The Sun.
London, England, 1831-09-29 00:00:00

REFORM MEETINGS.

DARTFORD.—A meeting was held on Monday in a
field at Dartford, of the tradesmen and artisans of Dart••

ford, Crayford, and its vicinity, to petition the House of
Lords to pass the Reform Bill. The Committee met in

the town at one, with binds of music and banners, and
marched to the field, where they were met by their Cray-
ford friends in excellent order. A hustings had been

erected, where the Committee, w t i Mumford Camble,
Esq., of Sutton.place, a Magistrate of the county, at their
head, took their stand. Mr. Landale, sen., a respectable
tradesman of the town, was called to the chair. There

were near 3,000 persons present, and the meeting was
conducted with the greatest propriety. Mr. Cam')le pro-
posed the first resolution, and was followed by other friends
of Reform. The bells were not rung on this joyous occa-
sion. The churchwardens were applied to, and cheet ful!y
consented, but the Vicar, the Rev. Mr. Grant, perempto-
lrily refused the keys of the church.

DEVONSHIRE.—In Devonshire alone. Barnstaple,
Bideford, Creditor, Plymouth. Devonport. Dartmouth, and
Exeter, have already voted petitions to the Lords, praying
that they will pass the Bill. In our next we shall pro-
bably have to announce that the county of Devon has ex-
pressed a similar opinion.—Devonshire Chronicle.
EDINBURGH.—The Scotsman of Saturday says•,
that when " Sir James Gibsen Craig—(at the Edin-

burgh meeting)—remarked that they people could do
without the Peers, but not the Peers without the people,
the shouts were tremendous," that every symptom of
opposition has, in fact, vanished, and lhat even the few
self-elected bodies which have not yet joined in the
national movement, are afraid to croak in their hiding
places. The signatures to the petition amounted, when
closed on Saturday evening, to 36,159, a larger number
ever subscribed any former petition from Edinburgh,
though it only remained open little more than two days.
The petition has been forwarded to London.—Caledonian
Mercury.

GREAT YARMOUTH.—A numerous meeting of the
inhabitants of this Town was held at ti e Town-hall,
on Friday, Mr. Alderman Barth in the chair. Some ju-
dicious speeches were made upon the importance of pass-
ing the Reform Bill, and various resolutions were agreed
to, embodying a request to the House of Lords, that it
would second the wishes of the nation by giving its con-
sent to the measure.

HASTINGS.—A meeting was held on Monday, at the
Town-ball, pursuant to public requisition. The Mayor,
by whom the meeting had been convened, presided, at-
tended by only one of the body corporate with him on the
bench. This latter gentleman, after serving the patron of

. .
this borough for between thirty and forty years, has at
length become a convert to the Reform Bill. The meeting
consisted of tradesmen of the town principally. After
several very appropriate speeches delivered by Mr. Baker,
Mr. Mannington, H. Elphinstone, Esq., Mr. Smith, Mr.
Harman, and Mr. Honiss, a petition was adopted ; and
after having receive 1 signatures, will be forwarded to the
Lord Chancellor for presentation. Thanks were voted to
the Mayor, and after four cheers for the King, the meeting
broke up.—Brighton Guardian.
HERTFORDSHIRE.—A county meeting will be held
to-morrow.
ISLINGTON.—A requisition having been signed by
upwards of 500 highly respectable resident householders of
Islington, paying taxes, and having votes at all parochial
meetings, was presented to Mr. Churchwarden Woodward
yesterday, when that gentleman returned an answer that
be did not feel he could convene the meeting consistently
with his duty and piaciples, although avowing himself a
Reformer.---. Times.

