The Sun.
London, England, 1840-02-28 00:00:00

SECOND EDITION

SUN OFFICE, Seven o' Clock.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY MEETING
(THIS DAY.)

Another Meeting of the Freeholders of Middlesex was
held to-day at the Freemasons' Ta►ern, for the purpose of
taking into consideration the situation of Mr. Sheriff'
Evans. Before the hour for which the meeting had been
called (one o'clock), a large crowd had assembled in the
room, and the platform was completely filled. Among the
gentlemen present we noticed Sir Francis Burdett, M.P.,
Mr. Hume, M.P., Mr. Warburton, M. P., Colonel Wood,
M. P., Sir John Scott Lillie, Sir Peter Laurie, Sir John
Gibbons, Mr. Pownall, &c. &c.
Mr. Under-Sheriff FRANCA took the Chair at one.

...
Mr. GIBBONS then came forward to propose the only
resolution submitted to the meeting, and the object of
which was the adoption of a petition to the Queen, pray-
ing that her Majesty " would be graciously pleased
to exercise her Royal Prerogative, and by an immediate
dissolution of Parliament, dismiss a House of Commons
which had attempted to establish an arbitrary and irre-
sponsible power, and had shown itself opposed to the first
principles of a free constitution." Mr. Gibbons pro-
ceeded to address the meeting amidst a scene of
great confusion. He said that they had met for the
purpose of expressing their indignation at the tyrannical,
vindictive, and cowardly conduct of a small majority
of the present House of Commons.—(Cheers, hisses, and
cries of " Hume in the Chair.") Mr. Hume, who had
been turned out of Middlesex, had on a former occasion
the barefaced impudence to take the Chair, and to defeat
the purposes of the meeting which had been then con.
vened.—(Great uproar.) For his part he was sure
that the freeholders of Middlesex could not submit
to the tyranny of the House of Commons without
dishonouring themselves. The conduct of that House
bad been, he had said, cowardly—they had seized on the
Sheriff, but they had not dared to arrest the Judges, because
they knew that thousands would then have drawn their
swords in defence of the ancient institutions of the land.—
(Cheers and uproar.) After a few observations more, which
were almost totally inaudible amidst the confusion which
prevailed, Mr. Gibbons concluded by moving the resolution.
Mr. LAURIE, amidst prolonged uproar, proceeded to second
the resolution. While he was anxious for the release of
the Sheriff, he wished that the House of Commons
should have its just privileges ; but then those privileges
should be clearly defined. While they had twelve honest
Englishmen, however, they would defy the usurped power
of the Commons; and he was sure that the sense of the
country would soon manifest itself on the occasion. He
had great pleasure in seconding the resolution. —( Here
the greater part of the meeting rose, waved their hats,
and loudly cheered the proposal of the resolution.)
Sir JOHN SCOTT LILLIE was received with considerable
cheering and confusion. Although he protested against
the proceedings of that packed meeting, and denied that
it was a meeting of the electors of that great metropolitan
county, as there never was a previous instance of tickets
being issued for such a purpose, he would nevertheless sub-
mit for their consideration an amendment —( Confusion
and groans from the Sheriff's party.) And, in so doing,
he objected to any Address to the Queen on a subject which
could not call for the exercise of the Royal prerogative.
In addition to which, he did not think it creditable to the
electors of that county to pollute the Royal car by a refe-
rence to a subject which had its origin in an exposure by
the House of Commons of the obscene and immoral
works—( Loud cries of " Hear, hear ")—which had
been found in the hands of prisoners in the gaol
of Newgate a prison, be it remembered, which is
under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Sheriffs and Alder-
men of the Corporation of London.—( Laughter, cheers, and
great confusion.) It was no wonder that those whose
duty it was to have provided against such a contamination,
should feel more keenly than any other portion of the
community an exposure of this nature by the House of
Commons ; but that was no reason why the electors of
Middlesex should take any interest in their cause, or that
of Stockdale, who was the author of the publications in
question, or, indeed, of any obscene and immoral writer.
He lamented the situation, and wished as heartily for the
release of Mr. Sheriff Evans as any of the gentlemen
who signed the requisition calling that meeting ; but he
did not think their mode of proceeding was the
best calculated for that purpose (Cheers)— as if
they really wished his release, they ought to
recommend him to petition the House in such a
form as would effect that object—an act not only
due to the Sheriff himself, but to the community at large,
whose public rights as well as moral feelings were out-
raged by the proceedings of Stockdale, his agents and
abettors.—( Groans and cries of " True enough.") As he
had beard some worthy Magistrates near him deny the
right of the House of Commons to act as it had done, and
assert that the Queen, in consequence,:ought to dismiss her
Ministers and dissolve the Parliament, he begged to re-
mind his brother Magistrates of the law of the land upon
that subject, of which he was sorry to find some of them
appeared ignorant—(Laughter and cheers)—to remind
them that it was declared by the Bill of Rights (which was
a compact between the people and the reigning family) to
be an acknowledged privilege of both Houses of Parliament,
that their proceedings should not be impeached or ques-
tioned in any Court or place out of Parliament. And
Blackstone in his commentaries, who may, perhaps, be
allowed by the meeting to be as great a legal authority as
the worthy Magistrates by whom he was interrupted, lays
down this invariable principle, " that whatever matter
arises concerning either House of Parliament, ought to be
examined, discussed, and adjudged in that House to which
it relates, and not elsewhere; and that these privileges are
defined by any particular law.—(Cries of " Well done,"
" No, no.") It is evident, therefore, that the Commons
have privileges, and if these privileges were defined, the
proceedings of that House could not be considered as free.
—( Applause; and cries of " No, no," " Yes, yes.")
And if the present House of Commons permitted
those privileges to be violated with impunity, it
would be undeserving of the confidence of
the country.—(Hear, hear, and confusion.) That confi-
dence they now had, and, he was very well satisfied, as
much in Middlesex as in any other part of the kingdom,
or, indeed, more, if the electors were allowed a fair op-
portunity of recording their sentiments upon the subject.
These were the sentiments embodied in the amendment
which he had submitted, and he would trespass no longer
upon their attention than by leaving it to be disposed of
as they thought proper.— ( Cheers and confusion.) He
could not help saying that they had been very unfairly
dealt with in the appointment of a chairman, for the
Sheriff had informed him (Ss J. S. Lillie) and others
that he would not take the chair as a matter of right, but
would leave it entirely to the consideration of the meeting.
6' That it being an acknowledged privilege of both
Houses of Parliament that their proceedings should not be
impeached or questioned in any Court or place out of
Parliament, we are of opinion that the House of Commons
would be undeserving of the confidence of the people, if it
permitted that privilege to be violated with impunity. We
cannot at the same time but lament the situation in which
our Sheriff is placed, end we earnestly recommend him to
petition that House in such a manner as will effect his re-
lease."

