Belfast Monthly Magazine Parliamentary Reform Source: The Belfast Monthly Magazine, Vol. 7, No. 37 (Aug. 31, 1811), pp. 154-158 Published by: Belfast Monthly Magazine Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/30072914 . Accessed: 16/05/2014 14:38 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. . Belfast Monthly Magazine is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Belfast Monthly Magazine. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 195.78.108.36 on Fri, 16 May 2014 14:38:58 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
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ireins may precipitate the machine of government, into one of the dreadftl precipices, by which the present rough and narrow road is surrounded.
DOCUMENTS.
PARLIAMENTARY REFORM. At a m:eting of the friends of Parliamentary
Refor m in Cornwall, held at Bodmin on Mon-
day the 8th of July, 1811. Edw. Wm. Stackhouse, esq. in the Chair. The following resolutions were unani-
mously adopted :- Resolred,
I.-That we cordially agree with the friends of parliamentary reform who met in London the 10th of June, that the house of commons does not represent the peo- ple; that it does not speak the sense of the nation ; that to the defective state of the representation and the unconstitutional duration of parliaments, we owe unne- cessary wars, the present enormous accu- mulation df Public debt, a load of taxes, grievous from their weight, but especially oppressive from the mode by which they are collected and enforced, the overthrow ot the balance of power abroad, and the consolidation of a corrupt system of influ- ence at home, which takes away every shadow of authority and credit from the most venerable parts of our constitution.
II.-That therefore a reform in the re- presentation of the people is essential to the independence of the crown and the li- berty of the people.
III.-That a constitutional reform will alone be adequate or efficient, which shall testore to the crown the free exercise of the prerogatives entrusted to it by tihe constitution for the common weal, a.nd to the people the full enjoyment of those true, ancient, and indubitable rights and privileges, which they are entitled to pray qnd demand according to the laws and statutes of the realm.
IV.-That by the laws and statutes of the realm, the subject has settled in him a true and findainental right of property, and that without his consent, it shall not 'be taken from him ; that therefore he shall not be compelled to contribute to any tax, talliage, aid, Or other like charge, not set
by common consent in parliament; since in parliament all the whole body of the realm, and every particular member there- of, either in person or by representation
(and that upon their own free election) are by the laws supposed to be personally present.
V.-That by the present state of the representation, the subjects' fundamental rights ot property and free election are openly violated, since it is a fact that can- not be denied, that numbers are taxed by parliament who have no voice in the elec; tion of members of parliament ; and it is a fact of which proof was tendered at the bar of the house of commons, that one hundred and fifty four powerful individuals, peers and others, by influence or direct no- mination, return an actual majority of that house.
VI.-That as the right of election was by the constitution designed to give to the people that man, and that man only, whom by their voices actually, not constructively given, they declare they know, esteem, love, and trust, so can it not be satisfied by a representation that exists only in the forms and fictions of law. A virtual re- presentation therefore, however modified, we protest against as a violation of our constitutional rights and privileges: as be- ing itself a solecism in terms ) as contra. dicting the king's command, that the knights, citizens; and burgesses be chosen freely and indifferently: as being repug- nant to the spirit of the constitution, and to the obvious intent and purpose of the laws by which the right of common con- sent is fenced and secured; and lastly, as being cunningly calculated to enslave the people under the shew and forms of free. dom.
VII. That so long, therefore, as there is reason to suspect that a majority of the House of Commons, instead of being the freely chosen delegates of a free people, are the nominees of an odious oligarchy, so long shall we complain that the cons stitution is violated, and that a reform in the representation is necessary; that there- fore economical reform, a reform which has only for its object to shorten the dura- tion of parliaments, and dimleish the ex. penses of elections, will not satisfy us ; coupled indeed with a constitutional re- form, we should hail these measures as essential to the independence of the crown and the liberties of the people; but with- out a constitutional reform we object to them; because as they do not restbie out constitutional rights, and as experience has shewn how vain is the attempt to restrain waste, correct abuses, and preventi cor- ruption by measures of mere management
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1811.] Doctrmenls. 155 anal regulatipn, thi are inadeqiiite and in;fficient; but we pecially 'and emph,- tically object to them, because, without constltutional reform, tinead of restoring the independence of the crown, and the liberties of 'the people, they have -an ob- vious tendency stii further to abridge t4em, by rendering that borough patroii- age, which we conceive to be the root of the evil, more manageable and less expen- sive, and by enabling a faction more ef- fectually to controul and influence a qna- jority of
that house, in which confessedly the powers of the government are sub-
.tantially vested.
