Star. — London, England, 1809-11-04 00:00:00

COMMON COUNCIL. At a meeting of the Court of Common Council, esterday, the proceedings of the last Court having teen read, the RECORDER read to the Court his Ma jesty's most gracious Answer to their Address of Congratulation, which was ordered to be enter e d on the Journals of the City. Mr. Jacks then called the attention of the Court to 2n Advertisement that appeared in the Papers of 'Thursday, purporting to be an acknoxledgement on the part of the Society for the Discharge or Relief of Persons imprisoned for Small Debts, of the Receipt of a benefaction of 81000 from his Majesty's private purse on the 25th of October, for the relief of persons imprisoned for small debts in England and Wales. He wished to take the earliest opportunity of submit ting to the Court the propriety of their making some public acknowledgement of his Majesty's gracious condescension in following the example of that Court by so magnificent a donation. The gentleman then moved a Resolution to this effect, and expressive of ti,cir sense of this additional instance of the Royal munificence, so frequently exercised. Mr. MILLER could not see the 'necessity of such a motion, but would not oppose it. He did not think that there should be such a parade about a benefac tion comparatively trifling. The King was known to be very wealthy, and upon such an occasion, and more especially in behalf of such a charity, he might we ll spare the donation of 5t2.000: The sum, corn in; from the quarter it did, and to be applied as it was intended to be, was nothing at all extraordinary, and might have bren granted without any wonder ful exercise of the Royal munificeoce..An individual (Sir Francis Burdett) gave one thousand: pounds to the Middlesex Hospital, and yet it was' not thought fl ecess..ry to commemorate that act of benevolence with any public acknowledgement. • The Resolution was then put,' and carried unani mously. The Court was occupied for a considerable time %Ton the Report of the Committee appointed to con slder the propriety of letting the ground in Moot-- fields on building leases to the Proprietors of the London Institution. The Report of the Committee was hostile to the project of building in Moor6elds ; I but an Amendment was proposed granting the Lon- don Institution the ground to buildon. This amend ment was opposed by - - Mr. S. D - 10)1 9 first, on the ground that it was con trary to the charter by which they held their ground in Moorfields, to build there ; and next, that that Court was not so much interested in the support of the Lon don Institution. A raw lad from Yorkshire, with no other education than reading and writing, and a superficial knowledge of arithmetic, has come up to London, and proved himself able to twine your man of education, with all his classics, round his finger.— tigevral laugh.) After some further observations, the Amendment vas agreed to. Mr. GRIFFITHS MOIRHI— Ibe Thanks of the Court to the Rev. Samuel Birch, the I lord Mayor's Chaplain, for his excellent Sermon before the enrt on the 45th ult. and that he be requested to print the same and send a copy to every Member of the Court. Ordered. The LORD MAYOR laid before the Court letters re ceiicd from the Society for the Relief of Small Debts, aild the Philanthropic Society of Mile End, acknow kdoing the receipt of the benefactions of the Court, Nth:6 was also ordered to be entered on the Journals; and a letter was read from the Prisoners confined in tle Giltspur-street Compter, returning their ac- Lowledgcments for the Subscription of the Corpo ration. Mr. JOHN Anemic of the Ward of Lime-street was 2ppointed a Governor of St. Thomas's Hospital, in the mum of Mr. Aldin, deceased. COLONEL. WARDLE. Mr. KEMBLE began by declaring, that he was not influenced by any party motives in the motion he now brcught forward, nor had he consulted with any in dividual Member of the Court upon it. If he had been present when the Amendment was past, or if any sufficient notice had been given to the Court, he should have submitted to the decision of the Court, and never have attempted to rescind it. It was with de greatest astonishment that he had heard that the inotion which had been given notice of by one Gen- 1 tlzmin, and afterwards abandoned, was brought for wird by another, merely 'for the pm of intro ducing this long amendment. The unfairness of this amendment consisted in this—that many Members of Court were utterly ignorant of the intention to !ding it forward, and staid away, while, on the other hand, there was a canvass for an attendance o Lm a o 2 7 those who kn ew t h at i t was to b e b roug ht f orward. He felt it contrary to the honour and credit of the Court, that resolutions should be obtained by a sur- Pri4. of this nature. The amendment had little or rd)thing to do with the notice upon which that Court had met, and if it were allowed to stand upon their it would be a precedent for every sort of sur prse upoil that Court, by amendments which could not be foreseen from any thing in the notice. He de clared that he did not at all wish to touch the vote in favour of Coldnel Wardle. He only objected to the .1-aendment, which contained much extraneous mat- '`.