The Sun.
London, England, 1829-07-15 00:00:00

PARLIAMENTARY REFORM.

A Meeting of a Society which calls itself " The
Friends of Radical Reform," took place in the
Theatre of the Mechanics' Institution, on Monday
night, on which occasion Mr. Hunt was in the
Chair. Mr. Cobbett likewise attended.

The CHAIRMAN informed the Meeting, that in
consequence of the alteration which had takes place
with respect to the disputes of the Roman Catho-
lics, the name of the Society was altered from
" The Friends of Civil and Religious Liberty," to
" The Friends of Radical Reform in the Commons
House of Parliament." He felt particular pleasure
in taking the Chair on the present occasion, as the
question about to be proposed to the Meeting re-
lated to a subject in which he had never changed
his opinions in the course of the five-and-twenty
years that he had been a public man.—(Hear.)—The
motion to be proposed was, " That it is the object
of this Association to attain, by all legal and con-
stitutional means, a Radical Reform in the Com-
mons House of Parliament, which would secure the
people universal suffrage, vote by ballot, and annual
Parliaments." . This motion met with his entire
concurrence. There had been an intention in the
course of the evening to move a vote of thanks to
the Marquis of Blandford, who had brought for-
ward the question of Parliamentary Reform in the
course of the last Session ; but Mr. Cobbett had
just intimated to him that, in consequence of a pub-
lication which had taken place that day, that isten-
don had been foregone. What they wanted was the
possession of all their rights ; and, therefore, if Lord
John Russell, or any other moderate Reformer,
obtained anything for them, they would be very far
from saying that they would not receive it, but on
the contrary, obtaining that, it would only induce
them to struggle the more pertinaciously for what
remained behind.—(Cheers.)

Mr. GILL, then moved the Resolution as stated
above.

