6
Lord Stormont said he saw a storm,
That promised little good
To Aldborough, where people yet
Knew where its walls had stood:
And for this cause he thought it right,
That he, and many more,
Should vote against Reform, as they
Had always done before.
Next, Sir John Walsh the mirror held
Of visionary fear;
The sword of Damocles, quoth he,
I see suspended here.
Then Squire Macauley rose, and hailed
The Bill proposed with joy,
With all its hopeful tendencies,
Corruption to destroy;
He blamed the opposers of Reform,
Who hugged an evil cause,—
He said Prosperity would rise
With salutary laws.
Squire Hunt, who Preston represents,
Said, all who taxes paid
Should have a vote, each working man,
Whatever be his trade.
Lord Morpeth said, That if Reform
Unnecessary were,
And if that all was well, the House
Were ready to declare;
Then they, with clear consistency,
Might high their courage pitch;
Nor grant Reform, but rather die
In Sarum's only ditch.
