Star. — London, England, 1820-08-09 00:00:00

After claiming the right of petitioning the Throne, k expressed the sorrow Ild indignation of the Petip tioners that, without his Majesty's sanction, or that of the Legislat , ire, certain overtures had been made to her Majesty Queen Caroline, by an agent acting under the immediate direction of his Majesty's ser vants, which had for their avowed object the trea sonable design of inducing the Queen, by an illegal bribe and an audacious threat, to renounce her just right to a participation in the Throne of these realms. It concluded by praying that his Majesty would in stitute such an inquiry into the conduct of his ser vants as might bring to punishment those persons who should be convicted of these treasonable pro ceedings.j He concluded by moving the following Amendment to the Resolution " That the government of these realms is administered by the king, whose power is limited by law ; but that a regal power ;o limited is incompatible with an arbitrary Legislature." This amendment was agreed to, and all the Reso lutions, having been put seriatim, were carried una— nimously. Mr. Moon's next moved an Address to her Ma jesty, founded on the preceding Resolutions. The Address was read, put, and carried without any dissentient voice. Mr. PETER MOORS then begged leave to propose that the Address should be presented by Mr. Sheriff Parkins, and the two Members of Parliament for Middlesex. _ _ Mr. MILLS was of opinion, that Sr Francis Burdett and John Cam Hobhouse, Esq, should be requested to attend, whenever the Address was presented to her Majesty. Mr. PKTER Nowa thought that it might be advis' able to have the Address presented by a Deputation of 1 reek ld ei s. Mr. Sheriff l'Atticts-s thought that, if a Deputation should be appointed to wait upon het Majesty with the Address which had just been read to the Meeting, it ought not to be limited as to the numbers compos ins it. Those who were inclined to go up with the Address would be thoroughly welcome. The motion was then put, and carried unanimously. Mr. Sheriff PARKINS informed the Meeting, that he was ready to attend upon her Majesty with the Ad dress which had just been adopted, at any moment chit her Majesty might think it good to appoint. Of course could not answer for the line of conduct shich his colleague, Mr. Rothwell, might be clined to follow. A voice from the further end of the mom then enclaimed.—" 'fell us when the Address is to be pre sented, and also where the Deputation to present it a:e to meet." It was replied, from the opposite end of the room from srhich the above voice issued, that due notice would be given in the different public prints, of the time when, and the place from which, the Deputa tion was to start. Mr. S. Whin:READ then came forward, and said; that as he had been deshed to go up with the Ad-' dress, he would do so with the greatest pleasure, as opinions peilec:ly coincided wsth their's. But he could net help remarking, that the time in which their present Meeting was holden was rather an aukward one, on account of the demise which had recently happened in the: Royal Family. By meeting at so early a day after the occurrence of that event, they rendered themselves liable to be charged with having a design to excite tumult and disaffection in the country. But what was the meaning of those in dividuals who were ready to raise that cry against them ? He would tell them ; they were weak enough to think, that as they had tyrannized for so long a period over the people, without meeting the slightest resistance, they would be able to tyrannize in the same manner also over her Majesty—(Cheers).—The courage and fortitude of the Queen had, however, frus trated all their expectations; in coming over to Eng land, in spite of the menaces which had been thrown oat against her, she had not excited less admiration in her friends, than she had terrot and alarm among her enemies, who, whatever other weaknesses might be attiibuted to them, could not be charged with possessing too much courage. Those individuals soon aftey they uttered their threats, found that they had got themselves into a dreadful scrape, and wished to get out of it by persuading the country that they were ready to come to a compromise with her Majesty. But what was their manner of entering into a compromise ? Why, they said, "We will retract nothing, but you must concede every thing." Before they could make the country believe that they were earnest in making such a proposition to her Majesty, they must make a law to throw a cloud over the good sense and intelligence of Eng land ; and, indeed, if they were determined to exer cise their tyranny long, they must have recourse even to stronger measures than those which they had re cently adopted. What was the next step which they had taken ? Nothing less than a recommendation of the Howe of Commons to her Majesty to abstain from asserting and vindicating her own innocence. As to the proposition which had been made and car ried to that effect, he must be excused for saying that he could put no other construction upon it than this —that in addressing her Majesty on that subject they had said, " We have insulted you most grossly; but we cannot be happy until you shall have con tented to insult yourself !"—(Loud cheers.)—The Queen, he was glad to say, possessed too much spirit and fortitude to submit to so insulting a recommen- , dation. The step which Ministers had taken after this, fully proved to him that they were well aware, how much they had been beaten in the House of Commons. Indeed, the last thing which they had said to that august body was, " Gentlemen, we can not manage you—you have insulted us by kicking out our Green Bag—we shall therefore take it our selves to another quarter, where we can be certain of having our darling Secret Committee!"