that while the people looked up to these Po ened the franchise not extended to some places proposed-o' the qualification rate of ten pounds for voters increased to a rate that will nullify its effects, and tantalize the nation? And if this qualification is varied so, the enfranchisement not extended as proposed, or the number of rotten boroughs reduced, will then the provisions of the bill be the same, or will its tendency be equally efficient, democratic, or satisfactory? The parts of the bill may be conceded or negatived, the qualification varied from 107. to suit particular places, and estimated at perhaps 1007.; and if so, how will the principles of the bill be recognised? how will the measure be equally efficient and popular? how will his Lordship redeem his pledge to the people? and how will the people be compelled in sad despair, or despite, to treat him on whom they have thus far relied with confidence? Nay, how will the peers, who may be accessary to such a rejection, or, what is tantamount to it, a mutilation, of the bill, dare face that public whom they may have so wantonly insulted a second time? The voice of the people should warn the Government and the legislature of the impending ruin which threatens the country, should their apprehenions be realised in a second rejection. He therefore moved that it be resolved, "That the National Political Mr. SAVAGE referred to the pledge of Lord "Union having been established at a period Grey given to the delegates, and thought then of excitement and diversity of political feel- he would not pledge his honour uselessly. But ings and opinions, yet steadily gave its sup- he now has altered his opinion; though he is port to Lord Grey in all changes, from his willing to hope he has still political integrity "pledge that he would be no party to the sufficient (although he has postponed the bill) 66 passing of any measure less efficient than not to tamper with his enemies, and try the.. "that rejected formerly by the Lords, and pulse of the country. Unless a bold and manly "persuaded the ardent but honest advocates stand is made, simple resolutions will be worse "of more extended suffrage to forego any op- than useless-for idle talk will supersede useful w "position and unite in support of the bill action. He then moved as an amendment, "proposed; yet, knowing the difficulty of "That a general meeting should be convened, "thus persuading, the Council learn with" to take into consideration the best means of "dread the probability that important provi-" resisting any attempt to abridge the pro""sions of the bill will be either mutilated or "posed extension of franchise, by increasing "rejected-to which should he cousent, the the 10. qualification, or in any way to mu.... "bond of agreement between him and his Ad-" tilate the bill." If this qualification is bro "ministration and the people at large will be "broken. That in this exigency, the Council "warn his Majesty's Ministers in particular, "and the aristocracy in general, that a muti"lation will produce consequences fatal as "would a rejection; for the storm which has "been allayed by the Political Unions will The Rev. Mr Fox coincided in the spirit of ❝rage with violence,' and prevent the vo- the remarks, but not in the form of the reso"luntary payment of taxes, to the dismember-lutions. He thought that one resolution stat "ment of society, and the extinction of the "privileged orders." To prevent such consequences, it will be necessary that every man should use all the means in his power to promote the passing of the bill in the form in which it has been sent by the Commons to the Lords, Mr. SMITH seconded the resolution. H. B. CHURCHILL, Esq., concurred in the resolutions, but not in the confidence expressed of Lord Grey; for he had always expressed his hesitation or doubt, and now the country coincide with him and he hoped ken, he thought the compact between the people and the Government would be broken, and that all should use (as Lord Chatham says) the means that God und nature put into their hands to procure their rights, and secure them unimpaired. ing the 104 qualification, the metropolitanti than doubt their integrity and this would be would make nomination boroughs in many aspur to them, and would make them prove places, nay even in Leeds. When Lord Grey themselves what they are supposed. Caution said he would leave the bill to the Lords, he of committing themselves should be shown certainly abandoned it-and that in the name by the Union, and the enfranchisement and of the Cabinet, for none of the Ministers predisfranchisement we should render as secure sent objected. The protest of the bill shows as possible. They are little certainly in com- the temper of the Tories better than any other parison of what may hereafter be grauted;document. He firmly denied the first part of but caution is requisite to obtaiu even that that protest, saying that the constitution was a little. A meeting of the Union, should the monarchy: for in no Act of Parliament is bilt be considered in danger, would answer all monarchy recognised. So Horne Tooke the purposes sought, and would give opportu- said kingship we adore, but monarchy nity to members to make up their minds on we abhor. We have certainly a mixed the subject. government, one part to check the other, as is now doue. (Laughter.) But there is no part of the history of England that is not aristocratical; and the barons have opposed wherever they could, and often effectually. If