The Statesman. — London, England, 1812-10-02 00:00:00

OF ELECTIONS. TO THE EDITOR OF THE STATESMAN. Stn,—lt - is the right and duty of Freeholders and Burgesses of Great Britain, to examine into the conauct, and to know the opinions and intentions of such as offer themselves to their choice. And they bad once the frequent means and opportunity to re sent effectually; the corruptions of those who had basely betrayed their sacred trust, and of rejecting with scorn and detestation such traitorous paracides, and of sending up honester and wiser men in their room. This, my dear countrymen, we had once the frequent means of doing ; make use now, 0 worthy and flee Britons! make good use of this present dawn—this precious day of liberty, to recover once more that invaluable privilege. Do not wildly chuse any one who has given up, or attempted to give up, your birth-rights—and, above all, that right which secures all the rest. Admit no man to be so much as a candidate in your counties and boroughs, till he has, in the clearest manner, and in the most ex press words, declared his most hearty and vigorous aesoktions to endeavour to repeal all laws which under you incapable to serve y our King, or to punish traitors, or to preserve your original and essential rights. This, Gentlemen, is your time—lf.you suf. fer it to be lost, 'twill• probably be for ever lost. There are a sort of men who prowl about. .the country to bey boroughs—creatoros who iticast - yOis for your vote in the manner of jockeys, and treating you like cattle, would purchase you for less or more, just as they think they can sell you again. Can you bear this insult, Gentlemen, upon your honesty, your reason, and your liberties ?—Or if there are any amongst you who countenance such vile and exec!able harpies, which affect and involve you all In their consequences, ought they not to be treated like public enemies, as indeed they are, and be bunted from aniotigst•lnu ?—I have often wondered bow a little_contemptible corporation, consisting, as some of them do, of broom-makers, hedge-breakers; and sheep-stealers, &c. could stand the looks and re bukes of a rich and honest neighbourhood, after these dirty rogues had openly sold at the market cross, perhaps, for forty-shillings a-piece, not only their own liberties, but, as far as in the lay, the liberties of a rich neighbourhood, and of all Eng land. Such saleable vermin ought to be treated as persons excommunicate, as the pests and felons of society ; and if proper abhorrence were every where she wn towards them, and no commerce held with the m, they would soon grow honest out of daces tity. The majority of you, Gentlemen, are yet uncor. eupted. The body of the Freeholders know not what it is to take money : and Chums their Represen fati‘e., from amongst themselves, and from a thorcitals acquaintance cither4ith the Men or with their chits faders. The little beggerly boroughs only are the pool: of corruption ; with them money is merit, and full ef recommendation. They engage fcir men with: Out knowing their names, and chose theni sometimes Without seeing their fares ; and yet their Members, when they are clillsett; are it good as yours ; that is, their votes are aelhorl. It is in your power, Gen tlemen, and in thit 'of your hdnest neighbours, to sure this mighty exit, which has hitherto been incurs. ble, or not suffered to be cured. They are but a few, and an inconsiderable few, in comparison of you, and cannot lye Without you, though you can without them. Try this expedient Which I propose ; neither buy nor sell with those reprobate mercenaries, who sell themselves and you. Would you allow the com mon laws of neighbourhood to such as steal or plunder your goods, rob lett of your Money, seize your Louses, drise yOu from your possesslons i enslave your personsond starve your families? No,su re, you would slot. And yet will you and can you continue to treat Sc neighbours. and friends, those rash, wicked, and merciless profligates, who, as far as in them lies, would bring upon you and your posterity, all those black and melancholy evils, by committing the mighty ands ayred trust of all your lives and proper. ties to men wo hire them to betray it ; and having first made them rogues, may afterwards, for aught they know, make them slaves, and you with them ? Alas! Gentlemen, with tears I tell you, the cure of corruption is left to you. A cure from gnother quarter is cruelly denied to us. A worthy attempt was lately made to destroy it effectually, and we hope that no man, or set of men, pretending to com. mon honesty, would have had the face to discourage , or frustrate that attempt; but it was frustrated, and we know where, and by whom, and for what ends. Those who owe their whole figure, and fortune, and force to corruption, rather than part with it, seem de termined to see the nation consumed and perish in it. Your help must be from God and yourselves; be honest and make your neighbours honest; both are in your power, and I glory that they ire. AS you love your liberties exercise your virtue--they (Wend upon it. Yours, G.E. T. Mn. EDITOR.