The National Register. — London, England, 1812-03-29 00:00:00

MARCH 29. Jolin Ckipman, of NewiThirket, - grocer, April 4, 24-, and May 9, at twelve , at Guildhall, London. Attornies; Messrs. Gatty and Haddan, An4el-court, -Ishrogmorton-street. Joas. Pereira de Souza Caldas and John de Capiet, of Clifford-street, wire-merchants, Aprii 4, 11, 9, at twelve, at Guildhall. Attor ides, Mr. R. O. Jones. Ne. 9, Gray's Inn-square. John Rainas. of Walcot, Somerset, druggist, April 9, 10, and May 9 at t e n, at the Christopher Inn , Bath. Attornies , M essrs. L on g dell and rccket, Gray's Inn, London ; and Mr. J. Randolph, Bath. William Dorring , on, of Cornhill, insurance-broker, April 11, 19, .. c! ,l May 9, at twelve, at Guildhall. Attornies, Messrs. Reardon and Dav i es , Cachet-court, Gracechurch-street. • James Pyerofr, jun. of Lloyd's Coffee-house, underwriter, April 111, 14, at twel - e, and May 9, at ten, at Guildhall. Attorney, Mr. Lang, • America -square, Minories. James Whiffing Siggs, of Aveley, Essex,_ dealer, April • twelve, and May 9, ac ten, at Guildhall, London. Attorney, 10': . ". Mserica-square. Charles filler, of Aidgate High-street, silversmith, April 4; - N . one, and May 9, at eleven, at Guildhall. Attorney, Mr. Martin,' Vintner's Hall, Upp ,, r Thames-street. John Holt, of Whalebone-court, Lothhury, London, victualler, April 4,14, and May 9, at eleven, at Guildhall. Attorney, Mr. Alder son, Tokenhouse-yarcl. CERTIFICATES.—APRIL 18. James Davies and James Craig, late of Bastnghall-street, merchants. —Elizabeth Janaway, of Ludgate-street, 'Foy Warehouse-keeper.— Jeremiah Smith, late of Woodbridge, Suffolk, butcher.—William liolroyd, late of Holland-street, Blaekfriars-road, victualler.—Morris Lyon, of Liverpool, draper.—,John Waistle, of Liverpool, builder.— Nathan Samuel, of Liverpool, draper...-William Gardner, of the Hay market, victualler.—Ebenezer Cooper, of Bishopsgate-strect, coach plater.—Thoinas Morgan, of All-Saints, Worcester, maltster.—Jeffer son Ward, of Woolwich, coal-merchant—Christopher Clarke, late of Cawrkwaite, Hesket, Cumberland, cattle .dealer.—William 'lnlet' tt, Of ilanover-street; Long Acre, ship .owner.—James Donnelly, of Greek street, Nitch, of Castle-street, Qty-road, insur ance-broker. COMMON HALL. Thursday a very numerous and respectable meeting of the I.ivery of London Ins held in Guildhall,. pursuant to a requisition, 44 to take into consideration the unprecedented situation of the country, and to a , llTt such measures as might he thought necessary for promotitigin qiiiry into the state of public affairs—for reforming public abuses—and, ahuve all, for effecting a reform in the representation of the people in Parliament." The: Lode. MAYOR having opened the business, by requesting the several speakers might have an impartial hearing, Mr. WAITHMAN then carne forward.—lt was now nearly 20 years piece he had first been in the habit of addressing the Livery in this on an occasion something sim:liar to the present; namely, oi:lca they were called on to point out grievances, and to ask I% ., iress. On every succeeding occasion of the kind had the griev an.:es of which they had to complain increased—the evil had every Year become greater—and now the Livery were called on more im p,tiously than at any former period, to express their opinions as to the distressed and embarrassed condition of the country. It would not he necessary far him to consume much of the time of the Meeting in adducing arguments to prove the truth of what he had already stated, that the country was in a most distressed and embarrassed situation; soforninately, this was a fact so clear—so manifest—as not only to be obvious to our visual faculties, but to have come home in so forcible a manna to our feelings, that no argument was necessary to convince us of its existence. It was not nazaty months, at least, it was not a year, since the City of London had expressed their opinions as to the abuses whizh prevailed, and their regret at the Restrictions intposed on the Prince Regent, in consequence of which, those abuse!: were to he en t''led upon them f or a st ill longer per i o d, and also during skhich, the Piiiice Regent must have continued under the power of that faction, I..`och had so long, unfortunately, prevailed in this country.—(App/ausz.s; L 'f% : ' , d with ma r k s of clisappr.)Gation.)—The Prince Regent himself bo and so expressed his feelings. To prove that this was the case, he Waitliman) need only refer to the Prince Regent's own declara tion on that occas i on. T hough the City of Lon d on t h en saw occas i on ;:Mother their grievances, and to wait till the Prince Regent was un fettered , still they then hoped that matters would be reformed, and that . they should even obtain some security against the occurrence of '_lllllar grievances in future. He need hardly call the recollection, or t c? . ntemplation of the Court, to the distresses of the country, arising i w rtin tbis corrupt system. • The Court, and each, and every individual pu a b ° . li c c o d e d it, were acquainted with them. They had seen great taidts escape, while the greatest oppression was exercised inst the press for presuming to complain of abuses. They had f_ it even to know, from what appeared in the Newspapers, that l i o o l e .. even of those very defaulters were, at this moment, after tht y wi 'L l cen detected, and after deserved punishment ought to have been ... " 64 on them, living in affluence, er -rather in luxury, on sinecures &wm.,....