The Sun.
London, England, 1832-05-08 00:00:00

of such a number of Peers as

iall secure tl

against

any second defeat.—Times.
The decision of the House of Lords last night on the
amendment of Lord Lyndhurst for postponing the disfran-
chising clauses of the Reform Bill, was a defeat of Minis-
ters, which, in ordinary circumstances, would be followed
hy their immediate resignation. But the peace of the
country requires that Lord Grey should not resign. We
are no Whigs, and yet we say that Lord Grey should not
resign, supported as he is by the House of Commons, by
the people, and the King of England, and necessary as
his continuing in office is to the ultimate success of the
measure, and the peace and happiness of the country over
whose councils he presides. We say this without any
mixture of party feeling, but as honest Reformers, and as
friends to tranquillity. It is in vain to contend that, by
postponing, their Lordships have not rejected the principle
of disfranchisement. If it does nothing else, it underrates
that principle ; it deprives it of its due importance as the
main element of the measure, which contemplates, first of
all, the destruction of the rotten boroughs, and, next, the
extension of the franchise to considerable places. With
what astonishment will the people of England read this
day, that the same House of Lords, who but a fortnight
ago agreed to the principle of the Reform Bill by con-
senting to the second reading, refused, by a much
larger majority last night to recognise the very first
principle upon which the whole was founded ! No-
ble Lords who are enemies, professed enemies, of the
Bill, may persuade themselves that there is no incon-
sistency between the former vote and the vote of last
night ; but the public will not think so. Those Noble
Lords who do think so deceive themselves, but they can-
not deceive others. The impression will be general that
the House of Lords has virtually rescinded its own act,
and therefore it is that we say Lord Grey is hound to hold
office in defiance of the majority which has been mustered
against him, even though he should be obliged to have re-
course to an exertion of the prerogative, which nothing
but a case of extreme necessity could justify. The public
will bear witness for us that we have not been rash in
joining in the cry for a new creation of Peers ; on the
contrary, they will give us credit for having repeatedly
opposed that cry when we thought it was raised for the
purpose of' extinguishing fair discussion. But now the
peace of the country, the success of Reform, and the pre-
servation of the consistency of the House of Lords itself,
demand that the utmost which can be done should be done
for the prote.rtion of such mighty interests. That the
people will bear this disappointment with becoming firm,
ness we have no doubt ; that the Minister will meet it
with promptitude and vigour, knowing that it is to him
the people look up in their extremity, we are equally con-
fident. It is well that the spirit of the Opposition has
shown itself so early; much time will be saved by the
manifestation. If Reform can be put down by a lawyer's
quibble, it is well we should know the fact at once, that
we may understand not only how soon we are to lose our
hopes, but how well we deserve to lose them.—Morning
Herald.

Majority against Ministers Thirty-five.—Thank heaven !
the (lays of speechifying are now over—the season of action
has arrived—the Peers must be made, or Lord Grey must
resign ! But he will not resign ! He observed last night,
in the course of his reply, that i❑ case of being defeated he
must think of what course it would next be proper for him
to pursue ; and what course is open to him but one—what
. .

line of conduct, in justice to himself and to the country,
but that of creating as many Peers as the occasion de-
mands? How the vote of last night will cheer the people
of Edinburgh—the prop!: of Glasgow—the people of
Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, and, above all, of Binning-
ham? How they will shout when they learn, as Crom-
well expressed it of the Scottish army, that "the Lord
bath delivered their enemies into their hands !" Lord
Grey must he active, or fatal consequences may be the re-
sult.—The House is adjourned to Thursday, and in that
brief interval some:hing may be done; but can a sufficient
number of Peers be made in the time to beat down such an
oppasition as that which was exhibited last night ? The
Gazette of this evening will be looked for with impatience.
—.Morning Advertiser.

