The Statesman. — London, England, 1809-09-16 00:00:00

d ragge d fr.ru him by the present, as they bad been by a former discussion in that place, but after • what had been stated, he felt it impossible to be sikoit. Thu Honourable Baronet would, in his opinion,have judged mnre.correctly if Imbed Waved his right of precedency in bringing ferward.the 'iodation in favour of his colleague (Mr. Dixon), whose impatient solicitude to be the foremost on tit- present occasion he had so displ4ed in his eager desire to 1 . - be heard before the Hon. Bsrunet. That these two Gentlemen ware the most loyal, at least in their expressions, of any persons in this kingdom, and that with one of I Mess, such a question as the preterit ought toorigi. nate, ne would readily admit, but Lime as that I other Gentleman would unquestionably hare beets, it was not possible that he cutild have been quite a:, lame as the Honoarble Baronet (e low, laugh) kad been, in endeavouring to 'hew the expediency or propriety of this, in his (Mr. W's.) (whites, unseasonable celebra. tier in the midst of danger and disaster. The Honourable Bart. had referred them to (!e period of his Majesty's. ascending the Throne, and to that period he would follow him, but he had omitted to refer to the present situation of the k . sgalom, to which he should therefore be under the painful necessity of drawing the attention of the Court. Mr. W. trusted, 6;4 were it .neces sary, he could make it apparent that his loyalty was at least as great as that of the Honourable Ba. ronet and his colleague, or any other individual, in that Court ; fur, in his opiniin , the very best way of manifesting genuine loyalty was by vigilantly Boarding and faithfully endeavouring to preserve those principles of the Constitution by which the family of his present Majesty had been seated on the Throne of these realms. When Ms Majesty had been brought by their tacked cossmsels...(ifurnsurs)...he would repeat their wicked c , unsels---for it was notorious that the Corporation of the City of London had sanctioned and supported some of the most pernicious measures of the preseit reign—when by these Counsels his Majesty and his people had beets brought into a Situetion which no human being, possessing fed. ing or understanding, could contemplate without horror and Ci may. It was the duty of loyal 0311jecs to approach his Throne, not only to pro fess their love and vcneraiun fur his person and Ms family, but al.;o to point out those evil and wicked Counsellors, by whose advice the king. duet has bete brought into the present perilous and most distressing situation. He would take a cursory and rapid view of only a very few of the disastrous events of the present reign ; for were be to enter into a minute detail of every occur. rence that we had to deplor#, he should be under the necessity of detaining the Court a month with She *Milling detail. Ho would, however, only direct th.ir attention to the contrast presented by the pretext state of the kiugdosn, and that which it e resaved when his ktijesty *seceded theThrene; be would then Iwo it to the Court to decide warder the present moment is one fur demonstra tions of jns and gratulation: In the first speech made by his Majesty to Parliament, lie took a general view of the affairs of this nation. In America cid in the East Indies we were trium. rialit. 0 r the Continent of Europe this king. dote was surrounded and fortified by alliances with great number of the very first Powers, against the overgrown and overweening power of France. The animosity of party spirit had subsided; and after ort ciao the various proofs of the general prosperity of the kingdom, he concludes by con gratulating his Puli.tinent on the zee), harmony, and unanimity that prevailed amongst 311 ranks and degrees throughout the kingdom.—This wot a situation in which the expediency of indulging in jog and folittitj could not be questioned. At that proud moment we had a CUATH 1m at the helm—and although towards the conelusiete of the most expensive war in which the country bad ever been engaged, we had incurred a debt, the whole annual expenditure amounted to no more than seven millions, of which one million and a half went in aid of the sinking fund. But what was now the state of England, even with reference to expenditure alone ?---the enormous annual consumption of seventy mil. lions of money.—(Dear, hear, hea.• !) W• 11 even seven millions was thought by the con , itu tional Blackstone to have been an expenditure in consistent with the safety of the Constitution of England—What, then, he would ask of any man, whose understanding was not absolutely perverted —can be thought of the situation of England, at the colichision of the 49th year of the reign of King George rho Third 2—(lleur, heat, hear!) White would be the sentiments of that friend of constowtional freedom, Blackstone, could he see the present situation of the country!...uver.run with tax•gatherets, commissioners, spies and in. farmers, who perplex, harass, and torment the people on which ever side they turn. The Sun day only intervened between the-accession of his present Majesty, and the swearing in of the Earl of Brae as a Privy Counsellor. lie from that moment became the I bier, if not the sole adviser of the Crown. To the pernicious, destructive ad vice of that Nobleman, was attributable that sys tem of government, in which so remarkable and indelible a perseverance has since been displayed. The Earl of Chatham foresaw the consequences, and well knew the secret toaster-spring which put the Cabinet in motion. It was the infinence of lA. B. of whi'-h he complained in that memorab'e ex. prosaic., that there was a " something beta!, ft Me " Throne, gre.ster than the Throne itself."