The Sun.
London, England, 1835-05-01 00:00:00

SOUTH DEVON—ExErzif, AvtiL 99.
Lord John Russell has nearly completecthis tour of the..
southern side of this dirision of the county. The impres-
sion that he has made on the farmers has been of the most
cheering character. They begin to see through the par-
sons, and their influence is fast failing.
His Lordship addressed the electors at Dawlisla
mouth, and Torquay on Monday,. at Paignton, Brixham,
and Brent on Tuesday. At Brent there was a large an-
nual s'
fair held, and there was consequently a very large
assemblage of the yeomen and farmers. I never saw a more
enthusiastic meeting, nor abetter reception.
Mr. Ewart presented the Liverpool address to his Lord- •
ship at Toignmouth, and the lion. Gentleman had no rea-
son to be disappointed at his reception by the meeting, who
appreciated the generous conduct of the staunch Reformers
of Liverpool at a time of need like the present. The. Li-
verpool Address has been of great assistance in rousing the
attention of the lukewarm, if such there be, to the fact that
the last Tory kick is to be given in Devonshire to the
Champion
.of the Reform Bill. •.e
I have sent you a report of the speeches of Lord John
Russell, Mr. Mr. &vast. and Dr. Bowring, at the Teignmouth
dinner. i never saw a more impressive incident than th •.
which is noticed at the end of Lord John's speech. But.'a
you in London, wham, enthusiastic, and zealous as you are,
can hardly appreciate it, for you can scarcely conceive the
virulence of the party in their attacks, which have- net peen
confined to Lord John, hut have also been directed to lAA
lady, who, by the bye, is second cousin to Mr. Parker, it
is said
G. S. Courtis, Esq. presided at the dinner.
At the meeting at Brent, Lord Seymour made a very
able and liberal speech, in which he expressed his desire to
confine the clergy entirely to the discharge of their spiritual
duties. He sail he would relieve the clergy from the cares
of the magistracy, and the bishops from their senatorial du-
ties in the House of Lords. His Lordship increases daily
in popularity and the development of his talents ; he bids
fair to be a highly useful public servant.
Mr. Bulteel was also present and took part in the meeting.
The following are the speeches :
, Lord Jour.; RUSSELL rose, and was greeted with loud
and continued cheering. As soon as the plaudits had
ceased, his Lordship proceeded to speak nearly as fol-
lows :--I rise to return you my most grateful thanks f.br
the honour you have done me in drinking my health, and
also for the manner in which it has been drank—coming
LOT as I do, a candidate for the Southern Division of this
county. Gentlemen, it . has been my fate
.to propose re-
form, when .reform was not a fashionable term. In times
when reform was advocated by aminority in the House of
Commons, and a minority in the country, I stood forward
iii behalf of reform, andewas prepared, as an advocate of
that great measure, thinking that measure necessary for
the future happiness of the country, to forego all hopes
and all expectations of office during thewhole of my poli-
tical life, rather than abandon that great question.—(Con-
tinued cheer;) Gentlemen, the popular opinion decided.
it otherwise ; it became at-length the decided judgment of
the people of England 014: the abuses in our Parlie.men-
tary representation ought to be corrected ; and Lord
Grey—at-name venerable -tor all nations--a-Lord Grey under-
took the management of public-affairs, on the condition—
on the unquestionable, indisputable condition—that, on
the part of his Sovereign, he should 'Prepare a measure
for the Reform of Parliament.--( Hear, hear.) Gentle-
men, having been always an advocate for Reform, my Lord
Grey intrusted •to several individual; and among others
to • me, the.. framing' Of a measure aeon. this subject.—
(Cheers.) I thought it was necessary.(end in that I had the
sanction of Lord Grey) to frame such a measure as must
do away with the most notorious and crying evils—( Hear)
—which should not, stag) skottas a remedy, and which
should give to the • people of this -- country—to those who
were free and Independmit 'enough to exercise the elective
lianchise—the power of choosing the House of Commons:
Cheers.) Gentlemen, it is/ to a House of Commons
elected -by virtue of that Reform Act that I have lately
appealed, in order to decide whether a Tory' or a Reforming
Goverment should wield the power of the State.—(Loud
cheers.) Gentlemen, it was not that I objected to Sir Ro-
bert Peel—it was not that I wished to make any party or
personal distinction, which should prevent Sir Robert Peel
or any other man carrying on the Government, of the coons
try—(Hear, hear)---the question was one of principle—it
was a question of principle only—(Hear, hear)—and when
I saw that the late Ministry were determined not to carry
that reform which I thought necessary, I determined to
proceed on that principle, and put it to the House of Comi
mons, ready to abide by my defeat, if I wtas defeated, and
to insure for the people the benefit of success, if I was sues
cessful.—(Continued cheers.) - Gentlemen, the majority. of
the House of Commons; tiness-led by -the People—al-
thougja I must -6hY that, at the last election, many unfair
acts were used to pervert their choice—but the House of
Commons, thus elected, did feel that, on various questions,
the measures of the late Ministry did not satisfy the -just
expectations of the people—( Hear, hear)—upon the ques-
tion of Corporations—upon the question of the grievances
of the Protestant Dissenters—upon the question, lastlse,
of the Irish Church—(Hear, hear, and great cheering)
they came to decisions entirely.and diametrically opposed
to the judgment of the late Ministry—(Hear, hear), and
that Ministry was forced to resign.—(Continued cheers')
Gentlemen, it was because that Ministry did not possess
the canfidence of the House of Commons—it was becatlat
that Ministry did not possess the confidence of the country,
that they were forced to resign—(Cheers); and the present
Ministry is formed with the hope of proposing such mea-
sures as may satisfy the House of Commons—such
measures as niaysatisly the country.—(Reiterated cheers.)
