The Sun.
London, England, 1831-10-20 00:00:00

DUNDEE MEETING.

RECEPTION OF THE NEWS IN DUNDEE THAT
THE LORDS HAD REJECTED THE BILL.
(From the Dundee Advertiser.)

Ever since the Bill was exposed to the inhospi-
table climate of the Upper House, an uneasy sen-
sation has prevailed in Dundee. On Monday last
it was generally known, in consequence of private
letters from London, that the Bill would be rejected,
but no one dreamed of so large a majority against
it as 41. The intelligence of its fate, when an-
nounced by the guard to the crowd who waited for
it till twelve o'clock on Monday night, was received
with groans, hisses, and imprecations addressed to
the guard to hoist the black flag. Next morning
much excitement was apparent ; the streets were
more crowded than usual—all the flip of the ves-
sels in the harbour were half-mast high. At such a
crisis, it was fortunate for Dundee that she had po-
pular Magistrates, as eager for Reform as their fel-
low-townsmen. Early on Tuesday morning they
issued hand-bills, callingameeting of the inhabitants.
The meeting took place in the Steeple Church,
which is said to be capable of containing 2,000 sit-
ters. By one o'clock the church was crowded ; and
from the density of the crowd, it was estimated that
upwards of 3,000 persons were present. Hundreds
had to go away for want of room. A large crowd
had arrived with several black flags, on which
printed bills were stuck, bearing these words, " To
the King's prerogative we appeal." One of the
flags had a white border.
On the motion of Mr. G. IMILNu, writer, Pro-
vost LINDSAY took the Chair, amidst the loudest
acclamations.

