The Sun.
London, England, 1831-03-25 00:00:00

same source? Or do they mean to effect a revolution in
England by the compendious process of a Cabinet delibera-
,ion, and to issue writs for the return of Members to their
new Parliament only to such places as they suppose are
sure to give them Members favourable to their views? Or
if neither of these questions ought to be answered in the
iffirmative, why should it be expected, let us then ask, that
the same constituency which elected an anti-revolutionary
House of Commons in the summer of 1830 will elect a re-
volutionary House of Coinmons in the spring of 1831 ?
We trust that our Sovereign will avert from the country
the calamities and convulsions that cannot fail to be
produced by a general election, springing out of a single
question of paramount importance and out of intense ex-
citement, and which must naturally be governed in every
instance by the feelings of men upon that single question.
Such an appeal to the people of any country is in itself
a revolutionary measure. It is a proceeding utterly re-
pugnant to the whole principle and spirit of the represen-
tative system of Great Britain. It converts the whole
mass of the electors into legislators for the nonce. It calls
together, not a British House of Commons, but an assembly
if delegates to a National Convention, convened for the
express purpose of new-modelling the Constitution. It makes
the King of England expressly undertake the initiative of a
revolutionary movement. At the present moment then it is
the first duty of every man who values the peace and safety
of the country to inculcate the salutary, and, as we have
no doubt the event would prove it, this well-founded ap-
prehension upon the revolutionists who surround the
Throne. Let the King's Ministers be reminded that
public meetings, at which the rabble, who can vociferate
most loudly, are always sure to carry the day, afford no
conclusive indication of the result of elections, at which
men's names are put down, and their claims to vote are
open to discussion. It is said that the existing consti-
tuency, whose chartered rights are to be in every instance
either annihilated or impaired by the proposed measure,
.ire nevertheless favourable to it. We believe the revsrse
to be the fact. Let those electors, be they many or few,
therefore, in our counties, cities, and boroughs, who thin!:
that they have hitherto well fulfilled the duty entrusted to
them by the Constitution, and that no interest of the
country requires their degradation, come forward and man-
fully say that they will voteat the threatened general election
for no man who wishes to inflict upon them this injury and
insult. A single declaration of this sort, with the names,
appended to it of known electors, is well worth all the re-
solutions of fifty public meetings. We hope and trust
that the friends of the British Constitution will at length
bestir themselves. There is not a moment to he lost.—
The opponents of revolution have been too long torpid.
We above all things imploie the high-minded and loyal
gentlemen of England not to neglect their duty to their
country, to themselves, and to their posterity, in the event
of a general election at the present crisis being forced upon
us, through listless indolence or pusillanimous despair.—
The noise is on the other side. Be it so. As reason and
patriotism are, so should energy, activity, and self-devotion
be on theirs. We say distinctly, and we earnestly hope
that our words may make the desired impression, that the
men of property in England will deserve—will indeed
themselves in a great measure have wrought the ruin
that must inevitably overtake them and theirs, should the
project of the revolutionists succeed, if the constituency
of a single county, city, or borough in the three kingdoms
be left without the offer of representatives determined to
oppose revolution in every shape. The Ministers must,
for their own sakes, however reluctantly, direct the public
force to the protection of the persons and property of con-
stitutional candidates and voters during the turmoil of an
election, even against the efforts of their own revolutionary
allies, the mob. They have not dared to place a revolu-
tionist at the Horse Guards as the successor to a York and
a Wellington. The loyal gentry and constituency of Eng-
land may therefore, we are p rsuaded, safely despise the
insolent menaces of those confederates of Ministers who
strive to deter them from the discharge of their duty by an
appeal to their fear. We call upon them to show how
thoroughly they despise the insult these menaces imply.
Upon their resolution or timidity the fate of England de-
pends.—Morning Post.

REFORM MEETINGS IN SUPPORT OF

lIIS MAJESTY'S MINISTERS.

COUNTY OF RENT.

