HISTORY OF:‘EUROPE. 
thisreason, he should givehis positive 
and hearty negative to the motion. 
Mr.Curwen confessed that he had 
never heard any arguments which 
could convince him that the prospe- 
rity of the country was at all owing 
to the present administration. | It 
was a common and often a baneful 
error to confound catises with colla- 
teral effects. Nothing could be more 
absurd, nor a greater proof of super- 
stitious veneration and weakness, 
than to ascribe all the blessings we 
enjoyed to the minister, and all the 
evils to causes which he could nei- 
ther foresee nor prevent. 
Mr. Hobhouse stated some strik- 
ing presumptions, not to say com- 
plete proofs, that in the present 
war we were the aggressors, and 
that ministers had missed many 
epportunities of making an honour- 
able peace. 
Mr. Sturt execrated the condact 
of ministers, in cheating the nation 
of their money. by pretended over- 
tures for peace ; in employing pri- 
sonérs notoriously attached to re- 
publicanism, for the re-establish- 
ment of monarchy in France ; 
whence the disaster at Quiberon : 
in sacrificing millions of moncy, 
and the flower of our army at St. 
Domingo, &c. He declared his 
conviction that the success, nay, 
the very existence of the country 
depended on the support of the 
present motion. ; 
. Mr. Burdon thought that 1 
dismissal of ministers was a mea- 
sure which would retard rather than 
accelerate peace, and, instead of 
allaying the present ferment in the 
public mind, kindle and foment 
distuibances. The question being 
impatiently called for, there were 
found, ayes 59, noes 242. 
[353 
The attack on the principles and 
measures of the present ministers. 
was renewed, or rather continued, 
in the house of commons, under 
another form. ‘ 
On the twenty-sixth of May, Mr. 
Grey rose, in pursuance of previ- 
ous notice, to move for a reform 
in the representation of the people. 
After an exordium, contrasting our 
former prosperity with our. present, 
distress, and also,asserting the puri- 
ty and patriotism of his present.in- 
tentions, he expressed his wish that 
ourestablishment should remain asit 
was ; composed of lords and,com- 
mons. He proposed, that thecounty 
representation should remain nearly 
on the same footing: only, that in- 
stead of ninety-two county mem- 
bers, there should be one hundred 
and thirteen. For instance, instead 
of two for the county of York, there 
should be two for each riding ; and 
so in other counties, where the pre- 
sent representation was not propor- 
tionate to the extent of population. 
In order to put an end to compro: 
mises, each county, or riding, should 
be divided into grand divisions, each 
of which should return one fepre- 
sentative, With regard to the qua- 
lifications of electors, instead of 
confining the right of election to 
free-holders, it should be extended 
to copy-holders and lease-holders, 
who were bound to pay a certain 
annual rent, a certain number of 
years But the reform which he 
had to propose, in the other 
braneh of representation, was of a 
much more extensive nature. It 
was, that the remaining four hun- 
dred members should be return- 
ed by one description of persons, 
which were lyusesholders, If it 
were possible, one person should 
not 
