The Sun.
London, England, 1840-05-01 00:00:00

EVEN ING EDITIO'.

7 your voice becomes influential in the House of Com_

mons.

This being so, is it not manifestly absurd to devote
any exertions upon the Corn-law•, save such as have a
direct tendency to create a popular opinion so strongly
in favour of further Reform, as to cause the extens;on
of the Suffrage to the operative classes to be necessa-
rily conceded by the aristocracy
I submit to you that the Anti-Corn-law agitation is
excellent, as part of the struggle to increase the fran-
chise and procure a further Reform in Parliament ;
but, ti'lat taken by itself', it is idle, and will necessarily
be inenctual.

You may, I think, listen to my counsel with a full
confidence- that I will not suggest anything that could
subject any of you to loss of either properly or liberty ;
to,indictment, to imprisonment, or to fine.
It is quite true that the prisons of England are
crowded with men who might have been sincere in look-
ing for reform ; but who were certainly wrong as to the
manner whereby they sought to obtain it. The physical
force men knve fallen into the meshes of the law ; and
many of tholse who took their counsel now mourn for
the folly of having taken that advice. The misconduct
of these men has interfered with the progress of rational
reform ; they have frie.htlened the timid ; they have
terrified the wealthy ; they have disgusted and alienated
the wise and the good ; and they have nearly ruined the
cause which they professed to advocate.
But no honest public man should ever dare to despair.
Above all, no man should despair of the capability of
the English people to place British freedom upon a se-
cure basis. It seems to me that the time has come for
forming associations, for the purpose of working out a
further and adequate measure of Parliamentary Reform.
In framing the basis of such associations, care should
be taken to avoid unnecessary restriction or limitation ;
to make that basis so wide that all honest Reformers of
all shades of opinion might be able to co-operate ; and,
especially, that the middle and operative classes may
heartily combine their exertions for the general benefit
of all.

It seems to me, therefore, and I respectfully submit
that, under the existing circumstances, the basis of the
new Reortn Association should be these four proposi•

tions :—.

First—The TOTAL DISCLAIMER Of physical force, or
violence of any kind, and the reliance upon MORAL IN-
FLUENCE, and the power of concentrated public opinion.
Secondly—The extension of the elective franchise
upon a principle which should include as many as
practicable of the middle and operative classes, with-
out any restriction in its terms, or limitation to par-
ticular property, or any casual qualification, and to have
no other limit than praclicabilit.w, rational and peaceful.
Thirdly—The principle that the voter should be pro-
tected from bribery, undue influence, or intimidation,
by the secrecy of the ballot.

Fourthly—That the duration of the Parliament
should be fixed ; not to exceed three years.
Such are the principles upon which you may, and I
think ought to associate. You ought to combine with you
as many as possible of the slave class of Great Britain,
and of those who desire to put an cnd to the disgraceful
distinction between that class and the master class.

You may be, as I am, disposed to carry the suffrage
to the greatest practical extent. But you should know,
however, how easy it is to create dissension upon this
subject. Some of the middle classes have hitherto
shown an unwillingness to extend the franchise suffi-
ciently far ; while, upon the other hand, several of the
operatives have insisted upon a greater extension than
can, with our present means, be obtained. I submit,
therefore, that until there be so strong a demonstra-
tion of the opinion of the British people in favour of
further reform, to render any extension of the franchise
probable, it would be worse than idle to attempt to de-
fine any precise limit. All that need be said is, that
the franchise must extend to the operatives as well as
to the middle class. Let me conjure you to combine
as many reformers as possible to work out this principle.
Without the aid of the middle classes the operatives
cannot procure any additional reforai, or extension of
the suffrage, to themselves.

Without the assistance of the operative classes all
hope of reform or of any extension of the suffrage, must
be abandoned. The duty of every honest man, every
lover of his country, is to combine all ! upper, middle,
operative classes—all! Perhaps you may not succeed.
But it does appear that no man can be an honest re-
former, who will not lend his best exertions to form hat
combination of the British Reformers, which, becoming
national and universal, must become successful—and
become successful without injury to one shilling's worth
of property ; without violence or injury to any person ;
and, above all, without the shedding of one drop of
human blood.

