The Sun.
London, England, 1831-11-17 00:00:00

BIRMINGHAM POLITICAL UNION.

ORGANIZATION OF THE MEMBERS— ,
- IMPORTANT EXPLANATION.
(From the Birmingham Journal.)
On Tuesday evening last the usual weekly meet-
ing of the Council took place at the Globe Tavern.
The room and avenues were again crowded to suffo-
cation. Before the commencement of business, the
Rev. Dr. Wade, Vicar of St. Nicholas, Warwick,
was introduced, and was loudly cheered on taking
his seat at the Council table.
Mr. ATTWOOD then rose, and said that before
they proceeded to the business of the evening, he
felt it necessary to make a few observations. They
all knew the great power and importance which the
Union had acquired throughout the country, and
which rendered it doubly necessary that no misun-
derstanding or misrepresentation should exist in the
public mind, relative to their views, objects, or
measures.—(Hear, hear.) He perceived it stated
in the Morning Chronicle that he (Mr. A.) had
spoken at their last meeting of the danger to which
he himself should be exposed in the event of a
Tory Administration succeeding the present. This
was not correct. He knew of no danger under any
circumstances, and he feared none.—(Cheers.) He
had violated no law in the degree of a hair's breadth,
and therefore he had no fear that any possible laws
couldaffect him. What he had stated was, that the
position which he had the honour to hold, rendered
it the more necessary to his security that the pro-
ceedings of theUttion should still continue to be marked
with strict peace and legality, or otherwise, in the
event of public feeling being outraged, as was threat-
ened by a possible dismissal of the present Ministers,
the members of tt e Union might possible be urged
on by the popular phrenzy around them into acts of
an illegal or dangerous nature, for which he himself
might be answerable. It was well known that the
Union was particularly obnoxious to the borough
faction—to whom he trusted the Union had been
instrumental in giving a death-blow—and, therefore,
they might rest assured that if ever this detested
faction should again come into power, if the Union
gave them the slightest loop-hole, it would be sure
to be taken advantage of in order to crush them,
or entangle them in the mazes of the law. He
thought it necessary to say this much, because at
the commencement of the Union he had told them
he would go with them to the very verge of the law,
but not one step further. Not that he was actuated
by any low fear of his own life, but he feared guilt
—and he feared the terrible consequences, the
anarchy, the blood, the universal ruin and distress.
which must be the result of any civ I commotion in
England. Civil commotions could not produce the
freedom or the happiness of the people. History
sheaved that they generally terminated in military
despotism. This was the case in the first French
revolution, and though he could not doubt the power
of the people of England to put down by force the
oppressors of their country at any time, yet the ex-
perience of all history gave him but too much reason
to expect that if ever the people of England should be
driven to this terrible alternative, theywoold only suc-
ceed in breaking down one system of oppression in or-
der to establish another. In the conflict of passions and
opinione,when 20,000,0000 f mindswere let loose upon
each other, all manner of anarchy, desolation, and
misery would be certain to be continued, until the
wan with the sharpest sword, or the ablest head, or
The most propitious fortune, would ultimately suc-
ceed In enslaving all.—(Hear, hear.) Having made
this explanation regarding himself, he felt it neces-
sary to make another more important one, regarding
the Union. It had been stated in the public papers
that that Council had been discussing the propriety
of arming the Union, This was an error of great
importance, requiring immediate correction.—(Loud
cries of " Hear.") The truth was, that the Coun-
cil bad never once discussed the question of arming
the Union, nor entertained the idea. All that had
been ',aid at that Council was, that upon one wee-
sion the Times paper had been read, calling upon
the country to provide arms, and one gentleman had
seated that it was his intention forthwith to provide
himself accordingly; but that he did not recom-
mend any one else to do so.—(Hear, hear.) All
that had been discussed at that Council was the
peaceful and legal completing of the organization of
the Union, in order to render it the more efficient in
assisting to preserve the peace if necessary, and in
order to place it more effectually within the controul
of the Council, and to prevent any of its members
ft gm breaking out into any possible violation of the
law.—(Hear.) This was rendered the more necessary
in consequence of the dangerous state of excitement
into which the conduct of the borough faction had
thrown the public mind,—and the still greater
degree of excitement which must be apprehended
in the event of a second rejection of the Bill
of Reform in the Hoose of
de Lords.
for a In
very shortsuch case
the Bill of Reform might ise layed
perior', but if the people were true to each other, no
power upon earth could cause it to be delayed long.
