The Sun.
London, England, 1850-03-01 00:00:00

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.

THIS DAT —Morning, SO min. after 3 I Evening, 11 min. after 4
To-Motsew —Morning, le min. after 4 I Evening. 43 min. atter 4

the annual motion, christened by some parties Mr.
Humes Charter, are, as we have already observed,
strictly in accordance with the ancient scheme of the
British Constitution ; or, seeing yet further, that
they are actually compatible with the policy adopted
towards Ireland and towards the English colonies
by the existing Government—who shall presume to
sneer them down as the dreamings of political tran-
scendentalism, or the insane aspirations of a body
of legislative fanatics ? Among the fanatics of this
character we are proud to be enrolled ; and if this
transcendentalism then we too are indeed transcen-
dentalists.

What can be said as to the witty sarcasms flung at
the Treasury benches last night with an air of such
malicious bonhommie by the Hon. Gentleman the
Member for Middlesex ? What ? But that,
as on divers previous occasions, according to
the old adage " many a true word has been
spoken in jest." As our facetious contemporary,
Mr. Punch, has very recently suggested=and sug-
gested, too, with a humorous accuracy worthy of
the author of the "Comic Grammar"—statesmen in
office have a marvellous aptitude for forgetting their
antecedents, but remembering their relatives I In

illustration of the correctness of the remark, at any
rate as far as the former peculiarity is concerned,
we may turn directly to the discussion of yesterday
in the British House of Commons. There
indeed we shall find many an evidence of the facility
with which the most popular of our liberal statesmen
can sink their antecedents rts reformers in the waters
of oblivion—enlarging upon the beauties of conser-
',ration where they had formerly only recognised the
necessity for improvement. Against such inconsis-
tencies we have only to, briog forward, as the most
terrible means of repreacb, the speeches _delivered by
these same statesmen when they vaunted their windy
patriotism from the tempestuous ranks of the Op-
position I

The Irish Parliameotary Voters Bill, adjourned
from last Monday night, in consequence Of one of
the most fierce and factious oppositions' upon record
in the history of party warfare, comes on again this
evening for consideration in the House of Commons.
No less than eight mortaldivisions took place-on that
evening, for no better or stronger reuon than to
await the termination of the Irish assizes--a reason,
to our minds, entirely insufficient to warrant the reck-
less and unprincipled conduct of the Protectionist
party on' the occasion, or at all to justify such a
profligate waste of thi public time. We :feel con-
vinced the public will not deem the absence of a'few.
practising barristers a sufficient reason to stop' the
prOcess.of legislation on a great and important ques-
tion, the justice and expediency of which has been
affirmed ley a large majority of the House of Cornmons, and which lias been tong and loudly called for.
by the people of Ireland.

