The Sun.
London, England, 1831-11-19 00:00:00

necessary on his part, but there were one or two points
which had not been noticed. There bad been rea-
sons of several kinds offered against the Bill. In
the first place it was said that it tended to throw
into contempt the system of their ancestors. En
his opinasn the state of the country now was
extremely novel. The whole power of the State was in
one body, an oligarchy dictating to the Crown who
should be its Ministers, and to those Ministers what
should he their measures.—(Loud cheers.) At the
revolution of 16SS the persons most influential in bring-
ing about that event, deprived the Crown of its power,
and the struggle between it and the people was concluded by
the abdication of James 11. From that time to the present,
oppression had been on the decrease. At that time the
ancient Constitution of the country was destroyed and the
people were now feeling the effects of that degradation.
He (Major Handley) was fully convinced that the Crown
was more interested in the question than even the people.
—(Loud cheers.) The King had gallantly fought and
placed himself in the breach on this great question, and if
the people deserted him he would be spit upon and des-
pised—(Loud cheers)—and would he held in worse repute
than, he was before he came to kingly power by a certain
few.—(Loud cheers, and cries of " We'll never desert
him.") He felt convinced that the King would never
suffer the people to be defeated as long as the people
would hold with him. If the people were firm
the Anti-Reformers would be brought to know
themselves.—(Loud cheers, and cries of " They
shall, they shall")—and would be reduced to that state in
society which they ought to occupy.—(Cheers.) With
the permission of the meeting he would now say a few
words with respect to the Bishops.—(Cries of " Do, do;
give it them.") That the Bishops sat in the House of
Peers at all was one of the greatest abuses that could be
conceived.—(Cheers.) They did not sir there as Chris.
tian ministers, or as clergymen, hut as military Barons.__
(Loud cheers.) They sat there because they held lands
tie capite from the Crown.—(Continued cheers.) He
(Major Handley) entertained as much as any man respect for
the church, but in his opinion that respect ought ❑ot to
deter the meeting from advocating the expulsion of the
Bishops from the House of Lords.—(Cheers.) He Pit
in seconding the resolution, that his course w is most diffi-
cult, and that he was, in fact, between Scylla rind Cha-
rybdis—he knew that persons were abroad instilling into
the minds of the people the most absurd doctrines, telling
the working classes it was not to their interests to pass the
Bill ; that it would do them no good, and would give to
the middling classes so much power that they would im-
pose upon their libel ties.— (Cheers, and cries of " That
won't do.") There was something so absurd in the argument
that it needed hardly to be refuted. In his opinion whe-
ther one class or the other was to be trusted with the elec-
tive franchise mattered not a straw, so long as the people
were happy at home, and the nation was respected abroad.
If the middling classes were entrusted with the elective
franchise, it was quite impossible that they should have
any private feelings with respect to the disbursement of
the public purse.—(Loud cheering.) He would call
upon the middling classes to look at the terrible
course in which they were placed, seeing a Govern-
ment made necessarily extortionate, and the tax-gatherer
making demands on the people which they were totally
unable to pay. Disabled as they were by a tax-gatherer
on the one hand, they had the labourers, torch in hand, on
the other, threatening if they did not give them such wages
as, in consequence of immense taxation, they were unable
to give, that they would envelop the house and homestead
in flames.—(Cheers.) It was impossible for people
who had every thing to lose, and nothing to gain
by it, to wish for convulsion. He was no repub-
lican, because he conceived a Monarchy like that
of England was qualified to make the people happy
and contented.—(Cheers.) The miseries of the county
had not arisen from any exertions of the power of the
Crown. The King at present had not sufficient power to
balance that of the House of Peers. The three legs of the
constitutional stool of the State had merged into one ;
there was no Government now but an oligarchy—(Cheers)
—to whose interest it was that the public money should
be sacrificed, because the share they took in the taxes far,
far exceeded the good they did for the public
(Cheers.) In conclusion, the Gallant Major begged to
second the resolutions collectively.
Sir ROBERT HERON, before he remarked upon the re-
solutions that had been brought forward by his friend Ge-
neral Johnson, would take upon himself to say, that if no
other course was left for Lord Grey but the creation of
Peers, that he must and would resort to it.—(Loud
cheers.) Whatever might be the decision of the meeting
with regard to the resolutions they had just heard, and
those which they were to hear, it was at least pleasing to
know that they were all in favour of Reform, and that
upon that subject there would be no difference of opinion
in the present meeting.—(Cries of " No, not in any ex-
cept the Bishops.") Ile with parental fondness preferred
the resolution he had drawn up to those that had been
proposed by his G ellant Friend Gen. Johnson. To the first
of these resolutions he should not object, to the third so
man could object ; but to the second he most decidedly and
distinctly objected, and be trusted the meeting would
never confirm it.—(Cries of " We will though, we will.")
Well, if the meeting did it, he could not help it. He
trusted, however, the meeting would hear his resolutions,
and do what they liked both with them and himself.—.
(Loud cheers.) The second resolution of his Gallant Friend
appeared to firm to go into points utterly tron,cessary to
discuss at the present meeting.—(Cries of " No, no.")_
The Press of the country had done a great deal of mischief.
—(Loud cheers, and cries of " A great deal of good you
mean.") He (Sir Robert Heron) admitted that the
country was under infinite obligations to the industry
and talent of the Press; but there was one point
on which he could not but think it had done a great deal
of mischief ; that it was goading, and urging, and threaten-
ing the Peers. Englishmen did not like to be menaced ;
and he had no hesitation in saying, that in consequence of
toe conduct pursued by the Press, a great many votes,
which would have been in favour of Reform, had been
entirely lost to the cause.—(Loud cheers, and cries of
" No, no, no.") He considered it not fair to say that
sacrifices had been made by the people alone. It
must be apparent to every one, that very great sacri-
fices had been made by those who had given up
their boroughs, and in that by every one who
.was frieroily to Reform.—(Loud cheers.) With regard
to the Bishops—(Cries of " Ah ! let's have something
about them")—at a proper time, and when be was
called upon to give his vote, he should know how to do
it. He at all times should be ready to conciliate the re-
respect of the country for their characters, by taking from
them their political functions, in which they had always
disgraced themselves.—(Loud cheers, and considerable
confusion.) lie would say but one word more, if General
Johnson insisted on putting all his resolutions in a lump,
he trusted the meeting would reject them altogether.
General JOHNSON—I have done so. Let your resolu-
tions be put, Sir Robert, and if the meeting like them, in
God's name let them be adopted.—(Cries of " We must,
and will have your resolutions, General.")

