TOWER HAMLETS DINNER.

A LARGE party of the electors of this great and important district dined together at the Mermaid, Hackney, on Monday, agreeably to appoint- ment. The dinner was served in a very spacious tent, which is used on similar festivities for the accommodation of the Licensed Victuallers. More than eight hundred persons sat down under its ample cover. Mr. Hume was in the chair ; supported by Mr. Byng, M. P., Mr. War- burton, M.P., Dr. Ltishington, M.P., Major Revell, Mr. T. Camp- bell, Mr. B. Beaumont, Mr. Clay, Mr. Hutcheson, Colonel Stanhope, Mr. Offer, and several foreigners of distinction, amongst whom were M. Thur, ex-chancellor of Poland, M. Jules Bastide, and M. de Sainterville. The tent was hung at various points with flags, and orna- mented with devices, among which a " W. R." and a crown in coloured lamps were conspicuous. The chair was taken at half-past four. The feast was plain and good ; it had in consequence ready justice done to it.

When the cloth was cleared away, Mr. Hume rose to give the first toast—" The King."

He thought his Majesty fully entitled to their gratitude. As an individual, he felt most deeply grateful to William the Fourth for the part hihad taken, and for the efficient assistance which he had given to Reform. He was aware that on that point men entertained different opinions. Let uo man, however, quarrel with another for so trifling differences; let them look to the great end at which they were all aiming; let them seek the general interest, and conduct their proceedings with harmony and satisfaction. He himself felt convinced, that neither George the Third nor George the Fourth, nor indeed any other So- vereign that he ever heard of, would have afforded the people equal opportunities and facilities with Williain the Fourth. He hoped, therefore, they drink the toast in a manner which would do honour to their King and credit to them- selves.

The Tower Hamlets mix reason with their zeal. The toast was drunk most heartily, by three times three.

The next toast was " The Duke of Sussex ;" which was received, as it ever is, with great applause. The worthy Chairman then gave "The People ;" combining with the toast, and the honest advice that followed its announcement, a veryjust and pertinent definition'of the word " People." • In some quarters (Mr.. Horne said) objections had been occasionally made to this toast under the idea that the People" meant only certain clams of the people. It was their duty, if they were aware of the existence of any misspioralien- story to endeavour to remove it.- He should tlanifore ewe, that by the word {, People" was meant not any particular portion, but the whole nation—high, low, and middling, from whom all power emanates, and for whose benefit all power was given in trust. Up to this time, however, he was sorry to say that the power so intrusted by them had not been exercised for their benefit ; and that was one of the principal 'reasons which induced him and many others to give their determined support to the measure of Reform, the triumph of which they had that day met to celebrate. He saw that the Members of the House of Representatives were not the representatives of the People—that they were the representatives of a limited number, who had obtained this power by a series of fortuitous circumstances; that measures of government were directed in accord- ance with the interests of the 'few, and in disregard of the many,. from whom that government sprung, and on whose heavily-taxed industry, it depended for support. But the aspect of the times had now changed—Gatton and Old Sarum, and such as they, would no longer have the power of selecting the men by whom the people were to be governed : that power was at length where it ought to be—in the hands of the Nation. The fate of the nation now depended on its own exertions. Upon the electors then present, and such as them, it de- pended whether we should derive from Reform the ultimate benefit that we had a right to expect. Every man who held the franchise ought to remember that he was a trustee, not for his own benefit only, but for the benefit of the com- munity; and that it was his duty to act, not in accordance with his own whim, caprice, or particular interests, but that, like an honest juryman, he should well weigh and consider the capabilities of those who sought the honour of repre- sentation at his hands, and give his vote to the man whom he thought best qualified to carry out the important changes now required in order to secure the peace, happiness, and prosperity of the country. The next Parliament would he materially diffixent from all others. A man would no longer be elected merely as a matter of course to take his seat, and then leave the labouring oar to others. Deep and important questions would offer themselves to the considera- tion of the new Parliament—the best interests of the country depended on its proceedings. They must, therefore, no longer suffer themselves to be led by names. That day was gone by : they must no longer vote for a man merely because he was called or called himself a Tory, or 'Whig, or even a Radical but they must vote for men who were guided by sound principles, and who would support honest measures--men who would cut down the intolerable tax- ation under which the people groaned, who would give the most unlimited free- dom to freedom's best safeguard, the Press—who would carry on the Govern- ment for the benefit of the whole community, not for the benefit of a small part of it—men, in a word, who would carry into effect the true objects of Govern- ment, the protection of the weak against the strong, and the security to every man for the full enjoyment of the honest earnings of his industry.

