The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser. — London, England, 1809-05-02 00:00:00

.....__,-..,- . . . tion plainer than it must appear to their enD minds, or force a conviction of that which their attendance torte, this.day, proves they 'are amply and folly convuiced of. (Plaudits). Aud, Gentlemen, if I feel any difficulty upon this great and im portant subject of Parliamentary Reform, it is , that sort of diMculty which one never fails to feel, when we are pot As it were to make that evident by reasoning, which must appesr evident to every man at first sight, as a first principle. It is era dentlytrue, that day is day, and ni g ht i s n i g h t , an i d it s unnecessary to attempt to prove the inn pOsition. It is equally evident, for nathing can be clearer, than that if you have not the appointMent of those who look and watch over your interests — those interests will be very little likely to meet with due atteiition. I have often heard many and I well-informed persons declare, that they felt ex treme difficulty in manor up their minds to the questiou of Parliamentary Reform, and I - have been surprised to heat this from Gelitic iliVll of estates and station in the country, whose minds I should have thought mere informed, aml whose practice, when it came in aid of their 11 ,, 1 interests, uniformly Mewed th it it required nu • ...agth of understanding to perceive the truth of t:.e proposition. When these gentlemen appoint persons to manage their estates, they think it right that the appointment should depend upon their own judgment, and not upon the judgment of others. They would think it extraordinary, if a parcel of stewards shoold gat together, and make appointments among themselves, for the manage ment of Gentlemen's estates. If these stewards had it right to nominate themselves as the !imagers of the estates of gentlemen, it would appear as a sin gular, as well an unjust and ' pernicious me , tlioil—now this is simply the ease with respect to the public. The question is, whether the people should armoint their own stewards or whether other persons, and a small portion in deed they are, should have the right to appoint those who are to watch overthe interests of the whole. 'This matter has been so amply, simply, and ably 'toted to the politic, in the year 1793, by the so ciety call e d " Th e F r i en d s o f t h e P eop l e . that it is unnecessary for me to tukie up your time' by go- Lng into any detail upon the subject. It a pp ea rs by the petition' which was presented at that time. !that about one hundred and fifty or one hundred tind fifty-four individual* returned a majority to "the Rouse of Commons. The fact speaks so ii etrungly for itself, that it is impossible for me or my man to add, by way of argument, the impro ,i.ireety of that unconstitutional abuse by which any Ouch small number of persons have the /112411.1 of mgrossing such power. The evils Mid mischiefs .visielt have been felt, and are now felt, for want of .he adoption of the measure recommended iii.that petition. are too apparent to he denied by any Innis. Certain I am, that reperience has brought many to an opinion with its, who were, a short time Lack, - iblverae to our opinion. Some from mistake and thisapPrehensioo, aitil Many from ill-founded alarm. This alarm has passed away, as the eor imption of the country has been brought to light; and particularly by a gentlemac who honours this this meeting with his presenre,—l mean Mr. I Warille.—(Load ace/amorionts.) - Time u n daunted exertio.ts of that gentleman have tendril more, I think, to open the eves of the public, than wily thing I can remember ; they have had the effect they were entitled to have—they have given hint that weight in the country which • his conduct has well merited and deserved.— Nor number or exteple wrouilit with that Gen th man t , i make his comitaat mind swerve from the truth, Sr refute to perform that most arduous duty he haul undertaken, though single when he under took it.—Day after day there were new discoveries of abuses—new reports of committees appointed to investigate them. These have'all gone to promote - as! same beneficial circionstinwe of opening the es cs of the publie—of Alerting clearly to those who ware 'Firmed, that their alarms were founded in mistake, that they had mistaken the real ground of alariu—that it was the corruptions of the Govern ment they ought to have been alarmed at, and that what they ought to have been ql,ansitql at, was nn fortunately that which they have always clung to support t (repented arelausations). It is 'avian is; oly to. take a review of the situation of this coati y, from ally period. however remote, or however pearly approaching to our own times, because every period is marked with some encroachments •in the rigtits of the politic, some depredation rot the CO•11- fills of the people, mid some attack on their pro rt-ity end freed am.