Star.
London, England, 1830-07-29 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE JOURNALS.

Tim rs —Mr. Brougham accepts the invitation of the Freeholders
of Yorkshire, and offers himself as a candidate for the representa-
tion of that county. There is an homage paid to genius and talents
in this proceeding which is highly gratifying. It is not possible,
perhaps, that the for., and Learned Gentleman can add much to
his incessant and various toils, even under the excitement of such
a distinction ; but, by being elected, he receives the high reward
of his past exertions, as well as an earnest of his future devotion
to the cause of his country. His address is eloquently written. It
will, we trust, be felt by the county, that to make the honour com-
plete, Mr. Brougham should be secured, not merely against
ruinous, but against any serious expenditure.

JIEIALD.—There seems to be no doubt but that some of the
most competent Members of the last Parliament, and many
other persons who would be valuable Members of the next, are
deterred from offering themselves solely on the score of expense.
Alen of moderate income, especially if it be derived from land,
must for some years have found their means diminishing in a much
greater ratio than has accompanied the demands upon them. The.
tax-gatherer's receipt remains much the same, while the tenant's
payment, per contra, is greatly diminished. To expect then that a
man so situated, however well qualified he may be to serve his
country, will embark in an outlay of from 10,0001. to 100,0001.
thereby entailing a perpetual rent-charge, equal to the
interest, upon his estate, is to suppose one of two things
—that such a man is either an idiot, or expects to reimburse
himself by the sale of his vote to those who have the power of re-
warding him. If such a state of things is to continue, if such is to
be the known ant acknowledged state of the elective franchise
throughout England, it would be better that seats in Parliament
were put up to the highest bidder, and the Legislature brought at
once avowedly, instead of covertly, to the hammer. The hest Par-
liament, which has distinguished itself by doing more useless and
less useful things than ever emanated from collective wisdom, among
other things decreed that no man should so much as offer him.
self as a candidate at an election, without being liable to, and
giving security for, paying a proportion of the expense of providing
hustings, 6r.t. Though we not agree with those who have asserted that
this is, of itself alone, acting as a material obstacle to persons coming
forward upon the present occasion, it is in principle most reprehen-
sible, because it establishes a point which the Legislature ought
never to have itself sanctioned—viz. that its threshold can never be
approached but at a pecuniary charge to the person who approaches
it. l'he contrary is the principle which Parliament itself should
recognize ; and having defined, as the Constitution has done, the
qualification as to property which Members of Parliament should
posies', every species of expenditure by candidates should be rigidly
prohibited, and the unavoidable expenses of elections—such as those
of hustings, poll-clerks, &c.—be paid by the county, city, or
place, which is to have the benefit of the labours of the person
elected. The at once honest and profligate avowal of an old
Member of many Parliaments ago—that, "having bought the
electors, he had a right to sell them"—applics, with more or less
truth, to every case where a candidate, having impaired his fortune
by getting into Parliament, must repair it, if he can, while there.
To say nothing of any other species of reform, this seems to be both
easy and indispensable, that elections should be carried on at the
expense of the electors, and not of the candidates. if this were the
case, it is not the strongest purse which would decide a man's fitness
for the highest duties of a citizen ; nor would a man, when placed in
Parliament, find, as is now so often the case, his free-agency
shackled by the debts incurred in placing himself there.

Cuttowiche.—The intelligence from France is of a most start.
ling nature. Neck or nothing seems the order of the day. The
French Government is, indeed, playing a bold game. Our readers
will see that the liberty of the Press is at an end, and the Constitu.
don destroyed. This is a bold beginning. The Report of the Ali.
nisters to the King, explanatory of their views, is one of the most
singular documents ever published by any Government. The
nation is treated as a herd of cattle. The people are stripped of
their privileges with an insolent audacity of which we have no pre.
vious example. The Press, the Constitution—all must yield to the
wishes of the King ! The reasoning will deceive no one, and
it deserves no answer. It amounts merely to this s the Press is
against us, therefore we must destroy it ; the Constitution is against
us, therefore we must destroy ft. The only answer the people can
make is, the King is against us, and therefore we must destroy him.
The King has made war on the nation. The issue must determine
whether the French are for a time_(for the peeple can never be finally
subjugated) to be slaves, or the King is to atone for his temerity
by the destruction of himself and family. There is no blinking
the issue. Under all circumstances, the course which the French
Government has adopted is perhaps the most politic. There cannot
be two supreme powers in a state. A Constitution necessarily sup.
poses the supremacy of the people as represented by their deputies.
The King, however, had declared that he was determined his power
and authority should be paramount. From the moment he dis.
solved the Chambers, because they represented too faithfully the
wishes of the nation, he entered on a course from which there was
no retreating. It is clear that he had made up his mind to peril his
all in the attempt to reduce the people to subjection. He had gone
too far to recede, for he could never nave hoped again to possess the
public confidence. The Chambers lately elected must, in self.
defence, have followed up their victory. As, therefore, the combat
was inevitable, there would have been no use in shrinking from it.
That the French will submit patiently to this revolutionary mea.
sure is not to be supposed. The question which most people will
ask themselves is—what is the step which will be first taken ?
In all conflicts like that which is about to take place, advan.
tage in the outset is usually with authority. The people are
strong in their mass; but organization is with their opponents.
There is one advantage of being first in the field, that the wavering
and timid are apt to infer from it the possession of some resources,
not generally known, which causes the confidence. One object of
the French government in this coup cf etat is, no doubt, to create a
belief that other governments will not look with indifence on the
conflict, and that they have made sure of the armed force. We,
however, are strongly inclined to believe that the neighbouring go-
vernments will take no part in the contest. We think—we are al.
most certain—that our own government will not meddle with the
French; and it strikes us, that the neighbouring governments
of Austria and Prussia will be cautious how far they provoke a
high-spirited nation like the French, by interference. The two ob.
jects of possessing the French army, and possessing the co-operation
of foreign Governments, are incompatible with each other ; for no
French soldier will ever suffer a foreigner to pollute the sacred soil of
his country.--The wishes of the people of every country must be for
the people of France. Whenever a government declares that it can.
not stand against the Press, it declares that It ought not to stand.—
Humanity is outraged by the bold assertion of the principle
that there is no obligation from which Governments may not
shake themselves free. The measure of the French Govern-
went is not within the limits of law. The only law it acknow.
ledges is the law of convenience.—We gave the Freedom of the
Press; we gave the Law of Elections ; we resume them as we gave
them. The people are our chattels, and our will is our law. The
cause of the French nation is the cause of every nation. May
they prove themselves worthy of the great cause, and, in this try.
Mg conjuncture, vindicate their title to uphold the rights of the
human race. Hitherto the French have surpassed all expectation.
They will not surely now fail in their duty in the twelfth hour.
There are occasions when men feel elevated above the ordinary con-
siderations of life. There are brave and determined men in our
times as well as in the times that are gone ; men who will account
life as nothing when the sacred name of country calls on them to
hazard it in her defence.