The healths of Earl Grey and the other Ministers of the King were then given by Dr. Lushington, in a long and able speech, in which that learned civilian passed a warm and just eulogium on the zeal, ho- nesty, and perseverance of the "good Earl," and upon Lords Althorp and Brougham. He enforced the doctrine inculcated by Mr. Hume— Every thing rested with the People. It would be in vain that the Reform Bill was granted to them unless they were deeply sensible that a heavy duty had devolved upon them. He agreed with what fell from his honourable friend, the Chairman, that representatives of honesty and capacity should be the objects of their choice. As for himself, he stood forward as a candidate with nothing tore- commend him but principle ; and therefore lie was ready to abide the test of public opinion. HiS'principles—tbose for which he always stickled—he would never sacrifice ; and he knew but very little of-himself if, on all occasions, he did not bow to public opinion. He would never say, "Elect me," but "Elect those who will look to the general good, and not to the profit of individuals or families." The Tower Hamlets should set a great example to the nation ; they should show that they did not make elections for local benefits, but that they sent to Parlia- ment men of ability and fidelity—men who consulted the weal of the mass, and not the gain of the few. If, upon this first occasion, they allowed themselves to be cheated, they would run a chance of being similarly cheated for a long time to come. He did not think he would he justified if he entered into all the de- tails that demanded remedies; however, 'he believed, as he always did, that if one grand remedy could be found for all the calamaties under which the country groaned, it would be found in the uncompromising honesty of an independent Parliament, chosen by honest and independent electors.

The " Patriotic Members of the House of Commons" having been toasted by Mr. Clay, Mr. Warburton, as one of those who had supported the Reform Bill, rose to reply. He cautioned the elec- tors against lending too ready an ear to large professors— This was the scheme which the Tories were about to pursue at the ensuing elections : they were determined, as far as mere professions went, to fall in with the popular prejudices, no matter how exaggerated ; for all they canal about was their return—and to secure that they would go any length. The essence of Toryism was deception to forward self-interest, which he needed not to say might be done in various ways. He strongly advised the Meeting to be on its guar., also against candidates who promised to promote the interests of particular places. If there was any point upon which he would more particularly caution them, it was upon this : to ask candidates to attend to the interests of localities, in opposition to the interest of the nation, would be requiring of them something directly contrary to Reform.

Mr. Thomas Campbell gave " Poland—may she speedily regain her rank among the Nations." The bard was borne along, like the chi- valry of Munich at. .Hohenlinden, on this his earliest and his latest theme.

The toast alone would have been sufficient, all other considerations apart, to induce him to attend the glorious assembly which stood before him. A dis- tinguished foreigner, the chief director of the Polish treasury during the im- mortal struggle, sat beside him—a man who had sacrificed, in the cause of liberty, a princely fortune—who was now an exile in this country, but who rejoiced to see so many Englishmen met for the good cause—he would return them thanks for their kindly wishes in behalf of Poland. It was glorious to see such an assembly unanimous in their noble yearnings towards Poland—that country whose interests, next to Ireland, came nearest home to the bosoms of Britons. He had beard it said, that nothing but words was sent from this country to Poland—those words did a great deal of good ; they showed the Patriots that Britons sympathized with them, and they struck terror to the hearts of the Northern despot. The Poles made full allowance for the pecuniary difficulties under which the people of this country laboured ; yet they said, though Engli-shmen's purses be empty, their hearts are full, and the overflowing of those hearts was all they wanted. The soul of Poland was not dead ; it had migrated to England, there to be quickened and enervated. With respect to the shameful oppression by Russia of that unhappy country, he held one opinion, singular though it was, namely, that if this country sent a few ships of the line to the Baltic, or would send them, the Emperor Nicholas would be brought to season. But such ships should not be commanded by a Captain Brown, nor should * It is, by the by, a ectinnon practice to designate this gentleman "Mr. Thomas Caropb.:11 the poet"—so comma). that we cannot say that we ourselves have not been betrayed into it: it ought to be put down. There have been many Mr. Campbells since Rob Itoy's days, but there never was and never will btu but eae Mr. Thomas Campbell, they display the complacency that had been displayed on board the Talavera If he had been on board that vessel, at the risk of being knouted, or sent inn Siberia, he would have told the miscreant Nicholas, that the trident o f Enema was never wielded in favour of tyranny—that its prongs always were u s ed in thi defence of liberty. He would say, and the Russian Ambassador in thi s country might prosecute him if he pleased, that he despised and utterly condo issued the tyrant of Russia—that he considered him as a monster of monsters. ( Immense cheering.) Ile had heard of the Malays—those cannibals that drank the bloom of their victims, yet he did not deem them more savage than the miscreant Autocrat. The cold-hearted cruelty of a Burke and a Bishop was such, that -even their remains had been held up to the disgust of the world ; but never win

