The Sun.
London, England, 1850-04-23 00:00:00

41)trb Viabition

SUN OFFICE, Seven o' Clock.

THE NATIONAL REFORM CON-
FERENCE.—(THIS DAY.)
The first meeting of the National Reform Conference
was held this morning in Crosby-hall, Bishopsgate-
street. The hall was crowded long before the proceed-
ings began with delegates from Reform associations
from all parts of the country. On the platform were
assembled many of the leaders of the cause, among
whom were Joseph Hume, Esq., Richard Cobden,
Esq., M.P., Lord Dudley Stuart, M.P., Sir J. Walms-
ley, M.P., W. J. Fox, Esq., M.P., Alderman Kershaw,
Colonel Thompson, M.P., Laurence Heyworth,
Esq., M.P., J. B. Smith, Esq., M.P., George Dawson,
Esq., Charles Gilpin, Esq., T. Williams, Esq , M.P.,
Feargus O'Connor, M.P., Sec.
On the motion of Mr. BIGGS, of Leicester, seconded
by Mr. WALTERS, of Newcastle, Sir J. Walmsley,
M.P., took the chair; and Mr. Thomas Begg, Secretary
to the National Reform Association, was appointed se-
cretary to the Conference.
Sir JOSHUA WALMSLET then rose] and said, in ac-
cordance with the wishes of the conference he should
not hesitate to take the chair and to explain the objects
of their meeting here. It would be quite unneces-
sary for him to trouble them with the principle
of the association, but he must say for himself,
that he felt greatly honoured by being elected to preside
over such an assembly, every member of which sat as a
delegate froma great constituency. The first object of
the conference would be to devise the best means of
giving a proper impulse to the public mind, and to 'na-
ture a system through which the wishes of the people
might be best forced upon the attention of the Legisla-
ture. It was well known that the National Association,
though in the operations which it had so far conducted
it had met eitith the utmost Success and the
general approbation of every part of the country
to which it had penetrated was yet in its infancy. The
members of the National Association bad hitherto been
determined by the accident of residence, but only those
who had had experience of the fact could properly esti-
mate the activity and intelligence of the supporters of
the association in the provinces. This was the great
reason why the present conference had been called to-
gether. He incited the conference to the utmost free-
dom of speech; there would be no restraint, he hoped,
imposed on them. The first object, he thought, would be to
appoint au executive committee, and though he had no wish
to prophecy what their deliberations would be, he might,
perhaps, be permitted to point out a few of the leering
point,' on which they could touch. He could not insist
too much on, local ceiorts.—(Cheers.) A few men like
111 r. Wet, of Norwich—(Cheers)—who would work
in each county as he had done in Norfolk, would do an
infinite amount of good to the cause. He hoped that
they would personally take this hint. Local efforts,
disected to the alteration of the existing state of
things, where they were inimical to the cause of
reform; to ameading and purifying the registration; to
the selection of men In their several districts best qua-
lified to carry nut the objects of the association in Par-
liament at a future election; and to a more stringent
supervision of the present Mem'eers, would beef great
advantage.—(Hear, hear.) He would nut detain them
from the business of the conference, but would conclude
by thanking them for the attention with which they had
listened t ) him, and also for the support which both he
and all the members of the committee had always met
with in their visits to the provincee.
Mr. PAR AY proposed the first resolution, which waste
appoint a businese committee, consisting of seven indi-
vidual;, to deliberete upon the order and manner of pro-
ceedings of the conference.
Colonel TenmesoN came forward, amid loud cheering,
to second the resolution. Ile hoped that, from their
long acquaintance, there could be no doubt of the sin-
cerity and satisfaction with which he came forward to
second that resolution. They had all lived !owe enough to
know the Process by which public White bad been settled
in this country--a country which, though not quite
free, was yet making great progress iu freedom, a country
in which they could meet and discuss without fear any
matter which they might wish to settle. He congratu-
lated the meeting on the hands iu which the Government
was at present placed; for though not very ready to
lead the way, they were quite willing to follow when
they saw .a sufficient number had gone More. They
were, as Homer said, the light troops in advance, but
they were the heavy troops who came behind.—(Cheers
and laughter.) They (the conference) ought to be
thankful then that they had such a force as the Ministers
at their backs. The Ministry would of course be ready to
excuse the zeal of a meeting like the present, because it
knew that they were only going in advance of what
they themselves would be ready to do when the proper
time come. They bad had sufficient evidence that
earnest, quiet agitation was the way to carry
out reforms in a country like this. They
had plenty ef encouragement to go for-
ward, and they could look back on nothing which
could disquiet them. All they had got to do was to
procure e sufficient quantity of public opinion on their
side, and in a very short time they would have to con-
gratulate themselves on a harvest as abundant as any
which had gone before. Ile was persuaded that the
strength of the country was On their side. Men were
wises than they had been before, and all classes in the
country were going on in the right direction for
their cause. If he looked back for twenty years, and
saw how.dangerous and how different the character of
u reformer was then to what it was now, he could not but
