that a better form of government could be devised? whether they have not, on all occasions, avowed and demonstrated their firm adherence to the Family on the throne, their conviction of the utility and necessity of an upper House of Parliament, and whether the whole of their offence has not been, that they are desirous of restoring the House of Commons to that degree of independence and integrity, which is indispensibly necessary to enable it to perform its functions, and to maintain its proper dignity and influence in the state? Wretched indeed would be the constitution, if it were in danger, from being divested of those imperfections by which it is disfigured, corrupted, and disgraced; if it could not bear the healthful in fusion which is to restore it to its former strength and beauty. The advocates of corruption may indeed cry out, that the Constitution is in danger; but the danger they mean, is the danger of its being restored to health. Happily, however, the friends of reform have no desperate experiment to try; no doubtful operation to perform; they touch not the vitals of the constitution-Their utmost aim is the restoration of one branch of it only; of that branch which is a part of, and derived from the people, and which it is therefore the province of the people to preserve. Let us then all rally round the Constitution-Let us evince our attachment to it by the sacrifices we are ready to make in its defence, but let us neither be misled nor discountenanced by those, who, having the Constitution in their mouths, and Corruption in their hearts, endeavour by a popular cry, to excite against others that indignation which is justly due to themselves.

BELFAST MAG. NO. XĻ.

Having thus stated the nature and exent of what is meant by a reform, I shall now beg leave more particularly, to notice the steps towards such a reform, which are pointed out in your letter, and which you inform me it is your intention shortly to take, by pro posing such measures in parlia ment. The first of these is, limiting the numbers of inferior placemen in the house of Commons, and the leaving there only the Ministers and principal members of the boards. The second is, the correction of the corrupt, or defective representation of the Scottish counties; a subject which you have most clearly stated, and of the necessity of remedying the defects of which, there cannot, in any impartial mind, exist a doubt. In the third place, you would give the elective franchise to the English copy-holders.-You have also a fourth object in view, the laying the foundation of a Scotch and English borough reform; avoiding, as much as possible, the principle of disfranchisement, but obtaining the voluntary sale of some English boroughs, giving to other towns a right of representation, and adding in some instances to the county members. These measures you conbe ceive to sufficient to begin with," and "sufficient to satisfy the most sanguine reformer." I have classed these measures together, because I conceive the same mode of reasoning will apply to them all. That such measures, if carried, would be a great accession to the independence of parliament, cannot be doubted; but that they would "satisfy the most sanguine reformer," I think is scarcely to be expected. In one word, they appear to me, to go much too far to obtain the support of one party, and not far enough to com

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mand that of the other. The time for intermediate measures is past. Those who are in the possession of the emoluments of office, and rely upon borough influence, have taken their stand; they will either retain all, or lose all; and would consider the smallest concession towards reform, as a Hollander would the cutting through an embankment, which would soon let in the ocean that must sweep him away. There cannot therefore be, in my apprehension, the slightest expectation entertained, that any one of these measures will be acceded to, by any of those who have hitherto objected to reform; and who, if the proposed alteration be small, will treat it as insidious; if it be extensive, will consider it as bold and ruinous; and, as in cases of difference of opinion, the precise degree of difference has little effect on the bitterness of opposition-except that experience has shown, that such bitterness is generally greater where the points in difference are less-so the same artillery would be brought to bear against your propositions, as would be brought against one for a general reform in the mode of electing members to serve in Parliament. On the other hand, the friends to such a reform, founding their ideas upon the principle, that every person, under equal circumstances, has an equal right to vote, would regard your propositions with coldness, as not auswering the great object towards which they earnestly look; and with jealousy, as substituting an imperfect regulation in the place of the ultimate result of their efforts. Under these circumstances, I doubt, whether either of the great parties into which the nation is divided, would even wish to see your measures carried into effect.

