The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1833-12-06 00:00:00

THE DUBLIN UNIVERSITY.

We congratulate the conductors of this work on the
completion of this their first, or probationary year, dur-
ing which they have produced two volumes, containing
an admirable variety ofexcellent matter, worthy ofa place
in the library of the statesman or the boudoir of beauty.
We of the LIVERPOOL STANDARD entertain for The
Dublin University Magazine a kind of fraternal affec-
tion ; we are both the offspring of conservative parents ;
we started into existence at nearly the same period, and
bbth have laboured to stem'the torrent of republican
innovation which threatens the destruction of the-insti-
tutions and constitutional monarchy of Great Britain.
Having said thus much, it may perhaps be necessary to
add, that there is no other connection between us than
that of the principles under the banners of which we
fight as fellow-soldiers. The 'first article in the number
now before us is " Signs of the Times," which are very
ably, though somewhat fearfully expounded by the Dublin
University seers. Their observations on " the repeal
question" have the merit of facing the enemy boldly, and
the remedy which they propose is we believe new; on
this subject they say :
The last elections must convince every one, not actually un-
der the influence of insanity or infatuation, that there remains
no hope of arresting the progress of national delusion upon this
subject, until events may render it too late to do so, except alone
by authoritatively interdicting all discussions respecting the repeal
of the legislative union. Already have the repealers been
strengthened by the accession of those whose opinions were de-
terminately hostile to their views, and whose conversion could
only have been produced by the conviction that it was hopeless
any longer to struggle against the torrent which was bearing all
before it. These men, it is but too natural to suppose, will en-
'ter upon their new course of politics with charactenstic zeal, and
endeavour to compensate, by the violence of their future, for
the coldness of their past conduct in the cause of the people.
Between fifty and sixty individuals have already been returned,
who are bound to give his Majesty's ministers no peace until
their own objects are accomplished. What such and so many
individuals, so determined, and strengthened, as they, no doubt,
would be, by a large proportion of the radical members, might
accomplish, how seriously they might embarrass any ministry,
any one who has observed the working of parliament can un-
derstand. Upon ordinary questions, or, where the matter in
dispute did not involve any serious consequences, means might
be found for abating a nuisance such as this, without any re-
course to measures of unusual vigour or severity. But, when
the question is, whether the empire shall or shall not continue
united.; and when the very continuance of .the agitation of that
question in such a country as Ireland must eventually necessitate
dismemberment, the'course which a wise government should pur-
sue can be no longer doubtful, AND ALL THOSE WHO THUS ,PRE.,
SLIME TO INFLAME NATIONAL PASSIONS AT THE EXPENSE OF
IMPERIAL INTERESTS, SHOULD BE DECLARED BY PARLIAMENT
ENEMIES TO THEIR COUNTRY ! •

Is the national compact, which has united the legislature of
Great Britain and Ireland, less irepdrtant than those enact-
ments which guaranteed the succession to the throne ? Could
that succession be, for one moment, secured, if Ireland was
again invested with a legislative independence ? These are
question:, which we will not, at present, stop to argue, becatise
we cannot suppose that with thinking men • they are quektionS.
An Irish parliament, resembling in its character that sample of
Irish legislative wisdom of which, by and by, the people of
England will have had abundant experience, would not long
continue to be swayed by the motives, actuated by the princi-
ples, or directed by the views of the corresponding assembly in
St. Stephens. Topics of difference would, perpetually, be sug-
gested by national prejueice, national pride, national jealousy,-
and national resentment. Thus, upon the most trilling nett
ters, a total obstruction might be put to the progress of public
business : while, in matters involving important interests, the
very existence of the monarchy might be endangered. It is
not for a moment to be supposed, that even the most infathated
of the agitators themselves are so deluded as to suppose that,
the legislature being again severed, the separate portions of it
would continue connected like the Siamese twins, where a mys-
terious unity of will is combined with quality of person, and
either responds to the wants, the wishes, and the sentiments of
the other, with an instinctive and instantaneous sympathy,
which would almost prove the identity of their minds. No such
assent and consent to the proceedings of the parliament in
England
,can be expected in any parliament that may ever
again be assembled in College-green. If, indeed, such might
be calculated upon, why should the union be repealed ? And
if not, of what elements of discord would not such a measure be
pregnant? Either the two parliaments must agree, or the
must differ. If the former, the repeal would be superfluous. ?f
the latter, it could not"but be full of danger. We all remember
the celebrated regency question. The English parliament de-
cided that the heir apparent had no natural or constitutional
right to assume the office' of regent, but only. as- he was au-
thorised so to do by that portion of the, legislature which con-
tinued complete. The Irish parliament decided that he had
such a natural and constitutional right, and that'his title to the
office of regent was as undoubted and as indefeasible, upon the
ascertainment and during the continuance of the royal incapa-
city,
o as. it
Thus of king upon the demise of the
wlegislatures slatures were at issue upon a ques-
ero was to
the the
two d ig
tion of vital importance. -If the Irish parliament was right, the
English was uilty of little short of treason against the crown.
Tithe English parliament was right, the Irish was guilty of lit-
tle short of treason against the people. By affirming the deci-
ItOn of either, the other was, in a manner, proscribed. Each
seemed well inclined to support its speculative opinion by an
appeal to arms, when the providential recovery of the sovereign
rendered it unnecessary to have recourse to such an extremity,
by adjourning, sine die, their discordant and perilous delibera-
tions. The evil of a divided legislature, which this Inomentous
occasion so strongly exemplified, was, we believe, whit first
flashed conviction on the mind of the English ministori, that
the measure of the legislative union was indispensable to the
safety ofthe state. That union has been accomplished : and if
the demands of the agitators be now complied with, or their pro-
ceedings permitted, its repeal will.be but the prelude to the over-
throw of the monarchy and the dissolution of the empire.

