The Sun. — London, England, 1839-05-25 00:00:00

YENING EDITION. is, fear God, which is very properly made the first, be- 1 cause all the rest are limited and subordinate to this. \ The second is placed in close juxta-position to it—Ho nour the King. The third is, obey Magistrates. The tourtlinsclale not with men that are given to change. (Hear, and a laugh.) And the fifth—That we lead quiet and peaceable lives in all godliness and honesty. (Hear, hear.) These are the only political lessons which every faithful clereyman ho was bound to give the whole counsel of' God, will deliver to his peo ple ; and let our alarmists be assured, that in spite of their dread—the ridiculi.us dread, I think, of the growth of a democratic Christianity, these are the only lessons which., whether the veto be let al in! or a more popular system be substituted in its place, will ever emanate from the pulp:ts of the Church of Scotand. They know us not—they understand us not. Our principle is, that the ministrations of the Christian religion may be made more effectual by a National than by a Voluntary Church ; and next to the gratitude we owe to Him who sitteth above, and who turneth the hearts of men whither he will, it is truly our part to express also our gratitude to our benefactors below —to the King, who is a nursing father —to the Queen, who is a nursing mother, to our Zion. With respect to Dr. Cook's appeal on the subject of Church extension, the Rev. Doctor stated, that if Dr. Cook's motion were agreed to, the Church would lose all moral weight in the country ; it would become a de graded thing ; and he would, for one, have no desire to extend it. After expatiating on these topics at consi derable length, the Rev. Doctor continued—The word independence, or more especially the independence of the Church, has become so associated with the idea of defi ance to all authority, that I would rather avoid the use of the term. For never did a more harsh or more injurious misconception exist than that which I believe is prevalent in England, and amongst many friends in Parliament, with regard to our prove. fact in perfect accord ance with what was slid by my Rev, friend with regard to the profound ignorance of England. Many in England—in intelligent England—imagine that we stand in a provits cial relation to them ; and thus are they ignorant of the true character of our doings. Never did a grosser mis conception exist among the higher classes of England than with regard to the claims which we assert, and in particular with regard to the proceedings of last Assem bly—a misconception by which the spirit which prevailed over last General Assembly is confounded with that spirit of insubordination and anarchy which over Europe threatens to demolish every ancient structure, whether civil or ecclesiastical. Our single purpose was to pre serve and strengthen, not destroy. I hope we shall succeed, therefore, in allaying the prejudices which have arisen, by showing that the Church is fully prepared to fulfil her obligation—to give to Caesar the things that are Gasser's ; and, on the other hand, , I trust that the State will not, by any rude inva sion of the ecclesiastical province, do aught to de grade or paralyze the Church in the eyes of the people, or impair her usefulness as an instrument of Christian good ; and, when left to her own jurisdiction, she will be found careful in advising well for the best interests of the Redeemer's kingdom—she will be found dili gently pursuing her labours with that fidelity, de votedness, and noel, to give unto God the things that are God's. I ask, what is the position in which we are now placed? To come to a right understanding of this position, I eay we must not confine our view to dissenters from a judgment. 'We are now engaged, not with a particular case, but with a general question ; and for the right solving of that question, we must look, not to the sentence alone, but to those speeches which • contain the grounds of the judgment, and expound the views taken by the different Judges. It appears that, if we choose tee give up the connection with the State, then we may regulate the matter at issue as we please ; but I am now also given to understand that we must give up our connection with the State rather than touch patronage, and that all cheeks and modifications what ever upon that right must for ever be abandoned ; reservibg merely the right of the Presbyteries to inquire into the life and literature of presentees. With this one exception, the power of the Church in every 'question of ministerial settlement is wholly taken away. We can set up no barrier whatever in the way of an absolute, uncontrolled, and uncontrol lable right, vested, it seems, by law, in the holders of patronages. After commenting on the judg ments given by Lord Brougham and the Lord Chan cellor he continued—The ground has been cut away, and now there is not one inch for my feet to stand upon. In virtue of this decision here we are placed in our present difficult position, having no choice peen us but unmitigated p a t ronage on t h e one side, or a lapse into voluntaryism on the other. Between these two extremes, in the present state of the law as expounded by the two Lord Chan cellors, there is no middle course permitted by the existing law. The precise object of the committee I Moved ler is to save us from these extremes—from adopting an absolute system of patronage on the one hand, secularizing our Church, and alienating the af fectfbn of our people, and from plunging into a system of 'voluntaryism on the other, and at the same time along with us the great mass of our population, be yond the reach of those influences which were brought to bear on them by means of an Establishment. To give some idea to the Assembly of the degradation which, if we submit to the decision of the House of Lords, will be inflicted on the Church—degradation to which the Church of England, acknowledging the King as the Head of the Church —never, never would submit, and to which the Church of Scotland, profess ing that the Lord Jesus is their head, never can. By the practice of our Church, induction and ordination go together. We regard both as spiritual acts, but by the practice of the Church of England, they were separated in point of time. But if you ask of any Eng lish eccles:astic whether a Bishop would receive an order from any civil court whatever on a matter with regard to the ordination, the universal reply is that he could not. We shall be degraded far beyond the level of the sister Church if we remain in connection with the State, and submit to their decisions on the subject of ordinations. Mr. Adam, author of a work relative to the Church, applied for ordination to the Bishop of Norwich and was refused. He then applied to the Arehbishop of Canterbury, whose resolution was simi lar. He then made an application to the King, ear nestly invoking his Majesty to exercise the Royal Pre rogative for the purpose of enforcing his ordination. The reply of Lord Melbourne is dated 29th December, 1830, not very many years ago. His Lordship's secretary says, " I am directed by Lord Melbourne to acknow ledge the receipt of your letter of the 27th instant, and to inform you that his Lordship cannot advise the King to give any command for controlling the judgment of a Bishop in the matter of ordination." In what position are we placed ? In a position which the Church of England, notwithstanding its Erastianism—of which, however, it has far less than is often imputed to it— never would consent to occupy. Many of them would go to prison or suffer death rather than submit to such an invasion of the functions of their sacred office. The Reverend Doctor then read an extract front a speech by the Bishop of Exeter on the debate in the House of Lords on the Church Discipline Bill, and then continued—lf the principles in volved in our present position were fully under stood, we would soon enlist the sympathy of every English Bishop. The ease would soon come to be better understood ; and I say that the whole of Protestant Britain, which is upon the side of the prin ciple of establishments, may be roused in defence of our present position. Lord Brougham said that no thing so wild had ever been urged as the proposition that the Assembly has the power to make this act as to secoad settlements, though not as to first inductions. —(Laughter.) You know very well that in all such cases of transportation the question as to the greater fitness of the minister for one charge or another, when it is proposed to remove him from his old parish, is left entirely to the decision of the Presbytery. On the ground of his unfitness for the new parish, the Presbytery in fact do refuse to in duct him ; and therefore, whereas his Lordship as sumed this " wild proposition," as he calls it, for the basis of his argument, we turned that basis upside down, and found upon it an argument afortiori. I say if the Presbytery can refuse to induct upon a ques tion which relates merely to the difference of fitness— the existence of fitness for one parish or another—,-if upon so slender a point the Presbytery can refuse to induct, shall we be told that upon the question of all the fitness together, it is not competent for the Pres bytery to decide ?