| LIFE OF WILLIAM ROSCOE. | 3 |
The subject of a Reform in Parliament was one upon which Mr. Roscoe had early formed, and repeatedly expressed, a decided opinion. At the period of his election in 1800, he stated explicitly his sentiments on this question; and in his political correspondence he frequently refers to it as one of the most important considerations that could engage the attention of the legislature and of the public. In a letter to the Duke of Gloucester, written soon after the forming of Mr. Perceval’s administration, after expressing his deep regret at that event, he thus proceeds:—
“When misfortunes occur, and I cannot but consider this
as a very great one, we are frequently led to examine into the causes which
have produced them; and if I were called upon to assign, to the best of my
judgment, the true root and origin of all the evils which this country
experiences, I should, after the fullest deliberation, attribute them to the
corruption of the representation of the people, and the consequent subserviency
of the House of Commons. For
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“When I look back on what I have written, I cannot but feel that I may possibly have presumed too far on your Royal Highness’s goodness, well knowing that, to many persons, the dissemination of sentiments like these might be considered as very dangerous to the peace of the country. One reflection, however, relieves the anxiety I should otherwise feel, and induces me not to withhold from your Royal Highness the warm dictates of my heart,—the hope, that your Royal Highness will still continue to attribute what I say to no improper motive, but will do me the justice to believe, that however erroneous my political opinions may be, I am at least sincere in my wishes for the prosperity of my country.”
In the course of the present year, an opportunity offered itself to
Mr. Roscoe, of bringing before the public the
subject of Parliamentary Reform in a shape which he hoped might attract some attention.
Mr. Brougham, who had lately taken his seat in the
House of Commons, being anxious to obtain the opinions of some of his friends with regard
to the most judicious method of introducing the subject of Parliamentary Reform, addressed
to Mr. Roscoe (amongst others) a long and interesting letter, in which
he both explained the view taken by himself, and requested the opinion of his
correspondent. With this request it was impossible not to comply,
| LIFE OF WILLIAM ROSCOE. | 7 |
“I assure you that I feel I owe you much for your indulgence to
my letter on Parliamentary Reform. Not that I am doubtful of the opinions there avowed,
and which have long been the settled convictions of my mind, but because I have perhaps
introduced topics which your letter did not call for. I should be much gratified to
think that it had been favourably considered by one whom I so highly respect as
Mr. Bentham. With regard to its publication,
I feel no reluctance of a personal nature, and am only apprehensive that the manner of
the argument is not equal, either to the goodness of the cause, or to the great
importance of the subject. There are, also, several passages not strictly relating to
the point, and which, though intrusted
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He then urges his correspondent to make his own letter public, and suggests the propriety of printing both their letters in one pamphlet.
“This would at least have the effect of placing this great subject in its various points of view, and of inducing the public to take it into their deliberate consideration, without which nothing effectual will ever be done. But, besides this, it would, I hope, set an example not frequently seen, of two persons contending with each other, not for victory but for truth; not as in a battle, which shall defeat the other, but as in a race, which shall first arrive at the mark. If, however, you should feel the least reluctance either to the one or the other of these modes, I will, should you still think my sentiments can be of any use, endeavour to alter the form of my letter into a sort of dissertation, though I am aware that it must by this method lose much of any effect it might otherwise produce.”
The resolution taken by Mr. Roscoe to publish his letter met with the full approbation of Mr. Brougham.
“I am truly delighted,” he says, in answer to the
foregoing letter, “to find you still so earnest in the great cause of Reform, and
that you have listened to the anxious wish of some of its most respectable, though less
clamorous supporters,
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By the encouragement thus unreservedly extended to him, Mr. Roscoe was induced to give his letter to the public, which he did in the summer of the year 1811. Some few alterations were made in it, for the purpose of rendering it fit for the public eye, but in substance it remained the same as originally written.
Now that the great measure of Parliamentary Reform has received the
sanction of the legislature, after an opposition unexampled in character and duration, it
cannot be uninteresting to recal the plans, which at different periods its friends have
proposed, for the purpose of effecting the object of their wishes. A considerable class of
reformers, of whom, at this time, Mr.