then mouarchy is not recoguised, what are the principles of monarchy, or how can the King guide or govern, as is said in the second resolution? He laughed at its being said that the House of Commons was the best Mr. SAVAGE thought, as it would be better to prevent than to remedy, a meeting before the bill goes into committee, to prepare a declaration on the subject, might teud to prevent the evil consequences apprehended. Mr. Fox moved, as an amendment, "that "the committee should prepare certain reso"lutions for a consideration of a general "meeting, which should be adopted on any attempt to abridge the franchise, or other-institution of Government in any country-yes, "wise mutilate the bill." Mr. MILLER thought this resolution would be in time, should a disposition be evinced of interfering with the bill. Success has as -yet attended the progress of the measure, and there seems no reason for doubting its enfactment. Till the doubt proves true, there is no necessity to fear a resolve. Mr. REDMAN thought that sufficient disposition to mutilate the hill by pretended amend ments had been shown by those who had merely supported the second reading, for the purpose of partly satisfying the people, and Screening themselves from popular odium; but they were determined to secure their own principles in the committee. Mr. POTTER thought that many even in the Cabinet acted from the same motives, and would join even their adversaries in the most odious acts. They are like sponges, which may be squeezed at pleasure; but the people must show a bold front, and make a determined staud. Unions now will be derelict of their duty, if they do not take the earliest opportunity of displaying their sentiments, and of reducing their opinions to practice. own and added he, the best for injustice, oppression, and taxation. He minutely animadverted in a ludicrous manner on the different resolutions, which would seem horrid nonsense from any but peers. Some parts of these resolutious, he said, were false, and others libellous, particularly that ou commercial men. Pettyfogging lawyers, mindful of their interesis, may be excluded; but enlightened commercial men will always find their way to the House. As to agricultural interests being neglected, it was absurd to think of it: for the landed interest will always be able to effect its own support. He then read from minutes the lelation between the inhabitants of different places and the electors that may be enfranphised, showing that the relation would not be one fifth-thus falsifying another assertion of the protest. He laughed at the corruption of the House of Commons, and its being said that it was a distinction of the constitution for which they should be proud. So too of interfering with the boasted stability or mutual relation of the branches of the legislature, the peers were always ready to take an active part. Soon alter the accession Mr. F. PLACE thought all discontented with of George I. the Lords took away the the bill, though more was proposed that prerogative to create peers at will, limiting might have been expected from a leaven Mi- the creation at any time not to exceed a certain Distry of Whig and Tory. Even the Secretary number; yet these are the men advocating of State voted for a repeal of the Habeas the stability and purity of the monarchy. Corpus Act, and for the odious Acts of Castle- Every part of our history shows the power of reagh, and has not since evinced any disposition the sovereign is that of a king, not of a moof ameliorated principles, And as to princi-narch; for he cannot change any law, nor ples being in the bill, he saw none whatever impose any tax, of his own will; no, nor then as to adhering to the principles of the against the will of the people. He proved, bill, it was ill and absurd. Every part may from an old document, that the people only therefore be abandoned without abandoning had the power to tax themselves, even at an principles--but parts cannot be conceded early period. He said Lord Grey went with without a concession of the faith pledged. He the bill to the House with a positive uncerunderstood that there was a rate in contempla-tainty of carrying the bill. Two members of tion of 251. for London boroughs, and decreas- those present only formed his majority, and ing it in other places gradually from 10% to 57. the Cabinet stand indebted to the country for where influence may be extended; and this the carrying of the bill, He doubts the The DUKE of WELLINGTON'S PROTEST. tered this Protest on the Journals of the House On Saturday the Duke of Wellington enof Lords against the second reading of the Reform Bill: courage of Lord Grey; for recklessness is not in; and well they may! Their heads courage, but madness, when he knows the precarious situation of the country. seem to be turned; for such rubbishy The peers must be made, or the bill will be lost, and stuff as this, never before was put upon the country be doomed to agitation or despair. paper. Good bye, Strathfieldsay! In conversation with several persons from the country, many had declared their intentions to let the law take its course with respect to all taxes; and they were influential with most of the unions, firm in their determinations, and immediate in their action. As to an army being kept up in such a case, it is absurd., No army could or would exist, and a Provisional Government would necessarily be formed. "First-Because, in providing for the cor Paper currency would