Daily Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1828-1831, 1829-09-23
From c8btefcs Political Register, July 2sA.
TO
MARQUIS OF BLANDFORD.
SUBJECT Oh
PARLIAMENTARY REFORM.

H..
sce reason TO notice part of it, lest my silence
sssho,ild be miscicvously construed into assent.
SSpcercy desire to witness rational and
Constitutional reform in the Commons House ofPar-
shsnlcnt, will stand forward the ioiid advocate
,sof votag by baifot unirersot suffrage; both Of
s'tcn species of uipersnt confusion both inventions
''of modern date, ufoundsd ia and totally
'hnowh to ia,cs, at any period of their history.
upon these two points, then, Messrs Cobbett and
"iiun (whom otherwise respect for their talents and
''patrotsm and myself ,cide the poies asn-
der; and, although fully sensible of the fearful odds
Nitmay be III their power to oppose me- shall not
,'bc apprehensive of maintaining my own views and
: 'convictions, independent of such doctrines
- have the honour to be- Sir,
y our most oSclient servant,
"BLANDroRD.'
The declaration OF Mr. Hunt and myself called up-
on the retormcrs to stand by orr old plan of annual
Parliaents, universal suffrage, and voting by ballot
That we have right TO annual Parlanlents is not de-
MED by your lordship and l. therefore look upon that
point as being conceded to us; and yet, Us TO any
scrten taio of this country, there is for annual
ParlamcntS any more than Tor the other two things
for which we contend 1T is very true, that until the
tune of the SrUARTs, nobody ever dreaiacd of any
Thing but of Parliament called as o5tea as IL .cns
iodntea, and no man eyer thought of such thing as
the meeting of Parliament without IL ne,c election
except perhaps in an instance two, in the REIGN Of
the tyrant HeNRY the ErGHTH. For Parliamcits to
be elected for term IF gears is thing of uIitc
modern date the practice of passing an annual batch
OF laws Is thing quite laws were passed only
upon extraordinary occasions; and l. your Lordship
VIII look ut your copy OF the Stutute Book. will
flld that the laws which have been passed since, the
late King to the throne, exceed in bulk Zen
times all the laws that ever pissed n England
before
The BLr. of RtGErs, as it is called SAYS and VERY
tdicuiously, that Paraments ought 10 be f-eouenii
held. Soon after that, Act was passed to prevent
any one Parliament from existing forany longer period
than three gears Not long af.er this a Parliament
which ha7 been elected for three years determined TO
slt for seoe without consulting the people on the sub
jcct; thus the thing has continued from that time to
ne Il I.aft,f al. L.
the subject that this change in the law wss effected
by men calling themselves WHGs, and as if incons;s
lencies aud asurdiies lie, or to end their pre-
tence was, that if they suffered the peoDe TO mako
another election at the end of the three years there
would be danger of re-ntroduCton of popeyv and
StdoerW Curious enough this; that the NHGs Should
now be the advocates of what is called p1pery and
stdUeTE and that your Lordsp should see the neces-
sty OF REFORM m order to keep that popery and
slavery Tins Is strange turn; but it only Shows
That there IL something which IS wanted to change
the present state of things.
With regard To The other two topics, bepjnnin1
with UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE, may, i hope without
giving offence, be permitted to observe, that your
Iordsllp was certainly a little off your guard YOUR
self, when you, by implication least denominated
me sciu 'idgocate Of these doctrines. pretend to
40 superior sagacly or superior seriousness but have
always argued the question with great coolness and
hive appealed TO that which your LorClship
appears to think lnOw wholly set aside Your Lord
ship says, that universal suffrage is an invention of
modern date. wall not 60 back to Saxon times; I
VIII not 80 back TO the practice after the Norma
Conquest but viii make my stand upon the principles
OF the laws and constitution. In the first place It is
n-wel known maxim of the law that "no man should
betdTed tctdtOm ms CONSENT" of which | shall
have to speak fully by-and-by. The laws oF
England have always held, that every man. not bond
man, ought to have voice In making or asserting to
the laws, either By himself his represeDtativc in
Parliament. SIN THOMAS Smith, great LAWYER
and priyy councillor in tie reign of QUEEN Era,
RETH, in his work called The Commonwealth or Enc
iaH" says, emery Englishman is intended to be- pre-
oft IRrIf
and attorney, of what pre- emnence state or quality
soever he may be, from the Prince to the LoUest per-
son III England" The book Of the .4ssises which is
book of great authority, says, that laws to bind all
must be Gssented to by all And how are nh TO
assent to laws, if only part have voice in choosing
Those who have power to make the laws
BLAcssToNE, who was court-lawyer, and i'm mod
crn times too, could not blink this great principle
without overseeing! the whole of his "Commcntarv
lie says, in Book l. Chap. ., "Erery is in iudo-
"nent of law, purity to making an Act of Parliament
bcng present hereat by himself by his represen.
"tatioe." And cencler TO all that any one has
ever written upon the subject, he says in Book w
Chap l. "The I4AwFULNEss of Furnishing criminals
- founded this pTincile, that the Inn by Which
'snfey sgfer made by their oun consent"
Now. My Lord, what can be urged in answer TO
thisF How Is lt possible TO explain the ueanirr f
these plain words and who is to root out of mems
minds principles like these if implanted there |
and u It Just, my Lord, to call prneDIes "toii'
and noret and TO assert that they lead 10 universal
CONFUSION Is 1t, above all things, to say
"a
"Period Of our history" Now, my Lord with very
sincere respect for you, and without any desire fo
avail myself of any advantage that may possess in
order to obtain triumph over you in af1iimenf 10,
me ask you this question. If the L1gfl1ess of Drn
ishing criminal be founded upon the pricipie that
ne mas gwen hls assent TO the law that Furnishes him
- e not punished 'niateluty if the punishment pro-
coed from law TO which he has not 1ven his aesrrt2
anu WIZ your l'ordsP contend, that he has given his
assent, when the present law forbids him TO have an,
Thing TO do IN choosing those who make the laws
80 much for the iaO Of the case; and now for the
equity. ! have observed before that the grand may
i'm of the constitution is, that Dlan shall be LITe
without his own consent. This was the great prin
cpe thar orr oaCetOrs expressed in their standing
cry Of 'iiberty md 1'yDperty'" this was the grand
principle, an attempt 20 violate which, severed from
England ono Of her four LIMBS which is now become
almighty republic, and by far the formidable foe
that England has. The American resistance, and
revolution, and dcIe8jcnce were announced 70 the
%oiia N the four words: *IdBEarY PnoPERrH, 10
~ IKE the phrase Of old ''9 YOUR tents O Israel
~ sa9se tents nc arms were huag up ready for battle;