-. THE NATIONAL. REGISTER. _ 197 derived from this country, and Weir! receiving the produce of taxes wrung from the very hearts of the people whom they had already plundered ! He , asked, had any grievance, of which the public had occasion to complain, been redressed ? Had any redress been afforded where complaints were made in Parliament? On this subject, he !legged only to refer to the case of two persons, at the time Members of dui Administration, who were accused of trafficking in seats in the Com mons House of Parliament—and who, though their guilt was not dis• puted, were suffered to pass, not only with impunity, but who were still suffered to live on the National Taxes. He should not take up the time of the Livery, with detailing a great variety of abuses. There was no tax from which the people of this country, however unable to pay, could escape with impunity. They had Inquisitors even to look isto the state of their private concerns. if they made a return of their income which was not satisfactory, they were surcharged, mid, if they .refused to pay, however excessive the surcharge might be, they were :dragged, like offenders, before the tribunal : and yet, while they were ea persecuted for payment of tales imposed on them, they had the niertification to see those very taxes squandered in the way be had de :acribed. There was another recent grievance of which the public had cause to complain, and this was, that a deprecicated Paper currency was now on the point of being made equal to a le7al tender. This was the more to be deprecated, when the mode of proceeding by the Bank, in the case of forged notes, was taken into consideration. The forged note being detained, and the party from whom it was received being called on for .payment, without being put into a situation, from receiving back the note, of being enabled to recover payment of it from the per son from whom he might have received it. Two such cases had oc curred to himself within two days.—(..l.fixed approbation and hisses.) — He hoped Gentlemen would answer him, if he had said any thing amiss. He should not detain them farther at present, but should read the Re solutions, which are in substance as follows : " That they viewed with pain and anxiety a corrupt influence remain ing in the administration of Govern's . . ent which injured the peop! they were of opinion, that sinecure places and other situations ut ,ier the patronage of the Ministry were in t hentselves an evil, and sw.iled a ruinous S ystem ot taxation, rendered more enormous by the arbitrary mode of gathering it ; that they had seca a delusive and fictitious paper currency substituted in the room of the ancient coin of the Realm, and supported by pernicious laws; • that an insulting disregard to publis opinion had been openly manifested hyParliament in refusing to n, 4 aire into the unfortunate expedition to Walcherett, and the causes ot tl:e appointment of the Duke of York to be Commander in Chief; they had seen measures adopted which converted the empty threats cf th.• enemy into permanent misery, by ruining the commerce of the country, and occasioning an extension of the penal code; they had belivld foreign mercenaries adopted itno military and other offices, in prefer ence to the natives ot .4ugland, who by birth and abilities had the most equitable claims • they had represented those griev inces by Petitions, Which had been disregarded, and they had beheld an inclination manifest itself to repress inquiry, while right of petitioning was denied, and the customary access to the Throne shut up ; that those oppressions and grievances were all occasioned by a con opt and inadequate representa tion of the People; that from the open hostility avowed by the Prince. Regent towards those pernicious systems, they had expected his eleva tion to the unrestricted (ace of Regent, as the arrival of a new era, which . would totally annihilate all ground of cothplaint ; that not. withstanding. the pledges given by his Royal Highness, they had beheld those men continued in since who had all along manifested no inclina tion to ameliorate the state of representation ; that the continuation of those persons was alone attributable to strong intrigue and faction be hind the Throne ; that finally it was their opinion, that a dutiful Address should be presented to his Royal Highness, praying that he- would be . graciously pleased to dismiss his present Ministers, and nominate others, who might restore the ancient constitutional glory of the nation." Mr. FAVFLL seconded the motion ; he observed, that the.sltuation of the country now, both externally and internally, was such, that to pre sent a flattering address would be to ruin both Prince and . people; no thing but Reform in Parliament could save the State Mr. SA:dui:l. DixoN stepped forward. He had no intention of ad dressing the Common Hall to-day, had it not been that' he'wiAlted to shew them that there was still among the Livery one man who ha •1 courage enough to express his disapprobation of the Resolutions of tins day. He felt as strongly as any man the distresses of the country ;_. but he submitted that the course now proposed to he pursued would in crease, and could not diminish, those distresses.—(Norse cud uproar .' ) He claimed to be permitted to state his opinion. He asked it not 311 a an indulgence, but as a right. The Gentleman who had m ov ed thestiter solutions for the approval of the Court, had justly stated, thaffOr the last twenty years he had addressed them on similar occasions. In this the Gentleman was correct—he had uniformly, year after year, treated them with a bill of fare of grievances, which as they were given to understand, had, notwithstanding the exertions o#, the Honourable Gentleman and his Coadjutors, been yearly increasiti (Cries of no, no I—That is a misrepreseutution.)—There was fib. . . r part of the world in which the right of speech, or of writing, was !crated, except in this country. Here we could speak and write what we chose.— (Cries vino, 110 i )—We could speak and think what we pleased—(yrs, in: COULD think). —And we could ought to speak and write...Wm:7 I speak amt write (no, 710/ ) whniwe Virrohation wired "mil* Id, rn, nd the ind ien, ive, isri. Ka ovi- 'on - , 11, ar.l i 11, !esrs. 8, at Red 9, at hard, yard, and ;lett'i• oche! . tarOi `."