The Gorgon - ed. by J. Wade Author:James Wade General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1818 Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million book... more »s for free. Excerpt: A WEEKLY POLITICAL PUBLICATION. N',5'l London, Saturday, June 20, 1818. [price Id. Let not, whatever other ills assail, A damned aristocracy prevail. Sir Francis Burdett on Parliamentary Reform.--Folly of reverting to ancient Institutions -- State of Labouring Classes after passing of Magna Charta. -- Royal Speeches in favour of Re i form.-trestminster Election.-Burdett, Kinnaird and Major tariwright. Sir Francis Burdett has again brought forward his annual motion for Parliamentary Reform, and we are very sorry for it. We do. Hot regret that such a motion has been made, by any means, but we are heartily sorry that the honourable baronet should found our claims for Reform on the ancient grants and practices of the Constitution. In our first number, we took occasion to point out the unfortunate error into which many of our friends had fallen on this Subject. We then stated, that there was nothing in the spirit or pl-actice of our ancient institutions, or even in the condition of the lower classes of society, at that time, which would be of the least service to us in contending against corruption. Moreover, we ridiculed the idea altogether of reverting to a state of barbarism and ignorance for examples of Government adapted to the present day.. In short, we perc"ived, that the Reformers had made a false point; and like true friends, both to them and their cause, we took the earliest opportunity to apprise them of it. We saw the propriety al"l dvantae f confining ourselves to pointing out the manifold and flagrant evils with which we were surrounded; and the obvious utility that would follow from...« less