The Sun. — London, England, 1824-01-31 00:00:00

EDINBUR.GR FOX DINNER. `FROM THE GLASGOW FREE Plt EMI iest , rday (Monday) a numerous and highly respectable Meeting of the,,Friends and Admirers of the Right WM. Charles James Fox e assembled in the Waterloo Tavern, tq eelebrate the Aniversary - Of that Illustrious Patriot and half-past five o'clock Lord Archibald flamile ten took the Chair, amidst immense .cheering. His Lordship was supported on his rift by his noble brother, the Duke of - Hamilton, and on his-left by Lord Loithborough. Mr. Fer gueson, of Reich, offictated as Croupier: After the cloth was removed, the usual toasts of " The " Tne Duke of York," and the rest of the Royal Firmly; were given in succession, and drank with all the ho pours. Lord A. flame LT ON observed, in rising to Notion the toast appropriated to the occasion, in. celebration of which they had met, not one could be more sensible than he wits of the exalted Isentsur of being invited to preside over so respectable a meeting ; at the same time, no one could be more sensible of his slender Outtlifications for the office. Ile strongly , felt that it was the u ifce that did honour to him, and not he who did honour to the eh-cc. Coming after Lord Erskine, whose resplendent talents stied a lustre over his country, and. Sir Jas. Mackintosh, whose talents eould scarcely be considered inferior (both which illus.. tricis men had cccapied this Chair), he felt himself humbled - I oy the attempt to undertake the task which the ,partiality of his friends had imposed upon him. Ge ntlemen, we can add nothing to the honour of Charles James Fox ; and were that alone the purpose of our assembling, better would it be for me to ss,y nothing. But we are assembled. here, not for that vague purpose only, but for the more effectual purpose of giving currency to his principles. Gentlemen, it is my pecu jier pride to have known the man ; but I feel that it is only in proportion as I can testify my admiration of him by an humble imitation of his public virtue, that I must be con !littered as capable of doing justice to his virtues: These have ever been the guide of my conduct; and, on the !rround of steady adherence to the . principles' of Charles Fox,. I will yield to no man. 'When I say the principles t 4 Mr. Fox, I wish not to be understood. to say, that such principles were never broached in the 'world before his time. No ! It was the excellence of the man, and the energy and steady perseverance with which he asserted and defended those -principles that have stamped them -with his name. They were only the principles of right reason and corn mon sense.—(lmmense cheering )—Why does it happen that what I have said obtains so ready an assent, but that the prin ciples of 31r. Fox were also bottomed upon public honesty ? ( Continued cheers.)—lf we look to the points upon which those principles were variously brought forward, we shall find that it was where the interests of large bodies were immediately concerned. It would be an unreasonable encroachment upon the indulgence of the meeting to enumerate all the • services which lir. Fox has rendered to his country and the human race ; but let a few of them be treasured up in 'our memories. We all know the unwearied endeavours of Mr. Fox to procure to the people a full, fair, and free representation in Parlia ment ; without which the country has, at the best, hut an illu sory and fleeting security for its liberties. Nor will the splen did exertions be forgotten which he made in defence of the Trial by Jury—not. to give effect to it merely in a general way, but to 'give it, in particular cases, a truly Constitutional direc tion—and these exertions, Gentlemen, were so tar successful,. : that, in cases of libel, they gave to Juries, if they choose .to exercise their right, the independence of the Judge. - (Cheering.) IV these exertions were the principles of Mr. Fox employed. But, to his other services rendered to his country and the human race, let me add, the Abolition of the Slave Trade. Other great men made eloquent speeches and splendid 'ha rangues in support of the measure; but it was 31 r. Fox's warm heart and intrepid virtue that gave effect to them._ Go to foreign politics, and let me ask, if it be possible to ilinstrate more forcibly the sterling value of Mr. Foa's prin ciples than by what is now going on upon the Continent of Europe ? The opposite principles have led to more mis chief and more disgrace to the country, than could have been wrought by any -set ofprineiples whatever—(Cheers.)—ls it possible to look at the conduct pursued by the Continental Sovereigns, and trace their policy through all its windings, and not be satisfied that the abject state of misery into which Spain and Italy are now reduced, must be ascribed to the absence, in. the British Parliament, of Mr. Fox's principles?. .But it was . not only in his public, but in his private cepacity that the me mory of Mr. Fox ought to be dear to them. It was his lot to' know-him ; and, whether as a friend, as the leader of a party, or as a Statesman, he did not know a man who had equal . claims upon the esteem of his contemporaries and 'posterity, He might well apply to him the lines of the Poet— . " A patriot's even course he steer'd, By all who knew his worth rever'd." However rhea. the r ale:teal enemies may cendenin his princi ples, no one will deny that he was reverenced by all in whom he placed confidence, and revered by all who knew hien. . But it is rot on this ground only, but because also he was a great prar.;ical Statesman, one who pleaded for the rights •of •man, astd opposed power, when hostile to those tights—one who would throw himself the first into the breach when the liberties of mankirel were endangered—that he would propose to drink hi:' mernorY t --e(llere the Noble Lord was much "Snot possible Mt him to do iustice to the memory of so great a man ; but so far as his public conduct bes gone, and so far 351 it will go, he has testified, and - will continue to testify, his Vner:ltion for—" The memory of Mr. Fox."