vernment. such men how could the friends of Reform would, in Ireland, be no violation of lawrepose a trust? Contrast their conduct no outrage-no insurrection-but a firm, with that of Earl Grey, who had brought consolidated combination for the attainforward in 1831, the very project of Re-ment of liberty. What, then, would the form which he had proposed in 1797 English people do? They would also main[cries of" No, no!"]. He repeated it-tain the peace, because they knew that the plan of Earl Grey in 1797, contained their strength lay in legitimate and cordial the disfranchisement of boroughs, the union. If the people's wishes were disrehousehold qualification, the increase of garded, what would be the result? From county Members, and even the division of every district of this great country a voice counties. His plan was not fortuitously would come, to which an insensible ear could conceived and abortively delivered, but not long, with impunity, be turned. And had long abided in his mind, and was pro- from whence would this demand come? duced-fully and symmetrically formed. Would it come from itinerant agitators— He (Mr. Sheil) rejected with bitter scorn from disseminators of discord-from trafthe insinuation that Earl Grey had re- fickers in sedition? No! United, confesorted to Reform in order to sustain derated, resolved-indomitable, irresistible the weakness and decrepitude of his Go- England would demand that her ConstiHe had availed himself of tution should be given back. To that dethe first opportunity which was afforded mand would the Lords be deaf? The first him to bring forward the measure to which wave had broken on the ramparts that he was, from his earliest political life en- were opposed to it-it would only recede thusiastically devoted. In him the House to collect its might, and the second would should confide. The next question was— roll on with a more fearful shock, and a what the Minister should do? He should more imperious surge. The Lords would not leave the helm in the storm; and though have too much regard for their interests the wave should wash over the ship, he should and for their duty to oppose the unanicling to the wheel. He should act with mous will of England, or to expose the vigour and firmness. His patronage should coronet and the mitre to be blown off in not be bestowed where it would be re- the hurricane of the popular passions. quited with perfidy; the mitre should We should hear no more of the privileges not be planted on any Iscariot brow of Dukes and Marquisses to vote by proxy [cries of "oh, oh"]. He knew not what in this House; and "vested rights" in recollections that phrase revived in the Gatton and in Old Sarum would excite minds of those Gentlemen who sent out a but little respect. He had as much remuttering negative. He was innocent of spect for vested rights as any man; but if any unpleasant reminiscences. The ad- any incompatibility existed between what vice he would give to the Minister would was called, by a misnomer the most monbe this "Let him be true to the people strous, the vested rights of this Duke and and the people would not be false to him." that Marquis, and the sacred, the immemorial right of the English people to be fully, freely, and fairly represented in the Commons House of Parliament, he would not say that he would merely give a preponderance in the balance to the prerogative that belonged to the majesty of the people, but he would fling every other regard as dust out of the scales, and disdain to weigh them against the franchise which had come to us from our ancestors-which had been won in so many a field of glorious victory, and had dropped to us from so many a martyr scaffold, and which, with the blessing of God, and the aid of their own virtuous determination, would be transmitted by the English people, renovated and confirmed, to the remotest posterity. "Still in thy right hand carry gentle peace Let all the ends thou aim'st at be thy country's, Thy God's and truth's; then if thou fall'st, Oh! Thou fall'st a blessed martyr." He had thus suggested what, in his opinion, the Minister should do. The next question was- what will the people do? He, perhaps, might be allowed to have some knowledge of his own countrymen; and if he were asked, what would Ireland do? He should reply, that which she has done before!--that in spite of all incentives and temptations, she would maintain the peace, and with the olive-branch in her hand would be victorious. Ireland would give to England not only aid, but the benefit of her former example. There Sir George Murray would not attempt to pass any such resolution as that under consideration, in assertion of those rights. The next object which was proposed to be attained by this resolution was an expression of the confidence of the House in his Majesty's Ministers. The noble Lord on the other side of the House (Lord Althorp) had once done him the honour to say, that one of his faults was too great a degree of independence of constituents, and had at the same time expressed a wish that he had a greater to pursue the hon. Gentleman in his ambitious flights of eloquence, not merely because they were not exactly to his taste, but because he confessed himself incompetent to such grandiloquent elevations, which left poor plodding reason and sober judgment far below. He certainly, however, could not withhold his commendations from the noble Lord whose motion was now under discussion, in consequence of the calm and considerate view which he had taken of the events which had induced him to make that Mo-body of constituents, and was somewhat tion, though, at the same time, he must more dependent upon them. He must first say that he did not concur in its propriety. observe, that he had ever exercised the In saying this, he did not mean to deny independence in that House which was that the