—(Hear.) This is my argument a fortiori. I must say that I read such passages as those to which I have referred with a great de gree of comfort ; for the more ignorance, the more rashness, and the more reckle-s disregard of the dear ' est principles of our Church, and the most cherished feelings of our people, exhibited in these opinions, the greater should be our urgent demand for a measure which should properly settle those questions ; and the greater should be our hope of a prosperous issue to the present eontroversy. Altogether the sentence in this case is grounded upon error, Is it too much to ask and hope of an enlightened and paternal Government, that it should grant a new law correcting the interpre tation, or rather misinterpretation, of the old ? I wish the Dean of Faculty knew all the difficulty we have had in persuading some of the most devoted eccle siastics to refrain from an immediate forthputting of the powers of the Church, in order that its laws should he enforced. We could depose those refractory licen tiates ; but all such steps have been forborne, and I think most properly ; for it is far better to obtain the civil sanction to the law of the Church which the civil courts declare to be incompatible with the law of the State, than to attempt by a side wind to sustain the veto act. As the first step to the adjustment of this .1 question, we would offer to the State a frank explana tiou of all our views and difficulties • and we only hope that the forbearanc e will be mutual ; that a season of repose from conflict, and an opportunity for the settle ment of this question, will be afforded ; that some com mon around may, be laid open where piety and patriot , • i sm shall meet together—wher e t h e sages of the Church and the sages of the State might enter into converse, a nd an accommodation be made by which all those mis understandings should be swept away, and all those dif- ferences reconciled. I confess I dislike the conditional declaration of independence adopted at last Assembly. I thought it unnecessary, and I feel it prejudicial ; for we are often taunted with the Act of the Assembly in Is pealing the Auchterarder case to the House of Lords. 1 The Dean of Faculty, in pleading before the Lords of Session, n►akes repeated and contemptuous allusio s to those misty notions, which are too ethereal to be bodied forth in language. If there is one thing of which I am more confident than another, it is that here all philosophy is on our side. Not Christianity alone, but a thousand other subjects have relations to native I antipathies and approvals, resting on the most legiti mate foundation, hut not without reasons—reasons theply felt yet incapable of being adequately commu nic tted. I cannot imagine a more painful spectacle thin to see such men—once the pride and the pre- Besting sa't of our land—placed under the rough handling of a jeering ungodly advocate, while coarse contemptuous clergymen were looking on and enjoy ing the spectacle ; while the loud laugh from the seat of the assembled ,corners completed the triumph over religion. Such was the policy of Dr. Robertson, so highly lauded of late in high places —a policy which dissevered the Church from the families of Scotland —a policy of which the re-enactment now threat ened would make your Establishment not worth three years' purchase.—(Hear.) And ye professing friends of orthodoxy', have a care lest by a too resolute adherence to old prejudices, you strip the Church of all her moral weight. Think of the deadly enemies by whom we are surrounded ; and beware, lest by division you alienate the affections of the people of Scotland. The just discernment of Gospel truths on the part of our home-bred peasantry, though they are unable to as-ign the principles of reason on which they proceed, is not more marvellous than their just perception, but inability to assign the philosophy of taste. Let it be recollected that the method of receiving objections to presentees was as little warranted as the veto act in the opinion of the House of Lords ; and if we fall back on that principle, as the Reverend Doctor pro poses, other cases may be brought before the Civil Courts similar to it, cut down by actual decision. It is . better at once to get a measure sanc tioned by Parliament. Every fresh rebut can only weaken the Church, till we may be brought so low, that if the blow of annihilation be in flicted, we shall fall without regret.—( Hear, hear). Really, troubled times bring into juxtaposition very strange bed-fellows ; and we find ultras in Patronage leagued with the ultras of Chartism and Radicalism. Look you to it. The whole community will bid God speed to the patriotic labours of those to whom the task of adjusting the present difficulties shall be committed ; and if the Government with whom the negotiation may be conducted, is one which is anxious to uphold ancient institutions, respect will be had to the constitution of the Church ; and it may be well understood between the two parties, aiming at a common object, that all temporary awkwardness, arising from particular cases being undisposed of, shall be overlooked. I can say that liberal concessions of the most extensive holders of ecclesiastical patronage will not be wanting.— (Hear.) If there be one object which I have more at heart than another, it is to harmonize the upper with the lower classes of society ; aed I do hope it will serve to temper the violence of the out burst of popular feeling, when it is known that very mar.y of our patrons are willing to submit tneir prerogatives to any regulations which may be found best for the good of Christianity.—( Hear, hear.) They are willing to give up freely and ungrudgingly their legal and hereditary rights to secure the peace and moral ad vantage of the community ; and they are most desirous of a popular check on their own powers. It is not only that this shall be, but their own conviction that this must be. Even amidst the symptoms of a coming ex plosion there are elements of adjustment ; and the ark of our Zion, after being tossed among the billows, shall, with the breeze of an approving Heaven, amidst the gal lant and skilful seamanship of her best men, pass unda maged through the perils that surround her, and reach a haven where she shall repose in safety. After referring to a pamphlet, entitled " What is the Duty of the Church," which recommended that the Church should be popu larized when the Government was popularized, the Rev. Doctor concluded by proposing his motion, (which ap peared in The Sun of Thursday). Dr. Meta rose and said he could not coincide with the tendency and bearings of either of the propositions. After a short speech, he moved a resolution to the effect, that a Committee be appointed to consider and report as to the plan which may be best calculated for attaining the end they had in view, and whereby, con sistently with the acknowledgment and enforcement of such civil rights as are recognized by the law of the land, the spiritual interests of the Christian people, the judicial character and privileges of the Ecclesiastical Courts, and the professional character and usefulness of probationers, may be effectually maintained, and the union between Church and State preserved entire. The Earl of DALHOUSIE seconded the resolution. Dr. BRYCE said that the simple question before the House was, whether they would abide by the system of 1834, or whether they would return to the state of the case which existed before the introduction of that illegal act. He confessed that it appeared to him passing strange that a single doubt should linger around that question.—(Laughter.) For himself he had no difficulty • - - • whatever in answering it. He would go farther, an say that when he saw the hesitation arising around him, he felt inclined to doubt whether he was speaking to honest men and clergymen.—(Cries of " Oh, oh," " Order, order," followed by loud and prolonged hissing.) The PROCURATOR said he did not rise to allude to the remarks of Dr. Bryce, but merely to state that it was not consistent with the character of that House to indulge in hisses.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. TisomPsoN, Dundee, said, he would not defend the hissing, but he thought the language of Dr. Bryce highly improper.—(Hear, hear.) Dr. BILYCE continued—lf ever there was pledge given by a body of men, it was the one voluntarily given by that House when they appealed the case of Auchtetarder to the House of Peers, that they would acquiesce in the result. No man pretending to candour and honesty could deny that the plain language of that appeal was that whatever the decision should be, it should be obeyed.—(Great confusion.) Mr. E. MONTEITH rose to order. The Rev. Doctor who moved the second resoltvion had stated that he held a very different interpretation of the subject in question from that now stated by Dr. Bryce ; and was the House still to be told that no man of candour or hanesty could hold that opinion.