The Sun.
London, England, 1853-01-07 00:00:00

AYLESBURY.

Yesterday, R. Bethell, Esq., her Majesty's Solicitor-
General, was re-elected for the hundreds and borough of
Aylesbury without opposition.
Mr. JOHN GIBBS put Mr. Bethell in nomination, and
J. LEE, Esq., LL.D., seconded the nomination.
The SOLICITOR-GENERAL was then declared to be duly
elected, and on presenting himself he was received with
' very great cheering. Lord Aberdeen had been entrusted
• e. • Ulan of a new Cabin*, and he_ww_gladAo
say a ie Cabinet of L7,7-rXberGe en were pledged, in
the first place, to the introduction of a measure of fran-
chise reform. (Cheers.) It was not within his power to
indicate the character or the details of the reform mea-
sure which the new Cabinet would introduce; but speak-
ing his own convictions, he must say that its first element
ought to be a large extension of the franchise—(loud
cheers)—and next by the concession of the ballot for
the protection of the voters. (Three cheers for the ballot.)
Connected with the transfer of property, his plan would
be to have a register of all real property, so that the
process of transfer would involve no more inconvenience
nor expense than what was necessary to identify the
owner ; and those who had passed through the difficult
process of a Chancery suit would be able to appreciate
the vast importance of a change of this nature. (Hear,
hear.) The great evil of our present law system arose
from the diversity of jurisdiction and the diversity of
statutes applicable to the different courts under these
jurisdictions, so that when one party wanted a small
mortgage for convenience or necessity, or a small transfer,
he had bills coming in from different legal agents •
whereas, if the same law of justice were applicable to all
branches of law, this evil would at once be overcome.
For example, the Ecclesiastical Court administered law
by statutes and advocates exclusive and restricted, and he
would change the jurisdiction by placing it under the
same authority as that which ruled at Westminster.
(Hear.) And, with respect to the law of church rates,
which came within the jurisdiction of Doctors' Commons,
he would certainly say that the State was bound to make
provision for the maintenance of those fabrics of worship
which the piety of our ancestors had bequeathed to us ; but
he was disposed to destroy the present levy upon those
who did not go to church, and the present uncertain na-
ture of church rate exaction by the appropriation of funds
in the possession of the deans and chapters to church
repairs. (A voice, "The Jews.") He maintained that
those who would exclude our Hebrew bretheren from
Parliamentary honours, ought never to pronounce the
sacred words of civil and religious liberty, because the
exemption of Jews from Parliament was not upon politi-
cal grounds, as the Catholics had been exempted, but
solely on the ground of their religious convictions, and
he maintained that a vote of the House of Commons was
sufficient to admit them without a new enactment. Our
conduct on this question reminded him of the boast of
the American, who contended that America was the
most liberal and free country on earth, and then turned
round and said, " What shall I give you for that d—d
negro." (Applause.) In conclusion, Mr. Bethell said that
his ambition in entering the House of Commons was to
turn his attention to the reform of the law, in the spirit of
an axiom laid down by one of the greatest of their ancestors
" that he who reaped advantage from a profession should
endeavour to make it pure." (Loud cheers.)
The proceedings were closed by the customary vote of
thanks, and Mr. Bethell and his supporters retired to tlie
Bell Inn to dinner.