The Sun. — London, England, 1831-02-17 00:00:00

REFORM IN PARLIAMENT. ST. MAR YLEB ONE MEETING. Yesterday a meeting took place at Mr. Cole's Carriage Repository, in Great Portland-street, for the purpose of petitioning Parliament in favour of Reform. The meeting was very numerously at tended, and at one o'clock Mr. Hume, M.P., was called to the Chair by general a cclamation. The Hon. CHAIR3fAN began by observing on what had taken place in the House of Commons on the previous evening relative to Buckingham Palac,‘ and Windsor Castle. He had taken occasion, on that opportunity, to observe that the scandalous manner in which the money had been expended on those places, without the consent of Parliament, deserved the greatest reprehension; and that there was a great deal of responsibility attaching some where. It was Lord Goderich who had pledged himself that the estimates should not be exceeded, and he thought that Noble Lord ought to be im peached for what had subsequently taken place. nit, however, approved of the motion of his Majesty's Ministers for a Select Committee, as he was in hopes that it might he the means of discovering whose the responsibility was. If the public money was to be taken care of, arid if the people themselves expected that their earnings were to be taken care of, nothing on earth could ensure that but a full arid effectual Reform in Parliament.—(Cheers.) Never had affairs looked so prosperously in this re spect, for he really believed that many of the men amongst the present Ministry were honest in their intentions, and the only danger was that they would be prevented in those good intentions by those who had so long lived on the public money, and were de terinined to fight hard to the last. Of this he was sure, however, that whatever the Reform proposed might be, he would take all that was offered.—(A laugh.)—For he was not one of those who, when starving, refused a small loaf, because they wanted a large one. The aspect of affairs from without was of the utmost importance. Let France continue her course—let America go on in her glorious career, and it would then be impossible for England to stand still. He therefore called on the parish to lend their aid ; for a most important parish they were, and he had no doubt that sooner or later— the question of Reform once carried—they would obtain the right of being represented in the House of Commons.—(Applause.)—His creed in Reform was this—that though every man was obliged to contribute something towards carrying on the ope rations of Government, not a shilling more should be taken from their pockets than was absolutely necessary ; and if any one gave his service as a militia man, that alone should entitle him to a vote for a representative; and as every man, from the highest to the lowest, was subject to influence, he would give him the means of giving a con , cientious vote, and the only way to do that was by adopting the secret vote by ballot.—(Loud cheering.) Without the ballot, anything else would be ruiserable and nugatory. That would be the only way they could get rid of what he called the bleed ing artery of the country—he meant the military esoblishments of the country—(Hear)—which, to gether with the naval and the ordnance, actually cost the country in a time of peace fifty millions sterling—(Cheers)—and yet, when he had proposed a diminution of ten thousand men, which appeared to .him an extremely moderate proposal, he could only find nine Members out of six hundred and fifty eight to vote with him. As the Committee on the Civil List, of which he was a Member, sat at one o'clock, he trusted that the meeting would excuse his further attendance, and appoint some other gen tleman to the Chair. The requisition was then read by Colonel JONES, who stated, that the Duke of Portland had been applied to to take the chair, as it was thought right that the large proprietors of the parish ought to be invited to attend. His Grace, however, had de clined accepting the office, on the ground that he did not think that such a meeting would assist the cause of Parliamentary Reform. Mr. Portman was then applied to ; but he declined, owing to reasons which delicacy did not allow him (Colonel Jones) to state—(A voice, " Oh, no delicacy")—though at the same time he approved of the object of the meeting. Mr. Hope was also applied to; but he delined on account of his advanced age. Mr. HUmE then took his departure, and Mr. Green was calleil to the chair. Mr. TifoRNE, in moving the first resolution, ob served that Reform had of late made most triumphant strides, and this was principally owing to the Legislature having neglected the petitions of the people.—(Cries of " Shame.")—Every thing that formed a component part of the Constitution was corrupt. The tithe laws were corrupt—the corn laws were corrupt.—(Cheers.)—He was one o f t h o se who were friendly to the Established Church—(Laughter and hisses) —but the church, as it now existed, was corrupt, and if Reform was not introduced, the consequence must be, that it would totter to its base, and become a hideous mass of r uins.—(Cheers.) —The corn laws were cor rupt; they were almost as horrible in their opera tion as that base remnant of feudal tyranny—the game laws, which he maintained was a system op posed to the laws of nature—opposed to the laws of reason—and opposed to the command of God. If there was a panacea which would reach the com plicated diseases under which the body politic laboured, it was Parliamentary Reform, and that, too, must be accompanied by a bitter pill for the non-reformists to swallow—he meant the vote by ballot.—(Cheers.) Mr. NELMES, in seconding the resolution, ob served that unless Reform was granted, he was per suaded that a fearful crisis would arise. Mr. SAVAGE, in moving the second resolution, said it was not from the honour or honesty of the Ministry that he expected they would carry any measure; but they perceived the state in which the country was, and felt that the measure could not be withheld ; and he for one would never in peace con tribute his mite, unless he was heard, and had a vote. The gentleman who had preceded him was a mem ber of the Church of England, and had declared himself friendly to it; he (Mr. Savage) too, was friendly to it; but he wasaDissenter; arid he would ask whether it was not grinding and galling to him to have to give the bread which he was earning by the sweat of his brow, and which his children wanted, to a church whose principles he could not support.