immediately be suppress-rection of abuses in the election of members ed, and all exchange or intercourse of com- to serve in the Commons' House of Parliamerce denied. These were his apprehensions, ment, we are bound above all things to bear and he was glad they were for a time frus-in mind that the Government of this country trated; but he was firmly persuaded, that should not a peaceful reform be granted, a sudden and violent one would be effected. "DISSENTIENT. is, what from the earliest period of our history it has ever been, a monarchy; that this monarchy, limited by laws and customs of the Mr. ROGERS thought no time should be lost realm, and by the necessity imposed on the in declaring the sentiments of the people, sovereign of having constant recourse to the while the challenge of the postponement of advice and aid of Parliament, is the form of the Ministers has called them to it. The re- Government best adapted to the habits, wants, solutions should be made known to the public, and wishes of the people; and, consequently, and give a toue to their opinious and spirit. that no changes, however specious, can be It would be a warning to the Peers of the pre-worthy of adoption which would either strike cipice on which they stand, and would be a kind warning, lest a bitter fate should befal them. He certainly relied on Lord Grey still, and on him alone in the cabinet; but he hoped that this determination of the people should not therefore subside. The resolution of Mr. Fox was almost unanimously carried. Captain GoWAN gave notice of a motion to petition Parliament in favour of the measure proposed by his Majesty for a new system of education in Ireland. Messrs. TAYLOR and NORMAN were requested to try whether a more central situation for the meetings of the Union could not be found. The meeting shortly after adjourned. STRATHFIELDSAY'S PROTEST. at the principles of the monarchy itself, or would leave the Sovereign without the power of performing the high duties required from him, without the free and independent exercise of his lawful prerogatives, in guarding the general interests of the state, in upholding its ancient institutions, and affording due protection of the rights, liberties, property, and lives of all his subjects. We feel it, therefore, to be the duty of Parliament, more especially of this House, to refuse to consign the country to so vast and untried change as is embodied in the present bill; a change of which it has been justly said by one of the most distinguished advocates for the second reading of the bill, that it is in truth, a new form of Government,' of which no one has ever pronounced that it would be practicable, and which, if practicable, would be pernicious. expedient to correct abuses which may have "Secondly-Because, admitting it to be grown up under the present system of parliaimentary election, and to extend to large, populous, and wealthy towns the privilege of returning members to Parliament, we are bound to bear in mind that it has been also the House of Commons, as at present constituted, is, above all other institutions of all other countries in the world, the institution best calculated for the general protection of the subject.' I TAKE the following from the newspapers, in order to have it upon record. The protest was, it seems, entered on the 14th instant. The Duke petitioned a little while ago against reform in com-withstanding any abuses and any deficiencies, admitted by the authors of the bill, that, notpany with the BOTLEY PARSON! How curiously the parties smell one another out! They feel, somehow or other, that they have both the same interest. Very odd! It would be curious to know the precise reasoning of each of them; the precise way in which each goes to arrive at the saine conclusion. The Duke has a fine pack at his heels here. What a sweat the fellows must be f "Thirdly-Because by this bill that scru pulous regard to the sacredness of chartered rights and vested interests which has always hitherto been deemed part of the essential mental principle of British justice, is now for policy of the British constitution, and a funda the first time utterly abandoned; the most ancient charters and the most valued interests are treated with reckless indifference, which (whilst it is unnecessary to the attainment of the proposed objects of the bill, the correction of abuses, and the improvement of the existing system) shocks every feeling of justice, and cannot fail to be made a precedent for still more fatal violations of those principles in future. Fourthly-Because, in contemplating the violence done by this bill to the great principle of prescription, we cannot disguise from ourselves the dangers which must arise to the most venerable of our institutions, which mainly rest on that principle; above all, to the highest of all-to that one on which all others depend. "Fifthly-Because, even if the principles of the bill were consistent with the stability of the monarchy and with the safety of our most valued institutions, yet the provisions by which it seeks to carry those principles into effect, are for the most part, unjust in themselves, partial in their operation, and anomalous in their character; ill-adapted to their avowed purpose, and still more to the extensive and complicated interests of this mighty empire. "A preponderating influence in the election of the House of Commons is conferred upon the lowest class of inhabitants in towns; thus virtually closing the doors of the