The Sun.
London, England, 1823-05-24 00:00:00

NDEPENDENCE OF WESTMINSTER.

During the war between England and Spain,
in the time of Elizabeth, Commissioners on both
sides were appointed to treat of peace. The' Spa-
nish Commissioners proposed thnt the negocia-
tions should be carried on in the French tongue,
observing sarcastically, that " the gentlemen of
England could not be ignorant of the language of
their fellow subjects, their Queen being Queen of
France, as well as England." " Nay, in faith,
Gentlemen," replied Dr. Dale, one of the Eng-
lish Commissioners, " the French is too vulgar
for a business of this importance ; we will, there-
fore, if you.please, rather treat in Hebrew, the
language of Jerusalem, of which your master calls
himself King) and in which you must, of course,
be us well skilled as we are in French."
The qualiticitions of a cook are thus described
in a scarce book, entitled The English Huswife :
—44 First, she must be cleanly both in body and
garments ; she must have a quick eye, a curious
nose, a perfect taste, and ready ear ; she must
not be butter-fingered, Sweet-toothed, nor faint-
hearted—for the, first will let every thing fall ;
the second will consume What it should increase ;
and the last will lose time with too niacin nice-
ness." In the same volume it is reconnriended as
a preservative from the plague, " To smell on a
nosegay made of the tasselled end of a ship-
rope.",

.
Yesterday the- tixteenth anniversary of "The
Triumph of the Electors of Westminster" was celebrated at
the Crown and Anchor Tavern, Strand. The Meeting was very
numerous (exceeding 400),. and highly respectable. At halt-
past five o'clock, Mr. J. C. HOBIIOUSE (who took the Chair
in the absence of Sir F. Burdett, who was prevented from
attending by severe illness) entered the room, accompanied by
several Gentlemen, amongst whom we noticed—Lord Ebring-
ton, M.P.;- Lord Nugent, M.P. ; E. Ellice, Esq. M.P.; Jones
Burdett, Esq. • Hare Townsend, Esq. S. C. 'Whitbread, Esq.
M.P.; ql. Wood, Esq. M.P.; T. Denman, Esq. M.P.;
Cooper, Esq. ; R. Bernal, Esq. M.P. ; J. Williams, Esq. M.P.
T. Coke, Esq. M.P. ; D. Ricardo, .Esq. M.P. ; J. G. Lambton,
Esq. M.P. ; Adams, Esq. ;-- Blackburn,
Esq. ; J. Evans,
Esq. Col. Torrens ; C. H. Hutchinson, 111. P ; J. B. Monck,
Esq. M.P. ; Sir G. Robinson, M.P. • the Hon. Grey Bennet,
; Bowring, Esq. ; Hou.D. lamaird ; D. 1111. n, Esq.
The dinner, which was very excellent, being concluded,
Mr..11013110175E rose and gave—" The people, the only
source of legitimate pOwer." Drank with three times three,
and loud cheers.--Air, " Britons, strike home."
The'next toastswas, " The King, and may he ever recollect
his own declaration, that the Crown is held for the benefit of
the-people:" Three times three.—Air, "Hope told a flatter.'
ing tale.
Mr. ADAMS next gave—" The able opposer of4tyranny and
oppression, the constant advocate' of Parliamentary Reform—
our truly honest representative, Sir. F. Burdett."—(Long and
loud cheers followed the announcement of this toast.)
Mr. HontrouSE said, that before he put from the chair the
toast which their brother elector had proposed, he must express.
what he knew to he the great regret of their excellent rFpresen-
tative, Sir F. Burdett, at the impossibility of. his being with
them on the present occasion, the 16th since his first return. It
was the earnest wish of Sir Burdett, even at the imminent
risk of his health, tebe present. It was true his Hon. Friend.
.might have been brought to the room ; and that indeed was
his own wish, but his physician had declared that he would not
answer for his health for five minutes after he came into so
crowded an assembly.
Mr. JONES ,BunnzTT expressed his thanks for the manner
in which his brother had' been received by the meeting. Ile
would say that his Honourable Friend Mr. Hobhouse had
truly expressed the feelings of his relative, in stating that it was
• a source of deep regret and mortification to him to be absent on
this occasion. He would only mention one fact connected with
the question of reforM, which was recently stated in Parliament
by Mr. Abercrotnby, respecting the state of the representation
'of the city of Edinborgh. There were in that city 100,000 men
with property to the amount of 4,000,0001. It would hardly
be believed, if the fact were not well attested, that the repre-
sentative of that city was chosen by 33 electors; and out of
this small number there were 19'who nominated their successors.
'Upon this it was unnecessary to offer any cominent.—(Cheers.)
Mr. HOBLIOUSE now called the attention of the meeting to a
letter from Sir F. Burdett to his constituents. The letter was
read by Mr. Gardiner :