—(Loud cheering.) Mr. RAYSTREET seconded the resolution. Mr. POTTER held in his hand a resolution, having for its object the extension of suffrage and vote by ballot.—(Applause.)—lf the people did not give the present Ministry their support, there was a nest of wicked and vindictive persons ready to take their places, and to bid the storm burst with tenfold fury. Those acquainted with the House of Commons knew that there was a phalanx attending there, watching for any slip that the Ministry weight make, but they did not watch for the good of the people, only for the preservation of their own places and pensions. It was pretended by the Aristocrats that what the people wanted was revolution, and not Reform. He denied the charge; he turned it upon the Aristocrat s themselves ; for what the people wanted was restoration, and it was the Aristocracy that wanted revolution. They were obliged to Col. Jones, who stood near them, for his letters signed "Radi cal;" and while on that subject he would ask would it be believed that the Duke of Wellington, who held be knew not how many places and pensions ' had ac tually had the audacity and impud ence t o pension his aunt and sister also on the p u bli c. — (A cry o f " Paupers ! paupers !") '5 es, they said right—the C ounte ss of Mornington and Lady Ann C u ll en Smith were neither more nor less than paupers— just on a per with the miserable wretches in th e parish workhouse. Nay, they were worse, for if be (Mr. Potter) got rich, and his parents wanted relief, the parish dicers would force him to support them ; and what a cursed wretch would lie be to refuse to support them when he was able, instead of taking the money out of another man's pocket to do it with ! Another instance of the same sort of thing was that brassy-faced fellow Croker, who had ever shown his readiness to support all sorts of jobs; nay, he actually dared to make an attack upon the Lord Chancellor Brougham—not when that Noble Lord was in the House though; he would sooner have eaten his nails off than have done it then—(Cheers) — and this was the fellow who had been base and mean enough to pension off (not content with his own 1,5001. a year) his adopted daughter, Rosa mond, on the public purse, to the amount of 370/. 7s. 2d.—(Laughter, and cries of " Shame.") Now he would ask them would such things as these ever have taken place if the people had been repre sented in the House of Commons ?—(Applause.) Would such pretty sums as these have been given for doing nothing ? But even Reform would not he enough—they must have the ballot added, for that alone would protect the lower grades of society. Mr. WILSON, in moving a resolution expressive of a hope that, in the event of Parliamentary Re form taking place, the parish of Marylebone would have its representative, contended that whether the criterion was to be property, numbers, or intelli gence, the parish of Marylebone was pre-eminent in its right to make such a claim. Mr. WARDEN moved a resolution expressive of the gratification of the meeting felt at the reduction of the Newspaper Duty. The Press was the main prop of the people; and unless they could secure a fair representation in the papers their meeting would be of little us, for it would not go abroad to their fellow-countrymen. He knew Lord Althorp to be as good a man as ever lived, but he had been afra:d that be would be shackled by the Oligarchy : and no doubt he was, to a certain extent. With respect to political Reform, what they wanted in conjunc tion with that was universal suffrage and the vote by ballot. The following were among the points alluded to in the petition : " That your petitioners think it their bounden duty to press three points on the attention of your Honourable, House, without which they are persuaded no Reform can be either useful or satisfactory, viz. " 1. A considerable extension and equalization of suffrage. " 2. Shortening the duration of Parliaments. " 3. Voting by ballot. " Your petitioners pray that your Honourable House will take these matters into your immediate consi deration, and, in granting the relief prayed for, include, amongst other places to which the right of suffrage may he extended, the wealthy and populous parish of St. Mary lehone, which at present contains upwards of 120,000 in habitants, the rental of which is 720,000/., and the assessed taxes of which are at least equal to those paid by the whole kingdom of Scotland." Thanks were then voted to the Chairman, and the meeting separated. MEETING AT HALIFAX. (From the Wakefield and Halifax Journal.) O:► Wednesday, pursuant to a requisition to the constables (Messrs. Bernard Hartley and Joseph Whiteley), a meeting of the inhabitants of Halifax and its neighbourhood was held for the purpose of taking into consideration the propriety of petit►oning the Legislature for an effectual Reform of the Re presentation of the People in the Commons House of Parliament. The scene of meeting was the Old Assembly Room, at the Talbot Inn, which was crowded to excess. Most of the merchants, manu facturers, and respectable shop-keepers of Halifax were present; in brief, it was the most important meeting ever held in that town on the same subject. The requisition was signed by upwards of eighty names, including much of the wealth and intelli gence of the place ; and amongst whom were several gentlemen hitherto unfriendly, in a remote degree, to the question of Reform. RAwDEN BRIGGS, sen. Esq. banker, was called to the chair amidst the earnest acclamations of the assembly.— When the plaudits with which he had been greeted had subsided, The CHAIRMAN rose and said that he regretted the non-attendance of the constables to whom the requisition had been presented, since, in addition to other reasons, they had to resort to the election of a Chairman from amongst their number. He was sufficiently devoted to the cause, however, to undertake the office, and would endeavour to discharge its duties to the best of his abilities.—(Cheers.) The situation was in a man ner new to him, for in his younger days he had not been in the habit of taking a prominent part in meetings of a political nature. Ile would commence by reading to them the requisition, as it declared the objects the requisitionists had in view in calling the meeting. [He then read the requisition.] It was matter of congratulation to them, and to the country at large, that the Ministers of the Crown were pledged to the question of Reform, and that too • under the sanction of our grad bus King.