country was in a state of consi- allowed to him by his constituents accordderable excitement, but it was by no means ing to a conscientious view of his duty; in a state to warrant its being said, that and when the last Administration was the present was a convulsive crisis. It dismissed, he saw the noble Lord at the had been said by an hon. Member, that the head of the Government and his colleagues safety of the empire depended on the vote installed in office. Though he felt that of that night; but he must express his there was no particular reason why he hopes that the empire was fixed on much should give them his confidence, yet he too solid a basis to depend on the mode had no motives for mistrusting them, furin which that vote might be carried. The ther than the necessity for watching their objects of the noble Lord's proposition measures, and giving his support to all were two-first, to pledge the House to which he should deem beneficial to the the principles of the Bill which was lately country, whilst he opposed all which he sent to the Upper House; and the other conceived to be adverse to its welfare. was to elicit from them an expression of That Administration came into office confidence in his Majesty's Ministers. pledged to the reduction of the public esNow it seemed to him that there was no tablishments, and to economy in the expendpressing necessity for the House to comply iture of the public money. He objected with the first object of this proposition; to neither of those pledges, provided for the Reform Bill had only very lately nothing was done which might be injubeen sent to the Upper House with a ma-rious to the public service; and the Gojority of 109 in its favour; and why should there be any necessity for so soon expressing their sentiments again upon that Bill? The Upper House had, with great propriety, discussed that measurefor it had as much right to deliberate upon it as the House of Commons had-and, from what had been said of those rights and privileges by the noble Lord in bring-resolution of that House on that ground, ing forward his Motion, he certainly did not consider it as meant to convey a vote of censure on the Upper House for the course which had been pursued with respect to the Bill. He should, upon these grounds, object to the first part of the noble Lord's proposition; for he was of opinion that it was not called for; nor was it right to pass a vote of censure on the other House of Parliament. The noble Lord had also alluded to the rights of the House of Commons; but, as they were not called in question, there was no necessity for them vernment adhering to this principle, and not departing from prudence in their attempts at reduction, the consequence was, that very little saving had accrued to the public. The next point was the consideration of their financial measures, and these, he must say, were of very little importance, for if the noble Lord claimed a the claims of Government must be confined to the reduction effected in the coal and candle duty, which he supposed must be considered as measures of high importance. But, he must ask, were those two remissions measures of such magnitude as to call for a specific vote of the House to express the confidence with which they had inspired its Members? But let them take the financial operations of the Government on a larger scale, and let it be shown that there was any measure of such importance as to entitle the Ministers to a vote of confidence. Looking at the [jectionable on many points. Those who schemes of finance which they had brought had resisted, not only on the principle but the details of the Reform Bill, must be the last to concur in a vote of confidence. Some changes had been made in the Bill to which even Ministers had been opposed, and to which they were still opposed, so that they themselves did not approve of the whole of their own Bill. It had been asked whether that Bill was not brought forward by Ministers principally forward, he must say, that his Majesty's Ministers had not even obtained the confidence of the House, for they were opposed in the most important of them by practical men of their own side of the House, who thought that the projected scheme was inconsistent with good faith to the public creditor. But although Ministers had thus found it impossible to carry through their plans, they had main-with a view to strengthen them in the pretained the principle to the last, reserving it to some future period when they might have to deal with a House of Commons less scrupulous and more confiding. Their next measure materially affected trade, and nobody had imputed that it was resisted upon party grounds. Here again practical men, at other times the supporters of Ministers, came forward and showed how unjust the proposed change would be to the colonies, and how injurious to the commerce of the nation. He was at a loss, therefore, to discover on what ground such a vote of confidence was to rest, unless, indeed, upon the alteration of the Game Laws, under the special auspices of the noble Lord (Althorp) a measure he (Sir George Murray) certainly approved-but not of that reach and magnitude to warrant a proceeding so unusual as the expression of a vote of confidence in the Ministry He had now touched upon the principal measures which the present Government had brought forward, independent of the Reform Bill, because the noble Lord had said that he did not rest his motion exclusively on that ground, but also on the other points of their principles. As to the Reform Bill, the hon. member for Calne had said there were two parties for it one in that House, and the other out of the House; but did that hon. Member expect that those who had opposed the change in the Constitution in this House in all its stages could concur in this resolution? He (Sir George Murray) had resisted