Provost LINDSAY—The present, my friends, is
indeed a momentous crisis—a crisis unequalled in
its importance by anything which has happened in
our time, or, I may rather say, by anything which
stands recorded in the annals of Great Britain, and
the consequences of which it is impossible to foretell.
I have drawn up, my friends, such an address to the
King as I think the present occasion demands, and
with your leave I shall now read it.
13aillie BAXTER—Let the people show the same
steady, constitutional, but determined approbation of
the Reform Bill three months hence, even thee
Lords will be glad to pass the Bill; and the people
will now not be content with one particle less than
the whole Bill. During the last forty years, the
Peers introduced into the House of Lords have been
created by Tory Ministers, and have carried their
Ultra principles into the Senate. To counteract
this force, the King, it is to be hoped, will create
such a number of patriotic and intelligent Peers ae
will insure the complete passing of this measure.—
(Cheers.) Mr. Baxter cordially seconded the address.
The petition was again read by Provost LINDSAY.
Mr. DAVID JOBSON, jun., alluded, amongst other
things, to the doings in Paris during the three days.
Mr. Wst. CHRISTIE, banker, rose amidst shouts of
applause. He had, for his own part, no fear of riot
or tumult. The Ministry have not lost confidence
in the King, and he trusted that the King had not
lost confidence in his Ministers. Forty-one indivi-
duals have stood between him and the people—a
base set of oligarchs, whose power will be short-
lived.—( Continued cheering.) Twenty-one Bishops,
too, have set their faces against us, and helped to
make tip this number of forty-one. The Bishops
must no longer be Legislators.—(Great cheering.)
tie, for his part, thought they should never have
been so.—( Cheers.) Their doom, however, is fixed.
The Bill is now over-due, and must bear interest
from the date of the refusal, and which interest he
hoped would be put upon the backs of the Bishops.
Mr. GEORGE MILNE spoke nearly as follows :
It is gratifying that an overwhelming majority of
the ancient Nobility of England, who have the
greatest stake in the country, and may also be sup-
posed to know best its Constitution, and what de-
gree of change would be beneficial, are at the
same time the sincere, unequivocal, and ardent sup-
porters of Reform. Then who oppose it ? First
and chiefly, the Bench of Bishops—a set of men
who, more than any other, have reason to he grate-
ful for the benefits they enjoy in the State, but who,
nevertheless, by a perversity of right feeling, wholly
inexplicable, and by a disregard of their public
duty as teachers of peace arid good-will, still
More astonishing and lamentable, are ever ready,
and do, in fact, on all occasions, exercise their
Legislative privileges, not for the benefit, but to
the obvious, and, so far as depends on them, the
permanent injury of the people—that very people
from whose hard earnings they derive their enor-
mous incomes. It has been said that the revenue
of the Bishop of Durham is not less than 50,0001.
per annum ; and perhaps some of you may think
that this is not too much for a Bishop.—(Laughter.)
But, be that as it may, the Bishops are unworthy of
a place amongst British Legislators, on account of
their incorrigible antipathy to good laws and cheap
Government; and I most fervently hope that the
first proceedings of a Reformed Parliament will be
to pass a Bill depriving these men of their present
high functions. At this crisis they have stepped
forward as the avowed supporters of acknowledged
abuses and the determined enemies of all political
improvement. Will you tolerate this state of
things.—(Cries of " No, no.") Had the Bishops
voted for the Reform Bill, it would have been
carried by a small majority, inste id of being thrown
out by so formidable a number as have recorded
their opinion against it. But let not the Anti-Re-
formers deceive themselves. They are already,
virtually at least, in a minority even in the House
of Peer., and the King and people have both de-
creed that they shall be so actually in the brief
space of two or three months.—( Vehement cheers.)
There is another description of Peers who, by their
conduct, are doing all they can to force the consi-
deratioe of their utility upon public attention—l
mean what are usually termed Law-Lords. It has
often struck me that the Constitution of the Upper
House, so fur as relates to these Peers, is extremely
faulty. As the supreme Court of review in all
couple
of kingsw'saelsiest_c‘evtaphsootia'btli'gve
questions of property, the person who presides in the
House of Peers must, at all events, be a distin-
guished lawyer, and the people may well regret that,
in times past, it has not been thought equally ne-
cessary that he should be an honest and intelligent
Statesman."
The question was then put as to whether the
petition should be adopted, which was carried amidst
thunders of applause.
A Weaver, whose name we have not been able
to learn, spoke at some length in favour of a depu-
tation being sent from the different towns," in an
orderly and soldier-like manner," to present the pe-
titions in person. He was confident that any other
course would be unavailing; and, in support of this
opinion, he referred to the result of the petitions
which had been sent up from Dundee in favour of
the boys sentenced to be transported for rioting at
the illumination. These petitions had produced no
effect ; but, when a poor widow woman, the mother
of one of the boys, went up to London in person, she
obtained her object.—( Cheers.) Not only Dundee,
but every town in the kingdom, should send up a
deputation on the occasion. As Jethro said to
Moses, the people should assemble by fifties, by hun-
dreds, and by thousands ; and let captains be ap-
pointed to preserve order and discipline—(Loud
cheers, and marks of disapprobation.) He was an
old soldier himself, and knew well the benefits qf or-
ganization. If the higher classes of society would
take the lead in this business, he was sure that the
working classes would manfully turn out. He for
one was ready to march.—(Cheers..) Having fought in
former days for a
anxious to do something on his own account.—
(Laughter and cheers.) Unless the people now
assumed a bold front their doom was sealed.--
(Cheers.) He would compare the present state of
fishes society
livedto uponwliat
the teo k
small. ac theeorinas it
harvest, be would say that the people were like the
potatoes : the Oligarchy took a few of them out of
the ground now and then, to be devoured as suited
their inclination ; and, if the people did not take
care, they would all be digged up and placed in
pits under the ground to await the necessities of the

boroughniongers.—( Cheers, laughter, am] confusion.)
He concluded by calling upon the higher classes to
come forward and organize the people.
Mr. GABRIEL MILLER—I regret the sentiments
which have fallen from the last speaker. He seems
to have placed himself entirely under that black fl ig
(pointing to a flag above the individual who had
spoken)—(Cries of " So he should !" and violent
but part►al hissing)—the emblem of woe and utter de-
spair ;—( Renewed hissing)—but I observe that all
the other flags hanging from the gallery have
got white edgings.—(Laud cheers.) These
denote the brighter prospects derived from
the knowledge that our Constitution has sanative
powers within itself to correct a►►y morbid action
in its parts ; and the conviction that this will be ex-
emplified on the present occasion by the exercise of
the Royal prerogatives to which the people kive
applied.—(Great cheering.) This will turn the
darkness into light—(Cheers)—and convert our
sorrow into gladness. Let not any one of my
fellow-townsmen think of stripping the white
borders from the black flag until all hope of con-
stitutional redress is gone.—( Several cries of " Off
with them !" " No, no!" and considerable confusion.)
Mr. W. CHRISTIE proposed that the petition be
forwarded to Kul Camperdown, with a request that
his Lordship present the petition to his Majesty in
person.—Agreed to with acclamation.
Provost LINDSAY proposed three hearty cheers
for King William—which was responded to by the
deafening shouts of the meeting.
The Town Council, the Guildry, the Nine Trades,
and the Three United Trades, have forwarded the
petitions to the King. The Political Union have
also forwarded a petition to the King and an address
to the Ministry, praying them to remain in office—
both agreed to unanimously at a numerous meeting.

