Star.
London, England, 1823-02-21 00:00:00

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tanned?--(Hear, hoar.),-trOlt virp,.nat alp*:
Lord had AdMitted he did isot.elpectTerfeet
racy ; but. how.was any information ..to be obtained:
beyond That popular floating knowledge -la' which the
Noble Lord had alluded?. Be (Mr. Canning) con
tended, that no more accurate information could be
obtained without the eximinaflon of Charters.; and
• the sort of popular knowledge in question was never
contested by the opposers of Parliamentary Reform.
If it had ever been.disputed, then, indeed, the Noble.
Lord would havea right to call for accurate infor-
mation. This species of knowledge was never, to his
recollection, denied, in the course of the Many de.
bates which had taken place on.this subjeCt, long be-
fore the Noble Lord had taken it under his pi-titre-
tion. He (Mr. Canning) never remembered the fact,
that Boroughs, containing very few voters, sent Mem-
' ben to Parliament, to have been denied in the speech
'Of any one Member who opposed Parliamentary Re-
form. For his own part, he had always set out in
his argument, upon the very admission of this fact.
He always, for instance, conceded the fict, that two
voters only sent Members for OltlsSirum: No point
was ever made upon the supposed denial of this, or
such a fact. No obstacle was thrown in its way.—.-
His opposition to Parliamentary Reform was, that
the House of Commons, with all these acknowledged
imperfections, was adequate to the performance of
all- its Constitutional duties ; and that he, and those
who thought with Wm, dreaded change more than
they desired improvement. lie should not now go
into the argument, whether he was right or wrong.
All that he said was, that there never Mad been any
disposition to dispute the assertion upon which the
necessity of a Reform in Parliament was advocated.
In short, all was admitted in the way of fact, which
the Noble Lord desired for the benefit of his argu-
ment. And, after all, he observed the motion of the
Noble Lord was imperfect ; for he did not call for the
number of voters in the different counties. This could
be ascertained without much difficulty, particularly
in the Irish counties, to all of which the Registry
Laws applied. But with respect to the number of
voters in cities and boroughs, he would ask the
Noble Lord, ,by 'what scale be would proceed?
If he intended to go by the elections which had taken
place last Session Jibe did, the return as to all the
places at which there had been no contest must be
nil. And even_ in those-at which there bad been con-
tests, the return would tie inaccutate, unless the poll-
ing had proceeded to the exhaustion of all the voters.
In Liverpool, for example, the electors, at the election
before last, were polled to a considerablesiumber ;
but at the last election he believed not more than two
hundred bad been polled. With this doubt, 'there-
fore,and this uncertainty, a popular estimate would
be,quite sufficient fisil'a popular argument. That es-
Onsets was Conceded to the Noble Lord by his oppo-
nents, .so 6.44 his own view, the returns he
wanted.were spite unnecessary. The object of some
was to cutoff dieseieccant parts of our Constitu-
tion; but that of the Noble d was to retain them,
notwithstanding their deiradatiOn. No man ever
had been, or ever woufd be so absurd as to found his
case upon an argument in favour of close boroughs.
It was admitted dint they were small and limited,
both as regarded the functions they were destined to
perform and the share they had in representation. All
this was admitted, and whatever force the' admis.siois
could give to the -Noble Lord's:4lti*mM, he had no
wish to deprive hiin it. Lie did not think he
would gain anything.fromit ; he thmight great
prejudice would be arrayed against it were the House
to: sanction such a cause. When first the Noblk
Lord gave notice of his motion, he had applied him-
self *to consider how far it would be 'practicable to
pricure die information he desired, without the in-
strumentality .of the evils. he had pointed nut. But
he had failed in his endeavour to devise the means.
To a Committee, therefore, for such purposes lie ob-
jected. First, for the reason he had mentioned, that
the effect of it Must be to bring the charters of the
Boroughs into question.before such a 'tribunal ; and
next, because he was convinced it would bring on the
question as to that title, considerably more than the
Noble Lord, in his candour, had assured them hean-
ticipated, but not more than his judgment must int
form him it would be pushed. He wished 'to agoid
the prejudice which must be raised on the one hand,
and on the other, he could see no possible *ay of ar-
riving at the complete information desired by the
Noble Lord. His other reason .was, that whatever
benefit the Noble Lord could derive from the full
completion of his hopes from the motion iis'already
in his possession, as far as admiSsion or concession
could give it'to hiM. In declining to-give Slip-
port to the Noble Lord's motion, he assured him he
did it without the smallest feeling of hostility:, 'and,
without a desire to throw any impediment in the;
way of the motion he was about to bring forward oni
the main question. He would be ready to meet it,
When it came, with perfect candour. It touched, he
apprehended, no feeling-or passion that could find a
place in that House; at least so he felt it.: Ideienuld
meet it with temper; Wirt; for the preasita' Be muiti
.oppoie the motion beforethelkuse, asbeing, for_the
Noble Lord's•Mitpc4es,;enneitiesarY—(l-rear, bay).
Mr. A BERCROMB,lf•nssured , the :flight Hon.
GentlemanoppositetblnCimnine, that after listening
'With great attention to *bat he had said, he could
`,discover. only. `fv q`.grourids'i non Viliith'he 'opposed
the motion of his Noble Frlend.; one oferhich existed
only. in the inn egination of the Right' Honourable
Gentleman, and the Other waifotinded Only upon an
es,aggeration,,or,. he d father an ninten
tonal inistepresennuion ofbis NOble ftiesicif. In pre-
, ceeding toexamine them, he would pat esitirelyout of ,
t;be; question the Bight flenourible Gontlertian's
views _Whit .030erbr:the'tood of his •
Noble Friend. His RobleFriendilesired certain in-[
formation, for. Which -he moved. and with all tiefe-1
vence,he Inuit beg leave tosay,:th otitis Noble Friends
seas.rnastlikely.tobe the best judger of bow far that
information would- serve .him ornot, sought- it
for his own purposes, and no doubt wouldknowhow
to deal with it. The 'Bight. klentrurable uientlenian
supposed that the whole world teas ripe and ready,in-T-
-the event of-the motion -being curried,. and 'the .in-1
quirt* instituted, to-expect& sweeping Reform. Then, .
-if .so:slight a cheynutaiieb werecapahle.tif governing
the public opinion. upon this sabject,the public mind
must be deeply impressed with-an idea. of :the netts-4
sky of some such thatigtvaiad that it was the assay
- at House.to pas:gnome such. measpos. ...r.Dritmoitld
knot be better to take experience as a guide it place
,of the imagination the Right honourable Gentle. i

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