The National Register.
London, England, 1814-07-17 00:00:00

JULY 17.

• Monday a most unmerous Meeting of the Electors of Westmin.
?ter took place, in Palace Yard, to consider of the propriety of
putting Lord Cochrane again in nomination ter Westminster.
The business commenced by the High -Bailiff reading the Re-
qnisition. He then read two letters, one from Lord Cochrane, and
the other from Mr. Sheridan. Lord Cochrene's letter Melosed
copy of the speech made by his Lordship in the House of Commons,
requested Mr. Mor.is to read it to the Meeting. This the
High Bailiff declined. stating, that it eontained matter which would
subject the reader to the penalties of libel. Mr. Sheridan's letter
was then read, it disavowed all intention of oppogieg Lord Coch-
rane's re-alectien, and declared it to be Mr. S.'s opinion, that every
expelled Member had right to appeal to his Constituents. This let-
ter was received:.pith great applaese.
Sir Francis Burdett addressed the Meeting. The friendly fvel-
ing and patriotic spirit which actuated the electors of this great
metropinis were, be said, well known to him, but he had never
before witnessed the ebullitions of their zeal with so nitwit satisfic-
tion as 'an the present occasion, because they had never berme been
called forth on an occasion of so much importance. The question
which they were at present to determine was no less than whether ,
an intioceat individual should be destroyed by the machinations of ,
corruption and power, or whether he should he Maillt.llllo by the
alike of the electors of Westmin: ter, in that character of integrity
tied hopour which in his (Sir Francis !Widen's) opinion, he had
never for a moment forfeited. Mr. Sheridan, in the letter which
they had jest heard, had withdrawn his pretensions; what those pre-
tensions might he, it was not for him to judge: but whatever they
were, he had withdrawn them in favour of Cochrane, and an
act more graceful or mote politic he conk) not have performed at
the present instant. The Hon. Baronet said, that in the times in
which we lived, when every latitude was given in the ititerprelation
of the Jew to innetelo and inference, it was impossible for ;try Mall
to k7,ow whether what he said, or wrote, was a libel or not :
whether in what he had to address to the Meeting he might not
incur the penalties of libel, was as much out of his consideration as
out or his power to aseei talus Lord Cochrane, with that innocence,
and that fortitude, which he who felt • conscious of his innocence
could always maintain, had made an appeal to the House of Com
mans in Ins own defence, which. though it hail been made to them
without success, could not certainly be made to the country in vain.
On this occasion what was the conduct of the known leader of that
august body ? He gets up, with all the blushing bottoms of his
.blue rihbon hanging round him, and by bolding out a threat to an
intimidated and restricted press, at the very time that. the House
arc at his express and repeated solicitation, inflicting on Lord Coch-
rane a deeper stigma than any he had vet suffered, will not sutler
the people of England to hear of his defence. The Noble Lord,
however, more anxious for the good opinion of the public, and for
that of his constituents, than for any other consideration, had beets
desirous to make his appeal to them, and was ready to take all ;he
consequeuces of this art of disobedience to the notice from the
Treasury Befell on his own head Were there was a (ay, of read,
read !) Sir Francis Burdett reminded the Meeting, that the High
Bailiff had Awes n himself always ready to do his ditty to them : at
the same time it was necessary to him on this, as well as every other
occasion, to use his own discretion and judgment, and it would be
unhandsome in them to press bins to a atep which he thought it int-
pi oper to take, both front regard to prudence, and to the duties of
his official situation. It was unnecesaary for him (Sir Francis) to
tatter into the details by which the Noble Lord had cleared his
character to the satisfaction of so many respectable and impartial
Persons, nor should he throw out any imputation on the jury who
had coevieted him. Under all the circumstances of the ease, con-
sidering the artful manner of getting up the evidence on the side of
the pros cution, and the weakness of the defenee, he di4l not wee-
der that Lord Cochrane had been brotight in guilty of a crime, of
yodel' the Hon. Baronet was fully persuaded that lie was as incapa-
ble as any of the persons wham lie then addressed. The evidence
previously- published by a set of per-ons calling themselves the
Stock Exchange Committee, had indeed had the effect of preju-
dicing the public mind against him, and Lord Cochrane :night be
truly said to have been convicted in almosty very man's mind betel e
his trial. All that was wanting was campleted by the summing tip
of the Judge ; which he (Sir F.) described as that sort of summing
up which consists in leaving out all the Veins on one side of an ac-
count, and adding to and exaggerating all those on the other. But
a judge should have no passions, no feeling of partiality. The elo-
quence of the Noble Lord ou the Beath was not less remarkable
than it was unfortunate : it could not be forgutten, it would alwa!s