Should I be one of the persons of your choice, I shall at once devote my time to the ELECTION FOR THE CITY OF LONDON. important duties which will devolve upon me,

LIVERYMEN, FREEMEN, AND CITIZENS greatest reward I promise to myself, and to be

GENTLEMEN,Eighteen ve buhi is to presentat can be conferred upon me as a re

I relinquished an extensive business to devote my time and attention to the duties of a public office-that of Alderman of the Ward in which I reside, and to which honourable situation a majority of all the Freemen had twice chosen me within twelve months, and which duties I am prevented from fulfilling, by the combined efforts and injustice of the Court of Aldermen, for no reason except that I am a Reformer.

Yes, Gentlemen, I am not accused of being a reformer of six months standing; not a reformer when it became the fashion to be such; but when to be a reformer subjected you to incarceration, without accusers, in one of the dungeons of Sidmouth, or Castlereagh, Then, as now, I was an independent labourer in the cause of reform, and upon all occasions, a zealous defender of the rights of my fellowcitizens.

The city of London has long been repre

ab

Car the

ΠΕ

FLOGGING SOLDIERS!

TO THE

ELECTORS OF ENGLAND.
LETTER II.

Base Designs of the Whigs, and their
City Intrigues, carried on by Bow-
RING and others, against the Pledges.
MY FRIENDS,

Their hangers-on are at work in every part of the country, to make the people entirely from their love of freedom; believe that the Reform Bill proceeded and that they wanted no motive other than their own just disposition to give us that bill. Now, mark the following facts: FIRST, that every one of the present Ministers, Lord GREY and Lord time or other, a ridiculer and a conHOLLAND excepted, has been, at some temuer of parliamentary reform and that three-fourths of them have been bitter persecutors of the reformers SECOND, that Lord GREY himself, never

In order that you may act a part worthy of yourselves and your country; in order that you may choose proper ALAS! I, in my eagerness to see this men, and reject impostors, it is necessary that you form a true estimate of reput an end to, thought that THE LIAR the men who are now in power; that had, for once in his life, spoken truth! you judge rightly with regard to what thought that good had come out of they have hitherto done; and that you NAZARETH a second time. But I now which designs, in my view of the matclearly understand their present designs; find that this villanous, lying reporther ter, are as base and detestable as any of the Morning Chronicle, stated the that ever entered into the mind of man. result of the debate in a way just conontrary to the truth, and that the House of Commons produced fifteen for the abolition of flogging, and thirty-three against the abolition of flogging; so that there were more than two to one in the House for the continuation of the flogging. I copied the debate and the result literally from the Morning Chronicle; though I confess that I ought not to have believed anything that I saw in its dirty columns, which are manifestly now the sole property of the filthy Whigs. It was a great mistake, to be sure, to suppose that this House was for the abolition of flogging; but it drew forth statements and arguments which have produced a great impression upon the public, and none of which are invalidated, in the smallest degree, by this falsehood in the reporther. The subscription for SOMERVILLE is going on at my shop, where a book is open

for the purpose,

WM, COBBETT.

;

at any time of his life, proposed a reform so extensive as that which the English Reform Bill now makes; and that, even at the time of his coming into power, he said that he had corrected did not mean now to go so far as he had the errors of his youth, and, of course,' proposed to go many years past; THIRD, that no one will deny, that it was the people who thrusted WELLINGTON out of power, on account of his insolent declaration against reform, and that GREY was brought into power because he declared for reform; FOURTH, that though GREY came into power with a promise

to make parliamentary reform, he whiled indubitable proof of this anger, and of away the time, from early in November the fact that the Ministry brought in to the first of March, before he brought the Reform Bill in consequence of popuin the bill; FIFT¤, that, during the time, lar compulsion, and that they wished to he was threatened by the people with see it defeated, provided that they could all the consequences of their discontent, keep their places; ELEVENTH, that unless the measure were large and effi- when the bill came a second time becient; SIXTH, that he found that he had fore the Lords, there had been a negoa majority in the House of Commons tiation going on between GREY on the against the bill, and that he must either one side, and HARROWBY and WHARNquit his place or dissolve the Parlia- CLIFFE on the other side, and that the ment; SEVENTH, that the new Parlia-second reading was carried merely in ment contained a great majority for consequence of that negotiation; him, and that the elections clearly TWELFTH, that it was manifest from the proved, that the people were resolved speech of GREY, and from the conduct to have a bill as extensive as that which of certain persons belonging to the he had brought in; EIGHTH, that he BIRMINGHAM UNION, that Grey and his now resumed the bill, but that there colleagues meant to slip the bill through was no species of delay, no contrivance the House of Lords, altering the tenof procrastination, which was not put pound clause, and taking from the in practice to lengthen out the discus- working people all chance of having sions on the bill, which could not have any influence at elections; THIRTEENTH, had for their object any other than a de- that this intention having been detected sire to weary out the interest which the and exposed by me, Grey resolved to adpeople took in the measure, and to give here to the ten-pound clause, but not the enemies of the bill time to prepare until the country had showed its deterthe way for its rejection, and to cause a mination not to suffer the qualification tranquil submission to that rejection; to be raised; FOURTEENTH, that the NINTH, that, when the bill had been re- Tories, finding that GREY had taken this jected by the Lords in October last, the determination, resolved to take the bill Ministry in general, and GREY in parti-out of his hands, and accordingly made cular, gave every symptom of anger, of the memorable motion by LYNDHURST, furious anger, not against the lords who on the 7th of May, which led to the had rejected the bill, but against the turning out and taking in, and the people who had resented that rejection; taking in and turning out again, which and, though I dare not speak in suita- took place, in consequence of the threat ble terms of the transactions at BRISTOL to pay no taxes, and of the run upon and at NOTTINGHAM ; though I dare not, the Bank. at present, say what I think, of those If you look at the conduct of the transactions, any more than of the pre- Whigs, from the day of their being vious special commissions in the south forced into place again by the people to and in the west, issued for the trial of the present day; if you look at their those who had in reality, been the daring attempt to make a rotten bocause of the bringing in of the first bill, rough of all Ireland; if you look at there is no man who will not compare their silence upon the subject of the these transactions with the excessive Septennial Bill, while they are introindulgence of the Whig Ministry to- ducing a qualification clause into the wards all the notorious enemies of re- Scotch Reform Bill; if you look at form, and who will not draw his con- their conduct with regard to the boclusions accordingly; TENTH, that, in rough of HUDDERSFIELD, the represhort, the anger of GREY towards those sentation of which they have, in spite who were most zealous in the cause of of the reasonable and most earnest re