House of Commons to the vast moueyed and colonial interests, and leaving but few opportunities of admission to the heads of the great commercial body. "The landed interest, notwithstanding the professed intention of giving to it an increase of representation commensurate with that given to the great towns, is left exposed, even in the elections for counties, to the influence of the trading and manufacturing classes of the very places which are themselves to return members to Parliament; an influence so great as must leave, in many instances, the representation of Counties, and divisions of counties, in the power of voters from the towns. "The populous suburbs of the metropolis, have been subjected to the same innovating spirit which marks the operation of this bill in every other particular. Though it is manifest that this vast district, being connected in interests with the metropolis itself, and being the seat of Government and of Parliament, must command attention whether immediately represented or not, and equally manifest that the only real danger must be lest the influence of the popular voice of the metropolis should be too powerful, yet it has been thought fit to aggravate this danger in an incalculable degree by creating new districts for representation, and vir tually consigning the elections to universal Suffrage: thus ensuring a perpetual recurrence of popular excitement in a quarter where, above all others, it is most to be deprecated, as injurious to the best interests of the industrious orders of the people, dangerous to the public peace, and hardly compatible with the free and independent exercise of the high functions of Parliament itself. "Sixthly-Because the exorbitant increase of the democratic element of the British constitution designed by this bill must give additional strength and impetus to a principle which, while duly restrained and tempered by the checks provided in the existing constitu tion of Parliament, is the source of that genuine spirit of disciplined and enlightened freedom which is the proudest distinction of our national character, but which, without those checks or other equivalent restraints, could not fail to advance with augmented and accelerated force, till all other powers being drawn within its vortex, the Government would become a mere democracy; or if the name and form of a monarchy were preserved, all that could give independence to the sovereign or protection to the subject would be really excluded. "WELLINGTON." their names to the Protest :The succeeding Peers have since attached John George Armagh (Archbishop) STAND FAST! ¢ that the assembly of Pennsylvania, in this singular measure, closely imitated the Parliament of Great Britain, and that the Tory landlords of Americà were treated in exactly the same manner as the Jacobité landlords of Scotland. It is curious that this precedent should have attracted notice in Ireland : and me must say that it might not be amiss if those men, who, in the two Houses of Parliament, spoke as if the legislation for Ireland should take no account of the people, but merely consider the interests of their taskmasters, and who speak of enforcing laws without reference to the will of the people who are subject to them,' were to réflect on a dangerous precipice on which they are standing. The Tories may carry the practice of insulting the Irish a little too far. Having said this much, we proceed to lay the communication before our readers : “Monasterevan, Ireland, April 14, 1832. "In Mr. Cobbett's Register, of the "31st of March, there is a paragraph "(p. 887) stating, that in the assembly "of delegates of Pensylvania (1775 proWHAT, then, wild" as DOCTOR bably), it was proposed, that every BLACK thought this phrase of mine, he" occupier of land should stand fast,' finds, that I had not only history and" and that if he were guilty of no breach reason, but LAW, for what I said, and," of the peace for a year and a day, &c,, what is more, English law too, and, the estate that he held should be his besides, statute law, and, what is cu 66 own for ever. rious, law passed by the Whigs! That "This transfer of proprietorship from to waste time, DOCTOR BLACK, in his "the lord to the tenant, is stated to paper of this day (18th April), has the have been a principle adopted to following article, as a preface to a com-" strengthen the revolution in America ; munication FROM IRELAND on the" the lords of the soil, or owners in feesubject. "simple, having adhered to the English "Government. DOCTOR'S PREFACE. When we quoted from Cobbett's Re- "It may be added, that if it were a gister, of the 31st of March, an article" principle adopted, it was not a prinstating that in the assembly of delegates" ciple invented by the Pennsylvanians. at Pennsylvania it was proposed that" It was a principle adopted by the every occupier of land should STAND Pennsylvanians, and followed from the FAST; and that if he were guilty of no statute law of the old country.' breach of the peace for a year and a day, "A. D. 1668.-In England the former the estate that he held should be his own" and illegitimate government was for ever, -we were not aware that in "turned adrift; and of the free will taking this step the Americans were" and mere motion of some persons following a precedent set by the mother-" calling themselves a Convention, ancountry. An Irish correspondent, whose "other, and consequently an illegiticommunication we subjoin, has shown mate governinent, was setfup. This |