The Sun.
London, England, 1849-05-25 00:00:00

(Hear, hear.) Corruption implied two parties, and the
corrupter was a greater criminal than the corrupted.—
(Cheers.) They required such a Bill is order to enable
the voter in that capacity to discharge his duty freely
and fearlessly. They required it no less for the benefit
of Members of that House. Was it right that a young
man of family or station who possessed an honest desire
to devote himself to the service of his country, who
looked to a seat in that House. through that to the at-
tainment of office—and through that again to the achieve-
aunt of lofty and generous aspirations—was it right or
St that such a young man must make his first step
in the dirty path of corruption ?—(Cheers) Was it
right or fit that if he did not contaminate his own hand
with base bribes, he must corrupt the electors through
the tneans of agents ?—(Hear.) Was it, he repeated,
right or fit, in a country like this, such a step should
be necessary—not, as the poet said, "to wade
through slaughter to a throne," but through corruption
to the Legislature?—(Cheers.) It was not necessary
to ad:luce any details as to the existence and extent of
that corruption; the Committees and the Blue Book.,
issued last session, showed that the payment for seats in
that House was common. Some of those who thus at-
tained them might not be aware of the exact matsuer in
which the sums were paid. but they could not be un-
aware of the large amounts placed in the bankers for
the purpose; and, if they were disposed, they could
easily ascertain how they were applied. He wished that
410 U. Members could realise to their own minds the
Mischievous way in which this corrupt system anted. A
Young turn, with whom he was acquainted, possessing
great talents, and of a station which justified him in
looking to a seat in that House, was desirous of being
returned. He was nominated for a borough, but the
scenes of profligacy and corruption he had to witness
had so disgusted him that he had declared his
firm determination never again to enter public life.—
(ik laugh.) That might seem a morbid feeling,
but some such feeling must have been exhibited by every
ingenuous mind at first entering upon public life and
coming into contact with such scenes.—(Hear, hear.)
Then when they came to trace the stream of corruption
downwards among the people, they would find that its
continuous operation from year to year undermined the
Morals and the honesty of the nation. Many a man had
broken down by first taking a bribe at an election. Many
a man had cause to rue the day when the tempter first
came to his door.—(Loud cries of " Hear.") One of
our poets—Crabbe---had powerfully described the effect
of such temptation on a single family, and the hopeless
ruin which followed, and such cases ware to be found in
tens, in hundreds, and in thousands, all over the coun-
try.—(Cheers.) If, then, they desired to strengthen
the virtue of the working classes, and to give them
v...any confidence in the virtuous professions of that
'Muse, they would take vigorous measures to arrest
the flaw-of this stream of corruption. The Bill pro-
Posed would be more successful in doing this than
Many other of the popular measures of the day. They
loight• establish ragged schools, national schools, and
ehurcf2 schools, but while Parliament itself taught the
Public the great lesson, that corruption was the way to
Power, all educative efforts would be neutralised.—
Cheers.) Let the blame be laid on the right shoulders;
in future, let them not visit with condemnation the
bribed alone, but the wealthy classes who bribed. He
had seen the operation of this system of corruption, and
ae confidently said that if the rich would abstain from
bribery, the constituency would be pure.—(Hear, hear.)
'll9 had known places in which the elections were in the
first instance blameless in this respect, gradually 'cor-
rupted, untilthe' seats were notoriously bougilt and acid.
,--(Hear, hear.). He had in his own experience an ex-
ample.-(A laugh.) The borough he represented was,
a hive of industry, with a large number of voters; its
only aristocracy belonged to labour.—,(Hear, hear.) In
.that borough his election bad not cost him one shilling
-kr-lear, hear)—and he was not known to one person in
it
.Moro. he-went there—(A.. laugh)—personally, he
.."v),,itrit•—(Hoar, hear.) That 'was the way in which
-jitenabera.ought to be returned. They ought to appeal
to faculties of the voters, to their minds, and
not their sordid and selfish instinct.—(flear; hear.) He
asked if the gentlemen of England were satisfied that
any class should regard them as tempters to crime, and
corrupters of virtue? Was that a noble or proud posi-
tion for the descendants of the Normans to oucupy? He
hoped not, and that they would determine to remove this
charge, by acting differently. America bad been referred
to
as an example of the uselessness of the ballot. It was
said that secrecy was there not required. He believed
that would be the ca,‘e here also iu twenty-five years
from the establishment of the ballot. In that time the
Wealthy classes would cease to entertain the desire to
tamper with the political honesty of the poorer classes,
and learn that they had no more right to interfere with
their selection of a candidate than of a wife or servant or
a religion; they would abandon it altogether as not with-
in their province.—(Hear, hear.) But with respect to
America, the Americans must surely be allowed to be
the best judges of what was best for their own interest,
and, tested in this way, the system of open voting did not
seem to stand so high as was alleged. The ballot began
in only a few states at first, and had now spread to
others, which was irreconcileable with the theory ofthose
Who said secrecy was unpopular in America.—(Hear,
hear.) Under the present system in this country, he
would say that whatever that House represented, it did
not represent the people. If they required to be that,
they must appeal, not to the influence of the purse, but
that of the mind. If, instead of going about l"a their
canvasses with individuals whose wealth
and position it
was expected would influence the voters,—(Hear)—they
were to appeal to the minds and consciences of the
people, elections vv,uld become schools of moral in-
!Tic:ann. These were among some of the many reasons
!QL had for supporting the Bill, though, as he had stated,
he should have prwurr,d tho measure associated with
other organic r,forms. Ile hoped, for the sake of the
Country, for the sake of the character of the House,
which ought to act in consistency with the resolution it
had passed—(Cheers)—for the echo of the thousands
who could not exercise their franchise in freedom—for
the sake of all classes—he cordially tupported the mo•
tion.— (Cheera.)
