Star.
London, England, 1831-03-04 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE JOURNALS.

TIMES.—Now is the time, certainly, for the people of
England to show themselves. Every man calls for reform.
Are the mere boroughmongers to be buffered to stifle the cry ?
Impossible ! The idea is ridiculous. IVe really cannot
conceive what is now meant or aimed at by the corrupt old
set : they must know that the present Parliament, or a
Parliament constituted like the present, cannot " go on."
The defeat of the present bill would be immediately
attended with such meetings throughout the realm as would
be fearful. It would nut he necessaiy to call or to speak
of a national convention—we should deprecate any such
formality ; but, in Truth, thc•:•e would be a national conven
tion, fur 10,000 requisition, to call meetings would be in-
stantly signed, and though divided into counties, districts,
and clot' parishes, all England would congregate to insist
upon a reform. Ten men cannot be got together on the!
other side of the question. It is it.ipussible that the rotten
boroughs should " go on." It is madness—it is wicked-',
ners—to an inconceivable degree—to attempt to uphold'
them. Sixty, at least, must drop ; and if the enemies of
reform choose, through spite, to mention others which stand
in their predicament, no one, we presume, will have any ob-
jection
to extend the sentence of forfeiture to criminals of
equal guilt. We fervently conjure Parliament,—we fer-
vently conjure the enemies of Reform, after a decent
and measured struggle, for the sake of apparent consis-
umey,—to pass the Bill : for we assert, beyond the pos-
sibility of contradiction from the event, that it is impos-

sible for any member from the 60 rotten boroughs ever
to show his bead in Parliament again. Some talk is now
made about the rights of the patrons, and of compensa-
tion for loss. Well, certainly, though we urge it not,
we have no objection to compensation. Let a aunt of
money, equal to that which the patrons of these boroughs
have pocketted for selling the rights of the people, be repaid
by them to the Treasury, if they will haze it so. 'mi., i,
the only compensation that has any reason or common sei.io
in it. Detestable wretches! to talk of compensation for the

loss of that which they know in their consciences deserves
punishment, and which ou tl.at very account they practisA,
not openly and in broad daylight, but with more secrecy
than housebreakers. It is singular, that in one respect Lord
John Russell's bill should appear to be only restorative. He
takes the members of 60 rotten boroughs out of the hands of
their patrons, and gives them back to the constitution.
PysT.—lt will, we suppose, be conceded by even th •
most violent admirers of revolution. that there is at itya.:t

much inconvenience attendant upon all great national
changes ; that change is not merely for itself a good thing ;
and that, in order to justify it, we must be preoired to prove