—(Cheers.) It had been objected that the meeting was inap propriate in point of time; and the question was asked, since his Majesty is himself a reformer, and his Ministers themselves are pledged to Reform, why is the meeting called ? This was his reply : not that they doubted the sincerity of Ministers, but that their resolutions and petitions would strengthen their hands, and yield them support to meet the efforts of their opponents.—(Hear.) He would say to them—petition ; for if they neglected so to do, the Ministers might be defeated, and then the meet ing could be charged with a dereliction of public duty.—(Cheers.) Let not such a charge be attached to the town of Halifax, since a petition, if couched in temperate language, would have its proper weight in both Houses of Parliament. — He begged the candid attention of the meeting for any gentleman who might deem it to be his duty to stand forward to address them. _ . Mr. JONATHAN AKROYD came forward to propose the first resolution. He had full confidence in Ministers to redress the people's grievances, for they understood the real source of evil, and were better able to trace cause and effect than any other men. — The people looked forward with anxiety to a liberal system of Reform, and he had no doubt but that the Ministry would perform that part of their pledge as well as the House of Commons would permit them to do—corruptly as it was at present consti tuted.—(Hear.) lie thought they could not do all that they wished; yet he sincerely believed they would do all they possibly could. This was his opinion, and he should not change it until circum stances and facts convinced him of the contrary. It was a maxim with him, to expect from those who came publicly forward to expose and amend abuses —that they should come forward with clean hands, that they should practice the virtue which they ex pected to find in others.—(Heur, hear.) One great cause of much of the evil sought to be remedied, was the depravity of the electors themselves. Who were the men whom they sought to represent them ? Were they men of strength of nerve, of intellect, or of public virtue ? No. They were the reverse of these—their qualification was their purse alone.— Since, then, the fountain was impure, how could they expect the stream to be unpolluted ? (Applause.) They should choose men of ability— of decided independence of character ; and return them free of all expences,—for if the Member did not buy them, he would not have quite so good an excuse for selling them. Members, under such cir cumstances, would not go into the House with such a bias against the honour of the voters. When a Member was returned by purchase—by bribery, his feelings were those of contempt, not respect, of him constituents. It were impossible for him to feel otherwise, supposing him to be 'a person of any re flection. Let them, then, begin the Reform at home, and elect men honestly, in order that they ma y act honestly in return. In reference to the distressed state of the country, the speaker proceeded to in quire whether our sailors had less enterprise than formerly ?—whether our soldiers had less courage to defend the nation's cause ?—whether our merchants and manufacturers had less enterprise ?—whether our artizans wanted the ability they were wont to possess ?—and gave to each of these questions a ne gative unswer. Why, then, he would ask, was so much distress seen in our streets ? It was not for the want of stamina, for there was enough of that, under proper guidance, to conduce to the benefit of the country. It was owing to the corruptions which had crept into the Legislature, and which baffled all the best efforts of the people. There was required a general reform of the whole political system. WM. KERSHAW, Esq. seconded the resolution, which was put from the chair and carried unanimously. T. PRessTos, Esq. of Greenwood, proposed the second resolution, and ridiculed the notion of those who contended that " the system works well." He said, it had worked well for those who had been fed and pampered out of our enormous load of debt and taxes. When they considered the important advan tages possessed by this country over others, as re garded her progress in the arts and sciences, manu factures and commerce, it was important to enquire how it happened that England was so burdened with taxation, and the labouring classes in such distress ? He stood not there to advocate revolution nor revo lutionary principles, but he would put it to the most Ibigoted ultra-tory in the kingdom whether some alteration was not necessary ?—(Cheers.) H . e was convinced this country was on the eve of an import ant crisis, unless measures were taken to arrest the impending danger. They ought to hail with satis faction the notice given by Ministers for the first of March, for a motion for Parliamentary Reform. Mr. Jona' HAIGH seconded the resolution. It was put from the chair, and carried iota voce. RAWDON BRIGGS, jun. Esq. said, the committee of the requisitionists had delegated to him the duty of introducing the third resolution, which embraced a great variety of objects intimately connected with the purport of the present meeting. There never was a period within his recollection when the ques tion of moderate and constitutional Reform had so many influential supporters as . it could number at the present day, a great change having lately taken place upon the subjects amongst those who were formerly its decided opponents.—(Hear.) And this meeting might congratulate itself and the country upon the improved state of party feeling.—(Cheers.) That its object will not now be branded as an ebulli tion of visionary enthusiasm, or as disaffection to the Government of the country, was certain. They might, he trusted, look forward to the no distant period when the old party names of Tory, Whig, arid Radical would be no longer applied in reality; arid when they would exist only in memory. — (Cheers.) But to what cause were they to attribute this change in public opinion ? The source to which it might be mainly traced, was the distress, arising from pressure of taxation, brought more directly home to all by the alteration in the value of the cir culating medium, operating virtually as an increased demand upon the means of the country ; but more especially affecting that part of the community which is engaged in the pursuit of agriculture.