The House of Lords has redeemed its character with
the nation. Its proceedings of yesterday evening will be
viewed with the highest satisfaction by every friend to the
Constitution and the Monarchy throughout the king•
dom, and will diffuse new confidence among those who
bad began to despair of the safety of the country.
The ground taken by the conservative party has been
chosen with admirable judgment, and rendered certain the
victory they obtained. To Lord Lyndhurst was intrusted
the task of setting forth the views of those with whom
he acted. On the first clause, schedule A, being brought
forward, the Noble Lord moved, as an amendment,
that this and the succeeding clause should be postponed,
in order that the enfranchising schedules might first
be taken into consideration, and supported the pro.-
position in a speech characterized by his usual ability. A ,
Reform B:11, as he forcibly conteieded, ought to be
essentially a measure of enfranchisement and of dis-
franchisement only as a consequence. As the House
of Commons ought not to be increased in number,
certain boroughs might properly be disfranchised in
order to afford room for the Members to be given to
the large towns, but upon no other principle is disfran-
chisement safe or equitable. To disfranchise upon any
other principle than that of making room for the enfran-
chisement of such large and opulent towns as are justly
entitled to distinct representation would be to sanction the
disorganising doctrine that the House of Commons as at
present constituted is and has been unfit to make laws
which should be binding upo❑ the people. This point was
forcibly urged by Lord Lyndhurst, who further showed
that if their Lordships disfranchised boroughs only
fur the sake of enfranchising populous places, and
within the limits which this purpose required, their con-
duct would not he liable to this mischievous construction.
On the other band, he al ghed that should they disfranchise
boroughs which now sent Members to the House of
Commons, on the principle that this part of the Repre-
sentation was a blot and a nuisance, they would generate
contempt for every existing law, and dissolve the ties that
held society together. This proposition was vehemently
opposed by the Ministers and their adherents, as utterly
ruinous to their measure ; but wherefore, we ask, should
it have been so considered, and why should this amendment
have been regarded with so much abhorrence ? It did not
involve any infringement upon either the enfranchising or
disfranchising clauses ; though it had been at once
agreed to, yet every town in schedules C and D
might have received its Members, and every borough in
A and B might have been destroyed or mutilated ; it was
in effect nothing more than a transposition of clauses.
Why then was it met with so vigorous and decided an op-
position ? Because the Bill is revolutionary in principle,
and because Ministers well know that in being deprived of
that character it would lose all credit with its mob sup-
porters. The Revolutionists, whose clamours and out-
rages have hitherto maintained the present Ministers in
office, will have a measure which destroys for the sake
of destruction, and not on any ground of neces-
sity or justice. They will have a tyrannical mea-
sure, and no other ; indiscriminate subversion, not

reasonable 'modification—revolution, not reform.

maintain that character, to the assumption of which they
are indebted fur their mob support, the 3linisters opposed
the amendment of Lord Lyndhurst, but they c;pposed in
vain. On a division they were beaten by a majority of
35. On this auspicious omen we cordially congratulate
the country. Earl Grey, immediately after the division,
postponed the further consideration of the Bill till Thurs-
day. In the mean time it is to be hoped the Ministry
will see the propriety of resigning. A creation of Peers
adequate to the emergency is an idea too preposterous, we
should think, to be entertained by any man. We cannot
believe that Earl Grey will be induced by any considera-
tion whatever to sink himself and his Sovereign into a
disgrace so deep and lasting as would attach to such a
measure.—Morning Post.

THE LEEDS ADDRESS.—The Reform Ad-
(frees to the KING from Leeds, with its 27,937 signatures,
was presented to his MAJESTY at the Levee, on Wednesday
last, by Earl GREY, and was most graciously received.
The cavillers say, that we have not 27,000 male adults in
the borough, but in this they are mistaken. A population
of 121,000 persons will produce 33,000 males from 16
years of age upwards, and it may safely be asserted, that
nine-tenths of the inhabitants at least are in favour of Re-
form. So much for re. action.—Leeds Mercury.
Among the Reforms wanted, the reasoning
portions of the public are, we believe, almost unanimous in
opinion that the Law of Libel ought to be reformed. We
refer our readers to the case (in another column) of a Pro-
vincial newspaper, the editor of which reported a trial at the
Gloucester Assizes, for which correct report of Mr. CAur -
BELL's speech an action was brought against the reporter,
and the trial of which was removed (perhaps for the sake
of costs) to a remote county : finally the jury gave one
shilling damages to the Lawyer who brought the action !
The jury probably were not aware that by giving one
shilling, or even one farthing damages, the printer is sad-
dled with all the costs of both parties,—amounting to per-
ai )s hundreds of pounds. The jury in cases of libel have
no business to attend to the dictum of the Judges : for they
are
ofie (I).3ll..:Ludsgleas.eslctr,yofc ti:a,and of the fact, in

LONDON,
TUESDAY EVENING, MAY 8, 1852.

An extraordinary meeting of the Cabinet Mi-
nisters took place this morning at a quarter be-
fore eleven o'clock, at the Foreign Office, in
Downing-street. It is unnecessary to state that
the subject of discussion was, as to what course
should be pursued at this crisis, to insure the
success of the Reform Bill. The LORD CHAN-
CELLOR left his Court a few minutes before
eleven, when he stated to the Bar that he should
not return till two, or prehaps later. Earl
GREY'S carriage was in waiting in the Park
during the deliberation, in the event of the ne-
cessity of the Noble Earl's proceeding to
Windsor to his MAJESTY.

