The Sun.
London, England, 1867-03-12 00:00:00

Reform Demonstration in Traialgar•square.

Last evening the Reform League held its demon-

stration, adjourned from the acknowledged failure
of the previous Monday, in Trafalgar-square. The
placard calling the meeting announced as the attrac-
tion that the square should be "specially lighted,"
and half an hour before the advertised time, which

had been fixed, by the experience of the previous
failure, at 8 o'clock, as the " right time for working

men," there was not only a very large gathering,
mostly of roughs and boys, about the Nelson column,

but every point which could command a view of the
column, even so far back as the steps of St. Al artiu's
Church, was crowded with spectators who did not
care to venture among the rough specimens of their
" own flesh and blood" in the squ ,re itself. Endea-
vours to rouse the Reform enthusiasm of the crowd

were made by men who offered fors de books of Re-
form songs, published under the authority of the

League," and adorned with the "portrait of the pre-

sident, Edmond Beales, Esq., ➢I.A." But the trade
was very limited, for those who had money dared not
make any exposure of it in the face of the assembled
vagabonds, who did not hesitate, even while the
meeting was proceeding, to commit openly acts of
violence upon persons in the crowd, and plunder
them of whatever valuables they had.
At the time when the meeting commenced the
large space between the column and the fountains
was quite full, and there must have been several
thousand persons present. The majority of these
were rough in their dress, and were evidently of the
lowest class of labouring men, intermixed with the
regular roughs and a very large number of boys and
youths. The special lighting was an illumination by
means of the out-door naphtha lamps used by cos-
termongers, which were hoisted upon long sticks,
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and interspersed about the platform (the base of the
Nelson column) and among the crowd. The people
evidently were disappointed atthedisplay, forwhen
the lights were brought into position there were
loud cries of " Do you call them lime lights?"

The appeal made to the people by " Order of the
Council of the Reform League" was as follows :
" Men of London ! Beware of a compromise be-
tween the unwilling Tory Reformers and false Libe-

rals, whose only object is to defeat the full enfran-
chisement of the people. Our meetings and demon-

strations have been sneered at, but their effect is

seen in the secession of ultra-Tories from the present

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Government, and the manifest anxiety of all parties
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to come to a ' settlement of the Reform question ;'
but their idea of a settlement and ours differ very

widely. The victory is ours if we do not relax our

exertions. Those at the helm have undertaken no

willing task, their heart is not in the work, and an

attempt will still be made, if we are not firm, to
cheat the unrepresented millions out of the franchise
by some delusive and fragmentary measure: If,

then, we really value our rights, we must all be up
and doing ; firm to our duty, pressing on to the
hour of triumph with earnestness of purpose and

singleness of heart." •
Soon after 8 o'clock Mr. BealPs, M.A., accom

panied by Mr. C. Bradlaugh, and others of the Re-
form League, several of whom were present on the
previous Monday, made their way through the
crowd, and were hoisted or pulled on to the granite
level with Landseer's Lions.

Mr. BEALES, in opening the proceedings, expressed
his pleasure at meeting his friends in this Trafalgar-
square Parliament—this people's Parliament—to
consider a subject so deeply interesting to them as
their right, their unquestionable and constitutional
right, to be represented in that other Parliament
now sitting at Westminster-hall, and which, with-
out representing the people, claimed the power to
make laws and impose taxes obligatory upon the
people:; but which laws and taxes, according to the
spirit and letter of the Constitution, according to all
the principles of true representative government,
and civil and political liberty, that Parliament had
no real right or authority to make or impose without
the people's consent. (Cheers.) It was time there
should be no more mistake or misunderstanding
aliout what were the people's positive and clear
rights, for they ought to be the creators of that Par-
liament now sitting at Westminster-hall. Unless
created and chosen by the' people, that Parliament
had no constitutional or - National existence, and
was exercising on, an usurped and unconstitutional

authority. (Cheers.) It was asked why these meet-
iugs and this agitation were continued when all they

sought was so favourably placed. His answer
was that the victory was not secure, and the people
would not lay down their arms, nor abate one jot of
their exertions until the victory was won beyond the
possibility of trick or evasion. (Cheers.) It had been
told them that the Reform League was to be resisted
to the utmost. That was only to be expected ; but
to be forewarned was to be forearmed, and he could
tell their enemies that the League would not be
found sleeping at their posts. He disliked all allu-

sions to physical force, as calculated to alienate
friends and alarm the timid ; but the league had
shown that it was not slow to act when action was
required, and it would be time enough to resist force

in self-defence when force was used against them.
(Cheers.) He proceeded to discuss the rumoured
bill of the Government, and he held that it was ap-
parent by all that had transpired that the people's
cause was not yet won, inasmuch as the Govern-

went did not intend to give the people their full and
legitimate rights. He concluded by saying that the
people would frankly welcome from the Government
a full and honest measure of Reform ; but that they
would denounce and resist to the utmost any halt-

ing and dishonest measure contrived to trick and
cheat them, or any large portion of them, under any
pretext whatever, out of their birthright.
Dr. PERleirr moved the following resolution

" That any measure of Parliamentary Reform,
although based upon household suffrage, as now re-

ported of the Government plan, will be inefficient
and unsatisfactory as regarded the just and full re-
presentation of intellect and labour, unless such
suffrage be made substantially identical ..with re-
sidential manhood suffrage, by the right of voting
being giveh ttl ludgern equally with all the occupiers,
whether as owners or tenants, of houses or parts of
houses, unaccompanied by, any ratepaying or other
restrictive conditions; and be also protected in its
free eKereiSe by the ballot the period of residence
in no case to be required to exceed 12 months." In
moving this he said that even men with fair incomes
could not obtain houses for themselves in London,
but were obliged to become lodgers, and a lodger
franchise would give the vote to members of pro-
fessions, as well as to the;tvorking men.
Mr. MANTLE seconded the resolution, and he de-
clared amid loud cheers that the people were not
afraid of the Government, but that the Government
had shown itself afraid of them. As to the Parlia-
ment, he said, the people would have confidence in
it when it proved it had confidence in the people ;
and if the people were forced to a struggle, that
struggle would end only with the existence of the
Parliament. (Cheers.) The people, he continued,
would sit in perpetual session until they had their
rights. They had met in Hyde-park, and they had
rolled the ball down to Trafalgar-square, when it
would be easy, he said, amid cheers, and pointing in
the direction of the houses, to send it rolling that
way. He concluded, amid continued cheers, by say-
ing that those who had taken up this cause would
make all Government in this country impossible un-
til justice were done to the people of the United
Kingdom.
Mr. BRADLAUGH, who was loudly called for, ad-
dressed the assemblage. He said those who were
carrying on this struggle bad not entered into it
Without counting the cost, and that the people of
England, confident in their own strength and in
their own manhood, were determined to petition for
their rights, not on paper, but with the loud thun-
derings of their demands at the very door of the
Houses of Parliament. What Lord Derby had
offered them had not been offered in love, but in
fear, and the people would have the full measure of
their rights this time. It was told them that if in-
trusted with power the people would legislate
wrongly, but how had the present power legislated?
This legislation had brought rebellion in one part,
and the people could do no worse than that. He
told the people to be like a resistless wave, and if
those who held the power should dare to stem the
tide of democracy that they should unflinchingly
wreck them...
The resolution was then carried amid acclamation.