The Express.
London, England, 1850-12-04 00:00:00

DINNER TO JOSEPH HUME, ESQ., M.P.

SOUTHAMPTON, TUINDAY MORNINO.
A Moat gratifying demonstration, in honour of this
veteran Wormer, took place here last evecing. Advtntaire
was taken of Mr. Hume's temporary visit to the tovi, (to
witness the departure of his son by the West Innis met:
steamer) to invite him to a public dinner, which the old
English patriot accepted, and the banquet tech place at the
Victoria Rooms, Although the arrangement had been only
a few days in progress, four hundred persons were present,
includlog men of all Muses—from the looreegh magistrate
down to the humblest working man. The respected mayor
of the borough (R. ANDREWS, Eeq.) filled the clean. Mr.
Sheriff Payne, Mr. Alderman Leahley, and several other
members of the town council, were present.
After the usual loyal touts had been done full juries to,
The MAYOR proposed the toast of " The people, the true
source of legitimate power." Their worthy guest was truly
a man of the people. lie belonged to them—worked for
them—and wu indeed a rolitical man, though of whigglans
or toryism he knew nothing. (Cheers.) This was the
favourite standard toast of the old Whigs forty years ago,
but they seemed of late years to bane total:: forgotten their
early principles. (Hear, hear.)
The toast wee warmly received and responded to by Mr.
J. 'f. MUMS, who occupied the vice-chair.
The MAYOR then celled for a bumper, for the tout of
the evening—" Toe Health of Joseph Hume, Esq., M.P.,
their honoured guest."
The roast was (hunk with every manifestation of honour
and delight—the ladies in their gallery w .vieg their
handkerchieft as those of the sterner sex (ell standing) shook
the building with their loud cheer..
Mr. HUME, on rising, wee received with renewed
, applause, which having at length subsided, he proceeded
Ito thank them from his heart for the welcome they had
that evening accorded him. He did not take their approba-
tion so much a c mnpliment to himself personally as to those
principles which he had always been so anxious to promote.
(Heat, hear.) It might probably be new to many
present if he stated that tee was the first man in the House of
Commons who declared himself a radical reformer—(ap
plause)—and at a time, too, when a radical reformer wu
thought little better than a wild beast. (Laughter and
cheers.) Bat he made up his mind. de saw fearful abyss
salving in our institutions; be saw the necessity for reform
of those abuses—that there must be no mere patchwork—no
mending bit by bit—but that they must remove as speedily
as possible those abuses and that injustice from which the
nation was suffering. In the abuses in the House of Com-
mons was the foundation of much, if not all, the evils from
which they suffered. In his early ells he attached himself
to the whigs, because they appeared to be greater friends of
liberty than the teeriss, and he had generally been a follower.
of that party. He had in those days witnessed certain en
hers of the prevent government toast the people, whose
power, he regretted to see, they now appeared to dread.
They abased the people who had brought them into power.
He wu almost daily pained to witness their refusal to give the
people those political rights end privileges of which they were
once such strong advocates. Reform was in a very different
position to what it was in 1811, when he first Entered parlia-
ment. England, limited as it was with regard to represen-
tation, wee then at the top of the tree, looking towards
Europe. All our institutions were representative. The
great English jurisprudiet, Blackstone, declared that by the
constitution, every Englishman had a right to be in,
or to have a voice in sending representatives to, the
Commons House of Parliament, to whom was entrusted
the right of levying taxes, the right of taking out
of the pockets of the people that which was the:r
own property, for the purposes of the state. Govern-
ment was not to be conducted solely for the benefit of
the crown, or of the aristocracy ; but for the benefit of the
people—of the whole, and not of a class. (Loud cheers.)
The crown was merely an exocutive effleer, to execute. tee
laws of the people when passed by their representatives ;
and this it was which made England to differ from conti-
nental rulers, who acte.l on their own despotic authority,
and took no order from the people. In England the people
had established their right by turning out one king and put.
ting in another ; the crown was elected to carry
out measures for the benefit of the community
at large. Every Eagliehman, therefore, had a right to a
voice in tending members to parliament; but was it so?
Out of a population of twenty million., then were only
some 950,000 electors on the register; and, after deducting
double and treble qualifications, he believed the actual num-
ber of individual electors would not exceed 800,000.
(Mr. Hume then passed in review the various re-
forms which he had always supported in the House of
Commons, and the leading political events which had charac-
terised the 40 years which had pseud since he first entered
that assembly.) The people had now the power in their own
bands to a great extent, if they chore to accomplish it, to
effect great reforms for themselves. From the moment the
rotten boroughs were abolished, and the abuses connected
therewith were tooted out, the people possessed far greater
power than before. There was scares a man who, by the
exercise of • little economy, could not in a sl ort time obtain
a vote ; cud the man who had not a vote was only a political
slave. (Hear, hear.) Reforms in the law, in parliament,
and in other matters, (to which Mr. Hume referred at
length), required immediate attention, and with earnest
action on the part of the people they could soon be scam
plished. To these matters he bad always devoted his
attention, and should it pleas, God longer to spare his life
be should continue to do so; and when he laid hie head
ea his pillow, never to rise again, he should have the
' satisfaction of knowing that he had, at all events, honestly
endeav mired to do something for the improvement of his
fellow creatural. (Loud cheers.) No country in the world
had more reason to be proud of her instituticns than Eng
, land, if they were only properly carried out. No man was
more anxious than he was to see the abuses which had crept
into them removed—none more anxious to preserve the good
and destroy the bad. (" Hear," and cheers.) And there-
fore he had, in the two lest sessions of parliament, introduced
a measure to give the people a registered suffrage, the
ballot, the abolition of the property qualification for mem-
bers of parliament, equal electoral dicriete, ant triennial
parliaments. (On each of which several points Mr. I
Hume dilated at some length). He had great confidence
in tho future, and although be did not expect to
live to see them all earned out, he believed the
day was not far distant which would witness the advent of
many great and wise changes. Ho highly complimented
Lord John Rowell for the services he had rendered in past
days to the cause of civil and religious liberty; and, although
he lamented the noble lord's more recent conduct on ques-
tions of reform, he looked upon him as a vie int to the pre-
sent state of thing', and believed that, with a better House
of Commons, they would find Lord John Russell a much
better men. After some further anagioaa to these
questions and a few cemplimentary references to the
conduct of the Mayor of Southampton, who had always
proved himself a true friend of the working climes, Mr.
Hume proposed the it Health of the Mayor and Corporation
of Southampton," and sat down amidst enthusiatic cheering.
The toast was drunk with much applause, and briefly
responded to by the Id AVOW..
The Magistrates of the borough" was acknowledged by
0. LaISISLET, Beg , who paid a hilrb tribute of admire. ion
to the conduct and character of Mr. Hume as a consistent
and unflinching reformer.
"The Members of the borough" and other touts were
drunk; and, amongst others, " A tree and unfettered Press "
was proposed in suitable terms by Mr. HUME, and SaGOW-
ledged by the editor of the Hanyularc laependent.
The proceedings terminated shortly after 11 o'clock.
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