—" Hear, hear," and " Go on.") Dr. BRYCE said, that the motion of Dr. Cook was directed to the point, how, under the circumstances in which the Church was placed, they were to instruct their Presbyteries to act. The instructions of his Reverend and Learned Friend were very distinct and very precise. His (Doctor B.'s) objections both to the motion of Doctor Chalmers and that of Doctor Muir was, that they did not meet the circumstances in which the Church was placed. The Church had to consider not only what they should do in the particular case of Mr. Young, but how they should dispose of the other cases which ntight arise, and these circum stances the motion of his Reverend and Learned Friend, met honestly and openly. He was strongly of opinion, that the only course which the Assembly could pursue, in consistency with their appeal to the House of Peers, in obedience of the law of the land, in regard to the interests of the Church as an Establishment, was the course pointed out in the motion of his Rev. and Learned Friend Dr. Cook, to which he for one should give his most cordial support. After some further discussion, Dr. Coox replied, when a division took place— For Dr. Muir's amendment .. l6l For Dr. Chalmers's Majority —36 And on another division on the original question and Dr. Chalmers's amendment, there were— For Dr. Cook's motion 155 For the amendment Majority 49 The House adjourned at tw•o o'clock this morning. ADDRESS TO THE QUE.:I'N FROM THE CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF LONDON. Yesterday a very numerous deputation from the Com mon oouneil of the City of London, waited upon the Lord Mayor, and presented the following requisition to his Lordship : To the Right Honorable the Lord Mayor of the City of London. We. the undercigued members of the Court of Com mon Council request your Lordship will convene a Court i,f Common Council on an early day, to consider the ex pediency of presenting an Address to her Majesty on the recent trying circumstances in which her Majesty has been placed, and expressing the confidence of the Court that her Majesty:will be guided in her counsels by such Minis ters only as will earnestly exert themselves to procure the extention and confirmation of the liberties and franchise of the people, recognize equal civil rights, without distinc tion of sect or party ; improve the condition of the working classes, and promote the cause of universal education. Dated this 20th May, 1839. This requisition was signed by 82 members. The Lord Mayor fixed next Thursday for the discuision on the subject. It is expected that an amendment will be proposed, and a long and vigorous contest may be anticipated. BALLOONING EXTRAORDINARY.—An adver tisement, issued by a troop of itinerant performers now exhibiting in Blackburn, announces that on a specified night a certain " Mr. Hughes will ascend on his head on the top of . a magnificent balloon—never attempted by any other person 1" It is not stated to what height the adven turous Hughes will ascend, but underneath the announce ment is a wood-cut, representing him in his perilous posi tion soaring away into the regions of air. This it must be admitted is quite as rational and a much more daring feat than the proposed tiger ascent from Vauxhall, interdicted last autumn by the Magistrates of Union-hall police-office. Perhaps the proprietors of the " Royal property" may take the hilit, if they can find any one who is fool enough to risk his neck for the gratification of cockney curiosity, or " for the advancement of science," for which latter purpose these aerial trips have professedly been undertaken since the days of poor Mr. Cocking. THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY, MAY 25, IFt39. shed the blood of the people of England unless the people themselves were prepared to take and defend their liberties. He was willing to lay his head upon the block if he could not prove to them that the middle and upper'classes were at this very moment robbing the peop!e of this country of upwards of 200 millions of money. The 1 . nation has been robbed by the landowner of original and improveable value of the land which ought to belong to the nation, property which the people earned by the sweat of their brow. It was nothing short of damnable robbery for a landlord to deprive a man of his property 'n houses merely because those people died. They were wholesale robbers, and yet they had the audacity to say the people ware seditious, merely because they attempted to obtain their own. They must support this mo‘ e ment altogether, or abandon the movement altogether. He never counselled the people to violate the law so long as they had a hope of obtaining; their rights by lawful means. Before six months from the present time the present movement must be abandoned altoge ther or their leaders would be assassinated, and the peo ple would be reduced to the condition of helots and slaves. There were men who were thirsting for their blood, and he was determined the people should not die unavenged. They would never get anything unless they helped themselves to it, and unless they were prepared to carry out their measures by other means than they were now using. The people must elect men to represent them from amongst themselves. They must have three hund re d men put i n nom i na ti on at the nest election, to meet either in Manchester or in Birmingham, with 50,000 good men and true to be present at their deliberati ons , an d to i m bib e w i s d om from their lips, in order that they might be prepared to take their places. When they had done all this, then he would turn over to the next chapter, and till then, he could not dare to tell them what to do.—(Loud cheers.) He promised, howev7, that in six months after this, they would have hao a re i gn o f prosper i ty i n w hi c h men would enjoy the rights and privileges of Er.glish , men.—(Cheers.) Tho CHAIRMAN put the address, which was carried with enthusiasm. Messrs. Collins, Potwell, and other Delegates, then addressed the meeting . A i;ciolution was passed, changing the name of tlle Birmingham Chartist Com mittee to that of the R tcli,cal and Constitutional Com mittee. Thanks were iNted to the Chairman and the meeting separated in Mod order, after giving three heers for the Queen alid the Convention. LORD JOHN RUSSELL'S LETTER [The following notice has been prepared for some but, for various reasons, postponed till now.] In our former notice we showed, by the state ments made by the Whig Ministers, when they proposed the Reform Bill, that it had completely failed, both as a substitute of representation for nomination, and as a means of inspiring the peo. pie with contentment and respect for the Legisla ture. There is another point in which it is also an arithmetical failure. Lord John Russell, on March Ist, 1831, said " that it was his opinion that the Reform Bill would add to the constituency about half a million of persons ;" it was proved by Mr. Hume, on last March 21st, when he made his motion relative to Household Suffrage, that the in crease of the constituency in 18:35 and 1836, as compared to 1831, was just 143,360, or the fourth part of what Lord John Russell anticipated ; though the 501. tenants-at will were added, and the freemen retained contrary to the wish of the Reform Ministers. Just so far as the Reform Act substituted Manchester for Old Sarum, the Tower Hamlets for Gatton, and gave satisfaction to the 101. householders in . the great hives of our na tional industry, it was successful ; but just so far as it kept up a: number of small boroughs, giving them as many representatives as the large towns. and excluded all below the 101. householders from the franchise, and so increased the dissatisfaction of the excluded classes, it was a most mischievous failure. Lord John Russell entertains a different opinion, and in his certainly ingenious arguments against the extension of the Suffrage, by a uniform scheme, expresses himself thus:— " Let us suppose, for instance, as the exact num bers are not of importance, that two members were allotted to every fifty thousand of the population. " The first difficulty that occurs is, that the metro polis would send upwards of fifty members. Nor could this number be diminished by any allegation that the inhabitants of London were inferior to those of any part of the country in wealth or intelligence. Yet the representation of the capital, although exceedingly just in the moderate proportions in which the Reform Bill sanctioned it, could not have been carried to the supposed extent without obvious disadvantages. " It must strike every observer, even if the ground had been clear, that in a country where there exists every variety of interest, every diversity of profe,sion, where wealth is not confined to one class—the landed, manufacturing, or commercial—where ingenuity has done its utmost—ard civilization is so extremely arti ficial; that it is nearly, if not altogether, impossible by one uniform plan, to give an adequate represen tation of the nation at large. What more different than Dover, Canterbury, and the country between them? 