The National Register. — London, England, 1809-04-02 00:00:00

APRIL 2. tatives of the People at large ?—(lnad applause). Had the 'louse of Commons. been composed of a representation of the people, he was persuaded that Mr. Wardle, so far from being left in a minority, would have carried his motion unanimously. After paying some high compliments to Mr. Samuel Whitbread, fiir Francis Illo.dett, Lord Folkestone, Sir Samuel Romilly, Mr. Cony en, Sir Thomas Torton, General Ferguson, and the other Gentlemen who had supported Mr. Wardle in the course of the Invest lotion, he caoctuded with moving a series of Resolutions. Resolved unanimously, Ist. That the inhabitants of this city, from the means of infor mation which their local situation affords them, have long been aware of the existence of scandalous and corrupt practices various departments of the state, and by the. late investigation in the Honourable the House of Commons, the fact has been made manifest to !very part c,f the United K ingdom. Sd. That Gwillym Lloyd Wardle, Esq. by his singular intre pidity nnd integrity in instituting an Inquiry into the Conduct Of His 114,yal highness the Onke of York, and by persevering in that Inquiry, in spite of the greatest difficulties and the most formidable discouragement, has rendered an impoctant service to his country, and merits tke grateful thanks and warmest ap probation of this Meetipg. • The next Resolutions went to give the Thanks of the Meeting to Sir Francis Burdett, Lord Folkstone, Mr. Whitbread, and the other Members of the House of Commons, who more parti cularly gave their support to Mr. Wardle in the course of the investigation, and to those Members who voted in the minority on Mr. Wardle's Motion, on . the Amendment to Mr. Percival's Motion, proposed by Sir Thomas Turton ; auJ on Mr. Banks's Motion. _ The sixth Resolution stated the unanimous opinion of the Mectinz, " That, after the concurrin, declaration of so many indepen • dent Representatives of tke People, whoever shall, at any future time, advise his Majesty to reinstate his Royal Migliness the Duke of York in the situation of Com►nander in Chief, will, by such advice, prove himself an enemy to the country." And the seventh, " That the discoveries made by thil inquiry, as well as the attention which has been paid by the House of Commons to the investigation of the Charges brought in this par ticular instance, ought to animate the people to prosecute In quiry and Reform in all the departments of the state ; and they recommend to every cout4y, city, and borough of the Unitnti Kingdom, whenever the present state of the elective hotly will admit, to follow the example which it has been the duty and pride of the City of Westminster to set them, of returning, free of ex pence, honest and independent Representatives, iv ho shall hayse no interest but that of restoring what was obviously wanted s—integrity and economy in the feccipt and expenditure of the public money, and of preserving inviolate the rights and privi leges of the people." Mr. WISHART supported the Resolutions. He was per suaded, that had the case of the Duke of York been submitted to any, jury of twelve men, it was impossibte but that they must have found him guilty of the charges brought against hint. Sir FRANCIS BURDETT declared, that tile late occasion had shcwn More than ever the necessity of a Parliamentary Reform. The people intt of doors were gnat:boons in condemning the Duke of York, while a majority in the House of Commons thought proper to acquit him. Had the II ou4 of Commons been chosen fairly and freely, • as by the Constitution it ought to be, there could he no doubt but that the decision or the House of Commons Would have assimilated with the feeliogs of the peo ple out of doors. With if egard to the Bill brought in by the Vll'lllo'llor of the Exchequer, for preventing atinses in tbe futore disposal of otiiees, he could ant help considering it as a gross delosion On the public. It was an attack n - . 1 the minor agents of corruption, while it left the principals untouched. (Loud applattNe.) The Honourable Baronet compared the situation of the country to that of Prometheus, as fa].]od by the poets, w hose liver was supposed to he renewed as fast as it vvas devoured by a vulture. The industry et' the country was de voured by the vulture of corruption. (Laud applause.) Stone had been led away with an idea that the sub:eet was one of par t ieular ez.licacy, because the favourite son nf the King was the person accused ; but he could not see tint it was a subject on which any . delicacy ought to he shewn. One particular feature of the busiors he could mit help noticing, and that was, the anxiety which ninny Members of tie House of Cornmhos had shewn to ,diselnim all partiripat lot) of feeling with the people out of doors a poll tine occasion; and it so happened, that lie House of Comtaotts wits perhaps the only sp:)i in