— Tne great Cl:athans, ender these circumstances, finding i ~usgible lunge/ to retain his office with honour to k rnself, or advantage ter his crivatry, retitled—an I the celebrated Charles Jenkinson, aft it. ads Hifi of Liverpool, becomiug the se. crust coudjutor or Lord Bute—they together laid the founttatr.in of that system, a blind and obsti nate perseverance in which has brought us to the deplurablesituation in which we 'were now placed. To tick 01411111CIII was attributable, its a great Ale. Tree, Ike diggraceftil measures of the present reign. ito wieldy • aliderataa—be begged his pardon /lororsei, ha meant to say, bat really he could not recollect oa tl ese ;ma honours sal distinetionJ Es hod issoshl bad mistimed another set of me. VI% I; • - ji • *kr', • • 7 ; • Ila --- Names. 40 i r THR STATFSkiAN. itiacence of hisAajesty with respect to the lode penitence of the Judges. For himself, be fully subscribed to the doctrine, that " Me King could d, no wroag ;" and if on the private character of the King we aloes depended, ho had no hesitation in adolitting that we should have the very best se. airily that - tould be added by the private cha. ratter ef . any man ; hut he ardently hoped that the liberties of the People of England were not held on so insecure a tenure as that of the private cha. ratter of any individual, however excellent, or however virtuous he might be. Nu—he trusted and believed that there was yet sufficient energy kft in our Constitution to - preserve us from a dependance so uncertain as the private virtues of a Prince. Were such unhappily the case, what was to be come of the people of this kingdom, if unhap. pity a Prince of an opposite description should ever ascend the Throne ? lie awls astonished when he saw Gentlemen' speak its so diverting a strain on facts, in themselves not only grave, but even awful. On a former occasion the worthy Batintet pathetically implored us to come forward —the salvation of England depended, he told us, on the deliverance of Spain—upon that ground 1 he demanded our support and assistance.—Did be now look fur salvation ? Was not all hope of salvation now lust in that quarter? lie was utterly astonished that the worthy Baronet could speak l on the subject in so diverting a manner, or think this a moment for rejoicing. The worthy Baru. I net had said that the urst act of his Majesty was Ito maks the Judges independent, and the abolition 'of General Warrants. He (Mr. W.) held in his hand an Address of the Livery of London to his Majesty, which was presented on the 6th of March, 1770, a very few years after the Accession of his Majesty. It ran thus : "We have already dutifully stated our grievances, but hitherto our complaints remain unanswered. The .only Judge who was removeable from his office, has been removed fur defending the laws and the constitution of the country in Perliament." Mr. W. was certain it was unnecessary to iuform the I Court, that on the only mall on whom the royal vengeance could fall, that vengeance was inflicted. Lord Camden fur his independence, virtue, and integrity, was compelled to resign the Chancellor. ship ; and this Court presented him with the Free. door of the City in a gold box, for his manly in. dependent conduct. (Near ! hear!) Having guise so far into the subject, he (Mr. IV.) was : constrained to follow the Worthy Baronet e little farther to another point. The Worthy Baronet had lugged in General Warrants, but with what view, or whether In support of his ar. gement, or against, he (Mr. W.) defied any nun to comprehend. Dili he mean to con. ph:neat his present Majesty for having abu. I lished the irregular, uucuestitutional practice of entering the dwelling and sexing the papers and persons of individuals, on the authority of a general warrant, signed by a Secretary of State ? --(Sir William Curtis nodded) By the nod of his head he did. Why then let teem look how this fact, on which the worthy Baronet had coespli. resented tack Sovereiga, really stood. It was the I Ministers of bis present Majesty that unties. Toured to cuferce general warrants, and thereby crush an individual, who, whatever might have been his private mural cite:auger, yet, by his un. daunted firmness, had been the cause, and the I sole cause, of bringing to decision that great Iquestion which terminated in the recognition of j the illegality of general warrants. Till Mr. IVilkes made that important resistaace to the priuciple, a Secretary of state could cause the house of any man to be forced— his papers to be seized, and his person to be imprisoned. Ministers were at that time intently heist ea destroying the liberties of