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“I shall now beg leave more particularly to notice the steps
towards such a reform, which are pointed out in your letter, and which you inform me it
is shortly your intention to take, by proposing such measures in parliament. The first
of these is, limiting the number of inferior placemen in the House of
Commons, and the leaving there only the ministers and principal members of the
boards. The second is, the correction of the corrupt or
defective representation of the Scottish counties; a subject which you have
most clearly stated, and of the necessity of remedying the defects of which there
cannot in any impar-
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To this plan of proceeding Mr. Roscoe then states his objections; the first of which is its impracticability, from its failing to meet the wishes of any considerable class of reformers:—
“In one word, it appears to me, to go much too far to obtain the
support of one party, and not far enough to command that of the other. The time for
intermediate measures is past. Those who are in the possession of the emoluments of
office, and rely upon borough influence, have taken their stand; they will either
retain all or lose all; and would consider the smallest concession towards reform as a
Hollander would the cutting through an embankment, which would soon let in the ocean
that must sweep him away. There cannot, therefore, be in my apprehension, the slightest
expectation entertained, that any one of these measures will be acceded
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He again adverts to the tenacity with which the enemies of reform cling to the abuses by which they profit, in the following passage:—
“He who attempts to restore a mouldering brick, or to replace a
rotten timber, is as ob-
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The real sources from which reform was to be looked for are thus pointed out.
“To you, my dear Sir, the result of these observations will not be difficult to collect. Were it necessary for me to explain them further, I should say, that it is not by agitating any partial reforms, but by producing a serious conviction in the public mind, of the necessity of an incorrupt and independent House of Commons, that the friends of reform must eventually hope for success. This conviction the people are rapidly obtaining, in a manner which they cannot but feel and acknowledge.
“The friends of reform may, perhaps, by calm and temperate
discussion contribute in some degree to promote it; but the most powerful advocates of
reform are the adherents of the present corrupt system, and the most unanswerable
arguments are the present state of the country, the increasing weight of taxation, the
profuse waste of the blood and treasure of the nation, the enormous sinecures enjoyed
by ministerial dependants, and the appointment of inefficient and inexperienced
ministers to offices
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The nature and extent of the change in the elective franchise advocated by Mr. Roscoe appear in the following passage:—
“In order to accomplish these objects in their full extent, it would be necessary that the right of voting should not depend on the various, and in some instances capricious qualifications, which at present exist, but should be extended to all; by which I mean, to all who as householders are heads of families, and contribute to the exigencies of the state, as well as to some other descriptions of the community; and that all persons holding places and pensions should be incapable of being elected, or if they afterwards accept of places, should absolutely be deprived of seats in the House. This I should consider as a full and substantial reform.”
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He afterwards adverts to the consequences of such a reform:—
“To whom would the granting of an equal right of suffrage be an offence, but to those who are interested in the corrupt system of trafficking in boroughs? In fact, such a reform would not only occasion no tumult, but would be the means of preventing it, and would put an end for ever to those disgraceful scenes of bribery and intoxication, which, on the occurrence of an election, disgust every thinking man in the kingdom. By a proper division of each county into districts, every member ought to be elected on the same day. No person would be under the necessity of going above a very few miles from his own house. All pretext for bribery under the idea of paying the travelling charges of electors, &c., would be done away, and the House of Commons would, in a great degree, if not entirely, be spared the laborious and irksome service of election committees, which occupy the chief part of the first session of every Parliament, and are beneficial only to the lawyers who attend them.”
On the danger of change, an argument which may be urged against every improvement, Mr. Roscoe makes the following observations:—
“I have before hinted an opinion, that alterations or reforms in
government are often more
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‘better to bear the ills we have, Than fly to others that we know not of,’ |
The letter, when printed, was again honoured with the full approbation of
the distinguished statesman to whom it was addressed:—“I have just received your
two covers, and greatly rejoice at your publishing the letter. I have read it again,
| LIFE OF WILLIAM ROSCOE. | 17 |
At the close of his life Mr.