'Would they be satisfied to form one depart ment ? " It was another and still more obvious objection to such a plan, that all the towns in the country, exc -pt the largest, would have been diluted into the country around them. If inequality was to be remedied, North ampton, Warwick, Southampton, Chichester, &c., would have lost their distinctive character, and the minority (of voters) of such towns would have been converted into a majority by the aid of the country gentlemen and farmers of the neighbourhood. if equality was to be the rule, if Dartmouth and Rich mond were not to return members alone, stk neither on such principles could Dorsetshire or Lincolnshire sub mit to be outweighed by towns of 10,000 or 12,000 in habitants ; if numbers alone were to be considered, why should Devonshire, with 450,000 people, have no more representatives than Halifax and Wigan with 50,000 ? Yet had this equal division been adopted, Bridport, enclosed in a part of Dorsetshire, would pro bably have sent a Tory country gentlemen in the place of Mr. Warburton, and the department of Lincoln would have replaced Sir Edward Bulwer by one who would have harmonized better with the Tory part of his constituents. That t ß t u h t e let a u n s ts ask u d a f t u h r e t h e w r is question. hes, ih the in t W e re. h s a t t s pa a: v et i, l l :: r o e p q ii. u il i o si i t is e , s t y li o e u i s n e t cZ e r n i e n e a anti and fullrethstewtvaitritouneofothteheenait:: ?nay be fairly, freely, repres ented. "To many a man this may y s e em a very easy task. He would cut the country into squares, or circles or givingoblongs, givin a certain amount of population t:o each as portion, and fixing the franchise his taste or philo sophy might direct. The task would not be accom plished. It will be granted to me, I trust, that the knowledge and the intelligence of those most remark able for knowledge and intelligence ought to be repre sented. But it may very well happen, that, while your division into districts secures representation to landed proprietors, to wealthy manufacturers, to eminent merchants, to busy and active popular leaders, it will exclude the eminent barrister who has given his time and labour to reach the eminence of his profession— the political economist who has neither riches to buy votes, nor eloquence to attract them—the gallant officer who is better known to his country's enemies than to the Club or Committee who furnish candidates for parties and districts. This would be more particularly the case in time of strong popular excitement, when nothing but wealth, local influence, or long-established political character, could weather the storm. The consequences would be serious. The House of Commons, though composed of able and stirring men, would not obtain the respect of the more intelligent part of the country. " Men would look in vain for several of' those lead ing counsel in our courts of law, those distinguished admirals, those gallant generals, those able writers, whose name has given a lustre to the House of Com mon:, and made the eyes of all turn towards it as the depository of what was able, and eminent, and distin guished in law no less than in politics—alike in war, in letters, and in commerce." Such are the objections which Lord John Russell makes to having the people fairly represente d, which ma i n l y turn on the fact that the people would not elect those classes and individuals whom Lord John Russell would prefer. While he pretends to advocate a representation of the peop le, he dictates what classes, and of course within a certain circle, what individuals shall represent them. He objects to allowing them to elect the men they prefer, but insists on a narrow scheme which shall give, against the will of the peoples or Isis argument has no foundation, eminent barristers, profound poli tical eco nom i sts, an d ga ll an t officers„ to the House of Commons. But the proper place for the barrister to acquire influence is a Court of Law, the poli tical economist must be c ontent with influencing the public by his writings, and if the soldier obtain applause and honour for his valour he is duly re warded. Lord John Russell, however, is anxious to give them a seat in the House of Com mons. He wishes to drag them out of their sphere, though rarely have such men acquired any hunour in Parliament, and reflect a part of their celebrity on the House of Commons. As a body of legislators it has not much virtue of its own, and Lord John insists on retaining select bodies of electors, who may gild their base metal with the extraneous splendour of civil and warlike talents. Being sensible that law-making is not of itself suf.'. ficient to command the respect of mankind, he is anxious to blend it with the courage which saves, and the wisdom which teaches nations. Lord John says that, " in the representation of • the people, it is sought that the wants and the wishes, the interests and the opinions, the intelli gence and the virtues of the nation may be fairly, freely, and fully represented." But the latter terms of this proposition are by no means coequal with the former. A just and full representation of the people must represent their vices and their stupidity, as well as their virtue and intelligence. We have now the stupidity of our country gentle men, their grasping avarice, and the grasping ava rice of all the middle classes, a deadly vice, more than adequately represented. Vice and virtue, intelligence and stupidity, are all comparative and relative terms, and when any pie sumptuous legislator departs from the plain prin ciple os representing the whole people, and merely the people, and nothing but the people, leaving it to them to settle what are their wants and interests, what are vice and virtue, stupidity and intelligence, he is certain to substitute his own peculiar and class notions, as is obviously the case with Lord John Russell, for what the whole regard as their interests, wants, and wishes ; and place in Parlia ment not the man known to the electors and pre ferred by them, but gallant officers, who have per haps been only forging chains for them ; learned barristers, who have p _rverted the law to oppress them ; and profound political economists, who have reduced the vicious practices of the others to theory, and called it a natural science. By the limitations in the latter part of his proposition, Lord John Russell denies some part of the people a due representation of their interests, wishes, and opinions. He has obviously an incorrect opinion of representation, which is intended theoretically to be a perfect miniature of the entire people, includ ing the passions, the vices, and the stupidity of all, as well as their restraints, their virtues, and their intelligence. Theory says that all the Members of the same community have a common interest. Lord John proceeds on the supposition that they have different interests, and he frames his plan of representation on the principle of nicely balancing those interests, and giving to each class its fair share of representa tion. Of the justice of his measurement, of the exactness of his distribution of political power, we shall speak hereafter ; we observe now that this principle assumes in himself, or in some other man, the existence of a higher authority than that of the whole nation, to decide between the various claims of the different classes. It does not allow them all to come together and settle their differences—if they have any— but, like a judge, Lord John Russell, without even hearing the parties, settles it for them. Acknow ledging the fact that different classes have different interests, and making that fact the basis of his sys tem, he does not ask the opinion of the working classes and the poor, but lie hands their interests over to the law-making mercy of their opponents. While his system for its continual nice adjustment would require a continual redistribution of electoral and representative power—for the different parts and great interests of the community change con- tinually in relative wealth and intelligence—it perpetuates those distinctions and those animosities between different classes, it is most desirable by a homogenous and equal representation of the people, as men, and not as nobles, priests, land lords, merchants, capitalists, ten-pound househol ders, and labourers, to stifle and extinguish. Be _ _ cause Lord John Russell's arguments imply that the whole people are not to be represented, but some limitation of them, supposed to be the vir tuous and intelligent part, and because they imply an authority superior to the whole nation, capable of balancing and adjusting the various claims of each, and without asking the opinion and the con sent of all, we are forced to come to the conclu- sion that Lord John Russell has formed a most inadequate, imperfect, and unfaithful view of the theory of representation. To place his opinion on this point completely before the reader we must quote another part of his pamphlet, by which it will be seen in what classes he supposes virtue and intelligence to cohere. At page 34 he says— . " The Reform Act was carried under the auspices of Lord Grey, assisted by statesmen long used to power, and able to weigh their proceedings. That weight of authority carried along ,ith it a large proportion of the House of Lords, and the dispassionate Reformers throughout the country. But for a new Reform Bill oppo,ed by a majority in the House of Commons, and five-sixths of the House of Lords, no such authority could be invoked. It would be menace, and the mul titude ; unknown leaders dictating to intelligence and property; an attempt at reform, but sure to end in confusion." _ • .. . The swinish multitude, as the Times calls the people, are the objects of Lord John Russell's dread and aversion, as they are the horror of the Tories, and the small class represented by states men, long used to power, are, in his opinion, those who are to dictate to the multitude. In fact, Lord John Russell advoCates a system of representation of the whole people—which shall be guided, go verned, and controuled