Star.
London, England, 1819-12-15 00:00:00

lECEIVIInR 15, 1819.

of mutual conciliation; or to any measure of Itefornt
conducted according to the regular course of Parlia-
mentary proceedings. The one party were so much at;
tach,ed to the very cobwebs of the fabric, that sooner
than remove them, they would -allow it to fall to
pieces before their eyes, while the other were ready.'
to hurl the firebrand against the temple, and would
feel a malignant pleasure in treading into ashes the
sanctuary of the COnstitution—(Hear, hear!)—The
Noble Lord then proceeded to shew, that his motion
was one which might meet the support even of those
Who held very different opinions upon Parliamentary
Reforin. Those who did not wish to entertain the
general proposition might give him their support, as.
he only called for it in a particular case; and those
who were.advocates of a large and extensive plan of
Reform, harl no occasion to deny him their assist..
ante, when they recollected that even Sir Samuel
Romilly, who was a very zealous Reformer, had
given it ai ,opinion,' that muck:good might be,
done, if oall.two or three Government Boroughs
were disfranchised. The Duke of Richmond, also,
after his Famous Bill for Parliamentary Reform, had
given his support to the measure, which only went
to extend the elective franchise in the case of the 13o-
rough of Cricklade. He would not enter then into
the consideration of the abstract question, or that of
uniform or-various Suffrage. He believed that va-
riety of Suffrage was liable to decay with the pro-
gress of time ; and that an uniform Suffrage, sup-
pose of £lO6 a-year, if good in the commencement,
must be always good: When suffrage was varied, it
happened that by the decline of large towns and
commercial places, electors came to set up their
suffrages to sale, and consequently rendered them-
selves unfit to exercise so important a privilege. The
history of the country shewed many instances of such
local alterations and decline. Boroughs which had
been once populous had become impoverished and
almost deserted, and some had been in consequence
disfranchised. This was the case of Malden, in Es-
sex, which was allowed, instead of sending Mem-
bers to Parliament, to take care of the repairs of a
bridge. On the contrary, when towns which had
been obscure grew -into wealth and importance, it
became necessary to give them the elective fran-
chise, which was conferred either by the King's writ
or by Act of Parliament ;. of the former mode these
were so many instances, that he would not trouble the
House wi.h them ; of the latter there were also many
.examples. 'Rinke, in his immortal speech on the
American Conflict; had pointed out representation as
'the iCizicsiy for Many evils of which the people com-
plained.. In Chester and Dutham the grievances
stated had been redressed by representation.--Here
the Noble Lord read the preamble of the Act, which
allowed the County Palatine of Chester to send Re-
preieritatires to Parliament. It was the Aci of the
3.lth Ilea. VIII. and stated, in the form ofpeaiticm, as
.twattheii tibial, the various evils, and the loss of rights
and privileges which had befallen the inhabitants of
that county, by not hiving Representatives to watch
ever their interests in Parliament ;“ and (said his Lord-
ship) if it should be objected to me, that Parliament
cannot enfranchise, I would point to that Act which'
-proves that it is according to the established law of
the realm: and if it be said by any Member that a
County or Town suffers no evil by not being repre-
sented, I would point to that Act which consecrates
the principle, that the want of representation is the
loss of a great privilege,' and the occasion of many
grieiinces, which its existence alone can remedy."—
, The Noble Lord then stated the instance of Haver-
fordwest, and observed, that enfranchisement by the
King's writ was not exercised later than the reign of
Charles the Second ; as the interference of one estate
with the principles Of the existence of another might
eventually prOduCe too great a change in its consti-
tution. This was more Confirmed by the Act of
Union, and since then it, was not thought competent
for the King's Writ to create the elective franchises
Since then, small Boroughs had hecome Very cor;
rupt, and in several instances their conduct had called
for the piinishment of that Howse.
_Large Towns had
also grown tip, and Districts had become populous,
which -fact not received Representatives—as Chester
and Durham ; and, in consequence of these dehcien-
t ties the House had, ceased 'esactly to represent the
People. He then 'stated instances of 13oroughs, with
respect to whose elective franchise the House had
interfered—such as Shbreharsi, Aylesbury, and Crick-
lade. He then proceeded to consider the dangers
Which. arose to the Conititntion from the Manner in
which the electiveTranehise was exercised in small
Boroughs. He stated that it Was usual, upon a ge-,
neral election for a Borough of that kind, to send
deputies to the Secretary of the Treasury, who pointed
put Members who were willing to .serve Minis-
ters, and the expenses of their election were accord-
ingly defrayed. This was the most respectable mode,
because it was still possible that these Members, so
Chosen, might act conscientiously. There was ano-
ther mode, When 'persons, upon speculation, laid
out large sums for objects merely personal—either
to settle an aecatint with Government, or to ob-
tain a debt of long -Standing • or it might be to ob.
taro an office. .and increase their income by patrdn-
age. The effects Were dieadfhl, for such men exerted
the sovereign pdwei of making war, or of lega-
lizing an aggression that might lay waste all t alive
—(icar). Theirs Wai sovereign power, without
the small security that protects, in someway, the
subjects of a single.desilat.the fear of censurr,, or
the sense of shame, They had ne Publicity—rthey
did not appear in the debates—(Near)—even their
names hardly ever cane before the puidic ell r
'the lists of the majority Were oot puhlished. •
then went on to shew, that within a feW yoirs, large
Manufacturing Towns had arisen, whose interests end„
commercial relatiOns required-the protection or Re-,
presentatives, and to which places the elealVe.fran-
chise ought to be transferred, from the decayed •and
grossly-corrupt liorought. He instanced Manthester,
which in the year 1788 had not 23,000 inhabitants,
but now contained 110,0001 Leeds, which had but a

