The Sun.
London, England, 1831-10-07 00:00:00

getting up this petition, hut of getting up a petition
favourable to the Reform Bill, their Lordships would find
there was no longer any ground for any of them to
entertain the notion that there was not a considerable do-
gree of re-action on this important subject, and that
the general opinions of the people were not now
very different to what they were before. Belfast was
the third town in Ireland in point of import-
ance, and it Ivar surrounded by the Counties of
Dowtl, Antrim, and Londonderry ; and the petition spoke
the feeling of comparatively all the per-ons throughout
those three counties, as well se those inhabiting Bel-
fast. A great portion of Belfast belonged to a Noble Mar-
quis and a Noble Lord.—(Hear, hear.) During the last
Government these two Noble Lords were the main
supporters of Tory principles; but as changes would take
place eccasionally amongst the greatest, they had now be-
come cones is to different principles. No doubt they
1. had used their utmost efforts to get the meeting attended
by persons who would be favourable to getting up a petition
praying the House to pass the Bill ; but still, though the
meeting had been announced by the Sovereign of
the town of Belfast, Sir Stever: Mayne, a near relative
of the Noble Marquis to whom he had alluded,
and notwithstanding the influence of that Noble Marquis,
and the other Noble Lords, the petition agreed to at
that meeting was the one he had now the honour to present,
and which earnestly prayed their Lordships not to pass the
Bill. He had the happinees to feel that he possessed the
good opinion of a great portion of the people of Belfast
as well as of the North of Ireland. Notwith-
standing the acrimonioses feeling that existed towards
him in the minds of part of his Majesty's Govern—
ment, and in consequence of possessing that good opi-
nion and confidence, the presenting of this petition
had been entrusted to him, and he had great pleasure
in complying with the requtst of the petitioners.

. . -
The petition having been read at length,
The Marquis of LONDONDERRY said it was signed by
upwards of 4,000 persons, which sufficiently proved that
a considerable re-action had taken place.
Earl GOSFORD said he had heard the petition, and
notwithstanding what it stated, he world declare that •
it did not speak the sentiments of the wealth and respec-
tability of the town of Belfas•.
Lord TENIPLEMORE stated that the feeling in Bel-
fast upon the subject of Reform was now as strong as
ever it was.

The Marquis of LONDONDERRY—The petitioners
stated that they were in favour of Reform, but that was a
very different thing from being in favour of this Bill. He
denied that he had thrown any insinuations on the Noble
Lord who was absent. With respect to the petition which
ilad been presented by an illustrious Duke (Sussex) on a
form-er night, and on which he (the Marquis of London-
derry) ha;! commented, he now begged to say that he be-
lieved, from brther information, that he had been mis-
informed.

The Duke of SUSSEX was quite satisfied with the ex.
planation of the Noble Marquis, and he received it with
the greater pleasure, because he had been called upon by
the petitioners to re-state what he had stated on the previous
evening.
The Earl of ELDON spoke in a very low tone, but we
understood him to complain that they were called upon to
settle the provisions of the English Bill, without at all
knowing what was to be done with the question of Scot-
land or of Ireland.

Earl GREY presented petitions from Staines, Seven
Oaks, and other places, in la-rour of Reform ; also a peti-
tion from High-street, St. Giles's, to the same effect,
signed by every inhabitant of the street, with the excep-
tion of five.

The LORD CHANCELLOR presented eleven petitions
in favour of the Bill; among others, from Huddersfield,
Bishopsgate Ward, Selby, Duddiugton, a town in Perth,
Galway, St. Giles, Camberwell, St. Clement Danes, and
•
Chorley.
The Marquis of LANSDOWNE presented petitions to
the same effect from Rothsay, in the Isle of Bute, and
from Galway.
Lord DACRE presented a petition from Cheshunt and
Amersham, to the same effect.
THE ADJOURNED DEBATE.
The order of the day baying been read for resuming the
debate,