--The awful appearance of the fire ball which exploded, apparently over Stepney . fields this morning, was exactly similar to the bursting of a shell, shooting out horns around its circumference in all directions ; it seemed to fall in a perpendicular direction, and might be about twenty yards from the surface of the earth—its report like an 18-pounder, double shotted. You may possibly conceive an idea of it from what I have slid. "Rogicial-ressi, 0ct.1,184 AN sy4 WITNESS. 'ME ST. PARSIKAO OF ' MR. If AMMAN'S_ FRIENbt Yesterday the indepeedeot Liverynieh, - Electors of the City of L?ndens ressembled at the New London Tavern, in Cheap' side, for the ptirpisse. of eoncerting measures and adopting regoltitiani to secure the. Election Of Robert Waithmati, *Esq. to be one. of the Representatives lit Parliament, fOr the City of London. SAmetr. FAvtLL, Esq. waS voted unanimously WO the Chair at one o'clock,. and pioeeederi to open the purpose and objects of this Meeting.—Toey were assembled together to Support the Erection of Gentleman on thote . independent principles, for whiCh the citizens of London; for the l a st t t i en ly years, had so zealously contended.—They had it now in their power tb make their courage in the Cause of Free Election, manifest to the kingdoms -and he hoped to live to say, that front their eiampie the sacred fleet& of independence had spread Melt ! over the whole EMpire. Formidable obstacles, how -1 ever, presented themselves, but theft. their 'eatural courage would !nib& them to oveittome, and he hoped altopposition would fail before the Gentle: man's endeavours, with- wet* , iheritti they had beeti so long acqeaiilted; Ile rounded not his regard for that Gentleman, on hit participating to directing dud spreading I new current of fceedom over the land. but he did it frOM a lively rementlirince of his goad condticti dt a period when the utmost fortitude and courage, which d London Citizen possessed, was required to be exerted. It was during those times Optioning the French Revokable) that he observed and milked attentively the talents and resolution of *that*Gentlentan. li e hoped; therefore, filet the'Ci4 tizens of London would rally round One Candidate, I usually distinguished foe his eloquence and his love of freedom, and that . Candidate was Robert Waith man Esq.—( Meth applause.) dr. Alderman ‘VOOO said, that he.was extremely anxious to have Mr. Waithmais elected a Member of Partiament..for the purpose of setting his foOt oh I the neck of corruption, an undertaking in which he had himself the honour of being concern e d. He • really, however, from the present aspect of affair, anticipated a short Parliament, for the Borooghmnn gers were become clamorous to dispose of their pro perty. A Geittletnati (a friend of his) actually waited on him yesterila, and offered him a bargain of a borough for 20001. Another person with n hum he was acquainted in the borough-mongeling county of Corn.sall, offered him a thither sit nation at a very . reduced price. That conduct really looked as if the I borough proprietors were alarmed, and expected Somethh. He hoped, hen ever, that Mr. Wait it. ' man, Alderman Combe, and himself would be re turned letnbers for the City, and from their union he anticipated happy events. He requested that any person ebb Wished him well would meet him to. morrow at the Paul's . Head Tavern, iii Cateaton street, witert- a meeting of his friends was to take pace. Those oho a ~ r e phrased with his conduct hi therto tnight vote fur him if they pleased, and should they think otherwise, they were Welcome to reject him. Mr. Qom said, it would be a task of considerable length and difficulty to follow the progress of Mr. Weithmin, and applaud, as he passed, his postlit acts, wfiich hid to eltite.rvedly pleed .him in the bo:. lotus of all the Lo den Gitigetts. lie would like. *vise refrain from counielline them to put their entire confidence to the capacity end probity of Mr. Waith man ; for it would be absurd to think that a Gentle man who had served them faithfully and powerfully for twenty years, would abandon them now. But they would require to prepare their minds to en counter most formidable opposition ere they attained the object of their desires. For they had not a plta line to cope with, they had to wage war with a, hydra, hd he trusted they Would estinguish the monster for once. Howeter, he saw every reasona ble ground to warrant his assertion, that their en deavour's would have a favourable termination ; for, on the morning of the day on Which he was address ing them, he and five friends perambulated a few streets, in which they canvassed 73 electors, and obtained most solemn pledges from 55 to support the presemt.cause, and only fdur absolute refusals. He then concluded by moiing several Resolutions, for Which see Advertisement in front of this Paper. ' Mr. WAITIMAN could not suffer a meeting on a, subject so