The Sun.
London, England, 1831-05-14 00:00:00

tray ?me to express the reasonable desires of the of haying done so. Me. Lygon is more than 100
people of England in addressing that oligarchy for a below Captain Spencer, notwithstanding the gold
restore ion of their rigl;ts at the present day. It with which he has deluged the county, but with
would then stand thus :—" Most Noble Borough- which he has failed to dazzle the imaginations of
mongers !—Behold here the Commons of England the honor. voters. Much is nsseverated, from day to
come forth to disclaim your sovereignty, requiring 'ley, upon the necessity of ra sing the elective fran-
your peace, their own free condition of estate, and chistoby way of procuring a more independent class
their ancient laws formerly used. If these be denied, of electoss,=those of the bulk of English counties
they are here presently to abide the verdict of a con- being contemptuously described as " a rabble."
9 itutionil struggle, and are resolved rather to endure The voters of the borough of Liverpool, it is true,
any suffering and toil, than to part with their laws were reproached, and perhaps justly, with accepting
wita live in servile bondage, which, although you vast sums of money, iii bribes, from the friemis of
have made it not strange to then for n great while Messrs. Denison and Ewarr, at the last election but
past, yet it is not any longer to be endured."— one. It ought to be recollectid, however, that no
The people of England have, in effect, addressed Ligh public question was at issue between the parties
such language to the oligarchy that plundered them to that election. Both candidates were friends of
of their rights. They have come forth to enferct, Reform. It might be knavish to sell a vote,
the just demand, not by force arid violence, but by though not quite so iniquitous as to buy it ; but in
the peaceful and unbending firmness of a constitu- !he Denison and Ewart contest, the man who
tional array. The borough mongers will do well by sold his vote did not also sell his country; nor,
acting in this strait with the prudence of the Nor- judging by what has just occurred to General
man Conqueror--" and more wisely than willingly Gascoyne, do we find reason to suspect that,
granting their desires. —.Akrning Herald. should rot appeal be made at any time to the
Our evening contemporary, the Courier, which is spirit and honour, or general interest of the English
plainly determined to be in some sort or degree nation, any large proportion of even the poorer
officia), cost what it afar, has hazarded the official voters of towns, and still less of counties, would dis-
reputation it prizes above every other earthly thine., grace themselves by betraying the public cause for
upon the assertion that modifications of the bill are hire. No ! they leave that to the aristocracy who
t) be admitted. The stake is much too deep, at slander theno—to the aristocratic gentleman who
least in the estimation of our contemporary, to have pays a poor man five guineas for his vote on the
been lightly pledged. And when, in addition to hustings, and who takes care to indemnify himself
this unquestionable guarantee of his sincerity, we
worth
selling his own vote to the Minister for an office
consider the skill which long experience must have worth 1,000/. per annum. Yet it is said" Raise the
taught him in the art of diving into official secrets cputlificauion of electors, to provide the country with
more upright votes !" And Ministers are charged
and interpreting official hints, there is no reason
with intending to change that invaluable feature of
surely to despise the authority of the Courier upon
the Bill, which secures to England a constituency
such a matter. Our oft-repeated opinion has re-
too numerous to be corrupted at elections. The
ceived, however, other and much higher confirms-
town voters of Liverpool show pretty clearly that
Lion than that of the Courier. The Lord Advocate
they will not be always bribed or intimidated, or
of Scotland is not so inconsiderable a person but
wheedled ; else why desert the Tory on the last
that he may be supposed to have some knowledise
election, and give all but their unanimous voices to
of the ideas and intentions of the members of his the Whige ? Has General Gascoyne, the staunch sup-