So intense was the public anxiety during the
morning, that groups of persons were assembled
in and about Downing-street, eagerly catch-
ing at every rumour connected with the
movements of the Ministers. At two o'clock the
Cabinet was still sitting.

It is with shame, sorrow, and consternation
we announce to millions of our countrymen the
disastrous intelligence that the Reform Bill—
even on Ministers' own showing—has received
its death-blow in the House of Lords. Not less
than Thirty-Five Peers came last night to the
daring resolution of destroying the country's new
Magna Charta on the very threshhold of discus-
sion ! For the present therefore it is, to all in-
tents and purposes, a dead letter. But the next
eight-and-forty hours will determine whether it is
to continue in this state of torpidity, or be once
again called into life and action.
Lord LYNDHURST'S amendment evidently
took Ministers by surprise. They calculated too
much on the courtesy and sense ofjustice of the
Anti-reformers, and too little on their intrigues
and treachery. They imagined they would have
received at least fair-play at the hands of their
opponents. But what could they, what ought
they to have expected, from a faction headed by
that immaculate patriot, Lord LYNDHURST, and
tailed by that fat Cicero, the Duke of BUCK-
INGHAM ? What, but defeat, and shame and ruin!

It is the business of a Statesman to be able to
appreciate, not only his own resources, but those
also of his adversaries. Here Lord GREY has
been deficient. Here the country has had the
advantage over him. Not for one instant, from
the first period of the mooting of the Reform
Bill, have the people wholly laid aside their
doubts of the good faith of the House of Lords.
Distrust is the soul of wisdom, and in this re-
spect the country has shown a thousand times more
sterling sagacity than its Whig rulers. While
the latterwere frittering away the golden moments
in supplicating—threatening—remonstrating—
coquetting with the anti-Reformers ; the latter
was all energy and decision, uninterruptedly
busied, from day to day, in husbanding its resources
against the great season of peril which, it felt
assured, was at hand. What is the consequence ?
The Whigs are humbled—defeated—we might
almost say panic-stricken ; the country holds a
prouder position, is more powerful, more pre-
pared for the exercise of Constitutional energy
than ever.

It is idle to assert that the country has suf-
fered a defeat by last night's majority. The fact
is quite the reverse. It has received, the only
thing that was wanted to insure its final victory,
a stimulus to activity and resolution. The sea-
son of delicacy and forbearance is past. That
of stern, indomitable determination is at hand.
There must be no more doubt—no more hesi-
tation—no more squeamishness. From one
extremity to the other, the country must cla-
mour in a voice of thunder for Reform.
The great Political Unions must assemble ;
their Councils must frame resolutions suited to
the pressing exigency of the moment ; their
standing Committees must hold themselves in
readiness to act at a moment's notice. Not a
individual, however insignificant he may deem
himself, must shrink from the great cause that
now claims the undivided attention of the com-
munity. All petty bickerings, all private piques,
all partial differences of opinion must, at this
awful crisis, be given up and forgotten.
The hour demands union ; not the union of this
Reformer with that Reformer; not the union of
these thousands with those thousands ; not
the union of Birmingham with Manchester,
or Manchester with Edinburgh ; but that
irresistible, magnificent union, weighed against
which the hostility of the House of Lords
is as a feather in the scale—the union of

o gain their rights, or be reduced to a desert in
he attempt.

Even while we pen these words, the
l
—of first grand preliminary movement is being
made. The City is already on the stir. The
great parishess t.George—of
o f Mar ycl ehbeol
Chelsea—are all Pancraseioal
oaf St.
y
on the alert, all equally resolute. Let but
the provinces follow promptly in the same track,
and Reform shall yet triumph.
But above all things we entreat—we implore
our countrymen, not to he led away by the
shallow sophistries of the Anti-Reformers. Shall
man put faith in the Devil, when the fiend has
betrayed his cloven foot ? The Ultras and the
NlVaverers—the most detestable of all Ultras—
would fain persuade us that by acting, as they
acted last night, they were influenced, not by hos-
tility to the Reform Bill, but simply by a dislike
to sonie few of its minor details; that their amend-
ment was one rather of courtesy, than of hostility
towards the people ; more of form than sub.
stance, and did not in the slightest degree com-
promise the principles of the measure. But this
flimsy artifice will not dupe the country. It
proceeds from the Boroughmongers, and this is
quite enough to damn it in public estimation.
What, these men anxious to promote the people's
welfare—these men who organised the Man-
chester massacre—who even sang their Te
Deums over it—who have filled our jails with
convicts, and our work-houses with paupers—
who have saddled us with the debts of
their mistresses, their slaves, their sycophants,
their first cousins, and their second cousins, to
the third and fourth generation ;—these men, and
such as these, devoted to the interests of the
people ? Impossible ! The very idea is a
joke of the broadest character.
But whatever be the wishes or intentions of the
boroughmongers, one thing is clear, namely, that
Lord GREY will not act with justice to the country,
or honour to himself, if he does not strive his ut-
most to neutralize them. And this he can only do
by a prompt, efficient creation of Peers. He
has now brought the question of Reform to
such a pass, that there is no halting or retreat-
ing with safety. In common with our con-
temporaries, we long ago warned him of
the danger of hesitating when he should decide,
and he must now find that our warnings were not
given without reason. But promptitude may
yet do much. Let but a plenary creation of
Peers be announced in the next Gazette, and the
Whig star shall yet be lord of the ascendant.
We hope that this, our second, warning will not
fall on deaf ears. Time presses, and a few days,
possibly a few hours, will decide the fate of the
Whigs and the Reform Bill.

