The Sun. — London, England, 1830-02-19 00:00:00

1& I - osstoi;.' nnilftriter etas of a large anal' toed body of men have been thereby improperly affected. Now, I consider the Act that was. passed against Mr. Horne Tooke, in ISO I , in this light, and as the late Lord Thurlow, whose authority, I presume, may be quoted in this House, pronounced this Act to be uncalled for, unjust, levelled at a single indivi dual, and infamous, from having an ex post facto opera tion against Mr. Tooke, and all who had then takets Holy Orders—several of whom had actually sat in this House; and as Mr. Tooke himself did, in refetence to this Act, leave a most severe satire behind him upon this House (which, I think, ought to be wiped away, (by thankitia; his old Friend, the then Prime Minister, for his geett lenity and kindness in only proposing such a Bill. ( (which Mr. Tooke accepted as the highest complintent that could he paid to the end of his political life), because, if the Minis ter had proposed a Bill to have bad Mr. Tooke taken out of this House, and hetie - ed in the lobby, the same majority woold have been equally ready and willing to have passed it. Therefore, for the honour of Parliament, as well as in grotitutle to the memory of this learned, sincere, atiel d 'tintless reformer, in whose steps I am now presunsing t o tread, I propose, by the 15th enactment of this Bi l , that this Act shall be taken off the record of the Statute Book, and cancelled, or otherwise defaced, to the end that no such Act :shall be visible in after ages, and that it shall be wholly repealed. There is still oat Other principal enactment more, and that arises froth the pre avnt and alarming state of the totattt*-. I believe this measure to be absolutely neeessary to our safety ; and I would wish to see the - provisions of this Act executed in the most deliltera`e and considerate manner; but I cannW shut my eyes to the imminent peril of our siteatl_on, and to the fact that 11 might become of the !Ist importance to the cottotry to have the becest of the provisions of this Act before it could be possible for the nation to Ituaaive it from the Reform Committee. I consider it, teerefore, proper to have an enactment to the following effect :—" That if this Parliament shall be dissolved be fore the Reform Committee shall have reported tvpon the tOities :aid Boroughs as it is required to do, so that the co'entry shall not. b.r in pessession of the benefits conte(n plated by this Act, then and in that ease no writ for the election of Members to serve in Parliament shall be sent to those places that have so Ellen into decay as to be unable to bear the burden of paying the wages of attendance ac cording to the provisions .of this Act, and where there is notoriously a, direct proprietary interest or domination in returrdnA- the Members of this House, and stteh places shall se eutttneratell in the Bill; and to enact that writs in place thereof shall be sent to the Sheriff's of such counties for the returns or citizens and burgesses of such large, populous, and unrepresented towns, as his Majecty, with the advice of his Privy Council, shall think proper ; owl that the returns of Members to serve in Podia . ment from all such towns, as well es from all other cities end boroughs to which the King's Writ is serif, shall be made by the votes of a majority of the inhabitant householders, assessed to any tax, pa rochial or Parliamentary, and consenting to be assesseei to the wages of attendance ; and that all the pro visions of this Act shall be in full force tool virtue, the saine as it the Reform Committee had made the reports which are hereby directed to be mule." Then there are enactments to secure the regular attendance of the Com mittee, to exclude front the operation of the Bill the uni versities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin, and that each Member of the Committee shall take the oath I will now read. "I do solemnly promise and swear that, lay - rug aside all private interest or motives, I will, to the best of my judgment, faithfully execute all the provisions of the Act under which I have been appointed a Member of the Reform Commi tae, according to the plain and obvious meaning of the said Act, as set forth in the preamble and enactments of the same, and if it skill appear to me that any improvement can be made in the said Act for the better fulfilling the clear intentions of the Legislature as therein expressed—l trill not fail to propose that such improvement shall be reported to the House of Commons, or to vote for it if proposed by others ; and that in a matter of such importance as restoriug to the House of Commons the perfect con fidence of the nation, and securing for ever the rights and liberties of the people, I will consider it my duty to be re gular and punctual in my attendance on the said Commit tee, sickness or any other unavoidable cause alone prevent ing such at ten dance." Finally, Sir, as respects the question of compenaation, I do not propose any compensation 'to the proprietors of boroughs, because I maintain that it never was intended by the law that it should he possible for any body to qualify any thing like a proprietary interest in the representation of the people, and that all such interests are obtain( d either by means positively and strictly forbidden by the law, or in consequence of a manifest perversion of its spirit and real meaning. On this point it was well ob served by the late Hon. Member for Durham, in 1521, that " it would not be depriving them of any thing they ought to have, it would be depriving them only of the corrupt an I unconstitutional practicability of selling seats in Par liament, or bartering them for places, pensions, sinecures, and other appointments in the gilt of the Minister." I will not, therefore, at the present day. be the proposer of any compensation to the traffickers of seats in Parliament. 1 ant aware, Sir, that Mr. Pitt, and Mr. Wyvill, and many honest reformers of that day, (lid adopt the principle of com pensation ; and I have heard that when it teas proposed to Mr. Pitt, on the part of certain proprietors of boroughs, to accept the honours of the Peerage in full compensation, be spurned at the idea; and that he returned precisely the same answer which 1 have heard the present Minister returned, when a Dukedom and other stipendiary compensation were required for service in Parliament—" The Dukedom is out ' of the question ; but the other terms, of place and stipend, shall be complied with whenever the vacancy happens." Now, Mr. Pitt has been reproached, and I think very justly, for making so many of these proprietors of boroughs Peera of Parliament, and allowing them to keep their horougha into the bargain. An actor in this scene has recorded his opinion, in explaining the philosophy of the propo sition " along." " Thanks, to Pitt, it is along of him that we do not only keep our boroughs, but get Peerages into the bargain." "Curses on Pitt, it is along of him that the free Constiution of this country is destroyed." " I suppose that Lord Lonsdale, Lord Eliott, and the father of Lady Bath, would not mean to impute any fault to the Minister in the former of these sentences, though the people of England de certainly impute an inexpiable crime and treachery to him in the latter." Not only, tken, have the greater part of these proprietors been thus already compensated in advance, but among whom have the mil lions of debt, under which this nation is now sinking, been distlibuted, for the moat parts but among those proprie tors, their relations, friends, dependents, and tools.