—(Cheers). — What might be the consequences of that measure it was impossible for hien to tell ; but, happen what might, he could not look upon, it without experiencing sensations of the utmost horror. It was not they who stood forward in behalf of the rights of her Majesty who could be justly accused of creating riot a n d dis order : it was those who assailed them that createttit and he believed that nothing would excite greater satisfaction in their minds than. any tumult which would give them new reasons for enacting new laws against the libesty of their country. He had now only to inform them, that he should be extremely happy to accede to their request, and to present the Adflress which they had just adopted. lie thovin, «.. that het Majesty Might addreas her Reyai in the language of Queen Caiirritie 0 Sir, I desire you, do me tighb and justice, Arid to bestow yter pity on me; for I am a Most poor moment mete stranger, Born ore of raw &Minions; having here No judge intilllrrent, nor no mare assurance Of equal friendship and proanding."--- , After a few other remarks on the same suhjeet i he retired ftbm the front of the hustings, but shortly af terwards came forward and said, that he had forgot ten one of the subjects on which he had intended to address them. His colleague (Mr. Byng) had gone with his family abroad some weeks ago, and there had not been time, since the Meeting had been called; to give him notice of it. • Mr. MILLS then rose, and said that he had an Ad dress to his Majesty in his hand, which, whether he moved it not, he could wish to read to the Meeting, In order to record the sentiments which he enter tained upon this most important subject. He would preface what he had to say upon it with a remark or two upon the constitution of the House of Lords. He was not sufficiently acquainted 'with the history of that body to say when it became possessed of judicial authority, nor would he give an opinion whether such authority did or did not rightfully belong to it. This, however, he would say—that he called in question the right 4:f twenty-eight members of that House to decide upon the point whether her Majesty should or should not be put Into possession of a list of the witnesses who were to appear against her. Even supposing the House collectively to haie the power of making such a decision, scathe thought that a part, and a small part of it too, could not be equally possessed of it; if they could be so pos sessed of it, then Ministers were also possessed of it ; and, whenever there was any obnoxious indi vidual whom they wished to crash, would only have to erect themselves into the characters of judges, jurors, and accuseri, in order to do it.-- He could see nu reason why there should be a call of the House on the 17th of August, when there had not been one on the day when they had previously done a judicial action—lie meant the day when they had refused her Majesty the names' of those who were to appear as witnesses against her. The lan guage of Ministers to her Majesty was this s•-.. 4 We will first examine witnesses against you, and will af terwards give you time to examine into their conduct and character, just as long as you please: in the course of the proceedings, you will learn where the witnesses live, and that circumstance will help you in your examinations." But supposing that, upon in quiry, no such person as the witness was described to be was to be found either in Venice, or in any other part of Italy, what would Sir R. Giffard say then? Why he would say, " You'observe that you can't make out who the witness is whom I have produced against you: it may be so; but what then? Have you anything to say in contradiction to the evidence produced against you, and can you prove what has been alleged against you to be entirely untrue ?" Good GOD cif Heaven ! what woman, if accused of adultery, could be acquitted on a trial conducted upon such circumstances? Ought not the witnesses to be cross-examined in the very box, and at the very time, in which they were committing their perjury ? He thought that they ought, especially when he re collected the fate which had attended on the Don glases, and the perjuries which it appeared to him that they were daily in the habir of swearing. 'What, he would ask, was the reason why Lord Eldon had screened them from such prosecution? To prevent a recurrence of similar scenes in future, he could wish the Address which he had in his hand to be read over to them: " TO THE KING'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY, K TRL HCIISLZ TSTITNIN Or THE INHABITANTS OF THE COMITY-Or 1111DOLESI*N, COTNTY MEETING AMILMILETA, " MAY IT PLEASE YOUN Maresre—We, your Majesty's duti ful and loyal subjects, the Inhabitants of the County of Middle sex, approach your Majesty's throne with feelings of the most profound sorrow at perceiving that you. Majesty's Advisers are carrying on an unfair, an unjust, and a cruel prosecution against your Royal and long-oppressed Consort. " We cannot but remembtr the former foul attempts to de stroy her Majesty's fair fame ; and, In the present proceeding, we but too clearly see a revival of those attempts. We remem ber the perjuries that were comtwitted against her, and we also remember the impunity of the perjurers. " Evidence collected in the dark, communicated in pealed bags, submitted to a Secret. Committee, and