be apprehended, that instead of repairing the foundation, they would make a breach in the walls which would expose the edifice to all the inclemency of the elements? These being his opinions, he must oppose the motion of his honourable friend, and he trusted the House would negative it by a very large majority.

Mr. Lyttleton, admiring as he did, the very elegant and statesman-like speech of his right honourable friend who had just sat down, was sorry to differ from him in many respects, as, he was convinced, did the greater part of those gentlemen who were accustomed to vote with his right hon. friend. He could not but say that he rather agreed with the honourable baronet (Sir F. Burdett), in the doctrines maintained by him and others out of doors, which, in his (Mr. Lyttleton's) opinion were not, as they had been stated · to be, innovations on the Constitution of this country. Though it might be necessary to approach so delicate a subject with doubt and caution, still it was not the less necessary to proceed, if it was admitted, that the representation was inadequate. As to the character of the House, he agreed in thinking that it was entitled to attention; but on such a subject he could not, at the same time, forbear from thinking, that gentlemen were actuated by feelings of、 partiality. When a man talked on so delicate a subject as that of character, he was aware that he ought to be well informed as to what he said. Since he had come into that House, he had watched well its proceedings, and the result was a decided conviction in his mind, that the House had sunk in character, and had lost ground in the public estimation. When he thought on this subject, he did not feel it difficult to point out instances in support of such an opinion. One case was of a peculiarly striking nature-one of great Parliamentary corruption-well calculated to create indignation in the House-a sort of high treason, if he might use the expression, against the House-but of which, notwithstanding it was clearly proved, the right honourable gentleman was acquitted.-(Hear, hear!)-The Walcheren Expedition, too, was another question on which the House had lost ground in the public opinion. If these were instances, as he conceived they were, of undoubted corruption, and the votes then come to by the House were to be attributed to the influence of the Crown, then, he contended, the influence of the Crown ought to be abated in that House. Every man who looked to the House would agree

VOL. III.-1812.

E

that there was in the House as much of talent, as much knowledge and capacity for business, as much character, and as much property, as it was reasonable to expect could be obtained by any change which might take place. It was to an abatement of the influence of the Crown, therefore, that the House must chiefly look. The corruption was to be traced to the excessive number of placemen and pensioners. That Members of that House should hold those places, at least to the extent they did, was a blemish in the eye of the public. It was in the power of a Minister (he spoke not of the present House of Commons) to attach young Members to him, by holding out to them places, and thereby to procure votes which he would not otherwise have had. There were in the House of Commons, too, another set of men who, if the Crown did not act upon them, still had no tribunal to answer to. There ought, he contended, to be in every instance a public tribunal:-he did not talk of the rabble, but of the people of this country, to whom every Member should be responsible for his conduct. So long as that House continued as it now was, he could not hope for any great change, but the patronage of the Crown would still continue to have a similar operation on the House. He hoped to see the time when the apathy with which gentlemen seemed to regard this state of things would cease-when they would assume a spirit which should lead them to keep a watchful eye on the motions of the Minister of the Crown, and on the exercise of the Royal influence in that House.

The Hon. Mr. Ward observed, that the speech of his right hon. friend (Mr. Elliot) reminded him so forcibly of the manner and sentiments of another right hon. friend of his, now no more (Mr. Windham), as to have made an impression upon him which would not be speedily obliterated from his memory. He was anxious, once for all, to put his opinion on this subject on record, that he might thereby stem the tide of misrepresentation, which he had no doubt would be employed by those who were adverse to the sentiments which he felt it his duty to express on the present occasion. In rising to oppose the motion of his hon. friend (Mr. Brand), he was conscious that he must do so in the face of certain great authorities, and also in opposition to the opinions of the majority of those with whom he generally thought and voted on all questions of great political importance. He was aware that he must do

2

so even at the hazard of the loss of that popularity which, if the endeavour to acquire it be only prosecuted with moderate ability, is almost certain to be obtained. He admitted that, on the side of his adversaries, were enlisted some of the most popular topics, and also some of the best and most favourite prints in the constitution. It was also an undeviating rule with those persons who were the most zealous supporters of Reform, in all their speeches, to represent those who differ from them, however conscientious their difference of opinion might be, in the very worst colours as the venal advocates of a system of abominable corruption! He was not much disposed to enter, with persons of this description, into an altercation of this sort; but he should not be afraid to meet any of the advocates for Reform, on an examination and comparison of the characters and motives of persons on both sides of the question; and would not be afraid to ask them whether, looking to the history of the world, to the history of these kingdoms, and more particularly to the history of the present times— while they charge their opponents with being all but good, the charge might not only be repelled, but even be retorted on themselves? Might it not, with equal justice as that with which they accuse their opponents, be stated of them, that they are actuated by a mean desire to catch at applause -that they are endeavouring to mount into power on the shoulders of those whom they mean to betray-and that they are adopting the most desperate means for their own advancement? His hon. friend had said, that the majority of that House was returned by a smaller number of persons than that majority itself consisted of; and thought, when he had stated this, he had done all that was necessary. In this, however, he could not concur. That House never

