MEMOIRS and CORRESPONDENCE of JAMES ACLAND. Proprietor and Editor— written by, Himself* " / LIKE HONEST? IN ALL PLACES."— Judge Rayley. Printed and Published by JAMES ACHXD ( SOLE PROPRIETOR AND EDITOR) at the ERISTOUAN OFFICE, Bristolian Court, Bridewell Lane, VOL. IV— No. XIV. [ PRICE WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 1S30. TO THE REV. C. P. BULLGCK, Rector of St. Paul's. Reverend Sir, Upon a late occasion it fell to your lot to preach a sermon beiore the Civic Authorities of our City, in the Mayor's Chapel. Upon that occasion you knew that you were in the presence • of the " Local Aristocrats," and you therefore endeavoured, as far as in you lay, 10 w suit yourself to your company.*' Your sermon was particularly directed to the people, and you endeavoured, with all the. eloquence you were master of, to persuade them that ttbeit's is a happy condition— that it is impious to complain — that they should be con'eiv. ed, and submit, and that they will reap their reward hereafter— or in other words, that it is better for them to starve contentedly, than that they should be even the remote instruments for depriving the lordling of his places, his pensions, and his sinecures; or the good fat vicar of any portion of the " valuable consideraiion given in return for his spiritual assistance." You told them " that they who resisted the powers should go into eternal damnation,'' ( if I quote correctly, for it is from memory, those were your own words ) Now it may be all very well for you, who preach for some five or six hundred pounds a year, to prate in this manner— but Sir, go into the outskirts of your parish amongst the poor sheep of your flock— see a family of five or six of them starving ( for it is nothing better} upon two Shillings and Sixpence per Week, a little less than a penny a dav each, ana then tell me whether you deal justly by them — whether your acts are strictly in accordance with that great precept— the foundation of Chrisiianitv—" Do unto other' a » yon wo - ld they should do urrto you," when you advise them to remain passive and obedient in such a state of human suffering. Would you Sir, under such circumstances close your lips and remain silent ?— lhat is the question— it may be very well Sir, for you in your present con- dition, to say " things cannot be better— it works well," for men who have bettered their situation as you have, are apt to be grateful. I can easily imagine Sir, that you can justly appreciate the comforts of the transition from the Cabin to the Drawing Room, and 1 give you every credit for jour powers of discrimination. But Sir, walk, I again entreat you, amongst the poor people of St. Paul's, ( and you will not be over- whelmed with grateful protestations for your bounty.) Contrast their condition with your own— your own with the Right Rev. Bishop ot Bristol, his with that of Durham's proud Prelate, and then tell me if there should be no complaint— if there is no necessity for equalization and reform p Pray Sir, if there were a project for elevating all the clergy to the wealthy condition of the Bishop of Durham, and a Rev. or Right Re*. Gentleman was to tell you " you must be quie. t, things work well— it is better as it is," what would you think of it ? What would you say ? I'll wager my crow- quill against your canoni- cals. tbat you would bawl yourself hoarse witj- indignant reprovals, and rend the air in clamor- ous revilings. " Do unto others as you would they should do unto you"— ponder on this text, i| will become you— take it as , the foundation for your next discourse— it may improve you. I regret that my sheet is nearly full— but you inay still hear again from A LAYMAN. TO THE EDITOR OF THE BRISTOLIAN. " His mouth when open, appeared in proportion to his head, like the sea to the land in a chart of the World, and his nose like some jutting and stupendous promontory." Sir, 1 perceive in your Bristolian of Wednesday that a correspondent has very properly the attention of the Public to the dis- conduct of one of the bullying faction sought to put down Public Opinion* at the Anti- Slavery Meeting. Tbis appears tome to be tbe proper course to pursue, and in continu » 13 THE BR1ST0LIAN atioH of ihe just exj> » se of knavery, I shall point ray finger at another of ihe crew, leaving it for others to follow an example which cannot prove otherwise than beneficial. Amongst the most sturdy " advocates of the fetter and the lash," to be seen at the first Anti - slavery Meeting, was a man of rather gigantic proportions, and harsh and forbidding countenance, who appeared