Majesty's, Government. He is the person, we beg
porter of all modes and shades of administrations,
to reir ind our readers, whose official duty it has
ave only that Ministry which is tinged with the
been arid will be to prepare one of the Bill-; he is,
love of freedom,—has General Gascoyne become
moreover, the pert-in who has possessed for years
cto virtuous to return bribes, or the Corporation of
the power of inepecting, criticising, expunging from, Liverpool
grown suddenly too poor to supply the ways
wading to, publishing, suppressing, condemning, and
and means of corruption) ? Are the voters for Wor-
rewarding, the chief literary and political lucultra-
cestcrshire a " mercenary rabble," because they
lions of so eminent and influential a Member of his
cruse the Beauchamp gold, and indulge a brave
Mejesty's present Government, as the Lord High sympathy with those who prefer their rights as citi-
Chancellor. What says this person 1 Does he z
ens to a sordid use of their privilege as electors ? If
resecho the clamour for "the Bill, the whole Bill,
he qualification were to be raised, the principle of
and nothing hut the 8.11 ?" Does he prereed that '
Reform, as announced in Lord John Russell's Bill,
the Bill is perfect and its authors infallible ? Has
would he proportionally lowered. We once again
he ventured to a-sunae that the General Election
take open us to assert, that no alteration of that or
will have given Ministers a House of Commons pie-
:my other materiel kind is contemplated by his 'Ma-
pared, in deference to their wisdom and in favour of
j'esty'e Ministers. But look et the elections, how
their measure, to abdicate its functions as a deli- edintrable, as a whole, they are working ! Not
berative body ? No such thing. He has cast his
Cheshire and Worct-stenshire only, but Cornwall,
critical eye over the production of Lord Durham, as
where Sir Richard \Ty vyan expires,—and Pembroke-
he has been went to cast it over the productions of
shire, hitherto Sir John Owen's borough,—Dorset-
far abler men, and seeing that the delusion created
3hire whew. Mr. Banker tumbles every day lower on
in the public mind has pretty nearly done its work,
the poll,—Oxfordshire, hitherto Tory even as when
he fancies the time has arrived to let a little of the tr was Jacobite,--all the great southern countries,
truth appear. At a single touch, indeed, lie de-
molishes the whole ftbric of the Ministerial mea. from Cornwall to Essex,—like till the great
northern, including York and Lancaster,—all have
eure, and, merciless crit'c as he still is, consigns
vindicated the public spirit of Englishmen, or
the entire production of Lord Durham to the
are rapidly preparing to proffer just claims to theit
balsam-box. According to the high authority
country's admiration. Now let us ask the re-
of the Lord Advocate of Scotland, the 10/. uni-
fractory patrons of close boroughs, do they possess
form franchise may be modified, since it constitutes
erve enough to stand up in their own persons, and
no essential part of the measure of Re Thee in The r.'
it those of their nominees, as defenders of that
what, we beg respectfully to ask, does constitute an
system which the people of England, with au
essential part of the measure ? Arid what part of
energy and unanimity not to be paralleled in die
the measure can be mentioned, which may not, or
records of this kingdom, have condemned ? Have
rather which must not of necessity be modified, after
they forehead enough to tell 20,000,000 of their
the 101. uniform franchise shall have been aban-
countrymen, we will go forth to do battle for our
Boned ? The truth, we think, is now beginning to
boroughs,—to fight you, the British nation, in every
be pretty evident. The Ministers feel that they are
county and city of the realm—to discharge our
dreadfully hampered by the measure, which thee,
offensive missiles at you from behind the heaped-up
ottly introduced to obtain an opporturihy of diesolv-
nuisances which we ourselves have rased in every
ing Parliament, and of getting together, by means of
etieet of every village,—nay, where there are neither
popular excitement and clamour, a new House of '
villages
the
streets—throughout Great Britain ?
