ebe Enuntrp. ebe Enuntrp.
The meeting of the Bath Reformers deserves more notice than time and the space of our columns permitted last week. There were about 1,500 persons present, although the weather was unfavourable. The first resolution, in favour of the Ballot, was carried unanimously. General Napier moved the second, for an extension of the suffrage.
He observed that there were now certain politicians who, for purposes of their own, advocated the Ballot without an extension of the suffrage-
" These men know that the great push is for Universal Suffrage; and, there. fore, being good fencers, they parry this primary question with those that are secondary questions, waiting their time to make a hoine-thrust at the People, in hopes of destroying their liberties altogether. Such men I would not conde- scend to answer ; but they are mixed up with another class who are real, stanch, and worthy Radical Reformers, for whom I have great respect; arid, to these last I address myself, in hopes of convincing them that they are mis- taken. These honest men maintain, that if we can get the Ballot, we shall
then get the whole body of electors to join us, and win the Suffrage immedi- ately after. They say, in short, the Ballot is an instalment. Gentlemen, it is not an instalment—it is a subterfuge, a trick, to divide our forces. I have said that (in round numbers) we have about a million of electors and ten millions of non-electors. Now all these are creditors to the Parliament, to the collec- tive wisdom of the nation ;' of which I wish to speak with all due respect. Well, gentlemen, this party is our debtor ; now the one million of creditors have received nineteen shillings in the pound, while the ten millions have not received one farthitig, but, on the contrary been treated with insult ! The one million say, Help its to get our shilling, and thus we shall be paid twenty shillings in the pound : then we will help you to get your money.' Now, gentlemen, is it common sense, to call paying a few creditors their whole de- mand, while the majority receive nothing at all an instalment !'—no, gentle- men, the ballot is not an instalment ; it is a bribing of half your forces; for recollect, that although the electors are but one million out of ten million, yet they possess the vast power of the suffrage, and that power they will use against you under the deep shade ef the Ballot : they will, in puldie, agree to all your rights, all your demands, out of fear ; and then, protected by the Bailot, they will vote against you, and the cause of Universal Suffrage will be lost ! But, exclaim our excellent friends, who are SO ready to confide in the electors, be assured they are good fellows, they will help us to the Suffrage.' Help you have they ever helped you yet ? Yes, they helped Wiltshire to Bur- dett, and they helped Bath to Bruges and Powerscourt ! and if ye now trust them, I shall believe the non-electors of Bath to be the most credulous set of dupes that God ever created."
Colonel William Napier said, that he had been abroad for his health, and on his return he found matters changed for the worse in Bath-
" When I last had the liotiour of addressing a public assembly in this room, the good cause was triumphant—it appeared to be SO ; Toryism was abashed at least, if it was not trodden, as it deserved to be, under foot. Now I find it stalking amongst you in all its hideous deformity; I find it cherished in this place—in Bath, which, only one year ago, was preeminently distinguished amongst the great cities of the empire, for the courage, the patriotism, the pu- rity of its constituency. And when I ask, how this change has been brought about,—what has caused this alteration,-1 am told that some hundred electors were so base, so venal, SO degraded, that a few pounds and a few pots of beer were sufficient to make them forget the eminent and faithful services of Mr. Roebuck—forget what they owed to their children—what they owed to their unrepresented fellow-men—aye, and what they owed to their God, who will demand of them a clear conscience upon this imam:el—and thus, forgetting all that was worthy of recollection, they threw themselves into the enemy's milks, and returned two men, who, if only half of what I have been told, be true, are utterly unfit and unworthy to be the representatives of any enlightened consti- tuency. I say unfit and unworthy, because I am told, and I believe it, that they owe their success entirely to corruption and intemperance amongst the electors; that is, they or their agents, or their supporters, first reduced their fellow-men to the condition of beasts, and then profitted from the vices they had thus excited—profitted from drunkenness aml corruption, with the words reli- gion and the constitution in their mouths, though they know that the religion which they profess to support absolutelyforbids intemperance,and the constitution which they pretend to uphold absolutely forbids bribery. But, gentlemen, from what I have this day seen and heard, I believe that there is still courage and public virtue enough amongst you to throw off these men—still virtue and courage enough to fight the battle of Reform successfully—to make the in- solent Tory cower—to make the wily Whig forbear his deceit, and to drive with scorn and contempt from amongst you the venal traitors who would sell the cause of freedom. And fur this reason I rejoice that I have undertaken the task of addressing you; proud and joyful I say I ant to have so fair an occasion of expressing my sentiments to such an assembly. But, mark me, gentlemen, I address myself only to thoroughgoing Radicals ; I hold no com- munity of political sentiment with Tories, none with Whigs, none with half- and-half measure Radicals; I hold no community of political sentiment with men who, having obtained the right of suffrage for themselves, would deny it to those who are below them in station or wealth—men who owing everytlictig, as we all do, to labour, are yet willing to throw the labourer himself overboard in order to lighten the ship in the political storm."