•r, and in which the Court was completely taken by ;!.:prise, not having the least reason to expect that on a luestion which was abandoned by the Mover, of re 'cinding the thanks to Mr. Wardle, an amendment could be introduced, condemning Lord Castlereagh and Mr. Perccval, and giving an opinion on compli cated caestiont of finance. He thertiore thought it necessary, for the honour and character of the Court, to move, that the resolution contained in the said amendment should be rescinded. Mr. Deputy Box seconded the motion. He said, b' the amendment the former Court had taken 'lpon itself, without previous notice, to decide imme ti,lau.;y on the first characters in the country (a laugh). ' They were certainly, if not the first characters in the co unt y- 6 ; men in the highest confidence of their Sove reign. If fair notke had however been given, he should not have said it word against the decision, but •vould have thought it his duty to acquiesce in it. AlLierMan GOODEUIERIE defended the Resolution *.lic!, he had originally moved. He thought that • :iost, Gentlemen, who had expressed so much anxiety T the honour and character of that Court, had taken rather an odd way of shewing it. According to the r..tsoning of these Gentlemen, no question should ever' inored in tit Court, when it, was net convenient 1 for them to attend their duty, or when they happened to be out of mwn. Did they mean to say, that every question brought forward in that Court must abso lutely be carried, either in the affirmative or negative, and that there was no room for any alteration in the way of amendment ? If they said so, they maintained doctrine which was contrary to the practice of that Court, of Parliament, of the India House, of every other public body, and even of these Gentlemen them selves, in the management of their private affairs. Whenever a question of such a nature was agitated in that Court, it must be considered in all its various bearings, and the decision must be what the Members who attend shall think right, on viewing the question under its different circumstances. The Gentleman who brought forward the motion disclaimed any idea of touching the Vote of Thanks which had been ori ginally given to Mr. Wardle; but was it not most evident that the tendering of this motion was to ex tinguish that additional lustre which a former Court, forced into a farther discussion of the subject, thought that Gentleman was entitled to ? When he remem bered how highly the Mover (Mr. Kemble) spoke of Mr. Wardle, when the original Vote of Thanks was passed, he had believed that that Gentleman had ab jured his former political errors, and enlisted himself under the .banners of Freedom and Reform. He, however, now feared that he had been contaminated since that time, and thought that the present motion would be amende honorable made to his former friends for his warmth upon that occasion. He knew that the Mover would disdain the imputation of any selfish motive, for he wanted nothing : " No Baron, no 'Squire, " No Knight of the Shire, " Liv'd half so well -" but the might consider this tribute due to his for mer friendships. It appeared to him, however, that this was not a time when the exertions of good men should be damped or discouraged. Mr. Wardle had been most shamefully calumniated ; and yet, through all the fiery ordeal which he had as yet passed, he came out pure. He had lately been calumniated for not persevering in the prosecution for perjury, and for having gone on an excursion to the sea-coast in com pany with Mrs. Clark. Now, as to the last circum stance, it was known, or it ought to be generally known, that Mr. Wardle was a man of the most mild, I social, and domestic manners. Such a man, feeling strongly the duties of a husband and a father, might go on an excursion with Mrs. Clarke, in company with Major Dodd and Mr. Glennie, without committing that which a Member of that Court (Mr. Samuel Dixon) said that he would have committed if he were in the same situation. Mr. Wardle had different feelings respecting his duties, and yet saw that it was necessary to amuse, by such an excursion, a woman of her slip pery turn, and prevent her falling into the fangs of the enemy. If Mr. Wardle had not persevered in the form of action which first suggested itself to him as the proper one, it must be recollected, that he had obtained a true bill for a conspiracy against those people, and that the evidence of the perjury must have been very strong before the Grand Jury would have found the bill for a conspiracy, which depended upon the per jury. Mr. Wardle had not delayed a single day in endeavouring to bring the matter to a trial, and he would have been content to have had it tried at the Sessions. In those two points, then, upon which Mr. Wardle had been most calumniated, he appeared to him to be absolutely blameless ; and he felt no doubt but the more his conduct was inquired into, the more apparent would the purity of his motives be. He conceived that Mr. Wardle had, in the last Session of Parliament, rendered to his country a service much more important than it had received from any of the transactions of the late war. Men that had rendered such great services, and shewed so much energy, could not be too highly prized. The country was in need of such men, and wherever they appeared, by sea or by land, they should be welcomed and che rished. It was always impossible for any Members who did not attend their duty, to foresee the precise nature of the Amendment that might be moved to a Motion of which notice was given ; but this was