--(Cheers) To meet this great crisis, it was abso-
lutely necessary that the Union should be effectually
organized. By their present state of organization
they had been enabled to gather up a prodigious
power under the shelter of the law and of the Con-
stitution—such as it remained, They had with
them the whole of the lower classes, and nearly the
whole of the middle classes; and,he doubted not, a
great proportion of the honourable aristocracy of the
country. They were, therefore, too strong, in con-
scious rectitude, in peace, in strict legality, and in
the sanction and protection of the country, ever to
have occasion to think of arms. They had only to
complete their organization, in order to enable them
to guard against the dangers into which they might
he led, either by rash friends or disguised enemies,
and then their security would be certain, and their
speedy triumph ensured. It was certainly possible
that a period might occur in which law would be
dissolved in England, and when it ceased to afford
protection to the people, it might then be necessary,
and would then be constitutional, for the people to
protect themselves by arms: But this was the very
last alternative that a good subject or a good ,citizen
should ever contemplate.—(Hear, hear.) Above all
things it was necessary that a people should have
justice on their side,—with a good cause an out-
raged nation is sure to triumph—the very
atones in the streets would rise tip in their
defence—(Loud laughter and cheers)—but in a I
bad, a weak, or a doubtful cause, every thing was
doubtful and dangerous around them. When their
gallant neighbours the French had been outraged
and insulted for year after year by the stupid and
atrocious adherents of the Bourbon dynasty, the ,
French people had waited patiesstly for many weary
years, until their enemies, in the prodigality of
their insolence and of their fraudulent oppressions,!
had madly stepped astray from the protection of the
Jaw. Then it tAvts that the French people arose.—
As had been eloquently expressed, A' the public au-
thority was brought into opposition with the Jaw,
and the public authority was broken into pieces MI,
the spot, by the thunder of the wrath of the people."
So again, as he had reminded them the other night,
when Julius Casar turned his arms against elle all,
garchs at home, he waited until the oligarchs had,
clearly committed themselves by violating the law I
against him, he then appealed to the ,mortal gods,
and cried out to his soldiers, " Let us go where the
gods and the injustice of our enemiee call us." kf.
men like these found it necessary to have justice and
Jaw on their side, how much more necessary was
such a precaution in England. Let the English
people, therefore, strictly obey and support the law
ect long as law exists. Let them in the mean while
ege.ee in peaceful and legal combinations, and
then, ever an English Polignac should arise,
who shouts wickedly attempt to enslave the King,
the House of Commons, and the people, they
would be in a condition to deal with him.—,
He had stated at Warwick that he feared the
Bill might be again rejected by the House of
Lords, This could only happen through the
executive authority neglecting to make theneces-
sary increase of the Peerage. He c not
possibly believe that Earl Grey would neglect this

great duty. It would be madness in him to do so.
He had brought the country, as it were, to the brink •
of a precipice, from whence there was no retreat ;
and was it possible that he should now say to then
—" Leap the precipice unguided and unassisted, fin i
the Government will desert you." If Earl Gre y
should possibly act in this way, his own fall %souk;
indeed be great. Instead of leaving the greaten
name in English history behind him, as he (Mr. A.) •
trusted Earl Grey was destined to do, he would leas e
a stained and contaminated name—he would le
deemed the Necker of England instead of its saviotr.
—(Cheers.) But he would not believe that ti
executive authority would be guilty of such a gro
and dangerous neglect ; but even if they should Is
so, the road of the people was still quite clear, legs',
and safe. They had in the House of Commons ma-
jorities of 109 and 131 in their favour. These majori-
ties consisted of honourable and upright men, like
Mr. Lawley and Sir Grey Skipwith, who had
been sent into Parliament by an effort of public
virtue, unparalleled in history on the part of the
people. They could not, therefore, shrink from
the discharge of the duties which they had un-
dertaken and to which they had become pledged.
