an end to these pensions? Then sup-Reform in order to put an end to the pose another Committee having the list disposal of the public money in the of late Foreign Ministers before them. manner above-mentioned, and in other Knowing that we have about fifteen in ways, far too numerous to be particuemploy, and that we have about seventy larly stated here. This is notorious, in pay, can you imagine, it possible that and the boroughmongers, of course, they would suffer any to remain on the have not been the last to perceive it. list; can you imagine that they would They know that such application of suffer their constituents to pay seventy the public money could not take place ambassadors when fifteen were all that under a reformed Parliament, and, were wanted? They would see that therefore, they naturally oppose that our salaries to these foreign Ministers reform. are five-fold greater than those which are paid to foreign Ministers by any other people; and do you think that men chosen by the people would think it right that a Minister should receive from six to ten thousand pounds a year while in service, and from two to four thousand pounds a year for the rest of his whole life? In estimating the exertions which men are likely to make, we must keep their motives in view: a man will fight most desperately to preserve a bag of gold, who will hardly lift his hand if you are about to take a bag of halfpence from him. The boroughmongers have, as I have frequently observed, an estate in the taxes: they look upon Is it not manifest, that a reformed this, not only as their estate, but as Parliament would, and must, proceed their best estate; and, it would be to at once to the putting an end to all be very weak indeed, to imagine that applications of this sort of the public they will not make a most desperate money? Would such a Parliament struggle to preserve that estate. A not inquire how one million, six hun-reformed Parliament would, I dare say, dred thousand pounds, came to be act with moderation, with great forgiven as a gift to the clergy of the bearance, with great generosity even, Church of England? Would such a in putting an end to pecuniary abuses Parliament consent to the sending of of the sort that I have mentioned such immense sums of English money above; and, in acting thus, they might to the colonies, which yield nothing in safely rely on the concurrence of the return? Would they not trace the people; but, still, they must act, they said money into the hands of the de- must proceed; they must begin to lay pendents of great families? Would the axe to the stem of the tree of corthey not perceive clearly that the colo-ruption; and the cormorants lodged in nies are kept for the purpose of fur-its branches must know that its fall nishing an excuse for thus disposing of would be at no great distance of time. English money? To be sure they To preserve it, therefore, untouched, would; and they would put an end to such an application of English money. In like manner, would they not perceive who were the real receivers of the money voted for the army and for the dead-weight; and would they not ap-it must be evident to every-one, that the ply the pruning-knife there also Why, it is notorious that we want the reform, not for the purpose, as our enemies have always alleged, of overturning the Government, by which no man of property could get any-thing, and no man without property could get any thing in the end; is it not notorious that we want the Parliamentary those cormorants will make every possible effort; and, one curious thing is (a thing well to be observed); that the further they proceed in resistance, the stronger the motive to resist; for, longer the resistance is protracted, the less disposed to forbearance, the less disposed to indulgence, the people will become. If the Reform Bill had been passed with little opposition in the Commons, and with the pretty general assent of the Lords, the people would have been very generally disposed to make as little alteration as possible; to avail themselves but by very slow and such would have been the effects if his indulgent degrees of the powers that Majesty had not, listening to his love that bill would have given them, for the peace and happiness of his peoMuch of the past would have been ple, acted agreeably to the prayer of buried in oblivion at once: past injuries that petition. If such would have been and wrongs would have been overlook-the case, if the King had refused to *ed in contemplating future benefits and dissolve the Parliament, what is to be rights; but, when resistance places the the consequence of a majority against object to be achieved in danger; when the bill, a resolute majority, returned to apprehension is excited by such resist-the new Parliament 20 ance; then, what indulgence, what The Boroughmongers, as well as forbearance, what patience, is to be everybody else, must know that such a expected from the people? Of this, majority, and so acting, will add greatly too, those who make the resistance are to the exasperation of the people. very well aware. The resistance that They have but to open their eyes, and they make to-day is, in consequence of look at Birmingham, look at Manchestheir opinion of its effects, a motive forter, look at every body of men wherenew and additional resistance to-mor-ever assembled; they have but to look row. They know that, if beaten now, at this sight to be convinced that there their state will be much worse than it would have been if they had yielded at first; and, therefore, as the struggle advances, their resistance becomes more and more desperate; more and more violent; it has more and more of motive and of reason in support of it. is not the smallest chance of escaping the calamities depicted so strongly in the Westminster petition. A refusal to pay direct taxes, if once begun, would spread like a plague over the country. The fundholders would then begin to perceive that there was more cause for Therefore, let the people be well pre- alarm to them in refusing reform than pared for