The Sun.
London, England, 1842-06-22 00:00:00

12°PPerted by facts; a petition he had that day presented e
hem the householders of St. James's, in which it was stated
that the Ballot was adopted in their parochial matters, and that.
!!. both secured secresy and prevented intimidation. De
,ocqueville also affirmed that the Ballot was the great protec-
tion of the electors of France against undue influence. Under
the present system a man was inclined to resent a vote
Riven aainst him as a wrong, but he did not think he would
act thus
fluence of inferior agents over the proprietors of land, who fre-
ofently incited their principals to vengeance. The influence
sTPropert (Cho one thing, but the despotism of property was
other..... ers.) He did nat think that the fair influence
ci) Pr°Perty wonld be diminished by the Ballot. A good land-
ord would still retain it. But it was for them to consider,
W.bether the influence of property might not be ultimately car-
d f to excess, by which that influence would be endangered.
ore the Reform bill was introduced, the system of
I"eatnation was carried to a monstrous excess, and
'ttoligarchical interest had arisen in the State. Since
e
b Passing of the Reform Bill, borough after borough
Seel
fallen into the hands of a few individuals ; and it would
_aeFra as it before long " a close county," would become a fa-
befeiliar phrase. It was said, however, that immorality would
encouraged by a system of clandestine voting—that dis-
sttnulation and falsehood would be its inevitable results—that
'ten would make promises without any intention to fulfil them
is-end that distrust and jealousy would usurp the place of con-
ki:enee
.and good faith. Now it was his conviction that pro-
wl 9 given from a man's free volition would be always gene-
rraisle Qbserved, and that no reliance should be placed upon pro-
thes wrung from terror or won by corruption. He found in
it Nspeech of Demosthenes, on the " False Embassy," a pas-
e so strikingly in point that he could not refrain from reading
t° the House, although he was aware that but little value
Wa.._ 3. generalky set on the opinions of men who flourished in
stating
tittles. In the speech in question, Demosthenes, after
le°44llg that the vote was to be by Ballot, in addressing an as-
forutbly of 500
judges, proceeded to say—" If any of you, be-
eaterye nave entered this assembly, has had the misfortune to
1 into a promise to vote against your conscience and
raise It. Your country, bear in mind that that pro-
that
Col
void; those with whom you have entered into
it culpable engagement will not know whether you fulfilled
oiler
cot but there is a Divinity above that has cognizance of
d„.Y°ur faults, that will know whether you have fulfilled that
t'aZuto Your country which is paramount to every other ebb-
e, • Your vote iksecret, and by the wisest law that Solon
The Passed, immunity is secured to you."—( Hear, hear. )
ev. Pe was a truth and force in that sentiment applicable to
~,34Y count-3, where free institutions existed. A b
bentraet wits a void one; and the performance of ac trust ought to
iecrt.ended with safety. The franchise was not a trust for an
be vlual, it was a trust for one's country ; and parties should
"controlled in its performance. He admitted that there
were evils connected with the Ballot, but he believed that they
',Zee snore than out-weighed by those incidental to the present
eiti,°l. He was free to confess that if the franchise were ex-
ke,'2cst with perfect freedom, he, for one, should wish to pre.
40 that system of voting which was congenial to the ancient
t.'ts of the people of England. He admitted that an honest
ttoug'.ldY, and in the face of day, recording his conscien-
the -Pinion, presented a noble spectacle ; but let them turn
eb.tr eyes for a moment from the contemplation of such an
o je*t t° the scenes which took place in his (Mr. Shiel's)
ti:ttiz!vretched country. Let them turn from " the Cumber-
brevi,"4/esenan," whose spirit was as free as the air which he
atisf;" es—s( Hear, hear)—to the 10/. freeholder, who had the
t snip to pass the Registration Court, and who hadreceived
thaerraons from his landlord to attend at the hustings. Let
tele °aPPo'se a contest between a Whig and a Tory ; on the
ia,„„ see were the poor man's feelings—and he had his feel-
-14;"(1.4ke themselves—on the one side were all his national
kahtlections, all his religious emotions, all his personal at-
e ti,lrlents, all his aff,ctions—perhaps on the one side he saw
lus,:° whom he was accustomed to regard as the deliverer of
behir, trY, while his heart beat, and his eye grew dim, as he
164 i ; but, on the other side, he saw the champion of
kgoit eree ascendancy by which there was a time when his
Red e_rY was trampled under foot, which vilified his religion,
eoatette covered his altars with opprobrium, which looked with
he ,41Pt upon all that he revered ; but it was for the latter
hips'llse called upon to vote—( Hear, hear)—it was for
able, was called upon to give his false, his miser-
