from old and deeply seated abuses, without bloodshed, without
violence, without rapine, all points freely debated, all the
forms of senatorial deliberation punctiliously observed, industry
and trade not for a moment interrupted, the authority of law not
for a moment suspended. These are things of which we may well be
proud. These are things which swell the heart up with a good
hope for the destinies of mankind. I cannot but anticipate a
long series of happy years; of years during which a parental
Government will be firmly supported by a grateful nation: of
years during which war, if war should be inevitable, will find us
an united people; of years pre-eminently distinguished by the
progress of arts, by the improvement of laws, by the augmentation
of the public resources, by the diminution of the public burdens,
by all those victories of peace, in which, far more than in any
military successes, consists the true felicity of states, and the
true glory of statesmen. With such hopes, Sir, and such
feelings, I give my cordial assent to the second reading of a
bill which I consider as in itself deserving of the warmest
approbation, and as indispensably necessary, in the present
temper of the public mind, to the repose of the country and to
the stability of the throne.

...


PARLIAMENTARY REFORM. (SEPTEMBER 20, 1831)

A SPEECH DELIVERED IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS ON THE 20TH OF
SEPTEMBER 1831.