The Sun.
London, England, 1831-03-04 00:00:00

a repreianfativefrirM of' Government were plainly visible.
But be begged to remind the House that there was a
wide difference indeed between the circumstance of this
country and- America. .1n the United States the Consti-
tution had not been in existence more than forty years. It
was not till the year 1779 that the representative part of
the American system Of Government had been established,
and since that time many important changes, as every body
knew, has been made respecting the mode of electing their
President. As yet every thing was in uncertainty, for
ever since the first establishment of the Government of the
United States it had been undergoing a change. He would
not say that it bad been deteriorating, for he wished to
avoid all invidious phrases, but it had been rapidly under-
going a change from a republic to a mere democracy. The
influence of the Executive Government had been daily be-
coming less, and more power had cousequently been vested
in the hands of the people. And yet, with respect to
that country, where tin re was land uncultivated to an ex-
tent almost incalculable—where there was no Established
Church—where there were no privileged orders—where
property existed an a very different tenure from that on
which it was held in this country, let not the people of
England be deceived—let them not imagine from the ex-
ample of the United States, that because democracy bad
succeeded and triumphed there, it would also succeed and
triumph here.--(Hear, hear.) With the solitary ex-
ception of the United States, there was not another
country on the face of the globe to he found, in
which a mixed Constitution like that of England- had
succeeded. During the last 150 years, in which Eng-
land had enjoyed that mixed Constitution, she had stood
the shock of a disputed succession, of long wars, and of
almost-every evil which could befal a State. During that
period every country in Europe had suffered the evils of '
invasion, from which we alone had been freed. During
that period every country in Europe but our own had sub-
mitted to a change of dynasty,' or had been rendered sub-
ject to a foreign power. Look from the nations of Europe
to those of South America, which had lately vindicated
themselves into independence. If it were assumed as an
undeniable principle that the people in all countries might
be safely trusted with the enjoyment of power, what was
there to prevent a happy experiment of the powers of the
people to form a good Government in succeeding in South
America? The experiment had been tried, and had failed
signally.—(Hear.)— What were the causes which, accotd-
ing to the unanimous voice of historian., had in all cases
led to the decline of empires? The danger of a successful
military chieftain' attaching to himself the affections of his
legions, and being misled by vanity to turn the arms which
he had first employed for the defence of his country to his
own ambition and aggrandizement- Had not the present
Constitution of England saved it for more than a century
and a half of military glory from that unfortunate accident.
The staff of Marlborough, the greatest chieftain of his age,
had been broken in this country with impunity ; and had
not the baton of his illustrious friend, the most illustrious
commander of the present age,. before whose calminating
star even the fortunes of Napoleon had quailed—had not
the baton crumbled into 'atoms before a vote of that House
which he (Sir R. Peel) was then addressing ?---(Hear,
hear.)—Again, he had been told of the danger which was
likely to accrue to the liberties of England from the em-
ployment of a standing army. Had ire not been told very
recently by the Hon. and Learned Member for Clare that
the army of England was eminently obedient and submis-
sive to the laws ? Had he not said, "So mild is your
arrry in its demeanour, so popular is it in all parts of
your empire, so confident are the people in its justice and
moderation, that I implore you, whenever you have occa-
sion to call in a force to quell internal disorders, send in
your regular army, and not your yeomanry, for they
alone will act with temper and discretion ?" The decla-
ration of the Hon. and Learned Member for Clare was a
sufficient answer to that argument. With regard to the
influence of the oligarchy, he would ask the Hon. Gentle-
men to point out to him any instance in which there had
been an attempt to subject the people of England to the
sway of an oligarchy, or to establish any laws of exclusion
or distinction among them ? Up to this time no one
practical advantage had been held out to the House as the
natural consequence of the change now proposed. All the
reasons which had been urged to them for making that
change were, that it was necessary to conciliate public
opinion. No better way of conciliating the public will
had been devised than that of adding half a million elec.