—lt affords us no consolation, I.: .. 1 if we go back to the early constitution of the •muntry—to the period of that obsolete charter it/agisa Charm, whist, used to be mentioned with !respect, but now is never heard of at all. or if we go deck only to " The Petition of Right,,." a declaratory act developing the principles coo -1 tined in WAWA Charta ; which. also 0..1y con tained a clevelopement of the principles that had , existed from times immemorial. Or, if you go to the period of the Revolution—if we reed the Bill of Rights, the Acts of Settlement, or any of the -tunilitions that placed the present family an the . I'hroiw, or tiny of the stipulations for the security of the liberty and property of the subject, we can only condole without a prospect or relief, except °olio the measure which we have met this dry to promote. f Arrierttatbus qf bravo! bravo!) Gentle men, it was stipulated on behalf of the public, et the time of the accession of King William ; it was a stipulation en which he was offered and ac tided the Crown of this kingdom. It ism set truth in the Petition of Rights, among other thitigs, that there should exist none of the griev:iilleS of which we now complain. and whir!' have Leconte so ioterwoven in the system of she administration of the country, that we can hardly mention them as abuses, for we can hardly have any hope, if we contemplate what men's minds are upon the sub ject of them, of any coosiderable number of persons attempting tliair redress. For instance, nue of the venous for driving Kingiames the Second from the Throw., was for keeping up a standing army. Un doubtedly after this practice of keeping no a stand log army has been so fostered iii this laud, though I shall always coutenil it is a practice most dangerous to the public, as well as ineffectual to the defence of the country ; -i. has become so interwoven in the talintuiatratioti of the Government, that you can hardly mention it as a grievance, notwithstanding. It WAS thought by our forefatherwsufficieut to jos- ._ - s , _,--- tify their driving a king from the throne.....(Ve hearent applause.)—The violating also the freedom of elections of Members to serve in Parliament was another of I hose great principle* winch was stated as the releviii for the expulsion of the Stuart family, and yet we now have day after day pro duced to the public proofs of this crime. Proofs of the detection of this great .constitutional, I . should say, uneonstitutional crime by a Minister of the country, and is the worst way, by the abuse 4 his oificial Patronage ; and we find the house of Commons attempting to justify, or at hart to palliate, and excuse, and prot-et the crimi nal froin that indignation a n d thin p un i s h men t which ought to have awaited him. (Bravo! brero I resoooded from all parts of the rasa ; the plaudits were long wad ineessout,) Gentlemen, if any argu ment was necessary to prove to the country the ab solute Necessity of a reform it the House of Com mons, I should think that the circumstance alone, I 'have just alluded to, would be sufficient to im press ou the minds of every man its tabsolnte neces sity (applause). Gentlemen, all the evils that we now labour under—all the dangers which threaten the country—all the oppressions we witness, are owing to tint rose cause; the detected guilt which I before mentioned, and the perpetual attempts of every Minister to force his tools into the House of Commons, as the substitutes for the real Repreeeu . tatives of the People (repeated shouts of approba tion). There were some persons at the time, who unblushingly elaintained, that it would be very hard indeed to punish an individual iii the way they could have punieieJ him, whose only offence had been that of having made a mistake (laughter). • The Noble Lord was certainly represented upon the occasion, as an innocent young man, who, un practised in the affairs of the world, had by acci dent been made the dupe of an impostor (loud bursts of laughter). Ido sent know whether it was that t'le Noble Lord was misled, or that the eorn plat..ani feeling of the Noble Lord induced him to full into this error for fear of undergoing the fate et the notorious Chartres, who after having lived a life ot infamy, and being condemned to be executed for a rape, hail this epitaph : " He who lied every day deserved to be hanged for what he had done, was at last condemned to he hanged for thut wheel' he could not do."