by statesmen long used to power, such as he is, and from which the multitude, or the masses, are to be contemptuously and scorn fully excluded. This is genuine, mischievous, mis trustful Toryism, which, beginning in contempt, is prosecuted by injustice, and ends in social destruc tion. That there may be no mistake about the class which is to give laws to all the rest, Lord John Russell thus describes the assembly of the Aristocracy, of which, apparently, his ambition is that he may yet be a . member : " The House of Lords has very little resemblance to the American Senate—hut it has two circumstances in common with it, and which are in some degree cause and effect. Its Members have greater permanence than the Commons, and it attracts within its sphere many of the ablest men in ,the nation ; in law the office of Chancellor makes this inevitable—in war, a Peerage or Westminster Abbey,' was the aspiration of a great Commander. Look at the Lords' debates of the pre sent day—the Duke of Wellington, Lord Brougham, Lord Lyndhurst, Lord Cottenham, Lord Denman, Lord Abinger, Lord Ripon, Lo r d Vharnclifre, Lord Fitrgerald, all had seats in the House of Commons, and have esteemed it an honour to be transferred from thence to the House of Lords. " Now it is a principle not to be neglected, that, con stitute these assembles as you may, the display of great talent in debate, the authority of a great name, the lustre of arms, and the weight of long experience, bring with them in calm and q u i e t ti mes th a t power o f . opinion which, according to an Italian author, is the queen of the world.' Let us examine of what elements some parts of this opinion consist. In a country such as England now is, there are thousands of men who do not call themselves politicians, but who nevertheless are acute political observers. One may be employed all the morning in literary history, another planning a new railway, a third writing to his mercantile correspon dents at New York, a fourth arguing a cause in a court of law. Yet to all these men the newspaper has its ottractions—the last debate has been a matter of in. terest, and it is not because his business lies elsewhere that the man of speculative or practical ability is the less qualified to judge of those who discuss and decide on the interest of the nation. To these men, as well as to the people in general, an appeal lies. We can no lon ger have an awful senate, even if we desired it. 'l'he re porters in the gallery unveil the mystery of Govern ment, and the House of Commons must rel 3 upon its own qualities for maintaining public respect. It; then, it were found that the whole tone of debate was un worthy of the occasion, that the talent out of the House despised the talent within the House ; that men of wit and men of business saw among them the most eminent men of the nation unable or unwilling to sit in the House of Commons, neither its popular title, nor its well-won privileges, nor its mighty authority, would prevent it from sinking in public estimation.— But if you add to this, that it would have to contend in the presence, and perhaps in rivalry, with the House of Lords, which, aocording to Mr. Roebuck—no par tial witness—has a moral influence in the country, you would expose the House of Commons to a gradual pro cess of sinking, from which it could only rescue itself by some desperate struggles, in the course of which its natural strength and vigour might more easily enable it to pull under water its more favoured companions than to keep itself buoyant on the stream. For these reasons, among others, a division into departments seemed to me liable to the greatest possible objec tions.'" But if this assembly be so virtuous and so wise, and if a popular House of Commons, the exact image of the people, would only destroy it, what use is there in a House of Commons at all ? Why not suffer that concentration of virtue and intelli gence, called the House of Lords, to make the laws ? and why controul and thwart its wise and virtuous will by such less wise, and less intelligent, and less virtuous persons, as the chosen representa tives of the lower classes ? Every one of the argu ments which Lord John Russell applies against ex tending the suffrage, and so making the House a perfect mirror of all, applies equally to the present House of Commons and the present system of repre sentation, which is based on a comparative multitude, tainted with all the vices of the multitude, controul in; the virtues and intelligence of a select few, in whose hands, according to him, the Government ought to be placed. He does not indeed, .at pre sent, extend his argument so far, because lie is now a member of the multitude. In Speaking of those who require the Reform Act to be reformed, Lord John says, overlooking the facts we have adverted to :-- .‘ The only proof that has yet been given of such necessity, is the loudness of complaint. . • • " A third class of the discontented, and a very nu merous one, consists of those who expected from Reform what Reform could not accomplish. I am no believer in the doctrine— ' How small, of all the ills that men endure, The part that kings or laws can cause or cure.' I think, on the contrary, that many social and moral evils are to be attributed to the institutions of Govern ment, and the laws by which a community is ruled. But laws and institutions must act gradually and generally, in order to be beneficial. " Of the working classes who have declared their adherence to what is called the People's Charter, but few care for Universal Suffrage, Vote by Ballet, or Annual Parliaments. The greater part feel the hard ship of their social condition ; they complain of their hard toil and insufficient wages, and imagine that Mr. Oastler or Mr. Fielden will lead them to a happy valley, where their labour will be light, and their wages high. They know not the general laws by which • profit and wages are regulated. They conceive that the tyranny of the rich is the cause of their depressed condition. Lord John Russell admits that laws cause social and moral evils ; he cannot deny that the present condition of the working classes is full of moral and social evils, and they seek for a change. The sys tem of Government is a means of - getting rid of these moral and social evils, and according to him they are right in principle, though he saya they are wrong in its application, and that " they know not the general laws by which profit and wages are regulated. " They conceive," he says, and he implies erroneously, " that the tyranny of the rich is the cause of their depressed condi tion." Such, however, being their condition, and such being their and his opinion of the influence of laws over the moral and social condition of man, when they ask for the means of help, Lord John Russell, self-satisfied, denies them any share in the law-making power. They may be wrong in attri buting their depressed condition to some particular laws, sharing the general ignorance as to the effect of laws ; but they complain of the tyranny of one class, and Lord John Russell, abhorring a multi tude, says the power of legislation shall remain exclusively in the hands of those the unrepre sented call their tyrants. He must be extremely ignorant, if he be not aware that there is a great contest going on ,in society between labour and capital, be tween industry and legal property, and while that is the case, admitting, as he admits, that laws may affect the moral and social condition of the people, he denies all representation to labour. According to his own description of what is sought as a representative system, the present is incom plete, for the wants, wishes, opinions, virtues, and intelligence of the labouring classes have no voice in it. Stopping far short of a representation of the whole people, he so improvidently and 'un justly distributes electoral power, as to exc:ude four-fifths of the people, and these four-fifths are all of one class and condition, and so peculiarly situated that they have an existing quarrel with the classes represented, and have opinions, wishes, and interests opposed to theirs. The represented classes are moreover the armed classes. Disposing of all the public taxes, the army is theirs, and is disciplined and officered to do their bidding. They are allowed to carry arms unquestioned ; they are invited to carry them ; the yeomanry, the magistrates, all the members of the Executive are selected from them ; the unrepre sented classes are not allowed to carry arms, at least attempts are made to prevent them carrying arms ; they have no controul over the army, they enter not into the yeomanry, they are excluded from the ma gistracy, and Lord John Russell, as the organ of the Government which is constituted for the benefit of the fifth part of society, writes pamphlets against their demands, and thunders forth proclamations against their attempts to help themselves. All that is bad, because it is unjust, and there is no more reason to he surprised at the present extensive and alarming discontent of the working classes than at the repeated insurrections of the cruelly oppressed negroes. Never was it incite clearly established than by Lord John Russell's Letter that the Legislature and Goverment of this country are altogether intended to benefit the fifth part of the community at the expense of the other four-fifths. It is