-s(The toast was crank in solemn silence.)--Air—" Charlie is my darling." The Chavez-lAN then gave " The People, and their Rights as eztahlished ht the Revolution.'' Air—" A man's a man for s' th a n , ' The Chairman said, in rising to propose-a" The Nuke of Sussex, and the Principles that seated his Family on the Throne,". he could not refrain .from bearin , testimony to the firm attachment which his Royal Highness liar shewn to Whig - principles ; s.nd he • must add, that lie has heard his Royal. Highness expressing his unalterable devotion to those principles. Knowing this, he was sure that he would meet the approbation of the company, in proposing to drink the toast ' with three times three. Air--" Ap Shenkim" . Mr. MoNnytrEw rose amidst immense cheering. There is a name, he observed, during the many years which he had at- toads d these Meetings, had always been pronounced • with ap plause and exultation. If, at the request of the Stewards, I thus early to pronounce his name, it is because we have nothing but the name. The spirit is fled. When I mention Lord Rrskine—(Great cheering)—l name a man, who, in the services which he has rendered to liberty, has left the impress of hie name upon unbOrn generations.- I propose, Gentlemen, to drink—" Lord Erskine, the Friend to Fox, the undaunted Supparter of his Principles, and who was connected to him by ties scarcely lees sacred than those of relationship." It is not far Inc to do justice to the character of Lord Erskine ; but I tape the company will indulge me in a brief sketch of it.— 'Thomas Erskine was, beyond all question, • the most ex tai sordinary Man of our age, abounding in men of extraor dintry talent. Betwixt Fox and Pitt, and Burke, Sheridan, and Windham, he placed himself in the centre of that sphere to wlkicii he had destirted,himself. It was not by his command ieig. eloquence and the brilliancy of his imagination, that lie raised himself from comparative obscurity ; but it was the foundation that he acted upon, to which he owed his future eminence and fame. Front the first time that he addressed the Court of lk:Mg's Bench, - from the back rows, in - defence of it man whose imputed crime was, that lie had exposed abuse aid corruption, he, even at that time, in the opinion of the obleht practitioners, placed himself at the summit of that reptt tatien which never deserted him. It. was not his intention to go through the particulars of his laborious life. But -all would remember his unwearied endeavours. for the liberty of Juries, and the defence of the Dean of St. A . , ap t l , s . It not far hie.n to contend for a new law ; but for a fair interpretation of the law, as it wag; and his exertions were ultimately crowned with succesa, by the Bill which his friend, Mr. Fox, success ful:y cirried through Parliament. Lord Erskine alSo was distiNpishc,tl friend of the'Liberty. of the Press—the great, if not the very greittest engine that can be employed in defence of Cl 3 rights of the subject; and for which reason men who • are ,fenel of despotie principles abhor it the ruore.-L-( Loud cheer- Lordshi:)'s hatred of constructive treason prevailed is the trial of Lord George . Gordon; but a more arduous task remained for hire: in !794.___(Itaihense cheering.)—When welook at him, almost alone, opposed to the whole weight of the Crown—the weight of Parliament—which had prepared, and, an a manner, preferred the charges against the prisoners—to the prejudices of many of the class of thinking people, wrought upon by false alarms, and trieLs which arc kept alive in our recollections by their own odiousness—(cheers)—to the preju dices of his own profession ; what must have been his feelings, when be came out of Court with the grand convicti , ,n that he bad once more ! - ..aflied the monster Conitritetiv T,-eusoni For his part, he could not have believed that man coup; do so much. For the honour of himself and his country, his Lor , isto had been withdrawn from the station which be had occupi with so tn , ch advantage to the country; bat his principles re mained unsemacen to the last, and he lost ro opportunity of coming forward to 'defendthe principles of liberty and juetice. 