The Sun.
London, England, 1839-05-28 00:00:00

enabled Members on his (Mr. W. Duncombe's) side of the
House to vote for him without any inconsistency.—( Hear.)
It had been said that the reason why this Honourable Gen-
tleman had not been proposed was, that he had not sup-
ported her Majesty's Ministers on the Jamaica question,
whether this was so or not he could not say, but if this were
the case, instead of being a reason why he should be
passed over he thought it constituted an additional reason
for the election of that Hon. Member, because, in addition
to his great abilities, it proved that he possessed one of the
best qualifications for the Speakership—lndependence.
He should give his support to his Right Hon. Friend on
this occasion. If this question were discussed apart from
all party oonsideravon every gentleman in the House
would support -Ilia Right Hon. Frit nd.--•( Loud laughter
"
from the Ministerial Benches.) With respect to the Hon.
Member for Dublin he for one could not believe that the
report of his speech was correct. The Hon. Member sat
ieEcshFoEfDivide, divide."
favour the proposition of his Hon.
VRE said that the House had
rdeocwi‘elinrv.eadmswi dui
tlhAo loud cries
much
Friend that he felt relieved from much of that embarrass-
ment which every individual must naturally feel in ad.
dressing the House on a matter personal to himself. For
the encomiums and eulogies which his Hon. Friend had
been pleased to pass on him, he could never be suffi-
ciently grateful, but it was impossible for him to
conceal from himself that in none of the qualifications ne-
cessary for the individual who aspired to the Speakership
could be bear any comparison to the Right Hon. Gentleman
who had retired. When he recollected that he had had
the honour of proposing that Right Hon. Gentleman, it
was gratifying to him to bear testimony borne from all
sides of the House to the ability and impartiality with which
he had presided over their proceedings—( Cheers)—but
he could personally bear witness to the less conspicuous
but not less important attention which he had shown in
conducting the private business of that House— ( Loud
cheering)—and to his kindness and consideration in ad-
vising those Members who might stand in need of his
advice and assistance.—(Cheers.) He felt that this in-
creased the difficulty under which the House must
labour in choosing his successor, and greatly increased
the responsibility which must necessarily devolve on the
individual who might be the object of their choice. The
rest onsibility which devolved during ordinary terms,
and under ordinary circumstances, upon the indi-
vidual who might be called upon to fill the chair
of that House, was sufficiently grave and important,
but, under the existing circumstances of the country ,that
responsibility was immeasurably increased. He was not
insensible that on the present occasion he had not the ad-
vantage of his Right Hon. Friend opposite, if he would
allow him to call him so.—(Cheers.) He had held high
political situations, which he (Mr. Shaw Lefevre) bad not
done; he had not had the experience, the long experience,
of holding official situations; his course had always been
that of an independent country gentleman. Anxious
only to make himself as useful in his place in Parliament
as he could, he must confess that he was entitled to but
a small share in the praise for those improvements, to
which his Hon. Friend had alluded, in the conduct of the pri-
vate business of that House. If the experiment, with regard
to Committees and petitions had teen successful, be could
only claim a small share of credit for that experiment, as
it was due much more to those with whom he bad been as-
sociated in that work of reform He was not ignorant
of the magnitude of those interests involved in that branch
of the legislation of that House—he was not ignorant of
the opinions that were entertained out of doors as to the
proceedings in that House. He knew that all were anxious
to secure it from the imputations which it too justly de-
served, and he would only add, altliough he was perfectl y
conscious that there were many Hon. Members in that
House who possessed far greater qualifications than himself
for the Chair, he would yield to none in his
desire to maintain the honour and dignity of tat
House, and he could assure them that he would exert
all the energies that he possessed in discharge of any
duty the House might think fit to impose upon him. With
these observations he cheerfully submitted himself to the
pleasure of the House. The Hon. Member sat down amid
great cheering.
Mr. GO UL BURN then rose and was received with
cheers from the Opposition side of the House. He was not
ashamed to rise to address a few observations to the House
under feelings of considerable embarrassment, because on the
one hand he could not but entertain fear of his own incompe-
tency to fill the high honour to which he had been
proposed, and on the other that he might be thought pre-
sumptuous enough to consider himself better qualified than
his Honourable Friend opposite, to discharge the duties
of that high office. He certainly had had the
advantage of filling official situations—he had had
the honour of witnessing the elevation to that
Chair of Mr. Abbott —of Mr. Manners Sutton, and
the Right Honourable Gentleman, whose seces-
sion they all lamented ; and he was well aware,
from the observations he had the opportunity of making,
how important those duties were that attached to
the Speaker of the House of Commons. He was well
