The Express.
London, England, 1852-08-04 00:00:00

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Tor D.r—mernlag. 4 4.. 3344.0
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LONDON, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 4.

Tuw seems to bit among us an unuttered im-
Envision that we are playing with the subject ot par-
ismentary tunitnalies as a eat with a mouse. Every-
body talks as it' something must be done in the way
of parliamentary reform; and we spend a good deal
of time in pretending to do something, but nothing
gets done. Now, Mr. Locax KING is amazed at
Boding himself in a majoritiozi this well-worn
question; and now, again, Joux RussitLt.
finds himself driven by that majority to pm-'
pose a new Reform Bill, which turns out, as
most people expected, good for little or nothing.
Them coasts • strange interlude, and • dissolution, and
a new election, without any gain, as yet, to the
unrepresented. The unrepresented do not like this;
and it would be strange if they did. Nobody
can like such dallying with • matter of
transcendent importance. The represented are
growing weary ut it, ea& the unrepresented are
growing impatient. The electors are, by their
weariness and apathy, giving some cause for doubt
whether they now consider the subject so import-
ant es they once did; and, u for the non-eleetors,
some of them are thinking such thoughts as it
might be well to extinguish before that continental
outbreak happens which everybody supposes is to
happen err lung. In the absence of all clear
notion, on any hand, as to what is, or ought
to be done, there is something impressive, and, we
must think, cheering, in looking back to a former
time when men had lost themselves in the same

track, and were going sounding about in a fog, not
knowing which way to turn,—much as at present,
but, as it appears to us, at infinite disadvantage in
comparison with ounelves.
Nearly three-quarters of a century ago, when
WILLIAM Pt= was an ardent, sanguine, and gene-
rous minded 3 wing man,—a youth on whom splendid
promise the eyes of Europe were fixed, be was struck
by the rank injustice of the existing distribution of
the suffrage. He stood up in parliament and ex-
posed it, telliug how he hoped to make our constitu-
tional system somewhat more like what it profaned
to be, by transferring to London the franchise
of decayed boroughs, and to populous coun-
ties that of dwindling constituencies. It did
not appear that any formidable outcry was occa-
sioned by Mr. Pen's scheme of Parliamentary Re-
form. Few could possibly have seen the real bearing.
of it. Its author certainly did not. He was,
fact, working in the dark, as to all but the justice of
the principle on which he was proceeding. There
was no census in those days, nor for nearly. twenty
years afterwards. There wee nobody living then
who could have told how many people England con-
tained, nor what proportion the agricultural class
bore to the manufacturing; and no philosophy of
history had yet arisen to enlighten the statesman
about the relation of the toque to the country, and ,
or land to commerce. WILLIAM PT!r thought
simply that men of ro
.pperty should be re-
presented in proportion to their amount,
wherever they might happen to be found, and
it does not appear that this extremely liberal doctrine
mused much alarm ae cdruce at the time. Bat,
. before the thing could be done—or pat into any
odor for being done—die youag statesman dis-
covered bow little be bad known of whet be was
about. The French revolution broke out; • sad the
Minister who had eloquently pleaded for hie wan-
trymen basins a much in right of speech in
parliament, violently snatched from them the right
el free speech everywhere. Batch dergymen were
condemned to transportation, ie all its 'Ammer for
free speech; and attempts were made to being edu-
cated FAiglishmen to the gibbet for eonstraotive
treason. The Habeas Corpus singeoded; there
wee an Alien Bill which shockedthe hospitable in-
stincts of the English people; and in 171111 Mr. PITT
brought in a Seditious Meetings Bill, which was so
fitment that Mr. Fox and the leaders of
• sides walked out of the
from the Hoses of Commoush.iratlim.;timo Anson'
at each an outrage as the liberties el Noglisk-
men as the pow, of that bill. Then• mom gm.
etoppage of the Bank, the mutiny at the Nom, tbs.
Irish rebellion, and the march of NAPOLWOW OM'
Europe, laying low every obstacle, till all seemed
last. What hope could the unrepresented of Eng-
land have in those days P They had been invoined
a large extension of the fran ise. What seemed
their chance of it now P The Etrio's notice of an
Englishman's lot wee wind es all his other ideas—
that he should teach his half-dosen childreo to say
" God bless the King," should read his Bible, pay his
taxes, and be thankfuL The heir hated the world
is general, and cared foe nobody; had pat sway his
wife, was deep in debt, and, lafitttice, simply
strove to insult the Etna, hie , and harass
the ministry. Thera dame a swiss GIP deli-
slat harvests, carrying up the price of wheat
to 116 e. lid. per quertet the poor rate,
fora population now known to have beep about
▪ Millions in England and Wales, bad. risen to
4,000,0001., and wee on the iserease. The . farmers
were merry enough (for a little while), d drove
about in their gigs, and followed the bonsai,. • g
end laughing at the idektlistiadthes fieneeliklk by if
philasAer cc two, of ri onsetbis; baler good
the land, to improve its *• y. It wire. an old
mcskish notion,—this of weeteg the givulnd ; add
now, Sir H. DAVT proposed to the homers the Ote
of boa, manure. But the futon did DOwent tp
be taught their own liminess by Gooiest
modern philmapirezu.ana. they laughed. aria
they would let well,.{ and were quite Millet
with wheat at like.' 1 per quarter. 71irliillr
UsAxox was their emit preetisidar Xing; tballroßte
of Leeds was their repeessakitios. together Olt/ Me
stater part of the Horsed Commas. . •' •
Now, what was the bops—what the ebasoe—of
tie uorep ueated truism= and creative it Illght
• P The war had imealred up emmene; and be.
bad no means of comphibi diet iia esonpatios was
stopped. He was d by Ibe tax collector,
.threatened with an ineemil d poprti-tax, worried
by the Excise in his Wiese% teal* to get in his
debts, dreading the sight of butchers' and bakers
bills, and he had no mews of complaint; while the
firmer', who were tends, their king and their
country within his hearing, were represented in all
the three branches of the constitution. He saw his
• sea trying to make potato bread, to save dour, and
baying shellfish, to save meat ; he heard her tell the
children that they mast eat their bread dry, and saw
her sitting up till past midnight to mend their old
aludies ; be took them one by one from school, in
bitterness of heart. Ia bittern., of heart, he mid.
as loud as he dared, that it was the misgovernment
of the country that made citizens like him as mise-
rable as they were; but what hope was there that
he should ever say so by his representative in Par-
liament, es a tax-paying and intelligent citizen
should?
Yet his day came. After more bad ministers,
more se..sons of hardship, more desultory efforts,
more 'Amines prospects, mom alternations of hope
and fear, the thing was done—the rotten-borough
epees fell into dust, under the breath of the popular
will, like the corpse of the ancient crowned king,
in the Etruscan sepulchre, when the first whiff of
free air is let in. The monumental Old Sarum ie
tins gone to dust, amidst the 'ileac@ of its want
constituency ; whilst in Birmingham, Mancheeter,end
other homes rf the tradesman and artisan, the air is
busy with the stir of political life, and cheerful with
the earnestness of men choosing their representa-
tives. Such things having been done in our own
time, what must that man be who is either hopeless
or indigen et about what remains to be done?
Where is the difficulty? Where but in indifference,
or in want of agreement as to what shall be du•
mended tint ?
Here we are, at peace with Europe end America—
with s popular sovereign, who had rather hear from
her people what they need, than dictate to them
what shall satisfy them—with a ministry which, in
fact, whatever may be its name, profession, and ma-
terials, is always dependent on the national confi-
dence—with a diminishing taxation and increasing

