Lord Suffieldpresented a Petition from a hundred in the county of Norfolk, praying, first, for a Reform in Parliament; secondly, for an alteration of' the Poor Laws; thirdly, for the adoption of the plan of Mr. Ruthven in that respect; fourthly, for a commutation of Tithes; and fifthly, for applying the Church Revenues—one third to the repair of churches, one third to the maintenance of the poor, and one third to the payment of the officiating Clergy. In this last prayer 441 he did not concur. In presenting this petition, he took the opportunity of stating, that the plan of Reform proposed by his Majesty's Ministers met with his unqualified approbation. He had heard persons who were interested in boroughs and borough influence declare, that they felt grateful to his Majesty's Ministers for having, by this measure, relieved them from the odium and obloquy to which that species of influence subjected them; and if such persons, who were to lose valuable and beneficial interests by the measure, so highly approved of it, and felt so grateful to Ministers, how much more deep was the obligation under which the rest of their Lordships lay to his Majesty's Ministers, for having freed them from that odium and obloquy which they, as part of the aristocracy, shared with those having interest in boroughs, without having any of the advantage. He himself had no such influence, and felt grateful to the Ministry for being freed from the obloquy, by a measure which could not fail to be extensively beneficial to the country. He had always been averse from that species of influence, and yet he had been subjected to his share of the discredit which it attached to the aristocracy generally.
The Marquis of Lansdownpresented a Petition in favour of the Ministerial plan of Reform, from the Steward and Corporation of the borough of Calne, in Wiltshire. He did not mean at that time to enter into details of the measure, but there was one consideration personal to himself connected with this petition, on which he was desirous to say a few words. He was himself a member of that Corporation, and the petition was that of the whole of the Corporators. They stated that the measure proposed by his Majesty's Ministers met their highest approbation, as they had long been of opinion, and still retained that opinion, that the elective franchise ought to be extended to householders paying a certain rent; and that they were persuaded that the effect of this measure would be, to produce a good feeling throughout the country. It might not be out of place to observe, that this was a Corporation which, under any influence that had prevailed there, had never been sold or purchased; and, he might add, that he himself had not more than four houses in the borough which paid so much as 10l. rent. His Lordship presented Petitions to the same effect from Glas- 442 tonbury, in Somersetshire, from Auchtergaven, in Fife, from the Incorporated Wrights, Masons, Coopers, Glaziers, &c. of Edinburgh, who stated that they were interested in the present monopoly of the Elective Franchise; but that they gladly surrendered the privilege for the benefit of their fellow-citizens.