482 



Chronology, Marriages, and Deaths. 



[APRIL, 



23. A Romish Catholic White Sheet spectacle 

 performed in the Protestant Church of Mary-le- 

 bone by a Mr. T. Vince,- for having slandered the 

 character of a fair vocalist (Miss Wells). 



March 2. Motion made in the House of Com- 

 mons, that Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham 

 be enabled to send representatives to Parliament 

 for 140 ; against 188 majority 48. Same day, 

 a petition presented, praying the elective fran- 

 chise might be extended to Sheffield and other 

 large towns. 



4. Motion made in the House of Commons, that 

 the right of electing members at present enjoyed 

 by East Retford, should be transferred to Bir- 

 minghamfor 119; against 152 majority 33. 



* The towns thus thought unworthy of being 

 represented by even one member, boast a popu- 

 pulation of 435,000 Englishmen, viz. Sheffield 

 80,000; Leeds 83,0(10 ; Manchester IbG.OUO; Bir- 

 mingham 106,000!!! A contrast from the county 

 of Surrey: Garten, a mean village, is famous as 

 being one of the most rotten boroughs in Eng- 

 land : evev since the reign of Henry VI. it has 

 sent two members to parliament, who are now 

 returned by its constable annually chosen at the 

 lord of Che manor's court, by seven electors! !! 

 Gatton Park (that canies with it the entire 

 property of the borough!!!) was purchased by 

 W. Petrie, Esq. of R. Ladioke, Esq. for 

 .^110,0.10. and by him sold to Sir M. Wood, 

 Bart. Bletchingley (within six miles of Gatton 

 Park borough) has about 90 votes, and the 

 Reigate (about one mile from Gattm Park) voters 

 a're only those who have freeholds in the borough. 

 These three very populous places send six 

 members to Parliament, while London, West- 

 minister, and Soutiiwark, with a population of .a 

 million of inhabitants, sent eight I ! t But the 

 present Earl Grey, in his petition of May 6, J/93, 

 has thus recorded (in the Journals of the House 

 of^ Commons) our immaculate representation 1 

 " That the House of Commons does not fully and 

 fairly represent the People of England that the 

 Elective Franchise is so partially and unequally 

 distributed, that a majority of your Honourable 

 House is elected by less than a two- hundredth 

 part of the male population. That the rigU of 

 voting was regulated by no uniform or rational 

 principle. That Rutland, the smallest, and York- 

 shire the largest county, return the same number 

 f representatives, that Coinwall, which by the 

 last census (then taken) appears to contain a po- 

 pulation of 188,260, returns as many members to 

 ur Hon. House as the counties of York, Rut- 

 id, and Middlesex, which by the same census 

 contain 1,693.3/7 and that Cornwall and Wilts, 

 containing 373,3/6 persons, send more Borough 

 Members to Parliament than Yorkshire, Lan- 

 cashire, Warwickshire, Middlesex, Worcester- 

 shire, and Somersetshire united, which contain 

 2,971 ,2.,0. That /O of your Hon. Members are 

 returned by 35 places, where the elections are 

 notoriously mere matters of forms. That in ad- 

 dition to the 70 so chosen, 90 more of your Hon. 

 Members are elected by 46 places, in none of 

 which the number of electors exceeds 50. That 

 in addition to the J60 so elected, 37 more of your 

 Hon. Members are elected by 19 places, in none 

 of which the number of Electors exceeds 100. 

 That in addition to the 197 Hon. Members so 

 chosen, 52 more are returned by 26 places, in 

 none of which the number of voters exceeds 200. 

