The Sun.
London, England, 1848-06-21 00:00:00

for an extension of the suffrage, and in support of Mr.
liume's motion. The Noble Lord also presented peti-
tions from Maryleboae and St. Pancras in favour of the
vote by ballot and the establishment of electoral districts.
Mr. C. LUSHINGTON presented similar petitions
from the Westminster Reform Society, and the inhabi-
tants of St. Paul's, Covent-garden.
Mr. M. WILSON presented similar petitions from
Truro.
Mr. W. J. FOX presented 287 similar petitions.
Mr. MO WATT presented petitions to the same
effect from Falmouth, complaining of the outrageous
expenditure of the country, and stating, as a proof
of the House not representing the sentiments of
the country, the evidence recently adduced before
Committees appointed to determine returns petitioned
against ; also against the interference of Peers in elec-
tions.

Colonel THOMPSON presented a number of peti-
tions from Manchester, Sunderland, Dundee, Wrexham,
and other places, in all signed by 3,000 persons, in
favour of Mr. Hume's motion.

Mr. MUNTZ presented a petition from Birmingham,
signed by 10,000 persons, stating, though the Reform
Bill was a step in the right direction, and might have
satisfied its framers, it did not satisfy the rest of the
community ; that class legislation had in a great degree
brought about the present state of things on the Conti-
nent, and praying tor Parliamentary reform.
Mr. COCKBURN presented a petition to the same
effect from Southampton, signed by 300 persons ; also,
from the Isle of Wight, to the same effect.
Sir E. BUXTON presented petitions from places in
Essex.

Colonel TYNTE presented petitions from Bridgwater
and Glasgow.
Mr. OSBORNE from several places in Middlesex,
which he stated were not got up by committees;
Mr. .RICE from Dover;
Mr. ADAIR from Cambridge;
Mr. PATTISON from a place the name of which did
not reach the gallery; and
Mr. CLAY from Hull.

Petitions to the same effect were presented by
Mr. Hindley, Mr. Westhead, Mr. Fox Maule, Lord
Lincoln, Mr. Sharman Crawford, Mr. E. Denison, Sir
Be Lacy Evans, Sir George Strickland, Mr. Fitzroy,
Sir William Moleswortli, Dr. Bowring, Mr. George
Thompson, Lord Duncan, Sir J. llanmer, Sir G. Clerk,
Sir T. Egerton, Mr. Divest, and Mr. Granger.
Petitions to the same effect were then presented by
Hon. Members from Monmouth, Cardiff, York (signed
by 5,550 persons), from Stamford, from the brush makers
and bellows makers of Bristol, from Stoke-upon-Trent,
Kelso, Tunbridge Wells, Maidstone, Seven Oaks, and
other places.
Mr. COBDEN presented a petition, signed by 2,000
electors, also in favour of the motion of the Lion. Member
for Montrose. . _

The Mx. MEMBER, also presented similar petitions
from Staleybridge, and nearly two hundred other places.
Mr. AGLIONBY presented similar petitions from
Cockermouth, Whitehaven, and several tither places.
Mr. C. PEARSON presented similar petitions from
Lambeth.
Mr. HENLEY presented similar petitions from Read-

in Mr.
WAKLEY presented a great number of petitions
from different parts of the borough of Finsbury, com-
plaining that the House as at present constituted did not
represent fairly the population of the country, and pray-
jug the House to adopt the proposition of the Hon.
Member for Montrose.
Mr. C. P. VILLIERS presented several petitions in
favour of Mr. Home's motion.
Mr. J. B. SMITH presented similar petitions from
various parts of Scotland.
Lord ASIILEY wished to direct the attention of the House
to a petition which he held in his hand of rather a peculiar
character, in the prayer of which, however, he did not agree;
but as it came from a respectable body, he felt bound to pre-
sent it. It was signed by a number of persons who described
themselves as the delegates of 200,060 artisans of London
and other towns. They imputed the present state of distress
to various causes, and prayed for the adoption of a number
of remedies They prayed for the emancipation of land, for
the abolition of the system of gold coinage, for the getting
rid of untaxed machinery, and for the putting a stoppage to
the workhouse system of labour. They stated that there
were several million acres of unoccupied land in this country ,
..they therefore prayed that the Government would adopt a
system of home colonies for the destitute portion of the
people. They also prayed that, for the protection and
maintenance of the just rights of labour, a certain number
of Members should be elected solely by the working
classes, and that a President, elected by them, should be
a- member of the Cabinet as the representative f the work-
ing classes in the Government. they prayed that imme-
diate steps should be taken for the relief of the country,
and among other things that there should be an
equalization of taxes, and of the profits of capital, and that
in the place of the present system of currency there should
be an unrestricted Government issue of paper; also that a
tommiesion should be immediately constituted to examine
and establish what is a fair amount of work for each man
daily to perform—(A laugh, and hear, hear from some Mem-
bers on the Ministerial Benches.) The Noble Lord proceeded
to say that he knew the meaning of that cheer, coming as it
did trom a certaid quarter ; and he was not surprised at the
interruption.—(Cries of " Order.") The petitioners prayed
that it should be determined what was the extent of a fair
day's labour, and also legal means should be adopted to
secure a fair remuneration for it for each working man.
They next prayed the adoption of what were called the six
points of the people's charter, and also the repeal tof the
legislative union between England,and Ireland.—(Laughter.)
The petition wound up by calling on her Majesty's Govern-
ment to appoint a commission to investigate the whole sub-
ject, and the various suggestions which they had made.
Mr. HUME asked upon what authority these persons
described themselves as the delegates of the great body of
artisans?
Lord ASHLEY replied, that he could only state the peti-
tion was signed by E. Edwards as chairman, and by four
other persons as delegates. He had seen these persons, and
he could inform the House that they were very respectable
And very intelligent men.
Petitions in favour of Mr. Hutne's proposed plan of reform
we're then presented by Lord John Russell from many
parishes of London, and from various places in the country;
by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, from Halifax, which,
in addition, prayed for the adoption of the People's Charter;
by Mr. ISiztegregor, several petitions from Glasgow and its
vicinity ; by Sir W. Clay, several from the Tower Hamlets,
one of which, signed by 930 workmen employed in one
manufactory in that borough, prayed in addition, for
the adoption of it system of universal education ;
by Mr. C. Buller, from Liskeard, East Looe, and
other places ; by Mr. Labouchere, kom Taunton ; by
?Ir. Wilson, from Westbury ; by Sir John Guest, from
Merthyr Tydvil ; by Mr. F. O'Connor, from Nottingham
and other places, in favour of the Charter; by Mr.
Bright, from Manchester, signed at a public meeting at
which 45,000 were present; another from the special con-
stables of that city, who stated that there would be less
occasion for their being called out to preserve the peace if
the people were satisfied with the Goverument—(A laugh)
and several from Derby and other parts of the country ;
by Mr. Pigott, from Reading; by Mr. Poulett Scrope, from
Stroud ; by Mr. M. Gibson, from Yarmouth and places in
the neighbourhood of Manchester; and by Mr. Hume, 311
petitions from various parts of the country, including Boston,
Sandwich, Carlisle, Northampton, Stourbridge, Leamington,
Pesley, Holbeach, Edgeware, Weimer Castle, St. Ives,
'6hollield, Lewes, Ayr, and Hammersmith. Altogether the
signatures affixed to them exceeded 20,000, and after each
name was given the place of residence of the person
signing it.