Mr. CORBETT—The history of Parliamentary
Reform is the history of a hundred years' struggle
between the people and the Aristocracy. At the
glorious Revolution (as we all agree to call it) it
was settled that the election of Members ought to
be free, and that a Parliament was not to last above
three years. Some time after this a Parliament
elected under this law, passed an Act to enable
themselves to sit for seven years—(a laugh)—
without making any appeal to the people, although
they had only been elected to serve for three years;
and the present House of Commons is the suc-
cessor of that House of Commons in an unbroken
line.—(A laugh.)—The consequence of this was,
that the people soon lost all real power of electing
their representatives. In 1793, Mr. Grey, now Lord
Grey, presented a petition to the House of Com-
mons, in which the petitioners pledged themselves
to prove, what was not necessary by-the-bye—(a
laugh)—that one hundred and fifty-four Peers and
great Commoners returned a majority of the House
of Commons. In 1809, Mr. Maddocks pledged
himself to prove that a seat had been sold to a
Member, through the instrumentality of two of the
Ministers, on the condition that he should vote for
the Government; but finding it beyond his con-
science to do so, he was forced, through their ma-
chinations, to resign his seat.—(Hear, hear.)—This
statement no one attempted to deny, and yet they
refused to let Mr. Maddocks prove it; indeed many
contended that it was not worth while to hear evi-
dence on the subject, as it was as notorious as the
sun at noon day. The next step took place in 1817,
when a million and a half of the people of England"
sent petitions to the Legislature, praying for Re-
form, and warning them, in the event of the rejec-
tion of their prayer, of the consequences which had
now come to pass. And how were these petitions
answered ? By the Power of Imprisonment Bill,
and by the consignment of persons to a dungeon
without even the mockery of a trial—(cheers)—by
the infliction of stripes—by chains for the limbs—
and by the spilling of blood.—(Loud cheers.)—But
now, those very persons who were most imstrumental
in inflicting those punishments are feeling the suffer-
ings which they intended for others. The merchants
of London—the life and fortune men of Manchester
—the farmers who were drawn up round Mr. Hunt
in Somersetshire—and the yeomanry who were
drawn up in the valley near Portsdown Hill, ready
to cut down the people if called upon, are all suffer-
ing ; and pray observe, that, however much we may
suffer, they will have to suffer a great deal more.—
(Cheers.)—You do not meet a man in London, and
still less do you in the country meet one, who does
not say " things cannot remain as they are." If
this is the state of the case—and we all know that
it is so—is it not time to ask how this state of
things came, and who made it P—Surely it has not
descended from the clouds, although the Chancellor
of the Exchequer assured the House that it was
nothing but a passing cloud.—(A laugh.)—Surely a
cloud cannot take the money out of people's pockets,
for then so rredignant a cloud would never have
been heard of before. The truth is, that it has
arisen from the Acts of this clever Parliament of
ours—(A laugh)—from the expenses they have
sanctioned—from the taxes they have drawn from
us. At all events, this distress has not been
brought upon the country by a reformed Parliament.
—(A laugh, and hear.)—ln 1824, the then Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer—Robinson—whom they
have now made a Lord, asked the House, with in-
finite self-complacency, " What now becomes of
those wild and visionary persons who called so loudly
for Parliamentary Reform ? Surely this House,
which has given such prosperity to the country—
this House, which dispenses from the portals of an
ancient Constitutional Monarchy blessings such as
no nation ever enjoyed, cannot need alteration !"
But in fifteen months after this fine speech comes a
panic which frightens the same Chancellor of the
Exchequer out of his senses, and the Parliament
along with him—(A laugh and cheers)—and what
in the world to do they did not know; they did
something, however, and this something has led to
our present state,—(Hear, hear.)—Will it be be.
lieved that within these three days so impudent an
expression has been used, as to say that the people
are in too ignorant and beastly a state to be trusted
to choose their own Representatives—(A voice—
" Peter Porcupine said so in 1784 ?")—You can
speak when I have done—(Cries of " hear him
out.")—l may be indiscreet in what I am say-
ing, and leaving room for a triumphant answer,
but let it be given after I have concluded. In
the late discussions in Parliament on the Bir-
mingham Petition, an observation was made by a
person of the name of Baring, to the effect that
we were in the situation of a man in the dark,
and that the only remedy was, to stand still
till the day-light came.—(Much laughter.):—Now I
should be glad to ask whether the people of Eng-
land—beastly and ignorant as they are—could elect
a set of men so little likely to do good as a Parlia-
ment that makes up its mind to stand still till the
light shall arrive ? There is trot a man here who is

not aware of the suffering of which I am speaking,
and, therefore, let us at once go to the cause of it.
In the first place, we have an enormous debt—the
Jacobins and Levellers never asked for that; and in
the second place, in the time of peace we have a
standing army of 100,000 men. Look at these too
causes alone, and deliberate whether they are not
sufficient to produce the misery of which we com-
plain ? In the time of the war the revenues of the
Judges (and no set of men better deserve to be paid
for their labours), of the Royal Family, of the Army,
and of the Navy, were increased, because it was said
that prices were high, and more money was required
for men to live at the same rate as before. But now
that the prices of things have come back to their old
standard, they have forgotten to bring back the
salaries in the same way;—(applause)—and al-
though the journeymen, the labourers, the farmers,
and the manufacturers of the country are brought
down, the incomes of the tax-receivers keep up, so
that although we are only receiving the same as
formerly, we have, in fact, double to pay. But
what further took place ? Parliament, having passed
a law in 1819 to set the question of the currency at
rest for ever, and which law was to come into ope-
ration in 1823, actually before that year arrived,
rescinded the law in great part, and adopted a totally
different course; and yet this is the Parliament that
works so well—this is the House of Commons that
is so enlightened, that it will not permit any
of the beastly and ignorant people to have any-
thing to do with it. It was then resolved that
the paper money should come to an end in 1829;
this, however, was not quite the case. We are
only progressing that way, as the Americans say;
when it shall be completed they will see what suffer-
ing it will produce; however it has brought some
already, although it only began in April last. Is it
not then to insult us very grossly to say that we
are not able to choose a Parliament that shall act
very nearly as wisely as this has done ?—(A laugh;)
It is curious enough that while the objection of want
of light is made by some, others urge just the con-
trary objection, to withhold from us our rights; for
when the six Acts: were before the House of Com-
mons, and the propriety of restraining the publica-
tion of cheap pamphlets was insisted upon in order
that the reading of the people might be lessened,
Plunkett, who is now a Lord in Ireland, said dis-
tinctly that the Bill was necessary, because the
people were becoming more enlightened than for-
merly—(Hear, hear,)—so that here is one side ac-
cusing us of being too ignorant and beastly, and an-
other of being too learned and bright.—(Cheering.)
But the country has been told over and over again,
that the leaders of the Radicals are men in despe-
rate circumstances—(a laugh)—that they have no
character to lose, and no coat to their back. I think
they call it having no stake in the country ; these
used to be the favourite expressions of Castle-
reagh; but have they no lives to lose ? Aye, that
they have, and I dare say would not like to lose
them as he lost his.—(lmmense cheering, which
lasted for some time; at intervals some few hisses
were heard, but they were entirely overpowered in
the ecstasy of the great majority of the meeting.)