If the Government should, therefore, neglect its
duty, the House of Commons would coerce it—the
House of Commons would refuse the supplies, and
thus compel the Government to create the necessary
number of Peers to compel the House of Lords to
do its duty. By a step of this kind, every soldier
would remain unpaid—the dividends of the national
debt would cease—the civil list of the King him-
self would no longer be discharged—and thus the
Government would either be dissolved, or it must
instantly discharge its duty. So again, if the Mu-
tiny Act was rejected by the House of Commons—
no improbable alternative—that magnificent army,
which was now so powerful to protect the country
and to crush its foreign enemies, would be instantly
struck from the hand of the Government, and its
power as a weapon against the liberties of the people,
suddenly shivered in the dust. Even if the House
of Commons should refuse to do its duty upon such
an emergency, still the people would possess within
their own hands the peaceful and legal means of en-
suring their own redress. They had only to adopt
the advice of Mr. Edmonds, which was strictly legal
and constitutional, although it had been misrepre-
sented, viz.—to act upon the system of the Quakers,
and to submit to a distraint upon their goods for the
payment of taxes, and the House of Commons would
be instantly brought to see the position in which it
stands. In this way the people would legally act upon
the House of Commons,the House of Commons would
compel the Government, and the Government would
compel the House of Lords, and everything would be
right. It was most fortunate that this great work
of Reform %vas brought forward by Earl Grey, at a
time when the Constitution yet retained sufficient
of its pristine vigour to ensure its own regeneration
by legal means. If this great work had been neglected
fur a few years longer, until the oligarchs could
have got possession of fifty more boroughs, the
people would have been lost—a patriot King could
not have saved them, for when he appealed to them
for their constitutional support, that appeal could not
have been answered. The day of political grace, as
it were, would have been gone by, and the country
would have been left in such a position that it must
either have submitted to permanent slavery, or have
worked out its own salvation through an ocean of
blood and tears. It was fortunate, also, that Earl
Grey had not only come forward in due time, but
that lie had also selected that just, prudent, safe, and
efficient measure of Reform, which combined all in-
terests in its support, and ensured its success. If
he had gone much further in the Reform Bill, it was
quite certain that he would have had no chance of
success. Even as it was, with the King, the Mi-
nisters, the House of Commons, the English Aristo-
cracy, and the whole English people, combined, as
it were, in one holy league in its support, Earl Grey
would find it absolutely necessary to put forth all
the powers of the Constitution and of the
people, to ensure the success of his measure ;
and if that measure had gone much farther, no
human power could have ensured it. The oli-
garchical system had been for so many years
rooted in the habits, associations, powers, and
interests of the community, that it was
alincest impossible to overturn it without a convul-
sion that would pall down the whole fabric of
society upon our heads? It was wrong, therefore, to
blame Earl Grey for not having given more to the
people than the Bill of Reform promieed them. He
was giving ell that human power could accomplish
for them, surrounded by such elements and such
enemies as he was surrounded by. It was not a
question whether the Bill of Reform was better than
a more comprehensive measure; but it was a ques-
tion whether they should have the Bill of Reform or
nothing. In fact, whether the people of England
should continue to be ground down into the state of
Irelend, and the people of Ireland be ground into
the grave; or whether the whole of the British
people should have their rights, liberties, and pro-
sperity, prudently and efficiently restored. He
thought it necessary to explain what he understood
by liberty. He (Mr. A.) did not say a word against
auiveesal suffrage, nor would he say a word in its
favour. is would only say that universal suffrage
never did exist in any country in the world, and that
even now it did not exi=t in any of the United
States of America without many limitations and re-
strictions. For instance, soldiers, paupers, the black
population, foreigners, criminals, and many others,
had no votes in the United States. But if it was
deemed unsafe by the Americans to adopt universal
suffrage without limitations, they ought not to be
surprised if the higher and upper clar,ses generally
reckoned it unsafe in England. In Ametiea there were
a least nine men interested in property to one man •
interested in labour alone. In England the case was
exactly the reverse, Here there were nine persons
interested in the sale of their labour to one who was
nterested in the preservation of his property.
Therefore, if it had not been deemed safe for the nar
tional interests in America to confer political power
indiscriminately upon every individual in the com-
munity, they ought noe to be surprised if it was
deemed still more unsafe in a state of society like
that of England, where property was gethered up
into immense masses, and where extreme poverty
might so act upon the passions and necessities of the
people as to leave them unfair judges over the pro-
peety of their neighbours, and probably to urge
them on to sneasuree alike destructive of the inte-
rests and happiness of all. Now lie cared not himself
a rush what measure of liberty the people had, pro-
vided they had that which did them justice and
made them happy and contented. lie valued no-
thing an ideal arid theoretic liberty, which, after all,
might probabki end in leaving the poor man Merely
the melancholy choice 74:)
.2 tween the ,vorkhouse, the
gaol, and the grave; what he wented was a real and
Lo
substantial 'liberty, which should make g vorking
man as independent as his master, and ensure to
every honest workman in Englend an ample supply
of the comforts and necessaries of ;lie eoe himself
and tie family in exchange for his honest labour,
This was the kind of liberty which he thought
the Bill of Reforre rise calculated to secure; but if
f he L. and upon experience that it did not secure
he eho-ai4 be most ready to co-operete with his
countrymen in every possible legal exertion to
tain a really efficient measere.—( Cheers.) Mr. A.
