The Sun. — London, England, 1831-10-06 00:00:00

be toweled the of which all their Lordatips would lo pay the penalty. If he believe,lttobat rase, he would not have the face 1 i not fe I g uilty . ( f More their Lordship]; but lie dien. that be ha( present this u l7i s t n the (. i l f t the charges. His conscience told himia( dor, nothi.ne done nothing dis gracefol--ethat he l I . hi s Sovereign Which was inconsistent with his duty -°,,ear, hear. It eallis duty as a Minister of the Crown --- ' ' 1 wee imassible, however, to r main silent i-'ndetrhesom grave a charg,e. rti, Noble E ar l , i„ face, charged•, e.--ai'ed. . It being the cause of all the excitement whl‘.. PI" for them, !mi . ( Would have been transitory, had it kept not bee l(y e it the Noble Earl. If they ' hat. not a l had the oPPor ould have subsided a, so en as the padpe.....(Hear.) the flame, told' and advantage of a little calm reflection,„,, ea or the oft"' ,1 admit If this, indeed, were the right view,euar ea y , true history of the question, he should on2,l'd hi,, maj e sty s the etime with which the 01,1 e i':, arl abari?' looked at the Moiistera ; but he said that any man w.],iotnry of its pro- of the question, and looked to the history of of public Ves must take a narrow and contractett‘aa' s() tra,,_ ' ed ng, if lie considered it founded on anything_e its clia sient that a delay of a few months could , chin} raeter.---(1Iear• with more or , ) He declared It hail at.racted the attention of the c0un,....0r s . ..,try years. it was not less intensity of Power for a period of ''') ' ~ r i v n ew question. introduced, it WdS Pow( first it was .titeven littl e a strange fact, that when • „d agains • coin ' , .„. Paratwe disfavour was entertain, of its history, in toe utilise of Commons. In the progressshelast century however, events arose towards the end ti . , (Is of men great which naturally tended to create in the min if he were old Itstaste bets to all political change- And-uhlie affairs, h e ea° "ah at me to have taken part in l' of this would decidedly not have supported any proposition from its nature, n ature, But this was a question wbich,..even it were 'night slumber, but could not sleep; constau aml lit„ the i otFeasionally , to eleep, there was something it impossible it lua °, the. human heart that rendered „ar twiny yeals could h er extinguished. Thus, although x revolution there afar the ' eoninienceinent of the French ,t were tea s eurnparat• • • against it, )e there. rred that roan . sly a distaste occurred Y circumstances which subsequently ten c h . , favourable position.of the tliju 'a to place it in a more theattentiond People oecorred in to direct and increased P e Ve t o • ,15, It, and ultimately to give a • great ereased taxation— e 'tti, ' i t Y for its consummation. The increased sudden change f oeroktered of men's fortunes by the of that wrar wee totalspeace, added to the long continuance change. A great alte:„!d the peopl e to wish for some society. The Noble 11'Ni took place in the state of of time from the to 4, 41 had observed, that during the period from Blenheim and Itr, te es ti nf La Hogue to Trafalgar, and a degree of glory ..n ProspC' the country had enjoyed n to enj'Y '!gaient. allti ity which it might never happen rnied Parham . 0 • Ilutilli'st Probably not under a Re ° during this peri b el e t here e would tell the Noble Earl, that change in t e re had h e irremediable , , and pros %tte of so • en a chang e , an all this glory o f that krity thereele In the midst of nature that ter ' ' were symptoms of the unstable . d during te • teta`Y Pr4PeritY, which was Produce cki* And when there came the charge. the country teases, tl was scarcely an interest did not suffer. i,i,ettntil'Cor manufacturing—_.which duin a g , theeZalvere upwards of 100,000. persons wealth, wereea. ddeej.' had , been suddenly raised persons, not Pte__ h, pe Y uepressed to poverty ; and theseevils to the system chip Under I'aatorally, attributed their id to the Corlett .al tioo which they were represented, ; r1 and unnatural ehro' "'kb admitted of these sudden Constitution the to ,! e !' Re believed it was a libel on . but i t , how inegt•entzt;aa. eve'ra't.it woOld produce evils of this nature; but system o f our rep4B-`°ded to draw the eyes of men to o here was a putt toent.:ott.tion. Then was it that t of the traffic borootaZ4 'n the House of Commons of it first mentioned it i l a 16"---(he believed, by the bye, , not long after 444 letter °f he Lord Chesterfield's)—an° law was passedwas agc "toe strongly before the public, a which heard th eli a d at this t raffic ; and yet this very . system, tional, they a now :elated to he illegal and unconstitutional, applauded as v irtu e -•et While openly defended, but even n d as part of the ., syst e , "nile the practice was la be governeedst ht to In .1, whin h th e l aw ti alone the with the rigr ' 'tution wad 1 eseribed it as inconsistent w and Consti denounced of thr ? Of Parliament, and with the la 1 the law denou t n hat, 4 tiertlirealm. hy, good God a! w-e_n people knew re. ontwithn cou.rse of conduct, .an . d the what the . lawmi:ght notiota,Staodin that denunciation, practised, ''' of he 7 ' t° begs • openly not judges taw crime was England were were d no polities, that th . e people 01 , of England casuist to fools, queltions ; but the people moat subtile nd the rernaVind they, vrould defy the a a crime, a b e a p rseti "e What the law denounced proclaimed to Noble virtuoso °f a large part of society P asserted by a a.iert•ii-;(. Rear, hear.) It had been the authors o f thealone. - 11 i/1 too his) Yesterday evening, that of population Th at h ra for their bisia the amount • t h e state considered Of th e denied• U ndoubtedly they decay or other wise ' Population as an indication of the the amount of Poptij f tar'Y Place ; but they did not take the ; they took other the milation alone as the basis of the . mea with the amount hi t„. %In of population in conjunction Lordships' table h :stion. There on their in all a owl° ere were Papers ed taxation and t t g the • exact amount of the assess Bill, in °Was tha t by the Bill. shelthwere to be disfranchised b ise d b y the Whe,..toWns that were not to he disfranchised That by those pao were those the tattle ? pep %tit. Lords thoss papers on were invited t inde hipti judge, and they however, oer of the state nightthe population ; which, united with Wthalle Pei te sole Principle of the Bill, but was Noble Lord leave Pult4a),''.'''Ple of taxation. Would the :141 entirely out of the question ? u respect, it Byer,enl„: definite line were drawn in that borough should 've' be practicable to determine what inits franchise. i t 11411 hose, and mg what borough should retain roughs were es sential loon argued that the noinivatioti ° and much stress Le h ee the Working of the public affairs,. would . , b e es °e ,leid 011 the extrem e inconvenience whichtie difficult' tvlii4ita,,'',loned to the public service . by .e 'ire finding their w.;'anY individuals would experience by the represen tation Y Into the House of Commons for which theY et °l. more popular places than those had last night, inl'resent Sat His Noble Friend opposite touched all hearts, p a tted Z manner that must have of those ''llls W the gad sad prospects, in that respect,. p ent Minis trea ' anool4 succeed his Majesty's - 'es men, the ea ' 4-9 OM tauten ' f te of young now Peetaat •ted the future a _urs, who ' now a,, s In after -life of hereditary honours of HouseCom kel, PPortunity of cultivating in the d who, b y tvre,t)i4„ ktn`wled e of üblic business' and eeriors in ithilitvi and ejounteritPi ventually their equals or . sue of high PUlai", Ilecatt lieventually!' fitted for situations 1 resulted fro :,'ust. ad ' ted the advantage which should be filitinl,_e4 it syetem. n l t f he did not admit it, he m which he....frio all ,; aatia!nrY ; he should forget the stock fr d o sprung. but L h°4l.,- a'elt Many of their Lordships—ha omination eor ou e genied the necessity of retainirs . n 'duals ad -4144i oche' fOr L tbe ' f icing such indivi sons of liol,lll into the II opuusrepoofs e o Commons. g How many d, e. york sbire:naeei bad eat for counties ? Northu mberi c a olnshire.