The CHAIRMAN—The best way of settling the
matter is to let all those who approve of cutting
throats, stand up and show themselves.—(Laughter,
mixed with cheers and waving of hats.)

Mr. COBBETT-It is said that those who are de-
signated as Leaders of the Radicals take advantage
of the temporary distress of the country to conduct
the people into a state of permanent evil. " Tem-
porary" means " for a short time." But, is the dis-
tress of the country temporary ? Has not the
country for the last twelve years—with the excep-

tion of one short interval, and that a fictitious one—
been in a continued state of distress? As to taking
advantage of any particular time, when are von to
expect that the people will listen to you, if it is not
when they are in distress? There is an old saying,
that " adversity is the school of wisdom," and I
hope that it will be so to the people of England.--
Unless an alteration is made—for unless it is made it
can never happen—the distress of the country will
continue, only becoming every day greater and greater,
I should not have troubled you any further, but
something has occurred which I must first narrate
to you, and upon which I will then make a few re-
marks. It was suggested by me, and agreed to by
some others, that a vote of thanks to the Marquis of
Blandford should be proposed at this Meeting; but
from what I have since heard I shall decline pro-
posing it. The Resolution, which was only written
this afternoon, was as follows :—" That the thanks
of this Meeting be hereby given to the Marquis of
Blandford, for his motion in the last Session relative
to Parliamentary Reform ; and that, if his Lordship
proceed in endeavouring to obtain a reform as to
Universal Suffrage, Vote by Ballot, and Annual
Parliaments, he will be entitled to the gratitude and
support of the whole country." But since I have
come to this room, I have been informed by a gentle-
man on whom I can rely, that there is in the
Standard of this evening, a letter from the Marquis
of Blandford to the Editor, stating that he had seen
my declaration on Parliamentary Reform ; and
adding, after paying some compliments to my exer-
tions on the subject, that he cannot agree in the
principles on which that declaration proceeds, as they
differ from him as widely as are the Poles asunder—
(a voice, " then he is not worthy of our thanks.")
—Under these circumstances, I have declined mov-
ing any vote of thanks to this Noblernan.—[The
letter of the Noble Marquis will be found at the
conclusion of this report.]—What the Marquis pro-
poses on the subject of reform is this—to take away
the franchise of Old Sarum, Westbury, and such
boroughs as those, and bestow them either upon
counties or large districts; but the people will de-
rive no benefit from this, for it will only be adding
to the already too great influence of the landed interest,
while what we want is Members who shall have a fel-
low feeling with us.—(Cheers.)—The motion that I
thought of proposing with respect to the Marquis of
Blandford, was not intended to wheedle, to coax, or
to delude him ; it was intended simply to declare,
that if he would make a stand on the subject of re-
form, we should feel it our duty to support him to
the utmost of our power. We have no favour to
ask ; all that we are standing up for, is our OWII
rights ; and if we have them not now we shall here-
after; if the old of this assembly do not live to see
them conceded, the young will.—(Great cheering.)
—lf they concede us any thing, by way of a sop,
let us take it, but let us nut be satisfied with a
sop only. We must have the whole.—(Cheers.)----
The time is now come when some remedy must be
instituted to prevent the landowner's estate from
passing into the hands of those who live upon the
taxes—those taxes now greatly exceed the rental of
all the lands, houses, canals, and mines of the
country. Can such a sum, then, be collected, and
the people not ruined ? From good information,
I understand that not one half the last Lady-day's
rents have been paid; and in the most fertile dis-
tricts of the country there is not such a thing as a
wheat stack to be seen in the farmer's yard. This
it is that will bring our insolent foes to their senses.
—(lmmense cheering.)—Gentlemen, I thank you
for the attention with which you have listened to
me, and I shall have much pleasure in meeting you
here again, for after the labours of the day are over,
we cannot do better than meet here. I do not
know any better way of passing an hour after
dark—except in certain cases which I need not
more particularly point out.—(Laughter and loud

