The Sun.
London, England, 1831-12-06 00:00:00

afflictive kind. Legislation must, therefore, attempt
something : and we again say, that the dissecting-
knife destroys nothing of the original body; as much
of it will be conveyed, or may be conveyed to th
earth, as if an artery had never been laid open, or a
r,riand displayed, or the kmonstrator's instrument
had never touched it. What then does it signify
that the unconscious matter is severed in parts?
how many of the most affluent have expressed their
wish, or given their orders before death, that their
bodies should be opened, in order that the nature
of their disease may be investigated and known ?
rimes.

No Parliament ever assembled at a more eventful
Crisis than that which assembles this day. When
the Reform _till was rejected by the Lords, an in-
dignant feeling pervaded the great bulk of the
people. They had hoped that a measure recom-
mended by tlft? King's Ministers, approved by a
great majority of the House of Commenn, including
nearly all but the nomination Members, and which
had united in its favour the suffrages of all who
were not int-crested in the continuance of abuses,
wnuid receive from a majority of the Lords that re-
spectful treatment to which it was so eminently
entitled. They bad fondly imagined that in these
enlightened times, no body of men, whatever their
prejudices or their interests, would think of com-
mitting themselves to an issue with a whole nation,
and that, therefore, prudence, if not a higher mo-
tive, would lead a majority of the Lords to set at
rest a question, the agitation of which much
longer might involve the whole country in heavy
calamit), but could not, by possibility, terminate
to their advantage. The rejection of the Bill
disabused the nation. They saw that a ma-
jority of the Peers were determined to risk the
peace and prosperity of the country in a vain at-
tempt to retain usurped privileges, and they have
ever since looked to the future with the uneasiness
and apprehension which the immense interests at
stake are so much calculated to inspire. Parliament
now assembles, while the nation, from one extremity
to the other, is suffering from a depression in all
branches of industry, and while still greater distress
is anticipated. The people so suffering, and so an-
ticipating, see in the 199 Peers, Spiritual and Tem-
poral, who rejected the Reform Bill, the authors of
the mischief. The state of things previous, and
since the rejection of the Reform Bill is thus de-
scribed in a pamphlet to be published in a day or two
by Mr. Ridgway, under the title of " What have the
Lords done ? and what will they do next ?"
" All promised well for the future peace and prosperity
of the kingdom. The Reform question once at rest, in-
dustry and quiet would have resumed their sway among
the people; the Aristocracy would have reaped a rich
harvest of gratitude from their concessi,tn to popular feel-
ing; the Church, though evidently destined to undergo
some modification of its temporalities, would have exalted
itself as a religious body in the esteem and confidenco of the
nation. These were the expectations of sober-minded men,
well-wishers to their country, some weeks ago.
What have the Lords done ?

" They have for the present blighted, and for the future
endangered, all these fair prospects of national happiness
arid tranquillity. They have thrown the country into un-
exampled disorder and confusion. They have rendered
many of themselves objects of general contempt and aver-
sion, to which their whole body may hereafter be exposed
unless their Lordships should timely avert such a misfor-
tune. One source of satisfaction, indeed remains for us,
and it is invaluable : they happily had not the power to
deprive the nation of their unbounded attachment to the
King,. nor of his magnanimous adherence to their cause.
But the evils they have entailed on the country are de-
plorable. An excited state of society is utterly destine-
' tive to the peaceful pursuits of the people ; the longer it
is procrastinated, the difficulty of returning to their usual
habits becomes greater, and the danger of insurrectionary
movements increased. Trade stagnates—industry is para-
lysed—confidence is overthrown. The ferment spreads
wider and wider, and instead of wasting itself, gains
strength by the diffusion ; no man can foresee how or
where it is to explode into open violence. No man can
predict who or how many may fell victims to its effects.
Such is the precarious condition of things at pre-
sent, arising from the unfortunate decision of the Lords.
All is one scene of anxiety, suspense, and trepidation.
Nothing seems fixed but the calm, resolute, unconquerable
determination of the multitude to obtain their rights."

