The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1848-06-20 00:00:00

PUBLIC MEETING ON REFORM.

Yesterday evening a meeting took place at the Portico,
to consider the propriety of petitioning the House of Com-
mons. in support of Mr. Hume's motion, for the adoption
of " extended household suffrage, equal electoral districts,
vote by ballot, and triennial parliaments." The placard
convening the meeting was signed, on behalf of the com-
mittee, by Lawrence Heyworth, Esq., and seven other
gentlemen of standing in the town. The room was filled,
as was the stage, and the greatest unanimity prevailed for
some time.

Mr. CHARLES EDWARD RAWLINS was called to the
chair, and in his opening address, said that he most
cordially agreed with Mr. Hume in putting off the
debate on his motion until it could be fairly heard
and appreciated. He (the speaker) would have preferred
a measure of larger extent ; he wished, in fact, to have
the full extent of manhood suffrage." He thought this
was due to every mand of sound mind, and unconvicted
of crime, and that all such ought to have a vote in the
election of their representatives. Annual parliaments
might be too short, and seven years was too long, but he
was inclined to give support to Mr. Hume's motion so far
as it went, until they could obtain all they required,
" manhood suffrage."
Mr. JOHN SMITH, of the Mercury-office, after an
argumentative address, moved the first resolution. He
was of opinion that not only housekeepers, but lodgers,
should be possessed of the elective franchise.
Mr. ROBINSON (stated to be a working man) seconded
the resolution in a spirited address, which was listened to
with much attention and applause. He noticed the
extravagant expenditure of the Government,—the pen-
sions, royal palaces, sinecures, over-paid churchmen,
patronage, &c., which deprived the people of their
due share in the representation. Out of six hundred
members in the House of Commons, 423 were
influenced by interested motives. He enlarged upon the
injustice and extravagance of the Government and the
Royal Family, without, however, blaming our gracious
Queen, for whom he claimed all due respect. They asked
for reform constitutionally, and gradually. It was for
them to tell Lord John Russell that they had a will of
their own, and that they might yet achieve universal suf-
frage. He prognosticated much from the mind and pro-
gression of the people, and urged peaceable and moral
force to accomplish all they desired.
Mr. WILLIAM RUSHTON spoke in favour of moral re-
form. He observed upon the present extravagance of the
Government, who spent about sixty millions a year—a
larger amount than ever before was known. This was
not a reform, and they people would have no !more of it.
An allusion made to the obtaining the whole of the charter,
was received with loud cheers. The free traders had had
their turn, and now was the time for the Chartists to have
theirs. He believed that if the wealthy wished to enjoy
their substance in peace and quietness, they must exert
themselves in doing justice to the industrial classes.
He contended that no good could be effected without a
reduction of the taxation.

The motion was put and carried by loud acclamation—
not a dissentient band held up.
Mr. FERRAR moved the second resolution, in a
lengthy address. He knew not the points of the Charter,
but he believed that every man untainted by crime
ought to have a voice in the choice of their representa-
tives. (Cheers.) He had looked forward for something
good from the present parliament, but he was disappointed.
In the reign of Tiberius, several of his subjects in the
provinces, it was thought by his ministers, might be taxed
a little more, His noble reply was, "It is the property
of a good shepherd to shear his sheep, not to skin them."
He read an extract from a letter which he had intended
to send to Lord John Russell before the recent revolution
in France, and which embodied, in strong language, the
rights of free-born Englishmen, and urging a reverting to
first principles, and a freedom from the burthen of the
national debt.

The petition was read by Mr. JACKSON, and was unani-
mously adopted.
It was agreed that it should be presented by Joseph
Hume, Esq.
After some other remarks, by various speakers, a young
man, (from Manchester,) apparently about eighteen years
of age, presented himself on the platform, with a greasy
card in his hand, and began, with great self-possession, to
preach about the six points of Chartism. He was called
to order by the Chairman, but the meeting seemed to
be strongly inclined to listen to him, and some
confusion arose. The Chairman said, with a view to
conciliation, that the meeting, though called for a specific
subject, would, no doubt, hear the gentleman at the
proper time, after the resolution was seconded.
Mr. L. HEY WORTH seconded the resolution.

A purely Chartist amendment was moved by the well-
known Jones, who, amidst several attempts to interrupt
him, advocated the six points, in opposition to the ori-
ginal motion ; and another Mr. Jones rose to second the
amendment, when Mr. Thomas Bolton rose to order, and
contended that no amendment could be put. The meet-
ing became uproarious, and the seconder proceeded ; and
from his prolixity we were compelled to leave. There
seemed little doubt that the pure Chartists would have the
majority. The demi-Chartists on the platform seemed
throughout not a little put out by the false position in
which they had placed themselves. To enable our readers
to. judge of the strength of the two parties when put
together, we ascertained that whilst the Reformers (?)
Chartist and demi-Chartist put together,—only filled the
little Portico, the Sparring-match in the Ainsic-hall, close
by, for the benefit of the Tipton Slasher, was a bumper.

The resolutions (two in number) were to the effect
that " the House of Commons does not truly represent
the people," and that " the motion of M. Hume is to
be regarded as an important practical advance towards the
full, free, and fair representation of the people." The
petition prayed that " every male householder in the
kingdom may have the right of voting for members of
parliament, with the protection of the ballot, and that
members of parliament may be returned from equitably:
adjusted electoral districts throughout the country, and
for a period not exceeding three years."