The Sun.
London, England, 1831-08-04 00:00:00

lon, and who, if the Bill passed, would have a vote for the
;daces where they resided on their own property.
Lord VALLETORT—As the Hon. Alderman bad as-
serted that there had been no meeting and no resolutions,
he begged leave to read to the House an extract he had made
rout the Times newspaper of this day ; he had been led
to it by a passage in the leading article, stating, that
&hough the meeting of the Livery had been deferred, it
was still held in terrorem over the House, for the purpose
warning those among whom he (Lord Valletort) sat,
that there was a sword much more dangerous than that of
Damocles suspended over their heads.—(Much and loud
cheering.) He trusted that his Hon. Friends would treat
this threat with the utter and entire contempt which he felt
for it.—(Continued cheers from the Opposition benches.)
The resolutions to which he referred ran thus :—" That
i❑ consequence of the progress made in the Committee in
the House of Commons since the signing of the requisition
!o the Lord Mayor, particularly on Saturday last, when
the di,qualifying clauses were nearly terminated, and irons
the fear that the proceedings of any public meeting might
by those engaged in the present factious and unprincipled
opposition to the measure, be used as a new means of cans.
ing, a frivolous and vexatious delay."—(Hear, from Mr.
Alderman Wood.) Tile Hon. Alderman cheered that
expression, but he (Lord Valletott) challenged any man
to assert justly either of himself, or of those with whom he
acted, as far as he knew their motives from constant inter.
course, that they had caused a frivolous or vexatious delay.
—(Cheers.) He denied the accusation most positively, that
it was entirely false, and that those to whom it was ap-
plied were totally guiltless. After noticing the supposed
frivolousand vexatious delay, the resolution went on to state,
the " this meeting withdraw their requisition for the pre-
►ent, and express their desire that a Common Hall should not
immediately he held ; anti that the Liverymen now as-
sembled do form themselves into a Committee, with power
to add to their numbers, and that such Committee do meet
again on Monday next, or earlier if expedient, to consider
whether it will thee be n' cessary to adopt any and what
measures regarding the passing of the Reform Bill." This
was to have one Committee assembled here for the pur-
pose of considering how the measure was to be carried
through Parliament, and another Committee, or perhaps
more—eight of them for the difkrent districts of the
metropolis—sitting elsewhere to watch and cantroul the
proceedings of Parliament. Such a course could not but
have a most injurious and unconstitutional effect in the
House; but he hoped that none with whom lie coincided
would be deterred from the manly discharge of their duty.
—(Cheers.) He had brought down the extract he had
read without being, at all determined to use it ; but after
what bad passed, he thought himself in duty bound to
produce the resolutions.—(Mr. Alderman Wood observed,
that they were not resolutions.) If they were not reso-
lutions he did not know what were, and those who framed
them called them so, for they said that " the following re-
solutions were unanimously adopted."—(Much cheering
and laughter.) What there was reason to laugh at he
could not see, fur it seemed to him a very serious matter
that any set of men should stand, as it were, at the doors
of the House so presumptuously to attempt to influence its
proceedings.—(Loud cheers.)
Mr. Alderman WAITIIMAN was very glad the Noble
Lord had considered these resolutions (as lie termed them)
of so much importance—(Hear, hear)—and be was very
sorry they had affected his Lordship so deeply as to cause
him to lose his temper.—(Cheers, and laughter.) The
Noble Lord committed this great error : he made no dis-
tinction between a general act of the constituent body and
the decision of a few individuals who met to consider
whether it might or might not be expedient to call the
Livery together for the purpose of expressing its opinion.
—(Hear, hear.) lie (Alderman Waitlitnan) knew and
respected those who bad so assembled, but he had seen
none of them, because he wished to be entirely indepen-
dent of any extraneous influence ; but he was well aware
that there exis•ed an indignant feeling on the part of the
people that it should have been asserted that there had been
any change in the public mind. He advised those who
made such statements to beware Low they provoked the
proof. Certain it was that the great body of the nation
was disgusted with the vexatious delay that had occurred ;
night after night they saw the same Members speak, the
same speeches delivered, and the same valuable time
tni-spent.—(Hear, bear.) Not less than 150 speeches
bad been uttered by six Members on the other side, and
it was natural that the public should be nauseated arid
indignant.—(Continued cheers.) Under such circum-
stances, motives would be imputed, and unfavourable
conclusions could not be avoided. When the Right
Honourable Baronet talked of adding the new electors
of the neighbourhood of the metropolis to the voters for
the city, he must have forgotten that the constituency in
London already amounted to about 13,000.—(Cheers.)
