The Sun.
London, England, 1831-10-28 00:00:00

TO THE KING'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY.

We, your Majesty's faithful subjects, the freeholders and in-
habitants of Cornwall, in county meeting assembled, beg
humbly to approach the Throne with this our grateful
tribute of respect for the laws, and of attachment to
the gracious Sovereign who, by the blessing of Providence,
has been called forth at this momentous crisis to administer
and defend them. Assured of your Majesty's devoted zeal
and solicitude for the public good—of your generous sympathy
with the hopes, fears, and wishes of your loyal people, we ven-
ture to pour forth our full hearts in supplication to the Throne,
and to express in firm, but respectful, language the bitter feel-
ings of disappointment and regret with which, in connection
with united millions, we have witnessed the attempted death-
blow and momentary defeat of a whole nation's wishes by one
hundred and ninety-nine Members of the House of Lords. That a
measure, emanating from the Throne, sanctioned by the Houseof
Commons, and calculated in the estimation of disinterested and re-
flecting minds, no less to uphold the true dignity of the Crown,
than to promote the peace, liberty, and happiness of all orders and
c lasses of society ; that a measure so long and ardently sought
after and expected by the people, so peculiarly relating to their
own House of Parliament, and in no ways affecting the rights
or privileges of the other branches of the Legislature, should at
once, and almost without the form of enquiry, have been re-
jected by the majority of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, be-
trays on the part of their Lordships either an ignorance of the
interests, or an indifference to the wishes, of the people, fur
which we were little prepared in the advancing light and know-
ledge of the nineteenth century.
But, however grieved or excited by this open contempt of
public feeling and opinion, thus manifested by their Lord-
ships, it would ill become us, either as Englishmen or Re-
formers, to rush into violence and despair. On the paternal
care and goodness of your Majesty, so eminently displayed in
every act of your benignant reign, on the tried wisdom, firm.
ness, and integrity of your Majesty's chosen friends and advisers,
the Ministers of our present liberal and enlightened Adminis-
tration, we still continue, with unabating confidence, to rely,
not doubting but that those prerogatives which have been en-
trusted to your Majesty for the welfare of the State, will, if
found necsssary, be so exercised as to confound its enemies, and
to ensure to your faithful people the blessings of that wise, effi-
cient, arid constitutional Reform, of which they have been for a
while defrauded by the arts of a corrupt and factious oligarchy.
Sir W3l. MOLFSWORTIf said, it was with sincere satis-
faction that he came forward to second the resolution.
After the observations with which the introduction of it
had been received, he felt it would be idle in him to ad-
dress the meeting at any great length. There had been
a period when flattery and falsehood were alike unreason
able, and to be objected to—as regarded the right-
of time people of England thst time had now ar-
rived.—(Tremendous cheering.) A King we had
disposed to listen to the voice of the people—an Administra-
tion we had alike open to the sound of their cries, but how
astonishing was it, and how indignantly must it not be felt,
that there should be a few in power, and among those few
the shepherds forsooth of the Christian flock, who had
taken their stand against it, and declared that Reform
should not be granted.—(Hear.) As however the King was
true—as the Members of the Government were firm—it
became the people to assist Ministers in every possible
way in their power—to be sincere, urgent, yet temperate
in imploring his Majesty to retain his present Ministers in
their offices, to take steps of overcoming the power
of the 199 in favour of the rights and liberties of
tlae people, and to urge the Ministers to go on with the
splendid work they had undertaken—(Hear, hear)—
and upon which millions had expressed one undivided
opinion. The House of Lords would do well to listen to
the voice of the people before their rejected supplication
compelled them to prove even to that obstinate oligarchy
that the people of England were not and would not con-
sent to be slaves, and slaves for ever. He had great
pleasure in seconding the resolution.
Here the appearance of Lords Valletort and Elliot mak-
ing their way to the hustings through the crowd, drew
forth hisses and shouts of disapprobation from every part
of the dense assembly.
