The Sun.
London, England, 1836-05-20 00:00:00

has become absolutely necessary for the consolidation of a
real union between both countries, and for the advance-
ment of good government in each.
See what the real state of the question is. In Scot-
land the corporations had become close monopolies ; the
rights of all were usurped by a few, and peculation and
every abuse were secured by the total absence of responsi-
bility or publicity.
In England the corporations were not such strict mono-
polies ; but they were equally corrupt, and perhaps more
actively mischievous.
In Ireland the corporations happily blend all the evils of
both systems.. They are close and exclusive as the
Scotch, monopolizing and corrupt as the English, but they
add the hideous feature of religious animosity and exclu-
siveness.
They poison at the source, and render partial
the administration of the laws, which is fancifully called in
that country the administration of justice. They are hot-
beds of peculation, fraud, and bigotry. Injustice and per-
jury are their handmaids.
The Scotch corporations bad some defenders in the
Houses of Parliament. The English corporations had
more than one advocate to soften down the general cha-
racter of monopoly and corruption. But the Irish corpo-
rations could not find one single person in either House
of Parliament sufficiently audacious to utter even one word
in mitigation of the universal sentence of condemnation
pronounced upon them by ail that is wise and good in both

countries.
H there were a real union between the two countries,
what would have been the consequence of such a state of
things ? Why, that the Legislature should have pro-
ceeded in the first instance to remedy the greatest evil, and
to reform the Irish corporations. The English and Scotch
could then have been easily, and would have been expedi-
tiously, regulated.
But what has been done ? Recollect that we are in a
state of union forsooth. This has-the Union produced.
Ist. The Scotch corporations have been reformed to a
very considerable extent, and the people of the Scottish
towns have been, as was just, let into the administration of
their own affairs.
idly. The English corporations have been partially, and
to a subStontially good effect, though not sufficiently, re-
fermed, and the people have been in a considerable degree
let into.the management of their own affairs.
idly. The Lords have utterly refused to reform the Irish
corporations. They admit that those corporations are too
vicious to be allowed any longer to exist ; but then they
turn round upon the people of Ireland. and they offer us
this base, this atrocious insult—they state that we are unfit
and unworthy to manage our own affairs. They insolently
degrade us beneath the people of Scotland and of England,
and they laugh to scorn the just indignation that boils in
our blood, and almost bursts into action at this gross, this
unmerited, this tyrannical insult. Bat let me restrain my
natural and just abomination of this outrage ; let me calmly
and coolly remind the people of England that the Scotch
have reformed corporations—the English have reformed
corporations—and the Irish are denied reformed corpora-
tions !!
Is this TztE UNTON !—I ask every honest Englishman if
this were the state of the facts :—if the Scotch had ob-
tained municipal reform, if Ireland had also obtained a si-
milar reform, and if municipal reform was not only refused
to England, hut that the Lords told the people of -England,
insolently and audaciously told the people of England,qbat
they were unworthy and unfit to manage their own loyal affairs
—if that were so, what would be the answer ? , Why the
answer your ancestors gave to Charles I. and to James 11.

.L--a revolution.
Englishmen I despise not us in. Ireland if we are not
prepared to follow the e:: ample you set us. Put be con-
vinced that We will not tamely submit, neither will we
acquiesce at all in this insulting wrong. Our course is oh-

‘IOIIF..
Ist. We will have Lord Lyndhurst's Bill kicked oat.
No compromise—no submission—the Lords have com-
meneed the eoli!sion—they have taken their choice to rest
that collision !'ipoa the insulting iniquity of refusing corpo-
rite yeform to Ireland. "We only follow in their track by
throwing- out the Bill, and join issue with" them to the

eon ry.
2dy. We appeal to the people of F.-iv:land for aid and
;istance : « are entitled to that aid and assistance. In
i:cople of Ireland I call upon you for that

the name of tl
aid and assistance.
idly. I will appeal to the people of Ireland—they are
stomed to my cry of peaceable agitation—

•' Hereditary Bolidsmen, know ye not
Who would be free, thernselves must strike the blow r
The agitation must and will be re-organised. We cannot,
and we will not, submit to the execrable tyranny and in-
suitiag injustice of the Lords without using every effort
to obtain the complete reform of that assembly. Ireland
must have reformed corporations, as England and Scotland
have—or the House of Lords must be reformed—or the
Union dissolved.
To these points I want to direct the attention of the
British people. The reform of the Lords is the ONE POLI-
TicAt NECESSITY. You cannot hope to extend the right
of suffrage. Why? Because the Lords would reject the
measure. Therefore reform the Lords.
You cannot hope to shorten the duration of Pairament.
Why ? Because the Lords would reject tile Bill. There-
fore reform the Lords.
You cannot hope ror the protection of the ballot. Wily?
Because the Lords would extinguish the Bill. Therefore
Telorm the Lords. _ _