to me to be one of the body of Quakers. You may judge of my surprise, when I observed this " sleek- headed" creature, dis- torting his features with the most horrible gesticulation, which denoted plainly ( he inward working of the casmon rankling • within his breast, and bellowing loudly and incessantly against the Emancipationists. Surprised as I was at this novel scene, I im- mediately commenced a series of enqnirie, amongst the bye- standers, for the- purpose of eliciting the truth as to who and what this man was— I was informed in reply, that hit name was King, that he was a lime burner— and that his own malevolent feeling, in con- janction with the servile interestedness atten- dant upon the circumstance of hi9 supplying the West India Merchants with lime, induced him to adopt this unseemly method of testify- hrs slave- like submission. I was not satisfied withthis statement— his conductstillappeared to me irreconcilable with the general dispo. sifton of the Society of Fiiends, and I turned to a respectable looking Quaker, who sat Bea' me, and told him my plain opinion upon tin- tubject— Friend," said he in reply, " the mart thou observest is a friend in the outward » how only — a long series of irregulaiities on fa s part rendered it necessary, that tha So ciety should propetly investigate his conduct — they exercised towards him that Christian forbearance which man should bear to man •— but tha man was incorrigible, and was a iervgth expelled For tippling and ," he said no more, but significantly made seve- ral crosses on his hand with his right forefin ger— said " fare thee well," and left me somewhat more satisfactorily to draw my ou n conclusion, ANTI- SLAVERY. SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. The opinions of the country on the subject of a full and fair representation of the people in Parliament, have been pretty generally ex- pressed. It appears that men of all parties and grades in society, with the sole excep ion of the Boroughmongers, are unanimous on the point that there must be a prompt and at the same time an extensive Reform in the House of Commons. On this subject there are actually not two opinions in the country. The only point on which the Reformers dif- fer, is on the extent to which their plans shall be carried. For ourselves, as the question is vet in limine, we shall offer no further opinion on the subject, than that that plan of Reform is the best which gives t'te voice of the peo- ple the fairest chance of being heard within the walls of St. Stephen's— not in a half, strangled doubtful whisper, but in the com- manding- and rightful tone of auth rity. Till within the last few days, the only plate wheie the opinions of the country upon Reform have never been heard, has been in the House of Commons It is high time, there- fore, that it should now have full licence lo express itself. The Boroughmongers have had their dav, ( and gracious Heaven, what a day it has been for them !) it is now the peo- ple's turn. The former have had the country parcelled out, like a large farm, among them- selves and their denendants ; for ages they have been the one ruling power of the realm, the monarchical being the first only in name ; ind have now to put in practice the difficult task of descending, step bv step, from their unconstitutional elevation to their fitting level, with wha' grace they may, and with as little hesitation as possible. Like the gigantic idol that fell prostTate in the dust before the Ark of the Lord, the Boroughmongers have fallen before the fotce of moral truth and justice. They may stil! linger on a few years of doubt- ful and meagre authority, but even this henceforth will be the utmost extent of their power. As Englishmen, standing on the threshold of freedom, with the gates of the Constitution thrown wide open to receive us, we rejoice with all our souls that this is so. We rejoice that despotism has found its level; that the Sampsonof corruption has been shorn of his locks ; and that the high road to honor anJ. prefeiment is no longer confined to the titled, the wealthy, and the undeserving. Perhaps we may be considered pre nature in these opinions, but a few days will decide their truth, when the discussion of Mr. Brougham's motion on Ileform has levelled the first an I last deadly blow at the unnatu- ral power of the Boroughmongers. Mean- while, the country cannot put forth too much zeal on this important occasion It should be Argus e\ ed, and keep etery individual , eye fixed on the debate in question for the Boroughmongers, though sute eventually to