aware, as had been truly stated by his Hon. Friend oppo•
site, that those duties were considerably increased at the
present moment, from the great complication of the na-
tional interests of the country, and the great pressure of
public and private business, also from the great attention the
people paid to the proceedings of that House, and the nicety
with which parties were at the present moment balanced.
And, on the other band, he could not but feel how very de-
ficient he himself was in those qualifications which would
enable any gentleman to discharge those duties in such a
manner as would give satisfaction to that House. He
could advance no pretensions beyond what were possessed,
he might almost say by every Hon. Member of that House,
who, deeply attaehed•to,4the- Constitution of the 'country,
..felt an ansibus,desire to uphold .the,privileges •of- Parlia..
ment,"and to maintain the order and dignity of their pro-
ceedings, which were so essential to the, support and confi-
dence of the put li'ltlaige.—(Cheeis') Utidei these
circumstances he had little to offer on his own behalf to
the House. He could not hut feel deeply grateful
to the Right Honourable Gentleman the Member for
Montgomeryshire, who had proposed him, and the
Right Hon. Member for Lancashire who had seconded
the proposal, for the too partial manner in which they
had been pleased to speak of hispast conduct and his pre-
sent qualifications. Whatever might be the result of
that evening's discussion, the recollection of their
partial friendship would be to him a source of un-
feigned gratification ; and if in the course of a
now long public life he bad rendered any services
to his country, and as his Right Hon. Friend had observed
had elsewhere been subjected to obloquy, the knowledee
that he possessed their regard and esteem, would be more
than a compensation for any services he bad rendered, and
be an adequate consolation for any vituperative expres-
sions that might have been launched upon him elsewhere.
lle had only.further to submit himself entirely to the dis-
cretion of that House. If it should be their pleasure to
place him in that Chair, he should be bound to exercise
whatever of ability or experience he possessed to discharge
satisfactorily the duty the House would impose upon him;
but if, on the other hand, the House should exercise a sounder
discretion, and should overbear the partiality of his Hon.
Friends near him, in consideration of the acknowledged
merits of his Hon. Friend opposite, he could as sincerely
assure the House that he should, with greater satisfaction
to himself, and no less zeal for the dignity of the
House, co-operate with every M mber of the
House, to support the authority of the Chair,
and maintain that regularity and order in their pro-
ceedings which he believed was so essential to their own
character, and to insure the confidence of the public.
The House then divided, when the numbers were—
. For Mr. S. Lefevre
Stephen
tLhueinh
tliegdt.
wt hhee a chheair d
dbyre
sed
317
For Mr. Goulburn... 299
Majority
—lB
andEF ESVI rRSEt e
Mr.
the House as follows :—I beg to offer my sincere thanks
HaMndr.leyL
and acknowledgements fur the distinguished honour
you have conferred on me. I wish that your
election bad fallen upon an individual more worthy of the
honour, but I can assure you I will show my zeal and ac-
knowledgments by a faithful, an honest, and an impartial
discharge of rey public duties.—( Cheers from both sides.)
Lord JOHN RUSSELL—I rise to congratulate you,
Sir, on the distinguished honour which you have received
from this House. I am sure it will be quite un-
necessary, after the debate which has just taken
place, and after your long experience in the business
of this House, that I should say anything either of the
arduous nature of the duties to be performed, or of the dis-
tinguished honour which any one must acquire by performs.
ing those duties to the satisfaction of this House. I shall
therefore, Sir, only say that I perceived with very great
pleasure during the debate which took place that there was
a disposition on both sides to give credit to the qualifica-
tions of the two Members of this House who were proposed,
and that there was nothing in the course of the debate from
those who proposed you, Sir, ,or from these who proposed
the Right Hon. Gentleman opposite which could create
any unpleas ea feeling with regard to that competition
(Cheers)—and I am sure, from what the Right. Hon.
Gentleman, the Member for Cambridge said,, and which
respect
.for his character induces me implicitly to believe,
thse he would be one of the foremost to support the privi.
leges of the House, though the choice might not fall on
him—( Hear, hear)—that he, as well as those who voted for
him, will make good that promise, and that you will
receive not only from those who supported your election,
but from the whole of the House generally, that support
and unanimous concurrence bywhich alone in the difficult and
arduous circumstances in which a Speaker is placed can hie
hope to succeed in preserving order, and carrying properly
into effect the important duties confided to him.—( Hear,
hear.) I congratulate you, Sir, on the high honour you
have received, and beg now to state to the House,
that it is her Majesty's pleasure the Speaker
should be submitted to her Majesty for the Royal
approbation in the House of Lords to-morrow at three
o'clock. I shall propose that the House do proceed
to business after the Speaker has received the Royal ap-
probation. I now move that this House do adjourn.

BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE.
Sir R.
.PEEL understood that the House was not to
proceed with any business to-morrow, but there was one
important measure for that day, with respect to the fran.
chise, and he wished to know if it would be brought on
then.

Mr. HESKETH FLEETWOOD said he should
postpone it until to-morrow week.
Sir R. PEEL understood that on Thursday the inten.
tentions of the Government were to be made known with
respect to Jamaica, and on Friday the question of Edu-
cation was to be brought forward.
Lord JOHN RUSSELL said, that with respect to the
former question, his Hon. Friend' would to-morrow state
the terms of the motion to be made on Thursday. With
regard to the other, he would to-morrow state that he
should postpone the Education Grant for a fortnight from
Friday.—( Loud cheers from the Tory benches.)

CANADA.
Mr. HUME was undentood to ask whether the Canada
question would be brought forward on Thursday ?
Lord JOHN RUSSELL replied in the negative.
The House adjourned at Rilf-past Five.

Prince Paul Esterhazy, according to a letter of
the I 7th inst., from Vienna, has had frequent conferences
with Prince Metternich, preparatory to his return to his
embassy at London. -

MEETING AT KENSINGTON TO

ADDRESS HER MAJESTY.

A public meeting of the inhabitants of Kensington,
Chelsea, Hammersmith, Fulham, and Brompton, was
held la3t evening, at the King's Arms, Kensington, for
the purpose of addressing her Majesty relative to the late
Ministerial changes. The meeting was numerously and
most respectably attended.
The Right Hon. Lord KENSINGTON took the Chair
at half-past seven o'clock,
The CHAIRMAN on taking the chair said that he had
retired from public life, but he felt it his duty to come
forward on the present occasion, as he was exceedingly
anxious to testify, as far as he was able, his approbation
of the conduct which had been pursued by that mast
gracious Sovereign who at present filled the throne.—
He felt that it was the duty of every well wisher to the
Constitution of the country to join in supporting this
young lady, young in years but not in wisdom, in
upholding her just rights, for he thought that the just
and legal prerogatives of the Crown were as necessary to
the honour of the country, as the liberty of the subject.
He could.not but think that the late attempt to force
the Queen to give up those who were the companions
of her choice, was going beyond what any Minister of
the Crown had a right to do. He felt that a Minis-
ter of the Crown was justly entitled to have the ap-
pointment of all the great Officers of State, but when
he came to interfere with Ladies of the Bedchamber,
when he called upon a young lady, only 20 years of age,
to give up those companions to whom she was attached,
ladies whom he knew had been selected on account of
their high virtues and their unblemished character, and
to which he could bear personal testimony—(Cheers)
—he stated this boldly and fearlessly, and he thought
that every gentleman who heard him would agree in
opinion, that the conduct of the Queen on this occasion
was entitled to the approbation of every one who
valued the British Constitution. The Queen having
been left in this peculiar situation by the refusal
of Sir Robert Peel to form an Administration,
had recalled her former Ministers. He believed
that all who heard him knew that he was not much
attached to that Government. He had always said he
had no confidence in them as a boiy, though as indivip
duals he respected them ; but he hoped the chastise-