—(Hear.) The circumstances under which Ministers are placed were of peculiar difficulty, inasmuch as they were riot only answerable for their own acts, but are obliged to apply remedies to counteract the errors of their predecessors; and many of those could only now be remedied by strict attention to economy and retrenchment. It would be foreign to the present purpose to enter into a detail of former mismanage ment ; and, perhaps, it would be in some degree un just, as they now saw the effects of measures which had proved injurious,—but which, at the time they were entered upon, they did not condemn.—(Hear.) He alluded more particularly to the mode and terms upon which a large proportion of our national debt was contracted,—say in a three per cent. stork, not redeemable, except upon the payment of 100/.; and for which the country only received, on art average, not more than 601. in a depreciated currency.— (Hear.) This error, in his (Mr. Briggs's) opinion, was one of the most fatal that had ever been com mitted, in a financial point of view; and he merely mentioned it to explain how, with a large income, Government would be able to accomplish any ma terial saving to the nation.—(Hear.) The interest upon the national debt absorbed more than one-half of the whole revenue. Being thus shut out from the power and opportunity of paying off this large proportion of our debt, and, at the same time, being bound in honour to pay the stipulated interest, they had only to look to economy and retrenchment for a reduction in their present weight of taxation. This was a subject upon which much might be said, but it was one which he should leave others to handle--not because he underrated its importance, but that he had confidence in the present Government fulfilling the pledge it had voluntarily tendered on this head. A. given amount of taxation was more or less burthensorne to a country, according to its ability to pay the same; and as we were essentially a com mercial nation, our ability to pay the needful taxes must arise from the profits of our trade. It, therefore, became the duty of a good Government to encourage and foster com mercial enterprise, by reforming many of our present taxes, with the view to the ultimate production of revenue, by means of increased consumption—im inediately to repeal all taxes which fall upon raw materials and manufactures, and also to modify those upon articles of luxury, which come within the means of, and are essential to, the comforts of the lower classes—substituting a tax upon property (not income) so long as the temporary defalcation of the reve nue may require it.—(Hear, hear.) The in jurious effects of monopolies of all kind were now generally admitted, more especially that of the East India Company, whose present charter operates not only against the British mercantile interest, by limiting the free intercourse with India, but actually so far as respects China, causes a monopoly in favour of all foreign nations who trade to that extensive empire. What the probable trade to China mght be, provided it were thrown open, they had no de tail to go upon, ex ce pt t h e y reverted to the busineas which was transacted there by the Americans—or draw an analogy from what took place when the trade to India was opened, private merchants hav ing exported more in one year than nearly double the amount of exports made by the Company dur log the same time.—(Hear.) Independent of this advantage in a commercial point of view, they must look to the loss the country annually sustains by the tea monopoly, which annual loss was upwards of one million turd a half pounds sterling. The Corn Laws, as now constituted, were also a species of mono poly ; and their remission would operate much to the advantage of the nation at large—to the manu facturing as to the agricultural interests. As these laws at present stood, they afforded satisfaction to neither party; and doubtless some alteration would soon be mode in them. If they would therefore secure justice to themselves when these important measures were severally discussed in Parliameut, let them earnestly and respectfully set forth the claims of the commercial interest to its equal and proper share of representation in the Commons House of Parliament ; by which means alone they would hope effectually to control the present overwhelming in• terests which had hitherto been in array against them.—(Cheers.) Mr. JOIN ROWHOTTOM, in seconding the resolu tion, anldressed the sneeting in a speech fraught with much humour, being hits at Lord Castlereagh on his school of theorists, for attributing the distress at, one time to a "sudden transition from war to peace, —their plan of " digging holes one day and tilling them up the next,"—of their assertion at one time that distress arose from an " abundant harvest," and at another to " over-population." These things, he contended, would not have been patiently listened to by a reformed Parflatnent.—(We regret that the crowded state of our columns will not allow us to do justice to the speech of this intelligent gentleman. It was vehemently applauded. The motion was carried unanimously.) MICHAEL STOCKS, sen. Esq. proposed the fourth resolution. He read an elaborate detail of the de -o.irequ.unenrean t s b o t gtlirlse.r areaspop E ea r r i e g d lish " b m oro o u n g e h o s, f con taining 1,133 electors, who ret urn 100 members to Parliament; 15 Scotch boroughs, containing 9 . 5 electors, who return 15 me m b ers ; arid 33 Scotch coun ties, contain ing 2,536 electors, who return 33 wase o r rt of f t y io e n s t e o r f d a the y m ll e o m us b e er o s f C to om P m a r r n i i i s a , R h ie e nt s . aid T , growth : it had crept in under the iron-hearted Sir Robert Walpole, and he hoped it would be rooted out in the life-time of the iron-headed Sir Robert Peel, under whom it had flourished; whose accursed Currency Bill had been the cause of adding to our distressed state, and had caused as much disaster and death as the battle of Waterloo. If the system of representation he (Mr. Stocks) had exposed was the right one, he had lost his skill as a politician, but he hoped an era had now come for which he had been looking during the last 45 years. The town and parish of Halifax had been governed by bigotry and intolerance led on by a furious vicar, a set of Government contractors, and a still more furious justice.