I do not pretend to give with accuracy the diction of those speeches which I did not myself correct within a week after they were delivered. Many expressions, and a few paragraphs, linger in my memory. But the rest, including much that had been carefully premeditated, is irrecoverably lost. Nor have I, in this part of my task, derived much assistance from any report. My delivery is, I believe, too rapid. Very able shorthand writers have sometimes complained that they could not follow me, and have contented themselves with setting down the substance of what I said. As I am unable to recall the precise words which I used, I have done my best to put my meaning into words which I might have used. I have only, in conclusion, to beg that the readers of this Preface will pardon an egotism which a great wrong has made necessary, and which is quite as disagreeable to myself as it can be to them. CONTENTS. Parliamentary Reform. (March 2, 1831) Parliamentary Reform. (July 5, 1831) Parliamentary Reform. (September 20, 1831) Parliamentary Reform. (October 10, 1831) Parliamentary Reform. (December 16, 1831) Anatomy Bill. (February 27, 1832) Parliamentary Reform. (February 28, 1832) Repeal of the Union with Ireland. (February 6, 1833) Jewish Disabilities. (April 17, 1833) Government of India. (July 10, 1833) Edinburgh Election, 1839. (May 29, 1839) Confidence in the Ministry of Lord Melbourne. (January 29, 1840) War with China. (April 7, 1840) Copyright. (February 5, 1841) Copyright. (April 6, 1842) The People's Charter. (May 3, 1842) The Gates of Somnauth. (March 9, 1843) The State of Ireland. (February 19, 1844) Dissenters' Chapels Bill. (June 6, 1844) The Sugar Duties. (February 26, 1845) Maynooth. (April 14, 1845) The Church of Ireland. (April 23, 1845) Theological Tests in the Scotch Universities. (July 9, 1845) Corn Laws. (December 2, 1845) The Ten Hours Bill. (May 22, 1846) The Literature of Britain. (November 4, 1846) Education. (April 19, 1847) Inaugural Speech at Glasgow College. (March 21, 1849) Re-election to Parliament. (November 2, 1852) Exclusion of Judges from the House of Commons. (June 1, 1853) SPEECHES, ETC. PARLIAMENTARY REFORM. (MARCH 2, 1831) A SPEECH DELIVERED IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS ON THE 2D OF MARCH, 1831. On Tuesday, the first of March, 1831, Lord John Russell moved the House of Commons for leave to bring in a bill to amend the representation of the people in England and Wales. The discussion occupied seven nights. At length, on the morning of Thursday, the tenth of March, the motion was carried without a division. The following speech was made on the second night of the debate.