<,yX'^. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // ^ .V :/. ^ ^ 1.0 1.1 jaia |22 2.0 lU m lit 1.25 ■a I ■- i. U ||IA >Q ^;; '/ Fhotografdiic _,Sciences Corporalion 23 WEST MAIN STRKT WEBSTER, N.Y. 14S80 (716)«73-4503 ^ iV •^ \\ '4fS V ' A. ^^> "4" CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical IVIicroreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques Ttehnical and Bibliographic Notas/Notaa tachniquaa at bibiioflraphiquaa Tha Inatituta haa attamptad to obtain tha baat original copy avaiiabia for filming. Faaturaa of thia copy which may ba bibllographicaliy uniqua, which may altar any of tha imagaa in tha raproduction, or which may aigniflcantly changa tha uaual mathod of filming, ara chackaid balow. 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Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction retlos. Those too large to be entirely Included In one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hend corner, left to right end top to bottom, as many fremes as required. The following diagrams illustrate the metliod: Les cartas, planches, tableeux, etc., pauvant Atra fllmis A das taux de reduction diff Arents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit an un seul ciichi, 11 est filmi A partir de Tangle supAriaur gauche, de gauche A droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images nicesseire. Les diagrammas suh/ants lllustrant la mithode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 'V S LETTER ADDRESSED TO CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMITTEE AT THE CROWN AND ANCHOR; ON THE SUBJECT OF PARLIAMENTARY REFORM. BY THE EARL OF SELKIRK. LONDON : PIWNTKD FOR CONSTAHLK. HUNTER, PARK & HUNTER, LONBON ; AND A. CONSTABLE & CO. EDiNBURttH. 1809. — ----^ ——»... C ■ ■;. ■ N. B, Tills Copy diferx from the Original ort!j/ hi/ the transposition of two paragraphsy and a few xerhal corrections. Printed by Brtttell and Co. Marsh'.iH-Street, Golden-Sqnare. A LETTER TO JOHN CARTWRIGHT, Esq. ■4, ( ^^' P<>r"''»d-Place,AprU2o,im>. •. , The letter, in which you proposed to nie to act as a Steward at the approachin.r ".eetiDg of the Friends of Parliamentary Reform, ought to have received an earlier answer: but I have not found it easy to command sufficient leisure to reply to it m the manner which appeared to me due,' both to the respectability of your cha- racter, and to the sentiments of esteem, winch I know to have been entertained towards you by my father and brother - Sensible that in many important points there .s a coincidence of opinion between i I US, while at the same time I feel it im- possible to accede to your proposal, I wish to state at some length, the motives which influence me in that determina- tion. To Parliamentary Reform my father and brother were, as you well know, zealous friends ; and all my own early prepossessions were in favour of such a measure. — I saw with abhorrence the as- cendancy, which unprincipled and worth- less characters often acquired through the influence of corruption. I lamented the public advantages so often sacrificed to the interest of individuals. I was struck with the glaring manner, in which the practice of our Constitution appeared to deviate from its theory : and I flattered myself that if the representation of the people were put on a proper footing, these abuses would be eradicated ;— ^that if the representation were equalized, the right of suffraore extended, the duration of Par- liaments shortened, bribery could scarcely be applied with effect ; — that the influence of corruption being thus removed, the real friends of the country would obtain the preference naturally due to worth and talents ; and that, the House of Commons being so composed, every abuse would spee- dily be checked or thoroughly reformed. Such, Sir, were the views upon which I was led to approve the proposal of a great and radical change in the constitution of the House of Commons. I believe, that through a similar train of reasoning, my father and brother had been led, as well as many other men of distinguished worth, to the same opinions. Of the correctness of this practical conclusion, I have since seen reason to doubt — not that my feelings of abhorrence and contempt for corrup- tion and venality have undergone any change— in these sentiments I do not fall short of those honoured relatives with whose opinions you were well accjuainted : f but I have had an opportunity, which they never had, of seeing the practical application of those principles from which we expected consequicnces so beneficial. AVith grief and mortification I perceived that no such advantages had resulted, as from theory I had been led to anticipate. I allude to the observations which 1 hr.d occasion to make in the United States of America, where a system of represen- tation is established, approaching as nearly as perhaps is practicable, to the theo- retical perfection at which you aim ; and where that system is combined with a general diffusion of property, of itself cal- culated to check in a sjreat deajree the force of corruption. A very short ac- quaintance with the legislative proceed- ings of America may afford