As the reform bill will most probably have to undergo
a re-reforming process, we submit another extract from
the' same article, which we recommend the admirers of
the' " pledge system" to read with attention :

Al member of Parliament bears much the same relation to the
body by whom he has been deputed, as a physician or a lawyer,
to those by whom they are employed. The latter are never
consulted except by those who have a general confidence in
their honesty and skill ; and, when called in, are always left to
the unshackled exercise of their own judgments in the adoption
of such courses as appear to them most advisable for the inter-
ests of their clients, or the well-being of their patients. Just so
should it be with a legislator in the House of Commons. He is
selected because of a persuasion that his character and attain-
ments qualify him for promoting the public weal. But, once
chosen upon these grounds, he must be at liberty to think and act
for hiniself in all matters connected with his parliamentary duties;
and he would abuse his trust and disgrace himself by consenting
to be the mere automaton of his constituents, and only to speak
and vote as they put words into his mouth, just as much as the
lawyer or the physician, if they suffered their sober judgments
to be overruled by the insane or the eccentric individuals in
whose behalf they were consulted.
A member of Parliament is not an agent for a party. If he
were, he might be shackled with any conditions which it might
please that party to impose. No. He is a counsellor charged
with a commission to use his utmost efforts to promote the ge-
neral good ;—to take care " ne quid respublica detrimenti ca-
peret : —and, as such, it is his duty to exercise an enlightened
and discriminating judgment id drawing, from the stores of his
wisdom and experience, those resources which may be available
in the exigencies of his country. It is no less the privilege of
his constituents to assemble for the purpose of discussing and
recording their sentiments upon all those public matters, re-
specting which they feel an interest. To whatever may be said
or done on such occasions a good representative will always
-carefully attend. He may thus receive much instruction... New
lights may be thrown upon subjects that were before involved
in doubt ; and he. may be led to modify or to alter the judgment
which' he had formed respecting them, by the arguments that
were used, or the information that was elicited. So far all is
right. Any change of conduct which follows such a change in
his opinions, is perfectly legitimate. Though he does appear to
chime in with the views of the body whom he represents-, he is
still, no less than before, an independent member; his adoption
of them being the result of conscientious conviction, after calm
reflection upon the subject of their deliberations. But, if his
conduct is altered, without any alteration in his views, and
simply because a majority of his constituents have so willed it,
—that moment he sinks the counsellor in the agent ;—he ceases
to be a deliberative member ;—as far as •he is concerned, Par-
liament is degraded from a council chamber to an office • audits
noblest and most distinguishing function becomes- paralyzed I
In such a state of things, it may not be very easy to ascertain
the precise point where deliberation ends, and dictation begins;
—just as in cases where ossification takes place in the human
body, it may not be very easy to detect the precise moment of
time when the cartilage becomes a bone. But, as the increas-
ing stiffness of the joints will feelingly admonish the unhappy
patient that such a process has commenced ;—so, the increasing
instances of statesmen succumbing to mob dictation, and going
into Parliament fettered by pledges which render them themere
agents of particular parties out of doors, afford equal proof of
the progress of a legislative malady, which, if not promptly re-
sisted, must be fatal Whether this is the case, or in-what de-
gree it is the case, is for others to judge. We believe we may
venture to say, that, in as much as it is, the-character of Parlia-
ment is changed, and its most undoubted privilege invaded.
When a rage for interfering in the concerns of government
has been excited by tribunitiau violence, it affects the legisla-
ture like the touch of the torpedo. The natural guardians of
the country's welfare are regarded as so many cyphers—or, if
they refuse their assent to measures which they deem destruc-
tive, their places in Parliament will know them no more ;—and
successors will be found, in all respects as reckless and as un-
principled as their revolutionary masters. The people, in fact,
when not governed for their own benefit, will govern to the de-
triment of the country.
Now, against this usurpation of the popular will upon the
rights and privileges of the House of Commons, it behoves the
government of this great empire to be especially upon its guard.
It the members of a reformed Parliament are to be the mere
organs of popular volition, we hesitate not to say that 'Watt or
Arkwright could furnish a kind of machinery that would answer
that purpose quite as well, and spare the country the expense
and the inconvenience of contested elections. It should, there-
fore, be solemnly resolved, that Parliament is a deliberative
assembly; and that, when individuals are elected not jiff the
purpose of, governing the country, but that they themselves may be
governed by the dictation of their respective constituencies, the very
object for which Parliament assembles is defeated.
This being resolved, it will follow as a matter of course that
all elections in which members have been fettered by unconsti-
tutional pledges, are null and void; that the cajolery of deceit-
ful promises should vitiate the proceedings at the hustings, quite
as much as bribery and corruption. We may be told all this is
very right in the abstract; but what is to be the criterion for
ascertaining this new ground of disqualification ? A natural,
and a startling question; to which we will onlyreply, at present,
by asking another,—what is the criterion for ascertaining the
disqualification of the juror whose conscience has been tampered
with by one or other of the parties whose case he was se-
lected 'well and truly to try ? First, let the principle be laid
down, and a determination to act upon it evinced, and men of
business will soon discover a mode of rendering it, for all
practical purposes, sufficiently available. It would, at all events,
set the character of Parliament in its true light ; and proclaim
with a distinctness not to be mistaken, and an authoriity not to
be withstood, that its members must be free agents; and that
none can be considered' such whose judgments are fettered by
pledges, which are taken as the condition of their election, and
which render it morally impossible that they should profit by
that collected wisdom, by which alone the national interest
could be beneficially superintended.
If this were done, wisely and resolutely, much would be
accomplished towards correcting the monstrous anomaly that
at present exists, (most particularly in Ireland,) of members of
Parliament hired, as it were, not to guide, but to follow; not
to instruct, but to be instructed by the people ; not exhibiting
a wary vigilance in guarding their interests, but an anxious
solicitude to discover their inclinations, and comply with their
most capricious desires even by anticipation.
If it bo not dono, tho Ilon. o of Commona must speedily be-
come both inefficient and contemptible. Its proceedings will
be but the hollow echo of the more important proceedings out
of doors. Its members will resemble captives bound to the
chariot wheels of an insulting rabble seeking to derive a mise-
rable importance by stimulating e w the violenchich they cannot
control, and consenting to the wickedness of which they them-
selves will be amongst the first victims.