'Melte are his greet merits ; but it would not be justice to hi tt; no t t o I nc;ition, that, resolute, determined, and even vio!ent as he was, when occasion called for it, no one gave less offence than his Lordship. By the sincerity of his opinions, the ur banity of his manners, and hie manly simplicity, he coin.. man d o l the good opinioh of all who knew him. This was a part if his character which entitled him to their . gratitude, independently of .his politics. Recollecting all thia - , that lie was a Constitutional Whig of the glorious Itevoiution..._ that he was not a demagogue who would cue down one branch Of the LeOlature to exalt another—and recollect. ing the case of the unfortunate man Hatfield, in whirls he so consistently upheld his own principles of liberty, while he did homage to the Monarchy—recollecting all this, and the honour and purity of Lord Erskine's character, it is to be doubted if there is one (excepting Mr. Fox:. himself) to whom the country has' been more indebted. To vuch a man, it is • fitting that a monument be erected;; though none can be erect ed which will survive his fame. We..had in this country a man descended from the same noble stock, and gifted with the same nobility of mind. He also is gone! That is a subject not to be entered upon. But Lord Erskine's deeds belong to the country and the world ; and the pages which record them will be the brightest in our annals. Toast—" The Memory of Lord Erskine." Air—' Here's to him that's awe.' By the CHAIRMAN—" The British Navy—the natural de fence of the Country." Air—' Rule Britannia.' " The Bri tish Army." Air—' British Grenadiers' Mr. FERouSSON, the Croupier—Gentlemen, fill a bumper. I have the honour of proposing for a toast—" Our Noble and distinguished Chairman"—(Loud cheering.)—The natural and enthusiastic feeling now expressed makes it almost unnecessary for me to say one word more. Our Chairman, Gentlemen, is one whose public virtue assures us of his inveterate enmity to corruption and abuse. His persevering exertions are well known. He has struck at the root of much evil ; and, by up rooting the Close Borough system and its machinery, he will do incalculable good. I am unwilling . to speak individually of 141agistrates with disrespect, since, as individuals, scone of them may be respectable; but we all know that the most respectable individuals get into a Close Ccrporation, and they are sure to form a Holy A llian ce—( Laugh ter)—an el a large portion of des potism will mark their public character. Had I the power, might expatiate upon the merits of our Noble Chairman as a man and a patriot ; but I know it would only offend the manly , simplicity of his character.-a(The, toast was drank with im mense cheering.) The CHAIRMAN rose to reply. For the flattering manner in which his health had been drank, he could not sufficiently express his acknowledgments; hut, at the end of twenty years' exertions in Parliament, in meeting with such a company in j this city, be found a sufficient compensation fox his labours, and a greater litform than he ever expected. When he called to his recollection the state of the public mind in this country, he Was almost tempted to believe that his exertions had not been altogether useless. For what hp knew of the public spirit of this city at one time, the number who might have assembled upon an occasion like the present would not have exceeded the paltry number actually composing the Town Council. — (Cheers.)—When he used the word paltry, he applied it to numbers, and must say, the number is paltry. It was his good fortune to be placed in a rank of life that protected him against the imputations which had been cast upon his fellow-labourers in the cause of Reform. It could not be said of him that he wished to subvert existing institutions, to raise - hitirself upon the ruins of others. His station, and the support which he re ceived from his family, neutralized every such caluniny.• Re marking, as,he had done, the contrast which subsisted between the temper of the times now and formerlye 'he did not in the least doubt that the cause of Reform in Scotland must,' sooner or later, triumph. He could not but remark, that in Scotland the defect of representation is in the law, while in England it is in the abuse of the law ; therefore, the exertions of Scot land ought to be compared to a change in the law of Eng land to tti correction of. abuses. When lie considered the intel lectual character and number of the Scottish population, a population improving in both—their moral propriety, and ab sence from among them of every thing like a mob—their claim to a participatton in the privileges possessed by their neigh bours in the South appeared irresistible. He must not be supposed as wishing to introduce rashly, and at once, into Scotland, the whole system of the English; but he proposed, that Scotland should have a Representation in some measure proportioned to its wealth and intelligence. Is it possible, that a country such as this is, is to sit down contentedly, with scarcely 'a Representation at all, alongside of Eng land, with her comparatively free representation ? Any thing more irksome to an independent man he could hot conceive than that the Representative of this City should - feel himself obliged to obey the instructions of the few who . compose the Town Council, in opposition to the wishes of its 130,000 inha bitants.—(Great cheering.)a-In acting in conformity to the will of his few constituents, he may expect to have- his conduct reprobated by the whole commmunity besides. The thing is so bad, that the voice .of the nation, universally raised, must force the House of Commons to give attention to their claims. In the sister kingdom it is often remarked, that the Borough system is corrected. by that of the Counties. Is that the case here? No such thing. The voters of a Scottish County are often more limited than those of a Close Borough in England. —At the close of his labours for a Refocus ,of the Scottish Boroughs, a Bill was introduced by Government, which he then considered, and must ever do, futile and friVolous. Only a few days ago, it was tried in the Court of Exchequer, and found wanting.