But although you would meet

with the decided opposition of the one, and the cold indifference of the other of these parties, there are undoubtedly many persons, and those, too, of great ability and influence, who conceive that ex pediency is the best guide in hu man affairs; that the question is not so much what ought to be done, as what can be done; and that although it might be desirable gradually to correct and remove any errors or defects which may have arisen in any department of the state, yet it would not be advi sable to venture on any new or hazardous measure. I shall not attempt to controvert an opinion which is strengthened by the natural dis position common to all of us, to enjoy what we can of life, with out embittering our hours with the odious contests of politics. I will therefore only observe, that whilst we share the blessings of society, we ought not to forget that we owe those blessings to Our ancestors, and that they come to us under a condition, that we should transmit them to our posterity. They have been the result, not only of great sacrifices of peace, and comfort, and tranquility; of all that adorns and sweetens life; but of the labours, the sufferings, and the blood, of many men of the greatest talents and virtue. To sit down, therefore, quietly, to enjoy what they have provided for us, or to make only such efforts as cannot, by any possibility, endanger our pleasures, or disturb our repose, whilst we cannot but see and acknowledge that the liberties of our country dangered, and its ruin at hand, is to defraud our posterity of the debt we owe to them, and to deprive them of their just rights. This truth is already felt; it is already acted upon; and they who do not assent to it, and yet do not at

are en

tach themselves to the supporters of the present corrupt system, must consent to relinquish somewhat of that importance and respectability, which all parties have hitherto conceded to them. Hence this class of individuals, the friends, as they call themselves, of moderate reform, who were never numerous, are gradually diminishing, and must, ere long, either take a decided part, or be content to bear the imputation of a criminal indifference to the interests of their Country. He who is not with us, is against us, appears to be a severe and intolerant maxim; but it is a law of the intellectual, no less than of the natural world, that great masses attract the smaller; and when the clouds of heaven are congregating in different directions, the scattered fragments are soon compelled to unite with those, within whose more immediate sphere of attraction they may happen to be.

Again, this body of more moderate reformers, although not numerous, are not united even among themselves. They are, in general, men of a speculating and refining character, whose ideas have a tendency to ramify and diverge, rather than to condense and unite. They would trim and prune the branches of the tree, instead of invigorating the root, and protecting the trunk. Each of them has some peculiar and favourite system, which he would enforce, and to which he requires the assent and support of ali other moderate men. But these have each of them also a system of his own, which is preferable to those of his friends, and which, without shocking the constitution, or occasioning a nausea, would heal all the disorders of the state. For either party to rely upon the aid of such men, at a time like the present, would only be to deceive themselves.

To propose for their adoption any specific measures of reform, would only be a call upon them to produce their own more favourite system. Even if their opponents were not to interpose, the contest among themselves would be interminable. One man has as good a right to his own opinion as another, and there is no subject more fertile in dissension than that which relates to the best mode of remedying the disorders of the state.

The open and candid manner in which you have asked my opinion on this subject, calls upon me for a sincere and unequivocal answer; and I cannot, therefore, refrain from assuring you, that although I know you possess, in an eminent degree, talents to arrange, and eloquence to enforce your plans, I cannot flatter myself with any great expectations of their success. Those who are in place will be violent and tenacious; those who desire a thorough reform in the representation of the people, will be cold and suspicious to any measures which fall short of their views; and the few thinking and acting men who are to be arranged with neither of these parties, would not, even if they were to agree among themselves, have numbers, decision or courage, to render you any substantial service.

I am sufficiently aware of the promptitude with which the patrons and advocates of existing abuses accuse those who aim at the correction of them, of promoting violent and dangerous measures; and if the sentiments contained in this letter were made public, it might appear to some persons, that by claiming a right of voting for every house-holder, of a certain description, in the nation, I had proposed some new project; from which it might, by the same charitable construction," be inferred, that

the friends of reform were always extending their ideas, as the probability of such a reform increased; and that there was, in fact, no given point at which they would remain satisfied. Were it incum bent on me to reply to such an accusation, I should find no difficulty in demonstrating its futility. From the commencement of the present discussions, the claims and pretensions of the friends of reform, who have publicly undertaken to advocate its cause, have almost uniformly gone to the same object that of extending the elective suffrage to the people at large; although under different modifications and restrictions, many of which would be found not only judicious, but indispensible. It cannot, surely, then, be thought extraordinary, if the people should not be satisfied with any measures which fall greatly short of those, which have already been so frequently proposed; much less can any one who professes his adherence to them, be justly charged with having extend ed his views beyond those who have preceded him, or with having desired that, which is either unreasonable in itself, or likely to be impracticable or dangerous in its execution.*

