rose to present a Petition for Reform, from the inhabitants of Durham. In that city the Tight of election was in the Corporation, but there were a great number of inhabitants, not in the Corporation of that city, of great respectability and influence, who had a fair claim to vote for Representatives. The petitioners prayed that the House would do away with rotten boroughs, and diminish the expense of elections, which was now sometimes so great, that few persons could afford to stand a contest. They prayed, too, for the extension of the present limited franchise. He shared fully in the sentiments expressed in that petition, his feeling in favour of Reform being no new feeling with him—no new idea; he had been a reformer for many years. It was to him, indeed, a subject of great satisfaction to reflect, that if Reform had been granted a great many years ago—if it had been granted when Earl Grey proposed it in that House, oceans of blood and countless treasure would have been saved to the public. He hailed it as a good omen that the question of Reform at present was pressing itself on the consideration of men in all parts of the kingdom, and he trusted that the good sense of the House would be shown, by treating favourably the arguments for Reform, and by supporting the measures of Reform that might be brought in unanimously. He would not trouble the House further, reserving him- self for the time when the subject should come properly under discussion, when, if the House would allow him, he would address it.—Petition to be printed.

said, he had several petitions to present, praying for Reform in Parliament, and he was sorry he did not see in his place his hon. friend, the member for Edinburgh, who, if he had lately visited that part of the kingdom, if he still maintained his opinion that there was no feeling in Scotland in favour of Reform, must be much surprised at what he had heard and seen. From all the information which he had received, the feeling in favour of Reform was spreading most rapidly, and was almost universal. He must say, that the meetings in Scotland had been so numerous, that Gentlemen must see, that their own private interests, if they had private interests, must give way to the public good. The feeling in Scotland was, that the landed interests, the real owners and occupiers of the land, were not sufficiently represented; and that the large population of wealthy towns were not sufficiently represented; and that feeling would, he supposed, have great weight with the House in giving the people a full and fair Representation. The first petition he would present was from the Commissioners of Supply, Justices of the Peace, and Freeholders of the County of Kircudbright. These petitioners stated, that they had not before petitioned, because they had no hopes that their petition on this subject would be attended to; but that, now there was a Ministry pledged to Reform, they had hopes that their wishes would be gratified, and they trusted to the Ministry to redeem its own pledges, and fulfil their hopes. In their hopes and in their confidence he participated. As a Representative of a Scotch County, he must say, that he was willing to see an extension of the elective franchise, but he was not willing to support any extension of that franchise which would militate against the political condition of the landed interest, particularly in Scotland. He hoped there was no plan to militate against that interest; if there was, he should oppose it. He conceived that the Representatives of Counties should be sent to Parliament by the landed interest, and any proposition of Reform which went to give that interest such a power, he would support. The petitioners also prayed for retrenchment, and they called on the House to reduce all salaries, and to retrench every unnecessary expense in the most unsparing manner. They considered it a great hardship, when the price of all their produce had fallen one half, that the salaries of persons in office should be continued to the full extent to which they were formerly raised. They begged the House, therefore, to institute an inquiry into the subject, and also to abolish all sinecures. They recommended, that persons who had retired from the public service should be fairly remunerated, but they prayed that the House would reduce the expenditure to the lowest point possible, consistent with justice. He cordially concurred in their prayer, but he hoped Reform would not attack the bosoms of families. He wished to see the services of all public servants properly considered, and he hoped all persons who had duties to perform would be adequately rewarded. The hon. Member concluded by presenting the petition from Kircudbright, which was read and laid on the Table. That petition, the hon. Member said, was from persons who already possessed the elective franchise, and they prayed that it might be extended to those who possessed it not. The petition he had then to present was from parties who had not the franchise, and prayed that they might have it. This petition was from the heritors and occupiers of land in the parish of Kelton. He also presented a third petition, from another part of Kircudbright, and stated, that there was no part of the country which did not share the feelings expressed in these petitions.—Laid on the Table.

presented a Petition from certain Candle Manufacturers in Edinburgh, praying for the Repeal of the Duty on Candles.