ought to be, nor was intended to be, constituted on democratic principles; on the contrary, it ought to partake of the influence of the whole of the state. The modern reformers, though they represented the evil to be great, had, however, a remedy for every thing, which, as one of them expressed it, could as easily be applied as the House could pass a Turnpike Bill. At the same time, the more violent among them talk of the grievances the people endured, as if we lived in such a country as Spain or Algiers. For his own part he knew of no better test of the excellence of a Constitution than the happiness of the people!-(hear, hear! from the Opposition.) He did not mean to allude to a period

of distress, which the present was-Hear, hear!) Take the situation of the people of this country, however, as compared with the situation of any other country, and see which was to be preferred. Look to the situation and prosperity of this country for the last century, and see if it was not rapidly increasing? If we saw other countries crushed under the hand of a tyrant distracted by anarchy, or groaning under the yoke of a foreign usurper, had we not to congratulate ourselves on the very different fate which had awaited us? It was not his wish to take up the time of the House in pointing out in what the happiness of this country consisted. The object of those who sought for Reform, however, was not to make us better than we now were, but, by a single throw of the die, to place us on a pinnacle of happiness such as had never been known in this or any other country! Now he (Mr. Ward) was far from main. taining that, excellent as our Constitution now was, the inhabitants of this country enjoyed all the happiness which it was possible for them to enjoy; but when he heard the disgusting statements of those men who wished so thoroughly to reform us, he could not be induced to agree to accept of their assistance, but called on the House and the Country to compare their present state with that of others-that they enjoyed a state of happiness which had fled from every other country, and had hardly tasted of the cup of bitterness which had been drank to the dregs by others. This was the prima facie state of things in this country as they are, against the state of things as they may be. Those who objected to Reform were asked, why they were so much afraid of innovation? His answer was, this was not a thing of which they stood in need. He (Mr. Ward) did not ask that innovation should be considered as an evil in itself, he only asked that it should not be considered as a good in itself. He wished not to be regarded as an alarmist, but considering the happiness we now enjoyed, the object of a change seemed to him to be the less necessary. It was to be considered too, that this change, whatever its nature might be, if made, was final; and however much we might repent of our rashness and folly in making any change, it would be in vain for us, after the change was made, to seek to have ourselves restored against it.-The hon. Member proceeded to remark, that even if at length we were to arrive at the promised land, the prospect of which appeared so delightful, we should find that distance

concealed from our view which rendered it uninhabitable. However superior Great Britain might now be to any other nation of the world, there were circumstances which must and ought to excite deep anxiety. The first and most important of these was the excessive taxation under which the people now laboured, and which was the root of most of the discontent that had sprung up. It arose from the war in which we were engaged-which, though undertaken by the Executive Government, must be deemed the war of the people; for notwithstanding all the exertions of his honourable friend (Mr. Whitbread), he had laboured unsuccessfully to convince either the majority of the House, or of the nation, that the war was unnecessary or unwise.(Hear!) He (Mr. Ward) had known him applauded as a warm friend to economical Reform, and a zealous patriot, but he bad never heard him praised for opposing Ministers upon the question of the policy of the struggle in which we were engaged. The burden of taxes had always given the greatest weight to the cause of Parliamentary Reform. Here the economical Reformers joined, and while the nation was uselessly expending millions, the attention of the people of England was anxiously directed to the petty saving that would result from the abolition of a few miserable officeswhile whole armies had been sacrificed in ruinous expeditions, the nation had been called upon to canonise an individual who had detected female influence disposing of a commission.Hear, hear!)-The collection of the revenue might be defective, or its amount excessive, but he had yet to learn that it had risen to such a height as to require the alteration demanded. At the same time he would not for a moment confound the friends of an economical Reform with those who, by overthrowing every vestige of the present system, would "change foundations and cast forms anew." The truth was, that the remedy had been wholly mistaken. How would Parliamentary Reform ensure greater integrity in the servants of the Crown than was now to be found among them? He would venture to assert that there never was a period in our history when the higher classes of public men were more free from stain than at present.-(Hear, hear!) The policy of various administrations that of late years had ruled the councils, might have been doubted, but the integrity of these members had been unsuspected; a boast that, which Governments approaching nearer to the democratic form than our own, could not with justice make.