The Sun.
London, England, 1832-06-19 00:00:00

he calculated to tend to secure the safety and interests or
Ireland.

Mr. O'CONNELL thought it was too much to ask
even the Hon. Gentlemen on the other side of the House
to reduce the constituency of Ireland to about 2,000,
which weuld be the effect of the adoption o f the sugges-
tion of the Conservative Society.

The petition was then ordered to be printed.
IRISH REFORM BILL.

The Order of the Day having heen read for the House
to resolve itself into the Committee on the Irish Reform
Bill,

Mr. STANLEY moved that the Speaker do leave the
chair.

Mr. O'CONNELL rose to move only one instruction
to the Committee on the Bill. The only information the
Government seemed to possess on the subject was derived
from the Boundary Books, containing a mass of pretended
information, than which nothing could be more stupid.
He confessed that he had little hope of success in his mo-
tion. This apprehension was one of the melancholy ef-
fects of the contempt in which the affairs of Ireland
seemed to be held in this country. Another effect of it
Was this. Before the dissolution of Parliament, the Irish
had the benefit given them of the English Register Bill.
This was the greatest boon that could be conferred upon
them. It bad since been withdrawn. For the change be
presumed they were indebted to the Attorney-General for
Ireland. But by whomsoever the change had
been made, it was a violation of the compact
which had been entered into with the Irish na-

tion. The first question they had to determine
was, if the constituency of Ireland was as extensive
as it ought to be. That was the first question considered
with reference to the English Reform Bill. In England
they had greatly increased the basis of the constituency,
and in doing so they had done well. How was the case
in Ireland ? That the constituency was miserably limited.
Out of six counties, there was not one that had so many
as 600 voters. There were six counties in Ireland with
no more than 300 voters each : at least if the right of vot-
ing was to be confined, as this Bill purposed to confine it,
to 101. freeholders. In seven other counties the number
of such voters in each did not equal 400, and in 500 other
counties they did not amount to 500 in each county. The
number of county voters was, besides, limited by the cut-
ting oif from among them those who held property in bo-
roughs situated in the county. In three of the counties
that were more fortunate than the rest, there would
he for each of them only between 500 and 600 voters.
Eleven counties would have 700 voters, and of these
eleven it was remarkable that eight of them were
in the province of Ulster. The county of Galway
had 1,812 voters, the county of Limerick 1,360,
and the county of Clare had 946 voters ; and in all
these counties the assistant barrister had done all that
his duty enabled him to do to increase the number of
voters by encouraging the assertion of claims to the same
extent to which assistant barristers in other counties had
discouraged them. On the fullest calculatio❑ he could
make, there were only 19,000 of the 10/, voters, and that
was the constituency which a population over eight mil-
lions were to nave. The returns showed the population to
be eight millions, but there was good reason to believe that
they had understated the amount of the population. In-
cluding rent charges of 2201. and 50/. there would only be
26,000 voters for the whole of Ireland. How did lie
prove this ? By reference to the 18 counties in which
contests had occurred, and where only 15,421 voters had
polled. And these were the advantages which Ireland was
to hope for under the Whig Government. Ireland had
always suffered more under the Whigs than under the
Tories. It was the Whigs who had enacted the Penal
Code, and even in the present Administration there seemed
the same determination to use the strong hand of domina-
tion over Ireland, and to gratify the world of prejudices
that existed against her. These prejudices were not confined
to the lowest ranks alone, but went much higher. He
knew it would be said by some Hon. Gentlemen that tne
holders of leases originally granted for 60 years were to be
entitled to votes. But what were they ? Why, he would
tell the Noble Lord opposite, who seemed to consider them
as worthy of attention, that there were no such leases to
be found in Leinster, Munster, or Connaught. These
plans would therefore give but a small constituency for
Ireland, and yet this Bill was called the Irish Reform Bill.
Whit was the object of the English Reform Bill ? To in-
crease the constituency. What was the object of this
Bill ? To decrease it. Under the present system, a man
who bad a freehold of the required amount in the towns
was entitled to a vote in the county in respect of his free-
hold ; while, if he resided in the town, he was at the
same time entitled to a vote for the town in respect of his
residence. That practice was now to be abolished, and no
inhabitants of towns that were counties' of themselves,
were to have the double vote.—(Hear, hear, hear.) It
might be right enough to refuse the double votes to the
inhabitants of towns that were counties of themselves,
but why were other towns to be deprived of the advantage?
It was said that this was done to assimilate the English
and Irish voting. That argument was used when it
would decrease the number of the voters, but it was
never applied for the opposite purpose. Perhaps it would
be well fur his views of a particular question, that
the Government should not yield on this point, for
particular arguments on that question might he weakened
by a different line of conduct. It seemed to him that it
was the object of all the parties in that House to exclude
the people of Ireland from all real share in the represen-
tation. He was borne out in that assertion, not only by
what the Government had not done, but what they bad
done. He complained of the giving two Members to
Trinity College, Dublin, where it was impossible that
there could be one single Catholic voter, and where the
present representation was amply sufficient. What was
that but making a religious difference, and leaving the Ca-
tholic question open, as if the Bill of 1829 bad never
passed ? He repeated that the 101. franchise would di-
minish the number of voters for Ireland; and he wished
to observe, that this franchise had been admitted by the
Hon. Member for Tamworth to be equal to a 20/. fran-
chise in England. That statement was true as far as it
went, but it might have gone further and been equally
true. What was the object of thus restricting the fran-
chise ? It could only be to pre►ent the Catholics from ob-
taining too much power; and what was that but a revival
of a religious question, which ought to have been buried in
oblivion ? Did the Right Hon. Gentleman suppose
that this Bill was to he final for Ireland? if he did he
was mistaken ; it would not only not he final, but it
would not content the country one hour. The Right
Gentleman did riot content any one party in the coun-
try. There was some fatuity in the conduct of the
present Ministers with respect to Ireland, which rea-
son could not account for. The Right Hon. Baronet
the Hon. Member for Tamworth, when he was Secretary
for Ireland, took up with a party in Ireland, and on the
condition of their supporting him in what he did there, he
engaged to protect them throughout ; but this Govern-
ment first refued homes to the Catholics, because they
were Catholics; and then took away something from the
Protestans, because they were Protestants. So they
offended both parties, and were neither one thing nor the
other. In this manner they disgusted all parties, while,
at the same time, they weakened their own influence, by
employing their enemies. It bad been urged, that if they
were to make alterations there, the Bill might he lost
elsewhere. After what had taken place with respect to
the English Bill, he did not think there was much to he
apprehended elsewhere. lie contended that there was
no good reason why there should not he a 5/. qualification
for Ireland. It would only furnish a constituency of
90,000 for seven millions and a half of inhabitants; and
it would furnish a respectable constituency. He was told
that if the amendments to which be had alluded were in-
sited upon, the Bill might be lost altogether. Let it be
lost. He would prefer an injury to an insult ; and this
Bill, as it stood, was a gross insult to Ireland. The Hon.
and Learned Gentleman concluded by moving an instruc-
tion to the Committee to re-establish the 40s. freeholders
in Ireland.