—(Hear, and cheers.) The resolu tion he held contained the gravamen of the evils of the country, and therefore he had no doubt it would express the sentiments of the meeting.—(Cheers.) SAMUEL HopcsoN, Esq. seconded the resolution. He said he trusted that if the means of represen tation were given to the town of Halifax the har mony which now existed would not be broken by ungovernable party feeling. He hoped they would be able to resist bribery, and that they would main tain the right of election with that conscientious dignity which it behoved them to shew in the exec . - cise of such a privilege. Mr. JOHN BALDWIN proposed the next resolution. He did not blame any Government in particular for the evils which had so long oppressed the nation; the people had brought them upon themselves. The cause was to be found in the ignorance of the people, which rendered them liable to be imposed on by wicked arid designing men, and till this was re moved no Reform could be effectual in its operation. Mr. JOSEPII DAWSON seconded the resolution. Mr. G. BINNS proposed the next resolution, which was in favour of vote by ballot. It was seconded by Mr. JAMES GOODALL. Mr. JOHN CRAVEN, who was in the crowd, said he would propose an amendment. He thought that every honest man would be ashamed to give his vote in secret.—(" No, no ;" applause and hisses.) He would move that the vote should be given in the usual way, openly.—(Great uproar, and some gentleman in the vicinity of the Chair called out " Don't disgrace yourselves by not hearing an oppo nent !") Mr. Craven again attempted to speak but the hisses were resumed, and these were replied to by cheers. The confusion became worse confounded. Cries of " Come forward to the platform ;" " Shame, shame ;" Give him fair play." After these had continued some minutes, Mr. Craven went forward to the platform, amidst cheers and hisses. The CHAIRMAN having restored order in the meeting, Mr. CRAVEN continued—He might be considered as intrusive—(" No, no," from all parts of the room) —but he had come forward to sign the requisition, in order that he might be the better entitled, when the meeting took place, to oppose any resolution which did not meet his wishes, and to the terms of which he could not conscientiously agree.—(Great cheering.)—He trusted he had acted honestly ; and that was his apology.—(Renewed applause, and cries of " Go on.")—What lie meant to move was this— fat the resolution should be withdrawn, and that the old plan of openly voting should be continued. —(Hear, hear; and hisses at the bottom of the room.)—Whether any person would second his proposition, or not, he should be satisfied in his own mind that he had done his duty.—(Cheers.) W. BALDREY, Esq. seconded the amendment. He objected to the resolution individually. He liked to give his vote in open day, and not in secret. They had much better leave the thing to the Legislature than dictate to them in this manner. —(Hisses ; and cries of " We've a right to dictate to them.")—He did not believe the ballot would be any cure for bribery. Men would do ill sooner under a cloak than in open day.—(Hisses and uproar.)—He was sorry that they did not know how to behave themselves : if some would act as liberally as they talked, it would be more to their credit.—(Uproar.) MICHAEL STOCKS, sen. Esq. took the opportunity of informing the mover and seconder of the amend ment that they were proceeding somewhat irregu larly. They could move an amendment to the original resolution, but they could not move its withdrawal.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. CRAVEN—What I mean is, that, in the pro posed Reform, the votes shall be taken in the man ner the Legislature shall think proper, without being dictated to.—(Hisses ; and cries of " Oh, oh ! that's an abandonment of the original proposition ;" " Don't shrink," &c.) After a short consultation between the proposer and secouder, it was agreed that the amendment should be that, in the proposed Reform, ballot should not be adopted in lieu of the system of open voting. MICHAEL STOCKS, Esq. was requested by the Chairman to put the amendment. Six or seven hands only were held up in its favour, and the original motion was declared carried by a great ma jority. The cheering lasted several minutes. Alleluia, STOCKS, jun. Esq. proposed a resolu tion relative to a more convenient mode of taking the poll, instead of the troublesome aria expensive mode at present practised. The distance of many parts of the large and populous parish of Halifax from the county town, caused a disinclination on the part of many to be at the expense of going to give their votes, and in fact operated as a real dis franchisement of many of the poorer voters. If the parish officers in vestry, assisted by a regular poll clerk were made returning officers, this would be avoided, and no spurious or doubtful votes could come to the poll. They would be immediately known, and this would prevent those tedious and painful scrutinies so often obliged to be put in force. Cheap elections would thus be accomplished in a manner beneficial both to the electors and to the candidates.—( Hear, hear.)—ibis would, in fact, operate in parishes as effectually as the ballot in boroughs. He trusted the county of York would no longer be ruled by men of long purses and many acres, but that the Reform in contemplation would enable them to choose men, not perhaps of high birth, but men of talent and independence, men from among themselves, capable of understanding and benefitting the common interest of the empire. Mr. GEORGE BEAUMONT, linen-draper, seconded the resolution, and Mr. RawnoN BRIGGS, jun., moved the adoption of the petition, &c., which was seconded by JOHN HAIGH, Esq. Thanks were then voted to the Chairman, and the meeting was dissolved. MEETING AT BOLTON. (From the Manchester Guardian.) A public meeting of the inhabitants of Great and Little Bolton, convened by the boroughreeves and constables of both towns, on the requisition of a number of their inhabitant householders, was held at the sessions-rooms and subsequently by adjourn ment, in the theatre, on Thursday last. JAMES CocxElt, Esq., Boroughreeve of Little Bolton, in the Chair. PETER AINSwORTH, Esq., in moving the first resolution, declaratory of the satisfaction felt by the meeting at the pledge given by the King's Ministers to effect