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P. RI CS SEVE/ifirP:ITPTC Psi ;

small number. in 1775, but .in 1.811;. Contained
62,000 ; Birmingham, in 1811, 88,000; Halifae,
73,000; and Sheffield 3,5,000., The growth of placet
Since the Revolution called loudly for the interference
of that House. Where there were great•manufactur-
ing or cornincreial interests, it was a great consola-
tion when they were known to be.watched over and
protected byrepresentatiies chosen by those whom it
most ccncerned.. It might, indeed, be said that such
places were, in fact, represented by the County Mems
bers; but County Members were persons of very dig: .
&rent habits, who had other interests in their county
to attend to, and were frequently bet little tonversitot
with the t =plicate& relations of commstee. When
the questiqn of Reform had been agitated in Parlias
naento in 1762, the argument then was, where are the
petitions from Manchester—where the petitions frond
Sheffield and Leeds ?—but at present he was aware
that a different argument would be made use of.
kwould nom be said by the enemies of. Reform that
the People had•petitioned too clamorously—(Harr):
—He then applied the argemerit of the Right Hon:
Member for the University of Dublin (4r. Plunkett);
upon Irish affairs, to the present case ; in which he
had animadverted upon the inconsistency of those
who, at one time, would not make concessions tothe
Catholics, bc:ause they did not ask for them, and at
another time, because they did. Parliament should
well reflect upon what it ought to give or withlinl4
and if it were directed by ady motive but a sense of
the public good, it must, in the words of Mr. Burke;
0 cease to be the express image Of the Peopl:.‘' The
Noble Lord then remarked upon an argument some-
times used of the dangerous enmities and ill-blood
which were said to arise from popular elections. He
showed, that, en such occasions, the angry feelings,
of the populace got vent, and died away. Such wat:• •
the case in the last Westminster Election.; the can=t
dictate then most odious to the People had, by the
attention which he had evinced towards the interest*
of the City of Westminster, put an end to those ani-
mosities, and completely gained their esteem; The .
fact was, that on such occasions, a disturbed poll
was generally followed by a good humoured trana
quality. Moderate Reformers had been condemned'
by a Right Hon; Gentleman of the Ministry (Mr.'
Canning), upon a former occasion, who had de
Glared the doctrines of those who went far beyc.ad
'them, as more honest, at least,. than the plans of mo-
derate men. But he (Lord John Russell) considered
it a mere delusion to attempt, by any change in pee-
pulves representation, to procure a House of Coma
mons which would be averse to wet' or the laying out
jof taxes. Taxes resulted from war, and a propensity:
to war was one of the prominent faults of a popular*
mode of Government; If they looked back• to the
'French war, they would find that in its commences
mint it was popular ; the same might be said of the.,
American was. But looking back to much earlier
periods of history; it would be found that the Enwa •
fish Kings,ahe Edwards and the Henrys; sbo weie
most given to warlike enterprize, were mosthonoured •
in popular. opinion. Looking .to other . States, it
would be found that Venice and Genoa, two of the
freest, had gone all round Italy to make war upon .
each other ; and of the most splendid ancient Re- .
publics, one fell by failing in its conquests, and the*
other, by obtaining too signal success. The greatest •
duty which Parliament bad to perform was to ma-
nage the expenses of the Public. The house of
Commons was the guardian of the public purse, and
it should, at all times, take care that, for the support
of useless establishments, .the People were not
burthened. But Representatives really chosen by the '
People, were most likely to..perforin faithfully Such a
west ; and, accordingly, it would be found, on al/ .•
snemorable occasions, that the Members for Counties :
gave a much greater proportion of their strength to
the . interests of the People' than. Representatives
of Boroughs. The itesolutiora which had Leen pro-
,posed by Mr. Dunning; expressing the unchie iaa
(crease of the influeneeof the CrOwn, was curried by ,
a majority of 18. Of the majority, consisting of 233#
69 were County Members. In the, minority of 215, .
there were but 11. Another Resolution, which had
afterwards been proposed, in order to follow up the
former; was lost; and, as appeared by a letter of Sir •
;G. Saville, the House was divided into classes, and •
the County Member's iii the Minority were three to
one, the Borough Members in the majority four to , .
three. Tice Members returtied from the small Bo-
roughs oPa certain long County, were nine, or; at : •
least, eight to one ; andd-those of the Cinque Portst.;
four to one. In the year 1807, there was a great::
call for economy, and the consequence 'was, that as
the financial affairs of the country were in such cies)•.;
cumstances that they could not be inquired into in
any other way, a Ccimenittee *as proposed. The
nisters tvished to appoint the majority in that:Conta .
mittee, and among these:they thought fit that. then/ .
should be five official persons: The House divided ,
lon the question whlither Lord Binning should beetle?
ie Majority for Government wits 176, of which 15 .
vide County, Members ; while in the inirierity of .
136,_there 'were 27 County Mentbers. the •
sion on the qtiestion of the Lords of the AdiaisallYi
the majority was 208, of which 16 were County
Members ; while in the Minority of 152, there were .
35, or more than double that number—(Haar, hear !)
There were many things which the House might do
to render the discovery of corruption more practi.:
cable. For instance, after any election in which bri- .
bery was presumed to have influence, a greater facia
lity Might be liven to peracini prOposing to shew that
such influence was practised at Hear, 'hear ).
With.respect to. the Borough•Of Grampound; he pro=
posed to "openit to the Hundred, which was more
poptilous than the Borough, and was not represented
in Parliament—?liear, hear]. if he was asked whe-
ther this proposition did not lead to a more general •
one, and did not involve the eases of all other gio-
roughs? he would answer, that be was not prepared .
to admit any stich,conclusion. May principle which
would go to disfianchise all the 13otoughs, would end
in a species of Iteform, which, in leis opinion, would
. . . .
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