a word about them in the address, which habited by as orderly, as sensible, as the speech was intended to cause to be intelligent, as frank, as public-spirited adopted. Besides, there were many people as ever breathed. I applaud persons present, who (in his after- their quick-sightedness, and their honest dinner speech at the former county decision. The Chronicle talks of "a meeting) had, as I had, heard him, mob." Never was there a town with so who was the chairman at the din- few persons in it to whom that name ner, most solemnly, and with up-can, with justice, be applied. Hull is a lifted hand, declare, that "if THE BILL were rejected, he would never "again pay any Assessed Taxes if he "could get any one to join him in the "resistance!" There were many persons present, who recollected that VOW, and who now saw in Mr. MARSH a second JEPHTHAH all but in fidelity to his row; for our Hampshire JEPHTHAH seemed evidently enough to have adopted the opinion of the poet :

town of people above want, and below luxury. It is little infested with those vermin who riot on the vitals of the country; and hence this just decision. I showed JEPHTHAI MARSH this para graph in the morning, before he went to the meeting; and, therefore, in addition to the foul play, we must place the merit of this wilful falschood, on the part of this vow-maker, who uttered the falsehood with the foreknowledge that it would not be exposed to those who had heard it. Nothing will he, however, gain by that in the end; and it is the end to which men always ought to look.

66

"To make the vow was rush, to keep it sin." People recollected this vow, and their sincerity could not fail to be somewhat shocked, at seeing this bold Jephthah, NOW, when the bill had been rejected, Next came a Mr. TWYNHAM, an the foremost and the loudest in con- attorney, who seemed wholly to have demning every sentiment pointing, overlooked that he had any thing to though in the most indirect manner, oppose but the speech of Mr. CoBtowards sturdy behaviour on the part BETT," whose name was continually of the people. JEPHTHAH, in his on his lips from one end of his speech speech at the meeting, said that to the other, and to whom he imI, in disapproving of an expres-puted the strange wish for the Reform sion of confidence in the Ministers, Bill not to pass, lest, I suppose, the was opposing my opinion to that of said "Mr. COBBETT should be Mem every other man in the country. If ber for Manchester! This TwYNHAM is, JEPHTHAU and his allies would have let it seems, an eager candidate for the me be heard in the reply to their per- patronage of the loan-people, in which, sonalities, I should have read to them it is suspected, that he is the formidable the following extract from the CHRO- rival of the " Louse of Winton." He, NICLE of Tuesday:-"At the Reform like Horace Twiss, is of " the truc herd, "Meeting at Hull, on Monday week, and on the right scent," but comes into "an aniended address was carried by a the chase too late: the high game will "Large majority, in which it is stated, be all gone very quickly, and leave to "That we have heard, with the deep-such as he only the moles and the field"est indignation which it is possible

2

for a betrayed people to feel, that "your Majesty's Prime Minister has "declared his determination, not to reform the Upper House of Parlia *ment, nor to attempt the restoration ** of the representative system in the House of Commons, until January next." Here, then, is what was said on the subject by the very finest town in the King's dominions, and in

mice, and perhaps nothing but those much smaller vermin, which nestle in the hair of the canine race, and which these latter dispatch at a great, rate; a circumstance of which the Louse" seemed to be most sensitively aware; for the moment Twynham began to give tongue," the Louse," who had, till then, been hiding behind the skirts of Tom Baring, crept away from the scene as fast as he could. To see this expectant