a Reform in the Commons House of Par liament, remarked that great credit was due to the official authorities fur the promptness they had evinced in convening the present meeting. JAMES HARDCASTLE, Esq., in proposing the second resolution, which stated, " that the meeting was impressed with a thorough conviction that the House of Commons, as at present constituted, does not fairly represent the people, the property, and the intelligence of the nation," observed, that he was convinced the motion would be carried unani mously. He did not consider it necessary to enter into any very minute detail to prove the spirit of the resolution, because if we were to make Man chester the centre of a circle of the population en gaged in the cotton manufacture, we should find one million persons who were totally unrepresented; and an amount of property not to be exceeded by any part of the kingdom, except Middlesex; yet this population was in a worse state than even being nonrepresented, for it was misrepresented. But by the constitution of this country it ought not to be so ; because the people ought to have a House of Commons, by whom their wants and complaints should be properly understood. Such, however, was not the case. It had been said that the pre sent system worked well; he, however, denied that it did work well now, whatever it might have formerly done; and he felt confident, that had the illustrious statesman who made that assertion been now alive, he would have been one of the first to acknowledge its fallacy ; and he felt appre hensive that the party who had immolated that great man, would now again attempt to overthow the liberties of the country ; therefore it was now their duty to strengthen the hands of those honest councillors who had pledged themselves, with the concurrence of the King, to forward the great cause of Reform. The three great districts of productive industry—the iron, the cotton, and the woollen trades—were wholly unrepresented. Had these districts possessed the elective franchise, was it to be supposed that the odious pension list would have disgraced the country—(Shame, shame)—that the sons and daughters of corruption would have been allowed to fatten on the vitals of the people ? They who were interested in depriving the people of their rights, might attempt to stem the tide of liberty ; but in its reflux .they might, perhaps, ultimately find themselves overpowered. Mr. JOHN CROSS proposed a resolution declara tory, that the towns of Great and Little Bolton ought to possess the right of sending Members to Parliament. He said one of the greatest and most important points to be gained was the extension of the elective franchise; and it was the duty of the meeting to tell this to the House of Commons. The people were cryin g out for retrenchment, and how could it be so certaily attained as by Reform ? It was not to be tolerated that large commercial towns should not be represented, whilst insig nificant boroughs were so. At all events Bolton had as great claims as Ripon, and Manchester as Ne w ton. Mr. Nmsnv proposed a resolution, enforcing vote by ballot,—(Loud cheers)—which wa carried, after an addition had been made to it that the elective franchise should be extended as far as the liability of each individual to be ballotted as a militia-man. Several gentlemen joined in the debate which en sued, and some able speeches were delivered. A discussion then took place as to who was to present the petitions to Parliament, when it was ultimately agreed that the petition to the Lords should be entrusted to Lord King, and that to the Commons to Henry Hunt, Esq. Thanks were then voted to the Chairman, and the meeting was dissolved. MEETING AT DROMORE. (Abridged from the Newry Examiner.) On Thursday the 27th ult. a meeting was held in Dromore, pursuant to requisition, to petition the Legislature for Parliamentary Reform, retrench ment in the public expenditure, a revision in the Grand Jury Laws, and a modification in the tithe system. Notwithstanding the shortness of the notice and the inclemency of the weather, the maket house was crowded to excess with the respectable inhabitants of the town, and the landowners and yeomanry of the neighbourhood. JoHN VAUGHAN, Esq , of Villa, was called to the chair; and DAvID LINDsEY, E,q., of Ashfield, was appointed Secretary. Mr. ALEXANDER KNOX proposed the second resolution to this effect : Resolved, That the House cf Commons, as at present constituted, is, in a great measure, composed of placemen and pensioners, who, being in the first place returned by the undue influence of the House of Lords, and being thus obliged to vote and act under the same influence, have from time to time continued and augmented the burthens and abuses which oppress the Stite. Mr. JOHN SCOTT seconded this resolution, which was carried unanimously amidst loud acclamations. Mr. HUGH PURDY next proposed— Resolved, That we believe those evils would be best re medied by the adoption of vote by ballot, triennial Parlia ments, cutting off rotten boroughs, the extension of the elective franchise, and the abolition of all places and pen sions not merited by actual service. Dr. SCOTT seconded this resolution, which, like the preceding ones, was carried by acclamation, aminst the most enthusiastic cheering. Mr. HERON, of Rock vale, moved the fourth reso lution : Resolved, That the present Grand Jury system is un just, ineffectual, burthensome to the people, and contrary to the principles of our Constitution. Mr. ARBUTHNOT seconded this resolution. The preceding ones were, as we have stated, well re ceived—but this declaration seemed to come home to the hearts of every one present, and was carried amidst deafening plaudits. Mr. LINDSAY proposed the fifth resolution. Resolved, That the present tithe system is unjust, un equal, vexatious, and oppressive, and demands the imme diate attention of the Legislature. After the passing of these resolutions, The Rev. H. E. BOYD, who was sitting beside the Chairman, rose, and after the enthusiastic and long-continued cheering with which he was received had subsided, he spoke to the following effect :—Mr. Chairman and fellow-countrymen, as lam pretty well known to you all, I need not lose time in malt ing a lengthened apology for interfering in the pre sent proceedings. I was once your fellow-towns man—l am still your near neighbour, and as such I come under the terms of your requisition. At the same time I feel it to be a duty to myself to explain the motives which have induced me to be present on this occasion—and, if you listen to me patiently, I shall do so candidly and honestly. With some of these resolutions you have passed I partly concur; in others I most cordially acquiesce, and with one 1 join with all my heart.