Roscoe had the happiness of seeing a scheme of reform introduced, founded
upon the principles which he had himself thus earnestly supported. He witnessed an attempt
made to abolish “the various and capricious qualifications” of voters,
and to substitute, in place of them, a franchise at once just, simple, and rational, in
those “who as householders are heads of families, and contribute to the exigencies
of the state.” He saw a system proposed which realised, in almost every
particular, the plan recommended by himself. He did not, indeed, live to see the completion
of this great measure, or to witness the confirmation which it afforded of the many
important truths contained in his Letter to Mr.
Brougham: to mark the accuracy of his assertion that “the feelings of
the people, when once warmed and excited, will not stop short of an ultimate and
substantial reform,” and that “alterations or reforms in government
are more to be dreaded from the opposition they meet with, than from the effects they
are likely to produce.” It was the happy fortune of his distinguished
correspondent not only to see these important changes
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Soon after the publication of the Letter to Mr. Brougham, an answer to it appeared from the pen of Mr. John Merritt, a gentleman of Liverpool. The object of this publication was to demonstrate, that the scheme of reform suggested by Mr. Roscoe was at once uncalled for and dangerous, and that the system of influence under which the country had for so long a course of years been governed was perfectly in accordance with the principles of the constitution. Referring to Burke’s “seeming paradox,” that though a theory may be beautiful and correct, yet it may be impossible or dangerous to reduce it to practice, Mr. Merritt contended that the notion of an independent House of Commons, though plausible in theory, was utterly impracticable.
For some time Mr. Roscoe was undecided whether he should extend the controversy by replying to this publication, which ultimately, however, he resolved to do; and in “An Answer to a Letter from Mr. John Merritt, on the Subject of Parliamentary Reform,”* he discussed at considerable length the topics in dispute between them. He exposed the unphilosophical and absurd idea that what is theoretically true can be
* Liverpool; printed by M. Galway and Co. 1812. |
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“If this were the system of the government, it is of all engines
of oppression undoubtedly the worst. The conflicts which arose between the contending
powers of King, Lords, and Commons, in former times, are beyond all comparison
preferable to the dead, spiritless, unelastic pressure of such a government. In
comparison with this, a direct and open despotism is liberal and magnanimous. By
whatever name the ruler may be distinguished, he there appears in his own character,
and is himself responsible to public opinion for the manner in which he exercises his
authority; but if such a ruler can by any contrivance establish an intermediate body
between himself and the people, who shall be supposed to guard their rights and defend
their interests, whilst, in fact, they are only the creatures of the crown, corrupted
and paid to sanction every act, and interpose as a screen between the resentment of the
people and the
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On the imputation so frequently cast upon the friends of reform, that they attributed to the people at large much more virtue and public spirit than in fact they possessed; and that their schemes, though they might be well meant, were yet short sighted, Mr. Roscoe observes;—
“Amongst other means to which these practical men have resorted to injure the cause of reform, towards whatever object it may be directed, it is not unusual for them to represent the advocates for improvement as men of warm hearts but weak understandings, who are apt to attribute to mankind in general better qualities than they in reality possess, and who are therefore always mistaken in their reasonings respecting them.
|
* “Quinetiam speciem libertatis quandam induxit, congervatis senatui ac magistratibus, et majestate pristina et potestate. Neque tam parvum quidquam, neque tam magnum publici privatique negotii fuit, de quo non ad P. C. referretur.” Suet, in vit. Tiber. |
| LIFE OF WILLIAM ROSCOE. | 21 |
“Nor can it be denied, that if we are to judge from the result of their efforts, there often appears to be too much reason for the imputation. This, however, is not a necessary, much less an inevitable consequence; and he who forms his political creed on a presumption of the general depravity of mankind, is perhaps liable to fall into as great, and certainly a much more dangerous error, than he whose experience leads him to attribute to the rest of mankind some portion of those better principles, for which he expects that the rest of the world should give him credit. Dark as the political horizon may appear, yet, if we look into the circles of private life, we shall find, that integrity, truth, and justice are not yet exploded amongst mankind;—that magnanimity excites admiration, generosity gratitude,—and that all the best feelings and affections of the heart yet exist in their full force. Where, then, is the absurdity of presuming, that he who would not commit a dishonest action in private life, would not lend his aid to an act of public injustice? That he who would not be guilty of a highway robbery, would not willingly associate himself with a band of pirates? That he who would shudder at the thought of murdering his neighbour, would not, for the sake of his private emolument, instigate or encourage a war in which thousands of his neighbours must inevitably perish?