cheering.)
Mr. WELLS, of Huntingdon, supported the Reso-
lution, which having been put from the chair, was
carried unanimously.

The following Resolution was then carried una-
nimously :
Moved by Mr. WELLS; seconded by Mr. COB'
BETT—
" Resolved,—That the only strength of ;t nation
consists in the happiness (not the glory) of the
people; and that such happiness can only be secured
by giving the labouring classes their undoubted
right—the ample reward of labour ; therefore, this
Society invites a general union of the people, it

being their firm determination to omit no effort to
restore the comforts of the pnnr."
The Meeting then adjourned at eleven o'clock.

The following is the letter from the Marquis of
Blandford to the Editor of the Standard, referred
to in the course of the above discussion:—
" Hast'ngs, July 11.
" Sir,—The oftener I read over the address which ap-
peared in your paper of the 9th inst., hearing the signa-
tures of Messrs. Cobbett and Hunt, the more do I see
reason to notice one part of it, lest my silence should
be mischievously construed into assent.
" Sincerely as I desire to witness a rational and con-
stitutional reform in the Commons House of Parliament,
I never will stand forward the wild advocate of voting
by ballot or universal suffrage ; both of them a species
of universal confusion—both inventions of modern date,
unfounded in reason, and totally unknown to our laws at
any period of their history.
" Upon these two points, then, Messrs. Cobbett and
Hunt (whom I otherwise respect for their talents and
patriotism), and myself, are as wide as the Poles asunder ;
and although fully sensible of the fearful odds it may be in
their power to oppose to me, I shall not he apprehensive
of maintaining my own views and convictions, independent
of such doctrines.—l have the honour to he, Sir,

" Your very obedient humble servant,
" BLANDFORD."

REFORM IN INDIA.

CALCUTTA, FEB. 12.—Former letters have
explained to you our situation as regards the at-
tainment of justice—and you would naturally
inquire what are the hopes of improvement here.
They are few and feeble. 'We want knowledge
—we want independent virtue. It is for every
sufferer to feel the disease and for few to dream
of a remedy. He who complains provokes hos•