be defeated, are \ et adroit— ingenious, and above all, formidable in the struggles of their despair. SCRUTINY or HIE VOTES —( Fran the Spectator. J— The numbers on the division, from' the mo- t canful comparison of names wt have been nble lo make^ appear lo have been 23S tnd 206. They are stated in ihe '• V< W as 233 and 204. The lattei number, i is well known, are gained by the good old pastoral < Ian of counting out and counting in, as if the honorable Members were a flock of sheep, and,, the leaders bell- wedders. The total number of members, deducting the two vacancies of Liver- pool and Southwaik, ihe double return of Queenborough, the twice- returned members cf Knaresborough, Tavistock, and llademere, and the resignations in the cases of Wigan, Peter- borough,, and Beeralston, is 049'. There mus, have been some necessary absences from sickness — Aldetman Wood has made an excuse of tba kind ; bui we cannot pretend to even a guess their number. Taking Ihe number of membets as we have stated, we find, on a question which ; was to decide the fate of the Executive Goterr. ment of the country, 205 men— a very con- siderable portion of them residing at the time in London, one- third of all the members of the United Kingdom— so indifferent lo their duty THE BRISTOLIAN 539 — A and to their friends, that not even from curiosity could they be persuaded. to devote half a dozen hours to either! Let us note, as we pass, a few of the names of the dons who were among the absentees on this remarkable occasion. We take them indifferently from either side— the absence of the men of high profession is equally inexcu- sable, whatever way they vote. We have first he great Mr. Baring, famous for speaking ont both sides of a question, and giving his vote to that which has had least of the eloquence of his support. Next comes Westminster's glory, Sir Francis Burdett, who did not take the oaths even until Tuesday, true to his old practice of making a mighty racket and display on half a < ioejn of claptrap questions, and leaving the real business of the II iuse to go— were it lisletb. Then Comes the Tory leader, the Marquis of Chandos ; followed by the father of the II mse and prop of Whiggery, Mr. Coke, of Norfolk. The Anti Slavery orator, Mr. Buxton, kept aloof, and his brother also, Sir Ronald Ferguson, had no, finished dining. ' l'be Eighth Champion of Chiistendom, Sir Ilarry Inglis, was praying that the Church might be saved from Dr, I'hill potts, and he could not be distuibsd. Mr. Maberly, the mover of the Finance Committee, could not a fiord his vote on so congenial a sub- ject. Mr George Ogle Moore, and Mr Frederick Shaw, the patriots of the Dublin Corporation, were not there. Sir John Newport, Sir Charles Wetherell, Sir Joseph York— Tragedy, Conotdy, Farce— were alike wantin" The Marquis of Tavistock, the hope of the house of Russell, was otherwise engaged. The cheap- beer patriot of Southwark, Sir Robert Wilson, begged to be excused. Mr. John Williams ( who, with all his devotion to beauly, would rather serve the King than the Queen), was absent for cause. The Bankes family acled after the good old Scotch plan in the Pretender's time, the father voted for the Committee, one son voted against it, and the other, pleasing all parlies, was absent. — The difference between what may be called ihe essential value of the minority and majority on the late great occasion, is very remarkable. In the minority, we can find only about a couple of doz.- n of namesj including all ihe Government officers, that have the Corn Bill in its early stag- s, but by a ever been recorded before in any document but dexterous amendment in a subsequent stage such as before us; the rest are not small, not threw out the Bill.— In 1829, when Prime infihitessimals, they are absolute nonenities. In Minister, he brought in and carried a Corn the majority, again, we have noted seventy- three Bill similar in substance to the Bill he had thrown out the preceding Session. In 1827 he said, " I know that I am dis- names, ' familiar to our ears as household words,' and some of ihem the best - known and most esteemed in Europe. In popular value, there qualified for being placed at the head of the is as great a contrast between the two lists. Out Government, and I should have been mad, of 82 county members, the Minister had only j and worse than mad> if 1 had evcr entertained 16. Of about 150 boroughs that are commonly j the insane project;" yet in 1828 he accepted esteemed open, ( diat is, that are not subject to the direct controul of one or two families, but return men