The Sun.
London, England, 1831-11-19 00:00:00

one who, in a single hour, did more than ordinary mortals
could accomplish in the course of a day.—(Loud cheers.)
It was impossible also to suppose that the country would
not trust the Marquis of Lansdowne and Lord Althorp,
whose very names need only be mentioned to ensure their
sincerity. He begged of the meeting to be united and
firm, and they would be sure of tie Reform Bill being
carried. Mr. Anderson concluded by seconding the address.
Sir R HERON observed, that considering the address
unanimously carried, he should move that it he signed by
the Sheriff on behalf of the meeting. and that Earl Grey
be requested to present it to his Majesty.
C. TENNYSON, Esq., M P., stated that he found an ex-
pression in the address which he thought the Hun. Baronet
on consideration, would he disposed to correct. No man
understood better constitutional business than the Hon.
Baronet. Many discussions had taken place with respect to
the degree of public rights, and it had been insisted, in
some neighbouring counties, that the rights of the people
flowed from the Crown.—(Cheers.) He was sure that
the Hon. Baronet did not intend to adopt such a proposi-
tion, and the part in the address which he wished cor-
rected was—" Gratitude for your Majesty's gracious de-
sire to grant to us the sacred right of a real and fair re-
presentation." He was quite certain one word would re-
move all difficulty, and he should propose that the word
" promote," should he inserted instead of the word
" grant," and the sentence would then stand, " Gratitude
for your Majesty's gracious desire to promote for us, the
sacred right of real and fair representation."—(Cheers. )
Sir ROBERT HERON felt thankful to the Hon. Member
fer his suggestion, and perfectly coincided with hint in
the necessity of the alteration be had proposed.
The address was then carried with Mr. Tennyson's
amendment.
General Join:sot; then rose. He was extremely glad
to see the unanimity that prevailed in the meeting, and
though he thought the address perfectly satisfactory as far
as it went, yet he could not suppose that it conveyed the
sentiments of that large county, and he should, therefore,
with the permission of the meeting, follow it up with one
or two resolutions, the first of which he would read before
he commented upon it :
I " That we the inhabitants of Lincoln, in County Court as-
sembled, feel most grateful to our good King for his assist-
ance in effecting the great work of Reform in the Commons
House of Parliament. We desire to support his Majesty's Mi-
nisters in carrying the Bill into a law, imploring them urgently
to advise his Majesty to dismiss from official situations under his
controul all persons who have shown decided hostility to that
measure."
In his (General Johnson's) opinion, if the enemies of Re-
form were allowed to have the power of exercising their
functions, the Bill that was shortly to be introduced into the
House of Commons would meet with the same fate as the
last. Every one of them should be excluded from office if the
good of the country was looked to, and the power of mak-
ing themselves mischievous would then be taken out of
their hands.—(Cheers.) He hoped the resolution would
meet with the approbation of the meeting.—(Cheers.)
The Gallant General was proceeding to read his next re-
solution, when
Sir 11. HERON suggested the propriety of putting
each resolution separately.
General JOHNSON observed, that he intended to pro-
pose them as a set—his second resolution, he had no
doubt, would be objected to by some, but he should have
considered himself as being very backward in his duty
after what had taken place in the hereditary House of
Peers, backed by the Bishops, if he did not bring forward
some resolution with respect to that Right Rev. Bench.
Had the Bishops, as they ought to have done, not voted
at all upon the question, the people would have still had
that respect for them which they had hitherto had. If he
had the power, he would expunge them from the House
of Lords at once.—(Renewed cheers.) He thought
they had no more business to sit in the House of Lords
than any of the minor clergy had to sit in the House
of Commons.—(Loud Cheers.) The Bishops had
lived on the sweat of the brow of the people—(Tre-
menflous cheering)—and had usurped a power which, if
he had the means, he would wrench instantly
from their hands. With the permission of the
meeting l:e would read the second resolution, which if the
meeting did not like lie begged of them not to adopt :
" We reflect with indignation upon the conduct pursued by a
majority of the hereditary Peers in rejecting the Reform Bill.
This conduct we ascribe to faction, self-interest, and thirst of
immoderate power.—(Tremendous cheering.) For the conduct
of the Spiritual Peers we entertain a feeling which no language
can adequately express.—(Loud cheers.) We are firmly of opi-
nion that in order to secure the right of the Crown and the li-
berties of the people, faction must be suppressed, malappropri.
ation of public money be corrected, and Ecclesiastics confused
to their spiritual functions."—(Deafening cheers.)
It was, however, necessary to look a little into the
state of this all-important question as it came from
the House of Lords, and the rejection of the Bill, for
those were the wools used by Lord Wharneliffe, who
proposed without further ceremony that a Bill passed by
so great a majority as it was in the Commons should be
rejected by the House of Lords.—(Cheers.) As was
notorious to the meeting, the Bishops and borough-
mongers amounted to 199. They voted against the Bill.
—(Cries of " Down with them")—and sorry was he to
say that among the small number of 158 who voted for
the Bill, many who voted for its second reading
had declared their intention of toting against it
in Committee.—(Loud cheering.) There was no hope
whatever that the number of 199 could b, diminished. They
held their grasp, as a hungry dog held his meat—(Laugh-
ter)—and if the Bishops were to send in their adherence
to the measure now about to be proposed by his Majesty's
Minist,rs, so help him God, after what had passed, he
would not trust th.m.—(Great laughter.) Them were
many Noble Lords who thought themselves more capable'
of governing the nation than the people were, and from
that ground they objected to Reform. To him (General
Johnson) it was clear, that the mechanics of England had
an equal right n its Noble Lords who were possessed of ex-
tensive tracks of land, to an equal share in the rept esenta-
thin of the country ; they were very heavily taxed, and it was
hut right that they should have a voice in that represen-
tation which taxed them. Without a very considerable
augmentation, therefore, of the House of Peers, lie saw
but very little hope for the passing of any Reform Bill. If
any measure was introduced which took but one fraction

