The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1808-11-08 00:00:00

COUNTY (IF STAFFORD.

Tile Form of the !tequila:on, as advertuted in the Staf-
fordshire Paper of Saturday last, appearing to he both irre-
gular and unprecedented, and it bciug my opinion that,
under Ilia Requisition, a real Meeting of die ri:eltu!dcra
of this County cannot be obtained, Iv on my part, enter ay
Protest against, and disavow any intention of attending a
DI ecti gig so convened.

Trentham, Nov. 4, not STAFFORD.
• The shdßlin•. and temporising of The Courier,
upon the Convention of Cintru, has been long
evident to the most superficial observer. it has
not the courage and matiliuess ofits fellow-labourer,
The Sun, to come forward and defend that mea-
sure, and the conduct of Ministers respecting it.
To put itself in direct opposition to the public
tech og, might diminish the number or its ai).
scribers; by supporting the public feeling, it mi;;ht
lose the favour of Ministers. It has, therefore,
thought fit to pursue a hollow, treacherous, and
insidious course, between these two extremes. It
affects to condemn the Convention, as loudly
as the most honest and independent print—while
it has recourse to every species of misrepresentation,
to protect Ministers from full and efficient inquiry.
Acting upon this base and perfidious policy, it says,
in allusion to the above correspondence, that " a
schism or division has taken place upon the intended
Meeting at Stufford, on Friday." This misrepresent-
ation is evidently wilful, and one more vile we have
seldom witnessed even in The Courier. There is
nothing in the correspondence to warrant an asser-
tion, that any difference of opinion has arisen upon
the subject of the Convention, or the propriety of
calling a meeting of the County upon it. The
Marquis of Stafford objects, not to the measure,
uor to the principle, but to the form of the adver-
tisement. This he considers " irregular and un-
precedented ;" and his only fear is, that, subject to
such informality, the real sense of the County can-
not be obtained. Hering mentioned The Suss we,
in justice, quote the following passage. as a contrast
to the deceitful conduct of The Courier, and on
expression of the real sentiments and wishes of Mi-
nisters and their retainers.

The party spirit," says 7%e Sum, " that wanted
to excite the people of Staffordshire to address the
Throne on the subject of the Convention of Cintra,
is, we are glad to find, likely to be effectually sub-
dued by the good sense and candour of a very large
majority in that county. The Marquis of Stafford,
we understand, has publicly signified that be does
Cot mean to attend the proposed Meeting. We
hope an equal portion of good sense and cand•ur
will be manifested wherever the advocates for pre-
j indication and insult to His Majesty, after his gra-
cious promise has been given, may attempt to spread
discontent, and that Englishmen, with their cha-
racteristic liberality, will patiently abide the inves-
tigation of a Court from which nothing but im-
partial justice will result."

We stated in a former Paper, that in the Court
thus punegyrised as so complete and competent
that nothing but impartial justice eau result from
it, the Member" are not upon oath, nor do they
hear evidence upon oath—the hlunibers are, be-
sides, chosen by the Ministers—the very tnenwhom
the public voice accuses as the real culprits; and
the oral or written evidence submitted to the Court,
thus constituted, is furnished by these very Alinis-
ters. We mean no reflection upon the Members of
the Court ; they are, we believe, all men of high
honour and strict integrity, but, we contend, that a
Court so constituted,with power's° imperfect fur the
elucidation of truth, does not bear that solemn and
imposing character, whose judgment can prove as.
tisfactory to the public. Ministers may, no doubt,
repeat, that to call for any other mode of inquiry,
whether a Parliamentary one or a Court Martial,
is all "party spirit," and 64 prejlitlication" and
" insult to His Majesty ;" but the good sense and
loyalty of the British pnhlic are not to be abashed
anal restrained by false accusations sad unmerited
abuse.

•.• Fur UN liiienirrO(O, tee. see she last Pete.