—(Bravo! bravo .9 The ground of the defence made by the. Noble Lord, was, that he had not completed the act of which he was accused. I own L felt some indym. tiros at hearing it stated that this offer of a tribe its a Minister was not an act of bribery, particularly when I mailed to mind the fate of the poor Carols miner, Hamlin, who, for offering a bribe to Mr. Addington, was prosecuted, and ruined for ever. I say, the feet was, that the crime of bribery and corruptions was complete in the Noble Lord, end the protection which the Noble Lord has met w ith in that place, the privileges of which have been attacked by him, would, in order for me to express my sense of It, require words such as it might not be fit in this assembly to use. At present, how ever. the House of Commons stand in this absurd predicament, that there is on its Journals a Reso lution, stating, that any attempt of this nature in a Peer, is striking at the honour and dignity of the House ; arid on the saute Journals is another Re solirtion exculpating Lord Castlereagh, because be made the attempt, and failed in the prforinanor. In recurring to the old constitutional lairs ; and wier the word constitutional is mentioned I sinsuppaai at means that the laws to which it is ap• plied mete - intended for the advantage of the people,—we shall find it recorded among other things, though it was thought, when first I started it, a novel doctrine ; it was once said. by persons eminent for their knowledge of the his. tory of this country, and who were better reed in the Constitution than I am; that it was a novel doctrine—not novel as compared with any thiug4ta be found in the Greek and Roman history, but novel in the history of this contatry.—l mean that grand provision in the act of settlement, " that no person holding an office or cinvluyinent under the Crown, shall sit or vote in the C ))))) mons House of Parliament."—lt was also enacted et the mime tine, that this country should never be engaged in any foreign wars, on behalf or the King's German dorniuinus. You know how that ',art of the act has been attended to—you know that the present cala mitous war was engaged in on the ground of the King's German dominions, and for that object alone.—ln one word, if you will take the trouble to trace the progress of the Borough-mongering fac tion ; for I will not dignify it with the maitre of the Government of the country ; you will find that they have wrought all those evils which our forefathers shed their blood to protect us from the recurrence of ; you will find they have produced all those evils they thought they had protected their posterity against—you will find them all brought back by the act of that body of persons, who by the Consti tution arc supposed to be the guardians and protec tors of the people against those abuses. And are people to he told that those encroachments on the public liberty, which our forefathers had too much freedom to suffer even from the King upon the Throne, have been brought back by those Bormigh. mongers, who have destroyed the liberties of their country, who have done so by the commission of shit traitorous a, t . which is deprecated in the Sacred Book we all respect,—l Incas) the Bible,—the tact of " seething the kid in the mother's milk,"—whie have been &serail% the liberties of the country, by that which should have preserved than ;—who have been converting the principle of life into a prise. ciple attest:au:6,m ? This wits the most dangerous act they could have committed. It was the wand of all poiaideas to lie infused, for it was a poison a the remerlics provided• for our cure. Under this system we stave expenenced nothing hut ops preormaa and vexations. Vexations, iieleed, is tip, light a term to express the sufferings our comae,. men have endured in support of this iiiinotoral and silicon , titutinnal /stein. We cannot forget, or at least I cannot forget, the long, cruel, and unjust imprisreinnents which have been endured by 'ninny innocent and °mirrored individuals. Immo' for get those years, lately past, which mark..ll the ea. reer of toe Government of this coontry with every fratur4, every trait of thy Government* of those n . ouns • f i es w e h a v e 41.11..i:kres1 , IN bending under the strongest iron hand of despotic power. •In a word, what ealesuities hare we been free from ? We have Ne' . li innocent men :4114ra:tell to new, cruel, mad arbitrary modes of ian•risonuicot—we have sees . ... - the sea covered with eeiles, end ostr shares covered .with 1)1(mni—( Load ateltoteionsj. What I have stated is not too strong, sod yo 6 will' be convinced it is Hot, if you will slaty torn your eyes to that part of the empire ',ailed Ireland—(Veherneitt plaat 7 din). You will lest consider it too strong, if you will turn your eye. inwards into your own breasts.