Commons composed principally of their own parti-
,l Verilyi men who fulfil such threats have coinage
sans. To a certain extent they have no doubt sue-
nothing
nothing human can appal, or brains which
needed ; but it may well be doubted, and we suspect
can penetrate. People inquire of us, how
rhe Minis, ers themselves entertain very serious doubts„
the House of Lords are likely to receive the Bill
whether the new House of Commons will prove so
iel•hen sent up to diem from the Commons. Why,
very favourable as either to tolerate, for the sake
they will pass it' • Pr' to be sure The Bill will s'
merely of maintaining them in office, art exhibition of •
into a law through their Lordships' favour; or it
shameless and profligate tergiversation with respect
tray, we fear, (and the anticipation i 8 fearful), find
to& mr:m important mc +sure, or adopt the measure to
its
.way into the Constitution it ithout much impor-
which Ministers have irretrievably pledged them-
ounty to their Lordships. In short, the people will
selves, pregnant as it is with absurdity, extravagance, have
the Bill ; and the people, let it be understood,
and ruin. ‘Vhat would Ministers now give for the
does not with us mean die mob,—it means the
opportunity to start afresh upon the question of
mind of England.—Times.
Reform ? How lofty and secure would be their
situation could they plunge into the waters of Lethe The cause of Reform, every thing considered, has
all their opponents and all their supporters ! As been as strikingly successful in Scotland as in Eng-
they cannot do this, they must adhere to the Bill, land. Hitherto that division of the United King-
and be overthrown ~t, tee first accurate ineestigas 41cm might have been regarded as an overgrown rat-
:ion of its merits ; er bring forward a new Bill, arid ten borough. Its whole constituency does not ex-
be expelled from office, amidst the acorn of one party ceed '2,500 voters, scarcely arnountim; to one-half of
and the indignation of another, for timeserving and the freehOlde, F. in an average English county ; and
unprincipled vacillation. Who cart wonder that there often a majority of these electors possess only a
initial or paper freehold, withoutaltilasiicll oofnlaYr:adialot:
should be hesitation in their cauncils—perplexiry
and strife among their friends ? We have seen that 'ached to it. The consequence
the Courier and the late Editor of the Edinburgh i•
had- been, en, that the
representation of Scotlad trsnev rany relation
to the people—fiat-
Review, a whimsical conjunction of authorities, arenever emanated from their choice,
very decided in favour of modification—of such rr or protected their interests. The Reform Bill,
modification of the Bills as will amount, if we may which may be called their " Bill of Righte," still
judge front die particular change selected, c.retep/i therefore produce nearly IA radical change in that
grata,
by the latter, to the abindonment of the old part of the empire. It will not only destroy paper
awl tire introduction of ant entirely new measere. freeholde arid close corporations, but will create a
It is right, however, to say that the Times, which, real electoral body of 60,000, instead of a sham con-
from its Well-known connection with the Lord Chan- stitueney of 2,500. The corrupt nature of the ex-
cellar, has also high preteen ors to authority, so far isting system, and the magnitude of the future
as the ptesent determination of Got eminent is con- 4hange, render more striking die sacrifices, and
earned, ie strongly on the other side of the question, more honourable the exertions, now made in fa-
and rebukes, with characteristic acerbity, riot only your of Reform by those whose political ihfluence
the Courier, but the Lord Advocate. The Ministry or pecuniary interests it will affect, Every paper
is celebrated, however, for nothings° much as for no: freeholder who votes for a Reform candidate votes
knowing its own opinions:ir dercrmiranions upon ans awey his own qualification, and abandons property
subject, from day to day ; and we incline to believe to rhe amount of 5001. or 6001.; yet, notwith-
that a e event will prove the Courier and the standing this, the cause has gained many adoitioPal
Lord Advocate to but in the right, and ti,e adherents. .In the last Part ament only eleven of
Lord Chancellor's Paper to be in the wrong. It is the Scotch Members voted for the Bill, and in the
probable indeed that the anger of the latter upon House Arno to assemble we believe that it will be
