The Express.
London, England, 1850-07-31 00:00:00

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math than be, yea should
=431 :tux ia them
Lard J. _ rselleetzrieseuy sour to detain the
htiaestterzesth: tug doe. Oaf saembee it Mudge.
I cunt altogether avoid.
(Nen. hen) The war. goodness mot esidnieg
\WWI to 'the diminish et the MilL(hear, hear)—
hair itt fit Irby dews preposition whisk he thinks
letildibstratacthitsegaithaumemeneleathe "esta,blishmearessinisfindsie
....taiactmuldotsetviiiitsal:S:h_lo_viefiraritteadhayiess"atetatinsiows."..
thing dilfust hem that whisk I had Y Meth*
ad to rad la some degree te the sap 'resjOy7inisma of the
able been of parlisimsith Now, I cousin that with se.
airs this goestles. it is notlag to consider the awe
dpetheiment tesiather, and to soy that a majority of
IS is eme Imam is itaised hy tomajority of 22 la the
ead, ead that yea ought adopt the epistles
Whisk has been seadioned by a majority of the two houses.
(Neu hear.) It la evident that if the two knees
Mon teed together, fa one amemily that would be the
ewer se lug as there on two hats if parliament, we
salt risal with seeseilmeals whisk NW dews to us kom
tliselber hum maths null Of the Imildom if that bum.
New. the heth.fresiksie he Mweleiter, 'Use this te be
the ease, related. sergimillthhabelith. that witli regard to
may imossere of Slabbed I shwa Alden at the brgianing
of session that a eseleia h a mermare of the gate
urament—that, npyssiag a lmaeblse of Si. to he pro-
posed, we should detain at ogee that N. h to be the
heath* for Ireland—that we will Ihtsa to se mimed
of a sung., /tsar sus dissamise Oa the rahhet.
bet that our datom must prevail. Why, sir, I say at oase
that there would be as end of the be of the coned-
Intim of this imeatry. (Haar, hear.) It may be desire
li. that the oonetkuion should come to an end, but we
eel& set to deceive ourselves with regard to the effect
et the preyesal of the hoe. member for Manthester.
New ht es seppeeethe ken. gentleman to have his will wish
egged to the reform of the proud house of parliament—
to carry what is, I believe, ether household suf-
frage, but what, in het, moss needy approaches
adweal suffrage—it iron far beyond what was understood
by " household suffrage ' in form days. Let us suppose
that he has an assembly elected under that law; that the
minder who represent" the majority in that assembly says
at the begianthe of the session, " Here is a great popular
immeure whisk I punt to you; that measure must be car-
ded in its intwrity.; from that measure you must not depart,
k most be =fried ; ' and suppose that according to the exist
fag state of things, the House of Lords were not to modify
Mad measure, but te nisei it altogether, in such a ease the
bee. goatleman mud have something in reserve, he must
have um, resource, and it is quite evident that
what he means is that the will of this popular
assembly Is to prevail, and that there is to
be no distance), no modification, 'no tempering
of various views, so elaborate sad loused discussion, no re-
ference to history, no vegan to precedent, which might in
any degree modify or alter the will of this imaginary mi-
ahter—(hear, her)—who is to come to this boase, perhaps
repreenting a large manufacturing town, and wry, "Such
is my will, such is the will of this popular assembly, and
ad a word is to be heard in opposition to it." (Hear, hear.)
Why, I say it is quite plain, without discoosiug the merits
of our constitution, or any other at this moment, that what
the hon. gentleman redly proposes is that there should be
nee absolute democratic assembly, which shall have
co barrier to Its will, which shall meet with no
opposition to its decrees, and to which all the es-
tates and constituted bodies of this country are
to bow. (Hear, hear.) Well, sir, it may be that such a
change is desirable. but all I an say is, that I am not one
of the persons who desire it—(chars)—all I an say is, that
I thick, with all its evils, with the very long delays which
occur, with the frequent rejection of meager= which, after
some years, every one admits to be useful, and with the
many impediments which there sec to the legislation of this
country—l think that, with all them evils, the sum and sub-
stance of the constitution is so good, its institutions
are so valuable, and its fruits so precious as com-
pared with those which we find, either in ancient
or modern history, to have bean produced under other forms
of government—l wiU not say without exception, but with
one or two exceptions, amongst the constitutions devised by
the wisdom of man—that, for my own part, I am not willing
to change the present constitution of this country for any
which tee hon. gentleman may desire. (Cheers.) Now, sir,
it has happened to me—l am obliged to speak of myself—to
carry through this house, and through parliament, measures
of change which, though I thought they were also measures
of improvement, met in the first instance with great
apposition and powerful resistance: I weeder that
the constitution may from time to time be improved;
that laws may be changed much to the advantage of the
people of this country ; bet I have always acted under the
'auditions ',bleb I saw were imposed upon me by the state
of the government of this country—(hear, bear)—by a con
siltation which I did not frame, but under which I was
born, and which I have no wish to overturn. (-'Hear,"
and cheers.) I proposed a great many years ago a change
of a mat important character in the construction of this
house. I was not dispirited by the reverses which I met, not
oaly by being overthrown In repeated divisions, but by being
opposed by the splendid sad almost overpowering eloquence
of Mr. Cowling. I went on in my curs*, and after 10 years'
diseuision and deliberation I had the ea:is-action of seeing
effected a great reform in the representation. (Hear,
hear) I did not in that cue say at once " I discard all re-
speet for the constitution." Oa another occasion I proposed
to repeal the test sod corporation acts. I was successful
the very first time I proposed a bill for that purpose. Bat
it was proposed to me, on the ground that my sumess
would otherwise probably not extend further than this
house, to consent to a compromise, and to accept a do.
aeration as a ribstitute for what I thought de
grading and unjust conditions. (Hear.) I persuaded
thee, whom I then considered my clients, the protestant
dissenters, with whom I had frequent conferences on the
subject, that the wisest course would be to agree to the
compromise, and the bill was in consequence carried,
through the assistance of the government of the day.
