The Sun.
London, England, 1831-07-27 00:00:00

pr.;4te a question. It had been announced in that document 1
which was stated to be the Speech of the King of the
French, that an arrangement had been made, under which
the forts erected in Belgium subsequent to the general peace
in IEIIS were to be destroyed, the whole or in part; he
begged to ask whether it was the intention of his Ma-
jesty's Government to 14y before the House a copy of the
convention or document by which such an arrangement

bad been made.
Lord ALTHORP vas understood to say that he was
afraid he could not fully answer the question, and he would
feel obliged if the Hon. Baronet would postpone the enquiry
until his Noble Friend the Secretary for Foreign Affairs

should he in his place.
Colonel EVANS rose to call the attention of the House
to what he considered the most vexatious delay on
the part of those who were opposers to the passing
of the Reform Bill, in the course they took. He
knew that the Birmingham Political Union, the
Manchester Political Union, the Glasgow Political
Union, and ether somewhat similar bodies were holding
conferences for the purpose of deciding upon what should
appear to them to be the best course to be adopted,
should those who were opposed to the Bill continue
their opposition fur the purpose of delay. Al to the in-
eligibility of passing such a measure in baste, he knew
that other measures considered of great importance—
great importance as to the personal liberty of in-
dividuals, as well as the atrocious Six Acts,
were passed without the least delay, and without
the House having what might be considered any
thing like an explanation of their nature. Should a
different course of proceeding not take place to-night or
to-morrow, he should feel it his duty to give notice
of a motion that persons should be examined at the bar
who were entitled to credit and capable of understanding
the state of the country, for the purpose of informing
the House of the state of agitation of the country,
occasioned by the delay, and the abhorrence the public felt

