TOPICS OF THE DAY.

TRUSTEES OF THE NATION.

NOTHING is More remarkable in the present state of opinion re- specting Reform, than what appears to some a general careless- ness as to the details of the Bills before Parliament. To those, however, who look beyond the mere surface, it is plain, that the country is not indifferent as to the details of the Government measure, but resojs,ed to treat them as a forbidden subject, in order that none but the Boroughmongers may interfere with the grand principle of the Bills ' • the adoption of whieh principle the Nation considers all-important and albsufficient as a step towards perfect representation. The sincere Reformers of every degree no sooner heard of the Ministerial plan, than they cried out, with the Times, ' Pass it—pass it !" and the feeling expressed by those two words, on the morning after Lord JOHN RUSSELL'S speech, has never varied for a moment. At the Common Hall, the other day, Mr. HUNT attempted to talk of the Ballot ; but hia voice was drowned by cries of " Keep that for another time !" Yet some days after- wards, the people of Southwark would not listen to praises of the Bills coming from Sir ROBERT WILSON, because, months before, Sir ROBERT had spoke,' ..-,ainst the Ballot. Again, at the Tower

Hamlets meeting, or ...lay last, a Mr. SWIFT, who holds some place under Geyer, at, moved a resolution to the effect that

" the Minister..; measure of Reform was ample, and should he considered as putting the question at rest ibr ever ;" but the offi- cial gentleman was hooted whilst descanting on the pofection of the official scheme, and his motion fell to the ground for want of a seconder. Facts without end might be adduced to prove, that the seeming indifference of the public as to the details of the Bills is, in truth, a deliberate and firm resolve to keep those details out of sight for the present, in order that the time may come more quickly for examining them with (1-fuct. This resolve of the Na-

tion has sprung from the conduct of the Boroughmongers, who from the first declared that they would use the details as weapons for attacking the principle. The Nation has therefore said to the Boroughmongers, " Do as you please, but you shall have all the talk to yourselves." Who shall deny that a people, so wise, united, and firm of purpose, is entitled to govern itself by means of its representatives ?

Yet mark the exultation of the people at the prospect of Re- form in general! That exultation arises, not from a puerile love of change, not from prejudiced attachment to the mere word Re- form, not from the infection of foreign politics, not from hatred or love of any doctrine or preacher ;—no—but from a profound sen- timent of the evils which misvovernment produces, and a saga- cious foresight of the blessings% be derived from improved legis- lation. The Nation wants GOOD LANs : the instruments wherewith to obtain good laws are good members ot' Parliament: and these, the whole country feels, are now within its reach. No wonder, then, at the exultation and excitement of the people, or at their neglecting the details of the Reform Bills, for exertions in favour of the principle of Reform, and preparations for the next election! 'We said last week—" Everywhere, even in the rotten boroughs, the people are calling out for worthy representatives ; and the cry will be answered." That cry has been answered. The electors of HORACE INVISS'S rotten borough of Newport have petitioned that the Bills for their own disfranchisement may pass ; and they are ready, in ease the Bills should not pass, to return, as successors to Messrs. 'rims and PERCEVAL, men pledged to vote for the Bills. The only member for London, opposed to the Bills, has been required to vacate his seat ; and a staunch Reformer, Sir TnomAs DENra.tor, is likely to be elected in his stead. These, Sir JOSEPH YORKE, are "awful times" indeed.

