1832.] The Petticoat Parliament. 277 



be tolerated in a Christian country ; she had held forth herself that very 

 morning, at six o'clock, in a most miraculous manner, and she trusted 

 the day was not far oft' when the religion of the Caledonian chapel would 

 be the religion of the state; it was remarkably suited to the genius of a 

 female constitution. (Loud cheering from all parts of the house.) 



A member now rose, and said she had a petition to present which 

 she was sure would receive the attention it deserved ; it was signed by 

 several hundred individuals of the weaker sex, who, previous to the late 

 happy revolution, had enjoyed seats in that house ; they stated that in 

 the whole course of their public lives they had never done any thing to 

 disqualify them to be members of a petticoat parliament ; they had never 

 voted for any measure of manly policy ; they had never delivered a 

 manly speech, or uttered, to the best of their memory, a single manly 

 sentiment ; upon these grounds they prayed the house to restore them 

 their former privileges ; and, as proof that such a concession might be 

 made with perfect safety, they begged to refer to what had taken place 

 in the other branch of the legislature, where many noble lords had been 

 permitted to resume their seats, without the slightest injury to the femi- 

 nine tone of the debates ; in fact the peers were not to be distinguished 

 from the peeresses except by their breeches and top-boots. 



A young lady in a scarlet riding-dress (who, my fair friend the 

 reporter informed me, was Miss Diana Vernon, the member for Hunt- 

 ingdonshire) begged to corroborate what had fallen from the last speaker. 

 She had lately met with an extract from a speech delivered in another 

 place, which she attributed to her noble relative the venerable Countess 

 of Cackletown ; but she afterwards found that it had been made by her 

 gallant friend the Marquis of Londonderry. 



A member here desired to have the names of the petitioners read ; 

 amongst others, my ears caught those of Inglis, Wetherell, Herries, 

 Goulburn, Bankes, Gordon, Croker, Vyvyan, Sadler, Praed, and almost 

 all the representatives of the boroughs in the notorious schedules 

 A and B. 



As soon as the list was gone through, an aristocratic-looking old 

 dowager rose and said, that there was certainly nothing in the spirit of 

 the constitution against the admission into that House of many gentle- 

 men whose names had been read ; the political opinions of most of them 

 had ever been in unison with their own ; she yielded to no one in 

 admiration of Mr. Croker's statistics, or Mr. Goulburn's financial policy ; 

 she discovered in all their speeches and measures a sound stateswoman- 

 like wisdom, of which she herself would not be ashamed ; but still she 

 must say, that she "was not prepared to take so bold a step as some 

 honourable ladies recommended ; she disliked speculative improve- 

 ments ; no one was a firmer friend of reform than she was, but she 

 would never, she hoped and trusted, consent to innovation ; the ques- 

 tion with her was, and she thought it ought to be the question with the 

 House, whether to grant the prayer of the petitioners was reconcileable 

 with the wisdom of their grandmothers. In her conscience she believed 

 it was not, and she would therefore oppose it to the last moment of her 

 life, and with the last drop of her blood. {Hear, hear, hear, hear I) 



Lady Auricula Bulbus observed, that she would not enter into the 

 merits of the question, but would content herself with remarking, that 

 the present was certainly not the time for discussing it ; it was not, when 

 the commercial affairs of the country were in such confusion when the 