wonder. In these days reform was fashionable; even the
very Tories were reformers now for the fashion's sake,
and they'dare no more venture abroad with their ancient
prejudices, than they dare venture in the wigs and
queues of their ancestors. The cause would go on, and go
on, and go on, until their children would look back upon
the men.of the. present day and say, " those men did
not let .the machine stop in their day, but gave it a
push on." There was ono subject upon which he would
only just touch, and in doing so he should be very sorry
to hurt the feelings of any person present. It was the
great schism which was now taking place in the
national Church, and be could nut disguise from
himself that a great portion of that Church,
of which he had never professed himself anything but a
member, was hurrying them back as fast as possible to
Papacy, holy water, and other things from which they
had long escaped. In conclusion, he would heartily en-
courage them to proceed in the course in which they had
already.beaure—(Cheers.)
Mr. Hume, M.P., begged to say a few words to the
meeting., He was most gratified to be able to
see such a' conference as the present. He believed that
the course which they were taking was the one beat cal-
culated •to effect their objects. The Honourable
Gentleman then touched at some length upon the
difficulties which had stood in the way of reform,
financial and political, when he commenced his career
in 1818, and contrasted them with the present state
of the public mind, and with the increased facili-
ties for agitating such questions in the present day.
The signs of the times were cheering for the cause of
reform. Lot them look at the colonies, and they would
see the Government giving to the Capo of Good
Hope all that he (Mr. Hume) had asked for England.
He had been amused to hear that speech in the House,
iu which it was said that every Englishman
should carry out with him on going abroad
the institutions of his country, because it
struck him at the moment that it would
.be necessary
for him to go abread to enjoy those liberties to which
they were entitled. Now, for the modus ope-
randi, he hoped he might be allowed to throw out a few
hints to the Committee as to what had been done. He
would recommend them to record, as had been
done by himself and others before the Reform
Bill, The ill-doings of the House of Commons.
Let the votes of each Member on each division be re-
corded in lists distributed over the country, so that each
constituency should know what its members were doing.
Then the committee should look out for some man in
each constituency to form associations to keep continually
before the eyes of every man, voter or not voter, the
great and important points of the politics of the present
day, and of the course which each Member took
upon it. Let them join political and financial
reforms together, and he could not doubt
that they .would, in a slow and sure course, carry
reform, and force the present system to give way to
ono more calculated for the present state of affairs He
hoped that the committee would bear in mind this one
principle, to offend no one; that they would take
care to show that the changes contemplated would
be for the ndantage of all classes, and he could only say
that he shopld be very happy to afford them everyassist-
ance in his power, whether by suggestion or otherwise.
The lion. Gentleman sat down amid loud cheering.
The CHAIRMAN then put the resolution, which was
carried unanimously, and the gentleman selected retired
to consider on the proposition to be submitted to them
for conducting the business of the conference.
In the meantime the CHAIRMAN said he would call on
the Members of Parliament present to address the Con-
ference.
Mr. COBDEN said that, as he was engaged on a Com-
mittee in the House of Commons, he hoped the confer-
ence would allow him to leave for the present and ad-
dress them to-morrow.—(Cheers.)
Lord DUDLEY STUART congratulated himself upon
having the honour to address such a meeting as this.
When he considered that it consisted of gentlemen from
all parts of the country, he felt that it was one which
any man might felicitate himself upon being present at.
After the addresses of the two veteran Re:ormers who
had gone before him, there was little left for him to say.
Some of their enemies had cried out that the objects of
their'association were visionary, but he did not think so
when it was considered that it had for its object the
equalising the burdens of taxation.—(Hear, bear.)
In the year 1832 Mr. Cobbett undertook to
demonstrate that by the Stamp Act the poor wan paid
forty times as much as the rich man, and such eras the
state of things at the present day, which this movement
wished to remedy. Parliamentary reform was the first
step to this, and he thought the plan proposed for this was
one which could not fail of success. Sueh an object
could not fail of exciting the support of every thinking
man ; and he had no doubt that this association would
go on increasing until it was enabled to carry out the
great measure of Parliamentary reform.
Mr. W.J. Fox,M.P., congratulated the meeting upon the
great step which was now being taken towards a social
revolution. That some such revolution was wanting
was evident from the fact that the veteran Reformer to
whose lucid statement they had listened with such
admiration, had never once filled any employment
in the public service—merely because he had not
been bore in one of those small cliques which
seemed to think that the British empire was to be
ruled. by them alone. Let them look at history past
and present, and they would see the strong necessity
for some change. If they looked at the political
career of every man sprung from the middle
classes—at the career of Burke, Canning, reel, and even