In consequence of a requisition presented to the High
Sheriff of the county of Kent, B. Powell, Esq., an,l
signed by the Earls of Radnor" and Winchilsea, Lords
Barham and Sondes, and a large number of most opulent
and respectable freeholders, a county meeting was ap-
pointed to be held at twelve o'clock yesterday on Penen-
den-heath. The day, however, came in with a storm of
sleet and snow, and as there appeared no chance at eleven
o'clock of the weather's taking up, Mr. Scudatnore, the
Under-Sheriff, proceeded to the Heath, for the purpose of
formally adjourning the meeting to the High street, Maid-
stone. At the same time a placard was issued, stating
that the meeting would be opened in the High-street at
half-past twelve o'clock. A few waggons were placed
before the Town-hall, and in spite of the inclemency of the
weather upwards of 3,000 persons were assembled in the
open air at one o'clock, when the meeting was opened by
the High Sheriff.
Mr. SCUDAMORE read the requisition.

The HIGH SHERIFF then said that he had received a
letter from their worthy representative, Sir E. Knatch-
bull, which be would request Mr. Scudamore to read to
the meeting.

Mr. SCI3DAMORE then read a letter from the Hon. Ba-
ronet, in which he expressed regret that he could not sup-
port the Reform Bill.
The Earl of RADNOR came before them, at the request
of several gentlemen of the county, to propose an address
to his Majesty, expressive of the gratitude which they felt
towards him for having given his sanction to the Bill,
which now engrossed so much of their attention.—
(Cheers.) It had been the fashion for many years past to
confound the words " Reform" and " revolution ;" and
if his Majesty had been wise enough and attentive enough
to the wishes of his people to get rid of the foolish pre-
judices against Reform, which had been carefully instilled
into the minds of his predecessors on the throne, and into
the minds of his nobility, that Reform was dangerous to
the interests of the Crown and to the rights of property
inherited by the higher orders, he thought that the least
return which the people could make to their Sovereign
for so signal a triumph over his prejudices was to express
to him their gratification and thanks.—(Cheers.) His
Majesty had been graciously pleased to give his sanction
to the measure which that Ministry had introduced, and
he (the Earl of Radnor) believed that it would receive the
almost unanimous approbation of the country.—(Cheers.)
Mr. E. DARRELL seconded the motion.

The Earl of WISCIIILSEA repelled with indignation the
charge, that because he was advocating a measure of the
Government in the principles of which he fully accorded
—(Cheers)—though he saw in the details of it defects
which he thought might be cured without injury to its
principles, he was therefore attempting to revolutionize the
country.—(Cheers.) He must honestly say—though he
thought it necessary to allude more specifically to the
particular occasions—that it did appear to him that on
many occasions the petitions of the people had not
been received by the House of Commons with that
respect to which they were entitled ; and from the time
when he first made that observation, he had come
to the conclusion that the House of Commons did not
fairy represent the people..—(Cheers.) He had little more
to say to the meeting new. He thought that the country
was much indebted to his Majesty's Government for the
mariner in which this measure had been brought forward.
Independently of the great And commanding talents pos-
sessed by the Noble Earl at the head of that Government,
he possessed a fund of sterling political integrity and
honesty, which was surpassed by none, much less by those
who had deceived their friends and disappointed their
enemies by an abandonment of their principles.—(Cheers.)
He thought that the Noble ',old was entitled to the eternal
gratitude of his country for the manner in which he bed
brought forward this question.—(Loud cheers.) He fully
agreed in the language of the address which had beers that
day proposed to them. Never had there been on the throne
of Great Britain a King to whom the people were more
indebted than to his present Majesty.—(Cheers.) His
Majesty lived, and would live, in the hearts and affections
of his people.—(Cheers.) That was the best support of
his Crown, and his Majesty was too wise to wish for any
other.—(Cheers.) When the Bill came into the House of
Lords, as lie was convinced that it would come— (Cheers)—
he should be at his post ready to give it his humble, but
honest support.—(Great cheering.)
Lord AIAtioN nest addressed the meeting. He was

