Will any man, after this, making any reasonable allowance for the influence of the Crown and of the Government, venture to aver, that a decided majority of the freeholders of England have declared in favour of the bill?'
But thus nearly balanced as the gross numbers are, will it be pretended that of the property-the education-the intelligence of the country, there was not and is not a vast majority against the bill; and if the numbers on one side were still greater, and if the weight and authority on the other were even less than they are, would it not be the peculiar province-nay, the bounden duty, of the Lords to strike the balance between the ponderating forces?
These few observations are a full and complete answer to the whole of the Friendly Advice, which rests on no other ground than the alleged incapability of the House of Peers to exert its power in opposition to the alleged unanimity of the people.
But there is another view of the subject very important to the House of Lords;-that body has hitherto had a considerable and legitimate weight arising from property and connexion in the House of Commons; the late elections have, for the present parliament, very much diminished that weight, and, pro tanto, rendered it the more necessary for the Lords to make that stand on their own ground, which, in former times, was preliminarily made, by their influence in the debates of the House of Commons. If ever the Reform Bill should become a law, the whole of their power will be to meet the decisions of the House of Commons with direct affirmatives or negatives; they will have lost that veiled and indirect, but powerful and salutary influence, which moulded the original propositions, whether of individual members or of ministers, into a shape likely to be finally acceptable to all the branches of the legislature. It is this operation which has preserved amongst us the equiponderance of the constitutional powers, and has prevented those collisions which have destroyed every other government which has attempted a separation and balance of the sovereign authority. If ever we are mad enough to break the elastic spring which moderates such shocks, two branches of our legislature will inevitably be destroyed-the King and the Lords by a Democracy, or the Commons and the Lords by a Despotism. This is a fact as clear as any moral truth can be-all history attests it, and the experience of every day of the last forty years has been exhibiting its operation in the affairs of France and the countries which have been affected by her influence. Even while we write, a new instance of this momentous truth threatens the peace of France and of the world. A reform in the election laws of that country (infinitely less extensive-less democratic than that proposed in England) has lately taken place, and its first effect appears likely to be the annihilation of the peerage of
France; and it seems too probable that the monarchical power will not survive the peerage six months. Shall we not take example from these convulsions? Shall we not even be induced to take time—a few months or weeks-to see how Reform works with our neighbours, before we commit ourselves to the perilous experiment? Can our remaining in our present position for only six months involve any public evil? If the opinion for Reform be well rooted in the public mind, it will advance and become stronger during that interval; if, on the other hand, it be of a nature to be rendered less satisfactory-less popular-by reflection and consideration, is there any man mad enough to say that it ought to be passed next week, because-if you wait till next year, it will be universally scouted?
The minority in the Commons will do its duty; but if it should be unable to reject, or even to delay, the fatal bill, the Lords will not be wanting in theirs. They must know that this alarming crisis was produced by the state of parties, and not by the merits of the measure; and they will not allow temporary differences and personal disputes to subvert, for ever, the Constitution of England. They will afford the king an opportunity of more clearly understanding the true interests of the crown and the real wishes of his people; and they will give the people time to recover from an intoxicating excitement; and to weigh carefully, and deliberately to decide, whether they will not best secure their liberties and their glory by adhering to that venerable principle on which Magna Charta itself was founded by the Barons, as BY THE BARONS we trust it will be preserved— NOLUMUS LEGES ANGLIE MUTARI.*
We have laid on our table, just as this sheet is going to press, a little tract entitled, 'Observations on a Pamphlet falsely attributed to a Great Person; and it is a subject of sincere regret with us, that this admirably reasoned and eloquently written performance did not happen to fall in our way before our present labours were concluded. The picture which it exhibits of the practical effects of this Reform question on the industry and internal commerce of the country-the suspension of buildings-the limitation of domestic expenditure, especially among the clergy and the fundholders -the contraction of discounts-the hoarding of the precious metals-the rapidly increasing distress among shopkeepers and traders of all descriptions-even, in spite of the extraordinary court gaieties, here in the capital-the general and growing stagnation and alarm-these details of the actual influence of the ministerial incubus, evidently presented by a man of great talents, intimately connected with the haute commerce of London, will, we trust, be considered by the members of the legislature, ere it is too late.