•
from the 101. franchise, he would never cease to give it
every opposition in his power.—(Loud cheers.) The Bill
that had been introduced was never to his liking, but as it
had met with the approbation of the great part of the
people of England he agreed to it, and he trusted
that, under the Bill that was to be introduced,
such Members would be returned to the House of Coin
mons as would reduce taxation, and totally destroy the
horoughsnongering faction.—(Cheers.) The third resolu-
tion which he should propose to the meeting was one
which he thought no person could object to, as he con-
ceived to be congenial to all, it was—
" We are determined to use our utmost exertions to maintain
peace and order, convinced as we arc that through them alone
can the people obtain redress of grievances, relief from excessive
taxation, and such a representation as will insure a wise and
cheap Government."
At the first snorting that he (General Johnson) had the
honour of attending in the county of Lincoln, he
had avowed that his object was then precisely what

it was now, and he had never swerved one single iota
from these sentiments—his object was to obtain a cheap
Government, without which the country never could
obtain that reduction of taxation which all were so
anxious to see accomplished.—(Cheers.) The last les,
lution brought to his notice a circumstance personal to
himself. So long ago as May last, at a public meeting at
Stamford, he ventured to predict, that if the Reform Bill
was rejected by the House of Peers, and if the people found
there was no mode of obtaining Reforin so urgently sought
for, they would have recourse to the expedient of refusing the
payment of taxes; that sentiment had been re-echoed by
hundreds of thousands. That declaration, he believed,
had given great offence in certain high quarters. He
would not may whether the formation of associations to
resist the payment of taxes was legal or not—he would
not even venture to say whether it exceeded the bounds of
propriety, but he would say that it was perfectly legal for
persons to associate for the purpose of refusing to purchase
goods that had been seized for taxes.—(Cheers.) Ile trusted,
however, that such measures would not be necessary. He
trusted that Lord Gfey would have recourse to every legal
measure to carry the Reform Bill, for he was afraid, that
if he sat still and expected the boroughmongers to come to
his side of :he question, the country wiiuld look for Reform
in vain--(Cheers.) A great deal had been said about the
dreadful evil called the cholera marbus, but for his part be
did not consider it half so great an evil as the placing of
the collar of the boroughmongers around the neck, of the
people of England.—(Loud cheers and laughter.) If he
were Lord Grey he would use every means in his power
to purge the House of Lords of the Bishops. He would
apply to the Royal William to double the number of Peers
in the House of Lords, and by that means defy the power
of the boroughmongers. Without some strong measures
were resorted to, Reform would never be carried, and
the wishes of the people would be defeated.—(Loud cheer-
ing.) The Gallant General concluded by trusting the
resolutions which he had read would be adopted by the
meeting.

Major HANDLEY rose for the purpose of seconding the
resolutions. He observed that with respect to the feeling
that pervaded all hearts towards the good and gracious
King of these realms, there could be no objection to the ad-
dress, and all that he wished was to see it expressed more
clearly than it bad been.—(Cherrs.) It would be idle in
him to detain far any length of time the meeting in de-
tailing the reasons for Reform, the subject bad been so
much discussed by abler persons, as to render it totally un-