the efforts which are now to Sir RICHARD VYVYAN and Sir ROBERT be made by the Boroughmongers, who PEEL seemed to think. The very prowould be downright idiots if they were position, in any one great town or in to spare any sacrifice that afforded them any county, would shake to its very the smallest chance of defeating the centre the whole of that fabric which is measure for which the people are con-called public credit. If once begun, if tending. It is in vain to tell them, once acted upon in any one great town, that their resistance, if persevered or in any division of any county, where in, will lead to revolution and the sub-is the man to prescribe bounds to its exversion of all property. That is quite tent? But would the refusal stop with in vain; because, to them, this reform the mere direct taxes? Who is to say is just such revolution: it, at one that it blow, takes from them that property which they have in the taxes. It is in vain to talk to them in this strain; for, nothing that can possibly happen can be more injurious to them than this great act of justice done to the people. The people of Westminster, in a petition which was carried to the King by the two Members last Thursday morning, prayed his Majesty to dissolve the Parliament immediately, as the only means of preventing the most fatal consequences, amongst which they mentioned violent convulsions in Ireland and Scotland, and a refusal to pay taxes in England! In all human probability, would not instantly extend to tithes ? Nay, would there need anything more than a beginning to make this the most fearful thing that a Minister of State can contemplate? The citizens of Westminster only repeated, in a sort of official manner, that which has been rumbling about amongst the great parishes in and about London ever since the Duke of WELLINGTON made his memorable speech in the month of November. Now, however low my opinion may be of the understanding of VYVYAN and PEEL, and their like, it is impossible to believe that they can be wholly insensible to a danger such as this yet am 9 of opinion that resistance will still be tion this year and that they, if they : carried! This should be borne in the mind of every man. He has now dissolved the Parliament expressly for the purpose of getting this bill carried and, if it be not now carried, he cannot be called upon to resort to the same means again. This the borough people clearly understand; so that, if they be prepared to set the people at defiance, they have now a motive for voting against the bill much stronger than they had before. If, indeed, all those who are in the red list continue to vote for the bill, the bill is safe; the bill is carried, and the peace of the country is secured. Then observe, that when they come back again to Parliament, the whole body will be in a new position; and electors, as well as every-body else, should be cautious how they believe, that because a man's name is down in But we have seen some slippery the red lists printed by Mr. RIDGWAY, gentlemen already, under the most and also by Mr. WAKLEY, that man paltry prètence, slide out of that list; will be sure to vote for the Ministers! and, unless the electors have some In quite a new position will the mem- better security than that mere list prebers all be. Many of those who are sents them with, they have just no upon that list may have voted for the security at all. I am not supposing bill; I do not say that they did; but that there are many men, nor en they may have done it upon this one other man, equally slippery ground; that, if the bill were lost, a Sir BOBBY, the boast of the Borough, dissolution would take place at once, but there was Sir THOMAS ACLAND, and that, then, they would be put to who, indeed, said, when he voted for the trouble and expense of a new the second reading, that he did not en election; and further, that, if the bill tirely approve of the bill. There is were carried, there must be a dissolu- Mr. ADEANE, Member for Cambridge) ith list? A shite hober as a reformer, observe, cannot take place if the bill be rejected; land who vofell for the second reading seeing that it must take place if the of the bill, who has since declared that bill be passed, seeing these things, he does not approve of all its details. who is to rely upon them without a Therefore, very little reliance is to be firmer pledge than the niere circumplacell on that list. In short, it is im- stance of their names being in the red possible to cast your eye over that list, where you find four BARINGs almost As to the 'seat-owners themselves, at the very outset ; it is impossible to no change can be expected in them, read the list over and to believe that other than that which has been already all the members are in very heart and discovered, and that has been in amount soul, in favour of this bill. Look once as moderate as their best friends could more at these three hundred and two possibly have expected. And here let excellent reformers; and then bless me observe upon the folly, nay, l'am God for their miraculous conversion. afraid I must call it the baseness, of Doubtless, there are some of thein, I those who have thanked, and that, too, think I could name about ten, who in formal resolutions, hambly thanked, really, from the bottom of their hearts, those of them who have expressed a wished for the passing of the bill. readiness to surrender their boroughs, as But, my sincere belief, is, that four out it is oddly enough called. "Thanked! of five, at the least, whose names are to for what? Either they had a right to be found on that 'list, would much hold the boroughs and make use of rather that the bill had never been put them as they did, and as they do, or upon paper. And if they calculate no they had not. Either they exercised a further than the mere power of voting; [just and lawful power, or they exercised if they do not see danger in the cruel an unjust and unlawful power. If the disappointment of the people; if they first, it is unjust to take the power away totally overlook the awful prognostics from