But the main event of the week is the formation and announce- ment of a SOCIETY for the purpose of aiding the electors of the whole kingdom ill the battle which they must fight for their coun- try against the Boroughmongers. This association (of which the address to the public will be found in another page) is already de- nounced by the Bo:.oughmongers as "unconstitutional." Before the end of the week, Mr. Twiss will call it "seditious," Mr. CHOKER" pestilent," and the exquisite Mr. PERCEVAL may lift up his voice and curse it. No doubt, the Society would be unne- cessary, if our system of representation were thoroughly reformed ; because, in that case, every one able to judge of the qualifications of a member of Parliament would be an elector, would vote fre- quently, and would be protected from the corrupting influence of bribery and fear; so that in the course of a few years the whole body of electors would be brought to consider the due exercise of their right of voting, as an important act of self-interest, and the most sacred of moral duties. But under the present system-of sham-representation, or in the imperfect, though greatly improved state of the representation which the Bills before Parliament will create—and considering also the erroneous and corrupt notions as to the duty of voting for national deputies, which a lex course of bribery and intimidation has produced—the Society in question appears calculated to be eminently useful. "Utility," says the Tory writer against Reform in the last Quarterly .Review, "is the only true principle in such cases." The question is, whether this Society have so defined its object and prepared its means as to de- serve support on the score of public utility ? We propose to an- swer that question, by laying before our readas a somewhat fuller account of the object and means of the Society than is afforded by its short address.

'Speaking in general terms, the objeet of the Society is to pro- mote the return of good members of Parliament, and to prevent the return of bad ones, by means of furnishing to every body of

electors the aid of co-operating members directed from a common ' 'centre. This Society resembles the Birmingham Political Union; - and as that Association was formed not to create but to supply a

• demand for action in favour of Reform, so this Society has ' arisen, not to excite the public mind on the subject of re-

.-- presentation, but to direct the most virtuous political excite- ment ever known in England to an end of the greatest national importance. It is expected, therefore, that every man will • become a member of the Society who acknowledges the value of good. laws; who knows that good laWs are to be obtained only

• by means of good members of Parlitment ; who is aware of the undue influence to which electors are subject, and of their urgent want of aid from some power greater than that of the Borough- mongers ; and who can spare fi7/6 shillings for the service of his conntry. We shall be disappointed if the GOOD LAWS RENT do • not soon amount to a large yearly fund. But it is not so much by money as by the co-operation of nunzbers, that the Society will be . able to vanquish the disciplined enemies of the nation. By the union of numbers, the force of all the. Reformers in the country • may be brought to bear on any particular spot in aid of a good candidate or in opposition to a bad one; and by the union- of . numbers in a common object, the power of opinion may be greatly increased. Thus, supposing the Society to have distributed all

over the country 100,000 members guided by one council, the trouble of correspondence and the expense of postage would be the only cost of affording to a good candidate at Durham, for in-

stance, or at Weymouth, the aid of 100,000 friends bent on securing his return. In like manner, if Mr. HORACE TWISS, late of Downing Street, or Mr. GALE JONES, of the Rotunda, should

• set up for Parliament, he would be opposed, at the cost of a few pounds, by 100,000 political adversaries. But this is not all: a

still more effectual means, by which the Society may promote good legislation, is the dissemination of tracts pointing out to the elec- tors—first, their own advantage and duty ; secondly, the qualities of good and bad candidates ; and thirdly, the tests, that is to say the pledges, by which to try an unknown candidate. For ex- 'ample, an address to the electors of Liverpool from 100,000 of their countrymen, contrasting their baseness, at the last election, with the honest, and, in men generally so poor, the noble conduct - of the electors of Preston, would probably work wonders at the next election for Liverpool,—ay, both on the electors and he andidates. So, again, the Society might perform a most useful task by clearly explaining to the electors of Preston, that Mr. HUNT is disqualified, by want of .education, from being a very useful member of Parliament, and that their country would be as much injured by a Houseful of HUNTS as it would be served by a Houseful of JOHN Woons. And lastly, though merely by way of example, how useful would it be to explain to every body of eke- tors in the kingdom, that the duration of Parliaments depends ab- solutely on the electors ; since every candidate might be forced to give a pledge to resign his seat either at the end of three years, or whenever called on to do so by a majority of his constituents. Such addresses, proceeding from a Society of able and honest men, even if it did not reckon fifty members, would be of great service to the cause of good government ; but, coming as they may, from associated thousands, some of whom would reside amongst the bodies to be instructed and assisted, the limit of their good .effects is not to be defined. The French Society "Aide toi et le Ciel taidera," which had similar objects and employed similar means, prevented CHARLES the Tenth from re-establishing a per- fect despotism amongst our neighbours. And, by the way, it ought to be remarked, that if England is on the point of obtain- ing a better system of representation than that which exists in France, blame is due, as regards the French people, not to that Society, but to some of its most distinguished members,—such as M. GuIZOT and M. DE BROGLIE, who no sooner became Ministers, . than they declared against Reform. We are sorry that the English Society has not adopted the name suggested by our prudent contemporary the Globe; and we trust that they will take as the motto of their seal, "Help yourself ' and the King will help you." They could not more expressively and at the same time concisely proclaim the fact—that they are arrayed, not against a tyrant King, as the French Society was, but against the Borougomongers, who would oppress both King and People.

