Star.
London, England, 1812-08-06 00:00:00

oceastott, it the people did their duty ; for he wAs
'vinced that petitions - -
there

con iat gain
_ must i for them their ob-
ject. whenever . _ should be necessary union of sen-
timent amongst the people themselves (app/asue.) Be-
cause they had hitherto endeavoured in vain to obtain

the desired reform they most not be disheartened. Let
them call to mind, that it took more than half a cen•

wry to bring about the glorious Revolution."—
Let them call to mind the unvarying testimony of all
history, that it always took a long time to redress
the grievances of the People, and to restore the si-
tuation and the liberties of a country. The Refor-
mers had not yet been occupied in the good work
half a century. They had pursued it for about 40
years, and from the spirit which he perceived to be
rising in every part of the country, he thought they
had not much longer to pursue it, before success
would crown their efforts.—( Continued Applenues.)—
As might naturally be expected from such a state of
things, their difficulty increased daily ; for they now
had to behold, in perspective—a tax on capital. Not
content with levying a tax of 171 per cent. on all
property ; not content with imposing taxes on house-
hold establishment, and on every article of consump-
tion, the Chancellor of the Exchequer had hinted
that it would be necessary to tax capital itself; such
was the state of our treasury--(,4 We hope not I"
exclaimed some voices in the crowd.) Now what
was this tax on capital ? Why it meant nothing less
than taking from every man a part of his estate an-
nually ; and if that were done for many years, the
people would have no property left. —(A Laugh.)—
But, said some of our wise financiers, such could not

be the case ; ruin could not be the result, for property
was not annihilated, it only changed hands!)--
(Laughter.)—}le. however, would tell them what
would be the tact of such a tax—it Would only be
to transfer every man's es•ate into the hands of the
Government--to take all property from its right
owners, and to place it in the Exchequer.—(Dear,
hear, and applause' .) —But our Ministers had only rea-
lized the pans of SirJatnes Stuart, as boldly promul-

gated by that Honourable baronet, in a work pub-
lished by him about 45 years ago. That plan was,
in substance—to make the people slaves—to deny
them the use of gold and silvet--(Laughter.) —to
proscribe such a currency, and to compel every man
to take up the profession of a soldier—to prohibit fo-
reign commerce--to dash to pieces every remain of a
grand system of merchandize ! Such was the system
which Sir James Stuart had, 45 years ago, con-
tended was best calculated to enable a country to
cope with military,. modern Europe—and the Mini-
sters of Etibland seem to have adopted the plan !
(Hear, hear.)—Had it, however, been said, 45. years
ago, that such would be the caie, he would hare been
deemed a madman who would have pronounced it.
—(".Andhe's mad who says such it the case! exclaimed a
voice from the crowd.) —There was an.ither curious
circumstance attendant upon all these events: they
whp had introduced this new plan of Government—
who had brought about all those changes, had never
ceased to bellow through the country that the refor-
mers,
were " innovators."—(4 Laugh.)--There was
another melancholy feature of the present times, which
he could not but observe with deep regret : those who
professed themselves of the school of Pitt had suc-
ceeded in raising an alarm throughout the country, as
had been done twenty years ago, and, as was the case
at that period, men were sent to and continued in
prison on mere suspicion. There were now in Lan-1
caster gaol 37 persons, whose crime was, .that they
had met together at an inn, for the purpose of conai.
derink of a petition to Parliament.— ( Hear.)—Busy
spirits were now abroad, and such was a specimen of
their infernal feats ! As to the machine breaking, it
was a very foolish thing ; but it resulted from wild
despair. Those foolish outrages, however, had given
the signal to the evil-disposed to assemble together ;
but others saw plainly the origin of that despair, and
of the evils that had resulted from it—it was to be at-
tributed solely to the want of a Reform in Parliament.
(Afildauser.)—He should propose seven Resolutions,
which he hoped, spoke such intelligible language as
to supersede the necessity of comment from him;
and he should also propose for their adoption, a Peti-
tion to the House of Commons. The principal ob.
ject of his Petition would be, to do away the practice
resorted to by the House of Commons, of moving—
" the previous question," whenever these grievances
of the people came before them. It, however, was
something that the House had not ventured to deny
the claims—the previous question-motion had been
the only rebuttal. They, in effect, by such conduct,
said to the people, as Felix had done to Paul—" Go
thy way this time, end return at a more convenient season!"
—But the people must persevere—they must not suf-
fer themselves to be diverted from their object; and
the House would at least relinquish what they could
no longer hold, if there was an union of sentiment in
the people, it had been so with King John. When
he saw that numbers and power were against him, he
very quietly signed Magna Chart*. So it would be
with the cause of Reform. When there was a unity
of sentiment—when the voice of the people was-
O not loud but deep"—when they made the House
feel and understand, then would it grant their claim.
—(.4fildauses ).—ln the Petition which he should pro-
pose to them, he asked for nothing as a favour—he
stated their rights, and the restitution of them was
claimed. He made the people do now as they had
done at the Revolution, ss claim, demand, and insist
on the undoubted rights of the nation."—Having
commented on the assumed " elective and legisla-
tive" powers of the Commons as contrary to their li-
berties, he concluded with expressing his firm convic-
tMn that nothing was wanting to crown their cause
With success but union of sentiment.—(Loud applau-
ses.)—He then proposed the following Resolutions,
as embodying the sentiments of that Meeting :
im. That the Chancellor of the Exchequer.baiing taught us to
expect that, In addition to all the grievous Taxes on Income, an
uarly Tax on Capital, it la expedient to distinguish between these
modes of Tara' ion.
Y. That to tax income, is to take a proportion of the rents or
profits of an Estate; to Tax Capital is to take away part of the
Estate itself.
9d. That a Tax on Capital, annually repeated, must shortly
talse away the whole of the Estate.
4th. "1. bat between the effect of Taxing Capital and the effect
of confiscation, this Meeting is not able to distinguish.
sth. That although the whole of Mee 's Estates may be taken
away by arbitrary Taxation, yet, as neither Land, nor its ptu-
duce, nor other personal property, is thereby annihilated, so the
real effect of the system is, to transfer all property, real and per-
sonal, from the right owners to those who, possessing a power
of arbitrary Taxation, can take away that property as their
pleasure.
tith, That the Oligarchy, which, by usurping a great majority
of the seats is the House of Commons, are become mauve IA #ll