them; if the last, instead of of the Westminster petition to the thanks, they ought to think themselves King, the red list would, in my opinion, happy if they escape reproaches. They be reduced to a very small amount. If surrender, as it is called, that which they were all men of sense; if they they can no longer keep; that which it had sense to perceive that, to use a is proposed to take from them by force vulgar phrase," the game is up," and of law; that which the King and his that the borough system can no longer Ministers and the people say they have exist, I should say, take them from the held unjustly. They see the warrant red list, and send them back to Parlia- coming to take from them the thing ment; but this is far from being the they unjustly detain; they then genecase: when they get together, they rously give it up; and there are people give each other countenance and who would treat with scorn and indigcourage: they have no idea of any nation a proposition to thank detected power greater than that which they robbers for ceasing to rob, who, neverpossess: they have never seen a Parlia-theless, approach these generous souls ment overpowered by the people, and with votes of grateful thanks. they never expected to see it. This Morning Chronicle of the 23d of April, is the temper in which they will come in calling upon the people to exert back to the House; and, therefore, themselves upon this occasion, says, the red list is not worth a pin. "Thus the nation will be saved, and all The far greater part of them have will be rescued from the rapacious been accustomed, from their earliest❝and degrading slavery of the infernal days, to look upon the Parliament as "boroughmongers." What! then, thank being what it has been figuratively men, call them patriotic, merely because called, namely, omnipotent; and see-they say they are willing to cease to ening security for their seat in a non- slave us, when they see that they can thesolution; seeing that that dissolution do it no longer! Thank men for ́ex> The J pressing their willingness to cease to be are matters which admit of alteration infernal And, besides, is my friend without any injury to the principle of Dr. BLACK quite sure that, if the people the bill. The duration of Parliaments were to slacken their efforts, and were is a matter that may be introduced to be beaten, these liberal and generous without at all altering the great princisouls would not be infernal again? Did ple of the bill; and I cannot help thinkany one of them ever give up, or offering that now that the work is to be to give up, till Schedule A and Schedule begun anew, it would be wise to return B met his eye? Did any one of them to the triennial Parliaments, to which no ever bring the accursed parchments man could reasonably object, and which, and fling them down upon the floor of while it would get rid of the odious the House and spit upon them? Did Septennial Act, would give great adany one of them ever put in a Member ditional pleasure to the people. By this to move for, or to vote for, a reform of time, too, Lord GREY must have seen the Parliament, except as a mere that the ballot is a thing not all on one sham? Never! There is, therefore, side; for if there were brutal wre ches no foundation of hope here. The own to be found to follow the brucal ers of boroughs might have put an end advice given to the people of Bol to the turmoil long ago, if only a fifth ton, Manchester, and Durlaston, to part of them had expressed their readi- go and tear the arms nearly off the ness to give up their unjust power. IOL voters, unless they voted agreeably Every-thing shows that what is pro to the will of the most numerous part posed, if it should be carried finally, of the people; if there were Englishmust come like drops of blood from the men so brutal to be found, nothing in heart. Every-thing shows, in short, this case but the ballot would be a prothat the bill will not now be carried in tection to the voters; and I beseech that peaceable manner for which all Lord GREY to be so good as to regood men wish, unless the people be member what I am now saying; that extremely vigilant, and unless they ex- when Members are given to the great act something a great deal more posi- towns, and the voting confined to tive and specific than the mere circum-renters of ten pounds a year, whoever is stance of the name being in the red list. If that circumstance be relied on, men will not only have an excuse, but a plausible excuse, for voting finally against the clauses of the bill; for the bill has really been altered since the second reading; and this is what Sir RICHARD VYVYAN says, in his address to his constituents of Cornwall. The excuse is a shuffle; for the alteration es was makes the fore; but still it is not the same bill. Therefore a new and distinct pledge should be exacted. at the head of the Government will find that the ballot will become absolutely necessary to insure the peace of elec tions, which is its great use, and which is the ground upon which it was adopted and has been adhered to in America. Let us take Bolton, for instance, and suppose the voters to be about four hundred out of twenty or thirty thousand souls. These voters be shopkeepers. mass of the people will, as is always the case, and always must be the case, have their favourite candidate; and they will have a vigilant eye upon the voters. There will of necessity arise great strife; there will be combinations of the working people not to deal with such a man and such a man on account! of his vote. This is inevitable by any earthly means except that of the ballot. There are in the bill two vital provisions; namely, the abolition of the rotten boroughs, and the extension of the suffrage. These two things do in fact contain that which may be called the principle of the bill, The divisions in the counties; the apportioning of the Members; the making of preparatory lists the exclusion of out However, the ballot is only a mode voters; these, and various other things, of taking an election. It involves no |