• .•
llama comastent, and pittent)—with every anions
obstacle overthrown, and nothing waited for but the
popular tlat--why on earth shoal any man be dis-
couraged, apathetic, or angry?
If any man, elector or non•elector, sees or feels
'anything of the old wieners aCtotunidation, let him
think of his oppressed ancestor of half a century.sgo,a
and move confidently to obtain gm ballot. If any
meet, elector or noa-elector, sees the popular cause
Owed by the bribery of the corrupt, let him in like
manner bestir himself to obtain the ballot. If, any
sou-elector wants tospcsk, and feels himself worthy
to speck, through a representative in parliament,
let hint think of the roaring son-electors of Prrt's
days, and moire, in hie easier circumstances, to
achieve their success. If there appear to men now
the gnaw reasonableness in the demand for improved

desioral districts as formerly for the representation
wria the piste of Old Sarum, why not
ask oho /B.IP Patience and perseverance will
AIM It.
emanative opposents are sufficiently weliread
is blistery to know all this. They know it so, well
elm, when any serious move is made, they sincerely
cry oat that revolution is impending. They know it
so well, that they arc justified in concluding, in the
absence of serious a,41 combined effort, that we do
not care for further parliamentary reform. We
ourselves can only say the mine if we go on
talking and floundering about in aimless effort,
while everything may be bad on the one condition
of our agreeing what we shall ask. If a no&
cient number of as cannot agree, we must wailb••
of course, till our turn comes; bat let as be .are of
the fact. If we do not think the obit worth our
most stresuoss pains, let as have tb. ObTassto
leave off talking about it; for there is seal
time to spare from real business. Let us ge on in
this p.th, or choose some other, and not ge wander-
ing about in the fog, till some tremendous 'anti-
nental storm arises to threaten our liberties, as if
NAPOLEON had 00L68 to life. We have no Par or
GEORGE 111. to fear ; but there may be other feivassi
national misfortune; and if we really wish to provide
ourselves with the consummate safeguard of a truly
national representation in the national council, the',
sooner we open our eyes to the facility of the timed,
and make use of it, the better for ourselves and for
our children.

