The National Register.
London, England, 1822-09-22 00:00:00

MR. CANNING AND TUE LIVERPOOL DINNER.
Mr. CANNING IS reporto.d to have amid, at the Liverpool
Dinner—

I wish those perw ins who cry out for reform, to state
to we, to state to thew ,elo.s distinctly tie objects they bays in
stew, and the means of obtaining those objects."

•
The object is, a REAL representation of the people in that
Douse, which is • called, and ought to be their own House, the
House of Comm' .ous, so culled, but in fact the deputy blouse of
piers—and sr to the means, it is wished to prevail on the Le-
gislature, b 7 Jovial Imams, to bring about a Reform. It is
then pompu usly asked—
" Do tb ry ground their necessity for Reform upon the fact of
" our be ring been engaged in expensive wail, or having been
" engw,;ed in long and protracted struggles on the Continent
" Do they advocate it on the ground of heavy taxation, and
" ass ere legislative enactments f supposing those their grounds
" 1.1,r reform, and granting, for argument's wake that they are
" true, then, I ask, is it by the House of Commons alone that
4 these acts hare been sanctioned 1"

It is rather strange that the "great' gentleman should Lave
■elected the above as the causes why a Reform is wanting—•it
seems as if be were disposed to *wrist the Reformers inpointing
out with clearness their eirn case ; bat was there ever so stupid

• question put a,—" if it by the House of C...snmons alone kc."
Li any act done by either of the three branches of the Legisla-
Wore alone ? And does not every person of the messes* ca-
pacity know, that although the House of Commons (so called)
could not alone have owed the acts alluded to, yet that the
Hoes' " Moue" could have prevented them. 04 ! the wise
men of Liverpool !!! Again it is said—
" If there be another assembly co-operat* with the House
of Commons, then, I say, a ref arm cf the House of Coin-
" mons is nugatory without a co-ordinate refuels of that body
0 also."

Cheer him, cheer Lim, ye wise men of Liverpool!! If it
actually requires the co operation of two bodies to do a corrupt
thing, yet, according to the doctrine of this great gentlemen,
one body can equally eGct it afte► the othes body is purified
bravo! Next is the following question—
" 1 pat this plain question, and I have never yet suet the
" man who would answer it satisfactorily :—if you reform the
" the House of Commons, pray what are your intentions with
" respect to the House of Lords 1"
This cannot be accounted for unless it be on the ground

of its being in Licerpool—iss any other place a bay might have

been 4' met" who would promptly have answered, NOTHING ;
we have nothing to Jo with die Lords, we happen to know that

■ paws House of Commons u solfrieni, although Mr. Canning
nod hie Liverpool lriends may be ignorant of the fact, that any
via which requires the united strength of too or three, can be
etleetnelly prevented by removing the assistance of one. Here
follows more rodomontute, (but suitable enough no doubt for
Liverpool gullttulity,) about America and France, concluding
with que►tions to the reformers.

" Do you mean to prevail by reason or compulsion ? if by
" reason, then reason i► as good nut of doors as in."
Oh! Liverpool! Oh ! the "vat gentleman, as good where it
is ineffectual, as where it is efficient.
" Is it by compulsion aye, that is what you mean, but that
" you dare not say--Lard cheers."
Liverpool for ever! Liverpool and straight waistcoasts !
Liverpool fur ever !! ! Here the groat gentleman gem into
spirits and forgets where he started from—be forgets, his wish,
or his expression of hie mix/4 to discuss the doctrines of the
Reformers " argumentatively and not viraperatioely", and de-
clares, without any authority given by any answer, except his
own answer to his ow. question—" Aye, it is by compulsion
you mean, but you dare not say so." Why then, says the
yreal gentleman—

" My quarrel with Reformers is not as to the mode or the
" dogree ; I take an objection in /intim that they ask, that
" instead of a tripartite government, there should be erected
" a simple instrument which would do its own work by sweep-
" ing oIT every obstacle and impediment which stood in its
" w ay."

Hear him ye men of Liverpool ! hear him ye men of Gotham !
list, 0 listen to the great gentleman ! NVlnt is it that wishes for
• tripartite government Mr. Canning ! oh, no fit is tbe Re-
formers themselves. A tripartite govermuent is what they
want—it is what they ask for—it is what (hey petition for—
king as he is—Lords as they are— and Commons as they ought
to be—this is a tripartite government ; hut did the men of Li-
verpool know what bipartite meant I A little further en the
great gentleman says-
- For God's sake if you can prove corruption in any borough
" disfranchise it as you have disfranchised Grampound."
It is not enough it seems that corruption exists, as it does
most certainly at all elections, whether in county, city, or bo-
rough, but it most be proved, aye, and proved too no g'ain that
even the borough men mast admit ii to be pruned. Was any
thing ever so faiciorl ? No, not even a county meeting. It
is well known to all, except, perhaps, the men of Liverpool
and Gotham, that evils known to exist, should he prevented,
whether capable of poor t ur nut, and that corruption at elec-
tions always has, now does, and always will exist, until we
have elections by BALLOT. The great gentleman afterwards
says

•' Let any Reformer show we that he is only stations to rc-
'• move the blots which exist, and I am with him ; but the
•• doctrine goes further, it goes sot to alter the mode, but the
" thing—it would have the effect of altering those institutions
• which combined all the industry—all the property—and
" which opened a door to all the takat of the countty."