seue% 4eatorted suffrage. Trembling, cowardly, shrinking,
tags I able to sustain himself, he mounted the hust-
inottes, if it were a scaffold, and with a voice almost
vote ate with emotion, when asked for whom he would
aeeete:tte,red not the name of the man whom he re-
detested whom he loved, but that of the man whom he loathed,
hifituni4 "d abhorred—( Hear, hear)—or, perhaps, under the
volted ; • °f. emotions half heroical, and half religious, he re-
iiirn;. 'cut the tyranny that was sought to be rivetted upon
" Perhaps he did vote in conformity with the dictates of
o,l,°tiscience, nd with what, under the influence of a gener-
poorgelusion, her regarded as the ordinance of his religion. The
*LB ! before a month had gone by, all he had on earth
hieleilze4. The horse with which he ploughed, the beast
lota Rave him milk, the bed upon which he reposed, were no
Gor ;he went forth with Providence for his guide, and
.Pre,,:". his avenger. Was that a system which they were
forCr.e,d to maintain? For that system no man who had come
kitosrt ato oppose the Ballot had proposed a remedy. But the
ptet„,,,,t!as, ooth, an il process, ad an u-Enlish
ultrk,;''ng fo(
Hear, hear. ) immoral
He understoodn the force g of that
tld, Phrase ; he knew the noble attributes of the people of
4,ll,Country. Fraud was, indeed, un-English ; duplicity and
pia-dealing were un-English. But bribery, too, was not
kun."b ; cowering fear upon the one side, and brutal tyranny
t,:n..the other, were un-English. And yet these were the un-
m;ll.lllsh consequences of the present system—consequences to
Ntich he called upon them to apply a remedy in the name of
414 and humanity—in the name of every high and honour-
OConsideration.—(Hear, hear.) They were told that they
lt leave the correction of the abuses of the present system
tptilitNic opinion. But the power of public opinion hail not
ti est. ot bribery, and still less, he believed, could it arrest in-
sZtion. There were many who condemned bribery, and
t la.
Owl considered coercion as a subject of self-congratulation ;
tii? Were landlords—great patricians—who openly proclaimed
lisd,k a mar, had a right to do what he pleased with his own,"
•‘`ho boldly advocated the doctrine of coercion. Now, while
th„
etited."mguage was held, he thought that public opinion
tact-41'10rd but a very inadequate remedy for existing evils ;
:_orft;ll2.a.t.were so, he entreated them in the name of the high
Iltet..at'' '`utlrenown of this country—he entreated them in the
eerywe-O O.s motive national and individual, to pause before
esseo,7leiao, d the means, the only means by which the spirit
417eought into the present system. could be re-
flbonly means by which all the suffering and all the
" followed from a general election could he arrested
h41(1:48 ',about which there was not a glimpse of hope
en,
LO.,
Of things the most calamitous and degrading,
Sir J on cold be applied.—(Cheers. )
,710'llet GRAHAM said, that the Right Hon. Gentleman
;:411e.; Just sat down had observed at the commencement
1,-;:tbiees ,Plett h, and with very great fruth, that the present
As Own One to which even genius and eloquence like
ts--°11..e °°l,l not add anything like freshness of argument.
s's4.cortainlY he (Sir J. Oraham) should say that the Right
I#3lll*ttles-entleman seemed to have implicitly relied upon the
-"rob, s of the memory of those gentlemen who had been
ellr„ 1034.7, Of former Parliaments, and upon the absence of
Luiolt ,„,0n the part of new Members, who he appeared to
'eltil:,74Bt have abstained from all reference to that most
4ta!Pd elliository of former debates, he alluded to " Han-
11t H he should say, without meaning any offence to the
d, onourable Gentlemen, that everything in his splen-
Zo_.l ''':usation was to be found, almost without excep-
IS teatt'ell in the order in which he had stated both his
si lad d ''s arguments that evening, in the speech which
lest eh vered on the same question in the year 1839
k% °eeasion on which the matter was under discus-
Kal Slid that House. The Right Honourable Gentleman
teat he thought the question was to be treated histo-
171tetriprl that it was of vast importance to refer to what had
tilothe Previous to the introduction of the Reform Act,
at jtikOnle Lord the Member for London. He believed that
t a 11°n• Gentleman was not correct in stating that the
(k!tnelk,e °f Lord Grey's Government to whom the preparation
4°1%1 Bill was entrusted consisted of five persons. He
tjahatn) thought it consisted of only tour persons,
wh ue late I.ord Durham, Lord Duncannon, the Noble
ashen')e e saw opposite (Lord J. Russell), and himself (Sir
1&:d 0„ lie could not refer explicitly to what had oc-
-11:9, that that occasion. He had already stated, in the year
C 4 the Noble Lord, the Member for London, declared
411 had
received the permission of his late Majesty to make
htsded thdisclosure of the secret counsels which had pre-
tra km: introduction of the Reform Bill.—[Lord J. Russell
ii,ttt an observation, which wasinaudible in the gallery.]
ot volt.
