Hunt, Henry, 1773-1835; Social reformers -- Great Britain -- Biography
sent me up a petition, to be presented to the House of Commons, praying
for _universal suffrage_, one signed by 24,000 and the other by 25,000
persons. To be brief here, (for I shall detail the circumstances more
fully hereafter, as they make a most important epoch of my life); the
delegates met, 63 in number, at the Crown and Anchor, Major Cartwright in
the chair, who, together with Mr. Jones Burdett, attended as a deputation
from the Hampden Club. The Major, in opening the business of the day,
stated that the members of the Hampden Club, with Sir Francis Burdett at
their head, had come to a resolution to support suffrage to the extent of
householders, _and no further,_ and that they recommended the adoption of
this plan to the delegates. The Major was particularly eloquent, and went
out of the usual course of a chairman, by requesting, almost as a personal
favour to himself, that the delegates would adopt the recommendation of
the Hampden Club. Mr. Cobbett then rose, and, in a speech replete with
every argument which this most clear and powerful reasoner could suggest,
proposed the first resolution, that the meeting should adopt the
recommendation of the Hampden Club, and agree to recommend the reformers
to petition to the extent of _householder suffrage only;_ urging, as Major
Cartwright had done before, the necessity of agreeing to this plan,
because Sir F. Burdett had positively refused to support any petitions for
universal suffrage. This resolution was seconded by Mr. Jno. Allen, my
brother delegate, from Bath, although he had positive instructions not to
agree to any thing short of universal suffrage; but Mr. Cobbett's powerful
though fallacious reasoning, had convinced him, of the necessity of
curtailing the right to householders only. I rose and moved an amendment,
substituting _universal_ for _householder suffrage_, and, with all the
reasoning and energy in my power, I combated the arguments of my friends
Cobbett and Major Cartwright, deprecating the narrow-minded policy that
would deprive 3-4ths of the population of the inherent birthright of every
freeman. My proposition, and the whole of the arguments I used in its
support, were received by a very large majority of the delegates with
enthusiastic approbation; so much so, that it convinced Mr. Cobbett of the
folly as well as the inutility of persisting in his motion. My amendment
having been seconded by Mr. Hulme, from Bolton in Lancashire, and being
supported by a very ingenious argument of my brave friend and fellow
prisoner (now in Lincoln Castle) Mr. Bamford, Mr. Cobbett rose and begged
to withdraw his motion, he having been convinced of the practicability of
universal suffrage by the speech of Mr. Bamford, who had at the time only
said a few words upon that subject. The question was put, and _principle_
carried it against _policy_, there being for my amendment I think 60, and
only 3 for the householder plan. Thus then, my friends, whether I was
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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