The Sun.
London, England, 1849-05-23 00:00:00

THE METROPOLITAN FINANCIAL
AND PARLIAMENTARY REFORM ASSO-
CIATIDN.
(Continued from cur Afternoon Edition of yesterday.)
Mr. ELLIOT moved an atnendmeut, to the
effect that the Association should be called the
Metropolitan. Parliamentary and Financial Re-
form Association, instead of the Metropolitan
Financial and Parliamentary Reform Association,
and he did so because he was quite convinced that until
they had Parliamentary reform they could not hope to
obtain financial reform. He wanted to see a system of home
colonization and manhood representation carried out.
Mr. B. OSBORNE said he had been selected to support
the first resolution, but as there was so slight a difference
between the title of this association and that given to it
by the Gentleman who last addressed them, he could
have no hesitation in seconding the amendment.—(Hear,
hear.) He saw no difference Letwixt tweedledum and
tweedledee—(Hear, and laughter)—and he would
readily second it, though he must at the same time in-
form the meeting and the mover of the amendment
that the council had already come to the conclusion that
agitation for Parliamentary reform ought to precede
financial reform.—(Cheers.) He came now to the main
business of the meeting, He could not forget that the last
time he stood in that room it was to eanvass the
suffrages of the electors of Middlesex. Since then
he had not been so much amongst them as the elec-
tors had a right to expect, simply for the
reason given by the mover of the amend-
ment—that he was essentially a working man.—
(Cheers, and laughter.) Ho did not work by day, but
he gloried in this, that he attended to the interests of
his constituents by night.—(Hear, and cheers.) He
had not yet arrived at that state of political legerde-
main in which a man was said to modify his
opinions.—(Hear, hear.) He had not modified
those opinions on which they returned him
to the Commons House of Parliament, and from the
constitution of that House ho was not likely to modify
them while he sat for the county of Middlesex.—(Hear.)
It would hardly be believed that there was now no such
thing as a popular party existing in the House
of Commons.—(Loud cheers.) There were cer-
tainly true and good men in that House, but
those honest and indethpentdweont
hdiesegasreieveileadto them sickness and
of Reform, Mr. Hume—(Loud cheers)—he was sorry to
say was grievously ill;
bseaeyn, tbhultstya.monTglee great patriarch
to take their seats; and the Honourable Baronet
reformers themselves, Mmemmill:erws
were
er Finsbury,
those
nftHohoroe ThereleHwaMdoh
eauowri Yae
wsl
ae
naob
sdfo
greatnnbce
oeohn
pi hnom behind the
p a t
h yunderstood
and
that at the present timenl
tsah.tr_eha
principlesne
(dr a
scenesewa hrae, s
hknewnoarweere distrustpar: popular eeapaxnupdel
expounded
that :hadpeamteaeghdroraetins
riyil. genie),
was great difficulty on every occasion in scraping
together the eighty Members who had been returned
upon Liberal principles, and he did not hesitate to say,
that the eighty Members who voted with Mr. Cobden,
if they had thought that the vote would have turned
out the Government, would have stayed away rather
than have voted at all.—(Hear, hear.) Therefore, he
said they should never rest satisfied until they had ap-
plied that gentle pressure from without which had not
only influenced individual Members, but even the
Ministers of this country.—(Hear, hear, and loud
cheers.) He had been much amused by an account
in the newspapers that a Member had sat 20 years in
the House of Commons who turned out afterwards to be
a woman.—(Laughter.) He would not repeat the
name, but although he did not know the gentleman, and
had not the honour of sitting with him in the House,
he understood he was a good Conservative old lady—
(Laughter)—and he had strong suspicions that his was
not a singular case.—(Laughter.) Most respectable and
amiable old ladies held seats in that assembly, and with
a feeling natural to the weaker sex, they were fond of
rank, and mistook the principles of taxation fur the
principles of the Constitution.—(Laughter, and loud
cheers.) It was their duty, however, to purge the
House of those old ladies, and send them back to those
places which they were more qualified to adorn and
represent.—(Laughter.) Ile would ask whether it was
fair that the Government, who had climbed to power by
a popular cry, and who, as it were, had found their way
into Buckingham Palace, on the shoulders of Cobden
and Bright, should throw cold water upon a motion for
financial reform ?—(Cheers.) How was it that they could
see no wisdom except in a Lord, no probity
except in an estated gentleman ?—(Cries of " Hear,
hear.") In fact, he thought the tendency of the present
day was to make the House of Commons a great burrow
for titled rabbits.—(Laughter and cheers.) That which
was called the People's House was nothing but a taxing
evermachine,
period. In the year 1830, when the Duke of Wellington
wdhoinceh
uranidseerd
tahgermeaotsetr
da
ems op uo nt to ofm taxes thanh
n f ahnayd
was turned out on the score of economy, and when the
Whigs canvassed the population of the country, and
got a majority, the public expenditure was 54,000,0001.
and upwards. But there was a surplus of 1,711,000/.
Let them mark that! In 1848 the public expenditure
amounted to 58,000,0001.—(Shame, shame) —and the
excess of expenditure over revenue—spending more
than they got—was 3,000,000/.—(Shame.) Yet the
interest of the debt had been reduced in the mean time.