— in sort:744e? Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Lin ties in Eng andeab alie Might run through half the counties a fitting avraue I:`' been so represented, There was an d of iltsPirin eYalvbiefi young men of rank, of talents, of enter' . i.,4 --araeter • k 1g g h„ 'I allgilt have the opportunity another. For, -ti vio anottrithie c In erition with one he coll°l,l nestat h e di d ° . oPf 'the character of the people, ochange w 0.., old r believe tit t incomprehensible Bill, as to oiu be Ina. , . a so by this _ had a - render ,4 ale ln that character b e al - for . •nch individual those to whom • which ~ ed less _ a as lose counties in iney bo.. ,eceptable to the several more, was the ti';„'essed interest and influence. What Members for a, ." proposed to number of e. ‘• . k aigli ab euuntiee increase the field of ennaPan •dio . Ootinties ; thus widening the . tee w.- Nand yg andida %vete po g' lag a more extensive range to c the thou woo, _ Pillar frona their character and from to J.,ndearing ties which attached ;hem to their respectivewa_ a ,oultte'era; do his increase of the county 11Iembers ex i s m. guit7.4POitie twhat some people called the evil ofeontar toretil,g then omination boroughs. It had been Je tion in gre at I t l 4 Noble Lord, that the fixing the quabfiea froo, ti°lwns at 101., would have the effect of excluding, con nected e ! l ouse of a nions Co a number of person persona i nter., . it.h trade an ces, and also. so traieTa!ed In those colonies, the value of which had rim Non, Increased to this country since the loss of estate t hei ' "nail to their Lordships were not called upon to Itutrife,Nectures. Conjectures were bad foundedarguinents.— on the 7e Might state his conjecture, it would be .was of a ~ aetr that in places where the right of electingribe _ lied t:Pular character persons such as he had desc d en re ea mistake to st th P tkdly c osen. It was a great l ' i liaDirector, reposelos _at a Bank Director, or an East In( . with the etdot: jeoPuleot merchant, or any person connected ous only th rou i.ll now got into the Rouse of Cw.nris. places•___ iedi4ll the trlodiurn of the nomination boroo laces.— Now 413 were frequently returned for popular I' d honour, w ere Wili if such a an, possessed of talents an . l for at present r t d for Liverpool, for Bristo., here e fled interest in the 'e.) the electors havin g an additional tal"nta and hooour f ' h • .- t tives he should find au ioer,,ased difficulty t . eir .represen a 1: (Lord Code 'loll) tould in being returned, e . such Candidates „ 1 , not for the lif e of him conceive, he • d re. • 'e had deserib el not 11 men of timid an tipia . e were usua y tr,.:"R Latina • and would not hesitate to enter into a con :eat, if such 'contest T o h' therefore, it a were nteessary. him, tar, PPettred that the increased difficulty which it i:" theY would experience in finding their way into . thy . br°A -,1/:'e of Commons was merely a creature of the im . agt , 14 A great objection has' been made to the abolition o- Wll4l Were called Corporation rights. But what waa the avowed practice of some of these Corporations? He would not merrion them there ; but if he were walkinc down Pall-mall with a friend, he could ❑ame half-a-dozen places, having Corporations, where it wits the usage to present every voter with a saw of money. He himself once, not for himsdf, 'nit for a Orson of great talent and character, whom he wished to see in the House of Cotn- mono, had applied to a principal authority in one of those Corporations, intimating, however, that a dooceur would not be offered. He found that success was hopeless. On inquiring whether any of the out-voters might be expected to come wi!hout a bribe, he was told not one. This was one of innumerable instances of a similar kind ; and no !nail would deny it. The Noble Marquis opposite, who had complained of the declamation of his Noble Friend near him, bed called the attention of his Noble Fri,nd to the event.; of the French Revolution (not the recent but the ancient one), and he bad aslred his Noble Friend if it was his intention—or rattier, he (Lord Goderich)believed, ex pressing himself in more courteous terms, had said he sup po,ed it was not his Noble Friend's intention—to set himself op a , the Neckar of this country. As to Neckar, whoever ascribed to him the French Revolution must have wholly overloiikeil the present history of France. Let them exa mine that history, and they would find that the French Revolution was produced by a corrupt Court, a degraded Nubility—degrade il by their conduct, although claiming exclusive privileges—and an enslaved people. Front the earliest period of the French history down to the Revolu tion, there was a perpetual struggle on the part of the privileged orders to deprive the other classes of their rights, until at length those lamentable conssquences en sued, which for so many years spread desolation not only in France, but throughout Europe, producing evils from the effects of which the world would probably never entirely recover. He trrsted tl•at their Lordships would trace those evils to their true source. In that case the , wou!3 serve as beacons to guide them en their way to the port of safety.—(Hear.) His opinions on the sub ject of Parliamentary Reform undoubtedly were not what they were some years ago ; but he could assure their Lord-hips that he had not change(' his opinions without the deepest consideraton. In taking the course which he had adopted, he could not presume, to say that he had sacrificed any personal interest or personal power. But he had sacrificed many personal and early attach ments—many valuable and long-cherished recollections. It was a sacrifice which he could not have endured, had he not been supported by the consciousness of honest in tentions, and by the conviction that the measure which ha had advocated would be in the highest degree beneficial to their Lordships, and to the permanent inte rests of the country.—( Hear. ) The Earl of HADDINGTON observed, that the justi fication with which his Noble Friend had closed his speech, was wholly unnecessary. No man who knew either his Noble Friend, or the Noble Secretary of State fur the Home Department, but must be perfectly persuaded, that the course which he was pursuing, was one which he be lieved to be dictated by a paramount necessity. His Noble Friend had commenced his speech by defending his Ma jesty's GOvernment from the charge which had been brought against it, of having created the existing excite ment ; and had maintained that it did not create that ex citement, but that it found it. He believed with his Noble Friend, that the question of Parliamentary Reform had been in one shape or another silently working its way in the public mind for a long time. But he also believed that the present feverish agitation on the subject, the ex pectation of undefined blessings, had been mainly produced by the Bill under their Lordship? consideration. Finding an excitement, his Majesty's Ministers had taken measures not to allay, but to inflame it. On the first night of the debate on this Bill, those Noble Lords who objected to the second reading of it had been taunted with being the ene mies of all Reform. He (Lord Haddington) bad then pro tested against such an inference; and had argued that, as on the one hand Radical Reformers might oppose the Bill as not going far enough, so on the other hand persons of different principles might oppose it, as going so far as to threaten the dissolution of the Constitution; and not because they were the enemies of all Reform. But the tactics of the friends of the Bill were now changed. To-night they had taunted all the enemies of the Bill with being Reformers. They had NIP, " All of you have confessed that you are Reformers; but you are in consistent ; for if you are really Reformers, you must allow this Bill to go into the Committee." It was true that he (Lord Heddington), and all on his side of the House, saw the necessity for Reform ; but it must be a Reform upon principles known to the Constitution, and within limits which would secure the existence of the na tional institutions. To those principles, and to those in stitutions, they considered the present Bill as hostile. 