ment they had recently received in the House of Com-
mons would induce them to advance a step and carry
out the principles of the Reform Bill, which they them-
selves had introduced, so as to place it on a true and
firm basis.—(Cheers.) He would in that hope be in-
clined to look over past offences, though he could never
forget that they had not acted up to those prin-
ciples on account of which they were called to
power. How had they treated Sir Robert Peel
when he was in power ? They had said you must
assent to the appropriation clause or out you must go,
and had turned him out accordingly ; but where was
the appropriation clause now ?—(Loud cheers.) With
regard to the question of finality, he did not entertain so
bad an opinion of Lord John Russell as some persons
did, because he recollected that he was one of the
Committee of the Cabinet which drew up the Reform
Bill, in which Vote by Ballot and a shortening of the
duration of Parliament was originally proposed, but there
must have been a majority in the Cabinet which stifled
those propositions. He trusted that they would now
be taught by experience, for he felt convinced that
unless they carried out the true principles of the Re-
form Bill they would not be deserving of the confidence
of the county.—(Loud cheering.)
Sir J. S. LILLIE entirely concurred in what had fallen
from the Noble Lord. He would propose the first re-
solution :

" That this meeting is desirous of expressing its
gratitude to the Queen for the decision with which her
Majesty has been most graciously pleased to resist the
recent attempts made by the Tories to impose condi.
Lions upon her Majesty, which would have been deroga-
tory to her dignity, and an infringement upon her Royal
prerogative to have submitted to."

He did not look on this as the triumph of any parti-
cular party, as he cared not for men but for measures.
He was rejoiced to find that the place where her Ma-
jesty was born was about to address her, and she could
not but receive such an address with satisfaction. The
Ministers had had great difficulties to contend with in a
hostile House of Lords, and in the opposition of many
of their own fo!lowers ; but matters were now brought
to a crisis, and they must either go on or off. Those
who had trespassed on the prerogatives of the Queen
would trespass also on the rights of the people, there-
fore it behoved the people to protect the Queen. Had
these men attained power, looking to the state of the
country, they would have doubtless have introduced
violent measures ; but if the people were going astray,
the proper way was to lead them into the right
path, and not to drive them to despair by violence. He
suspected Sir Robert Peel was too shrewd to go out
on this question ; but on looking round him at the
state of affairs, and at the divisions in his own camp,
he found he had got into a net, and made this a pretext
for getting out of it. The Reform Bill had disappointed
many, and he thought all our distresses were owing to
the imperfect representation of the people in Parliament.
Mr. GOODRICH, in seconding the resolution, expressed
himself in high terms of admiration at the conduct of
her Majesty, and hoped that in remodelling the Govern-
ment she would infuse something more of liberality into
it.—(Cheers.)
On the resolution being put, a Mr. HARE, a Tory,
proposed as an amendment, that it was the opinion of
this meeting that it was not expedient to address her
Majesty. This was seconded, amid considerable con-
fusion, by

