The Express.
London, England, 1848-04-25 00:00:00

ghe Orpreo.

MAILS.
The mails for Vigo, Oporto, Lisbon, Mader., Ciaix, and Gibraltar
will he mode up on the morning of thr 27th April.
The mails for New South Wales. Van Dienian's Land, and New
Zealand will be made up on the evening of the 30th A priL
The unite for the West Most of Africa and Madeira will be mode
up co the erring of the 30th April.
The Weft India Mails, including Bermuda, New% Ha
Hanauer, New Orleans, Vera Crux, Tampico, and Porto Rico, and
excluding those for Madeira, Jacmel, Carthagene, Smite Martha,
. Chums, Panama, Wed Coast of South America, rd St- Juan-de-
Nicaragua, will be made up on Metering of the 2nd May.
The overland mails for Gibraltar, Mal. Greece, the lonian Wands,
Egypt, Aden, Ceylon, India. !long-Rong, and Chloe, es Sort..►
ton, will be made up on the morn.' of the 3rd May.
The mails for the Braille, the River Plate, Monte Video, Pernam-
buco. Bahia, Madeira, and Buenos Aril, will be made up on ths
racing of the 4th May.
The mails for British North Americo, and the Hefted Oates,
will be mete up ea the evening of the Sth May.
The overland clreied nazi. ma Marseille% to the Mediterranean,
Egypt, Aden, Ceylon, India, HoogMong, he, will be made u,. on the
evening of the ttiD May.

NOTICE TO ADVERTISERS.
The number of STAMPS issued by the authorities of the
Stamp•office, during 1847, to the
DAILY NEWS was 3,447,009
This, we believe, is within eight prr cent, of the number
issued to the Morning Aerator, Morning Chronicle, and
Morning Poet, ALL PVT TOOE7IIIB.
In addition to the above, issued to the DAILY NEWS,
Morning Paper, there were issued for the Evening Edition,
THE EXPRESS 778,714
Which was more, we believe, than were issued either to
the Globe or Standard, Evening Papers.

HIGH WATS& AT WS DON BRIDOI.
T... D..—Maniac AA al. past , A/Wow% 17 W. N•i 6
TA.Aossow—Marsiag. 411 WA. ran , Attar... t Av. AAA, 7

LONDON, TWISDAY, APRIL 2L
THE organs of the London political cloterie are
carping at the move made by the liberal members of
the House of Commons, who met at the Free Trade
Club. This was to be expected. Your literary libe-
ral, your radical of the salons, resembles Clciitto in
this at least, that he " will never follow anything
which other men propose." His character is dwarfed
and his intellect sharpened in equal proportions by
being paled in within the narrow exclusive circle of
a few accomplished sometimes common-place and
sometimes crotchetty associates. But in the provinces
it is otherwise. The provincial liberals welcome the
promise of a nucleus for a national party ; and if the
step taken by the liberal members alluded to lead to
nothing, it will not be for want of support as soon
u they show themselves to he worth supporting.
The provincial press is full of hopes and tears from
this movement, according to the complexion of its