The Earl of FALMOUTH began by complimenting the
high talents of the Noble Lords who had preceded him,
and by depreciating his own, in consequence of which he
felt the greatest diffidence in addressing the House. Still
he was anxious to record his humble opinion on this se-
rious subject ; though at the same time he must say, that
he did not think those who had followed on the same side
as the Noble Earl who had introduced this measure to the
House had added much to his arguments, towards induc-
ing their Lordships to allow this Bill to be read a se-
cond time. A Noble Viscount had observed on the
difficulty that was suggested as to his Majesty's Mi-
nisters obtaining seats under the Reform Bill, that it would
be very easy to introduce a supplement for that purpose.
But did this go to the final settlement of the measure ?
Did this prove that there was to be no future change
in this wonderful panacea? A Noble Marquis had followed
up this idea of the Noble Viscount, by alluding to many
points, which, were anything hut calculated to prove that
this Bill ought to pass. In fact, in his opinion, nothing
had been said to justify any man of a Statesman-like naiad
to vote in favour of the Bill. A Noble Viscount (Goderich)
who was a Member of the Government had spoken on the
same side ; but he thought that a Noble Friend of his
had given an entire answer to that speech, by referring to
what had been the conduct of his departed leader, Mr.
Canning ; and it was therefore unnecessary for him (Lord
Falmouth) to try further upon this point. The Noble
Earl (Radnor) who had concluded the debate on the pre-
vious evening had rather afforded the House a good-
humoured speech than a debate on the subject. That Noble
Earl's speech had been contradictory from beginning to
end. He had said that he hated change, and yet he argued
in favour of the greatest change that bad ever been pro-
posed to Parliament.—(Hear.) And then he had gone on to
tell their Lordships that they themselves must change, be-
cause they were growing old : but though that was true,
he (Lord Falmouth) trusted that they were not for that
reason to be put in schedule A and annihilated. The
Noble Earl had then gone on to say, that the radical Re-
formers were satisfied. But bow did he prove that ? By
telling their Lordships immediately afterwards, that Mr.
Hunt was not satisfied. If that Noble Earl had teen in his
place, he would have asked him if he himself was satisfied
with the Bill ; for a few weeks ago he had stated in his
place, that he was a radical Reformer, and that nothing
but the ballot would please him ; and he had seen a letter
of the Noble Earl's to a person in Manchester, regretting
that Mr. Cobbett was not in Parliament, and stating that
it had been his intention to put him in for Downton—
for that borough of which the Noble Earl had told them
last night one of the tenements was in a ditch. Whether
he meant by that that he would put Mr. Cobbett in a
ditch or not, he (Lord F.) did not know.--(A laugh.)
But after what the Noble Earl had said about Mr. Cob-
bett, let their Lordships look at Mr. Cobbett's own letter
to the people•of Manchester and ask themselves whether
Mr. Cobbett was satisfied, and whether through him
the Noble Earl was satisfied? But, in fact, he did
not look upon the Noble Earl's speech as an argu-
ment, hut rather as a sort of propitiation of tbs. Nob e
Earl (Grey) who, on his stanoing up tor the ballot, had
read him a pretty severe lecture. How the two Noble
Earls had since made it up he (Lord Falmouth) could not
tell.—(Hear, hear,) As to the Noble Earl's (Grey)
speech, he had never heard, in all his life, one that more
strongly proved the difference between an oratorical effort
(however splendid or showy in appearance) and that
sound reasoning which a speech from a Minister of the
Crown, on so solemn an occasion, ought to have contained.
That younger politicians—that men of no Statesmanlike
experience—that persons who had deserted the footsteps of
their dead leader for a new path of their own, should
have uttered such things, would have excited no surprise
in his mind ; but it certainly had astonished him that he
should have had to look in vain through the Noble Earl's •
speech for either sound logical reasoning, or for deductions
drawn from the experience of history. If the objects
which the promoters of the Bill had in view was the esta-
blishment of a republic, they ought in candour and fair-
ness to say so at once. if they were tired of the ano-
malies which the British Constitution presented, and
sighed for the model of symmetry which the so-often-
praised Constitution of America offered to their view,
why not say so manfully ? America had a republic
about as old as the political life of the Noble Earl op-
posite. This country had a Monarchy of nearly thrice
that age, dating as far back as the Revolution of 1688.
Let no Reformer say he was a friend to the present system
of Government by King, Lords, and Commons—let him at •
once declare that he preferred the American Constitution
but not entirely on account of its uniformity and regu- •
larity. In America there were some anomalies which were
aet:ofno uarpt hp
rather remarkable. By the American
.Constitutionoeninithatinyg. •
could be proposed subversive to that Constitution, unless it
were sanctioned by two-thirds of the Members of Congress,
lea°rfedthtoe
and recognised by the Legislatureinoofinisititzu.
States. In this there was a great
_eonisterevaftivde principle
know well the fallacy of a Government which depended
operating a tfirnagm
er
hteb e A ewxec er
iscsai vne
upon the will of the people ; they seemed to feel, that
whether a system of Government was right or wrong,