conviction, that universal suffrage and frequency of election prove no bar to the misconduct pf representatives ; and that a political adventurer, raised to power by popular a favour, is fully as likely to abuse that power, as is thu purchaser of a rotten borough. There is no ground for the idea, that in that country public affairs are managed with a higiher re^^ard to the public welfare, than in our own. The Parliament of England with all its cor- ruptions, cannot be accused of proceed- ings approaching, in disgrace, to the in- famous and bare-faced jobs, which have been transacted in many of the legislatures of America. It is evident to the most careless observation, that the state ot public morals is there worse than in Eng- land — that political integrity is less re- spected — that corrupt motives have not the same degree of check from feelings of honour, as they have among Englishmen. To sum up all, there is no room for com- parison between the two countries in that great test of a good government, the ad- ministration of justice. 8 w II \ When I consider that a country thus defi- cient in the most essential points of practi- cal good government, has a Constitution framed upon the very principles, to which the advocates of Parliamentary Reform look, as the foundation of every prospect of amendment in our own, 1 cannot avoid the conchision that these principles arc fallacious. The reasonings which have occurred to me, as to the source of the fallacy, would lead me into too great length; but I think the observations to which 1 have already referred, sufliciently justify the opinion that Parliamentary Reform in England would not have the effects which its most sincere and zealous friends anti- cipate. Fully as I am impressed with the opi- nion that Parliamentary Reform is not the road to any practical public be'cht, I am very far from thinking that tlicro is nothing which requires reform in our go- vernment. I am well convinced, that there 3! pi- lot IS are many corruptions of most pernicious tendency, which may and ought to be eradicated. But we have to consider, how that object is to be effected, without en- dangering benefits of still greater im- portance. The advocates of a radical and entire Reform, have not perhaps fairly con- sidered the extreme difficulty of guarding every avenue to abuse, and how often the measures which are taken for repressing it in one quarter, serve only to open for it some new channel still more pernicious. — We have a government in which, with all its corruptions, there is much essentially good : though particular cases of hard- ships may undoubtedly be quoted, yet it would not be easy to find, either in the past or present state of the world, a paval- lel to the great mass of public happiness, which has grown up in England, under those institutions of which we complain. — The protection which our government af- fords to the personal liberty of the subject, T n 10 the purity of the distribution of justice, and the security in which every man may enjoy the fruit of his industry, are surpas- sed in no country in the world: — hardly can wc find one that bears the least com- parison xo our own. Let the value of that which we possess be fairly appreciated ; and then let us consider coolly, whether the blemishes of our government are of such magnitude, as to warrant the applica- tion of remedies, which, if they do not cure, may kill. I shall not repeat the hacknied topics to which the French Revolution has given oc- casion ; but I must entreat your attention to one view, which deserves the serious consider ation of every genuine friend of libert}^ as illustrating the hazard of grasp- ing too hastily at political perfection. It is well known, that on the meeting of the Etacs Generaux at T^rjailles, in the year 1789, the King offered the important con- cession, that no taxes should for the future 11 be levied, without the aiilhority df that body, constituted according to its ancient form in Three Chambers. — There is no rea* son to doubt, that if this had been acce- ded to, the periodical meeting of the EtatJ Generaux would have been fully secured — that the arbitrary proceedings of the old Government could not have been renewed, and that by the same steps, through which of old the Commons of England rose into consequence, the Tiers Etat might have laid the foundation of a gradual improve- ment in the government of France. This slow progress, however, did not suit the ideas of the ardent friends of liberty. To obtain an immediate and complete rege- neration, they insisted on the union of the three chambers. They obtained their object; but not till they had taught the mob to despise their old habits of obe- dience to established authority. From this fatal source, we have seen a train of con- sequences to arir i, ending in the wreck of 12 u every vestige of freedom, and the establish- ment of a ferocious despotism ! Among all the genuine patriots, whose well-mean- ing, though mistaken zeal, contributed to the first excesses of popular enthusiasm in France, can we believe, that any one, if now surviving, would not look back with regret to the system of liberty, however im- perfect, which