The Sun. — London, England, 1832-05-02 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PJJBLIG .IouRNALS, One objection m Ic, by politicians of the Wellington school, to the acceptance of the Re form Bill, is, that it cannot be " a final" mea sure. Then, supposing the Bill to be rejected, we ask, is there one honest man in England who will say that our present condition can be 6nal? Is it possible for us to remain where we are ? Who will dare to answer that question in the affirmative ? The objection goes directly against all political improvement. It deprecates all legislation on subjects of more lively or ge neral interest than a turnpike-road. According to every sound conception of the structure, growth, and wants of human society, the worst law that could be proposed to a state for its adoption, would (if we can imagine so wonder ful a measure) be one which admitted no pos sibility of future change. "lean ! and for ever !" is the exclamation by which such dreamers ought to be corrected. We have put it to any honest man to say whether it is physically pos sible for the Constitution of England to remain stat ionary at the point whereon it totters at this mo ment. With the single exception of the Duke of Wellington, there is no such living man. Save only his Grace, what other Anti-Reformer has yet asserted that the country can go on without some measure of Reform ? They one and all tell us that " the changes which have taken place in public opinion make it unavoidable to concede a safe and temperate Reform to the excited people." Then their argument amounts to this—that a partial Reform, granting a small portion of the redress which the country calls for, and disappointing far more than half of its desires, will be a guarantee against further soli citations or movements on the part of the reform ing spirit; but that the grant of all that the united voice of property and numbers calls for, will be but a bribe to discontent. Thus, dis franchise a few boroughs (the fewer the better), —enfranchise a few great towns on the same principle ) —lay down a test of qualification, which shall, in another half century, have narrowed in stead of widened the constituent basis of the kingdom,—let no householde► who pays less than 20/. of rent have a voice in the election of a Member of Parliament for boroughs where there is no rent so high as 201., — leave the six thousand of rich, populous, and enlightened inhabitants of the now unen franchised metropolitan districts beholden to the Livery of the city of London for a deputation from its own peculiar body, to speak their senti ments on matters of general policy, or to the four Members for Westminster and Southwark, just the same proportion of representative power as is allotted to the patrons of two houseless and penniless boroughs,—do all this,—frustrate the rightful claims of millions,—exclude the much dreaded middle classes from the constitution, — deal with a great nation in a spirit of unmanly distrust, or of insolent defiance,—extol the ca price of the old system, which encourages the corruption of idle pot-wallopers, while it repels the industrious, the independent, and intelligent from the hustings,—embody in your " safe and temperate" reform bill every possible element of public dissatisfaction and complaint,—force two thirds 'of the collective personal property of Eng land into an angry sympathy with the universal suffrage mob,—then boast that your measure will be final ! It is obvious, on the show ing of the moderate, or bit-by-bit reformers, (the ultras being incorrigible, we have no thing more to say to them), that if their own estimate of that cause which has justified their concession of a partial Reform be correct, viz. the necessity of adapting the institutions of society to its spirit, there could be no mote futile objection raised to a general Reform of the Con stitution of any country, than its want of (that which can be no where found) a formal guarantee against all subsequent alterations. It may suf fice to say that a treasure which contemplates the interests and inclinations of an entire people bids fairer to be durable than one which treats them with indifference ; and that in proportion to the number of active, intelligent, and indepen dent citizens, who feel their interests to be embraced and protected by the Constitution, is that Constitution likely, in its essential prin ciples, to remain unaltered. Therefore it is that in speculating upon the longevity of any poli tical system applicable to the British nation, the most ample and comprehensive measure of re dress for grievances, and of Reform in Parlia ment, is that which would appear to common sense to be of the most stable character, the nar row and make-believe Reform of the half-and half party to be more short-lived in the samede gree in v.hich it is more slender, and the existing or Wellington constitution to be the most de ciduous of all. A final measure, in the strict senge of the word, none but a knave or madman I would require : a measure facilitating the action of the national mind upon the conduct of public affairs, and thereby assisting the country to ame liorate whatever may, on experience, be found defective in the frame even of the Reform Bill itself, is all that human intellect can accomplish, 1 and all that in equity can be called for at the hands of any statesmen. lithe consequences of this Bill of Reform should turn out to be really beneficial to the liberties of the people of Eng land,—if commerce, foreign and internal, be ad vanced by a Parliament so chosen as this Bill points out,—if abuses generally be corrected with more diligence and vigour,—if undue patronage, as is very certain, be curtailed throughout all departments of the Administration, and titled paupers be compelled to work for their bread, instead of pilfering it from the country,—if, in fine, property, public and private, be more secure from invasion, by reason of the enactment of this aw,—it is not extravagant to assume that the bulk of the nation will be sensible of such ad vantages, ministering so immediately to their own well-being, and that the measure will be durable, or even final, should ultimate experience prove that it deserves the support of the people. As the House of Commons has hitherto been con stituted, a sordid faction might out-vote all England : that evil, at least, the present Bill will cure. The main amount of property and intelligence throughout the kingdom will operate unobstructed upon the composition of one, and on the acts of both branches of the legislature.