the subject. lie (Mr. W.) said Ministers, for a m an mast be an ideot, nut to di,tinguists between the sewer a Sovereign in this country and his advi. sers. Ile was sure he need not remind the Court of the ferment and confusion which prevailed, mail i the matinee ill which the military were directed to act at that period. To these arbitrary acts of Ministers, succeeded the violation of the rig at of election, by depriving Mr. IViikes of his seat. Could all these acts be forgotten? Ile thought not...bet that every gentleman who heard him might be convinced that lie had not overstated the facts, he would request that certain Addresses of the City of London might be read. in one Ad. dress, in 1176 n, the city complained, and that too most loudly, of that secret influence w!tich had defeated every good, and suggested every bad immure—whose conduct was more uncoastitu. tional then those who, in former reigns, sap ported the Star Chamber, and the levying of ship-money—sod who had even gone so far in the case of the Middlesex election, as to take the sacred right of electing represents. tires out of the hands of the people. All this was the effect of corruption. Again, iu 1770, were complaints preferred by the City of London--but these Addresses were unanswered, 1 their grievances remained unredressed, and the only Judge who could be dismissed was dismissed. Thus passed the early part of his Majesty's reign, in a perpetual struggle between oppression and complaint. For many years it had been the cus. tom fur some few Gentlemen to monopolize a greater • , ortion of luj silty than came to their share, and those Gentlemen charged with disloyalty all those who differed with them. In the revolution. ary war with France, Mr. Chairman Iteeves, and Mr. John Bowles, and inairy other Gentlemen of that stamp, claimed the possession of a very ca. traordinary degree of loyalty. In that asscmbl) there were also some Gentlemen who professed more loyalty than other people; but whets the con duct of (base persons came to be sifted into, it was discpeered that these Gentlemen had tics other idea of loyalty or gratitude than as articles which were to be paid for. Those loyal subjects nere always looking fur sume favour from Government, frillier fur self, brO ' ttier, or sun. The Court had seen and known these men so long, and su appreciated their characters esti{ motives, that although it was by no means serprisiug that they should take every up. purtuuity of bringing forward their loyalty, in order that they might be poldfor it in some way ac aauthos.; yet it was milli sucprieiag digt a _ - number of respectable and independent Gentle men *unlit sutler themselves to be any longer duped and deluded by those interested pretenders to so. perior loyalty. These men now presume to charge with disloyalty all those who would wish to change the old Elute systems, for the principles ' of the British Constitution; but among all those distinguished professors of loyalty, he never knew tine that was not rotten el the core, and who did not manifestly act from mean and selfish motives. It was to be remembered with what spirit the same Gentlemen swallowed their turtle in aid of She Spanish cause ; sell yet, if that very cause had been supported by our Government as it ought to hare been, it would, most probably, have succeeded. Instead of assisting the exertions of the Spanish Penin sula, we appeared to paralyse all their efforts from the moment we undertook their cause. We stopped the liberty of the press, and checked the ardour of the patriots. In fact, the whole policy of our Administration was, to endeavour to patch up and support old rotten Governments, and to prevent, as far we could, the patriots in other count tries from effecting any salutary reform. The natural consequence of this contracted and mistakeh policy was, that all the fire of patriotism appeared to die and be extinguished wherever we ad vanced ; and so far from assisting the native spirit and patriotic exertions uf the Spanish and Pertuguese nations, we gave them aid in such a manner as tended to decrease the pa. j triutic energies of the inhabitants. There was, respecting. Sweden, a tale yet to be tin. folded, most lamentable. It would, when that should come belie e the Public, be seen that the re ! cola:loss in that unfortunate country, was abso lately the cot:rcpt.:see of M.: measures of thepreseist ministers. lie did (singl:Ask out light grounds, but at present sbould not further pursue that topic In the meats time, both factious (for lie would not call them parties) pretended tu tell us, that the emoluments of (lice were considerate's', far below the ambition of honourable men like them selves; and yet those Journals, that are noto riously in the pay of the dfcrcnt parties, never appeared to think that there a as any political con sideration of the least importance, except which of the two parties were tu get into office, anal in. Ito the emoluments at office. It appeared by a public statement, that a Noble Lord (Lord Castle. • who was a Most put-tiers:or friend of the worthy Bart. (Sir William Curtis) whose meeting with him was so pathetic, and who had been des. seethed as hiving waved his