The National Register. — London, England, 1812-12-20 00:00:00

p EC. 20. We rejoice to find by Mr. BRAHAM'S re-appearance in Aluhonso, in « The Castle of Andalusia" last Thursday, that the 'qua (Ibis having no engagement at Drury-lane, is un founiled. He was received in the most rapturous manner. imigic powers of his voice are the same, and the brilli ;Inn' of his execution is heightened by the occasional mix • tare of pure anti elegant simplicity in which he breathes his Liel(Alics. He was encored with particular applau , T in a new baad written by Mr. Nagy, which we regret the press of impoiaor foreign matter prevents us from inserting, as its poetical merits are not inconsiderable. WESTMINSTER ELECTORS. The friends of Sir Francis Burdett and Lord Cochrane dined last Month% at the Crown and Anchor Tavern, to celebrate the election of the present Representatives of Westminster. The Chair was filled by Mr. Wishart, who, the cloth being re!• moped, stated the object of the meeting, and in the course of hi speech insisted on the tecessity of a Retbrm in the House of Com mas. " The Sovereignty of t lie People," was theft drunk with thre!: timeq three, and followed by " he Prince Regent, and may he re member the declaration of the Prince of Wales, that the Crown is held in trust for the benefit of the People."—" May the People set ct their own Repre;entatives, instead of permitting their Candhlaics to eafile them." After a suitable song by Mr. Besborough, the Chair nun proposed " The constitutional asset ter of the Nation's Rights, Sit franc's Burdett," which was received with rapturous applause. The Hon. Baronet then rose at.d returned thanks for the honour dote him. So far as a consciousness of having persevered in endea vaios to promote, or rather to recover the lo,t rights of the people of coitntry, could entitle him to that approbation, he thought he miat fairly, however in other respects deficient, consider it as de scrvel (arplatie ) At the same time, however, he could not but that his ability fill so far short of his wishes in promoting the success of that great cause for which they were that day assembled nanicly, the purity of election. In the late appeal, so fiilse h :!ppeal to the people, the ex mple which they had former ly set, and then repeated, stoc.d single and alone throughout the coun try. Though this undoubtedly had a tendency to cast some damp or dat ht on the cause ct Reform, which they had so ably supported, it hoot have convinced every person who was at all open to conviction, not the fault lay not in the people themselves, but in the system of oot apt election, which left no choice to the public at large in the returning of their Representatives (applause.) An example had been set by them, which it was said there was hopes would be imitated t:lrcoghout the c. , untry. Ile entertained no such hopes. The whole of eieetion was, at present, a mere farce, and in that election the body r,frhe people had no choice whatever. It was a great argument in ocur of popular elections, that in the city of Westminster, the capi tal of the empire, the seat of the Government, where the prevalence of luxury might be supposed to bring along with it the prevalence of corruption, where the election was in the hands of the great body of the prop!: the event had shown, that corruption was impossible (ap. Phhse.) 'Compliments had hen paid to the efforts made in the town et Liverpool, in time cause of liberty. Though great credit was un tiountely due. to the individuals who had made those efforts, he was not slue but the :ejection of an individual with such claims on the PINK! gratitude as Mr. Brougham, from his high talents, and also gtcat efFirrs made by him in the cause of the public, would not rather ;ore a tendency to open more the eyes of the people at large, than it Brouelutm had been actually returned to Parliament (applause.) 11 ! u-dastood that the highest candidate, Mr. Canning, had not more t!ati It;t10 votes, while there were above 50,000 householders who paid six's in the town of Liverpool. Had not the election been in the liands of persons who were notoriously open to the influence of corrup t on, Viete could be little doubt but that the election would have fallen on Mr. Broogham, and not on the other candidate, who had ever .hewn himself hostile to popular rights ' and to the interests of the (applause.) The Sovereignty of the People, which had been drank that night, and which ha I formerly given gteat ofllance to a cer t,ir description of individuals, it ought ro be borne in mind, was that s , •vereignty on wich the soverignty of the House of Hanover was dei (applause.) The corollary which was to be deciuzed from tits was, that as :111 power necessarily flowed from the people, it could " Le honestly ex-. rted but for the benefit or that pcJple. (applause ) expressing sentiments like these, he vas aware that he v:as h'g Itamelt open to tit. m ilictous interpretations which hoed so often been past ou his conduct . ; but he was firm in the conviction tha t he was fqusbing nuthibg but the dciCtrlliC of this countr;•.