11 the principles on which that Bill was founded were carried to their extent, or even if they were admitted at all, they must eventually sweep away King, Lords, and Commons. This was no new doctrine. It bad always been maintained by the friends of the Constitution, and of our ancient in stitutions, that if once Reform were admitted, merely on general theoretical principles, it must lead to consequences subversive of that Constitution, and of those institutions. The Noble Marquis (Lansdowne), who taunted the Mem bers of that side of the House with inconsistency in their admissions, had himself made some admissions of importance to a might undeistanding of the question. The Noble Mar quis admitted that any system which did not give its due preponderance to property would bean evil, and he contended that great changes had already been introduced into the Constitution by the passing of laws affecting fundamental principles, by the unions with Scotland and Ireland, and by the disfranchisement of the forty-shilling freeholders of Ire land ; but yet such was the wonderful power that Constitu tion possessed of adapting itself to circumstances, that all this had been done without striking at any of the peat principles on which it was supported. Now, with great deference to the Noble Marquis, he (Lord Haddington) must say, that the changes now proposed did go to strike at these great practical principles, and the fault he and those who thought with him found with the Bill was just this—not that it proposed a change, but that it would effect one of that descriptiou.—(Hear, hear.) The Noble Viscount opposite (Melbourne), in the debate of yester day evening, alluding to the opinions of Lord Bacon, said that the great object in political institutions was to secure permanence in all that required the common consent of the people ;- and after quoting a passage to that effect, pro ceeded to contend, that the consent of the people now failed, because their confidence in the House of Commons was wanting. This absence of confidence, if it were true, might be a very good reason for change ; but it was no reason for that total alteration which the Noble Viscount argued for, nor had he or any other Noble Lord said one word to prove its necessity.—(Hear.) The Noble Vircount, in attempting to prove, observed, that he saw Birmingham and all the great manufacturing towns unre presented, and be asked if it could be denied that it was necessary they should have representatives? When that assertion was cheered, then, exclaimed the Noble Viscount " that is the whole question.''—(Hear ) He denied that it was the whole question. What they had to prove was, not the propriety of giving ad opiate representatives. to the manufacturing or commercial towns, but the propriety and justice of bringing in a Bill for that purpose, in which, instead of placing the elective franchisement in the first rink, they adopted the ungracious course of making disfranchisement boroughs and corporate towns the prominent portion, while they placed the enfranchisement behind, and as a mere acces sion. In order to give representatives to Birmingham, or an additional Member, if it was considered necessary to the county of Warwick, it surely was not necessary to violate all chartered rights—to produce a total change in the whole constituency of the country, and to assume that the whole frame and system of the representation demanded reconstruction. A Noble Friend of his (Lord Harrowby), whose speech few who heard it would readily forget— (Hear, hear)—had alluded to the question of population, as one of the principles of the Bill with a power of lan gunge and force of reasoning which must give every one reason to regret that his health permitted that Noble Lord so seldom to take part in their debates. He (Lord Had dington) would not presume to attempt to improve on those arguments. He would merely say, that he agreed with the Noble Lord in all the consequences he deduced from taking population as the principle of the representa tion in the reconstruction of the Constitution. The ad vocates of the Bill said, however, that population was only one of the principles, and that it must be taken in con nection with others. All he could say was, that if they had taken it in connection with others, they had not ad hered to them.—(Hear, hear.) He was told—he did not mean to say that he knew it, brit he had it from good authority—that some of the places dis'ranchised in sche dule A, paid more taxes than some of those which retained their right in schedule B. If this were so, he would ask, what became of those other principles which were to be taken in connection with population. The Noble Lord Nays that 2,000 persons are to have one Member, and 4,000 two Members, and that there they are to stop. There are others, however, who can work the rule of three as w e lt as the Members of the•GOYerMent ; and they say, if two gives one and four gives two, what should 150,000 giv e ? —(Cheers.) H e b e lieved that this principle was already worked with great industry by the philosophers of Bir mingham and Manchester. He and the Noble Lords on his sid e of the Ileuse, looked at consequences of that kind. They saw the Government had taken population is their principle, and they warned them that demands like these would soon come from those who thought them !selves entitled - to t'he full exterision of that principle. This was no fanciful idea of his, nor was it confined to this country. The people of other countries—the public writers and politicians of other countries—viewed with as much surprise the altetations proposed by the Govern ment as some of the 'Members of that House: An American of some reputation, Comparing the principle of the Bill with the rule of tlit,e plan in use in his own country, stys " that it is not now a question, Whether the present system of representation in Great Britain does not work as well as our or as any system, but whether a great change in the present system, called a Reform, which be gins by wholly disfranchising sixty boroughs, b:cause their population is under two thousand, and depriving of half their franchise forty-seven boroughs more, can stop there. What reason can he given to satisfy the inhabi tants of some of the populous towns, having no repre s=tat'on at all, and to whom it is not proposed to give any% As to the present system the answer is ready. The British Constitution does not propose a geogra phical representation ; it finds certain boroughs, sonic large and some small, possessed of the right cf sending a Member to Parliament, fur a long petiod of years, some of them from time immemorial ; the system, in practice, operates well, and it does nut profess to be founded on the rule of three. But now come the Reformers ; they say it does not work web ; that the House of Commons has lost the r,spect of the people ; that it is an alose which cannot he longer borne, that boroughs of less than two thousand metnt,ers should send representatives, although they may have done it by prescription, as old as any title in the kingdom ; and that it is an equal abuse that boroughs of between two thousand and four thousand should send more than one Mtmber. Well then, cannot all the unrepre sented towns in tie kingdom, whcse population exceeds two thous mod, say, that if you discard tradition, and go upon reasonableness or fitness, our right is as good as that of the represented boroughs? Surely they can and will. too as to the counties. It will appear on the re , formei plan, that counties differing widely in population, possess tr i p, same share of power in constituting the House. of Comnr,..,-.. d t' Win-this be endured in a system whi: - disfranchises 'sixty other reason than tit their population is .dialler other .. JT,L ,. hear, hear.) Those whe suffer by the imperfect applic iunof the rule of three system, that is, the majority the people, will clamour to have it carried through, ar they will have reason and common sense on their side. Mr. Canning and the Anti-Reformists could arouse them, hut Lord John Russell cannot.