impossible, from the growing humanity and good sense of the middle and upper classes, and from the rapidly increasing knowledge and intelli gence of the lower classes, that such a system can last, and he who opposes its imptovement, like Lord John Russell, hastens its destruction. His Letter proves him to be a far more ignorant and short-sighted statesman than we had supposed. Judging him by his pamphlet only—alas ! how different from many of his acts, and how alien from the conduct which once won him our hearts, and gave him power over our minds—he appears to be as shallow, and as ignorant, and as wilful, as Peel, without using Peel's tricks to conceal his imperfections. EVEN X N G EDITION many an acceptable offer frorn suitors of the highest rank ; and even in old age, when chilled at heart, and soured with the world, she still preserved her cerrespons dence with Marlborough, during the happy days of courtship with the greatest care—a refined trait of sen sibility which reminds us of the rough, profligate Sergeant Bothwell, in whose pocket-book, after his death, were found the love letters of the " gentle Alice," of whom he had been passionately fond, while yet he had a heart to bestow. The young couple, despite the remonstrances of Churchill's parents, who objected to their son's tortn ing a union so far below their expectations, were secretly married in the year 1678. " The ceremony," says our authoress," took place in the presence of Mary, Duchess of York, who bestowed presents of considerable value on the bride, and some months afterwards the marriage was avowed." For many years after her marriage, Mrs. Churchill continued attached to the sersice of the Duchess of York, where she formed that close intimacy with the Princess, afterwards. Queen Anne, which was destined to exercise such an influence over the fortunes of her husband, who was soon raised to the peerage by the title of Baron Churchill, of Eyetuouth in Scotland. We subjoin Mrs. Thompson's sketch of Anne. " From childhood, Anne had been accustomed to the society of her future favourite. A slight difference of age , Lady Churchill being the elder of the two, aided, rattier than impeded, the happy intimacy of girlhood. Already at an early age, Anne had been addressed in secret, with professions of attachment by the young Earl of Mul grave, afterwards Marquis of Normanby, one of the most accomplished and amiable noblemen of his time. But these proposals were checked as soon as they were dis covered, yet not before Anne had imbibed a partiality fur the young man, which continued in the form of a kindly regard, until politics brcke the charm which the recollection of an early attachment had created. The Princess was pious, generous, and affectionate, but obstinate, and not devoid of duplicity when it suited her purpose. Her na; tore was a strange compound of warm affections and et repelling coldness. As in all weak minds, her friendsbiet; were called into being by the gratification of her selfish in' clinations. With those defects, however, which proceeded from deficient cultivation, Aimee as a lady of ele; vated rank, and afterwards as a ruler, p a ssesse° some admirable qualities. Her sense of duty supplied t be place of strong sensibility. She was a kind mistress; e s a wife incomparable ; though lavish to her favourites, WI to be led ley them into what she disapproved; just see economical, eracimes in her manners, and desirous of 1 30. pularity. Her nature was placid, her temperament Oleg matie. In the early part of her life, she.was, like the Pt arts generally, well b re d, un til i n d ecorous f am ili ar ity *Ti t " her inferiors, broke down the effects of early habit. in per son Anne Was comely, awl of that ample c on f orm ation se s* stature well adapted for royalty. Her figure, before it beagle matronly, was esteemed graceful ; her face was agreeable, though, from a weakness in her e y es , h er countenance 01 contracted somewhat of a scowl: But this may have tr e k the effects of years and of care, when the c o mplexion a ls . ° , participated in the coarseness of the p e r son , i n d u ced, as 1. was said by the use of cordials, to which the Prince, her h e % band, incessantly invited his consort. To convlete the WWI of Anne, the beauty of her hands, and the s we etness of he r voice in speaking and reading must not be forgotten; were universally allowed, whilst her graceful delivery addressing the House of Parliament, met with incess i d " applause. It is remarkable that with such respect' . 1/1 : Anne treated by her subjects, that the Peers in her pi „- ' sence waived the privilege of wearing hats in -Parliaraeut' to shoe that they arc hereditary legislators." 't of As a contrast to the above, we give the portray the Duchess of Marlborough—the only w o man vlb,f il Anne seems to have loved with anything like real Or s. Lion. Her attachment to Mrs. Masham was quite ° . l ll , different character, having its origin in exquisite sel fi ' ness on both sides " Beautiful, according to the opinion of her conteoP; rarice, the Duchess's beauty appears to have been e i ° to mending as well as interesting. Her figure is asserted o$ have been peculiarly fine, and her countenance was e st re . by a profusion of fair hair, which she is said to hav e P„„a served, without its changing colour, even at an adv ae ‘ie age, by the use of honey-water. everal years a fter * ly hsd become a grandmother, the fressness of her W e e , complexion, and her unfaded attractions, caused her, e y r . in the midst of four daughters, each distinguished by 1)%0 sonal charms, to be deemed pre-eminent even among th' t , celebrated and high-bred belles. But the secret of 13; extraordinary influence which she acquired over every her with whom she came in contact, originated not in her attributes of beauty and of grace. Mrs. Jennings, that mother, had cultivated in her daughter • every art the could charm. That of conversation in particu Duchess is said to have excelled in. Shrewd, be fearless, so beautiful that all she said was sur e , - in f a vour proved by the one sex ;so much in fashion " °disapproved that nothing she did could possibly be out any ex by the other. Sarah might readily, svitbo ati „ in re traordinary cultivation of intellect, figu re g r- Youth fulCa artee, and dogmatize with the security at sbe at this time 0, beauty. It appears that thought had never even dreamed of politics, nor applauded it; cultivating that vigorous intellect, so much . u ban after times by the great ones of the earth. Educate) larc'astic, contributed little to extend the s ph e re of her ingutrea mind. She knew no language but her own, and ne ver the industry nor ambition to learn French. Such vias!be : ties of habit, and afterwards by something almost 110 b friend to whom the Princess Anne was early b ound bY t _ r ardent than common friendship ; and exactly was a lf adapted, from her independent, uncompromising spiris,i'Ae. magnanimous and half insolent, to attain a complete " minion over every faculty of Anne's shallow mind." Of In the memorable year 1688, when the conduct James the Second—so long the friend and patron IN the Churchills—had alienated the affections of his sub jects, " the first sea-officer that went over to the Prince of Orange was the brother of Baron Churchill, Cap tain Churchill, who joined the Dutch fleet with his ship." Lady Churchill was equally active in her ender 'yours to persuade the Princess Anne to desert her uri; happy father, James ; and in this—the first action 0 , 1 her life in which she directly took a share in public er; fairs—she succeeded to her heart's content. the subsequent reign of William the Third, she sit oor e in and sympathised with, all the insults which so le heaped by the reigning family on Anne ; was 'le s i o n; confidential adviser on every public and private occ3frifr and when at length, by the death of William, Of lo tie cess came to the Throne, ruled her with almost °e' be sway : s " The Queen had, as a Monarch, one great fail; for' allowed too great familiarities in those around he r ' i- o tiOn* bore to rebuke insolence, or even to check pre su lgoi t / No one was so likely to presume upon this want of of iote a Lady Marlborough. Her haughtiness soon g r Qaee°2 downright contumacy. Even while holding the' in t he fan and gloves, or presenting them to hermajeettd i e itb capacity of an attendant, she turned away her Quel, contempt directly afterwards, as if the poor harral e 7 Ana" inspired her with disgust. For the first ten yea rs ° D e" reign, however, Lady Marlborough ruled parson,. Ap se At length the day of her dismissal from Coar s t io ' d to drew nigh. The Duchess of Marlboroug h --r e ds see,' this dignity, against her inclination, at the Q u i c ius hanti s cial request, as a tribute of gratitude for b er .,h i le A nne , victories—was devoted to Whig principles, " tu freede P. was always in her heart a Tory. This W I tong time disputes between the two friends, which for rupture were prevented from breaking out into °Pe p t. b , the in" the force of early impressions ; but at length' I pa rtr" trigues of' Harley and some others of the To ry Courf' the celebrated Mrs. Masham was introduce" shet and soon gained unbounded influence ove r . _ me tio e mind of Anne. The Duchess struggled for sy, oe t be i against the power of this rival, but finding it da d ' Y re tire' increase, was compelled to succumb , °_, :e d at with her h us b an d into private life. She ° , l or° good old a g e i n th e y ear 1744, so completel down with di sa pp o i n t men t, an d so soured with srfroi° • ed as actually to bl ess th e s t ro k e that dismiss . ,e her v;ale r i existence. H er en d h o ld s ou t an ialPr es. Tp es sess e " ing to the ambiti ous , an d t h e un d u ly worldly. politic as she was, fo r y ears , o f vas t soc ial and Pe l ea lth, ence ; distinguish e d by ra n k, talent, beautY; jaess; all that is generally s u pp ose d to constitute pane, and the one dearly cherished friend of her Stl yeer4 e the wife of the greatest hero of the age --t pass e of' Marlborough, despite these rare advantages:Jen l id , on the whole, an anxious, feverish—we mad that peace, a miserable—life ; and has left it on record tbr inian' and sunshine of mind were, even in her int' s _,,il e days, almost unknown to her. Mrs. Thobnfr ste=p moir of this female Wolsey—for such i she may ambition, if not in her magnificent habi ts ' t oity ' 1 (. 