The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1804-10-01 00:00:00

COMMON 11.1 LL.

•
• Saturday being Michaelmas Day, a Common '
Hall was held as usual at Guildhall, in seder to
eile.9 a Lot d Mayor for the ensuing yeti:. There he.
ing a general expectation that some observations '
would be made on the conduct of the, late Sheriff,
during the continuance, and particUlarly at the clos-
ing of the poll for the last election for Middleses:,
the Hail was uncommonly crowded by a most R-
ayed:Ole and much more numerous assemblage of
Liverymen than we ever remember to have seen on a
Similar occasion. A little befote twelve n'cloCk the
LORD MAYOR, attended by the City Officers. She-
riffs, and several Aldermen and Common Council-
men in their g• wns, arrived at Guildhall, and pro-
ceeded to the Painted Chamber, where, having staid•
some short time, they went in procession to the
church adjoining, where they heard prayers and a
sermon, as usual, on the return of the festival. Af-
ter returning from thence, the Loan M Atoll. She-
riffs, and several Aldermen, snout a quarter past
one o'clock, made their appearance on the hustings,
and severally bowed to the Livery. The new Sher
were, on their appearance in front of the hustings,
greeted with the loudest and most univetsal plau-
dits ; as were Mr. Alderman CoMae, Mr. Alderman
Prten•so, Sir WILLIASI SCAINIA, and several
others. Mr. Alderman SHAW and Sir IVILLIAm
Lc!Gtrots (the two late Sheriffs) were much
hissed affd hooted. Sir W. Curls received a MU.,
tus e of hisses And applauses, as did one or two others,
whose names we do not know. As soon as they had
severally saluted the Livery, and the Crier had made
the usuai proclamation ;

'the ltecoane it (Mr. Silvester) came forward,
and addressed the Lively tl.e following purport :
" Gentlemen of the Livery, you are assembled here
this day, according to annual custom, in order to
m c..vaiee ni a Chief Magistrate for the ensuing
year. `Me proper officer will nominate to yuu those
gentlemen who have not passed the chair, and are
sat;tleci to your choice ; and I have not the smallest
u.uffit but you will choose such as are perfealy pro-
per to fill tom high and important office at this mo•
soentous Isis. '
i

Tae Lor.D .dAvon and Court of Aldermen then
retired ; and

The COWNWN SCRJEAST (Mr. Knowlys) imme-
diately came forward, and spoke to the following ef.
felt Gertlemen of the Livery, your worthy
Recorder bacing explained to you the cause for
which the present meeting is assertible'', it becomes
my duty to read over to you the list of nurses of
those Aldermen who Are to be submitted to your
choice, from which you will rem'. two to the Cow;
of Aldermen, of which two that v_:ourt will choo,e
one to till that ex sited station for the year ensuing."
tie then read the names of

Peter Perchard, Ell Alderman and Goldsmith. (Loud ap-
Avows.)
James Shaw, E., Alderman and Scrivener. (hisses.)
Sir oil, Kt. A.derinau and Fish.n.noter. (his.es.)
Cita Flow.r, Ia l Alit •riii.matt I f lu,ie , and Frame work
koilter• (Loud and vncrat plaudits
Sir M. Klimhato, B.ft Ala.:mull and Stationer.

On the chew of hands beii,g requested by the
Common Serjeant, after the repetition of each of
t e aoriee names, every ha d was held up for the
Aldermen PericHasa and FLowet.
The Sheriffs then retired, and soon afterwards
he Com No.:a SLIIJILANT came forward and said,
" am to inform you, gentlemen, the Sheriffs are of
opinion that the eledion has fallen upon Mr. Alder-
man PLACIISAD and Mr. Alderman FLUWEIII, as
the two Aldermen returned by the Livery to the
Court of Aldermen tin. their choice of one of them
to serve the office of Lord Mayor for the year en-
suing." (Loud applougel.)
In a few minutes alter, the Coustom SCSI CANT
again came forward, and said, that, since the elec-
tion, a poll had been demanded fur the Aldermen
Li tt,itToN .Ltd SHAW.
Mr. WA ITMNIANI then came forward with an evi-
dent intention to address the Livery. lle was stop.
ped. however, by the Common Serjeant, and a con-
versation took place between them and the Sheriffs,
which we could not hear. On a general cry of hi,'
hue,hra, ipeak, WAIT H MAN rpeah Readdress-
ed the livery as fellows " Gentlemen of the Livery,
I am by no means surprised that some gentlemen
near me should be extremely anxious that neither
myself nor any other Liveryman should address you
on the present occasion. I am, however, truly sen-
sible, that I have a right to speak, and in now in-
sisting on the exercise of that right, I am only ad.
ing in vindication and support of your rights, which
are so highly valuable to all. Laud and seneral ap-
'pie 'sr.) In the election of Aldermen which you
just made, I am happy to find you have expressed
your reprobation and abhorrence of the conchal of
the late Sheriffs." (A cry from several parts—No.
170 ! f rl e, Jahr ! o LI! from other parts, afrfrloases
and hear, hear, hrar !) his kind of tumult lasted
some time, during which Mr. W. was seemingly in
warm conversation with the Sheriffs and Common
Serjeant. At length, however, he obtained silence,
so as to conclude by saying, " I will nut detain you
many minutes. I perfectly acquiesce in the elec-
tion cuu have this day made."
'I Common Serjeant then informed the Li-
very, that a poll had been demanded on the part
of Mr. Alderman Irtowta ; that the Sheriffs had
declared they would proceed to take the pill at
three o'clock, and for that day it would continue
open only one hour.
Mr. Wa mina?. came forward once more, and
said, " Having been informed, Gentlemen, that this
is not a proper time to address you on the subjeS of
the conduct of the late Sheriffs. but that I shall have
an opportunity om a future day, I will only trespass
an you so far as to say, that as a poll has been de-
manded for Mr. Alderman Ftuwurt, and that poll
is to commence at three o'clo‘k, I hope you wid
chew your inflexible determination to support the
choice you have just made, by an early attendance,
and confirmation of the same by your votes. I will
only date, in addition to what I have said, that I
consider this as no party question at all. It deeply af-
fe.is the right of cleSion, in which we are all so inti-
mately concerned : and, had the decision of the She-
riffs been direaly the contrary of what it was, and
they had pursuzci the same illegal measures in f
your of the opposite candidate, I should have con-
sidered their conduhl as equally culpable and repre-
hensible, and they should have equally censured
accordiagly."—(Lraiti egipplanu.u.)
A Mr. WMITS dna came totward, as if to ad-