— Call to mind your own fellow-subjects, who, for years, have been immured in solitary and have afterwards been deprived of the beitelit of the laws, for the purpose of übtaiuing redress— upon the preteuce that those who were injured, were themselves the violators of the saws, and net those who inflicted the injuries. But we have hart the confession of their own guilt—We have seen this borough-mongering Parliament supporting those by *limn these severe measures were adopted —We have seen this boriough-mongering Parlia ment giving indemnity to Nifinistere, against those who have suffered by the arbitrary exercise of their power—There can be no question who Were the guilty parties, for the persons accused leave been tried mud proved miloccot—but the accusers have pronounced judgment onothemselves, by demeiii ing iiidemitity, and by receiving iudeuiiiity, while tso imietnnity has been held out to the objects of their cruel imprisonment. 1 should not wonder if we are mow at the commencement of a similar ' era—l should net wonder if an attempt siin;ler to that is 1794 should be made, under the same pretence of alarin—mnil that they should carry into effect measures of a similar description, to prevent our p cutiiii this our object, which it a object, and the only one these per se uted per.ons ever hail in view; but I trust it will tint *phi he so easy to blind the eyes of the country. To h ave b een d upe d and fooled once in an age, will be sufficient for the most cre dulous. I trust, if that miserable and weak mea sure is again attempted, it will be met with a firm ness, moderation, good sense, and resolution, which will counteract the innehmations of those who shall make the attempt, and, at the same time, obtain fur us that object, without which nothing e.sists in this country that can deserve the name of freedom. Gentlemen, I ant perfectly convinced in my osiii mind, that this measure, now imperiously demanded by the circumstances of the country, is no less beue eclat to King on the Throne, than it is necessary fur the freedom of the people (great applette). At present, the King on the Throne is compelled to bow to this faction of borough-mongers,—lle can not carry on his fair share of the Government, which no one wishes him to be deprived of, without their assistance ; he cannot carry on his fair share of the Government, without their 'concurrence and consent ; they are an intermediate party, who t by the pretenee of supporting his pre•ognlive, controul the public, and by the pretenee of their infliietice with the people, contruul and keep down the King from the enjoyment of his fair share of the Goveroment.—Therefore I do con tend, that we are at this time doing that which is not more for our own interest and welfare, than it is for the security and welfare, and tranquillity of the King himself. Expressions of approbation. 1 The waste, the profligate waste of the politic expeodituve, is an object (oat must necessarily of late have attracted the areotion of all of you—that wasteful and improvident expen diture is entirely owing to the same cause from whence our other redo proceed. It arises entirely from the same principle; and I have no hesitation in saying, that the King, or the family of the King, it they wanted it, might have more then they have, if it was not for the depredations of those I have before Abided to. What any one man, or one Gold, I coo demand, can never be an object to a mighty nation like this. That which has been of late so unfortunately brought to light, I mean unfortu nately, as to the existence of the fact, and not to the discovery of it. I allude to the circumstances which have been developed, with respect to the conduct of the Prince' of the Blood, of one how ever. Even these evils we should shut our eyes to, if, on the other hand, we could see and enjoy our rights, and the advantage, of our Constitution.- 11 do riot expect from Princes, either that perfee. tie!' which is greater than is attributed to human maitre; but see do not expect from them what we would front persons iii a different situation...s -e Exclamations of Bravo ! Bravo! Fair I Far!) All their conduct we cats shut our eyes to. Every indulgence we will give thein—those essential en- joyments being secured to us—our liberties and our rights—(r/pp/aeries.) I own it is a great con solation for ine to reflect that the Prince, in whom we have the most interest, has not been liable even to the breath of suspicion.