flittering to himself to separate, without, in some shape, expressing the sense he entertained , of the honour conferred on him. It was not, in- I deed, his cause alone, it was that of the Livery them selves, and of the country in general, which they were now called on to support. An attempt had been made by his opponents to cast ridicule on his pretensions, by representing him as nothing but " a poor shop-koeper." lie thanked them for this mode of undermining him, for it only shewed -their own want of generalship. lie had already, In the course of his canvass, found its good effects, and he hoped they would persevere in it. N-ty, he re commended to his friends, in the course of their can vass, as the best mode of proceeding, to say—" I come to solicit your vote for Robert Waithman, a •Foltop.keeper."—Was it fair, he asked, that the Shop keepers of London should be thus insulted, and i that after going through the drudgery of business in their youth, when they came to that period of life when the reward ought to await them, they should be told, " This, the representation of your native city, and of your fellew,citizens, is too great an ho nour for you ; it is fit only for a merchant." The merchants and landed interest of the country had al: ways, when their interests were attacked, been en. aided to drive the Ministers back ; but it was with difficulty, and after a severe struggle, that the Shop- Tax had been abandoned. Nay, there was at this moment a shop-tax in existence, in the shape of a tax on their servants; and for this simple reason, because shop-keepers were not represented. There were occasions on which he had exerted himself in behalf of shop-keepers, which, he believed, they themselves did not know of : it was to his interfe rence that, in the payment of the income Tax, tbey were entitled to a deduction of two-thirds of tha rent and taxes of their shop. Did the shop-keepers of London, then, he asked, not deserve to be repre sented? He bad been the mean', too, at the price of great calumny cast on himself, to procure the ad mission of children Of Wooer Otisens of London into Quiet's Hospital.; e, p 4 bp. bicjlatkr l 7 been enabled .TESMAN htnce he became a GOi ern Or Of thirt Hospital) td ave an abominable practise; by .whith parent* were Obliged to pay a tax of half-a4uinea, before they eonld procure a list of the Goterneri vrho had pre sentations, abolished. Thete *ere services he had rendered, iri his humb}e Sphere, whith %Verb not ge.: nerally known. lie submitted, •On the *hole, that It was by mind and character Hutt * man thould be measured; and nior by hig ProfeoiOn;—(7Ysis *perch wer received with repealed plaridits.) A lubscription; to the ;in:Witt Of several htindred pounds, was filled upat•the moment, and the Meet bug adjourned; it being preiioutly resOlVed to held District Meetings. GENERAL ELECTION. Mr: Thomas retires from Chichester; Mr. Hos; klstnn comes in. . • Sir Thomas Dalrymple Hasketh Offers hlintelf for Preston. Mr. William Rowley; of Tendring Hall, has or: fered himself a Candidate for the County of Suffolk, in the room Of Sir Charles Bthibery. The worthy Baronet assigns the following reasons .for declining a renewal of that honour :—« Having been elected at the ecnc.mencesnerit Of his Majesty's reign, and hay; inn, through your favour, continued in yotir with little intermission; till the present hoot.; having lived to see a new generation of Representatiies in the Commons, I feel with regret it is time for me to retire, and Make room for a younger and abler sue cetsor; more fit to discharge the arduous duties of Parliament, to encounter its multiplied business, and to undergo the fatiguing . length of moderb speeches; by which that business is so much impeded.". The Hon. William Hill, by an add res s, d ate d from Cagliari; in Sardinia, has apprised the electors of Shrewsbury, that he does not mean to offer him self for the Representation of that Borough, in the tingling Parliament; as his diplomatic duties are likely to occasion his absence from this country for a c nsiderable time. The Candidates for the Bo rough are, the Hod. Henry Grey Bennett, Gen. Sir Rowland Hill (now serting in the Penin. sula), nominated by hit father Sir John Hill. and Ilmjamitt Benyon, Esq. A. smart canvass has com menced. COVENT-GARDEN TIMATRE. The Tragedy of Macbeth, from the mariner in which it was performed last season at this Theatre, was the churns that attracted every amateur of the drama. At no time in the history of the stage was it performed with more histrionic effect—for not mere ly was the character of Lady Macbeth executed by Mrs. sitonoNs with unequalled art, but Mr. KEMBLI6 had exerted all his skill in the preparation of every part of the play, as well as Studied,• with the mdst painful attention, the important part which he had hiniself to sustain. Take it all in ill, it was a sublime performance. It was, therefore, a most unexpected thintou the part of the public to see it advertised so suddenly after the