The Sun.
London, England, 1831-06-27 00:00:00

'SPIRIT OF Mg PiJi3LIC JOURNALS.

The rtat Bill is again, for the second time, before the
Houle nY Commons,—the last, we should hope, e'ected,

err •anininated, or bought in, upon the system which it is
mow proposed to alter. The previous discussions on the
Mill, the schedules which have been published of it, and
the speech of Lord John Russell, have brought it fully
before the country ; and surely no one can deny either the
Intensity or duration of that feeling which calls for the full
and final enactment. There have been subjects, no doubt,
upon which the public have felt warmly, but briefly; the
variations of the popular will are proverbial, but for the
last fifty years the dissatisfaction with the existing state of
the representation has been increasing up to this moment,
when its removal becomes absolutely necessary. Can such
a statement as the following, from Lord John's speech, be
read without indignation :—" Nine Peers possess thirty.
two boroughs, returning sixty-four Members!" By the
present Bill there is to be a division of several of the countii-s,
by which the time of election will be shoftentsl, and the
disgraceful scenes usual on such occasioins avoided. The
return of Members from the great ',..)wns,—'.Manchester,
Leeds, Sheffield,—may, by the fill, amount to about
one hundred and eighty. a foreigner, in hating of
the Constitution of 'England, the •etraality of its
laws, the checks or, arbitrary porter, and the beauty
of its representatf.ve system, had been given to un-
understand this', many of its largest commercial and trad-
ing towns hr,d no representatives at all, unless nine of
their ini_ldnitants bought places in Parliament, we think
be hardly have been made to believe so monstrous an

alisurdity. This absurdity will now be removed,anix;ith
it the just dissatisfaction which pervaded the most intelli-
gent, industrious, and, from their local density, the most
dangerous part of our population. Copyholders and lease-
holders of various descriptions are to receive the elective
franchise for counties. Why the former should have been
excluded it is not easy to conceive; and if the latter be I
ever dependent upon the will of their landlords, it can only
be towards the close of their leases. The late elections, we
fancy,—to say nothing of some which have previously
taken place in Ireland,—have cotrvinced some landlords
that tenants may have a will of their own. With respect
to annual tenants of 101., who are to have a vote in towns
and boroughs, it does not appear whether the actu 11 rent
or the rated rent, are to be received as the criterion : if
the former, the votes will be much more numerous. We
again recommend to the public to watch the progrtss of
the Bill. They will improve by the discussion, and be the
better able to exercise those rights with which they are
soon to be intrusted.— Times.

It has been thought that the extension of the viettive
franchise to people of humble condition may tend to send
a meaner class of people into the House of Commons.

We certainly have seen occasions where the people, acting
freely (" independent and free electors"), might cheo.e
more respectable representatives than they have done; they
have chosen Mr. Hunt, hut have invariably rejected
Cobbet ; yet there is a passage in the celebrated Machia-
velli which supplies a general answer, founded on expe-
rience, to those who object to Parliamentary Reform on the
score that vulgar illiterate demagogues would thenceforth be
chosen by the people. The whole chapter deserves at-
tention. The Romans, discontented with the Consular
name, wish for the power of electing plebeians into
the office ; the Senate, to acid a measure which they
conceive would cast disgrtee upon the State, elude the
wish of the plebeian.'a by allowing them to elect four
tribunes, with Consular power, and who might either
he nobles el' plebeians. The popular leaders were content
with ttie concession, thinking that the consular power was
ry.Av extinct, and that they should have their share of the
first honours of the State. " Nacque de questo um veto
notabile," says Machiavelli. " From thence there ful-
lowed a most remarkable result, that the Roman people
coming to the election of those tribunes, and having the
power to choose them all nut of the plebeians, they, on the
contrary, chose thefts all from among the Nobles, upon
which Livy uses these remarkable words, Quorum co-
tnitorum eventus,' &c. " The result of which elections
showed that there was a different feeling in the struggle
for liberty from that which existed when the contention
was at an end, and people came to the exercise of their
pure judgment." The Nobles so chosen must have been
men of high character, we would have our aristocrats to
understand.— Times.