KENT —The requisition to the High Sheriff contains
a list of 313 names, including those of several clergymen,
and seven Members of the House of Commons. The
meeting takes place at Maidstone to• morrow.
MARYLEBONE.—Yesterday a very numerous meet-
ing of the inhabitants of this extensive parish was held at
the Horse Bazaar, King-street. Portman-square, Mr.
Hume, M.P. in the Chair, for the purpose of petitioning
the House of Lords to pass the Reform Bill. In opening
the business of the meeting, the Chairman expressed his
opinion that the Bill must pass, but in order to show to
its enemies that the people had not changed their opinions
upon it, it was highly necessary that every place in the
country should meet and send their opinions to the House
of Lords. Mr. W. Smith, late ALP. for Norwich de-
clared that it was a scandalous calumny, invented by the
enemies of Reform, to say that the people wished to in-
timidate the Peers, for the people well knew that to use
a threat or intimidation was the surest way of missing
the object they had in view ; on the same principle as
some persons fought duels, not to avenge an insult, but to
show they were not afraid. Colonel Jones st,ted that he
had applied to the parochial authorities to call a meeting
of the parishioners, and the only one he saw was Mr. Hall,
one of the churchwardens, who informed him that he ac-
cepted office upon the understanding that he was not
to attend parish meetings, and he could not, there-
fore, comply with the request. The Gallant Colonel
declared that almost all the higher grades of no-
bility--of course excepting a certain Royal Duke, were
in favour of Reform ; by a list which he had he found
that of the Dukes, five or six of the oldest were in favour
of Reform ; the first Marquis on the list was also in its
favour, and the Earls—the descendants of the Iron Barons
of England—were as a body ready to support it. Neatly
all the Viscounts and the eldest Barons also approved of
the measure—further than that, if gratitude were the re-
sult of justice, every Catholic would support it. The
passing of the Bill only, said Colonel Jones, would pre-
serve the tranquillity of the country and ensure the conti-
nuance of the House of Peers. He, however, could not
believe that so illustrious a body would oppose the wishes
of a united people, but if they did not he hoped the King
would prorogue the Parliament for the purpose of creating
an additional number of Peers to insure the success of the
measure. The resolutions, and a petition founded on them,
were unanimously agreed to, and entrusted to Lord Man-
vers for presentatiiin. As a proof of the peaceable and
orderly conduct which actuated the meeting, we need only
mention that a proposition made by a 31r. Constantine,
that the inhabitants should go in a body to the House of
Lords on the night for presenting the petition, was re-
ceived with every mark of indignation.
NEWCASTLE.--A meeting of the inhabitants of
Newcastle took place on Monday, the 26th, Archib ild
Reed, Esq., in the chair, for the purpose of considering of
a petition to the House of Lords in favour of the Reform
Bill. A petition moved by Mr. Attwood was agreed to
by a show of bands.
NORTHAMPTON.—At nine o'clock last night, the
number of signatures to this petition was upwards of
1,550. We would strenuously impress upon every
friend of the " great healing measure" in this town who
has not yet signed his name, the imperative duty he owes
to himself and to his country of doing so without delay.
Will the Anti-Reformers in the face of this have the as-
surance to present their hole and corner petition.—Nor-
thampton Free Press.
RINGMERE, (SyssEx.)—The inhabitants of this hun-
dred met on Monday, and adopted unanimously a petition
to the Lords to pass the Bill. The petition is to be pre-
sented by the Earl of Burlington.
ST. LEONARD'S, SHOREDITCH.—Yesterday the
inhabitants of this extensive and nopulous parish assem-
bled in the parish church, in pursuance of a requisition
numerously signed, which had been presented to the
Churchwardens, for the purpose of petitioning the House
of Lords to pass the Reform Bill, as lately received by them
from the House of Commons, and thereby to ensure the
maintenance of public tranquillity throughout the British
empire. The meeting was a highly-respectable one, and
a series of resolutions and a petition were adopted, after
many very able speeches in refutation of the calumnies
lately vented against the people, viz. that they had turned
their backs upon themselves, and beoome indifferent to
the cause of Reform.

ST. JOHN, WAPPING. —The merchants, shipowners,
and other inhabitants of the'parish, assembled in the vestry_
room at the church, Mr. French, senior churchwarden, in
the chair, for the purpose of petioning the Lords to pass
the Reform Bill. The vestry-room being too small for the
number of persons who attended, the meeting adjourned
to the large room of the parish workhouse, where the pc•.
titian was agreed to unanimously.

SHEFFIELD.—(From a Correspondent, )—A meeting
took place on Monday, in this town, at which John Blake,
E•q., presided. It was not, however, so numerously at-
tended as the two former meetings on the same subject,
in consequence of several trades' meetings being held in
various parts of the town at the same time, at one of
which above 800 persons were present. John Parker,
Esq., the senior Magistrate, moved the first resolution,
expressive of great gratification at the passing of the Re-
form Bill in the house of Commons. T. A. Watd, Esq.,
seconded the resolution, which was carried unanimously.
D Knight'
seconded, the
adoption Sliiioorue,se E(s)qf
Lords, praying,
petitionand S
t.!' e
" that the Reform Bill now happily introduced to your
Lordships' House, with the concurrence of an immense
majority of the House of Commons, may be discussed in
of a moved,
to
the most calm, unprejudiced, and candid manner ; and