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“It is only by extending his sphere of action, and supposing that an individual will most likely perform upon a large scale the same part that he does on a small one, and the absurdity vanishes. What would be the condition of private society, if envy, jealousy, fear, distrust, and hatred, were the only feelings by which mankind were actuated? but still more unfortunate is it, when these dreadful and unsocial passions are intermingled in the character of nations, and influence the conduct of states towards each other.
“The former is only an accidental and local disease, the latter is a sweeping pestilence, by which whole nations are destroyed. These, I may be told, are truisms; but when truisms are forgotten or disregarded, their truth is surely no objection against their being revived and enforced. What, then, has the politician to do, but to apply to the affairs of nations and the intercourse of states those principles of morality which he finds in the relations of private life? to banish the absurd and dangerous maxim, that ‘there is one line of moral conduct for nations, and another for individuals;’ to exemplify in public those maxims of justice, sincerity, moderation, and good-will, towards which every government pays a nominal homage, and which are the very cement of private society; and to render a government the example and pattern, and not the corruption and opprobrium of a people.”
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While the reflections of Mr.
Roscoe had led him to the conviction, that it was only from the introduction
of a large and substantial measure of reform that success could be expected, he was fully
aware that the combination of persons of rank, property, and influence with the mass of the
people, would be necessary to give this great object any chance of accomplishment. He,
therefore, anxiously exerted himself in every quarter to impress this fact upon the minds
of his political friends, and to induce them to wave all minor differences of opinion in
favour of some plan which should unite the great body of reformers. He earnestly desired to
see those whom he considered as the natural leaders of the people step forwards to direct
popular opinion on this subject, and by the weight of their influence to. give at once
power and steadiness to the efforts of the reformers. In a letter to one of the most
illustrious of his correspondents, written in September, 1812, he says, “Mr. Brougham has just left Allerton, where he passed a few
days with: me, and told me, in private conversation, of the efforts made by you to induce
the great leaders; of (what I am sorry we must still call) opposition to unite in some
general expression, before the rising of parliament, of the necessity of measures of
reform. Such a step, if it could have been accomplished, would have had the happiest
effect, in uniting the great body of the people with
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In the year 1807 he had taken a part at a public meeting held in Liverpool, on the subject of the opening of the trade; and again, in the course of the present year (1812), he came forwards on a similar occasion. The charter of the Company being about to expire, meetings were held in different parts of the country, for the purpose of petitioning parliament for a free trade, and the inhabitants of Liverpool, amongst other places, met together to oppose a renewal of the monopoly. The resolutions proposed and carried on this occasion were prepared by Mr. Roscoe, who supported them in an address of considerable length.* He treated the subject entirely as a commercial question, and rested the claims of the petitioners upon the principles of free trade. The following are the resolutions directed to this part of the question:—
“That we, in common with the rest of our fellow-subjects, have a right to a free trade with all parts of the British empire, and other countries in amity with these united kingdoms, subject only to such general regulations of trade as the policy of this country may require, or as may be necessary for maintaining the relations of these realms with foreign states, and
* Printed in the Liverpool Mercury of 20th March, 1812. |
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“That we humbly conceive the great object of all legislative regulation, in the commercial concerns of the country, is the protection of this equal right in the subject, and the further extension of an honourable, just, and legitimate commerce; and that therefore all monopolies which exclude the general body of the people from trading with other countries, are in derogation of the birth-right of the subject, and counteract the chief purpose which they ought to have in view.
“That the monopoly of the East India Company is an additional instance, with others which might be adduced, of the injurious consequences that must always attend such attempts at an exclusive traffic; and that we conceive it to have been fully demonstrated, not only by the most conclusive reasoning, but by incontrovertible facts, that such monopoly is prejudicial to the general interests of the country at large, and discourages that commercial spirit which, from the nature and local situation of these islands, is indispensable to their prosperity, and upon which their security, at this moment, essentially depends.”
