The Sun.
London, England, 1835-08-20 00:00:00

BISHOPSGATE WARD.

A meeting of this ward was held, on Tuesday, at the School-
house, Peter-street, Alderman Copeland in the chair, for the
purpose of petitioning the House of Lords to pass the Muni-
cipal Reform Bill, unmutilated, and without delay : and also
to petition the Commons to resist any mutilations which the
Peers might make in that beneficial measure.

LIVERPOOL COTTON MARKET, AUGUST IS.-
There is very little done in Cotton to-day, the sales amount►
ing to only 1,000, without change in prices.

HIS MAJESTY.—In Kirkaldy and neighbourhood
there are several old seamen who feel proud of having had the
honour to be shipmates with his Majesty. James Kilgour, who
died a few weeks since, was wont to boast that he taught
William the Fourth to splice a rope ; and of no circumstance
was the old man more vain than that the Kingg had recol-
lected his shipmate, and sent him 5/. to relieve his necessities.
The other day we met an old weatherbeaten tar ; and, in the
course of conversation, learned that he had been a shipmate
with the King when his Majesty went first to sea. The sailor's
name is John Miller ; he resides in the Links, and is nearly
80 years of age. He (like Kilgour) boasts of having had it
in his power to do a personal favour to his Majesty. His story
was this :—Prince William sailed from Spithead, as a mid-
shipman, in the Prince George, Admiral Digby, the fleet
being destined to relieve Gibraltar, then besieged. In their
nay to the Rock, the British squadron, when off Cape Si.
Vincent, fell in with a Spanish force, of which seven sail were
destroyed—the St Julian having struck to the Prince George.
When the order was given to clear for action, it became part
of Miller's duty, as captain of a gun. to throw overboard a
writing-table, which he, with the natural caution of 'a Scotch
m thought prudent to knock to pieces; and in a drawer in
it he found a splendid purse, marked with the Prince's name,
containing money and papers; these he put in his hat. After
the action, the Admiral made inquiry as to the table, and was
highly pleased with Miller's preservation of the papers, &c.
Miller feels quite certain that his Majesty still retains a lively
recollection of the circumstance..—.Flieshire Journal.

4

LONDON,
; :4, VP NE's:G. AUGUST 20, 1835.

We quote the following from the Advertiser of this

morning :
" It is understood in well-informed quarters that the c,isis
which has been produced by the fatuity of the House of Lords.
in butchering the Corporation Bill, has been productive
anything but concord at Com t. A high personage is sail t:•
have become much less manageable of late than he previously
was, and to have shown a decided inclination to support the
Fresent Ministry. We trust that the report is true ; for what
greater folly could there be than for a man who is on the verge
of 70 to throw away, by one solitary act, the otherwise undying
fame of having appended his name and seal to the new charte.-
of the people's freedom--the Reform Act."
We cordially join with our spirited contemporary,
in trusting that the report is true : but if it he not,
have not Ministers the game as yet in their own
hands ? . The appropriation clause is not yet passed,
and till that be done, a great part of the supplies voted
is still in the custody of the House of Commons. By
the way, we perceive that Mr. SPRING RICE has
given notice that he will move the appropriation
clause in the Consolidated Fund Bill to-morrow.
This surely cannot be, seeing what the Lords have.
done with the great measure of Municipal Reform
If Mr. RICE disappoint the country in this particular,
as he has done with regard to the Stamp Duties, we
think he will do more damage to the Ministry than his
Financial schemes are, judging by what he has dour,
ever likely to benefit the people at large. The man
or Minister who " keeps the word of promise to the
ear, but breaks it to the hope," invariably finds in the
end that he has deceived himself the most. Mr. RICE
is not Mr. PITT, though he may fancy so ; nor ',old
CAgTLEREAGII either ; and can hardly yet afford to
turn his back upon himself. •

