.t of the principle of the Bill new before the House.— (" Hear, hear," and " No, no," from many Members.) Some Hon. Members say "No, no ;" bat I beg to state that such is the fact, earl I am not alone in that impres sion, both as regards the opinion in this House and out of doors. I shall now express my dissent from the prayer of the petition, that as it mentions freeholders generally, it might not be understood I was at all concerned in for warding, or of being interested in that meesure. Mr. CURTEIS said the measure had his decided sup port. He was sure the freeholders of Sussex wished for the Bill, the whole Bill, and nothing but the Bill. Mr. SHELLEY was present at the meeting, and be lieved he was the only opponent to the petition. He thought he could state that not thirty free holders were present.—(Hear.) The petition was only agreed to by the tact of the Sheriff, and in his opinion the Bid was not popular with the majority of the freeholders of Sussex.—(Herr.) Lord G. LENNOX had been through every town and village in Sussex, and was convinced that there was not a single individual but what was in favour of the plan of Reform.—(Bear, bear.) He begged to etate that the meeting was most numerously attended, anal the Hon. Member who opposed it could get only himself and two drunken Lewes men to oppose the petition.—(Exceed ing laughter.) Mr. CURTEIS was convinced the freel:olders would support the Bill with their lives and fortunes. Mr. CRESSET PELHAM had hitherto been an inde pendent freeholder, but if this Bill passed into a law he should no longer remain so.—(Hear, hear.) The petition was then ordered to he printed. Mr. COOPER presented a petition from Sligo against Reform. Mr. O'CONNELL said the petition was not agreed to at a public meeting ; if a meeting had been called at all, the majority would have been in favour of the measure. Sir J. VoxicE and Mr. O'CoNxos DON made a few obnervations. Mr. COOPER could assure the House that the petition was in accordance with the feeling of the immense majo rity of the people of Sligo. Mr. G. DAWSON said, if the Bill was carried, it would overthrow the Protestant Establishment in Ireland. He denied that Sligo was acorrupt borough. An Hox. MEltsmt said the borough was regularly bought and sold. Mr. G. DAWSON —Can the Hon. Member say if he ever knew fle borough was bought and sold.—(Hear.) Sir J. NEWPORT, if neeet-sary, could prove at the bar of the House, that the borough was sold to the highest bidder ; and if a Jew hid the most money, no matter, he would have it.—(Laughter.) Mr. C. FERGUSON—If it were not a fact that boroughs were bought and sold, where was the use of the ten days' debate on the Reform Bill ? After a few words from Mr. O'CoNNEnt., the petition was ordered to be printed. Msjsr MACNAMARA presented a petition from Tulle, and another place in the county of Clare, in favour of Reform. Mr. M. O'CONNELL presented a petition from Ire land in favour of Reform. Mr. HUME said he did net rise to make any observa tions on the petition that had just been presented, but to make a statement which he considered of great import ance. It had been intimated to that House publicly that a great many of the lower class of people in Lancashire were opposed to the present measure of Relearn. So far from this being the fact, he was authorised from most respectable quarters to state that the lower class of people were almost unanimous throughout that county in favour of the measure—that they hailed it as a great and important boon from the one end of the county to the other. Also, that at every one of the meetings and dinners that the Honourable Member for Pres ton had attended, the health of his M ijesty's Ministers, and success to their proposed measure of Reform, had been given and drank with the utmost enthusiasm; and if at those meetings there appeared to be any one single individual opposed to the measure, it pro bably was the Hon. Member for Preston himself.— (Cheers.) Attempts, indeed, were made to raise dis approbation of the measure, and questions were asked, such as would they not prefer inaiversal suffrage to the proposed measure ?—(Cries of hear, hear.)—Why put it to any man—put it to himself (Mr. IL), and he would say he would rather have universal suffrage.—(Loud cheers.)— This was his candid opinion, and why should hr disguise it ? (Cries of hear, hear, hear.)—But because he entertained an opinion that universal suffrage would be better, was be to set up that opinion against his Majesty's Ministers and against the country ?