—( Hear, bear, and a laugh.) The vice of the present system is, that it is the rule of three plan, with a blunder in working the question. The question is, if the borough A has 4 000 inhabitant , , and sends two Members, how many Members should B send, which has 10.000? Lord Jahn Russell works the question thus--. 39 4,000 is to 2, so is 10,000 to 2. But it is not. Then, if Lord J. Russell should say that after all"—[The Noble Lord (Haddington) here seemed to have mislaid the remainder of Vie sheer, and observed that he did not know what Lord John Russell said to that.—(A laugh.) He feared, indeed, that their Lordships mu•t excuse a mutilated quotation —(Beer.) The Americans were, in fact, looking with amazement at the course pursued by England. They said to each other, " Here is the country that the world has been looking at with wonder and admiration fur centuries ; a country which, with a small population and a limited territory, has risen to a height of greatness unsurpassed by any other—which has gone through with power and success a contest of a severity unexampled in the history of man kind—a country which boasted itself as the rallying point for all the free and liberal of the earth. What is its people aspiring to ? With what are they discontented, that they toss to the winds the. institutions which have given them so much fortune and so much power, and launch themselves on the wide ocean of expectation, looking to untried theories as a means of amending that system which experience should have taught them does not require any amendment?"—(Cheers.) Passing to the disfranchisement clauses, he would ask why all freemen were to lose their rights ? If some of them were corrupt. he would say, apply a remedy ; but why disrrauchise all? It was said that they wished to destroy bribery and corruption ; but - surely that was not to be done by depriving all freemen of their rights. They might have had as many ten.pounders as they liked ; but bow, he would ask, did they destroy corruption, when they took away the rights of all freemen to give them to persons who paid three shillings and sixpence a week of rent ? Why, it was well known there was a Local Act which made the payment of that rent an exoneration from poor-rates, and classed them, therefore, with paupers. Surely they did not destroy corruption by placing the franchise in hands like these.—(Hear.) After adding all those bribable subjects to those who at present were bribed, the Bill took away from the unborn children of the possessors of burgage tenures the rights of their pa rents; so that it laid down a vicious principle, and de ferred the execution of it. Now, if it was right to take the power away from their persons, why was it deferred? It was an injury to the 101. householders. It deprived them of a portion of their rights; and they were bound to object to it. He bad always held a political trust to be in a different situation from a private interest; but although a political trust might be resumed, he contended that when it was connected with political rights (be would not say vested interests), it should, at all events, be treated with great delicacy. He did not object to the resumption of the trust, but he required a strong proof of its necessity ; and it was of the absence of that proof and necessity that he now complained ; for he thought thet any unnecessary violation of a political trust when connected with a political right, would ultimately go to shake the foundations of property. This was no new doctrine. It had been broached by Sir R. Peel in the other House, and treated with great skill and address. With respect to the enfranchisement of great towns and cities, if it had been proposed, and the necessity for it proved, he was prepared to give it his vote; but when they were taunted by the other side for not proposing a plan of Reform of their own, he replied it was not their business.—(Hear, hear.) They were content to remain as they were. He dreaded changes, and wished to God tl:ey could remain as they were. He knew, however, they could not.—(Hear, hear, from the Ministerial side.) He knew they could not now—(Hear, hear)—remain as they were, and he should act the part of a bad citizen to his country, and a bad subject to his King, if he allowed any love of abstract principles to prevent his yielding to necessity, if it was proved, or if lie persisted in a desperate and unavailing contest. His Friend, the late Mr. Can ning, in one of the last speeches he made on the question of Refbrm, and just before he believed he was going to India, had predicted that the time would come when that necessity might prevail, and after eulogising the firmness and consistency of the Noble Earl (Grey) who now brought forward the present Bill, his Right Hon. Friend declared in the spirit of prophecy, that the glory of having pro. duced a measure of Reform would probably rest with the Noble Earl, but it would be his glory to have resisted it to the last.—(Hear, hear.) He (Lord Haddington) had no right to assume what would have been the opinions of his Right Hon. Friend had he lived to the present time, He was answerable for no blunderings except his own, but lie was as much at liberty to speculate on what those opi nions would have been as on the effect of any change which the circumstances of the time might produce. Ano ther Right Hon. Friend of his and of Mr. Canning, and who lived for three years after him—a man of profound knowledge and rare sagacity—expressed himself in still stronger terms on the motion for giving representatives to Birmingham, which was brought on in February, 1830. Alter declaring his intention to vote for giving a represen tative to Birmingham, Mr. Huskisson observed,—" I have ever been—l now stn—l shall continue as much as ever —an enemy to what is called Parliamentary Reform on principle ; that is, to any general Reform in the formation of the House of Commons, which is founded upon the principle of theoretical improvement. Any such plan of Reform, I am convinced—and all history, all experience, all knowledge of human nature and human passions, bears me out in the conviction, however it might, for a season or two, adapt itself safely to ordinary and quiet times-- would, upon the first great excitement of popular feeling (and such excitements are inevitable in every form of so ciety) subvert the whole frame of the Constitution, and substitute, for the security and protection of a well-regu lated Government, either the evils of democracy or those of despotism ; or, more probably, the dreadful visita tion of both these tyrannies, in their natural order of succession. Nothing, I am well aware, is so easy as to take to pieces and to hold up separately to trial and condemnation the different descriptions of franchise and modes of election, by the exercise of which the present House of Commons is created —nothing so hopeless, as to defend each separate part, when thus brought up to be arraigned abstractedly from the whole. I think it a waste of time, and perversion of common sense, to look at our