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Mr. Harvey, M.P., dined with a party of his constituents, pa- rishioners of St. George the Martyr, Southwark, on Monday. The health of the Members for the Borough having been given in a com- plimentary speech by Mr. Gillham, Mr. Harvey addressed the com- pany. He spoke in the first place in reference to his acceptance of the office of Registrar under the Hackney Carriage Act- " I have taken office, but I have not taken the salary of office. I will now state why I have not taken the salary of office. The office I have taken is mi- nisterial, oot political ; it is not high in name—it has not a large salary—it has sopatronage—it has grown out of • necessity long felt by the public. Many attempts bad been made to legielaie on the subject before the present esti bill was passed. The office was created by the Legislature, and wdtf such laborious duty that no aristocratic cousin would be willing tc:"11.0f take it, or it would not be thrown in my way. The appointmentto thiunre is in the hands of the Secretary of State; and the appointmentonee mad' permanent ; so that if the Duke of Wellington or Sir Robert Peel earl' office to-morrow, my holding the office would not form the leant tempts:wit support their measures. It was a public office, created by Parliament tonspublic benefit, and did not lay the person by whom it WU held undu obligation to the support of any Government. But that my wept, "af office might not be misunderstood, from the beginning, and before the l; ginning, 1 stipulated for the unrestrained expression of my opinions ie House of Commons, and the following up those opinions by my votes, sua,same freedom and fearlessness as heretofore. And here, I must my, anti should do great injustice to Lord John Russell if I did not publicly state titti tti,„-- he was as ready to repudiate all expectation of political obligation or de. pendence in conferring the office, as I should be to refuse it if such an u

pec on was entertained. He at once said it was not a political office—that a •

n not given either as a reward for past services, or in the expectation of fiaums And I believe you all know that Government is not under any great obligee,* to me. What I was, lam; and what I am, I shall remain. The meanie which I have accepted is not of a political nature, nor is it a sinecure in its duties. You have men who receive large salaries, and who do nothing for them. From say experience for the last six weeks of my office, if every one in office has as much to do, there must be a great mistake concerning the dutiesof public men."

He would state briefly what his duties were —

" I ant placed in a very difficult position. It is connected with responsibilitke of a very serious kind. Within the last three weeks, there have been at lop office in Adam Street upwards of six thousand persons, applying to heap.

pointed to various offices, whether as watermen, conductors, or drivers. Those six thousand persons must be sent back for certificates to be signed each by at least two rate•payers. Those six thousand ceitificates so signed I have to

look at, each in detail. Many of them are very irregular, and I have sent back already olle thousand. I must inquire into the fitness of the recommendations; and when I add, that I have received from the Police-offices eight thousand names of persons who have within the last few months been convicted under the various Ilackoey.coach Acts, and that I have to see each of these parties, and hear the grounds on which they claim to be employed, and then to sign their licences, I think I have opened to you an occupation of no mean extent. It is clear why no Whig stripling is in office—it is not a sinecure. (Much cheering.) But I am abundantly content, as I have Ilone for the last six weeks, so to continue up to the meeting of Parliament, to give my services gratuitously. The reason why he refused to receive any salary was, that doubts existed among the lawyers, not only as to whether his acceptance of the office rendered him liable to a fine of 5001. if he sat in Parliament without reelection, but also whether he wits eligible. It might he asked whether, if it should turn out that the holding of the office in question did not disqualify him for a seat in Parliament, he would retain his seat without ullowing his constituents to express their

opinion on his conduct-

" I will tell you in answer what I not only told Lord John Russell, but many friends of mine in Parliament, from the beginniog—nainely, that should

it turn out that it does not work disqualification, and that it is not in fact an office under the Crown, but one created by act of Pin !lament, and one not therefore within the sphere of mischief contemplated by the act of Anne, I

should scorn to hold my seat, even if I could retain it for six years of time, without eliciting the sentiments of my constituents. ( Tama/twin chem.)

At present, my strong impression inclines to the belief that the office does not

work disqualification. lint, of course, as there is a penalty of 5001. for sitting in the !louse when not qualified, I shall be fortified by some wiser heads than mine before I run the risk that may be consequent on may accepting of the

etoolumenta of the office. As 90011 as the lawyers come to town, I will consult four or five of the most eminent of them ; and by their judgment I will be detei mined. I have not yet made up my mind as to the course I shall pursue in ease the office shall riot conic within the sphere of the act of Queen Anne. 1 do not know whether at once to accept the Chiltern Hundreds, or throw myself on my constituents, or to retire altogether, or to address my constituents through the public medium, calling on those who recorded their votes for me at the last election to convey to me with their signatures what is their deans. My doubt arises fi um the fact, that when a meeting is held in the Town.hall, it is said that it is easy to crowd the hall, and to bewilder men's :Muds by a torrent of words, and that the vote that may be carried does not express the real opinion of the public. Again it cannot be doubted that my political opponents will be overjoyed to put ;he Liberals to expense, to fresh anxiety, and to fresh exertions therefore, I am inure inclined to adopt the course Of calling on my friends who recorded their votes for me at the last election, to express their opinion; and if there shall be a majority of but one, calling on me to resign my seat, there shall not elapse twenty-four hours after the receipt of such communication before I resign my seat.'

