proper to adopt; but here it was the duty of ministers to wait until Parliament should take a different view of the subject from that which they had already recorded. He thought it necessary to say thus much, in order to guard against a supposition that Government were disposed to recede from the instructions already given. On the contrary, they would steadily bear in mind the principles laid down by Parliament, and the views in which those principles originated.

EAST RETFORD DISFRANCHISEMENT BILL.

March 21.

The order of the day was read, for taking into further consideration the report from the committee of the whole House, on the Bill" to exclude the Borough of East Retford from electing Burgesses to serve in Parliament, and to enable the Town of Birmingham to return Two Representatives to Parliament in lieu thereof." Mr. Tennyson having moved, that the Speaker do now leave the chair, Mr. Nicholson Calvert moved, "That it be an instruction to the Committee, that they have power to make provision for the prevention of Bribery and Corruption in the election of Members to serve in Parliament for the Borough of East Retford, by extending the right of voting to all Forty-shilling Freeholders of the Hundred of Bassetlaw."

Mr. Secretary HUSKISSON said, he was perfectly ready to agree with those who thought that they ought not to anticipate what might be the decision of the other House of Parliament. The House had now passed beyond the stage of judicial inquiry, and had only to consider the course which, under present circumstances, it was expedient to adopt. If the House of Lords, upon inquiry, arrived at the same conclusion with respect to the delinquency of the borough in question, then the only question which

would remain for them to decide would be the question of policy. If, on the present occasion, the House had only to treat the question as in the case of one delinquent, it would be fair to treat it, perhaps, on the principle which had been adopted in the instance of the borough of Grampound. He certainly should, in that case, recommend the measure of transferring the franchise to some great commercial town. It was not with one, but with two, that at present they had to deal; and they had to deal with both at the same time. If he rightly understood the principle upon which they should act, it would be this-not only to consult the feelings of the other branch of the legislature, but also the feelings of the House of Commons; and, what was of infinitely more importance, the feelings of the various classes into which the nation was divided, and out of which grew the balanced and varied representation that formed the distinguishing characteristic of the constitution of this country. His right honourable and learned friend opposite* had declared himself favourable to the transfer of the franchise, of which it was proposed to deprive East Retford, to some great commercial community, which had never before enjoyed that privilege, rather than to some place which, in previous times, had been partially represented ; and had cited instances derived from our history, near the commencement of the great civil wars, and during the reigns of the Stuarts. That, however, was a period of our history from which few good precedents could be derived. He would rather refer him to a more recent precedent; that of Grampound, where, upon the conviction of gross corruption on the part of a borough, they had determined to give the franchise to the county of York; which, considering its great wealth, and the extent of its population,

Sir James Mackintosh.

was thought the fittest body, then without it, to which the right could be transferred.

He could not agree that the deprivation contemplated in the present measure was not to be regarded in the light of a punishment. His right honourable friend, by whom that had been asserted, here opposed himself to no mean authority; namely, that of the late Mr. Fox. For more than once it had been declared by that eminent individual, that to deprive parties so circumstanced of such a trust-to take away from them so valuable a privilege-would be doing that which, in no point of view, could otherwise be regarded than as a great punishment. Now, whether it was considered in the light of a punishment or otherwise, one thing at least was certain-that out of the two cases then before Parliament, they ought not to neglect the opportunity afforded them-they should neglect no means likely to attain an end that might be presumed to be beneficial and satisfactory to the people. It was his opinion, that before they transferred the privilege, heretofore possessed by a corrupt borough, to a great commercial community, they should consider how far that act was in conformity with the great principle from which they should not depart ; namely, that of making the transfers alternate between the trading and the landed interests-proceeding always, of course, according to the circumstances of each individual case that came before them. He could not agree with his right honourable friend, that all the turbulence and riot which sometimes occurred in this country was confined to places destitute of representation. Nottingham afforded a striking instance to the contrary. It was from that town, as a centre, that Luddism spread itself through the country, extended itself to Manchester, and was productive of perhaps more injury than any other similar principle of discord and violence. Glasgow again was also represented. [No,

no.] Honourable gentlemen might say "No, no," but he contended, that Glasgow had a representative in that House. -[A MEMBER.-The fourth part of a representative.] It might be said of any town or county, that it had but the fraction of a member. He would, nevertheless, repeat his assertion, namely, that Glasgow had a representative in that House. If they departed from the principle to which he had before adverted, they would be establishing a precedent, which might carry them lengths far beyond what they first contemplated, and far beyond what they might receive external support in carrying into effect; whereas, if they adhered to it, they might improve the representation of the country, without incurring the hazard of admitting an unwise and dangerous principle of reform.

It had sometimes been said he knew not on what grounds-that he was not a friend to the agricultural interest; but he felt the less uneasy under an imputation of that nature, as he was persuaded, that an enlarged view of the policy which he had always recommended, could not fail to lead to the conclusion, that he had uniformly supported those principles which were best calculated to promote the general interests of each class, and, as a consequence, the good of the whole community. His object, on the present occasion, would certainly be, to confer increased franchises upon the landed interest; but if the two cases were taken into account, as it manifestly was intended they should be, then there would be an equality of advantages-a great commercial community receiving benefit in the one case, and a body of the landed proprietors in the other. Upon these grounds he should feel it his duty to support the

amendment.

The House divided: For Mr. Calvert's Amendment, 157. Against it, 121.

CANADA COMPANY-EMIGRATION.

March 28.

Mr. Alderman Waithman, with a view that the House should be in possession of all the knowledge it could acquire, before it came to any decision on the subject of Emigration, moved for "an Account of the quantity of Land in Upper Canada sold to the Canada Company, specifying the terms and conditions of such sale, the sums paid in conformity thereto, and also the number of persons that have been sent to Canada by the said Company." The conduct of the Company was spoken of in high terms by Mr. Wilmot Horton and Mr. Stanley; and Mr. Hume said, he should like to see similar bargains made with a dozen other Companies, in the same terms and with the same objects.

Mr. Secretary HUSKISSON said, that the honourable member for Aberdeen had taken a correct view of the utility of these companies to the country. In other parts of the world, there were immense tracts of wild land which were totally unproductive; and if, by any company, they could be brought under cultivation, so as to make a return to the parties employed upon them, the result would not only be beneficial to the colony, but to the general interests of this country. He was glad that he could state, that companies on the same principle had been formed in New South Wales and at Van Diemen's Land. He trusted they would be all successful; for, to the extent in which they reclaimed lands from the state of nature, they contributed essentially to the increase of the power and resources of this country. By the contract with the Colonial Department the Canada Company had given for what it had purchased the full rate at which land was selling in the market. The company was paying down ready money, while it had to look to a remote period for the return of the capital so embarked. The honourable member for Bristol had talked as if this company had been turned