The Sun.
London, England, 1837-02-04 00:00:00

Nl,:hout depriving himself of any of ',he advantages de-
ti,.:ed from his property, agreed to d=ispose of a life in-
terest in a certain portion of ;it, at a price ar-
ra lged according to a table o.i annuities. This
life-interest, be it observed, was not recorded or re-

ooistered any where. It was I“.rpt snugly in the pos-
session of the law agent, unless on the day when
purchaser appeared before, the Sheriff to have his
name entered on the roll, wl-men it was presented to that
officer. After that it disapopeared, and was never seen
K. or heard of more !

Nil acting reputans than quid superesset agendum
is the maxim of a tho',-ough-going Tory—an excellent
one it is—and, accordingly, the plan we have just de-
scribed soon gave place to one still more happily con-
ti,ved to proraote the views of those who, with Sir
ItOBERT REEL, are determined to "take their stand
Gil. the Reform Bill." In this beautiful scheme the
'nand of a master-jobber is at once perceptible. Mr.
HORSMAN has admirably described it in the following
passage of his speech :
" The House will scarcely believe that it is a matter
of common occurrence for numberless votes to be made on
a single tenement, without any right, or title, or interest
heing acquired by the persons registering—without any
t ransfer whatever of the premises—without the occupation
heing changed, or the ownership in any way interfered
with, or a single sixpence being exchanged between the
amrties. Yet so it is--it happens daily and hourly, and this
s the manner in which it is brought about. An individual
owns premises worth 100/. a year, on which it is proposed to
him to make ten votes; and being a good Conservative,
and fond of his party, he has no objection, provided pro-
per care be taken of his own interests in the transaction.
Ten persons are introduced to him as gentlemen who
are willing to come to terms, and a political agent is em-
ployed to conduct the purchase. The price paid for the
share of each is be 2001.—(Hear, hear.) But there are
two obstacles to the transaction. None of the buyers have
got 2001. ; they are not in a situation of life to have it.
Some of them are grooms and lacqueys in a neighbouring
establishment—some of them are clerks or dependents of the
agent himself—nay, some of them are as low as farm-servants.
So far from having 2001. a-piece, they have not got 200 pence
amongst them ; and even if they had, the premises are essen-
tial to the present owner for the convenience of his trade, and
he cannot let them out of his possession. Here, then, arc two
impediments, apparently insurmountable, at the very outset
of the business ; but by the intervention of the agent afore-
said, they are thus nimbly surmounted. He suggests that the
purchasers, instead of paying down 2001. a piece, shall give
a bill to that amount, and meanwile pay five per cent. inte-
rest upon it ; and he suggests also that the seller, instead of
yielding up the premises, shall continue to occupy them as te-
nant to the buyers ; the rent he pays each of them being 101.
a year. Accordingly he gives them a life-rent disposition of
the property, and they give him back a life-rent lease. He
pays each of them 10/. a year of rent on his lease—( Hear)
—but they pay him back exactly ten pounds a year of
interest on his bill—( Hear, bear)—so that for the sum he
gives out from his right hand, he receives an equivalent in his
left. And thus, by this very fair and honourable expedient,
which is afterwards completed by an oath before the Sheriff,
that the parties are bona fide possessors of the property, ten
additional freeholders are added to the poll, who come forward
at the next election to attest the superior purity of Conserva-
tive principles, and prove to the unbelieving what a re-action
has come upon the country. —( Hear, hearer
This, we believe, is the system generally acted
upon at present, though in the county of Stirling it
appears they have proceeded a step farther, and arc
granting simple bonds of annuity for 101. per annum
over heritable subjects—a method which no doubt
greatly simplifies the extension of the franchise !
Now as to the extent of this practice in Scotland,
let us hear what Mr. HORSMAN brings forward in
support of his motion. Let us examine into the prac-
tical working of the Scotch Reform Bill, and see how
far it answers the purpose for which it was intended :
" In the county of Edinburgh, in 1832, the constituency
amounted to 1,126 ; non-residents, 61 ; life-rents, 42. In the
present year the life-rents had increased to 146.—( Hear)—
and the non-residents amounted to 141—(Cheers)—but
this county was not a fair sample, because many of those
among the non-residents resided in the City of Edinburgh.
He would next refer to the county of Heddington, the
constituency in which amounted in 1832, to 513 ; the non-
residents were 27, that number had since increased to 151 ;
at first they were but one-eineteenth of the whole.consti-
tuency, but at present they amount to one-fourth. The life-
rents in 1832 were twenty-nine ; in 1836 they increased to
75. The present constituency was 714. The next county
was Linlithgow : in the year 1832, the constituency was 532 ;
the non-residents, 112. The non-residents were now increased
to 202.—(Hear, hear.) The life-rents, in 1832, were
23 ; non-residents, 4. This year the life-rents were 66 ; and,
out of the 66, the non-residents were 63 —( Hear, hear.)
He would then take the county of Roxburgh. In 1832
the number of the constituency was 1,199, and out of this
body not one-seventh were non-residents. At the present
I time the number of non-residents was not less than 444.
—( Hear, hear.) The number of life-renters in 1832 did not
I exceed 33, and all these were residents in the county. The
number cf life-renters enrolled this year was 89, and of these
87 were non-residents. The total number of life-renters in
this county was 112, and of these 107 were non-residents.—
( Cheers.) He should have stated that in the observations
he had addressed to the [louse he lind confined himself to six
counties in the South of Scotland, because they laid together,
and also because he believed that in them the system had
been carried out to the greatest extent. He alluded to
the three Lothians, Rosburghshire, Peebleshire, and Sel-
kirkshire. In 1832 the constituency of Peebleshire was 301.
Since that time a great number of persons had been enrolled
as voters ; for at the present moment the constituency
arnoented to 576. Out of the list of voters in 1832 there
were 15 non-residents ; the number of non-residents at the
present time was 218--( Loud cries of " Hear, hear,")--
being nearly equal to the original constituency. There were only
eight persons in the list of voters as life-renters in 1832.
The number of life-renters added this year to the constituency
was 137—(Hear, hear)—and of these 121 were non-resi-
dents. The list of life-renters at the present time was 160,
and of these 132 were non-residents—( Hear, hear); so that,
in point of fact, there were only 28 resident life-renters, and
22 of these were entitled to be registered in consequence of
offices they held as clergymen or schoolmasters.—(Hear,
hear, hear.) In Solkirkshire, in 1832, the constituency
was 180. The number since registered was 444, being nearly
double the amount of the constituency in 1832. The whole
constituency was now 562, being more than double the number
enrolled the year after passing the Reform Bill. In 1832
there were no non-resident voters; in 1836, the number of
non-resident voters enrolled was 288—( Cries of " Hear")—
being more than the original constituency. In 1822, there
were no life-renters, excepting the clergy and schoolmasters,
in number about 12. During the present year, 89 life-renters
had been placed on the list of voters, and of these 87 were
non-residents.—( Hear, hear.) The whole number of life-
renters at the present time was 112, and 107 of these were
non-residents."