the subject arices principally front the secret Ravine supported hy more than double that number. We
ben permit!ed to escape, before it had been anidoi night enumerate the pacts where the new strength
the opportunity of duly preparing tl e pot-hooees of fir the good cause will he Oriel, but as it would
the metropolis for the subject of Reform, in the new be needless to enticipate when the conclusion of the
aspect it is destined ro assume. Now, is it pit-silk, election is so I.(t.nr, we shall wait for the returns
we ask, for any man, in the midst of ,his strife, and before we cast up the accounts. In the mean time
turmoil, and confusion in the Nlinisteiial cin.ip, to we may mention that the s atements respecting the
form the least judgment as to the nature of the declarations of the Lord Advocate, to which we
treasure of Reform to lie submitted to the new Pat- yesterday alluded, are contradictory. We hope,
literneet by the Ministers of the King ? We tithe i• therefore, it will be found that his language in speak-
for certain that it will be a new measure, arid, 'tug of the modifications which the Bill may undergo
from the past achievements of the same body in has been misunderstood. Weer!, the following
every d.- partment of legislation in which they extract from the speech of Mr. Maxwell, the late
hate merle arty attempt, we think we may safe 1., Member for Renfrewshire, at a county rneetiog,
assume that it will be something eminently absurd, would seem to place the matter beyond a doubt :
extravagant, arid mischievous. Butt surely, now " Mr. 111,rxvvall said that he had had an opportunity of
that the national sentiment is said to have been pro- cenversese witb the Lord Advocate since his return to
nounced so decisively in favour of Reform, there SeldAnd, and the zenit of it had been, that lie had been
assured by his Lordship that the principle of the Iteferm
will be found in Parliament a body of honest and
rational men, capable of concocripg a measure of Bill were,' be preserved inviolable, and that it was im- t
possible any change could be made in the Bill which was
Reform, which will deserve the character of being
tif the least importance. Parchment voters, and loge
both rational and honest.—Morning Pus& proprietors, would no hunger have the the exclusive pri-
The cause marches. Such is the display of poll- vilege in elections; and it would not he necessary that a
Cleat sentiment made by the counties of England on min should be a great landed proprietor to entitle him to
this great occasion, that the only wonder is, how a the elective frinehise ; and the system of voting by cer-
peowpileiesholn short, he (Mr. Max-
of\ unanimously
k m, vn
7boent on a- purpose AI porations would be abolished.
a pitslne v'
'le
well) haul been led to believe that the Bill for Scotland
ears ago, and accom-
plishment recommended by would en•ure a full, fair, and free representation of the
most popular men in the itisnome of the wiisest and
people."— [sines.
mained until this hour pauivgdorn) shoulo have re-
At length we have authentic inteligence from Po-
e, under a load of griev-. .
antes which, it now appears, they had it a+ ways y- land, anti, we rejoice to say, of the most cheering
within their power to shake off. To the‘ "a-
' kind., The Russian Commander-in-Chief, who
cougtatulation already noticed, War. - subjec's
of
a in the plenitudeof blibariun,
to recent some months ago,
elections, or to those which are still i" e
progress, we presumption, pledged himself to his master that, by
have to add the retirement of Lord" Chol-e a‘curtain duty, he would display the Russian eagle in
grondeley from Cheshire, his Lerdship'setenu.'vm Vinsaw, has again been foiled, his plans again Be-
having put forth a handbill, confessing, in plahmtEn ranged,beenb!rid, with the bulk of his troops, he hits
liedothat he had not the smallest chance of succeeding; to fall back, in discomfiture and dise
The defeat of the Cholmondeley interest in Cheshire. grace,° beforelged army of the patriots. This is the
gray be considered the uprooting of an oak. in fourth time thatconqueror, whose high
this doughty
Worcestershire tf:c effoits.of the public-spirited Re- pretensions have now become a I l• .tck e
formers, though not conspicuous enough, as we have to his own thick,headed followers,aug"lllitss laughing;-stock
vlerinst
seen, to deter an Anti-Reform candidate frcm start- claims to immottality vanish; and we hope the fifth
llicientiv fortnidal?fe to make him repent , experiment will be attended with a chastisement
sets, ate Ell . i