— Times. The cause of glorious but unhappy Poland, though it has lost much of its every-day glareand celebrity since th e brilliant displays of her martial valour and patriotic enthusiasm in the course of last spring and summer, has lost none of its interest with the enlightened statesman or the , ardent lover of freedom. We are no longer, indeed, excited with frequent bull e ti ns , i n which prodigies of Polish military skill and in trepidity are recorded. We no longer see the blaze of Polish armour or the flash of Polish ar tilleiy, darting across the northern sky to an- nounce a victory of the Poles over their Musco covite oppressors. We no longer are left to calculate the result which may spring hum a struggle between 4,000,000, of brave arid de- ►ernriined freemen againq 50,000,900 of invad. ing l `blaves. The decree of fate has gone forth, —Poland has been resubjugated, and the free nations of Europe, who stood like wondering spectators of its brilliant fire-works, have seen the grand exhibition end in darkness, and its half-consumed debris fall almost neglected on neighbouring states. But the immense import ance of the issue has only become the more ap parent since the battle was lost to the Poles, and since the Russians began to make the full use of their triumph. More publications have ac cordirfz appeared on this subject since the end of the war, and the celebrated ukase of the Em peror, incorporating Poland with Russia, than could have been expected during a period in which our own affairs are sufficient to engross all our attention. One of these publications, entitled Remarks on the Conduct and probable Designs (21' Russia, now lies before us, and we may refer to the last number of the Edinburgh Review for an elaborate article on the same subject. Had the Reform question not stood in the way of our external sympa thies, it is more than probable that the oppressions of Poland and the flagrant viola tions of faith and justice by Russia would have called forth other appeals, calculated to rouse the whole nation, and sufficient perhaps to atone for the disgraceful supineness with which the free states of Europe permitted the first partition of the most ancient and renowned kingdom of the north. The pamphlet to which we have alluded, written without any affectation of novelty or pretension to ingenuity, exhibits in the course of a few pages the chief features of the Polish question. It cannot be doubted that by the treaty of Vienna the Duchy of Warsaw, taken from the King of Saxony, was transferred to the Emperor Alexander on the express condition of erecting it into a separate state under the same crown as Russia. It can as little be doubted or denied that his Imperial Majesty immediately, or in the course of a few mouths, fulfilled partly his engagement, by declaring it a separate king dom, and gave it a free Constitution, which was ' sworn to byhiniself, and was to be sworn toby his successors. This charter, which every freeman of Europe almost knows by heart, guaranteed to Poland its own Legislature, its own army, its own laws, its own colours, its own treasures, its own magistrates, its own municipal and elective franchises, its separate government, its perfect independence of the Russian administration, and in short its entire nationality, with free national institutions under the Emperor of Russia, who was called in Poland by the title of King, and obliged to be crowned at Warsaw as well as Moscow. To those who are the least conversant with the recent history of Poland, it is needless to say that all the rights and privileges thus guranteed by the Constitutional Charter were flagrantly and shamelessly violated. The Imperial savage— sent us Commander-in-Chief to Poland during the life-time of his brother Alexander, and kept in Poland after his brother's death because un worthy to reign in Russia—treated the Poles as he would have done the most barbarous tribe in his brother's dominions. In such circum stances their continued submission would have been baseness, and their resistance was a virtue. They rose on the 29th of November, 1830; overpoivered the Russian regiments in garrison at Warsaw, chased the Grand Duke Constan- tine out of the kingdom, and declared their de termination to obtain a renewal of their Charter from their Sovereign, or to shake off altogether his yoke. No terms but those of unconditional submission would be listened to by the auto crat, and accordingly both parties prepared for the unequal conflict. During the short war which ensued, the Poles addressed themselves to all the free Governments and all the gene rous hearts of Europe. They every where met with sympathy in their hardships—admiration for their courage and prayers for their success, but with no active assistance or support. The Governments of France and England strongly interceded in their favour—though they refused to join in a war for their protection—and obtained from the Court of Russia, during the whole progress of the contest, the most solemn assurances, that however it might end, the faith of treaties would be maintained, and the nationality of Poland respected. Thus stood the Polish question at the fall of Warsaw on the Sth of September last. The Emperor's brother, the Grana Duke Michael, and the Commander