—(Great cheering.)—He would only observe, that the bill was brought in by the Administration and the Lord Advo- • cate, to correct abuses which they had uniformly denied to exist. (Laughter.)—That the Bill has failed did not surprise him. NWhen ill, would any one trust to a phy s i c i an w ho tells hi m , that his complaint is altogether imaginary ? The measure of • the Bill was adopted by—or rather, it was forced upon the Ministry, to correct evils which, in their eyes, had no exist ence; butit has been found wholly inadequate to answer any one object. The public of Edinbuigh, and elsewhere, must exert themselves to produce some anxiety in the cause—some strong importunity to Parliament._(Cheers.) Mr. GIBSON' CRAIG, of lticcarton, rose—(great cheering)— to propcse—" The health of the Duke of Hamilton and the Whigs of. Scotland, which he did, after a speech of great original power and talent. The Duke of HAMILTON (amidst tremendous cheering) returned thanks with that peculiar modesty of manner which is so distinguishing a characteristic of his Grace. After a few words, in which the embarrassment of delicate feeling shun ning the public gaze was but too conspicuous, lie concluded by giving—" Earl Grey and the Whigs •of England."—(Three times three, and great cheering.) Lord A. HAMILTON rose and said—The next toast he held in his hand he could by no means agree to. It contained al most mockery within itself—it was, " The Duke .of Leinster, and the speedy restoration of the British Constitution in Ire land." Now, in his Lordship's opinion, the miserable Irish never participated in any benefits of the sritish Constitution.; or, if they did, it was a matter for the antiquarian's search ra ther than for the politician's recollection.—(Cheers.)—Had the principles of the immortal man whoin they were met to cele brate been acted upon, Ireland would not have been what it is —the most miserable portion of the globe. All the 'British be nefits it had yet received were Pitt's policy and Castlereagh's heartiness.—(Laughter and cheers.)-alle concluded by pro posing—" The Duke of Leinster." Three thist; three. Mr. MACFARLANE, Advocate, rose, and after a well-detail ed history of the patriotism and sufferings of Archibald, the great Earl of Argyle, concluded, by proposing-a" The health of the present ,Duke of Argyle."—Three times three, and great cheering. Mr. JEFFREY rose.—(Tremendous and continued cheering.) —After a speech which we will not attempt to abridge, and . which our limits will not allow us to give entire, comprehend ing-the most masterly eloquence, and the most philosophical principles of national policy; wherein he shewed that America wash proof of what a nation might 'do without an established Priesthood and an expensive Court, and with universal suffrage and a free press, concluded by giving-a" The health of the President of the United States."—Three times three, with im mense cheering. Mr. COCKBURN rose.—(Excessive applause.)—lt was impos sible not to recollect the enthusiasm with which, at the last Meeting, the friends of Mr. Fox drank success to the cause of Spaniah liberty ; they then believed that the effbrts of the ty rants of Europe to controul and keep down the principles of liberty in the -Peninsula would be auccessiess, and that they were not sufficiently -powerful to prevent the people of Spain from arranging their own internal rights anti political Govern ment ; such was the increase of, liberal principles, that we then believed these tyrants had met with an enemy fit and capable to oppose them, and that Freedom 'had selected the soil of Spain as the spot where she would shew .her noblest powers, and be; brightest glories. In these hopes they had been dig,- appointed. The cause of freedom had been sadly unsuccess.: fag; and -the warmest and sweetest anticipation had been blighted and blasted.—(Cheers.)—They had failed, not bea cause their energies were unequal to the task, but because they had no material to work upon. The Patriots of Spain—great in their patriotism, and glorious in their mental conceptions— found nothing but an ignorant population swayed by a bigoted priesthood, actuated by the basest motives.—(Loud cheers.)—The immediate result had been, that the progress of liberty and almost the progress of thought had been stayed and destroyed in the Peninsula; and that Spain is now nothing but the relic and the monument of a gallant few who endeavoured to achieve and obtain freedom, not fitted for her base and miserable population. We know that many brave and illustrious patriots had not been able to escape the fangs of the tyrant. They had perished! and among theni the gallant, the glorious, the spotless, the murdered Riego (Immense cheering.)—But happy were they who had so perish ed—happy were they who could no longer brood over their country's desolation ! Yet, alas ! there were hundreds and thousands who were obliged to witness, not only the destruc tion of their own country's liberties, but the ruin of their own fortunes, and the extinction of their families—Heaven bless them !—Heaven bless thesis in their political misery—Heaven bless titein in their political despair—in their dungeons—in their cells—in their miseries—in their sufferings—may they now feel that they have become members of the great commu nity of the friends of freedom in every part of the globe—(Loud cheers.)