• a subject placed in a dissecting-room that deserved such contumely m ore than the savage who styled himself Emperor of All the Russias.

M. Thur expressed his thanks to the company, in French—

He was delighted to see such a manifestation of feeling towards Poland . The world would hear of it; patriots—exiled ones—would rejoice, and ent broiled despots would tremble. Ile was an exile—he had lost every thing but hope. Reform triumphed in England—on that triumph his hopes rested; for libertx might be exterminated all over the Continent, but it would live in the B ritish isles; awl whilst a spark burned, Poland need not despair.

" The Press" was next given, by a Mr. Stalwood ; and C olonel Stanhepe gave " Civil and religious liberty all over the world." The gallant Colonel recommended the electors to choose representatives who would look after the interests of the middle and lower classes-- who would do every thing to bring back the scale of expenditure to what it was in 1792—who would destroy corn monopolies, church monopolies, and East India monopolies, and thereby open the East— that paradise of the world—to British skill and industry.

Mr. thfer then proposed " The Independence of the Tower Ham- lets ;" and Mr. Beaumont, "The Greatest Happiness Principle." Mr. Beaumont was dilating on the Benthamic rule, when he was un- fortunately cut short by a malicious puff from the cigar of an elector, who was practically illustrating a toast of somewhat older standing, and, we regret to say it, more generally acceptable—" Pleasure in the way you like it." Mr. Beaumont's speech expired in smoke.

The Chairman afterwards gave " Church Reform ;" and in doing so, paid a high compliment to the Church of Scotland— The evils and abuses of the Churches of England and Ireland appeared in a more striking light when contrasted with that of the country from which he came. In that country there was an efficient, a good, and a useful Church ; and there was a clergyman in every parish, constantly residing there. He was the adviier upon all questions where difficulty and distress existed, and was ever ready to advise his parishioners for the best—a man who really did the duty which lie undertook to do. He had been a witness to the benefits arising from the discipline of the Church of Scotland, and therefore he was anxious to see a similar system adopted here. In advocating Church Reform, he sought to promote the prosperity of the state, to improve the morals, and consequently in- crease the happiness of the people. The Churches of England mod Ireland were both pregnant with great abuses : need he allude to pluralities—to the manner in which the great Clergy were paid—to the system of absenteeism, whilst the labouring curate was paid but little better than a labouring carpenter ? If the plan which he submitted to Parliament in 1821 and 1822 had been then adopted, and a reform in the Church of Ireland then effected, they would not have heard of so many divisions in that distracted country ; they would have saved the ten thousand troops which were maintained solely to exact from an unwilling people the means of supporting the Clergy. Indeed, it was no new thing in the his-. tory of politics to find a government, by refusing to grant all moderate reform in time, driving the people to such a state of extreme opposition as to require re- giments, squadrons, and even parks of artillery, in order to exact W. due for tithes. But would the People of England submit to this? Would a Reformed Parliament submit to it ? Then let them send men who would oppose this sys- tern to the uttermost.

The meeting concluded, as it had commenced and progressed, with the utmost decorum and good humour.