The National Register.
London, England, 1812-03-29 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL. REGISTER. _

197

derived from this country, and Weir! receiving the produce of taxes
wrung from the very hearts of the people whom they had already
plundered ! He, asked, had any grievance, of which the public had
occasion to complain, been redressed ? Had any redress been afforded
where complaints were made in Parliament? On this subject, he !legged
only to refer to the case of two persons, at the time Members of dui
Administration, who were accused of trafficking in seats in the Com-
mons House of Parliament—and who, though their guilt was not dis•
puted, were suffered to pass, not only with impunity, but who were
still suffered to live on the National Taxes. He should not take up the
time of the Livery, with detailing a great variety of abuses. There
was no tax from which the people of this country, however unable to
pay, could escape with impunity. They had Inquisitors even to look
isto the state of their private concerns. if they made a return of their
income which was not satisfactory, they were surcharged, mid, if they
.refused to pay, however excessive the surcharge might be, they were
:dragged, like offenders, before the tribunal : and yet, while they were
ea persecuted for payment of tales imposed on them, they had the
niertification to see those very taxes squandered in the way be had de-
:acribed. There was another recent grievance of which the public had
cause to complain, and this was, that a deprecicated Paper currency was
now on the point of being made equal to a le7al tender. This was the
more to be deprecated, when the mode of proceeding by the Bank, in
the case of forged notes, was taken into consideration. The forged note
being detained, and the party from whom it was received being called
on for .payment, without being put into a situation, from receiving
back the note, of being enabled to recover payment of it from the per-
son from whom he might have received it. Two such cases had oc-
curred to himself within two days.—(..l.fixed approbation and hisses.)—
He hoped Gentlemen would answer him, if he had said any thing amiss.
He should not detain them farther at present, but should read the Re-
solutions, which are in substance as follows :

" That they viewed with pain and anxiety a corrupt influence remain-
ing in the administration of Govern's.. ent which injured the peop!
they were of opinion, that sinecure places and other situations ut ,ier
the patronage of the Ministry were in t hentselves an evil, and sw.iled
a ruinous System ot taxation, rendered more enormous by the arbitrary
mode of gathering it ; that they had seca a delusive and fictitious paper
currency substituted in the room of the ancient coin of the Realm, and
supported by pernicious laws; • that an insulting disregard to publis
opinion had been openly manifested hyParliament in refusing to n, 4aire
into the unfortunate expedition to Walcherett, and the causes ot tl:e
appointment of the Duke of York to be Commander in Chief; they
had seen measures adopted which converted the empty threats cf th.•
enemy into permanent misery, by ruining the commerce of the country,
and occasioning an extension of the penal code; they had belivld
foreign mercenaries adopted itno military and other offices, in prefer-
ence to the natives ot .4ugland, who by birth and abilities had the most
equitable claims • they had represented those griev inces by Petitions,
Which had been disregarded, and they had beheld an inclination manifest
itself to repress inquiry, while right of petitioning was denied, and
the customary access to the Throne shut up ; that those oppressions and
grievances were all occasioned by a con opt and inadequate representa-
tion of the People; that from the open hostility avowed by the Prince.
Regent towards those pernicious systems, they had expected his eleva-
tion to the unrestricted (ace of Regent, as the arrival of a new era,
which . would totally annihilate all ground of cothplaint ; that not.
withstanding. the pledges given by his Royal Highness, they had beheld
those men continued in since who had all along manifested no inclina-
tion to ameliorate the state of representation ; that the continuation of
those persons was alone attributable to strong intrigue and faction be-
hind the Throne ; that finally it was their opinion, that a dutiful Address
should be presented to his Royal Highness, praying that he- would be
.graciously pleased to dismiss his present Ministers, and nominate
others, who might restore the ancient constitutional glory of the nation."
Mr. FAVFLL seconded the motion ; he observed, that the.sltuation of
the country now, both externally and internally, was such, that to pre-
sent a flattering address would be to ruin both Prince and .people; no-
thing but Reform in Parliament could save the State
Mr. SA:dui:l. DixoN stepped forward. He had no intention of ad-
dressing the Common Hall to-day, had it not been that' he'wiAlted to
shew them that there was still among the Livery one man who ha •1
courage enough to express his disapprobation of the Resolutions of tins
day. He felt as strongly as any man the distresses of the country ;_. but
he submitted that the course now proposed to he pursued would in-
crease, and could not diminish, those distresses.—(Norse cud uproar .' )
He claimed to be permitted to state his opinion. He asked it not 311 a an
indulgence, but as a right. The Gentleman who had moved thestiter
solutions for the approval of the Court, had justly stated, thaffOr the
last twenty years he had addressed them on similar occasions. In this
the Gentleman was correct—he had uniformly, year after year,
treated them with a bill of fare of grievances, which as they were given
to understand, had, notwithstanding the exertions o#, the Honourable
Gentleman and his Coadjutors, been yearly increasiti (Cries of no,
no I—That is a misrepreseutution.)—There was fib. . . r part of the
world in which the right of speech, or of writing, was !crated, except
in this country. Here we could speak and write what we chose.—
(Cries vino, 110 i )—We could speak and think what we pleased—(yrs,
in: COULD think).—And we could
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196

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