Star.
London, England, 1821-04-18 00:00:00

PARLIAMENTARY REFORM.

Lord EBRINGTON presented a Petition from
Tavistock, complaining of the weight of taxation,
arising, as the Petitioners believed, from extravagant
Expenditure, and the keeping up a large Standing
Army, and praying for Parliamentary Reform.
Sir T. .%CLAND presented a l'etition from the
County of Devon, signed by upwards of four thou-
sand five hundred persons, all, except about three
hundred, freeholders. The Petitioners declared their
loyalty and attacn.nent to the Constitution, but com-
plained of excessive expeclitur.: a:.d burdensome
taxation; and, adverting to the manner in which
seats were obtained in the House of Commons, ex-
pressed their opinion, that the practices known to
had
exist on this subject the effect of weakening the
confidence of the country in that branch of the Le-
gislature. The Petitioners prayed for the introduc-
tion of economy in the public expenditure—for the
abolition of all useless places—and for Reform in
Parliament. With regard to retrenchment and eccs-1
nomy of expenditure, he fully agreed with the Peti-
tioners ; but, as regarded Parliamentary Reform, he
felt it his duty now to statethat, consistent with what
he considered his duty to the country, he could not
support the prayer of the Petitioners in the sense in
which they understood it.—The Petition was read.
Lord EBRINGTON expressed his concurrence in
the prayer of the Petition, which was adopted at as,
respectable, if not as numerous, a County Meeting'
as he had ever witnessed ; but the thinness of the
Meeting might be accounted for by its not having
been held, as was usually the case, on a market-day.
After a few words from Sir T. ACLAND, the Peti-
tion was received and ordered to be printed.
Loral JOHN RUSSELL presented a Petition from!
certain Freeholders of Plymouth, most respectably
signed. The Petitioners stated, that previous to the
year 1739, the Freeholders were in the habit of
voting for Representatives for that Borough, but iu
that year there was a double return, one by the Free-
holders, and one by the Corporation ; and, on an in-
quiry before a Committee of the House, the Com-
mittee decided, that the right of 'election lay with
the Corporation. The Petitioners now prayed for
Reform ; and that their case, amongst others, might
be considered.—The Potition ordered to be printed.
Lord JOHN RUSSELL then presented a Petition
from lluntingdon, praying for Parliamentary Re-
form.-1 he Petition was read, ordered to lie on the
table, and to be printed.
Colonel JOHNSON presented a Petition from
Boston, in favour of Reform. Similar Petitions were
presented from Ely, by Lord F. o.sison me, and from
AlregOrti, in Lincolnshire, 14 Sir R. Butort.

I Mr. COKE presented a retitioti from certain in.' cause, he trusted that circumstance would awaken.'
habitants of Suffolk, praying for Parliamentary Re. the attention of the People of England—(Hear, hear).
form. He (Mr. Coke) recollected the late Lord Chat- On the opposite bench, he only saw the Right Hon.
ham having said, unless the House reformed itself twins (the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Mr. &-
within, it would be reformed from without with a thurst) the Representatives of the oyster dredgers of:
vengeance. He was old enough to recollect his son, Harwich—(Laughter, and Hear, hear was
Mr. Pitt, in the House, and heard him, when court- aware of a spirit -of disc ontent stalking abroad, which
ling the favour of the People, promise them Reform; would not now be allayed by promises that had so
but he departed from that promise; and to that often been broken. He bad an auxiliary in Mr. Justice
breach of promise he imputed all the misery under Best, who, in a charge at Lancaster, alluded to the
which the country was labouring. The independent progress of education, observing, that it called for
Member for Suffolk was not present why the other new measures. About 20 or 30 years back, the lower
Member for the County, who was present, did not classes had been remarkable for apathy, and for a
present it, that Gentleman best knew; but perhaps blind submission to the will of their superiors. But now
it was because he could not support it. Adverting things called for amelioration and concession. At pre-
again to the question of Reform, if Mr. Fox had re- sent there was a National Debt of £850,000,000; a
manned long enough in power, he would have effected Sinking Fund that was but a name; a Standing At my
Reform, and then the country would have been that had been the jealousy of our ancestors, but was
spared much of its misery. We should have heard none to us ; the jails were crowded with criminals,
nothing of the Holy Alliance—he would call it, the and almost every day_teemed with executions.—
' Infernal Alliance !—(Hear)—He was convinced, Such was the state of things, that it had been stated
unless we had Reform, the miseries of the country last night in the House, that the country was only in-
must increase. This Petition was signed by 11,000 the first year of domestic peace. Nor was there any
persons, consisting of the majority of the Nobility, thing in our foreign policy to console us for domestic
Clergy, Gentry, and Freeholders of the county of disgrace. The abandonment of Norway, and the
Suffolk ; and as such he moved to bring. it up. cession of Parga, had degraded us in the eyes of fo-
Mr. GOOCH knew not why this Petition had not reign nations. We had, on a recent occasion, evinced
been entrusted to him any mote than the Honourable an utter indifference to the struggles of oppressed na-
Member who presented it. If it had, he should have lions to throw off the yoke under which they groaned.