FORTY-FIFTH VOLUME OF THE QUARTERLY REVIEW.
ABERCROMBIE (Dr. John), his 'Inquiries concerning the Intellectual Powers and the Investigation of Truth,' 341. See Connexion of Intellectual Operations with Organic Action.
Addis (Alfred), his Formation of a New State of Society,' 446. Annual reviews on science, necessity of, in England, 376, n. Arctic discovery, liberal conduct of the British government in the case of, 59- solid professional and national renown attending the expeditions having this discovery in view, 91-duty of com- pleting this important service to the cause of science, ibid.
Atheism, described by Gray, 411.
Babbage (Charles), his complaint of the decline of science, 57, 59.
Bacon (Lord), a most sagacious deviser of experiments, 381.
Babeuf, Conspiration de, par Philippo
Buonarotti, 167-importance of the work, ibid.-account of the author, ibid. -object of Babeuf's conspiracy, 170- the parties who figured in the bloody tragedy, 171-views of the levellers, 173-the author's character of Babeuf, 177-and of Darthé, 178-overthrow of Robespierre, 180-a centre of direc- tion formed, ibid.-meeting of the Société du Panthéon, 181-Babeuf establishes the 'tribun du peuple,' ibid. -a secret committee formed to prepare an insurrection, ibid.—a radical reform in property resolved on, 182-General Buonaparte breaks up the society, and closes the doors of the Pantheon, 185 -a secret directory of public safety constituted, 186-a summary of Ba- beuf's doctrines widely distributed, 187 -means taken to corrupt the soldiers, and to create a popular army, 188- the secret directors draw up an act of insurrection, 189-and coalesce with the Mountaineers of the Convention, 194-projects of the conspirators, 195 -seizure of the conspirators, 199- Babeuf's letter to the Directory on his arrest, ibid.-trial of the conspirators, 200-Babeuf's defence, 204-his sen- Vol. XLV. No. XC.
tence and death, 206-character of Buonarotti, and of his work, 207. Ballot, reflections on the, 252. Barclay (Alexander), his Effects of the late Colonial Policy of Great Britain,' 209. Barrow (John, Esq.), suggests the estab- lishment of a geographical society, 58 -his unwearied recommendations in the cause of arctic discovery, 91. Bates's Christian Politics quoted, 339. Beechey (Captain F.W.), his Narrative of a Voyage to the Pacific and Beering's Straits, to co-operate with the Polar expeditions, 57-the sort of encourage- ment which the British government ought to give to scientific inquiry, ibid. -its liberal conduct in the case of arctic discovery, 59-the object of Captain Beechey's voyage, 61-out- line of his track, 61-detailed proceed- ings of the Blossom, 64-Beechey's reception among the natives of Easter Island, ibid the Blossom touches at Elizabeth Island, 67-comes in sight of Pitcairn Island, 68-the mutineers of the Bounty, ibid.-Adams's narra- tive of the mutiny, 70-settlement of the mutineers at Pitcairn Island, 72— present habits of their descendants, 75 -project of the missionaries for trans- planting them to Otaheite, 78-the Blossom proceeds to Gambier Islands, 80-sketch of a day-break scene, ibid.— characteristic adventures with the na- tives, 81-Byam Martin island, 82- the adventures of Tuwarri and his com- panions, 83-misconceptions as to the direction from which the trade-winds blow, 84-arrival of the Blossom at Otaheite, 85-slow progress of Christi- anity in, 86-present manners and ha- bits of the natives, 87-'march of intel- lect' in the South Seas, 88-New Zea- land method of preparing human heads, ibid.-Beering Straits, ibid-the Blos- som reaches Chamisso Island, 89-ex- traordinary ice-formation in Escholtz Bay, ibid.-narrative of the barge sent under Mr. Elson to try the passage from the north-east, 90-return to Chamisso Island, 91-the Blossom pro- ceeds to San Francisco, in California, 20
92-Captain Beechey's reception at Loo Choo, 93-retreat of the Blossom from the Polar Sea, without having heard of Franklin or Parry, 96-Capt. Beechey's opinion upon the practica- bility of completing the object of the Polar expeditions, ibid.