—ln the glowing pages of history, every incident of i their lives would,_ cause the admirationadmirationof posterity, and their deaths would be recorded wits those. of . a Hampden and a Sidney in another land, but in he sanzc cause.—(Cheers.) — Some there are, however, whom 1 more particular fate had fol ! Towed, who yet lived to witnes their country's wrongs, and to thirst for the day of retribition—patriots who, believing in nothing but the common feling of freedom, among all their brethren, had thrown themselves, in spite of the Alien Act, upon the generosity of theßritish people. They had done this country the singular lionme of selecting it as the place of their retreat,—names, that woud hereafter be the stars of his, tory—the gallant and invincible Mina—the eloquent and philo sophical Arguelles—the prompt and determined Alava—with snore than 600 self-expatriatel Spaniards, choosing rather liberty, without all the domestic and local enjoyments of their own country, than any thine. aril every thing the tyrant had to bestow.—(Loud cheers.)—Little prepared by their past lives for the bitterness of poverty, or the contumely of dependence, yet they preferred both to the ignoniny of political slavery . ; many lan honoured Italian, too, was anon them—and it was to the glory of Albion, that her white ChM were sought by the sons of freedom, as their seat, their :afeguard, and their sanctuary. —(Cheers.)—Yet it was absolutdy heartbreaking to behold their miseries, their ruined fortunes, their wretched families ; how ' ever, Britain, he trusted, will enable them to visit their descend ants in South America, where tiey might kindle a new flame of liberty, greatness, and glory.—(Loud cheers.)—Let our sup port of them not be degraded ty the name of charity. When the Stuarts, by their arbitrary measures, drove many of our patriots from their native land, hey sought succour - from the states of the Continent, and new the sympathy of the British people would show they were not forgetful of their former obligations. (Loud cheers.)—though the tyrant of their country might proscribe their names, confiscate their property, condemn their lives, and destro; their families, he could not rob them of that glory which a British people can always en joy ; this was entirely beyond his reach.—(Loud cheers.) — Upon these grounds, I propose to drink—" The Healths of Mina, Arguelles, Alava, and tie other Illustrious Spaniards, who have sought protection is this country"—Drank with three times three, and loud chters. Air." Tyrolese song of Liberty." Lord A. HaatinTore e after a warns eulogium, and ob serving that it was a most astonishing circumstance that such a man should sit for a set of Scots Burghs—proposed " The health of Joseph Hume"—three times three and deafening applause. Sir R. C. FERGITSSON rose.—(Loud cheering.)—He observ ed that they need not be afraid he was going to make a long speech at that late hour of the evening. He had attended Par. liament for two Sessions, with a regularity alaiost equal to Joseph Hume himself, but he found, that in the Committees both of them were so . much veiled in with such a load of Lords of the Treasury and other Ministerial Members, that nothing could be hoped for. They had out-voted him upon every question, and laid down a rule, that unless a special and particular case of borough-corruption could be brought fore ward, they would not listen to any thing that might be said.— Ile took them upon their own ground, and brought forward two strong cases, but the Lords of the Treasury, the Hacks of the Ministry, the very respectable Member for this good city, who attended even more closely than Mr. Hume himself—( Loud laughter)—and who, like the rest, conscieutiou:ly . attended— (excessive latighter)—contrived to out-vote them an every in stance. It was then, and only then, that lie (Sir R. Fergusson) certainly said it would be folly to go on. He went to the House, and, perhaps, in an unprecedented manner, declared that the Committee was a mockery; that it was not to investi gate, but to check investigation ; and that it was an insult to the British community that such a palpable mockery should ex ist at all.—( Loud cheers.) Mr: T..Ttsoarsois, Advocate, rose and said, there was one country that especially called on the Meeting, and there was one man, in a degenerate age, who shone with all the glory of genuine patriotism—he need not mention the name of Simon Bolivar—the Washingbn of South America.—(Loud cheers.) —After a few observations upon the present state of the Brazilian Government, he concluded by proposing—" The Health of Bolivar) and the Liberty and Independence of South America." (Drank with three times three, and rapturous cheering.) Tune—' Hearts of Oak.' Mr. L. HORNER : My Lord, the toast I am about to propos e , is peculiarly connected witbehe purposes of the pre sent Meeting. The education of the lower order of the peo ple is th e only ground upon which liberty can he reared, and furnishes the best bulwark by which it can be supported.—(Loud cheers.)—lt might fairly be questioned, as it had been . g uess tioned, whether liberty ought to exist, without corresponding intellect; and for that reason the people of Ireland, from their want of education, had 'not been thought fit to receive liberty. The people of Scotland; however, were allowed on all hands to be eminently intellectual • and though not eqoally celebrated with the 'people - of England for political excellence, were, certainly, able to enjoy it. The little hand, miscalled our re presentatives, did so entirely misrepresent and belie the feel ingi of the people of the country, that no mockery was ever greater, more cruel, ox more coMplete.