The National Register. — London, England, 1809-12-03 00:00:00

NATIONAL REGISTER. . .~ . . THE.'`. Our bin eronOtiturion, anti Law. SUNDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1809. PRICE 94. No 101. POLITICAL MAX ISITIUN: PIUMBk.R NINETY-NINE. COURT OF COAIIVINV COUNCIL. The Lnrd Mayor hag appointed a Court of Common Coon cil to be h.•id on Tuesday nest,—" To take into consider- ation the late unwise, ill digested, and calamitous Expedi tions, by • which the blood and treasures of this realm have been wasted, the character of our gallant army ex posed, and its numbers reduced by pestilence, privations, and disease, more than by the sword. Aud to consider the propriety of petitioning his Majesty to institute an Inquiry into these great national misfortunes—into the plans and instructions upon which those Expeditions were undertaken, and into the conduct and capacity of the Commanders to whom they were entrusted. And. the more effectually to prosecute those Inquiries, to beseech his Majesty forthwith to convene the Parliament." TO THE COMMON COUNCIL OF LONDON. GENTLEMEN, I have the honour of adlressing you on a subject of the highest national interest ; and which you ire called upon on Tnesday next, to take into consideration. 1 will speak to you in the language of R freeman, and with the feelings of a fellow sufferer. -A well-founded imputation of u'nac •counta!)le indifference to the mismanagemeurt, disappoint ment, and disgrace, which babe lately marked our fore** and domestic policy, has been thrown out against the Pub lic in general ; 1, therefore, congratulate you 'and the , country, that you give the example of the revival of a better spirit. You are convened for the purpose of ex. pressing your grief at the .consequeeces of our late un fortunate Expeditions—expeditions which have filled the country with mourning; lowered the reputativm of our arms ; proved the existence of flagrant incompetency, in trigue and shuffling in the highest departments of Govern.- ment ;—expeditions which have shewn, that the honour of the empire, the safety of the army, the expenditure of millions of the public money, our own freedom, and that of Europe, are secondary considerations,.when set in com petition with the feelings of one Member of the Cabinet, the appointment of another, and the iirrangementA of the rest. You are going, Gentlemen, to express your sense on this complication of outrage and disgrace; and to con vey to the Throne your astonishment and indignation, that the confidence of the Sovereign, and the interests of the Public, should be thus abused and.sacrificed to the come nience and feelings of such men. In performing this painful but imperious duty, you must not forget, Gentlemen, that you exercise, at Ihe same time, the most important right of British subjects ;—a right coeval with the revolution, which prepared for the House of Brunswick the way to the British Throne ;--n right which our forefathers had the wisdom to stipulate far that tune, and the courage t. insist upuu, u the beg Vol. CI. .heck upon official depravity and weakness. 1 cur coediugs will prove, whether, with the form, the spirit of the institution has been presened ; and the effect of your petition shew how far it is qualified to answer the patriotic views of our ancestors. 1 need not remind you, that ful some, impertinent adulation, is no mark of loyalty; and that qualified censure produces a very slight impression upon the 66 ferocious turpitude " of public delinquents. Give an example, in this important crisis, of your unshaken loyalty to the Sovereign,and of attachment to the country, by your mai ked abhorrence of the causes and consequences of those disgraceful expeditions ; and let your conduct prove that the old English spirit, always fatal to an imbecile, or corrupt administration, is still to be found amongst us. Your voice and your example have great and deserted ef (feet upon the other corporations of the United Kingdom; and the sentiinents, uttered in Guildhall, will be soon. re- peated in the other Muncipal Halls of the Empire. You are not ignorant, Gentlemen, how instances of mis• management have multiplied within these few years. The army and the navy displayed their wonted superiority of courage and devotion—the people contributed, without reluctance, the hard-earned fruits of their industry, to sup port the accumulating exigencies of the state—the wishes of Government were, in fact, anticipated by an ardent, !eye', and unanimous population ; and. with all these ad_ vantages, our assistance, in favour of Ow allies, has been im potent, tardy, and injurious to them and disgraceful to our.; saves. The same effect, such as our interference produced, might have been made with the fifth part of our physical, military, and pecuniary resources; and the most limited, or the most callous, must .he sensible to the consequences of so flagrant a irnisapplicatien of the finances and military force of the Empire. The evil increities progressively; and every year is marked with grosser bliicalers, acid more calamitous incidents. How, and when, this progresTion ofi folly and disaster will terminate, is a question which 'must excite the Most . alarming apprehensions. Each expedition has exceeded tha antecedent in misornduct atul.dis4.ritee.;: and experiment bas only served to mit. experience. The plains of Brabant, Holland, South Ankeriea, 'anti ;:paio, have, in succession, been tinged with a redder die, and stamped with monuments of grosser folly. In the mean time,. the men who advised, planned, and executed these ill-fated enterprizes, so far from sua:ering the punishment due to Their imbecility, brave the public indignation ; in. stilt the public distress; ace lionourlll in proportion as time country is disgraced; and continue to bask in the sunshine of Royal favour. Indulgence to an official delinquent is the greatest outrage to the people; and contaminates the : very source of humanity and order. Bet ..to extend fa vour and protection to the same individual, is draiiging justice from ber seat, and delivering the sword aid balance . into the monkey-paw of court-intrigue. Let us take, Gentlemen, a retrospective viont.of the oc r currences, which immediate!, preceded and occasioned the last unfortunate expedition. The disastrous terinivatiun et ~.,;.,_.....s .~ S. •