of the ion i Now i Bishop heir i hat i But tl rom t во со on thi vith riend Eo do reasi and a which to pre and 1 reaso sion and ( but i those the C to be maintained, of the connexion be- Mr. Stanley admitted, that the hon. Mr. Hume said, that all he had observed edifices belonging to the Established 116. Mr. Wilks moved, that the Chairman report progress, upon which the Committee again divided-Ayes 136; Noes 263: Majority against the Motion, 127. Church Rates. 1060 The Resolution proposed by Lord Althorp was agreed to. List of the AYES on the first Division. ENGLAND. Althorp, Lord Cooper, Hon. A.H.A. Hardy, J. Heathcote, J. J. V. S. Langston, J. H. Lowther, Colonel H. Lumley, Viscount Maberly, Colonel Marsland, T. the Bei n it m ow it m shops v eir appi at it sl ut the fa om the E D concer n the me ith the riend, th o do aw reasing ind at th which hit o preserv and his reason to sion of t and othet but they those wh the Chur that they abuses r grievance Mr. C consente amount ( certain il tain the course tc try. If the prop might ni but, acc Church vide for the Chu principle was the By the 1 that to 1 paid the titled, b net, the to tithe care tha which t of so d them of they wo people people been re own co impose {COMMONS} Whalley, Sir S. Whitmore, W. Wigney, N. Wilks, J. TELLER. Hume, J. HERTFORD BOROUGH.] Mr. Bernal moved the third reading of the Hertford Borough Bill. Colonel Evans rose for the purpose of proposing an Amendment to the Bill. He objected to the mode in which the large addition was to be made to the constituency of the borough of Hertford. It was proposed to add a large agricultural district to the present borough; and he had heard no reason assigned which could justify such a mode of proceeding. He was convinced, that adding agricultural districts to boroughs would be found to be highly inconvenient. By the Reform Bill an arrangement was made as to the number of Members to be returned by the several classes of the community. They had in some instances made additions of the adjoining agricultural districts to boroughs; It but the principle was objectionable. had made a great change in the constituency of many boroughs, and, in point of fact, had given a great additional influence to the agricultural interest. It was proposed by the Bill to add the twelve adjoining parishes to the borough of Hertford; but eight of those parishes had no connection whatever with the borough, and their population was purely agricultural. If it were necessary to increase the constituency of that place, they might do so by adding a town constituency; but it would, in point of fact, be giving the complete control to the landed interest to carry the Bill in its present shape. He also found that there was no ground for supposing that they would be able to get anything like a good and independent 10l. constituency from the eight parishes he had alluded to. He also objected to the Bill on the ground that it would open the door again to that species of influence which had been so much complained of in this particular case, and which it was the ostensible object of the Bill to avoid, namely, to get rid of the ascendancy of the great landed proprietors. It was generally supposed, that one great landed proprietor had exercised an improper influence in the elections of the borough of Hertford, and which had led to so many complaints. He had no objection to the addition of Hoddesdon and Ware to the borough of Hertford, and so much of the intermediate ground as was necessary to connect them; but he protested against the addition of extensive districts, which were purely agricultural. The hon. and gallant Member concluded by moving as an Amendment, "that a Select Committe be appointed to consider the expediency of making a new boundary for the borough of Hertford." Mr. Tennyson said, that he had not heard anything in the original statement of the hon. member for Rochester on introducing that Bill, nor in what had since taken place in the House, to induce him to agree to make such a boundary for the borough of Hertford as was proposed in the Bill. In point of fact, such an addi tion would be a complete destruction of everything like independence in the borough. The freemen and 10. householders had not been guilty of those acts of corruption which were stated in the Bill; on the contrary, they were specially exonerated in the Report of the Committee. He thought, that the first clause of the Bill was all which ought to pass. It would place the borough of Hertford on the footing contemplated by the Reform Bill. It had been clearly shown by his hon. and gallant friend, that there were not any grounds for making such a preposterous, and he must say even ludicrous, addition as was proposed, to the borough of Hertford. To make such an addition to the borough would at once place it under the control of the agricultural interest. If it were desirable to make such a change it, should have been done under the Reform Bill, but to do so now would be highly objectionable. Those who framed the Reform Bill, and, above all, his noble friend the Paymaster of the Forces, adjusted the representation to the state of the different interests in the community. This adjustment would be destroyed if they proceeded in such an off hand manner to throw large agricultural districts into boroughs. He agreed to the proposition of the right hon. member for Tamworth on a former occasion, and he regretted much, that it had not met with the approval of the House. He had no objection, however, to extend the constituency of Hertford, if he could find any out assigning any reasons, or having any Committee. If the principle proposed to be acted upon in the case of the borough of Hertford were acted upon, the smaller boroughs would, in point of fact, become !ittle counties for the purposes of representation, and would be under the sway of the landed Gentlemen of the neighbourhood. Under the Reform Bill there were fifty boroughs which had an addition made to their boundaries, and there could be no motion of his gallant friend (Colonel Evans) was made with