who, whether Whig or Tory Mem. hers, at least pretend to public principle), only 25 "( voted with Mr. Guulbourn. In the Irish counties, the tables of division are equally in- structive; many of the. j> ate practically in the tisrids of one or two noblemen and yet - the Minister could only command 10 votes out of 64 Even in WaKs, where the system is, though not absolutely, very nearly close, he could only persuade 5 out of 24 Members, lo lend him a helping hand. The success of ihe Cabinet, where they were siiccesufvl, is not less curious ( ban their failure, where they failed. Ttiey were vigorous in corruption— slrong in rottenness. Scotland, which the very shadow of popular representation has never visited, sent the Chan- Cel I or of the Exchequer 21 county Member*; and had not her sons been for once tardy to the calls of interest, 7 more would have swelled his ranks on the day of his trial. Out of 15 boroughs, belonging to the same country, 9 Were found where they have ever been found— on the right side; and of the 800 Gallons and Newport and Sarums of the rest of the empire' he had about 120 in his favor, and only about 70 against htm.— Such is a short summary of this great and important division— a division which will be long remembered in this country, from the changes, not of men, which have arisen, but of systems which are confiJently expected lo arise out of it. the office of Prime Minister. Up to 1828, inclusive, the Duke had been the open, avowed, and active opposer of Catholic Emancipation, and in the summer and autumn of that year he held out no pros- pect to friends or enemies of any relaxation of his opposition ; on the eontrary, he bullied Lord Anglesea for favoring such an idea; and in 1829 he made Catholic Emancipation a Government measure. In 1830- h'e expresses a resolution not te listen to any measure proposed for Parliamen- tary Reform, and thereby excites opprobrium against him throughout the United Kingdom ; and if he had not gone out we should have had him veering round, and probably been himself the person to propose such a measure, rather than resign the office of Autocrat. Field Marshal— be a Soldier, and nothing else ! U THE MAN WOT ONCETHIi SOVEREIGN DROVE. THE GRAND DUKE. ( From the Brighton Gazette.) In 1827 the Duke of Wellington supported Am— « The Harp that once in Tara's Hall." The man wot once the Sovereign drove, Shall never drive again ; His hacks are all knock'd up, by Jove, His hand hath dropp'd the rein. And sadly bumbled is that pride. Which tower'd so high of yore, And, all unfit to stem the tide, lie sways the helm no more. No longer destined lo oppress, Io wealih and power secure; S4 Regardless of the land's distress— The sufferings of the poor. Bui farther faults I'll not discuss, As fairly out is he. So luck betide Sir Claudius, Bob Peel, and Mi- ter Key ! ( From the Age \ We want words to express the joy which we feel at the great victory won by the country this week. Tuesday the 16 h of November ought to be a high holiday in our annals, for on that day the basest administration that was ever obtruded upon a free people was overthrown. The Duke does not possess any quality foj being Minister of a free country. Trick and fraud were the constant engines of his political movements— habitual scorn and contempt for the people the main features of bis mind. This contempt he displayed in forcing the Popish Bill upon the cquqtry ; in declaring night after night in the face of a declining revenue, a falling excise, the cry of the manufacturers, the uprising of the agriculturists, in the teeth of waggon loads of petitions, that he would uot inquire whether there was any distress in the country— in upholding a Ministry composed of Goulborn, Ellenborough, ] Jerries, & c- against the indignant scorn of all England— in professing himself the unflinching enemy of reform, when a cry for it arose from all corners of the land— in letting loose Scarlett upon the Press, and thrusting Phillpotts into the mitre— in every thing, in short, even in word^ look, tone, gesture. We are not, thank Heaven, yet so beaten down as to yield lamely to this— to let any tubject bestride us as a Colossus, and to creep or grovel like pigmies under his iron heel. THE BIUSTOLIAN of themselves, without consulting the feelings or' eve of the late meeting of Parliament, were the opinions of others— the trickery and decep- such, that not more than six weeks ago he tiou, excellence in which so necessary in a never showed himself to the people without strategist of a high class all these unfit being loudly cheered. The