in-Chief of the Russian forces, offered, imme diately before that event, to sign a capitulation which included not only an amnesty for all the inhabitants of the kiegdom of Poland, but forthe insurgents in the Polish provinces incorporated with Russia, who had joined the Poles in their revolt. And the Emperor of Russia himself declared to the French Ambassador at St. Peters burgh, that whatever should be the issue of the contest, he would maintain the former privileges and rights of Poland. The late ukase, therefore, for annihilating the kingdom of Poland, for in corporating its provinces with the Russian em pire, and for changing entirely the conditions on which it was transferred to the Russian Crown, is not only a direct violation of old treaties, but a breach of recent engagements,—not only an example of perfidy, but a proof of insult. If the Czar, relying upon a numerous army of dis cipline barbarians, is thus allowed to trample with impunity upon promises and conventions when they oppose his ambition,—if he can declare one thing to a foreign ambassador, and write in an opposite sense to the commander of his forces, —what security have the southern Powers of Europe for one half-year's tranquillity ? Without expressing any opinion of our own on the course of policy which ought to be pursued by this country and France in our present extraordinary relations to Russia, we shall content ourselves with a quotation from the pamphlet before us on the dangers of Russian ambition, if her late insults and encroachments are not resented or repelled : " But will France and England—will Austria, Sweden, and Prussia , --subtnit to to gross an insult? They must themselves give up all pretensions to honour and good faith, if they do not insist upon the strict observance of ratified engagements; and by their dma) may be tat.accusedjtaegevueiensceonfeepatrhteiy cipating in the crime, it encourge the robber, thougl, they do not share in his plunder. " In the French King's speech, 1830, be declared that the nationality of Poland should not be violated,—a senti ment re-echoed by the Chamber of Deputies, and since confirmed by i%J. Perier. If France, forgetting the de clared opposition of Russia to her recent changes, now meanly retracts these declarations, her character will be lost beyond the power of reemption. " Neither can Austria avoid taking her share in the disgrace, and still less in the dangers w hich threaten her. The ambitious proji cts of the Czar are no longer so pro blematical, or his power to promote them so doubtful, that Metternich need wait another overt act of Muscovi!e ag gression. The very genius of the Russian empire is a spirit of conquest ; and her military organization and well-known colonies for recruits, are alone sufficient to inspire a distrust and dread of her deigns. It is now above a century since the vast plans of conquest, in part conceived by Peter and the Empress Elizabeth, and afterwards matured by Catherine, have been steadily and invariably put sued. First, the Swedish provinces, necessary to their early dc velopement, were subdued, then the Tartar Princes it, the south and west were reduced to submission ; the decayed (ondition of the Persian and Ottoman monarchies next offered a tempting prey, and province after province was di.severed, with scarcely a note from Europe in thei heloilf. Then the distractions and conspiracies of Pulan were commenced, until that kingdom finally fell withi her grasp. " Engaged with this recent acquisition, Russia may now, perhaps, pause in her curer, hut hhe will soon agai? resume her suspended projects, and Austria next must be the sacrifice. " Towards her, the same Machiavelian policy will be pursued as heretofore to unhappy Poland. " Vague and general hints may be dropped of the natural and paternal interest felt by the Emperor for all her Polish subjects ; and then some indefinable right of protection, or at least of intercession, will be claimed for them. Plots will be farmed, or casual disturbances fo mented—the paid agents of the Czar will openly invoke his assistance; and with some such plausible excuse for in terference, a demonstration of force will be made, and Ga licia annexed to Muscovy. But let not Austria imagine that the most costly sacrifice can ever deprecate this evil deity: when was the lust of conquest satiated with indul, Puce ? Hungary and Bohemia may next become stages upon which ►he same drama shall be repeated ; the Tyro less will he urged to arm for their independence ; until, finally, the empire of Austria is reduced to the Archducy, itself to be swallowed in its turn. Prussia, now his near ally, and the ready instrument of every ambitious scheme, must eventually share the same f.te ; while Saxony, and all the minor states of Germany, will scarcely he dignified with a separate ukase of extinction. For Sweden, what hope can remain, confronted as she is now is by the whole coast of Finland, and her capital , almost commanded by the guns of Aland; besides having a claimant to her crown, closely connected with the Imperial Court ?" Times. Those who tell us every day that a re-action has taken place in the public mind never tell us that a re-action has taken place in the public press ; and the reason of tins is plain—because the Press is a tangible thing, to which we can at once appeal in case of dispute ; but the mind is one of those generalities which, in their nature, resist that description of evidence by which alone certain moralists will submit to be concluded. But the Press has something, nay much, to do with the mind of a country, and may be fairly appealed to as one of the indications from which an opinion may be formed as to the general tone and sentiment of the people upon any given subject. The Press then, as we take it, is against the assumption of a re-action having taken place—it is against the assumption that the people are indifferent. Putting those papers which