supported the prayer of the petition. The Repeal of the Duty on Candles was a subject of very great importance to the labouring poor. He heartily concurred in the prayer of the petition, particularly as it was well known that a large commercial house in the City had monopolized all the Tallow in the country. The reason why he rose was, to state, that it was his intention to bring before the House, in a short time, the subject of that great monopoly. The House would think that proper, when the House was told, that the monopoly had raised the price of soap and candles to the poor man very considerably; it had almost deprived him of light by night, and almost deprived him of soap to cleanse himself, and had almost deprived him of all the benefits he derived from the use of these articles. He was sure that the House would see that nothing was more urgent than to take measures to protect the poor man. The hon. member for Westbury said, last Session, that great evils were caused by the accumulation of property in the hands of individuals. Here was an instance of it. He could assure the House, that one firm had employed 600,000l. in purchasing tallow, and it had caused the greatest possible evil. The price of tallow now was 48s., and there were 50,000 hogsheads in the country; last year there were only 30,000, and then the price was not above 36s. It was not, therefore, from any want of tallow that the price had risen, but solely from the monopoly.

did not at first think it necessary for him to make any observations, but after what had fallen from the hon. member for Preston, he could not remain silent. Although, as an individual, he might regret, that advantage was taken by a commercial house to raise the price of an article of necessity, it would have become him to have remained silent, did he not know that the price had not been raised to the extent the hon. Member said by the monopoly. There were other causes for the rise of price, and the principal of them was, he believed, not the monopoly, but the anticipation of scarcity. It was a general custom for merchants to buy largely when they anticipated a scarcity; and it was the anticipation of the scarcity, not the monopoly, which caused the rise. This was the case now, and there were many obvious causes for apprehending a scarcity. The war in Poland was an obvious cause for a rise in the price, not only of tallow, but of all the produce of that country, whether monopolised or not. There was also the prevalence of a terrible disease in these parts of Russia from which the chief supply of tallow was derived. Again, the whale fishery had been a complete failure. The house in question had probably made the purchases from anticipating the scarcity, and therefore their purchases had not caused the rise. He did not think it proper for the House to interfere with the private bargains of individuals. In the article of corn, only let the hon. Member recollect the obloquy which had formerly been cast on those who dealt in corn, though writers had now made it quite clear, that the corn-dealers, by this proceeding, however they might have enhanced the price to individuals for a short time, were, in reality, a sort of safety-valve against famine. They equalized the consumption through a whole season, and over large districts, and prevented an extreme rise of price before the next supply could be procured.

rose to move for some papers, which, he understood, would be readily laid on the Table. The House would recollect, that on a petition being presented from the West-India Interest, complaining of great distress, and on a motion being made for a committee to inquire into it, his Majesty's Government thought that the question could be better examined by the Board of Trade than by a Committee of that House. The Government had accordingly undertaken to investigate the subject; and, after the investigation, to communicate to the House, at the earliest period, the resolution it had formed. The investigation had been carried to a considerable extent by the late Ministers, and it had been taken up and terminated by the present Ministers. He hoped, consequently, that the noble Lord, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, would find it convenient to state, at an early period, the general view which the Government was disposed to take of the case, now that the investigation was completed. He would not then say more, but move for copies of all Statements, Calculations, and Explanations which had been laid before the Board of Trade relative to the West-India Interest, since May 19, 1830.

wished to guard himself against its being supposed that he pledged himself to explain the views of the Government on West-India affairs at an early period. Guarding himself against that expectation, he had no objection to the Motion.

presented a Petition from Wolverhampton, praying for Reform in Parliament. The petition was signed, not only by those who had always been friendly to Reform, but also by those who had hitherto been adverse to it. The petition was signed by almost all the respectable people in the town. In the greatest part of the petition he cordially concurred; but on that part of it which required the Vote by Ballot he would not then state his opinion. When the subject came before the House, he would give it his best attention.

confirmed the assertion of his hon. colleague, that the petition was signed by most of the respectable people of Wolverhampton, and by those who had hitherto been opposed to Reform. He knew that the greater part of those who had in that neighbourhood been inimical to Reform through their whole lives, were now to a man in favour of it.

