JB/109/092/001

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1819 Apr. 12
To Erskine

Morning Chronicle 11 March 1819 continued

It is true, as Mr. Hobhouse observed from the Hustings, that it was the Report
of his Committee, which provoked the late contest in Westminster, but
it is not true that it was the Report of his Committee alone. It was the
sanction given to that Report by Sir Francis Burdett, it was the approbation
of it expressed by Mr. Hobhouse in his Speech, which convinced the
Whigs that they must either vindicate their character by a public appeal
to their Fellow-Citizens, or submit to be trampled upon without
resistance. The event has justified their choice; and if 3,800 voters have
given their suffrages to the protegé of Sir Francis Burdett, it was no
more than was to have been expected from the popularity of Sir
Francis's name, from his personal exertions during the Contest,
from the discipline of his troops, and their unscrupulous misrepresentations
of their adversaries.

With Sir Francis Burdett, Mr. Hobhouse, or the framers of his report,
the Whigs can have no further political connexion connection. It is not
merely to the principles of these men they object, but to the men themselves.
They can no longer act or associate with persons who cultivate their
friendship in private, and traduce them in public. They would be unreasonable
indeed if they objected to the principles of Mr. Hobhouse, for
no one knows what the principles of that Gentleman are, or whether
he has any principles at all. He calls himself a radical Reformer,
and under that vague and ambiguous expression, eludes all enquiry
into his opinions. Is he for Universal Suffrage? No; he is far short of that. Is he for annual Parliaments. He is too like of a Coxcomb to say
how long Parliaments should last. He is for an uniform right of
suffrage it is true; but till he has explained to us the extent of his
qualification, it is impossible to judge of the merits of his plan.

Identifier: | JB/109/092/001 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 109.
Date_1	1819-04-12	Marginal Summary Numbering
Box	109	Main Headings	Fallacies; Parliamentary Reform
Folio number	092	Info in main headings field	To Erskine
Image	001	Titles	Morning Chronicle 11 March 1819 continued
Category	Collectanea	Number of Pages	1
Recto/Verso	recto	Page Numbering	C2
Penner		Watermarks
Marginals		Paper Producer
Corrections		Paper Produced in Year
Notes public		ID Number	35747
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