The resolution before the meeting was for an extension of the suffrage : that was ft conventional term used for the sake of avoiding disunion, but he would not be precluded from avowing himself the advocate of universal suffrage-
" I know not upon what principle. we are to stop short of tint mark. I know not upon what other principle we destroyed the old rotten borough sys- tem. But whenever Uaiversal Suffrage is mentioned, murmurs are heard amongst the rich—they crowd around, with fury in their looks and voices, exclaiming—What! would you adinit the base populace to power ? Would you grant the rascal rout, the rabble, the scum of the earth, the privilege of vetting, that they might divide our estates, our property, amongst themselves! *bat else can you expect from them ? what other object have they ? You shall not do it ;—intelligence and property must and shall goiern. Gentlemen,
it is thus your enemies reason, and thus they exclaim. I Lave heera :Lem so reason and so exclaim. These are the names they cab you; this the ieh- genre they display ! But I tell them, there never was a more ban, a 1WAC- unfounded calumny uttered to support a crying injustice, than this caluen,y, that the English working classes ever entertained for a moment :Lade dividing the property of the rich. Let those who sac so spread the in it, of :-• world before us; let them open the book of history ; let theta find where, when, in what place, what corner of the earth, be it ever so obscure or barbarous — any place, I say, or any period of time, when or where the pour ever rust to break the bonds of society by invading the aggregate rights of property. Never! They cannot point out an instance in ancient or modern history. r a: the pages of that history they will find to be one hug running account of spoliations and robbery of the poor by the rich. And it is time to put an end to such spoliations by Universal Suffrage." He had always advised the People to distrust the Whigs, more espe- cially Earl Grey and Lord John Russell; for in them no real love mm freedom was to be found— as- " Those noble lords, I thank them, have since by their actions fully justife every thing I said against them. But I also say to the working classes, do trust even Radicals merely because they profess themselves your friend,. will give you a reason why you should not. When Lord John Russel: me his late declaration against Reform, Mr. Charles Buller accused him of seek: - a pretence in Mr. Walley's motion, to quarrel with his old supporters, and over to the Tories. My Lord John was very indignant at the charge, and M. Buller withdrew it ; and the same Mr. Buller, a few days after, tool; measim. at a public dinner, or meeting, to complain that the public did not mnak, adie tinetion between moderate and reasonable Reformers, who Ind particular o! - jects, and those whom he was pleased to call visionary, wild, intemperate tree —Ine himself having been up to that moment always midi:seine to be one of the stanchest of those Radicals he was thus designating as will and hitempeinne But passing from Mr. Charles Buller, Lord John Resall c.ritiot deny ii it six years he has suffered the Reformers of Englatel generally to ceneider hita ee their leader and champion—suffered them to look upon him aiol to c5l! hhe
their champion—the man who was to work out Refrain to it, full extent —h • knowing, all the time, perfectly well what they called working out referm- knowing what they desired, aml yet being resolved to thwart them in thee oh. jeet as far as he could when the tinn a:emed most favourable for that prisms. That time is now came; and he has placed himself in opposition to the People of England—with what success will be seen. Ile does not, indeed, say that tie People of England have not a right to push Reform further ; he only thinks them mad or foolish, and he, forsooth, will be no party to such insane or foolish proceedings. God scot ! the People of England will be surely puzzled to the his equal ! But, gentlemen, I think, notwithstanding the self -sa 1
siaal.- ness of this declaration, that we shall go on without him. I think the nal& Whig mandarin may again take his station on the in intlepiece, and slo3i. head with due solemnity at our proceedings until lie is tired, without much :Le peeling our progress towards the attainment of OM' rights. The--me right, Universal Suffrage, Vote by Ballot, and the Shortening the Dui etioa of Par- liament; and we must demand all these, for there is a strict cot:me:on betweea them. To use a homely simile, they are like the legs of a joint-stool : with all three, Freedom may sit secure—with two, she may continue to rest, but in a tottering and uneasy position—with only one, she must fall to the ground. Spurn, then, any proposal to seek for the Ballot only—it is a delusiuu ti. proposers of it may be themselves deluded, or they may be tricking' ; bat se either case the working classes, if they wotild be free, tweet reject it, and tl.ao must work for themselves. Let them, theii, put their tenet in Cl, for the:- have a good cause ; and, thaakiiig Mr. Wakiey for the timely and vigorous manner in which he tore off the Whig mask of freedom—after teed, trust iu themselves."
The resolution was put from the chair ; but therelwere tremendous shouts for " Universal Suffrage ! " and an amendment in accordance with the feeling of the meeting was carried by acclamation.
Speeches from Mr. W. Bum, Mr. Henry Hobhuttse, and °the:- gentlemen, detained the meeting till it was nearly dark ; when a peti- tion founded on the resolutioits WaS carried, and the proceedings ter- minated.
Previous page
