The Sun.
London, England, 1831-01-27 00:00:00

REFORM MEETING AT ST. PAUL'S, CO-

VENT-GARDEN.

Last night a meeting of the parishioners of St.
Paul, Covent-garden, was held at the Piazza Coffee-
house. Mr. Cowell took the Chair at half-past seven.
The CHAIRMAN stated the object of the meeting
in accordance with the following notice :
" A public meeting of the inhabitant householders of
this parish will be held at the Piazza Coffee-house, on
Wednesday evening next, the 26th day of January, 1831,
for the purpose of agreeing to a petition to the House of
Commots, praying for Reform in Parliament. Mr.Cowell,
parochdil churchwarden, will take the Chair at halt-past
six for seven o'clock."
Mr. WALKER, in moving the first resolution, ob-
served, that although it had been declared that uni-
versal suffrage was universal nonsense and universal
impracticability, he was one of those who believed
that it was worthy of support, and capable of effect-
ing great good for the country. But, at the same
time, he was not so bigoted in favour of universal
suffrage, and nothing but universal suffrage, as to
refuge any thine else that might be offered. He
would confess that he should be satisfied with trien-
nial Pailiaments, and what Lord Brougham hod
described in the House of Commons a short time
aAo. But the present system, at all events,
must be got rid of: for, instead of the House of
Commons representing the people, it did but -
present the Peers under another name, for while
they themselves sat in the House cf Lords, their
spawn, through the means of influence and money,
took possession of the benches in the Lower House.
Another highly objectionable- point was, that the
Bishops should have seats in the House of Lords.
It had been thought right to make the Judges inde-
pendent of the Crown, and why should not the
Bishops be so also ? This, however, could never
be, so long as some Bishoprics were worth only
a couple of thousand a year, and others as many
score thousands, and while they had a seat in the
House of Lords ready to swell the majority of a cot-
rupt Ministry. It was his firm opinion, that if the
late King had lived many years longer, the whole
Government would have become an Oligarchy, and
the Aristocracy would have been the only per-
sons with any power in the country. Why was
it that there was so much preaching about over-
abundant population ? and why did the Right
Hon. Wilmot Horton deliver lectures on emigra-
tion, but because the Aristocracy had carried on so
grasping a career, that it was impossible for the
lower orders to procure an honest living; the grand
cause of all which was the establishment of the
corn laws, by which the foreign markets were shut
against the manufactures of this country. If Parlia-
mentary Reform had taken place in 1786 or 1794,
we should have had no long and expensive war to
set a tyrant on the throne—we should have had no
national debt to the extent which now proved so
grievous and burthensome to the country. The
truth of this statement would be perceived, when
he informed the meeting that, during the period of
the wars, the amount of money raised was 396 mil-
lions, for which the sum of 569 millions had been
paid. Again, however, he begged to say, that
though he was a Radical Reformer, he should be
content with any reasonable dissolution of the pre-
sent corrupt system ; for he had no desire to act
like the dog with his shadow, and give up a certain
advantage for the sake of grasping at a larger, but
more unsubstantial share.
Mr. RULE, who seconded the first resolution, ob-
served that they never could hope for anything
satisfactory in the way of Reform till they had ob-
teined the ballot ; for it was that alone which could
bring them out of the land of bondage into the land
of freedom. He believed that the Ministry were
willing to do something; but the borougheaongering
strength against which they had to contend was
very great, and it was only by the unanimous voice
of the people that they would be able to overcome
it; and that unanimity ought to be displayed in
calling for the ballot ; it was the ballot that had
given such advantages to the very parish in which
he was then speaking—it was the ballot that had
established liberty in America—and it was the ballot
that had overturned the despot of France, and by
banishing slavery, had given rise to freedom. Let
this, then, once be procured for this country; and
England would again become, as formerly, free,
great, and happy.
The motion was then put by the CHAIRMAN, and
carried unanimously, as were all the others.
Mr. Dow, in moving the second resolution, said,
that as they had at last a good King and a good
Ministry, the only thing that was wanted was una-
nimity among the people; and he trusted that that
would be evinced. Let them once obtain Reform
in Parliament, and relief from taxation must follow
as a matter of course.
Mr. CoGdoeL, who proposed the third resolution,
said that he could not give quite so much confidence
to the present Ministry as the speakers who had
preceded him had professed; for Lord Grey had taken
occasion to observe, in the House of Lords, that he
was not friendly to any extensive Reform ; and he
(Mr. Coghill) was, therefore, afraid that the plan
adopted would be Lord John Russell's after all,
which merely consisted of giving representatives to
a few large towns, and which would not be nearly
sufficient to meet the wants of the people. Such a
Reform would not do. What they wanted was a
Reform that would put an end to the cabals be-
tween the Whigs in and the Tories out, and the
Tories in and the Whigs out—for Whigs and Tories
were the two thieves between whom the country
had been crucified—( Laughter and applause)—they
wanted a Reform which would put an end to the
building of elegant gaols, and get rid of a standing
army,which had been only instituted for the protection
of tithe and tax-eaters. When lie said that he could not
put confidence in the Ministry, he looked at their
acts since they had been in office, and could not
find in them any thing to warrant his confidence.—
What were those acts ? In the first place, they
had increased the standing army—that did not call
for any great share of satisfaction on the part of the
people; in the next place, they had introduced a
modification of the punishment of men on board
ship—but this, so far from being a reduction of the
punishment, was only putting it upon a more sys-
tematic plan ; then they had issued those Special
Commissions, which had attracted the attention of
the whole country ; he was as sorry as any one that_
property should be destroyed, but he would ask
whether these Special Commissions had not widened
the beach between the peasant and the Peer—and
whether ally one supposed that the former had not
been made to feel that all that was granted him was
to choose his death—by starvation or the gallows ?
—Their last act alluded to unhappy Ireland, of which
he would say nothing further, but that a Govern-
ment that could act arbitrarily towards Ireland,
would have no hesitation in doing the same towards
England, when the opportunity was afforded.
Mr. JuGmas, in moving the fourth resolution,
said that he had been much surprised at reading that
one of the Members for the Borough had stated that
ballot was not advisable, and he had taken the
trouble to go over to Southwark to inquire about
it ; but all he could learn was, that such were not
the sentiments of the Gallant General's constituents,
and that if he entertained such opinions, they did
not want to see him again among them. In his
opinion, the ballot would be of the greatest use in
Westminster, for he knew that there were many
who were afraid, through the working of adverse
interests, to give their votes according to their con-
sciences and wishes ; and, in fact, it would be of
use all over the empire; for it was like the mounte-
bank's balsam—a cure for all the diseases that
existed. If it was applicable to one place, it was
applicable to another; for all who were tenants were
liable to be served as the Duke of Newcastle had
served his; and, therefore, the sooner such an un-
just power was taken away the better.
It was then agreed that a petition, grounded on
the resolutions, which were declaratory of the neces-
sity of a Reform in Parliament arid the ballot, should
be presented, to both Houses of Parliament—the one
by Lord Holland, and the other by Lord Althorp.
Thanks were then given to the -Chairman, and
the meeting broke up.