— Still, though I will not be the proposer of compensation, if there were any danger of this Bill being lost for want of giving compensation, in the case of certain burgage tenure boroughs where no Peerage had been obtained, I would think it better, much as I disapprove of the prin ciple, to give compensation than to allow this measure to be delayed fur a single year; because I know that millions and millions would thereby be saved to the country ; and because I would hey off an unjust claim, rather than be subject to the delay and danger of a long and expensive litigation. Bat, Sir, when I find, from a petition presented to this House in 1793, that it was offered to be proved at our bar that a majority of the House of Commons are re turned by less than two hundred individuals, how can the nation afford any thing like compensation for the com mand of a majority of the House of Commons ? The thing is beyond all price; it must he granted as a matter of grace from within these 'walls, or it will come, as the great Lord Chatham predicted (and, in truth, it seems advancing with rapid strides) with a vengeance from without. Now, Sir, I will not trespass much longer upon the attention of the House; but before I conclude, I am desirous of noticing two arguments which have been urged against Reform, both of which, I think it not improbable, may be used against me this evening. lam aware, Sir, that it has been asked in this House by a late aplendid orator, and with somewhat of triumph, by reason of the silence that followed the question, " If it be meant to carry back the Constitution to former times, name your period." The question, I must confess, always appeared to me sophistical. I am for renovating the Constitution in the important particul as I have referred to. lam for repairing the breaches which time has made in its walls, and for conducting these repairs and restora tions upon ancient principles; and am I to be told that my plan is absurd, or nay proposal unreasonable, because cannot mention the Anno Domini when those principles were all found co-existing and cu-operating at the same time? Those principles were devolved by degrees, and from time to time; and I confess I see no abeurdity in say ing that some of these ancient principles of the Constitu tion are to be sought for in Magna Charta ; sonic in the Act "De tallugio non concedendo ;" some in the Statutes for regulating the frequent holding of Parliament ; some in the Statutes for fining Sheriffs for oral-practices ; some in the Statutes for fixing the qualification of burgesses; some in those for securin g frank and f a i r e l ect i ons; and some in the Petition and Bill of Rights. All these princi ples I call ancient principles, and a return to them would be a return to ancient principles, although those principles do , not bear the date of the same year. To tell me that I shall not have the benefit of this range of inquiry, hut that I must confine myself and my observations to a particular year, is to play the Dictator in argument, and to impose grievous conditions indeed upon the inquirer after truth. I wish to restore the Constitution to its proper form and energies, and to do it upon ancient principles—not the principles of this or that particular year of our Parliasuen- tar) , history, hut as they may be found diffusively —some in Magna Charta, some in this, some in that wait of sum mons; some in this, some ha that Act of Parliament; but. still forming a largo aggregate 'of good constitutional autho rities for at:Trending and repairing the constitution of this Ilonse. the other argument which has been used again-t ttuis measure, and to which I will very britt4y advert, is this ; and, strange to say, it which wears the mantle of Whig aotifertty. It has been insisted that " No reform r IneVer be peaceably carried otherwise than icy a friendly Administration ; and that all plans which Will not bear the test of this condition are either delusions yr instruments of revolution " Now, Sir, as I have before said, I really am disposed to hope that the present men in power may be inclined to look with no unfriendly eyt upon such a measure. It must be eaJident to tl em that if an Administration will not peaceably concur in plans of re form, and the system of abuse shall reach its acme, a convulsion must occur. Disorganization cannot be avoided if they shall continue pertinaciously hostile to political amelioration, and shall refuse to yield to the public ur gency. Be these matters, how...‘vtr, they may, I can safely affirm that nothing is farther from my intention than to render tt -, :y Measure obnoxious to the charge of being :e ihstruntent of delusion, whatever other chat aster f° May attract. And now, Sir, as I strongly feel this public urgency, and as I am convinced that no cne Will be found at this time of day hardy enoegh to contend that the necessity of refute!! in either the mere vapour of a dream or the shador. , of a 'shade, or empty whim and fanciful no thing; t do most confidently anticipate the proximate ne tomplishment of this great, this just, this wise, this con stitutional measure. Now, Sir, I am aware that by adopting the course pursued by the Honourable Member for Durham, in 1821, by simply moving that this House will resolve itself into a Committee upon the State of the Representation, and then in that Committee proposing re solutions embodying the principle of my Bi I, I might pos sibly catch many votes, as there must doubtless be mane Hon. Members favourable to some extent of reform, who will be unwilling to go the length I propose to carry the House. But, Sir, I should at this time of day deem such a manoeuvre unworthy of the grand object I propose fur going straight forward at once to a clear and definite ob ject. lam strongly upheld by precedent upon the main principle of my Bill—namely, the extension of the right of voting to all taxed householders ; and the other provi sions and repeals contained in it appear to me so just and becoming, that no argum,nts will avail or warp my in tentions, or induce me to cut down my Bill, to suit the views or interests of any party. I now move for leave to . . bring in a Bill to restore the Constitutional Influence of the Commons in the Parliament of England. On the motion being seconded, and put from the chair, Mr. PENDARVIS bore testimony to the necessity of reform, in evidence of which he stated that the county of Cornwall was by no means benefited by the number that it returned to serve in Parliament. Until the Noble Mover had communicated them to the House, he had not been aware of the provisions of the Bill, nor was he pre pared to go all the lengths of that measure. The Hon. Gentleman concluded with expressing his appro! , ation of the resolutions proposed in 1809 by the Member for West minster, which would have given a right of voting to all who were in a condition to pay taxes. Mr. BENETT professed his admiration of the Noble Marquis's speech generally, although be could not offer him his uncondiional support. Corruption had in these later times advanced materially, and it was now but too well known that the present Parliament did not enjoy the confidence of the people. The existing Government was an honest and well meaning Government, he acknow ledged, but no honest Government could be said to derive strength from the support of a Parliament which was not trusted. With respect to the conduct of the Noble Mar quis, be thought he de , erved the highest credit for in tegrity and disinterestedness. It was not probable that he should long sit a Member in that House, and in removing elsewhere, the success of his measure would operate to his prejudice, and he there advocated a reform which must hereafter tend to the curtailment of his own power. Such a reform, as far as he could judge, was at no period more necessary than now. Sir R. WILSON had much doubted the Noble Mar quis's sincerity last Session, when he first introduced a motion upon the subject before them, as it did not appear to him that he had really put on the armour of a reformer. Ile thought that be had ostensibly avowed himselfa cham pion of reform for the purpose of attaining better vantage ground to attack Ministers for having carried another measure which he conscientiously opposed. He had, how ever, no longer any doubt of his perfect sincerity, and felt confident that if it were in his power to-morrow he would execute all that he had proposed. In short, he believed in his own reformation. The principle he should always support, as he was sent thither by his constituents for that purpose. He was sorry not to see the Attorney-General in his place, as be wished to have made allusion to the law of libel, which the Right Hon. Gentleman had been pledged, tinder the Administration of Mr. Canning, to re form. This was assuredly one of those laws which ought to have been repealed, inflicting, as it did, transportation on second conviction. If reform had passed we should not then have heard of nr.n being dispossessed of their properties by a borough proprietor, because they had presumed to exercise their rights as freemen.—(Hear.)—We should not then have heard of British citizens being treated on the footing of goods and chattels.—(Hear.)—They were now daily disputing as to whether the present distress was to he considered partial or general, but that question would have soon been set rest if every member were personally acquainted with the circumstances of his constituents, and able to declare them. He would advocate and support a fair and free representation, and he was not authorised by his conetitutents to go farther. It occurred to him that the measure proposed was partially objectionable, as it gave somewhat too despotic a power to the Committee, who were permitted to denote, ad libitum, what boroughs were fit for representation, and what not so. For his part, he was most agreeably surprised at the suggestion that Members should have wages, and certainly could not ing himself to resist what was so pleasantly recom mended.