going to speak uncovered, but the freeholders insisted on
his putting on his hat. He claimed their indulgence upon
two grounds ; the first was, that he was a young man,
end that this was the first public meeting of the county
which he had attended, though he had been born in Kent,
and had spent the greater part of his life within the
county. The second was, that he had voted last night in
the minority against the Reform Bill.—(Loud hootings,
and cries of " Off, off.") Yesterday evening he had voted
against the Bill ; but not, he begged leave to say, against
the principle of Reform—(Outcry)—for there were other
unobjectionable modes of Reform which he was really to
support.—( A voice, " What are they ?") He had been
asked what they were. He would tell them. He thought
that a good Reform should not begin with disfanchise-
ment, and this Bill would disfranchise half of the present
electors for the town of Maidstone.—(lmmense outcry,
and shouts of " cant" and " humbug." (He thought it
defective in so many par is that it would he much better to
withdraw the Bill and have a new one altogether.—(Dis-
approbation. ) The meeting, lie saw, thought his idea
very absurd.—(Yes, yes.) He thought it hard that half
the town of Maidstone should be disfranchised.—(Cries of
" No, no.") It was said that this might be amended in the
Committee. But they did net know the Bill.—(" We do
better than you.") Did they know the Bill ? Had they
read it? He had.—(So have we.) It had been stated
by an Hon. Friend of his in the House of Commons the
other evening, that all Members with whom lie had con-
versed upon the subject had told him that they thought
the Bill a good Bill for the country generally, but that it
worked awkwardly in their respective counties. Now,
what ought sentib'e men to think of that plan which was
said to work well throughout all England, and yet worked
ill in Kent, Sussex, Middlesex, and Surrey ?—(Cries of
" That's all owing to the rotten boroughs.") The rotten
boroughs, what had they to do with this question ?—(A
cry of" Every thing.") He should come to the rotten
boroughs presently—(Come to them at once)--but he had
not a hundred tongues to reply to a hundred voices at
once, and therefore each subject must wait its turn.—(The
rotten boroughs.") Did they mean to say that there was
no advantage in the close boroughs?—(" Yes, none,
whatever.")—Let them observe him well, and let him not
he misunderstood. He was for extending the popular in-
fluence in the representation. He thought that at present
it was not strong enough, and lie had said so in his
place in the House of Commons, for he had spoken more
than an hour on this question yesterday. He had said
that he wished for a temperate and moderate Reform, and
that for such a Reform he would be ready to vote.—(Out-
cry, and a shout of " That's humbug !") Was that fair ?
There was a use in the close boroughs, and lie would tell
them what it was.—(You need not—it brings you in
5,000/. every election !") He would suppose that a Mi-
nister had not a seat in the House of Commons ; well, he
must get a seat to discharge his public functions in Par. '
liament. Those functions would compel him to live most
of the year in town. It might be well for men of property
and respectability, like Lord Althorp, who had large
estates and old family connections in a county, to go down
to that county and solicit the votes of the electors ; but
what would have been the case with Mr. Canning, who
never possessed an acre of ground in his life ? What would
have been the case with Mr. Pitt, who was a younger
brother? How could they have got into Parliament ?—(G reat
tumult, and a cry of "If they had never been in Par-
liament it would have been all the better for the country.")
It had been found, over and over again, that a Minister
could not obtain a seat in Parliament without the exertion
of that influence which they were calling corrupt.—(Out-
cry.) If this Bill should pass, it would destroy one
description of aristocracy to erect a worse and a stronger
aristocracy in its place.—(No, no.) What was that
aristocracy ?—The aristocracy of money. He wished
them to observe, that a list of 22 names, the most illus-
trious for talent in the country, had been read to the
House; and those names belonged to members who had
all been returned for close boroughs. The first began
with Burke, and ended with the present Lord Brougham
.e•-(A man in the crowd, " How many bad members did
the rotten boroughs send in the same time ?") There was
Pitt, Fox, and Tierney.—(A cry of " That's enough ; we
know it all.") He begged to be heard for a few minutes
longer, for he was on his defence.—(A laugh.) He said,
that without the close boroughs the country could not go
on.—(A voice, " Yes, well enough ; it can't go on with
them.") They had read in the Bible—(Cries of " Oh,
oh! a boroughinoriger and a Bible!")—that they were to
judge of a tree by its fruits. Now what ought they to
think of .a tree which had produced such noble
fruit as those sixty boroughs had ?---He had heard
it said in the crowd that be wished well to the
system because it suited him, and he could sell a seat
at every election for 5,000/. He could assure them that
this was riot the case, and that in the vote which he had
recently given, he had even acted contrary to his own per-
sonal interest.—(Cries of " What place is it?")-It was
a town in Wiltshire,—Wootton Bassett.—(Roars of laugh-
ter.)—By the new Bill that borough was to be disfran-
chised, and Kent was to have two additional Members.
If lie had voted for the Reform Bill, he thought that he
might venture to say,without arrogance, that from the
respectability of his family, from his long connection with
Kent, and from his property in the county, he might have
aspired to, he did not say that he might have obtained,
the honour of representing them in Parliament. He
knew their feelings on the subject ; and be knew that be
had resigned all chance of that honour by his late vote.—
(Great outcry. A waggon was here upset by the crowd.)
—The fate of that waggon will be the fate of the Consti-
tution if this Bill.be passed.—(lmmense outcry.)
Mr. LARKINS said that the Noble Lord had told them
that he was young. This was quite true ; the Noble Lord
was young, very young, and that might account fur,
though it would not excuse, the vote which the Noble
Lord, had told them he gave last night.—(Hear, hear,
and laughter.) He trusted that when the Noble Lord
arrived at mature age, he would arrive also at the age
of discretion, anti if the Noble Lord did, the Noble Lord
would never give such a vote again. If he had not been
very much misinformed, the Noble Lord had lately made
a very bad speculation in Wootton Basset.—(Cheers and
laughter.) But the Noble Lord had told them that he
had made a sacrifice in voting aeainst the Reform Bill.
Now what was the sacrifice? Why it was the sacrifice of
an anticipation of the poi eibility of his representing that
county in Parliament if the Bill should be carried, and
four Members given to the county. But what was the
Noble Lord's loss if the Bill should be carried ? All ! the
Noble Lord had not told them that. No matter, he would
tell it them. The Noble Lord's loss would be the loss of
Wootton Basset.—(Cheers.) It would be, not prospec-
tive and possible loss, but present and certain loss, for
Wootton Basset was set down to be disfranchised, and
Wootton Basset was worth about 2,000/. a year to the
Noble Lord.—(Cheers.)
Losrudik.
The IMION—No ; upon my honour, not above half
thatm
petition was received with loud cheering; and,
to use their own words, the tueeting then gave "three
cheers for Watson." •

