The Sun.
London, England, 1819-12-16 00:00:00

FUR TilZ SUN.

MR. EDITOR—AIter the Meeting at Manchester
has been pronounced illegal by the highest Legal
Authorities in the Kingdo►n, and by men of both
parties innthe HOUse of Commons, distinguished
for Ivaininv, anti talents, it seems strange that
Member of that lIG blintild still boldly assert
its leg!ility, anti trintopl.awly incuire " Where is
:1;e page of the Statute Book that limits the num-
ber of tile 11,0ple who may meet for a letlress of
grievance,:

I should, indeed, have thought that the Hon.
Gentleman, •a Magistrate, a Statesman, and an
Orator, might have been better acquainted with
the Corvititution of his Country which he has
sworn tom,tintain, bust I must beg leave to icier
hitn_to s pai,tage or" Blackstone's Commentaries"
(on the flights of Persons, chap. 1. 4.), in- which
that great Authority states :
" The restrictions—for some there are which
are !aid upon petitioning in England, while they
promote the spirit of peace, are no check on that
of liberty. Care only must be taken, lest, under
the pretence of petitioning, thi subject be guilty of
any riot or tumult, and, to prevent this, it is pro-
vided by the statute, 13 Car. 11. st. I. c. .5. that
no Petition to the King, or either House of Par-
liament, for any alteration in Church or State,
;Shall be signed by above t,enty persons, unless
the matter thereof be approved by three Justices
of the Peace,- or the major part of the Grand Jury,
if in the country, and in London by the Mayor,
Aldermen, andiCommon Council." •

.it,lbcritore, appears that this Statute was spe-
cially enacted, in older to Prevent a riotous or
tumultuous meeting, and since, not having the
sanction of the above-named Magistrates, It was
illegal for more than twenty of the Reformers at
Manchester even to sign a petition ; it wa% also
obviously illegal for as many thousands of them
to hold such a meeting at all, mtich more to
march into the town in martial orde,r, armed wits►
staves, bludgeons, and brick-bats,- and hearing
caps of liberty, and black banners with threaten-
ing inscriptions. Such a meeting did not only
infringe- the letter of the law, hut its spit it, and
I would call upon any unprejudiced man to say,
upon his conscience, whether he did nos think it
a turbulent, seditious, and dangerous assemblage
—not a legal or
.p,,aceful one
It: object was to obrain " Annual Pariiaments,"
" Universal SA :rage," and " Equal Representa-
tion or Da-t111," accordipg to the inscriptions On
their banners ; and will any man contend that
this is not Revolution ? Does not common sense
!kit point out that St meeting, whose avowed ob-
ject was to ovt-rturn the Constitution, must be
itself tuicimstitutional ? .

Such was the law in the days of Judge BL ACK-
ST• NE, such I believe it to be now. But if ally
later Statute cal*" be produced, enacting such
meetings to be legal, I would then say that the
Convitution is endangerednot by the Rights
of the People having been infringed, of which
we have heard such complaints, but by their hav-
ing been tearfully enlarg,ed,—uot by the want,
hut the excess of that 'Liberty fur which they
call.
We hare all :the ItightS 'and Liberties which
our Forefathers possessed,—Rights and Liberties
which it is our birth-right to enjoy, and our duty
to' maintain.
.!74 The laws of our country," says
the great Authbrity I'have already quoted, " lay
us under some necessary restraints—restraints its
themselves so gentle and moderate, that no man
of sense or probity would wish to see them
slackened. 'For all of us have it in our choice to
t:o every thitig; that a good man would desire to
do, and are restrained front nothing but what
would be pernicious to ourselves or our fellow-
citizens." We have all the liberty that is con-
sistent with security.
I shall only add, that I was a sincere friend to
the cause of prudent and rational Reform ; but
now that the object of these pretended Reformers
is almost avowedly the tmbversion of the Consti-
tution, of Civil Older, Liberty, Property, and
Religion--I abjure them, and think it behoves
every true Briton of every party, in this eventful
crisis, to rally round theStanclard of his Country,
and defend her ancient UAW's, Rights, Liberties,
and Religion, to his latest breath. tt ith the
truly great and enlightened man, whose'invalu-
able observations have been the subject of this
Lett. r, !Plat: now conclude, with the fervent wish
for the glotions Constitution under which we
live.—" Esto Perpetua

A BRITON t.
* Vide Mr. Hunters Speeds in the House of Commons,
Wednesday,.Nov. 24. . .
t This is nut thit COrrespozident who annexes the same
siviature to a series of Letters on the importance of Rdi-
gion.