Tress tLe Livery ; but he seemed to 1)c 3tfirped by
the Common Serjeant, herwem whom-and him a
short conversation took place, tat we could not
;tear, and he withdrew with a Vettell paper in his
hand.
The Meeting th-o.broke ;till the commence-
meta of di:, Pull, at three•cisc ock.
At four o'clock, the Poll closed for the isy; and
the numbers polled appcated as follows:

For Mr. Alkrsan PerchaM . . . . IG3
For Mr. Aidonumi . I'
For M.. M.l..vertUa Shaw
Mr.•WA ITli MAN then forward, and address-
ed the Livery netrly in the following wards:
"GENTLEMEN OF THE LIVERY,
_ .

•
" I shall take up but a very few moments of our
time, in observing, that the present is neither a
party, nor a personal contest between individuals ;
but it is entirely a contest for the purpose of
asserting the rights and privileges of a free,
independent, and unbiassed Eleaion ;.—a right,
which is held sacred by every Inver of fi se-
dum, and by every sincere friend of the happy Con-
stitiitinn of this country.
" Gentlemen, if you should elect Mr. Ad.-man
Shaw, you will be guilty of a gross and palpahlz
infringement and violation of that Constitution,
and of that liberty, which you enjoy under it" (here
there was a great cry of No, no ! (111
_ph( ! be.") %When silence was resumed, he Conti-
nued," So far from being intimidated by these marks
of disapprobation, 1 am encouraged by them, and
am the more convinced that the contest in which we
Are now engaged will end in the full establishment
of our invaluable rights. If any man who hears
me thinks proper to advance a contrary opinion, if
he has the spirit, let him now stand up and answer
me, if he can ; hut, Gentlemen, our cause cannot
be answered by futile arguments.
" If you ele& that one person to be returned, you
will subjea yourselves and your privileges to the
most fatal iatringenients, attempts at which were
made on former occasions. I refer you, Gentlemen,
to one instance, in the attempt niade !about eight
years ago, in the case of Alderman Cow at, and
you surely have not forgotten the conduit pursued
at the late eleiclion for the County of Middlesex,
The majority of th:s day's poll may be attributed
to the natural and spontaneous &rim arising from
your anxiety to support the true friends of she Con-
stitution : and I entreat that you will not suffer the
smallest relaxation .1 that anx:4ty; for, by support-
ing the freedom of eleaion, we evince our true zeal
for the Constitution. The Gentlemen whom we sup-
port are the friends of that Constitution, because
they supp it the true and genuine spirit of it : the
Gentlemen at the other side assert, that they also
are its friends ; it may be so, but they support
only its corruptions and abuses, I again re-
peat it, that you support the principles of
liberty, by supporting the freedom of eletlion, for
that I reedom is the great basis of our liberties and
privileges--and, I oust, there is no man in this
assembly, whose heart disavows it, and whose ex-
erthns will not support it. I therefore entreat your
early attendance here oa M.mday morning."
This speech was r..ceived by a great majority of
the assembly with unbounded acclamatirms. Af-
ter which, the Common Crier proclaimed, that the
poll was adjourned until nine o'clock on Monday
morning, from which hour the books will remain
open until three.

An Especial Court of Aldermen was held after
the Common Hall, when the LORD MAYOR laid
before the Court a letter from Gt u ROE CLARK, F sq.
Alderman of the Ward of Bassishaw, requesting
permission to resign his gown ; which the Court
permitted, and precepts were ordered to be issued
for the el:!aion of another person in his room.
The thanks of the Court were voted to the LORD
MAYOR'S Chaplain, for his sermon preached before
the Court and the Livery/of the several Companies
of this City, at the parish church of St. Lawrence
Jewry on this day. before the elesaion of LI/RD
MAYOR.

EAST INDIA VOLUNTEERS.