lily hold to him on the deck, did reccove by himself, anti fur his fa mily, nn less a stim than 30,6001. per annum from tbis highly faxed country. And yet, if it were asked what had Lord Castlereagh dune to descry.; it, it could only be answered that his time v. 23 emplaril in endeavouring to corrupt the Parlia. mew, aed us planning expeditions fur the disgrace. of the country. It ha,l been calculated, that if the sums which the family ef-that Noble Lord re. ceived from the public had been laid out at corn. pound interest, it would have exceeded two millions, a sum equal to the expence of one of Queen Anne's j wars. When the country was called on for ajuhilee, it would be right to think what it was we were to congratulate his Majesty upon. Was it for the loss j of America, of Hanover, and of all our allies upon Continent?lb. And yet these were the events which marked the history of his Majesty's long reign. lie would wish to know whether the. Gentlemen who formerly considered Hanover and Spain net misery to the salvation of the country, were now of the same opinion. He was always an advocate fur peace while he conceived it practicible ; but now he was free to confess that the cowry eat, beets brought to such a sittiptifin, that we could nut even hope fur an honourable or secure pence, or fur a peace which should nut be as espetiiive as the present most expensive war. During his Ma jesty's reign, this country had not only suffered materially in its liberties, but the Empire load been dismembered, anal America was lost._.. When we plunged into a mad contest with France, in order to stop the progress of its r •rolution, every single step we took in till! war only ,served to lay the foundation of greater aggran. dizement to France, and to provoke her to extend her conquests. It was the Government of ilia country which erected in France that gigantic power which makes every throne in Europe inse cure. Under these circumstances, he thought true loyalty would be hest expressed by pointing out to our Sovereign the pernicious system which ha, brought the country and his throne into such "I state of insecurity. When he recollected, that the Geis. denten on the other side bad not very long ago come forward with an an address of thanks fur " the great, decisive, and magnanimous measures which bad been adopted with respect to Spain," it would be natural to expect that men profes.inesuch sentiments would have afterwards come forward to express theii l disaatifection at the manner in which the assistance to Spain was directed, and to those measures which they would hardly now call "great, decisive, and magnanimous." Besides the i , t.mense expence of the wars (many of which he beliered unnecessary) in the present reign, was it not to be recollected, that millions of human lives hal beet, sacrificed in these cnntests, and the whole issue of all this sacrifice was the aggrandizement of France ? As to the millions who have fallen, " nothing can touch them farther ;" but when it is considered what an immense sum of misery has been entailed on their surviving relatives, and when all this blood and all this misery is added to the enormous expence and increase of the na. tional debt during the present reign, he must be at a loss to know what subject there was of con gratulation. Our military Clain were now en trusted to Lord Castlereagh, who had selected Lord Chatham to command our great ex pedition. All he would say of Lord Chat. ham was, that he understood that he was a man who was usually asleep when he ought to be awake : bat what was .to be said of those who selected I* h a man, or what was to be said of that *wry who, even in that Court, could ever brim; tilivimselves to think any Wag was wrong that was done by any Administratiors ?hey could always see event enough to fogad wit:tight"' celled loyal iddresses; but never, fix. • - T 461.1 public life, did tlee manydisappro b a tion seey thatao a nyhe t here h ac m co i b e. m c f c e im a l n s dusts l n t i n s e e r xp . r eslt h was a most extraordinary circumstance, att.! di m Pr w aZ n y r of N o i f the a r ,hoseresi g ned r professors attu des in n id f t s h u l e ;e l superior l o f o e c r e loyal ty,that itude of h i t power, after having created nearly half the House of Peers, and conferred great benefits on num ben of the other House, yet when he was in s O u p p io p s o s r i t t e i n on hecould ~ lie cnlid not n u m t eve u n s 7 ) ; ry tip aii a u b l o w v a c 0 t tlis worthy Baronet (Sir William Curti.) to give hil t a vote. Ile kne• - : how this would rib explained. It would be said that Mr. Addington had dune To.:le thing fur a brother of Sir IVilliam's, and that therefore Sir William must support hon. I...reit if this excuse were admitted, it would oiiiy that the political conduct of the worthy Baronet was, like cleat of all the other professors of great loyalty, .dependent on considerations of private interest. Nor would it be supposed, that eve 3 the title which he had obtained of Baronet, was a circumstance indifferent to him. lie though it so evident, that all the Members of that Court, who pro; - essed more loyalty than (be rest, were acting from private and corrupt