Sir H. VERNEY rose, amidst loud cries of " Divide."
The right of voting he regarded as a public trust, for
public purposes, and he considered that trust ought to
be exercise! in a public manner. Indeed he knew not
on what principle it was attempted to be contended that
Members of Parliament should vote publicly, while
constituents gave their votes privately.—(Cries of " Di-
vide, divide.")
After the lapse of two or three minutes, daring which
there were calls for a division, and cries of " No opposi-
tion, no opposition," while all eyes were directed towards
the Ministerial benches, in the expectation that Lord
40110 Russell, or some other member of the Government
Present, would address the House,
salt**. H. BERKELEY said that no arguments had been
adduced against the motion to which he thought it ne-
Wlsaae oarY t reply. He should leave it to the House to say
Whether the course adopted by the Government, in de
leilcitiling to offer any remarks on a question of great pub -
sub' ieportance, was a resectful mode of treating the
Ject•--(Cries of " Divide," "No opposition.")
Strangers were then orered to withdraw, and the
Aouse divided, when there appeared—
For the motion

Against it
Majority
The Motion was consequently negatived.
COLONIAL POSSESSIONS.
, Mr. ROEBUCK moved for leave to bring in a Bill
tor the better government of certain colonial possessions,
The subject he said was not one of an attractive nature,
lie proposed to deal with a serious question, and he
asked the House to legislate with large interests, not
having any private concern in the matter, but being
solely anxious for the benefit of the people, He had
already endeavoured in print to explain the opinions and
the principles which he wished to be embodied in an Act
of Parliament, and he entreated the indulgence of the
Rouse while he briefly recapitulated the views which he
thought deserving of adoption by the Legislature.
Since the year 1806, England had acted as a colonizing
country, without rule or power; England was the
greatest colonial power by themselves and those who
Succeeded them that the earth ever saw. They had
acquired that power, not by rule or principle, not by
the assistance of the Government, but by the superior
strength of the people. It was the people who did it all,
and not the Government.—(Elear, hear.) This argu
went might be said to tell against himself, but he had to
go into comparison with the conduct pursued by the
American people. They now saw great danger of losing
one part of their colonial possessions. If something
were not done quickly they should lose mastery over one
portion of their colonial dominions, and see the Ameri-
can Republic extending its territories from the Isthmus
Of Panama to the North Pole, and becoming superior in
maritime po wen
Tins was. no idle fear. He put no
faith in the Government,
for, with regard to colonial
rule, it was evident they knew not what to do. He ac-
;9ted the position that the colonies were a benefit to
England. Their colontalem. ire was not only a great
good, but it was one of their')
great sources of strength;
hilt he wanted to see the cominuies who were
under their dominion acting lovingly as their sub.
j"tB9 and rendering them not an unwilling
but the homage of hearts. If they had to compel the
were
a
inhabitants of those colonies to obey their laws and
er
Wishes, then be said that colonial possessions
curse for those over whom they exercised sway, and for
telhne People of England, who were at the expense
byof their
ittnion. The colonies ought to be maintained
beneficent dominion, without the aid of the ar ye_,
with
zerally the assistance of the citizens themselves. G.
with ['Peaking, England had governed. the colonies
neglect and at other times with mischievous med-
-4' and then, where they deemed it practicable to _
,combat them, they went on until they were disgraced and
h;e„eated, or they succeeded in a way that almost Was SS
de
,mraeeful as defeat. Such was the history of their
colonial dominion. From the commencement until the
present day, that was the course they had adopted.
They could only judge of their colonial dominion by its
results. England went on the principle of arming
_bartered companies with extraordinary powers,:and in
moat cases chartered companies receiving power from
this kingdom, were either displaced or destroyed before
the colonies could, by any possibility, succeed.—(Hear.)
•,e.lO one could gainsay that face. Every attempt to re
neve England by a system of colonization he contended
WoUld fail. Hon. Gentlemen did not seem to be aware
that colonization or emigration was of itself a misery,
On. did they reflect that it was by such means they ought
to relieve the distresses of their fellow countrymen. I;
men were taken from their native land it should be re-
garded as a direful misfortune, and it certainly formed
no portion of the ditty of a overnment to drive men
out of the country to make that country peaceful and se-
cure, and to lay the foundation for a colonial kingdom.
Let them suppose that under the prevent system of colo-
nial government a band of gentlemen and others chose
to try their fortunes in a foreign Lnd, and to transfer
thither_uP themselves, their families, and their property.S
15Pose they did so under the guidance of the Noble
Earl at the headofthe colonial department, and went to
Australasia. Now, on the Ist of June, 1824, an Act of
karliununt
was passed conferring one million o