advocate Reform out of the question, how is it, let us ask, that those which oppose Reform never allow a day to pass without favouring us with some article on the subject ? Surely, if a re-action has taken place, and the people have become indifferent, nothing can be more im politic in those conservative Journals, than to keep up a discussion on a topic, of which, according to their account, every one is sick and weary. Why are they so anxious about what, as they affirm, the rest of the world cares nothing ? Willingly enough would their patrons, the boroughmongers, sink the question of Reform in eternal oblivion if they could : but they know well enough that it is not in their power to extinguish it ; and there fore they apply themselves with unabating zeal to combat it in every shape, and with every sort of weapon. The meeting at Edinburgh, the meet ing at Glasgow, at Manchester, at Birmingham, and the other great towns, may afford no test or symptom of what engages the public mind to satisfy our Contemporaries of the Anti-Reform school that an interest is felt in favour of Re form ; but what will they do with the evidence which their own conduct bears to the same fact ? They find that no other subject will go down, and yet they would have us believe that the public are already nauseated with the very draught which they themselves are amongst the foremost to supply. Truly there is not much affinity between the conduct and the statements of these politicians. Matters appear to be in train, however, for setting them right as to public opinion, of which they seem to know so much already. Perhaps, when petitions shall have poured in from every quarter, they will allow that some portion of the interest for which the Reformers have taken credit has actually survived the indifference which nobody could discover but the Tories, who wished for it.— Morning Herald. The country papers present us every day with fresh accounts of Reform meetings. The Glas gow Evening Post of Saturday last contains an account of two—one at Kelbernie on Saturday week, and the other at Paisley, on Saturday last. At all these meetings great indignation is expressed at the vexatious delay which has taken place in the progress of the Reform Bill. The Renfrewshire Political Union, which met at Paisley, and at which were present a number of gentlemen possessed of wealth and consideration, as Mr. Maxwell, Mr. Speirs, of Elderslie ; Mr. Maxwell, younger, of Pollock ; Mr. Bonbure, Mr. Orr, of Ralston ; Mr. Dundas Speirs, of Gladston ; Mr. Speirs, of Killallon, &e. &e., passed several stroll°. resolutions. One of the resolutions is, " that a petition should- be pre sented to the House of Peers, praying them to pass the Bill without mutilation, and rather to reject it altogether than raise the rate of qualifi cation, or curtail any of the essential provisions regarding the disfranchisement of burghs." A discussion took place as to whether -a County Meeting should be called. Mr. Speirs, of El derslie, who filled the chair, in the unavoidable absence of Sir John Maxwell, said, " The only objection to a meeting was the congregating of large bodies of the people, whilst this dreadful disease was raging among them." Another speaker, Mr. Simpson, " highly approved of the .plan of getting up a petition without a County Meeting at this time, for the humane reasons stated by the speakers who preceded him, and thought that by such a course a petition might be got up which the mail would not be able to carry." The speakers were nearly one and all indignant at the proceedings in the House of Peers. " The House of Lords (said Mr. Speirs, of Elderslie) lead disgraced themselves by their conduct on the question of Reform ; and, should they continue their opposition, the country could have recourse to what there was prece dent for.—(Applause.) The cause of Reform, be admit ted, was in a most critical state; but if the Reformers kept within the law, there was no fear of their success. He defied any Government to conduct its affairs without granting reform. Intleed, the country was going to de struction between bankruptcy amongst the merchants, starvation amongst the working classes, and disease amongst all. He bad no hesitation in saying, the cholera arose principally from want, and, in this opinion, he was backed out by the highest authorities." Another speaker, Mr. Henderson, " Considered that although the cause of Reform was far niter advanced than ever, it was never in a more critical state ; and that the Reformers should exert themselves more than ev e r t o secure i ts tr i umph, and cons i der no sa crifice too great for that purpose. He disapproved of the course pursued by Ministers in the unprecedented delay that had attended their proceedings with the Reform Bill, while the agitation of the question was brin g ing down the people in business in hundreds, and seducing the working classes to starvation by thousands." This is not the language o f men who h ave an interest in confusion —who have nothing to ap prehend from a scramble. The speakers are men who may be said to have a large stake in the country. They are anxious to protect their property from the spoliation of the spawn of a rapacious oligarchy, for whose benefit the Go vernment of this country has hitherto been cpr• tied on. They are out of patience on account of the calamity which the delay in settling the Reform Bill has caused throughout their neigh bourhood. A circumstance was stated to this meeting by Mr. Simpson, which places in a strong light the absurdity of the objection to the lowness of the 10/. qualification. "In Paisley," he said, " even by the 101. qualification, there would be less than 1000 voters---(Hear)— by raising it. to 151. there would not be more than 400 ; and if raised to 20/., he had counted them even that morning, and he could assure the meeting there would not be more than 150 voters—(Hear) — and what a snug rotten