 That in addition to the 249 so elected, 20 more are 

 returned for counties in Scotland, by less than 

 JOO Electors each, and 10 for counties in Scotland 

 by less than 250 each. That in addition to the 279 so 

 elected, 13 districts of Burghs in Scotland, not 

 containing 160 voters each, and two districts of 

 Burghs not containing 125 each, return 15 more 

 of your Hon. Members. That in this manner, 

 S9t of your Hon. Members are chosen, which 

 being a decided majority of the entire House of 



March 4. Sir C. Wetherell moved, in the House of 

 Commons-, for papers relative to the late e x ojficio 

 prosecutions, which he condemned as at; uni-on. 

 stitntional and needless attack on the Public 

 Press, and the liberty of its advocates. The 

 Home Secretary of State said, he never heard of 

 the libels until his Learned Friend had thought fit 

 to appeal to the law, and vindicate its authority 

 by these prosecutions. The Attorney-General de- 

 fended himself, and the motion was agreeil to. 



In the House of Commons, petition pre- 

 sented from Mayo, stating that the Rev. John 

 O'Rourke, Protestant vicar, had been absent 

 fron his parish thirteen years, during which time 

 many persons had embraced the Catholic faith ! I! 

 Same day, an address was voted to his Majesty, 

 prayi ig the appointment of Commissioners from 

 the Privy Council of Ireland, to inquire into the 

 abuses of the Church!* 



8. Field Marshal Prince .Leopold visited the 

 King on the subject of Greece. 



A meeting took place in the garden of the 

 Eagle Tavern, City-road, for the purpose of 

 forming a V Political Union." Not less than 

 25,000 persons were in the garden, and at least 

 10,000 more were unable to gain admittance. 

 Mr. O'Conneil was in the chair, and ftlr. Hunt 

 moved the resolutions, which were seconded by 

 Mr. French, and carried unanimously. The meet- 

 ing dispersed quietly. 



10. A deputation from the central f committee, 

 which advocates the interests of the British com- 

 munity in the inquiry now pending be-fore com- 

 mittees of both Houses of Parliament, on the 

 subject of the East-India Company's monopoly, 

 had a very satisfactory intcivicw with the Pre- 

 sident of the Board of Control, in which his Lord- 

 ship assured the members of the deputation, that 

 he was quite unbiassed on the important questions 

 before the committees, and that it was most ne- 

 cessary that evidence should be produced on be- 



Commons, are enabled to decide all questions in 

 the name of the whole people of Great Britain. 

 That 84 individuals do, by their own immt dia,te 

 authority, send 157 of your Hon. Members to 

 Parliament. That in addition to these 157 Hon. 

 Members, 150 more, making in the wh< le 307, 

 are returned to your Hon. House, not by the col- 

 lective voice of those whom they appear to repre- 

 sent, but by the recommendation of 70 powerful 

 individuals, added to the 84 before-mentioned, 

 and making the total number of Patrons alto- 

 gether only 154, who return a decided majority 

 of your Hon. House. That no 1 ss than 1;'>0 of 

 your Hon. Members owe their elections to the in- 

 terference of Peers. That the means taken by 

 candidates to obtain, and by the Electors to be- 

 stow, the honour of a scat in your Hon. House, 

 evidently appear to have been increasing in a 

 progressive degree of fraud and corruption I ! I" 

 * Sir J. Newport instanced the case of rne 

 clergyman, an unbeneficed curate, who had per- 

 formed the duties 45 years for .40, JEM, .60, 

 .70, and lastly .69. 4s. Six bishops had passed 

 him by, and yet his character unimpeached I J ! 

 Notwithstanding 1 this, the riches of the Church 

 of Great Britain and Ireland are known to sur- 

 pass all the riches ot all the other parts of the 

 world together ; but tiien some of the bishops 

 have 20,000, .30,000, and .40,000 per annum I! 1 

 f Formed by deputies that have arrived in 

 London from Liverpool, Glasgow, Bristol, Man- 

 chester, Leeds, Birmingham, Plymouth, Dublin, 

 Staffordshire, Newcastle-under-Lyne, Newcastle- 

 upon-Tyne, Sunderland, Stockton, Sa'ldleworth, 

 Hull, &e. &c., in consequence of the various 

 petitions sent into Parliament upon that subject. 



