The Sun.
London, England, 1831-07-21 00:00:00

consciousness, that if they did not vote in a parti-
cular manner, before the sun rose there would
be some Committee appointed to inquire into their conduct.
(Loud cheers from the Opposition.) If we were to have
a Constitution in which the action of the people was so
immediate and so intense, it was contrary to all our ex-
perience of history to suppose that the country would not
fall into agitation.—( Hear.) The present influence of the
aristocracy in that House was a conservative principle,
inasmuch as it tended to support, not the interests of a
single Peer, but the aristocracy generally, against the de-
mocracy. With regard to the open buying and selling
which had been talked of, where was the great practical
danger of this ? Some great merchant might be willing
to pay 4,000/. or 5,0001. for a seat, or some East Indian,
having lived long abroad, and possessing very valuable in-
formation, by this means found his way into the House,
where his information was useful. But it was absurd to
say that they were not as capable of doing their duty, and
as likely to have the interests of their country at heart, as
those who went about among ten-pound householders, ex-
aggerating all the defects of the Constitution, promising all
such things at could not he performed, and erecting
themselves into censors, and thus found their way by
hypocrisy and deceit into a seat in Parliament.—
(Cheers from the Opposition.) There could not lie a better
proof of the practical effect of the new system than the ex-
hibition which had taken place in the city of London.
It was an error to suppose that corruption was to
be found in limited constituencies only. Look at Liver.
pool, where there was a large constituency, and where
there had been the grossest corruption. Was corruption
worse where a seat was at once purchased, than where
thousands were bought shamelessly to give their votes?
In a great many of the places to be thrown open by this
Bill, there would be the greatest mass of electioneering
corruption.—He had no intention of going into the ge-
neral question—(A loud laugh)—all he would say was, in
the words of Mr. Canning, whilst such a spirit of inno-
vation and wild desire of change was abroad, cling to your
institutions ; you know what they are, but you do not
know what may be substituted for them. The present
Ministers told us likewise, that there was a spirit of rest-
lessness abroad, but they recommended that we should
throw our Constitution overboard.—(Hear.) That was
the difference between the advice of Mr. Canning and of the
the present Ministers.—( Hear.) He (Mr. Baring) was
ready to support moderate changes; he was a hit-by-bit
Reformer,—he was sorry to confess it ;—he was for cau-
tion. One of the most remarkable circumstances of this
case was, that what in other cases were considered vir-
tues,—temperance, prudence, and caution,—were re-
garded in this case as marks of a weak mind.—(Hear.)
The bit-by-bit Reform of the Criminal Law by the
Right Hon. Baronet, showed advantageously beside the
vast promises of improvement made by others, which bad
come to nothing.—(Hear, heir.) He would give repre-
sentatives to large towns, which might be done without
the danger of shaking the fabric of the Constitution. The
lion. Gentleman talked about the opinion of the country
on this question ; there was not one who travelled in it
who could not be sensible that the great leading eircum-
st ince which had determined the mass of the people was
that the proposition came from the Crown.—(Hear, hear.)
" I do not like it," said one,." but I am quite sure that
the King would not recommend what would endanger the
Crown and the Constitution.—(Cheers.) Should' the
Crown unfortunately listen to the advice of the Democracy,
it was quite clear to his mind, that if the declaration
which had taken away the breath of his Hon. Friend
(Mr. John Smith) in favour of annual Parliaments and
universal suffrage, were left to the people in the same way,
it would produce the same effect.—(Hear, hear.)
3lr. R. GRANT justified himself from some remarks
of the Hon. Member who had spoken last respecting his
speech on the hustings. He would not enter into time
question before the House, nor attempt to answer the
speech of the Hon, Member.
Mr. 3IABERLY had never witnessed such a departure
from the question as had been shown by the Hon. Member
for Cillington, who had delivered a speech which had been
uttered three times before. He had entered into the gene-
ral question when the question before the Committee was
the disfranchisement of Bletchingley.—(Hear, hear.) If
they went on thus, the question would not be brought to
an issue in 1831.

Mr. DENISON could take it upon him to state, that the

feeling of the wealth and intelligence of the county of
Surrey was unanimous in favour of the principle and de-
tails of the Bill, and that they considered that, so far from
i s tendency being destructive of the existing orders autl
institu! ions of the country, it would be their best preser-
vative.--(llear.) All that the people wanted was, that
that House should be virtually the House of Commons,
and nut a deputy chamber of Peers.
An HON. MEMBER agreed with the lion. Member, and
contended that the Bill was based on the ancient practice
and usages of the Constitution.
. _ .