borough !" Now this town, which, if the qualification, was raised to 20/., would not have more than 150 voters, has a popu lation of 58,000. If we are to have an uniform qualification, 15/. would, in most parts of the country, have few voters ; and even in first-rate towns, excluding the metropolis, the voters would he thereby reduced one-third. If the qualification were to be raised in the metropolis, and left at 10/. everywhere else, the object of the Anti-Reformers would not be answered, because rents are proportionably so much higher in the metropolis than throughout the country, that a 15/. qualification as the lowest would take hut few from the number of voters. If, on the other hand, the qualification is not to be unfair, then it will be necessary to institute inquiries from time to time into the state of the boroughs. In this manufacturing country, places spring up to importance in a few years, while others, once im portant, fall into decay. The wisest course, upon the whole, will be to adhere to the qualification in the Bill. We say upon the whole, because in Paisley 10/. is evidently too high, for there ought to be more than 1,000 votes for 60,000 souls. We cannot commend too strongly the spirit and determination hitherto displayed by the Northern Reformers. At whatever incon venience, their example must be followed, be , cause we are satisfied that the Opposition will lay hold of the slightest pretext for muti lating the Bill. They cannot push too far their favourite doctrine, that the people mistake their own interests, and must, therefore, be saved in spite of themselves ; for the claim to infallibility of two or three hundred individuals, in less favourable circumstances for acquiring knowledge than almost any equal number of men in the empire, is of too insolent a description to he thrown too often in the teeth of the people. What a nation wills it must obtain. The people, therefore, must be the architects of their own fortune ; and their conduct must determine that of the Peers. The moment the Peers venture to assert the principle that the opinions of any set of men ought to outweigh the opinion of the nation, they destroy the foundation on which alone a privileged code can repose with security. We have, before closing these observations, a word or two to exchange with our contemporary, the Standard. We yesterday observed, that if the Reform Bill secured to the people the benefit of good government, there was no reason for apprehending that it would not satisfy them, and that if it failed to secure that benefit to the people, there could be as little reason for wishing that they should be satisfied with it. Our con temporary exclaims— _ _ " Here the people being ' actor et judex,' judge and party, is to decide how much is their right, and when we remember who they are that in this matter call themselves the people, we can be at no loss to guess the extent of their demands. They are not the kind of persons that will take a part of what they consider their right, if they have the power to take the whole. The whole they will be able to take if they plant their feet once upon the Bill. So that, up to that point, change must be expected, and the real question is, can the Legislature confide in the moderation of this party-judge?" But we anticipated this objection by the re mark, that in old countries, the difficulty of ob taining subsistence, and the means of indulging those wants, which custom has rendered neces sary to comfortable existence, will always be a sufficient security against unnecessary agitation. Our contemporary meets this by a quibble, and by statements which make against him rather than for him. " All countries (he says) are, as countries of equal age, and when we talk of new and old countries, we of course mean new and old systems of government and manners ; but the Bill will give us both new—and it will in a par ticular manner confer upon us that amount of idleness which The Morning Chronicle admits to be the element of change, but which we deny to be an essential element. The Italian Republics and the Republic of Holland were all hives of industrious citizens, and yet they were con stantly the prey of factions and the victims of changes. Old Governments they certainly were not, for democracy is never long-lived; but, in every other sense in which countries can he called old, old they were. We do not allude to France, because we have not room to allude fully, and we will not be guilty of the discourtesy of meeting the Morning Chronicle's observations upon the analogy of France, by an unsupported contradiction." . . What we meant by old countries was suffi ciently obvious. We meant countries densely inhabited, by way of distinction from countries like America, newly settled by civilized men, in which abundance of fertile land is to be had on easy terms. In England the soil has long been occupied, and the demand for its produce by a numerous population is such, that no man can hope to obtain a comfortable subsistence who does not toil hard for it either in mind or body, or who does not possess from former savings the means of commanding it. In such a country, a man never for a moment is allowed to forget that by diligence alone in his calling can he hope to escape destitution. Such is the competition in every branch ofindustry, that it is with difficulty a man can establish himself in the world ; and if he fail in one trade he can hardly hope to succeed in another. In a new country like America, on the other hand, it seldom occurs to any man that he can be in want of subsistence. Hence, in the course of not many years, the same man will be farmer, merchant, lawyer, physician, land-jobber, and the Lord knows what besides. The Americans, therefore, have necessarily more leisure for politics than Englishmen can ever have, and to them, the constant meetings for one pur pose or another, may be only a pleasunt excite ment. The