This is a statement which we recommend to the
serious attention of the country. If some means arc
not immediately adopted to put an effectual stop to
these fictitious qualifications, it is as clear as day-light
that the county representation of Scotland will in a very
short time be reduced to the state in which it was before
the passing of the Reform Bill ; that is to say, there
will be no representation at all.
Sir GEORGE CLERK attempted a sort of reply to
Mr. HORSM AN ; but it was a lame affair. The Hon.
Baronet seemed perfectly astonished at some of the
statements made by the Honourable Member for
Cockermouth ; but he did not attempt to invalidate
one of them. He did to be sure try hard to divert
the attention of the House from the fact that the prac-
tice was one entirely of Tory birth, and to insinuate
that the Liberals were not quite free from the re-
proach which they threw upon their political
opponents ; but even if this were true, it may
be fairly retorted that the Liberals have bee❑
driven to it in self-defence—for actual self-preserva-
tion. But be that as it may—be this iniquity prac-
tised by Whigs, Tories, or Radicals, we say let it be put
down immediately. It is disgraceful to us as a nation.

The National Association, it is clear, has struck
dismay to the heart's core of the Tories. The Duke
of WELLINGTON ran down in breathless haste to the
House of Lords on the very first day of the Session to
express his alarm at its proceedings—and well he might,
for it was its predecessor that wrung Catholic Emanci-
pation from him ; and last night Mr. GOULBURN ex-
pressed the same virtuous apprehension in the House of
Commons. The Association, therefore, has struck home.