The Sun.
London, England, 1835-06-16 00:00:00

himself as to the details of the measure, he should cer-
tainly give full notice of any atondment he might think
it necessary to propose in them, and, added that he
thought it required at once, bs; iairness and convenience,
that every Hon. Member who had an amendment to move
should pursue the -dame course. He agreed that the elec-
tixe franchise 'was a good one, if enforced bona fide. He
stated a case in illustration of his meaning. It happens
that, many persons, actually paupers, reside in towns where
:ley have no legal settlement, and are not disturbed so long

as punctual payment is made of the rates to which the
houses they occupy are assessed. These rates are paid by
the parishes to which the paupers belong, such parishes not
desiring not to have the paupers removed to their settlement.
It would obviously be exceedingly improper to allow such
persons votes. He thought there should be some (there
is none in the Bill) qualification for the governing
body of boroughs. This was particularly essential with
regard to the Mayor, who would be a county magistrate
and take his seat along with other county magistrates,
from whom the law required qualification, while
from the Mayor-magistrate none was required. Sir R.
Peel alluded to Lord Brougham's Bill, the enactments of
which we recently explained to our readers. He also
said that in all local acts by which persons were appointed
to discharge much the same duties as the governing body of
Corporations would have to perform, sonic qualification
was invariably required. He was not very well versed in
local acts, nor was Lord John Russell, perhaps, but doubt-

less the Noble Lord had read the Stroud Act., which, passed
with the unanimous concurrence of the wealth, intelligence,

and respectability of Stroud, required a tolerably high qua-
lification for the persons upon whom devolved the discharge
of functions by no means more important than those which
Lord John Russell committed to persons from whom he
required no qualification whatever. The Right Honourable
Gentleman then proceeded to throw out several general
suggestions for the amendment of the Bill, of which the fol-
lowing dre the most striking :—He observed, that very great
power was given to the Mayor, and yet that there was no check
or controul upon that functionary. The Mayor was the
returning-officer for the borough, and therefore a political
character. The Mayor acted as revising barrister with
regard to the registration of municipal voters ; in fact, he
decided upon the validity of the votes—be received the
lists at the time of polling, and he declared what was the
result of the election. Sir R. Peel suggested that the scru-
tineers should be appointed to see that the Mayor acted
fairly in these matters. Again, the Bill does not, as it
should make any provision for the application of any sur-
plus funds that may arise ; and as the new corporate body
succeeds to all the powers of the old corporate body,
the new corporate body may misapply the surplus,
as the old corporate body is proved so frequently to
have done. This, Sir Robert Peel said, should be
guarded against ; and it seems not a little singular that
this point should have escaped Lord John Russell, who
has so keen an eye after a clerical surplus. For
the very particular mess which the Bill makes, so far as its
enactments regard the raising of the county-rates, we must
refer our readers to Sir R. Peel's speech. The Right Hon.
Baronet, too, showed how monstrous a power is conferred
on the Crown in the matter of dividing boroughs into wards.
By the Bill the Crown makes this division, and assigns to
each ward the number of Common-councilmen each ward
shall elect. Thus, Sir R. Peel observed, the Crown may
make a borough as aristocratic or as democratic as it
pleases. It may, for instance, divide in the most arbi-
trary manner a borough like Liverpool, and assign to one
ward the election of two—to another ward the election
of twenty—Common-councilmen. This, Sir R. Peel
said, was a power which Parliament itself should exer-
cise, as Parliament did exercise a somewhat similar
power in the case of the Reform Bill, ultimately (allud-
ing to the Boundary Bill), though, at first, it was pro-
posed by the Reform Bill to confer that power on the
Crown. There were some suggestions from other Members,
chiefly " Radical." Lord John Russell set his face strongly
against the radical suggestions, and declared that he would
adhere to the franchise, and enforce it bona fide. He liked
the triennial elections, as fixed by the Bill, notwithstanding
the suggestion of Lord Stanley. As to qualification for the
governing body, he thought that no practical benefit would
result from having a qualification, but he would be happy to
attend to arguments on that subject in committee. He
admitted that there ought to be some check upon the
Mayor ; and, for the rest of the suggestions of Sir R. Peel,
lie would give them the fullest consideration. The discus-
sion ended by the Bill being read a second time, and
ordered to be committed on Monday. The House will
then proceed day by day with the consideration of the Bill
in Committee until it is finally disposed of. We have room
to-day only for this description of what took place last
night, and reserve all comment till another opportunity.