—(Laughter.)—Ou the whole he was favourable to the introduction of the Bill, and hoped that it would meet witle a successful recetpion. Lord NUGENT expressed his willingness to vote with the Noble Marquis, as the defects in the representation were so numerous that he had long acknowledged the ge neral necessity for reform. Mr. lIOI3IIOUSE voted for any thing like reform, and for one plain reason—that he conceived the present system the worst possible. Every day convinced him of the truth of his conviction,—that with all the forms of freedom, our system had almost all the disadvantages of the most corrupt principle of representation in existence. They (the Mem bers of the House) sat there,—not by the consent of the people, but with their dissent,—not by the will of the people, but against their will,—and not to do the people's business but their own. (Hear.) He could not conceive how any person having his (Mr. Hobhouse's) notions of reform, could differ from the Noble Marquis. As to the motion being unintelligible, he (Mr. Hobhouse) understOod it to be a measure to reform the House ; and that was enough for hill - I.—(llean )—With respect to the details, he left that for after consideration. In fixing attention upon par ticular cases, the House seemed desirous ro make the people believe that they knew nothing of general corruption ; they fastened their fangs upon some poor, needy, rotten bo rough ; but the evil was in themselves—" monumentuin circumspice"—( Hear.) It was, as a Noble Lord behind him had said, a farce and del lion. An Hon. and Learned Gentleman, who, he hoped would prove a powerful acces sion to the cause of reform (Mr. O'Connell) had said that " we had caught the wolf, and let us, please God, kill him." But the wolf wan a mangy wolf not worth killing. The Motion of the Noble Lord was indeed a sweeping one; but looking the other day amongst some old papers, he (Mr. Hobhouse) found another scheme which he hoped the House would allow him to read ; he hoped the Noble Lord would not take it as a pleasantry upon his scheme. It was projected by a Member of one of Charles L's Par liaments. It was entitled " A Scheme for the better Go vernment of the Nation." The writer recommends the total abolition of the House of Peers, as a body which was very expensive, inconvenient, and unnecessary. With re gard to the House of Commons, he proposes, that in order to obviate the confusion of frequent elections, and the per jury and bribery at the same, the Protector should have the nomination of all tie Members to the number of 500, and that the representatives of the whole island of Great Britain should he such persons only as the Minister thought proper, and the Members were to pay down, im mediately on their nomination, 1,0001. to the Treasury, and were each to receive 3501. a year, to be paid by the Protector; no Member to be permited to vote against the Protector for the time being, on penalty of forfeiting 5/. for the first offence, and 10/, for the second.—(A laugh. )-- The lion. Member then proceeded to say that, without at tending to individual cases, some general plan of reform should be adopted. Mr. TWISS observed, that so much had been said against the motion of the Noble Lord, from the other side of the House, that nothing need be said by thoso who were neces sarily opposed to such a motion. The arguments in favour of it were all assertions that in the opinion of the people they were not represented in that House. If assertions on one aide availed, so should assertions on the other; and he (Mr. Twiss) would affirm, that the weight of opinion in that House would go against the Noble Lord. His Hon. Friend (Mr. Hobhouse) admitted that if an al • teration were to take place, the result would he still the same—the same set of persons wok!lil be retiirned. remembered an anecdote of tile late Mr. Sheridan, in his illness, when a foOtihan down a plite-warmer, with a sad crash ; th'b foottrian said there was nothing broken, when Mr. Sherid in exclaimed, " What, have you made ill that noise for nothing ?" Se) he would say to his Honouralle Friend, " What! all this noise for nothing ?" He begged to remind the House that t' e onus lay on the reformeni, not on them (the Mi nisters) ; butt in the present irrtanet, all who se conded the Noble Lord ) and thought reform nece.sary, thought his measure objectionable—except, indeed, his lion; Friend, the Member for Westminster, who said that the present system was so hopeless and so in'olerahly bad, that no change, however unintelligible, could be for the worse.—(Hear.) No person, however, who did not go the whole length of that Hots. MetnbiA-, could undertake to support a Measure which was not understood, or, if understood, was not approved. He was unacquainted with the public character of the Noble Lord, nor, if he knew it, could he suppose that his present scheme was designed to east a ridicule upon the theory of reform ; but there never was a scheme more tale:late(' to throw a ridi cule upon ParliamentaYy reform than the scheme of the Noble Loi d, except it was the scheme which the Hon. Member for Westminster had ironically quoted.—(lfear.) Sir F. BURDETT observed, that the Hon. Member who had just down, who had attempted to throw a ridi cule upon the motion of the Noble Lord, had so utterly mistaken the purport of the paper real by his Hon. Col league, that he seemed to think the paper an irony on the present state of the House. The Hon. Gentleman had mistaken, and perverted, and misunderstood the argument of his Hon. Colleague, who had admitted, as he (Sir F. Burdett.) admitted, that the House was composed of men of as enlightened understandings and as addicted to the English principle of freedom, as could be found collected together in any part of the world,—a compliment which he was willing to pay them. But his Hon. Friend (Mr. Hobhouse) had contended that they were returned to the House under an influence which rendered them incapable of exerting the noble faculties of their minds, and injurious to the country they belonged to. His Hon. Friend con tended that, notwithstanding the admitted ability of these Members, they must, under existing circumstances, be thus influenced ; hut that under different circumstances the result would he not the same, but the very reverse— (Hear, hear)—and that there would then be no conflict on their part with the public interest. If a person was returned against the law of England, against the Consti tution of England, and against those most sacred privileges which were founded upon the acknowledged sovereignty of the people of England, where was the security of the people? It was a high breach of the Constitution and of the privileges of the Commons of England, that a Peer should interfere in the election of a Member of that House. That was the principle which stood re corded in that House; and it was owing to a pe tition lying on their table, from a society of patriots calling themselves the Friends of the People, and of which society Mr. Fox and Mr. Grey were members, which petition a Right Hon. Gent., whose loss he deeply la- mented (Mr. Tierney,) was said to have drawn up on the part of the friends of the people,—that paper, in 1793, declared that 150 Members of that HOWLa were re- I turned, not only by the interference, but on the nomina nation of a very small number of Peers. The petition offered to prove this fact at the bar of the House. The House was much the same in these days as at that time.