VIII. That our objections to these par- tial measures thug arisig from their ne- cessary tendencies, are further confirmed by the result of actual experience, and the irrefragable evidence of facts, for we can- n6t but recollect that they proceeded from that same Whig party, whose favourite maxim it has
beetn, to govern the country
by family interests and'party connections; that in pursuance of this policy, although they have frequently diminished the in- fluence of the crown, they have never se- riously attempted to increase the interests of the people; that although during the American war, they courted thie people by some vague ad general flatteries, Whilst they retrenched the influence of the crown, in points connected with its splen- dour and bounty, yet, by the memorable coalition, they avowed their contempt
for the opinion of the one, hand by
the India bill, unmasked their danger-
ous designs upon the independence of the other. We cannot, therefore, but con. sider the reform which is thus proposed as suspicious and delusive, and !.specially ab the name maxims of government as pre- ceded the never to be forgotten events of that never to be forgotten period, are dlow avowed as the foundation of that re- form.
IX. That we, therefore, declare it to he our fixed resolution and purpose, never t6 lose sight of the great object which we have in view, a constitutional reform; and we pledge ourselves to each other, and to the country, to endeavour to obtain.it at every opportunityr, favourable to our ef- forts, and by every meaus which. the law and constitution will permit hoaest mren and good subjects to employ.
X. That the thanks of this meeting be given to J. T. P. B. Trevannton, and Wi1-! liam peter, esqrs. for the very able man, ner mhi which they supported the cause'of
BIELfA:T rMAk. NO. XXXVo1.
parliamentary reform at the meeting in
vLondon. XI. That the thanks of this meeting be given to the mayor of Bodmin, for the
pQlite and ready manner in which he cojn- sented to accommuodate this meeting with the Use of the Assize-hall. E. W- STACKHOUSE, chairman.
The chaitrglan having left the chair, it
was proposed, anid carried unanimously, That the thanks of this meeting be given to the chairman, for his very able and im- partil conduct in the chair.
ARCHIBALD HAMILTON ROWAN, is muC 1 obliged to such of his tenantry as, unknown
to .
1m, have so-publicly expressed their sense of his conduct, in never having,
since his arrival, exercised a right, which lie, however, looks upon as founded in
pfonciple; though he is concerned to find
that in some instances it has gone so far as to take discount uponl discount in the pay-
moent of rents.
His anotions of the right of property ino land, itperl
him to share every pecuniary inconvenience, arising from the rapid flight of specie from these countries, in common
wiy this*tenantry; from
'whoseim'prvea ments, as well as his own right, his rents flow in a mixed proportion.
But he foresees that a time is rapidle
ad- vancinm, when the depregiation of paper- money
n ay go to that excess, though at
the2 sent it is Fcarcely felt, landholders hiay, aqd
must,) by takg bank-notes as sterlh)
money, bear much more than an equal-and just salire of the burthen o.f th4t calamitous peri(A .
A. H. R. is concerued that thosp who
ish tto vert such p n occurrenoe, do not join the little phalanx headeq bK Sir Pran--
cis Purdett and Mr. Brand in t e house of Comirons, anA in thle co~untry of England
by that venerable patriot, whose steady heart and head have nover swerved from
te cause'of parliamentary reform, Major CarlAwright, in their pursuit;and thls pro- cure to the people of both countries a real
representation in their house by quiet mneans rather than risk the matking it the
tant-householders of the County of Essex, kPld at the Shire-hall, at Chelmsford, on the 3d of A4gust,
Irt.oI cANVe, juV. z sq. in the chair.
Rteolved, Thaa it was averred in a peti- tion to the House of Commons, on the 6th Of M1ay, 1793, and evidence in proof of the facts at the same time tendered by the petitioners, that THREE HUNDkED AND SE- VE N Of the members for England 4nd Wales only, are not sent to parliament by the suffraes of the people, but are, through numerous breaches and evasions of the freedom of election therein set forth, returned by ONE IUNDRED
ANs., FIFTY-
You-a peers and commonerS--and also, that the allegatiionris in the said petition Still stand on the journals of parliament uncontradicted,
Resolved, That it appears to us unde- niable, that this deplorable decay of popu- lar representation in parliament, co-opera- ting with the septennial duration of the same parliaments, is a-gross and palpable departure from the only constitutionAl character of the lower House of Parlia- merit, "1
a full and free representative of the Commons of this realm."
Resolved, That the elective franchise
was, by an established principle of our
ancienit and excellent constitution, distri- bu'ted between the freeholders and the
householders, and therefore, that it is the
opinion of this meeting, that in addition to the-land-owners, and in lieu of returns
ta parliament in the name of depopulated, or close, or venal boroughs, the househol-
derq of Great Britain and Ireland, directly payipg certain assessments to the state,
opght, except in the case of 'eers of the
realm, to have a voice in the election of the members of the Commons Hlouse of
parliament. Resolved also, That in the opinion of
this meeting, a law for taking the poll of
the voters, under such regulations as would
prevent in future the ruinous expense of
contested el(ctions, is not more necessary toward the independence and integrity of
parliament, thaq it is for the preservation of public morals.
