The Sun.
London, England, 1834-10-31 00:00:00

my asseveration, which I now solemnly make to you, that
I am not guilty of the charges preferred against me.—
'Cheers.) I also wish to take this opportunity to state
that there is another accusation against me as unfounded as
that to which 1 have already alluded. It has been stated
as an excuse for the half revelations which have been made
on the subject of the Reform Bill, that I was the first to
.liselose the secrets of the
.Cabinet when addressing my
E'rlends at Gateshead. I deny the truth of this charge. I
never disclosed any secret. I never stated any Cabinet •
transactions, and I will prove to you how impossible it is
that I should have done so in this instanee. I refer such
of you as take any interest in my public . conduct, to a
speech of mine, which now stands as a record, and con-
tains evidence which those that can may turn against me.
All I stated on that occasion at Gateshead was, that Earl
Grey had intrusted to me the preparation of the Reform
Bill, and that I bad heen assisted in that task by three of
my colleagues—was that a secret ? It might not, perhaps,
be known to my friends in Durham ; but it was notorious
to every man living in the metropolis, where I had
been residing ; for all the memorials to the Treasury,
and all the deputations to the Prime Minister, were
referred by him to me.—(Hear, Hear.) I saw
the parties in my own house ; I received there every in-
formation which I thought likely to elucidate the subject.
Did I then disclose any secret at Gateshead ? I say I
did not ; and I therefore again deny the charge that in aiiv-
thing which I uttered at any meeting, I ever said a sylla-
ble disclosing either what had been done in the Committee,
or what was subsequently done in the Cabinet.—(Cheers.).
But enough, gentlemen, of myself. Let me rather direct
your attention to that great public object, which is the best
justification of the honours which you have this day con-
ferred upon me, and of my acceptance of them. If ever
there was a time when mutual co-operation and active com-
bination among the friends of liberal principles was not only
expedient, but absolutely necessary, it. is the present,:
We have fought an arduous battle, and won a glorious
victory. But our enemy is still in the field and in force,
and we must not repose in the security of past triumphs,
but must rise to the consciousness of an impending.
struggle. I only ask you to look around. See the acti-
vity and Combination of all parties in the empire—see
the stirring bustle of the Tories in all parts of England
and of Scotland. From one extremity of the empire
to the other—from Ramsgate and Canterbury, up. - even
to Perth—(Loud laughter)—from the highest to the lowest
—from the uke of Wellington to Lord Stormont—(Bursts
of laughter)—all are on the alert. Look again at Ireland.
See the activity of the Orangemen and the Repeaters—and
are we—we the reformers of England and Scotland—are we
alone to remain supine and inactive?—(Cheers.) No, let
us be up and stirring.—(Cheers.) Let us show our ene-
mies that we will not be taken by surprise, and our friends
and leaders that we are determined as ever in the pursuit
of our acknowledged rights.—(Cheers.) We must not
suffer the Reform Bill to become a dead letter, or, what is
worse, merely an instrument of party triumph ; but we
must make it what it ought to be, and what it shall be—
(Cheers)—a great instrument of national regeneration—
(Cheers.) Gentlemen, I cannot adequately describe to you
the importance which I attach to the present crisis. If the
House of Commons in the next session of Parliament do
its duty to itself and its constituency, all may be right ; but
if, unfortunately, it should shrink from the high task which
circumstances impose upon it, . and if it should pursue an
uncertain and vacillating course, irretrievable ruin will be
the consequence.—(Hear.) Let me ask you, however, one
question-4. Have you no duty to perform ?'—(Cries of
yes.) Ay, you have—you have an important and essential
duty to perform—you have to keep a watchful eye over
your representatives.—(Great cheering and laughter, in
which Mr. Oswald, to whom Lord Durham had pointedly
turned, cordially joined.) You must show them that you are
not to be trifled with, and you must require from them the
reaping of that harvest, the seeds of which you have planted,
and the coming of which you have waited for with
such exemplary patience.—(Loud cheering.) No doubt
many and weighty obstacles, will be in your path, and in
the path of your truly honest and independent representa-
tives ; but all can be overcome with firmness and decision,
but not with rashness and violence.(Cheers.) In the
spirit of firmness and decision you must act, for we have
groat and important objects still to accomplish. We have
to require the perfecting of the Reform Act.--a-(Cheers.) We
have to require the repeal of the Septennial Act.—(Cheers.)