At present we see but one risk of the failure of the English Society. Adventurers will flock to it for the purpose of obtaining its aid towards their own return to Parliament. The Country had 'rather that the House of Commons were composed of bigots, like Mr. PERCKVAL, than of traders in liberality, like 'The time is not yet come for our promised exposure of that -class of candidates who, whether Tories or soi-disant Liberals, may be termed political adventurers ; but we doubt not that the PARLIAMENTARY CANDIDATES SOCIETY is even now beset with applicants of the latter description. "Avoid those worst enemies " of a good cause,' we say to the Society ; "avoid them—drive "them from you ; and if any one of them should become a can- " didate for Parliament, lay bare his selfish impulses, as you "would strip the motives of HORACE Twiss. You profess to aid " the people in electing men of talent and worth mid single pa- ." triotism. If, then, from neglect, or from what, in the present " demoralized state of opinion respecting the duties of electors "and law-makers, may be called !good nature,' you 'should aid " or should fail to oppose, any notoriously incapable or unprim. " cipled candidate, your association would be broken up, and you " would be marked for life as individual cheats. As clear-sighted " and honest men, you have not taken on yourselves the vast re- " sponsibility of advising the ignorant and promising assistance " to the weak, without more than a common share of moral cou- " rage. That is the quality which you must always hold ready " for use : the occasions for its exercise will be frequent for some " years to come. But if you should have the firmness to say, " No !—Begone r to all pretenders to public virtue who may " address themselves to your good nature,' and if you should " pounce upon every political quack or rogue, however zealous in " profession, whether for or against Reform, then you will obtain the " confidence of the public, and, with that confidence, an accegsion " of numbers and power sufficient for attaining your only object- " an intelligent and patriotic majority in the assembly which " makes the laws."

Merely in order to prevent any mistake by the only newspaper, worth reading, at present devoted to SirRoisEar PEEL.S party— viz. the Standard—we think it right to state, that the PARLIA- MENTARY CANDIDATES SOCIETY does not propose to employ its funds in bribing electors to vote for good law-makers. On the contrary, an especial object of the Society will be, as we are in- formed, to throw discredit on such candidates as may practise bribery, and to impress upon electors, that when a man buys his way to Parliament, he goes there either to gratify his vanity or to (set a share of the taxes. Every rule has exceptions ; but this

rule has fewer than most ; and as purchase of one kind or other is the ordinary means of obtaining a seat in Parliament, the rule explains why we have so many bad laws and so few good ones, not to mention the discontent of intelligent and virtuous men, and the dangerous misery, ignorance, and brutality of at least one quarter of the people. How should it be otherwise, when nine tenths of the law-makers could not enter the Legislature unless impelled by strong motives of self-love or selfishness of a worse kind ? A great number of the present members of the House of Commons would be quite incapable of rendering any service to the nation, even though, by a miracle, we should imbue them with good motives. One object of Reform is, to expel the incapables—the other, to obtain for the nation, and under the best

guarantees for good conduct, legislators who have given evidence of capacity for the business of making laws. The Society in

question may promote that object very efficiently ; but, as a first step, it must exert its whole power towards the prevention of bri- bery at elections,—whether in the shape of beer,:music, meals, hard cash, or promises of patronage.

