The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1810-04-20 00:00:00

LIVIckY DIVNER.

A Livery dinner was wren yesterday., at the Lore.
dim Tavern, by the Friends to a reform of ataitse
and corruption.
About 400 peesons sat down to dinner. Moor
some time Mr. Wattonan (isiong in t'te Chan),
gave the ~ Kiiiiea tseithli," which was drituk with
great enthusiasts. .
Mr. WA grail Ali again roar. He said that Awn '
this time laid year they hart met together upon an
extraordinary occasion. A gentleman, then pre-
sent, had brought forward a biome.% which had
made much progremitiotwitlietaimisig the great dor
couragetneuts which it kid met. Sorry however was
he to say, that in all the effort* and exertions which
had been made, there WWI no reason to believe that
the rights and pri t ilexes of the people were more int.
warded sod advanced. ( "Ipplause. ) He did not see
how he could better protowe the cause for which he
felt himself interested, than by giving the health of
Sir F. Burdett. Whateverrnight be the privileges for
which the. House of Common's was inclined to con-
tend, he should at till times maintain, that it was
the right of Englishmen, nut only to discuss the
measures of Go verinnent, but the conduct of their
Newest.° :rive., They had beard much of the
privileges of the House. They had been told of the
necessity of preserving the dignity of their proceed-
ings. Ile cuts alw iya happy to see them undertake
to vindicate them, but was aorpipied that they
should seem to feel it meat, whose act* wire most
calculated in bring it into disrepute. The. House of
Commutes was the right and lawful guardian of this
It lisrties of the people. Upon this plot of the clues.
lion, he should quote en anthoritv which they
should all respect, the authority or Mr. Fox. Hr
had stated, in • speech of his, 44 that the people of
this country rejoiced So the meeting of Parliament
at one tinie, because Parliament then met for the
protection of property; but that now they (mold
nu longer rejoice in it, because Parliament met fur
no other purposes than imposing burdeus." It was
surprising that sentiments awls as those should
have been permitted, and th:it it should have been
ti ght necisaary now to cotenant Sir Francis Bur-
dett to the Tower for sentimeuta tint wore itemise.
1 hey have thought it m cessary to support their
dignity. • but they had taken very bad means for
that•purpose ; for dignity could never be separated
froos iutegrity. Mr. lio.ke had spoken of the Bill
of Rights upn a fate etc mint'. It was ettivordioary
that he, awl those who acted a ith him, should over-
look those parts which are favourable to the peo-
ple. The House had, in ft-., t, set itself above the
Inas of the country ; and that assumption of
power they were ad hound to oppose. He
was sorry to a iv, that it was not in his power to
suite* siii_tle, grievance. which had hens reilryssed
he Incas. of that House. It as. the opsusou of
Lord Somers. that the King iiiin-elf could not go-
Vern contrary to law, boa surprising then was it,
that the Mouse of Commons shoisl.l attempt to set
itself abort- all It A , owl usurp iwicileges incon-
.sisterit with the liberties of the people. The best
way for them to recover theirchar teterafthey thought
that it required to be justified, was to pay attention
to the voice of tie peoples cud to cm/rider that Pe-
tition, which the City and Livery of London had
thought it their duty to present in forctir of a ye-
form no Parhatnent. Ile had no disoosit ~,,,, and hr
was sure they hid none, to et y down the Parliament.
The Parliament ought to be their best protection
against arbitrary poser; but if, Upfllo experience, it
was found. that, instead of oppostor. it co-operated
with it, they were justified to hesitating as to the
Iconfidence they 0 npu.rt piner'its those who pretend=
ed to say that they represented lidil proillV. It *OS

not by -such acts aS they had uslooled towards
Sir Francis Corolett and Ilr. John Gale Jonrs,
that they were 13cely to recover their character *owl
reputation w•th the publia..ll.• concluded with vv.
iu " The health of Sir Francis Burdilf, and the
liberties of the people, and iu:sy. los • fforts obtain
It full, fair, and fire reprearotitiolii of thru►
in Par-
liararnt."—(Lard and reiterated applause,"
Mr. JOlllll BURDETT ia.r to return his thank. to

the meeting, for the very dam ring manner iu %Inch
they had drunk the toast just propo.ed; 4X-
prerwal a very strong degree of gratitude for their
approbation of the c loci of Sir F. Burdett: he
kiwis that Sir Francis wiei happy in the consemnsness
of having discharged 4 great public ditty, aiol
having coutrilmteil„ by his conduct, as he hoped, to
support the rights earl liberties of his countrymen.
( Load applansts J—He culture they would all feel
great satisfaction a understanding. that Sir F. Bur-
dett was never in better health and 'pints.. th. 1.1 at
the present moment.— ( Llird appldsues.)—lle felt
that he had undertaken a just coos,—that be was
supported by a magnanimous peopl e—atop that he
Was bound to protect the laws of the land. and the
rights and privileges of the subject. lie concluded
with drinking their health*.
W A MIS s • then proposed as a toast, " That
all house-breukcrs, and their abettors, by analogy.
singht be brought to condign punishment," winch
was drunk kb* tuthusiosm.

.1%1r:.W A a rem•ts then proposed " The health of

Whiihread. the warm friend and constitutional
advocate of the rights of the people." which was re-
ceived w.th the greutet,t enthusiasm.
Mr. Wiiivaat•to said, that, arcip.tonted is he

WKS 10 11111Ifeall a popular asseinialy, at, I one which
called itself popular. yet it was not without
difficulty that he addressed the present Meet-
ing ; this was the second time that they had
done him the honour to tunic hint to dinner—it
was tile second tune that he received thanks at
their hands. Almost the whole of his political
life, bath before, and since that period, was a
striic;le and a rerostatice nirainst power utio-h
he felt to be unconstitutional; a struggle which he
hoped was not wholly inedectual, awl a resistance
which he expected would not be entirely without
ies use. He roll int 41.likulty in Illitllt4lliing "1401
for there was nothing within him that
shrank from opposition iii a just cause ; but there was
something within him wln,,h resisted all approach
and etscroatchoseitt upon the iitberttes of the people.
it ors not neces.ary to remind them of tie pr,-
ceedings of the last awl preseut Sessions; without
arrogance he might sac, that he had borne& wont,-
nent part in them. and it was II ;n.44111014211 to hod
that his conriort had ou.t with their oltptstiration.
In :inc., when there w. niai:t "
en:Wit:to npn t one annt!,r, attd so trimly prin. spies
uoineudnig fin 7 itinnoroy, it WAS Urn moult