Star.
London, England, 1831-03-03 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE JOURNALS.

Ca Bostic L is.,—.The debate on the of Lord J. Russell, for lost.
to bring in his Reform Bill, is again adjourned. It is difficult to gerrril,
the satisfaction which the announcement of the measure has every whe•e
produced. Nothing else was talked of yesterday. Whatever orp,..
don to the measure there may be in the House, it would have ,
difficult to discover any out of doors. The opponents of the n rue,,
of all grades, were in motion yesterday. A meeting was held s,r
Edward Knatchbull's, attended by seventy 3lembers; another in.,l,
of thirty members, was held at Sir Charles WethercT, 7
meeting, of fifteen, was held at Sir Robert Peel's. A, !II;
Coticifiabtelest,—the course to be pursued in their opposition,
keenly and anxiously agitated. We uodlrstand it was determined e
at all of them, not to oppose the introduction of the Bill, though at 5.,,
several Members were anxious to make head at once against it, „n .1.
ground that. if not crushed in the outset, the Press would pr.,kr,
such an impression on the public, that it might no longer be !,obsi,.i,
to withstand the evil. But the greater number thought that a row,,
like this would be held indicative of a determination not even to an„
the measure a bearing, and that it might create a spirit In the pt., p:
soil more dangerous than that produced by the Pres, ;,..!
the continued discussions. Sir Robert Peel has a difficult car
to play, and we understand his party were not exceed'ugh
edified by his counsels. It is very easy, in fact, for sit
Charles to rant and roar like any other Bottom ; for being as high on
the ladder of ambition as he an ever be, words are nothing to him. lid!
Sir Robert may be pardoned for having an eye to office hereafter; ab,!
one false move at a time like this, may be of immense consequehce. To
be opposed to reform, at a time when ninety-nine in a hundred of tilt
nation are for it, is no trifling matter. Hitherto no good argument has
been urged against the measure by its opponents. They like the pre,
sent state of the representation, but they can lay down no principle a,
the test of the goodness of that representation which is so much the sub.
jest of their admiration. If that which exists is to be deemed Kos!.
merely because it exists, we should have no reformation of any ah4t..
whatever. We ottght to have some principle surely to guide us in t°,.-
termining how a nation ought to be represented. Mr. Horace To! ,
dislikes the middle classes. Ought they then to be exciud .:
from all influence in returning members ? Another rneinbc
dislikes .he nroponed plan, because, though under it the property 0:
the people of. England, real and personal, will be represented, it wit:
afford no opening to Indian Nabobs, or retired Slave-drivers, who nry
be ambitious of the honour of a seat. Another says. How will the
political Swiss:of the countryZfind an entrance into the house ?
' returned by an independent constituency. supposes a candidate to enjoy
their esteem on account of his talents and vir.ues • but what is to become
of those whose talents and vinues remain to be discovered ? One would
think that the protection of the Iber.ies and property of a nation is
the only object for which a itcpsesentation is not required. Nay,
Sir Robert Inglis seemed to wish to argue, that the less the representa-
tion was connected with the nation, the more it approached to perfection.
Mr. Hallam. according to him, had said, that if they looked at the map
of England, and saw a place that was not represented now, it was cer-
tain that it was a place of no itnportarce when the system of the repre.
sentation of the country had been formed. He (Sir Robert), however,
thought, that if they examined the subjcc., they would find that this
was not the case. And why was it not the case ? Let us hear Sir
Robert. " What was it that had first induced the Sovereigns rf
this country to call a Parliament together ? It was becsuse they
wanted men and money to carry on their wars." This was nr.
excellent reason, of course, for their leaving out populous places,
and selecting places with few inhabitants. Had a Parliamert
been first called, in our times, by a sovereign in want of men
and money, he would have assuredly taken care to leave out Man-
chester, Birmingham, and Leeds. Our ancient sovereigns would have
been delighted with such a state of the representation as we now possois
The good sense of the people of this country will secure them 'gains:
attempts to reach their understandings by such arguments. Once more
we call on the people to bear in mind who they are who are now trying
the question of their own fitness to represent them. We need ear
no more.