" St. James's-place, Mey 23.
Gentlemen—' it is hard to kick against the pricks, and im
possible against the gout.' Otherwise, , notwithstanding the
strong remonstrances of My excellent friend and physician Dr.
Pearson, I should have come, or rather should have caused' my-,
self to be brought amongst,you, in order to partake of your just
and honest triumph, and to aid in the annual Celebration of your
independence; nor have I ceased to ding to this hope up to this
last moment. I am, however, now that it isarrived, most feeling.
ly convinced of the impossibility of realizing it. Much as I re-
gret this on, my own and on every account, I regret it particu-
larly on account of being deprived of the'pleasure of meeting
some of the most staunch friends of Reform, who, from different
parts of the country, are to join us in the celebration of this
anniversary. The en-operation of these friends of Reform; and
the union-of all friends of Reform, is upon every occasion
most anxiously to be desired, as it is only by union and
'inn faith, and firm accord, and mutual agreement, that we can
teser hope to carry into 'effect thix great and necessary measure.
At a time when so many interesting views present themselves
to the notice of, mankind—so many topics challenging the at-
tention of an enlightened public—when Spain, undaunted by a
foul confederacy of deapotsi , seems nobly prepared .to endure
every extreme, rather than yield up her independence and na-
tional rights, in upholding which she is also upholding the in.
dependence and eights of other nations, and on the successful
issue of whose exertions the liberties of all other people, and
especially the people of Francei greatly depend— when
Greece, to' the wonder and athniration of the world, has
burst her ignominious, fetters, and achieved deeds of he.:
roism, equalling, if not surpassing, her former renown, and
accomplished, as it were, impossibilities, under circum-
stances the most heartless and discouraging, eliciting hope
from the deepest gloom of despair, and bidding fair to outrival
her former glories in the same cuasewhen every people in
Europe, panting for rational freedom, is anxiously casting
about for an opportunity 'of shaking off the'load of despotism,
that oppresses them—when Our great and gallant countryman,
your late Representative (Lord Cochrane), with little other
resources than his own genius and courage can supply, hav-
ing unfurled the banners of liberty in another hemisphere, is
augmenting the renown of his country, and combatting for the
happiness of mankind--Iwlien, turning our eyes homewards,
we behold the march and progress of those principles of re-
form, the adoption of which can alone- give a fair chance of
developing all the energies of England, can alone give e,
chance of redress to the manifold grievances of Scotland, and
the still snore intolerable sufferings of Ireland—when an op-1
portunity presents itself like the present for exhorting the
.people of Scotland and Ireland to lay
worthy pursuits of redress, and to join the honest voice.,)_ll
aside all partial,
the liberty-loving people of England for that measure, -wlu i
will do equal justice to all—which will admit all men withinon
the pale of the Constitution—which will exclude no !imam.
pretence of religious opinions from the enjoyment of civil rights,
but
andt
therebywi will, with
bindan
strong as the axle on which the heavens ride !—a bond. of
mutual affection and mutual interest, by means of a fair re-
equal togetherhatnhde whole administeru i united d toall
empiree q equal
01
njoirthstroinc justice,
" Believe me Gentleman, at such a time, and under such cir-
cumstances, to be compelled to forego the gratification of meet-
presentation of the whole people in Parliament.
ing my constituents, the independent and enlightened citizens
of Westminster, is as great a mortification as the power of fate
could well have inflicted upon me, and that nothing short of
absolute necessity could have forced me to yield to. Gentle.
men, with deep regret, but the' most unfeigned sincerity, I
subscribe Myself,
• " FRANCIS
Your most faithfulted Servant,
BURDETT."
(Loud cheering followed the reading of this letter.)
Air-:-" Death ofhliberty."
Mr, COKE, of Norfolk, next addressed the meeting, and was
received with loud cheers. Ile said, that as they had drank the
health of one of his earliest acquaintances in life, their worthy
representadve Sir F. Burdett, he hoped he might, as one of the
oldest reformers amongst them, be allowed to propose the health
of his (Sir F. Burdett s) worthy colleague, Alr. Hobhouse.—
(Cheers.).--He would give—" The steady friend of Reform and
the constant advocate of the Rights of the people—their worthy
representative, J. C. Hobhouse."
This toast was received with loud acclamations.
As soon as silence was restored,
Mr. HO/1110i1SE said, that he had always looked forward
with great anxiety, and if it were not presumption, he would
say with great delight, to the return of this anniversary, as lie
naturally wished to collect the opinions of those whom he had
the honour to call his constituents, as to his past conduct and
for his future guidance. It was 'to him a source of great satis-
faction to listen to the sentiments of those who bad sent him to
Parliament—to learn that they still considered him worthy
of speaking their sentiments in die advocacy of that great
cause of which they had at all times proved themselves
the strenuous supporters. He took heartfelt pride in the
maluer in which his health had been proposed by his
Ilobourable Friend (Mr. Coke.) He looked upon thisomnion
as no mean, but rather as a decisive test of those of the great
mass of freemen who still upheld the liberties of their country.
They now found that there were not' ewer than 208 Members
of the Commons House who did not, think that the Consti-
tution, in its present state, was that system. of perfection
which it bad heretofore been represented. The Honour-
able Member alluded to the opinions lately' delivered by
him and his honourable colleague on the subject of our
foreign .megociations which were-said to breathe nothing but
war. He contended, that even if a wish for war was the true
coustruction to be put upon his sentiments, it would be borne
out by the opinions of his constituents, and by the conduct of
the allied Powers. But he did not think war was the only al-
ternative. The whole of the continental powers had enough to
do to ptevent their going to war, if we had assumed the atti-
tude which we ought to .have taken. Austria would have
found enough to do in Italy ; Prussia with her subjects,
to
' whom she had broken her promise of a free constitution ;
Russia with Poland ; and France with that majority of het
subjects who were averse from a war. In conclusion he ob-
served; that the cause of the people was imperishable, and that
It must eventually triumph. It reminded him of the words of
Lord Byron—
" Yet freedom—yet thy banner, torn but flying,
" Streams like the thunder storm against the wind ;
" Thy triumphant voice, tho' broken now and dying,
" The loud.est still the tempest leaves behind.
cc Thy tree has lost its blossoms, and thy rind,
" Chipp'd by the axe, is roUgh and little worth ;
" But the sap still lasts, and still the seettwe find
" Sink deep even on the bosom of the North :
" So shall a better spring less bitter fruit bring forth."