Constitutional Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1824-1832, 1831-05-03

rom Time TO time occn made IN the representation
" the country and IN she constitution OF Parliament.
will no; go back TO the time Of lieary VI when
the qualification Tor an cicctur raised Ios O..
quva liant to Gao of our money, out will refer Won
for instance, to what occurred the union with
Scot land and the union with Ireland. | will re
fer to l773. 1902 aad 1895, when Parliament re.
peslcd great portion of the Catholic disabilities,
and actually admitted tve-sXths OF the population
to the rgh, of voting who possessed it before.
lbat was, IN fact, more 4 parliamentary revolution
than parliamentary reform / wi, refer YOU also
10 the period whom Parliament reduced The represcn
tatives Of ireland from three huudrsd hundred
and added those one hundred members 10 the Eng
lish House of Commons. These all were measures
which much better deserved the cptheis Of rcvolu
tiouary and so forth, than the msasu5e upon winch
they so abundantly avsh"d | am sue that ia
moderate reform, such has been recommend
ed BY my Noble Friend this evening, but which will
satisfy the people had been Jugh forward by
Government, it you'd have met with quite as much
opposition as the present ono IN Pa rafncnt Sup
pose that half the rotten boroughs had been disiran
chsed that all of them had been mui!u,ed of half
their Members, should have had from my
Noble Friend and from all elsewhere he same re
prehsnsion OF Acknowledgement? Should we not
have been told that VIC were going too far Would
il not have beeu said to us by my Noble Friend
Is why 10 you stop there: had you not better oo off
all; for, ID you had, YOU could have committed
greater violation Of the principle of the cons,tu-
ton?" (Iear, hear, from Lord WharnclifFe -
perceive that my noble Friend appreciates the force
no." from Lord Wharncliife Yes, my Noble Nrieai
dues, only my Noble Friend surprised that tha
argument should have struck in the same way
lLaugh'er) My Noble Friend and these who
hold the same language with my Noble Eiiend,
would have sad to us ''why do von stop here; the
argumen; which will Justify the taking away one
borough, will justify the taking away another if
SO, why should you ba both rapacous and ncon
sstent too1 Laughter Why this half Ineasureo
Do yen think the people will like it On, no; you
may CRAFTY your foolish partial;ties; YOU may retain
your cherished Cation, your beloved Boroughbridse
and your faveritc Sa!um but do you think the peo-
pie Will like you yell for this as il you had put
them all in your cauldron tocether' You are dom q
all you can to protect your plan from the assaults OF
enemies within doors, but you not doing that
which the people Will expect from you?" (Hear,
hear, hear.} Now. | confess, that if my Noble
Friend had had an opportunity of saying this, |
should bave felt it difficult to answer it Well, but
hose who oppose the measure talk about some re-
form and yet keep carefully out Of view the
outline OF any plan which they would be inclined 20
acceae to Now putt to them whether hey are
not IN this dllemma:-thry admit that there is IN
the country very strong feeling in favour of reform
Aye of rather an extensive system of reform-for
this indeed, IS the only ground upon which re-
formers now proclaim themselves willing to listen to
reform Al all. Do thsy suppose that any plan short
of disfranchisement will satisfy the peops?--
1t not, this is of the horns of the dem-
ma, upon which their sdnsSIon of the stronn
feeling favor of rcf3rm has fixed them Now
mark the o. her horn the goring horn Of his dilemma
as it appears to me- and feel for those who are
threatened by it. Qaaughter.l They must begin the
work IF dIsfranchisem ent-and how? Would thew
drsfranchise all the boroughs on one side--aH the
boroughs of their fnes' No, for that would be such
apparent job, that it would not be tolerated for
moment Every body would cry shame upon it
Well then, they must take some from one side and
some from the other. spoating as they now call It
when others do it) FIRST friend and then foe
thus converting former friends into foes but not ma
king any friends among their former foes and they
might be compelled to sacrGce--unless pity fer re-
cent purchase withheld their hand-cvcn Cation IT.
self (Lau ghtsr.) But no matter in what way thew
dlssranchsed; dsfraEchise they must, and then
what would become OF their princiPe-of the arga-
ments that we're founded on spoation-thc invasion
OF proper;y-and the rcla:iop of the spirit of the
constitution? (H"ar, helr.) Now, one word at
parting with this dilemma Let me tell those noble
and honorable p-oprir'ors Of borough who now talk
alb ut n 'derate reform, and who are sncere-for 7
speak not ofthose who assume the grab of mode
rate reormer5 for the pu pose of catchnG es
against this bIli-tha if that moderate reform of
which they speak were 20 be carried | should very
much marvel If they would have Cation. or Borouch
bridge, any such places long spared TO lhen-
(Hear. hear.) These. thcn-the reasonableness of
he measure, the consistency of it in principle and
he defensblcHcss of it in a.gUnnnt-constitute tha
main ground Of my approval of the measure The
second grcnnd of my approval, though indefcnslbIc
IN argumcnt-tHough dlffioul to reconcile in prnci-
pc. and though more difficult TO maintain in debate
-. that there are many boronghs infinitely worse than
tns OoTonHnS WnIcn are called close OUrouUnS. If
there opY security that the close 5orourhs
vii! remain in such hands have hitherto held
them, and as do still hold them should think heir
longer existence far less e%cepionable than the ex
istence Of such boroughs as Barnstable, snd-but
will not SO into them, for late report of commit.
tee of the House Of Commons prevents me fro
thinking of any of them but the last to which their
attention has been called the overgrown,
foul, and corrupt borough Of Liverpool (hear, hear
where corruption stalted the streets by daylight and
where the iniquty Of the place waXed so great that
the fame of 1t spread from quarter of the empire
to the other-wheFe, instead Of initiating the prac-
t'ce which remnant Of shame or a sense of danger
has given rise to in smaller boroughs of private
room and hole IN the wall men were seen Euxter-l
ing their votes in the open streets IT uoontidc and
'allics that sold for twenty pounds at FIRST fetched
doubIN and treble afterwards. (Hear, hear, hear
Phen there Is the uvoter-tEe scourgo Of the place
IN which ne exercises his right Of fraarbsc--who
inocuIates all whom he approaches with the vices he
mas learned In he capital in some other large city,
and who, however pure the resident tody NAV have
been before they saw him. to bring with him
venom cnoogh 10 make it one fcsi erng moss Of cor
rSP'lon before lie left it, tEIear heaT.) Putting 4
8 oP tn the system which arises from ont voters il