The Sun.
London, England, 1839-03-06 00:00:00

CANADA.

Mr. HUNIE moved for copies of all despatches and corre-
spondence which passed between Sir Francis Head. as Lieute-
nant-Governor of Upper Canada, and the Colonial Office, and
her Majesty's Ministers, during the time he held that office.
Mr. LABOUCHERE would not be induced to enter into
the details of so important a question which must soon come
under the grave consideration of the Flouse. No long period
could pass before the whole question of the Government of
Canada, and the conduct of Sir F. Head, must engage the seri-
ous attention of the House. The Government had no objec-
tion to lay on the table of the House extracts of despatches,
but they naturally wished to have the same rule applied to them
as was usually applied to other Governments, to lay upon the ta-
ble of the House those part of the despatches which they thought
requisite for the understanding of the questions. In those de.
spatches there were many reflections upon not only individuals,
but upon the institutions of a friendly nation,'which it would be
most improper to he laid upon the table of the. House by com-
mand of her Majesty. He had no objection to lay such extracts
before the House as the Government thought necesssary, and
he would move as an amendment on the motion of the Hon.
Member, that such extracts be laid on the table of the House.
After a few winds from Mr. Hume, Sir G. Grey, and Mr.
Buller, the amendment was agreed to.
On the motion of Captain PECHELL in the room of Mr.
Harvey, returns were ordered of the fees established by the
the Judges of Wesrninster Hall.
IRISH CLERGY.

Lord "MORPETH obtained leave to bring in a Bill to
authorise the immediate distribution of the sums voted for the
relief of the Irish Clergy.
On the motion of the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHE-
QUER, the Transfer of Aids Bill went through Committee.
The House then adjourned.

THE LONDON PRECURSORS.

DINNER TO MR. O'CONNELL.

Yesterday evening the Precursors of London gave Mr.
O'Connell a dinner at Highbury Barn Tavern, for the purpose
of commemorating the establishment of that Society in Lon-
don. There were between 800 and 900 persons sat down to
dinner, and the gallery was literally crammed to suffocation
with ladies. Among those who sat down to dinner we no-
ticed Mr. C. O'Brien, M.P. for Clare ; Mr. F. Bridgman,
M.P. for Ennis ; Mr. D. Browne, M.P. for Mayo ; Mr. M.
.1. O'Connell, M.P. far county Kerry, Dr. Carpue, Mr.
Fitzpatrick, and Mr. M'Kennin, Precursors from Dublin, the
Rev. Mr. Magee, and Mr. Kelly.
Upon Mr. O'Connell entering the room he was most en•
thusiastically cheered, and that cheering was reiterated upon
his being unanimously called to preside.
After the cloth was withdrawn,
Mr. O'Cort NELL rose to propose the health of the Queen. The
toast he had now to propose was one which he was sure every one
present would anticipate and cordially join in the health of the
Sovereign of England.—( Cheers.) That illustrious inslividual
stood in a remarkably singular situation—every monarch of her
race and family that had filled the British Throne had been
rather the chief leader of a party, than the chief magistrate of
a great and glorious people.—( Cheers. ) Hitherto the house
of Brunswick had been the partisans of one political
sect and the oppose' s of another.—( Hear.) Thank Heaven,
however, the time had arrived when better prospects appeared
in the horizon of Britain.—( Hear, hear.) The Throne of
England was now filled by a young and interesting Princess,
whose political conduct had hitherto been marked by the most
decided and dignified impartiality. She had made no dis-
tinction of party, sect, or persuashn. She had not
considered the limits of her authority hound by the sea that
washed the shores of Britain. She had taken a more expanded
view, and had looked with sorrow on the sufferings of the
wretched peasantry of Ireland.—(Cheers.) He trusted that
that Illustrious Princess would be long spared to Britain
to enable her to carry out to its full extent. the illustrious
course she had begun.- —( Great cheering.) The Hon. and
Learned Gentleman concluded by proposing" The Queen, and
long life to her."
The toast was drank amidst the most enthusiastic cheering.
—Air, God save the Queen.