" The Dead Boxer—an Irish Legend," will be found
one full of intense interest.

THE IRISH FARMER'S .AND GARDENER'S
MAGAZINE. DUBLIN: CURRY, JUN., AND CO.

The second number of this work is in every respect
equal to its predecessor. There is a clever paper, under
the arboricultural head, "On the cultivation of the
British Oak."

MILLER'S GARDENER'S DICTIONARY.

LONDON: G. HENDERSON.

A new edition of this work as it was last revised by
the author, who filled the situation of gardener to the
Apothecaries' Company, at their Botanical Gardens,
Chelsea, is now in course of publication, in monthly
parts, the whole to be completed in fifty numbers. The
Gardeners.' Dictionary will contain copious information
on Agricultural Chemistry and Mineralogy, including
the composition and application of manures, the selection
of soils for particular purposes, and Agricultural Zoology,
cOinprehending the treatment and improvement of all
animals connected with or employed in farms. The
first number is embellished with two sheets of engravings
on steel, illustrative of the matter, with notes of refer-
ence. The Typography and paper are both excellent,
and we consider ita good shilling's worth.

THE LIVERPOOL MEDICAL GAZETTE.
CHURCHILL, LONDON; and RAVE,. LIVERPOOL.

Dr. Hunter Lane, the able and indefatigable editor of
this work, continues to sustain its well earned reputation,
by a good selection of valuable and interesting papers
from the lectures and and reports of the Liverpool School
of Medicine. The following appears under the head of
the late Dr. Briggs, jun. :

There are few unacquainted with the fatal catastrophe which
befel a great pact of the crew accompanying Mr. Lander on his
second expedition up the Niger. As few probably are unac-
quainted with the fact of this melancholy event having been at-
tributed to the inexperience and improvidence of Dr. Briggs,
jun., who was.the medical attendant of 'the expedition, those
who have heard this statement made will have felt with us, that
the individuals who propagated it must not only have been
wanting in the commonest feelings of delicacy to the memory
of an individual-Who was hissekell a sufferer in the deplorable
catastrophe,—not only wanting. in ordinary sympathy with the
sentiments of Jr. 13rigto' sutViling, friends amt. relatives —but
also devoid of that principle of English justice which would ex-
act for all a chalice of .repiidiating such grievous accusations.—
We merely now allude to this subject in the hope of persuading
some whose judgment may have been influenced by these mis-
statements, to dispossess their minds of the representations pub-
lished in the daily journals. To enter at this time into a detail
of the painful topics involved in this affair, might perhaps have
the appearance of extending the same injustice to Mr. Lander
that has been so indecently committed agoinst the memory of
our late respected townsman. Dr. Briggs, sen., has, with a
warmth and sincerity that reflects honour aad credit on his paren-
tal sentiments, published " An Answer to a Misstatement which
lately appeared in the Kelso Chronicle, London papers, &c.,"
in which he has, by. clearly and satisfactorily refuting the
charges, most nobly protected the memory of his son from " the
breath of slander." fo this answer we refer our readers, where
they will find that Dr. Briggs not only disproves the imputations,
but does in no mean degree—if we may hazard an opinion in
the absence of the person alone called upon to defend himself—
assign the improvidence in the medical stores to Mr. Lander
himself.