people of America can therefore occupy themselves, without injury, with a number of political experiments, for which we can have no leisure in this country. And as we observed, the dissatisfaction caused by the necessity for meeting so often to satisfy stupid and impudent Lords that there is no reaction in public opinion, affords a proof that the people are not inclined in this country to occupy themselves with public affairs more than is necessary. But what an instance—the Italian Republics, and the Republic of Holland! In the first place, Hol land was not a democracy, and few of the Italian Republics were democracies. Switzerland, too, is a confederation of republics, but few of them are democracies. If we consult history, we shall find that all Governments are constantly chang ing either from external or internal causes. The Italian Republics did not undergo more changes than the neighbouring principalities, and they were the only spots where life and property were tolerably secure. Even yet a place, which has once been a republic, can be distinguished from the rest dale state to which it belongs from its great prospe rity. As to the United Provinces, they had their share of factionB and changes, though not more than ourselves ; but in no part of Europe has there been so much order and tranquillity as the United Provinces since their separation fronj Spain. The tranquillity of Switzerland is pro. verbial. These are the countries in which men ) who are forced to leave their own, settle, in pre, ference—in spite of the disadvantages of climate, from the peace and security to be always found in them. This is one fortunate particular which distinguishes us, and to which we alluded yes terday—we are secure from the interference of strangers, and a standing army of any magnitude is not required here for defence against foreign aggression. The Dutch, unfortunately for them, were neighbours to a powerful and unprincipled Monarch, whose aggressions led to the destruc tion of the De Witts, and the ascendency of the Prince of Orange. At a subsequent period, the King of Prussia, stimulated by England, entered Holland with a large army, to enable the Prince of Orange to set himself above the laws. Swit zerland was overrun by a powerful neighbour. The League of Cambray deprived Venice of her ascendency. The wars of religion in Ger many deprived several free towns of their in dependence. Let us hope that more enlightened views will be prevalent hereafter in Europe, and_ that Governments will be less exposed to change from external causes. But be this as it may, it would require a sturdy Anti-Reformer indeed, to maintain that any one of the States alluded to by our contemporary would have been better without than with the liberty it enjoyed. The question for the people of England, however, is not what accidents happened to this or that free State or despotism, but whether they shall re nounce the desire to secure themselves against glaring abuses in their own Government, be cause it is possible that the change which so se cures them may be followed by other changes. They have experienced to their cost that the ab sence of Parliamentary Reform does not secure them against changes—for the Revolution of 1688 led to boroughmongering, and borough. mongering led to ruinous and expensive wars, ruinous and expensive wars led to a heavy na tional debt and a Bank Restriction Act, and the Bank Restriction Act and a return to specie to two revolutions in property, compared to which all the confiscations in modern times are but trifles. They think it tune to guard against future revolutions of this sort. If they have the will they have the power, for all separatebodies derive their power from the nation, and can only retain it with the consent of the nation.—Morning Chronicle. We alluded on Monday to the peaceful, the orderly, the unanimous, the loyal, and the de termined spirit of the great meeting which was held at Edinburgh, for the purpose of express ing the satisfaction of the people of that part of the kingdom at the second reading of the Reform Bill—their confidence in his Majesty's Mint sters, and their ardent hopes that they would neither lose time in carrying the Reform Bill, nor fail in the adoption of any means which the obstinacy of the Anti-Reformers might render necessary for that purpose ; and here perhaps we might safely permit the subject to drop ; but there are still one or two points connected with it which we deem it useful to state, and to which wt., shall, therefore, briefly advert ; and in the first place, let it be observed that a complete and satisfactory answer was given, at the meeting al luded to, to the oft-repeated question of What is to be gained by the passing of the Reform Bill ?" The Tories have no idea that any one can possibly desire the possession of a political franchise, or bestir himself in behalf of any public measure, unless there be great, immediate, or future advantage in view—they Lave always acted in their own persons upon the sordid principle of personal benefit being the sole and only motive of human action—and hence not being able to comprehend how others could think of acting on any other principle, and knowing that purely personal advantages cannot result to any one, except in a very few instances, from the passing of the Reform Bill, they ask in a manner which they deem to be ir resistibly conclusive of the inutility of the mea sure, and the propriety of letting things remain as they are, " What benefit are ye to derive from it ?" The question might be answered in a variety of ways ; but we prefer the reply of the Chairman of the Edinburgh meeting; first, be cause it is appropriate, and secondly, because it met with the decided approbation of a numerous and highly respectable meeting. " I know," said he, "it is frequently asked, what better will a man be by holding this political franchise? I say, if any man expects, by