Mr. LARKINS-Well ; he would not dispute the
amount of the loss—loss it undoubtedly was and certain
loss ; so what became of the Nob'e Lord's sacrifice ?
(Cheers.)— This bill, it was said, would destroy the Con-
stitution. So it would if the rotten boroughs were a part
of the Constitution, but if they were not, then the Bill
would not destroy the constitution. He would not then go
into the argument of the rotten borough system. He
must, however, say that he thought the Member for the
county of Kent must feel himself disgraced in sitting by a
boroughmonger.—(Cheers and laughter.)
Mr. WATSON (Member for Canterbury) said that he
joined most cordially in the jorus, and he trusted, una-
nimous feeling of approbation of that meeting towards
the measure of Reform —(Cheers.)—The Hon. Gentle-
man then read a petition to ►ihe House of Lords in support
of the Reform Bill.

Sir• W. COSIVAY seconded the motion, and concluded
by calling upon the meeting to give three cheers for the
King and the Constitution.—This was done, and " one
cheer more" for Lord Grey was also given.
Sir J. 'FYLDEN rroposed to the meeting a petition to
the House of Commons, and trusted that the meeting
would call for the Bill—the whole hill—and nothing but
the whole Bill.—(Cheers.)—The Noble Lord had told
them that 22 clever men had come into Parliament by
means of rotten boroughs. This was true. But if the
rotten boroughs had brought in such a man as Charles
Fox, had they. not also brought in such a man as Charles
Wetherell.—(lfear, and laughter, and a cry of " Yes, and
Horace Twiss.")—Ay, Horace Twiss,—now was not he
a nice sample for a setoff list of stupid borough Members