one reason for setting aside the proceedings of former Courts, and expunging them from the Journals. He felt, therefore, bound to support the original Reso lution which he had moved, and to oppose the pre sent Motion. Mr. JACKS said he was far from London when the original motion of thanks to Colonel Wardle came forward, and therefore he hoped he should be in some degree indulged now in the delivery of his sentiments. As far as he viewed the present question, he thought both parties were in some degree right. He thought the Hon. Alderman was right in saying, that an amendment might be moved to a resolution, and he 'thought the Hon. Gentleman right as to the question, whether the original resolutions were proper. With respect to ColonlWardle, as far as he could view the conduct of that Gentleman, he confessed he could see nothing which had occurred since the approbation of the Resolutions, which could affect his conduct since. As to the language of the original Resolutions, he thought there was much to reprehend. It was said in them that Church preferments were disposed of : now that was not true, although it was true that Church preferments had been applied for. As to Lord Castle reagh's Conduct in the disposal of India Patronage, it was a principle of British justice that no man should be found guilty except upon proof, and in the present in stance no proof had been adduced before the House. Indeed, the corrupt influence which in that House, as elsewhere, was attributed to the Members, could only apply to the disposal of Boroughs. He did not like cor ruption—he detested it as much as any man ; but cor ruption was, to public bodies, what vice was to private individuals—neither could exist, in some degree, without it—they were natural and incidental diseases. In the free states of antiquity, corruption was dis cernible: even in Greece and Rome, abuse of public men, and the operation of public measures, were co ordinate. The principal question now, however, was —were the public men of the present day more cor rupt than those of former times ? He did not think they were. In the early periods of even our own his tory, the great Lord Bacon, that luminary of science, and light of the political world, notoriously received bribes when Lord Chancellor. In the year 1691., the ' Committee of the House of Commons found, that £90,000 had been annually distributed among the Members, and even the Speaker of the House himself had received £lOOO for the passing of a Bill. The language of the present day, as to corruption, was precisely the same as that which was used formerly. `ln 1734, Mr. Pohefty had said that corruption was set Its height; and that unless it was diminished, the Constitution would be lost. Yet the Consti tution still remained. Sir William Windham also used the same sentiments. In those days, two hundred Placemen and Pensioners were discovered in the House ; whereas, on the late motion, only 78 could ' be traced by the greatest ingenuity. The House of Commons, he thought, were vigilant in the execution of their duty : by that vigilance, the case of Lord Melville was discovered--by that vigilance the case of Mr. Alexander Davison was discovered, and many others of equal detriment to the country. The Speak er's language in the resolution concerning the sale of seats had been misquoted : the language as to the existence of a public office for the sale of offices under Government had also been ridiculed. Indeed, all Colonel Wardle's plans of economy, founded upon such documents, were ridiculous. Colonel Wardle economically wished to save the country by the re duction of its principal defence, the :limy. He wished to reduce the army at a time when . the country was chiefly menaced, and when Bonapa rte had concen trated his forces as it were into a focus. It was be come the fashion lately to decry public men ; but could Government go on without them, or would not the people either sink into discontent or apathy, which would as effectually ruin the counny ? He could not see why public men should be now so much abus ed as to a change of principle ; they had always changed their principles. Mr. Pitt had been once an arrant reformer, and had afterwards opposed reform. Mr. Fox, once a notorious enemy, had afterwards coalesced with Lord North. Mr. Burke had been a confessed apostate. Why should public men now then be adjudged with such strictness ? For his part, he thought the prerogatives of the Crown were in more danger than the privileges of the People. He had lived for half a century, well and,, happy under the British Constitution. lie had grown rich under it ; and he wished it a long continuance. Mr. WAITHMAW expected, from the speech of the Hon. opener of this debate, that he should have very little to say ; as he understood him to wish that the Resolutions should in substance stand, but that the irregularity of their introduction was to be reprehen ded. He was a little surprised, however, at the per tinacity of the Hon. opener on this occasion; because, on the very last Court-day he had, by his silence, countenanced the very same irregularity of which he now complained. The Court had met under a sum mons very different from the subsequent resolution on which it had agreed. With respect to the original resolutions he should be as ready as any man to re- ; scind them, if any discoveries had been made, which in his mind militated against them ; but from subse quent discoveries, he was inclined to draw very dif ferent conclusions from those who had already spoken. He thought, indeed, from the indirect and clandes- I tine attacks which had been made, that the Court was called upon to vindicate the character of Colo nel Wardle. As to the speech of the Hon. Gentle man who spoke last, of all the wonderful speeches he • had spoken, it was the most wonderful. He had never before seen him so encumber himself with dust and cobwebs—he had never seen him in so puzzle brained a manner steer between right and wrong.