But, at the same time, they will propose only such
measures as in their consciences they believe to be riglit.
If those measures do not satisfy the House of Commons
and the country, they will be prepared cheerfully 'ti)
resign the offices they have undertaken, and to retire
from the position which they at present hold in the
King's councils.—(Hear, hear, and cheers.) Gentlemen,
this is the question which is placed before various bodiesin
the United Kingdom, in England, Scotland, and in Ireland,
and which is to be decided according to their own sense
' and judgment—(Hear, hear)—and, gentlemen, I must say,
in discharging this important duty, you,. among all others,
will have to consider the principles which we have main-
tained ; you are not to consider private advantages, or pe-
culiar or local questions ; but what you will have to decide
„is, the question, which of the principles ought to prevail,
those which we maintain, or those of our opponents ?
(Hear, hear.) Now, gentlemen, Ido not wish to take ad-
vantage in this respect of any services that I may have per-
formed
in past times to the cause of civil and religious
lilaSrty, and to the cause of Reform.—(Hear, and cheers.)
Yet I own it does appear to me that our adversaries might
have chosen, at least I should have hoped they might have
found, a competitor of semawhat more experience than the
competitor whom they have chosen.—( Reiterated cheers.)
I own that in passing through the town to-day, in those few-
' instances in which I saw that the oak branches had been
torn from their tree, I was disposed to regret that. these
branches had not been allowed to remain attached to their
parent tree till their leaves bad been a little more deve-
loped—(Cheers and laughter)—and had come somewhat
more to maturity.—(Hear, hear.) So, in like manner, I
do not wish to say that the gentleman who is my competi-
tor may not in future days prove a most able, a most effi-
cient senator ; but I certainly do think it would be rather
better that he should wait beyond the month of April--
(Cheers and laughter)—till his leafy honours have some-
what of the fullness and expansion of the summer season.—
(Long continued cheering.) But, gentlemen, as I have
said, I do not mean to insist upon this ; but if my princi-
ples are altogether wrong, I would much rather that you
should decide that any gentleman whatsoever—( Hear)—
should be chosen in my place, than that you should send to
Parliament a person who is likely to injure the institutions
of this country—(Continued cheering)---but, gentlemen, I
contend that the principles which I have supported, instead
of being injurious, tend to maintain the institutions of this
country.—(Cheers.) I contend that by restoring and esta-
blishing free election for municipal corporations, we shall
make those municipal corporations what they ought to be, an
effective part of our institutions—(Cheers)--and that we
shall make them useful and not injurious to the communities
over which they preside.---(Cheers.) I contend, gentlemen,
that by cutting off and lopping the sinecures of the Church
of England, by diminishing the number of prebend;
and making the livings conduce to the cure of souls—that
instead of diminishing the efficiency of the Church of
England, we shall, on the contrary, be contributing to per-
petuate it, and to make it more useful and more efficient—
( Hear, hear, and great cheering)—to make it more service-
able to the cause of religion, and to be what it alight to be,
an Establishment which has the general support of the
people.—(Great cheering.) In that opinion I might have
been singular. I might have been singular when I gave sny
answer to Mr. Praed in his place, that I thought the re-
venues of the Church were not too large, but they ought
to be more equitably distributed. I was giving an opinion
which every Tory might dispute—(Hear, hear)—but since
that time we have seen a Church Commission issued, with
two Archbishops and three Bishops at its head, and which
Commission has recognized the principle of the equaliza-
tion of the revenues of the Bishops—(Hear, hear)—
. and which is now proceeding, and I trust will still pro-
' ceed, to correct other abuses which deform the Church
of England—(Cheers)—but even that which they have
already begun—even that shows that there has lately
been. a disposition to adopt Reforms, and Reforms of.
' the ..niOst useful tendency.--• -( Hear, bear, hear.) I ban/
perhaps, felt in former times, although it was a sentiment
which I might not have liked tSs, avow, that to a number
of bishops—some hatg incomes of 6001. or 70W. a-year
only, while
utners had from 17,0001. to 18,000/. a-year,