France would have enjoyed under the old constitution of the Etats Ge- neraux ? — would they not lament the im- providence, which led them to despise every reform, short of complete regenera- tion ; and in pursuit of a phantom of ideal perfection, to throw away the substantial good which was in their hands ? Though I do not suppose that the Eng- lish Reformers would imitate the mad fury of the French Revolutionists, their princi- ples have the same tendency, and their ef- forts may have in a great measure the same effect* Popular ferment is a two-edged weapon, which most frequently inflicts the II IS ial wound where it was not aimed. Often has it ruined the cause of liberty, and seldom contributed to improve the condition of mankind ! Before we risk the infinite mis- chief, which may be dreaded from the use of such an engine, let us weigh well the value of the object. Setting aside the chance of failing in the contest, — (a contest which might leave the constitution impair- ed by changes of an opposite character,) let us consider the most favourable case. On the supposition that Parliamentary Re- form were peaceably accomplished, what prospect would it afford, of an ameliora- tion in our condition. The disfranchisement of the rotten bo- roughs, and the substitution of a different set of electors in their place, would cer- tainly occasion some change in the compo- sition of the House of Commons ; but it is not very clear, that this would introduce an additional portion of virtuous principle. The friends of Reform do not sufficiently h i»i i : H : I i^: i 'M n advert to the necessary tendency of elec- tions purely democratical, to throw power into the hands of men, whose only merit consists in being masters of stage effect, and the tricks of popular delusion. Mr. Wilkes is not the only favourite represen- tative, who professing in public an abso- lute deference to the sense of his consti- tuents, has boasted in private, that he had full command of their nonsense. From the history of all free governments, it appears that the defect, to which I now al- lude, on the one hand, and the undue influ- ence of wealth on the other, form a Scy 11a and Charybdis ; between which, the wisest legis- lators have found it no easy task to steer. In our government, chance has blended together these opposite vices, in such a manner as to correct each other's violence, and produce a compound, far indeed from perfect, but less noxious than if either of these principles had an unqualified pre- dominance. ^ ' ' ' ' ' '^ ^ I iu- nd ;is- ;er. led a of re- 15 A large portion of influence is now in the hands of certain individuals, men of wealth and family-connections ; while on the other hand, many of our elections are assuredly popular enough. The proportion is such, that men in power cannot venture to despise public opinion : at the same time, the House of Commons is not so entirely dependent on popular favour, that a momentary ferment can over-rule their deliberations, in the fatal manner which has often been experienced in more democratical governments. — This branch of the legislature is seldom, perhaps, entirely free of men who may deserve the title of demagogues. A few of that de- scription, however, cannot gain a dange- rous ascendancy in an assembly so consti- tuted ; — they may even be useful, and with- out being virtuous themselves, may form a check to the opposite vices of a diftbrcnt portion of the House. But though occa- sional benefit may be experienced from the efforts of such men, we ought not to forget ' ( 16 ii H ' !i the danger which would arise, if there were no counterpoise to their influence. In America, we may see a legislature untainted by any mixture of borough- mongers : but what is the result ? Are their legislators and magistrates always up- right and wise men ? Are their proceedings uniformly pure? Are they never led astray by popular violence and delusion ? — On these points, let me refer you to one of the ablest and most zealous advocates of Reform. Ask Mr. Cobbett, whether, in the popular elections of America, the preference is more generally given to the man of solid judg- ment and tried integrity, or to the artful knave, who, free from the restraints of truth and honour, can exert all his dexte- rity in the arts of deception. If direct bribery be less frequent than in England^ that advantage is fully counterbalanced by the greater influence of the blind and impetuous passions of the vulgar; an influence even more pernicious than !ii were iture lugh- Are s up- iings ay by these iblest form, pular more judg- irtful s of xte- irect andf need lind [gar; than 17 the ascendancy of wealth, and the prac-* tical effect of which fully verifies the ob- scrvation of Burke, that, if courts be the scene of cabals, the people are the natural prey of mountebanks, and impostors. Look, Sir, at the forcible and too accu- rate picture which is drawn by Peter Por- cupine; and you will see what sort of men the most genuine popular elections may raise to pre-eminence. Those who are so fond of repeating that one ministry is no better than another, should recollect that a demagogue in power may be still