The Sun.
London, England, 1831-10-03 00:00:00

tirgtridi you from the slaves of the cion4mental d
the privilege of choosing your own representatieee in the
legislature of your own country ? I ask, are theynot
mistaken ? Your opinion changed forsooth ! Yes ! i•is
chenged. It has changed as the child change; into the
man! It has grown, and strengthened, and mantred itself
in the interval. It has been strengthened by the elequent
end convincing arguments of the friends to Reform. It
hes been still more strengthened by the weak, and contra-
dictory, and selfish, and hypocritical grounds on which
alone the Reform has been opposed. Yes ; our opinion
has changed. That which we lately asked for as a boon,
we now see the necessity of claiming es a right. That
which we then but hoped and desired, we are not' deter-
mined to obtain. Well, then, let Us approach the House of
hilßea,eaivrfroetitresim)fe
eoo.frn
ttheilLieede
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people
undeceivingsppiloiteeseleloilefoyftelE,entmhgelacnaidml
mpl Iluayyd:estnuewtmc
ahfrxa
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td
owards
sswap,tamertcelat may
fully, but yet firmly and seriously,—that R•form we must
have ; and that as no other such an opportunity is eves-
likely to he offered us, we have sin our hearts
upon the Bill, and are ready to stake our lives upon it
likewise, and to " stand the hazard of the die." I do
not repeat the stale cry of "the Bill, the whole Bill, and
nothing hut the Bill." I have no objection to such altera-
tions as are of the nature of improvements. Like all
othert efforts of human wisdom,
But
if,a,edon
not
tthe
accept
and Bsi
el l has c
ures
tilt) mpe
shall
re fet.;
ever get a better ? Therefore I would soy to the Peers,
improve the Bill if you can, but damage it not, disfigure
it not, mutilate it not ! What we want is, the Bill, the
whole Bill, and nothing less than the Bill. Ido not wish
to be driven to call in question the constitutional privilege
of the House of Peers to exercise their unbiassed judgment
upon this Bill as on all others ; but I cannot conceal from
myself, that this Bill does differ materially from any other
that has ever come before, or is likely in future to he
brought before their Lordships. Many of the Peers are,
by universal notoriety, and the undisputed acknowledg-
tnents of their advocate., convicted of lithitually exercising
en illegal and unconstitutional controul over the election
of the Members of the House of Commons. Now it
is the main object of the Reform Bill to put an end
at once, and fsr ever, to this infraction of the Con.
stitution ; and is it not fairly open to question, whe-
her these Peers can be fit judges in their own cause,
whether they are the proper parties to decide if the
p ewer they have usurped, and illegally exercised,
shall or shall not be taken from them ? Can they claim,
' under the sanction of their constitutional privileges, the
power to retain their unconstitutional privileges? Can
they he allowed to shelter themselves under the Constitu-
.ion for the purpose of destroying the Constitution ?
These are grave questions, which I hope and trust the
House of Commons and the people of England will never
be driven seriously to debate and determine. The Peers,
trust, will see the delicacy of their pesitiou, and dis-
creetly abstain from any thing which may render it neces-
-Ary to moot these points. Bat it will be said, perhase,
ay some of the moderate Reformers, some of the more
ecent converts to the doctrine of Reform, that we ought
not to attempt, or appear to bully, or m intimilate the
l'eems. Bully the Pet rs ! No. What I am anxioutsz: de
,fore
to convince and to persuade their. Intimidate the
i'eers ! Yes. If to point out the danger, the disc rase,
he criminality of any particular line of conduct tee to in-
tnl
itmoiudruet°;l7e m— if
itsochef, painthtocontfiluio
the Peery
the sininssteiZgi insecurity butto true
and business, the probeble convulsion, the possible de.
struction, to themselves and others that may, nay must
ensue from their rejection of the Reform Bill,—if
this be to intimidate them, then who will say we
ought not to intimidate the Peers ? What ! if I see a
friend about to put his head into a lion's mouth, am I not
to caution him of the risk he runs of leaving it behind
:here, least he should think I meant to intimidate hint ?
Oh ! my friends, let us not cavil about words ? It is the
duty of every friend to his Country, and to his ccuntry's
institutions, anti to the peerage cspecielly, to endeavour to
awaken the Peers to a sense of the true character of the al-
ternatives that now lie before them. We may tell them, and
tell them truly, that it is in their power to win and to
secure for ever to the aristocracy, of which they are the
leaders, the hearts and affections of the people, by follow-
ing the example of their noble Sovereign, who has secured
them for the monarchy. But we must._ we ought to
warn them, at the same time, that it is in their power, by
one false step, to precipitate their order into an abyss —to
dig a gulf between them and the rest of the community
to alienate from themselves, for ever, the regards and at-
tachments of their fellow-eountryenen. We may implore
them t 1:e carefol how they place themselves at issue witl,
the nation at large on a point of vital importance to the
welfare of the nation, lint in which they have, or ought
to have, but little personal or peculiar interest, We may
remind them that, on time further side of time Atlantic,
nation of ig,000,000 of freemen, English in blend, lan-
guage, manners, have thriven in an unexampled degree,
for more than half a century,—witheut any Peerage at
all ; that in France, /Ail; nearer home, hereditary Peerage
is on the eve of abe.lit;on. And we may add, that in Eng-
land at this moment the Peerage is on its trial. The
English do not at present question the benefita they derive
from an hereditary Chamber of Peers, hut I do not hesi-
tate to give my opinion that it depends on the result of
the momentous debate about to open in the House of Lords
whether they shall question ita—perhaps whether they shall
itr shall not decide against When we say this we do
not bully the Peers. We simply lay bare the question on
which they have to decide.

