c untry A party, comprising many of the influential Liberals
of East Cornwall, dined together at Bodmin on Monday. The names of the following gentlemen are mentioned,—Sir William Molesworth, Mr. A. 0. Mole-worth, Mr. John Rundle, M.P., Sir William Trelawny, Mr. N. K. Norway, the Reverend Mr. Stephens, Mr. T. Wool- combe. Mr. E. Duppa, and Mr. Leader, M. P. Mr. George Cots- wold Call was in the chair. The health of "Sir William Trelawny and Sir William Molesworth" followed the usual loyal toasts ; and was acknowledged by both those gentlemen. Sir William Trelawny attributed his defeat at the election, not to the lukewarmness of his friends, or to any real reaction in favour of Toryism, but to the defects of the Reform Act-
" That Reform Bill, long as we struggled for it, good as we thought it, has not done so much or worked so well as we thought it would. This is either a representative government, or it is riot; if it is a representative government, it is a mockery to say that the constitution of the present constituency is good. Li order to promote a further Reform, I would recommend you to agitate— agitate at all your meetings, at your vestries, your markets, your ordinaries, in the field and by the fire-sidea struggle on again for Refurin in Parliament, for you have not got it yet."
Sir William Molesworth said that words could not express his sorrow and vexation at the result of the late contest for East Cornwall. But the independent yeomanry were not to blame : they were only van- quished by a superior force. It might be a sort of consolation to them, that their ease was not peculiar, for in twenty-three out of twenty-five county contests the Reformers had been defeated : the case of East Cornwall was only that of most of the counties ; and if the same causes of defeat were allowed to continue, hardly a single Reformer would he returned for the agricultural districts. Sir William then de- scribed the great advantages of position which the Liberals possessed in the late contest ; notwithstanding which, none but "the hireling syco- phants of a base press, or those feeble-minded persons who view facts through the distorting medium of their wishes, could deny that the Liberal party had been defeated." The causes of defeat were evident- " It was occasioned by the unprincipled intimidation exercised over the votes of the electors; by the unwearied exertions of the Tories in the Registration Courts; and lastly, by the general political apathy of the people. Until the two first causes are removed, except in periods of extreme political excitement defeat will only succeed defeat. Fur I trust that Reformers will not have re- course to counter-intimidation,—though undoubtedly, if it were exercised by the masses upon those above their, the effect would be irresistible, and the power of the Tories annihilated,—but it is only the extremest necessity which at the last moment would justify the use of such means. In the Registration Courts, the Tories have a great advantage over the Reformers, on account of the superior wealth of individuals of the former party ; though the aggregate property of the Reformers is far greater than that of their opponents. More- over, the sel fi ‘h views of the Tories afford them stronger inducements to expend large sums of money in elections, than those persons whose only motive to exer. tion is the piddle good. Now, what in your opinion is the remedy for these evils? (An Elector—" The Ballot!" Tremendous cheering.) Yes, the Ballot alone will enable the elector freely and conscientiously to vote in accord- ance with his wishes. The Ballot will render the exertions of the Tories in the Registration Courts useless; for though they would still he able to place their dependents upon the register, they would no longer he able to control the votes thus made: and at heart their dependents are most of them Liberals. Without the Ballot, I an convinced nothing can be effected. I, for one, am strongly in favour of many Reforms. I wish for Triennial Parliaments—for the attainment of which I think the Ballot is necessary ; and an extension of the suffrage to all househelders, at least. I am most anxious for a good system of general education, and a complete reform of the Irish Church. ( Cheering.) These are questions of paramount importance, which ought now and ever to be agitated and discussed; and which, as they are of the utmost consequence to the progress and wellbeing of the community, ought, in the minds of all sin- cere friends of the people, to outweigh every consideration of a party nature."
What would be the conduct of Ministers with regard to the Ballot?