then proceeded to urge upon the pnion the absoluie
nec.s,:ity of unanimity and har.mony,F.nd of sup.
porting the ;I,,ing and hiS Minister,: in breaking
Own the atrocious system which had so long op-
pressed arid defrauded the eosentry. They must on
no account euffer themselves to be split and divided
into sects and part eve—one travelling one mid ?..r.3cl
the other another road, for each to fall a prey to the
common ,enemy in the etid. Tie enemy knew no
sect 2. n d no ,division, no separation of object, or
of view. Burying all former diffeeences respecting
Catholics or anti, Catholics,—repeat 9f the Test Act
or no zepeal,--free trade or no free trade, and all the
other humbugs—with which they had so long de-
. lulled the people, they were now united like one
man,—they had condensed and consecrated all their
i energies in the ore sole and grand object of pree

serving their own plunder and perpetuating thej
-lavery of the people. The cruel and fraudulent op- '
'ressors of their country, aware of the importance of
rnion to its .afety, could not conceal their joy when
They saw discord breaking out among the ranks of the
Reformers. The Standard paper breaking out into an
'xrravagant apostrophe on thia subject, literally
harked God when it saw the appearance of discord
exhibited among the Political Unions of London.
There, he was sorry to say, the Reformers were split
rJto three parties : one, which he would call the con-
servative and rational party, with Sir F Burdett at
is bead, supporting the Bill of Reform as a prac-
ical and most important measure of liberty, but not
'revocably binding themselves to attempt no
further improvement if necessary; the second,
which might be called the ultra-conservative party,
faintly supporting the Bill of Reform, but shrinking
with terror from all possibility of any future duty
devolving upon them ; and the third, which might
be called the ultra-radical party, madly rejecting the
Bill of Reform, and refusing an immense real bless-
ing, because they could not realize a visionary and
abstract measure of ideal perfection. The Standard
fondly flattered itself that because these three parths
were travelling different roads, they could never
unite, and might, therefore, be destroyed in detail.
He (Mr. A.) hoped that it would yet be found, that
at the proper hour and in the proper way, all these
classes would rally round the throne of the King,
and ensure the accomplishment of the greatest boon
that a King ever gave to a people.—(Cheers.) The
Morning Post, following in the wake of the Standard,
and rejoicing in the discord which it fondly imagined
breaking out among the Reformers throughout the
country, boldly declared that Birmingham was the
only town in the kingdom in which the Re-
formers were united ; and it had the impu-
dent mendacity to declare that even in the
midst of their camp (that of the Union), discord
was breaking in among them. At the very
moment they were uttering these falsehoods, the
Birmingham Union was giving proof of the most
entire harmony and unanimity among them, and of
unlimited devotion to the sacred cause they had un-
dertaken to support.—(Cheers.) The Birmingham
Union had began in peace and in law, with righte-
ous objects and designs—they had never for a mo-
ment swerved from those objects and designs—they
had never had the slightest discord among them,
rlor would they ever suffer any artifices of the enemy
to create discord among them, nor would they ever
relax from their noble and patriotic efforts, until
they saw the liberties of the country restored and
secured, and the happiness of the great mass of the
people placed upon the rock of the Constitution
never to be shaken again. The Morning Post and
the Standard, arid all their allies and coadjutors,
deceiving and deluding the people in many ways—
some urging them against the Bill of Reform, be-
cause it dui not go far enough, and others, because
it went too far—some urging them to riot, and pre-
mature and impotent exhibitions of physical force,
and others entrapping them into more insiduous and
concealed violations of the law—all these would be
deceived; their numerous and varied artifices would
be seen through by an intelligent and patriotic
people, and the King and his Ministers might be
assured that if they persisted in their manly and
patriotic career, they would find an invincible safe-
guard against the malice of their enemies, and be
for ever enshrined in the never-dying gratitude of
a grateful, loyal, and affectionate people.—Mr. A.
resumed his seat amidst loud cheers, which lasted
for some minutes.