rose to present a petition from the Inhabitants of the parish of Thorne-Falcon, Somersetshire, the prayer of which, as it was short, he would read. The petitioners called upon the House to make a commutation of tithes, to lessen the taxes to the greatest degree possible, to abolish the malt duty, also to abolish all sinecures, to reduce salaries, and to reform the Parliament, by extending the franchise, and allowing the people to vote by ballot. He concurred in the petition in every part of it, but he differed from the petitioners in one thing; he thought that the petitioners had placed the cart before the horse. They had placed Reform in Parliament and Vote by Ballot last, while he thought they ought to have been placed first, for, without Parliamentary Reform and the Vote by Ballot, the petitioners would not get any of their other grievances effectually redressed. The petition was drawn up by the clergyman of the parish, who had signed it; and it was signed by almost every inhabitant of the parish. In that parish, the clergyman informed him, there had been no disturbances, and he was informed that only three persons who signed the petition could write their own names—he begged pardon of the House for the mistake—he meant, that there were only three persons who did not sign their own names. The hon. member for Kircudbright was not favourable to the Ballot, and he thought that they ought not to extend the franchise so as to affect the landed interest; but if the Reform to be proposed was calculated only to please the landed interest, it would displease the country. To such a species of Reform he should be opposed. What would please the landed interest would not satisfy the people. He avowed himself a Radical Reformer, and had been one since 1815— ever since the passing of the Corn-laws. He was a Radical Reformer, and he would advocate the principle, that every man ought to have a vote. He had been the advocate of voting by ballot when that was unfashionable, and he was the advocate of that opinion at present. The petition from Wolverhampton expressed an opinion in favour of the ballot, and he could tell the hon. Baronet who presented it, and the noble Lord, that all the towns of the north of England to which he proposed to give the franchise wished to have the ballot; and, unless they were granted that protection, they would rather not be cursed by elections at all.

explained, that the hon. Member had misunderstood him. He wished for reform and an extension of the franchise; but he wished that the Members for a County should be elected by the landed proprietors, and not by the labourers. The elections ought to be in the hands of persons of some substance, and not approach as nearly as possible to universal suffrage, like the representation of a place he could name. He was satisfied that no species of Reform could give security or stability to the institutions of the country unless property were represented.

was not friendly to the principle of making property the basis of the representation. While every man was liable to be drafted for the militia and, to pay taxes, he ought to have a vote in making the laws.

hoped his Majesty's Ministers would speedily bring forward their measure, and not have the question discussed on the presentation of petitions.

again denied, that he expressed himself otherwise than as an advocate for Reform, but the was for a reform which must protect the landed interests, and to such a reform he had always been favourable. He must say openly, that the sort of election established at Preston did not meet, his approbation.

took that, the earliest, opportunity, to inform the House, that his Majesty's Government would, on Tuesday, the first day of March, be prepared to submit to the consideration of the House, that plan for the improvement of the Representative System, which in their opinion was now required. He wished at the. same time to state, that it was their intention to give to the noble Lord (Lord John Russell), the Paymaster of the Forces, the task of explaining the nature and extent of the Reform which they contemplated. They had selected that noble Lord, in consequence of the deep sense they entertained of the ability and perseverance with which he had advocated an improvement of the Representative System, through the whole course of his public life. In times when the advocacy of Reform was not popular, and when, from the difference of circumstances, a partial change — even when a partial change was proposed—was considered almost hopeless, the noble Lord had perseveringly prosecuted his object; and now, when the question of Reform was more prosperous, the Government thought that he was best entitled to propose a full and efficient improvement of the Representation, who had so often failed in his most zealous attempts to procure a partial one.

gave notice of his intention to, bring in bills, on the 3rd of March, for Consolidating the Customs and the Stamp Duties. With respect to the latter, he begged to observe, that some misunderstanding had gone abroad on the subject of his views, with reference to the Irish Stamp Duties; and it had been reported that he meant to propose the same addition of duties for Ireland which the right hon. Gentleman (Mr. Goulburn) proposed last Session. This was a mistake. It was not his intention to make any alteration in the Stamp duties of Ireland.