gaining a vote, to p u t one shilli ng in his pocket by it, he is as bad as the worst of those who at present vote for Members of Parliament in Scotland ! It is a trust, a sacred trust, and whether it is held by one or another, every one who holds it ought always to con sider that he holds it for the good of the country. It is not private emolument, it is not private gain, that any man can expect to have by Reform in Parliament. lam sure that there is n , i honest man who has ever attempted to support that delusion. It is the cause of the country— it is the cause of good government—it is to prevent bad government that it is desirable, and th,.t it is necessary that the Parliament of the country should be reformed— faonudl e t r h o e a r l e u in c annyn,o to t b t e h a r o b w a s er out f a a l s g e a h i o n o s d t , R t o h f e o r r e m m e a r o s o t t h be an to a say that they had ever said that any other advantage was to be derived from Reform but the benefit and the advan • tage of the whole empire." Yes ! it is the cause of the country, with cause which of the good Tories government, have no which sym pa t I L )? hateful f i tl to s' the them—it is to prevent a continuance of a bad and extravagant Government, in which they de light—it is to procure a reduction of the taxa tion and a mitigation of the public burdens which they have entailed upon us—it is to im prove the trade and manufactures of the country, which they have nearly ruined, and to ameliorate the condition of the working classes, whose affections they have alienated, and for whose misery they care not—it is for these great and public reasons that a Reform in the representa tion of the country is desired and desirable—that it is prayed for and demanded—that it is sought after, and will be enforced—and not for any of those base, mean, and co • irupt reasons, which have been the only grounds of action with our enemies during the last half century, and the only motives with which they are familiar. It will be observed, secondly, that at the Edin burgh meeting there was no idle prating —no paltering in a double sense about the principles of the Bill. The measure was received as a whole, as a good and wise measure, and its clauses commented on, not as matters which might be altered without injury to the principles of the • I—(language, by the by, which we do not well understand), but as con stituting of it—as being the eery the very e ssence very things on which not only the identity of th e Bill, but its utility as a great moral engine, de pended. Thi s point was particularly adverted to by Sir J. G. Craig in the courbe of his speech, and we now bring it forward, in order that nei ther the friends nor the opponents of the mea sure may be alarmed on the one hand, or de luded on the other, by false assertions and mis representations. The clauses of the Bill con stitute the Bill itself ; and must be passed entire and unmutilated. Such was the feeling o: the meeting —such also is th e f ee li ng o f t h e - country —and such we hope and trust is the determina tion of the Government. Let it be observed also, that, though the meeting was composed of our northern brethren, it was a truly English meet ing t o all intents and purposes. ,It was held to celebrate the second reading of the English, not of the Scottish, Reform Bill ; and not only 'did not exhibit any jealousy of, or betray any opposition to, those parts of th e f or mer which may be considered as exclusively advantageous to this part of the kingdom, but seemed to be actuated by no other mo- Live but that of aiding us in carrying our Bill entire and unmutilated. And is not this unanimity? Lastly, the meeting, which passed such eloquent resolutions, at which so many eloquent speeches were made, which was so numerous, so peaceful, so orderly, so enthusiastically unanimous, on the . subject of the Reform Bill, was headed not only by men of talent and education, but addressed and appealed to by the heads of some . oft!.e m ost ancient families in Scotland. This fact, we know, is gall arid wormwood to that miserable faction which endeavours to represent the Anti Reformers as the only persons of rank, property, and education in the country, and the Reformers as destitute of every requisite to respectable treatment ; but it is nevertheless a fact ;. and if they will bring forward but one of even a similar nature in proof either of the re-action which they allege to have taken place in the public mind respecting Reform, or in proof of any con siderable portion of the public being opposed to Reform, we will at once forgive them their inju rious aspersions, and speak of them, not as a faction of state patipers inimical to their country, but as a respectable minority whose misappre hensions require to be corrected, and with whose errors we ought to sympathize.—Morning Ad vertiser. LAUNCH OF THE VERNON. The inhabitants of Woolwich passed last week in the expectation that the May-day of this year would have been distinguished in their anna's by the visit of his Ma jesty to their town to witness the launch of the largest frigate which has ever yet been built in the British navy. They have, however, been disappointed in their expecta tions, for his Majesty did not honour them with hi' presence; and his absence, combined with the badness of the weather, rendered the ceremony of launching the Ver non less imposing than it would otherwise have been. The incessant ram which poured down from ten o'clock in the morning till three in the afternoon, prevented numbers from attending, who had taken places to witness the spectacle; and though the different vessels in the river were decked out in all their finery of flags and streamers, the absence of youth and beauty, and the presence of dank and dripping umbrellas, gave a sombre appearance to the scene. Among the company present, we observed the First Lord of the Admiralty Sir J. Graham, Sir T. Hardy, Sir