The body of evidence adduced before Sir Frederic Roe,
at the inquiry at Wolverhampton, the termination of which
we published yesterday, so far from inducing us to retract
or rrodify the opinions which we have already expressed,
confirms to the utmost the observations we have made, and
warrants still stronger denunciation of the atrocious and
haiLarous transaction. The mind of the most prejudiced
must now be open to the truth, that the conduct of
the Reverend John Clare was unpardonably culpable in
letting lose a drunken and ferocious soldiery on the
people, who till then bad not evinced any disposition
to violence beyond the usual effervescence consequent
upon the excitement of an election. The part enacted
by this Parson-Magistrate is deserving of the strongest
disapprobation, and we trust that Government will not
hesitate a moment in bringing his clerical justiceship to a
close. A host of indisputable evidence establishes the
fact s,—that the people were more peaceable than on occa-
sions of former elections,—that they were merely laughing
and funmeking,—so much so, that Sparrow, a chief con-
stable, was tossing with them for ale—that even though
provocation was given from the Swan, by persons drawing
back the blinds, making faces, and putting their fingers to
their noses in detision, the Rev. John Clare's interference
was officious and exasperating—that liquor was given to the
soldiers at the Swan, and in the market-place ; that the
troops were drank—one so much so, as to be obliged to be
put under the restraint of lock and key, and others as
scarcely to-be able to keep their seats on horseback ; and
that the dragoons ruthlessly and murderously fired into
houses, and upon flying parties of women and children,
making use of the most bloodthirsty threats and impreca-
tions ; such as, " If I see any one throw a stone, I will
shoot him, if he was my own father." " Damn your eyes,
I'll send the daylight through you ;" which was said to
Mr. Fryar, on his requesting permission to pass to his own
house, about twenty paces from where a soldier assaulted
him. " Give him a shot," said a dragoon, on seeing a man
standing alone in the market-place, and instantly snapped
his pistol three times at him. " I don't know whether I
have killed any of them or not, but I levelled at them,"
said another, while boasting of his sanguinary exploits.
And what was the pretext for such ferocious proceedings ?
Why, that the people spitted and hooted at each other
and those who came amongst them—and were in the very
act of dispersing, when the humane minister of the Gos-
pel and Magistrate read the Riot Act and called the
military to the slaughter. Thomas Griffin and Charles
Postman, both Sheriff's deputies, declared in evi-
dence that there was " not the least occasion to call for the
interference of the military power," and that there was no
disturbance which could not have been quelled by five or
six constables." And let us ask, if a serious riot did exist,
how could 32 dragoons suppress it amidst a population of
67,000 ? It is alleged that stones were thrown by the peo-
ple ; but this cannot surprise when the High Constable, Capt.
Jordan, set them the example, as was sworn to by several
witnegses. Even Mr. Clare himself declared to Captain
Manning, after sending for the troops, that after all he did
not think they would be wanted ; but told him to disperse
the people and keep the peace, while refusing, how-
ever, though called upon by Captain Manning, to take
share in the responsibility. The whole conduct of this
Rev. Gentleman admits of no palliation ; he should no
longer be intrusted with the functions of a magistrate. This
is another instance of the necessity of freeing the country .
from the .whole herd of Priest-magistrates. The evidence
of the soldiers who were examined, did not in the slightest
degree affect the main facts to which we have briefly ad-
verted—but even if it did it would be of little consequence,
as in the first place they were a party accused, and in the
next place those who were so ready to perpetrate murder,
could have little compunction in regard to perjury. We
have not room for further extracts from the evidence, but
as the guilt of the Magistrates and military is irrefutably
proved, it is incumbent on the Government immediately to
bring them to the merited punishment. Let the Ministry
remember that the eyes of the people—the people who have
placed them in office—..are upon them ; and if they suffer
the liberties and lives of Englishmen to be so grossly as-
saulted without redress, they will justly forfeit the confi-
dence they have acquired, and thereby lose their only pe-
destal of support. Morning Advertiser.
The foreign policy of Lord Palmerston is singularly for-
tunate. It is indeed as honourable to the character of the
British Government as it is conducive to the interests of
the British people. The Courts in which it seems to have
been the study of the Noble Lord to become an especial
favourite are those of France, Belgium, Spain, and Portu-
gal. The rest of Europe, in his Lordship's estimation, is
of no account. France, Belgium, Spain, and Portugal,
are the whole world to him. Their Governments are the
liberal ones in which he delights, and with the character
and conduct of which it has been his constant object to as-
sociate the dignity and welfare of Great Britain. Of the Go•
vernment of France we need not speak. Its liberality is well
understood, and is of a kind to satisfy fully the liberal notions
of the Foreign Secretary of England. This liberality P.>
manifested by destroying, under cover of law, the property
of every newspaper that dares to oppose the Adminis-