To promote, as far as depends on us, the excellent objects of this Society, and the great end which the Nation seeks—an honest and capable Legislature—we proceed with our catalogue of per- sons qualified to act as NATIONAL TRUSTEES.

MR. MONCK,

Late member for Reading. Those who have watched the conduct of public men since Mr. Mcvercx was first returned for Reading, will not require any description of his excellent qualities as a mem- ber of Parliament ; but, for the information of many correspon- dents, who write to us from the country, urging us to proceed with our list of "good men and true," we think it right to make the following. statement. Mr. Mossois has always been an earnest and active Reformer. With the exception of Mr. HUME, no member of the House of Commons has given more votes against the profligate extravagance of that Government which " Works so well" for those who administer it ; and his speeches on other sub- jects prove his talents, instruction, good sense, and great attach- ment to civil and religious liberty. Mr. MoNcle declined becoming a candidate at the fast election for Reading, on the ground of " expense ; " and was succeeded by Mr. RUSSELL, a youthful Tory, whose only recommendation to the electors was an Indian fortune. The prosperous and enlightened town of Reading will not appear in our next " Anatomy of the House of Commons" as under the influence of " Money." Under the present virtuous excitement of the public mind, the county of Berkshire will pro- bably return its members free of " expense." Let Mr. WALTER and Mr. MoNek speedily determine which of them shall offer him- self for the county against Mr. PALMER—the other will be returned for Reading.

MR. WILLIAM SMITH,

Late member for Norwich. This steady reformer of half a cen- tury is too well known to require any notice from us. He delibe- rately retired from public life on the last dissolution, and without a hope, as he the other day informed the inhabitants of Alasyle- bone, of living to see the Parliament reformed. But if we may judge by his demeanour at that meeting, where he was 'placed in the chair as "one of the oldest friends of Reform," he is still as able as ever to serve the nation in Parliament. Without disparaging the good intentions of Mr. RICHARD GURNEY, it may be said that the electors of Norwich would do themselves honour, and their country great service, by returning Mr. SMITH once more, and free of" expense." This is a fit occasion on which to recall to the public councils so good and able a man, on whom the glorious prospects which open for his country appear to have conferred a new life.

MR. TOOKE,

A Russia merchant of great wealth, but better known as a writer on political economy. His extensive knowledge and uncommon powers of research, thought, and expression, would render him an invaluable member of Parliament. Oh! that we could speak without sadness of his greatest honour,—the brilliant and noble qualities of one, whose absence now is deplored by all who knew him, as a national misfortune !

COLONEL NAPIER,

Author of a History of the Peninsular War. This gentleman shall be described by the Duke Of WELLINGTON. His Grace, having been asked to furnish some papers for Colonel NAPIER'S book, said, " Yes, take them : he's a d—d Radical, but a very ho- nest man, and will be sure to speak the truth !"

MR. JOHN ROMILLY,

Son of the late Sir SAMUEL ROMILLY ; a member of' the Chan- cery bar ; of great mental powers, especially logical and ratiocina- tive; accustomed to reflect on the theory as well as on the prac- tice of law ; and highly qualified to hasten the arrival and improve the character of those legal reforms which are so much demanded. Mr. ROMILLY is a man of great moral worth, and of very peculiar inflexibility of purpose.

MR. NORMAN,

Of Bromley, in Kent ; late a London merchant ; but, though retired from business, still a Director of the Bank of England ; add pos- sessed of ample fortune. He is a man of extensive historical reading, profoundly acquainted with political economy, as well as with the practical illustration of its principles, and one of the most virtuous and single-hearted men in existence.

COLONEL DE LACY EVANS,

A man of large fortune and high spirit ; a stanch Reformer ; industrious, persevering, and enthusiastic in the pursuit of great public objects. He contested the close borough of Rye last year, and was returned by the votes of three hundred inhabitants against those of twelve corporators. A Committee of the House of Commons, of course, declared in favour of the twelve against the three hundred, and Colonel Eva:vs lost his seat. He was but two months in Parliament, and yet carried two acts of great ser-. vice to the town of Rye. This is the gentleman of whom Lord CHANDOS lately complained in the House, for having "threat- ened' to support the King against the Boroughmongers.