recollection of this excellence; with the very feeble substitutes which the Theatre has to present in the room of the great artists who are withdrawn from the service. With every wish to forget what we have seen, ,aud the most liberal feeling towards Miss Mseetor, we can not help expressing our regret, that her rising pro gress in public estimation should be checked by an at. tempt so much beyond her ability to fulfil. If it was tier own seeking—=it would indicate It blameable pre sumption—if imposed upon her, it was imprudent cruelty, sittee it is equally hurtfdl to her and to the house, in the present scarcity of female talent. We by no means wish to be more severe than the occa sion requires. Miss M. speaks sensibly, anti not* ith standing some defect in the organs, her articulation is clear—but the talent is wanting of conveying to the spectator the image of the beings she represents—of giving identity to the character—of making each movement of the limbs—each gesture of the body —each glance of the eye express before she utters the sentiment or the passion by which she is agitated.— Accordingly in the banquet scene, which is 'the touchstone of the mind of a Performer—we lead none of that profound skill which her predecessor dis !played; in distracting the attention of her guests from the disordered spirit of her husband. But, c n the contrary, when s;te descended from her chair of state—her showy attitudes—her lavish use of her arms—her throwing herself *broad, were a lament able degeneracy, from the acute and intellectual soli. dity of Mrs. St onoNs. Mr. YOUNG is so perfectly known to our readers. that we need not dwell on the peculiarities of his performance. Mr. YOUNG never offends. There Is the evidence cif a sound judgment in all that he does, which so far satisfies the mind, as to reconcile the Auditor to the Actor, and in level speaking he is eloquent. It is in the moment of strong convulsive passion thtd the tones are wanting which make the soul sympathize in the emotion. Ile does not always take the time that the workings of the heart require, to delineate the picture of the scene.—For instance, immediately after the banquet scene, when Lady Macbeth has hastily dismissed the guests to prevent the exposure of her consort, the illusion requires that the royal pair, when left alone, should preserve the agitation of his alarmed conscience and of her disdain—that he should still express his horror—and she testify her superior constancy of mind. But in stead of this they instantly return to the most midis , turbed calm, and proceed to that (which critics have blamed in the great Author) to talk of his further designs. It is evident, however, that a pause of dumb shew should supply the want of dialogue in this most interesting part of the play. The character of ilfacdur is one of the most per fect performances of Mr. CliAeLra KEssin.a. There are few bursts of passion on the stage--indeed we scarcely know one left, so - harrowing to the best feelings of our nature, as his exclamation of i L Ile am no children !"—lt is impossible for the heart to vesist the influence of his expression. We cannot conclude without paying a compliment to the per formance of the music in this piece; the orchestra is mach more distinctly heard by the alteration of the house than it was last season, and is consequently much improved. The Honourable G. fiemsomer left loin rester aV for Irelead, POlt PEACE. Fifteen Gentlemen, Gentlemen, df the first fainiliet in Derby lately signed a requisition to the Mayor, requesting • him to call a Public Meeting in the Town Hall, for the purpoSe of petitioning for Peace, and one of 'these Gentlemen preiented to the Mayor, and ad. ded thersiunte his own iolicitatien: The Mayor, however, hesitated, And at length said, he could not comply with the Gentlemen's request; that-is, he could not comply wish the request of those who wished 10 restore Peace to a bleeding world; These Gentle. men, indignant at such conduct; along with one hundred and ninety others, Signed a requisition to their Townsmen thernselies, Which was attended t* by near 4000 orderly and wellsdispiiied persons, in the Merkel-place, on the 26th lilt; Soon after twelve o'clock; Wm: Struft, Esq. pro. posed that Dr: Forreater should be desired to take the chair; whhih proposition was seconded, apparently, by eiery bne preient ; and which being compli e d with on the part of the Due , or, he opened the be. (finest by reading the requisition that had been sent to the Mayor; after which, Jos. STRUTT, Eq. step: pod to the fro n t of the huitings and expressed him. self to the following effect :—Gentlemen, there are few occasions whiCh could induce me to address s* large. and respectable a meeting as the present ; but when duty calls me to advocate the best interests of mankind, I shall do shrink from its performance. I did dot indeed expect to have addressed you in tide place ; but Is the Mayor has denied us the use of the inside of the Hall, we have, without his