The Sun.
London, England, 1867-07-25 00:00:00

THE NEW BOROUGH OF CHELSEA.

Last night a public meeting of the rate-payers
and inhabitants of Chelsea, Kensington, Fulham,
and Hammersmith was held in the Vestry-hall,
King's•road, Chelsea, to consider what steps it
might be necessary to take with respect to the re-
presentation of the proposed new borough in Parlia-
ment. The attendance was numerous and influen-
tial, and Mr.T. M. Torrens, M.P., wasunanimously
called to the chair, and in an address which waa
warmly applauded, reminded the meeting that for
fifteen years be had been engaged in trying
to get the new borough enfranchised, and he
rejoiced that the concession had come at length
from no party. It had been conceded in a bill which
met with the approval of the people of England.
That measure had met with the unanimous vote of
the House of Commons, and the House of Lords had
ratified the decision. It now, therefore, remained
for the electors of the new borough to do their duty ;
above all, they should endeavour to steer clear of
dictation, and at once set their faces against the
pernicious influences of corruption. His earnest
entreaty to them as an old friend and neighbour
VMS to keep the representation in their own hands,
and never allow it to be made the subject of a mer-
cantile contract or mercenary treaty. Several gentle-
men had asked him the way to Chelsea, but he had
declined to become their finger post; and he was
authorised by Lord Enfield, one of the members for
the county, who was reported to be in the field for
the new borough, to state that he had no desire to
seek the honour. Mr. Rabbitta moved the first re-
solution, expressing the conviction of the meeting
that the 17th clause of " the Representation of the
People Bill" was a just recognition of the right,
which had been too long denied, of the district to
direct parliamentary representation. Mr. Chappell
seconded the resolution, which was put from the
chair, and carried unanimously. Mr. Nyas, of the
Reform League, before reading the resolution he had
to propose, took the opportunity of denouncing the
Parks Bill as no less than a highway robbery of the
working man, and he thought that no one should bo
returned for the new borough who would not pledge
himself to vote for the repeal of that measure should
it pass into a law. The resolution affirmed that it
was premature to recognise any candidate at pre-
sent, and that a committee should be formed re-
presenting all shades of the Liberal party, for the
purpose of organising the borough and of co-
operating with others in the work of registration,
and the ultimate selection of fit and proper can-
didates. Mr. James Beal, of Piccadilly, seconded
the resolution, and announced that *Mr. Goidwin
Smith had been invited, but declined to become
a candidate. If, however, they could not get
eminent men like Goldwin Smith and John Stuart
Mill, let the electors turn their attention to men of
usefulness like Mr. Torrens and Mr. Thos. Hughes,
the member for Lunbeth. Ile warned the meeting
that the Reform Club already had its eye upoa the
borough, and they should take care it did not also
use its heel. The only safeguard against dictation
was to have a preliminary ballot before the day of
election. Sir Wentworth lliike, M.P., repudiated
the suggestion that his son, who was a candidate,
was the nomineo of the Reform Club, and gave it
as his opinion, derived from experience, that only
young men could stand the wear and tear of the
house of Commons. Mr. Ringdon (Totting-hill),
Mr. Freeman (Kensington, a candidate), and others
addressed the meeting upon the necessity of keeping
clear of electioneering agents, and the resolution
having been passed unanimously, the proceedings
closed at a late hour with a cordial vote of thanks
to the chairman for his past and present services in
the cause.

THE REFORM LEAGUE AND THE ROYAL

PARKS BILL.

The ordinary meeting of the Council of the Re-
form League, held last evening at the offices in
Adelphi-terrace, was unanimously attended, it hav-
ing become known that the subject of the Royal
Parks Bill would be discussed. Mr. Beales presided.
Mr. MERnimAN proposed, and Colonel DicKsos
seconded, the following resolution, which was car-
ried unanimously :—" That the cordial thanks of
this meeting be given to Mr. P. A. Taylor, Mr. J.
S. Mill, and Mr. Otway for their firm and talented
opposition to the obnoxious Royal Parks Bill, and
to all the other members who voted against the
second reading of that bill ; and this meeting in-
dignantly denounces the vulgar and insulting attack
made in the course of the discussion upon Mr. Taylor
personally and upon the electors of Leicester, who
were honest and manly enough to return to Parlia-
ment such a true and earnest friend of the people."
Mr. BEALES, referring to the bill, said it was in-
tended to make unlawful what was now lawful, and
was a gross and deliberate invasion of the all-bn-
portant right of public meeting. Dwelling upon
the legal questions involved, he ridiculed the legal
opinion which founded its alleged right to exclude
the public from the parks on the assumption that
the authority of the Crown over the parks was the
same as that of any proprietor of lands to prevent
persons from trespassing on them. The rights of
property of the Queen in the metropolitan parks,
supposing her to have any such right of property at
all as against the public, was wholly distinct from
her right of property in and over the lands of
Osborne or Balmoral. In answer W the argument
based on the ground that the use by the public of
tcotohuaelndnbe annex
the parks bad been all along by the favour and
license of the Crown, andge
dht att ttoh
thnhkei eotnphseaert
revoked at any time, or ,be accompanied by
Crownn
ventured any
conditions
license,
steh,e
he
e ve
ctoontdh
an d pre-
sumptionthat
were
r elaw v
even
wast just the
ytahlepvaerrkysinstead
oof f
btehiantg,
Crown property, in all respects in the position of
private property, no private proprietor, after the
inhabitants of a neighbouring district had been
suffered by his predecessors for centuries, or for a
long series of years, to have the use and enjoyment
of certain lauds at all reasonable hours in the day,
and had actually, for a great number of years, and
under the express or implied understanding of their
having such use and enjoyment, managed and main-
tained the land at their own expense, could turn
round upon them and revoke orterminate or restrict
such use—the law would presume that his ancestors
or predecessors had granted such use, and granted it
too for a consideration. (Hear, hear.) Moreover,
as regarded llyde-park, it was actually sold in the
days of the Commonwealth, and it was not
i clear
milela.surA elstetor n
nno
abe
which
that the royal estate was at the present day
Crown, and there were rights of way over itn the
would alone renderthe closing of the gates against
the public in the day time illegal.
The council thenconsidered
the
D
adopted to defeat the y
coa
animated discussion, the following resolution was
unanimously adopted ; " That the secretary write
to Lord Derby, to request his lordship to receive a
deputation from this league ou Friday next, or such
other day, and at such other time, as to his
lordship
may be convenient, 914 the subject of
the Royal
Parks Bill."