done his duty by presenting it, and he would second Had we acted towards the Italians as we ought to
the Motion for its being received—(Hear, hear).— have done, the progress of the Austrians might have
There was one expression of the Member for Norfolk been arrested, and those chains broken which he
to which lie must advert. The Honourable Member teared now were but too firmly rivetted, and which,
had regretted the absence of the independent Mem- by a noble resistance, might have been broken asun-
ber for Suffolk. What did the Honourable Member der. In his opinion, the origin of them all was to
mean by that insinuation? The Honourable. Mem- be found in the vicious state of the Representation,
'her seemed inclined on all occasions to assume to him- which gave the Ministers of the Crown unlimited
[self all the independence of the House; but he would power over the deliberations of that House. Hoc
tell the Honourable Gentleman, that, as a man, he forte derivate (Jades in patrianz popidanque flusit.—
was as independent as the Honourable Member for Our forefathers had fought for their liberties, and
Norfolk—(Hear, hear).—lf numbers of acres consti- drew down upon them the hatred of tyrants ; but by
toted independence, then, perhaps, the Honourable the present system, it was not necessary to resort to
Member was the most independent—(Loud cheering); violent means to subjugate the people. The deed was
but he denied the insinuation of the Honourable done with greater facility by corrupting the }Louse of
Member. He never bought or sold a vote, and never Commons. It was no matter ofsurprisethatthe National
would!—.(Hegr, hear).—He declare), before GOD. he Debt had been increa.ed to 1000 millions in the late
had never benefited a penny by the present Admi- reign. At present the theory of the Constitution was
nistration; but he conscientiously gave them his con- lost, as 150 individuals returned 350 Members to that
Science which perhaps the Honourable Member for House. We often heard of Members vacating their
Norfolk as Conscientiously withheld. With respect seats, as they could not vote in opposition to the
to this Petition, he must say a few words on the sub- patron from whom they derived their seats! at the
ject of its expressing the unanimous opinion of the same time such a delicacy was never heard of on the
County. He was ready to acknowledge the respect part of those chosen by the People. To shew the
ability of the signatures. There were the names of state of the Representation, a majority of that House
three Peers to it; but there were thirteen Peers in the had approved of the Expedition to Walcheren. He
County. As to the Gentlemen, there were twelve thought, in order to remedy that state of things,
Magistrates out of 450; out of 500 livings which there should be a recurrence to Triennial Parliaments,
were in the County, eight Clergymefi had signed this that rotten boroughs should be disfranchised, and the
Petition; and out of 8,000 Freeholders, it was signed right of election should be extended to copyholders,
by 1,000. As to the Mover and Seconder of this Pe- householders, and leaseholders. In the time of
' tition, the first was a Noble Peer, who never attended Edward HI. a Parliament used to be held once a year.
his Parliamentary duty; the Seconder had held a si- —The next Act was that of the 17th of Charles 11.
tuation for many years underthe Administration which requiring that a Parliament should be held once in
he now abused ; and the third name on the list was three years. A similar Act had passed in the time of
that of a person in the receipt of a sinecure—(Hear, William and Mary. By the Ist of George I. the dura-
hear).—As to the manner of obtaining signatures, he iron of Parliament was extended from thiee to seven
bad a letter in his pocket, from a person at Ipswich, years. The Hon. Gentleman here read the Protest in
which stated, that the comeion Crier had been sent the House of Peers, stating that the longer the Par-
round to announce that the Petition was lying for liament lasted the more liable it was to be corrupt.'
signatures at certain places. The letter concluded On the subject of that Act, commonly called the Sep-
by stating, that to describe this as the Petition of a tennial Act, he should only say that the benefit to the
majority, was a libel on the County of Suffolk. • The then generation was purchased at the expense of pos-
Honourable Gentleman concluded by declaring, that terity. Edward HI. had said to a Petition, that
although the signatures were most respectable, yet Knights should be elected by the whole of the County,
they were not the majority, as stated in the Petition. and also that there were many Acts for Annual Par-
He seconded the Motion for its being brought up. liaments. By the disqualifying Act of Henry VI. the
Mr. WESTERN contended that this Petition did ancient regulations had been done away, and it was
express, as fully as any Petition ever did, the opinion enacted that none should vote for the election of
of the County at large. Members for Counties unless they had 40s. a-year ;
After a few words from Sir R. WILSON and Mr. and another Act of the same King compelled artists
600011, the Petition was received. to work for low wages. By the old laws, no one
Mr. CURWEN said, he had now to present a Pe- could represent a County. or Borough unless he re-
tition from the County of Curitherland, adopted at a sided there, and was free of them. But was it meant
Meeting of nearly 10,000 persons ; but before he pre- that places now dwindled into nothing should send
sented this Petition, he should move that the Clerk Members to Parliament? As to the question, whe-
should read the title of the Act of the 49th of the ther the owners of those Boroughs should have any
late King.—[The Clerk accordingly read the Act in compensation for them, as was the opinion of Mr.