Constitution in this way. If, there fore, I am challenged to say whether I am prepared to ad vocate this or that particular description of elective fran chise which prevails in this or that particular borough, I will only answer the question by saying, that I look to the whole as one aggregate—that if the present frame be once taken to pieces, no man could put it together again, and that Ido not believe that the wisdom of man—(always recollecting in old societies how that wisdom is controuled and swayed by passions, prejudices, and interest) —could create another and a new flame that would look as well, and last as long, as the present one. If this was true in _ February, 1930, it was equally true now; and while he (Lord Haddington) gave it his entire adherence, he could not avoid expressing his regret for the fatal and ruinous delusion which led the Government to abandon the prin ciple it so ably inculcated. They were, however, hreed from a final resting place; dud notwithstanding all they heard, he feared no change, however extensive, could give them another: When the Bill seas first in troduced, they had heard mti,th of the necessity of going far enough, in order that they rifig,ht find a final restine: glace.—(Hear, bear.) Or all the delusions connected with the Bill, that was the mo t fatal. How could they put their system-on the wheel, and then hope to hob! on ? Why, it contained, within itself a principle of p-rpetual motion—(Hear, bear)—and he almost fancied. that its inventors would claim from the Board Cf tonei tude th e reward of their discoveries. The places left out of the represervation will, by and by, claim their right.._ The Parliament may say to. But the claimants will have reason a n d justice on th-ir side when the Bill passes, and th e y must prevail.—(Cheers.) Mr. Canning scold hare answered them ; but the advocates of the new system cannot ; and there was Mr. Canning's wisdom. There will be no resting place. The interests of the country will be confided to the 10/. householders, and the machine will continue its motion until all the splendour of an ancient monarchy—all the estiblishments of the Church and of the State—all institutions, civil, military, and religious, will be confiled to a Parliament, the direct organ of ;he people, annually renewed, through universal suffrage and vote by ballot.—(Cheers.) He might appear to have overstated these things, but his understanding- was so framed that be could not comprehend haw the introduc tion of principles having such tendencies should not work towards their natural end, and produce those injurious effects to the Ginstitution which all were anxious to avert.—(Cheers.) The Noble Earl at the head of the Government bad been blamed for not introducing some small plan of Reform. The Noble Earl bed not the power to do so. The Noble Duke (Wellington) who preceded him in office might have brought forward 'lan. He could have afforded to do so, but the rl would have forfeited all his ree e !-;: e e 11 his character tor . e e rity—neu introduced a. 4 -, a ~...,seterahle change in the representation. e' telieved, however, that the Noble Earl went much larther than even his character rendered necess try ; and he (Lord H.) certainly never could forget the sur prise and alarm which the promu'gation of the plan excited in the minds even of the most ardent lovers of Reform (Heir.) Up to that hour all the supporters of the Bill elsewhere—he was not q uestioning their sincerity—but o all the supporters of the Bill, though they said it was necessary, he had met with very few who approved of the Bill. A more moderate measure would have done The Noble Earl said riot, and he knew hut one nay of de ciding that, and that was for their Lordships to give the country time for con:idecation. He believe 1 that the d e bates in that House, and in the other House, would have considerable effect on the people, and would have satisfieo moderate would not men. say that He he did not ddn expect,t wishthat; to satisfy theat he op radicals e d ; he it would satisfy idle great bulk of the moderate people. They would be satisfied with any thing that went to amend the representation with a probability of benefit. Tht Noble Earl said it would be wise to conciliate and make c oncessions, and he had wished to warn their Lordships of the danger of not conceding in time. There was, indeed one part of the Noble Earl's address inure striking than that, and he hail referred to the experience of history t o demonstrate the fully of those legislators who had refuse.. all concessions till they were too late. There was no human folly or vice which had not contributed to over turn States, and among them obstinacy was undoubtedly one; but certainly it was also true, that Monarchies had been destroyed by concession. Very often obstinacy and concession were combined, or they followed each other. He would quote no other instance than that of Charles 1., in whom both qualities were combined to effect his m i n .—(Hear, hear.) He was obstinate at first, and made c oncessions afterwards. What did he do for the Parlia ment? Why be gave into its hands all the power of the State. He passed a Bill to give all the power of the State into the bands of the House of Commons, and that led to the destruction of that infatuated Prince. He consented that the Parliament should never be dissolved but by its consent, and that Parliament subverted all the other powers of the State.' His Noble Friend, who spoke last, said that the Bill did not touch any of their Lordships' privileges ; that it left the Monarchy and that House with all the privileges which had ever been attributed to them by any writer. True, the Bill took away the nomination boroughs, and that would not injure the Peers. Their Lordships would stand though they lost the nomination boroughs, but they could not stand under this Bill. It ! created a power which would destroy them. He, there fore, could not consent to the second reading. He had been anxious to do so—be had been anxious to devise some reason to vote for the Bill, that it might go into a Committee. He had sat down to the Bill for that pur pose, but found it was not possible, except Ministers should make considerable concessions, and that the Oppo sition should be moderate in their expectations. He had found neither. He did not blame the Noble Earl (Grey) for the language be had used ; it was not his fault ; with his views of the Bill that was justified ; but as it so hap. pened, if Noble Lords concurred with him in thinking it was impossible, under such circumstances, to make any improvements in the Bill, it was not right to go into the Committee. In doing so it was not a hasty determination ; but the responsibility, whatever it might be, would belong to all. The Noble Lord who spoke last complained of his Noble Friend (Earl Dudley), that he opposed the Bill because he was opposed to the Ministers. That could not he said of him ; be had always been a supporter of the Government; he ap proved of the principles on which the Noble Earl formed his Administration, and it would have been a gratifica tion to him if he could have supported this Bill. He could not, and was obliged to sacrifice his wishes on the altar of duty to his country. He should have played an unworthy part had he consented to flatter the Ministers by giving them his support. He had only to state, that, acting as he did, he bad no intention of treating with dis respect the wishes of the people or the plan of the Go vernment. He stated what he felt as a Peer of Parlia ment, a nd in the exercise of his privilege—that privi'ege which he bad received fur the good of the country. If lie th oug ht in his conscience that the Bill was likely to be mischievous, it was his duty to reject it. He was not ~hind to the danger of rejecting it. Their Lordships' situation was one of misery, and they had only a chance of danger. His only consolation was, that the people of England were renowned for their moderation—for their good sense and moderation; and on their good sense, or their s peedy return to their ancient customs and thoughts, h e pl ace d great reliance. He had another consolation. He place d great reliance on that superintending Providence which bad conducted the country through many difficulties, and carried it to a great height of glory and honour; and that great Power would not desert their Lordships if they did not desert themselves.