Resolved, That the county of Zsser, which, in respect to its extent, popula- tion, commerce, amd taxes, is one of the
first couties in the 1kngdom, may no lon.
ger be Oeprived, as it is at present, of its
air and just proportion in the
representa- tion of the people, nor its inhabitants left
under t6e opprgssive influence of decay'qd, lependent, and corrupted boroughs.
Resolved, That a petition from free:
holders and householders in Essex be pre. sented to the House of Commons, praying
for a parliamentary restoration of the un.
doubted and fundamental right gf the
people to.a representation, by free elec-
tion, to short parliam etts., And at the
same time resolved, That all such reform
in the powers of electing the members to
sit for them in parliament, ought to pro- ceed on the approved principles of the
English constitution of government by the three estates of King, Lords, 4nd Com.
mons, and ought not to infringe the pri- vileges, nor the preri gative of the crown.
The thanks of the meeting were then
given to Mr. Du Cane, the chairman, for
the able and judicious manner in which he
had presided that day. It was then moved by Mr. Burgoyne,
and seconded by Mr. Holt, that Mr.
lonywood and Mr. Harvey should be re-
quested to present the petition to parlia- ment.
The Petition of the undersigned Free holders and Inhabitants, Householders of the County of Essex, to the Honourable the Commens of
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1811.] Documents. 157 the United jingdow of GCtat Britain and Irelnd, in parliamawnt attmbled,
hkewdth, That your petitioners, impelled by a
strtolg sense of the duty they owe to them., selves, - d to their couttry, at this event- Jul and uuprecedeited conjupcture of pub- lic affairs, avail themselves of their right of petitioning your honourable house, in order to lay before you their sentiments on the present very imperfect and inade- quate representation of the people 1n par. liament, under the existing forms of elec- tion. Your petitioners conceive, that one excellent part of the constitution consists in the representative system, by which the people are allowed a due share in the gi- vernment. But after they have seen it dis- tinttly stated in a petition presented to your honourable house on the 6th day of May, in the year 1793, and evidence ten- dered in proof of the facts, that WaLREE HUNDERED AND SEVEN OF YOUR MEMBERS NOR ENGLAND AND WALES ONLY, are not sent to parliament by the suffrages of the people z that they are, on the contrary, RETURNED BY ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY
FOUR PEERS AND COMMONERS; and when
they find that thete allegations stand at this day on the Jouratls of parliament, un- contradicted, they cannot but conclude, that y ur honourable house has lamenta- bly aeparted from its original and consti- tutional character, "6 a full and free rapre- sentative of the Conimmons of these realtnsi"
To this alarming defect your petitioners asoribe the far greater part of their na- tional calamities; therefore, it is they would bring to your recollection the blood that has been wasted ip wars, which, to say the least, wiser c6unsels might have avoided. Therefore, they would remind you of the vast and fearful magnitude of the public expenditure, and of the accu- mulated increase of debt and taxation. To the same source they ascribe the deci- sions of your honourable house, on va- rious occasions, in manifeat opposition to the declared sense of the country, and to its most essential iaterest*, as well as its direct contradiction to your own recorded opinions. Above all, your petitioners at- tribute to this unhappy cause, the unwil- lingnes# hitherto shown in parliament to inquire into, and correct the corruptions and abuses which prevail, too notoriously for denial, in the procuring of seats in ;our honourable house, and which tend
diminishing iso virtue, to destroy the confidence of the people in the Common*
H-ouse of parliuthent. Pot these, as welt
as for many other powerful reasons, that might be derived from existing circum- stances, which your petitioners forbear to mention, lest they should too much mix their present feelings with discussion on the vital, principles of the liberties of Eng-, land, they beseech your honourablN house~ that the septennial adt, which, under a plea of public danger, was, in contempt of national right, passed by a House of Commons chosen only for three years, be forthwith repealed, and that in addi- tion to the land owners, and in lieu of reA turns to parliament in the name' of depo. pulated, or close ot venal boroughs, the householders of Great Britain and Ireland, directly paying a certain assessment to the state, may, with the exception of the peers of the realm, have a vote in the election of members of your honourable house, and under such regulations of the poll as would prevent the ruinous expense of con. tested elections, but too often the result as they are now conducted--a precaution, they will add, not more necessary toward the independence and integrity of parlia- ment, than it is for the preservation of public morals.
An efficient and constitutional reform in the powers of election to your honour- able house, they are fully persuaded would afford a safe, certain, and speedy remedy for the numerous grievances under wlhic they labour.
They are, moreover, persuaded it is the only efficient remedy to be found for them, because it is only by such reform, and with the termi of the representative trust considerably shortened, that you can restore that identity of interest between the mem- bers of the House of Commons and the people at large, without which your pe- titioners have no rational assurance that they shall enjoy the blessings of free and equal government, under the safe-guard of the British constitution.
