The Sun.
London, England, 1830-12-16 00:00:00

PRICE 7D.

REFORM MEETING AT LINCOLN.

At eleven o'clock in the forenoon, yestertlity,.a tweet-
ing. as numerous
.us respeetahle. ay any that, at any time,
had isoternldeil in the Guildhall, pursuant to a requisition
to the Mayor, took tame. The Muyori, ,T. WINN, Esq.,
presided in the Chair•

The resolution's were read,. and proposed seriatim by
Alderman Wmat.uswoirrn, seconded and supported by
Dr. 1:1?mr, Mr. NETTLESIIII', Dr. BEATTY, &c.
The purp3rt of the addresses will be derived from the
resiahrtiOns, all of which passed unanimously., , When the
petition - (fraMed in the resolutions) was produced, a dis-
cussion was elicited on the question of the ballot.
The .hieetiona taken being replied to by some very able
proved how fully the subject had been
impressed on the public mind, 3 division took place, and
whilst a demonetration in favour of the ballot was mani-
fested by almost universal approbation, there were only five
hands. held up against the ballot. Alderman C. Hayward
made' n explanation,,highly satiafactory to the meeting, that
he hid not given the effect tif the ballot full consideration, and
he was not prepared to give his assent or dissent from it; but
after the declered.sense ofthe meeting, he felt that public
opiniOn tray strong in its favour, and perhaps good reasons
might he adduced.
,After the thud passing of sthe petition
with the vote by, ballot, it was stated that the form in
which it was introduced by no means compromised the
opinions even of the most violent opponent of .it; Mao-
much. as all that it ttxpresed was to say that there was Almon- an universal conviction that the vote by ballot
was the only effective Reform.". This was a plain Ind,
Stated in a plain and forcible manner ; aml its truth had
been proved by the decision of this tnectine.
Thank,' to the Mayor were then earriol.
A proposal for three cheers was withdrawn, as dero-
gatory to the gravity of the meeting.
Md. HAYWARD concurred in the propriety of this, and
enloglied most warmly the temper and moderation of this
numerous assemblage.
The following are C.e resolutions on which the petitini
was framed :

1. That this meeting consider it to be a duty to support,
by the public voice, his Majesty's Ministers in fulfilling
their pledge of unsparing retrenchment iu the public ex-
penditure; and the removal of existing abuses in the re-
presentation.

Ti.at this meeting, therefore, while it leaves to the
Administration and the Legislature the devising of the
fittest means, urges its ►nest earnest prayer that, without
toss of time, the representation may be purif►eed, both by
the extinction of rotten boroughs and the extension of the
elective franchise, sod that immediate measures may be
►dopted to relieve the country front the presant oppre•sive
tux 'don.

3. That it is the opinion.of this meeting that whatever
plan of Reform may be proposed, the people c tnnot con-
sider any measures effective and Natisfactory which do Hot
establish Voting by 8a110t..--lioslon Galetle of Tuesday.

MEETING OF Ttiip FREEEIOLDERS OF

MIDDLESEX.