le h., •Graham) stated then, and he repeated now,
'gad t toi received no such permission, and he was therefore
aPeak with considerable reserve. The Noble Lord
teiouldr, correct him if he should fall into any error.
ee a ern observe that the measure prepared by the Com-
pAkr„d I°!ed by Lord Grey's cabinet, was not brought for.
tosagej nt as a measure to which they were individually
fi .aor to which they meant finally to adhere ; but they had
th,lhe Cab, to be afterwards considered by their colleagues
Open
It met. He might be allowed to state in passing
141,4 41(6° occasion had he voted in favour of the Ballot.
sup .PP, previous to the passing of the Reform Act, had
the bad volt but
No;
a,
(Sir J. Graham) had differed from him,
Jett course
after "vu
against the measure. NO, observe what was
takenthe
hia no,nth the passing of the Reform Act. In
o,4lotiori .°f April, 1833, Mr. Grote had brought forward
j 4 1S„ ion Psila favour of the Ballot. Lord Althorp upon that
last "he appealed to every gentleman who had been
• e the ornament, and who knew the whole proceedings,
of Reform Act was going on, whether the pro.
te • the that mea ure did not consider that so far.
to be Presentation of the people was concerned it
the • ° sonle lor.rked upon as a final measure." There had
,/lesikne dispute as to the word finality, but that was
• Notitti" given by Lord Althorp himself, because
,I,ssu 'e Lord hatated tat the Government proposed the
It':,.klerioas, a final one.
Helicon urred in the opinion of the
isbiti°, et ti;'.hand as far as he was concerned in Lord Grey's
-"a‘o; t-e geforrn Act was a final measure. With respect to the
r%00.4f.,the Noble Lord the Member for London, he con-
,4`rse 1,11. all that had been stated; and with respect to the
h,„sits tr,,,ratued by Lord Grey's Government the Noble Lord
as not w "ea connected with it as himself. If he believed the
t,il!Port it likely to be a barrier to ulterior changes he would
tit' 'London; but he agreed with the Noble Lord the Member
toa, de,ire that it would lead to as great changes as the Char-
-1,101 thatu.',---( Hear, hear.) He concurred with the Noble
tttel',eesal .the Ballot were granted the next step would be
4/;;., eiteri...4"rage• That was a proof that the 50/. tenants
,o•Lse their franchise fairly, notwithstanding they were
/ their landlords. He was of opinion, with the Hon.
Vl%r for the
the county of Middles x, that secret voting was
•English character. The only party to whom the
114,NtiPtr, 74rara\vailable was the juggling hypocritical coward.—
if ha_r •J It was inconsistent with the manners, feeling,
ih4 ere.e of Englishmen or their institutions.—( Hear. )
114 'Age
must
entertained the question of the Ballot Universal
fortis wastist,fsollow as a necessary. consequence.—( Hear.)
Vriaip he would misfortune to despair of the present state of
M would not support the Ballot, and he trusted that the
u be rejected by a large majority.
;the 744 h "geant MURPHY believed that the people of Eng-
hltdad bar._o bound hand and foot by the aristocracy because
ps;.° the Vote by Ballot Hear.) If the Ballot was
hellieroine'Ple why had it been. recommended by the Right
Zved thnatet by
Hear, hear.) For his own part he
t.lo,l,,:ertt jr:tietir
dlreallnyallot was the Only just mode of voting.
Boot ORAHAM denied that he had been pledged
time. It was true that the subject had
polio meet eviscu sion
in Lord Gr's Government, but by ar-
lv't hi, ery Member of that Government was allowed to
dih 0,2,wn ?pinions
(ttl;r eo CONE ions.
*denounced such an arrangement as
wardly
e 11,1 i a'wl paltry conduct.—( Hear. ) He believed
t'tadlk, r, aa-aoht:vas the only Just mode of taking the opinion
(°' theta, theihasuld ,therefore, give it his support. He
vt,„eastle.o rg during the discussion on the , the weer-Lyme .
ttld kno,election, an instances of a fattier, who,
tat, ednee that his son had accepted a bribe, had at-
e" 4 I sad.
when
at the hustings, and seen him take the bribery
tittre ..o.iwnen asked how he could have allowed his son to
self, his re 1
tOtibtl4 hes eze, was the. was, "he had seen many others do
,ta
._°ll did more k2ti ".teCtiOn coo. system for them! In the case of the
ate
,sus devices hail:- nimittee, a witness stated that a contested
tr.:aching
of
thery to public morals in that lace than all
ministers of the Gospel could counteract. iNttltt,,
,re.s.ko
rue been h been resorted to escape the obligation of
had recommended that by leaving out the
would swear the truth. But many had
"kinitted th.at trouble to solace their consciences
Yateightforward perjury. That was the Eng-
% att stra
i.eu. hid
eotts, horrid system. And yet they