What else had they got ? An income-tax of 5,000,000.
which had been laid on on false pretences—(Laughter and
" Hear, hear")-1 or they were told at first that it would
only be put on for three years.—(Hear, hear.) Ho re-
peated that the tax had been laid on on false pretences,
in the time of peace. But the tax was opposed by the
present Government—(Hear)—and when they came into
office they turned round and coolly prepared to increase
the tax to 51. per cent. last year—(Laughter)—and if
they had not put their hands into their pockets, and
finding a deficit, instructed their Members to speak out,
they would have had an increase of the income-tax.
In 1830 the estimate for the army and navy, ordnance,
and miscellaneous, which nobody could explain, and
nobody get at—(Laughter)—was 17,500,0031.—(Hear.)
But what did miscellaneous estimates consist of? Such
things as a gate to Buckingham Palace, 80,000/.—(Cries
of "Shame ") and 6001. fur taking a Bishop to
Jamaica.—(Great laughter.) He assured them, that
though he and others sat as the comptrollers of the
public purse, it would be the greatest absurdity to tell
them that though they represented public opinion, that
they did control that expenditure.—(Laughter.)l How-
ever, when the new Whig Government came in they
felt that they must reduce the expenditure,
and it was reduced to 14,000,000/. But what
did it rise to in 1848 ? Why, they could
scarcely believe that it had increased 9,000,000/.—
(Shame, shame)—and the present estimate was
23,315,8521.—(5hame.) Compare that with the expen-
diture of 1830.—(Horrible.) But the truth was
both Whigs and Conservatives were to
blame.—(Hear, hear.) They got frightened at the
state of the Continent, and kept up large war establish-
ments. But the Government said "We are retrenching,
now," and they began by reducing the number
of poor clerks, who had, perhaps, wives and families
—they caught the small flies and allowed the
Leviathans to break through. They had saved a few
thousands by reducing the number of clerks; but if they
were sincere in what they did they must begin at the
heads of the departments. Then, with respect to their
diplomatic expenses, it was enormous, but no one had a
chance of being employed in the service unless he were
connected with the Lord Tom Noddy family—(Laugh-
ter)—no man whose name was either Smith,
Jenkins, or who possessed the patronymic of
Buggins.—(Laughter.) It would be next to im-
possible
to send a man with such a name to
a foreign Court. The diplomatic establishment costs
a r work
rokf
eloBnol,o4ohoeLd;oneatfiodr
mwahoaht
ledsiad.—t(triyear.set
For? The
ran
eyeareive
d they
650h0a1. a
had had no
year.ambassadorHewasa very amiable atMadaridiawlhe man,
but but he was withdrawn ; and it was notorious that
their affairs were going on there much better because
they had no diplomatic interference, and saved at the
same time 6,sool—(Cheers)—but if they must have
ambassadors let the Smiths, the Jenkinses, and the Bug-
ginses have a chance now—they, he thought, would
be satisfied to do the work for 1,0001. a year.—(Hear.)
'The Prime Minister might come down to the House
and say he had reduced the number of the Horse
Guards, saying, " See what I have dune I
have taken off some of the dead weights."
Why, the Horse Guards cost 190,0001. Why,
the present Commander in-Chief received 8,7001.
a year, :with perquisites, whilst Lord Amherst, when
Commander-in-Chief, received only I,oool.—(hear,
hear.) And with respect to the perquisites, they were
as much looked after as a cook looked after the
perquisites she possessed in the suet.—(Laughter.)
To keep up all these taxations great appeals had been
made to the warlike propensities of this country.—
(Hear, hear.) A clever writer had said, in reviewing
the history of the British Constitution, that it had
occurred to him that if taxes were raised for this purpose
it would appear that war was made to raise taxes, and
not taxes levied to carry on war.—(Hear, hear.)
But then they were told they had got an empire (and he
could not but laugh at the assertion) on which the sun
never set.—(Hear, hear.) He had often puzzled himself
to know what Was that to working men.—(Cheers and
laughter.) What was the remedy? To him it wasclear.
They might go on bothering about financial reform
and all that, but it would be no use, they must reform the
House of Commons.—(Cheers.) He was astonished
that the 403. franchise had not been made use of by the
people.—(Cheers,) He was astonished that it had not
been taken out of the dust in which it had been lying for
centuries. Why, he would ask, did not the 40s. freeholders
t st t
da
register for counties?—(Hear, hear.) He trusted, if they
did, they would give him the benefit of their votes. He
trusted that he had given them a useful hint.—(Cheers.)
He was sorry to say he could not remain long with them
a
repo earnest
of his bfeeceaques: e h
oiawas votingg(going
of the septennial Act, that was going to
to
rgivethaen
be brought forward that evening in the House of Com-
mons by Mr. C. T. D'ltlyncourt.—(Hear, hear.) He
trusted that this would have the effect of setting him
right with many of his constituents.—(Hear, hear.)
With respect to this subject many might
say that they were god reformers, but this was
net the proper time to bring such subject~
hu-ward. Ito could not eon :vivo a limo more suitable
than the present fur m•dting flintier advances.—(hear,
hear.) The people of this country had shown they
wore attached to the institutions under which they
lived—they had been peaceful in times far from
prosperous.—(Cheers.) Ho thought it was evident
to all that the time for advancing was when the waters
were not out.—(Cheers.) He felt no doubt if they per-
severed that justice and reason, on which their cause
was based, would ensure their success.—(Loud cheers.)
Mr. CLARRN, a Chartist, was reedy and willing to co-
operate with this association; but he could not avoid
expressing his regret that many of the Liberal Mem-
bers had not supported the motion of Mr.
Drummond, for a Committee of inquiry into the
taxation of the country, though they might have differed
with that goo. Gentleman's speech, The Chaitiets