— (A deeply regretted that that Right Hon. Gent. (lid not now live to vote on this question, as he always did vote, and always stood forward with great ability, in defence of those fundamental rights cf the people of England which he (Sir F. Burdett) now ad vocated. With respect to the motion before the House, he was bound to say that be could not camprehend at once all its details ; but be understood it to be a great measure of reform, which was supported by very con siderable ability, and that its object was to endeavour to restore to the people of England a share of the Constitu tion of the country, to which they had as great a right as a Peer had to his title, or the King to his seat upon the Throne. He regretted to see that the democratic branch of the constitution did not retain its proper share of power, and every endeavour to restore the liberty of the people he would do all in his power to advance. The very denial of the House to disfranchise East Retfsrd—was a refusal to adopt the plan of Lord Chat ham, to infuse new blood into our crazy Constitution, . . . . to enable it to hear its infirmities. When it was con sidered that a great portion of the talent and understanding of the country was not permitted to find a vent for its opi nions in that House,—when great abilities, and every thing enlightened in the empire, was excluded by the present system of things,—and when the House absolutely threw away an opportunity to gain some credit with the people, by the disfranchisement of what was called, in that House, a corrupt borough, but which he (Sir F. Burdett) did not ' consider more corrupt than many others, and refused to admit representatives from the great town of Birmingham, and as a plaster to the sore, proposed to throw open the votes to tbe hundred! of Bassetlaw, the people might natu rally feel irritated at the House for refusing to concede to their moderate, perhaps too moderate, wishes. He trusted that this motion would unite the whole country with the people of Birmingham in demanding that fair and full reform which the people of England were entitled to, and a redress of that worst of grievances, a corrupt representa tion of the people.—(Hear.)—He trusted that the Noble Lord would persevere in his schemes of reform, and that he (Sir F. Burdett), after thirty-five years of unremitted efforts, might the the object accomplished. " Notwith standing the length of my career in this undertaking," sa id the Hon. Baronet, " let the standard of reform be again raised, and I am as ardent as ever I was, prepared to enlist under its banners, be they reared by whom they may." Ti n . only struggle really worth making, was for reform in Parliament. The only distinction in that House should be those Members who were in favour of reform and those who were not,—those for the people of England and those against theta—(lleac, bear)—this was the only true dis tinction, and every man would know where to take his place. After the termination of that calamitous reign, the reign of George 111., he called it calamitous in respect to its foreign policy, its encroachments upon the liberties of the people, and the burdens of tavation cast upon the coun try, which, in spite of the virtues of the man, made that a most calamitous reign for the country, look at our situa tion now. " Look," said the Hon. Baronet, " at myself, I have gone through the whole process under the present system of representation, and a most ruinous one it has been. Early in life, I came into this House in order to defend the constitution of England. I purchased my seat of a borough-monger.—(A laugh. ).---I yurchased it of the Duke of Newcastle.—(A laugh. )—He was no patron of mine ; he took my money, and by purchase I obtained a right to speak in the most public place in England. With my views, and with my love of the liberty of my county, I did not grudge the sacrifice I made for that commanding consideration. If I had abused the right I thus purchased anti passed through corruption to the honours of the peer age, I should not enjoy the satisfaction I ❑ow feel. But I feel it to he a greater honour to be one of the people of England, in whose hearts the love of liberty can never he deracinated, than to enjoy the highest title which it is in the power of the roost profligate Minister to bestow."-- (Hear.) —The Hon. Baronet proceeded to say, that having thus gone through the whole sy stem of corruption, he could not help having a fellow-feeling for the electors of East Retforti, who had had the good sense at least to sell them selves, not others. Having been detected, it was very well for the Honse to pumish the offence; but who can say " I am free?" He then felt a great compunction towards the electors of East Retferd ; for their instance, so far from being a mishief, was really a mitigation of the system.— (Hear.) —It seemed as if the House was acting on the principles of ancient Sparta, where theft was no offence, but the detection was punished. It was the mal-adroit ness, not the commission of the act, that was prohibited — not the crime, but the want of address in committing it. The House was in the same predicament. The Members for rotten boroughs were nominated by Peers, and of course they could not oppose the opinions of their patrons. A man of honour could not sit in the House and vote against the opinion of the Peer who nominated! him. In such a way as this the people were excluded from the House of their representatives, though they gave them power. True it was that some Gentlemen said, " we re present the people of England at large." This was a fal lacy which reconciled many consciences. Such was the mode in which elections were managed, that no person could stand for a county without being ruined, or at least run into difficulties. He (Sir F. Burdett) had gone through all this ; he had stood for a county, though he would not have given twopence for the representation of that county, his object having been to expose the abomin able system and the oppressive tyranny of solitary con finement in England. To expose those abnses it was, that he stood upon the hustings at Brentford, though he really would not have given twopence for the representation of the county. He could have got returned for East Retford at a much cheaper rate, and have been a ►note independent man. He had also gone through the remedial operation, as it was called, of the Grenville act; so that, as he had sounded all the shoals and shallows of the system, it was not wonderful he should be a great advocate for au altera tion• The plain question was this—ought the House to he an assembly of retainers of the Crown, or of represen tatives of the people of England? He (Sir F. B.) would piit it open that issue. At the MIA of the American teat appeared a person whose eloquence and talents would have enabled him to restore the country, but who proved the remote cause of all our present distress.--(Hear.)—Mr Pitt burst forth with an eloquence which dazzled the judg ' ment, but there was another cause which conciliated more partisans than even his eloquence and his abilities. The !strongest hold he had on the partiality of the people of England, was Ida advocacy of the principle he (Sir t. Burdett) now advocated. It was Parliamentary Reform which lifted Mr. Pitt to the cabinet and to political power. Mr Pitt told the people, when the taxes were only 15,000,0001. a-year, that without a Reform in Parlia mene, they might expect fresh wars, corruption of every kind, and an increase of the public Inn-dens; lie (Sir F. Burdett) had experienced still more of the operation of the system than he had mentioned. He had been a convicted libell; r—(Hear.)—Ye(, a convicted libeller ; and he should not scruple to venture again, when he conceived that the right and liberties of the people demand the risk•--(Cheers. He did not forget, however, that by the new law of libel; a law which was a disgrace to the statute-book, he might, by a 3etfond conviction, suffer the punishment of transporta tion. For aught he knew he might he again tried for libel ; and if he were convicted, as convicted he most pro • bably would be—for he knew not of what stuffjuries must he composed, to return such verdicts as they had recently seen—he might be sent to pass the rest of his life at Bo tany Bay, or at any other foreign dependency of England ; and if he quitted England, it would be to him of little im portance where he might end his then miserable life. That would not, however, deter him ; nor would it, he trusted, deter any honest Englishman from pursuing that course which was dictated to him by a sense of public duty. Though he was willing to invite any man to court linger unnecessarily, nor to oppose himself single-handed to the united force of a powerful and, perhaps, a vindictive Go vernment, he would himself never quail before it, nor stand in the awe of our atrocious libel act. Say it lie must, be the consequences to himself what they might, that as the House was now constituted, our personal li berty, the liberty of the press, every liberty that we en joyed, were enjoyed one and all as mere sufferance.