Sir ROBERT HERON observed, that he had no objectio❑
to t!ie first and third, if the second was rejected.
General JOHNSON—No, no, that won't do, I must have
them all or none.—(Loud cries of " We will have your re-
solutions, General.")

Sir ROUERT HERON here suggested the propriety of
putting the first and third resolution to the meeting, to
which General Johnson again objected.
The UNDER SIIF.RIFF then read General Johnson's
resolutions.

Sir ROBERT HERON observed, that as they were all put
together, he should oppose the whole of them.
General JOHNSON--Then I'll stake the whole of them.
The first resolution was then put, and declared to be
carried unanimously.
On the second resolution being put,
A. BOUCHERETT, Esq., rose for the purpose of object-
ing to the latter part of it. By the law, as it at present
stood, a Catholic Priest and a Dissenting Minister,
could sit in the House of Commons, while a Cler-
gyman of the Established Church could not. If,
therefore, the meeting decided that the Bishops should
not sit in the House of Lords, they would be deciding
that every religious sect and community might sit and
vote in the Legislature, with the exception of the Church
of England. For his part, he thought none of them had
any business there. He , thought that all should be pot
upon an equality.—(Loud cries of " Put them all out.")
The Haute SHERIFF put the resolution, when
C. TENNYSON, Esq., M.P. rose.—fle felt himself
called on to say a few words, as he was placed in a most
peculiar situation. He trusted that the meeting would be
a little candid towards the Right Rev. Prelates, whom
the Gallant General had said had usurped powers which
ought to be wrenched from their hands.—(Cries of
"Away with them.") He trusted that the present meet-
ing would be just, and, if it was necessary, to wrench, as
the Gallant General had used the term, the powers from
their hands, let it be done in a constitutional manner. If
they ought to be displaced, the people, by supporting Mi-
nisters in the great measure of Reform, which was likely
soon to be sent to the Howe of Commons, would en-
able them to make such further alterations as were necessary,
but lie (Mr. T.) apprehended that o❑ this occasion they
had assembled for the purpose of coming to resolutions re-
lative to the subject of ReforM in the Commons House of
Parliament—(Cries of, " No, no")—and they were not
assembled for the purpose of deciding whether the Bishops