His deter

attorney, this aspirer after servility, same "Mr. COBBETT ;" and in which, barking and foaming at the window, in if he were not actually pleading for a order to prove himself worthy of a post place, all that I can say is, that if he had in the pack of attorneys that the loan-had a fee for pleading for a place, he mongers have in their service; to see could not have pleaded better. and hear him doing this at the window, Now, however, we drew to a close. while the loanmongers themselves were Mr. Budd was, according to all the back out of sight and as silent as mice rules upon such occasions, entitled to a in cheese, was just the very sight for us reply to the arguments (if there had to behold. They, if they have any feel- been any) which had been urged against ing, felt at that moment that there was, his address; and I, upon every principle in this world, something more valuable recognized amongst men, was entitled, than money. and so the High Sheriff determined, to This eager attorney was received a reply to the personalities incessantly with very great impatience, and with poured forth against me. marks of those other feelings which mination, however just as it was, and on such occasions generally accom-fairly as it was made, was now of no pany a want of the great quality of avail. The groups of attorneys, stewards, Job. But it was when Sir JAMES bailiffs, servants, and others, judiciously MACDONALD came, that the meeting distributed for the purpose, and with stood in need of all the forbearance whom the Grand Jury Chamber, from of the patient patriarch. His speech, as which we spoke, was most effectually Lord Thurlow said of sessions-lawyers, packed, kept up a noise so loud and so was "hot and heavy;" long and loud; incessant that to obtain a hearing amidst : all effort and no effect, other than that of it was as useless as it is to attempt to realizing the paradox of rousing people still the roarings of the wind in the to inattention. The people, who recol-midst of a hurricane. The baseness, lected that they had so lately elected him the incomparable baseness of spending their Member, averted their eyes, as hours in uttering personalities against sumed a melancholy countenance; drew a man, with a previous determination down the lids, or turned up the whites of that that man shall not be allowed to the organs of sight; every one seeming reply to the personalities ; such baseto sigh out to himself," God bless me! is ness can exist in no breast in which that our Member?" while the country there does not exist at the same time a girls, a very pretty group of whom was consciousness that the personalities are standing under the window out of which false; and from this charge 1 exempt I was looking, looked as inocently in-not a man of those who uttered personquisitive in the face of each other, or in alities against me for they were, every those of the young fellows that had one of them, most boisterous] in <prethem by the arm, as if they had been all venting any reply from me being heard, saying at once,' “What, in the name of in which work of meanness Jephthah ✅ "wonder, can this man be talking Marsh was conspicuous. However, this.. “about!" and while I, who am a great is of no consequence at all when com admirer of patience, was saying to a pared with the division which now took gentleman that stood by me, that those place.

who accused Englishmen of a want of | In such confusion were the minds of patience were the vilest slanderers upon the Holy Alliance; into such a complete earth. A gentleman from the body of state of botheration had our proceedthe meeting called out to Sir James: ings and their own anxious vanity put "Will you abandon the Ministers if them, that they really knew not what "they do not bring in again the same they were about. The Under Sheriff "bill?" This disconcerted him: he came forward, not with any-thing jostled; he wriggled; he twisted; and called an amendment not with anysoon came to the end of a speech, in thing in the shape of an amendments which he, too, had not forgotten that but with an address, which that Gentle

from me: the tame, the unmeaning, the talentless, the servile, the toadeating address would have passed as the unanimous voice of the county; which would have sunk it to a level with the basest rotten borough in the kingdom; even to a level with the rotten CALNE, which returned, under the patronage of Lansdown, this barking Scotchman to parliament.

man told me he got from Mr. Marsh; their plea for good thumping places, as address that had never been seconded upon the ground that they were mainly nor even moved; and, if it had not been instrumental in preventing this great and for me, it would have been even read fine county from passing a sulky and to the meeting! However, the thing silent censure on the Ministers: it was, was done; the scheme for making this as the gamesters say, "all but; " it great county the mouth-piece of confi- was the turn of a feather. At any rate, dence in Ministers; of passive obedience I hope Sir James and his merry-andrew and non-resistance: this scheme was will have the honesty to tell my Lord defeated. I knew that there would be Grey, that ONE-HALF of the county a great division at any rate, and a great of Hants tacitly expressed their want of division there was: for, it was so near confidence in him, a decision greatly to a thing that the High Sheriff made the the honour of the county, and for which meeting divide twice before he would the county is indebted, next after the determine which had the majority. The virtue of its people, to the manly detersecond time, addressing himself to memination of Mr. Budd to be heard first; he said, "I think there are rather most for if the Holy Alliance had begun, the hats on that, side:" to which I answer-agents of noise would not have suffered ed; and really for the purpose of not one word to be heard from Mr. Budd or giving him any plague with the Alliance, Yes, Sir, I think there are," and so he decided. The plain truth is this: I saw more than a thousand Chopsticks, who never held up their hats at all, not being able, from the noise, to discover what was going on, and being afraid of committing some error. The Holy Allies in a rage of disappointment, and thinking that they should gain by a division into sides, called on the Sheriff It was curious to observe the great to divide the meeting to the right and pains taken by all the factions of the left! Then we should have had a fight" Holy Alliance to cause the meeting to a certainty for our side already began tos clench and shake their fists the Holy Allies would have been in the River Itchen in ten minutes. But Mr. Badd and did not want to see soldiers come from the barracks, and still less to see: Baring's Yeomanry Cavalry came out from the inns in the city, in which they, by accident of course, had been assembled, in order to go out to exercise! The Sheriff seemed surprised, and well he might, at my allowing the other side to have the majority; but, I was resolved that there should he no pretence for "calling out the mili tary in aid of the civil power." No.: the thing was done well, my friends; and it will teach you how much depends on your exertions.

