Star.
London, England, 1820-05-20 00:00:00

FREE TRADE.

Mr. BLACKR URN presented a Petition from the
Merchants and Manufacturers of Manchester, pray-
ing for the removal of all restrictions upon trade. .
Mr. PHILLIPS offered some observations in sup-
port of the Petition, saying, he felt happy in doing
II so, as it proceeded from a most respectable body of
men, who considered their interests as identified, in
every respect, with those of the Agriculturists. The
Hon. Member then proceeded to comment on the
views taken on Agriculture, and other subjects of
political economy, by Mr. George Webb Hall, who,
he said, had been very industrious in circulating pa-
pers among the Members of that House, in support
of his opinions. These opinions, however, were quite
erroneous, and altogether at variance with just prin-
ciples of political economy. It was laid down as a
position by Mr. George Webb Hall, that to encou-
rage agriculture, it was necessary to discountenance
the importation of foreign grain ; but he (Mr. Ora-
lips) would contend, that if we discouraged foreign
labour, we must also discourage domestic labour, and
that to become an exporting country, we must also
become an importing country. The Hon. Member
' now read some extracts from the opinions of Mr.
Hall, wherein it was stated, that the prosperity of
the country, in 1813, was entirely to be attributed to
the encouragement given to agriculture. The House
would hardly believe that so extraordinary a propo-
sition as this could be urged, when it wail known that
our prosperity, in 1813, was the consequence of our
being in full and almost exclusive possession of the
trade of the world. That Gentleman had overlooked
this circumstance altogether, and he had also over-
looked the depreciated state of the currency at the
time. According to him, the present state of the
currency had reduced the value of agricultural pro-
duceone-third ; and he (Mr. Phillips) was well pleased
if it had experienced no greater reduction. Iu 1813,
the currency was depreciated 25 per cent, which
would shew, that considered in reference to commerce
in general, agriculture had, in the improved state of
the country, the decided advantage, taking it upon
the statement to be reduced one-third. The Hon.
Member concluded some further observations, with
expressing himself, in every instance, favourable to
unrestricted commerce.

Lord STANLEY entirely concurred in the senti-
ments of the Hon. Member who had just spoken, and
professed his readiness, when the subject was brought
fully under the consideration of the House, to give it
his earnest support.—The Petition was then read, and
ordered to lie en the table.

DISFRANCHISEMENT OF GRAMPOUND.
'Lord JOHN RUSSELL having moved the Order
of the Day for the second reading of the Grampound
Disfranchisement Bill, next moved that the Resolu-
tions of the sth of July, 1819, in reference to this
question, be now read.—The Clerk having done so,
and also read the Order of the Day for the leave
which had been obtained to bring in a Bill upon the
subject, his Lordship proceeded to observe, that the
facts he should lay before the House relative to the
Borough of Grampound, would, he doubted not,
justify to the fullest extent the proposition he was
about to submit. It was known that a Petition had
been presented against the return for this Borough in
the last Session of the late Parliament, and the con-
sequence was, that the two sitting Members had been
disqualified ; while many of the voters were prose-
cuted for bribery, and found guilty. It was from
this event deemed necessary to take some decisive
step with regard to the voters for Grampound, and
a measure was proposed for going into a Committee
on the subject, in which the Noble Lord opposite
(Lord Castlereagh) concurred. It had been proved
before that Committee, that sums of money had been
given to the voters at different times on the part of
Sir Manasseh Lopez, and a person was deputed by
him to collect them, giving them at the rate of £35
each for their suffrage. With this sum, however, it
appeared that many of them were not satisfied, and I
threatened to give their votes to another person un-
less
they got more money. One Elector got the
names of 63 persons who had taken bribes, and of
58 individuals who were charged with-the fact, not

