The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1819-10-07 00:00:00

BitISTOL MEETING. Ocrosce 4.

The Miyor having refused to grant the use of
the Guildhall of this city. accordirig to the prayer
u regiwition to that I ffei.t. signed by about 50
inliabitooto, freeholders and frertnen of Bristol, fur
the purpose of considering the late dreadful events
at Maio heater, &c, a very large concourse of peo-
ple repaired, agrerahly to several advertisements
placarded through the rations streets, to Brandon-
hill (upon which some 'iodine* had been hastily
eracted), by two o'clock this -Afternoon. At three
nrecn.eiy the proceedings of the day commenced,
be Mr. Winton's moving Mr. Stocking into the
Chair, which Iris seconded sod carried.
Mr. STOCKING. in returoing thanks for the ho-
nour and responsibility conferred upon him by this
office. regretted that it kid not fallen into more
able hands. fie should take this opportunity of
adverting to the conduct of the late Chief Magic-
bate of this city, who had refused them the use of
their Gnildhall. At the seine time, it was not his

intennim to make any utineeeosary or invidious re-
mark upon the propriety or impropriety of that
cone:net : all lie had iii view was, to observe, in
en-tear to those who entertained great prejudices
agaillet meetings held in the open air, that they
wire 11.. W ihiver to convene them there by the de-
termination of the Chief Magi.trates. For his own
earl, hr had reaeon to lie dissatisfied with the
event ; for lie thought the spot ui which they now
stood a much more eligible our than that where-in
they should here met, bad the requisition been
aeceded to. lit Ilse latter instalice he should
not have hail the honour to address above one
fourth of the numerous assembly whom he now be.
held. Ile could roily conclude, therefore, that
those who hail denierl the 11411 thought this a better
place, lie inn.' nest istowr•e ell the conduct of
a certain class of gentlemen whom he perceived to
be absent, lint *ha ought to have hero there. He
meant the IVitigs.-../Hear.f—Now, they were not
met there to th-euas a party question, or the meek%
of one particular system of Refit, in uvrr those of an-
other ; but they had nal to consider no less
qat.tam
.them the constitution of the
coootey was to be finally extinotiished. And yet
he dud think, that the apathy &sem creel by those
gentlemen in regard to the rufferings of the people,
proved that iaah3ag Was to be expected front them.
A grist mars persons assembled at Nlancht sier
order:lloy sad legally, as those getitlemen to whom
he now addressed limisrlf might have done. These
persons were shamel..ily outraged ; and it was upon
this fatal oct urreiiee that the follownig requisition
was presented to the Mayor.—[Here the requisition
was read.—Sneh were the trims of that requioi-
time ; lint the real question for their consideration
was, whether they were prepared to give op their
yet remaining liberties, or to maintain their few
remaining rielos which yet were left to them.
lir to recover those which they had been depriv.
eel of ? Would they rennin, passive and inactive
spectator,. while Lords Castlereagh and
mouth erected the Plunder(' of despotism on
the :Mos of their niece free Constitution ? It had
beets said, that they were prentaturely judging the
Tiro' ' rot riding without sufficient evidence.
Mr. Stocking went on to *hew that this charge op-
elii d fir better in other quarters ; and that the in-
terruption i.t a peuerable meeting on the Ifith of
August, I>tt ulie Magistrates, was an experiment bi-
te-toted to a-certain how far the people would put
up with that conduct from them. If they were not
roused by this atrocious conduct of the Magistrates,
let them remember the efforts made by Ministers in
1817, which made their opinion clear, that either
tiny most pot down public meetings, or public
meetings would put them down. They wanted to
carry a feeling of this sort into Parliament, by tneairs
of which, soil with the aid of another " green
Inig"—/ I finghtes,i—they might be enabled filinlly
to suoperld nor tree C 011141104014 it was eVidellt that
the attentot was to be made ; but as it would look
very ludicrous for Ministers to use the same means
agaill to going to Parliament for the same object,
the attempt was now to be hazarded without a PUS.
pension of the Habeas Corpus Act.—(.Shame !)
But the spirit of the people was noosed, and they
would find much difficulty in endeavouring to re-
duce it to their wishes,. lle then went on to prove,
that upon their own rhewiug, as much as in the acts
charged siroinot them, the Alogistrates of Mooches-
ter had shamefully violated the laws. Upon the
conduct of the yeomanry, he said, they were called
in to disperse the multitude. What was their duty ?
'1 o disperse the multitude ; and if any one remained
there after a certain nine, they wear to take him
into custody : but it was not their duty to slaugh-
ter men and women. Ile trusted that that day
would smut arrive, when the righteous rengeassee of
the all-seeing Lord should overtake, iii its swift
et• . the guilty victims of its offended preteens.
After this, he adverted to the condoct of Mr. Hunt,
which lie considered to have beret entitled to appro-
bation ; and cotecluded by a spirited exhortation to
the crowd, to preserve the stiletto' order, and to part

in the moat perfect harmony.--i'Lmsd and centinurd
*miaow.)
Mr. WALKER called the attention of the Meet.
ing to some " domestic" cavalry, three or floc
troopers of whom were seen movistairasadibou(t;oth,i.e
tohn.t.y.
4'
skirts of the lull. There are, todeed," he uia.
" some Talton yeomanry ; but, h
are not Manchester yeomanry !" Much .roprise
had been mortised at the conduct of the Whit:soli
which he most heartily joined ; and as fur the alr—to •
of their Mayor he did toot see that it could have t
him to have presided that day among theta,__
(•4 No, mo.")—No doubt, on the contrary,
have done him much honour to have that
Here the worthy gentlemass entered into a I.oi
planation of some facts of a local nature,
fr rester to the immediate object of this
Mr. Walker then read several document., all re.
specting the Alanchester Meeting of the ltith Au.
goat, and it. consequences.
Withers, Williams, Crwns, Wint„,,,
and other gentlemen, spoke to the mime effect, iti,d
moved several Resolutions: after which, the Chair.
man proceeded to put them separately, and bring
all seconded, they were carried una tt ttt 9uslrs
The molt perfect good order and good ',weer
prevailed throughout the day, sod this ptsaserptta
meeting discersed with that quietness and facility
for which thole of a similar 'mum, lately c4lted,
have been-so invariably distinguished.