1 styled—is penned in a s pi r it of l a udable i ffl e P s a e r s ech ;an easy and flowing in s tyl e ; no t d e void o f r skilful in its delineation of character. THE CHARTIST SIMULTANEOUS MEETINGS. (FROM OUR OWN REPORTER.) BIRMINDRAXI, FRIDAY, 4 o'CLocK. The great Birmingham demonstration, which took place here this morning, has passed off without any even the slightest disturbance, although from the circumstance of the fair being held at this particular time, the town was crowded by an immense concourse of persons of all classes, and from all quarters of the surrounding coun try. How far this was owing to the good sense and peaceable disposition of the people, or from the exertions of the leaders of the movement party here, under whose directions the arrangements were organised, may bega thered from the copy of the placard calling the meeting, which had been extensively posted throughout the town for some days previously " IMPORTANT BIRMINGHAM DEMON STRATION ! " Men of Birmingham !—Rally round the Conven tion. A great meeting will be held at Holloway-head on Friday, the 24th of May, when an address to her Majesty will be submitted to the meeting, according to the re commendation of the General Convention. Men of Birmingham, who desire to change this land of misery, attend ! Attend, all those who wish to make the house of poverty a house of plenty. Attend, all those whose humanity teaches them to do as they would be done by. Attend, all those who detest the degrading influence of slavery, and who would give to every man, whatever may be his creed or colour, the great and protecting mantle of freedom. Attend, all tho-e who believe in the word of God, wherein is denounced the persecutors and enslavers of his brother man. Attend, all those who prefer the use of reason rather than the use of arms in obtaining the Constitutional rights of all mankind Men of Birmingham, attend, and show the enemies of peace that your object is to equalise the laws which would preserve, support, and maintain that order is desirable to all her Majesty's good and loyal subjects, and none more so than the Birmingham Radical and Constitutional Association, &c." Messrs. O'Connor, Taylor, M.Douall, and O'Brien were announced to be present, and it was added that the Birmingham Delegates would be in at tendance, to relinquish their trust, if called upon so to do. Arrangements were made for assem b!ing at the Rodney Tavern in Edmund-street, at one o'clock, where the various trades were requested to be in attendance at half-past twelve. At this hour, however, the attendance was very limited, there being not more than 100 or 200 persons in the street ; but at one o'clock, when the procession started there might be from five to six hundred persons assembled. The pro cession, accompanied by the Delegates and a band, with banners, flags, &c., moved down Edward-street, Suffolk-street, Exeter-row, on to Holloway-head, where it arrived at a quarter to two. On arriving at the ground the Delegates were received with loud cheers. Mr. PORTER, of Bull -street, was then called to the Chair, and addressed the meeting, which at this time had swelled to about 3,000 persons. He proposed (as it was the anniversary of her Majesty's birthday) that they should commence their proceedings by giving three cheers for Queen Victoria. The call having been responded to by three hearty cheers, the Chairman said they were prepared to take their stand on ft noble grounds, and to stand up for their rights and their Queen. Mr. KENNItor7 rose to move an address to the Queen. The people had been humbugged long enough by pretended Radicals—the mask had fallen off, and they had now become base, wicked, and place-preserv ing Whigs—(Cheers)—corporation-mongers.—(Laugh ter.) They were plundering the people ; they were called base and bloody minded. Against such they must defend themselves, for such were the men who would deprive the people of their liberties.—(Cheers.) The members of the Convention were their true friends, and he called en them to persevere till they achieved the victory.—(Cheers.) They were traduced and desig nated as enemies of religion, but let them show their religion by loving their neighbours ; let them show tneir loyalty to their Queen and the true interests of their country. Peace, happiness, and love would then be the boon of their unhappy country. This might be called seditious language, but it was the language of a true-hearted Englishman. At the present time the town was inundated with military. Such an act was unconstitutional ; they had no right to coerce them ; they were under martial government at the present time ; the town was divided into districts and enrolled under officers, with the view of inflicting a stab on their liberties. They must be met in the same way by the people, and he called upon the Members of the borough to refute the calumnies which were attempted to be heaped on the men of Birmingham. He concluded by moving the following Address to her Majesty : " We, your Majesty's loyal and dutiful subjects, in public meeting assembled, do beg most sincerely to offer to you our most ardent attachment to your person, and in return we most anxiously implore that the interests of the working men of Birmingham, and of the country in general, may not be deemed unworthy of your conside ration, and that we, your Majesty's subjects as a body, may find that protection which will insure the safety of your Crown. Hoping you may call to your Majesty's counsels men who will sanction and promote the adop tion of the People's Charter, and in whom the great body of the people can place confidence," &c. Mr. FALLOWES briefly seconded the adoption of the address. Their fellow townsman had been thrown into prison for nothing but defending his rights. He trusted the time would come when every man would come forward and show himself: When he looked on the hundreds and thousands of starving individuals in the country, it could not be said that they were living un der a good Government, and until it was reformed they should never relax in their efforts. F. O'CoNNoR, Esq., supported the resolution. Ile hoped if Inspector Field or tax-gatherer Chapman were present they would come forward,and nothave to jog their memories for what wassail two months afterwards. He had heard one of the ruffians perjure himself. He did not regret the smallness of the meeting, for if the people were not there he knew where to find them.— (Cheers.) He saw half a million of men assembled together on Tuesday last in defiance of the order of the Magistrates. They had glorious meetings at Newcastle, Liverpool, Bath, Montgomeryshire ; but in Wales Mr. Marsden and Mr. Jones were there threatened with in carceration. In Lancashire and Yorkshire they ex pected to have hundreds of thousands assembled toge gether. There was a great exhibition of military the other day, but the people are determined to meet in defiance of them and the Magistrates. The present. system of Government was to subdivide the pro perty of the middle classes, and the trades would next be laid hold of and deprived of their strength. Since they had met there before, they had been win nowing the chaff from the corn. If Robert Kelly Douglas, as he was portentously called at the Conven tion, had been present at the great meeting on Tuesday, he would have seen fifty thousand men assembled at Peep Green. One of their Delegates had been ar rested, and committed to prison. It was necessary for them to be discreet, as the evidence of spies would in future be taken against them before magistrates—the very men who had led them on in 1832. They must not be trapped into addresses to the Queen ; but what guarantee would they have for the Queen, if the hellish satraps, headed by Sir Robert Peel, were suf fered to come into power? For he should not be astoe wished if the trick was to dispose of their young Queen in order that the mustachioed King of Hanover might rule over them. It was for this cause that he lent him self to the address, that might ensure her fair play. As an attack was being made on the Queen, he advised every man who had not a sword, to sell his garment and purchase one, and let the motto on that sword be—" In defence of our Queen, our rights, and our country."