—( Reiterated acclama tions.) I own that is a matter of great consolation to me. It is also a matter of consolation to rqe to think, that if I was to mention the person whom I should more particularly say was an Englishman thati the rest, it would be the Prince to whom I have alluded. (Continued plaudits from all parts of the room.) I should hope it may not be impossible for persons in their situations to feel for, and have a common interest in the common cause of the coun try ; to be sensible of the necessity of putting an end to those corruptions which weigh the .country to , the earth, and of affording to the people that fair share in the Government which the laws and the constitution tell them they are entitled to, and of promoting their enjoyment of those rights which the law says belong to them. We want nothing new ; we desire no novelties ; we wish only to he put back where we were ; we are anxious to regain what we home lost, and to have security for the fu ture, that the same encroachments shall sot be made a4aire on the liberties and happiness of the periple.—(Bratro ! bravo fl—lt was not my object, anal it will never he my object to endeavour to call the ven'erarice of the country on the head of any unfortunate detected individual,. be ceese I know that the fault is in the system.— It t. the system with which I am at war, it is against the effect of that pernicious system : as I know it to lie that, I wish to guard the pimple. In the House of Climinons too, it was made a sort of excuses for Lord Castlereagh, that although lie had been found out, it was well known shit there were few among those who were his judges. who, if they decided according to the feelings of their consciences, could without inculpating themselves, give a verdict of gdilty.— I firmly believe that, undoubtedly, to hare heel , the aaae ; that is the real mischief, that is the real grievance; it is there we must apply the remedy. - '; • ~, • We must not be deluded tither by the promisee of any individual, or even lay soy of the partial retries dies which all Miiiieters are willing to endeartur to soften the public feeling by adnptiug I *mean Bills like that lately introduced into Parliament by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for the pre ventiou of trafficking in places. Can any thing be so truly ridiculous ? At rile very time this sift is to-nu:en in, the Chancellor or t he gxchequer is cover tog his colleague, for tr iffickinrin 6 way the must pet Leedom amid uneouseitutienal ; not with hist/en 111011 e ., —that would be load by con verti64 his offisial patronage into a bribe, lor the purpose. of prifletiii„ 4 the repreeentittion of the fseci ple (Bursts of opplapsc.) I have somewhere or other read of a story of a noble Genoese. who bring a very rich, and at the seine time a very worthy man, end finding ha countrymen oporessed by heavy taxes for the ne,:essarivir of life, particularly by a heavy duty sin salt, determines! to pass hie whole life in misery and poverty, in order that be might be enabled to purchase the duties, and that this grievous tax might be taken away and removed. Ire lived a long life, which he pass ed in the state of the most poor and wretch ed creature. All this he seldomd fir the kurionrable purpose of applying his wealth to the relief of his burthened countrymen. Fc treAy'relievcd them and died, when the earns iiiefficient Government placed the some burtheits again upon the people.—Now this would be exactly thecae in England, if we could relieve the country, by any partial Reform, by economy, Or any other 'node that could be lei clued. from ally part, or all of those pecuniary buriliens with which it is op pressed —my opiiiloo is, that the country would not be a shot the better.-+I rather think it would be the worse, and the farther from obtain. ing that, which only can be of any . advantage aubetentrially—a fair, upright. just Government. I only mention this to whew, that if we stop short of a reform—if we are misled by persons holding out what they call a temporary reform, we are doing nothing. I know not what they mean by a • measure of innrlerate and t em p erate re f orm . B ut if they mean a hat has been expressed in the upper House of Parliament, accompanied with loins re flections on modern patriots, by which I suppose was intended such as those I have the honour of addressing. If they mean any thing abort of that reform which we are met to promote, I trust the good sense if the pnblic will reject it, and never be satisfied till they have obtained that which is their right—l mean a fair anti equal Represents.. tints .iu the House of Commons. f