REFORM IN IaRLIAMENT.

Mr. MUME said, that after the exhibition which had
taken place on that day, as well as yesterday, he hoped he
should be allowed to state that the public did take some in-
terest in this question.—(Hear, hear.) As far as his know-
ledge went, no arrangement or organisation whatever had
been entered into with the view of procuring signatures to
petitions, but he considered the language used by the Noble
yard, in the short speech he made on a former occa-
-5iOX, had given rise to the adoption of the various petitions
. 'which had been presented. He could assure the House and
the Noble Lord that it WAS with the greatest reluctance that
he had been induced to bring forward this question, as he
was aware of his inability, but he had been induced to do so
after much pressing. His Honourable Friends near him
'knew that it was at their suggestion that he had been in-
duced to do so at a meeting which had been called to en-
deavour to avert evils which threatened the country by
a disturbance of the public peace.—(Hear, hear.) He
thought it also necessary to state, that although he had
been requested by a considerable body of Reformers to
bring the subject forward before the 10th of April, that
Ise had refrained from doing so; but after that time he had
consented to do, so with the view of showing that the cause
of reform might be advanced in connexion with the presere
vation of the public peace, in contradistinction to those whq
by their conduct led to the commission of acts of violence. It
was not, then, until after the 10th of' April he had resolved
-. to bring forward this subject. He believed there was much
greater precaution used upon that occasion than there was
any necessity for. But there was, at all events, exhibited a
"readiness on the part of every class In the community, from
the highest to the lowest, to come forward for the protec •
tion of law, peace, and order.—(Hear, hear.) And he (Mr.
' Hume) knew nothing that was of greater importance than
the rendering of the civil law and power paramount, and the
cmilitary force-unnecessary for the repression of civil disorder,
(Hear. hear.) On the occasion to which he was alluding he
believed it would hove been quite unnecessary, had any dis-
_turbance really arisen, to have employed a single soldier in
the metropolis. The display in support of law and ,
order by the citizens was highly creditable to the country
at large; and it should make the House listen the more at-
tentively to him (Mr. Hume) whilst he unfolded the prop°.
sition he was about to make, tife object of which would be
to ensure still more safely the preservation of domestic
tranquillity. And whilst he stated what it was that led to
he affair of the 10th April, and what led:to all the breaches
of theapeace on the part of those Radicle' Reformers called
Chartists
ostts, during the last ten years, it shoufd be for the
consider—when they saw matters brought to such
, cri
. as that of the 10th April—whether there was any
justsis ground of complaint existing on the part of those who
,A...itreieghatzi:obitnaltnheanextension of the suffrage, and to pro-
of their country • election of those who ruled the destinies
four to
further,
plaint were if those grounds of com-
ther,,duty exist, whether it was not
of
as
soontioause of Commons to correct
the
those abuses
possible. He thought that
ill would agree with him, as
the country was not in the
condition this year that it had been in during the last three
~zi,pr four years, with retard either to trade or the revenue.
The circumstances which
had recently occarred had alto-
-- gether altered the condition of the working classes. This
whialt had been put forward
as ea.
than aan example, as
country,
iu
yllootaher country
haring a better form of constitution
who bad boasted that ourn
the world—we,
Veasent represented the whole of the peephi_vieses of Par-
been accustomed to boast that we could, by
tihveshaoidhad
()t
';.Parri nment only, carry all measures necessary for the
amelioration of the condition of the people--that we could
. by the civil power alone, without having any recourse
to,
the military, repress tumult and preserve order—we. who
had stood distinguished from the rest of Lit.fme,
almost all- the countries of which might be said to hays
bad military governments, and many of which had min.
tar' despotisms, many of which depended for support upon
thelaite-annies they maintained, had recently found our
ereettileibninaterially altered. We had, thought, heretofore,
that our military forces were required for our foreign posses-
time and the defences of our colonies much more than
fur service in this country. He (Mr. iume) was not
one of those, he begged to say, who thought there ought