HISTORY OF EUROPE. 



163 



can securely bid defiance to a 

 world in arms ; with increasing 

 difficulties she can call forth in- 

 creased exertions ; her soldiers are 

 every man who can wield a mus- 

 ket ; her resources every guinea 

 we possess ; in her defence every 

 arm will be uplifted, every danger 

 despised ; and no other object of 

 emulation can then exist among 

 us, than how each in his station can 

 yield the best service to his sove- 

 reign and his country." Mr. 

 Curwen then moved, " That leave 

 be given to bring in a bill for 

 better securing the purity and in- 

 dependence of parliament, by pre- 

 ventiHg the procuring or obtaining 

 seats in parliament by corrupt 

 practices ; and likewise, more ef- 

 fectually to prevent bribery." — 



Mr. Windham said, that there 

 were some measures, of which this 

 was one, that ought to be rejected 

 in limine to prevent the evil con- 

 sequences of giving them the 

 slightest encouragement. It had 

 been for many years his opinion 

 that the house ought strenuously 

 to oppose, as dangerous and mad, 

 any proposal for parliamentary re- 

 form, every system and every fea- 

 ture of which, that had hitherto 

 been produced was, in his mind, 

 extravagantly and even ludicrously 

 wrong : both practically and phi- 

 losophically wrong. Among the 

 various plans of parliamentary re- 

 form, that of universal suffrage 

 was the most predominant ; the 

 monied interest might then say, 

 this is very well for you who have 

 landed property, but it won't do 

 for us. Other objections would 

 be started by those who had nei- 

 ther money nor land, and the pro- 

 gress of the passion for parlia- 

 mentary reformation would event- 



ually turn out just as the French 

 revolution had done. Nothing 

 could do ; it would be impossible 

 to produce a plan, at which one 

 party or other would not snap 

 their fingers. It was the object 

 of the bill to do away borough- 

 mongering and corruption ; would 

 it do away the influence of pro- 

 perty i the influence of the land- 

 lord over the tenant was equally 

 orruption with that complained 

 of. If men took bribes, it was not 

 a corruption of that house. That 

 house had made a law respecting 

 elections, for guarding against the 

 very shadow of corruption, name- 

 ly, the act against treating, after 

 so many days allowed by the law, 

 for the test of the writ, by inadver- 

 tently having infringed which rule, 

 he himself, though he had done 

 nothing immoral or wrong, had lost 

 the representation of the county of 

 Norfolk. Bribery and corruption 

 were coeval with the people, as 

 a body or branch of the legisla- 

 ture; co-extensive with the con- 

 stitution. Such corruptions ex- 

 isted in times when the country 

 was the best governed, and the 

 most prosperous. Mr. W. denied 

 that the transactions which had 

 been brought to light in the course 

 of the late inquiry were at all to 

 be considered as corruptions of 

 government. All that had been 

 proved was, that such persons as 

 Mrs. Clarke, Mr. Basely, and Dr. 

 O'Meara, had been trafficking for 

 places and commissions ; but there 

 was not any proof of corruption 

 in the government. If there were 

 corruptions in that house, they 

 could not be cured by parliamen- 

 tary reform. As to probability or 

 possibility of pacifying and pleas- 

 ing the people by this bill, it was 

 M 2 extravagance* 



