The Sun.
London, England, 1852-02-03 00:00:00

S UN,

LONDON,

REFORM IN PARLIAMENT.

A public meeting of the inhabitants of St. Mary-
lebone was held at the Court House, in Marylebone-
lane, lest evening, for the purpose of considering the
best means of advocating the principles put forward
by the National Reform Association. There were
present Sir B. Hall, M.P., Lord Dudley C. Stuart,
M.P., Admiral Napier, Rev. Mr. Burns, Sir John Hare,
&c. The chair was taken by Surgeon Pritchard, chair-
man of the committee of the Reform Association, in
the absence of Mr. Hume, M.P., who sent a note of
apology, on the ground that he should not be able to
arrive in London in time for the meeting. The Hon.
Gentleman expressed a hope that the proceedings
would be characterised by unanimity and zeal on the
part of the inhabitants of St. Marylebone, and added
that he had reason to fear that the proposition of her
Majesty's Government, on the question of reform,
would fall far short of what was demanded by the in-
terests and wishes of the people.
The CHAIRMAN, in opening the proceedings, said
that he would read to the meeting a statement of the
principles of the National Reform Association. They
were to the following effect :—l. Such an extension
of the franchise as will confer the right to be regis-
tered as an elector upon every man of full age, not
subject to any legal disability, who for twelve
months shall have occupied any tenement or portion
of a tenement for which he shall be rated, or shall
have claimed to be rated, to the relief of the poor. 2.
The adoption of the system of vote by ballot. 3. The
limitation of the duration of Parliaments to three
years. 4. Such a change in the arrangement of the
electoral districts as shall produce a more equal ap
portionment of representatives to constituents. 5. The
abolition of the property qualification for members of
Parliament. He called upon them to hold fast by
these principles, and not to allow themselves to be
deluded by the cry of invasion which had been re-
cently got up in order to blind the people and draw
them away from their true interests.—(Hear, hear.)
As they would no doubt be anxious to hear an ex-
pression of opinion on the momentous question of
Parliamentary Reform from their representatives, Sir
B. Hall and Lord D. C. Stuart, he would introduce
those gentlemen at once, as they would be obliged to
leave in a short time to attend a similar meeting to
the present in St. Pancras parish.
Sir B. HALL (who on coming forward was received
with loud cheers) returned thanks to the meeting for
breaking through the usual routine of business, and
allowing him to say a few words at that period of the
proceedings. He should best discharge his duty to-
wards them by confining himself to the great prin-
ciples embodied in the propositions of the association,
and he felt assured that, unless those who owned
themselves to be the Liberal Members of the House
of Commons were united in one common object, they
would stand but little chance of a good. measure of
reform in the present session.—(Hear, hear.) It ge-
nerally happened that when an important Bill was
about to be proposed by Government, some one of its
organs put forth an article in the shape of a feeler, in
order to test men's minds. Now, if they were to be-
lieve that the principles of the new Reform Bill were

contained in the leading article of the Times news-
paper on Saturday last, he was:sure that that measure
would fall very short of what the people desired. Of
course he knew nothing of Cabinet secrets; but if
they were told that the county franchise, which was