— (Cheers.) He advised the people to keep within the law. He had kept clear of the meshes of the law, and lie advised others to do the same. He concluded by cautioning them against the hypocrites who had deserted them, and who would have led them on to anarchy and arson in the year 1832. Being obliged to return to Manchester, Mr. Connor concluded by recommending peace, law, and order, and by supporting the address, stating that he had travelled that morning with a per son belonging to Manchester, who, in conversation, said he would go a hundred miles to see that vilain Feargus O'Connor hung.—( Laughter.) He trusted the Re porter would give him an opportunity of knoeiner that he had the pleasure of travelling with Feargus O'Con nor. There was to be a meeting at Kersal-moor to morrow, and if the military were called out, and blood shed ensued, lie advised every man to throw down their hammers, to take their wives and families and leave the town, shed no drop of blood, do no act of violence, but wait patiently till an ambassador from the people arrived, and they received directions how to act. Whether in the day or dead of night, he would be always ready to respond to their call, and ren der his assistance in the hour of difficulty and of danger. —(Loud cheers.) B. O'BRIEN, Esq., next addressed the meeting. There ought to have been 200,000 men present this day, and he regretted to see so small an attendance. In this he differed from Mr. O'Connor ; for of all the meet ings he had attended this week, the present was the smallest.—( Hear.) The reports of the Delegates at these meetings were most favourable, and where they had sent hundreds, they would now send thou sands to attend their future meetings in defiance of the proclamations of the magistrates. He gave an account of the several meetings which he had attended during the last few days, which went off in the most enthu siastic manner. In Sherwood Forest, near Nottingham, he met from 20,000 to 25,000 persons. The people were up and doing in other places ; but the men of Birmingham were not doing their duty ; they should have been up and doing like the men of other places. He wished to knew why the people of Walsall and Dudley were not present ; they ought to have been pre sent, and if they did not co-operate with their friends they were forfeiting their own liberties. The yeomanry were drilling in order that they might be more expe ditious in cutting the throats of the people ; and who were those yeomanry ? Bull-headed farmers and upstart shopocracy.—(Loud cheers.) These are the fellows that were their enemies, men who would LITERATURE. LIFE OF THE DUCHESS OF MARL.. BOROUGH. Two Vols. Colhurn, London, 1839. The Life of the Duchess of Marlborough is a striking illustration of the truth of the Scriptural adage, " Put not your trust in Princes," for after swaying the mind of Queen Anne with almost unlimited power, and mak ing her influence felt in no slight degree throughout the nation, this remarkable woman was discarded by her Royal friend and mistress, and died at an advanced age, the victim of disappointed hopes and blasted ambition, nearly, if not quite, forgotten by that world on which for years she had set so high a value. In such utter ob scurity, indeed, were her latter days passed, and so little did even her nearest relations care to know about her, that her biographers have been unable to ascertain where she died, some asserting that it was in London, and others that it was in the neighbourhood of St. Albans, And yet the woman, thus deserted and forgotten of all, was the wife of one of the greatest heroes and statesmen that England ever produced, and herself, for no small portion of Queen Anne's reign, " viceroy" over her Majesty 1 How true is Shakspeare's remark, " The present eye praises the present object !" The Duchess of Marlborough—the most commanding and intellectual female spirit of her age—her part played out, dropped as completely into oblivion, as if she had never paralyzed parties, and filled all England with her name. A single black look from Majesty effected this extraordinary re verse of fortune. The Queen frowned, and from that moment the widow of the conqueror of Blenheim lost her hold on the public recollection ! This remarkable woman was born in the year 1660, at Holywell, a su burb of St. Alban's. Her maiden name was Sarah Jennings, and she was the daughter of a country gentle man in good circumstances, whose family had for many generations possessed an estate at Sandridge in Hertford shire ; had been held in high estimation by the Hoti:e of Stuart ; and were distinguished among the adherents to the Royal cause. At the darly age of twelve, Sarah left Holywell, and entered into the service of the Duchess of York, with whom she passed many years. Here she first met her future husband, of whom we hive the following interesting account : " In the year 1673, John Churchill, afterwards Duke of Marlborough, was appointed to be a gentleman of the bed chamber to the Duke of York. He was at this time a colonel in the army, and already his fame stood high as an officer of enterprise. Even from his childhood he had been connected with a court, and destined to share a courtier's duties and rewards. At the period of his appointment in the household of the Duke of York, he was in his twenty fourth year. To the especial advantage of his military character, he had fought under the banners of Marshal Turrene, and signalized himself in the attacks on Nime guen, where his courage attracted the discerning eye of Turrene, who gave him the name of tie ' handsome Eng lishmen.' He was endowed with personal beauty, height of stature, being above the middle size, activity, and sweet ness of expression ; in short, the perfection of the species ; high intellect, combined with perfect grace, was exhibited in this great and when chastened by the course of events, subsequently good man. His countenance was mild, thoughtful, commanding; his brow lofty, his features regular but flexible, his deportment was digni k fi t e e d: , and at the same time winning. No one, said one who knew of him personally, ever said a pert thing Marlborough. Lord Chesterfield even t° a f h t b t o r e ib p u r t o e t d ect th ed e great success of the Duke to the Graces, d w his Lordship, and promoted him. His manner, Like bis m ost was irresistible, either by man orobv;rmvaaernm.s, young men destined to the profession of cianlmitnsess, effects,the educa tion was limited. To the cmi t l s el Marlborough, as King the Third i and rd e x w p a r r e m s s e dheart he owed his early and progressive suavity of his temper, s L e a s s u e, " in e rui with on that, broke down hi s self-comman d ; his ..forbearance, for o thers, the gentlenessth which h e his consideration refused what ho c ould not grant, the grace with which he conferred favours — t hese qualities, combined with indefa tigable industry , hardihood. and a j ud g ment never pre judiced by passion, were the true sources of Churchill's greatness." Wi t h this illustrious and accompli s h e d i n di v id ua l , Sarah Jennings fell deeply in love, re f us i ng f or hi s sake, vi i E l i i i -t r iis i: olio so. THE ROYAL E E F I R N The subject of ß t ° ll ll is s' . x troc t ( l e o,' on an , to p L ic o t n u d r o e n, i : fBo3u9n. S 1 , 1 85 1 ° '„e , from the Times' Court Circular, of Sept. the following effect :—.. Her Alajesty rode 0 ° ' l° t hig back, a splendid grey, to the review of the troaPs on afternoon, his Majesty the King of the Belgil e of the Commander of the Forces riding on either 91 t he the Queen, while following in the Royal train vo re t he Duke of Wellington and several Field Officers; the illustrious party were escorted to the ground 111,ipg Tenth, or Priuce of Wales' Regiment." The eogr 3. is now lying before us, which is taken from this pic r ' ll :, e' er by Reynolds ; it is executed in mezzotint, a nd i 5 3L- 01- cellen t specimen of its kind. The attitude Of 'ter 'the jesty is remarkable for its ease and gra, ce il a 1 " rides, is drawn with a vigour, c likeness, ton, is good, without being undo , Y - tt s c he ing ; and the horse a ar n g a e t r u — ra o in n --a noble h whigh - es . Ts, a nd or a natomical correctness, worthy of Cooper. to e _, w him say so much for the King of the Belgians' stee°, is somewhat clumsy in its _ating proportions, and o' l • 0 1; spirit. But the likeness ' . ell): . of the loyal rider is t i t is ene catches it - at a glance • indeed we may say that yet the be s t t 011-lena.th .' small . e ha ve , i . portrait, on a scale, 0 13( 10o- - seen of his M ' . ajesty. Lord Hill's,too, is a elevertiveifinr rate resemblance ; nor is that of the Duke of ,' 0 of ton less OP„triao able, though we get but an imperfect g' his Grace. The grouping of the numerous egae-oon, followers of her Majesty in the interun back-P.lr d in among whom we recognise Lord Palmerston, at t i re d by the Windsor uniform, is dexterously manage'', Ro t h e and no means deficient in the requisite variety. e org e cavalcade is represented as pass in g under Ge,sod Fourth's gate-way, on their way from the re vialf t he ' close behind them rise the Gothic towers : e r 00 e, Castle. Altogether the engraving is a very snPer' ° : „ a u -I - finished with considerable care, wit', with the 0 10 s" - pulous attention to details. ___........;.46.!..°1 are TI ma Ph cri tinf clu mai twc offi tiis tasi ma of all , by an pr ce