politics.
The Lirerpnel Albion is sanguine in its expecta-
tions. Aber intimating a belief that Mr. COBDEN
had waived his claims to the presidency- of the asso-
ciated members, " in favour of an older reformer,
whose claims are even superior to his own on his
country's gratitude," this journal expresses a convic-
tion that all COBDas'S energy will be thrown into the
movement, and that be will find an efficient colleague
in the secretary. The Hendal Mercury .‘ hails with
pleasure the step that has been taken." The recent
diononstrations," adds this journal, "in favour of
order, roust not be regarded as indicating unmeasured
satisfaction at the policy of minis:ers, and the way
in which government is administered; they only prove
the determination of the great body of the people to
prevent anarchy." •The Curliale Journal remarks
that "in the names of the gentlemen who have
given in their-adhesion we have an ample guarantee
that the meditated movement will be conduat d not
only with courage but with temper and discretion ;"
adding, "the necessity of extensive reforms in church
and state has long been admitted ; a favourable
opportunity of urging their adoption has just now
occurred; and the propriety of conceding them must
become daily more obvious to the ' powers that be.'"
The Berwick Adrertiser, after protesting that it does
not " pledge" itself in t'avonr of what it calls " the
Conner party," says " most of their tendencies de-
serve approbation and support and " they bear the
same relation to the Whigs as the Anti-Corn Law League
did, and form the anvanced guards and pioneers of
the liberal party." We might go on multiplying
declarations from the liberal provincial press
akin to one or other of these eitatiors, but the
samples given will suffice. Of their conserva-
tive brethren one example is enough. The Oxford
University Herald declares that "it matters not" to
the delinquents who met at the Free-Trade Club " that
the reform they seek may be synonymous with revolu-
tion—nay, the great body of them, as republicans, are
working for this very object." It vows that " many
of them are chartists." With questionable judgment,
this high-church organ proclaims that " the revolu-
tionary inroads may, in the first instance, be directed
against the church, as the most assailable if not the
weakest point in the fabric of the constitution ;" and
In this alarmist mood raises the old familiar slogan of
Oxford—" The church has a critical part to act, though
it has a duty to discharge from which it must not
shrink."
While the reformers throughout the country
are thus giving evidence of their desire that t he strug-
gle for further constitutional reforms which has
commenced shall be carried on by constitutional
means, and through constitutional channels, indica-
tions no lees significant are being given to the par-
liamentary liberals, that mere illusory or nominal
reforms will not satisfy the public. It is not the
disfranchising of a few petty corrupted boroughs or
the substitution of an equal number of large consti-
tuencies—it is not the abandonment of the paltry and
vexatious rate-paying classes—that will restore con-
fidence in the popular branch of the legislature. The
people insist that they shall henceforth be masters in
their own house. The declarations of the middle-
class reformers in Manchester and Birmingham admit
of no misapprehension. The House of Commons must
cease to be an assembly in which a numerical majority
of the members are returned by the corrupt influence of
a landed and moneyed aristocracy, for the purpose of
keeping all departments of government workhouses
for paupers of that class. The reform that will con-
tent the people must be systematic, extensive, real.
There te no use in shutting our eyes to our actual
position. The contest upon which reformers are now
entering is much more arduous and difficult than that
of 1831. When the Reform Bill struggle commenced,
a large section of the landed aristocracy favoured the
first movement. The squabbles about catholic einan-
eipstion had broken up the Eldon-Wellington party.
Some of the anti-catholic peers, disgusted at finding
themselves no longer masters of the House of
Commons, had been among the first to raise the cry
that its constitution must be changed. The old whig
aristocracy could not in decency hang back, and the
Canning; party, fairly merges into their ranks, were
obliged to jog on along with them. The Duke of
WELLINGTON'S declaration against all, or any, re-
form it was that overthrew him: the new ministers
came into once pledged to parliamentary reform ;
and though at every step of their career one or other
of the angry aristocracy recovered from their tran-
sient fit of liberalism and lagged behind, or even
went over to the obstructives, enough were kept
steady by shame and the pride of appearing con-
sistent to prevent the full force of aristocratic in-
fluence being concentrated against the Reform Bill.
With all the sincere and all the reluctant allies
from the aristocratic ranks, who were kept steady
till the ten-pounder bill was passed, the. effort re-
quired to carry it was enormous, as all who took part
in it can well remember.
In so far as any probable aid from the aristocracy
is concerned we are now in a very different position.
moderate
evceornfseor a time
rvativept the
racoremfop
ilacenica p—of
In 1830 the spectacle was presented of high tory peers
coming
the movement. The tendency in that powerful body
is now in the reverse direction. The fraternisation
between whig and tory which is now witnessed in
both houses of parliament is not for the purpose of
timely advance, but for the purpose of opposing a
stronger resistance to all advance whatever. At the
outset at least, the unprivileged classes must look to
take the whole work into their own hands.
'I he further electoral reforms now demanded will
have to be purchased at the cost of a much MOrn pro-
tracted effort. The tactics of the reformers must con-
sequently be considerably modified. They must rely
less upon sudden bursts of enthusiasm, and more upon
dogged pertinacity and hard working. tine fatal
error must be avoided—of attempting to get upds-
monstrations, as they are all, d, before a sufficient
uniformity of plan and enthusiasm in behalt of it has
been infused into all classes, and throughout all parts
of the empire. Recent events have thrown discredit
for a time on monster meetings, and not less
upon monster petitions. Au admirable :ample
has been set -by the Birmingham, reformers
in
the affixing of signatures to their declaration
it is added the place of residence and the
of principles. To every name. appended to