Yesterday, in the great room of the Mermaid Tavern'
Hickney, a very respectable meeting of the Freeholders o
the county of Midolesex was held, to take into oonside-
ration the present Orienting elate of the country, the dis-
treved condition of the working chases, the pressure of
taxation, and the defective state of the representation of
the people. There were upwards of six hundred persons
awn:eed ; the Sheriffs of London presided. There were
also present Messrs. Hume, HO!rouse, Ilyng, 'Warburton,
Culotte! Jones, Sir F. Burdett, Sir J. S. Lilly, &e. &v.
Mr. Sheriff Mansuaen opened the lorsiness of the thy,
hy stating the object of the meeting,'und recommending
the observance of order and decorum.
The requisition having been read,
Sir J. S. Latx rose to move the first resolution...:,.
It would have been infinitely more gt toifying to him if the
late Ministry bud not left to them the task of proposing
measures fur the relief of the people. The,rrmarkahle.de.
cloration of the Joie Prime Ministtr, math) in the House,
Wes perhaps, one of the chief motivee tvhioh influenced
thUse Icy whom the.present meeting was called. Fortunately
now the country had an Administration which posseased the
,ci.nfidenceofthecountry. He then enlarged upon the public
service!" of Lord Grey, and called attention to the petition
presented by him to the House of Common* in the year
1798. lie thought that it was most miachievous to desig-
nate the Lower Honae of Parliament as any thing else than
another, or second, House of Peers. Instead, however, of
coming forward, as acme time since ho expected would be
his duty, he had now the pleasing tail; to perform of giv-
ing expression to the confidence which the people natu-
rally and justly felt in tho present advisers of the Crown.
Formerly it was the practice ,of the people to send into
liament none but paid gentlemen or attorneys; but, in
proceo: of time, Members began torlind out that they
could turn their tests to good account; and thereupon,
and from that :time, the system of patronage and corrup-
tion blast, for which he saw no remedy hut the vote by
ballot.—(Cheen.)—lle then etiumereted the names of
Lords Grey, Lanado sic, Brougham, Al elbou I tie,. and
Altherp, as affording security that the principle!: of free-
dom would be respected, and the rights of the. people
maintained. Though there might be some (liniment* of
opinion respecting the question of Parliamentary Rsform,
yet he trusted there were few, if any, in that meeting
who would not agree with him that annual Parliaments
and universal suffrage would he attended with mils-
chieveus consequences.—(Applause.).—He cm eluded by
saying. that if they succeeded to procure the advantage
of vole by ballot they might compound fur universal suf-
frage, by obtaining what he conceived to be a much
greater advantage—namely, the vote by ballot.
Mr. Hata,, in seconding the resolutinn, said, that any
one who had lived long enough in public life must brio*
that all the evil: of the community were to bet traced to
the unfair representation of the people in Parliament, The
period of the first French Revolution was, unhappily, on-
favourable to the great cause of Reform; but, since then,
times had changed, and the second French Revolution
iireught with it o season most propitious to the great oh.
jest which they all had in view, Ile then, after noticing
the circumstances of the revolutionary war, and the cir-
cumstances under which the late Emeeror of the French
was called to thethrene, strongly impressed upwt the minds
of his hearers the important truth, that nothing less than
the recent events in Franco toil Belgium could have led to
such a position of aftoirs in this country as would have
permitted the Minister, however well inclined, to comp
forward with a proposition for a Reform in Podia.
meta. The Aristocracy had had the power in their
hands for the last toll century, and the time bad at
length arrived when the interest of the people 'mad
meet with some eousideration, All the difficulties which
the Catholic` Question presented were now happily
removed—the 'Whigs had emitted to office, and the ques-
tion of Reform bad now a fair 'thence; and be was sure
there was no rational man in Europe who would nut ad.
mit, that when such a city as Bath, with 5,000 respect-
able freeholders, contained hut 28 electore, the time had
come when Refoon could no longer be denied. If the Mi.
nisterit had the support of suede treetines as that, they
could not fail in carrying forward to its completion the
greet measure 41 lidfortn—that by whiuli Manchester,
mingham, Leeds, and Sheffield were tq ohtoiq Repre-
sentatives in the Commons 'House of Parliament. Ile
fully agreed that it was fit,ing that Shoae towns sheold be
reptesented ; but lie would ;oat) strenuously contend the,
the Tower Moulins ought to bit repreamted,—(Chters )
—ln It 2I the Tower Hamlets contain's! a population to
300,000 person,—he lied no doubt that the number now
amounted to 830,000 ; he thought also, that Sa, Parolee
anti Marylebone—St. (Wes, that Lembeth, Newiueroe,
and Brixton out.,lit to, he represented. The me ttopolis
contained a population of 1,500,060 souls, and ohoiltving
a doe propiirrbin between it And the nation at barge, the
Members siting in the Italie for Hitt metropidi, (whist e
to he is than 22. (Cheers.)
The retilution was theta put and agreed to.
Mr. Fearless, in movilut the second tesolution, bow
by contrasting this oCea,ion upon which they were then as.
sernbled with that which frequently brought them together
on former occasions—the present affording ja•t grounds
for the warmest congratulation. They were then met
cilia a great omesion, but they had a very ample duty to
perform, namely, to proclaim the existence of cotruptio.:,
or their rights. There were two important documents,
and to demand a Retinue it) Porliamc-nt and a 'wallet,
either of wlckh, if read even in the most cursory manner,
could nut NI to hriog conviction to the ni,,,i2dr any man :
the first of these was the petition presented! to Parliament
hr 1.4ri1 0, try, net.te year 1,;13; tl.a other was an one-