the Bill, because its principles filled him with apprehension. Since the Bill applicable to England and Wales had passed, another to regulate the Representation of Scotland had been brought forward by Ministers, and to concur in the resolution of the noble Lord would imply some kind of assent to the Scotch Reform Bill, which he (Sir George Murray) was not at all prepared to give. He considered the Scotch Reform Bill highly ob carious hold which they had on the Government; and he for one must certainly say, that, in his opinion, the Bill, was originally brought forward at a time when the confidence of the House in the Government was greatly shaken. They then found themselves in the predicament in which the ancient inhabitants of Britain were placed in former times, and they had recourse to the same dangerous expedient, of calling in a power stronger than themselves. In following that dangerous example they had prostrated themselves before the shrine of democracy; and on that altar they had offered up as a sacrifice the Constitution of their country to preserve to themselves the possession of power. Entertaining such sentiments, it was impossible for him to accede to the proposition of the noble Lord. He must at the same time declare, that he was not indisposed to give Ministers that share of his confidence which every Government deserved. Seeing at the head of the Government a noble Earl who had intimated that although, in the ardour and enthusiasm of youth, he had been a strong advocate for Reform, yet his views had been much sobered by age and experience, as was the case with Pitt, whose youth was characterized by strong opinions on Reform, which time had greatly modified--an effect which he had hoped to observe in the views of the noble Earl at the head of the Government seeing also another noble Lord (the Lord Chancellor) pledged to the Bill, whose sentiments, when he had uttered them in his hearing in that House, were far short of the Reform proposed by the measure recently rejected by the other House, and whose sentiments were confirmed also by a letter of that noble Lord which he had seen, but which were far exceeded by the present Billseeing also another noble Lord (the President of the Council), whose moderation on those points he had ample reason to know The greatest public mischief, he believed, would ensue if his Majesty's Ministers should retire. The public had confidence in the Government; but a retirement from office would only increase, and, he might say set the seal, to the public excitement, and destroy that confidence in Government which now happily existed. It was of no use to allege, as some hon. Members did, that the people had been excited by Ministers. The question had been agitated, more or less, for the last seventy years, and had now assumed a shape which no Ministry could safely gainsay. He would not enter on the original principles of the Constitution-he believed no man knew exactly what they were. They had commenced in dark and remote ages, and had grown with our growth and strengthened with our strength. He was, therefore, convinced that the time was now come to make an important alteration in the Constitution, and that it was the bounden duty of the House to express their confidence in his Majesty's Government. -seeing also three noble Secretaries of State, whose views hitherto had been confined to moderation on this head - he could draw no other conclusions from their conduct than those which he had already explained to the House. The threats which had been uttered, of something worse than the Bill if it was rejected were, certainly, not calculated to gain his confidence or to conciliate his opposition; nor were such speeches as those of the hon. member for Calne, and the hon. and learned member for Louth, likely to produce any other effect than that of making it infinitely more difficult to carry on the Government than up to that moment it had been; for the House was not to expect that speeches, he would not say so inflammatory, but couched in such strong language, would not be re-echoed throughout the country by persons of less respectability and of less moderation than was possessed by hon. Members of that House, and not the best effects might be anticipated from them. Allusions had been made to the Upper House, and to the course which had been adopted by that assembly with respect to this measure; he must, however, express his firm conviction of the independence and magnanimity which were displayed by the House of Lords on that occasion. To that House he still looked with confidence, and to that House, he must say, ought all its rights and independence to be preserved, for to it alone did he look as to that estate of the realm which would afford a protection to the Constitution from any delusions into which the people of England might, by momentary excitement, be led. Mr. Strickland said, the simple question was, whether the House and the country had confidence in his Majesty's Ministers; and whether there was any ground for their retiring from the helm of affairs. What reason, he would ask, was there for such a course, when ninety-nine out of every hundred of the people of England had expressed their entire approbation of the Bill, and reposed their undivided confidence in his Majesty's Government? The House of Lords, he was sorry to say, had made a lamentable mistake about public opinion, and had not evinced by their conduct any knowledge of the feeling which the question had excited in the public mind. They had placed themselves on the brink of a tremendous precipice, and were now attempting to retrace their steps. VOL. VIII. {Series Third Mr. Littleton observed, that the present was an occasion on which it was peculiarly necessary for the Representatives of large, and, above all, of manufacturing communities, to express their