The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1826-09-01 00:00:00

EARL FITZWILLIAIL

Tuesday evening was appointed for the display of the
fire-works at the park, at the front of Mahon Palace. 'Hie
Noble Earl, accompanied by the excellent Mr. Citaloner,
walked out during the day to witness the preparations that
were making. Thousands of every rank and condition
from the remotest parts of the country assembled at an early
hour. Joy beatticil in every countenance, and Fitzwilliatn.
the object of every eye and of every heart, was pleased to
repeat, " that gratitude is not the least distinguished of
Itish virtues."

At six o'clock, a small lint respectable party at
down to dinner in the palace dining-hall. Amonlst the
trstitiguislied gue R:li were noticed the Rev. Mr. 'Wynn,
Rector of Shiletali ; Rev. M. Murphy, P.P. of Cwnew ;
and the RPV. J. itoaelio, of the College of Maynooth, who
ha been iovited by his Lordship the day of his visit to
i !lapel.
iv
ie venerable Earl was in the best of spirits, and was
! delighted to see Englishmen and Irishmen, Protestants
' and Catholics, with the clergy of different creeds, all as it
were blended together in a fine surtial feeling, all blessing
the Lord of the people, the bright messenger of peace, of
consolation, and 'of joy.
At half-past eight the fire-works commenced, and the
company retired i.) an apartment, from whence an easy view
was had of the ;;rand exhibition. About ten the illustrious
Ear!, :tin ivied Cy his respectable guests, went out to the
park. There was a short interval in the performance on
the platform, and the moon shone quite faintly ; yet
the news of the presence of the great object of the evening's
joy was soon communicated to all around, and cheers and
buzzes of thousands re-echoed from the surrounding hills.
The fire-works were immediately resumed, and the first
exhibition that tnet his Lordship's eye was his own fume
i i large brilliant letters, with an appropriate passage from
Virgil—

FITZWILLIAM,
" clarum ac venerabile namen
Semper hone., nouienque, laudesque manebunt."
Next the name of

MILTON.
" Ric vie, hic est queui tibi proinisi.”
And immediately after,
COMA/NEIL
" Magnus ah integroveclomm namcitur ordo :
Jam redit et Virgo: redeunt Raft:mit: regna :
Jam nova progenies ccelo demittitur alto !"
After some delay his Lordship returned to the drawing-
room, much gratified at what lie had seen, and was pleased
to express how much he was delighted at the good and or-
derly conluct of the poor peasantry on the occasion. The
houses of Coolattin, and many of the neighbouring gen-
tlemen, were illuminated. The illumination of the cha-
pel and chapel-house, situated on the beautiful eminence of
Tomacork, was most splendid, and had a very fine effect,
when viewed from Carnew. Rockets ascended and Ro-
man candles blazed till three o'clock in the morning. The
ascent of a balloon at eleven o'clock was peculiarly inter-
esting. In short, the works were such as have been rarely
seen in Ireland or England for a number of years, and we
are happy to add that they were not unworthy of the
Noble Lord whom they were intended to honour.—Wez-
la" yd Paper.

PETITION TO THE KING FROM GREENOCK.

The following Petition to the King, numerously signed
by inhabitants of Greenock, is about to be transmitted to
the Secretary for the Home Department, to be laid before
his Majesty:—

" Untqttill(ing's Most Excellent Majesty,
"The hap q. ehttion of the undersigned Inhabitants of the
1'6,8 6 a I,
.it likiriall,..:Thilt • t Petitioners have perceived, with the
7kding.k.U. t, the ruin in which the Merchants and
tar riti:ideruf,
miserly
uannt,fydlirress ve beewlithalummth utnhiev eTollry ing-
'CiOlotseltirebeen uvcrwhelmed.)
" That the inhabitants of this town have, in common with your
Majesty's other subjects, sustained severe loss, and suffered much
embarrassment, and the operatives have the melancholy prospect of
being, in many instances, deprived of all employment, or, being
employed, of receiving a rentuners ikon for their labours which is
totally inadequate to their support.
"!That while your Petitioners cannot sufficiently admire the
unexampled patience and forbearance, nn the one hand, with wire i
the labouring classes, particularly in Scotland, have endure I the
privations to which they have been subjected, nor the liberality, on
the other h ind, with which their masters, and those in more opu-
lent circumstances, have come forward to the relief of their dis-
tressed brethren, it seems plain that the contributions of the chari-
table. at best degrading to the receivers, and even at present quite
insufficient for their support, will gradually decrease, from the ex-
haustion of means ; and it is to be feared that the increasing priva-
tions of the labouring classes, approaching rapidly to starvation,
may urge them to measures destructive to the well-being of
a Oetel y.
" That while every prudent man, and every well-disposed sub-
ject, would deprecate: an attempt to disturb the public tranquil.
thy, your Petitioners, in participating these sentiments, ate per.
suaded that,to prevent some dreadful convulsion in the state, arising
from the desperation of your Majesty's otherwiseJoyal subjects,to re-
lieve their distresses some measures ought to be resorted to more
effectual than those hitherto adopted.
*, That as the difficulties of the merchants and manufacturers
have accumulated, and the means of support of the operatives de-
creased, grain has increased in price, and thus added to the general
calamity. The crops in this country have been unusually light,
and the price of grain has now nearly attained to that at which it
arrived uttang the late war, while money, being less plentiful, has,
of course, increased In value, and the wages of those artificers and
labeArers in manufactories still continued in employment greatly
r.--dticed. _ . _ _ . .

" That the petitioners venture, with the greatest submission,
humbly to express their opinion of the doubtful policy of the laws
regulating the importation of foreign grain, by which the mercan-
tile and manufacturing interests are obviously sacrificed to those of
the landed proprietors. Your petitioners have, with the other com-
mercial members of the community, tilt the baneful influence of
these laws; and, in particular, they have thereby been deprived of
a source of trade of considerable benefit to them—the manufacture
■nd exportation of biscuit fiir the use of the colonies belonging to
your Majesty's dominions, which are now supplied with that coin.
'nudity by the Continental nations.
" That, however, without entering upon the abstract question of
the propriety of these laws, your petitioners submit, that there are
certain crises, when laws, in other circumstances wise and politic,
ought to be relaxed, and made to yield to the exigency of the tines.
" That the wisdom of the late Parliament foresaw the necessity
of soma temporary measure for alleviating the distress of the pre-
sent crisis, and accordingly. previous to its dissolution, vested in
the hands of your most gracious Majesty, sitting in Council, the
powet of opening the ports for the admission of 500.000 quarters of
grain, and to allow 300,000 quarters M be taken from the bonded
warehouses.
" That your petitioners conceive that common humanity, as well
as a regard to the preservation of the lives of some of your Ma-
jesty's loving subjects, and the tranquillity of the kingdom, impe-
riously call upon your Majesty to remove, in so far as the power of
doing so has been committed to your Majesty, those artificial bar-
riers which prevent this nation from procuring from other countries
that nccescury of life which the bounty of Providence has provides!.
" They therefore presume to lay this their humble petition at the
foot of your 3lajenty's throne.
6' May it therefore please your Majesty to take this petition into
consideration. and, by an Order in Council, to appoint the ports to
be opened for the admission of 500.000 quarters of grain, and to
I allow 300.000 quarters to he taken from the bonded a arettouses as
also speedily to assemble Parliament, and recommend to its wisdom
to revise the Corn Laws. and abrogate the same as far as they are
hurtful to the interest of commerce ; and your petitioners will ever