Europe where the fedi:4;s bait: Antimeuts of the people of Logland were. pru- 243 fessedly disregarded. Was this decent with revird to the peo ple of England ? Could this possibly happen if the House of Commons were constituted as it ought to be ? The lion. Hato- net considered the Committees of inquiry, and Committees ap pointed to examine into Abuses, as mere delusions, which.eould be attended with no good effects whatever. The House of Com. mans was unsound, and as long as it continued so, they could hope for no radical reform of abuse. (Loud applause). It was not to new laws that they had occasion to have recourse for the correction of abuses ; they had only to require the execu tion of toe oltl eoh , titutional laws of the realm—Magna Charta and the Bill of Rights. Ile next adverted to the severe sentences which had of late years been passed in that Hall (the sentences of Messrs. White and Hart); and contended that they would never have been tolerated, had the House of Commons been the true representative body of the people. The Hon. Baronet con. eluded with recommending Parliamentary Reform as the only clurse to be adopted whic!l could, in the present state of the world, preserve the country from foreign subjugation. It was a matter of indifference to him who were Ministers, because he (lid not see that any one class of men pursued the public good more than another when they got into place; and therefore he was convinced that nothing but Parliamentary Reforin could save the nation. _ _ Mr. W11111311E49 thanked the Meeting for the honour they had done him in mentioning his name o frequently in their Re solutions; but he could not help saying, that he had .done no more than Lis duty (Loud applause.); and therefore he saw no reasorf why he ought to be thanked. 1t was undoubtedly grati fying to him, tart on this occasion he hacl .riven his vote in con formity with the popular sentiment ; but had '- it been otherwise, the evidence was so strong and :,o fully substantiated, that he shoula have voted as he did, and as in his conscience he felt he was bound to do. (Loud applause). iie concurred with the lion. Baronet in the necessity of a Parliamentary Reform, a measure which he had always advocated; and said, that he had no dont); but that it might he effected by the temperate and un animous exertions of the people.. The recent example of the resignation of the Commander in Chief was a striking proof of what the people could do. Ile had indeed been acquitted by a majority of the House of Commons; but the voice of the public was so strongly against him, that it was impossible for him to retain hi:, situation. In the same way, if the people wished for a Reform in Parliament, and were equally unani mous, he had no doubt but a Reform in Parliament would follow in six months. But if the people suffered themselves 11 be turned aside by any silly delusion, as that of Jacobin ism, of which he and many of his friends had formerly been accused, or the more recent delusion of " No Popery," which brought the present Ministers into power, their enemies would always lay hold of such pretexts to rei'use Parliamentary Re form, and, as long as the people continued divided, it was im- The Resolutions were then put and carried unanimously. pos . sible it should be obtained. lie disagreed in opinion front the lion. Baronet, that it was a matter of indifference who were Ministers, because the former Ministers had shewn that they would not remain in office merely for the sake of re ceiving their 'salaries; and he thought the people had acted unfairly by their - friends in suffering them-elves to be led away by the cry of "No Popery," as they had been. Parlia mentary Reform could only be accomplished by the firm and temperate eNpression of the will of the people; and when ever the people became unanimous in its favour, there was no doubt but it must be carried. Mr. Whitbread concluded with returning; thanks to the Meeting for their patient hearing, and was cheered with loud and repeated huzzas. It was also unanimously resolved, that the Thanks of this Meeting he given to Arthur Morris, Esq. the High Bailiff, for the promptness with which lie called this Meeting, and for his impartial conduct in the Chair. The fleeting then broke up, and Sir Francis Burdett, Mr. Whitbread, and the other gentlemen, were attended by the po pulace to the King's Arms, in Palace-V ord. THE NATIONAL REGISTER; A WHALE. Since Thursday the curious have been gratified by the e Nfii hition of an enormous fish of this species, in a barge on the South side of the river, between Blackfriars and London brOkes. A spectacle so unusual in this latitude attracted, for many hour,, some thou , a-.1 f-pectators, who crowded round the barge in boats, and fArt:ioted a hti‘k and mn-t productive trade well to ihe e xhibitor, as to the watermen, w ho cotivecd them to be bold this stupcoduos monster of the deer. .N.lau seamen who