-- THE NATIONAL REGISTER. There were three foundations on which a Government could be said to rest—on an aristocracy—on an army—and on thn! will of the people. When an aristocracy preVailed, the Government was controuled by a set of hatividuals, wiiose interests were in opposition to those of the country at large. When an army was relied on, it sehlam or never happened but that some time or other a Governmentgtelt the edge of the instrument which it employed. The only secure Government was that which was found. d on the affixtions of the people, without which it could neither be staple, nor glorious, nor happy. With rcspeet to ti n t present state of this country, it was indeed most main- • choly. It used formerly to he denied, that the House of Commons was in that corrupt state so generally believed—but that which was fora erly denied was now unblushingly avowed and defended. It was now notoriously known to be corrupt in its constitution, and no longer any safety tier the liberties of the subject ; for there could be no redress to the people when the House of Commons itself was the great grievance wh'cli was complained of (applause.) Ihe Court of King's Bench had become of late years little inferior to the Court of Star Chamber (applause.) And he had no doubt. it the same system of severity continued much longer, it would become as odious in the eyes of Englishmen, as ever the Court of Star Chamber was. He did pot merely allude the case of Mr. Drakard. a man who deserved so well of every humane ;and feeling heart, for his endeavours to put a stop to that base, ignominious, and unmanly system of flogging, to which the soldiers of the English army were exposed. It was they Press of England which loudly called for something to be done, to put a stop to the most deadly mischief which could threaten a country. To have a licenser certainly was destructive to liberty ; but deStruc tiye as such a system was, it was far less cruel and unjust than that Wilda at present prevailed. A sham trial and oppression, exercised according to the forms of law, were of all acts of injustice the most severe. By the arbitrary and unrestricted exercise of Ex-officio In formations, it was in the power of an Officer of the Crown to put every man in peril when he pleased. He could withdrag a prosecu tion when he pleased, or keep it suspended over the head of the vic tim, and wait till such a Jury could be obtained as might be depended on (loud applause.) In a word, every thing was now mockery and fion, without any of the substance of justice. He should like ex ceedingly to ask any of those Gentlemen who found Mr. Hunt. the other day, guilty, of what they hal really found kin guilty ? What was a libel ? A libel sttictly signified nothing more than a book.— Those who were enemies to their principles; instead of meeting thens on fair grounds, and combating them by argument, always had re course to an easier mode of opposition, namely, misrepresentation. They began by stating something as maintained which was not main tained, and then proceeded to combat the phantom. With such people Reform was Revolution. The enemies of corruption were friends to anarchy. It was curious enough to see that those who were the loudest in crying down and affecting to condemn popu!ar meetings, and all expression of popular feeling, were themselves the fore:nost to avail themselves of any transient appearance of popularity, and to run round the country like strolling players, and exhibit them selves from place to place (approbation ) He pledged them that he could not disgrace the vote with which they had honoured him. He' should at all times be ready to combat tyranny under every shape-- After Sir. F. BURDETT had concluded, the band played " Rule Britannia." Mr. Wisnaar then proposed " The Health of Lord Cochrane," who, he was sorry to say, was not so fortunate against ckmestic ene mies as foreign foes. Drank with three times three. Lord COCHRANE returned thanks. Many toasts were then given, and among the rest the tollowing—Ccnstitutienal Judges, Indepen dent Advocates, and honest Jurytnen."—n ith three. " Mr. Broug ham, the successful opposer of the Orders in Council."—With three times three. " Engl::nd's distressed Manufacturers, and may these - speedily have bread to eat."—This was drank in silence, and the band played " The Dead March." " Radical Reform in the Commons House of Parliament." The band was ordered to play " I sigh as I tug at the oar." " May the dissalution of Parliament be Lllowed by the resurrection of principle."—Drank with three. . " The inde pendent Freemen of Liverpool, who endeavoured to rescue the town from'slavery."—With three times three.—The band played " Britons strike home." " The People of Ireland, and the Restoration of their Rights."—With three—The hand was ordered to play " Erin go Brag')." The last toast was " Liberty ail over tlot world, and courage to defend it."—The band played " Libctty Hail." At about a quarter before ten, Sir F. Burdett, Lord Cochrane, Al dermen Wood, and several others, retired. CURIOUS CIRCUMSTANCE.. — A Gentleman, denim ., a tour last Sum mer in the west of England, observed, to his no small seirpri‘e, over ;he door of an decant mansion, the following singular Latin inscrip tion :—Elcraties ad 0, per E.—Anxious to know the meaning of these r:rtc!ious words, he made enquiry, and W:i3 informed, that the owner ni it was formerly in very indigent circumstances, and that his presrut ex.iltid sittiAinn in lite was o"ing eptirely to his having purchased a Share of a Capital Prike at ErroN's Cutters Offices, No, 18, C o vera l y S wet ; And I.kew:se, tlret the literal translation of the iuscription wag, •• raiied t,) Qattara' DR..4MATIC REGISTER. DRURY LANE. 797 fi - 1 `{„ t ~i