motives, that it was unnecessary to dwell farther upon the subject. When Mr. Pitt, however, returned to power, then all these loyal nien who deserted hilt when he was in Opposition, ralli•al 'gale under his banners, and wished to have et thought that their politics were the same as cis ; but althowglt in City feasts they might swallow turtle to his memory, yet it would be recollected, that they were °lily his friteids as lung as he was in power, and that they were full as reAly to profess their great respect fur his successors, as to ask theta. fur places for themselves, their brothers, or iii. it sons. They, like tate Parliament, were ale ays ready to be handed over from Pitt to Fux, or from Fox to Perceval. It was sails b, some pro ' pie, that Parliament was of great 44d that the parliamentary inquiries did great gwel. Ik would ask, how did they do goo tf, atter rob bing and plundering for 20 ye , ' such a man •is Lu d Melville was obliged to rcs : ;it, what good Iva: there in that, if lie could :mt nis family lis places, 4 preserve, by seen , influence, the same i • . 0 bur which he had before What satisfaction could the (wintry di rive from k rr.; •sing that Mr. It •itter, who came up to London wit iout a Old. ling, km erected a palace at the .e 100,0001. ? There na. no puitislement fo.• :%nat like these, while others at.:e dragged to the scaf fold—Yet we, a besotted people, cvaiinued to endure all this with patience. If the Duke of York resigned in consequence of w hat passed in Parliament, was that auy merit of the Parliamenf, ut was it snit evident that it was merely the effect Of the public indignation which was anticipated, because it was kasown to In' slue? Those men were nut to be branded with disloyalty, who said that nothing could be expected from the Parliament, while it was governed by the Burough-monger faction. The decisions of such a body as the I'ar- I of the country, ought to be governed by argument mud justice ; and it is saying nothlit in the favour of Vie l'eflialneilt, to say, that on some occasions, et is afraid of ravishing popular indig. nation. He believed in his conscience, that if his Majesty had employed Racii :Ministers a' the groat Lord Chatham., whom he found at the helm at his Accession, the country and the word would nut have beets in its present distressed and alarming situation ; and that if even sow the old Bate NV. tear was done away with, gad Mittisten of liberal and enlightened views appointed, the country might still recover from the disorders and the dangers in which it hail been plunged, and b^ gradually brought back to that state ire which the nation was when his Majesty ascended the Throne. Gentlemen might complaiti of clamour as lung as they pleased ; but let them remove the cense. worthy Baronet had gravely told them this million was wholly uncoteneete.l with politics—mei) a lit tle eating and drinking—a kind of jollificution Its or wmtaiiing of that sort--a day of Sills ill and rejoicing. 01 what materials the mind of th it man could be camposted, who, after the picture which be (Mr. W.) had drawn, and faithfully drawn, of the state of th:s coun try, could think the present a season fur mirth and rejoicing, he was at a lota tee conceiv... In what particular way or manner did theWortby thrunet propose to celebrate thy day t Was it by the tumult and expenee of an illumination, at the very moment that we were informed by a public Priut that near 300 persons ui wee parish, close to this city, are unable to pay their Assessed Taxes, whilst, from the rigorous orders issued to Cie tax.gatheren, a eutesiderable slumber of those persons are metier the necessity of tendering their resignat:ons • (/lear, hear, hear!) Was this a period for rejoicing ? Fur his own part, hr had no objection whatever to cutegrateilatieg his Maj. sty in a decent and appludii.ite ni; ; he 4 11.4 only rotteor etc an AilstreNs rlitete with gt+. 1110 and sincere l , iyalty, but w, old most cheerttilly carry it up himself—but let sit the Court forget the evils which his llrjesty, in r.i••:in u n with his faithful people, had endured ley bud the Court endeavour to extricate at once both the King and the People, trim the dangers with which they were now surrounded. lf, how ever, the worthy Baronet was of opinion, that nothing was so proper on this occasion as the swallowing of given portions of turtle and veni son, let him invite those who concurred with hit., in opinion, to that appropriate specie, of civic celebration nt the London Tavern... l 4 loud laugh.) lie (Mr. \V.) was certain too, that if the worthy Lurd Ma) or were to evince his co. Incidence of opinion by a co-operation of hoc pitality at the Sl:nisi:in-house, his Loidship would not want loyal guests— [Ucre the roan. [mance of his Lordship, which add aeurcely re. covered from the laugh in which it hod patted, suddenly resumed its w. wed inflexibelliy, and the Court renewed the lairgh.]-..T0 be serious, it was his (lir. W.'s) deliberate opinion that a Ge. ncral Jubilee at this awful moment would be a general inset! to the people of this kingdom, who had so deeply suffered, and were at the very time So deeply soferthp' The Reeohttiott . or the Court 1 r ~.