—(Cheers.) The Earl of RADNOR was surprised at the opposition to the motion; fir all the Noble Lords who bad spoken with one exception, were agreed that Reform was neces sary. They assented, therefore, to the principle of the Bill. At the present stage they were called upon to say Theyt!ete determined i n s e a t i l d t to Reformsay N o wason Aye or No to the principle ; an i though they admitted that l proposed, they say they who spoke early in the the • e principl es • nt d ahl division.—(Laughter.) a Yi v 'il e ;n° i da t . . ne—bd a (t i Le i l i al s teuhi N g:by o ßt b e ; rf e :):eul alils Friend, debate on the first evening, and protested against the Bill, was willing to go almost its whole length. He agreed to t h e disfranchisement, he agreed to tile enfranchisement, to t h e division of counties—be admitted all the provisions of the Bill, and yet refused to vote fer it. All the Noble Lords who had spoken had admitted they were friendly to Reform, a nd yet they meant to oppose the Bill. He could not say that, indeed, for the Noble Lord who spoke last, for he did not know whether that Noble Lord were for or against Reform.—(A laugh.) Over and over again he had stated, that he liked our old Administration—that he dreaded c h a nge; and he had quoted the speeches of Mr. Canning and Mr. Huskisson, which were out and out against Reform, saying that he adhered to all the principles they described, and yet he had admitted that something was necessary, though not such a measure as this. What fault did he find with the Bill? Why he objected to clause A being placed before clause B, and if clause B had been placed first, be would have voted for the Bill. The Noble Earl wanted enfranchisement to go before disfranchisement. That was a matter of taste. Many of the boroughs which were the most odious is the eyes of the people, were placed in schedule A, and it was that schedule which had made the Bill so popular with the people. If it would please the Noble Earl, he should snake no objection to placing B before A, though it was quite a new way of learning the alphabet.—(A laugh.) But the framers of the Bill had stuck to the old way, and was that a good reason for re jecting the Bill ? The Noble Earl said the Bill was alarm ing, and that when the wheels were fixed on the carriage, away it would go down the hill into universal suffrage, annual Parliaments, and vote by ballot. But the Noble Earl, who was now at the top of the hill, would himself put wheels on the carriage, and he, therefore, would go down too, though he might not go down quite so fast but in fact, it would come to the same thing; and whether the Noble Earl, or any other Noble Earl, put on the wheels, the danger must, according to him ; be equally alarming. It was to him ince neeivable how any Noble Lord could vote against the second reading, and yet be in favour of Reform. The debate which hid taken place had been al together a debate for the Committee. With the exception of two .speeches, all the speeches which had been made related to the details of the Bill ; and all the objections which had been stated might be obviated perhaps in the Committee. One Noble Lord, indeed, said he detested the principle of the Bill so mercie s that he could not bear to look upon it. Ile knew nothing, he said, of the details, and yet he waa prepared to vote against the Bill because its details were so monstrous. One Noble Lord had alfindcd tee the Ministers net taking a hasty step if the Bill wets rejected ; that Noble Lord then admitted the danger of the rejectinn, and yet he woe prepared to vote elgainst the second reading. Those ieho voted against the second rcelinee, he would say, were the eneaS'ee 4 Reform, and he would confirm it by whet the Noble Duke easel last night. The Noble Vulate said, in the early pert of his speetbs. that some of these who voted against him on the Civil Ude; noted against the second reeding cf the Reform Bill. lie implied, there tore, that they Were against Reform, and he also /referred that those who new voted against the Bill were the ene mies of Reform —(Hear, hear.) With reference to what the Noble Duke said of the breaking tip of his Administra tion, he would appeal to their Lotdships, if it were not that celebrated d claration of the Noble Duke's which had roused the country against him, and begotten the present liaiikering for Reform. Even the Noble Earl who had denisd the necessity of Reforest had proposed to suspend the discussion for two years, to renew the Constitution for two years, and then to discuss it with calmness and refl,c tion. But what did he expect from that, except at the end of that time to be ably to content the people with a moderate Reform ? Bust it coifed net be expected that the feeling would die away. Tee petitions were more nume rous than ever, and more likely to increase than diminish. The Noble Earl contended that tree system had worked well, but that the people denied, It was admjttaid;,_ greet power of the State 7"..kilar the people of this ne ; and kowtco,old, Itou he proseeroue, that all ranks and ;;74.7 Vife' r; satisfied with their condition and pros e-rity, that they must coneder the system of Govern ment under which that was brought about to have worked well ? If the Government of the cotton y were in the House of Commons, and if the country were not prosperous, was not that a sufficient proof that the system tied not worked, well ? The Noble Earl ended, that if the Gevernieent had been more popular and democratic, we should have had more watt. He could not deny that; but whenever tie heard that argument he was reminded of a passage he " Bishop Butler's Aualogy of Nature." Thet eminent Prcla'e stilted, " that all events depended on such a multitude of causes, the connection between the laws of cause and effect is so intricate, that it is impossible to state, if any one event was supposed not to have hap pened, that it would not have altered every one of the -übsequent events." He applied that doctrine to the as. section about war, and said that it was impossible for any Noble Lord to say what would hay teen the consequence of having a Reformed House of Commons. He was ole enough to remember the war of 1793, and the excitemen . which th n prevailed. He bsheved that it was artificial, produced by books and pamphlets, and he moreover he lieved that if there h id not been a large party amongst us interested in putting down liberty in France, that the p e ople woule not have been desirous of entering into that war. Some Noble Lords spoke of the danger to which the Peer ege was exposed, and of the chance that primogeniture would be abolished. But those dangers had not arisen trout Reform. They could not originate in Reform, for they were not in existence, and we had not yet got Re fin Lll.-(Cheers.) He wished to God we had got Re form ; but we had not, and those difficusties existed, an , could not, therefore, be saddled on Relorin. Might it not be that those difficulties arose from not giving Re• form from a want of Reform ? Reform would remove ano malies, would get rid of some of those difficulties, and would probably put an end to those dispositions from which the apprehensions arose. Their Lordships were told, too, that this system had worked well in past times, and why not now? But all other things were going forward, why not Government? The objection was, that this Bill was a change. Why we lived in a wurld of change. He disliked change as much any man—(Hear)-- - -Send this was a change.