The Sun.
London, England, 1817-08-01 00:00:00

:7:

Dl2.44'NER.ito CELEBRATE,' !rtiz ACQUITTAL

WAINON AND OTHERS.

Yestvrthly a pt.illic.itioner %cal ireA, for this
ruilsose; at tire Cuown aittl Aocitor '('averts. Mr.
I IuNT Ili the chair. The di tt O'er kra s tes•ved .011
aide ilefore. five o'clock; aod Cite C;ilairmaa,

111:FS rfl I S.T E %coup, and WATSON tool t their
. - - 'flee
elvih n in
baring bee .reured, several
toasts-were proposed, and drank with three times
but tug cheat were--. 04 Conititution,
he. whole Comt it tit imt, /it'd nut hitusr but tbeCott-
titutimt.'' " The Sitvereiguty :f tt,e Pr0p1....,
wt,l may it be speedily rebtored." " The 'Fria by
Jurv, and may its susrmiers be stispettited." The
health of the Chairman was subsequently drank,
eccotnpataied with Annual ratliametits and
Suffrage. •
Mr. I.lt.Nlr, in a long `precis, returned thanks
for the-Itils itounter the Meetiug had dfuie hint io
drinking his health. He entered into an explana-
tion of• the term Universal Suffrage ; and colt-

~L';tl},

tended; that every. mint Wllll SC:11:1211 his COUMIey
the army and navy, and who paid taxes, ought. to
be entitled to a vote in the erection of a Member
of Parliament. The meeting,
.he said, was this
tint assembled to celebrate the Ttial by Jury, and
the acquittal of toter men, who had - manfully
maintained the I,,berties of theh- country, and had
been lionitirrably acquitted of h.gh treason ; and
-it was a elnio fact, that white eelebratin.g.o.is:
most important event tin. Trial by Jury •was
ac-
tually stiSpeinled. The Habeas Corpus Act was
now
.sizsptaided, for what -length of time it was
in the power of Heaven only to predict, and he
himself might be incarcerated in a dungeon if Such
men as a Castles, an Oliver, a DowlittgoVang,ban,
'a
Reynolds, or a Drummond, were present, and
chose .to represent to the Secretary of State
oft that he might say in the heat of de-
bate, 'citric was a man also of the name
of Peter Finnerty. who was well known to the
company, particularly after the affair which hail
happened with Dowling : it was an impossibility
to draw a line between such characters, and he
would always inaitstaiti, that that man who, un-
employed, would take notes of another man's
speech, and report it to the Secretary of State,
'was equally guilty trfl h the most infavuous spy
entployed .tioder Gotertittlent. He• then alluded
to the in inner 6t which the public 111 juts hail vili-
fied him, amid endeavoured to prove his cowardice ;
and appealed to the meeting -to contradict these
calattr,uies. If Mr. Dowling had offered to horse-
whip hint, lie would -not have held him before a
Maeistrate to keep the peace. Mt. 1,0%t ling hail
insinuated into his (Mr. eouipany
at
the meetiugs at Spa-fiet,:s, anti beite: connected
at it ii a respecuableJ (steroid, be had unhosonret! hint-
zelf, and It ael eoutinentiafly told him all lie was about
to perform ; bow that trust had been abused was
too Well known to ail present to render it
neressary for bias to repeat. By the trial of
the foot- Gentlemen who had now been ass quit tech,
it was ten ee,dent what arms the intention at Mi-
. The whole was a pliat .of the Borough-
teonigers to rule the nation by superstition and
tyvanny. tie expressed his regret at the non-
:attendance o! Mr: Holiper at e. tie present meeting,
ar:,l was sk--,zry to say, that he had been seriously
irrbsiv sett ever sitter his lieieration trout prison.
okive al t'uisint-cting'llad been talscly repre-
sented the El!itor ()tithe Day, commonly called
poct.tw Slop by t4l who knew him. It was nut as-
sentAtiti (40 celebrate the Spa-fields' meetings, as
stated in that J1).111.11412,. Wit far rite purpose ot
praisiiT, the verdict of an hottest Jury, alter a trial
et six or seven days. Had the Jury listened to the
ilv.tructiotts (4 the Juke, prosecittions -troviti
Lave ta,:lo writ prosecutions, and gibbets would
LIL 'ACC been erected in every part of the kingdnut ;
bat iris_ ini,-oters tbe Crown had been batHed,
their vitt:nut ii td been rescued, and the merits of
the Stoptn-iimt Laws Wl;ieli they had imposed
rev:e.4,upois thti4- (Iwo heads. The slay was not
fie alivatet tehett all would witness the impeach-
trAt PE of Loti.(l Castlereagh as A traitor to the tiller-
Oes :(4. his country; and he pledged himself that
if eset tic sit ,he elected a Representative of
the re<fe, hig very fivat act woultibe the impeach-
ttic•tit Of that Mittister of State. After regretting
the alssertee of Mr. Cdr culler, who had promised to
ift.QSit at the Meeting, he coocludedwi It again
trt,,cnil4 his di:Auks for the high honour which
ha' be. as tt i t<owCdi lywa hi iii.
The. octot Coast propo-std frost the Chair was,
• " 74r. ffiehardson, and the Jetiydien who -had
jeei;iitted Me‘srs. Watson, ThiStie wood, Preston,
• *ad ilooper. it was drank with three times
three.
NC. It/tit, in proposing the healths of Mr.
N.Veticer,4ll still Ntc. Stojeaut Copley, the Learned
Counsel .too had so well defended the cause of
ott 14te foe, Hirls Treason, re.
titisked 11'1041 tile conduct of Mr. Wetherall
its
Parleauteat ; aud obsemed, that Mr. Brougham,
although earuestly -solicited, had refused to under-
take the defenceof the melt who had gone through
tAte fiery ordeal of Ministerial persecution, 41111.1
hl4 ultimately beets so Itotorturalt4 acquitted.
Tile subsequent toast wasafter Wards drank with
toad tacclatnastiotts :—" Messrs. Watson, Prestos,
Tliistletwood, and flooper--eneed may their acquit-
Ki prove the dowafal of idled- spies and detested