opinions. He considered that it would be impossible, after the rejection of a measure affecting so deeply the interests of the commonalty, and in which the hopes of the people were so extensively embarked, for the House of Commons to separate, even for the briefest interval, without taking the earliest opportunity of re-asserting the principle of the Bill, of declaring their approbation of its leading provisions, and, above all, of expressing their undiminished confidence in the Ministers who had brought the measure forward, and through whose instrumentality he hoped it would speedily be carried triumphantly through. It was important for another reason that the House of Commons should adopt this course at the present critical juncture namely, because it was of the utmost importance that they should place themselves in front of the nation, and set an example of the conduct which the people should pursue in order to prevent exasperation of feeling and violence of action, which would tend more than any other thing to do that which argument had failed to do give authority to the opinions of the opponents of the measure. There was another reason of paramount Р importance which ought to induce the House to adopt the resolution which had been proposed (and he urged it from no feeling of disrespect to the hon. Gentlemen on the other side of the House), namely, that if Ministers should be forced to retire, no other Administration could at this moment be formed, for by the course of conduct which the hon. Gentlemen opposite had unfortunately pursued with respect to Reform, they had utterly forfeited all claim to the confidence of the country. What claim to the confidence of the country could those statesmen have who, last year, opposed the enfranchisement of Birmingham, Manchester, and Leeds, until an opportunity of effecting that object might occur by a corresponding disfranchisement of other places, and who this year had opposed the disfranchisement of even the most insignificant boroughs? In the course of the discussion, allusion had been made to a letter reported to have been written by the Lord Chancellor, twenty years ago, on the subject of Reform. That letter contained opinions with respect to the mode of treating that question, addressed to an adverse Government. It was one thing to propose a measure to an adverse Government, and another to propose it when the proposer had become an influential member of an Administration, and had the country ranged on his side. When the letter was written, the country was engaged in a war with France, and the public attention was directed to no other object than the prosecution of that contest. It would have been as insane to have proposed a large and comprehensive plan of Reform at that period, as it was insane to attempt to withhold one now. It was not till very recently that he (Mr. Littleton) had made up his mind to support a large and comprehensive measure of Reform. In saying this he only avowed what was a matter of notoriety to all who thought it worth their while to observe the conduct of so humble an individual as himself. He, however, was much mistaken if public opinion had not for a long time been veering round to the conclusion, that some large and comprehensive measure of Reform must be inintroduced by Government. For these reasons he had, during the last four years, been a zealous and an ardent supporter of the schemes of Reform which had been brought forward by the noble Paymaster of the Forces. If he were to be blamed for having become a convert to the necessity, the country at large must share in the censure, for his opinions had changed with those of the country. Reference had been made to the almost miraculous despatch of business by the Lord Chancellor. Whatever sneers might be employed by professional and other Gentlemen on this subject, he believed that the Lord Chancellor, by redeeming the professions which he made relative to the despatch of business, had obtained more influence in the country than any individual ever obtained by a single act. If the brilliancy of Lord Brougham's course in Parliament had never attracted the admiring gaze of his country--if he had never distinguished himself amongst public men by his gigantic intellect, devoted with unparalleled energy to the advancement of the best interests of society, the achievement of this victory (for such, in point of fact it was) was sufficient to secure the admiration and gratitude of the present age, and to hand down his name to posterity. Ministers had properly availed themselves of the golden opportunity which the circumstances of the country presented for bringing forward the measure of Reform. The party-wall of the Catholic Question having been thrown down, the people united in new associations, and a general conviction of the necessity of Reform pervaded the public mind. These circumstances presented so favourable an opportunity, so rare a tide in the affairs of men, that if Ministers had neglected it they would have deserved to lose the confidence of the country. There were some persons to be found amongst the opponents of the Reform Bill, in both Houses of Parliament, who appeared to be quite ignorant of the state of public feeling. He had, during twenty years of his life, been closely connected with a large manufacturing community, and therefore had had an opportunity of witnessing the great progress which they had made in intellectual improvement. Persons who were unacquainted with these large communities, could have but a faint idea of the ferment which was going on amongst them at the present moment. An opportunity was now presented of turning the active and energetic spirit of these communities into a channel in which it would prove beneficial to the empire. If that opportunity should be lost, activity and energy might be succeeded by turbulence |