--(Cheers.) The measure was so important now proposed, and fraught with such immense benefit to the public at large, that he felt he should be un worthy of the confidence of any persons did he not give it his warmest support. In the course of ten days the House would be fully satisfied by the petitions which would come from (the working and lower classes of society in Lanca shire, that the representation which bad been made of their feeling of opposition to the measure, had been a most ex tremely unfair and improper representation. (Loud cheer., and hear. )_This he was anxious to state in the most distinct terms, as the Hon. Member' for Pres ton's speech misrepresenting the feeling of Lanca shire had undergone two or three editions, and been very abundantly circulated throughout the country. Mr. LITTLETON bad also been desired to give the flattest contradiction to the statement of the Hon. Member for Preston that the working class of people were not in favour of the present measure.—(Near.) He believed thet no Measure had ever been proposed to any Parliament in w hich there bad been such unanimity of feeling in its favour on the part of the working class of people through out this country. He held in his hand a letter from a highly respectable clergyman in the neighbourhood of Darlston, an extract of which he begged leave to read. The writer stated " I saw yesterday by ap pointment several very respectable individuals of Darl sten, who went out of curiosity to a meeting: that took place there to hear what Mr. Hunt had to say. They assure me they did not hear any thing from any one individual in opposition to the Bill, nor do they believe there is one to he found there who is opposed to it; on the con trary, the Political Union, who are supporters of him (I beg pardon for mentioning the name) are disgusted with him." In another part of the letter he says--" Mr! Hunt said, do yon return any Members here for Parliament? A man said no. He said bow far are you from Coves try? A rnan said, thirty miles. He said, how far are you from ?—A man said, twenty mile,. Then, said hue t, go i n a body at the next electidn, and don't let them send such Mem bers to Parliament as they have b itherto done— lay hold of the electors—catch them as you can ; if that will not do, squeeze them pretty hard ; f that will not do, put a tourni4uet round them, and screw ti at pretty hard." Now, until this was flatly contradicted, be (Mr. L.) should believe the whole of it was true. It had been communicated to him from a most respectable source— he had no lees than three or four and twenty letters on the RAMO anh;gaef_ r tkral vs.(' nn Sa*Tirri.ly to-dny..—(Hear.) One of the letters stated that a petitidn from the working class of Darlston Would be imme diately sent up to that House in favour of the measure. A meeting, for the purpose of agreeing upon the terms of the petition; and of signing it, had been called. One of the placards calling it he held :er nis hind, and it stated that the object was, among other thing:, to celebrate the triumph of the glorious cause in the hands of our beloved Sovereign and his enlightened ministers."—(Loud cheers.) Mr. HUNT said thet ie.'. the first place, as to what had fallen frotn the Hon. Member for Middlesex, he should perhaps in some measure confirm his statement. In regard to what had fallen from the Honourable Member respecting Dalston, he had to say that he had been at a meeting diet too!: place there. He was at Birming ham ola his way to Preston, and at Birmingham was invited to attend a meeting in Warwickshire. In reply he said he had no property there, and he should net go, but would spend the day in Birmingham. Two members. of the Birmingham Union (one a Mr. Western, a roost respectable man) waited on him, and invited him to at tend a meeting at Darlston, saying, if lie would go go, he should have a seat there and back in their carriage, and this was the *ay in which he had got among the Hon. Wlernher's constituents opposite. In consequence he (Mr. II.) believed of his being present on that occasior., instead of there being 50 to dine when dinner had been prepared there were nearly 800.