The Sun.
London, England, 1823-02-18 00:00:00

MARRIAGE ACT.

Mr. MANSFIELD presented a Petition from the Preben-
daries, Si.c. of St. Margaret's, Leicester, against the Marriage
Act.
Dr. Pli I !AMORE vresenteda Petition from the Ray. Mr.
Ftocett, against certain parts of the Marriage Act.
Mr. DOUGLAS presented a Petition, with the same prayer,
from the Rev. Edward Ferrol.

' A G =ULTIMA L DISTRESS.
Mr. RICE said a few voids which were 'not audible, on lay-
ing upon the table a Petition from CaerMarthen, complaining
of 'Agricultural distress, a repeal of the Assessed Taxes, and a
modified Pro arty Tax.
Mr. HUME regretted that he had not been able to hear the
Honourable Gentleman 114, he wished, in regard to the inten-
tions of the Hon. Gent. respecting the prayer of the Petition he
had just laid upon the Table. Would the Hon. Gent. now
support measures of economy, as be (Mr. Hume) was not
aware that they had yet had the benefit of a single vote from
him ? It was highly important that the constituents of County
Members should undenitand what course their representatives
were disposed to take.
Mr. RICE had no objection to satisfy the Hon. Gentleman
so far as to inform him that he should continue to vote as hi-
therto upon measures as they came before the House.—(ilear !)
—He did not conceive tharhe; Or any Member, was called upon
to pledge himself to a particular line of conduct during the
Session.—(Hear, hear l)—The present was not the usual and
regular mode of extracting information; and if the lion. Gen-
tleman brought forward any motion of economy, he should, as
before, exercise his discretion as to its fitness or otherwise.—
(Hear, hear !)
The Petition was then laid upon thelahle.
Mr. GRENFELL gave notice of a motion for tomorrow,
for accounts of monies paid to the Bank for what was called
managing the Public Debt.
Sir it. PARNELL gave notice of a motion for papers re.
garding the expences ofplybead Harbour, Light-houses, &c.
Mr. CURTEIS laid pp the table a Petition from the Hop.
planters of the parish of Burwash, Sussex, and moved for an
;account of the duty paid on hops of the growth (4'1822, distin-
11-dishing the districts.
Mr. ABERCROM BY renewed his motion of last Session
for copies of the proceedings at Glasgow in the case of forth-
wick, and of the authority under which the Clerk of the Court
of Justiciary granted the concourse of the Lord Advocate of
Scotland, _ _

lola upon the table a Petition frost Mr.
Thomas !nonagon, of Sligo, as was understood, respectirtg the
right of voting in thut.town.

CITY PETITION.

The Sheriff's of London preaentrd at the bar the Petition of
the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Commons, of the City of
London, for Parliamentary. Reform.
Mr. Alder., an WOOD, in moving that it be brought up,
referred ,e. er (occasion, when the wesentatiun of a pelt..
y bad been postponed for some time in order
to, stets, who did not come to the House till late,
Otn • • •,..: ,y'of paying some attention to it. Remonstrances
of the kind, now about tu be laid on the table, were not usually
letil received; but there had been occasions when the sent'•
meats of the citizens of London were most graciously accepted.
Ile should be glad to know whether Ministers intended to give
any Impels .respecting the -prayer of this Petition for Reform.
It complained bitterly of their conduct, and the present state of
the country wss attributed partly to mal-administration anti
partly to the defective state of the representation. The Pe..
titian was long, but ice should nevertheless call upon the
clerk to read it through, that Ministers might be fully
aware of theimpottance of its contents. As fur as regarded
the City Psrliament, no. inconvenience had been found to
result front azinual elections ; contests took place, sometimes
fo_e every lmard within the and two thousand voters
Viler; polled in s one of them without any difficulty or coats.
!Sion. The petitioners sympathized with the distresses of the
agiculturists; but they were many of them not less distressed
themselves ; though in generel the shops of the traders in Lon-
don might be open, their profits were greatly reduced, and they.
could scam/41,3y their taxes, much 100 the rates to which
they were subjected ; they prayed for such a representation as