B• Keats, Sir F. Collier, and several other officers of distin guished merit. Lord Adolphus Fozclarence was also pre sent in the Admiralty yacht. As a quarter before two o'clock the signal was given that all was ready f or the launch, and in a few minutes afterwards this fine vessel, which bears the proud motto " Vernon semper viret," slipped from the stocks, and descended, amid the firing of cannon and the huzzas of the spectators, into that element which hears not on its surface a nobler specimen of naval architecture. In consequence of the wind and ride both setting rapidly in the same direction, she was swung against the Lancaster sheer-hulk, and, in the collision , carried away her main channel, and tore her timbers slightly. She was then taken in tow by the Comet steamer , and hauled into the dock. To give our naval readers some idea of the force and power of this frigate, which is built upon a new principle , under the direction of Captain Symons, we subjoin the fol lowing statement of her dimensions ft. in. Spar deck lBB 0 Main deck lB3 0 Lower deck. 176 0 Height between decks 7 0 Height between perpendiculars 176 0 Keel for tonnage 144 fili Extra breadth 52 B}i Moulded 5l 4% Depth of hold l7 1 Measured tonnage 2,082 15-94 She is to mount 50 thirty-two pounders. W e under' stand that she is already commissioned, and placed untie! the command of Sir F. Collier ; and that, as soon as she ° rigged and man ne d, s h e w ill b e sent out upon a coll.!, ' with the experimental s qua d ron , un d er t h e comman d Sir R Malcolm. To the great mortification of the spectators, who We re ,, nearly all wet through, th e wea th er , as soon as ' t h e was over, c'eand up, and during the rest of the aftero o " was warm and cheering. There is a small frigate launched today. His MajestY will inspect them both on Friday, when he visits the deck-yards. He is expected to arrive there at twell o'clock. After his inspe c ti on o f th e arsena l h e i s to 0° to Greenwich, and to honour the pensioners with a BACK WOODS or AMERICA.—A CON' VERSATION.-" What is the land?" " Bogs."—" rjr , atmosphere?" " Fogs."-- ,, What did you live 0";,, " Hogs."--" What were your drau g ht animals,',o " Dogs."--" What did you bulild y o u r houses " Logs."—" Any fish in the ponds?" " Frogc.r a " What did you find the wom en ?" " map did you travel by?" " The Trinity House is about to erect ti light-houses at Burnham, instead of the one at pall there ; one to be built on the Strand, the other ID , t t Warren ; the first is to be a revolving light, the 0 "', perpetual; they are to be placed in a direction with w e tail of the Gore Sands. The lights are to reflect in °. °,, stream on the water. Mr. NELSON iA to b e th e a rchite , ; Burnham has become a gay watering-place.— Taunt ° Courier. ' INGENIOUS FRAUD.---A young man, oree d ingly well dressed, and having the manners of 'a gentl e' t I h a de passenger , i a , amount to know n n 0, 0 1f, w ph i a f asv t s h ian e gg y e m ha n e e man, has been practising successfully a novel mode of °'" to taming money. He has, within the last week, applie d , t o several Captains of vessels bound to American ports sou., re!l i i with a pledge that be will return to inform the Cipta'P ot money ascertainedavcceorym minutely, the accommodation eiol fact,yn , for ha enn inquiry 0,1 he will proceeded in the ship. Soon afterwards the M oo returns with a check signed Thomas NAY LER ' st o Messrs. Jonas, LOYD, and Co. the bankers, from 151. to 201. above the passage-money, . g t e i Captain to pay him the balance This plan has succe ti in several instances, the Captains being put off their gu!,, c s a a p n t g ain fr h o a i d d, on sa ly id 2o , l :4s h, pied 1 by the hard bargain usually driven by the swindler for ; I, `" passage money. On presenting the checks at Jo ,!it the LOYD, and Co.'s they declared they knew nothing or lie . t ut o lTn n t t et he voyage." cabin, and three other applicants !appeared for it. „ It ., gt nm m e iai a n..n n i t og3ilpyr Thisproceed cmNe ee i _n d: d yot i Lo v ur i r d i u p. ra a olde l i ornu a ett g s tsu r aeo e f e i d oiirt s a v i,tiv i ahi t nae h sgi a ss: thehil. Captain a e , inodn lwe'llaabsu t ilet h i b rultimately i o vra a gt r et s hhe i .1 P a ! , i n b:; ; ;. 0: 1 l i e vessel was on the NAYLER agreed to go for 1001. He came soon after v i . l b o w hen' s o a sfh c at h ri tn e p g eer u t e t ow fo si r teht l tlt 2 eh t3 e / i requesun ei coat with black velvet collar, and light given, and the Captain lost his 20/. as well as his 1 1 , 1 , i 10. wTahiestdc:itunentss:o; AT ;.A PRINTED AND PUBLI SIIED BY MURDO Y OUN Q, 7.10 SUN OFFICE, 112, STRAND, LONDON. EI On the 30th ult. Mrs. Walter RTIIS. Buchanan, of Upper wobao place, of a daught er . • •10 O f ICI IO On the afth ult the lady of Captain Worthington, „ e r, holm House, near Bath,' was delivered of a [laugh, to Worthington's father, G. W. Counsel, Esq., has thus Igr, gr% six generations in a direct line in his own family. great-grandfather, who died in this city in 1762, lived reigns of eight Sovereigns.—Bath Journal. MARRIED. On the 30th ult. at St. James's Church, Mr. Charles Sara * is Miss Ann Lloyd. On the 28th ult. the Rev. N. 11. Astley. to d A o n a r rot, Buxton, of York-place, Poi traan-sqltarp,. and ma 0 ( . 1;0 0 youngest daughter of the late Col. Patrick Hay. On the Ist inst. at Trinity Church, Richard W., bre 01 Thomas Lack, Esq., of Dorset - sq uare, t o Louisa, da u g R. T. Blunt, Esq., o f DorSet.plaCe DIED. ard' On the 27th ult. Vire° Emma, youngest daught er o f J o hn ._, • ' ( Or Esq., of Broseley, Shropshire. 0. On the .9th ult. at the house of James Gillman, 41 , gate,Miss Lucy Harding. 0107, O the 23d tilt, at Leamington, Warwickshire, Sarah, wife of Sir Peter Payne, Bart. M.P., of Knus w- N or th a mptonshire, •"•" 71 ' On the .Ist ult., after a few days' illness, Thomas of Browshohne, in the county of York.