And now let Sir JAMES MACDONALD, as picked orator of the alliance, and JEPHTRAH Marsh, as Jester Ex-Officio, go to the sincere Whigs and put forward

to believe that Mr. BUDD had nothing at all to do with the Address which he moved, and which I seconded. And this contemptuous, demeanour to wards. Mr. Budd was particularly conspicuous in Jephthah Marsh and Reformer Hector, who really seemed, as I was told, to affect not to know who he was or whence he came; though Jephthah might have recollected, that Mr. BUDD not only knew him, but knew his father before him, and knew something, too, of his father's Reading paper-money, and knew, moreover, even the wife of Jephthah, to whom Jephthah's father was guardian! Jephthah might, by these tokens, have recollected who Mr. Budd was, and whence he came. And, as to REFORMER HECTOR, he might, one would think, have remembered, that, when he was the renter of the post-horse taxes, as his very worthy successor, Moses Lavi, THE JEW, has since been,

66

him cease tolling, and his visage assume an expression truly satanic.

he applied, at Newbury, to this very Mr. said I," that Scotchman will never Budd to save him and his informers cheat you." This MACDONAld, who from undergoing that aqueous ceremony had first the audacity to say, that I which is usually called A DUCKING!" prostituted" my talents, and then He might, to be sure, with a soul so the supreme baseness to set on a crew wholly given up to Reform, have for- to prevent me from being heard in gotten, that, for more than twenty years reply, is the very dullest fellow that I (ending only about two years ago), he ever heard in all my life. In a crowd, was manager of the rotten borough of you can hear distinctly only the close of Petersfield for Joliffe; and that, hav-every sentence. His speech is like a ing, purely from an abhorrence of cor- peal of that sort of ringing, in which all ruption and a pious anxiety to save the bells change except the big bell, Joliffe's soul, tried (but in vain) to get which comes, "DONG DONG!" at the the borough out of his late employer's end of every change, the rest of the bells, hands, he became, at once, patriot" you being at a distance, being heard inand" reformer": Hector night, I allow, distinctly. My God, how weary I was! have forgotten all this; but the devil At last, when he began to attack me, was in him, if he could have forgotten the "Off! off!" and "Question! ques| that Mr. Budd, whom, with tears in tion! came. And he, great fool-like, his eyes, he, not many years ago, im- told the meeting, that if they thought plored to save him and his taxing in- he had betrayed his trust, he was" ready formers from the pump or the horse- to surrender it into their hands;" to pond! which he got no other answer than Such, my friends, were the men who" Give up your place too!" This made poured out the lowest and basest personalities upon me, when I, observe, had uttered not even a personal allusion against any one, and who, when they had so done, made and caused to be made, a noise so great as to prevent me from being heard in reply. Observe, that MACDONALD lives at a little place called BRANSUOT, near PETERSFIELD; HECTOR lives at that town, where he is attorney and paper money man, and was boroughmonger's agent till his tender conscience worked on him as is said above. CARTER, whom you saw so busy in the noise-making, and who is a Member for Portsmouth, lives very near Petersfield and, I dare say, Hector knows very well why he is endeavouring to keep this Scotchman crammed down the throat of the county; and the county ought to take very good care to get the Scotchman out of its throat, which the Scotchman will take care that it shall not do for six years, at least, if he can help it. This fellow attempted to be facetions upon the conduct and talents of that "doughty champion of corruption, Sir CHARLES WETHERELL; but he was put a stop to there by a farmer, who exclaimed, "You never said that to's face!" "Well said, my buck,"

:

After the decision as to the address, the small-beer orators, LEFEVRE and MILDMAY, came forth to harangue, under pretence of moving thanks to the sheriff; but, not a word was suffered to be uttered so as to be heard; and they were told that this was their punishment for not suffering my reply to be heard. But, they had the privilege of hearing. "Rat! rat! rat!" saluted the ears of MILDMAY; and JOSEPH WAIT of Whitchurch gave LEFEVRE as decent a lesson, as neat a dish of severe, well-pointed, and just reproach as ever insincerity and double-dealing received from a bold and intelligent man.