To you, my dear sir, the result of these observations will not be difficult to collect. Were it necessary for me to explain them further, I should say, that it is not by agitating any partial reforms, but by producing a serious conviction

in the public mind, of the neces sity of an uncorrupt and independent House of Commons, that the friends of reform must eventually hope for success. This conviction the people are rapidly obtaining, in a manner which they cannot but feel and acknowledge. The friends of reform, may, perhaps by calm and temperate discussion, contribute in some degree to promote it; but the most powerful advocates of reform are the adherents of the present corrupt system, and the most unanswerable arguments, are the present state of the country, the increasing weight of taxation, the profuse waste of the blood and treasure of the nation, the enormous sinecures enjoyed by ministerial dependents, and the appointment of inefficient and inexperienced ministers to offices of the highest trust. It is to such arguments, and to the prevailing opinion that such transactions have not met with due animadversion and restraint from the commons House of Parliament, that we are to attribute the deep impression which has been made on the public mind. As long as such practices continue, the public dis satisfaction must increase; and the time either now is, or will soon arrive, when every person ask himself the important question, what opinions he means decisively to adopt, and what course of con duct to pursue. If he can honestly and conscientiously satisfy himself that it is fit, and proper, that a majority of the house of commons should, in fact, be chosen in the manner they now are; if he can reconcile it to his ideas of the Constitution, that the minister should, by the means of placemen and pensioners, of representatives of decayed English boroughs, and Scotch County members, maintain jority in the House of commons, and find a justification of all his

must

a ma

measures; or if he can even satisfy his mind that, notwithstanding these gross and acknowledged abuses, it is more advisable to submit to them, than to incur the dangers that may arise from any attempt to remove them, let him avow his opinions, and profess his adherence to the present state of things, and his determination to support them. But if, on the contrary, he should be impresssed with a conviction of the injustice, inefficacy, and absurdity of the present modes of election, and of the abuses to which they are inevitably liable, and should trace up to the corruption of the representative body, as to a polluted source, all the calamities which have already befallen, and which still threaten this country; if he should perceive that the connection between a corrupt parliament and bad measures, is as certain as cause and effect in any other instance; and lastly, if he should feel the truth of that unalterable maxim, that an evil tree cannot produce good fruit, let him not defeat or endanger the cause of reform by the adoption of any partial expedients, or inefficient measures. A full, effectual, and constitutional representation of the people in parliament, is now become essential to the safety and preservation of the country, and the friends of reform must therefore concede to each other those differences of opinion, as to the mere mode and manner of obtaining it,

which have hitherto been the chief impediments to their success; and above all things, should be cautious how they prevent its being carried into effect, either by giving rise to a diversity of opinions, on a subject in which there is only ONE OPINION that can meet with universal assent; or, by attempting only partial and imperfect amendments; which, if not adopted, will injure the cause they intended to promote; and if effected, can only be considered as having been purchased by a voluntary resignation, on the part of the people, of those malienable privileges, which they received from their ancestors, and ought to transmit to their scendants.

de

Such, my dear sir, are the reflections which have occurred to me on the perusal of your letter, and which I have not hesitated to lay before you with the utmost confidence; well knowing, that where there is no difference in ultimate views, the best mode to be adopted for their attainment may always be discussed with the most perfect freedom, and that I should have made a very improper return for the honour you have done me in communicating to me your sentiments, if I had concealed or misrepresented my own.

Believe me to be, with sincere attachment and esteem, my dear sir, very faithfully yours,

Allerton, 19th May, 1810.

W.R.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF CHRISTO

PHER COLUMBUS.

"The Mariner who first un

furled

And taught mankind where future empires lay,

In these fair confines of descending day; Who sway'd a moment, with vicarious power,