Llt appeared this was not the instruction the Honour-
able and Learned Member intended; for Mr. SPEAKER
read one to the effect that 5/. qualification% should be
established in Ireland.]
Mr. STANLEY said—l neither wished, nor had I the
right to question the motives of the Learned Member for
Kerry. I doubt not that he is anxious to promote the
cause of Reform. I doubt not that he is anxious to con-
ciliate the Protestants of Ireland.—(Hear, hear, and
laughter.) I doubt not that he is desirous to produce and
to perpetuate the most kindly feelings between England
Ireland. Yet, if such be his objects, never was
there man whose public conduct so utterly be-
lied his private wishes, or whose daily proceedings
were so utterly at variance with the views he
had in his mind.—(Hear, and laughter.) Does be mean
to tell me that be is not the man who, before be had a
seat in this House, and since he has had a seat in this
House, and, above all, since the present Administration
has come into power, has spared no pains, while he no-
minally gave his support to the law, to excite passion in
the breasts of his countrymen, who, while be affected to
preach conciliation, used all endeavours to promote dis-
unien—(Hear, hear,)—who, while he professed to co
operate with the Government, never lost an opportunity
of assailing each individual Member of the Administration
with abuse, which was disgraceful not to them,
hut to him who uttered it, and claims the character of a
gentleman.—(Cheers.) [Here the Honourable Member
was interrupted.] The Learned Member for Kerry is