—(Much laughter ) He was invited to address the persons assembled, and the discussion arose upon the prevent measure of Reform. He certainly did put two or three questions to them. They were noisily working men, and not of the class which he should call M. freeholders. In answer to what was stated in the House the other day with respect to putting leading questions, he admitted that lie had put leading questions ; and he would appeal to any Hon. and Learned Member in that House whether, in a Court of Justice, leading questions were not permitted for the purpose of eliciting truth, and the whole truth. (Hear.) He asked those present whether they would be likely to come within the class o f those who would have a vote in the representation? A great portion of them said they were not. He then asked them whether they would choose to delegate to the 101. inhabitants such as were proposed by the Bill, their right to vote, and their answer in the room was, certainly not. After dinner he was invited to go to a multitude, no doubt partly to hear the leaders of the Birmingham Union, and partly that he might be heard himself. He was told that he then addressed 10,000 people, and to whom he repeated his questions, and from whom he got similar answers. The lion. Members for Staffordshire and Middlesex stated that meetings bad been held all over the country, and that the people were unanimous for the measure. He (Mr. II.) had stated the same thing, and that the people were running mad for it. The Hon. Member for Boroughbridge had called it " Russell's Purge Bill." It might be entitleno that epithet from those who were to be scoured out of Parliament by its operations, but be should apply some other term to it. It was a Bill to disfran chise 60 boroughs and to knock off 120 Members.— Now it seemed the Noble Lord had put them all together into an oven ; he had pounded them, and blinded the eyes of the people of England with the powder in the shape of " love's powder, or boroughmonger'e powder." People had began now to see the effect of it. They were recovering from their blindness. The House bad been lustily told that all people approved of the measure. Why so they did approve of it—they approved of it so far as it went, but many, and particularly those in Lancashire, did not approve of it in consequence of its net going far enough. He (Mr. H.) for his own part, approved of the knocking off system— he approved of the measure, and he should give it his support. At the same time he had always centended for the right of the whole people, and this was certainly not a measure calculated to give to the whole the right of voting. He had stated on a former occasion what he repeated now, that when the Bill was in the Committee he should move, that those who were to be exempted from the right of voting should he excused from paying taxes and serving in the mi litia. He had stated this too to the persons at the meetings that he had attended, and asked them if they expected any thing from the measure? They then stated that they expected nothing whatever. The Hon. Member for Middlesex had stated that at the dinners he (Mr. H.) bad attended, certain toasts had been drunk. Now that Hon. Member must have been entirely m'staken, because he had dined with no one ! He knew what the Hon. Member meant; it was this, that ho (Mr. H.) had been invited to an evening party—(Laughter.) at which there was nothing to eat—(Repeated laughter)— at all, and at the meeting the health of his Majesty's Mi nisters certainly was drank. REFORM MEASURE. Lord JOHN RUSSELL rose and said-Sir, I feel, and there can he no doubt of the fact, that however cautious the House may he to go into a Committee upon the 13d1 for amending the representation of the people in Parliamens, as I had already stated that there are certain alterations proposed by his Majesty's Mini stets before it ought to be discussed in Committee, and as my announcement is that respect has led to observa tions which I feel cannot pars entirely without answer, I feel it incumbent to enter into these explanations which I trust will satisfy the House, both that the Government in their original principle acted fairly and impartially, and that in proposing the alterations which it is their inters tion to introduce, they are not abandoning but carrying into effect the principle on which the Bill is founded.— (Loud cries of " Hear, hear.")—But, Sir, before I en ter upon this matter, I cannot help contrasting the situation in which I stand now, with that in • which I stood when I brought forward the measure upon the Ist of March. Whatever anxiety I mey feel now, it is an anxiety mixed with feelings of pride and satisfaction that the measure which the Ministers of the King thous ht it their duty to propose as one which they consider calculated the hest for the promotion of the future welfare of England, has been stampsd and scaled by the approbation of that peop'e for whose benefit and advantage it is solely intended,—(Loud This very night Sir, since I have been in the House, I have heard the Hon. Mender for Preston, who