Beering's Straits, Narrative of a Voyage to. See Beechey.
Benthamites and Saint Simonites, com- parison between, 427. Berzelius, his annual report on the pro- gress of the physical sciences, 375. Bhagavat-Gita, or the Divine song, Au- gustus Schlegel's translation of, 4- extracts from, 6.
Big Sam, the porter at Carlton house, account of, 365, n.
Boden (Colonel), his bequest for the found- ing of a Sanscrit professorship at Oxford,
Bopp (Franz), his translation of the Nala, 13 of the Maha-bharata, 25 -and of Arjuna's journey to Indra's heaven, 30. British Association for Promoting Co-ope rative Knowledge, Address of, 436. Buonaparte (Lucien), his powerful descrip- tion of the state to which scepticism had
reduced France, 414.
Buonarotti, (Philippo), Conspiration pour l'Egalité, dite de Babeuf. See Babeuf.
Calidása, designated by Sir W. Jones the
Indian Shakspeare, 39-scenes from his Mrichchacati, or the Toy-cart, 42. Chesterfield (Lord), his character of Vol- taire, 411.
Chezy (A. L., his) translation of the Ra- mayana, 24-his panegyric on the epic poets of India, 30.
Code Gourmand, the wittiest jeu-d'esprit of recent years, 88.
Colebrooke (Henry Thomas,) his attain- ments in oriental literature, 3, n. Croker (Right Hon. John Wilson), his speech on the reform question, 252. Connexion of Intellectual Operations with Organic Action, 341-study of the hu- man mind, ibid.-influence of physical knowledge on the investigation of men- tal phenomena, 342-present state of pneumatology, ibid-recorded cases of dreams to be used with the utmost caution, 343-brief view of some new deductions in physico-pneumatology, ibid.-images recalled by the memory follow the motions of the head and eye, 344-case of Dr. Ferriar, 345-and of Sir Isaac Newton, ibid.-phenomena of dreaming, 349-study of the intellec- tual powers an indispensable branch of medical education, 350-Dr. Abercrom- bie's general summary of the intellectual
powers, ibid.-phenomena of somnam- bulism, 352-sundry cases of dreams, ibid.-question respecting the origin of dreams, 356-operations carried on by the mind during sleep, 357-curious physiological doctrines respecting sleep, 358.
Cousin (Victor), his Histoire de la Philoso- phie du 18me Siècle characterised, 3, n. Cunningham (Allan,) his Lives of the British Architects. See Old English Domestic Architecture.
Cuvier (Baron), his Histoire des Progrès des Sciences Naturelles, 375.
Deluge, Indian versions of the traditions of the, 26.
Doctrine de Saint Simon. See New Dis tribution of Property. Dreaming, phenomena of, 349, 352. Dreams, recorded cases of, to be used with the utmost caution, 342. Darthé, anecdotes of, 178.
Escott (B. S.), his ' Would Reform in Par- liament be a Benefit to the Country ?
Geographical Society, its establishment, 53. Geological Society, its establishment, 59. Goître, application of iodine to the cure of, 403.
Greeks, great experience of the later, in
the various forms of government, 450. Grote (George), his Essentials of Parlia- mentary Reform, 252.
Hall (Captain Basil), his Fragments of Voyages and Travels, including Anec- dotes of a Naval Life, 145-merits and demerits of the writer, ibid.—his letters and diaries while a midshipman, 146 -early life of the author, ibid.-his ad- miration of the system on which the British service has been conducted, 147-the Captain's dinners with the officers in the ward-room, 150-Jack's allowance, 152-admirable description of a chase, capture, and escape, 154— last scene of poor Jack's eventful his- tory, 162-impressive account of a sea- funeral, 165.