MR. MILL.

Just after hearing Lord Jotter RUSSELL'S speech on the Reform Bills, we mentioned Mr. MILL'S name as one that ought to have a high place in any catalogue of persons qualified to serve the Nation in Parliament. Without exception, it may be said that no man is so capable of originating good laws for the government of our im- mense possessions in the East. See his History of British India ; which, besides the extensive and accurate knowledge of his im- mediate subject that it displays, is also a philosophic treatise on misgovernment. Mr. MILL'S practical experience and high cha- racter as a servant of the Company, are further recommendations, considering that Parliament must soon decide whether or not a hun- dred millions of Indian-British subjects shall be misgoverned in fu- ture. On general grounds, we would refer to his essays on the Law of Nations, Education, the Liberty of the Press, Jurisprudence, and Government. But he has one claim in particular to the confidence of English Electors,—viz. the authorship of that article in the Westminster Review entitled " Ballot ;" which has done more than even the acts of Lord EXETER and the Duke of NEWCASTLE in favour of the " Un-English, Italian" practice of voting conscien- tiously. If any so patriotic a borough-owner as the Duke of NORFOLK or Mr. JOHN SMITH should ask us to name a" young man of talent, to whom a seat in Parliament would give the opportunity of dis- playing public qualities of the highest order;' we should be tempted to name the eldest son of Mr. MILL; of whom it may be said, that 'whilst he derives honour from his father, he also, in the opinion of those who know him, reflects honour on the person who formed his moral and intellectual character. We are preparing a list of these "young men of talent," for whom Sir ROBERT PEEL has so great an affection ; but the time is hardly come yet for laying it before the public. That time, however, we venture to say, is nearer than Sir ROBERT imagines.

MR. WILLIAM HUTT

Is strongly recommended to us by several known correspondents, as likely to exclude HORACE Twiss from Newport in the Isle of Wight. His recommendations are stated to be—family connexions m the neighbourhood of that condemned borough, excellent pri- vate character, a Cambridge reputation for ability, sufficient for- tune, and fixed liberal opinions. We happen to know of him our- selves, that he was a principal founder of the COLONIZATION SO- CIETY; of whose researches the Government has lately availed itself, in order to establish in the more extensive colonies of Bri- tain a system of granting land, which cannot fail to be of infinite service to the Colonies, and which promises to benefit the labour- ing classes at home, by providing a fund for Emigration. Mr. BUTT, or Mr. Anybody even without these recommendations, and even in the rotten borough of Newport, might easily beat the man against whom all England is uttering cries of dislike. After the passing of the Bills, which will the Isle of Wight return— a National Trustee, or a member who goes to Parliament for private ends, whether of pride, vanity, or gain ? •

MR. ARTHUR GREGORY,

Eldest son of Colonel GREGORY, of Stivic Hall, near Coventry. As a youth, he served in the Peninsular war ; and since the peace has been oecupied in travelling, and cultivating a mind naturally strong. -He is a near relation and one of the friends of Mr. GEORGE GROTE ; is heir to a considerable estate in Warwickshire; and is a sound political economist. But his principal recommen- dation is, that he has been constant as a Reformer in Tory times, and in a rank Tory county. Why do not his numerous friends in and about Coventry at once propose him as the future colleague of Mr. ELLICE ?

MR. SCHOLEFIELD,

An enterprising, public-spirited, and wealthy merchant and banker of Birmingham ; and a stanch Reformer even in the black times Of CASTLEREAGH and Sinstotrrsa Mr. SCHOLEFIELD Will be member for Birmingham one of these days ; and the nation will have a valuable trustee in a gentleman of his talents, instructed mind, and great moral worth. It were to be desired, meanwhile, that if Parliament is dissolved before or after the passing of the Bills, Mr. SCHOLEFIELD should declare himself a candidate for the county of Warwick. The Bills will give two additional mem- bers to that great " Hive of Industry, " which is at present nomi- nally represented by two persons of the landed aristocracy. It is not the pheasant " interest," nor the dear-bread " interest" of Warwickshire to which the Reform Bills promise a larger share of representation, but the interest of the great manufacturing popu- lation of that county. In no other county would industry so easily triumph over game and monopoly. We need not repeat to Mr. SCHOLEFIELD what we said last week to Mr. GEORGE GROTE-* " There is a time for all things, and now is the time for action."