revulsion, as we them for the civil government of a free nation, j have said, was most capricious on the part The Duke has fallen, and we trust that of the people of England. The Minister, skill in conducting a campaign will never instead of the national colours under which again recommend a man to the premiership he had served since his accession to office, of the country. The alteration is total, seemed all at once to hoist an unconstitutional Peel, Bathurst, Beresford, & c. depart— all ensign, to desert with it to the head- quarters the Household— all the underlings, the Cro- kers, Dawsons, Twisses. See. How delightful to contemplate the cleanness of the sweep ! We are too much overjoyed to waste a word in the just delineation of the departing sons of corruptions. Let them, ( for this week at least) rot undisturbed by us. One corner however, for a friend— Scarlett is turned off without the slightest chance of being made Chief Justice under any Ministry, no matter what. There is a just retribution in this— had he not meddled with the Press, his pro- motion would have been infallibly certain. There has not been, within our memory, a resignation of an entire Cabinet, upon which public opinion mav be said to have of the rotten borough system, and to aggra- vate this unhappy dereliction, by an attempt, after the fashion of former times, to fix upon the neck of the country a pledge of support- ' ng a large amount of civil list, inaccessible any effnrt at alleviation or revision, during the wnole reign of his present Majesty. The Duke, then, has fallen— for a fall it is ; there is no evidence ( though suspicion there may be) that his Grace would ever have resigned, if in his power to avoid it. What, then, is the lesson to he drawn fro TI this downfall of a mar, celebrated, esteemed, admirtd, un'il very lately endeared to his countrymen, and, in spite of every failure, immortal in the record of England and of Europe ? The lesson is an impor'ant one for those who succeed in offire the baffled Administration of the Duke of Wellington.—• borne so directly and so powerfully, as that of the Duke of Wellington and his colleagues j The exigency to which the rew Ministry owe It must, nevertheless be acknowledged, that j their admission to power, is not one produced in no instance was a change effected in pub- lie opinion so absolute, so obvious, and so cudden, as that which his Grace experienced within a single fortnight, which he had the by court intrigue, or by mere party triumph ; it is fouuded on that opinion which caused the overthrow of a Government hostile to reform, not enough zealous for retrenchment, and sup- posed to be, though perhaps unj istly, not quite misfortune to produce by his own words, and to disregard utterly, until it struck, and | impartial as be'ween the interests of freedom, overwhelmed him So long as the Duke of! prerogative in t . e concei ns of foreign nations This is the true cause why he has fallen, as he j Wellington moved in harmony with the pre_ By lhe , ide of opinion, then, fl > ated into effice, deserved. M* y we never see any Minister again ' dominating spirit of the nation, he was the i' " 9 uPon i( they mllst continue to buoy them- who will attempt to govern England on such a | most popular of all public servants. Notwith selves, or they will inevitably perish, The principle. Cheerfully do we bear testimony to 1 standing the murmurs of a bigotted and nar- his great military actions, but his civil govern- j row- minded faction, he lost nothing in the raent we detest. The caste of great soldiers to which he belongs ought never to be entrusted with ' Ve supreme authority as Ministers. They are > he had afforded of a desire to retrench, even tyrants at heart. The habits of military life j before his humane and considerate abolition the unshrinking, unmurmuring obedience which! of the Beer- tax, and the credit he thus ob. they require— the disposition to do every thing ! tained as an economist, down, almost to the con position of the Grey Ministry is possibly as good as the present s'ate of parties would eyes of the country generally by his Catholic j admit of, confining the selection to public men Bill or his Dissenters'Bill, while the earnest who are likely to agree 011 most political questions and especially in the enforcement of those great principles which constitute the rallying points for all reflecting and disinterested minds, at the actual. crisis of the world. - Printed andPubliehed by JAMES ACLAND,-- SOLE PROPRIETOR JKD EDITOR) at the BRISTOUAM OFFICE, Bristolian Court, Bridewell Lanes