Mr. gAINTBURY, the secretary, as we understood
of some Tory club. On its being put, seven hands only
were held up in its favour, and the original resolution
was carried amidst the most vociferous cheering.
Mr. HAWKEY was glad to find the Tories had
mustered courage to show their faces—they were a con-
sistent race—consistent in always doing wrong. After
the scene which had just taken place, he was more than
ever convinced of the necessity of making a demon4ra-
lion in support of the Queen, if they wished t o keep Ire-
land, and England also tram being enslaved. He would
propose the second resolution to the following effect:—
" That this meeting is of opinion that if her 111.1j,sty
had not so decidedly resisted these unprecedented at-
tempts, the rights of the people, as well as the preroga-
tive of the Crown, would alike have been trampled
under foot, and plunged the nation into all the horrors
of anarchy and civil war, evils which we hope to see
averted by a speedy removal of all obstructions to u
true and faithful representation of the people in Par-
11,,ment.

Mr. ROGERS seconded the resolution, and hoped and
believed that her MAjesty would be as anxious to pre•
serve the rights of the people as she had shown herself
careful of her own prerogative. He hoped the Go-
vernment would adopt measures for the relief of the
labouring classes ; it was the duty of the Government to
look upon them with the feelings of a kind father, and
not of an oppressive master.—(Cheers.)
The resolution was then put and carried unanimously.
Mr WICKENS proposed the third resolution—" That
an Address, embodying the foregoing resolutions,
be presented to the Queen by the Chairman, and
the movers and seconders of these resolutions."
Ile regretted that this meetirig, had not been held
sooner. Kensington should have been first in the field
on this occasion. He was no admirer of an automaton
King or Queen. If they were necessary they ought to
be allowed to have a little play, and at all events have
the choice of their own friends. He attributed to the
supinene,.s of the country in affording their support a
great many of the orni,sions of the Ministry, and he
thought this should be taken as an excuse for their slow
progress. _ _ _

Mr. J. TOBY, of Chelsea, seconded the resolution.
He pitied the Tories for their disappointment, but. he
rejoiced in the resolution of the Queen.—(Cheers.)
If she had consented, how did they know but that
the baboon of Hanover might have sent in two ladies,
who might have persuaded the poor little creature to
die.—,,Loud cheers.) He hoped that God would bless
and prosper her Majesty, and that her unblemished
name would descend down with blessings to posterity.
The resolution was then put and carried unanimously.
A vote of thanks to the Chairman was then put and
carried by acclamation.
Lord KENSINGTON in returning thanks, said,
he was glad that one gentleman in the course of the dis-
cussion had touched on the distresses of the working
classes. He could not but allude to their present dis-
turbed state, and had the least excitement prevailed in
the part of the country with which he was connected he
should have gone down and met the people face to face,
have explained to them his opinion of their condition,
and of the means necessary to be pursued to remedy the
evils under which they were suffering, and have told
them that the conduct of the Chartist leaders was
not likely ever to afford them that remedy. Questions
of importance like these were to be carried by public
opinion—by mildness, not by violence ; there could be
no necessity for physical force when all were agreed.
What could he more nonsensical than in a commercial
nation like this to talk of an equal division of property.
Why property was changing hands every day, and
nothing could be more ridiculous than the notions
which had been propounded on this subject.—(Cheers.)
He would go as far as any man in support of the
rights of the people. He was totally unconnected with
party, and he would take this opportunity of rebutting
an insinuation that had been thrown out against him,
and he wished this denial of his to go forth to the world.
It had been basely insinuated that his opposition to the
Government was owing to his having been refused a
British Peerage. He rebutted all such charges with
contempt ; he had never asked a favour of any man,
and he never would ; he had retired from public
life. Had he wished to continue a public man he might
still have represented that borough in Parliament for
which he had sat during several years, and which his
father had represented before him. With regard to the
present Ministry, if they did not pursue a straightfor•
ward course he would take the chair at any meeting
that might be convened to move for their removal.--
(Loud cheers.)

Three cheers were then given for the Queen and
three for the people, and the meeting separated.