As you, Messieurs Warren and Nightingale, have
been selected by your co-operatives to preside upon the
interesting occasions I have alluded to, the confidence
thus reposed in you seems to me to impose it as a duty
upon you to exert yourselves to obliterate all ~traces of
physical-force violence ; and to make the cause of salu-
tary reform assume that steady and peaceable port and
demeanour, which will make it formidable to the satel-
lies of tyranny and corruption, and render it cherished
and supported by the lovers of rational liberty, and the
advocates of constitutional freedom.

I have the honour to be, Gentlemen, your faithful
servant, DANIEL O'CONNELL.

DUTCH MAIL.

THE HAGUE, Aram 28.—The Second Chamber, in
its sitting to-day, was engaged in hearing the reports
of the Committee on several petitions ; thirteen of them
were from persons residing in the Province of Guningen,
who have separated from the Reformed Church, who
request that in the modification of the fundamental
law, the same protection may be secured to them as to
other sects.

There being nothing in the Order of the Day, the
Chamber adjourned sine die.
The further observations of the Sections of the Se-
cond Chamber of the States General on the five
projects of law, for alterations iu the fundamental law,
have been distributed among the members, and also the
memorial of the Government in answer to those obser-
vations. The observations of the Sections go much in
detail ; they expressly state that they wish nothing
more earnestly not only to have the fundamental law
rest unimpaired on its present basis, but to promote the
execution of it; that they desire only to make such alte-
rations as may seem calculated to facilitate its execution, to
clear up some obscure and equivocal points, and to intro-
duce such improvements as 25) ears' experience may have
proved to be desirable. We have observed with plea-
sure that the Government has proposed some altera-
tions, and hope it will proceed in that course.—Dutch
Papers, April 28.
Wisasaw, APRIL 21.—His Royal Highness Prince
Frederick of \Vurtemberg, the King's nephew, arrived
here on the 19th, on his way from Stuttgard to St.
Petersburgh, and left us again yesterday, after dining
with the Prince-Governor, who arrived from St. Pe-
tersburgh the day before yesterday.
MAGDEBURG, APRIL 21.—1 t appears, from the
population return of the province of Saxony, that in
the course of last year the number of births was—
Males
Females ..

Total 59,882
Of which there were—
Males 2,734
Females

Total 5,190 illegitia3atef
The number of deaths was—
Males
Females

In all 43,390
Excess of births
The number of marriages in the year 1839 win
12,803.—Prussian State Gazette, April 25.
STOCKHOLM, APRIL 9.—On the 18th instant the
Chamber of Nobles discussed the proposal (made in the
last diet) respecting the abolition of what is styled the
quaaed penalty of death. Many fiber 1 members
spoke for and against the proposal. The former urged
the barbarism of breaking on the wheel, and the cut-
ting off the right hand, and the absurdity of retaining a
law which civilization forbade. The opponents answered
that however desirable it might be, on a revisal of the
whole system, to do away with these penalties, yet it
was not advisable to overturn the present system by
taking away all gradation of punishment for crimes of
different degrees of atrocity, which would be as much
as to confound the notions of the great mass of the
people respecting criminality. What would the com-
mon man think if he found that a person guilty of man-
slaughter, or of only striking his father, were to suffer
the same punishment as a parricide. On this ac-
count the retaining of the law was very important
till other gradations of punishment were introduced.
The barbarism of the law was of no importance, because
the King, having the right to pardon or to mitigate
punishment, might proportion it to the degree of crime.
Jour-
nals o
fact,f a
five le
was entered.arsago, since
the
which
thefirmal
Council of State
no one has been broken on the wheel, or had his right
hand cut off.
The proposal was rejected, by 96 to 68. Haniburgh
Borsenhalle, April 25.