at tl:e cause of it.
Mr. JOHN SMITH confirmed all that the Gallen,
and Hon. Member had just stated. He knew that the
!louse stood charged with the most unjustifiable delay on
this subject. That part of the House which was opposed
to the Bill was charged by the public with reiterating
their ten times told stories in the speeches which they
favoured the House with from night to night. He was
satisfied that the feeling of the middling classes through-
out England, and also that the feeling of the Scotch—nay,
he would say, that the anger of the Scotch—would soon
move them in a way that perhaps was not expected by
many persons, should this improper delay be continued
for any length of time. If Ministers were to decide
that the House should sit at twelve o'clock every day,
whilst that order remained unrescinded he for one should
attend, unless sickness prevented him.
Mr. HUNT rose to say that he should be very glad to
have the opportunity of seconding some such motion as
had just been referred to. For his own part he cared not
if the house should decide upon sitting at ten o'clock in
the morning, but he did object, as he always had objected,
to the late hours to which the sittings were continued.
Mr. 11. L. BULWER could not but express his convic-
tion that the time of the House had been too much
wasted by personal allusions, ill-tinted jokes, and very
fatiguing recapitulations. The moment of putilic
breathless expectation was not the time when Hon. Mem-
bers should indulge in rhetorical flourishes or ingenious
witticisms. Whatever did not affect the general interests
of good Government, and of the country generally, they
should consider as frivolous and vexatious. It could not, he
was sure, be either gratifying to:their feelings or creditable to
their character, for the opposition to know that the country
out of doors felt that instead of occupying themselves with
those subjects more particularly connected with their welfare,
the House continued disputing night after night about
what was connected only with individual, partial interests.
Mr. POLHILL gave notice that it was his intention,
in the Committee of the House, to move that in all boroughs
in which the right of voting was vested in the house-
holders generally, the qualification to vote should be 51.,
and that in all the boroughs of schedule C the qualification
Le 201.
Lord ALTHORP would be happy to accede to any ar-
rangement for the purpose of expediting the Bill through
Committee. He did not see, however, that the pro-
posed arrangement of meeting at an earlier hour
would at all facilitate the business. Nothing
could be more improper than to endeavour to stifle dis-
cussion on the details of the Bill—(Hear, hear)—and
according to the present arrangement, the House haring
eight hours devoted to the subject, he did net see how,
consistently with the other necessary business of the
House, any other arrangement could be adopted. He could
see no superior convenience in meeting in the morning at
ten, rather than in the afternoon, and commencing the
business of the Committee at five o'clock.
Sir R. PEEL said it would be impossible, with the
private business of the House and Election Committees
particularly, to meet at an earlier hour. He wan very
sorry twat the Honourable and Gallant Officer who
brought forward the proposition before the House had
referred to the pressure of numerical force. That he could
assure the House woolel have no influence with Members
on his side the House, in the statement of their opi-
nions. The deliberations of that House, he hoped,
would no longer be fettered by sue', appeals. The details
of the Bill were matters of the greatest importance, and the
circumstances which had already occurred, the different
views taken by Government in this Session from that taken
last year, with respect to Downton and other places,
stowed the impossibility and the great danger of precipi-
tancy in the discussion of the details. He thought that
Government Lad partly misled the Home in the delay that
had occurred. The House was unacquainted with all
the matters of detail, and it would have been better if all
matters of detail with respect to the parishes and 1)eal pecu-
liarities had been referred to a Committee to report to the
House, not upon matters of principle, but merely of loe
cality and of fact. He thought that meeting at an earlier
hour was altogether impracticable, sod would only refer
to the state of the House at five o'clock, for the purpose
of showing that there seas little chance of better attend
ance at a much earlier hour.
Colonel 'I'ORRENS presented a petition from Dr,
Andrew Tucker, praying that the borough of Ashburton
may be removed to schedule B in the Reform
Bill.—
Referred to the Committee.
Mr. C. PELHAM begged to ask the Noble Lord opposite
whether it was his intention to make any commueicaatiun
to the Uouse relative to the Bank of England.
Lord ALTHORP said, it was not his intention to do so
a' present.
On the motion of Lord JoiiN RI:SMELL, the Speaker
left the chair, and the House resolved itself into Coin.
mittee on the Reform Bill.
The CHAIRMAN then put the first question, which was
that the borough of Queenborough stand part of schedule A.
Mr. CAPEL made some observations which were
wholly inaudible iu the gallery.
Sir C. GRANT, as one of the Members for Queen-
borough, was aware that any thing be could say would not
impede the progress of the Bill—the principle of which
was unjust and arbitrary. If it passed, the Constitution
of the country would be subverted, and the liberty of the
people be destroyed. This borough was increasing in
wealth and population. In 1775 it had only 85 voters,
and at present the number was from 300 to 400,
and he defied any Hon. Memler to say this was a rotten or
a nominatiGu borough. It was true that the Ordnance
Board used to return the Members, but this was the
third Parliament to which the free burgesses returned
pen of tsar own choice.
The question was then put Rod carried that the borough
ctiail part of schedule A.
The next question was that New Romosy stand part of
schedule A.
Sir EDWARD DERING called the attention tef
the Noble Lord opposite to the arrangements with
regard to adding Sandwich to some other places
in the neighbourhood, and he wished, on the same
principle, that New Romney and Old Romney, and Lydd,
should be added together. The population of Lydd, in
1821, was 1,437 ; of Old Romney,
.169 ; amid of
Nov Romney, 967, making a population consider-
ably over 2,600. The connection, however, between
i
Lydd and New Romney was of long standing, for n the
reign of bleary VII. Lydd agreed to pay a certain sum
to assist New Romney. By the same deed, the Barons
of Lydd agreed to pay to New Romney 3/. yearly, to
stover certain expesyses, and which was regularly paid
from that time to the yese 1508 ; he thought, therefore,
the connectirk7 between New red Old Romney and Lydd
was g stronger 4.1. m than that between Sandwich, Deal,
and other places, and :,try ought to be uniteg, and allowed
to return 402 Member.
Colonel EV=ENS denied that this case was to be cox„
pared to Sandwich ; Sew and Oid R:oroney and Lydd were
mat sea-ports, and there. was no ground Ix believing that
were now ;
they would ever be more Delependent than l they -
dill., r 1
they were so poor that any gentlemen of
.arge prop
the neighbourhood might .cocuman...'l
.thei.r votes, and kt
had in fact for many years been a nommati.on borough.
Sir JOHN BRIDGES said that Romney was situated
in the midst of a large tract of fine land, and he hoPed
that it would be allowed to return one Member, at a
small counterpoise in the favour of the landed interest.
Lord J. RUSSELL. looked upon the cases of Sand-
rich and New Romney, as totally dissimilar.
Sir C. WETHERELL alluded to " the pressure out of