The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1835-05-26 00:00:00

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CONTS,IIPO3./LRY ,PRESS.

A considerable number- of persons,
calling
Par-.
liament, .aud some not members, who, calling themselves,
reformers (9f Pile denomination or another), are all sup-
-porters of the present niinistry,,met yesterday to•fix upon.
A pianfor o;ol4lE:pent of.a " reform associati9n.".
purpose, of thistiew,whivadi.cale.xpedient,is,avnly-
eAlY t0....C-"lllecact ir,aPiljlY-sPre4Pg
'and returning pow-er of friends of , conservatism
throug7ioutrthel3riiish
'Butwhat'is the nature of the
.emergency which,thus,
at so early a period in the hiStorY,Of:thefeform,ill,;has:
iforced the sell-called admirers of that momentous inettsure,,
,to enforce its Operat;i4n-in their Tolyn behalf by extra con-
stitutiuscal ,ptactices? LOKI- Ebrington alleges that.
'`'--001iservatireassociatious have beenformed, the
.object
of -which was to -obt.ain.a.power over •the constituency,.
g t oh#eli the progress of the wholesome reforms
essential. do _the, gi.44l.iy'w.g;of the country:"
vA re,, no elssuiA haw! .been-ex-''
2e".ctediryin; , ord Ershri4gtpti,:bpd,hisilordshirs,mind;nott
.hpep:'•thrown!,frits,nattiral baktince hy,the -s.lesperate,oon-
ilitiOnto hich it. is, obv loos. his friends the ministers feel
:that they are actually ,redoctrl. .A,S the matter stands, '
there never was anything wore , void, of gll Ptetence to.
4fairness than 'this the 'fundamental proposition -of
,the
.416b1e ,viscount, • by,whicli he seeks to build .a :vast
,struc-
:ture•trf political agitation on a party misstatement of the.
.and -character df.the. conservatives of ,England.
ifrom which of thetwo authorities will:the people of this-
country be most apt to judge the real designs of the con-
,tervtalies--71,..ord.V.iscount Ebrin.gton or Sir Robert Peel ?
Jlll.e noble lord says that the conservatives, against whom
ate ha,syleciPred !.var, .seek, "fan under power" over-the
constit,uency, that, they may be, thereby enabled to check
the wholesome progress of .refortn. Whereas the-right
mernher.for Tainworth .urges the ,electors, by the
most earnest and affecting q4hortations,
.to obtain into
"their 4:4n—hands, thrOugh a direct constitntional.pro-.
cess, the:power with which the reform bill has invested
them, simply •by each electOr registering, his individual
•W by should lord 'Ehrington quarrel with this
.conrse ? Why should he call it nicknames ? Are the
,Whigs in nalityfrightened at the readiness of the ciaiser-'
yatiKes Ao constitute atarge portion of the reformed c•on-
,stitnenoy ? If so, Why. -should not Lord Ebrington and
.11is:friendsrrecognize in any corresponding demonstration
of sentiment the voice whichthey themselves called up,
4rla rewept it as.speaking so much of the national feel-
ing, ;instead' of 'heaping opprobrium upon those from
whom it i,ssues, and treating -them as enemies against
whom reformers, ought to arm?? Itis not pretended that
the conservative societies have in view the.coinage of fa-.
thricated votes. .They wish merely that each qualified'
-eleetorshotild atgister his qualification. What, we re-'
peat, is there in such a prOceeding to give umbrage to,
• any‘bonest party.? • But the truth is too plain to be dis-,
guised. The whig-radicals are cruelly disappointed that
the!re.form bill and the -powers •created tinder it have
turned _a little restive on their hands. 'They forgot'
.that a. two-edged sword-would cut in.both directions; and
are scared andconfounded that the weapon which they
had destined to the.exclusive-dastruction of their political
, .adversaries.has villainously drawn,theirnwnhest blood.
LOrd Ebrington,and Mr.,,Grote,,tado them justice,pro-
'fess no illegitimate or nitworthy objects in,theirostensi-
ble prospectus for these " reform" associations.; :thqY
talk only of " insuring the registration of the electors
of Great Britain, and protecting then) in the independ-
-ent' exercise of the franchise.''

Upon this latter point ,of ",protection" we would re-:
the lords and gentlemeh Who met yesterday in Cock-
.spur-street,to{aletterin this morning's Times from our
~staffordshire,correspondent, who•paints'in colours-mote
striking than attractive the mode in which the partisans
of .f.ord•Ebrington'sifriend, Colonel Anson, are likely to
,exhibit, during theipoll, their respect for the " independ-,
entexerei,se of the-franchise," whenever it may happen
to run in favour of the conservative candidate. We ac-
pitLord Pringtomand his coadjutors, of any desire to
enlist
:personal violence or intimidation among their,
ineans of ,politisal,warfare:; but we.wonld direct their at-
tention to a shrpwd And.salinary warning,,delivered :at
'the meeting in question
,:by IVltittle Jiarvey, who
told them, in blunt terms',,that if .by .their .associations
they meAnt to marshal thepeoPle into " one partyagapist
another;. they would entirely fail." And so they Ought.'
Let the‘registers,by all lawful means be Made-as full as
possible, on everyfside ; let every class and division of
Political seruiment have, through our enlarged represen-
.tativesystem, its natural and unclogged expression ; anti
we fear not that the result of: the -whole will be -that for
which Sirßohext Peel declared himself the advocatea
thoropgh correction of all abuses, and a determined main-
tenance of our civil and religious institutions. How-
ever, the conservatives beingynt npowtbeir,dcfence, will
from this,day forth 'relax none of their well-organised
exertions, but thirst, on the contrary, hasten .and extend,
and persevere in them more actively Chap ever. Poole
may.have been hist through a grievous family afktion,
which paralyzed no doubt' the personal influence and ef-
forts of' Sir Coiquhoun Grant. But if Staffordshire
. should miscarry also, it will be not merely a misfortune
,to the conservatives, it will seriously
:injure their cause,
and damp the progress of that sound reaction on which we
are persuaded depends, .under God, the Salvatian•Of the
British monarchy.—( Times.)