- •

The HIGH SHERIFF having at length obtained a cessa-
tion of these marks of feeling with which the two noble
persons were received,
Sir Joni CoLmAN RASHLEIGH next came forward to
the front of the hustings, and shortly addressed the
meeting. He bailed with infinite delight the highly
respectable appearance of the meeting over which
he glanced his eyes. It would have been a source
of great regret to him to have found that the freemen and
inhabitants of Cornwall had, by any apparent indifference
at this most important period, in any way countenanced
the vile aspersions which had been thrown on the people
throughout the country, that they had slackened in their
zeal in the cause of Reform, or that they were not as anxious
for it now as at any previous moment they had ever been—
(Loud cheers)—that what they had exhibited at the last general
elections was only transitory— that they had aban-
doned their pursuit in a course, and in that course
which was calculated to procure and to secure their liberty, and
which was alone likely to obtain for them a cheap Go-
vernment, and to establish a safeguard against statutory
plunder and lawful peculation.—(Loud and continued
cheers.) This, however, could not be obtained while the
House of Commons was only the delegate of an odious
and unconstitutional oligarchy.—(Hear, hear.) It would
have been indeed wonderful if those assembled at this the
eleventh hour had been found to have abandoned the cause
to which they had been so firmly attached. He trusted they
never would.—(Cries of "Never.") It wasnot his intention
nor wish to speak in terms of disrespect of the Members of
the House of Peers. He had no wish to raise a clamour
against them, nor a hatred towards any other part of the
people. Though an hereditary House of Peers was an anomaly,
yet it had often been useful to the country when it had pro.
perly acted. He admitted that such a House had been often
useful. In the vote too they gave on the Reform Bill, they
might not have exceeded their rights; yet the exercise of ex.
treme rights might become a grievous burthen—(Hear, hear)—
and it was one thing to stand between the Crown and the
people, and another thing to oppose them both. (Hear, hear.)
He could not but suppose the Peers had been guilty of a great
indiscretion on this occasion, and that they had acted highly
injurious to their own characters.—(Hear, hear, hear.)
He wished not to speak disrespectfully of the Bench of
Bishops—(Laughter)—but he would put it to them to
consider whether they had not taken the very course to
increase that hostility of feeling that existed against them,
and whether it must not appear to all that in their votes
against the Bill they held up an inroad upon the Constitu-
tion as a pretext, and that they had only their own sordid
and interested feelings in view. On the subject of the
" reaction" which was said to have taken place he had
to assure those who heard him that things had now been
brought to such a pitch, that upon the people, and the
people alone, hung the hopes of the nation.—(Hear.)
It was not to Parliament, but to the power and energies of
public feeling the people could now only look.--(Cheers.) He
knew il;nt liv this statement he was subjecting himself to the
imputation of being guilty of holding out intimidation; but he
denied that such a conclusion of guilt on his part could be fairly
laid to his charge by any impartial mind, and it was most im-
proper in any one to bring forward this argument. The
people had a right to raise their voices when their
claims were rejected, and rejected even without being
fully heard. Look back to what had taken place with regard
to Catholic emancipation. What said Wellington and
Peel on that occasion, the two staunch opposers of Catho-
lic emancipation ? They each said at the time the mea-
sure passed, their feelings were then as decidedly opposed
to it as ever they had been, but that they at last acceded to
the passing of the Act, tinder the conviction that, if it did
not pass, a civil war would be the consequence.—(Hear•),
But was it therefore to be said that Wellington and Peel
were on that occasion intimidated? No, hut they con-
tented at last magnanimously to sacrifice their character

of consistency on the altar of the wishes of the
people of the country.—(Cheers) And if the House of
Lords would now but be wise, 'they would allow them.