is no very partial friend of this Bill, allege that it is im possible for the Press of England not to stand forward as the fearless advocate of the measure, for if they were not to take such part it would be impos sible for them to find readers. Sir, another sign, and a gratifying one, of the opinions of the people, is the number of addresses and petitions which have flown from all parts of this united empire, both to the ;good deal and to this House. I have looked a ,good deal into these petitions, but as I may have overlooked some, I will not venture to state the numbers presented on one side or on the other. But one thing strikes me as true, and can, I imagine, be proved most satisfactorily, on examination, namely, that from the Corporations whose rights it was said we were about to rob—that from the boroughs we were about to spoliate, the petitions in favour of this measure have been more numerous than the peti tions on the other aide. I will not mention all the petitions. I may mention, however, the petitions of corporations, a noble catalogue—at the head of which stands the Corporation of London—then of Canterbury— then that of Portsmouth—of Gloucester—of Lincoln-- of Derby, and of Bedford. Sir, there is one gratifying sign that they feel that, however the privileges which they enjoy are held•by law, and cannot he taken from them ex cept by Act of Parliament, yet that they would not be acting with that degree of consideration for the in terests of their country, which became them if they were not to profess' their readiness to give their willing assent to'a measure which, if it did deprive them of power, tended to give their fellow-citizens privileges, which ought long ago to have been dif fused more generally, instead of being confined in those very select and small bodies. But with regard to the feeling, and approbation, and sentiments of the people of England, I have another test, which I borrow from the Right Gentleman opposite, who, as he is in the habit of frequently quoti ng past s p eec h es , cannot sure l y fi n d fault with me, if, on this occasion, I adopt the same course.—(Hear, hear.) In bringing forward the Roman Catholic question, and in defending himself against the charge that had been made against that Honourable Member, because he had not kept up his resistance to the Catholic claims with sufficient pertinacity, he declared that be hail asked a friend of his to look into the votes of past years, with respect to the opinions of their constituents upon the Catholic question. He said he had taken fifteen counties and twenty towns, in fact he had taken seventeen counties and twenty-two towns, hut that differencealters not the principle upon which he proceeded, as a test of the opinions of the people of England. In his speech, which had been published under his sanction and approbation, he had said that in considering these votes so given, he was furnished with a practical and constitu tional method of determining the sense of the people. Now, Sir, I am going to adopt that same practical and constitutional method to ascertain legitimately the sense of the people in reference to this measure. I will go over the very counties and places which he mentioned in the Catholic question, and I will refee The Noble Lord then went into A statement of the several county Members who voted for and against the Roman Catholic Bill, among which there were Essex, one in favour of, one against; Hampshire, both against ; Lincolnshire, one in favour of, one against ; Warwickshire, two in faVour of; making in all seventeen counties, in which twenty-seven Members voted in favour of the second reading of that important measure, and only nine against it.—(Hear. ) I come next, Sir, to the towns which the Right Hon. Baronet took as a sample of the country's feelings. London three for and one against ; Westminster all in favour of; Southwark one for and one against ; Liverpool, one for and one against ; Leicester divided ; Exeter two in favour of ; Coventry two in favour of ; Vork two in favour of; Great Yarmouth two in favour of—making in the whole thirty-nine M e mb e r s fr o m these great towns who voted in favour of the measure, awl only six against it. Upon the whole eighty-one Members to whom the flight Baronet opposite had somewhat of a reforming eye looking to them practically and accurately to determine the sense of the people on this greet question. Of these eighty one Members, sixty-six voted in favour of the measure, and only fifteen against it. I take up these very places referred to by the Right Honourable Baronet, and from