— ( Hear, bear. )—What the Right Hon. Secretary might be inclined to do—what his Hon. and Learned Friend the Attorney-General might be instigated by the Cabinet to do, he could not venture to predict. Of his Hon. and Learned Friend he wished to speak with affection— even with gratitude, for he had been his able and ho nest, and intrepid defender. He could not believe that his Hon. and Learned Friend had institated the late prosecu tions of his own accord—he could not believe that he had followed them up, except with great compulsion ; hot be that and be that all things as they might, he hoped that lie should have the fortitude never to desert those great principles of constitutional liberty which he had set out in life by asserting, and which he was not reluctant to (lie in defending.—(Loud cheering.) He thought that no objec tion could be made in the present stage to the proposition of the Noble Marquis. It was so usual to allow a Bill to be intro.luced into the House that he could not conceive it likely that any opposition would be made the motion for leave to introduce this Bill. He did not mean to say that the measure met altogether with his approbation, for it did not go to the extent to which he himself should be in clined to push it. He had himself proposed two modes of reform, one of which consisted in giving the right of suffrage to all persons who paid direct taxes in the shape of either church-rates or poor-rates. Let that mode be adopted, or any other mode for infusing fresh spirit into the House, and he should be content. He understood that there were already on the order-book a motion for giving the right of election to the great manufacturing towns of England which were at present unrepresented. He trusted that if that motion were carried there would be another pro- ' posed fur communicating the same right to the great ma nufacturing ,1 towns of Scotland, which were in a similar predicament. But the representation of all our large towns was so absurd in practice, and formed such an anomaly in I , in our Constitution, that the whole system deserved to be revised. Hon. Gentiemen had talked much that evening of assimilating the law of England and of Ireland. Now, with regard to Ireland, it should be recollected that Ire land already enjoyed a reformed representation, and that Ireland as now represented—tin she had got rid of the small boroughs—would form the model of an efficient re form for England. It was not, however, his duty to go into that discussion at present; it was sufficient for him to I feel now as strongly as ever he did, the imperative neces sity of reform. He hoped, and from the information which lie had recently received from different parts of the country he believed, that the people of England were at last begin ning to b stir themselves, and to place sufficient confidence in their own powers of exertion. lie understood that petitions would he sent to the House sobacked by ability and union, such union as he had recently seen with plea sure exhibited at Birmingham, and mixed up with so much caution and discretion, that it would be impossible for the House not to take this important question into its most serious consideration, with the honest intention of adopting such reform as was suited to the state of the country.—( Hear, hear.) The ATTORNEY-GENERAL then rose to address the House, but his commencing observations were inau dible in the gallery, and during the whale of his speech he was very indistinctly heard, owing to the emotion which he appeared to feel. After some remarks upon the motion of the Noble Marquis, he proceeded to say, that he had not risen so much for the sake of speaking upon it as for the sake of observing on the extraordinary conduct of his Hon. Friend opposite, who, in a debate, which had no allusion to him (the Attorney-General) personally, had thought proper to cast the weight of his heavy censure upon him. He thought that as the re were two Motions already upon the Order-book, which would afford some regular opportunity for discussing his conduct, he might have expected that at least, in candour, those who were his friends—from his enemies he could expect nothing but hostility—would have abstained from introducing such a discussion until he had received due notice of their inter.- tion.—(Hear.)—But as his Hon. Friend the Member for Westminster had introduced him to the notice of the House, he would continence by assuring his Hon. Friend that there was no act of his professional life on which he looked bark with greater satisfaction than that in which he had the distinguished honour of appearing as his (Sir Frarcis Burdett's defender.—( Hear, hear.) — This he could at least say, that whether he had done it ably or not, he had done it honestly, zealously, and sincerely,— (Hear, hear,)—for he felt at that time, and he felt now, that the prosecution instituted against his Hon. Friend was a prosecution which ought never to be instituted at Hear.)—He would not shrink from stating his opinion upon that prosecution at all times and in all places; but if his Hon. Friend would look into those proceedings to which he had just alluded, and would impartially con sider all that he had done or said in the course of them, he was persuaded that his Hon. Friend, for whom be felt the utmost regard and affection, would find that he had neither done nor said any thing inconsistent with the prin ciples on which he had defended his Hon. Friend.— (Hear.)—He could not accept the compliment which his Hon. Friend had wished to pay him, in supposing that the late prosecutions had been forced upon him by great compulsion by the Cabinet. Those prosecutions required to he looked upon not incidentally in the course of another debate, they were of sufficient importance to be considered by themselves ; they formed part of the subject which de s-rved consideration as a whole, and as a whole they must be considered, in order to see the reasons on which the verdicts were founded. Those pro ecutions—he said it without reserve—were approved by him—(great cheer ing)—for he thought them necessary to the well being of the community. Such was his humble judgment, for he arrogated to himself no superiority of judgment over other men, hut as an honest man, he thought that after the completion of the great measure of last session, which in spite of all the warmth with which it was opposed was n in,' working most beneficially for the country, he saw in a portion of the press a disposition to licentiousness and falsehood which rendered it necessary to administer some check to it.—(Cheers from the ministerial benches.) — Unless his Hon. Friend meant that the liberty of the press should become the tyranny of the press, and that no man should assert his right of private judgment except under the peril of being attacked by the most wicked and virulent falsehood, both in this private and in his public capacity, he must admit that there were occasions upon which some castigation must be administered to the oflences of the press.—(Hear, hear.)—There was, in his opinion, no means of destroying the licentiousness of the press, except by showing that it contained in itself the destructiveness of its real liberty.—(Cheers ) As to the libel law, which the Hon. Baronet had denounced with so much warmth and justice, he would only observe, that he had been in the ranks of those who had both spoken anti voted against it, and that if opportunity were given him, he would be ready to be in the same ranks again.—(Cheers.) Let him, however, remind his Hon. Ft iend the Member for West minster, if he had not entirely forgotten what had fallen from so humble an individual as himself, that one of the arguments which he had used against that Bill, and in which he had the concurrence of several of his Learned Friends whom he then saw in the house—(Hear, hear) — was, that the licentiousness of the press might he corrected by the law as it then stood, and that it wanted no other correction.—(Hear.)—The House was however of a diffe rent opinion, and thinking some other corrective necssarv, passed the Act in question. He was not ashamed to say i❑ public—what all were ready enough to say in pri vatei—that no single individual eoull now resist the tyranny of the press ; so that we were come t() that condition so well described by the 'Roman histo rian, in which " nec mala nec remedia pati possum's." In what he had said, he did not wish t« offend any man. If he spoke with warmth—and it was perhaps impossible for an individual, who had been assailed as he had, to speak otherwise,—be meant no disrespect either to his Hon. Friend the Member for Westminster, or to any other Hun. Member nilio heard hitt. He could not, how ever, accept the insidious compliment which had been paid him, when it was said that he had been instigated by the Cabinet to institute the recent prosecutions, —(Cheers.)—He had &beady refused, and he must refuse again, to shelter himself under so mean-spirited a defence. —( Hear.)