We do not believe the absence of one or -two
country gentlemen from an Irish county during the
assizes will at all retard the dispatCh of publiC
business, and we fully agree with a gentleman who
has won the respect .of all parties in ' the House,
as well from hii urbanity and ever;fiowing' good
humour, as from his practical usefulness—Mr. M. J:
O'ConroLL—" that 'it was' not the first duty of an
Irish Member to attend the *Sikes." It is distressing,
we had almost said disguiting, to_ see men of sense
and talent yielding to the paltry dictates of faction,
and seizing every opportunity which the present un-
fixed and indefinite forms 'of the House admit of to
throw vexatious obstacles in the way of their political
opponents. We cannot but regiet the course'which
Mr. Disalut, so mischievOusly for the public in-
terest and so ruinously for 'his .own 'charac-
ter, pursued on Monday evening. It melancholy
to see a man of his ability and undoubted
eloquence stooping' to the vile trickery of a faction
who would blindly butiainly oppose every step tend-
ing to advance the liberties-of man. We have more
than once expressed better hopes of the eloquent
leader of the Opposition,' we have even indulged in
the hope of seeing him one day come out from among
the herd of obstructives and leave them 'in their in-
significance. We will confess we had some lingering
hope that he would not give to the littleness of fac-
tion the varied talent which was "meant for man-
kind," and we trust ere it be too late he will reflect
on his position, and not be led by the fiery partisan-
ship of wily and unscrupulous advisers into any
further opposition to a measure called for no less by
expediency than by wisdom and justice. We trust,
at least, he will be no further party to the disgusting
exhibition of Monday night, and, that the measure
will be allowed to proceed this evening with the due
deliberation required by so important a, subject, and
without further obstruction than is legitimate on a
measure under the consideration of rational and honest
men in a deliberative assembly.
The question itself is a very simple one, and to our
mind requires little argument to enforce its necessity
and justice. A few facts and figures will clearly show
that the people of Ireland are not fairly represented
in the British House of Commons. We would first
take an aggregate view of the representative body in
the three kingdoms: The population of England and
Wales, about 16,000,600, has 500 Members, or one
to every 32,000 persons ; Scotland, 2,500,000, has
53 Members, or one in every 48,000 persons ; while
Ireland, with a population 'of 8,500,000, has 105
Members, or one to every 81,000 persons. Now in
this broad and simple view of the case the injustice to
Ireland is manifest to the simplest understanding. If
the deinocratic principle were carried out to its full
extent, in accordance with the spirit of the Reform
Bill; and that the representation were strictly
apportioned amongst the whole constituent body in
the United Kingdom, the result would be as follows :
—Taking the population according to the census of
1841, in round numbers, at millions, the 658
Members constituting the House of Commons would
give one Member for aboutievery 41,000 persons, and
in a representation thus equitably apportioned the
numbers would stand thus :-

- . Members.
England and Wales would have 892
Scotland
Ireland
Thus, by the present unjust and inequitable distribu-
tion, England has about 27 per cent. more than her
proper share, Scotland about 10 per cent. less, and
Ireland 49 per cent. less than her proper share in the
representation.

Though these facts and figures are not, perhaps,
strictly pertinent to the question immediately at issue
this evening, yet, as they give a broad and general
view of the inequality and injustice of our present
representative system, we thought it right to place
them before our readers preparatory to our notice of
the apportionment of the franchise. In the counties
of England there is one voter for every nineteen
persons, in Wales one for every 18 persons, in Scot-
land one for every thirty-three persons, and in Ireland
one for every one hundred and twenty-three persons.
Thus, it is clear that the franchise of Ireland is as
narrow as its representation is unjust and unequal;
and if she is—as she ought to be—treated as an in-
tegral portion of the empire, this crying injustice
should be at once done away with, and her people
placed on something like a fair footing with the
other portions of her MAJESTY'S subjects. Upon
what principle of fair play or common justice these
equitable, claims of the people of Ireland should be
refused or delayed we cannot imagine, as the obstruc-
tives have not condescended to favour the 'public with
any argument on the subject ; at least, none that
could for a moment stand the test of a rational exa-
mination, and we trust the people of Ireland, or any
portion of them who have been deluded into a league
with those who would tax the poor man's bread, and
who would refuse them the rights of a common citi-
zenship with their fellow-subjects, will at once awaken
u forasteenpst
protection,
oetioerfc
wrongs,
ihorenoi position,gs, abandona ndh aaasn
efdav,
cegtriiovbnieneg up
been
thatt the h
would
un
leidmn insane
ne
or
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yt a
human progress and human liberty. It is much to
be lamented that some measures should not
be adopted to prevent a recurrence of the disgraceful
scene of Monday evening last and we sincerely
trust the present Parliament will not separate
without adopting some means to prevent the recur-
rence of the mischievous farce enacted a few evenings
since, alike unworthy the dignity of the 'louse of
Commons, and detrimental to the public interest.

Those who are interested in the safety of Sir
Jonx FRAN KLIN are requested by advertisement to
enter their subscriptions for a kind of miniature ex-
pedition, to be diepatobed in quest of that di,"