the feelings I have seen displayed in them I cannot but consider that these are signal proofs that the voice of the country is decidedly, not in favour merely of Reform, not merely in favour of the vague word Reform, which al gentlemen, it appears are now in favour of (Hear)—so long as they are not called upon to determine in what sense they understand it, but it is a signal proof that the people are in favour of a thorough Reform, in short, that they are in favour of this Bill ; that they think the nomi nation of seats ought to be put an end to, and the franchise extended to large, commercial, and manufacturing towns, which at present were wholly unrepresented. I derive (continued the Noble Lord) my information not merely from this, but I infer it likewise from the division which now appears among those who represent the various boroughs, which it is the object of this Bill to de prive of their Members. It is no wonder they should say, we will not vote for this Bill ; it deprives us of the rights which we at present enjoy ; but when we find that persons whose interests are against the question, having no external force applied to them, are exceedingly divided, and that perhaps one-third of them are in favour of relinquishing the power and privilege which they enjoy, from a sense that such power and pri vilege ought not to continue, I say it is a very strong proof of what the opinion of the people is, and the impression that is made on men of cultivated understandings by the arguments and teasons which have been adduced to their minds during the course of the past years on the great question of Reform. I shall now, Sir, refer to the manner in which this Bill has been considered by his Majesty's Ministers during the recess, and in doing eo, I find myself obliged, from the misunderstanding that has prevailed, to refer to the way in which the ►nea sure was ori..inally brought forward. It was difficult properly to estimate a standard on which we should proceed with reference to persons who should have the right to vote. There were various means by which this might have been ascertained pointed out. It WAS said that those paying the smallest taxes, were those rated at :10/. ; but On looking at the case in that view. it was found that those taxes were extremely irregular, and that in many places they took them at the value of the houses rated. Therefore if we had taken that test, we should have taken a test liable to error, if we had taken the test of the 101. householders.— It was also said we might take an examination into the boroughs—their limits, and so on ; but that inquiry would have led to great doubts and difficulties. Thexa would have been great partialities shown by the persons sent out to make the enquiry, and we should hav e got such a mass of details as would have rendered it impossible for us to bring forward any effective mea sure for a year or more, and yet after all we should not have arrived at a proper criterion of the places which ought to be disfranchised. If we had confined ourselves to the limits of a particular bo rough, we should not have done justice, for in Bridge- water, for instance, it is stated that the parish is divided into three parts, its jurisdiction extending over the whole, but there is only one part that sends Members to Parliament. It was thought, therefore, better at once to take that well known Parliamentary docu ment, the population register, which certainly was not drawn up with a view to favour any interest, with a view to befriend any party, but was made out for the purpose of ascertaining the population of the country. We obtained,:therefore, the returns as they were drawn up in the offiice of the Secretary of State for the Home Department, Sir, in doing this, we were taking not only what seems to me to he a fair line, but we were tak ing the only practical line that could be adopted, because with regard to many of those borough!, the only statement to be found in the book of the returns of population is the borough and parish ; and when, by our desire, letters were written by the Secretary of State to the returning officers for their returns, the answer of many of them was, that it was impossible to know what the population was in 1821. Therefore, if we had taken those letters as our guide in framing this measure, we should have taken that line which would not only not have been fair, but a line from which it would have been absolutely impracticable, at least from any known or precise data, to have distinguished the borough,: in all cases from parishes. For instance, with respect to the first