tration, and erecting a new tribunal, of a convenient cha-
racter, for the punishment of its political antagonists. But
these are subjects, it may be said, and with much appear-
ance of justice, for the French people to consider, rather
than Lord Palmerston ; yet the incidents serve to show that
his Lordship, genuine Liberal as he is, has, like many others
of the same school, queer notions of liberality, and is ex-
ceeding prone to mistake the name for the substance. We
need not speak of Belgium, for the character of the tem-
porary Viceroyalty established in that country is of no im-
portance. In all but the name Belgium is a part of France.
But Spanish Liberalism is that in which the Foreign De-
partment of the British Government at the present mo-
ment is most deeply interested. It presents many features
that are curious, and seems to recognize some principles
which are very hard to explain. The Liberalism which
Lord Palmerston patronizes in Spain has placed a fe-
male infant on the Throne of that country, whose only
claim to the elevation is the testamentary dis-
position of her father—of a father who, so long as he re-
tained possession of such faculties as nature had given him,
was denounced by all the Liberals of Europe as a tyrant,
unfit to reign or to live, but who became an absolute and in-
fallible authority in Liberal estimation from the moment
that his mind, weakened by disease, had sunk under the do-
minion of a vicious and profligate wife. The liberalism
which Lord Palmerston patronizes in Spain has consigned
the person, the education, and the Government of the in-
fant Queen, whose title to the Throne we have just
described, to the hands of a woman distinguished by every
quality which can contribute to the assurance that the
young Princess committed to her care will be early initiated
in the ways of vice. The liberalism which Lord Palmer-
ston patronizes in Spain is not only indifferent to fe-
male honour, and subversive of Constitutional law,
but it is essentially hostile to national indepen-
dence. To support the authority of the Queen-
Regent, and to preserve to the females of Spain the conspi-
cuous example of her virtue, this Spanish liberalism invites
the aid of foreign troops, in order apparently that the actual
possessor of supreme authority, in addition to every other
blemish, may become a tool in the hands of foreigners. The
liberalism which Lord Palmerston patronises in Spain, to
complete the summary of its perfections, adopts a system
for the liquidation of old debts, and the contraction of new,
which affords to every Exchange in Europe means and in-
ducements to the practice of desperate and profligate
gaming, ruinous at once to the fame and fortunes of indivi-
duals, and deeply injurious to the welfare of every state.
But the liberalism of Lord Palmerston assumes, if net its
most pernicious character, at least its most ridiculous aspect,
when regarded in connection with the recent transactions in
Portugal. We need not recal to the recollection of our
readers the discreditable shifts and contrivances by which
his Lordship, under the mask of neutrality, contri-
buted to establish Queen Donna Maria upon the Por-
tuguese throne, in opposition to the wishes and feel-
ings of, we believe, a decided majority of the Portu-
guese people. Nor need we remind them that for a long
series of years England has had relations with Portugal,
and has exercised an influence over the Government. of that
country of a nature entirely peculiar, which have always
been supposed to contribute very materially to the welfare
of both. This influence of England in the councils of
Portugal our readers are also aware has long been a source
of dissatisfaction and jealousy among French politicians of
every class and party. Thanks to the liberalism of Lord
Palmerston this influence is now threatened with final and
complete extinction. The young Queen is about to make
cleoice of a second husband, and Cupid, it appears, has
been, for once, singularly unpropitious to the Noble Lord.
By one of the most perverse accidents imaginable his Lord-
ship's late protegee has set her mind upon having the Due
de Nemours, a son of the King of the French—has dismissed
her Ministers in a body, because they, being under the influ-
ence of the British Administration, wished her to marry the
younger brother of her late husband—and has even gone
so far it seems as to enter into a negociation with Louis
Phillipe for the accomplishment of her wishes, i6thout re-
sorting to the assistance of her.oflicial advisers, and by the
intervention of the statesmen whom she has subsequently
appointed as their successors. The affair is evidently an
intrigue between the French Government—the favoured
ally of Lord Palmerston in the cause of liberalism—and
certain Portuguese liberals, under the influence of France,
favoured, and probably suggested, by the personal predilec-
tions of the Queen ; and it seems evident that the intrigue
has proceeded much too far to leave any doubt of its suc-
cess. The British nation will perceive from this incident
that meddling too much in the affairs of other countries is
not always a profitable game. One of the organs of the
Administration attempts to throw dust in the eyes of the
people of England by the following statement :
" Our Ministers were not unapprised of the matrimonial
proceedings which were going on at Lisbon. The result was,
that a despatch from our Foreign Secretary arrived there the
very morning after the change was effected, and our Minister
at that Court read it without delay to .Saldanha. Its import
was, of course, to declare that if the scheme of marriage then
contemplated were realized, the connexion of England with
Portugal could not he continued upon its present footing ; that
the Queen was at liberty to choose her own line of policy ; but
that she must not expect in it the co-operation of the British
Government. In the evening of the same day Saldanha in-
formed Lord Howard de Walden that the proposed marriage
was definitively abandoned."
The last sentence of this paragraph will, we have no
doubt, turn out to be incorrect, and should it prove correct,
we feel quite certain that the declaration of the new Minis-
ter Saldanha is fallacious. Donna Maria, we apprehend,
is not the most likely young lady in the world definitively
to abandon a marriage which, on other accountF, sho thinks
desirable, from the apprehension of being deprived of the
co-operation of Lord Palmerston.—Moriting, Post.