—(Cheers from the Opposition.) His feelings were against change, he was a man of habit, loving to do one day what he did the day before. Change was a griev ance ; but when any greater grievance than change was to be removed by encountering a change, he said it was wise and prudent to change. The evils must be balanced against each other, and the greater got rid of by some alteration. Every day brought its own change ; we were all growing old; our habits and feelings were changing, and he wee sure that not one of their Lordships could look back for a few years without finding his opinions, his friends, and all changed. What was the benefit of experience if there were to be no change in the mind? Why, we should always remain the same foolish things we were when we were babies.—(Laughter.) Every thing else changed, then why not institutions? The ways of the people changed ; were, then, laws always to be the same ? If institutions were to be adapted to the wants of society, they must be changed to meet the changes in society. It was folly to think of preserving them unchanged in a world of change. In fact they were changed, but changed for the worse instead of the better. They had not become more liberal and more enlightened as the people had grown in knowledge ; they had been changed in another direction. He could not enter into facts to illus trate that ti hich he could state on principle. Money made money, so power had a tendency to make power and in crease itself. The close Corporations had gradually be come more close ; the rotten boroughs had become more rotten, and it must be so. The freemen were gradually excluded, the Corporations had gradually acquired interest and power to exclude them ; and of ten boroughs which had been made closer, he did not think one had ben made more open. Peers had formerly interfered with elections in boroughs; but the boroughs were not then rotten. He would take, for example, the borough with which he was connected, of which he was, he would not say the patron, but the proprietor. That was a very ancient borough. It was said that the ancient Wittengamote was held there, and the spot was still shown where its meetings were held. In the borough burgage tenure prevailed, and there were 100 burgage tenures, but he was the proprietor of them all ex cept one. He was not only time constituent, but had like wise the right of appointing the returning officer ; so that the whole borough was as nice and as close an affair as you could wish.— (Laughter and cheers.) He mentioned these circumstances to show that those timings became close by degrees, and that it was necessary that the institutions of the country should change with the increase of the knowledge of mankind. But the fact was, that if there had been any change, it had been all the other way. But it was said we were now about to take a too desperate step, lie would admit that it was a very long one; but the mis fortune was, that we had gone on in the old course too long, without granting a little and a little at a time, as ought to have been done; and now, when they wanted to make up for lost time, they found that it must be by a lung jump. But it was said that the radicals wanted even more than this Bill gave.—(Cheers from the Opposition.) He did not believe that that was the case. Mr. Hunt, in deed, said that ice was not satisfied—(A laugh)---but the radicals, oa the contrary, said that they would be satisfied with the Bill. He would not say that, if it should be found that the Bill did not act well, further improvements would uot he asked for ; but which of their Lordships, on finding that a measure wanted improvement, would be foolish enough to refuse it.—(Cheers ) Surely no one-- and, therefore, in this sense they might all be called radi cals.—(Cheers and a laugh.) This, it should be remem bered, was not a question of modern agitation ; but the Noble Duke had said that it was owing to the French re volution of last year. He was sure that the Noble Duke could not mean to say that that revolution had produced this feeling : it might, indeed, have been drawn out by that occurrence, but it was well known to ban existed be fore.--(Hear.) In the year 1819, a million of persons had signed petitions in favour of Reform ; and, indeed, if they wanted to lose sight of the time when Reform was agitated, they must go back to forty or fifty years ago. And why not, according to some Noble Lords, should we not re main as we were forty or fifty years ago ? But those Noble Lords appeared to forget that it was contrary to the nature of things that one point should s tand still while all others went progressing onwards ; and the answer that he should like to give those Noble Lords would be, to take them to the Gloucester Coffee-house about eight o'clock in the evening, and then let them see the six or seven mails that were ready to start for the country. By means of th not only letters but the newspapers of the day wereose mails distributed in the course of ten hours over every town within - one hundred miles of the m e t ro p o li s . H e i wo uld take Salisbury , for instance--a city that was eighty miles from London. He believed that it was within the memory of man when the post only arrived there three days in the week, and took 36 hours in getting there.— (A laugh.) Let him illustrate this position by referring to the Noble Earl who had spoken against the Bill. Sup pose that Noble Earl wa s d own a t hi s sea t in Scotland, and the post brought hi m hi s news paper according to the present rapid rate o f trave lli ng; w h y , if the Noble Earl acted up to his p r i nc ipl es , h e wou ld cr y, " Take it away! take it away ! and bring it to me ten days hence by the old mode of travelling."o-e(Cheets and laughter.) This might appear very ridiculous, but it Wit& not so; for if they would have ancient customs in one thing, they must be content to have them in others. So if the Noble Earl was to break his leg, he ought to exclaim—" No, no ; I will have no Mr. Brodie to tie up my arteries; give me the good old red-hot cauterizing knife."—(Loud laughter.) But the fact was, that the march of mind, as it was called, had not only extended to science and art, but had gone on s far as politice.—(Cheers.) The people knew their rights, and were demanding the possession of them— . (Cheers) —and their Lordships might rely on it that one of the greatest Reformers that ever existed was high taxa tion.—(Loud m E e d eh u a c n at ie ion ef had de m pr a ee de ent a 4 1 3 n y ig e h n ty d i t i i , , ff at c . r — ent c e Lo h u e d tw c e l e t n eer t s h . the mechanic of fifty years ago ; as a proof of which he might state, that he had a letter from a Manchester opera. tive, in answer to one from himself, in which he had de, •ired to be mede acquainted how this individual bad pro• cured his eclocation. According to the statement of this person, it appeared that, though he bad belonged to a Ma- Mthr•torY from the time he was 16, and was then only about 24, he had continued to attend some lectures, and by dint of reading had picked up some knowledge of vul gar arithmetic, Algebre, and Euclid, together with geo metrical drawing. And he could tell their Lordships, that when Manchester operatives had time to procure as much knowledge as thi., it would not do to treat them as they had treated the same class of persons forty or fifty years ago —(Cheers.) Their Lordships might just as well say, " We will nut grow &der" as attempt to prevent those persons obtaining possession of their rigl‘ts.— (Cheers.) Knowledge was power; and those perions were getting more and more knowledge every day.—(C i l g te h e t ri li ng o . n* ) It had been a matter of dispute in the other House of Parliament whether Mr. Canning, if he had lived to the present time, would have been a Reformer ;.. B.,dnor) hail no personal knowledge 4 W.