Star.
London, England, 1831-10-15 00:00:00

4

OP

s salvation My Lords, think of these things, and
avoid the fate of the Frerch Hereditary Peerage. The
' Hereditary Peerage in France is abolished ! This is a
I fact, my Lords, and I will tell you in a few words how the
I event has taken place. Although France' be the curse of
Europe,' (to adopt the tempered and jetlicious expression of
one tip= Lordships) I believe you are by no means haat-
, tredve to our protwealings, nor ledifferent to the results of
I our revolution. 1 will, therefore, take it for granted, my
t lords, that you are aware that in the month of August, 1830,
it was resolved by the French Chamber of Deputies, to
leave the disrussion of the Preach Peerage and especially
of lb hereditary character, to the decision of the
Legislative &Won of 1831. You are, oleo, I ima-
gine, aware, that the King of the French—our Citizen
King has "veered Herod:wry Peetage from the tansecut
be Pctoved the 'Flarosn.—,teat bin present Mistiqers, el-
' though tacy ir.ve proposed a law ebolie :leg it. heteditery
character, t advocated the necessity for its retention ; and
that the brokers, capitalists, and rich landed proprietors of
France rhared the sante eidetic°, and desired the same re-
sult; and yet, my Lords, the hereditary Peerage had been
shell ited ! ! You are also not ignorant of the fact, that
during the last ten days the Chamber of Deputies has been
occepied with the elhscursion of the French Peerage Bill,
or, to rpesk with more correctness, with the debates ore the
new article of the French Charter, which is to decide on the
future character and existence of the French
Peerage. You may probably have also read, either
in the French or English Journals, the eloquent
and talented defences of this Hereditary Peerage,
which hare been made by IC Thiera, by Royer
Collard, by M. Guise, by M. Jay, and by M. Ramey ;
defences which will remain mottled in the pages of Euro-
pean hi- tory as splendid specimence of eloquence and parlia-
mentary talent, when even the names of my Lords London-
dcrry and Dudley shall be completely forgotten. For, my
Lords, be steered of one thing, that the abolition of the He-
reditary Peerage in France is a Enropem fact—is the com-
mencement of a new era in the history of the world, and
will lead to ccnsequencer which you are too imp.).
tent to controul, though that impotency be moat potent.
Yesterday—no further back than yesterday, ray Lords— the
Deputies of France and the Frehach nation learnt, through the
columns of the French Journals, that the peers of Great Bri-
tain—even you, Most Noble Lords—had decided by a ma-
jority of FOSTY ONE ! in favour of corruption, bribery,
nomination boroughs, the right of Old Sarum to return
Mcmbcts to Parliament, when the same right was denied to
Birmingham and to Manchester. They learnt that by your
vote you had decided that the House of Commons did not
understand the question of Parliamentary Reform—dkl not
know the elements of which it was composed—that it really
and faithfully represented all the interests in the kingdom—
and that the people were all wrong, end that you were all
right. This was toe news of yuterday—the intelligence of
er,terday ; sad I Will now explain to you the e@eet which
your derision produced, and the opinions which we bold
r.spectine it. When the public learnt the fact, the public
exclaimed, " What iuf.taation I " " What madness ! ' and
not one, but a thousand, said, " The Petra of Great Britain
have committed an act of moral suicide." Perhaps, my
I°o3, if you deigned in the course of your deliberations to
think of that country which is " the curse of Europe,"
you hoped by your tote to show vs " that ut least the English
Aristocracy would nut submit that at least the revolu-
tionists in England would have no chaeee "—" that at least
popular principles and opiMons would not triumph on your
I side of the Channel" and " that this should be the death-blow
to democracy all the world over." Well thee, my Lords, if
this were your opinion, your wish, your hope, I assure you
that you have been defeated; for no sooner was your deci-
sion known than the Chamber of Deputies hastened to de-
clare that an Hereditary Peerage in France was abolished ! !
When the result of the reform bill was known at Paris, the
Deputies who doubted, did so no longer; those who hesitated
and reflected, found their hesitation removed and their re-
flections enlightened, as well as their doubts removed ! and
upwards of four hundred Deputies proceeded to the Cham-
ber to decide on the fate of the Hereditary French Peerage.