selves to he persuaded that the peace of the country could
alone be preserved by now conceding to the people what
they had raised their voices in favour of. If they did not
relent, they might have occasion to regret the course they
had taken. It would be well for them, without delay, to
let a fallacious point of honour give place to generous and
kind feelings. Union on the part of the people at
this momentous crisis was of vital importance. The
people ought not to be divided, that being divided they
might be defeated.—(Cheers.) The difficulties that Earl Grey
had had were ever to be recollected; nor were the difficulties
to be forgotten that lay in his way, before he could fulfil his
promise, and realise the wishes of the people ; therefore he was
entitled to the entire confidence, and to the utmost support
of the people in every possible way.—(Loud cheers, and
cries of " He shall have it.") The best, and the
most gratifying results had always been experienced when
amelioration acts had been brought forward as Cabinet
measures. The Abolition of the SI lye Trade, the Repeal of
the Test and Corporation Acts, and the Catholic Emancip t_
tiun Bill, when these were made Cabinet measures of, they
had been carried against the wishes of every individual
who had before long, pertinaciously, and successfugy op-
posed them ; and on this occasion the people were doubly
bound to support and to confide in E Grey, because
not only had he made Parliamentary Reform a Cabinet
measure, hut to his assistance in bringing it forward as
such he had added to his efforts the zeal of a partizan.—
(Hear, bear.) Earl Grey had pledged himself to bring
forward and to carry through a measure of Reform as
efficient as the one that had first been rejected, otherwise
to retire from office. It was painful to look forward to
an event which must inevitably draw in its train confusion
and ruin.—(Hear, hear.) And it was no less humiliating
to the feelings of an Englishman to think that the
fate of his country depended on any one man, or
any set of men, remaining in or out office ; yet
such were his (Sir J. C. Rashleigh's) feelings on this point. His
firm belief was that the fate of the British nation was bound
up in the continuance of Earl Grey in office—(Hear, hear)—
and that, should he resign (and resign he must unless he car-
ried the principal objects of the Bill that had for the moment
been lost) what must be the state of the nation ?—(Cries of
" hear hear.") A Tory Administration would lead the country
thrugh a reign of coercion, terror, and despotism, which would
be, in the worst sense, a revolution—a state of anarchy—a state
of absolute and downright ruin.—(Immense cheering.)

Lord VALLETORT next claimed to be heard, and it was
a considerable time before the High Sheriff could prevail
on the meeting to withhold their expressions of disappro
bation, and to permit his Lordship to speak. When
something like silence was obtained, his Lordship begat:
by saying, that if he could recollect any act or ex-
pression of his which in his judgment ought to
have provoked such inveterate marks of disapprobation
such recollection would have given him great pain, but as
he had no such remembrance—on the contrary, as he was,
and always had been, as desirous for the good of the county
and of the country as any individual in it, he could not
but treat such disapprobation with ind fference.—(Laugh-
ter.) He stood forward at that great meeting, he believed
singly, to defend and to support his side of the question
(From the crowd '' That's no satisfactio❑ to the injured
country.") He admitted it was not, but he entreated
permission to state the reasons which had brought him there.
He had only arrived in the county two days ago, and having
seen the requisition to call, and the appointment of a time to
hold the present meeting, he determined, interested as he was
as much as any man in the affairs of the nation—(Cries of
":Lostwithiel for example, you know")—aye, that was an old
story, and they might throw it into his teeth as often as
they chose. He had determined to attend, and to prove
that there could not be a meeting of Cornish men take place
at which he should be ashamed to show himself.—
(Laughter, and cries " Of much good you'll do here.")—
He came not there to oppose the proceedings—eingle-
handed as he was, it would be needless in him to attempt
such a thing, but thinking that proceedings might take
place, and had such as had taken place in other parts—
(Cries of " Name them")—lie meant not in Cornwall,
but at Birmingham, for example, and other such places,
where attempts had been made to spread abroad fallacies
and delusions, lie came to enter his vote against such
vile attempts.—(Great disopprobation ) He had not heard
well what had been said, but what he heard since he ar•
rived at the meeting he could not characterize as uncon-
stitutional, or say was unobjectionable, with the exception
of some few expressions—(Laughter)—but he came prepared,
if he had found that violent language had been resorted to, or
any attempt made to separate the lower from the higher orders
of society, to have taken an immovable stand against such a line
of proceeding. When he had used the word delusive, lie had
been met by a laugh, but he was desirous of stating what he
meant by it. No doubt many present had seen what had been
called the " Black List"—(Hear, hear, and laughter)—and of
that he would say, never had there appeared before the
public such a tissue of utter falsehood and scand 11. The
authors of this list wished to make the people believe that
the higher classes of society were not the lower order of
society's friends—were not the friends, but the foes of the
people.—(Laughter.) Let those who chose to publish
tell the truth. He wished the truth to be known ; and
if it were known, that body of men who had been stig-
matised by the epithet of a most odious oligarchy,
would appear i❑ any form but that of odious in the eyes
of the nation..—(Cries of " Nonsense, nonsense.") With
regard to the present state of affairs, there had been a
most violent measure of Reform introduced into Parlia-
ment.—(Laughter, hootings, and cries of " Off, off.") It
was all matter of opinion, and his opinion was that it was
a most violent measure.—(Renewed cries of " Off, off.")