—(Cheers.)—The high minded, liberal, and spirited population of Caledonia were now entirely excluded from any participation in the benefits of Le gislation; but he was well assured that when Scotland did get freedom, she would show herself no less excellent in her poli tical, than in her moral character.—(Cheers.)—The toast he meant to propose would call up the kindred enthusiasm of the whole company.—( Tremendous, rapturous, anti long-continued cheering.)—He concluded by . giving—" The health of Mr. Brougham, and the advancement of education."—Three times three. Mr. J. W. BRouclra.m rose,. and returned thanks in the name of his brother, He could not help alluding to those high honours which had been bestowed upon his brother in Glasgow —honours which lie must ever remember with pride, and could never forget, while he continued to exist.—(Loud cheers.)—He proposed—" The City of Glasg ow, and may its Prosperity keep pace with its Political Principies.”___(Drank with three times three, and immense cheering.) Mr. Iv oRY rose, and with a fe w o b servat i ons , p ropose d " Th e Memory of Mr. Ricardo."--( Drank in solemn silence.) rose and said—l have now Lord Ancitxpal.r. HAMILTON to propose to you a toast of the highest importance—a Free Prem—and may it be daily extended to the confines of the earth, as a terror to the Holy Alliance, and a safeguard of the Rights of Man—(Loud cbeering.)—l am happy to think, that the value of a Free Press is not only the palladium of Liberty, but the very sine qua non of Freedom—(Loud cheers.)—There never 'was a time when this truth was more prominent than the present. It is now when the Holy Alliance have tried every means of contractingthe Liberty o f t h e F ree P ress , th a t it ought to be tolled and thundered in their ears ' as the knell of their despotism, and the lorious b urst i ng o f the freedom of m an.—( Loud cheers.)—The rancour with w hi c h th e F r ee Press had been persecuted, proved hownouch the tyrants were afraid of it. They could not bear a Free Press, a free discussion, or a free inquiry. They could not hear the light, because their deeds were evil.- 7 ( Loud cheers.)— They invariably attempted to controul a free press, where it did exist ; and where it did not exist, to take especial care that it should never appear. In con sequence of their measures, their subjects could never be in formed what their Monarchs were doing. It was only from the newspapers of this country they g athered any information. It was impossible that such a state of t hin g s c ould continue. The suppression of the press, aimed a fundamental blow at the groundwork of liberty itself; . yet, what was the conduct of this country under these circumstances ? When the Holy Alli ance was attacking the, free press of Europe, our Government was truckling in the basest and meanest manner. We were viewing the Holy Alliance effecting the whole of their objects; the invasion of Naples and Sardinia—the Congress at Verona —the speech of the French King—and the attack upon Spain— all came before us; yet our Administration affected not to see the practices of the Holy Conspirators, until the Rubicon was crossed. We suffered Naples to be seized—Verona to proclaim —Louis to speak—and yet, week after week, our equally wise arid patriotic Ministers told us Spain would not be invaded at all. Our Mini;ters have either been dupes, or—worse.—(Loud cheers.)—The Liberty of the Press was the only safeguard which tlra public of Britnin possessed against the further schemes of the Holy Alliance, and was likely to constitute the greatest terror to those Crowned Spoilers, while it conferred the highest benefits upon this country.--(Cheers.)—lt was, however, to be lamented, that the Liberty of the Press was too fre quently connected with its licentiousness, and this city had, not long ago, seen a paper of the most infamous nature, which was supported by the highest authorities, and the greatest official characters of the country.—(Cheers, and cries.of shame.)—For my part, said his Lordship, I do not complain of the observations they have made upon myself; I do not complain that they should have attacked me • but they said they would prove every thing. They said that ;hen it came to trial they would prove all, and more than what they had said, to be true ; yet I dared thern:to it, and what was the result ? They skulked, and sneaked, vilely and tremblingly, out of Court.—(lmmense cheering.)—lt was evident that they meant nothing but political swindling ; yet, I ask, Who were their supporters ? I ask the official characters of Scotland, who ? I ask the judicial officeri, who ?—(Coniinued Cheering.)—Yet, Gent:en:len, while we lament the licientiousness of the Press, it has never ceased to support its liberty ; Tor, as some poisons are antidotes to others, so will the liberty of the press be an effectual antidote to its licentiousness.—(Load cheering.).— If again I should be attacked by the base hirelings of a faction, I now know that the liberal Press of Scotland is able to confute and correct all the calumnies that may be uttered.—(Cheers.)—Gentlemen, I am sorry to trespass so long upon your time, but I conceive this toast ought to be, and is, dearer to you, than any that can be drank. To Scotland—to Britain—and to man—nothing can be more interesting than the Liberty of the Press.—(Great cheering.)