—ln joining the present Administration, it was distinct'y undetstood that It was not eitpected that he snould abandon any opinion,— , -that he should compro mise any principle.—( Hear, hear.)—He hail joined it with the sincere approbation of his warmest political friends. In so doing he had nothing :of which to repent ; (Elear)---no reproach had been cast upon him, and he had the proud satisfation of reflecting, that be 'deserved ❑one. He would not remain for a single hour in office with any administrptio❑ which should presume to order him to perform the duties of his situation in any respect con traey to the dictates of his own conscience. —(Hear.) He thought that the press of this country ought to enjoy lull liberty, unshackled by any previous censure, but at the same time he thought that the press would not long enjoy that moral influence, which it ought to pos sess if every opinion or filsehood which it pro mulgated were treated with indifference,—if its rhap sodies in praise of some men and its calamities in depre ciation of others, were both to be considered as idle words full of sound but meaning nothing. He wanted no new law, be repeated, for the correction of the errors of the priss. He was satisfied with the libel law of Mr. Fox, which when it was first pissed after a struggle continued for several years, was hailed as a great triumph by the fi iends of popular discus sion. That law gave to the Jury and (took from the Judge the power of determining what was and what was not a libel. He believed that there was not at present a Judge upon the trench who would not leave to the Jury to determine whether the al leged libel was a libel or not. To the tribunal of a Jury he had appealed in these recent prosecutions : they had found the pub lications which he had brought before them to be libels, and he would venture to say, that if his Hon. Friend the Member for Westminster had been a member of those juries, he (the Attor ney-General) should have had his concurrence in their verdicts. —(Hear, hear, and a laugh.) Lord JOHN RUSSELL had known his Hon. and Learned Friend the Attorney-General for many years, and had never known him profess any opinions but such as were favourable to the cause of freedom.—(Hear, hear.)—He should therefore wait to hear his explanation of his conduct in the recent prosecutions before he ventured to give any opinion upon it. He cou'd not, however, refrain from r.marking that there had lately appeared in the newspapers words attributed—perhaps incorrectly —to his Hon. and Learned Friend, which, if they were correct, he must say could not be looked upon without regret. It was only the other day that he read in the newspapers words said to have been used by his Hon. and Learned Friend, which led him to suppo s e that his Hon. and Learned Friend o , jected to the - public's can. vassing the opinions of Judges and of Juries,—(Loud cries of tt Hear.")—lie hoped that his Hon. and Learned Friend would be able to explain these words away at the proper time.—(Hear.) The Noble Lord then proceeded to state, that in yo'ing with the Noble Marquis upon the present occasion, he did so not upon the grounds upon which the Noble Marquis had put it, but upon the grounds upon which he had not put it. He voted for it, not because he thought that it was a question which ought to be re ferred to a Committee of 21, but because he thought that it seas a question which ought to be referred to a Committee of the whole House. The Noble Lord proceeded to ridicule the idea that the House had acted unfairly to such boroughs as it had disfranchised for corrupt practices, inasmuah as it was notorious that practices equally corrupt prevailed in every part of the coun try. There was no ground for applyin,;, as a Noble Lord had done, the hacknied quotation, " Dat veniam corvis—vexat ccnsura columbas." The columbre, who received 291. fur their votes, and then went and swore that they had received nothing, as was done at Grampound, could not be considered as very innocent doves.— (A laugh.) Mr. PEEL was unwilling to give his vote without accompany- ng it with a few observations, lest he should be deemed as acting disrespectfully to the Noble Marquis, who had brought the mo tion forward. But, as he disapproved both of the object which the Noble Marquis had in view, and of the mode in which he sought to accomplish it, he should imitate the fairness of the Noble Marquis himself by declaring that he should give his most decided opposition to this Bill in its very first stage. He certainly did not expect to have had a general discussion that evening on the question of reform, and he thought that the desultory speech of the Hon. Member for Westminster was a sufficient proof that it was not convenient to have such a subject thus irregularly dis_ cussed. After exciting the laughter of the House by noticing the extraordinary title to the Bill, which professes to be a Bill not for preventing but for regulating abuses in elections of Members to serve in Parliament, the Right Hon. Secretary proceeded to observe that the speech of the Hon. Member for Westminster was particularly open to the objection that there was in it " eloquentix satin, sapientise parum,"—(A laugh)_ for though there was in it of declamation much, of argument there was less than he had ever heard in any former speech of the Hon. Baronet. If he had stepped into the House accidentally, and without bnowing the subject of the debate, he should have supposed the lion. Baronet to have been delivering an eloquent speech, not in favour, but in opposition to a Reform in Parlia ment. He admitted that the House was improperly constituted —that it contained men of the greatest talent in the country— individuals, whose respectability in private life could not be questioned—Members, who, to use the Hon. Baronet's own phrase, were addicted to all the qualities which were calculated to raise the character of the country, and who were equal to any others in any part of Europe.—(Hear.)—lt was an important admission coming from the Honourable Baronet that the House assembles' men of eminence, talent, and private virtue, — (Sir F. Burdett nodded assent)—actuated by the purest views —(Sir F. Burdett, " No, no;")—and what rendered this admission the more extraordinary was, that the Hon. Baronet concluded it by contending that the sucele in which these emi nent, and able, and virtuous men were sent lucre, vitiated all their good qualities, and rendered them obnoxious and dan gerous.—(Hear, hear.)—Then, when the Hon. Baronet entered into a history of the constitution of the House, his argument was all in favour of the small boroughs. The Hon. Baronet was one of those individuals who would go down to posterity as one of the most distinguished men of his day ; and yet he had told them, " When I was first returned to this House, I was re turned for a small borough, owing no obligation to the party wino returned me;" and had then proceeded to contrast his election with that small borough with his election for a populous county. He said, " I was a candidate for the representation of a large county. I carried my election at a large expellee ;" and yet he added, twice over, " for the honour of representing that county I would not give two-pence." Under such circumstances, see ing that the llon. Baronet valued h's election for a small borough more than he did his election fora populous county,—seeing that Mr. Pitt, whose talents the Hon. Baronet admitted to have been sufficient to render him, if he had been properly disposed, the saviour of his country, had first entered Parliament for Appleby, and that many other eminent myn had made their first Parlia mentary debut in a similar manner,—seeing that Mr. lox, when excluded from the representation of a large town, found refuge in a small borough,—he thought that the Hon. Baronet and the House ought to weigh well the practical good effected by the existence of these small boroughs before they involved them all in one sweeping condemnation.—(Hear.)—As to the motion of the Noble Marquis, he was quite certain that the House would never agree to it. The Noble Marquis moved that the House should devolve on a Committee of twenty-one Members chosen by ballot, the power of destroying all the boroughs which they should suppose were incapacitated by corrup tion or otherwise, from sending Members. He would never be a party to that wholesale depreciation of the elective franchise ' • and he would never give his assent even to the first stage of a bill which conferred such power upon any committee. A committee so constituted might inflict great wrong and injus tice. It might be ministerial—it might be opposition—but be it what it might, he would never consent to allow any committee to report to any secretary of state, that a borough had forfeited its privilege, and to order him to give notice in the Gazette of that borough that it had forfeited its share in the representation.