It had been industriously circulated that that measure had
been rejected by the votes of Peers interested in the
return of Members to Parliament from rotten boroughs,
and the Bishops. This was an unfair and an untrue state-
ment, because if every such Member of the Upper House
haul abstained from voting altogether, the Bill would have
met with the very same fate that had befel it.—(Cries of
" No.") The Noble Lord attempted to substantiate this alle-
gation by an analysis of the votes that had been given, but
unfortunately fur him, at the end of every sentence,
and, indeed, long before he got the length of concluding
his sentences, he was interrupted by being told and gismo
that he was inaccurate in his reckoning. He apologised
for his inaccuracies and his breaking down in his attempted
substantiation, by saying he had not got his notes with
him.—(Much laughter, and cries of "Ofd'.") Should an-
other Bill, similar to the one that had been re•
jected, be again introduced into Parliament, and
should the House of Lords also reject that Bill,
he acknowledged that he for one should certainly fear the
consequences.—(Hear, hear.) And if he were one of
their Lordship:, and felt as he did of the rejected Bill, that
it was a measure which, if passed into a law, would de-
stroy the Constitution of the country, nothing would pre-
vent him from again voting against it. The House of
Lords he knew were now anxious to settle the question of
Reform, and if an alteration which they could suppose
would be beneficial to the Constitution, and to
the country, were proposed, he was sure that to such an
alteration there would be no objection ; but if the people
thought to intimidate the Lords, and to force them to act
conformably to their wishes, they only deceived themselves.
With respect to those who thought that it there was a con-
vulsion in the country the rich would be driven from their
seats, he begged to say that he believed that in all great
countries like this, where convulsions had taken place,
it had been invariably found that it was the poorer class of
society that had suffered.—(Cries of " No, no—where's
Polignac—where are the French Noblesse now ?") The
rich would always have the means of support, but the
poor would be utterly deprived of the means of supporting
either themselves or their families. Ask the farmers, if
a large portion of the community could not purchase
bread, how they would sell their corn?—(Great manifes-
tations of disapprobation.) There had been, be well
knew, of late a great struggle between the two great por.
tions of society, the agriculturalists and the manufac-
turers—(Cries of " No, no, off, off")—and he had no
doubt that the most mischievous consequences would be
the result. With regard to the rotten borough system,
that was always a subject that he approached with great
delicacy—(lmmense laughter, and cries of " Hear,
hear")—and he should say nothing upon it at that moment.
The present struggle was undoubtedly a combat for rights
—the peoples rights were to have a good Go.
vernment, and such a measure of Reform as would be
beneficial to Government he would be the first to support,
but to frame a measure of that description required much
time to bring forward, and great deliberation.—(Hisses
arid upri,ar,)
Sir CHARLES LEMON came forward amidst much cheer-
ing, and made some observations in the outset, for the pur-
pose of more satisfactorily showing that the Noble Lord
who had just retired fruits addressing the meeting, was al-

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(Loud cheers.) With regard to the tithes that were pay-
able in this country, at the last meeting a question was
put to him (Sir C. Lemon) on that subject, and be said
then what lie could only say now, on further consideration,
that he had no doubt something would very speedily be hit
upon as an adjustment of the tithes, which would most likely be
satisfactory to all parties,—(Hear, hear.) Then as to the dein..
sion which the Noble Lord had talked so much about, had tho
people never been attempted to be imposed upon and deluded,
by having it said that if there was a Reform the farmer would
lose his rents, and the poor man would lose his accumulations in
the Savings' Banks
Lord VALLETORT denied that he had ever said any such
thing.—(Some gentleman called out that it was the language
of Sir R. Vyvyan.)