every free country ought to enjoy. He moved that the petition
be brought up, and laid upon the table.
The petition was then read. It complained at very conside-
rable length of the miscentlect of Governmenr, which had re-
duced the country to its preientdistreseed state, and ascribed
the whole evil to a defective representatiore,,which deprived. die
people of England ox a due controul over the Ministers of the
Crown. . r , •
Mr. Alderman 'WOOD apoloceited for the tinic,Clehich the
petition hail occupied in reading. Ili was happy, however, to
see that a Rightlion. Gent. (61r. Canning having come in in
the interim) would be,acquainted with its contents.
Mr. CANNING begged to dieclaini.theudvantagelittrihut.
cd to hiM. lie was not indebted for hie acquaintance with the
petition to the circumstwe of his having conqinto the House
while it was being read, because he had seen it in all the news.
papers some mouths ago.
Mre CREEVitIY" thought that' one of the most important
features in the petition was the statement applyin to the .
It appeared that between the Year
isulaloopoitinio of
an
the Enprttllnd. t time,
our
population had increased
from 6,000,090 to 12,000,004 and yet, during this in.
creme .of the population, the industry, and wealth of the
country, the elebttve franchise (ai regarded the number of
persons enjoying it)' had been- stationary, if not abating. For
instance, 1,900 men in the 'county of Cornwall elected more
members amongthetn than were elected by one half the other,
counties in England ; and this while new towns of immense
consideration had sprdng up; Which were kept without any
elective franchise at all. If these new towns, with populations
of three or four hundred thousands—towns which contribute
largely to the income, to the power, to the security of the state
—if the inhabitants of theie towns were totally shut out from
the elective franchise, while 1,1)00 (he believed he might say)!
of the most worthless individuals in the country enjoyed ati.
enormous monopoly of it, surely all this called for something
like revision.—(Hear, hear !)—That part of the :petition Which
complained of the distribution of the elective privileges might
have gone (and it would have been worth while) to show the
manner in which those privileges had been conferred. It was
all nonsense to talk of the immunities of these boroughs stand.
in upon rights ancient and immutably--upon grants coeval
with the first existence of Parliaments. This wns all fable.
In one periothof 116 yeave, from Henry VIII. to James 1., no
fewer than 190 members had been added to the House of Com-
inons.—(llear,- hear !)--Surely there was nothing quite sacred
in, privileges so given. In the reign of Elizabeth such mat
delicacy bad not,been observed, for a committee of the House
had been appointed expressly to inquire, why certain members
returned fora borough had been so returned.--(Cheers.)—Why,
Mx or seven boroughs in this very county of Cornwall owed
their elective privilege to Edward VI., who had begun to reign
at nine years old, and died at 15. Surely the, house which he
was addressing was es well able to dispose of the elective fran-
chise as k:dward VI. could have been.—(Blear, hear !)-lle
was decidedly of opinion that, before the House discussed the
fuestion of Reform, it ought to have upon the table an account
rom the returning officers of all the boroughs in England,
, containing the date.of each borough's charter, the number of
its electors, and the circumstances under which it first received
'the right of sending members to Parliament, Mr. Creevey sat
down, by.observing that a committee appointed for the purpose
would have no difficifity in obtaining the return which he con-
templated ; anti he believed that a noble friend of his, wile sat
near him, would move for one.

Mr. T. WILSON should not have thought it necessary to
follow the Worthy Alderman opposite, had it not been for the •
iirespect he entertained for the City of London. As regarded
the first part of the prayer, of the petition, he confessed he was
most anxious to see economy carried through every depart-
merit of public expenditure; but he could not go on. to pledge
himself to give his suPport to any and every measure for
retrenchment that was brought forward. As to Reform in Par-
liament, he pledged himself to his constituents to be in his
place. whenever that subject was agitated, to pay the utmost at-
tention to the discussion raised upon it by those better qualified.
than himself to do so ; and to vote accordingly. • • •
Lord JOHN RUSSELL saw so little objection to die' pro--
posed of Mr. Creevey, that he would move for the Committee
in question to-morrow. lie might as wellmention at the same
time, that his motion upon Parliamentary Reform, which would
he precisely the same motion be had made last year, would be,
brought forward on the 24th of April. In the meantime, it gave
him infinite satisfaction. to see the growing interest which all the
enlightened classes were taking in the question. :The House
had just heard the well-drawn and able petition of the Corpora-
tion of London,. and a' petition from the County of York was
coming up on.the genie subject, which would be signed by
nearer twenty than ten thousand persons) These were some of
the liveliest sparks emitted from the dying embers, of Reform..
FOREIGN E•NLIST3I ENT.
Lord ALTHORY gave notice, that he should move on
Thursday next to repeal the Foreign Enlistment
. COMMUNICATION WITH SPAtN.,
Sir It. WILSON understood that a great number of in'er-
chants were anxious to have a packet ,established to Corunnh.-
If he was not mistaken, sonic applications had been made. to
Government upon the subject.
Mr. CANNING aid that this was the first he bad heard of
the mattet.