The Sun.
London, England, 1831-07-14 00:00:00

The House of Commons last night seemed to have re
covered its usual temper. On the motion that the Speaker
do leave the chair, Captain Gordon, in rising to assume
the position he was in on Tuesday night when the mo-
tion of adjournment was male, disclaimed all partic'patien
in any premeditated arrangement, and all factious inten-
tions; but as the House seemed indisposed to hear him.
he had thought it right that they should adjourn. It was,
no doubt, all accident that so Many divisions should have
taken place. It is an accident, however, that has been
productive of much good, and we are not sorry that the
country should have had an opportunity thus early of
guessing at the disposition of the boroughmongers, from
the conduct of their nominees on Tuesday night. After
the House had gone into a Committee, the Chairman read
the first close, disfranchising all the boroughs enumerated
in Schedu A, upon which Mr. C. Wynn moved that this
clause be postponed. The Right Hon. Gentleman con-
tended that no reason was stated in the clause for the dis-
franchisement of these boroughs. He objected to the line
which had been drawn, that it was arbitrary, and went
over some of the oft repeated arguments, that if the ens•
meration of 1811 had been taken instead of 1821,
boroughs would have been retained which are now die•
franchised, and disfranchised which are now retained ;
and it the census of 1831 were to be taken, the same
fluctuations would be found. Wishing to see the large
towns represented, and yet unwilling to have the number
of Members augmented, be wished to proceed with the other
clauses, and then to consider how the diminution should
be effected. He was, he said, inclined to prevent any total
disfranchisement, but to throw boroughs into districts.
We perceive that the discussion, not merely of the prin•
ciple of the Bill, but of all its details, is to take place on
every clause. It has, we suppose, been suggested to some
of the more fiery and desperate spirits, that the conduct of
Tuesday night might have the effect of obtaining for them
a greater number of close observers of their proceedings
than it might be convenient to have ; and that every pur-
pose could as well be answered by interminable speeches
on each clause of the Bill. Thus, for instance, Sir Ed-
ward Sugden, who followed Mr. C. Wynn, repeated all
the declamations which have been uttered in this and the
last se•sien against the Bill. " With such a precedent be-
fore them (he said), a Parliament of Reformers would not
pay much attention to the principles of the Constitution,
or to the rights of the electors; and as it was well known
that all new bodies were uniformly hostile to ancient in-
stitutions, they would witness, ere long, the lamentable
consequences of the course they now proposed to adopt."
The affair of the clause limiting the franchise to rent paid
not less frequently than once in the half•year was carefully
wiredrawn. "In this (he repe 'tett) there could he no
mistake with respect to the intention of his Majesty's Go-
verment. These intentions were precisely described in
technical language. He would fearlessly declare, there-
fore, and he dared any refutation of the assertion, that it
was evident his Majesty's Government had found, that in
the first Bill they bad gone too far, and had adapted this
indecent way of softening and paring down the franchise
which they had created, so as to diminish the dangers
which they themselves apprehended from it." The Ho-
nourable and Learned Gentleman then looked towards Ire-
land and towards Scotland, and every way but towards the
precise clause under discussion. He objected to the Parlia-
mentary Commissioners ; and repeated the very original re-
mark, that the nomination boroughs introduced men of ta-
lents into the House. After touching on almost every con-
ceivable topic, he had the consideration to declare that he
would reserve himself for the details. Mr. Stanley very
properly animadverted on the course pursued by the Hon.
