The National Register. — London, England, 1815-04-30 00:00:00

APRIL . jnde,. of. Re then eentineed to reply at great length; and on his conclusive a division took place Aye*, 72 ; Noes, 271.—Majority, Int. The Committee nn the Property Tax was postponed to Monday. .Adjuntned to Monday. COMMON HALL. --.....-- Friday there was a very numerous attendance at the Ccm pion Hall, to take into consideration certain resolutions re specting this country being pledged to a war with France. Mr. WAITHM AN came forward to move the resolution.. lie began by stating, that of all the important subjects be had e ver brought before the attention of the Livery, this appear ed to him to he the most important. It was now about t Years since he had first come forward in public, to condemn the principle of a war which then appeared to be carried on for the purpose for whit h a new war was now threatened— to interfere in the internal affairs of a neighbouring country. Such interference be conceived to be at all times unjustifiable. At the time of our glorious revolution, when our ancestors rejected the bigot James, and called in William as their sove reiz,n, they would not have endured any foreign nation pre teLding to dictate to them what sovereign they were to. have. It was with shame and indignation that he RaW the name of a itish moritter signed to the infamous declaration which the Allies lately published at Vienna. To- that declararion not only the ministers of Austria, Russia, Prussia, and of this country, had signed their names, but the ministers of the Le ' bored Ferdinand, and of the King of Sweden, also adhered. If usurpation was so great a crime, was not the beloved Fcrdi yowl himself an usurper, who now occupied a throne, which, by the notions of legitimate sovereignty, belonged to his fa. Cher? The King of Sweden, too, must feel great horror at usurpation, who had himself been raised, by circumstances, to the throne of Sweden, (in the life-time of the King who formerly reigned there), and who had since been helped by the Allies to the kingdom of Norway, and the spoliation of Denmark. Ile Considered the principle of the war that was now threatened as absolutely indefensible; and as to the pro bable consequences of it, when he considered the enormous expense which the last war of 20 ears had brought upon this country, he deprecated the re commencement of war on a si milar principle. lie considered that the character of Bona parte was no reason for our going to war with him.- Alen were, in general, the creatures of circumstances. There was something i-n the nature of power, that, let it fall wherever it would, it was usually abused. Considering, however, the present altered circumstances of France, and its diminished power, he thought it not improbable that the conduct of the Government would in future be altered by those circum stances, and that those sentiments of equity and moderation which they now professed might be adhered to. As to the idea of declaring any Sovereign, or any human being, out of the pale of the law, that appeared to him to be most chock ing. Ile really was astonished to find some men of good seuse and conscientious feeling support so infamous and im pious a principle. (After this expression, there was a consi derable hissing from the opponents of Mr. Waithrwan, and a considerable tumult of applause from his supporters. Al- though it was evident tbat those who hissed were a minority, yet by their pertinacity they effectually prevented Mr.Waith man froze being heard). The LORD MAYOR then came forward, and reminded the Livery, that as they were then met for the purpose of consi derio and discus s i ng t h e su hj ect to b e propose d to t h em , i t w3t their duty to hear patiently every hody who addressed them, whether the sentiments expressed by . them were quite palatable to their own feelings or Dot. He had promised the Livery at the time of his election, that no political opinion should sway his conduct in that high office. He had endea voured to hold the balance even between the different par ties, and had therefore convened that meeting upon the re quisition which had been sent to him. k was his duty, and he was sworn to dischar“e it, to be impartial, and to preserve order and tranquillity in the city. This was a duty that he was determined to perform. If they would not allow persons to be heat d, but would drown their voice in clamour, he should feel it his duty to put an end to the present meetin g (loud applause). Mr. WAI T MAN was then suffered to proceed. He did not think that this country had any thing to fear from France. When France had all the Powers of Europe allied with her, this country was able to stand against them all. lie then dwelt fur some time on the little attention that was paid to the petitions Of the people upon the subject of the corn bill. Ile also expatiated on tl e vexations and oppressions of the income tax. Ile concluded by moving several resolutions. Mr. FAVELL seconded the resolutions. Mr. PERRINO could not comprehend the resolutions which had been proposed, and which, instead of appearing in the simple form that resolutions usually did, presented an im mense mass of abstract reasonitigs. As to t he our pose for which this meeting was convened, he so far agreed in its ob• ject, that he thought that ttus country ought not to be pledged to war. Ile thought that it might be very necessary to be in a state of preparation, but still he did not wish to see us pledged to war. It was not that he doubted the right we had to go to war with Bonaparte. lie coincided entirely in the observation of a most profound statesman ana eloquent spelker (Mr. Plunkett) " that if war was expedient, Bona parte had given sufficient provocation to make it justtfiable.' He doubted very much whether the elements of the coalition had not been much weakened since the last year. There were nearly the same parties to it, hut the cause was now completely changed. Instead of it being new a united effort to resist the domination of France, a very different object was proposed for the present war, and one in which there was a peat diversity of opinion. He believed that the elements of the coalition had been much weakened by the proceedings of the Congress at Vienna. Mr. BUNT (of Bristol) then came forward, and addressed the Livery at considerable length in support . of the resolu- tions. He thought that the Government of France had shown every wish to keep peace with this country, and that, there. fore, our Government ought to have .met them with a corre sponding spirit. The people of France had a right to choose what sovereign they thought proper. Our ancestors had claimed the right of choosing and dethroning Kings, and in one instance of dispensing with their heads. He thought that by the principles of our revolution, it was decided that the power of choosing Sovereigns remained with the people. Why should we, then, endeavour to force upon France a Go vernment which all the French nation detested and abhor red ? (a mixed tumult of hisses and applause interrupted Mr. ! 11. for a considerable time). If_ the Government now plunged the country into war, it wouldbe a war of the most unjust oppreskion (another tumult of hisses and applause.) Mr. Hunt continued speaking for a considerable time in the same strain. Mr. TuoMPSON spoke at some length on the same side. Mr. S. Dixou said that all the arguments that he lia• heard went on the mistaken supposition that this Gvernmen• wished to interfere in the internal afNrs of France. Thi., was what our Government never had done, and what it most expressly and solemnly disclaimed. They might natn ray hesitate to making a treaty with a saan who had viclatcci