— (Hear.)—Next he objected to the Noble Marquis's plan for paying Members of Parliament. They had that night been occupied in discussing the propriety of reform; and yet the bill which was to effect that reform contained a proposition enabling them to appro priate to themselves 250,0001. annually—a very modest proposal, and one well calculated to recommend the House to public confi dence.—(A laugh.)—The Noble Marquis was for allowing two guineas a-day to every borough, and four guineas a-day to every county member ; thus showing that he estimated a county member at double the value of a borough member. Now taking three gui neas as the average sum paid to each member, supposing the House to sit six days in every week, and the sessions to last for twenty-five weeks, the sum annually paid to 659 members would amount to a little more than 250,0001.—(Hear, hear, and roars of laughter.)—On these grounds, and thanking the Noble Lord for the manly and straightforward manner in which he declined pro posing the appointment of a Committee for the purpose of catch ing a few stray votes—thanking him for having openly declared his plan of reform—he would state with equal fairness and equal sincerity, that it was his intention to take the sense of the House on the motion for bringing in the Bill. Viscount HOWICK observed that, from the manner in which the benches of that House were filled, it was impossible to expect any great object for the benefit of the people. Such was the state of the Hou e, that it might he justly asserted that the peo ple of England were not represented in Parliament. '1 he conse quence was, that a system of proflicacy and extravagance was pursued which hash brought the nation to the verge of suits, and those who caused it were now afraid to meet and encounter the distress.—(llear.)—They now came down, and o relieve them selves, they called for the sacrifice of the national faith ; they were anxious to defraud the national creditor of what was due to him under the most solemn pledges.—(Hear.)—To him it ap peared that nothing could essentially serve the country but a perfect and complete reform of that House. Mr. O'CONNELL said, the principle on which the proposed Bill proceeded was that of popular representation, and tine effec tual exclusions from Parliament of placement anti pensioners. The adoptions of that principle would be truly beneficial to the people, and he wished to see it carried into effect. He would have the Members of that House completely free f orn every taint of influence. They should neither have wages from the people, nor salaries from the Crown.—(Hear.)—Those who spoke so confidently of the purity of the House of Commons could not, however, deny that '7B of the Members received of the pub lic money not less than 190,00(1. a year. Doubtless they were all honourable men, all conscientious man. One of them, it ap peared, haul recently given a vote according to the dictates of his conscience, and what was the consequence? Why, he was immediately dismissed from his situation of groom of the bed chamber.—(Hear.)—The King himself, it was said, with his own Royal hand, struck Isis name out of the 1 st of his house hold—(Hear.)—Had there, he asked, been no new writ moved for on account of the member who had been raised to the va cant situation ? He supposed that that individual was as con scientious a man as any ; but let him beware how he obeys the dictates 5.f his conscience, or there might chance to be a second and even a third removal. Assuredly the House could never be pure while any man in it was liable to be thus contiblied. He (Mr. O'Connell) being elected by the people, denounced, on the part of the people, al: those wino received the public money for betraying those who sent them to Parliament. He called on the House, in the name of the country, to accede to the pro. ps.sed measure. One great reason which induced him to sup port the Bill was, because he was of opinions that none but real representatives of the people should sit in that House : and that object the Bill was calculated to effect. The Hon. Mem ber for Wootton Bassett had defended tine existing system ; bunt he did not deny the fact, that there was a great body of fic titious representatives within those walls ? 24:s Members of th it House were returned by peers, and 159 by commoners. In short, if they went through the whole list of Members, they would find that a great majority were returned, not by the people, but by corrupt influence. Was that the British Constitutions ? No : it was tine very reverse of it. The principles of the Constitution went evens beyond the provisions of this Bill. For his own part, he thought that all who paid taxes should have a sight to vote. lie, as a Radical Reformer, would say that every man who paid a tax, directly or bolirectly, should have a vote, ins order that so far lie might have an opportunity of regulating the taxes whici affected him, and of preserving his property. It was not pro perty that should be represented, but mans that should be repre sented, It was said that the present system worked well. Ho, had it worked well ? It hod (treated 800,000,0001. of debt, which was now pressing on you,while the people:were crying out,lon ae count of the prevailing distress from One end of the country to the other. And wh a t was the answer to their cries ? A lively' speech, ornamented with a few stale jokes, from the Right Thin. Secretary, and something of the same kind from the Hon• Member tin - (Wootton Bassatt.—(Hear.)-oh, this was mockery. and the tale will tell badly when it is narrated to a starving ItoPii lation. When he saw gentlemen of high talent and great pri vat • worth assisting the Minister in all his views, it convinced him more than any thing else of the necessity of Reform; be ['Anse it was clear that such men, who would be pure if they could, 'Were borne Away by their association with a tyrannical oligarchy. When he saw that, lie mar more than ever iati•fied that there ought to be a Radical Referin Ile stroke for the people, and on behalf of them. Ile was anxious to (Xe governed by the principles of a refined and limited monatchyt and saved from the piercing fangs of a tyrannical oligarchy. Mr. BROUGH AM said the Right Hon. Gentleman opposite seemed to have taken a very erroneous view of the motives which induced Gentlemen to support the proposition of the Noble Lord, although they differed from him on some of the details of his Bill. Could it be sunposed that his Noble Friend, the Member for Aylesbury, or his Hon. }'fiend the Member for Cornwall. would support the measure, in the first instance, merely for the purpose of strangling it hereafter.—(Hear.)—Nothing surely could be more ridiculous or senseless than such conduct. The fact was, he understood, that his Hon. Friends, though they did not approve of every part of the measure, yet gave their entire approbation to some parts of it ; and on that principle, if it were pushed to a ditision, he for one would give his vote in its favour. Some of the provisions of the Bill...that, for instance, which as signed wages to Members of Parliament, (lid hot meet his wishes. But when he looked to other parts edit, he should be deviating from the consistency of conduct he had ever maintained, if he did not give the Noble Lord opportunity of carrying ttiflse pot, (ions of his measure into effect. He thought the propositithr flit admitting all copyholders to vote—the provision for the diminu tion of expenses at elections, by allowing votes to be taken in the neighbourhood of the elector—the clause for allowing Scotch cities, boroughs, and counties, to enjoy the franchise as it was exercised in England, which was in itself a most valuable altera tion (for Scotland was admitted, on all hands, to be without a shadow of repre.sentation)—he thought that these points were well worthy the consideration of the House.—(Hear.)—One of the worst parts of the system was connected with places where the electors were not very few, where; non-residents were al lowed to vote. If that class of voters were cut off, it would be greatly in favour of English reform; for it was these out-voters who created all the confusion, eisarder, and bribery, which ge. nerally prevailed.—(Bear.)