You cannot see justice done to Ireland, or- our corpora-
'Eons reformed. Why ? Because the Lords have, with an
insalting mockery, disfigured and degraded the Bill. There-
fore, I say, reform the Lords.
The Lords illtreat England—despise Scotland—insult
Ireland. Therefore reform the Lords.
It is idle to expect, you cannot expect, to ameliorate
-your institutions—to lessen your burdens—to correct your
expensive and absurd judicial establishments—to do justice
to the Dissenters—to reform the temporalities of the
Church—or to consolidate the Union on the broad and firm
basis of mutual and reciprocal rights and liberties—until
you have first reformed the House of Lords.
Let me be understood. Ido not seek to abolish the
Peerage. Ido not require to take away the prerogative of
creating Peers from the Crown. Ido not desire to press
the organic change beyond the actual necessity of the case.
Let the House of Lords remain, but let no Lord be a legis.
.iator unless he be also a representative Peer. In other
-words, let the reformed House of Lords consist of 120
Peers, elected by 120 districts of as nearly equal popula-
tion as possible, into which the UNITED KINGDOM could be
easily divided.
I have had occasion to remark, that in point of principle,
or even of name, there is not any novelty in my proposition.
There are at present Scotch Peers and Scotch representa-
tise Peers. There at present Irish Peers and Irish repre-
sentative Peers. Let there be also English Peers and
_English representative Peers.
There would be, indeed, this difference in the principle of
election. The electors would be different, but 'the eligible
would be the same..
I pray the English people to observe that I am in the
•exact performance of the pledge I have given—namely, to
-try to the last the experiment whether Ireland can be well
governed by the United Parliament. It is in the obser-
vance of that pledge that I call for your assistance to re-
form.the House a Lords. That House, in its present
state, is the great obstacle to the good government of Ire-
land ; in fact it is, in its present state,an invincible obstacle
to such government.
I defy any man to deny this fact, that the enemies of
Ireland have a majority, a decided majority, in the House
of Lords, a majority not to be influenced by argument.
There is Lord Winchilsea, a well meaning man—so much
the worse, because the founders of the Inquisition were
probably well-weaning persons, but their handy-work was
not one bit the less bad on that account. The Duke of
Newcastle is another leader of the anti-Irish party ; poor
anan ! well-meaning !—be it so—but as impervious to logic
as a door-post. Lord Londonderry, another leader—not a
well-meaning man, nor an ill-meaning man, but a man of
no meaning at all.
The commander-in-chief of the party is Lord Lyndhurst
upon it, oh fie!!! I could endure indignity to my
country perhaps from almost any other person—but coming
from such hands as these! Fie upon it ! oh fie! !I
The, materials of the majority in the Lords against Ire-
land could not well be worse than they are ; but of what
importance is that ? They arc all powerful for mischief—
impotent of good. The same majority diminishes or disfi-
gures every measure useful to England—they destroy
',everything useful to Ireland.
To this then should every well-wisher to Ireland tend.
.7o the reform of the House of Lords the attention of
every real and sincere Reformer should now be turned.
Th ere may be some calling themselves Reformers, but who
are Tories in their hearts ; and there may be others who
.esie,,aedly play the part of Tories ; and both these classes
nay seek, therefore, to turn the attention of the friends of
reed, nn to other topics from the one thin necessary—the&
reform of the House of Lords. There are men who either
cannot see or who will not see that the present object of the
leaders ,of ti.e majority in the Lords is to supersede the
Commons in their right to controul the appointment of the
Ministry_ The question narrows itself to the single point
whether or mot, the reform of the House of Commons is to
be useless farevery practical purpose ? It is indeed, quite
clear that suds reform is an useless mockery, if the Lords,
ivho before the, Reform Bill governed the nation by and
f•airough their nominees in the House of Commons, shall
r- ow govern the nation directly and by their own personal
or, -d irresponsible power.
It is well to ly.r:n2-, the question forward in its distinct and
intc •Ilie-ible shape. The Reform Bill was intended to take
from the Lords the power of controul and direction of pub-
lic a Efairs exercised by them, by their nominees being a
great Inajority of the Members of the House of Commons.