The Sun.
London, England, 1821-10-05 00:00:00

TIIE LONIYON JOUR NA LS.

bAILY EXtIiACTS FROM THE MORNING -PAPERS,

October 5.

[THE TIMES.]
The Southwark Meeting, with a view to con-
.sider the propriety of a public subscription for
Sir 11.".• Wikoa, is to take place in the Town,
Ilan at one o'clock this day. We trust the at,
.tendance will he as numerous as it is likely to be
.respectable. The 'object, 'we have before said,
is One. of high importance. ,It not merely to
enfOrce a generous feeling, nor to redress a pri-
vate wrong, nor to reproach a vindictive Minis-
try, nor even to reward. the spirit, the persever-
ance, and noble disinterestedness of Sir R. Wil-
son, displayed by him on every great scene of
acCon abroad and at home, where liberty was,
to be redeemed, or humanity succoured in...-trne
face of .tyranny, of slander, and of
These area manly and laudable - ends,-'and
thy. of calling forth strenuous ; but
'were such the only purposes ,rjf the Ateeting
proposed by the electors of Southwark on this
occasion, we should not hare deemed it Z. subject
requiring to be so seriously and repeatedly im-
pressed upon their- rn.';lids. The. true aim of the
electors ought to.-'oe, to 'seize the opportunity
which chance (iv. our judgment a happy casualty)
has afforded, -of providing for thcnselves during,.
We.hope, a- Jong series Of_ierg,- an holiest mime--
seritativ in Parliarriz:re,' No reflection iS riieant
Whe-throWn Mr. CaliTert-,-farfrotn it: his
conduct- in the House of Cornmons has deserved
DO blame'. Jut it is only a inan in Sir it. Wil-
son's -circuristatices, whom injustice has.deprived.l
-of 'the f;,,Uit Of his honburable exertions," for
whose ',/upport in life it Would be' decent or
poisiblk to come forward with a public sub--
He haS qualities. which are worth the
unioriey'ef his, constituents. •Ile bas intrepidity,
TA the love of freedom. But to.give fair play
"fi) these manly virtues, the electors'ought to se-
cure honest and unVarying exercise. -This
they can never do, without making him at once
independent of the smiles of power, and invul-
lierable to its resentment. The constituent will
thus have a freehold in- his representative-;- and
if it' was the pride of Mr. Grattan's life, that he
was '4- bought bY•his grateful countrymen," Sir
H.. Wilson unqueStionably can feel no shame in
selling himself to the people of England.—We
insert some particulars of "a conference which was
held:yesterday at Guildhall on-the same subject,
atidl'in which. Alderman:Smith; the Magistrate
for SoUtliwark, gave hints riot unworthy of atten-
tion. It is undoubtedly under the memorable Six
ActS, One of the. weapons provided for putting dOWn
public liberty that a Magistrate may, whenever
be thinks fit,' dissolVe any meeting of the King's
.stihjects. The worthy-Alderman above-mentioned
appeared .under-no small dread, of being called
upon to exercise this branch of his prerogative
upon the electors of Southwark.. We suspect
he need not discompose himself• on the subject.
NOthing is meditated :which can involve the pub-
lic peace ; and even the merits- of , those with
whom the six acts originated-will be introduced
,but incidentally, as subordinate topics.

[MORNING. POST.]
The-Electors of the Borough of Southwark are
to -Meet -this- day to consider the propriety of
commencing-•a Subscription, not to remunerate
Siißobert Wilson for his services, but to•indern-
nify him for the loss Nviiich he has experienced
in being dismissed from thd.army. An indemnifi-
cation, strictly Speaking, is "an equivalent, or
w-bat it is 'agreed upon to-regard as an equivalent,
patd by• the party through. whose agency the
alleged loss has been occasioned. Do the:Elec-!
tors-of Southwark ,stand in such a relation to-
wards Sir" Robert They do not.• It is evident,
therefOre;that- the term has been misapplied.—
They.rnay relieve, they miry reward, they may
puichase Sir R. Wilson,:if he could be suspected
to have a price, but they cannot properly indern-
nifyitim. Unless indeed they should •so far libel
themselves, as. to contend that the-. wish- of
pleasing•the.m.having been the chief inotive by
whiCh the.gallarit knight Was actuated, when he
adopted the . offensive line of conduct for which
the has suffered, they: have a right-to- be consi-
ktared by implication as the original anthers of
his' disgrace and disaster. In that case they
might possibly justify their present interference
in the way of • indemnification but •it is-SO
strained, so unnatural, and we are.cOrtvinced; so
unfounded, that.-we do-not syppoSe that•even.the
Radicals by whom- the meeting is Galled will
venture to make it the groniid Of theii
iags... We do. not belieVe that the Southwark
PleCtors; the great Majority. at. .least,,if not the
*hole, are so olltitse.iir understanding,: or so lost
In every- sense of firOpriety, as, to .have been
pleased by any- part of Sir Robert's 'conducton the : day of _ the Queen!s--finteral.-...We
doubt neither their sense nor their loyalty,
and. we trust .that, if..tbey think proper to at-
tend this day's assembly, it Will be .to Vindicate
the character of the Borough frorti the intputa-•
tions to which it may become liable by the
_mere
announcement of such an-meting for such a purpose.
ror, in fact, what is.the call made upon the South-
wark Electors? -They are asked to do that which
the friends of Sir Robert Wilson themselves have
represented as a great and flagrant injustice. They
ere asked to decide upon. hiS case, withoUt trial
or inquiry I If it was wrong, as the.. Radicals
allege, in his Majesty's Ministers' to . advise the
dismissal of Sir Robert Wilson from the service,
after a private investigation into his conduct had
taken place, can it be right in the Electors of
the Borough, not only to declare that they ap-
prove of that conduct, but to sanction 'it by a
public subscription - without any inquiry at all?
Are the preSumptions of -the case so strong on
the -side of innocence, as to supersede the ne-
cessity of all explanation ? -:What are those pre-
suniptions ? Do they not, according to the Ra-
dicals, centre in this:: that Sir Robert Wilson
has been punished,
..and therefore must be
faultless and. injured ?..Since when has punish-
ment-been wade a :proof. of innocence ? And
what sort of. punishment -too ? Was it punish-
ment inflicted in the pride?.caprice? and security