and Learned Member, who had, he said, departel most
widely from the subject really before the House, so that a
man who happened to have been listening to the debate
would have had great difficulty to divine the subject which
was actually under consideration ; and if he had come to
any conclusion, the probable one would be, that they were
now debating the principle of a Reform Bill. Mr. Stanley
rallied very happily the Opposition on their inconsistency
in appearing all ardour for discussion on Tuesday night,
then shrinking from the debate when they had obtained
the opportunity, and then again, their resuming the dis-
cussion of the principle in Committee. Mr. Croker fol-
lowed the example of Sir Edward Sugden. He com-
menced by rather a curious sort of complaint—that Mi-
nisters would not answer the speeches of their opponents,
who were great in power, though few in numbers ; and
that " in that manner they hail last night lengthened the
debate by not answering so effective a speech as was then
spoken by the Hon. Member for Boronglibridge."—(Hear,
and a laugh.) The result of all this introduction hy every
speaker, of every possible subject into the Bill, was that
at a late hour this morning, so much progress had been
made, that Mr. Wynn's motion was negatived by a ma-
jority of 292 to 171—or 11S, after which progress the
House resumed. As we suppose we shall be favoured
with speeches of equal length and equal pertinence to the
question on every clause of the Bill, the Bill will not pass
very rapidly through the Committee. We may be mis-
taken ; but it strikes us that last night may be taken as a
sample of the course to be followed throughout.—Morn-
'ng Chronicle.

The indignation in the City was yesterday very great, on
reading the account of Alderman Thompson's vote on Lord
Maitland's motion ; and it was in contemplation, we
understand, to call a meeting of the Livery on the subject.
In the House of Commons, ►ast night, the worthy Alder-
man endeavoured to set himself right with the public. He
declared that, " Buth in the last and in the present Ses-
sion, he had invariably supported the Reform Bill, and it
was his full intention to go along with Government in
the principle of the measure. He was also prepared to
support the Schedules attached to it; but a local know-
ledge of the borough of Appleby, and well knowing that
one most important parish was omitted in the population
return of 1821, knowing further, that representations had
been made to the Noble Lord sho had the conduct of the
Bill, to which no answer hail been given, he felt it his
duty, if possible, to give the borough an opportunity of
showing at the bar, by the evidence of the Mayor or
otherwise, that such an omission had been made. He
had no intention thereby to frustrate the Bill, or to em-
barrass the proceedings of Ministers. The time had ar-
rived when all nomination boroughs ought to be abolished.
He thought the principle of the Bill just and clear, and he
could not imagine that it endangered the Constitution to
extend the elective franchise in the manner proposed. It
gave a fair and equal representation to all classes and in-
terests. His opinions had undergone no change; but he
could not forego an act of justice to the town of Appleby."
Now really, with all submission to the woi thy Alderman,
we do not see that he has much mended the matter by
his explanation. He was told, that in the Committee
every opportunity would be afforded to Members to
prove that the population of each borough in the
schedules was above. the limit of total or partial dis-
franchisement, and lie must have been aware that all
that heproposed to show at the bar by Counsel, the evi-
denceof the Mayor and otherwise, could be equally shown
by any Member in a Committee. But this was not all, he was
told that the course which he sanctioned in the case of
Appleby could with equal justice be claimed in the case of
every other borough in the schedules, and that if Counsel
were to be heard in all these cases the Bill could never be
passed. He voted, therefore, for Lord Maitland's amend-
ment, with the knowledge that if the amendment were to
be carried, the Bill must be abandoned. If the Worthy
Alderman were so favourable to the Bill as he says, and
no intention of frustrating it, be ought to be very grateful
to the majority who stood between the Bill and the effect
of his vote. if the rule of the lawyers were, however, to
be applied to the Worthy Alderman, we suspect that he
would find it difficult to rebut the inference, from the ten-
dency of his vote, of an intention to defeat the Bill. If
that tendency too, were strengthened by previous suspicion
of his intentions, the inference would be almost conclusive.
Morning Chronicle.
The hour at which the debate closed yesterday morning
prevented us from making those observations upon it which
the lengthened nature of the discussion, the factiousness
and faithlessness of the Opposition so imperatively ale'
manded ; and it is now almost useless to revert to the
subject ! for the public feeling has been expressed in all
quarters upon it in a manner which leaves nothing to be
desired by the most ardent stickler for Reform, or the
most strenuous advocate for fair discussion, plain dealing,
and good faith ; but there are one or two points, never-
theless, which we are desirous of presenting to our readers
.n a more prominent point of view, and to which sve beg
leave to crave their attention. And first of all, let it
be remembered that, when the question of the titre
or carrying the Bill through its different stages, was