by that Committee moulded into a charge of crime, is so abhorrent from our ideas of justice, that we cannot refrain from praying that it may never be suffered to be a ground of proceeding against her Alajesty., " TO punish by Rill is, in our apprehension, wholly contrary. to the Lass s and Constitution of England ; but, %viten we see the accusers also the Judges and Jurors, and when we well know that a decided majority of the whole Assembly are, at all times, disposed to act in conformity with the wishes of your Majesty's advisers, we should be guilty of a shameful want of duty to wards your Majesty if we refrained from expressing to you our conviction, that, in this case, the world will never be satisfied with the decision of that Assembly, whose disposition has been but too clearly manifested, in its refusal to furnish heir Majesty with the names of the witnesses to be brought against her—in a like refusal with regard to the names of the places where the alleged offences were committed—and s in the monstrous Measure of promulgating Mr fral' se long a time before it permitted her Majesty to-offer anything in-her defence, and by which promul gation it must necessarily have been intended to cause her. Ma jesty to be prejudged by the world, and to bring her to trial already covered with infamy. " Therefore, relying on your Majesty's gracious disposition— appealing to' your Royal justice against the machinations of your advisers—we most humbly pray that your Majesty will be pleased to restrain those advisers, and to afford your Royal Consort the means of fair and open trial before a lawful tribunal. " And your Petitioners, as in duty bound, shall ever pray." Mr. Sheriff PARKINS could not allow this Resolu tion to be put in silence ; the subject on which it was founded was not once mentioned in the Requisition. Mr. MILLS maintained a contrary opinion. The Requisition was then read, upon which Mr. Sheriff PARKINS said that he was willing to give the most liberal construction to it possible; but it certainly could not bear the construction which was now attempted to be placed upon it. If Gentlemen wished to call another Meeting on that point, he should be happy to give them an opportunity of doing it— (Loud cheers). Loud cries were heard of, " Withdraw, withdraw;' after which Mr. Mills withdrew his proposition. Mr. Alderman WAITHMAN declared, that when he first entered into that room, he had no intention of addressing them ; and yet, when he told them that he had at last risen with considerable reluctance to place his sentiments before them, he trusted that they would not attribute that reluctance to a want of that common feeling which actuated the whole country, but to other causes, which were of a temporary and transitory nature, and which he had on a former oc casion explained at some length to the electors of MiddlestX. He had, however, beets asked to move one of the Resolutions; aa as it was one well Cat eulated to obtain and secure the *pprobation of the people, be thought it right to say a few words regard mg it. It was to propose a Petition to Lite Lcirds, founded on the resolutions which had just been recd to them ; and that Petition—whatever might be the fate of the Petition proposed to be presented to the King—was fully within the scope of the Requisition. The worthy Alderman then proceeded to *sit Mr. Under-She►iff Turner to read the Petition for him. The Petition was read, and carried, with only one dissentient voice. The reason of that dissent was afterwards stated to be, that the Gentleman who ex pressed it did not think the Lords to be worth pe titioning, and that no good could be effected by it. Sir FRANCIS BIT/IDETT, being loudly called on by the Meeting, case forward, and was greeted with general cheers. He said he bad arrived late in town last night, and had then, for the first time, heard that the present Meeting was convened. He was, at first, rather unwilling to attend, because, on such occasions, he conceived there ought to be a general and spon taneous burst of feelings, and that those wko attended at one place should appear and take the lead at others. Bat he thought, at the same time, he should not pay a proper respect to the freeholders of the County of Middlesex, if, being in town, he did not attend a Meeting so convened. He had hoped, as the business of that day had been discussed with so much ability by many individuals, that he would riot have been called upon to address the Meeting ; but as an Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Waithman) had ex pressed a wish that he should deliver his sentiments on this exhausted topic, he would state those observa tions that occurred to him at the moment. The !worthy Alderman who called him forward rendered Ithe task imposed on him somewhat difficult, he hav ing himself discussed the question Kith great force and eloquence. To address an assembly of English men on this occasion, on a political subject, he felt it to be more incumbent on him than be had ever felt it to be before, because it was a duty that could not be , performed without some risk and danger. The Government under which they now lived, whatever its incapacities might be, certainly possessed this ca pacity—that it well knew when to owe and when to pay; and the punishments which had recently been ; inflicted on individuals looked rather like paying off of old scores, than visitations for present offences.— In such a state of things, Innocence was no protection, caution was no security. No sagacity that any man might possess could induce him confidently to say, " I will erform my duties to the people of England, because lam secure under the laws of my country"— (Applease).