The country is now fully roused to a becoming sense
of the refractory and insulting conduct of the House
of Lords. Birmingham, as one man, spoke out last
Tuesday, and the rest of the towns and cities which
have not yet met, are preparing to follow its example.
The movement, in short, is as general as it was during
the progress of the Reform Bill ; and if it be not quite
so vehement—quite so combustible in its character—it
is only because there is more confidence among the
people, arising from a firmer conviction of their strength,
than prevailed during that stormy period. Then we
only guessed at our power. Now we know its full
extent. Then we were grappling with Leviathan.
Now we have hooked him, and with such a firm
cable, that not all the plunges of the monster can pre-
vent our dragging him ashore, and cutting him up.
The question of hereditary legislation is indeed on
the eve of being settled for ever. Men have suffered
so much from this anomaly ; it has injured them in so
many ways ; now by foreign wars, and now by domestic
taxation ; here by monopolies, and there by feudal pri-
vileges; this day by the income tax, and the next by
the corn-laws ; that they have become sick of the very
mention of the nuisance, and are everywhere discussing
the expediency of shaking it off. When Liverpool
cries out " What is the use of the Lords ?" and
Manchester, Birmingham, and a hundred other
places hasten to swell the chorus, be sure the days of
hereditary legislation are well nigh numbered. Yet
their Lordships, scarcely yet awake to a sense of their
true position, are, we see, proposing the erection of a
new House I Had they not better first ascertain whe
ther they will have occasion for it ? These are not times
when men are fond of venturing on large outlays of ca-
pital, without the certainty of an adequate return. For
a thoroughly Reformed House of Lords, the people
might possible agree to secure suitable accommodation;
but we question much whether they would relish the
idea of furnishing the funds for a new costly building,
which is to be tenanted only by their worst enemies.
But to return to a more pressing topic. The amend-
ment which has most disgusted the country—as we
judge from the numerous communications which we
are daily receiving—is Lord LYNDHURST'S qualifica-
tion clause, which, as is every where sensibly and
forcibly urged, changes in toto the character of the
Corporation Bill. It not only destroys the popular
principle of the measure, but substitutes instead, an
exclusively aristocratical one. It makes the size and
rent of the house, the only criterion of its tenant's fit-
ness for guarding theinterests of his neighbours. The
man himself is nothing; ; it is his dwelling that is the
sole consideration. He himself may be intelligent—
honest--persevering—cxperienced ; a good father--a
good husband—a good friend—a good citizen—still i f h e
happen to rent a house below the rate of qualification,

he is no more entitled to have a vote in the borough
where he resides, than the veriest beggar that ever
swept a crossing in St. Giles's. Is this preference of
wealth (however unaccompanied by desert) to acknow-
ledged intelligence and integrity, to be endured ? As-
suredly not, for it strikes at the root of all public mo-
rality. Let Lord LYNDHURST'S clause once come
into full operation, and who will constitute the ma-
jority of our Municipal electors? Why, shrewd knaves
and aspiring adventurers, who will make a point of
renting houses far above their means, in the hope that
they may be enabled to reimburse themselves by fur-
thering the cause of Municipal corruption. In the
old NEWCASTLE boroughs, we shall still have
NEWCASTLE agents ; and thus the very measure
intended for the benefit of the many, will have
no other result than perpetuating the benefit of the
few. Such is a Tory's notions of Corporate Re-
form I Such the spirit in which he deals with inve-
terate abuses I But the clause cannot—shall not pass.
The people must look to it ; their representatives must
look to it ; and both insist on its instant, wholesale re-
vision. Their Lordships are much mistaken if they
think that the Bill will pass in its present shape, or
even be adjourned over to another Session. The
House of Commons will not prorogue till they have
restored it to its original state ; for it is not to be
endured that when the country has asked for one
measure, it should be put off with another. Our
demand is for a popular Corporation Reform, and
their Lordships (kind souls I) proffer us instead an
aristocratic one ! Mark, too, the period at which
they volunteer this deliberate insult ! Is it when they
are themselves supreme in influence ? No ; but when,
with all their intrigues, all their watchfulness, and all
their perseverance, they can scarcely manage to keep
themselves afloat from one hour to another ! Verily,
the whole Tory squad are infatuated, and it is our duty,
not less than our interest, to profit by their infatuation.
We have got the adder fairly in our grasp ; let us
hasten, then, to extract its venom hag.