Sir CHAS. LEMON knew that such delusive statements
hail been made, and frequently made, by the other side, and
if there was any thing calculated more than another to
excite fear and the worst of feelings respecting what
had passed in the House of Lords, it certainly must be
arguments of this kind. One word more as to delusion--
the Noble Lord hod attempted to delude himself by sup-
posing or trying to suppose that this was but
a small meeting.—(Roars of laughter.) For his
comfort his ideas of a great, respectable, imposing inteling,
were fully realised in what was then before his eyes.—
(Hear.) But he (Sir Charles) admired the invincible
gond humour of the Noble Lord; and further, he (the
Noble Lord) ought to be cherished, because he was the
only Tory present—.(Hear)—and should he live to be the
last of his valiant but mistaken Tory race, perhaps he
might yet he stuffed and stuck up in the institution :it
Truro.—(Pe is of laughter.) Our evp-ctations had fur
the present been disappointed, but circumstances would
force themselves on that would cause the reatizotion of
our hopes. It was a question of time. There
was no statute of limitations, however, limitim! the
claims of the nation—it might be delayed, but the time of pay-
ment would come, and a time when payment would be de-
manded with interest.—(Hear, hear.) When he (Sir Charles)
was there before, the freemen of Cornwall had accepted of him
for their representative, in the confidence which they had
formerly put in his worthy father—(Hear, hear)—and without
being asked for any pledge as to how he would vow on the sub-
ject of the BilL He highly appreciated all this. He had a
great objection to engagements of the nature he ;:ad
alluded to, and if a pledge had been demanded of hint
he confessed he would have been put into a very em-
barrassing situation, inasmuch as the Bill, that was then
before Parliament, was very different to the one that
had afterwards been brought forward. He had done his
hest, and he trusted that both what he had done and
would do was, and would be, satisfactory to his con-
stituents.—(Loud cheering.)
_

The HIGH SHERIFF then read the terms_ of the ad-
dres•, and put the carrying of it to a show of hands.
There were only four hands held up against it ; those
were the hands of Lord Valletort, Lord Elliott, Captain
Hart, and Captain llorlive. The High Sheriff declared it
to be cat vied by a great majority.
Mr. TEFYANION moved

That the heartfelt thanks, the most grateful acknowledgments
of this meeting be presented to Earl Grey and the other Mem-
bers of his Majesty's Administration, for their zealous, able, and
judicious exertions in the cause of constitutional Reform, with
our earnest prayers and entreaties that they wid persevere ist
those exertions, and adopt such measures as may he found ne-,
cessary for the accomplishment of the great and good work
which they have so ably began.
In submitting this resolution, he was quite sure it would not
be necessary to take up much time, as there could be but few,
if any, present who would be hardy enough to hold up a
hand against it. It was but seldom he intruded himself on the
notice of the public; and on his doing so on this occasion, he
could not avoid expressing great indignation at the recollection
of the dishonourable assertion that had been made, that re-action
had taken place, and that the people felt not now as they
had formerly done sn the subject of ;Reforni.—(Hear.)
If the present meeting had been almost the only exclusive
meeting that had taken place in England, the appearance
of it was enough to satisfy any set of persons that the
statement was a vile calumny. He felt proud in having
had this opportunity of meeting so respectable a body of
the freemen and inhabitants of Cornwall, and of asserting
before them that the Bill of the people's rights--the
governing charter of our liberties—a charter approved of and
sanctioned by our gracious King, had been stifled by the veto
of the Peers.—(Hear, hear.) And was it not now incumbent
on the people of England to examine into the constitution of
that assembly, that had come forward against the King and 4.
disappointed the dearest wishes of his subjects ?—(Bravo.)
