trbe Countra.
The Preston Radicals gave a dinner, on the 15th instant, to Colonel Thompson, M.P., and Mr. John Crawfurd, whom they hope to re- 'turn to the next Parliament in the room of Mr. Fleetwood or Mr. Stanley, the present Members. The customary toasts having been despatched, the Chairman, Mr. Alderman Noble, proposed the health of Colonel Thompson; who then addressed the company--
They had met to consult as to who was the most proper person to represent this borough in Parliament. In order to judge properly what description of men would make the best organs of the public, it was necessary to consider the present position of public parties. The meeting would expect an account of it from him, as having had an opportunity of forming some judgment upon that head. There were three distinct dames in Parliament, two of whish maintained extreme opinions. One of these extreme classes, need he say, was known by the old name of Tories, and by the new one of Conservatives? The other extreme was Radicalism; of which denomination he was confident he should offend none present by assuming that they formed a part. (Loud cheers.) The Radical body was of short standing in the country ; its exist- ence might be dated from the cessation of that degolating war which divided the nations of the earth. The third party comprised the descendants of that cla* who at one time had laboured hard and worked out much good for our coun- try. With those who had been our friends, and who were now more this half our allies, it was expedient as well as just to deal in a conciliatory spirit. Ile would not complain of or quarrel aith them unnecessarily ; but at the same time, he would not conceal their shortcomings or palliate their faults, of which he had as good an opportunity of judging as most men. He trusted it would be conceded to him that be had not attempted to raise ill-will against those who held the reins of Government. Many questions involving matters of great public interest had been brought forward during the list session of Parliament. He saw inscribed upon these walls, "Ballot." ( Vehement cheer- ing.) The proposition for adopting the regulation of the ballot in the taking of votes was stigmatized by the objectors to it as luw, base, and un-English. This did not prevent the upper classes from taking advantage of the ballot on all occasions that concerned themselves. Lord John Russell would not give the ballot because the franchise was a trust ; this he assigned as the reason of his particular objection to it. In a question of life and death, which surely was not a less trust, the officer was to be allowed the ballot : but an operative must be compelled to tell his vote in order to show he was a man. Could any system go on in resistance to suchja principle as that of the ballot ? Coa'al public servants profitably or profitably hold the helm of Governmeat .in Leak point- blank contradiction to common sense and justice? Extension of suniage was another subject which agitated the public mind. He must in frankness confess that he was not of those who were for halvin., the matter : he did not know what legitimate and sound objection there cad be to every mart having a vote who could say yes or no. (Continued cheers.)
There was another subject, which, he understood, rankled much in the minds of the people of Preston—the new Poor-law.
Now in his opinion, to have taken away the poor man's dependence, and to have left the tax upon his bread, was a most cruel and outrageous proceeding ; and men must be wonderfully feeble or wonderfully iguorant who would finally submit to it. Let us not moot the Poor-laws except as the means of obtaining the liberty of keeping ourselves—let all men possess die power of living from industry, and be able to feel the difference between its wages mid those of elee- mosynary assistance. in allusion to the faults of the Ministry, he would as'e why the' did not give us a press entirely free?—why they, against all their former professions and engagaments, resisted the abolition of military punish- ments ? With regard to their foreign policy, it must he confessed that the Whig arms had not been brilliant. They had not let them have the means of being so. They certainly bail nut equalled their proleetssors of the times when British power alarmed a tyrant upon his tlihme, and nearly sent his mistress to a convent for life. It was true that the Whig,s Lad ditfimilties to contend with in this respect; they had not the command of the Army ; the direction of the military force was lodged with avowed political enriimies. Per!: lips the explanation would be found to be connected •.vith a poiut uyon which we all felt' most strongly ; perhaps lie in:glat give the explanation to this meeting by saying " the House of Lords." That power in the State was of antique standing ; it was a machine which. had come down from olden times, and might have been fitted for those times ; b it why, like other old machines, should it not be subjected to changes ? Ti cf. ,Is were not all evil ; there had never been a time when the liberties of the, country were imperilled, that some of the Peers had not stood forward to defend them. One principle only was wanting to make them move in unison with the best interests of the country ; and that was the principle of popular election. ( Vehement cheering.) Mr. Crawfurd's health followed ; and that gentleman proceeded to explain his opinions on the leading questions of the day. He declared himself strongly in favour of Peerage Reform, and ridiculed the com- mon bugbear of the Tories that organic change would destroy the British Constitution. It was wonderful how many deaths the Consti- tution had undergone— In 1823, the late George Canning slew the glorious Constitution—simply by breaking off with the Holy Alliance. It was alive and well—better, indeed, the very next year ; but then Wellington and Peel killed it, by emancipating seven millions of people from religious thraldom. The sun was not to have risen the morning after this murder ; hut it rose notwithstanding, and seemed even to shine brighter than ever, because it shone on the religious liberty of a whole people. ( Cheering, which lasted for several lain rites.) In 1832, Lord Grey was the assassin, and the instruimmt of death in this case was the Reform Bill. But the most wholesale homicide has been Lord Melbourne. N-ot a vaar passes that he is not convicted of some murder or another. Last year tlaere was the Municipal Reform Bill murder; and about a month ago we had a felo- nious homicide (without benefit of clergy, of course), which consisted in raising (the first example in one hundred and fifty years) a Catholic gentleman of honour and learuina to the judgment-seat. The glorious Constitution seems very like a good Iluidoo—a panis believer in the doctrine of the transmigration of souls : the oftener he dies, the better be becomes, until, by a thoustud deaths, he at last attains perfection. Let us, then, try our hand, by all means, at another murder, by an organic reform of the Lords. Let it not be forgotten, however, that even among the present House of Peers there -are many good. Reformers, although they may not come up exactly to our mark ; and the more honour is due to them, considering the foul atmosphere they breathe. Perhaps there are even as many as half-a-dozen good Radicals among thew: but the small leaven, if good, is not sufficient to redeem the huge mass of cor- ruption; and an organic reform, therefore, is indispensable and unavoidable.