borough, Atnersha►n, the return made of it was, that the houses of the inhabitant, covered the whole pariah. Well, then in speaking of Caine, (which I shall have occasion to advert to shortly) a Right Honourable Gentleman accused its the other night improperly, by saying that this was a corrected return. He ought, himself, undoubtedly, to have taken good care to have been correct before he bed made that statement. So far from this being a corrected return, it is, in reality, only a return in part from the letters sent to the Secretary of State', office by the returning officers in the course of l a st week, and which was laid before the House as col lateral to going into a Committee. Wherever there is a borcugh to which there is a parish attached, we have endeavoured to do that which I think is mast equitable. With respect to the borough of Aldhorough, in Yorkshire, it is stated that the borough and township contain 735 inha bitants; but on examining the memorials that have been sent to the Secretary of State's office, it appears that it and Boroughbridge, and several other places, make altogether two thousand inhabitants.—(Hear, hear, from Sir C. Wetherell.) What they proposed was, that Buckingliam,Melmesbury,Oakbampton, andßeigete should be removed from schedule A. to schedule B. ; and that with respect to schedule B. that Leominster, North aierton, Morpeth, Tamworth, Truro, Westbury, and Chip ping•Wycombe,should be removed from it and permitted to return Members as the other borough. There must be a line of some sort drawn ; and the line we have taken is that where it can be said with any fairness that the townships or parishes are depen dent upon the boroughs or belong to the boroughs on the and chief places that then they ought to be con sidered as part of the boroughs, and taken in part of the population ; but we have determined not to give the parishes the right of hieing included in the borough populations which are at a distance from anti have no connection with the boroughs. With respect to Beeralston, which was alluded to the other night, we do not think it falls within the exemption, and that it ought to undergo the sentence of disfranchisement. A Right Honourable Gentleman had compared this to the case of the borough of Caine ; but I imagine it will not be a presumption to say there is not the most remote resemblance between the two. —The borough of Caine, as one of those places (of which there are many) in which the Parish and Board are close together, and in whteh it happens the parish is chiefly formed of the town, the borough itself being very unable. There are then other cases of a similar kind, such as Chichester, Newport, and so on. It is very eosy upon a matter of this sort to form a change of partiality ; but I think if any one will refer to the book of population returns, and to that which has been entered " a corrected return," I am satisfied they will perceive there has lean no partiality whatever. It would be very easy if I could think that any Members of this House would be reconciled to this mea sure by taking the borough of Caine or Tavistock, or auy such one, and adding it to the disfranchised boroughs—it would be very easy to do it, and I am sure nothing could give me greater pleasure than to think that we had got five votes by occasioning the interests of any persons whatever, connected with those boroughs.—(Cheers.)— The Noble Lord then proposed to give representatives to all towns containing above ten thousand inhabitants. To Bury, Oldham, and Rochdale they proposed to give one Member each. To Salford, independently Manches ter sending two Members, they proposed to give one Member. To Stoke-upon-Trent, and parishes adjoining one ; to Wakefield one ; to Whitby one ; the town of Halifax would be taken out of schedule A., to be added to schedule B. To all counties in England and Wales it was proposed to add one additional Member and to those counties containing more than 150,000 inhabitants would have the privilege of sending four Members. Gla►norganshire, who sent one, would send two. He then observed that Buckingham, Marlimrough, and three " 1.1,0 c RA RD—Wheat, 0(1. to 246. 6d.—Barley, 116,--Oats, 76 to Ss. Od. Sr. Cocuma—Wheat, 255. to 276.—Barley, 12s. to 133.—8 ed, and Mutton, 4d. to sd.—Veal, 4%d.—Lamb, Si. MONTGOMERY'S NEW POEM.