the view of arresting the progress of such proceedings; and he (Mr. Tennyson) trusted, that the House would see the expediency of supporting the Amendment, and consider what would be the consequences if such propositions as the present were acted upon. persons of the same class as the present voters for that borough in the immediate neighbourhood. On that ground, therefore, he did not object to add Hoddesdon and Ware to Hertford, and give the tenpound householders of these places votes for Members of Parliament. By the latter course, as their interests were the same as those of Hertford, he did not destroy the arrangement made under the Reform Bill, but rather promoted it, by adding to the constituency without swamp-reason for increasing that number. The ing the town voters in the borough. That Bill, however, would increase the influence of that interest which it had been repeatedly asserted had already too much influence. It was stated, that there were at present only a very few voters in some of these agricultural parishes. It might be the case; but what was there to prevent the landowners dividing their land into Sir Robert Peel did not intend to support a number of small tenements as had been the Amendment of the gallant Colonel, but done elsewhere, for the purpose of making thought that some advantage might result voters? It had been stated in a petition if he proceeded to state the course he inpresented by the hon. Baronet, the member tended to pursue, and the nature of the for Buckingham, that 18,000 acres had Amendment he intended to propose. The been added to that borough by the Re- House had better know, before they came form Bill. A noble Duke, the owner of to a decision on the present Amendment, land in that neighbourhood, had made a that other propositions would be submitted great addition to the number of voters in to them with respect to that Bill. He the borough by dividing a large piece of particularly requested the attention of the land. He had built cowhouses, sheds, and House and of his Majesty's Government other small buildings, and had thus made to the question now to be decided. His voters, all of whom were his own tenants- Majesty's Government did not, on former at-will. In the present case, however, occasions, express any opinion on the junot less than 32,000 acres were to be dicial question connected with that case, added, and he would ask whether it would because they did not wish to influence the not open a door to the exercise of the most question by the expression of their opinions, improper influence? Would it not enable or by the exercise of their influence, but to the landed proprietors in the district to leave the matter to the decision of the swamp or sluice the town voters? It House. That state of things had ceased, might be said, that the only additional and they were now called upon to decide voters the agricultural interest would get on the general question, and he begged for these eight purely agricultural parishes their attention to the statement he was was eighty-nine, while the number of new about to make. He agreed in much that voters for the other five parishes would be had been said by the gallant Colonel; and one hundred and seventy-six, and that, although he could not vote for the Motion therefore, a much greater number of town of the gallant Officer, the gallant Officer than country voters was made to the con- might vote, with the greatest consistency, stituency of Hertford. Admitting that to for the proposition which it was his inbe the case at present, what was there to tention to submit to the House. If his prevent the number of voters in the former proposition went to exempt the guilty from parishes being increased to almost an punishment, there might be a strong obindefinite extent? The Bill of his hon.jection to it; but he had no such intention. and learned friend (Mr. Bernal) went, in point of fact, to amend the Reform Bill, without any cause having been shown. If they agreed to that Bill, any Member might rise in his place and propose an addition to the voters of a borough, with He was opposed to referring the matter to the consideration of another Committee, because, in point of fact, it would be postponing the matter to another Session, when probably the House would be engaged in other business of great importance, and 1 it migh it must ops were r approva it shou the fact n the Beni concertthe meast the viet nd, the S do away asing stri at the ich his A preservehis coll son to ex n of the others, they di Ose who w e Church at they en uses refa evances ( Mr. Cutl nsented mount of t rtain if th in the sac urse to th y. If th e propert ight not 1 at, accor hurch pre de for the e Church rinciple o as the Ch -y the pre at to the aid the ra tled, by t et, the m tithes. are that t which bore -f so doin hem on t They woul people of people of Deen relie own coun mposed u Bess of thus the details of the subject would be | tricts. The borough of Hertford had three The Committee, the Report of which he was about to refer to, was presided over by the hon. and learned member for Rochester, in whom the House had so much confidence as to make him as it were their Deputy Speaker, as he presided over their proceedings while in Committees of the whole House. The Committee on the Hertford Election had, he believed, every desire to arrive at the truth, and to act with the utmost impartiality, and that impartial tribunal made this Report to the House on the conduct of the freemen and the 10. householders. "On the other hand your Committee have not been able to discover, that the general body of freemen or the 10%. householders, except perhaps in some few cases, have been at all affected by or concerned in corrupt practices." That was as complete an acquittal as could possibly be pronounced by this impartial tribunal. They acquitted the whole of the freemen and 10l. householders, with the exception that he had stated, of indulging in corruption. Surely the noble Lord, the Paymaster of the Forces, should be gratified that the new constituency which he had |