worse. History does not abound in examples of men, who, after rising into power by flat- tering the passions of the multitude, have employed that power for the good of their country. We are told, however, that a Reform in Parliament is a necessary preliminary to the redress of other grievances. The facts which I have already stated, may suffice to prove, that this notion is not only un- if ih 5 ' H 4' I'- if 1^ 18 founded, but the very reverse of the truth: and I consider it as a delusion peculiarly unfortunate at the present moment. The attention of the country has of late been roused, to a multitude of abuses, in the management of the public money, and in the distribution of public employments. — No candid mind can entertain a doubt of tlie importance of checking, and as far as possible eradicating such abuses. They have a direct tendency to waste the national resources, to aggravate the burdens of the people, and to damp their patriotic exer- tions, by exciting a general belief, that the nation is oppressed to serve the sinister purposes of individuals. The measures which are necessary for re- moving these evils, may not be agreeable to those who profit by their continuance ; and objections are urged, as objections always will be urged, against any innovation by which the interest of many individuals is to be affected. But Reforms of this description '■ii 19 do not necessarily involve any consequences dangerous to the country: on the contrary, the most serious perils are to be appre- hended from neglecting them. To every just measure of oeconomical Reform, I am therefore a decided friend: but the consti- tution, as it now exists, has sufficient means for the correction of all these abuses ; and if the attention of the public be not diverted from that great object, the management of the llevenuc may and will be reformed. The efforts hitherto made for that object, have had little success, because they have obtained from the public at large, but a feeble support. The importance of the ob- ject has not been sufficiently appreciated ; but the nation is now alive to it. If a steady and persevering support be given to those whoexert themselves in Parliament for the attainment of oeconomical Reform, the friends of that principle will multiplj^ every day ; and sooner or later> the ministry will i 20 find it impossible to hold out against tho public voice. ' To defeat this great object, I know of no means more effectual than to divert the attention of the public from this solid in« terest, by connecting it with the plan of a Constitutional change in the elections of the House of Connnons. A struggle for Parliamentary Reform would come at the present moment most seasonably to the aid of the A nti jacobin hypocrites, who are trembling for their ill-gotten gains. They ^vould hail it as a most convenient bubble to amuse the public, and would rejoice that, while the attention of the country was diverted from their malversations, their cause would again be linked with that of social order, and obtain the support of all, who are not prepared to try the portentous experiment, of throwing down the esta- blished land- marks of the constitution. I would entreat the advocatesof Parliament tory E.eform, to reflect how many men there SI list tho low of crt the >Ii(l in- in of H c)n3 of 5le for at the he aid lo are They uhble ejoice )untry , their lat of Df all, ntous esta- 1. . men- there Ere who, though prepared to support every substantial oeconomical Uelbrni, would trem- ble at the idea of Constitutional changes, to which they can see no termination. If the notions of a radical and entire change are pursued with violence, moderate men will again be forced to believe, that there is no alternative between measures of a Revolutionary tendency, and a resistance to every reformation whatever. Many sin- cere friends of ceconomical Reform, may thus be driven to a co-operation with men, who have no principle but to support every established abuse. Anxiously do I hope, that those who wish honestly to pursue the good of the country, may not dgain be forced to make their option between Jaco- bin and Antijacobin. I am no Alarmist ; but as I firmly believe, that amidst violent changes, there is more probability of ma- kincr our sovernment worse than better, I OCT ' deprecate the discussion to which you wish me to lend my name, as calculated to di- 2'2 vide tlic Tricnds of substantial roforin«ation, and to (kreat every valuable, safe, and at- tainal)ie improvement in the management of our public affairs. finiifif. Brettell and (Jo. fnntfis, }fftrs>i/i/t }!treet, Goidi'n Sqnarr. . 1 mat ion, gemcnt Latelj^ Published, I. OR^ERVATIOXS on the present State of the HIGH- LANDS of SCOTLAND ; >vith a View of the CAUSES and PROBABLL: CONSEQUENCES of EMJGIIA. TfON. By the Earl OF Selkirk. 8vo. Price (i». boards. * IL ON TFIE NECESSITY of a more effi-ctnal Sj,tom of NATIONAL DEFENCE, and the Means of csta- blishing the PERMANENT SECURITY of the King- dom. By the Earl or Selkirk. 8vo. in. THE SUBSTANCE of a SPEECH, delivered by the Earl op Selkirk in the House of Lords, Monday, AugustIO, 1807, on the DEFENCE of the COUNTRY. fivo. Price Is. Gd.