MR. TENNYSON,

One of the present members for Bletchingly. When the Reform. Bills shall have passed, Mr. TENNYSON will be the colleague of Mr. ATTWOOD at Birmingham. Meanwhile, the electors of-Stam- ford should prepare themselves for a last struggle with the "House of Burleiss,h." This time Lord EXETER will not attempt to "do what he likes with his own ;" but he has resorted, as we are in- formed, to the practice of "charity" on a very large scale. Will the people of Stamford, whose resistance to the tyranny of Lord EXETER has been so useful to the cause of Reform, be now bribed with beer and blankets to desert their country ?

MR. JOHN MARSHALL,

Second son of Mr. MARSHALL, the late member for Yorkshire, is a man of excellent talents and sound judgment ; a good political economist ; a decided Reformer ; wealthy ; thoroughly acquainted with the "manufacturing interests ;" and perfectly fitted to be a National Trustee. Though his modesty may prevent hint from "coming forward," that quality should be an additional motive with his friendsat Leeds for securing his return to Parliament even before the passing of the Bills.

MR. RAWSON, .

A retired merchant, but still connectedwith Leeds ; a man of most upright and benevolent character ; of good talents, sound judg- ment, and strong religious sentiments ; foremost in promoting every useful and charitable' undertaking in his neighbourhood ; always ready to devote his time to the public service; and a stanch friend of Parliamentary and Economical Reform, the Abolition of Slavery, and Peace.

MR. WOOD,

President of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce ; a man of fortune, of excellent talents, extensive knowledge, high moral cha- racter, and great public spirit.

MR. HADFIELD,

Also of Manchester ; an able, honest, liberal, and worthy man, of strong religious sentiments, and possessing every characteristic of a worthy National Trustee.

MR. ROBERT CANNING,

Brother of the late Mr. FRANK CANNING, of Foxcote, in War- wickshire, who was the leader of the Reformers of that county in the worst of times. Mr. ROBERT CANNING has large estates in Gloucestershire, and has, we believe, inherited those of his bro- ther in Warwickshire ; he was a member of the Society of the Friends of the People, and of the Hampden Club. W6 could fill columns with the praiaes of this gentleman which have come to us from various quarters ; but must be content with saying, in the words of a valued correspondent, " This is a noble fellow ! "

MR. CHARLES MARCII PHILLIPS,

Brother of the Under-Secretary of State, is a gentleman of large landed estates in Leicestershire, and a known Reformer. In 1819, he entered on a sudden and spirited contest for the county of Lei- cester, and ousted old Mr. KECK. The cost, however, of a three days' poll was a serious price for the honour. It is to be hoped Mr. PHILLIPS will again turn out old Mr. KECK, whilst Mr. PAGET turns out Lord MANNERS.

[To be continued next week.] To the correspondents who have helped us in forming this catalogue of worthies, we have to return our best thanks ; ear- nestly requesting that their example may be followed by persons of judgment and integrity in all parts of England. The letter of that gentleman who sent us one name—his own—we propose to hand over to the PARLIAMENTARY CANDIDATE SOCIETY. The class of persons that we are most anxious to recommend to the electors of England, are those who themselves require to be •

told of their fitness to serve the Nation in Parliament, and who, though eminently qualified for public life, would remain in ob- scurity unless" dragged forward" by the public voice. For every me such as these we have received the names of a dozen adven- turers, charlatans, or incapables,—all of them, of course, strongly recommended by their anonymous friends. Have we no said that the time is not yet come for publishing the names of un- worthy candidates ?