In the John Bull of yesterday there is an article on the
allusion in the King's Speech to Portugal, which deserves
some notice. Speaking of the case of the two French-
men, in behalf of whom the French Government have

interfered, the John Bull says :—" The case, however, of
M. Bonhornme (mal-nomme) is oven more II 'grant than
this ; it has nothing to do with politics; sacrilege, and
blasphemy the most revolting, are the crimes fur which
this man was tried and convicted. To be sure, in the
creed of the Reformers, religion is held to be a proof of
bigotry, and piety considered' a mat k of ignorance ; indeed,
one of the heaviest charges against Don Miguel himself
is his addiction' to the Church and his devotion to
his God." Now we should not have noticed this pas-
sage, but for the circumstance that the Paper in which
it appears is the especial favourite of the Parsons.
the creed of the Reformers, religion is held to be
a proof of bigotry, and piety considered a mark of
ignorance 1" Now, nineteen-twentieths at least of the
people of England are Reformers. Nearly the whole of
the middle classes, in particular, are Reformers. What
audacity to dare to say of the great body of the people of
England, that in their creed religion is held to be a proof
of bigotry ! If there is religion in England, it is to be
Found in this class here pointed out as irreligious. The
higher ranks have never been supposed to be religious, and
the anti-Reformers have no support below the higher
ranks. And this Don Miguel, whose addiction to the
Church and devotion to his God are here so warmly eulo-
gised, is not only a Catholic, but a tool of the Apostolicals
—4 that portion of the Priesthood which would revive
all the horrors of the Inquisition. Catholicism is acm ime
in Ireland, because the Catholic Clergy do not possess the
Tithes, and because the Priests, depending en their flocks,
have an interest in their welfare ; but in countries in which
Catholicism is flourishing, in which the pri• sts are fat, flou-
rishing, and persecuting, it is dearly beloved by the Clergy
of the Church of England. Witness the food which their
favourite Journal prepares for them. Don Miguel's de-
votion to his God is pointed out to Englishmen for their
especial admiration. Don Miguel, according to all ac-
counts, is a horrible monster, who is supported by the
priesthood of Portugal, because he is subservient to them ;
and he is subservient, only because they are able to uphold
him. But only think of the effrontery of the Journal of
the Parsons of the Church of England, prophaning the
name of God' by ascribing devotion to God to this wretch,
and daring to charge a want of religion and piety to the
great body of the people of England, whose fault is not
certainly that they are without religion, but that they are
too often bigotted and fanatical. The people who can
relish this eulogy, can have very little religion ; and
would, we are persuaded, have no scruple in subscribing
to any creed with which the possession of tithes was con-
nected. Whether the Church of Rome or the Church of
England prevail is a small matter, but to have tithes
is a great matter. The devotion of Don Miguel
is a sweet-smelling savour, because he continues the
Portuguese priests in the enjoyment of enormous pro-
perty. When the Parsons of England charge the 11e-
fiirmers with being without piety, they mean, by piety,
corruption. Their religion is a good benefice. Now, we
grieve to have it to say that though the Clergy of England
have shown themselves everywhere hostile to Reform, as
well as to everything calculated to benefit and improve the
people, there is a foolish disposition in the Ministry to
conciliate them. Their professions of attachment to this
worthless class of men are not believed either by the Par-
sons themselves or by others, and will not gain them a
single vote. On the other hand these declarations disgust
their friends, who, although they may be silent now, will
one day remember some of these exhibitions. We have
heard, for instance, many worthy persons express strong
disapprobation of a speech delivered lately by the Lord
Chancellor, at a meeting of the Society of the Sons of the
Clergy. No man is gained in this way. Corruption will
always purchase a corruptionist ; but he is not to be
caught by words.—Morning Chronicle.
The complaints against the Beer Bill are perfectly we I
understood. The Magistrates say that the unlicensed
houses favour immorality. They do not mean by this that
drunkenness has increased, for that is the last thing of
I.vhich Justices would complain, but that they have no
onger the power of directing what shall be read in the
houses. During the licensing system, it was perfectly well
known that if a publican allowed a paper to be read in
his house, of which the politics were not palatable to the
neighbouring Squires, his license would not be continued.
This is changed. We are quite aware that cheap publica-
tions, of a very inflammatory description, are read in the
unlicensed houses. But the way to meet this. evilis to
allow publications of a better
the advocate
disorder
anded on
equal terms. At present
anarchy has the market to himself. But to revive the
licensing system, merely to put down licentious publica-
tions, is not to be tolerated. The evidence of Magistrates
4 Capit. 47, Liv. 1. De' discorsi copra la prima deed,