—Por his own part, he was in the sitita-., don of those persons who had proceeded to, such a length, that " return was as tedious as to go on."- Undoubtedly no honour could be gained by retreat ing, whatever danger might be incurred by proceed ling farther. The principles he had adopted were well, known to the country, and he hoped he shoal , ' al ways have the fortitude to maintain them with firm ness—(Applause).--lie considered this subject in pre eisel y the same light as the Honourable Member for Coventry ; be did not look on it so much on account of any particular individual, however elevated the rank of that individual might be; he did not view it with such 'deep anxiety because a Queen of England was con nected with the pending proceedings, although that was a cause :efficient to interest every manly mind. r These circumstances were undoubtedly of moment; but they were insignificant when compared with the great cause of public justice. It was not difficuk to address one's self to an assembly on a topic like this, because it was intimately connected with the best in terests of the country; and sorry he was, that, in de livering his sentiments on this occasion, he was obliged to call to the minds of his afflicted countrymen a time fall of public misfortune and private suffering; a time when innocent blood had been shed, by that sword which should only be used against the enemies of the country, but which had been wielded against the People, peaceably and legally assembled. The present period was replete on every side with party feeling and political animosity, and therefore was. one or extreme danger. He might say further, that it was one of e x t r e me wea k ness on ' t h e part f the People, and of extreme power on the part of their oppressors. Though they had now arrived at the seventh year of peace, the present period was more cruel tliari a time of absolute war. That so much vaunted period of peace was a long term of unmiti gable suffering—(Applause).—They saw the sword still brandished in the eyes of the peaceable citizens. The Government would not lay down its arms, and yet they had no other enemies than the People!— ' He well knew what every Englishman must feel when he saw that a Government of the sword had superseded the Government of the laws—when he saw the land covered with barracks, and beheld for tifications rising in every part of the country. All this was done with no pretence of foreign danger, without any apprehension save that which the expres siou of public sentiment and public feeling instilled into the minds of those who held the reins of Govern ment—(Applause). Under these circumstances it was that the same reports of Secret Committees, the same modes of secret accusation, were made use of to oppress the Queen, that had formerly been resorted to for the oppression of the People ! The People had been the victims of green bag informations, and their laws, rights, and liberties, had been suspended on the reports of Secret Committees. The lives of many of them had been risked in consequence of their at tempts to propagate constitutional principles: the health of some had been sacrificed by long pro tracted confinement for the same cause; and accu mulated sufferings were heaped on all those who had dared to think for themselves. Individuals had been' incarcerated for two, three, five, and one individual whom he knew, for seven years,without being brought ' to any trial—without being called to face any accuser. Therefore it was that he called their attention to the mode of trial adopted in this. case, because if they did not make a stand against the extraordinary dan ger with which they were threatened, no man in the land, from the highest to the lowest, could hope to escape such treatment. To call it a judicialproceed ing would be an abuse of language. What Ministers quoted as precedents were nothing but acts of atro cious tyranny ; but not one of them was to be com pared to that monstrous acme of injustice which was' attempted in. the present instance. Here the Honour able Baronet alluded to the Bills against Bishop At-, terbury and Sir John Fetiwick, both of which he r i strongly coulemand. It would have been more to - 4! .... .e .Y: _...W++v. the honotii of those wcio wc#e the cf those Bills—more to the honour of the Revolution—more to the honour of those who came into rower after the Revolution, and more conducive to the si.fety the Goiernment of King William, if it more consti tutional course IrAd been pursued, and it, by vio lating the laws in order to reach ore individual; a precedent had not been found which es:osed the li bertiei bf posterity to destruction. there were otiair Acts of a 'similar nature besides those to which he had adverted ; but they were to be found only in t!te reign of that monster Henry VIII. who had a short seny of getting rid of his wives. Times, however, were now changed ; the public mind would not hea t , such proceedings; Ministers could not get into that bloody Course which those precedents pointed .i t , t; What were all those precedents but so m .zc:s of tyrannical power wreaked on the. victims of royal vengeance, which should be painted out a-; shoals to be avoided, as beacons of infamy, insteiti of being made use of by Ministers to j4is2ify the: own conduct to the world ?