—In conse quence of the rapid sale of Montgomery's " Oxford," the publishers beg to state that a Second Edition is in the press, and will appear as early as possible. SINGULAR CHARGE OF On Friday, at a Petty Sessions, held at the house of J. MASTER, Esq. near Bated, Surrey, before a bench of county Magi.trates, a farmer (Mr. G.) residing at Limp field, and also having another farm at Norwood, was charged with violating the person of Mrs. S., his niece. It appeared that the husband of the female is the nephew and bailiff of the accused, and the former was ser : t by the latter to hell a calf at the London market early last week. The calf was taken ill on the road, and the nephew re' turned hnme at a late hour at night unexpectedly, and on entering his bed-room found his wife and his uncle in bed together. She screamed " murder" and " violation," and pretended that her uncle had not obtained her consent, and she charged him with a capital assault. On this charge he was brought before the Magist ales, on a warrant, and it was proved that he had been nearly three hours in bed with her before the husband returned home, and that the latter would have taken 100/. from hie uncle to compro mise the affair, hut he would not give more than 201-- The Magistrates said the charge could not he entertained by them, and the nephew might apply to a civil Court for redress fin the seduction of his wile, if he thought proper. He declared he would, and left the Court with his wife. Sr. ANN'S SOCIETY.—The anniversary meeting of the friends of the above-mentioned institution was held on Friday at the London Tavern, Bishopsgate strcet, and it was gratifying to witness such a numerous body of the supporters of this excellent charity assembled together on toe occasion. The object of the charity is to afford succour and protection to young children, male and female, being the offspring of such persons as have beea reduced by unforeseen accidents from a state of easy cir cumstances to one of poverty. They are received at an early age into the society's establishment at Brixton, there educated on the Madras system, boarded, clothed, 4nd en tirely provided for at the expense of the society, and upon attaining a certain number of years are apprenticed to in dustrious occupations. Perhaps a more convincing evi dence of the utility of this society could not he adduced than the fact, that many of the persons educated at the so ciety's schools, who have since risen to opulence and respee' lability, at present occupy, in conjunction with some of the highest personages in the land, the situation of life.govev nors of the institution. One of these individuals addressed the meeting in the course of the evening, and declared his determination to give the utmost support to a charity from which he had himself experienced so much benefit. Lord MORPLTH, in consequence of the unavoidable absence of the Duke of Sussex, took the chair, end discharged the duties of President in an able and efficient style. Among the company present were the Bishops of EXETER a nd ROCIIRSTER, Sir J. Yoaaa, M.P., Mr. ATTWOOD, M.P., Mr. Sheriff POLAND, &c., all of whom liberally contra' buted to the funds of the institution. The total amount of the subscriptions was declared to he 9271. ; but as the society is in debt 2,6501. for the building expenses of the establishment at Brixton, it will be seen tbat the friends of this charity have cause enough to increase their efforts to procure for it fresh supporters, and thereby sem-e the con tinuance of that benefit which it has already conferred upon society. BIRTHS. On the 16th inst. in Cleveland-row, the Lady Durham, of 0 daughter. On the 16th inst. the lady of C. T. Swanston, Esq. of a son. On the 14th inst. at Darlington-place, St. John's Wood, the lady of J. Daly, Esq., of a son. On the I Ith inst. the lady of the Rev. G. C. Rashleigh, of daughter. On the 13th inst. at Spring-place, Hackney, the wife of O' Baker, Esq.. of twin sons. On the 14th inst. at Blackheath, the lady of J. M. White, 01 a daughter. MARRIED. On the 16th inst. at Christ-church, St. Marylebone, J. F. Rose Esq., to Elizabeth Chapman. On the 16th inst. at All Souls Church, Sir R. A. O'Doneh Bart. of Newport-house, Newport, county of Mayo, to Mar'' , third daughter of G. Clendining, Esq., of Westport. On the 14th inst. at Tv;yford, F. P. Delme Radciffe, t e o ld i es in t m so a n , o o f n 1. 1 ;. E daughter of J. 11. a s d q d ., in o g f t t o h n e , Friory, ford-house. On the 15th inst. at St. George the Martyr's, Rev.thE;q.'of h J. lace to Sophia Wilton Windeatt, only daughter of the l ate S. Windeatt, Esq., of Bridgetown, T o t ness , Devon. On the 14th inst. at St. James's, Westminster , t he Rev. C. Hill, n A., of Fetcham, Surrey, to Cicely, you n g est daugh ti of the late Sir C. Willoughby, Bart. of Baldon - h ouse, Oxon.' Sham On the 14th inst. at Homerton, DIED. g On the 14th inst. at Camberwell, Mrs. Alla n, relict o f the li J. Allan, Esq., of Clifton. Mrs. Sarah Duppa, widow, her 87th year. On the 13th i ns t. a t Ki ng - s t ree t, St. James's-square, J. SSl'dell, Esq., aged 34. Ott the 16th inst. Mr. Wm. Collins , o f Durha m -street, vai ir hall, aged 64. On the 16th in s t. Wm. ThomP s Thompson , EIS, of the Stock .