question, which is entitled, " An Act for the better Pitt, he should say decidedly, no; for they would be
preserving the Purity and Independence of the Re- deprived of nothing that they had a right to have.
presentation, by preventing the Sale of Seats in Par- He was aware it would be difficult to make an exact
liament."J—The Hon. Member then proceeded to proportion between population and property. The
state that the Petition he held in his hand complained principle of a change in the Representation was not
that this Act had remained a dead letter on the Statute new, but had been recognized in several Acts of
Book; and to pray for Reform in Parliament, as the Parliament, particularly in the County Palatine of
only measure which could relieve the country from Chester; and in the time of Charles the Second a
its difficulties.—The Petition was then brought up, similar privilege had been extended to Durham.—
read, and laid on the table. He should propose that Householders, Copyholders,
Mr. BROUGHAM bore testimony to the respect- and Leaseholders, should be admitted to vote at the
ability of the Petitioners ; the numbers were at least election of Members of Parliament. He had drawn
from 6000 to 7000, almost all yeomanry. The opi- up the heads of a Bill, which was divided into three
nion of that body of men was unanimous on the parts : the first part related to Householders ; the se-
subject of Reform, and the opinion of the yeomanry cond to Copy and Leaseholders ; and the third related
in other parts of the country was also strongly in to the repeal of the Septennial Act ; the Universities
favour of Parliamentary Reform. • he should leave as they were, By a 'division of the
Lord LOW THER dissented from the opinion country into districts, and taking one to ten for house-
that the yeomanry were unanimous on the subject holders, each Member would have 2500 Constituents.
of the Petition. There was a great Fair at the time, The Returning Officer was to be a Magistrate, to be
and that accounted for the numbers, chosen annually by the Overseers. If he acted cor-
Lord MILTON said, that the Meeting must have ruptly, he was liable to be imprisoned ; but„ upon
been indiscriminate, and yet it had been unanimous. paying a fine of £2OO, lie might decline to act. The
Mr. WALLACE considered that the opinion of poll was to be kept open eight hours, and to last six
the Meeting was not unanimous. days. There was also to be a sufficient number of
Mr. BROUGHAM did not speak to a, unit. Why booths, and the votes to be taken alphabetically. The
did not the Noble Lord (Lowther) attend at the election was to be .at the principal town. If the
Meeting, which had been called by Requisition? No voter lived at the distance of five miles from the
attempt had been made to interrupt the unanimity. place of election, he might tender his vote to the
Sir ROBERT WILSON (in the absence of Mr. Overseer. The election should commence on the
Calvert, from a domestic calamity) had a Petition to Monday, and terminate without the intervention of a
present from the Borough of Southwark, praying Sunday. Within a fortnight after the rates had been
that the House would withdraw its confidence from made, the Overseers and the Collectors of Taxes were
Ministers, and in favour of Parliamentary Reform.— to send them in alphabetical order to the Returning
Read, laid on the table, and ordered to be printed. Officers. At the same time he should propose, that
- Mr. DENMAN presented a Petition from Not- those who had been in the habit of voting should re-
tingham, complaining of excessive taxation, and pray- tarn that right for their own lives. To the County
ing for a Reform in Parliament.— Laid on the table, Voters lie should propose to add all Copyholders of
and ordered to be printed. forty shillings a-year. He should also propose that
Mr. LA MBTON then rose, pursuant tcrnotice, to all leases renewable at the will of the lessee, of which
call the attention of the House to the subject of Par- twenty-one years were unexpired, should confer the
bamentary Reform. Nothing but a sense of public right of voting. The duration of County Elections
duty could have induced him to take up a question he should fix at ten, instead of fifteen days.---
to which he felt he was inadequate. But the neces- The Honourable Member here read the form of an
sity of Reform was apparent from the state of the oath, which the candidate was to take at the poll,
table. He was almost then tempted to take the sense and afterwards at the table of the House of Corn-
of the House from the small number on the opposite mons. He should also propose to disqualify those
benches. If that was meant as an insult on himself, who had offices abroad; such as Ambassadors, and
he treated it with contempt ; but if meant for the Naval and Mahan Officers. He should not now ,