And if it should be found that the Bill was defeated in the
House of Lords by persons sitting both as judges and jurors,
and who had the most palpable interest in deciding against the
feelings of the public—persons with proxies in their pockets,
and Bishops at their elbows, who had never given votes in or
out of Parliament that savoured of the slightest desire to be-
nefit the people—would it be right that such persons should be
permitted to continue to deprive the people of the nation of
their just and most sacred rights.—(Loud cheering.) He had,
perhaps, alluded with greater warmth and anger to the Bishops
than he ought to have done—(Cries of " No, no, no")—
but he declared that in his conscience he believed the
Bishops' time would be much better employed, if they were
to be released from all political affairs, and left to the atten-
tion of those more sacred functions which God knew, by
their immense revenue, tley were amply paid for the due
discharge of.—(Loud applause.) The question of Reform
appeared before the nation under very different circum•
stances to those under which it had been heretofore ex-
hibited. The mantle of indecency had been torn asunder
—the mark of hypocrisy bad been thrown aside, and the
Peers and Bishops of England now came forward, and
claimed as an inherent right in them, the privilege of electing
Members to sit in Parliament, and to act for them, not the
people.—(Hear, hear.) The cause however was the
people's, and to use plain Cornish language lie would say to
those assembled around him, the enemy was within their
reach, let them give him a Cornish hug, a fair fall, and
victory was their own.—(Cries of " Bravo, bravo," and
much cheering.)
Mr. J. P. PETERS seconded the resolution, which was
unanimously carried by a chew of hands.
Mr. C. BULLER said, that though lie had long prided
himself on being a Cornish man, yet he had never had
the opportunity before of coming forward to express to
those whom lie then saw his opinion on the subject of
Reform. He was exceedingly happy that the meeting
had given the Noble Lord who had addressed it a fair
hearing, as it was always pleasing and satisfactory
to know what the enemy could say or do; and
he hoped that the Noble Lord would have the
candour to state elsewhere, should he advert to this meet-
ing at all, not only that he had had a patient hearing,
but that (which would certainly not be very recom-
mendatory of his oratorical powers) assuredly lie had seen
no symptoms of a re-action at the meeting of the
county of Cornwall—(Hear, hear)—notwithstanding he
had delivered one of the most inflammatory addresses to
that meeting which be could well have uttered.—(Cheers.)
He was unwilling to give the Noble Lord credit for the
delicacy which he seemed to manifest on the subject of
rotten boroughs.—(Laughter.) He awarded to him his due
share of apprehension as to the consequence that would follow
the throwing out of the Reform Bill a second time ; and the
Noble Lord had in plain terms said, that if the people
of England were ultimately deprived of what they
demanded by fair, moderate, and legitimate meal's,
they would no doubt resort to means of a different cliarae-
ter for the purpose of enforcing their claim,--(Hear,
hear, hear.) But the Noble Lord was wrong in sup-
posing, or rather in attempting to delude others with
the absurd notion, that a schism had been created
between the manufacturing and the agricultural parts of
society ; the fact was, that they had united in one voice
and one universal call, and it was in consequence,
and alone in consequence of that important union
that the Tories had taken the alarm, and been thrown
into confusion, and the adoption of the most miserable
shifts.—(Loud cheers.) He, for one, was not desirous
that Earl Grey should have such advisers as Lord Valle-
tort, because if he (Earl Grey) were to give satisfaction
to the Noble Lord, it would only be by throwing the
Bill aside altogether, and thwarting the wishes of the
people.—(Hear, hear.) The Noble Lord, and the few
who acted with him, bad taken advantage of the unfortu-
nate expression which had been used by Earl Grey, " As
efficient a measure." Unfortunate he certainly called
it ; for nothing could have been more plain, and cer-
tainly more satisfactory, than the unvarnished statement
that he would again bring forward " the Bill, the whole
Bill, and nothing but the Bill," expressions which had
been re-echoed from one corner of the empire to the other.
—(Great cheering.) A worthy old farmer met a friend
of his soon after the rejection of the Reform Bill by the
Lords, and his friend inquired what the House of Lords
had done with the Bill? " Why, thrown it out," re-
plied the farmer. " Well, what's to be done now ?"
rejoined the inquirer—." Why drag it in again, to be sure."
—(Hear, hear.) Now, he said, let the people come tor-
ward, and join heart and hand, indeed, se they had done,
and drag that Bill into Parliament again; drag it in by
such a power as to make it impossible for any force theic
ever again to eject it.—(Loud cheers.) It was as itn-
portant for the Mini-tens as it was for the people
to be firm ; without union and firmness, both
in and out of Parliament, the end was not to be
obtained. It had been said that Ministers were attempt-
irt to conciliate the Lords, but this, it was to be loped,