Mr. Harvey then proceeded to deliver his opinions on the state of

parties, and the political prospects of the country. He could not think that there would be a repetition next session of what he saw during the last ; otherwise he should really be content to retire from Parliament- " Four different schemes of political contrivance have been ushered before ira Lord Elnington, one of the purest of the aristocrav, but one who has adifficulty in discerning the wise path has lately met the people at Exeter, and he hula. vited them to patience anil forbearance, urging the difficulties of the Govern- ment, and hoping for improved times. I do not question his sincerity, but I doubt his wisdom. So long as the Ministers were the servants of the late Kist, they kept saying they were surrounded with difficulties—that there was &Court that was adverse to them—that there was a hostile Aristocracy—and that there were spies and concealed enemies; and they intimated, or rather they insinuated, that if the Liberals had only patience to wait for that event which nature at so distant period must bring to pass, and which she has brought to pass, then they would be strengthened by a friendly Court, and sustained by a Monarch with s mind early imbued with the love of freedom, and of constitutional sentimeo, and who was attached to the Liberal party. then would be the halcyon howls when they would bring forward a series of statesmanlike plans ! For that time we waited with singular forbearance. The time came; there was a dissolution of Parliament ; the Queen's name was not withheld, and all useful appliances were resorted to at the elections ; but the spirit of the people was damped, sad

there was a general impression that the extension of reform was not to he

pected. When the Parliament assembled, and the leader of the House (Lord John Russell) stated that he would take his stand on the Reform Bill as Om, allowing no improvement, all hopes were dashed to the ground from that hour. We have been writhing ever since under that fatal blow. But as I have lud. many occasions in the House of Commons to speak of Government and the. e measures, so I will not do what some politicians have done in an wiry spirit, and I will not speak severely of the Government to the exclusion a other considerations. 1 have denounced the Government; I have voted +Pio' Ise▪ Government; but now there are men who gave all sort ut countenance to me Government in Parliament, who at present would make it appear in their .„.eaes in the manufacturing districts and in Ireland as if the Government a'ss of the wont description, both in its form and in its mental and other

preteerions."

But the Government were not alone to be blamed, for the constitu. codes had neglected thew duty. The Government, however, derived strength from the division of the Liberal party into sections- " I have read the Darrynane decree which has been lately sent forth, and I

▪ with great regret the denunciations it contains against the Radicals generally

of England, and against all participattoomw the objects and all cooperation with them We cannot afford to be thus split into sections. It is very well for Mr. °cannel] and his friends to say that we obtained the Reform Bill by their voidance. That may be said of every confederacy. If the eighteen Metropo- liter Members were to combine and carry any measure by eighteen, they might „nay say to the others, Where would you have been but for the Metropolitan ge„,sess? But, from the versatility with which Mr. O'Connell adapts him- self to every change, I hope he will not be tenacious of t-ie propeeation. If he shall be tenacious of it, then I see the beginning of a schism the effects of which cannot be anticipated. It is only by an undoubted, cordial, and sincere coiipera- non in every class, county, and portion of the empire, that we can hope to carry say great measure. When Mr. O'Connell talks of justice to Ireland,' and about the people of England being unwilling to support It, I want to extend that term, and to claim justice for Great Britain and Ireland. It would not be diffi- cult to raise a banner, and to inscribe it with • Justice to England,' and to show the advantages which Ireland possesses, and which England does not possess. Ireland has no Church.rate : she had it under the name of a Church-cess, but she has got rid of it. We are all labouring in England under a Church-rate. We have Assessed taxes: Ireland has not one. We have tithes averaging five shillings an acre: Ireland has tithes averaging less than one shilling an acre. Do I mean to say that they should reenact Church-cess in Ireland, increase the tithes, or impose Assessed Taxes there? No! But I mention it to show, that if men separate themselves, and take particular inscriptions on their banners, then the enemies of all will step in ; and between the factions into which we Liberals shall be split, we shall be made their victims and dupes."

It was said that great men always appeared on emergencies : but such was not the case now ; public men were pigmies_ Thereis not a great man in the House of Commons. There is not one who can take a comprehensive and statesmanlike view of the condition of the country. If there were, and if such a statesman were to open night after night &series of practical schemes, he would inlist around him a political power, a great intellectual power, which would soon place him at the head of efforts. The public difficulties are not overcome, not because they are insurmountable, but because they are not comprehended or seized with a statesmanlike hold."

Mr. Harvey proceeded to recommend that Ministers should prepare really good measures, and throw upon the Lords the odium of rejecting them- "! hope that Government will act better. Their error is to attempt perpe- tually to conciliate their foes and sacrifice their friends. Their beet adherents cannot tell what they are at. No one measure is based upon principle. They have thrown overboard the anchor of principle, and have embarked in the crazy bark of expediency. They must perish if they continue in it. Night after night the Tories were gaiuing upon them. The country is subsiding into itdifference, and into a contempt of such statesmen. Let the Government bring forward a series of intelligible measures, ably expounded at the beginning of the session, resting their official existence on their success. Let them send those measures to the Lords. Let them besiege the Lords by honest measures, and let the dishonesty of that House be ShOWII by the rejection of their mea • saris. As at present, the Ministers have rested themselves upon not one mea- sure of the sort: they have been satisfied if merely the preamble of a bill has been left in, the Lords being allowed to strike out all the clauses."

[The company seemed perfectly satisfied with Mr. Harvey's expla- nation of his position, and to agree entirely in his description of the present character and condition of the Ministry, and their true policy.]