Mr. NICHOLSON appeared to second the amendment,
but after waiting for some time he was obliged to retire
without having been able to obtain a hearing.
The resolution was then put and carried amidst tremen-
dous cheers. Three cheers were then given for the She-
riff, and Mr. France declared that the business of the
meeting was over. _ _

Sir P. LAURIR then proposed a vote of thanks to Mr.
Under-Sheriff France, for his conduct in the chair.
Sir FRANCIS BURDETT then rose to second the vote of
thanks to the Chairman, when a change came over the
spirit of the meeting, which became at once poetical,
and treated the Honourable Baronet with a shower
of appropriate quotations from the classic ballad of
" Jim Crow." Although within a few feet of the
speaker we were quite unable to catch a sentence, but as
far as we were enabled to surmise—animated by that fel-
low-feeling which is proverbial for making us " wondrous
kind," he highly applauded the conduct of the She-
riffs, and with the warmth with which men usually
treat congenial topics, condemned the conduct of the Go-
vernment, and the majority of the House of Commons;
after which the meeting were called upon, by various indi-
viduals, to cheer the object of their respective sympathies,
and the Queen and Mr. Stockdale—Lord Denman and
Mr. Howard—the honest Judges and Mr. Pierce—Sir
Francis Burdett and Mr. Sheriff Evans—" Black spirits
and white, blue spirits and grey," were most incongru-
ously blended, and, with the exceptiJn of Mr. Stockdale,
uproariously greeted ; after which,
Col. WOOD came forward, and said he wished to ac-
count for his conduct to the freeholders of Middlesex, and
to state the motives which had actuated him in the course
he had pursued, He could not but sec that the decision of
the Judges would be ruinous, if it were not corrected ;
and why was it not corrected ? because it was apprehended
if it were taken to the Court of Exchequer it would
be confirmed. He did not dispute the integrity of the
Judges. For the last century and a half the integrity of
the Judges had been established beyond all doubt, and
bad added an additional column to the edifice of the
British Constitution.—( Hear, and cheers.) But when
the case of Stockdale arose, was he to com nit the
whole power of the House of Commons, backed by the
whole force of the Government, and aided by the prero-
gative of the Crown, to overbear an individual, and to
overturn by violence the decision of the Court of Queen's
Bench. He approved of the conduct of the Sheriffs, and
did not believe but that any honest man, placed in similar
circumstances, would have acted as they did—he would
have done so—and sooner have suffered ten thousand
deaths, than have succumbed to a power which he believed
not to be legal.—(Cheers.) But what was to be done
now ? The expressions of the opinions of that meeting
would do much, and it must go forth to th- public and the
country that this unworthy struggle must cease—.( Cheers. )
that if the House were to have the power of unlimited pub-
lication, it must be secured to them by law, by which alone
they could establish or maintain the right. The House of
Commons had been compartd to a fair temple, of which
they were the tenants of an hour ; it was so, and, there-
fore, it was quite time they should repair to that temple,
and direct their minds to the discharge of those high func-
tions they were deputed to perform, and not waste the
public time and interests in en unworthy squabble with
the loiterers on the stairs.---( Cheers. )
Mr. G. F. Yourgo rose, and said he wished
to address himself to one point, on which the
whole question turned. In the whole of his ex-
perience he had never met with an instance
of so much misapprehensloa as prevailed on this question.
It had been asserted by S.r Robert Peel and the party who
supported the House of Commons in its present course,
that if the House had not the privilege of free publication,
the people would not be acquainted with the conduct of
their Representatives. He utterly denied tais. If this
were the case, he should be the last man to raise his voice
against it, as he was ow: of the first to raise his voice
against the execrable tyranny that had been attempted
to be established by the resolutions of May, 1837,
The House of Commons was merely trying to carry a
tyrannical proceeding by a small majority of one of the