THE mErrrNo OF PARLIAMENT.
(Tram tile our bran.)
Why is parliament not to meet on the 20th of
August, as summoned by the Queen's proclamation P
—is a question very generally asked, but to which
no good answer has been given. The Derby
administration, from its very beginning, and
through the whole of its extraordinary career, has
not affected to be governed by those rules, moral or
constitutional, by which public men and public con-
duct have been heretofore regulated; but surely this
habit of aberration from the ordinary course of
things and men should not be permitted to operate for
the postponement of the meeting of parliament, for
some two months to come. The new parliament has
been elected for the declared purpose of ascertaining
whether the Derby-Disraeli administration could ob-
tam such a measure of public support as to warrant
it assuming. the reins of real ministerial power,
sad attempting to carry on the government of the
country on its own principles, and upon its own
ty. Hitherto, it been • government of
alone, and whether it should become the
actual and ruling goverment, was the question;
WE the decision of which it was to be permitted
to wield ostensibly the administrative functions
of the state, without that real power sod responsibility
required by the principles of the Coostitutioci. In
fact, for the last few months we have had, and still
have, Do actual government in the country. This
may have been justifiable as of necessity under the
circumstances in which we were placed,but it is • state
of. things that, upon every prudential and emirate-
Semi consideration, ought not to continue a moment
longe. than the existence of that necessity.
The trestles to be determined was, would the
people nod), their approval of Lced Derby's and
Mr. Disraelis affadnistration by returning for them
a House of amsimms, with a solisisot number
cNn et' to slab Omni 'te limy •es the
• P This ass Nit be deddallthat
WWI temserw, mad kr lb de-
claring Emile. As pesple Use at.
Till this dralaration is bray made, no vestal, no
constitutional govemmest eon be said to exist.
Ifilsit..tbewi W the. of of parliament to be
delayed, and what. is the '*it of its poctpooe-
meet"? It would be deemed ungenerous to impute
it to a desire to keep the emolumeits sod
of cline for two months—and vet
clircairetid7tiasighle.object can he. easigned P Both
principle and political precedent are
simian it. Pledged faith sad word—if thesis can be
deemed to have weight with the present pniesesoe•
of aloe—are plainly on the same side.
In the. year 1641, the nation was in somewhat
similar circumstances, and then there was no paltry
shriaking'from the amisestasoces of the rt ; and
if such a desire had bees shown, it was *inly de-
clared that it would not have been submitted to.
But then the party to give ap_plase were the Liberals,
sow it is Lord Duty sad Mr. Dimas& This may
account for the different" of prouder, then and
now. The case was thus. In the session of 1841
Lord J. Bissell's administration was in a minority
in the Howe of Commas, and unable to carry on
his government in the then parliament. It was
Ahsotved on the 93rd of June, and a new
dad • sammented ke the 19th of August. This
wee to decide whether the ministry Pomosid
the confidence of the country, so es to enable them
oisearry oa the government. The deities was had,
en dodges was adverse ; yet Lord John Russell
goalhie party did not pat of the evil hoer of de-
of office, by • dekyisg the appointed
of meeting. Parliament met on the day
' width it was originally sammened-
-11111 • 19th of Angel* a time not more
leskessealeat now than this. It met to receive the
trertliet of the country as appointed. That verdict
was duly recorded in ea immediate change of 'Weis-
try—Sir Robert Peel secosediag to dim. This is
whet the lawyers call • case in point. The question
was, es now, whether a minister in a minority could
by a new election snake himself the minister of a
insdority, or should realm'. Mesta ° esmiw, the same
question bee been lately pet to the country. The
decision has been given, end why should it not be
recorded on the day flied in. the' one case as in the
other
A nearly parallel case occurred in 1834, and the
same coarse was pursued. Lord Melbourne's misis-
try having been dismissed, aitho it had • majority
in the House of Commons, Sir ert Peel was sent
for from Rome, appointed to odor, and appealed to
the country for a noose of Commons willing to
support him. Parliament was dissolved on the 29th
of December, with a summons to meet on the 19th
of February. It did meet accordingly, and the
question of confidence in hie ministry being an-
swered in • manner hostile to Sir Robert Peel, be
was speedily put in a minority, and resigned.
These instances show that, according to constitu-
tional practice, the parliament, that has just been
elected for a similar purpose, ought also to meet on
the day of summons, that the country may no longer
be left virtually without • government, but may
know who are to be its rulers, and that those rulers
may loss no time in preparing the measures which
QM exigencies of the nation may require. Vacation
should be employed in each preparation, whoever
are to be governors; but preparation of measures
mold be idle, until it is decided who I. to be en-
trusted with bringing them forward. If the course
of pomading now ailed to mind was constito
tw as relating to such men as Lord John tltamosseleirl
lad Sir Robert Pcel, surely it is at least as necessary
sa relating to Lord Derb and Mr. Disraeli.
The partisans on each side insist that each kin
Noised the victory et the election. The nation bus •
right to a constitutional declaration of the state et
the poll, and ought to know whether the present m-
oaned ministers are entitled to the possession of the
government by having obtained the confidence sad
aporoliation of the country.
Let us, then, conclude as we began, by asking 1
why is not parliament to meet according to its sum-
mons on the 20th of August, that the people may be
certified who are to be their rulers, and may know
upon what principles their affairs are to be conducted!

'P'4wctf
1:4 .1
ereas—with food cheap, •
gitscaoo2.
I steadily and rapidly i ers lellohip
the manufacturing—wit so Firliameer
reform accomplished, as to render all the rest s
et of popular choice (provided the will be stre. I
• mitt