On the subject of this meeting Mr. Roscoe thus addressed the Duke of Gloucester, in a letter, dated the 21st March:—
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“I have desired the printer of the ‘Liverpool Mercury’ to forward you a copy of that paper, in which you will see the result of a public meeting for petitioning parliament for an open trade to the East Indies, and will, I hope, think that the resolutions there adopted have placed the subject on its proper ground, that of a claim of right. I also venture to flatter myself that your Royal Highness will think that in what I have said I have acted the part of a friend to my country, in endeavouring, as far as in my power, to prevent the people being deluded to their destruction, by the prospect of advantages which it is impossible should be realised in time to provide for present emergencies.
“That the East India trade will, when opened, be highly beneficial to this country I have no doubt; but if the expectation of it should call off our attention from the real causes of our distress, and induce us to suppose that we can dispense with the advantages we derive from the preservation of an intercourse with America, it may lead us into a most serious error.”
The occurrence of a general election in the autumn of 1812 again drew
Mr. Roscoe into the toils and anxieties of
public life. With regard to himself, his increasing age and his engagements in business
precluded him from entertaining the idea of resuming his seat in parliament, though, had
his inclinations been so directed,
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“Your letter of the 24th, desiring to be informed, whether, if I were chosen for Westminster, upon the pure principles of the last election, I would undertake the duties of the office, has greatly surprised me.
“That my name should be in any manner suggested as
connected with the representation of the first city in the empire, is in itself
an honour of which I cannot but be most deeply sensible. At the same time, I am
compelled to
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“This inquiry, however it may have originated, or to whatever number of electors it may be confined, will always be recollected by me with the highest gratification. Not, I trust, from any weak motives of personal vanity, but because it affords me the happiness of thinking that the principles I have avowed in favour of liberty, peace, and reform, are in strict unison with those of the enlightened electors of Westminster. Nor can I entertain a doubt that they will persevere in the cause they have already so nobly begun, and by maintaining the independence and purity of election, become the saviours of their country.
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“I have now only to thank you, my dear friend, for the solicitude you so kindly express as to my decision, and to assure you of my invariable attachment.”
When the elections came on, Mr. Roscoe learned with much surprise that he had been proposed as one of the candidates for the representation of the borough of Leicester. No previous intimation had been conveyed to him of the intention of the electors to make use of his name, and he had not therefore the opportunity of expressing his dissent to the measure. His name had, in fact, been selected as that of a person whose character was generally known and regarded, for the purpose of affording some strength to an opposition, which, at that time, was little more than hopeless. At the conclusion of the election, it appeared that while the successful candidates numbered 1116 and 967 voters, those who had supported Mr. Roscoe amounted to 412. It was only through the public papers that Mr. Roscoe obtained a knowledge of this transaction, and immediately on the conclusion of the election he transmitted to Leicester the following address:—
“Although I have received no information, except from
the public papers, of the circum-
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“That under such circumstances I should have had the support of no less than four hundred and twelve independent voters, whilst one of the successful candidates numbered only 967, and the other only 1116 votes, is to me a subject of gratification. Nor is this diminished, when I reflect that it is highly probable, from the union of interests that appears to have subsisted between those candidates, that a great part of the votes so given were divided votes. Even this majority has not, as it appears, been obtained without a powerful struggle; nor, as we are expressly informed by those gentlemen in their printed letter of thanks, ‘without calling forth great and burdensome exertions from a numerous body of their friends.’
“In such a situation, for me to remain silent would
evince a want of feeling, of which I hope I am utterly incapable. No,
Gentlemen, although
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“I hope that the pleasure I feel upon this occasion, and
which I am now endeavouring to express, will be attributed to its proper
motives. That I am insensible to the honourable esteem of good men, will not, I
trust, be supposed; but a still more legitimate cause of my satisfaction is in
the decided proof that has been given, as well in your distinguished town as in
other parts of the kingdom, of the more general diffusion of principles
favourable to freedom, to peace,
to well regulated government, and to high and enlightened morality; in the conviction that
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With regard to the representation of Liverpool, Mr. Roscoe was pressed, individually, by many of his
friends, to present himself again as a candidate; and the strong assurances of support
which he received might have justified him in looking for success. With these
solicitations, however, influenced by those sufficient reasons which have already been
mentioned, he uniformly declined to comply. Though himself debarred from becoming the
representative of his
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A number of the merchants of Liverpool, desirous of testifying their sense of the public services of Mr. Brougham, especially in the matter of the Orders in Council, resolved to give a public dinner in honour of him, and to solicit his attendance on the occasion. This circumstance afforded Mr. Roscoe the opportunity of enjoying the society of his distinguished correspondent for a few days at Allerton,—a pleasure of which he had been long desirous. The enthusiasm which, at the public dinner, attended the coupling the name of Mr. Brougham with the representation of Liverpool, left no doubt with regard to the strong and general feeling existing in his favour.