"1 sincerely trust, both for the sake of the popular cause and for their own sakes, they are now prepared, without hesitation, to declare themselves in favour of the ballot, and to use every means in their power to make secret suffrage the law. of the land. By thus acting, they would excite enthusiasm among the nation. By proposing the most effective remedy to the evils of the present electoral system, they would be justified in calling upon the people for support. On no !other terms, at present, can the People justly be called upon to make one single ejfal in favour of any Ministry. For, now that the electors have experienced in its fullest extent the hideous magnitude of the evils of the present System of suffrage—have seen the demoralization and corruption consequent Upon .the undue influence of the aristocracy, and are convinced by lepeated experwiice that neither feelings of honour nor sense of moral reprobation will prevent the greatest portion of that class from being guilty of these crimes,- / contend that, with these feelings and these convictions, Liberal electors would not be bound, either by interest or by any higher considerations, to make exertions and suffer the sacrifices consequent upon such exertions for the auhe of ntaintaining an Administration who would remain unpledged to the Ballot. But if the Ministry should be wise enough to declare in favour of secret suffrage, and should find it impossible to carry this measure, either on account of the opposition of the body of hereditary legislators, or on account of the numerous friends and relatives of that body •Cylio through the vices of the electoral -system are returned for most of our counties and smaller boroughs, and who in mockery are termed Representatives of the People,—if by the efforts of these mercenary men, Ministers should be defeated, then let there be an appeal to the nation. /a my opinion, that appeal would be successful ; for I most firmly believe the electors sufficiently value their electoral rights, and as earnestly desire to exercise those rights in freedom ; and when the opportu- nity is offered, will fearlessly and actively work for the attainment of that end. Without some decided step,—without some act that will rally the People of England around the present Administration, I cannot refrain from coming reluctantly to the conclusion, that the period cannot be far distant when the Tories will reusurp power."
He did not wish to attack or accuse Ministers ; for no advantage could at present result from it. He wished them to retain power, were it only for the sake of proper distribution of patronage in Ireland. But, unless Ministers did something to revive the dormant energies of the People, their own doom was sealed. Their small majority would be destroyed by Tory petitions, and the elections that would arise on single vacancies.
0 In such a crisis, men of superior intellects, in possession of political power, show their real greatness; whilst inferior minds sink into that insignificance for which nature originally intended them. hi such a crisis as this, a bold and determined policy is the only prudent one—the only one likely to be successful. With it, even failure is attended with honour. On the other hand, to attempt to conciliate foes—to pursue a temporizing policy, is the conduct of the most feeble.minderl—is the sure forerunner of destruction; and it is invariably fol- lowed by disgrace. How Ministers will act, I cannot pretend to gay ; though I must confess that my fears are greater than my hopes. Dark, however, as are the immediate prospects of the Liberal party, still I am in no way what- ever inclined to despair or even to doubt of the ultimate success of the good cause. I put firm faith and trust in the intelligence of the People. I am con. vinced of the gradual and even rapid progress of Liberal principles, among the masses; but the masses have not as yet been accustomed to depend upon them- selves; they have, from the remotest period, been misgoverned by the aristo- cratic classes, and compelled to take their leaders from these classes alone. In those leaders they have been disappointed; and, not knowing whence to select others, they are in a state of political despondency. Fortunately their preju- dices in favour of the government of an aristocracy are gradually fading away, and becoming extinct. The salutary conviction is every day gaining ground amongst them, thst both that portion of the Aristocracy which at times profess to a certain extent Liberal opinions and assume the name of moderate Re. formers, and likewise that other faction which more boldly avows its hostility to the People and its dread of popular influeuee,—both the one mad the other, on account of their prejudices, their selfishness, and their want of sympathy with the People, will never bestir themselves in the People's cause, and consequently both are equally unfit to be the rulers of this great nation. The period will arrive, and neither the petty strife of factions nor the political profligacy of individuals can prevent its speedy arrival, when the People will place confidence in themselves, and select their leaders without reference to the Aristocracy. Then, indeed, will be the triumph of the popular cause."
The Chairman then gave the health of Sir Hussey Vivian ; and took the opportunity to state, that nothing could have been more honourable than Sir Hussey's conduct in the late contest. He had done his ut- most in every possible way to secure the return of Sir William Tre- lawny, even in preference to his own.