The proceedings which took place in the House of
Commons last night, with reference to the Orange
Lodges, possess considerable interest. It was evident
from the conduct of the Tories, since the first mooting
of this question, that they were alarmed at the probable ,
consequences of an investigation into these Associa-
tions, and that they would do all in their power to
stifle inquiry. At first they pretended to laugt.
at the idea of investing the subject with such
importance as to bring it before Parliament.
It was only one of Mr. HUME's crotchets, they said,
and therefore deserved no notice. 'When, ho•weve:.
they found that Mr. HUM E made out so strong a cast
that tl►e House of Commons addres,ed the Crown re-
specting the conduct of the Duke of CUMBERLANL
in cstabiishing secret Societies in the army, and ap-
pointed a Select Committee to enquire into the nature.
e.ytent, and object of those Societies—when they fount!
the matter taking this serious turn—they all at once pro-
fessed the utmost anxiety for a thorough investigation.
They were ready to throw open the door of every Orange
Lodge in time empire to the Committee. Not a document,
not a scrap of paper, that could throw the least light upon
their proceedings, that they were not most desirous of
producing to the whole world. They had no mystery,
no concealment about them. All they wanted was
time strictest and most searching examination into their
loyal and much-calumniated Orange Lodges. As to
the character of the Grand Master, the more it was
inquired into, the higher it would stand. It resembled
sterling gold seven times tried in time fire, and coining
out brighter and purer from every trial.
Such professions from such a quarter necessarily
aroused suspicion. No one at all acquainted with the
nature of the animal called a Tory could doubt for a
moment that the Orangemen had made up their minds
to keep back as much information as they dared.
Accordingly when Colonel FA I RMAN, Deputy Grand
Treasurer and Secretary of the Orange Institution of
Great Britain is called upon to produce a certain book to
the Committee, he refuses. And on what ground ? Be-
cause the book contains nothing about Orange Lodges?
No such thing. He admits that it contains his
official correspondence on that subject. " But," says
the Deputy Grand Secretary, " this book also con-
tains some private matters which I do not choose to
submit to your inspection. You have just as much
right to demand a sight of my banker's book."
This is, in fact, the only reason which the Secretary
of the Orange Lodges could give for withholding a
document necessary to the successful investigation of
the question before the Committee. And, will it be
believed, when this officer is brought to the bar of the
House of Commons, and there repeats his refusal,
he is applauded and abetted by those very men
who were only the other day so eager for an opportu-
nity to lay open their proceedings to public inspection !
It is truly comical to hear the SHA WS, the PERCE-
vALs, and the SCARLETTS advocating, at the top of
their lungs, the liberty of the subject, so grossly vio-
lated in the person of Colonel FAIRMAN. What
heart of human mould can resist the pathetic appeal
of the gallant Colonel SIBTHORP, when he declares,
in such woe-begone accents, that the glory is departed
from Israel—that an Englishman's house is no longer
his castle, since the House of Commons has ordered
a refractory witness to produce papers which it thinks
necessary to the elucidation of an important public
question ?
But to be serious—is it not lamentable to-see the
spirit of faction carried to such a degree ? Are the
Tories so blinded by their desire to screen a great cul-
prit, who happens to belong to their party, as not to see
that, according to the doctrine maintained by them last
night, no subject depending on written testimony
could ever be satisfactorily investigated by the House
of Commons. A reluctant witness would have nothing
to do but to insert a few private memoranda in any
book or paper which he suspected might be called for,
and it becomes private property. Its sanctity cannot
then be violated, should the fate of an empire depend
upon its production!

We are happy to find, from what passed in the
House of Lords last night, that considerable reduc-
tions are to be made in the Militia Staff. A Bill for
carrying this object into effect passed through Com-
mittee last night, and was ordered to be reported to-
morrow. The Duke of WELLINGTON and some
other Tory Lords seemed apprehensive that the
Government were carrying the reduction too far.
Our only regret is that it was not made sooner and
carried farther. Our military establishment is on much
too large a scale, and we trust that as soon as our
Noble Masters have passed the Irish Church Reform
Bill, a considerable diminution may take place. If

that Bill does not pass, we must expect a contrary
course to be adopted by the statesmen who shall suc-
ceed the present Ministers. We must then lay our
account with seeing Ireland a camp from the one end
to the other.

We find the following in a Morning Contem.
porary :—" We understand that the House oi
Lords will not oppose the committal of the Irish
Church Bill, but that in Committee they will strike
out those parts of the measure which spoliate the
revenues of the Irish Church, and which have shocked
to the last degree every sincet•e Protestant who va-
lues the maintenance of pure reformed religion above
ail political or factious consideration." This is no
news to us, nor indeed to any one else. We all
knew that the Lords would repudiate the va►uable