Will any man say that this description is exagge-
rated ? We have no hesitation in saying, that no
future conduct of the House of Lords will ever re-
gain for that body the hold it had on the people.
We will not flatter the Bishops as to say that we
believe they ever can atone for the indignity offered
by them to the nation. Peers, like other persons,
must not suppose that a change of conduct will pro-
duce a corresponding change in their favour. In a
Reformed Parliament, the obstinacy of the House
of Peers will be less dangerous than it is now : but
in estimating the value to a nation of a House of
hereditary Legislators. the vote of 199 will never
be forgotten. The Reform Bill about to be sub-
mitted to Parliament will, we know, be equally effi-
cient with that which was rejected. We may also
safely conclude that it will ob,ain the suffrage of a
large majority of the House of Commons. The
only question is, what will the Lords do next ?
That of course will depend on what Ministers
will do. From the men who exposed the
country to all the miserable consequences of
prolonged agitation without an object, our expecta-
tions would be very humble indeed, did we not
know that Ministers possess the means, if they
choose to recur to them, of securing the Bill by the
constitutional means of adding to the Peerage.
The rejection of the Reform Bill a second time
would produce a state of things, from the contem-
plation of which we shrink. Ministers, of course,
entered on their task with a knowledge of the dis-
astrous consequences which would result from their
want of success ; and having gone so far, they are,
of course, prepared to go farther. So long as they
possess the confidence of their master, they will feel
themselves bound to take whatever means are neces-
sary to give effect to their views. They will, of
course, consider the salus populi their first duty. In
the language of the writer of the pamphlet above
alluded to, " they compel the Crown, by their per-
, severance, to adopt the course from which, in defe-
rence to them, and the future welfare of the country,
it has hitherto abstained. They have also the alter-
native of acquiescing in the proposed measure, or
submitting to an infusion of Members in their
House." The alternative offered in certain cases has
often a wonderful effect in aiding men to come to a
prudent decision; and much do we rejoice that there
is an alternative of sovereign potency in the case of
the Peers. The writer of the pamphlet has, we
think, taken too favourable a view of the conduct
of the Lords in the rejection of the Reform Bill :
" The Peers,' he says, "had been treated for sometime
past, as it they were inaccessible to jealousy at any seem-
ing attempt to controul the rights, privileges, or preroga-
tives they enjoy; as if they were not endowed with the
common feelings of human nature for the defence and pro-
tection of their rights. These rights were challenged as
opposed to those of the people, though all rights are dis-
tributed by the Constitution equally for the benefit of all.
The conduct of many Noble Lords on the late occasion,
there is every reason to believe, might be traced to such
rash attempts to interfere with their prerogative. It can-
not be imagined, indeed, that any of the majority were
favourable to the Bill; on the contrary, all were, more or
less, and many irrecoverably adverse to it. Some, how-
ever, hesitated to the policy of voting against it, and
powerful motives concurred to overcome the hostility of
its less violent and less interested opponents. Had these
been allowed to operate, the result might have been diffe-
rent. The unfortunate attempts alluded to raised up a
counteracting influence, and turned the balance against
the Bill.

" In the course of these attempts, the House of Lords
was treated with far too little consideration—in some in-
stances with determined disrespect. It is natural that
men, imbued with a high sense of honour and personal
courage, should shrink from a suspicion of being intimi-
dated in the discharge of a great public duty ;--that,
filling the most exalted station as the hereditary Judges
and Legislators of the land, they should recoil from the
thought of becoming mere instruments of the popular
will ;—that, proud of having a sacred trust committed to
them by the Constitution, they should revolt at the efforts
to render it nugatory in their hands. Such feelings could
have no weight with Noble Lords confirmed in their ap-
probation of the measure, and resolved to support it ; but