Pour.—We have always insisted that Reform of Parliament, in the
sense in which that expression is understood by its advocates, with
scarcely an exception, is strictly equivalent to revolution. This arc•
Lion it was, however, somewhat difficult to prove so long as the change
implied in the term Reform was a vague and indefinite abstraction,
possessing no distinct features, and no tangible body. This difficulty is
now, however, fortunately at an end. The opponents of Reform have
at length obtained a distinct view of the revolutionary monster
against which their efforts are to he directed. It lies at
their feet an object of scorn rather than of tenor, a thing of
gigantic proportions, but of infantine feebleness, to be at once strangltd
by the vigorous grasp it can no longer elude, or extinguished by the con-
temptuous kicks, to which it is no luga invulnerable. Reform, we are
now fully authorized to say, means the subversion of monarchy In
England ; for where is the man so simple as to believe that the
monarchy can long exist, if entirely divested of its power, or that it
can retain any portion of its power when deprived of all influence
in that Body, which can at any moment withhold the supplies
necessary for the preservation of the State ? Who can pretend that the
influence of the Crown has been hitherto more than barely sufficient to
protect its just constitutional prerogatives from the invasions of De-
mocracy ? Who can deny that the measure now before the House of'
Commons annihilates the monarchical, while it incalculably increases
the Democratic, influence ? Is it not plain, then, that the measure is,
in principle and necessary effect, a revolutionary measure, and that it
leads directly, and by short and visible steps, to the establishment in
England of a republican government ?
HEDALDAVe are not disposed to attach much importance to the
arguments against the plan of Parliamentary Reform brought forwent
by Lord John Russell of such reasoner' as Sir Robert Inglis, inas-
much as the burden (and grievous it seemed to the House) of his speech
was, that the mode of electing Members to the British Parliament always
has been corrupt, is corrupt, and, therefore, must for ever main
corrupt. The only security, according to Sir Robert Inglis and
Mr. Horace Twits, for the liberties of the people of England, is
in the perpetual sale of seats in the House of Commons by
the proprietors of some boroughs, and in the never-ending
bribery of the voters in others—in abort, that it is impossible fir pro.
party to retain its due influence, except through the means of money
illegally paid and received. Now, however anxious we are for an ex-
tensive change in the application of the principles upon which the
British Monarchy is founded to the constitution of the House of Com-
mons, we should be slow to assent to any plan which destroyed
the proper influence of the higher classes of society in that house.
Without the representation of those classes, and their proprietary
interests, in that house, such a frequent occurrence of differ-
ences on legislative questions might be anticipated between the
Houses of Lords and Commons as would materially, if not fatally, ob-
struct the course of public affairs; but we feel assured that the plan of
reform proposed by; the Government does not involve any such conse.
quenccs. Nay, we go further, and we believe that the legitimate in.
lium° of property and local connection will be unimpaired, and that,
in many cues, the individuals through whom that influence is now ex-
erted will be unaffected by the contemplated alterations.
' Ties—The Reform Bill—the Ministerial Reform Bill—we may
even add the Royal Reform Bill—is now before the country. It will
be observed, too, that with the peculiar privilege which is said to belong
to the measures of an absolute monarchy only, the secret was kept till
the blow was struck; and then, indeed, were'those against shorn it was
levelled, or whose resistance was most to be apprehended,overwbehned
with surprise, and confounded with dismay. They did not expect it !
To us it appears that the Tories are more infatuated than that wretelsci
I creature who is now shut up in Holyrood House, after having
overthrown the fortunes of his family by his blind adherence to
obsolete prejudices, if they do not catch at Lord John
Russell's plan, and embrace it as a (ion-send for preserving the tran-
quillity of the country. The measure is a bold and comprehensive cue,
no doubt ; but look at the principles from which it starts, the tuts
upon which it is founded ; and if any one can deduce more moderate
and restricted consequences from such premises, we shall be content to
join his party. That may be laid down as an axiom so clear ami
assured, that the man is a fool—an absolute fool—who denies it. Then
what are you to do with the 120 members who now most scandalously
enter Parliament from those boroughs ? You must either dock Parlia-
ment by so many members, or distribute them somewhere ; and bow
they can be better distributed than over large counties, and into large
towns, we really do not know: and this distribution is all that the bill
now before Parliament aims at affecting. The next mischief to be re-
lined is the extravagant expenses of elections. It is impossible that
they should continue ! It is not a matter of choice, or a suggestion of
policy, ;hat the expenses of citations should be reduced,—it is stern and
uncontrollable necessity, or there were an end of elections and of fit men
serving in Parliament altogether ; and how was this to be done but by
some such measure as Lad John Russell's bill. It does not prescribe the
ballot as a remedy, for which some men have been so clamorous; but if
it a substitute for that hazardous and degrading experiment.
which otherwise must be tried,—if, with little comparative expense, it
preserves the relation between the electors and the elected, and so keel"
up the responsibility of the latter to his constituents, we think that it
Wrats a great good, and preserves the country from a gulf already open-
lug and gaping before it, which no one esn see the depth. Such is
the Bill now before eat, mud which we assert has given such an
electric pleasure to all who have hosed it. Bat still we are aware that
Its merits are to be hid than wises the evils which it would correct
are in full force. Ow eiessepaliars, therefore, ask bow the public
la '4 to call for salvoes it Isswid: as we recommended yesterday ?
We answer, by lasesmtlyassullegg the Hesse with prayers and petitions
for the bill--by pubis costs. ssassasassaing its adoption..

MARRIBD.
At St. Pantos Church, & Maine, Eq. of Judd-street. Brunewkk•
square, to Markin, the youngest daughter of Mr?. Monoo, of Jeffers•
street, Hanish Town.

The 9d bet. &t Chatham, Mr;.-ITllsabeth Bull, aged 7s, late home.
keeper at the Vktaalllag Mee, Somerset-place.

LONDON: Ptinted ma rublbbed by JONI: MAYNI, at the STAR
Orrics, No. 1, Pickett-place, Temple Bar.