— Indeed, in his conjectures as to the Clinch Patro nage, he was not there so much to be blamed—he had stolen his errors. He had quibbled, like the original and arch-quibbler Mr. Canning, who would not attach guilt because the iniquity had not been completed— 1 who would not criminate the Duke of York as to church influence, although, at the intercession of his prostitute, Dr. O'Meara, a clergyman, had preached i before Royalty. With respect to the East India pa- I tronage, so far from the Speaker's speech having been I misquoted, not only he, but Lord Liverpool in the ; House of Lords, had in the highest degree reprehen- 1 ded it. It was said, however, that Lord Castlereagh ; and his colleagues in office ought not to be abused, because they were the men upon whom the hopes of 1 the country were fixed. If this was the case, all he j could say was, that the country was lost—that the 1 country was ruined beyond redemption. The Ho nourable Gentleman had said, he loved virtue and , hated vice. Aye, abstractedly, just as he loved a good dinner—(A laugh). He was, however, quite a philoso. 1 pher, a metaphysical genius (A laugh). Hehadfound out, forsooth, that because corruption was prevalent in other ages, we ought not to abuse it now. This was, however, Canning's doctrine. Now public men were attacked, and now they were to make a stand, and now he had come to his rally. The Hon. Gentleman had said he stood up for the Constitution because he had made money under it. Oh ! what wonderful talents P he had ! What a melancholy reflection it was for himself, for his country, and for his friends, that those inestimable powers were not exercised in their proper sphere, where they might be useful, and where they might not be thrown away as they were at present ! (A loud laugh). He would, however, ask the able and learned Gentleman, learned equally in modern and ancient history, whether there ever was a State, in which the corruption of the Government did not in cense the governed, until; they produced their own overthrow. In free States he said corruption was prevalent. Yes, because the Government was eter nally encroaching, and the people necessarily oppo sing. He did not mean to say good Ministers might not be produced by this couutry. Mr. Pitt was a good Minister ; Mr. Fox was a -good Minister ; aye, with good looking after. No Ministers could be trusted unless a vigilant Parliament watched them. What would be the case, even in their own little corpora tion, unless the servants were kept to their duty .?••• " I wonder," said Mr. Waithman, " what that man can be grumbling at."—(Mr. Dixon had appeared to dissent.) Mr. Dixosf—" I call upon the Court to protect its officers."—(A loud and universal laugh.) Mr. WAIWLMAN hoped the man would confine him self to his own defence —Gob knows it would give him trouble enough ! (a loud laugh.) He was far from . abusing the Officers of the Court. He had only said, that public men, in all situations, should be watched —such was the imbecility of human nature. The Honourable Gentleman had said, that the House had laughed at Colonel Wardle about the assertion, as to the existence of a public office for the sale of seats • under Government. It was true, but Ministers after wards prosecuted those wko held that office (hear, hear). The Honourable Gentleman had also descanted upon Colonel Wardle's proposed reduction of the army : he had stolen all his abuse from Mr. Canning' s old speech (a kagh ).—The reports of the Commissior.ers of Military )inquiry had proved such a feductioh necessary ; and indeed Mr. Windham had roily said the whole system was corrupt fr in bottom t top. In the War-office, k was said the arre-ti s arose from the negligence of Clerks. Why, hec:::. young Gentlemen of interest and of idle habits v. ei-e • put into it, and employed their time in it wilt no other amusement than that of reading anti-jacobi nical pamphlets. This was the only way in which they could gain an honest livelihood (a laugh). He quoted the case of a Mr. Charles Hamilton, who held. under Government £l3O per annum—next, as secre. tary to Mr. Dundas, £lOO per annum—next a house, or another office, the rooms of which he let out at one guinea per week; and lastly, lie held the office of Assessor of the property ta::, which consumed nine hours a day, and which of coarse left little time for his other avocations. Yet this young getulerian got a pension on Mr. Dundas going out of office. In the War-office, a servant of .a Mr. Charles Jenkinsun, if any one knew such a man, was appointed alMessen. ger ; and he, of course, igoorant as he was, could not even tell the duties of his office before the Cornm;s sioners. Charles Jen kinson, who thus paid his servant's wages out of the public money, ought not to be trust ed. As to pensioners in the House of Commons, he