—(Cheers.) That the Legis lature should be petitioned for a modification of the tithe system has long been my conscientious convic tion : that the ititerft rence of the Logiidature should be with a view to relieve the poor landholder, I hold to be an undeniable truth. This subject has, for some time, occupied my most serious considera tion. Connected as it is with my subsistence, you will at once agree with me that it is a vital one; but I am sure all who know me will admit that it must be grating to my feelings, to be obliged to put my hand into the pocket of the poor man to take what should be paid by the rich; and, in claiming my right to what the law of the land awards me, you will allow me to say, that I think it is not at present exacted from those who are obliged by law to pay it, and who are best able to hear the burthen, if you think fit to call it so. Actuated by these feelings, I attended the County Meeting at Downpatrick, where I expected a great number of the landed proprietors would be present. I spoke to several of them in reference to my proposal.— They threw cold water upon it; but I was not de e terred.—(Cheers.) vu e ih,ais r iscerl ih r ti.ci iceoaco\ d i xtrle\n . idir — oeisolisrittnifysi ,(ggnttaCielghilti have rvaa e altenN e ac%h: r nosNte s , e,dne . e)otsspih( consequently ,ytdtn u ui l i olet though landowner, o v d gious matters, we most perfectly accorded as to the r ta f s ytA o he l t f ce a oht n :pe t n d l s)atliovitalusee%ti:ril:dpti law.-- According s must lower as the produce of the country falls in value. Than this, nothing can be more equitable— nothing can be more consistent with the first princi ples of justice ; and that this plan will meet with the general approbation of the country, I have not the slightest doubt—or I should rather say to my friends and neighbours : I should be doing injustice to their common sense, and offering insult to their understandings, if I would say otherwise. Mr. LINDSAY immediately rose and said-1 have an objection to Mr. Boyd's plan, and I shall state it e briefly. I have no pretensions to compete with hini spoke p l N h ci h ) : teehoskht who h olds and iephu their teoe:01 hr. Composition aggtiallttyusneti differ e about b h u t Sheriff tell in eloquence; but you will allow me to give my opi nion fairly mid honestly. Mr. Boyd has said, that the landholder is now obliged to pay what the land owrer should pay, and that consequently the burthen of the tithe system should be shifted from the land holder to the landowner. This argument is very fair, if you give Mr. Boyd his premises; but just look at it, as it stands at present. Go to first prin . ciples, and then—leaving all scruples of consve!: out of the question—what obligation am I under v . , pay tithe to a clergyman whom I never hear? service is it to the eople of Dromore to pay regularly annually ly re si theresides inDublinChan c Chancellor o roorf, tog o d more 0, mediate matters, your rector is living ---the De: knows where— but still you contrived to senu, an d you tt . ) s l letter to him through the post-office, him the sum m at if n o h l e v A p v a iu d ld t o gi vheistoti tithe e e pprooocrteorf, y th o e u , P v u o r uh ' collect the money yourselves, and save him ar.Y, M o r i, trouble.—(Cheers.) Gentlemen, Mr. li u's ( t t is very plausible; but as you now complain o tithe system, allow me to say, that if you adopt Boyd's plan, you will just be where you Were !In you started.—(Loud and long continued cheeriat Mr. MORGAN afterwards addressed then meetti, in an eloquent speech, in which he said —1 is course which he is now taking, Mr. Boyd is t, nothing but his duty. As a clergyman of t he e s t, church, he is under a solemn and sacred °: ligation to support that church in all the riglit,!erre munities, and possessions which had been en3o, upon it by l a w. B u t while it is right for Mr. b, to " stand by hi s o r d e r," let the people r ee l , that they also h a ve a duty to perform to thesheat'' and to their country. Mr. Boyd has stilted, that I.ni is painful to him to be obliged to put his li an •l , , the pocket of the poor man, in order to obtal-, subsistence. Most sincerely do I believe 1'1; must be irksome to the feelings of any re° 7,a- t I not divested of humanity. He has also said t" would rather put his hand into the pockets of tl Downshire and Colonel Forde and those wil°lll4 law originally intended should bear the burtherli,i the tithe. Most devoutly I believe 'lr. 1 3 °P " ; b he makes this assertion. He would rathe r pd c hand into the pockets of Lord Downshire °hat] lone! eii yit tith aniatdnodts F hi s O eat T ri d lapdi e onc ; ti kintfegeo there e l ao t wlf e l de w ut th o il ide u l htldahenfie no odtoi necessityritdehre p m trha f ef u i k l se for rf of p ot proctor. But as sure as the rector puts th thrust his into the pockets of all the t i e n t] have not leases in perpetuity.—(Loud ch ee ; ;;ltt Mr. Boyd has said, that his plan would a te the tithe system in this country, to the s." - which it exists in Scotland. Gentlemen, thered not possibly be any similarity. In Scotian t established religion is the religion of the r.q.r e , a ; d jority of the people : in Ireland, the theestablit'; ligion is the religion of the one-twentieth of e. habitants. The revenues of the Irish Churl,: blishment are nearly two hundred times t "„ - tl - paid to the whole of the Scottish clergy; ' ll . l l before Mr. Boyd can show a similarity, h f oo t' place the two establishments on the saute with regard to income; a system of levelling W - am sure, he is not prepared to advise. ds otrrclyrs THE MARKETS. COAL MARKEL—Feb. 16. #'9 Beaumont -31 s. 6d. Walls End Russell's... , 6; 6 Killingworth 33 0 Lambton Primrose'" Si 6 Ord's Itedhugh 28 0 Walls End Hett oo —34 0 Walls End Lyons,''' Willington Walls End Callerton 2B 0 Halbeath 1; 0 Walls End Gosforth— 34 0 Callerton small Ditto Walker . 32 0 Old Etherley Ships at market, 4*,',—Slops sold, 10 1 4----Un ° TkiN COUNTRY CORN MARKETS DURING 1 14b :0' Be/ Wheat. Barley. Oats. '...-- f. to Per Quarter. s. to s. I s. to s. j s. to S„. Abingdon.