Again, when I proposed a commutation of titles, by a
similar compromise the object was secured. Sir, lam sorry
to enter into these masters; I am giving them as samples
in order to show that great good may be effected, not by
takirg the course which the hon. gentleman proposes, say-
ing at once, " Here is a measure, I throw it on the
table; don't change a word or a syllable of it, I will have
this measure, or run the risk of a collision with the two
houses of parliament, rather than have it altered in the
least ;" but, by taking a totally opposite course, by submit-I
tiag any vanity or pride which I might have with respect
to a measure which I had proposed to the counsel of
others, by altering what I had proposed—it may be some-
times for the worse and sometimes for the better—and en-
deavouring to attain the object by commie'se and consul-
tation. (Cheers.) Sir, the hon. gentleman (Mr. Bright)
has alluded to terms, hich he certainly has not forgotten,
in which, on a former union, I alluded to himself and to
others whe had addressed the house with regard to the
working of our institutions, when I allowed the phrase to
escape me that he and others took a narrow-minded view
of certain subjects. Why, sir, I was not then
speaking of the general views which they took.
The question had reference to the aristocracy of
this country, and the hon. gentleman seemed to me on that
occasion, as he had done on many others, to represent the
aristocracy of this country as a clan apart—as a sort of great
council of Venice—which was entirely a parave from the
great body of the people, and did not admit of that
admixture or receive that strength which was to be derived
from being continually recruited from the great body of the
people. I said 1 thought that was a narrow-minded view of
the subject.
Mr. BRIGHT would save the noble lord the trouble of
proceeding. On the occasion referred to, the discussion was
on the motion of Mr. Hume with regard to parliamentary
reform, and what was referred to was the tact of the re-
presentation of Manchester being balanced by that of many
small places.
Lard J. RUSSELL—The matter is one of recollection,
and I cannot speak positively. I certainly do remember
that on that occasion families were referred to whose ances-
tors not a hundred yeses ago were among the humblest and
poorest subjects of the sovereign of this country, but who,
by dint of talent or learning, whether displayed in the pro-
fission of the law, in the church, or In the army or navy,
had won their way to the highest honours of the peerage,
and formed as proud a part of the aristocracy of this country
as many of those who could claim a long descent. (Hear,
hear.) It was, I think, on that subject that I
was speaking. I may have entirely mistaken the
hon. gentleman, and, if so, I am truly sorry that 1 applied
to him Bub a phrase. But I do think that he has still a
tendency always to represent the aristocracy as something
distinct and separate—(cheers)—and not only do I hold that
that is a distinction unfounded in feet, contrary to all that
we see, both in the history of the past age, and if we choose
to saaadae it, is the list of the peers of England, bat I also
nand that a belief in such a distinction would
have a mod misehiavous effect, and that, instead
of that %midi of dense is this country which induces the
aristeeney of this matey N esaridar their fate and welfare
bound up with the fate and welfare of the people, and in-
duce, the people tie consider the aristocracy as bound to
defend their rights sod privileges, deem would be estab-
lished in this country that war of •ffiffereat dames and ranks
which could not but lead to the subversioa, not say of the
constitution, but of the @Meting state of society. (Hear,
hear.) It was in that rand that I intended to um
the expromies referred to, and If it appeared applicable
to other nutters I beg to withraw that applicati3n. But
I must repeat that I think he is quits in error in sup-
posing that the aristocracy of this catuttry consider them-
selves so separate tad divided as he repressats them to be.
On the contrary, I believe they consider their strength,
their permanence, their very exhtence, to depsad on their
continually receiving additions from those who, by the
highest qualities of mind, have eats= themselves to be
their equals in the sight of every man, and therefore
deserve to be their equals in the outward treppitte of rank.
The hon. gentleman is not satisfied with this bill, and he
wishes for the 81. franchise. He knows that the 81. was
on what I considered sufficient grounds, and I
i
that it was an through parliament. (Hear) An
hon. eentlemen has expressed a wish that we had brought
on this question boron. I have already stated that the
Earl of Beuboroogh, when first he went to Ireland, framed
this very measure, but that the years of (amine which fol-
lowed obliged us to direct our attention to what would meet
the appalling misery which hung over Ireland, and we were
Induced to postpone a masers of political franchise in order
to save life and preserve the people. (Hear.) 1 take DO
Wile N m sell for the delay. I think we were right in
all Wsllag on the consideration of the political
hossithe under such circumstances. la the pre-
-I,ssat you we have brought this measure forward
sad sent it to the other house of parliament, which has made
lallanges le the hill *atoll I cannot say are changes for the