And now, my friends, Chopsticks of Hampshire, I conclude with exhorting you to be ready for our foes another time, and to be always ready to meet them; and be assured that, life and health permitting, you will never fail to see in your ranks your brother Chopstick and faithful friend, WM. COBBETT.

P. S. All you who have raised any of COBBETT'S CORN, be sure to hang it up in your rooms, or some place, till it be perfectly dry. I sell mine to a great

baker in London, who gives me 48s. for ascribes to my Lord RADNOR are these: a Winchester quarter. I will tell you "Much had been said about the qualihow to use it in puddings and bread "fication for the suffrage, and it had another time. I have sent some of the “objected, that allowing ten-pound flour to Mr. ENOS DIDDAMS, at SUTTON" householders to vote was carrying the SCOPNEY, and told him to show it to as" suffrage a great deal too low. He many as he can.

COBBETT'S PROTEST

AGAINST CUTTING OFF THE VOTES
OF THE WORKING PEOPLE.

To the Editor of the Morning Chronicle,

ON THE

TEN-POUND SUFFRAGE IN GREAT
TOWNS..

Kensington, 2nd November, 1831.

66

thought, however, that it was hot a "bit too low. At the same time, he "must admit, that if in certain large "towns, it was found not to have that "proportionate influence with the higher votes that it ought to have, it "might be submitted to some altera"tion."

46

It is impossible not to gather from these passages that you and my Lord RADNOR believe that the Ministers intend to do this thing, which, I am sure, neither you nor his Lordship approve of, and which, besides its being an act I HAVE read in your paper of yester- of lagrant injustice, would be a scanday, and in the speech of my Lord dalous breach of that compact, upon the RADNOR (made at the Wiltshire county faith of which the working millions meeting), published in your paper of most generously consented to forego a the day before, some remarks relative to part, and a great part, of their clear and the ten-pound suffrage in great towns, unquestionable rights; and, in many which would seem to indicate, that it is cases, to yield up that part of their the opinion of you and also of his Lord-rights which even the boroughmongers ship, that the Ministers mean in their allowed them to enjoy. new bill to raise the sum, which is I enclose you, Sir, a copy of the to be deemed a qualification for voting Two-penny Trash for November, a in those towns; to make that sum copy of which I have also sent to each more than ten pounds: and as I am of the Ministers. I believe that you quite convinced that an attempt to do will there find it proved that every sane this would excite rage not to be ex-man, not stained by indelible crime, has pressed, in the working people of those a clear right to a vote in the choosing towns, I will here, with your leave, show, not only the barefaced injustice, but the unbearable insolence, of such an attempt.

of those who are to make the laws to which he has to yield obedience. But I, in common with almost the whole of the working people, had declared myself The passage in your paper to which willing to take THE BILL; that is to I allude is in these words: "Let it be say, to take a great deal less than our “borne in mind, that a good, an eco- right, and, for the sake of peace and "nomical government will benefit all harmony, to give THAT BILL a fair "honest men; and would it not, then, trial." And why did I hasten to make "be folly to differ about extent of suf- this declaration; and why did I labour "frage at the time when such an ex- so earnestly to reconcile the working "tent is about to be obtained as will, at people to it? Not because I thought it "all events, secure the blessing of good was just; not because I saw with ap" and impartial government? They are probation all the millions of hard-work"the enemies of the working classes,ing Chopsticks, and all the working "who advise them to reject all reform, people in boroughs, completely shut out "because the most extensive is not to from all the rights of election; but be"be granted." The words which the cause, and solely because, I saw that report in your paper of 31st October the ten-pound suffrage in the great