The French revolution had been talked of—it had been
made a bug-bear to frighten the weak-minded ; but it had
really nothing to do with the subject. Had the Right
Hon. Baronet and his friends continued in power, and re-
sisted the just and general demand for Reform, then indeed
it would have been in point to talk of the perils of the
French revolution.—(Cheers from all sides.) It was
the perpetuation of abuses that led to the French revolu-
tion, and might have produced an English revolution ;
but, fortunately, the people were not driven to take their
affairs in their own hands, anti the present healing mea-
sure was brought in to avert an evil which the Right
Hon. Baronet and his friends had precipitated. When
the Right Hon. Member (Mr. Wynn) spoke of the low
class of voters that would be introduced by this part of

the measure, he (Mr. Alderman Waithman) 'eight be ex-
cused for saying that the constituency of the metropolis
would well bear a comparison with that of Montgomery-
shire.—(Cheers and laughter. )
Lord VALLETORT added, that two accusations had
been brought against him—first, that he had lost his tem-
per; and secondly, that he had considered the resolutions
he hid read important. He might have shown warmth ;
but there was difference between warmth and loss of tent-
per. —(Hoar, hear.) The only thing that could make
him angry would be, the supposition that he looked upon
the resolutions as of the slightest importance—(Hear,
hear, from the Opposition benches)—or that their being
held in terroretn would produce the slightest effect.
Mr. HODGES contended, that the newly franchised
places would take pride in returning proper Members;
and reminded the House, that a week before the Reform
hada presented a petition from
ration of its rights after the
Boiel,len was‘ viei,, brought
prayin in
g ,
tilltee
re st
Bill had been introduced, he presented another petition
withdrawing the former one, and expressing, a hearty con-
currence in the plan of Reform.
Sir C. WETHERELL said, that when the Hon. Alder-
man (Waithman) spoke of the six Members who had made
150 speeches, he forgot to add how he had himself crushed,
quashed, exhaled, and evaporated their addresses by his
own sudorific attempts of the same kind.—(Cheers and
laughter.) As to the nature of the representatives from
the new metropolitan districts, they might be demagogues,
but they could hardly be gentlemen—and the word dema-
gogue was the very antipodes of the word gentleman. The
Metropolitan linion would add ten Members to the eleven
which the Hon. Baronet had shown already belonged to
London and its vicinity : he did not pretend that it would
even then be as powerful as the Birmingham Union, with
which Ministers corresponded--e( Hear)--but it would at
least be a novelty in the Constitution that such a united
body should exist in Parliam,-nt. Out of it much mischiel
might arise. Already the Livery were seen acting in close
concert, and ez.ereising ,4n unconstitutional and ngerous
influence; and although the constituent body might not yet
be engaged, a C,omtnittee was sitting week by week to de-
cide upon the necessity of calling it together. One Hon.
Alderman (Thompson) had been required to attend his
constituents, to account for his conduct ; and although
his attendance had been termed " voluntary," he defied
any man to produce a sense of that word justifying
such an application in all the Diction tries, from Johnson
down to Entick.—(Cheers.) Dr. Johnson had said,
that the ccnO d'o,',lir; was liLe throwing a man out of a
garret window and recommending him to fall to the ground.
(Laughter.) Such was the recommendatory character of
the meeting of the Livery to which the llon. Alderman
had been summoned. What might not be the case when
the representatives were increased, if at present the four
31:_qnbers for thq city po-;,1,1 con',roujed, arid qo dia,grc,ce-
fuliy trey ted'hy ;heir constituents ?—(oheqs, and reiterated
cries of I.‘ froth Aider Men Wood, Waithman, and
Thompson.) Such an amendment of the present system
might produce a sort of departmental representation ; but
it could not occasion such a choice of Members as would
protecttne intrieots of the whole guttunenq . The lion.
and Learned Memher then complained that the 'principle
of population which bad been applie'd to the di;franchised
boroughs had not been extended to the enfranchised places;
and asked why Chelsea----por phel;ea--,lead been
omitted by the Is-Ale scheme? The only
reason seemed to be that Chelsea was above the Net);
London-bridge, while Greenwich was below it ; and that
in the latter there was an hospital for sailors, while in the
fooncr; ..illlOiW .esobli:4nneiit
for 6Uttliers.-
The distiaction, 'therefore; was beten bli;e ii‘ni a red
coat, and that was enough for the Noble Lord. Many
other large and populous places near London had in the
!time way been rtnfairly neglet:ted by the 11';obl.e
Garrat, for instance, where there could be -tic, ,ord.—
in
finding a returning tqacer, inasmuch' es a MayorWa's an-
nually electe:l.—(Cheers and langliteo Grass-growing
Battersea, cabbage-eultiyating Vulham, 1.41 Richmond,
and pil.lirestine 'eterhafif, together with the lofty