that it will retued:v settle pre-existing evil, or produce
some good that we have uot enjoyed before. By this
test we have tried the arguments of those wit°
support the sweeping treasure of legislative revolu-
tion now proposed by the Government ; but we have s9;:jht
in vain for any exposition of the evil to be avoided, or tie!
good to be gained, by the changes which they recotil•
mend. They have not dwelt upon any instances of tyranny
or oppression, or gross error in Government, arising out of
the state of the representation ; nor have they strewn that
the wishes of any considerable body of the people were not
made known and enforced in the House of Commons.--
When we are told that the proprietor of three ale houses in
one pace sends two members to Parliament, and the while
population of a tar_ e town in another, sends none, we cannot
deny that, so far, thesystem seems to require reform; but if w“
inquire a little further, and discover that the two Member.,
for these thrce houses are the active vigilant guardians of
the West or East India interest in the, House of Commons,
which otherwise could not have protection or representation
in that house, and that two of the wealthiest and most in-
fluential manufacturers in the unrepresented town are mem-
bers for three other old houses similarly privileged, without
the violence, and tumult, and popular commotion which
an election in such a town would occasion, we begin
to think that this system works very well after adj,
and that any great or violent change in such a sys-
tem would throw the whole country into confusion.—
The Borough System may be in form inconsistent, but in
fact it is most useful ; and though it does occasionally open
a door to traffic in Legislative power, we insist that even
such traffic is quite as innocent, and much less dangerous,
than the bribery and corruption and wholesale depravity
which frequently attend upon popular elections.
HERALD.—The minds of many, on the scheme of reform
being first propounded, were so surprised by the extent of
the change, that they overlooked its nature. We contend
that the principle of the proposed alterations is conservative
of the balance of Parliamentary power among the different
dames of society. Let alarmists look at the 24'2 Members
who, in the 596—the total number of the House of
Commons, as proposed by Lord John Russell—wig belong
to the landed interest. Is not this ballast enough to satisfy
the vivacious Achilles?—ls not raising (and thus following
the example of Sir Robert Peel) the qualification another
source of consolation! A word to Sir Robert PCel; he
stands in a proud position ; he is the great commoner of his
day; his Parliamentary talents, and not his wealth make
him so—he has shown himself superior to the vulgar taunt
of want of consistency - he yielded to the Dissenters when
expediency required it—he conceded the Catholic claims
when the alternative was civil war, to be undertaken in a
doubtful cause—he did not hesitate to be wisely incon-
sistent when a Minister of the Crown—let him not hope
to maintain his character as a great Statesman by re-
serving consistency for his present place, " the Leader of
Opposition." Lord Stormont has bestowed the title of
the Achilles of anti-Reformers upon Sir Charles We-
therell. We recommend Sir Robert Peel to itilOW the
Learned Gentleman to retain the dignity, and exercise the
duties, of the title. Sir Robert Peel is at the crisis of his
fate ; he may, indeed, rally round him the salesmen of bo-
roughs, the town-clerks of corrupt Corporations, and the
electioneering nominees of churchmen; but if he throw the
weight of his name, and the dexterity of his pleading, in
the scale of anti-reform—in short, if he array himself against
the King and the people of England, he will irretrievably
lose his reputation for political moderation and sagacity ; nor
will he escape the imputation of having preferred the re-
turning faVour of a party, that once drove him from them
with execration, to the tranquiliity of his country.
Cit RON IC LE.—The spectacle which this country presents
at the present moment is singularly instructive. The whole
nation (with the exception of certain boroughmongers, and
their creatures) are calling out loudly for Reform ; and,
on the other hand, the peccant part of the Constitution,
the Representatives of corrupt interests, with the in-
stinctive love of life which all creatures possess, are
stirring heaven and earth to defeat the Ministerial mea-
sure. Wherever Meetings have been held, and they
have been held in every town, almost in every village of
the island, a word has not been uttered, a hand has not
been held up, against Reform. It is in the House, of the
constitution of which the people complain, that the voice of
opposition to Reform dares to make itself heard. But
Ithere is nothing in this to surprise us. It is not unusual in
our Courts of Law to hear guilt utter the language of in-
nocence. The speakers, though the nation have no sym-
pathy with them, sympathise with each other. The arraigned
ate their own witnesses, and they swear hard ; they are
their own judges, and they are indignant at being accused.
—We never expected that the power against which
the present measure is levelled would expire without a
struggle. The plunder of this powerful nation is too
tempting a prize not to be stoutly contended for. But the
contest cannot be doubtful. We, the reformers, are the
nation. We have the Monarch on our side, and an Admi-
nistration, supported by a large division of the Aristocracy,
who are contented with the enjoyment of their " own" pro-
perty, and ready to hold their authority by the tenure of the
will of a people, ever disposed to honour and respect those to
whom honour and respect are due ; we have the people to a
man. Stupid and besotted must the wretch be, who despairs
of an issue with such odds on our side. It is not the part of a
good citizen to agitate the country on every light occasion with
attempts at organic reforms. Many worthy men entertaining
this opinion have remained patient under the glaring ab. sea
which deface the political system of this country, till a proper
opportunity should occur for effectually remedying them, that
opportunity has arrived; for when can we have a fitting
opportunity, if we neglect that, when the government of the
country invites ? Patience is no longer a virtue, but a crime.
Let him who hesitates to act now, reflect that his patience and
his silence may give eucouragement to the men who would,
to preserve their corrupt interests, stick at no means, h.,wever
unjustifiable, to attain their ends; and thus may contribute
to consequences which a prudent firmness and determination
is the outset might have prevented. In kindness to the very
men, who, blinded by their base interests, .would rush on any
extremes, it is the duty of every good citizen to make his
stand in time. This is not a ccW,n icture for trifling. He