Sir C. WETIIERELL should not divide the Committee
on the present clause, having effected his object of opening
the question of burgage tenures.
The question was then put " That Bletchingley stand
part of schedule A" and carried in the affirmative with-
out a division. Bletchingley, therefore, so far stands
disfranchised.
The next clause read by Mr. BERNAL was, that "Bo-
roughbridge stand part of schedule A."—(Laughter.)
Sir C. WETHERELL did not rise to detain the Com-
mittee with a lengthened defence of the borough which
he had the honour of representing, as he had already an-
ticipated all he could say by way of defence when defend-
ing the cause of Bletchingley. He had undertaken that
defence, as he had stated, because he was fearful that if
even left to its own proper representatives, poor Bletch-
ingley would be without even a half-mourner at its fu-
neral.—(A laugh.) As he had, however, on that occa-
sion taken it upon him to personate the No:de Foreign
Secretary, he hoped that as that Noble Lord was a stout
champion of free trade and reciprocity principles, and act-
ing upon the good old adage of " one good turn deserves
another," the Noble Lord would do as much for him now
and defend Boroughbridge.—(Laughter and bear.) The
Hun. and Learned Gentleman then repeated his argument
lgainst all burgagc tenure boroughs, like Boroughbridge,
being disfranchised, as stated by him with reference to
Bletchingley.
Lord PALMERSTON regretted that he could not re-
ciprocate the kind office for Boroughbridge which the
Hon. and Learned Gentleman had performed for Bletch-
ingly ; and that all be could do would be to assist in cot►-
signing them to the one tomb with equal funeral honours.
laugh.)—The Hon. and Learned Gentleman's bur-
gage tenure argument was a fallacy, so far as the preamble
of the Bill was concerned, because that preamble had not a
syllable touching " restore the Constitution," and merely
stated that " it was expedient to correct certain abuses
which had crept, in the course of time, into our repre-
sentative system."—( Hear.)
Mr. ArfWOOD would on the present occasion content
himself with denying the right to disfranchise Borough-
bridge, leaving to Ministers all the responsibility of the con-
sequences •f their audacious and most unconstitutional
measure.
The question was then put and carried in the affirmative,
without a division, that " Boroughbridge stand part of
schedule A."
Mr. BERNAL then read " That the borough of Bossi-
ney stand part of schedule A."
Mr. WORTLEY said, that as he could not question
the general accuracy of the amount of population under
which Bossiney was proposed to be disfranchised, he would
not divide the Committee on the present question.—
(Hear, hear.) All he would say was, that his family
never exercised any influence, other than the legitincote
influence of property, in that borough, and that it was
not a nomination borough, and never had Leen an object of
traffic.—(Hear, hear.)
The question was then put, and carried without a di-
vision, that Bossiney stand part of schedule A.
Mr. BERNAL next read the clause that " The boroughs
of 13rackley stand part of schedule A,"
Captain BRADSHAW said, MS it was true that, ac-
cording to the population returns of 1821 (but not
those of 1831, which made the population two thou-
sand one hundred),. Brackley fell under the line of dis-
franchisement laid down by the Noble Lord, he would
imitate the conduct of the Hon. Member fur Bossiney, and
not divide the Committee.—(Hear, bear.) He could
assure the Committee, that his family never exercised any
influence in that borough but that which property be-
,towed upon them.
"
s”aciaaatcr. was then put and carried, " That Brack-
' ley stand part of schedule A."
Mr. BERNAL next put the question—" That the bo-
rough of Bramber stand part of schedule A."
Sir C. WETHERELL hoped that the Noble Lord
would stop at that stage for the present, and allow theme,
on the Opposition side of the House, a little time to bury
the numerous slain of the evening.—(Ilea, and a laugh.)
There they bad the defunct bodies of six or seven boroughs
before them—a radical feast to a vengeance—(Laughter)—
the sport of one short evening—(Continued laughter)—
and it was not too touch to ask for a little delay, to enable
all parties to digest their corporation repast.—(A laugh. )
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER hoped
that the Hon. and Learned Member would make no ob-
jection to going on a short time lodger..—(Near.)
The question was then put and carried, " That the bo-
rough of Bramber should stand part of schedule A."
Sir It. PEF.I. said, that it would be advisable to fix a