The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1819-11-27 00:00:00

Plic E 7d.

greatest distress at relies ing a subject which had
already exhausted so much of the attention of the
House. He trusted, however, that the importance
of the subject would justify him in tresisassmg still
further upon their attention in discharge of what hie
considered to be an indispensable duty. He would
preface what lie had to say liv expressing ins ene-
dial concurrence in every thing which
from the Honourable 111 over of the ild.asAt.
respecting the blessings of the Constittmon, And the
necessity of supporting and upholding it. Ilitt tnere
were many wars of supporting it. Paradise, it si..s
said, was a kingdom which had man}
he was one of those who would not
.du Intl with
men for mere opinions, when they store cot
ristent with the main principles lie wished t.i
force. He would not with fire and .sword extir-
pate Heretics—neither would he use such ti!,:ttit• cr

putting down the Radicals, 'noel) as hr cii,op:). uve,i
of their principles. tie first disapproved rf thei,
nieory of voting by ballot—it was even ineon,,:strnt
with their plan of universal suffrage—with that bal-
lot he could never agree, however useful i 1 may
in eases of local isithielice; and there was :mother
reason, which to him was an insurmoune.ilde

nathely, that the plan of the Radical% could not he
carried into cri'ect without listsrding, if not sul,-
ieriitig the existing institutions of the country.—
/ /liar, hear.)--Notwithstanding this opituon of
their plan, he disliked any ainendinent prodnotd
by the sword. Roger L'Ertraoge, in hi 4 ;its of
Lord Wen. Russell, said, " that a city skti:',

pretty thing on which to try a sword." T!.n,
not as it ought to be, nor against the itaeLca:s or
any other body of men ought the sword he bop-
',heti, for the political opinion* on which the• spe-
culated, even though their numbers (tt hieli he 0i:-
believed) amounted, as was stated in a l'aper cf
yesterday, to 2,835.000 men. The melancholy
state of the country was in no small degree tuduc►d
by the manner in which the laws affected the htcoplt ;
from year to year the people were des:raeltd, im-
poverished, and exposed, from their distres,ev, to
the seduction of the evil-minded. It was then na-

tural for the poor mail to say, that the realin sys•
not his flienal, nor the realm's law, and that hit po-
verty, not his will, led him into temptation. •11--
meetings of the people had been designsted
most hostile anilsweeping manner ; they carne %sit t
flags. on which were inscribed " Liberty or Death :•'
but to this part of the charge the lloiliduraLle
Member for Westminster (Sir Francia Burdett)
had given a final and conclusive answer, in which he
was cheered by this side of the House for the pur-
pose of :Mewing the principles on which we meant
'to act. It was also said that the people came to the
Manchester meeting with intentions hosttle to the
public peace. It was proclaimed that that meeting
was illegal on account of its numbers. To this
doctrine he coulclfever assent. Ile would appeal
-to the Members o ills House, whether, whenever
they had occasion to assist in public meetings, fur
the purpose of promoting • Petition, or for any
other business, they did not consider the greater the
number the greater the effect of their precreditigo,
and the more numerous in general, the more atten-
tion was excited when the result of such a meeting
was pressed on the consideration of the House, lie
was therefore decidedly averse to the propagation
of any notion which went to stigmatise public meet.
lugs because they were numerous. If such an opi.
nion were suffeied to prevail, public assemblies
would at length degenerate into close wa-
hine. But as to the real ground of imputation,
against the Manchester meeting, 1w knew nut how it
could receive general credence. There was no est-
dence whatever iu support of an inaiiirectineraly
movement. Look, for example, at the state of the
meeting. The men who attended it, brought with
them from their homes their wives and children. the
objects of their affection, and the security fur their
peaceful conduct. This must be admitted, untrue
it can be proved that the feelings of the people of
this country have undergone as rhange, and tlia;•
they are supposed to have become like the original
inhabitants of this island, who carried their remake
with them into the field of battle to animate them
to the combat. There was another sod Korot% .
reason for supposing that the people at Manchester
on the 16th August had no hostile intennott-lie
alluded to the position which they selects', as their
place of meeting. They had actually formed in
cal de sac, in a sort of mouse-trap, from which, ins
the event of danger, they could not escape.
position of St. Peter'a-field was a sort 1.1 obluog
square, at the evellues of which-were placed
.yro.
manry, regular, and artillery. The people had l,
retreat but on the kft of the rear flank, and out the
very line where reinforcements were posted in
of the military. Under such circumstances, it Imo
quite incredible to suppose the people cause theie
to make any insurrectionary movement.— ( Ilear.)-...
The Laws of England were tender of Litman hi-.
they interposed to save rather than to destroy. :not
the presumptions were always in favour of tor a,-
cowl— (Hear)—they threw no stumbling Idt.cks in.
the way of the subject, they on the contrary f. ced
round his liberty. The people of this country
were unlike the subjects of an ancient king., who
knew not the law, until they fell under the swim,
of the executioner. The Noble Lord oppesite
(Lord Castlereagh) had Said, that the Mag•strates
had on intention et first of acting under iiieltiot
Act, but that they merely wanted to esetatte
civil warrant. Be it so, but let them skew the ti—
cessity there existed of resorting to military a;il.
Nadin, the constable, by his own account, though
the most' unpopular main en Manchester. remit
parade through the ranks of the conateblca from
the house where the Magistrates were to the 4iuste
lugs; where then was the necessity of sending in a
ettilitartforce, at least until the civil power had
failed in theexecution of its duty ? He (ti;r
knew Colonel L'Ettrange, than *bons there was
slot a more valuable officer in the service. %Viten
he said this, lie must add. that if the' Colonel
on that day had ordered the cavalry to advance
into a mixed mob of women and siiikitew,
be had token upon biassed's teas), responsibility.