i.agforatters.''
Mc. XVArsokt expressed fait gratitude that he
Lad heett -acquitted by atal Breglasit Jury of the
brittous'etitite imputed to hitt:. He had foretold
that no tti•elwe hottest Englishmen would be so
base 4,,s to liven to the villany of the men who
Inv.! appeared against him. He next entered into
a &fail CO the FOCCVderigS itcevious and siab,e-
qtteaat to the taleettat4.,,-s at Spa-ticials,, and allude:4
placani which !old heti% posted up he:tweets
tlie first and second meetings, to p(•rsliatie tile
.)c(i,l)te not to 4ssemble : he 'alluded-also to the
ev,ll( which, he cAllen int.( h the feelings, not
,)iJiv alt. Englishman, brat .ot a intls<r—the
:ssAit.iy of his beloved sou, a lto was now happily
oils the croci les of his imphicabie cite-
Lottlel comitte of freedom and in-
o,pemicnee. 0.11 the Tt (1,. December, wheat he
.t; the peaeplc. frOlil I tSe waggon at•Sl74-
11eith, itis sou, thaoli::,a, yo,,th'tal vanity, prevent-
n) he was
tiliahle, as tvi;s tcel4 litiown, ,Itga ill t the
-I.4eOVIC. lic then
,teterted to the evicktice giveta

tra. foyCastle-F, I.n.l:oty of the-
inittee e.t t ttl,tit'lti, mod eo(ica wow .41 to
prove that they tiSd petitired themselves
in many impoitaut points. In the Minmies be
had done every thing 'in his power to quell the
tumult, and in so &tin,: had received a s.light.
wousni from One of' the guards. With respect to
rite fact of the firing at llr. Platt, lie really be-
lieved that his son never had done it. He met
him after the at cident, anti his son never
tioned a word upon the subject. Another strong
circumstance in
,confirtuatinn of. his belief was,
that ate bad received an anonymous letter,' stating
that Mr. Platt was actually shot by a sailor who
eamehebiod the person who was struggling with
Mr. Platt, and fired 4 pistol at that gentleu.tan.
Tnts-rt.Ewoot3 next returned thanks. He apo-
logized for his inability to express himself, being
unaccustomed to addt e,s a public meeting, but he
felt sincerely grateful for the honour that was
done hint. There .tvas a circumstance he thought
it his duty to mention, namely, that be had beets
hospitably entertained, pre‘ionsly to his being
taken into custody, by -a gentleman who lived its
the neighbourhood aif Manchester-square. As
blame had been inquired to this gent respect-
Mg his apprehension, he wished to state that it
was totally unfounded. He could name the per-
scut who turd acted 1 ke another Myer with re-
spect to him —(Here there ..kas is cry eft Name
hi tit wever, declined, but thought him-
self bound to remove any false impression that
11.. ad prevailed .isith respect to the other. lie
wished also to nientifm, that a tuluisition bad
been Sigoiql for a We-tittinver Meeting, to pre-
sent an Address to the Prince Regent telatiVe to
the Ali ssrs Ev4nses,• lather and son. When the
meeting took place, he hoped it would be nume-
rously attended. Thistlewood spoke with consi-
derable hesitation, and in rather a low voice.'
PRESTON next got. qr. He was no way em-
ballasted, but displayed perfect self-possession.
He st,tod upon. his. chair, and spoke. at sonic
•length, but with so little coherence, that'we
should find it dirlioilt to' follow lulu, •wete we so.
inclined, lie expressed hitn•elf, however, with
feeling, itt sneaking of the Jitry by %Omni he was
acquitted. He said he had. got- tl.v it inones o%er
the mantle• piece of his rotim, and taught his
cnildren to spell and lisp rtiem.
• A person at the hottom of the room now sng:
gested ttkat they should drink their absent friend
Cobbeit..

-
Hittit readily assented to this proposition, and
commenced' a lung ettlognoo on the pnblie -and
priva, e character of Gobbet t , with whom, he said,
lie had been in the habits of friendship for 14

years.
Hunt's health was again drank,• which afforded
him occasion to•make Another speech, which Wcis
the last, though not.the shortest lie condemned
what he called the two fac:ions to Parliament, and
spoke with much asperity of the inferfefence of
certain persons io Westminster ; i tvo individuals
in particular, w-ho halt pEes.ented this meeting,
from taking place at an earlier petiod, and to
whom it Was trying that s:, few had attende.d.
These two :laid, had prevented him
and Lobbett 'rum being returned for a our herti
city Atter spiech, the meeting htnke up at
abont hale-past eleven. Not more than eighty
person; were pm nt.