Polynesian. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu], Hawaii) 1844-1864, 1850-01-12
REFORM MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND

l NA~sA -
"A great popular reform demonstration re.
centiy took place at Drury Lane Theatre
London. 1t was attended by between fouI
and flve thousand persons, and among then
were some Of the most influential statesmen
OF Great Britain The proceedings possess
interest, Inasmuch as they embody the lead.
ing views and principles Of the new Parlia.
mentary and Financial Reform Party. Sir
Joshua Walmesley presided. He said in
his opening address, that the masses through.
Jul the country were everywhere suijeu
and discontinued. The middle classes groan-
ed under the pressure Of unequal and un-
necessary taxation. There was an antagon-
ism between the people and their representa-
tives Of so extraordinary a character ,ba,
no great social or political ameloration could
De achieved without an organized agitation. y
-, "A formal Report was submitted by Mr.. S.
thompson, IN which the leaders announce
their determination to advocate the following
reforms:
81. Such an extension of the franchise as
will give to every male occupier of a tene-
ment, or any portion, for which he shall be
rated. or shall have claimed to be rated, to
the relief Of the poor, the right to be regis
tered as an elector.
2. The adoption of the system Of voting
by ballot
3. The limitation of the Duration of Par
lament to three years
A. Such a change in the arrangement of
the Electoral Districts shalt produce a
more equal apportionmeht of representatives
to constituents.
S. The abolition Of the Property Qualifi-
cation for Members of Parliament
Mr.. Lushington contended that the peo-
pie were not properly represented in the
Hc3se of Commons. "Of eight hundred
and fifty thousand electors, only one serenteenth
belong to the Industrial classes. The fact
was, that the representative Of the House Of
Commons was mockery; and the people,
having no voice in the representation, could
exercise no control over the expenditure
which was met from that taxation to which
they were the chief contributors. Taking
the annual expenses of the nation at f56,-
OOO, 900, the working classes were required
to contribute S32, ,OOO, 600 of that amount
Under the present system the constitutional
right of the people not to be taxed without
their own consent was constantly violated"
The Rev. T. Spencer spoke next, and
among other remarks, said, that he "might
be told that, as clergyman, he ought to
recommend every man to be quiet and con-
tented, and not to NEEDLE with those that
are given to change, and that it was his du-
ty to preach peace and goodwill among
men," Well, he believed the course he took
was the best mode of fulfilling that mission.
Hear, and chcers). He never felt that he
was doing his Masters work so much as
when he was endeavoring to diminish the
sum of human misery-(hear, hear ;-and
he believed the will of Almighty God was
the happiness of all men; that He made men
not to starve, or to be slaves, but to fill their
hearts with joy and gladness, giving them all
things richly to enjoy; and that His will was
that the Government should live for the peo-
pie, and not that the people should live for
the Government. Hear. One Ofthe "pow-
ers ordained Of Goo" in this country was
the House Of Commons, which was supposed
to represent the people at large; but the
working men, and the tax-paying men, who
created the wealth of the country, were not
the persons who elected the House Of Com
mons That House was indeed filled with
naval and military officers, pensioners, and
the sons Of the nobility, and it represented
any thing rather than the commons Of the |
realm. Lord j. Russell had said that the
people had no right 10 Universal Suffrage,
they had the right to be well gov
erned. That Noble Lord, however, seemed
to forget that great deal depended upon
the persons who had to answer the question
what good government was; and as men,
Der Of the aristocracy the Noble Lord might |
think that it was enough if one person in ev-
cry four, FIVE, or six, possessed the elective
franchise But the question was, what the |
people Of England would think? He was in
The United States some time ago, and he had
never seen country SO peaceful as that, or
a set Of men SO bearing the marks Of self
respect, independence, and manly bearing.
Hear, hear). He had seen elections q
New York and Boston, and SO quiet and or
aerly were the people that, unless he had
been told, he should not have known that
elections were in progress. Well. then. as
Universal Suffrage and Vote by Ballot were
working so weISfn America, why should they
not work well here: Hear. Were the
people of this country inferior to those Of
America? Did they not come from us?
Lord d. Stuart defended the principles of
Universal Suffrage, the Vote by Ballot, Tri-
ennial Parliaments, and the No Property
The design, he said of the
present movement, "was to unite the work. T
ng and middle classes, who now at length
,aw that the interest of one class was the in
crest of all, and that it was by union alone
hey could attain their ends. He was sure
hat this movement would progress until it
became triumphant and obtained all its right
,ous ends. How soon that might be, he
could not foresee; but if he had contributed
m any degree to the promotion ofthese great
md noble objects. he0hould not have lived
altogether in vain. /"
Lord Nugent said he was &c an advocate OF
Complete Universal Suffrage-and he had
never been able to see the common sense OF
What was called money qualification. Ev-
arv man who consumed bread contributed to