allude to a Noble Lord (Grey), who was the great Parlieenen tary Reformer some •years amo, and who I hope vomit remaius a Parliamentary Reformer. It was Lord Grey who held this language. I think it worth' better become those who talk about rwoonal temperate Reform, and by which they Would insi nuate that the Reforin we seek is neither rational, temperate, or norelerate : it would better become them to apply to. another qtrarter, t i turn their eyes from the peuple of England, whose modenitisin has been so great., and who have borne their o i e res , imis with so much patience ; they would. do well, I re peat, to turn their eyes from those who hare beset oppressed to those who oppressed them ; from those who have been ruled, to those who have been their ruler.—to contm plate the Biros' Or. mongering Cie tion.—to trace what has been tbe.r conduct, and to learn from them their lessons of reason, temOttitocvs and innderation. It was sonic time ago proposed in Parliament, that there should he a badge of distinction for every honest, industrious, laborious man—far every labourer who had ineintamed his family, without ever consenting to teem, perish alms. ?low, irony bulge of disti netion might to . be given to these individuals, I should like also, that some badge of infamy sliuuld be worn oim the bosoms of those men, who, by political intrigue—by corrupt contrivances, have beeii and always sic re torting shins from every labourer in the country. (liicessaiit cries of bravo.), Among the other sulk griev.mees of which this aggrieved natioa. has to complain, it is not among the least, sod certainly ill was to address you mach longer, it would not be ainctig the last—is the introduction of corps of foreigners of various descriptions into this country. I trust it is not for this gallint nation to trust to foreign mercenaries to defend the land ; (No ! au! no ! Load applause./ I wish to see its defence entrusted ante to its own people—l wish to see it entrusted to the limiest farmer—to country geuilt. men—to tradesmen.—l wish. tied the inhabitants of towns, and the country in general, lied arms in their hands, for the purpose of resisting eke minuet —I should like to see that sort of force, instead of a miserable, weak, contemptible defence, such as is at best ineffectually obtained by a standittg army. I should wish that we had relied only on outselves,• and on that species of force I have described.—l • should like to see the sword and the plough in time same hands—no hands better become it—all those countries where that system has been adored, from the period of tile anc4nt Roman, town Ili the pre sent tune, have found the benefit of it to the sure protection it has affurded.—We have the misfor tune to have thousands of foreignems in • Vas country entrusted with arms, while there seems to be a sort of jealousy and appreherisjoir of entrusting to the people the means of tiam• own defence.—l hope we have et!l the sense feel ing, as were expressed in a former mince l,y onr . forefathers, in a resoestr.uice to Kitty Charlese Owls . be was attempting to intruders by means of latsp'strogrtive, this very grievasce which has him roe istsuctutted bp a ner , aighanoisiesnoe Park:went. 1 remewilscr, del sartmese the compliant, against that tuatortiattile Hunetsch, ass this introduction of Ussre:gn troops. tin, foie/others had tom nun h spisst to inibmst to be defended by Eno rn melees'. rits, they say in their remonstrinie, " that Its. ) 1...pe it is bi:oath the hesuf of every Eaglishinen, that this virteeiewa Dation should now stand in need °I C(' was PeAdi:n 1 4 .1 de fend it." I host and hope yon stilt isiSsci.4 the sawn hurt. ine, aryl I trust it will not be very tong bss‘w-ne stare attempt is made toteneve the country f the grits-ante or which I euinpl.itu It is quite intelesable to my 'wool tn . beer *list a &emu's Harm Soutebossy has the commas d op enc. lush dittrici —(Vicestie e Sisociiwg ! Sh.s'Sm ta , a is riAtsand Weer it is trsily no,si 1.14.1 s footles, shimeleses, and disvactfill. itloo4 Man t ',Aro so , I 111 . may ;Mtn tau hare suisls, In which lo cm 04..4 .t When the question is—" Actiss NO•411. 1.90 (eiChrallel, ins etWesgai., eminent lye 4* aloud iTbe -bids room rang with a built of iididlilltssigrstite sun, anent this noble, intrepid, and vie., inns esislnattlkiel *MN. wig prontinnerd; it was long me the plairtilkcccitedlss-4 am so well acquainted will the Nub* Lord, skit I Wiley 164 q fears amine s except to beer bus non prrPit 1 sksl therefore alvitai i /KAN hailing Ihis (retire, 67 . ..702 . ti-z on • topic, •Lich wawa ere me tisk Lights_ t se v er of --- ^ -mss►*+ I ..1 ~i • • , . .