--We have far more cause to rejoice from the blessings we have enjoyed from its liberty, than to regret from the evils we hare experienced of its licentiousness. Gentlemen, I give you, " The Liberty of the Press."—Three times three, with immense cheering. After a pause— The Elm oit of the GLASGOW FREE PRESS rose, and said, that he was surprised and sorry that none of the Gen-. tlemen connected with the Liberal Press of Edinburgh bad taken notice of that TOast, under the peculiar circumstances in which the Pte4S - was - novilslaced" He felt that he should be omitting a duty, were lie not to call the attention of the Noble men and .Gentlemen, now present,, to the ettbrts that were making to destroY this palladium of British Liberty.— (Cheers.)—Though he highly disapproved of the tenour and temper of Lord Byron's Vision of Judgment, the verdict that hid been just obtained against its publisher, he was certain, would be used as an engine to destroy the freedom of poli tical discussion. A Society, self-styled Constitutional, had dared to set themselves up as Judges of what ought and what ought not to be published, and in this instance had affected to protect his present Majesty's feelings, and prosecute the Editor of The Kranziner, when his Majesty's own servant, the Attor ney-General, neither conceived that his Majesty's feelings were wounded, nor that his late Majesty's character needed a legal defence.--(Cheers.}--If' the liberal Aristocracy of Scotland really though the Freedom of the Press was worth preserving, they would come forward and form an association to counteract the designs of this soi-disant Constitutional Society—and his Lordship, who had seen the venom of the licentious Press, would be the first to preserve from destruction the liberal Press. —(Cheers.) Lord A. IlAatur.Tox rose, and read a letter from Mr. 1%1.P., which stated that the writer's health incapacitated him 1 from attending the Meeting.—After which his health was drank. Sir R. FEILGUSSON, 111. P., rose to call for the names of the Committee for the next Meeting, which were read. The Earl of RosLYN rose and said, though there were many more toasts to drink, the time had elapsed which was generally devoted to the Chairman's continuing in the Chair. Lord A. HAMILTON rose, drank the healths of the com pany, wished them good night, and retired amid loud cheering ; after which the Meeting separated about one o'clock. TO CORRESPONDENTS. The POETICAL LETTER, written in Spain, on Monday. PRICE OF STOCKS Tills DAY AT TWO O'CLOCK. Bank Stock 239 240 3 per Cent. Bed 3 per Cent. C0n5....90g 91 904. 36 per Cent. 1008 j Old 102,q4 4 per Cent. New lo6i k 5 per Cents. - 1797 Bank Long Ann. 22g 9.16t1is Imp. 3 per Cents. India Stock 275 India Bonds Bss. 83s. South Sea Stock Old Annuities x. Bills 55 53 55 Ditto Small Bank for Act. 239 India for Con. Acct. Cons. for Act. 91 91a 90 PRICE OF FOREIGN STOCKS IN LONDON, JAN.3I. AT ONE O'CLOCK. 1. Five per Cents. 961. Scrip, 7e pm. ( Six per Cents. 00. .. Five per Cents. (Metallic) 'OO. (Ditto New 89i. Five per Cent. Bonds, 81g. Scrip, 5i prem. {Five per Cent. B on d s , 1820, 00. ~ Ditto 1821, 24i. Ditto 1823, 17. ( Five per Cent. Bonds, 91. i. Ditto New, 893. Five per Cent. Bonds, 96i. 87. French Russian Neapolitan Austrian Spanish Prussian Dan i sli Portuguese Peruvian Chili Colombian Mexican New Loan, 00. 7q. Six per Cent. Bonds, 64i. Loan, 73 p rem . 5 00. New, 3g. ( Bank Shares £22 105.—X23. Seven per Cent. 000. 1 Six per Cent. 00-000. Five per Cent. 00 —OOO. Three per Cent. 71,i. Poyais American IG II TE RA Morning, 6 minuti T LONDON BRIDGE TO-MORROW. :es after 3. j Evening, 21 minutes after 3. rriiF SIJN. SCILEJII QU IZ DICEBE F.II.SUM AUDEAT 2 LONDON, SATURDAY, JANUARY 31, 1824. EXPRESS FROM PARIS. At a late h our we h ave rece i ve d the Journal des Dasats of Th urs d ay and the E toile of yes day, from which we subjoin extracts. The Journal des D6bats positively disclaims any warlike views obooastths if the that imrt of the French Government, and France did feel a disposition to e quip fleets and send out armies, she would do so without asking the consent of any other Power. Perhaps not. Circumstances, however, must be greatly altered since this . time last year, when she applied to a Congress for permission to adopt measures which she declared to be neces sary for her own internal peace and security ( From use Journal des Dallis of Thursday.) PARIS, JAN. 28.—The Opposition Journals yesterday took an alarm, and declared that the French troops were going to re-enter Spain, and that Baron d'Eroles was going to take possession of Barcelona. Some stated that we were going to send ships and regiments from Brest, Rochfort, and Toulon. What can all these reports mean ? It is at the moment of the elections that the public spirit is to be agitated with reports of imaginary warfare; but these manoeuvres will not succeed. Our troops will not return to Spain, where none are wanted. In regard to the armaments in our ports, we repeat it again for the seventh time, that it is the invention of the Opposition. Twelve hundred troops of the line, according to the new system, are going to complete the garrisons of Guadeloupe and Martinique, and to replace the Colonial Battalions. If France should think fit to equip fleets, and to embark soldiers on board of them, she will not ask permission nor make excuse to any person.