now 501., was to be reduced to 201, and that the town
franchise was to be reduced to 51., and that this was
all, then it would certainly be a very meagre
measure of reform.—(Cries of " Hear, hear.")
Those who had interested themselves much about
the Reform Bill, and about the working of the pre-
sent Act, would have observed that one of the greatest
evils connected with the representation of the people,
even under the present franchise, was the system of
registration. He would take his own case as an in-
stance of the evil. He had occupied a house at the
beginning of the last year, but as he could not put it
on the registry last November he should be obliged
to wait until next November, so that he must wait
for nearly two years before he could obtain a vote
for Westminster. Now his idea with regard to re-
gistration, which was a very material feature of the
association, was this, that they ought to have a more
frequent registration.—(Hear, hear.) That was a
point which bad not been generally dwelt upon, but
which ho thought was very well worthy of attention.
He had already given an instance of the evil of the
present arrangement, but if there were a more fre-
quent registration, all qualified persons would come
into possession of the franchise sooner than they did
at present.—(Hear, hear.) That was only a question
of detail, though it was an important point of detail.
The principles of the association, as be found them
stated on the card in his hand, wore very fair, very
just, and very honest, with regard to the people at
large.—(Hear, hear, and cheers.) It was said that
the meetings of the metropolitan districts gave
a tone and temper to those of the provincial
districts. Now why should not they, representing
the inhabitants of Mary lebone, assembled as they
were in meeting on the eve of one of the most im-
portant sessions that would ever be known in the
history of the nation—why should they not put forth
a declaration, and call upon the liberal constituencies
throughout the kingdom, if the reform measure of
the Government should fall far short of those resolu-
tions, to set aside all private considerations and feel-
ings of their own, and unite with them in the metro-
polis for the purpose of compelling the Government
of the day to give them such a measure as would be
practicable and just ?—(gear, hear, and cheers.)
Perhaps some of them would have seen by the papers
that he had been recently engaged about the repre-
sentation of a borough with which he had been con-
nected. He knew that borough as well as he knew
themselves, and he had been with them now for
fourteen years, and he would say that unless
that borough—and it was only one of many
in the same position—obtained what was re-
quired by the second of their principles, namely,
vote by ballot, it could not possibly send a person to
Parliament who really represented the people.—
(Hear) When he had asked an elector in that borough
for his vote, he replied, "I am anxious that you
should succeed, and I would give you my support if
I could, but, sir, I dare not do so. lam a tenant of
such a person, who is hostile to you, and I must,
therefore, beg you not to ask me to support you.
Depend upon it that if I did I should be immediately
turned out of my holding."—(gear, hear.) That
was quite a common reply—it had been frequently
made to him ; and he believed that thousands of votes
were placed in precisely the same circumstances.—
(Hear, hear.) What he chiefly desired to avoid in
any Bill that might be brought forward was this—
namely, that they should not have a number of miser-
able disgraceful little boroughs continued.—(Hear,
hear, and cheers.) Some of these had become noto-
rious. He had had the misfortune of sitting upon the
St. Albans Bribery Committee and no one, except
the candidates, knew what was the villany and cor-
ruption of that borough. He should like to see that
place struck out, and deprived of the power of having
even any representation of the people.—(Hear, hear.)
If he should be told that the representation might be
kept, but that it should be amended by the addition of
agricultural electors, he would say that unless they
would give him vote by ballot, Lord Verulam or Mr.
Edwards might purchase the borough at the next elec-
tion.—(Hear, hear.) Therefore this was an essential
point ; and though he thought it was generally im-
portant to choose a man for his character, and to rely
upon his honour and character to do what was right
and equitable, rather than upon his pledges, yet he
believed it was now come to this, that unless a man
would promise to vote for the ballot, he was wholly
useless to be returned to a seat in the House of
Commons.—(Hear.) He could say this without its
being supposed that he was putting it forward as a
claptrap, for he had now been in Parliament for
twenty-one years, and he had invariably voted in
favour of the ballot, because he believed that it was
essential to the interests of the people.—(Hear, hear,
and cheers.) With regard to the more equal distri-
bution of the electoral districts, he himself might be
put in an unpleasant position, for it was just possible
that he might have to part with some portion of his
constituents. But he must not look at the matter in
that light; he thought that the metropolis ought in
justiceh teen
ehavet
ha le
h oa rugre
ofr
tnrui
aml boeur of
an hree phrueds e
un
ot adt
doubt
vuehs
t,
that he should be able to obtain a seat in Parliament
from them by whom he had been so long known and
tried.—(Hear, hear, and cheers.)
Lord D. C. STUART, M.P., who was received with
loud applause, said that he rejoiced to hear of the
number of meetings that were being held on the sub-
ject of Parliamentary Reform, because he was sure
that if those meetings did not take place, the real
wishes of the people of this country would not be
understood.—(Hear, hear.) Many persons did not
believe that there was a great desire amongst the
people for an extension of the suffrage. He had heard
the assertion made, and in a Ministerial house, toe.
an nd,
wentb
that
et
been
nai
into.---(Hear,
t t
huoi
anf_ty
tyou(ph ;a;
es
daoren.wenttp etw hear,u
das
ehbdeo wished
t and
nooin
ndr
reform.sirs nhc cai society
eyo
CocillaTti never
came to
rvetyeporol yuft town,
Laughter)—for if a person should. go into that sort
o soci society, to
that
o sw
largehich he
bodiesw as
opfr ottde to sayi heh was ad-
mitted,l
find that there was one universal wish and
de:hdeemNe vnti(olounfon(ril
reform.—(Hear, hear.) The principles
Reform Association were exceedingly rationaelnrirde
complete
otf
e feel
lnd sanguine an
apdrobpeesiro,n7dlleheeognafve
esstehdem hithathse did n
that the Reform Bill to which the country was
looking forward would be of a satisfactory descrip-
tion. He might be doing an injustice to those
who were at the helm of Government in saying so,
and he should be happy to have the • opportunity
afforded to him of withdrawing the statement. But
he feared that the sort of reform which it was in-
tended to give them would be a very poor beverage,
and such as would not suit their stomachs. But he
should vote for any Reform Bill that might be brought