-we- R hgl;_tlijut he would venture. Reformer—(Herr, be tr) 9MitleßSOtriedhi; ornion on what fell from him at a din ner given to 1,4 at Liverpool—probably that one when it was expected that he was going to the East Indies. %Ir. Canning bad then stated, as an argument azainst Ra dical Reform, that it would overturn the House of Lords and the other institutions of the country—for, said he, I cannot- conceive nn what ground three or four hundred opulent individuals should oppose themselves to the de clared wishes of the country. Now it was impossible that any delegated Parliament could have better declared the wishes of the country than had been done by the ',resent House of Commons in this in-tance. He, there fore, hoped that their Lordships would consent to the passing of the Bill; and it was for these reasons that he - hould give it his own most hearty support.—(Cheers.) The Earl of HADDINGTON said a few words in ex planation. The , le , ate was then adjourned till to-marrow (this day,) Jeer which the House adjourned at Halipast One. BO USE OF COMMONS, Ocroazz 5. The SPEAKER• took the Chair at a few minutes before Four o'clock. ISlr. O'CONNELL presented a petitiln from a town in he Queen's County, aeainst the yeomanry of Ireland ; dso tour petitions, praying fur th , repeal of the Union. The Hon. Gentleman was interrupted by the Speaker, the House being summoned to the House of Lords to ear the Royal Assent given to the Bills which have passed both House , . The SPEAKER returned, and stated that the Royal Assent had been g i ven by Coaimission to several Bills, for vhich see the Lords. _ Mr. O'CONNELL presented a petition from fors. ,riourers, complaining of the conduct of two Magistrates if the county or Cork. The Him. Gentleman stated that ire had held the petition for some time, and had !mown it to the Solicitor-General for Ireland, who had been air good as to send him the report of Wirt- Miller, Inspecting Magistrate for the district, and be believed that it com pletely bore out the allegations contained in the petition. Mr. CRAMPTON defended the Magistrates ; he did not know either of them personally, but be understood they bore a very good character. He promised that an enquiry should be made into the case by the law officers of the Crown in Ireland. Sir R. BATESON defended the Magistracy of Ireland. Mr. HUNT said that Ireland was well off in having law officers who paid such attention to the duties of their office; such was not the way things were done in England. After a long discussion the petition was ordered to be printed. Mr. O'CONNELL moved for an account of spirits im ported from Guernsey and Jersey during the last year. He asked whether any measure was to be brought in for the repeal of the malt duty drawback, as recommended by a Select Committee. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that he had given orders for the preparation of a Bill for that purpose, which he hoped to be able to introduce in the course of a few drys. Mr. HLTME moved for an account of the expense of the Court to be formed under the new Bankruptcy Court Bill, the number of officers to be engaged, and their salaries. Mr. HUNT presented a petition from London, praying for the release of the Rev. Mr. Taylor. Mr. HUME reprobated the laws under which Mr. Taylor was punished. Lord ALTHORP thought any person might discuss his own opinions if they were not dangerous to the morals or religion of the people. In his (Lord Althorp'e) opinion Taylor's were so, and he was properly punished. Mr. O'CONNELL thought the best way would have been to let Taylor alone, for contempt would make such opinions innocuous. He was of opinion that now the best way would be to open the prison doors, and take no farther notice of him. Sir R. PEEL said that the prosecutions bad not been pressed in the case of Carlile, and he did not regret that such course had been pursued ; but that forbearance was not to be drawn into the sanction of such publica tions. That would he to say, that for such publications there was to be complete impunity, independent of all law. Mr. LAMB reminded the House that the prosecution was not instituted by the Government—(Hear)—and it was rather hard to call ,on the Government to mitigate the sentence, and without making out any case for mercy. He admitted that before a prosecution for blasphemy was commenced there ought to be strong grounds for it; but he hoped that the law on that subject would not be repealed. Mr. HUME observed that, if the attacking of the first principles of Christianity were to constitute offence, what was to be said of the sentiments of the Jews, the Mahome tans, the Hindoos, &c. This definition would leave mat, tens in a very uncertain state. Mr. TREVOR contended that Mr. Taylor's offence was of the most virulent character—be had openly ridiculed, in a public theatre, the Christian religion. Petition (where from was never stated) ordered to lie on the table. CALL OF THE HOUSE. Lord EBRINGTON asked whether the call of the House for Monday was to be persevered in ? Mr. O'CONNELL did not intend to press it—the ob ject for which Le proposed it, according to the feeling of the House, had been answered. He should allo Titto be discharged. Lord EBRINGTON, in that case, should to-morrow move that the House be called over ou Mond.y. He did so in case an event occurred which he hoped would not ensue ; but if it did, he should then deem it to be his duty on Monday to submit a motion on the state of public affairs. --.[We thought his Lordship said, the state of the public " mind."] MONEY PAYMENT OF WAGES BILL. On the motion that this Bill he now rei d a third time, Mr. HUME moved, u an amendment, that the Bill be read this time six months. The House divided, when there appeared— For the amendment 4 Against it. 6l Majority —47 BANKRUPTCY COURT BILL The adjourned debate on the second reading of this Bill was resumed, after the close ~f a discussion, which arose on the complaint of several Members of the Opposiiion, that sufficient notice, commensurate with the importance of the measure, had not been given of the intention to re sume the subject this evening. Mr. WILLIAMS, in replying to the objections put forth against this measure by an Hon. and Learned Gen. tletnan (Sir C. Wetherell), on &former occasion, said that experi e nce must have long ago convinced every impartial man that this department of our judicature could not be made effective on any other principles than those which formed the ground of this measure. The present system was the most in efficient that could possibly be devised, and utterly unfit for ad judication of the least important matters. In proportion to the importance of causes, we oug ht to have a Court of perfect action. and of competent Judges. No man woul say that the present Court was one of that description. It was not decent to the mercan tile interests that they should be under the nuinagement of a young gentleman who, whatever might be his promises was of no note whatever, and scarcely twelve months at th elsar ;u4 the liability to have such Judges appointed M_Fle2 ° l. n e r w ‘ as Court was one of the attributes of the present sy stemsPse of itself sufficient to make a reformation of a suc td a e n any oter native on the Legislature. There was e °the same time as a . prac thatost of the Commissioners tibrsainngchEaofrrithsteelar,wass was f u a t J h u e d u ge w actin witu f the dignity which ought to at -a practice so incompatible w.—, aa m• performance of its duties, a t one and the same time;, and what Loch to the station, and erlihalialts &fence Was a thing im. c o mmissioners to have three distinct sub_ that to attempt to say s i r "" beibre the Committee that it was CAVA 19 COlifillei any ma of common jin i n: c o o t tr s e u i ma bl im in l ml etbre wai n iy;:zav