fewer than 47 had sums of £35 each placed after
their names. Of these persons 24 had bona found
guilty of having, at various periods, received sums
of money for their votes. Nor was this a practice
of recent origin in Grampound, for it appeared to
have been of long standing, and a sum of £5OOO had
often been agreed upon as the price of the return
one Member ; and was the regular stipulation
for the return of two seats. These facts were noto-
rious, and a witness had proved in evidence that one
of the Electors said, " he wished for the time when
they should be feeding again !" which meant receiv-
ing money at a new election. Another witness stated,
that bribery was quite common in Grampound, and
when he was asked, whether three or four of the
voters had received bribei ? he replied, " Yes, may
be three or four." There was one circumstance
more which he wished to advert to, which was, that
£7BOO had been paid by two Members for their seats,
as had been proved in evidence ; and the great majo.
rity of the voters had participated of this money.—
When, therefore, it was found that such sums had
been given for such a purpose, 2nd that from £.5000
to £BOOO had regularly been paid in the same man-
ner, he thought there could exist no doubt whatever
on the mind of any Honourable Member present of
the grossest practices of bribery and corruption hav
ing been carried on in Grampound. But there was
another proof of the fact, which was not less con-
vincing, namely, that when an individual attempted
to propose the Bribery Oaths, he was so maltreated
by the others, that he found the greatest difficulty in
escaping with his life. Having thus shewn a strong
case to call for the interfeience of the House, he
should next proceed to consider of the remedy which
it would be most expedient to adopt, so far as the
Borough in question was concerned. In doing this,
he should revert to those precedents which had been
established in similar cases. It was not to be ex-
pected, in a country like this, where the elective fran-
chise was so generally exercised, that instances of
corruption should not occur; but they ought to be
guarded against, so far as it was possible—(Hear).—
It appeared, however, that the progress of such cor-
ruption had been very rapid; for we found, in the
reign of Elizabeth, an instance of a penalty having
been imposed for a bribe of £4 offered to the return-
ing officer to secure a seat for an individual; whereas
Lord Shaftesbury asserted, that in his time L'7,100
had been paid for a similar purpose—(Hear, hear),
To counteract practices of this description, which
were now become too flagrant, a Bill was introduced
in 1771, when the Borough of New Shoreham, in
Sussex, was found to be notoriously corrupt. It was
proved, in the instance of that Borough, that the re-
turning officer returned a man who was utterly unfit
for a seat in the Legislature, and a scene of such cor-
ruption was disclosed, as perhaps had never before
been exhibited. It appeared from the evidence upon
the occasion, that an individual, who represented
himself as a member of what was termed the Christian
Society, assembled all the Burgesses together, and
sold them to the highest bidder—(Near, hear).—A
Bill was then brought in to disfranchise the Borough,
though the Burgesses were allowed to be heard
against it by Counsel. The Bill having undergone
some modifications, at the suggestion of Mr. Monta-
gue and others, was sent to the Peers, where it met
with the cordial support of Lord Camden and Lord
Chatham. There is still extant a remarkable ex-
pression of Lord Chatham, with regard to the mea-
sure which the Bill contemplated, of transferring the
franchise to a place adjacent. He said he was glad
to see New Shoreham brought back from Bengal to
Sussex. It was then thought advisable to place the
rights which the Borough enjoyed in other hands;
'and theyconsidered, if such a measure were not adopt-
ed, that the remedy must be fruitless; upon which the
tiauchise was transferred to the Rape of Bramber.
Upon that occasion, 243 persons had been charged
with bribery ; and out of 82 against whom the charge
was proved, 43 had been indicted. The event °e-
ls-lured when Lord Rockingham was in power, and
when an examination took place in the House of
Lords, as to the different circumstances connected
with it, the Chancellor urged so many objections
against the proposed measure, that Lord Fortescue,
old and feeble as he was at the time, stood up and
said, that he no longer considered himself in the
House of Peers, but in one of the Courts of Law, and
that a Court of no ordinary description, but one where
the Law)ers attempted to exercise a controul over
the Judges. The Chancellor, he said, was made up
of nothing but subtleties and contradictions. In
quoting these words of Lord Fortescue, he did not
mean to say that they could bear any relation to the
present times, or to the question before the House,
further than as they shewed how the subject had
been treated at a former period by a Nobleman of
strict constitutional principles. In the case relative
to the Borough of Aylesbury, fifty persons had been
convicted, and no less than 200 implicated. He
now came to consider what should be done with re-
spect to Grampound. They had that day received a
Petition from the Burgesses; but after what had been
adduced against them, it was quite clear tbat the
prayer of it could not be attended to. No, the glory
of Grampound was gone for ever; the sun which
ripened its money harvest had set never to rise again !
No more would they see among them a philanthropic
Baronet, dispensing his cash trom motives of pure
charity towards the indigent ; no more would the
wealthy merchants of London contest that famous
Borough, at the risk of the lives of those persons
who should propose the Bribery Oath. The Free-
holders of the adjacent Hundreds could lay no
claim to the franchise thus taken away ; and if
there were any cases where it might be expedient
to throw the votes into the Hundreds, it was only
in Counties where there was but one Borough.—
Cornwall, however, was not in that situation, for it
had other Boroughs, and returned ten Members be-
sides the two for Grampound. The best course
uhich appeared to him was, to transfer the elective
rights of this Borough to one of those towns which
had grown up in wealth and importance from various
concurring circumstances. There were no less than
five of them, which, though not represented, con-
tained an aggregate population of 400,000 inhabit-
ants. If towns of such magnitude and conse-
quence were not to return Members to Parliament,
how had it happened that our ancestors, at a former
period, gave Members to Chester and to Durham ?
—Or did they suppose that our ancestors would not
have conferred the elective franchise on the five
Boroughs alluded to, had they been of equal import-