The very small majorities by which even moderately good measures had been earn i d in the Commons, proved how much that Honse also needed reform— When a Tory Government can by a coup d'ettit procure the nomination, at a general election, of 300 Members, or within 29 of half the House, there can be no question but the Commons stand in need of further reform; and that, for good purposes, the Reform Act is neither a perfect measure, nor ought to be considered a final one. The minor reforms which it requires are the abolition of the qualification.clause in the exercise of the elective franchise; and of Lord Chandos's 501. tenant-at-will clause in the county franchise; and the great and effectual ones, the extension of the Suffrage, the vote by Ballot, and short Par- liaments; all of which he kuew were reforms which they earnestly desired. In his address to the meeting last night, be had stated that he gave the preference to the household suffrage; and his reason for doing so was simply that it was the reform which was likely to be most easily obtained. To the extension of the suffrage to every male inhabitant of the kingdom, not pensioned or employed by the Executive Government, and not receiving parish relief, he had no ob- jection: on the contrary:, he was satisfied that to this it must come at last. Ile was, in short, for accepting the household suffrage, simply as a good instalment of payment in full. With respect to the Ballot, he never heard in his life one argument against it—one word that would be listened to with patience by a person of common understanding : they were mere fallacies of the most trans. parent kind—appeals not reason, but to vulgar and unworthy national pre-
mlices. _
He was in favour., of Trienniak,Parliaments by ,experience
three years were found to be too long a term, he would have no objec- tion to try two years, in accordance with the practice in the United
States. With respect to the Alinisters, though far from perfect, they were angels of light compared with those who had preceded them and misgoverned the country for seventy years—
The objection which he and other Reformers :made to them was, that they did not move fast enough and firmly enough. He held that it was a safer and surer course for them to pursue to march onward boldly and manfully, than to
hesitate, and halt, and falter, especially when they knew that there were rogues lying in wait and only seeking an opportunity to trip up their heels and
kayo them floundering in the mud. This was not the way in which skilful and prudent men walked over a quicksand. In passing over the quicksand of political intrigue, the Whig Ministry must ask the assistance of the People, for it is the People alone that can get them out of their difficulty. They are able and willing, if Ministers will but place their confidence in them. The Tories talk much of reaction,—that is, reaction in their favour ; which is pretty much the same thing as saying that this country, which has been rapidly advancing in civilization for tlinT centuries, and especially for the last fifty years, is, all at once, (lisposed to stand still, or go backwards to oblige them, and seat them in the Ministry. The Reformers are dissatisfied with the Whigs because they do sot go on fast enough ; and therefore they must of necessity be in love with the Tories, because they stand still or go backwards. The Radicals are not perhaps disposed to consider the Whigs in the light of pure, unadulterated silver ; hut surely this is no reason why they should mistake the impudent, verdigrised, poisoned old brass of Toryism for pure gold. There is no reaction in favour of Toryism ; and the Tories, to their cost, will find this at the first general elec- tion.
Mr. Crawford concluded by avowing his opinion, that it was a fla- grant injustice to compel the people of this country to pay for the sup- port of the Church. When he sat down, the company rose en masse, and gave several rounds of hearty cheers.
Some conversation followed respecting the Poor-law ; and it was agreed that Mr. Crawford should give an explanation of his views on the subject at another meeting.
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