reform was apparent all the way quest of the people, made almost the through; and, I might, if I would, absolute property of one man, and that produce the prosecution of myself, as man a notorious Whig; if you look at

1

the two bills which they have now be-invite these new electors to join the
fore them, and against which they say livery, in order to discuss the propriety
not one single word, the one for repeal of framing a set of pledges, to be taken
ing, in part, the Act of Settlement, and by candidates for the representation of
which, if passed, would fill the House the city, seeing that the principle of
of Commons with placemen and pen-demanding pledges had been so fully
sioners, in spite of all that the people recognised, and so successfully acted
could do to prevent it; and the other, upon at the former election.
brought in by INGLIS, and intended to
render the qualification of members
more difficult in England: if you look
at all these things, and observe how
directly all these bills are in the teeth
of the 73d clause of the Reform Bill
itself; if you look at these things, it is
impossible for you to believe that this
greedy faction are not now at work,
endeavouring to undermine the very
bill which they have brought in and
passed.

This invitation brought together a body consisting of liverymen and new electors promiscuously. At the end of a pretty long discussion, it was determined to appoint a sub-committee, to draw up a set of p'edges, and to submit them afterwards to the general-commit◄ tee for their approbation or rejection. The sub-committee, consisting of five liverymen and five new electors, met, and agreed upon certain pledges by a majority of two out of ten. These pledges were submitted to the general-committee, who confirmed the decision of the subcommittee by a majority of more than four to one. In all these cases a Dr. BowRING, who is, or who recently was, in the pay of the Ministers, was the strenuous opponent, first of exacting any pledges at all; second, in the sub-committee, and in the general-committee also, he proposed pledges of his own, in opposition to those that were carried; and, my neighbour Mr. SWAIN, who was present at the discussion in the latter case in particular, tells me that BOWRING discovered in his opposition an eagerness and anxiety difficult to be described.

But their conduct with regard to PLEDGES is the clearest proof of their intention. And here I must enter into a history of those pledges which have been put forth by the electors of London; and against which pledges this faction have put in motion all the swarms of dirty tools that they have at their command; and, swarms more numerous and tools more dirty have seldom been seen in this wicked world. We all know that the Reform Bill was carried in consequence of pledges: we all know that Mr. WARD was turned out of the representation of the city, because he refused to take the pledges: we all know that Mr. THOмPSON was called upon to resign, because he had in one instance not attended to the instructions of his constituents. Now, bearing these things in mind please to attend to the following history of the

CITY PLEDGES.

There was, previous to the passing of the Reform Bill, a COMMITTEE OF THE LIVERY, formed for the purpose of watching over the circumstances connected with the passing of that bill. The bill having been passed, the business of this committee was at an end; but, it was thought necessary, for this committee, before it dissolved itself, to invite the NEW ELECTORS, whom the Reform Bill had created, and to whom it had given a franchise equal to that of the livery; it was thought necessary to

Finally, however, the pledges were carried by a majority of more than four to one, as I have before observed; and these pledges were as follows:

RESOLVED, 1st. That for one man to re-
present another, means that he is to act for
that other, and in a manner agreeably to his
wishes and instructions.

tatives in Parliament ought to do such things
2nd. That members chosen to be represen-
as their constituents wish and direct them
to do.

3rd. That, therefore, it appears to this

meeting, that those to whom the laws nowOUR
commit the sacred trust of the power of
choosing members, who are to represent their
non-voting neighbours as well as themselves,
ought to be scrupulously careful to choose no
man on whom firm reliance cannot be placed,

his constituents.
that he will obey the wishes and directions of

4th. That, in order to obtain the best poss

PE

"That they will either institute or assist in the institution of, an inquiry into the state of the church, with a view to the removal of the

abuses which dishonour it.

"That they will press on a reformed Parliament the urgent necessity of the great topic of national education, as the only real security for the public tranquillity, and the only true foundation of the public happiness.

"That until the duration of Parliament shall be shortened to three years, they will withdraw from the representation whenever an undoubted majority of their constituents shall declare they have forfeited confidence."

The set proposed by Mr. Williams, it will be recollected, was-1. The abolition of tithes; 2. A modification of the corn-laws; 3. Repeal of the Assessed Taxes; and 4. A repeal of the Septennial Act. It is contended by the supporters of the ameuded act, that those of Mr. Williams are too narrow and that the first and third are erroneously put.Morning Chronicle.

This publication was followed by a commendatory commentary by BowRING, on his own propositions, and in a strain as stupid and as confused as the propositions themselves. I take this