The Statesman.
London, England, 1812-05-09 00:00:00

0.1

3
i
1•
I

be the language of some gentlemen, that the House of
Commons, as. NOW constituted, war nothing but a
mass of corruption ; [Cry of no, no!] or at least that
such rottenness and unsoundness existed in Parlia-
ment, as if not lopped off, must entirely destroy the
Constitution. Now he should bogie& to know in
what particular part of the -representation this rot.
tenues•: was to be fouud. He liked to come to close
quarters with these reforaiers, for when they de.
scended from general assertion a particular facts,
they- would be found to have little to say for them-
selves. What part of the representation, then, was
rotten 1 We had Members for counties, Members for
populous towns, and we had burger• tenures.—
1. Hear.. hear !]He understood what the cheering
r'ferred to; and, he would ask again, in what did
ti:,ir rottenness consist ? Let the Reformers come and
prove that corruption had been practised in a particu-
lar instance, and he would vote for disfranchising the
ri..,,,,,.. Had heaat in the House when the Crick-
lade and Aylesbury cases were decided, be should
bare voted for the abolishing of those boroughs.
The present measure went to admit copyholders to
vote far County Members ; and he would admit that
many of that class were as independent as freehold-
ers. The only reason why he refused this extension
wars, that the ancient Constitution never gave the
elective franchise to copyholders, and hit was not
aware that any 'new • vivyfying principle would
be gained by their introduction.—His objec-
tions to change were radical, and were founded on
a conviction, that all measures. of this sort did not
go to reform, but to alter the Constitution. . It was
said, that. the decisions of the House of Commons
were -generally at variance with the voice of the
people, and the Walcheren vote was appealed to as
in instance. He verily believed that there was, on
that occasion, a diversity of opinion between the.
Mouse and the body of the people. But even, after
all the alterations which might be made in the Con-
stitutiun of the House, he very much doubted wise-1
ther on every occasion its votes would represent the
opiniOn of the people at large. The question of ,
alsortening thekluration of Parliameut, was a matter i
of regulation not of race! alteration, and did not
appear to him so objectionable, though he was not
called upon at present to consider it. Upon the
whole, he would conjure the House to abstain from
•.riag the Constitution of the country. To the
.1-.tr!igment as now constituted,—to a . Parliament
evhich comprised representatives for Old Sarin, for 1
llesstots, and all the Cornish boroughs as well as for i
counties, the country was indebted for the defence of I
its liberties against the arbitrary sway of Charles I.
end it was a Parliament similarly formed, which,
after iiiitinuerable struggles, ultimately confirmed the
liberties of the cat:nii by the Bill of Rights.
Sir S. ROM' LI, V observed, that the Noble Lord !
had said he ea; always anxious to bring these Re-
formers
to cli.se ~uat telt, and to drive them up into a
corner, elms he generally found that they were mi- ,
serahly delis; eni in argument. Good Goo-1 so the i
Noble Lotd really talked of driving up into a corner 1
such men ti' ivir. Vitt and Mr. Fox, who had both
supported tit.. rause of Deform.—[Hear!]—For his
pct. he had loi;g thought that a Reform in the re-
presentation was necessary to diminish the power of the
Croon in that House; and all he bad seen since he be-
came a Member of it, had only the more confirmed
bins in that opinion. It was peculiarly incumbent on
this :'srliament to commence a system of reform; for
he was satisfied that the Act which they passed two
yearA ago, ostensibly to prevent the sale of seats, would
most materially increase the influence of the Crown
in Parliament. A Noble Lord had moved, while in
its progress through the House, that it should be en-
titled a Bill to grant to the Crown a Monopoly.of
Seats in Parliament ; and though ,shat was not the
*rowed object of the measure, he would ask any man
to lay his livid on his heart and say, whether that
would not be its real effect. [Hear, hear!] Its
provisions would effectually prevent men of taputs
from getting in by certain methods; while, with re-
gard to this Treasury, it was only to be an express
agreement to exchange an office for a seat that was
to vacate the return. ft was easy to see, that in such
matters no necessity existed for an express agreement..
That Act, he was convinced, must operate most ma-
!grittily on the constitution of the House - and
he was much mistaken, if it had not produced some
effects already, and if several recent votes might not
be traced to it as their cause. An Hon. Friend had
enlarged on the happiness and prosperity which the
country had enjoyed under the present form of Par-
liament; but he had also dwelt on the pressure of
taxation, the decline of. commerce, the increase of 1
poor's rates, and lamented the existence of a weak
and inefficient Administration. In all these compli-
cated evils, his Hon. Friend saw no ground for a re-1
form in Parliament. This reminded him of a passage 1
ini Lord Clarendou's History, where the Noble His- !
orian represented the situation of England as never !
baring risen to such a pitch of happiness as about i
the year lci 10 ;
.and,yet that . was the period which ,
immediately preceded the civil wars, and was distill.
guished by the most abominable attempts on the part
of the Sovereign to destroy the liberties of the country.
Mr. DAVI ES GIDDY contended, . that the mea-
pure no so pt opo;ed • mould -only tend ft fender the
Houso of Commons .more democratic ; arrd from all
the experience of ancient and modern times, he be-'
li-.‘s sal it would be found that no great and opulent
country could be well conducted under a democracyei
'. Alr. GOOOll eligosed the motion.
Mr. NV il ITBREA 0 had always supported the •
cause of Pariiamentary Reform, sad he believed he
ale ay 6 would continuo to support it, for he was morel
and niore confirmed in his opinion of its necessity
.ft out day to thy, and from hour to hour. Ile was
. sornewl.o.t astonished that the lion. Member for Sof- •
tisk (.111r. pooch), should presume the. opinions of
• neighbours in that County, were to be lOoked
?pots as a more fair criterion of the general send-
silents et the-country, than those of the persona I.vhoti
the goo. Bit onet meets in a place, where all the in-
tlligence of die couotr; was generally supposed to
assembled. • • ..
M. OCIOCH explained.
Mr. WHITHREAQ `resumed.--Ile was not sur-
pAsi4 it wilt hall falleil from an. Mo. Memtaix (Mr. Davies
stedy), etint.ng as that Member did from Mater" focus °fond-
's.. He would, on the contrary, have' bgen surprised, if
Hun, Me,.uber had not been an atitkeforMO. Not whipsuld-
ee th4envempt; which Mr. Windham chew. latterly
N Co express
f _pular 00IbiOtt, 0.4 !tow knew very well that Mr. Wind-
fa4 both for orwseit and the eomuy. of Norfolk, and that
1(.14e. MS' %tie:llN b i?.l. ..leit *MA rot Iht.te. elm, a
riill,.

r

I I . 1
)
,
.of
,I 1
) I
I ,;1
II
I t . .