The Sun.
London, England, 1835-09-02 00:00:00

FROME PETITION.

We have received a spirited letter from Mr. Brown. Chair-
man of the Public Meeting in favour of th- Corporation Ile'
form Bills which was held the other day at Frome, and ":
attended by upwards of 3,000 Reformers, expressing his rere.
and surprise that in our Monday evening Parliamentary
port, we stated that the Meeting was against, instead of inJa
your, of the Bill in question. The error was wholly accidental
on our part--being in fact a mistake of the printer, committed
in the hurry of the moment, and we gladly take this oo3ol'
tunity of rectifying it. The following is the Frome Petition,
which is worthy of the independent Reformers of that town
That your Petitioners regard with considerable alarm the
course pursued by one of the branches of the Legislature, in iifi
pairing, and thereby virtually rejecting, the English Municipal a.-
Irish Church Reform Bills.
" That your Petitioners entertain the most sincere confidence
in the present Ministry : a confidence especially confirmed by tiler
tone and language held in your Honourable House on the night °
Friday the 21st of this month, with regard to postponing the &Ore;
priatien of Supplies until a prospect of the redress of grievance
should be thoroughly secured.
That your Petitioners respectfully and earnestly entreat you t°
take all such measures for this purpose as the occasion may require
and the constitution warrant ; so that every abuse may be slii;
pressed, and good government preserved, throughout the tilt
kingdoms. . . _

" And your Petitioners will ever pray, &c."