--. 55 62 32 38 121 5 ' Andover... 6l 76 26 28 20 Birmingham .. '73 80 32 40 24 Bridport 56 74 32 39 26 Cirencester .—.. 66 86 29 40 23 --.'" .0* t Faringdon—. 54 86 36 40 26 Guildford 48 74 23 32 26 5 ' Henley 54 83 30 35 20 Hereford ....—. 84 92 44 4S 36 40 4 Highworth 62 80 32 49 28 Maidenhead 65 84 28 38 22 30 n Oakingham —.... 56 76 30 36 18 5 „; Reading 65 90 30 42 16 •••• Salisbury • 62 76 32 42 25 0 ' Southampton 54 58 37 40 28 „, •••• Stroud Tewkesbury 65 74 40 42 30 .", ; Uxbridge —..—. 48 78 32 38 24 ffe ; Wantage—...—.. 48 74 28 43 21 4'; Warminster 42 80 28 47 23 Windsor.—....— 59 72 26 34 21 Worcester—......... 64 68 24 36 27 " 0 / HULL MARKET.—Feb. 15. at to` There was only a limited supply of farmers' today, and the best descriptions of Wheat are doll diro o _ J HULL 51 AR K RT.—Feb. 15. at l ' t a `1 There was only a limited supply of farmers' Cuilli e ,l c ol!' co-day, and the best descriptions of Wheat are dul l 4:0 cline of Is. per quarter, while the secondary runs at, tie I t o quit at Is. to 9.5. below the rates of last week, very 11 ` r iceSJ in free foreign, but had sales been pressed lower. 1' o d have been the result. The Barley trade is dullvolll I" ; rather lower ; there has not been a large show, Ye_i it ies.4 to the demand; nothing doing in the grinding (1 11 ','. 010_ 1 ,10! fully support late prices, and in some instances: 13',4 vance has been obtained when the quality was tio.' o , gi• only in limited supply, and fully reach our ouotatr, s ICI dull, and if buyers had come forward a decline 01 oil s % ter would have been submitted to. Rapeseed alrnosv at any reasonable price. Wheat, Old —s. 655. 755. NOW ***** • Foreign —s. 68s. 765. ln bond... Oats, Poland —s. 945. 284 Old.. ......• F m —a. Feed Barley, Norf. & Sut. —s. 495. 445. Line. & Foreign Beans 4os. 425. 445. Foreign .......'• —s. 50s. Pease, White 2 62 6 5s ........................ : ................. '.3L7.▪ 1. 565. Grey ......... S• ilt Tares —s 50s. 70s. Foreign ........• Rapeseed, in bond none. dA It KET.--Feb. cl• Per lb. Mutton ................ Veal ....... Pork .. ....................... - Lamb ................ c ; ... .. . Is. to 31. 15s. Per 1 Poi .RKETS.—Feb. J. P w ° i 0 I , Rutter, 16oz. ...... 0 4 Eggs, dozen ...... ° 4 Beef, per lb. .......... 0 Mutton ..................• 0 Veal .................. 0 Quartern I.ozl ....... CHELTENHAM Per Bushel. s. d. to s. d. Wheat Barley 4 0 5 6 Oats 0 6 4 0 Beans Pease 5 0 8 0 Hav '3/. I DUMFRIES AI s. d. s. d. Wheat, Imp. Bush S 3to 9 0 Barley 4 0 4 t'S Oats 29 33 Flour, 1-11 b. Oatmeal Potatoes, cwt. ENORNIOUS ELL.--A woman nanleavir'; . l ife in passing through Wylie water meadaws, °fliopPor last, caught an eel which measured 4 2 iric h , e' 0 4 10 inches in girth, and weighed sev..l pour° fell qua N r y ter h s e .— n Sphre.rbsronleiNfisleorNci4Nrvya.s placed oil tile A t f sion List, it was shrewdly suspected that it 1, 001 much because the Government wished to re` r ,„ i ( Lel i rary abilities as to induce him to desist fr ° o o 4 i ft against them. CALEB W HITEFOORD very Pled' served on the occasion, " that the Doctor r e `' e i p 0 stip shun that the Ministers might shun his pen' CAUTION TO SE RVANTS.----° 11 4 ,11 I"; last, a young man, about 22 years of age' lises: black whiskers, dressed in a green close-bodien, t , ji passage. THEODORE t °l " ) ;ir fe e ffiel turned up with yellow, knocked at the d t i :, o tre v i BAKER'S house, at the corner of Lower nr °° Arl'i,,i little v t Bond -street, which was opened by a s ° i 4 fellow asked her if the master of the house o'%r; d ! and the girl went to inquire of the housekeeP: co''' in ha e t a s s n h p t e e i c i l e ull n d t g h fi e n o d ra r i s i c i m ' t i b r e d . ecam , I s,, and most successful novel (Maxwell) a'''' von pc" mays " The middle classes have never had a c li d ro s could criticise them better, or who has place d . ' i leqp upon them. His sketches of character in tb y i : tb e ,,e must tend, as much as anything, to preset 4 11! if ( of power at home ; for he suffers nobody to q il tt' e ,t , decamped with all th' , I privately, but effectually interposes by s heol it ,il o o ° il that vulgarity is never so vulgar as when i . oeo rt o polite." This is shewn in a succession o f cell vein of humour peculiar to the aut hor, . 10 to laugh-exciting powers of which it is icor ° ~., it ____.-- _,,,0. .....---.- -. ......... _--- ~10,1 , 0 , ~, BIRTHS. On the 11th inst. in Palace-yard, the lady' ° 0 s tt,, j el the Speaker of the House of Commons, of a'° 0 1' . . 1 `" 9 13 On the 15th inst. in Portland-place, the tact) 9. . i . ft 1,1 Smith, Esq., of a daughter. ~ C. On the 15th inst. in Bolton-street, the IJ"' a y " M.P., of a daughter. t he l ' On the 15th inst. in Brunswick-squar e, 4 ‘ l ' '' Iluffam, RN., of a daughter. clu e ' 4 MARRIED. f 4 pile , ,l' e On the 15th inst. J. E. Ebsworth, Esq., to f tt i ter of T. Ellsworth, Esq. of Pentonville. f .. Amert t er ° Brasenose College, Oxford, to Maria, On the 15th at Brighton, the Rev. E. iallg ° W. J. Griffenhoofe, Esq., of Hampton, Ml"' T o t 'oll' DIED. buret', JAC' On the 15th inst. at St. Catherine Cree C o f 11 , , 0 ,14, wood, of Aldgate, to Sarah, second daugh ter - , of I tt l ,re/ of Leadenhall-street. ~.o u nti 0 , ..e, On the 13th inst. at Pontefract , ill the l oe ll,ost:;01" 14, Jane, relict of the late Mr. Serjeant C ° , 4a ll, e ste'is!' sister of Myles Sandys, Esq. of Graythwalte Hall, 4 11 a , On the 13th inst. at Bath, aged I'2, On the 13th inst. at New-court, Newe nr ' e rlY 0 1 r thirdA,voex. 4 ,. f Reed, Esq., of Dochfour, Demerara, forlu . , 11 0 ' 0 Barbadoes, aged 71. -A d'' farl e T , Rear ~,ay • n t. , Berry, Bart. K.C.B. .1 77, '',.., l' On the 16th inst. in Harley-street, ag e ' ci.6 l— ' of the late Sir James Earle, of Hanovers 1 --,.! Surgeon Extraordinary to George 111 PRINTED AND PUBLISIIED BY MUitn()"7,loo:c. SuN.OnicE, - 112, STRAND, li ft —r y 'etr, I: : o 4 M , Y es t e li bt r 'he t : . a e' t :l iat ! , C l‘ tHE 'Wi th px l3 t ar li 1 4 1 : 6 and 1 444 furl Ilia err kt reet. ' Y Cr 11 1 Pub 4 folloWir t o A NN IJA 18 :1. ar c h atid • •13 • - --1 Ith. f 'tin a i c h we tt, 4 „ V IEW the Tratioa Af.ll . t o Y Fran A r IFE „ ti t N Ia il ~ 11, __Z. t t u t , i ' t rated b, of all ul ed fro; tRA 4t the grw i t 1 v o c , ITA ] , t he N , IISI u t.JRT 13 P r4t ri ion, fur INT E fi tNal A XI T he bes 1 4 t PER ti e ICuzz . m a II It n t i tt , re. y