The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1833-02-05 00:00:00

scale, it must be evident to every one conversant with the
trade, when the difference in distance between the sources of
each supply is considered, that one of two results would arise,
either to enhance the prices on the British consumer, in conse-
quence of the advantage that would be given to the foreigner,
and the opportunity thus afforded him to rise in his demands,
or the trade with our colonies 'would be wholly extinguished;
whereby, as I have previously stated, many hundred sail of
large British ships would be thrown out of employment, as well
as many thousands of British seamen, together with the nume-
rous body of tradesmen and manufacturers of all descriptions,
the fruits of whose labours they now consume, substituting, en-
couraging, and making us dependent on foreign produce, ship-
ping, seamen, and tradesmen, who give a preference to the
productions and manufactures of their own countries, spending
the money we pay them at home, where the necessaries of life
are cheap and abundant, and taxation of small amount, thus
giving them uncalled-for advantages over us, which our heavy
taxation, and consequent artificial state, disables us from suc-
cessfully competing with. Is this, then, a consummation for
" The People" of the united kingdom to court or desire?
For the present I conclude, intending to follow up the other
subjects of Mr. Booth's pamphlet for your next or following
publication, and am, yours, &c., MERCATOR.
4th February, 1833.

TENDENCY OF THE REFORM MOVEMENT.

TO THE EDITOR OF TILE LIVERPOOL STSIVD.ARD.

Sir,—Whatever were the motives of the Ministers, or what-
ever objects they had in view, in bringing forward their measure
of reform, it is evident, that by the application of their political
lever, they have partly succeeded in disjointing the British con-
stitution, and, that by throwing additional power into the hands
of the people, that power may be used to move it from its base.
As for their saying it shall be a final measure, deserves as
much attention, as would the declaration of the man, who, having
set fire to his own house, situated in the midst of a town, that
the devouring element would confine itself to his alone : and I
fear, sir, that the insubordinate spirit of " reform " engendered
in this country is as much above the controul of Ministers in
the one case, as would the conflagration be under the control of
the fool in the other.

You will perceive that the Lord Mayor of London was to
hold a meeting of the new constituency on Monday, for the
purpose of deliberating upon the propriet) of their petitioning
the House of Commons, on the subject of the vote at elections
by ballot, and the repeal of the septennial act. The leading ar-
ticle of Bell's Weekly Messenger in which this copy of the requi-
sition is embodied, has this passage in it, "perhaps amongst the
other changes of the times we may yet live to see a senate in_
stead of an hereditary peerage; and perhaps there are many
very large classes who may be easily led to accede to such a
change." All that the press has now to. do is to point out, and
all that the " people" have now to do is to follow its advice and
to execute its commands ; and if one House of Commons will
not submit to the spur of the " people," another will soon be
easily selected that will; therefore, every succeeding House of
Commons will be armed with fresh powers and instructions from
the people, and will be prepared to commit fresh violations,
under the specious covert of reform, on the British constitution,
which will grow weaker from every attack until it be at last
destroyed; like some admired and stately ship, the bearer of for-
tune and cause of happiness, which, having withstood the united
efforts of wind and wave, and braved the tempest of years, is, by
an incautious hand, steered. upon the shoals to be wrecked and
plundered at leisure.
We must not, Sir, be surprised that there are parties to be
found in this country who are wishful to adopt the vote by bal-
lot, which is so at variance with the disposition of true Britons.
Premeditated acts of violence, whether committed in the ascent
to political power or in private life, require the support of se-
crecy, as the assassin does the mantle of the night. I appeal to
history for the truth of the former assertion, and history is said,
by Hume the historian, to be the "mistress of wisdom." In
the reign of Charles I. (to which I adverted in my last, though
it was written in mistake Charles II.) that age of political vio-
lence and religious cant, when the patriot was made the dupe
of cunning and designing men, we shall find that the Parlia-
ment, for the purpose of securing the dowufal and destruction
of the virtuous Earl of Strafford, condescended, in their wisdom
and their love of justice, to deliberate with locked doors. The
secret means adopted for the slaughter of that great man is one
instance only preparatory to the many acts of violence com-
mitted in that reign by the parliamentary sticklers for liberty.
Still, notwithstanding their glaring acts of violence and injus-
tice, they were the idols of the " people," and all opposed to
them were considered traitors to their country. So much for
popular clamour, intimidation, and the popular will. Have the
importunate advocates of the vote by ballot no motive save that
of pure patriotism—no interested object whatever—no intention
whatever, to violate our religion, and to commit violence on our
civil institutions? If not, why wish to give the vote in secret?
The man who has not honour, honesty, and patriotism enough to
give his vote openly and by the light of the sun at noon day; is not a
fit person to be entrusted with the elective franchise ; and to call
upon the legislature to protect the hypocrisy and cowardice of
such a man, would be derogatory to the national character and
honour. If Parliament must be called upon to check all the
inconveniences that are likely to arise under the Reform Bill,
the murderers of Ireland may still go unpunished, and the com-
mercial and agricultural interests of Gieat Britain may still be
neglected. We have already suffered greatly from the pro-
tracted labour of Ministers in bringing forth their bantling of
reform; but Government, I hope, will now be prepared to try
to adopt some means to check it in its waywardness, and in do-
ing which it will not, surely, allow itself to be startled at its
cries.

With respect to the duration of Parliaments, it is worthy of
observation, that when the Tories were in favour, the Bill for
triennial parliaments was passed in the reign of King William
the 3rd, and that the Whigs in the year 17]6, in the reign of
George the Ist., for the security of their faction in power re-
pealed it, and substituted the septennial act. Fortunately for
this country there has been no stretch of the Royal prerogative
since the reign of the Stuarts, otherwise the liberties of the
people might have been imperiled by their resorting to that act.
But since the last of the Stuarts, the parliament has been
rising in power and importance; and by the passing of the
Reform Bill, a power is thrown into the hands of the people,
which it is admitted on all hands threatens the existence of the
constitution; for it may be intemperately used. It will be ad_
mitted, too, on all hands, that it is as necessary to guard against
the despotism of a House of Commons, which mostly has the
support of the " people," as it is against the tyranny of a King.
The House of Lords, if permitted to enjoy its legitimate func-
tions, has the power of restraining the violence of the Commons,
and the King has the power of dissolving both. If the consti-
tution of the country is to be preserved, how can the people,
spurred on as they are by a democratic press, be entrusted with
greater powers, and which triennial parliaments would give
them ? Triennial parliaments cannot now be required to check
the prerogative of the Crown; and we are acquainted with the
historical fact that a Parliament did compel King Charles to
give his consent to a bill to make it perpetual, and that Parlia-
ment, as I stated before, was the idol
.of the " people," and it
very soon subverted the constitution. In answer to this, it will
be said, that it is to prevent such a /recurrence that we enforce
the necessity of the adoption of triennial parliaments; but then
we may deduce from experience, that the people would not ob-
ject any more to the retention of a favourite Parliament, than