Mr. Leader's health followed, and that gentleman addressed the company. He said that unless the Liberals counteracted the efforts of the Tories by presenting numerous petitions against Tory Members, the probability was that the present Ministry would lose their small majority in the Commons, and that the Tories would rush like wolves on office. But they would not long be able to retain it- " In their new character of Conservative Reformers, they have been recently setting an example of agitating ; they have been agitating for the preservation of the venerable fabric of the Church—which no one nished to pull down. They have been agitating against the domination over England of O'Connell and the Irish—who, far from wishing to domineer over England, ask only for
justice in their own division of the country. They have been agitating for justice to the poor—whose worst enemies they have ever been. Should they regain office, their good example will not be forgotten ; they will then have agitation enough, and know at last what agitation means. In Great Britain, there will be agitation for extended suffrage— for shorter Parliaments, for the Ballot—for all those reforms in Church and State which fair representation would insure; and in Ireland, it will need a stronger word than agitation to describe the state of that unhappy country, should the Orange fiction again be- come dominant. In the Colonies, it would he very difficult, if not impartible, to uphold the old Tory system. The North American Colonies, already in- cited by years of misgovernment, and recently by insult, would not bear the strong measures of the Tories, and would either separate in violence and hosti- lity from England, or involve us in a doulaful, unprofitable, and disgraceful war. A Tory Government could not stand long against the opposition and the obstacles it would inevitably have to encounter; but its mere establishment might cause much mischief and much misery. Some men talk of a Coalition Government between what are called the Moderate men of the Whig and Tory parties. Now, supposing that any men of the present Whig party could be found base enough to desert all their former principles, and openly to coalesce with a portion of the Tories, those arc great obstacles in the way of any govern- ment which they could jointly form. They would be heartily supported by none; they would hate and suspect each other, and would be hated and sus- pected by the people; and they would, probably, soon quarrel over the division of the spoil, and the sharing of power. Even from such a coalition this good effect would result, that it would at once distinctly draw the line between the Aristocratic and the Democratic parties; and would show the People clearly how entirely, under the present system, they are at the mercy of the Aristo- cracy, and would rouse them to cast off the yoke. Of the two parties, however, as at present composed, that one will probably gain the immediate victory which exhibits the greater share of activity, energy, and combination."
Mr. Leader thought that Lord Durham had been severely treated by a part of the Liberal press ; and was willing to augur a favourable change in the mind of Ministers from the decided manner in which a nobleman so nearly connected with them, avowed his opinion in favour of the Ballot. Mr. Leader thought the Ministers would find it neces- sary to concede the Ballot for their own preservation.
The next toast was " Her Majesty's Ministers, and the Reformers of Wes!minster." Mr. Leader being mile] upon, said that be must drink the toast " The Reformers of Westminster and her Majesty's Ministers,"—putting his own constituents first ; as, though he was cer-
tainly desirous of giving Ministers kis support, he had frequently been The cause of liberty and good government bad been much in danger, by the compelled to vote against them ; and he must always sacrifice Ministers diversity of great questions which had been prematurely brought forward:7,biefeaornerd: to the maintenance of his principles. discussed before the country was ready to receive them. Again, other questions The other speakers were Mr. Ruudle, Mr. Stephens, and Mr. Nor- had been brought forward before the country for discussion, which were like peed which was sown, and which at the proper time would bring forth their re. way. In the course of the evening, a splendid silver cup was pre- spective fruits; and if they proved to be good the country woulidodrecbraiii: sented to Mr. Norway, as a mark of respect and gratitude for his ser- and if they were bad the country would be against them. Although not one vices to the Reform cause ;" and that gentleman spoke his thanks in of her Majesty's Ministers, he could safely say that they wo *arm and eloquent terms. Parliament such measures as were best calculated to promote the cause of civil A large meeting of the Reformers of North Devon was held on the and religious liberty ; that they would still endeavour to do justice to that un- 25th ultimo, at Southmolton ; the Honourable N. Fellowes in the fortunate portion of her Alajcsty's dominions, Ireland ; and that they would ea. deavour, so far as in them lay, to act to all classes of her Majesty's subjects so flair. At this meeting it was announced by Sir H. P. Davie, Bart, as to unite them strongly together around the Sovereign and her throne, be. that Mr. J. W. Buller, of Downes, would be brought forward in the cause she felt that the !Jest security for her throne consisted in the affection and event of a vacancy; and the announcement was received with en. love of her subjects.
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