REFORM MEETING AT NEWCASTLE.
One of the most numerous political meetings held in Newcastle-upon- Tyne, since the Reform Bill lora, took place in the Lecture-room, Nelson Street; Mr. William Cook in the chair. Mr. Joseph Cowen read letters from General Thompson, M.P., Mr. J. Bright, M.P., Mr. W. j. Fox, M.P., Mr. Herbert Ingram. M.P. Mr. G. Ridley, M.P., M. J. E. Head- lain, M.P., Mr. J. Sturge, Mr. Edward Miall, Mr. Malcolm Lewin, (late Judge of the Sudder Court, Madras,) and Mr. Edward S. Pnyce, (Secre- tary of the Guildhall Coffee-house Reform Committee.) Amongst the letters, that of General Thompson, contains some spicy bits. Ho con- tended against the fallacy that open voting is necessary for the protection of property. " rich ch man has numberless and blameless wals of influencing the votes of others, by his example and by his power of spreading his opinions. The poor man has only his one ewe lamb—of saying yes or no at an elec- tion. There is no justice, no truth, in saying if you give votes to the poor man you take away the power of protecting themselves from the rich. There will always be only too much reason to fear that the rich will find the means of employing their influence and wealth to ill purpose. There may be limits to the parallel, but I maintain, and stoutly defend, that there is, and always has been, a huge and monstrous fallacy abroad upon point of the limitation of the suffrage. There is no similar limitati, thought of when men are wanted for the Militia, nor when they are to be taxed at ten or eleven times the rate of the richer classes, by a crafty spell cation of what is called indirect taxation. These things want looking-f t; both ways ; and the rich ought especially to look into them, for it is verril likely there is a percentage of them voting against the extension of the sof. frage, when it is possible that such an extension would add three to their: own supporters, where it would only add two to their rivals, It is a pity to see men losing by thinking themselves too knowing." General Thompson stated the reasons why an infusion of new blood is wanted to the constitution— After the Roman Empire had gone a certain length, new men made their appearance from the forests of Germany and elsewhere—our ancestors • and though the world's wisdom theretofore had kept them down as of 'small knowledge and little account in the transactions of mankind, they brought In all directions the bra- with them new and improved ideas of both particular and international law, of portions of which we are still in possession of the benefit. A move
ternal, of the same nature, is wanted now
honesty are set at tal part of man has been taking the ascendant. National affairs are eon,. ducted on principles of avowed and unblushing felony. We are the workine slaves of all manner of filibusters, and of highwaymen not likely to be hang. ed. The old principles of international law and naught ; and Parliaments are dissolved for resisting gross and wards. takeable larceny, which is only not petty because the agents are strong, An empire has just been thrown away, through inability to keep a compact with enlisted soldiers, and the desire to massacre an an,. on the pet ground of ancient persecutors, long sines in their own pleei' for refusing to take " swine's flesh " into their mouth.s .... The slave-trade is upon us again, alive and hearty. A man stood up the' other day in one of our great commercial towns, and boasted that he always thought slavery a good thing. The wonder is that he did not declare for cannibalism ! Chambers of commerce petition Parliament to buy up the stock of decayed buccaneers ; aud literary societies turn out to do them honour, and ask the roasters of Arabs to meat. Free-trade will have to be fought over again ; at all events, Protection is up and doing, even in the colonies, which complained so loudly when they lay under the rod. In- ternational law is laughed at ; line of battle ships are the only counsellers; and those who ought to know better are too much tarred Awiuththtesehe point brush to interfere. In the Church is a schism for going back to all which
the public, who gave the revenues, had abandoned to the fact that we want new blood among us; and knowing where it is, we shall hardly fail to get it.
"On one point be of good cheer. You are in the same position for suc- cess that others have been before you. As then, there is disunion among your opponents. Men are with you whom you do not think of, and who will not show themselves till the time comes. It was ever so. In the meanwhile, go on. With earnest wishes for your progress, I remain, yours "T. PERRON-ET THOMPSON." very sincerely,
Mr. W. J. Fox heartily concided in the objects of the Northern Re- form Union. He regretted to see the good old phrase of "universal suf&age superseded by "manhood suffrage."—
" Unintentionally it may be; but still, apparently, the words bear the mark of sexual exclusiveness. Now, I cannot but agree with Bentham, Bailey, and other eminent philosophical writers, that the claim of some women, at least, to the franchise is quite as valid as that of many men." Mr. 1°. A. Taylor stated the objects of the Northern Reform Union.—
" They wanted citizen rights for a citizen people. They wanted the re- moval of the disgrace which attached to those who had nothing to do with the laws but obey them ; they wanted the removal of that brand from men who were called upon to pay taxes, whose levying they had no voice in, and whose distribution they have but little voice in. They demanded, then, a full, free, and fair representation of the people, a vote for every Englishman—not a vote because he had a particular situation or a par- ticular amount of brick and mortar, but a vote because he was an English- man. They wanted universal suffrage, and, if they liked, manhood suff- rage, and they wanted it in the interest of Conservatism."
They also wanted the Ballot ; and in foreign politics, a broader basis of Englishmen. The meeting was addressed by Mr. Slack, Mr. Stens- feld, and other speakers. Mr. Middlemass proposed an amendment, waiving for the present the age at which manhood suffrage should be conferred, and leaving representative qualifications to be settled by the representatives of the people; but only three hands were held up for this amendment ; while "a perfect forest of hands" were held up for the main resolution, to carry out Mr. Taylor's programme.
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