The Sun.
London, England, 1832-12-24 00:00:00

be bad, at least, bestowed upon their formation much di-
ligence and labour—and he had embraced them not with-
out caution. His principles, such as they were, had co-
herence amongst themselves, and he trusted that they
would stand the test of experience and trial. The present
times were such as required men who went to Parliament
with principles formed ; and he should be a recreant
to his own principles if he hesistated to avow that he thought
they required in a peculiar degree men devoted to the service
of the country—men of decision and knowledge—men
possessing the command of large principles and compre-
hensive views.—(Applause.) There were faults to cor-
rect, injuries to repair, grievances to redress, which called
for no wavering or undecided band—for no men who
would stand aloof till the Minister should set his seal upon
a measure ; those surely were not the men for the ensuing
Parliament, hut those were the men who drew back from
pledges.—( Applause.) The men required were men of
enlarged intellect, impartial and dispassionate habits, pos-.
sassing at the same time sufficient force of intellect to guide
the mind of the House in the channel in which it should
run—who would attempt all that reason sanctioned, and
aim at nothing besides. He had often been taunted during
the course of his canvass with entertaining opinions op-
posed to a great number of the class to which he belonged.
It was true, and with shame and sorrow he acknowledged
it, that many of the leading members of the mercantile
world did profess Conservative opinions; but he trusted
that they would speedily be brought to a due sense of what
the necessities of the country required, and he hoped that
the younger members of that body, as they rose into life,
would abandon the errors of their seniors, and feel that in
these times none but the principles of thorough Re-
form would suit the circumstances of the country—(Great
applause)—would pacify the demand for correction
and improvement which every where prevailed, and
which required that persons of wealth should make them-
selves familiar with the wants and habits of the humbler
classes ; and that, in fact, he their wealth what it might,
they would hope for no sway in the Councils of the
country, unless such as was commanded by moral and
intellectual worth.—(Applause.) He should not then
trouble them with anything more than to offer them a
sincere assurance, that the possession of a seat did not
make him less a friend than before to triennial Parlia-
ments. Nothing would change his opinions respecting
the inestimable privilege of vote by ballot. Once more
he thanked them for the vast amount of favours which
lie had received at their hands._(Loud and continued
cheering.)
The CHAIRMAN then gave " Prosperity and Freedom
to the Trade of the City of London." So far as his ob-
servations went, the freedom of trade had not done any in-
jury to the merchants and traders of the city of London.
He looked upon selfishness in matters of trade as a branch
of Toryism. It ever had been his opinion that prosperity
was most intimately connected with freedom, and, there-
fore, in the fullest hope that the toast would be most cor-
dially received, he gave " Prosperity and Freedom to the
Trade of the City of London."—(Applause.)
This was followed by " Freedom of Conscience—religi-
ons and political."
The CHAIRMAN observed, that in the days of bloody
Queen Mary, if any man was threatened with the loss m
custom in trade for going to a meeting instead of going to
church, he would have been called a person persecuted for
conscience sake—he confessed be saw no distinction be-
tween persecution for conscience sake, whether it had re-
ference to a political or a religious conscience; and he
hoped that the time had arrived when there would be no
further persecutions on account of conscience; and he
must add, that if they expected to preserve the inde-
pendence of the poor voter, they must insist upon the
ballot.—(Applause.)
Mr. GROTE then proposed "the health of the Chair-
man,"—upon whose knowledge of all political subjects—
upon whose proficiency in the exact sciences—upon whose
general learning, comprehensiveness of mind, and upright-
ness of conduct, he pronounced a warm eulogium.
The toast was drunk with the greatest applause.
The CHAIRMAN expressed his acknowledgments in a
few words, saying that he felt it a high honour to have
presided upon so important an occasion, and one so deeply
affecting to the feelings of every friend of freedom and
good government.
The CHAIRMAN—The toast which I have now to pro-
pose is one which carries with it its own recommenda-
tion, and therefore you shall have it without further pre-
face. Gentlemen, I give you " Mr. Hume and the 3,254
electors who placed him at the head of the poll."—(Tre-
mendous applause.)
Mr. HtJME thanked the company, not merely on his
own account, but in the name of those independent men
by whose suffrages he had been returned to Parliament.
It had ever been an opinion of his, that the persons who,
above all others, were the most worthy to be intrusted
me-slate of ma public mind as that- the clergy, the Magis-
tracy, the Nubility of the county of Middlesex had not
been able to exclude from Parliament even so humble an
individual as himself, when the popular voice had declared
that it should be otherwise.—(Applause.) It was the
settled conviction and feeling of the people of England,
and had been so fur years, that the whole frame and sye..
tern of the Government was bad, and wanted revision;
and therefore they sent men into Parliament willing and
able to accomplish that great work. He felt that that
was not an occasion on which he should occupy much of
their attention by any observations relating to himself, or
even to the distinguished county which l e had been called
to the honour of representing, but that, on the contrary,
he should rather direct their attention to the eminent man
whose election they had that day met to commemorate. The
nation at large owed their best thanks to the glorious
8412, who had sent such a man not to promote the interests
of a party, or a faction, or a corporation, or even those of a
great city considered separately; but as a national repre-
sentative in the great Council of the nation.—(Applause.)
Even though there were but a few such men in Parlia-
ment, he should not despair of the ultimate prosperity of
the country. Indeed he could but consider that the pro-
spects of the United Kingdom were at the present moment
must cheering, fur when he recollected what the last Par-
liament had done with all its multitude of borough-
mongers' noininuees, he felt unable to do otherwise than
indulge the most sanguine hopes as to what might be
brought about under the De v order of things which the
Reform Act had created. When he looked at the change
that had been effected, not on y in the institutions of the
country, but in the minds of men, he felt himself incapable
of setting bounds even in imagination to the progress of
human improvement; yes, he frankly acknowledged that
the state of things as they at present stood, and the pro-
spects of which lay before them, bad quite surpassed his
most sanguine expectations—not that he ever much de-