—(Lotrd With respect to this Lady, she seemed, of Al beings % to be placed in the most extraordinary sift:. ation : she appeared, from Kilt to last, attel...ted a train of misfortunes, which tulthiag lirer own magnanimity and courage could enable he; :n stand up against—such a train of misfortunes, conduct herself in whatever way she mi t ihr, she -.vita sure to create enemies. Whatever actions sere tributed to her—whatever qualities she will said to possess, whether they were good or bad—they had had the sure effect of inducing some persons tu+ iaive part against her. Her amiable qualities fie; e . 110 protection to her; her virtues were sanCtitied and holy traitors to her ;" one party persecuted her on account of the hatred they bore to her vices, and 'another party abandoned her out of love and airec tion to her virtnes—(,lp i ttlause). —She was, howev:r, 'in his opinion, entitled to the support of every hones': and manly mind : he thought the decision she had evinced, the firmness she had exhibited, the magna nimity with which she had come forward to meet the charge made against her, by throwing bcii.elf on that sense of justice for which the people of thil country ever were and ever would be renowned, demanded the confidence of the nation—(App!aust-',. They Were bound to believe her innocent, when she came to this country and defied all the statements cf her most virulent enemies. She called on them t.,) substantiate the charge against her, to br ing_ her lace to face with her accusers, or else to state her inno cence to the Public, and pay to her that resi:ect which was due to-her high rank. Fortuna.tery for her Majesty her cause had been taken up by tl:c great body_ of the people at large, and had been sec.. : ported with great force and ability by the uncorrupt and honourable part of the public Press. In noticing this point, he could not help remarking, that on a occasion the liberal part of the Press had behavcd a. manner_ quite inconsi • tent with itself in calling upna the Attorney-General to prosecute passages, whicb, though very stupid and scurrilous, were certaillly notof sufficient importance to demand that notifie, In coniequenct of that call, a motion had been made in the House of Commons on a paragraph which h, t appeared in an obscure provincial paper, reflectir,,-- in most indecent terms on her Majesty the Qacm. That motion he deemed on many acyounts to have been both unnecessary and unwise; unneces-ary, because the paragraph was so indecent and so ill-written as to carry its own refutation along with it ; unwise, because it gave the Govern ment an opportunity of declaiming generally against the Press, and of holding out threats to it, calculated to terrify even those who were not the most timid. It was unwise, too, on anothir ground x no restrictions whatever ought to be imposed upon the Press ; liberty had been lost in many countries by them ; but, as far as he kneiv'anythins of history, never endangered even by its utmost licentiousness. He had himself, at various periods of his life, been as much the object of slander and calumny as any man possibly could be ; but those calumnies had never given him a mo ment's uneasiness, or excited an angry feeling in his mind against the authors of them. If what was said of him was false, the greater the calumny, the more likely would it be to do him good, and the au hnis harm, when detected. If what was said of him was true, the truth ought to be told of him ; he only re ceived the castigation which he merited. Before Ministers pushed this measure further, let them look at the gulf that was yawning at their feet. If they were not as blind as moles—and their work was equally dark and dirty—they would see that the same pit that buried the Crown of the Queen, might also swallow up the C rown o f t h e Ki ng I When pre cedents were newly formed, for arbitrary and oppres sive purposes, there was no security fcr the length to which they might be carried. .It was alleged by Ministers that this was a national question, and that the State was interested in the investigation which they had been pleased to institute. But how could any act committed by her Majesty on the banks of Como be said to be a national question ? And ,was it to be endured that this construction was to be - given under the cant of religion and morality ? Could morality and religion say, ' that the nation were to be shocked at the knowledge of her Majesty's conduct in Italy, which knowledge was only conimu nicated to the country through the representatives of that religion and that morality? If such circuits stances were calculated to shock the feelings of a nation, and to become the grounds of depriving a Sovereign of rank and power, none but a Saint could sit with safety on a throne. But, admitting the validity of the argument attempted to befounded on morality, was example on the part of the Queen only' of importance to the nation? Surely the conduct of the King was in this respect at least an object ei equal consideration? Whether Ministers in the dan gerous path which they were now pursuing—a path beset with dangers both to the Crown and to the country, would attend to the warning voice of the Public, was not the question to be considered at pre-. sent. It was the duty of the people to express their opinions fearlessly and openly, whether they were attended to or neglected—(Applause).—After some further observations, in the course of which he con demned the punishments that had recently been in acted on individuals who had been found guilty cf exerting themselves in the 'cause of Retoim, partic:.- larly instancing the sentence of Mr. Hunt, w bkli lie described to be cruel and undeserved, the lion. Baronet conclu,ded by declaring, that he •was happy to lend his assist ice on this Occasion to oppose a Y 5.- ~,.L.,