The Sun.
London, England, 1831-05-23 00:00:00

GENERAL ELECTION.

NORTHAMPTON, 31:4 r 21.
The Anti-Reformers here die hard; and although
they have no more chance of success than the Re-
form Bill has of being thrown out in the next Par-
liament, yet they justify the continuance of a most
vexatious contest, in the manner that would do credit
even to the canting and shallow plausibility of
Joseph Surface himself. They still pretend that
there is a probability of Mr. Cartwright and Sir
C. Knightley. succeeding; but if they suppose that
any man out of Bedlam can be deceived by a pretence
of this kind, they must be infinitely more stupid,
than, in their clumsy cleverness, they take other
people to be. There is, however, one advantage
attending the expense of this cc-Attest. The people
are sure, by means of it, to get back some of the
money which the boroughmongers have purloined
from them ; and that, too, in a manner the most
distressing to the borouglimongers, who disgorge, it
is true, but then they disgorge in the vain hope of
the sick man at sea, who puts his finger down his
own throat in order to better his condition. Vain
hope, indeed ! for a Reform in Parliament, which is
as certain as that their reign is over, will prevent
any one applying to them the scriptural reproach of
returning to their vomit again. The sow will be
washed, but it will never have another opportunity
of wallowing in the mire.
I mentioned to you yesterday the question which
had been raised by the Anti-Reformers respecting
the right of the freemen of the town to vote as
electors for the county, anti which is frequently
alluded to in the speeches above; that question has
been decided against the Anti-Reformers--it has
been decided that the freemen have no such right.
The question is called here a question of " very
great importance," but I cannot understand why,
unless there be some local, some Northamptonshire
meaning attaching to the word " importance,"
which, as a stranger of the county, I am ignorant
of. If a question be important because it gives rise
to expence, because it creates a plausible ground for
delay, because it uselessly endangers the peace and
quiet of a large town, and because it demonstrates
that learned men have such a command over their
countenances that they can argue in favour of the
grossest absurdity without bursting into a laugh,
then, indeed, this question was an important
one, but not otherwise. The nature of this
supposed right which was claimed on behalf
of the freemen—though the argument exhausted
a whole day, which I have no doubt was the sole end
and object for which the question was raised—may
be told in a very few words. Every freeman
of Northampton had, it was said, the right of
turning out a certain number of head of cattle for
a certain part of the year, upon a certain common in
the vicinity of the town ; but for his freedom each
freeman pays about 1E4., and for every bead of cattle
that he turns out he is charged 16s. Now it was
proved, and not denied, that if every freeman
exercised this supposed right, the common would
be as quickset with quadrupeds as Smithfield is on
a market day; so that the common could not pos-
sibly furnish pasture to the animals unless one beast
were accommodating enough to lift up his foot while
another took a bite. It was not easy to see that the
right of turning cattle out upon a place like this
could be worth any thing; but then it appeared in
evidence that there was this advantage attending it,
namely, that if a man wished to part with his horse,
he could take no surer means of gratifying his wish
than turtling the animal out upon this common, for
the beast was sure to be stolen. These were the
advantages which it was contended were worth 40s.
a year to each freeman, and the right to these ad-
vantages was moreover said to be a freehold right.
The ASSESSOR (Mr. Clarke), in a judgment
which did him the highest credit as a lawyer and a
speaker, but which made every one who heard him