BRIGHTON.--Upwards of 3,000 signatures had, up
to last Friday evening, been attached to the petition.
CAMBRIDGA Oci. I.—The requisition for a county
meeting to petition the House of Lords to support the Re-
form Hill, was signed by several of the wealthiest land-
owners in the county, and a numerous body of the yeo-
manry. The High Sheriff has refused to convene a meet-
ing, but the freehohlers are determined the public voice
shall not be thus stifled, and are taking other means of
conveying their sentiments to the House of Lords. A
meeting of the freeholders has been held to-thy at the Red
Lion, when R. G. Townley, Esq., of Fulhourn, was de-
clared to be the most proper person to succeed Lord J.
Osborne in the representation of the county, from which
he is about to retire. A, requisition was immediately
signed by 120 freeholdera, at the head of whom stands the
Marquis of Tavistock, soliciting Mr. Townley' to be put in
nomination. It is to be forwarded to the principal towns
for signature. It is understood that Mr. Townley will
comply with the wishes of the freeholders, and not a doubt
is entertained of his success. His political sentiments are
liberal and patriotic, and his private character no one dares
to assail. Na opposition to his election is expected. In
truth, he would poll the Tory party out of the field in a
few hours.
CITY OF HEREFORD.--in compliance with a nu-
merous and respectably signed requisition, oar Mayor ap-
pointed Friday for the meeting of the freemen and inhabi-
tant, of this city, to take into consideration the propriety
of petitioning the Lords in favour of the Reform Bill.
At half-past ten o'clock this morning, the Miyor took the
Chair ; 6hortly afterwards, E. B. Clive, Esq., the Re-
forming Member far she city, arrived, and was received
by warm and general applause, and the entrance of Sir
G. Carnwall, Bart., Colonel Money, the Rev. J. Dun,
corebe, J. Griffiths, and G. Terry, Elqrs., all Reformers,
were very ardently greeted by the meeting. Immediately
after the open‘ek of the business by the Mayor, Colonel
Money eon to propose the first resolution and petitiot.S
The resolution and petition were seconded by Sir G.
Cornwall, Bart., and carried unanimously. The meeting
separated with a long and unanimous cheering for the
King and Reform. A requisition foe a Reform county
meeting is now in the course of signature.
CORNWALL.—It having been found that the in.
tended county meeting, to consider the propriety of peti-
tioning the Lords in favour of the Reform Bill, would he
too late fo:- the second reading, sevecai copies of a petitioe
have been circulating for signatures within these few days;
the signatures will be attached to the origind petition,
which will be forwarded immetliately.—Cornutiae.
CHRISTCHURCH.—This morning, at eleven o'clock,
the inhribitants of the parish of Christchurch, Surrey, met
at The Fehool-room in Marlborough-street, in pursuance of
a numerously signed requisition addressed to the church-
tvardens, for the purpose of agreeing to a petition to the
Rouse (1 f Lords, praying them to pass the Reform
Bills &iv. Peter Davis, the senior churchwarden, took
IPleottheto, me,--to the present,
the chair. Mr. Hawes, jun., Mr. Locke, Mi. Dwyer, Mr.
liurslem, Mr. Lines and other gentlemen addressed the
meeting, strongly urging the necessity of the House
of Lords passing tlte Bill, as the only means of pre-
serving the happiness and tranquillity of the country,
by giving the people that due, shave in the reprewoution
of which they had hem Deprived by a set of interested
borough dealers. Resolutions expressive of she sense
_oi
the inhabiteeete and of their unabated desire to
Bill Uptight into speedy operation, were areal to, " w"
e petitien to the House of Lords, eeeedthede
pegP:ition. now for
DALKEITH.—The 4noteres have the
warding ate more than t,
to that of the lest general now! nut:. be;:fltakaseignaatuttreaeshetdo
the fo_emer petition amount
1,745. - -

petition in favour of the Mi-
got up at this place,
wniibichn:blia EAST'
o beenE
ReformTfO
signedß A
by Wort
bas
mobn
reee
than four-fifths of tlao