The other individual selected to stand by the side of Mr. Brougham in this great contest, was Mr. Creevey, himself a native of Liverpool, and well known
to its chief inhabitants. Consistency of political conduct, and an intimate acquaintance
with the commercial and financial interests of the country, frequently displayed in the
debates of the House of Commons, seemed to render this gentleman a fit coadjutor to
Mr. Brougham, while the exertions he had lately made to give to
the country at large the benefit
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The attempt to return two members of liberal principles excited, as it was expected it would do, a spirit of strong opposition. The friends of the late members, General Gascoyne and General Tarleton, clearly foresaw, that unless some new and extraordinary effort was made, their adversaries would have every chance of success. From the ranks of both of them, therefore, a number of the most wealthy and powerful of their supporters stepped forwards, and in order to secure a candidate equal to the task of contending with Mr. Brougham, invited Mr. Canning to Liverpool. The consequence of this step was, that the party of General Tarleton, whose influence had been gradually diminishing, became almost extinct; and a junction was formed between the supporters of General Gascoyne and of Mr. Canning. With this combination of forces, to which the corporation influence added great strength, the friends of the liberal candidates were unable to contend; and after an arduous and well maintained struggle of several days, the election terminated in favour of Mr. Canning and General Gascoyne.
Having refused to come forward in his own person, Mr. Roscoe did not think it proper to take an active and
conspicuous part in the con-
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Under the disappointment which Mr. Roscoe naturally felt at the failure of the efforts made by the friends of freedom in Liverpool to return representatives enjoying their confidence and respect, he found a satisfaction in reflecting, that the contest had been the means of calling forth the eloquence, and exhibiting the high genius of one who has since acted so distinguished a part in the political history of his age.
The speeches delivered by Mr.
Canning in the course of the election (which were collected and published
soon after its termination) contain an elaborate defence of the war, and unsparing attacks
upon the friends of parliamentary reform. Unwilling to suffer a publication like this to
pass without notice, Mr. Roscoe, a few weeks
subsequent to its appearance, felt it incumbent on him to examine the arguments it
contained, which he did in a short pamphlet, entitled, “A Review of the Speeches of the Right Honourable George
Canning on the late Election for Liverpool, so far as they relate to the
Questions of
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Mr. Roscoe then proceeds to comment upon the arguments made use of by Mr. Canning in defence of the war, and especially that most extraordinary and delusive position, that the warfare in which we were engaged was a visitation from heaven, and that it was in vain to struggle against the divine wrath:—“What, gentlemen,” he observes, “should you think of the sense or the fairness of men, who, in the midst of the distress and desolation occasioned in one of your West India Islands by a hurricane or tornado, while the air was involved in a pitchy darkness and the city rocking with volcanic explosions, were to run about the streets, proclaiming them-
* Liverpool, Dec. 1812. |
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It is a matter of some curiosity at the present time to observe the manner in which the great question of parliamentary reform was treated, twenty years since, by the most brilliant politician of the day.
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The tone of triumph assumed by Mr. Canning, in referring to the subject of reform, and the derision and contempt with which its advocates were uniformly treated by him, show how imperfectly he understood the progress of public opinion on this subject; but it is not improbable, that had the days of this celebrated statesman been prolonged, he might, upon this question, as he did upon others, have recurred to the principles of his early life. The fact that he had supported Mr. Pitt in his projects of reform, is very justly brought forward by Mr. Roscoe in answer to the imputations so freely cast by Mr. Canning on the motives of the reformers:—“Mr. Canning has been in the ranks of the reformers, and cannot but know that the grounds and reasons upon which they claim their constitutional rights, have too broad a foundation in the history and laws of the country and the practice of their ancestors, to be overthrown or invalidated by the mere assertion of any man; and ought to be aware that, as a person who has derived, or is likely to derive, peculiar advantages from the change of his political opinions, he should be particularly cautious in imputing to those who have adhered to their principles, those base and unworthy motives, which might with so much propriety be retorted on himself.”