t .ra to the constituency of the country ; but if that were
a good way of conciliating public opinion, then, if another
Government, wishing to participate in the popular opi-
nion, should add another million to the constituent body,
that argument must be entitled to the same success.-
-(hear, !:ear.)—We used to be promised that whenever
the eonsitution of the House of Commons should undergo
a change, securities should betaken for preventing it from
a ngaging us in ruinous wars,. All persons who knew any
thing of history were well aware that there was no security
against war in any poplar Government. Mr. Fax had
left it upon record, that upon its commencement, tl e
American war was flighty popular. At a liter period it
had been predicated by other Statesmen, only inferior to
Mr. Fox, that at their commencement all the wars in
which we had been subsequently engaged had been highly
popular at their outset, but that, on the appearance of
tailure, they bad become tiresome, anal out of favour with
the people. We u.ed to be told that retrenchment of the
public expenditure would be the first immure of the re-
formed Parliament. But a reforming Government had
declared already that all further retrenchment was impos-
sible.—(Hear.)-We used also to be told that the influ-
ence of the Crown in that House was so enormous that Re-
form was necessary as a check upon it. The influence of
the Crown in that House !—(Loud cheers.)—Would any
man rise up in his place and state that any influence could
contend successfully in that House with the influence of
public opinion 2—( Hear, hear. )—Hon. Gentlemen were
in the habit of saying that the Crown could now influence
more Members than at any former period of our history,
and that the aristocracy could, by their support, establish
or overthrow any Government. Yee, lion. Gentlemen
were in the habit of saying this, although, since the death
of Lord Liverpool, in 1827, the country had had five
different Prime Ministers, and five different Administra-
tions.—(Loud cheers.)—Such was the influence of the
Crown—such was the influence of the aristocracy
(Hear, hear.)—He contended that neither of these influ-
ences had any existence. He then proceeded to show that
no practical advantage could arise to the country from this
change in the constitution of the House of Commons, and
to deprecate the period at which it lad been proposed.
That period was a period of great excitement, and if Hon.
Gent'e nen would but give themselves the trouble of look-
ing at the history of Reform, they would find that it was
always flourishing when there was either a pressure of
great difficulty on the country, or some revolution on the
continent which misled the people of England—(Cheers
from the Opposition)—by the delusive hopes which it
held out to them of the attainment of greater liberty than
that which they then enjoyed.—( Hear, hear.)—Look at
the question of Reform ; look at the Parliamentary De-
bates, and they wonld see that whenever the question of
Reform was frequently agitated, some dire misfortune
lurked behind. It was brought forward with great pomp
of circumstance in the year of the rebellion of 1745, it
wu brought prominently forward during the American
war ; it was brought forward at the commencement of the
French war ; and, to come to our own times, it was
brought prominently tarward in the-years 1817, 1819,
and 1822—in a word, at every period when there was
either great commercial or great agricultural distress in
the country. Then was Reform brought conspicuously
forward ; then was it certain to find favour in the eyes of
the people.—(!fear.)—lt was brought forward, too, at
periods when the excitement of foreign revolutions misled
the judgment of the British people, and deluding them
with a false love of liberty, rendered them discontented
with the moderate freedom which they enjoyed.—(Hear,
hear.).-Mr. Pitt was its advocate and ehampiou in 1780,
when t .e establishment of American independence, after a
successful struggle with this country, had deluded the en-
thusiastic lovers of freedom in this country with notions
of liberty which it was difficult to comprehend. Front
the year 1785 to the year 1790, the question of Reform
slept in lethargy like that of the grave ; -but in the latter
year.the appalling events of the French revolution again
recalled it into life, and inspired it with new powers of
existence. Nor was it surprising that the cause of Reform
acquired energy.from that revolution, which Mr. Fox had
designated in
place Housetnat as the most stupen-
dous fabric of liberty which the ingenuity of man had ever
raised. In the Yeor•1190 Mr. Flood brought forward a
motion on the subject ut 'Reform, and in the course of his
speech upon it referred to the state of France. One of his
arguments was thus expressed:--sallFranee improves her
Government, you must restore Yours. Again, what is
your situation as to external mangers France, the great
object of external danger to England, caano longer give
alarm ; during her disturbances she
cannot have the
power; and after her liberty is established- she will not
have the inclination to make ambitions war. •
--e
better
her Government is, the more rational will be
her-- coon-
eels, the more pacific they will be. •Kingi may hope for
glory, and their Ministers and minions may hope for
plunder from warfare ; but what can the people expect
Irons an ambitious war? Nothing but an accumulation
of taxes and an effusion of blood. Again, in the year
18a 1, when the question of Reform was brought forward
by the Hon. Member for the county of Durham, now
Lord Durham, be also appealed to the events which had
int before taken place upon the continent, and hailed