SCOTLAND.
The citizens of Edinburgh had a "great Reform meeting" in their Music Hall on Tuesday, to lift up the voice of Scotland on the subject of Parliamentary Reform, The Lord Provost presided ; Mr. Cowan the Member, and most of the leading Liberals, were on the platform; and the general attendance is said to have been in quality "most intelligent, re- spectable and enthusiastic," and in numbers sufficient to crowd the im- mense building in every part, though there was "not a score of ladies" in the mass.
The Lord Provost took much pains to distinguish this Edinburgh movement from the Manchester movement—
The meeting Bowe out of the visit of Mr. Hume to Edinburgh, two months before the Manchester delegates assembled ; it is due to the efforts of the committee then formed ; and therefore it must be viewed as a separate and independent movement, though having the same great ends in view, and cooking nearly to the same means for its accomplishment. The principal resolutions were the following. Moved by Mr. J. F. Mac- farlan, and seconded by Mr. W. M'Crie- " That provision should be made for a large extension of the constituency ; which in England and Ireland should take place by conferring the franchise on all persons chargeable with the poor-rate; and in Scotland (where the poor-rate does not universally apply) by conferring the franchise on all per- sons who are chargeable with any general local rate, such as an assessment for the support of the poor, for prisons, or for police purposes ; and, in the event of there being any burgh or district in which no such rate is now levied, that in such cases the franchise should be conferred on all persons who would be chargeable with any such rate if it were levied."
(;wr.ji sokni apAp4ment was proposed by Dr. Glover, a Chartist, in favour of -s-ssoriA'S universal suffrage. But only thirty or forty hands were held up in its favour, and the original resolution was carried by an overwhelming nit. jority.
Moved by Mr. J. Hill Burton, advocate, seconded by Mr. Durham, and carried unanimously-
" That provision should be made for the extinction of all small burgh eon. stitueneies, either by such an amalgamation of burghs as would form an united constituency of not fewer than 5000 electors in each group, or by mer • s the voters for small burghs in the constituencies of the counties in whicli such burghs are severally situated ; that the right to elect members no lon- ger required to be returned for small burghs should be transferred, either to towns which have acquired a large population since the passing of theta* Reform Act, or to burghs which have so much increased in population since the passing of that act as to be now inadequately represented ; and that in any rearrangement of Members, Scotland Should have an equal proportion with England, having regard to the population of each division of the Unites Kingdom, and to the net amount of revenue contributed by each for national purposes."
Moved by Mr. Francis Russell, seconded by Mr. W. Duncan, and carried unanimously—.
"That provision should be made for the establishment of the forty-shilling freehold franchise in counties throughout the whole of the United Kingdom; that all real property held by any other tenure than as freehold should givethe same right to the franchise as freehold property ; and that in Scotland
provision should be made to prevent all merely nominal owners from being registered as electors, by requiring all claimants to make up their titles in the most complete manner by infeftment or otherwise; and that a residence of not less than three mouths yearly should be required within the county in Which the property is situated."
The fourth resolution, for simplifying the registration, was moved by Bailie Fyfe, and seconded by Mr. John Duncan,' Dean of Guild; the fifth and final one, in favour of the ballot, of triennial Parliaments, and of the abolition of the property qualification, was moved by Mr. William Tait, and seconded by Mr. P. Anderson. The former was carried unani- MOUBly ; the latter by the great mass of the meeting,—half a dozen hands only supporting an amendment by Dr. Glover declaring that the use of the ballot would be infamous, as it veils the exercise of a trust.
A letter from Sir William Gibson Craig, the other Member for Edin- burgh, stated that Lord John Russell having announced a "measure, Sir William could not commit himself to any other scheme till he had seen the provisions of the Premier's bilL The Member present, Mr. Cowan, substantially agreed with the resolutions, but he would not pledge himself to any particular course.
A motion to adopt a petition to Parliament was carried by acclama- tion; and the meeting broke up,—the Scottish Press declaring that by the proceeding; Scotland has spoken, "most distinctly and emphatically" on the subject of Parliamentary Reform.
The steam-ship Glasgow, which sailed from the Clyde on the 10th instant for America, with a complement of fifty-four passengers and a cargo worth 106,0001., returned to the Clyde on Wednesday, having been disabled in her machinery by a hurricane on the 20th instant, which filled her saloon with three feet of water. Her second officer, Mr. Robertson, was lost in the storm.
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