It is seldom that, in the political writings of Mr. Roscoe, any attempt at pleasantry is to be
| LIFE OF WILLIAM ROSCOE. | 43 |
“Now, it is not easy to determine whether we ought most to admire the kind and consolatory language in which the orator thus consigns his hearers to irremediable distress, or the readiness and pleasure with which they surrender themselves to their fate. It is as novel as it is delightful to see with what ardour and cordiality they congratulate each other that no changes, either in the internal or external policy of the country, can remedy their sufferings, and how truly they participate in the cheering sentiment of the excellent old song—
‘Let us all be unhappy together!’ |
“In this prosperous state of affairs, with which they are so
highly gratified, it would be quite impertinent to interfere. About tastes it is in
vain to dispute; and they who meddle on such occasions undertake a thankless and often
a dangerous office. It is only a few weeks since, as my readers must all remember, that
a circumstance occurred in the metropolis which strongly exemplifies this remark. An
honest John Bull had been unluckily tempted to
engage in a game of chance, as
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“But I should do great injustice to the important towns before
mentioned, and to that of Liverpool in particular, were I to allow it for one moment to
be understood that the persons who could thus hear with patience and mark with their
approbation the sentiments of Mr.
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Adverting to a passage in one of Mr.
Canning’s speeches, in which he alludes to the dis-
| LIFE OF WILLIAM ROSCOE. | 47 |
“And who was he that was thus marked out as retiring, disappointed in his expectations? A man of whom it is difficult to say, whether the courageous energy with which he has uniformly pursued every great and noble object, or the splendour of his talents and extent of his acquirements are the most conspicuous,—who would have reflected back, with additional lustre, the honour conferred on him by his constituents,—who has compressed within a small portion of his life, and a short parliamentary career, the most important services to his country; and who, in the midst of venality and corruption, the defalcation of the young and the prejudices of the old, has always stood up, the fearless and successful advocate of justice, of humanity, of freedom, and of peace. If such a man is not entitled to the affection and gratitude of his countrymen, and may not hope for the favour of Heaven upon his exertions,—then, indeed, a revolution has taken place in the moral constitution of the world, such as it has not before experienced.
‘But evil on itself shall back recoil, And mix no more with goodness.’ ‘—if this fail, The pillar’d firmament is rottenness, And earth’s base built on stubble.’ |
| 48 | LIFE OF WILLIAM ROSCOE. |
In a letter, conveying to one of his principal political friends an account of the Liverpool election, Mr. Roscoe states his sentiments with regard to the prospects of Reform.
“What has happened here has happened also at other places, and I cannot but particularly regret that Sir Samuel Romilly was not returned for Bristol. But, although I admit that the present opposition are not likely to be any gainers by the dissolution of parliament, yet I cannot but think that a more correct and enlightened spirit of improvement is gradually diffusing itself amongst the people at large.
“The efforts that have been made have all been respectable,
founded on principle, and free from all just charge of outrage or violence; nor is it
an unfavourable symptom that all attempts to carry the people to extremes have been put
down and repressed, and a more distinct barrier drawn between the real and steadfast
friends of the country, and those who would infuse their own intemperate and dangerous
spirit into the community. What you have stated, respecting your own efforts to produce
a declaration of sentiment favourable to reform, has given me the greatest pleasure. I
hope and trust such a measure may yet be possible; and that the friends of real and
practicable improvement may begin to understand each other. Certainly there has been,
hitherto, some fatal mistake on
| LIFE OF WILLIAM ROSCOE. | 49 |
“That this mistake has weakened the efforts of Opposition, even in Parliament itself, I am well convinced, and still more in the country at large; nor can it be remedied till our great statesmen will perceive the distinction that really subsists between the great body of the people who are favourable to reform, and those who undertake, without their consent, to express their sentiments, in a tone and manner which no liberal nor candid mind can approve.”
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