CORPORATION REFORM BILL-

TOWER HAMLETS.
A very numerous meeting of the electors and inhabitants of
the borough of the Tower Hamlets was held on Monday, urn
Stepney-green. Full five thousand persons. attended the
meeting.
Mr. SIMPSON (of HaCkney) was unanimously called to the
Chair.
The CHAIRMAN commented upon the importance of the
Municipal Corporation Reform Bill, by which the attention
the public had been so long occupied, and adverted to the it
jury its most important provisions were likely to experience, JP
consequence of the amendments it had received in its laassair,
through the House of Lords. He trusted that the House
Commons would never agree to the Bill in its present state'
deprived as it was of all its essential principles.—( Cheers.)
Mr. OPPENHEIM (the Secretary)' then read several letters:
which had been received from various Members of Parliament'
who had been invited to attend the meeting : Dr. LushingWe
and Mr. Hume fully concurred in the sentiments and purrsa
of the meeting, and excused their attendance upon the gr,
that their presence was required either at or near the ow"
of Commons during the day, upon urgent official business. ,
Mr. R. ASPLAND proposeet the first resolution, expressing
A
the alarm and indignation felt I.y the meeting at the disregso4
which the House of Lords had ptaid to the just wishes 40
prayers of the people, by renderrog the Corporation Refer
Bill a convenient instrument for unconstitutional and corroPf
practices. He was persuaded that it was from no feelingfa
disaffection to either of the three estates; of Kings, Lords, al;
Commons, that the present meeting vs,as convened, but_,,-0
maintain the rights of the people withotit entrenching tro
those of others. The history of the Corporation Reform Pl_s
was familiar to every one. It had been conceived and kayo;
by one of the wisest and most patriotic of Cabinets.
Bill had been received by the House of Commons, and eVett
the leader of the Tories had bowed to it with submission, with,
out departing for one moment from the principle it adraned,
—( Cheers ) From the House of Commons the Bill Was
ried into the House of Lords, which was doomed to be i 0 di d
secting-room ; for there it had been cut up in piece-meal
had its very heart plucked out. In order to preserve Oa-
resemblace to its original form, the putrid limbs of rotten bv..,
roughs, and the corrupt members of the most corrupt corP,cts,'
rations had been supplied to it; and thus mangled, and in
present shape, it had been sent back to the House of Cc":,
mons a body of sin and death.—( Cheers.) The RenreseD
tatives of the people of England, he was persuaded, Weani
never acknowledge this changeling as their child, but sea
it back again to the House of Lords, for every member v,
that House to take back his contribution.—( Cheers.) tar
the Duke of Newcastle it should go for its oepression,
Lord Kenyon for its intolerance, and to Lord Lyndhurst r:
its insincerity. The principles of the English Constitutl;
he felt were violated in the additions made to the Bill bYre
e.
Lords. The same men who had sympathized with the fbts
men whom the Bill had originally sought to deprive of rigeo
which they had so frequently and so openly abused--th
same men felt no compunction of conscience when they O'er)
away the vested privileges of the 40s. freeholders.—(Cheersc%
It was almost proverbial that a large proportion of the fre
men of boroughs and corporate towns had constituted, f°,rd,
long time past, the matter by which corruption had been leo
—( Cheers.) The intolerance of the Bill, in its Preto-
state, was another grand objection against it. It was ca3kn'tb,
lated to set the Churchman against the Dissenter, and "'of
against the Catholic. Pursuing this principle, the very ar,be
had recently been cut up into religious societies, to turn
sword against the conscience of the people, But the Noose:-
Lords had shown themselves " wise in their day and gene,":o
tion." They had found pleaders to abuse the Bill in all ii"ast
terms which an Oxford education could supply. They to
heard evidence, and thus constituted themselves judges slits
the principle of the Bill ; but, he observed, that to be PIO
in the full acceptation of the term, they themselves sho
be just.—( Cheering.) What was their justice ? The evidersci
they had heard was from those accused of robbery, who • 0,
declared themselves the very patterns of purity and perfectlaa,
Throughout the whole of the mutilations which the CorPle„
tion Bill had experienced, he could disting nos
uish but one
sign, which was against the liberties of the people : but i'so
hand, which was employed to butcher, when it pretendeoi is
heal.—( Cheers ) Was the Bill, he asked, to be passeutee
its present state ; and was it thus to be recorded uPt'a_ er
statute-book of England, that Dissenters were not to beiaosi
trusted with Ideal government ? Were the people of Eng' 0,
prepared to say this ?—( Cries of " no, no.") If it were,
then he said the Reform Bill itself might be forthvvith bp
pealed, or so amended, that no one would know it. We
have new wars in support of the Bourbons; gagging band
might be passed ; the liberty of the Press restricted;
Ireland herself bedewed with blood.—(Cheers.) Hest r
speak of those Lords who had stood by the people ofd 50
land—who had shown the true spirit of patriotism
looked to the people as their defence—and who never webos
be beaten until their armour was taken from them, 01%0
were left defenceless. Lord Melbourne, who respected nos
majority of the House of Commons, and cared for the Pe°F re
nor
awakened realised the expectations which 30 years ago,,joer
awakened by the late Charles Fox.—(Cheers.) Lord II."' test
was always at his post in the cause of the people, and wae
spoiled by being a Lord.—(Cheers.) There was that sto
lightened Nobleman (Lord Brougham), who some Years„, the
;
had declared the schoolmaster was abroad, and who, 00
House of Lords, had become the schoolmaster himself'oy
had made their Lordships, with weeping eyes, read tiotiO
disagreeable lesson. He had been accused, in his act° Rat
office, of using much severity ; but in that AssemblY neve
persuaded Lord Brougham had found many truants, satio 80
and dunces.—(Cheers.) He (Mr. Aspland) had no, e sJes
to the result of the contest which had now commenced' 810
while he exhorted the people to use no violence,unvvieetiss other
say, submit to none. Use no arms but reason,
arms arc raised against you ; but rally round the. Naito, to
maintain your own rights, and the rights of your cbiw"-
the latest posterity.—( Cheers.)
Mr. WANSEY seconded the resolution, which was c
e
unanimously. die'
horting LAWRENCE then moved the second resolutio Joe
horting the House of Commons to maintain their inderdaby all
in the collision which had been factiously provoked, a% tole'
constitutional means to preserve the Corporation 133.;1000iss"
jured, and to place the Supplies in the hands of 'dwarfs-
sioners, or to adopt such other measures as may be ne;ion
He remarked, at some length, upon the present rsi aged'
the country, and enforced the propriety of the course, thy
by the resolution. In the present emergency, petiti°ll 0? the
House of Commons not to agree to the amendments had to
Lords formed but a small part of the duty the people__ whe
perform. Their Lordships would say they did not ccri.is the
the Commons agreed or not. From the conduct
House of Peers many questions would certainly arise' theY
first question was, Who were they ? of what use were, aped
The only conclusion he could arrive at was—of none at es-
(Cheers.) It had been said that they were placed as itvaiS
lance between the King and the people; but the LorCl 3 OS
made that end of the balance kick the beam which wasuotioll
opposed to their own interests,—(Cheers.) TO