The National Register. — London, England, 1814-07-17 00:00:00

JULY 17. • Monday a most unmerous Meeting of the Electors of Westmin. ?ter took place, in Palace Yard, to consider of the propriety of putting Lord Cochrane again in nomination ter Westminster. The business commenced by the High - Bailiff reading the Re qnisition. He then read two letters, one from Lord Cochrane, and the other from Mr. Sheridan. Lord Cochrene's letter Melosed copy of the speech made by his Lordship in the House of Commons, requested Mr. Mor.is to read it to the Meeting. This the High Bailiff declined. stating, that it eontained matter which would subject the reader to the penalties of libel. Mr. Sheridan's letter was then read, it disavowed all intention of oppogieg Lord Coch rane's re-alectien, and declared it to be Mr. S.'s opinion, that every expelled Member had right to appeal to his Constituents. This let ter was received:.pith great applaese. Sir Francis Burdett addressed the Meeting. The friendly fvel ing and patriotic spirit which actuated the electors of this great metropinis were, be said, well known to him, but he had never before witnessed the ebullitions of their zeal with so nitwit satisfic tion as ' a n the present occasion, because they had never berme been called forth on an occasion of so much importance. The question which they were at present to determine was no less than whether , an intioceat individual should be destroyed by the machinations of , corruption and power, or whether he should he Maillt.llllo by the alike of the electors of Westmin: ter, in that character of integrity tied hopour which in his (Sir Francis !Widen's) opinion, he had never for a moment forfeited. Mr. Sheridan, in the letter which they had jest heard, had withdrawn his pretensions; what those pre tensions might he, it was not for him to judge: but whatever they were, he had withdrawn them in favour of Cochrane, and an act more graceful or mote politic he conk) not have performed at the present instant. The Hon. Baronet said, that in the times in which we lived, when every latitude was given in the ititerprelation of the Jew to innetelo and inference, it was impossible for ;try Mall to k7,ow whether what he said, or wrote, was a libel or not : whether in what he had to address to the Meeting he might not incur the penalties of libel, was as much out of his consideration as out or his power to aseei talus Lord Cochrane, with that innocence, and that fortitude, which he who felt • conscious of his innocence could always maintain, had made an appeal to the House of Com mans in Ins own defence, which. though it hail been made to them without success, could not certainly be made to the country in vain. On this occasion what was the conduct of the known leader of that august body ? He gets up, with all the blushing bottoms of his .blue rihbon hanging round him, and by bolding out a threat to an intimidated and restricted press, at the very time that . the House arc at his express and repeated solicitation, inflicting on Lord Coch rane a deeper stigma than any he had vet suffered, will not sutler the people of England to hear of his defence. The Noble Lord, however, more anxious for the good opinion of the public, and for that of his constituents, than for any other consideration, had beets desirous to make his appeal to them, and was ready to take all ;he consequeuces of this art of disobedience to the notice from the Treasury Befell on his own head Were there was a (ay , of read, read !) Sir Francis Burdett reminded the Meeting, that the High Bailiff had Awes n himself always ready to do his ditty to them : at the same time it was necessary to him on this, as well as every other occasion, to use his own discretion and judgment, and it would be unhandsome in them to press bins to a atep which he thought it int pi oper to take, both front regard to prudence, and to the duties of his official situation. It was unnecesaary for him (Sir Francis) to tatter into the details by which the Noble Lord had cleared his character to the satisfaction of so many respectable and impartial Persons, nor should he throw out any imputation on the jury who had coevieted him. Under all the circumstances of the ease, con sidering the artful manner of getting up the evidence on the side of the pros cution, and the weakness of the defenee, he di4l not wee der that Lord Cochrane had been brotight in guilty of a crime, of yodel' the Hon. Baronet was fully persuaded that lie was as incapa ble as any of the persons wham lie then addressed. The evidence previously- published by a set of per-ons calling themselves the Stock Exchange Committee, had indeed had the effect of preju dicing the public mind against him, and Lord Cochrane :night be truly said to have been convicted in almosty very man's mind betel e his trial. All that was wanting was campleted by the summing tip of the Judge ; which he (Sir F.) described as that sort of summing up which consists in leaving out all the Veins on one side of an ac count, and adding to and exaggerating all those on the other. But a judge should have no passions, no feeling of partiality. The elo quence of the Noble Lord ou the Beath was not less remarkable than it was unfortunate : it could not be forgutten, it would alwa!s THE NATIONAL REGISTER. . _ rise up in judgment against him. It was more in the style °fan ad vocate than of a judge. He had talked of " dow a die game," and wanted tc know " what was become of the Skin." A keyeer sportsman soul lie (Sir. Francis) had never witnessed, b i n t h ere was was old story of the man who had so the lion's shii u whil e li v i ng , which he should not repeat. He would only add, thdt land Coch rane was not yet hunted down, and he hoped the electors of West. unoster would not sutler Lar to be hunted down. The per:•ou this proposed to be limited down was all illustrious elia:Acter who hart served his country gallantly and gloriously ; and even vipporingilial to have so far forgotten himself as to have become an aceetsary itt the base crime imputed to him, yet the consideration Of past her vices ought to have protected him front the degradiog and Hinman punishment, %%inch was now to bt. inflicted on bbn. (Na, no, tram the crowd.) Sir F. Burdett hoped that by their sentiments ex pressed this day, and by (Wr unpacked, unsolicited, uneerropted votes, this part of the sentence might be prevented. ledeed cer -14111 Persons had overstepped themselves to their eagerness to knock rap Loitl Cochrane, they had knocked up the pillory by sentencing Zoos I.or.'ship tei it, andshe (Sir F. Burdett) should think it his duty to attend him there.—( Lend approbation.) No one would here after think it a di=grace to stand where the Noble Lord had stinal bvtne him. Even if Lord Coe/Wane were guilty of the otlence of which he stood convicted, yet the. vengeance whie't he had drawn dome upon himself was not for that offence, hot tar a very digereot species of crime, which during a certain period of- our history had been the .61 against the Bala Chat, namely, the support of the pri vileges ot the people. Public peculators, thorough passed retainers ot the Court, found with the money which they had eml.wszled itl their pockets, were let oil cosily, they were very honest gentlemen, and meant shortly to pay the public their own back again. The Hon. Baronet here alluded to the story of the Scotch gardener who plundered his neighb o urs, a nd hei l ig detected by one of them in carrying off his best wall-fruit, and asked where he was going with it, answered, " only back again." He hoped the electors of West olifister would at least send Lord Ceciirane '' back again" to the Howe from which he had been expriled without a hearing, when lie might combat corruption in its source, and strike at the roots of that secret influence which spread its baneful ramifications throug,ll - the land, and blasted the blossoms of liberty or happiness. Lord Cochrane did not come to them for his lite, that lie had often risked for his conntry; he did not come to them for reputation, that he had sought even in the CM:11011'S Illtillth ; !Mt be came to them to protect hian trout becoming the victim of the honest and conscientious effotts he had made in their cause, and be thus ap pealed to the people of England. He concluded by moving, " That it is the opinion of this Meeting that Lord Cochrane is not gmlty of the offence for which he has been condemned to a severe and in famous punishment, and that?.e is a tit liaison to reprt-sent the City of Westminster in Parliament." Mr. Wishart seconded the motion. Major Cartwright expressed his firm conviction of Lord Coch• rane's innocence, and said, that lie would rather be in his Lordship'S• skits than in that of any otitis ptirsnets. Mr. P. Walker maintained, that the electors of Westmiuster were bound in (boy to replace I.uril Cochraoe. Mr. Alderman Wood said, he had had a conversation %vial several of the Jorpnen before whom Lord Cochrane was tried ; one of theta most sclemnly affirmed, not as his eyyvn i T ecliugs merely, but as the fccling of many of his brother jurymen, that it the evidence whicia. had siree come out, bad been produced before them at the time, and it' Lord Coe brute had darended himself in Court, as he lint diine in the Hone of Commons, it would have been impossible for there to find him guilty.—(Applauses !) —He could bring that person Fur• ward on his oath if it were necessary—(Cries of No, No 1)--Lot i!e did not himself think that it was necessary. Independently of that, however, he had himself put such questions to Lord Coehrane, and had received answers to them from his Lordship of site. a :moire, as it was impossible a nature framed like his could have riven bad he been guilty. At the time he heard of the proqable expo!. sion of Lord Cochrane from the I louse of Common , , I,s (Kr. Wo , -)b) as an elector of Westminsrer, began to think of sotne pr,Ter person to r preseut that City in Parliament. His choice, if 1w had not been aaticipated, would uodoubtedlv have fallen on Lord Coet e, and be should have called upon electors ot . li . cstin;nsfrr ;o tame tiwward and support an old acrd tried patrint --He rejoiced, however, to rind that they %%cry all any jr.stiee to an injured character, and he hoped they %von!, i I "tunlin4 Lord Cochrane, whid, t ald the.l be their vs. r, his Lordship's case.—(Applause The first resolution w their put and carried with ottani plause. • ~: kp1);.11:.e I) .iout: to ,(t► Id •ncf.rrd rtfict nj,ut► 111110124 a 1:• .•7: • • ./ IVESTMIN4TER MEETING. ;mem air , ;itg .. , -4.. ~ .. . 463 .. _:. ~-