tility—and he is sure to suffer more in his indi-
vidual capacity than he is likely to win by any
beneficial public change. He would get some-
thing more of happiness and of protection under
an amended state of things—and that would be
his small portion of the general welfare ; but
what is that, compared to what he risks by run-
ning counter to the ruling powers—powers
which exercise their attributes without re-
sponsibility or control—wielding immense
sources, whence to reward, and terrible
visitations, wherewith to punish ? You might
expect more from Europeans—but they are only
transitory creatures here, who come to enrich
themselves, and to migrate homewards—to amass,
and to amass speedily, is their policy and their
profession. Interest, permanent interest in the
well-being of India, they have none. As they
cannot possess lands, nor be certain of being
allowed quietly to domesticate themselves here—
so they gather and gather, taking care, in the
main, never to offend their masters, lest their
" gathering" should be impeded. As to the
natives, with few exceptions, there is too little
intelligence to aspire after improvement. They
feel and know that, as contrasted with any former
period of their history, their present position is
a happy one. The wars which devastated the
land trouble them no longer—the outrages and
acts of violence which make up the records of
the past have been succeeded by the tranquil en-
joyment of many blessings. The tribunals, bad
as they are, are far better than any they had been
accustomed to appeal to. Then the gross super-
stition of the Hindoos—blind bigotry of the
Mohammedans, are, for the present, insurmount-
able obstacles to improvement. Slowly, indeed,
an Anglo-Indian—a half-caste race—is coming
forward. By-and-by they will form a great link
of sympathy between the blacks and the whites—
and, perhaps, the great source of civilization in
the East. There are among the natives many
opulent men, though few instructed ones ; and,
as their opulence is mostly of modern growth,
they exercise little hereditary influence among
the different classes of the State, and are little
concerned about the character of the Govern-

ment. They seek wealth rather than improve-
ment, and would be especially careful to do
nothing and to say nothing which would em-
barrass or delay the acquisition of worldly pelf.
The Europeans are, in the main, connected
with the East India Company—and mostly the
instruments or the apologists of its acts, whether
good, bad, or indifferent. Besides those
directly dependent on the Company, many are
dependent through and by their friends—and all
arc dependent by the arbitrary power of banish-
ment exercised by the Government. Many are
settlers here without licence—for the remove of

these, where their opinions hostile to the views of the
Government, no other plea than the want oflicence
would be needed. Now, as almost all Europeans
here are fortune-makers, and, while they conti-
nue, have their wealth engaged in investments of
some sort or other—some holding on an Indian
tenure, or a connection with the Indian inhabi-
tants, it is clear that the dread of banishment is
the prospect of ruin, and that the exercise of
the power is not only the means of terrible in-
fliction on the person, but a boundless influence
upon the property of him who may be the object
of dislike.

As many of the Company's regulations are
unfriendly to the growth and security of wealth,
there is among the settlers a considerable por-
tion of discontent. But you must not confound
discontent with the desire of separation from
England—a thought which nobody indulges—
and to which nothing but a long succession of
misrule would ever give birth. There is, I say,
a party—a very growing party—sincerely desi-
rous of Reform and, though not extensive in
numbers, that party is formidable in talent, and
no greater mistake can he committed than to.
despise their complainings. This party is made
up of anomalous materials, and only kept toge-
ther by a sense of common interest, in which all
other distinctions are lost; and it is curious to
see Tories, Whigs, and Radicals, united in the
purpose—the general purpose of obtaining at-
tention to grievances which are felt by all. There
is a great body here, of immense influence and
wealth,who, interested in all those abuses which
grow out of the state of judicial proceedings, are,
almost to a man, " satisfied with things as they
are"—who want " to leave well alone" (mean-
ing the well out of which they draw their
—who object to cheap law, because that
r.
leadsate r s )o
litigation (honest cobblers ! who would
have their clients go unshod)—who object to
speedy justice, for that would look like precipita-
tion (honest doctors ! who would not let their
patients recover too soon)—and who would keep
the vexations and annoyances of present forms
purpose of preserving the majesty of
N t
for the
legal proceedings (sharp-sighted men! who can
so well distinguish between a crown and a fool's
cap)• But this is natural ; the system works
well for them, and its working, which fills their
pockets with fees and salaries, fills their mouths
with lies and fallacies. The Courts swarm with
officers receiving from 5001. to 15,0001. a year—
hundred pounds being five hundred, the
ethousand pounds fifteen thousand, reasons
excellence of the present state of things,
the glorious uncertainty of the law"—the
fit toast to be given by those for whom that
glorious uncertainty" fills bumper glasses.—
Paper.
year--
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efih:ve:
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