Mr. O'CONNELL then rose to propose the next toast, " The
People."—( Great cheering.) As an avowed and thorough-
going Radical he Was proud of any occasion to express his
attachment to the people.—(Cheers.) The object of all
his political exertion had been the people—that class which
included ix the general term the entire of society : every man
who had devoted.his honest principles to the good of his country.
If there was to be any distinction made between one class of the
people and anther, if they were to be divided into Aristocratic
and Democratic his choice was fixed—he was for the Demo-
cratic against the Aristocratic.—( Tremendous cheering.)
There might have been periods of society when the spirit of
Vandalism and oppression wrs abroad, and when the nation
was rather a congregation of robbers than of think-
ing men, when the Aristocracy was a necessary as an
officer was to a regiment of the line ; but, thank
God, that state of society had gone by ; the mind of the
present generation had spread itself beyond the fetters of feudal
authority, and the humbler classes of society were now as high
in intellect, and more advanced in cultivation, as the Lords and
the mighty men of the present day.—( Great cheering.) He
knew of little occasion that there was for them at the pre-
sent day, unless it was to make bread dear, and to create
prejudices among the people of the country. In his opinion
the Aristocracy of this country was the most sordid that he had
ever witnessed, because he found them surrounding him every
day doing all in their power to make Ileac' dear to
the children of the widow and the fatherless. He thought
that the stand they had made in favour of the existing Corn-
laws was one of the most disgraceful exhibitions that had taken
place by the wealthy classes in opposition to the poorer ones—
and it had often struck him that if the present aristocracy of the
country could increase the miseries of the poor, not by starving
them, hut by roasting them for their Saturday dinner, they
would be happy to avail themselves of such pastime.—( Great
cheering.) It' ever there was a period when it was necessary
for the democratic portion of society to stand together,
to combine, and to unite, it was the present—(Cheers)—
for what was the state of the population of the country?
Why, it was miserable in the extreme. They had the master
classes who had votes, and the slave classes who had no votes
at all.—(Cheers.) Was is not highly discreditable to the peo-
ple of England, that such a state of things should exist ?
( Cheers.) Was it not highly discreditable that the pour man
should hare no vote, and that the rich man should have one?—
(Cheers.) There was no common sense or common law in such
a state of things.—(Cheers.) The Judges of the land would
tell them that the power of the law was derived from the
people at large, to be collected from their Representatives.f—
(Cheers. ) According, however, to the present system of re-
presentation they might as well attempt to obtain electric fire
from a broken conducting chain as to attempt to obtain the
voice of the people from the present system of representation.
—( Great cheering.) He (Mr. O'Connell) was an advocate
for Universal Suffrage—( Great cheering)—he was the rational
advocate of everything that was useful and beneficial to the
people.—(Cheering.) Universal Suffrage was a debt due
to the nation at large—(Cheers)—but the Legislature of the
country, like all fraudulent debtors, was unwilling to pay the
whole of that debt; he had therefore taken as much as they
would give, without any species of release for demanding the
remainder.—(Great cheering.) That was his practical mode
of working—( Tremendous cheering)—because he knew that a
man who got ss. from a fraudulent debtor, was far more
likely to get the remaining 15s. than if he had received nothing
in part payment.—(Cheers.) He thought that every
step towards Universal Suffrage enabled them to go on with
stronger force and with less resistance to obtain the remainder.
—(Cheers.) Upon this point many men differed from him.
He was sorry for that, and they must allow him to tell them
that they were not quite such practical men as he was.—
(Cheers.) In whatever course they might think right to pur-
sue, he trusted they would meet with success, provided the pub-
lic good would be secured by it.—((''heers.) He was
the decided advocate of the Vote by Ballot.—( Great
cheering.) Nay, he would tell them more, for
he would fearlessly assert that there was not a single honest
man in the community who was not its friend.—( Great cheer-
ing.) However much the opposer of the Ballot might attend
public worship—however much he might turn up his eyes to
Heaven and cry out " God be merciful to me a sinner"—
(Great laughter)—he would declare that man to be a rogue and
knave at bottom, if he was not in favour of the Ballot. Why
was he for the Ballot ? Why, because if they had it
a man's vote would be his own.—( Great cheering.) If they
had the Vete by Ballot no man could come to another man's
shop and say " You did not vote as I wished you, to send in
your account."—( Great cheering.) No man could come to a
voter and say " Your son is in my employment, but as you
have not voted for me the seiner he leaves it the better."—
(Continued cheering.) Nor could any man go to another and
say, " Mr. So-and-so employs you, does he not?"—" He
does." " Well, he will never pay you another shilling if you
don't vote as I want you."—(Great laughter.) If they had
the Ballot, everything of that description would be put an end
to, and sordid and corrupt bribery would see the light no more.
—( Great cheering.) At the last election no less than
3,000,0001. had been expended in bribery.—(Criesof " Hear,"
and "Shame.") In Norwich, the freemen began by selling
themselves to one party, and having got from them 301. or 40/.
for a vote, they then went to the other party and sold their votes
for 501. or 601.—( Cheers.) Not satisfied with this, they were
actually ready to sell themselves to a third party if one
had come forward—such was the true character of the honest
and independent freemen of Norwich.—( Great cheering.)
At the last election there the Duke of Wellington's son and
the son of the Lord Chief Baron on the one side, and two what
were called popular men on the other, and notwithstanding the
freemen were so anxious to obtain money for their votes, there
were some of them who had some slight political consciences,
for they expressed themselves ready to give a rebate of
Is per cent. to the popular party.—(Hear and cheers.)
If they had the Ballot, such a system would be at
an end, because nobody could tell then how a party voted.
He might say the he had voted for a certain party, but then he
might also tell a lie—(Great laughter)—and the fellow who
would take a bribe in his (Mr. O'Connell's) opinion would feel
little hesitation in veering from the truth. If he wanted any
individual who more than another deserved the epithet of
scoundrel, it would be that man would sell himself soul and
body for the sake of money.—(Great cheering.) No man was
honest who was not for the Ballot. As the suffrage was increased,