said, the hon. and learned Member must know, that the, Paymaster of the Forces was not a member of the Cabinet; but if the hon. and learned Member meant to imply that the noble Lord would not have the concurrence, one and all, of the members of the Government, in the plan he had to propose, then the learned Gentleman was completely in error. There were, however—and the learned Gentleman need not, he was sure, be told so—precedents in abundance for the course the Government pursued in this instance. There was, indeed, a remarkable one—that of Mr. Burke, who, as Paymaster of the Forces, brought forward his celebrated plan with respect to the Civil List. It was not, however, necessary to offer any precedent on the subject. Every man of common sense knew, that if the Government chose to depute any Member of the House to expound a plan for which they declared themselves responsible, that his act was, to all purposes the act of the Government; and that there could be no difficulty in understanding it as such.

wished to know if the noble Lord intended to introduce Reform, in the first instance, through the means of a bill?

was understood to reply in the affirmative.

said, his hon. friend the member for Ayr (Mr. Kennedy) had given notice of a Motion respecting the Representation of Scotland, and he wished to know if the noble Lord's plan of Reform embraced that kingdom?

was quite ready to answer the hon. Member's question, but he hoped the House would excuse his declining to answer any others, or to state the measures which they intended to propose. This much he would say, that the plan of his Majesty's Government was to extend to Scotland.

brought in a Bill for extending the Elective Franchise in the City of Galway.

expressed his determination to oppose the Bill, which had an object very different from that which it appeared to propose. The Protestants of Galway enjoyed no higher privileges than those possessed by every Corporation in the kingdom. Was the hon. Member, then, prepared to disturb the Charter of every other Corporate town in Ireland?

said, that the Bill proposed to destroy an anomaly which existed in Galway, and no where else. It was a Bill to place the Protestants and the Catholics on an equality in election rights, and it was supported by three parts of the Corporation itself, and by the voice of the people of Ireland. No one opposed it but a small and peculiar party.

repeated his statement, and announced his intention to give the House an opportunity of obtaining information on the subject by laying copies of the Charter of the City of Galway on its Table.

begged to ask the noble Lord opposite, whether it was the intention of his Majesty's Government to lay before the House any statement with respect to the proceedings of the Commissions that had been sent into the districts in which burnings and other disturbances had taken place; because, if his Majesty's Government had no such intention, he (Mr. Hunt) would call the attention of the House to the subject.

said, that it was not the intention of his Majesty's Government, of their own accord, to lay before the House any statement such as that to which the hon. Gentleman alluded.

then observed, that he would take an early opportunity of moving for the production by his Majesty's Government of information respecting the proceedings of the Commissions in question. He had had an opportunity of passing through several of the disturbed districts; he had seen and heard much of the proceedings of the Commissions; and he thought it was a subject of the utmost importance, and highly deserving the attention of the House and the country.

rose, not to object to the Motion, but to ask the noble Lord a question on a subject connected with the Post-office. Although numerous petitions had been presented by himself and others during the last three or four years, from persons praying to be relieved from the burthen to which, in many cases, they were subject by the regulations respecting the two-penny and three-penny post, nothing had yet been done on the subject. In some parts of the line of demarcation, the inhabitants of one side of the street paid only 2d. for their letters, while the inhabitants of the other side paid 3d. It was a matter which, in his opinion, might be set right without much difficulty. He begged to ask the noble Lord if the subject had yet attracted the notice of his Majesty's Government, and if it were intended to take any step respecting it?

replied, that he believed the subject was at present under the consideration of his noble friend to whose department it belonged; and that he hoped some means would be devised for remedying the evil, of which the hon. Gentleman complained.

said, it ought to be borne in mind that the abolition of the office of Irish Postmaster-general had been avowedly resolved on by the late Government during the last year.

soon after brought in the Bill, which was read a first time, and ordered to be read a second time on Monday, and to be printed.

asked, if it was the intention of Government to abolish the office of Postmaster-general of Scotland? He did not see why 800l. a-year might not be saved to the public by such an abolition.

observed, that there was no Postmaster-general in Scotland, but only a deputy. The whole subject, however, would, in all probability, undergo re-modelling.