—The poor Opposition ! They are very sick The Minister of Marine has established a Commission to consult on the best method for the Projects for arming ships of war, and improve ments in the Ports. To-day after Mass the King presided at a Coun cil of Ministers, which lasted from 12 o'clock till half-past one. Prince Frederick Alexander Francois Constantine, third son of William of Wurtemberg, died on the night of the 22d Jan. FRANKFORT, JAN. 24.--News direct from Missolunghi of the 10th Dec. confirms that the blockade has been raised, and the Turks lost before that place 3,000 men, all their artillery' and ammunition. Omer Pacha has retired to Janina.; but it is said he is made a prisoner ita one of the houses by his own troops, because he has not payed thorn, ( From thr Etoik of Friday, Jan. 30'. PERpiGN AN, J AS. 29.—The Constitutional troops, which were in cantonments in pursuance of the treaty of Nov. 2, have been disbanded by Baron Eroles. From Tarragona to Barcelona the same operation will take place undei• the orders of Gen. Sarsfield for the garrison of Ilostalricly, cantoned at San Felice de Guxoles : the whole of the disbanding has been executed with the greatest order. Their number exceeds 12,000 men. There does not remain any longer an army, as they have all returned to their homes..' The Royalist force for this province will be 15,000 men. Means are taken to keep a goad Police in the several towns. MADRID.—It IS assured that the Marquis or Mataflorida is appointed Ambassador to Turin.. The Gazelle of to-day has published a list of Promotions which his Majesty has ordered ainon g. the Clergy. CADIZ.—The ships Asia and Achille areready. They will sail in a few days. The Paris Papers of Tuesday and Wednesday do not contain any intelligence of importance, except the following Proclamation of Sir TnomAs MAITLAND, on a violation of the lonian territory by the Greeks : CORFU, DEC. 27.—Sir T. MAITL Nn, Lord High Commissioner of the lonian Islands, arrived here to.day from Malta (having touched at Zante and Cephalonia), and issued the following Pro clamation Sir T., &c. &c. " Whereas; on the 10th and 12th instant, one of the most flagrant violations of territory was committed in the islands of St. Maura and Ithaca, on the part of some armed Greek ves sels, which vessels were under the command of a man called .31aurocordato, and that in opposition to every recognized prin ciple of neutrality and the right of nations; his Excellency the Lord High Commissioner of his Majesty is; with a sovereign displeasure, forced by his duty to order, that the two islands above mentioned should immediately be put, with reference to the other lonian Islands, in a state of quarantine for 30 days. The Inspector-General of the Sanitary Department is charged to transmit immediately the necessary orders to this effect. " Ills. Excellency feels real pain at the inconveniences and, losses which must necessarily result from this measure; and what renders it still more afflicting is, that we ought least of all to expect to see the lonian - Government compromised and insulted by men who declare that they fight for their liberty, and thus rendered an accomplice, if the fact had not been , noticed, of those terrible and odious atrocities which on this occasion and several others have signalized the parties engaged in the present war. " Palace of Corfu, Dec. 20. " By order of his Excellency, " FREDERICK. HA Mal', " Secretary to the Lord High Commissioner." Private Letters from Constantinople, of the 31st December, state, that the extraordinary de liberations of the Divan have termivated in a complete change of Miniotty, including the fa mous REIS EFFENDI, who has not,however, been entirely disgraced, but obliged to change situa# tions with SADIK EFFENDI, the late liiaja-Bey, or Minister of the Interior. The Grand Vizier ALr Pacun has been banished to Gallipoli, where he awaits his fate, and has been succeeded in that important office by GArAu EFFENDI, who commanded the camp on the Bosphorus. He i 5 supposed to be of the moderate party, yet his first measure was to propose the immediate forma tion of an army of 80,000 men, of which the Janissaries are to form part, to be marched into the Peloponnesus. The Aga of the Janis saries has been promoted to the command of the Camp on the Bosphorus, and his Lieutenant Kour.-KIHAGALLT appointed Aga in his place.-- In general the change of Ministry comprehends the moderate party. This measure is said to have been occasionca by the consternation into which the attack of the Greeks on Smyrna, the second city of the Eol" pire, had thrown the Turks, and the rage into which it put the Grand Seignior. The isle of Scio is reported to have beconle again the theatre of bloody scenes, the C having effected a landing, and driven the Tut.l , o into the fortress. Advices from Malta of tl►e 20th Decembe r state that the British squadron, consisting of s►/g" ships, was to sail for Tunis on the following morning. The SNbelle frigate had arrived at Malta on tl►e preceding Sunday, and the Alacl'!' brig of war had just come in at the date of the advices. If his Highness the BEY, therefore, llo refused to set at liberty the Greeks who we re seized when under the protection of the Britis flag, a►► attack has probably before this beep made upon his capital. CITY, Twelve o'clock.—Consols opened t bi : morning at 91i. Up to this hour they are 9 10 for the Account, with a good deal of busine s !' doing. The Expresses from Paris bring the an . to t folic Pres Itisti ila ri :is 1). of ad y th at and he 4 ni a thar , his, (lay the I I)e s jr,,t