HISTORY OF EUROPE. 



167 



ultimately do a great deal of 

 good.* These inappreciable causes 

 produced what was called chance. 

 Many things which appeared ridi- 

 culous at first, might be good in 

 their ultimate effect. — The mo- 

 tion was supported by Mr. Hutch- 

 inson and Sir T. Turton. Mr. 

 Hutchinson said, that a speech 

 more constitutional than that of the 

 honourable baronet, better entitled 

 to the respectful attention of the 

 House and the confidence of the 

 public, or indicating a stronger 

 wish to conciliate, he had never 

 heard in parliament. It was directed 

 to the judgment, not to the passions 

 and certainly didnotin the smallest 

 degree justify the tone of scoff and 

 ridicule in which the chancellor of 

 the exchequer had replied to it. 

 ^-Sir T. Turton observed, that in 

 ancient times the representation in 

 parliament was a representation of 

 property. The rotten boroughs 

 were once places of great wealth 

 and property, and on that ground 

 sent members to parliament ; but 

 circumstances being altered, the 

 representation ought to be varied 

 accordingly. To the plan of re- 

 form just proposed by Sir Francis 

 Burdett he saw great objections in 

 many points of view ; but he un- 

 derstood the honourable baronet to 

 require no more than a pledge from 

 the house that it would consider 

 the subject. On the divison of the 

 house the numbers were, for Sir 

 Francis Burdett's motion, 15 ; 

 Against it, 74-. 



House of Commons, June 8. — 

 Mr. Whitbread, after a suitable 

 preface, moved a resolution to the 

 following effect : " That this house 



will, early in the next session ofpar- 

 liament, take into its most serious 

 consideration, how far it may be 

 expedient to provide some farther 

 limitation to the number of per- 

 sons holding seats in this house, 

 together with pensions, sinecures, 

 and places of emolument under the 

 crown." — Mr. Rose, the famous 

 placeman, observed, that even the 

 celebrated resolution of Mr. Dun- 

 ning, " That the influence of the 

 crown had increased, was increas- 

 ing, and ought to be diminished," 

 did not go so far as to take away 

 all influence from the crown ; for 

 otherwise the motion would have 

 been, not that the influence should 

 be diminished, but that it should 

 be entirely abolished, and removed 

 out of those walls. It was cer- 

 tainly practically of advantage to 

 the country that the crown should 

 have some influence in that house. 

 He could not conceive any good 

 that could possibly result from this 

 motion, and therefore he could not 



support it Lord Petty did not 



conceive that the reduction of place- 

 men in that assembly would pro- 

 duce much effect. Though the in- 

 fluence of the crown upon the whole 

 had greatly increased, it had rather 

 diminished in that house. The 

 separate establishment of the Welsh 

 judges, however, he thought might 

 be spared. — Mr. Ponsonby thought 

 that, without encroaching on the 

 constitutional influence of the 

 crown, something might be done 

 by agreeing to the motion of his 

 right hon. friend, which would prove 

 useful to the country, creditable to 

 the house, and satisfactory to 

 the public. — Mr. Secretary Canning 



observed, 



" This is a profound observation. The ingenious baronet might have added, 

 that it might be hereafter found, that they had done a great deal of good already. 