Hallam (Henry), his Constitutional His- tory of England quoted, 268, 291, 304. Herschell (J. F.W.), his Preliminary Dis course on the Study of Natural Philo- sophy, 374-this remarkable volume worthy
worthy to stand by the side of the pro- ductions of Cuvier and Berzelius, 376 -eminent qualifications of the author, ibid.-benefit of fixing the termin- ductive philosophy' to a settled meaning and definite limits, 378-the work an admirable comment on the Novum Organum Scientiarum, ibid.-peculiar nature of modern science, and of that inductive or Baconian method to which its marvels are attributed, ibid.-curious circumstance in the history of this philosophy, 381-the inquisitio not a judicious application of the inductive method, 382-lines of discovery arising out of the inquiries concerning the na ture of heat, 383-the deductive philo- sophy, 387-its mathematical charac- ter, 388-physical astronomy, 389-the sciences in very varied points of their progress, 390-terminology, or the fixation of our generalizations by im- posing exact terms, ibid.-advantages of a well-chosen nomenclature, 391- specimens of the inductive advance ex- hibited in several of the sciences, ibid. -botany, ibid.-chemistry, 392-mine- ralogy, 393-physics, 394-the new properties of light, 395-optics, ibid.- mechanics, 396-the mechanics of fluids, ibid.-astronomy, 397-the au- thor's masterly account of the state of the sciences, 398-illustration of the rules by which true science must be conducted, ibid.-Bacon's considera- tion of the anticipatory process, 399- discovery of the atomic theory, 400- Mr. Herschell's admirable precepts and maxims for scientific research, 401- the deductio ad praxim,' 402-the style and manner of Mr. Herschell's treatise, 405.
Hindoo Drama, Wilson's Select Speci-
mens of, 38-its curious similitude and dissimilitude to the different schools of English drama, 39-number of extant plays, 42-how classed by the Indian critics, ibid-a tragic catastrophe pro- hibited on the Indian stage, ibid.- scenes from Mrichchacati, or the Toy- Cart of Calidasa, ibid-from Madhava and Malati, 52— from the Uttara Rama Cheritra, 53- and from the Mudra Rakshasa, 54.
Humboldt (Baron William von), on the philosophy and poetry of the Bhagavat Gita, 7.
Hunt (E. F.), his Designs for Parsonages and Farm-houses, 471-his Exemplars of Tudor Architecture, ibid. See Old English Domestic Architecture.
India, ancient poetry of. See Sanscrit Poetry.
India, remarkable apathy on all questions connected with, 1.
Inductive Philosophy-See Herschell. Intellectual Powers, Dr. John Abercrom- bie's Inquiries concerning, 341. See Connexion of Intellectual Operations with Organic Action.
Jones (Sir William), his translations from the hymns of Jayadeva quoted, 14. Jonson, Ben, quoted, 11, n.
Kosegarten (Joh. Gottfr. Ludiv.), his translation of the Nala, 13.
Lebon (Joseph), anecdotes of, 178.
Mackay (Robert), or Rob Donn, Songs and Poems in the Gaelic language by, 358-some account of him, 360-merits of his poetry, 367-circumstances under which one of his elegies was composed, 368-sundry verbal translations from his poems, 369.
Mackay (Rev. Dr.), his Memoir of Rob Donn, 358-his meritorious inquiries concerning the language of the Scottish Gael, 359.
Mackintosh (Sir James), his History of
England quoted, 269.
Medical education, study of the intellec- tual powers an indispensable branch of, 350.
Mock Patriot, Dean Tucker's picture of the, 298.
Modern science-See Herschell.
Notes on the Reform Bill, by a Barrister, 324.
Observations on a Pamphlet, falsely at- tributed to a great person. See Reform
Bill. Old English Domestic Architecture, 471 -its history, for the most part, still unwritten, 474-style introduced by the Romans, ibid-the Saxon era, 475- the Norman era, ibid.-improvement in the character of the habitations after the age of Edward III., 476-still further changes at a later period, 477 -the time of Henry VII, and VIII. the best era of British architecture, ibid. characteristics of the old mano- rial houses of the times of the Planta- genets and Tudors, 478-leading causes of their decay, 479-introduc- tion of Italian architecture in the reign of Elizabeth, 481-complaints against the transition style of the Elizabethan age, 482-the architectural garden of that period, 485-the Italian gardens introduced, 486-decline of the domes- 20 tic
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