did not like to trust them. Many might be honest it was true, but still wlitote men were not only induced to coruption by their own places, but by their friends, by pensions, and by future expectations, they might well be doubted. Public men had now great in fluence in their hands, when the public revenue had grown to 78 millions annually. Mr. Lewis, even, had lately gone out of office, with a pension of e2OOO a-year. In 179.5, when Lord Amherst was Comman der in Chief, that office was only RlOOO per annupii and in 1807, Colonel Gorden, as its Secretary, had above two thousand. The Hon. Gentleman seemed all ' of a sudden to have new lights thrown upon his intel lects. He had found out that the best way to support the prerogatives of the Crown was to oppose the pri vileges of the people. In all times, he thought, but at all events in such a time as this, the people ought to be supported. One of the Judges of the Land, Justice Bailey, in speaking of the sale of offices, had said in the case of Sir Christopher Hawkins, accused of bribery, that the sale of such offices was scan dalous, and that their continuance would reduce the Constitution to nothing, or to a mere shadow. The Hon. Gentleman had, however, denied that doctrine, and had said, that because Pitt, Fox, and Burke were corrupt, we ought to trust other public men- This was indeed infallible reasoning ; it was, as must be the case in all absurdities, proving the very reverse of what the orator intended. Now there was no time to think of the people, yet abuses were confessed, and still no exertion was made even by one Gentleman, who formerly said Petitions to the Throne ought to be presented once a week, till they were remedied ;" and by another whom he saw, who declared " his blood was chilled in his veins by their recollection !" For his part, he felt horror at the present complexion of affairs—at the sight of our armies lost and pining with disease—at the sight of our Parliamentary cor ruption, and of the confessed imbecility of our Go vernment. He thought Colonel Wardle deserved the thanks of the country ; he had done much good, and our ultimate success might be depended on, if the people were firm, like him, and went up to the throne with the complaint of their grievances. The Hon. Gentleman had said Bonaparte had concentra ted his forces in a focus. Oh ! what a strange way it was of collecting forces in afocus, to spread theni all over Europe ! (A laugh.) This he supposed, how ever, was the abstract metaphysics of the Honoura ble Gentleman's philosophic mind. Strange philoso phy which could trust those who had brought all its misfortunes on the country—who had sacrificed our heroic Moore—who had sent our brave army to pine and perish in Walcheren—who 'were declared by all thinking men incapable. Strange philosophy ! which could book unmoved at the wreck of all which was great and good in the nation, which could relish the canting and hypocritical charity which affected to give relief while it winked at deliberate cruelty. He did not wish to despair of the country. He thought Ministers might be found effective, that was, provid ed they were well watched by an honest, vigilant, and unpensioned Parliament. Gentlemen were shocked now at Parliament being attacked ; but if they looked to the addresses of the City in the time of Wilkes, they would find much stronger language than was used in these republican days. He thought Colonel Wardle had been used most ungratefully, and if he had done so much good as Colonel Wardle did, and then had his private character and house searched for scandalous anecdotes, whereby to vilify his cha racter, he would have thrown their gold box in their face sooner than have taken it. He opposed the pre sent motion, because he thought its adoption would be a censure on Colonel Wardle. Mr. 1 i :oar supported the Resolution. He did not see why we should be so very particular about cor ruption at home, when the power of Bonaparte abroad was so terrific. . • Mr. KEMBLE declared he should not have brought forward his motion, if he had thought it would have hurt Colonel Wardle. Alderman ATKI NS supported the motion. Mr. MILLER spoke against the resolution. The previous questiun was then carried by a great majority. We undertsand by' letters from Oxford that only two candidates have been announced for the Chan cellor's Chair, vacant by the death of the Duke of PourLAND—the Right Hon. Lord ELDON, and the Right Hon. Lord GRENVILLIL A strenuous canvas is now on foot, and it is, expected that the electi )11 will not be decided without . a severe coniest. At half pat nine o'clock, last night, a fire broke out at Mr. Wood's cooperage, near the church, Lam beth, sA hich raged with unexampled rapidity, f r a considerable time, and totally destroyed the prern's .s, and a mustard-warehouse adjoining; but by the timely arrival of engines, and a plentiful supply of water, it was prevented from spreading further. A few days since, a child of Mr. Rich, of Stoke lane, Bath, was burnt in a lime-kiln. The kiln was about half burnt down, covered with coal, and but little, if any, fire appeared. Several children were playing near the spot, and Mr. Rich's child, who w3s about seven years of age, not perceiving the kiln, ran upon it, and fell in.--The manbelow immediately drew the kiln ; but, notwithstanding, the poor child was burnt to dust ; not even a bone could be found.