Star.
London, England, 1820-03-10 00:00:00

i

t

the end of the contest ; and he had little doubt but
that the efforts of the Electors in the cause of Re-

form would be crowned with success. When he

considered that they had been so long detained there
that day, and that he himself was unfit for exertion,
(the Honourable Baronet appeared rather indisposed)
he should not trouble them with more than a few

words; and, indeed, he should not have troubled
them at all, were it not for what had fallen from
Mr. Lamb in the course of the morning. That
Gentleman told the Electors that he was a friend to
Reform, but they all knew what sort of a Reform
his was ; and he (Sir Francis Burdett) would rather
have such reforming friends his enemies, than see
them pretending to support him (Lewd applause).—
Mr. Lamb had stated that he was an enemy to the
wild and unintelligible proposition of Universal
Suffrage. For his own part he must say, that the
. least objectionable part of this statement was to him
unintelligible, there being nothing unintelligible in
the proposition itself; for nothing was so plain as
this, that every man who had reached the age of
twenty-one years should have a right to vote for a
Member of Parliament. Whether such a plan was
fit to be adopted or not, might be a subject of dis-
pute ; but he did not expect to hear that the project
was unintelligible. Mr. Lamb had quoted a passage
from as speech delivered by Lord Chancellor For-
teseue who, he said, lived in the reign of Queen Eli-
zabeth ; but as one who had been brought up to the
law, he ought to have known that Fortescue had
lived in an earlier reign, for he had been tutor to
Henry VL and assisted that Sovereign in framing the
laws for the regulation of Elections. Mr. Lamb had
said that he was a supporter of Reform ; but his sup-
port was rather a sneer upon all Reformers than a
support. For his own part, he should say to such
supporters, in the language of the merry Falstaff, " a
plague on all such backers; give me a cup of sack." '1
With resrect to the result of the present Election, he
had on doubt whatever ; for he hoped that, although
many quibbling objections might be made to certain
votes, and although the High Bailiff might give un-
favourable decisions against the votes of some, on
the ground of their not paying their Rates, be was
sure they would not carry the election in favour of
Mr. Lamb ; for it was already sheven that the High
Bailiff had no power to exercise such judgment as he
had done. All the authority he had acted on, was
certain decisions of the House of Commons; but those
decisions were not the law of the land—( Tumultuous
bursts applaus.).—ne law which the Electors had
• to look to wits that which had already been decided
by the Court of King's Bench, which would now be
ready to give just damages to those parties whose
rotes might be refused on pretence of their not having
paid up their Taxes in due time. The Electors saw
what the state of the poll was that day during the
space of on hour ; he entreated that they would per-
severe in their exertions ; and, if they did, he was
sure the present would be a short contest ; and they
would support the best interests of their country—
(Loyd isnei teeevrdisees•et erp!c;t:col.
Mr. LAMB now proceede.l to address the populace
from a second platform, which projected on the right
side of the hustings. The uproar was so great, that
he had to wait for several minutes before he could
be heard. " The lion. Baronet," said he--(Shout-
_

leg, whistling, and screaming.)—" I shall occupy very
little of your time"—(Cordinried uproar). Silence
being at length obtained, he went on.—With regard
to what the Hon. Baronet had said, about the great
success that had been gained during the short poll
of that day, he must observe, that the result was „not
different from what he expected ; and he could as-.
sore. his opponent that this would not be a short con-
. te,st, for he would not give it up until the very last
:day. Mr. Hobhouse had that day brought in his
:pocket a short speech of his (Mr. Lamb's), which he
`said had been copse I from The Times newspaper.—
Now Mt must say. that the paper in question was not
infallible with regard to the correctness of its Par- I
liamentary Reports ; and in fact the report produced
by ''U+. Hobhouse was not strictly correct, as he should ,
slew by another report of his speech, copied from a
volume of Parliamentary Debates, which had been
carefully compiled and revised by a judicious Editor.
He had a copy of it in his pocket, and it was very
different from what had been read by 'Mr. Hobhouse.
It was not a handsome thing in that Gentleman to
select a part of a speech of his from one Newspaper,
without making :any farther inquiry as to the cor-
rectness of it, and without inquiring whit he meant
to say on the occasion alluded to. What he had said
of die Commons was, that he considered them the
Constitution'al Representatives of the Nation—(Loud
hisses, hoot ings, and cries of So. no). He wished as
much as airy man to see that House reformed; but
be would not reform it by adopting Mr. Hobhouse's
plan-..that of dragging the Members out by the
ears-(Hisses, groans, and uproar). As to the. letter
of his, %Oda Mr.,llobhouse had produced that day,
he was more ready to avow himself as the author,
than others were to avow their want of principle
in bringing it forward—(Loud disapprobation).—
After some further observations, Mr. Lamb con-
cluded by expressing his confidence of being ulti-
:irately successful.
Mr. Iloariousa said, his opponent had not shewn
that the speech he had delivered in the House of
Commons was more correctly reported in the volume
of Parliamentary Debates, than in the Newspaper
from which he (Mr. Hobhouse) had copied it ; and
if there was any difference in point of correctness, the
presumption must be in favotn-of that publication, in
which it was reported the very day after it had been
spoken; rather. than in a publication which had been
much ldnger delayed. At all events, the speech he
had quoted was no misrepresentation on his part ; for
he took it from that publication in which it was un-
derstood to be most correctly reported, and, indeed,
there was every reason to suppose it was strictly cor-
Tent.--EMr. LAMB : " It is not correct.-J
—After all,
.this made very little difference in regard to the point
for which he contended, which was, that Mr. Lamb
was not a friend to Parliamentary Reform, for be
would not allow the right of suffrage to be extended
to all householders ; and seemed to content himself
with c•rrecting the abuses of a few rotten Boroughs.
Besides, he had paid a compliment to the House of
Commons, which they did not deserve, when he called
Representatives of the People,
them the Constitutional
at this language was used towards an Assembly,
lehicis had Pissed, during the last Session, those Bills
.srbich were both fresh .every mates recollection,