consent, assembled on the outside. Gentlemen, it is unne cessary for me tb enter at leities into a minute de. scription of that ficiOd of miseries, which a wan, unparalleled in its length and the int ans of carrying it on, has inflicted upon our native country; with theie you are too well acquainted for me to be under the Riad! necessity of repeating them; lent it would show a tame acquieseence to its ravages did we not express Our desire for the return of the blessings of P. ace; which will never he obtained without the penp:e expressing their anxiety for it, in all quarters of the kingdom. Millions upon millions love i.,eetl fi.leied to otir national debt ; our taxes are become pportable, except to men of large fortunes; and a cquittless number of human lives have been seer,. I aced In the carrying on of this destructive war ; yet 1 would be the last man in the country that would sacrifice its honour for the obtaining a P ace. This is no party question, though obloquy has been ua. availingly, attempted to be Cast upon our motives. For though we may differ in opinion about the • causes of the war and the conduct of those %she carry it on ; we must all, for the sake of suffering humanity, express our anxious desire for Peace; a substantial, a permwe-it, a el its Itossourenle P..ace. It has been triumphantly said. in the House of Come mons, that the people wished for war, • bectioae they did not petition against it. Let us she*, this tiny, that the Inhabitants of Derby participate not in se abhorretit a feeling; and the they will et longer be parties to the criminality of its prosectifinn ; without sedding fortli their protest agai on it. The present I time may be olnocted to by some people As iMproper to sue for Peace. But what time so proper as %hew victory has crowned our arms! and, as I do not ex. pest that victory will, for any serfosts length of time, continue fhithful to our standard, let us, in God's name, seize the opportunity to Offer terms to the enemy before It is too late to offer them without marks of pusillanimity, which to me would be most distressing. We have no right to suppose the enemy averse to Peace, until he has refused to treat with es; then why do we always suffer him to have the ho. nour of offering the olive branch, as though we were backward in stifling the miseries, and in promoting the happiness of mankind. This speech frequently met with the warmest cheerings from the assembled multitude. A series of excellent Resolutions were then passed and carried With unanimous acclamation. Atter a suitable Petition had been read, Mr. ED. WARDS came ton wards and seconded its adoption, by saying, that he was n sincere friend to Peace, though it had been urged in other places that we could not obtain it without blemishing the glory of our arms. Ile was of a contrary opinion ; and though he was far from wishing to sacrifice either the interest or the glory of our country, yet h.' sa c it right to second the efforts of our arms, by proposing , ten ms of Peace. The Rev. Mr. IrmaVasco, neat came forward en the 7th Resolution, ♦iz. " That a Country 'professing to be eminently a Christian Nation, and which boasts . of all its attachments to good morals and social or. der, is peculiarly called upon by the precepts of Re ligion, to make every effort in its pow r, for semi nating the multiplied horrors of %Var." Mr. 11. stated that it would ill become him, as a Miniver of Religion, to suffer sentimmits like those just e %pressed to pass by without manifesting his warmest approba. tion of them. Sentiments like these, had been branded with the appellation of Methodism—let it be so, as every good man must lift up his voice in this great cause. It had been said that Peace would be dangeroaa—what a scandal ! The Sun of Britain had not sunk so low, as to beafrnid of the consequences of Peace; from an enemy whosearmies we had con. quered in the field. The way to oppose France both in Peace and War, was to unite the People oss the broad and hallowed principles of justice ; and thet♦ we need not fear her nor all the world. Mr. PIKE felt most warmly enimated on the pre. sent occasion. The Town of Derby, in setting this glorious example, would receive the thanks of the country; and those thank* would be the thanks of benevolence, flowing from grateful and sympathizing hearts. The besiness of the Meeting concluded in the most peaceable manner, by pa Bing a vote of censure et the Mayor ' and a vote of the ' most enthusiastic Thanks to Dr. Forester, for his impartial conduct it! the Chak, and for the manner in which he con. stantly deports himself to the towtillf Derby; for which he very politely returned theirecunpany the compliment. Private letters from Gibraltar state, .that the Ex. pedition which lately loan , ' for the Adriatic, under the command of Admiral ' 7 ItLEMANTICI, had for its object the seizure of Catarro. There is ho farther account of the plague ) reported to bars brakea o 4 at Gisse. i~ I - . e- . ._ - 4 ; Oi l. .! ; : t t • T..~ •,I 1' 3 1