SURREY SESSIONS, OCT. 18.

REV. ROBERT TAYLOR.

The General Quarter Sessions for this county
commenced on Tuesday, and it being expected that
the conduct and treatment of Mr. Taylor at Horse-
monger-lane gaol would come under consideration,
the attendance of the Magistrates of the county was
more than ordinarily numerous.
Mr. CRAWFORD, in reference to the indulgence
which had been in the first place granted to the
Rev. R. Taylor, and afterwards withheld in conse-
quence of his misconduct, gave his opinion that it
was not competent for the Magistrates to grant in-
dulgences which were not specified in the prison
regulations, and that Taylor had no right to com-
plain of his treatment. He moved a resolution,
" That a Committee be appointed to take into con-
sideration so much of the Act of Geo. IV. c. 64,
and of the rules and regulations, as related to the
treatment of prisoners convicted of misdemeanour
while undergoing the sentence to which they mly
have been adjudged, with a view to the establish-
ment of a better understanding as to the extent of the
authority vested in visiting Magistrates, and to the
observance of uniformity of practice in relation to
orders affecting the discipline and management of
the gaol." _ _ _

Mr. DENISON, M.P. seconded the motion, and
defended the conduct of the Magistrates in granting
various indulgences to Taylor, such as allowing him
to provide his own provisions and his friends to see
him. The Hon. gentleman at the same time de-
fended the conduct of Mr. Briscoe, M.P., in prt.
sewing a petition from Taylor, complaining of tl e
withdrawal of the indulgences, and the treatment he
had received. In presenting it he had only done his
duty.

Sir. DRUMMOND, in an eloquent speech, defended
the conduct of the Magistracy, at the same time he
perfectly agreed with the Hon. Member, that Mr.
Bsiscoe, in presenting a petition from Taylor, had
only done his duty. He hoped, however, that the
ou'cry raised against the Magistracy, both in and
out of Parliament, and which had now become so
fashionable, would not deter them from doing their
duty. He said allusion had been made to the Ma-
gistracy of the city, but if they did not enforce the
law with respect to prison discipline, the Magis-
tracy of Surrey should.—(Cheers.) He differed
with the Hon. Member in his doctrines that indi-
viduals or societies had no right to become prose-
cutors in cases similar to that of Taylor's ; he in-
sisted that they had, more particularly when the At-
torney-General, the Government, or the King him-
self as the head of the church, neglected to do so.
Mr. HOLME SUMNER took an opportunity of re-
butting a base and calumnious attack on the cha.
racter of the :Magistracy of the county, on the pre-
sentation of a petition from Taylor to the House of
Commons, namely, that the severity of the sen•
tence passed on that individual was owing to the
drunkenness of the Chairman, and the free circula-
tion of the bottle amongst the 'Magistrates, on the
day and night of his trial. Several Magistrates con-
tradicted the as,ertion, and spoke from their own
observation of the Hon. Chairman who presided on
the occasion.

Mr. BRISCOE, M.P., thought that the prison re-
gulations of Horsemonger-lane gaol were too se-
vere, and should be made more conformable with
common justice.

Mr. ifAIVES moved, as an amendment, " That
the whole of the regulations under the 4th of Geo.
IV., with respect to the prison discipline, be taken
into consideration, and that the Committee report
thereon, with a view to their general revision."
Mr. DiturintoND, and other Magistrates, sup-
ported the amendment ; but on its being put from
the Chair, it was lost by a majority of four. The
original motion was then put and carried.