Last night the House of Lords went into
Committee on the Reform Bill, when Lord
LYNDHURST, contending that Lord GREY'S
proposition to leave a blank for the number of
boroughs to be disfranchised in the first clause
was not sufficient, moved an amendment that
the disfranchising clauses be postponed until the
enfranchising clauses were disposed of. This pro-
position gave rise to a debate.-The LORD CHAN-
CELLOR defended the arrangement proposed by
the Ministers, and opposed the proposition of
Lord LYNDHURST sot coming from a decided
enemy to Reform. Lord HARROWBY was of
opinion that the enfranchisement ought first to
be considered, and Lord RADNOR followed in
opposition to the amendment. The Duke of
WELLINGTON supported the amendment, as be-
ing the most constitutional mode of proceeding.
Lord HOLLAND was of opinion that the dis-
franchisement clause ought first to be disposed
of, as containing the most important part of
the principle of the Bill. Lord ELLENtao-
ROUGH followed, and insisted that Lord
LYNDHUST'S proposition would not affect the
principles of the Bill. He was followed
on the same side by Lords WHARNCLIFFE and
HAREWOO D. Earl GREY considered that the
amendment would, if carried, be fatal to the
whole measure, and that it would then be-
come his duty to consider what course he
should adopt in order to secure the success of
theßill' which,he contended, was as much
wished for as ever by the people. The Earl of
CA RNARVON was of opinion that the language
n
of the Noble Earl was a menace towards the op-
ponents
with
ft the he
Billßill,i
ann
ad expressedom mit
histee, a
readiness
hisss
e t o
de
al
de-
sire to render it as harmless as possible, but not
to destroy it. He however agreed with Lord
LYNDHURST'S motion. On the division there
were for the amendment, 151; against it, 116 ;
majority against Ministers, 35. On the motion
of Earl GREY, the further proceeding in Com-
mittee was deferred until Thursday, a proposi-
tion which seemed to excite a great sensation in
the House.

In the House of Commons no business o'
importance was transacted.

We request the attention of our readers to
the account of the great Birmingham Reform
meeting, which will be found in another p art of
The Sun. It took place yesterday at Newhall
Hill, and was attended by considerably
upwards of two hundred thousand indi-
viduals ! The resolutions passed at this
important meeting are of the most significant
character, and cannot be perused without emo-
tion. What the Birmingham Reformers will
do when the news of last night's disastrous divi-
sion reaches them, we cannot pretend to say ; we
should conjecture, however, that they will in-
stantly summon another and, if possible, more
numerous, meeting, for the purpose of express-
ing a decided opinion on the conduct of the
Anti-Reformers, and exerting, in a legal, con-
stitutional manner, all their Herculean energies.
They cannot but be aware that events are
thickening, and that the " beginning of the end"
no longer looks dim and vague in the distance.

The .Allgemeine Zeitung gives a deplorable
account of the state of Poland, which becomes,
if possible, worse and worse every day. The
same authority adds—" A letter from Syra, of
March 19, mentions the arrival of several letter,

1.

ri

U.

I,

of Bavaria, as Sovereign of Greece, and says
that the inhabitants were transported with joy at
this happy intelligence."
visxliA, APRIL 27.—Five per Cent, 88 1-sixteenth
Four per Cent, 774 ; Bank Shares, 11, 5-8.

The French Papers of Sunday state that tran-
quillity is restored at Marseilles ; and that some
riots have again occurred in Paris. CASINIIR
PRRIER was improved in health ; and the cholera
on the decline.

We are nervously solicitous for the publica-
tion of the majority and minority on last night's
memorable division, in order that we may be en-
abled to see what ihrther claims the Episcopal
Bench has on public respect and gratitude.