The Sun.
London, England, 1855-07-12 00:00:00

STATE REFORM ASSOCIATION.

A meeting was held last night in Freemasons' Hall,
Great Queen-street, for the purpose of adopting mea-
sures for a reform of abuses in the state. At half-past
7 o'clock the hall was not more than half filled. Mr.
Jonathan Duncan was called to the chair.

The CHAIRMAN, after some preliminary observations,
said their object was, as far as they could, to reconcile
conflicting opinions, and by mutual concessions to bring
against the abuses of the state the combined energies of
a firm and united people. The means by which they pro-
posed to carry out that end he would now endeavour to
explain. At meetings of that kind, and held for the first
time, some persons must take the initiative, which their
executive committee had done, but with exclusive spirit.
Their intention was to invite members from amongst
those assembled to co-operate with that executive coin-
mitte. They did not care whether he was a blacksmith
from the forge, or a weaver from the loom— (cheers)—
and having been selected, he would be admitted
to all the privileges of the executive committee. Ho
need not point to the vast majority of those who now
sat in the so.called House of Commons, who were either
elected through ancestral traditions of the county in
which they had lived, or in boroughs because they had
interested themselves in forwarding a railway or opening
a coal mine ; but the great mass of those who got into
the House of Commons slid so simply because they had
a balance at their banker's, which they were disposed
freely to distribute among the electors. (Cheers.) The
power of this country was not confined to the three king-
doms, but extended through every clime ; and being so,
what must they think of the assurance of any statesman
undertaking the superintending management of 40 colo-
nies, which, he believed, was a task beyond the strength
of any political Hercules ? The consequence was that a
great expense was entailed upon this country, for they
were compelled to send out troops to prevent them from
falling into civil war ; and he firmly believed that up to
this time the United States would have been with this
country in federal alliance had it not been for the admi-
nistrative ignorance of statesmen. of former times. A
few years ago, too, Canada had been nearly separated
from them through the mismanagement of this country..
He then adverted at great length to the way in which
India had been for a great number of years governed,
and contended that the people of that country had been
robbed of their wealth hymen placed m authority, which
had been used to purchase seats in Parliament through
the means of rotten boroughs in this country. Mr. Ver-
non Smith, who at present held the office of President of
the Board of Control, had never been in India, and knew
nothing whatever as to the requirements of the people.
If they wished to put the " right man in the right
place," they would select some old Indian officer who had
returned to this country, and who, by a residence of 25 or
30 years in India, knew the wants of that great nation.
(Cheers.) That day, on looking over some documents,
lie found that no man held office for administering the
affairs of India on an average more than 18 mouths ;
and as soon as he obtained an insight into his business,
and was likely to become a useful public servant, from
political changes he was removed, and was succeeded by
some other persons as ignorant as ho was himself. At
the Admiralty the administration of its affairs were not
confined to a sailor, but to a civilian ; for Sir C. Wood
was at the head of it, and he knew nothing at all about
ships ; and they considered that a great evil, in not avail-
ing themselves of men of special experience in the de-
partment to which they were attached. If the people
asked for an extension of the franchise, they were told
they were not in a 'position nor had learnt how to exer-
cise it ; and if that rule was good, on what principle, he
would ask, could they put a civilian at the head of the
Admiralty, to have the direction of all their fleets that
were sent to sea. (Cheers.) In the papers of that day
he saw that Sir E. Lyons—a name that they must all re-
spect—had committed a great error in his promotion of the
Naval Brigade,in giving a lieutenancy to a lad not 19 years
of age, merely because he was the son of Sir J. Graham ;
while the older officers of the Naval Brigade had been
passed over, and the honours given to this young man
simply because he had a friend at Court. Had they an
admiral at the head of the Admiralty such things would
scarcely have happened ; or if they had, his own promo-
tion would have been stopped by the force of public
opinion. But it was not so with the civilian, who was
changed from one office to another as might be required.
Another great point for the consideration of the sectional
committees was the subject of free trade. If they were
to have free trade, why not admit free of duty the
wholesome wines of Spain, France and Portugal. He
held that any act of Parliament that excluded from those
shores that which gave sustenance to life was oue that
ought to be condemned, for a man wanted something
more than bread alone, and was entitled even to some
of the luxuries, if his labour enabled him to purchase
them. It would be for one of their sectional commit-
tees to investigate the short-comings of free trade. If
the Chancellor of the Exchequer pretended that he
wanted the revenue derived from !spirits, let him not
collect it from that poisonous beverage that injured the
body and destroyed the mind. (Great cheering.) He
next adverted to the question of secret diplomacy, and
contended that Government had no right to conceal
from the public the real facts of a case in which they
were so deeply interested. In 1853, Mr. Gladstone
brought forward his peace budget, and they were told
that they were to be taxed to the extent of something
like 50 millions ; but soon after the despatches of Sir
Hamilton Seymour arrived from St. Petersburg, in
which they related the conversations that had taken
place between him and the Czar. The Czar said the old
man at Constantinople was sick, and if he might be
allowed to take care of him he would cede to England
the possession of Egpyt and the Isle of Candia ; and yet
all that was kept from the knowledge of the people.
They were not made acquainted with the fact that Rus-
sia had been for a quarter of a century preparing for
war, while England had not prepared at all, and the
lamentable result of that secrecy had been seen in their
.army before Sebastopol. He did not mean to say that
everything in progress of negotiation should be made
known ; but as soon as they had something tangible to
deal with deeply affecting the people of this country, it
ought to be laid before both houses of Parliament.
(Hear and cheers.) If they considered such an associa-
tion necessary, he would then ask their sanction to the
machinery they proposed for effecting that object. Ho
hoped that they might from that evening date a happier
state of things, and that the different classes, instead of
by disunion playing the game of the enemy, might make
a determined assault on the citadels of corruption.

Mr. HERBERT iNGRAII, of the Illustrated LOndon News,
moved the first resolution, and said that a financial re-
form was greatly needed in this country, when it was
known that the expenditure at the present time reached
a million a week, irrespective of the charge for the na-
tional debt. He complained of certain commissioners at
Somerset House being paid 3,0001. or 4,0001. a year for
reading the newspapers and putting their initials to a
few documents; and also to the system pursued by Mr.
James Wilson of getting the supplies voted at two
o'clock in the morning, when all honest men ought to be
in bed. He concluded by proposing, "That it is desi-
rable that an association be formed for the free expres-
sion of public opinion on the manifest abuses of the
state, and the measures necessary for their reform."
Mr. ITODKINS seconded the motion, which was unani-
mously agreed to.
Several other speakers addressed the meeting, and
after a committee was appointed to draw up rules for
the government of the association, thanks were voted to
the chairman, and the meeting broke up.

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