—ln his opinion, however, it would have bees better if the Noble Lord had agreed to the suggestion which had been thrown out, but which he had received with con tempt and indignation. He meant the suggestion to propose a general resolution in favour of reform, instead of introducing a specific plan. The Noble Lord said, that such a course would nut be sufficiently direct. Now it appeared to him that it would go directly to his object If he could get the House to adopt s rue resolution of that kind, the ultimate object would be more attainable, and the proceeding would be more hop e f u l th an the present, He thought it was not inconsistent with the Noble Lord's plan, and was less dangerous to the success of the great question of parliamentary reform. He, therefore, would recom mend the Noble Lori to substitute for his motion an amendment to this effect:—" That this House is of opinion that a reform in the Representation of the people is expedient—(The Marquis of Blandford—" I sin willing to do so.")—The Noble Lord might agree to this general resolution with respect to reform, without incurring the censure of having taken this course for the purpose I of catching a few stray votes.—(Hear, hear.)—He repeated, not for the foolish senseless purpose of catching a few votes. It mat tered not a straw whether the motion was lost by 10 votes more or less. But he knew the friends of reform were hampered by the details of the measure Some of them feared, if they voted for the measure, a part of which they at'- proved, that they might be set down as sanctioning t he whole of the details. They would thus be placed in a dis. l a c g a rf t a o b ii 1 e I ) , r e e r r s i c n a s in t conbt:A ieve t t h h a e t o t n i e 3 h , a a i n l d ) r , o t y h e d e i r o c f o t n h d e u ct m wholeig hotr the details, if they voted for the measure, although they disap proved of part of them ; on the other, if they took the more painful course, that of voting against the motion, they would leave a doubt in the minds of some individuals, whether they had not relaxed in their effbrts to obtain reform.—(Hear, hear.) —These were the reasons which induced him to pretr the gene ral resolution, and not the hope of catching a few stray votes. He had heard, and with indignation, his Hon, and Learned Friend, the Member for Wootton Bassett, presume to charge the Noble Lord, who hail supported the cause of Parliamentary Re form so ably, (and who, he believed, was a sincere convert,) with having made a ludicrous ironical speech ; and he, at the same time time, accused his Hon. Friend, the Member for Westmin ster, with having spoken in a strain of more stern irony. If his lion. and Learned Friend would bring forward, with such dis tingu'shed talent as the Noble Lord had displayed that night, motions for the good of his country, or, when others brought them forward, if he would support them with one half the ability' and sincerity of his Hon Friend the Member for Westminster, he would hail, with pleasure, his acquisition to the patriot list of that House.—((lcar.) Mr. H. TINISS had not the remotest idea of imputing to the Noble Marquis any such feeling as the Hon. and Learned Gen tleman adverted to, and therefore he did not deserve the unjust, erroneous, and he would say, unbecoming remarks that were made of him. Mr. BROUGHAM certainly did hear the Hon. and Learned Member speak of two sorts of irony --the one more ludicrous, the other more stern. As to his observation being unbecoming, he thought the Hon. and Learned Gentleman should thank him for giving him an oppf , rtunity of explaining a point, with respect to which, but for:that explanation, it would appear the wh o l e H o use would have been totally mistaken.—(A laugh.) Mr. STANLEY felt it to be his duty, being called on to give his vote, one way or another, to declare, that he would vote against the Bill. He could not support a Bill now, which he knew he must oppose hereafter. Colonel GAMES—The amendment is general, and the Hell. Gentleman may vote for that. Mr. MA BERLY, though a reformer, could not support the motion. Ile hoped the Hon. and Learned Member for Knares borough would move his amen. ment, width he would support. If he did not, he would leave the House without voting. Lord A of s his Noble l a t e u i l a t le ife hic f l i b t ha n d b p e l - e e l i i , a prepared t t o o s a u , p .o T e rt ; tle butmotion 1 he agreed with his Hon. Friend (Mr. Brougham) as to the expe diency of generalizing the proposition. Mr. PEEL suggested that the first question should be—" That the words proposed to be left ont do stand part of the BHP" If this were carried in the affirmative, they would then have 1 0 deal with tha Hon. and Learned Gentleman's Amendment. strangers were ordered to withdraw. The House then divided upon the Marquis of BLANDFORD'g original motion:— For the Motion 57 Against it— l6O Majority against the Marquis of lilandford's M0ti0n...... Mr. BROUGHAM declined pressing for a division upon his Amendment, many Hon. Members having left the House. The other Orders of the Day were then disposed of and the House adjourned at a Quarter.past One o'Clock. FItICES OF STOCKS THIS Rank St ~ ck 3 per Cent. lied. ... ...... 93q 3,4 kii 3 p,r Cent. Cons. 92 1 004 n; per Cent Dial !ictl.! .. 4 per Cent. Ann. Ditto, 1; 4 26 Rank 1.. Ann. l9 11-16 Ditto 30 Nears l9 7-16 % Ditto 30 years India `dock Ditto Bonds 7B 791 m. DAT ♦T ONE O'CLOCK. South Sea Stock Old Annuities New Ditto F. Bills, .£l,oon 2d. 77 79 pm. Ditto lid. 77 7l pm. Ditto ........„..SO' 2d. 77 78 pm. lid. 77 78 pm. ~mall Ditto 10417 79 pm. I Plank tbr Account India for Account 2lO 4 Cons. for Feb.2s 92% LADY GRAVES. THE PAUL PRY of Sunday next will give exclusive particulars of the late Dreadful Affair in High Life. Consonant with the Prospectus, it will defy the Itw of libtl, and out with the truth at once. In calling attention to this new undertaking, PAUL PRY urges no claims for public suppott but those to be found in the pages of his Paper, with the acknowledged co operation and assistance of the first writers of the day. He intends to adopt a consistent line of politics—to insert nothing but original articles—to animadvert upon " men and th•ngs" fearlessly—and to "drop in" at the breakfast table of his friends every Sunday morning with such a Budget of Wit, Fun, Humour, and Eccentricity, as shall rival, if nut eclipse, any publication of the kind in existence. " No flattery, boy ! an honest man can't live by't." * Orders, Communications, and Advertisement s re— ceived at the Paul Pry Office, 13, Wellington-street, Waterloo-bridge. -;--c -1 LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 19, 1830. We understand that a measure of considerable import ance will shortly be submitted:to the consideration of Par liament, for the regulation of Banking, which will 'tend to place that important branch of domestic business on a firmer basis; and, at the same time, ensure to the Agriculturist and Manufacturer every proper facility and accommodation commensurate with their several wants and securities• Chartered Provincial Banks are spoken of, and the B a nk of England, it is expected, will generously forego any oppo sition to the measure, which, though not brought forward as a panacea for all political evils, is likely to prove highly beneficial in its operation. After what the Governmen have already declared, it may be unnecessary to add that a return to the smell note system forms no feature in the project. THE FUNDS.-(THIS DAY.) CITY, TWELVE o'CLocx.—Consols opened at yester day's closing price., 921, and for next account, 93, buyers. Two o'ct.ocx.—Consols have been done at 92i I; are now 921 buyers. Same for next time. THREE O'CLOCK.—Consols , 92} I. THE MARKETS.-(THIS DAY). CORN EXCHANGE. There arc small supplies this week of all kinds of Grain' and not much Flour. The Wheat trade, though not brisk, still continues gradually to advance, and the prices made to-dav are Is. to 2s. per quarter higher than on Monday• Barley, Beans, and Pease, remain as last quoted. Good Oats are rather dearer, there being few of such quality at market; other kinds are unaltered. The Flour trade re mains the same. Sir HENRY PARNELL'S Work on Financial Refi,rin is published by Mr. Mutut4y this day. PAINTED AND- PUBLISHED ST AIIJRDO YOUNG, ♦ 1 Tus Sux Oritcg, 112, &MANE, 1.02TH01.4 I ' Disc, Gent ART Fir, A enniit 1 : 1 1,11t I' , the after In Arolo I ‘'Arl tin" PEtsl DISt UR AAT and ( Th STo n ew sir e a king:l dnwn ilaine prise Fl S' Dittc Pam in; .1 , di, Ditto Ladit Ditto tvii( from *ode Corn THE Infi nurn, moat 4 Ppri and , hied givir i• na well I ties ahati disol Tra, porti abo , be B. 1 Al a th e st r , e trt