We have to require the purification of the church esta-,
blishment of England and Ireland from all acknowledged
abuses.—(Long-continued cheering.) We have to require
the reform of corporation abuses in England, and the
strictest continuance in economy and retrenchment.—
(Cheers.) No doubt there are many other measures ema-
nating from these to which I have alluded, and on which
my sentiments are well known. There may be some dif-
ference of opinion entertained with regard to some of them,
but I have only alluded at present to those on which no
friend of reform can entertain a doubt. Shall any one
tell me that the attainment of these objects cannot but
be attended with danger to the institutions of the
country? _for that is
.._tune erys-riatiaa .tteassata4l-4-asselea
raised against me.—(Cheers.) • I would relieve the Dis-
senters, and would purify the Church from abuses for
the sake of justice and for the advancement of true
religion. Is that attended with danger to the institutions
of the country?—(' No, no:) I would reform corporations
so as to make what they profess and what they ought to be
—the correct representatives of local rights. Is that at-
tended with danger to the, institutions of the country ?--L-
-(4 No, no.') No—l re-echo your words, and -I assert,
that the true result of timely and not too long delayed re-
form is to preserve all that is valuable by removing all that
is corrupt in our institutions.—(lmmense cheering.) These
are my opinions, and these are my principles ; I have never
concealed them, and I never will.—(Cheers.) I would
not accept the highest office in the gift of the Crown—sl
would not even receive the warm and enthusiastic appro-
bation of you, my fellow-countrymen, if either were to be
gained by the concealment of a single opinion, or by the
compromise of a single principle..—(Cheer9 I more-
over, determined that my opinions and principles shall be
'known and judged from my own representations of them,
and not from the false and interested description of them
by others. By one party.l am denounced as a destructive
—by another as patronizing the impatience of the people,
(Cheers and laughter.) Now, my opinions are neither the
one nor the other of these. I know too well the artificial
and complicated state of society ~i
in this country, and
the. absolute necessity of public confidence n the perma-
nence of tranquillity, and the danger which arises from the
interruption of the peaceful working of our commercial
machinery, to propose any measure which should impede
the peaceful flow of national industry and the regular ope-
rations Of trade and commerce.—(Cheers.) Brit it is be-
cause I wish to see tranquillity perpetual, industry pro-
tected, commercial energy encouraged, that I advocate the
necessity of an immediate and salutary reform, which will
remove discontent before it has time to ripen into turbu-
lence—(Cheers for some minutes)—and will dissipate on
the horizon the dark and hostile clouds which, if suffered
to burst in mid heaven, will not only disturb the serenity of
the sky, but will also pour down on the earth devastation-
and ruin.---(Cheers.) Now as to the charge of impatience.
—(Laughter.) It has been lately brought against us by
one most eminent persone-(Cheers and laughter)--and, if
I may judge from the report of a speech which was deli-
vered in a distant part of the empire, in no very complimen-
tary terms. But I will not follow the example which he
has set us, and nothing shall fall from my lips inconsistent
v.-ith his high station and his fbrtner services in the cause of
his country.—(Cheers.) Ile has been pleased—for the
allusion cannot be misunderstood—to challenge me to meet
him in the House of Lords.—(Laughter.) I know well
tl..e meaning of the taunt. He is aware of his infinite so-
pei iority over me in one respect, and so am I.—(Cheers,
and cries of ' No, no.' He is a practised orator and
a powerful debater. I am not. I speak but seldom
in Parliament, and always with reluctance in an
assembly where I meet.with no sympathy from an unwilling
majority.—(Cheers.) Do not, gentlemen, misunderstand
me, when speaking of that majority. I will not condescend
either to ridicule those who form it at one time, or to flatter
them at another.—(Great cheering.) They differ from me
conscientiously. I know that. They have been brought
up to believe that all that we ask for is dangerous to the in-
stitutions of the country. - I know it, and I lament it ; but
I will not on that account impute to them improper mo-
tives.—(Hear.) He knows full well the advantage which
he has over me, and he knows too that in any attack which
be
he may make on me in the House of Lords, he • will
warmly and cordially supported by them.—(Cheers.) With
all these manifold advantages, almost overwhelming, I fear
him not—(lmmense cheers)—and I will meet him there, if
it be unfortunately necessary to repeat what he was pleased
' to term my criticisms,-(Cheers.) And yet, without beig
suspected of fear, may I hope that these criticising may be
rendered unncessary ? Many of his colleagues were my in-
timate associates in office, and many of them are my Pna
vete and intimate friends. Lord Melbourne, the Prime
I believe to be an honest, straightforward states-
man, incapable of intrigue and treachery ;—(the peculiar
emphasis placed on the three last words by Lord Durham
created a burst of feeling which it is impossible to describe.
—and too clear and enlightened not to see the course
which events are taking, and how absolutely. necessary .
t
is tc, comply with the general demand for reform and
improvement. I therefore trij§, that his wisdom, firmness,
and discretion will render all criticism unnecessary, and
will leave only the grateful task of praise and acquiescence.
—(Cheers.) And now to the charge itself. Impatience !
,
TiZe accusation is abiitirdbeenmay almost sax M
Where anZI ;°l'.p"i
en has t be exhibited
'' Not in the House
of Commons surely, where the Government has receive
at
d
an th
more continued and more constant support than y eestrona,
ever preceded it. Not in the country surely—foF
whatever
we may have felt, till the last feW.'Weeks have said no-