ance in their time ds they were at present ? McAt
assuredly they would have done so, and that even in
the reign of Charles 11. We ought to lose no time
in gratifying the general wish for extending the re-
presentation. It might, perhaps, be said by some
persons, that the principle he proposed to be acted
upon would give all that was necessary for Parlia-
mentary Reform, but the difference would be, that
Members would be sent to the House to ask for
more, and urge the demand by other means, than
those which of late had unfortunately been resorted
hear).—But it was objected to this mea-
sure, that it would be of no use to disfranchise small
towns, while the same practices of totriiption were
carried on in the large ones. This, however, was
no argument against the principle, and he was per-
suaded, that from the progressive spirit of improve-
ment, and the more refined character of the times.
instances of sordid and base corruption at electiont
would soon become extremely rare—{Hear, hear.).
The Noble Lord then advt. ted to the public proceed-
ings which had lately taken place at Reading, and
he said, that if the Electors continued to act in the
same manner, they would effectually remove the in-
fluence either of money or of the Government. In
one of their Resolutions, they stated their determina-
tion to use every means for the purpose of discover.
ing and extinguishing every mode of illegal inter-
ference with the Election of Members for that Bo-
rough, and he was happy to find that they had, in
a very short time, collected by subscription 4 sum of
£1,500, with the view of carrying their resolutions
into effect. He would be extremely happy to see a
similar line of conduct adopted in every part of the
country, for he did not think Grampound a solitary
or an extraordinary instance of corruption—(Harr,
hear).—lt was not necessary to go into any inquiry
upon that subject—all that was to be done, was to
prevent such corruption, as far as the law allowed.
If this were done, it would afford some prospect of a
fair representation, and would materially tend to
restore and to ensure the tranquillity of the country.
An Honourable Friend of his (the Member for
Northumberland) expressed his intention to submit
to the House the propriety of transferring the fran-
chise, if it should be taken from Grampound, to the
North and East Riding of York, instead of Leeds.—
He (Lord J. Russell) did not think that the Public
would be so much benefited by giving the franchise
to that part of the country as to the populous 80.
rough of Leeds. However, that question might be
discussed at another stage of the Bill, and he Should
now conclude with moving, "That the Bill be now
read a second time."

Lord CASTLEREAGH rose, for the purpose of
stating shortly to the House, the view which he en-
tertained of this Bill. Upon the original principle
with which the Noble Lord set out, there was no
difference of opinion between the Noble Lord and
himself. Both were agreed upon this, that whenever
a Borough, in the exercise of its right of election, is
proved to the satisfaction.of the House to have acted
corruptly, it is the duty of the House to punish that
Borough, so far as to protect the purity of election.
The point on which he and the Noble Lord differed,
was not as to the propriety of making an alteration
in the elective franchise of Grampound, for it would
be recollected that he had concurred with him in
going into an inquiry upon that subject. He had
concurred also in the Resolution, which emanated
from the Committee on the Grampound Election,
that further measures were necessary, and up to that
period he thought that himself and the Noble Lord
perfectly understood each other as holding the same
opinion. He agreed then that Grampound had mis•
conducted itself, and that to such misconduct an
adequate remedy should be applied, pnd now the
ouly thing that remained was to see what the nature
of that remedy ought to be. The Noble Lord stated
to-night, what course Parliament had formerly taken
with respect to three Boroughs, New Shoreham,
Aylesbury, and Cricklade; with those Boroughs, he
said, the House had dealt, and applied a corrective
by opening them to the adjacent districts; but he
(Lord John Russell) did not think that the same re-
medy which was applied to them was sufficient for
Grampound ; and he thought it more adviseable to
depart from the established practice of Parliaments
and to adopt upon this occasion a new course, by
transferring the right of election altogether from
Grampound to Leeds. The Member for Northum-
berland differed with the Noble Lord upon this part
of the question, and wished to transfer the right of
Election to the North and East Riding of Yorkshire.
He (Lord Castlereagh) would now shortly state his
own opinion ; and he would at once fairly say, that it
was different from that entertained either by the
Noble Lord or the Member for Northumberland.—
It seemed to be the Noble Lord's object to effec-
tuate, pro tante, a general principle of Parliamentary
Reform. • Now he (Lord Castlereagh), only wished
to look at the subject for the purpose of getting an
effectual remedy as to the particular Borough of
Grampound. He did not look so much to the expe-
diency of the remedy sought for by the Bill; he ra-
ther contemplated the remedy which he thought the
most likely to succeed, and to be carried into a law.
It was the object of the Bill to establish a principle,
now he looked to a practicable result ; de did not, like
the Noble Lord opposite, seek to avail himself of any
advantage which the circumstance of this Borough
might afford, in order to establish a favoured theo-
retical principle; but he looked upon that circum-
stance simply as an evil that occurred in the working
of the Constitution, which it was necessary to correct.
When the question was before under the considera-
tion of the House, it might be recollected that he ex-
pressed a wish that a Bill should be brought in ap-
plicable to a particular case, not going into a gene-
ral principle, and he admitted that there might be lo-
cal circumstances connected with Cornwall, which
would prevent the Borough of Grampound from being
opened to the adjacent district. The Noble Lord, at
that time, opened his case, as he did to-night, upon
the ground of departing from the established prin-
ciple, and of removing the right of election elsewhere.
But he (Lord Castlereagh) then said, that his local
knowledge of Cornwall did not enable him to state
exactly whether such a measure might, or might not,
be necessary. The present was the first case that
came before them for opening any Borough in Corn-
wall, for the case of Penrhyn waited until this should
be disposed of, and the question now was, how it
should be dealt with ? He could now say, that he
saw no insuperable difficulty which Mould prevent
Grampound from being opened to tinf adjacent dis'

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