spired; on the contrary, he always felt and believed that
there was in the people of England a fund of sound
sense, general intelligence, anti sturdy uprightness of sen-
timent, which, sooner or later, would lead them to throw off
the yoke under which they had been oppressed so long.—
(Applause.) The course of public if tire, however, was now
once for all set right; and though they hal to be grateful
to many for that happy change, their thanks abo.ve all
mere due to the gracious and patriotic Monarch, whose
generous devotion to the public good in the first instance,
and whose firmness throughout the whole of the conflict,
even unto the very end, hail conferred upon them one of
the greatest boons that ever had been conferred upon a
nation.—(Applause.) The duty which now remained
'or their representatives was to follow up the Bill with all
the energy and assiduity that they could muster. lie felt,
as they all must feel, that the 8.41 was not a complete
mea.ure—that it did not secure political freedom, and that

political privileges never could be secured without the
ballot ; and that was a truth which he should never cease
to inculcate upon a Reformed Parliament until it was ob.
taimd. He then proceeded to repeat those declarations of
his political sentiments which have been already so often
before the public, and renewed to the company the ex-
pression of his most heartfelt thanks for the high honour
they had conferred upon him, and for the justice they did
themselves in giving utterance to their sympathy with
their feilow-auliieets in Middlesex; and he had, in conclu-
sion, but to assure them that the Member for the county
would be ready at all times to unite with him of the city
in every measure for the public good.--,f,4pplause.)
The C44O.ALAN then proposed " the health of the
two gentlemen who had proposed and seconded Mr.

Grote." lie thought upon that glorious occasion, they
could not for those who were instrumental in bringing
it about.
Mr. Soux returned thanks on behalf of himself and
Dr. Birkbeek. After congratulating them upon the result
of tli city election, he said, that next to it, they hail to

felicitate thcc;s,elyes upon the result of the ',Middlesex elec-
tion. The present 14.ppy state of things was chiefly
owing to the advanced state of human knowledge, and the
general spread of education. That diffusion of intellectual
cultivatinu world go forward until the whole British Con-
stitution should undergo a complete change and a perfect
renovation.—(Applause.)
The CiamitAtax, after dwelling upon tI:P extraordinary
and most lamotirable independence of principle manifested
by the 5,41 ele.ctora who voted fur Mr. Grote, gave
.• their bealths with three times three,"—(Gre.it applause.)
The uegt toast was, " the healths of the Chairman
and Deputy Chairman of Mr. Grote's Committee.
Mr. PRES,COTT returned thanks. lie regretted that I
Mr. Smith Was absePt)
attending to his election in Bock-