The disastrous times in wthich we live5 demand this open avowal of your peti- tioners' thoughts and wishes on a rnea- sure again and again brought before you ; and in the language in which they have conveyed
then,, they intreat you to be-
lieve, they intend your honourable house no disrespect, though they frankly confess they are unacquainted with words too strong to express what they feel on a topic so intimately connected with their dearest rigthts, and most valuable iawt rests.
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158 JDocumentu. [Aug. In conclusion, your petitioners earnestly
pray your honourable house to undertake a constitutional reform before it be too late, accoeding to the provisionS they have pre- sumed to point out, or in such other mode, as to your wisdom shall seem more effec- tual for the accomiplishment of the impotft- arit object which your petitiolhers have in view.
So shall the affections of the people be conciliated: your honourable house re- trieve its due weight and influence on the public mind; the intefnal peace and independence of the couhtry he secured:
stability given to the throne, and our liber- ties, out best inhetitance, be perpetuated.
And your pdtitioners shall ever pray, &c.
GALWAY CATHOLIC MEETING.
At a hiost numerous and highly respectable meet-
ing of the Rouhan Catholids of the County of Galway, held ini the County Court-kouse, in the fton of Galway, on Sunday, the 11th of Au-
gust ihstant, the foilowing Resolutions were nzo-ed Sy Sir Tho+ias Burke, Bart. sec6ndedtly thi eHon.- Charles Ffrenchi and Whanimously agreed, to :-
The Rt. Hon. Lord Ffrench in the chair.
Resolved, T'rhat we most cordially conchtr with, and adopt the resolutions entered into by the general committee of the Catholics of Ireland on the Slst of July last ; and that we cannot sufficiently applaud their firm, temperate, and constitutional conduct on the occasion, which rendered expedient their extraordinary meeting of that day.
Resolved, That the right to frame and present petitions for the redress of grie- vances, to the King and Parliament, is un-
questionable, and to us disqualified in so
manv respects, inestimrble, as being one of the 'few rights of the subject, of which -we have not been divested, and as being moreocer the effective channel through which our sufferings shall be told, and the unmerited severity of our case placed for tedress under the considerationot the crown and legislature.
'Resolved, That we consider the recent proceedings of the administration of this
country as a manifest attack on this to.m- mon, unalienable and invaluable right of the Protestant, the Dissenter, and the Ca- tholic, and that the attempt to impede and render it nugatory or impracticablein our case, under the evasions and pretexts con- tained in the late circular letter and pro- clamationt, is a daring cner9al4mnent on this
most important and sacred privilege, which the law and constitution has long secured to the subjects of this realm.
Resolved, therefore, That *e have heard with sentiments df deep regfet and asto-
nishrnmnt the late aggression made on the liberties of some of our Catholic fellow-sub-
jects in Dublin, and that we will, to the utmost of our power, by all legal and con-
stitiutional means, support and co-operate with them in upholding our common right.
Resolved4 That unmoved and uninflu- enced by these measures, and convinced that the formation of a committee for the
purpose of preparing and causing to be
presented petitions for redress of grievances is perfectly constitutional, and, save by perverted and oppr ssive constructiotn, t-
vidently out of the intent and meaning of the act of parliament, called the conven- tion act, we do now proceed forthwith to
appoint a committee for the express pur- pose of preparing a petition for 'the tot41 repeal of the harassing and degrading :las which affect us, and of causing the same to be presented early in the ensuing sessida of parliament.
Resolved, That we nominate for 'that
purpose Sir Thomas Buirke, Bart. Malaciy
Donelan, Christopher Dillon Bellew, John Brbwne, John J. Burke, esqrs. Hon. Mar-.. tin French, Philip Lynch, Athy; lubert
Dolphin, Edward Blake, and Robert Frenth jun, -esqrs. and that sAid gentlemten do fully possess the confidence of the Catholics of this county.
Resolved, -That on a deliberate conside- ration of the actual state of public feelings and opiniotis, of the times and events amidst which we live4 of the present dangers and
unexampled difficulty of the British Em-
pire, we feel it a solemn duty (without re- ference to our own peculiar interests) this to proceed with determined exertion and combined efforts towards procuring the entire and immediate abolition of the un-
justifiable, insulting, arid most impolitic dis- tinctions, legal and otherwise, which hum- ble us, its natives'in this our ancient land; that the speedy restoration of all those rights, liberties, and immunities of which we have been stripped, is a measure indis-
pensably necessary to its welfare and seeu- lity that it is at length and fully due to the Roman Catholics of Ireland, whether their title to it is estimated by their long, loyal and patient suffering, their useful and
productive industry, their signal conti- bution to the national revenue, their greoi
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