•• change, aged 70. On the 16th inst. at Lee, J. K. Williams, Leg. irl AND PLiaLimiED . , ,, Y,. MURDO YOUNG, AT put into schedule 8., and seven towns now included in schedule 8., would be allowed to retain their representatives. Scotland was to have five additiond l members, and Ireland Jive, so that the total diminution of Members would be 31. leaving the total number 621' Witq regard to the voting, many complaints bad bed made, it was therefore proposed, that in all counties the right of voting should be extended to all persoi o holding leases of 999 years, and for all thosr hold' ing leases of sixty years of 10/. a year value. As respected the voting for towns, it would include, 11 those occupying houses, warehouses, and conziting' houses.—(Hear.) Wth respect to continuing the right of free►nen during their lives it was proposed to extend that to their sons and apprentices whose time had not yet expired.—(Cries of " Hear.") An alteration would be made regarding the returning officer who wd to preside at all elections. That officer would be appointed by the Sheriff on March 1, every year. The register' book would sufficiently attest the eligibility of voters• I think if passed now, the B►ll may be passed in tranquillity Rut if the House would not listen to the advice which he humbly offered, he felt that those who undertook the au• thority in that House against the measure would have a task to perform which no Minister would he able sucel cessfully to achieve. If ever there was a Mi nicer poweful in the esteem of his country from the services which he hal performed, it was his Grace the Duke of Wellington ; and if lie, by his opposition to this measure found that power broken and crushed by a a storm to which he would not bend, where was the Mi nister who could venture to undertake the conduct o f authority in that House, against the united will, against the clear express wish, against the undeniable de cisive voice of the people of the three kingdoms.—(The Noble Lord sat down amidst long and continued cheers.) General GASCOYNE next addressed the House. LILT SITTING. COUNTRY CORN MARKETS. DURING LEST WEEK. Wheat. j Barley. Oats. Ter Quarter. Carlisle, Carmarthen - Hex h arn Morpetit Pcnrith Sheffield irVinchester Per Bushel. Coventry -. Newcastle (Staff) Northalterton Stat!brd Warwick - s. to s. 6Zi 52 72 60 72 S. to s. 44 s. to s. 38 Y. to s. 33 31 34 38 40 , 46 34 42 6.d. s.d. 4 8 5 4 60 66 36 46 59 63 4 6 5 0 46 50 22 29 ' 23 3(i I 29 ' 23 30 's. d. s.d. 36 40 46 50 33 40 3 6 4 0 2 6 3.0 22 26 50 52 36 42 4.5 4.9 46 a. d. e. 56 60 59 6 0 59 66 7`l 6d 00 0 0 73 76, 0 0 13 0 11 10 o 11 Pt' 10 a 12 0 00 00 66 73 R. (1. s. d. 70 9 0 110 113 70 93 90 94 86 90 90 100 Per Roll. Barnardeastle Richmond Stockton 18 0 20 6 16 0 200 18 0 22 0 'l7 0 18 0 11 6 12 0 90 106 10 0 10 8 90 100 86 98 56 76 60 88 68 72 WAKEFIELD CORN MARKET.-April 15. Wheat, Red, Norfolk and Suf tiss. to 71s. tine 745. Lin. and Cain. s ' 4 l 655. to 614. fine 725. -- Yorkshire 584. cas. to 665. fine 70s. White n2s. 686. to 735. tine 775. - Foreign, Red 584 645. to 70s. fine 735. White 625. 6E6. to 725. fine 765. Barley, Norfolk and Suffolk - Lincolnshire 29s. to 345. fine 38a. - Yorkshire \Vold Foreign beans, New ass. to 395. fine 41s Oats, Potato 27s. to 31€. fine 335. - -s 2fit. to 295. fine 31s. - Frierland and Small -s. 244 to 28s. fine Nlealing liid. to 15d. per Stone. Shelling 3',6. to 3fis. Od. per Load. Malt 44s. 475. fine 50s. per Load. ItapesQed Beans. Aberdeen Pe rw ic Coldstrer-n Cu par Dundee ...«.,,, Elgin -- I nverness— Kel6o irkahly— Perth The size SCOTCh MARKETS. Wheat. Darley Oat, 22 20 1 19 21 18 21 27 28 2il 21 24 20 21 25 3 , 2 19 tt2. tee throttle 50 68 22 29 42 46 20 27 44 47 24 27 54 80 :34 52 70 32 36 58 03 32 35 56 60 32 34 I 43 40 27 30 42 70 27 39 50 60 21 24 of the measure vari Beans. Oatmeal. 35 38 30 32 40 44 29 30 40 -- 38 40 19 21 34 35 48 29 30 45 AS 43 44 25 34 ;bout the country. I f . . . . , , dr, T chine by A , lenge each, Fore To• n Ala g , Coun ing IN Hista CO?Y W COPT Com the I quire enrol Crop press two &clop Lord Can Trea per i held chey redu savii Exe: end effec the Fun be r salal prey the per et.i oth sio bee Su Br kr) vei Rid th, a'!