Star.
London, England, 1809-12-15 00:00:00

exclaimed, “ that was only in one kastante.") .He
proceeded to say, , the Livery had been told Pails-.
ment had exercised no controul over his Majesty's
Minister: this he denied. [A voice cried out Castle-
reagh.] The Sheriff,said he condemned him as much
as any man, and thought his conduct demanded the
strictest inquiry. His only object was, that the In-•
quiry should be asked of his Majesty in terms of be-
coming respect.
The rest of his speech was drowned in hisses.
Mr. QUIN supported the Resolutions, and adverted
to the original Address of Mr. Waithman, of which
the Livery no doubt had heard the fate, and also that
another had been substituted in its place. He beg-
ged
to say a few words as to those addresses. The
original Address had been carried by a Majority of
one, in the person of the worthy Chief Magistrate,
who had truly acted with dignity in the conscientious
vote he had given. The worthy Sheriff had talked (4-
the proceedings against my Lord Melville, that trial
had been carried by a majority of one. The Corpo-
I ration, however, had chosen to substitute another
I Address in the stead of Mr. Waithman's, and he
i (Mr. Q.) would chew them the rise, progress, and
catastrophe of the juggle which brought about the sub-
stitution. The Sheriffs were directed to wait on his
i Majesty to know when he would he pleased to re-
ceive the Address ; the Sovereign appointed a distant
! day, but there was a kind of interlude interposed, and
the Sheriff proposed another Address, which was
: adopted against the rules of the Court of Common
Council. If this was not a state of degradation he
did not know what was ; but then see in what a de-
plorable state the Corporation was placed with respect
!to his Majesty. His Majesty had signified his inten-
tion of receiving an Address, die substaAce of-which
he was apprised of, when the day arrivesikir receiving
it, in stalk the Sheriffs, and say, 44 We the Sheriffs,
Ste. wait on your Majesty with a dutiful and loyal
Address. Your Majesty ordered us to present an
Address. We are sorry, however, to be under the
necessity of informing your Majesty that the identical
I Address which you commanded us to deliver is no
more ; but such is the zeal, uniformity, and vigour
i of the Corporation—such is the loyalty which they feel
I for your Majesty's Person and Government, that they
! have prepared a new one for your Majesty's accep-
t tance, which they hope your Majesty will receive."-
1 (Bravo ! loud laughing.) Mr. Quin then followed the
j opinions of the former Speakers in favour of the Re-
solution, and denominated the Expedition to Wal-
cheren the Expedition to the Scheldt..
MTAVAITHMAN could not avoid offering some opi-
nions with respect to the Resolutions. -There was,
he observed, no vast difference in the political opi-
! nions of the worthy Sheriff and himself, but lie did
not know which of them was right. He could not
account for the intellect of any man who would tell
! him that the Parliament has a complete controul over
the public purse. It was true that Lord Melville had
been condemned, but he would ask the worthy She-
I riff, had I e received any punishment for his guilt ?
IWas he not readmitted into his Majesty's Councils ?
i Were not his sons in the.direction of public affairs ?
Was he not himself behind the curtain pulling the
wires ? And did he draw from XS to 4'10,000 an-
I nualiy from the public ? That corruption exists, there
was no doubt ; nay, even the Duke of Portland, 20
1 years since, bad confessed as much in a protest, which
Ihe signed in the House of Lords. lie had therein
1 stated, " at the circumstances of the country were
sitch, that they could not be endured any ionger."—
Mr. W. then noticed certain families,- whom he de-
scribed as partaking largely of the Public Money,.
among them was the Marquis of Herthird, who drew
annually from Lit) to £;50,060 ; tv o of the Sey-
i
1 moors having 'foal ,-12 to £1.5,000 each annually ;
the family of Lord Castlereagh received from thirty-
-1 thousand to forty thousand pound.; annually, and the
family of Mr. Perceval upwards of .elli,ooo ; to talk
lof controul, therefore, was the greatest absurdity ;
' the acts which were made were incompetent to con-
I troul the corruption which was going on in the public
expenditure. It a;•ueared from the reports of one of
• the Committees of Inquiryt before the House of Com-
' mons, that they expended 450,000 in one year, in
discovering abuses in one particular department, and
had saved only 45000! These, he was aware, were
bold and strong assertions, but they were neverthe-
less true. Mr. W. next adverted to the addresses in
the Corporation, and the measures pursued for the
security of the country. He remembered, some years ,
since, a certain Noble Lord had talked of marching
to Paris as the only, means of securing our liberties ;
hut lately he had seen works carried on on the river
Lea for the piotection of London. From these to-
pics he travelled to Spain—on the subject of our pro-
ceedings as to the fate of that country, he declared,
that in his opinion, the country would have been se-
cure, it the corruptions of the Government had been
done away, and the people's liberties restored. The
object which the Government of England had in view
WA 5 to change masters, and in that object the people
did not wish to share. After descanting at some
length upon these topics, he declared that all he wish-
ed was to have the Bill of Rights in one hand and the
Act of Settlement in the other. He concluded with
recommending them to exercise their rights on St.
Thomas's Day, by turning out those Members who
supported corruption, and returning those only who
were of independent principles.—(Load cheer: Plowed,'
:hit (';endernan't sitter/1.)
The Resolutions were then put successively, and
carried with the opposition of only one, two, or three
hands to some of' them.

THE 0. P. DINNER.

Yesterday a most respectable meeting of the advo-
cates of Old Pricer dined at the Crown and Anchor
tavern, HENRY CLIFFORD, Esq. in the Chair. Covers
were laid in the grand saloon for three hundred and
ten pc .% ns,but the numbers that attended far exceeded
the accommodations prepared. Shortly after five din-
ner was on the tabl,, and at six the exhilarating glass
having gone quickly round, all was harmony and con-
viviality. The attention of the company was then
directed to the Chairman, who gave, as the first toast,
" The King;" and after the testfications of satisfac-
tion had ceased, _

Mr. CLIFFORD rose, Old addressed the meeting to
the following effect ss—, Gentlemen, in-consequence
of being appointed Chairman of this !Meeting, an ho-
nour which gives me the most sincere satisfaction, I
had a message from Mr. Kemble, of Covent-garden
Theatre, this morning, and that message has pro-
duced an interview between that gentleman and my-
self, in which he desired me to state to you his senti-
ments and those of the proprietors, with respect to the
matter in dispute between them and the public ; and
I must say, that during my conference with Mr.
Kemble, his general conduct and demeanor was such
as firmly impressed upon my mind his anxious wish
to conciliate the feelings of an injured public. He
said, he should be extremely glad to state in public his
feelings on the subject, if he was not afraid of being
treated with disrespect. I told him I was not autho-
rized to act for the public at large, but that I felt
convinced I might pledge my word that the Gentle-
men who would attend here this day would treat him
with every possible respect, and that if 1 had not that
assurance from themselves, he should not enter the
room (loud applause:). What further conversation
we had on the subject of the Theatre, I do not feel
myself at liberty to repeat, unless in the presence of
Mr. Kemble, who is now in the house, and if it is
your pleasure he will come in immediately (shout: of
applause, and cries of enter, enter; certainly, let him come
in). I have no doubt, gentlemen, that from your as-
surance, I shall be supported in my promises as Chair-1
I man, and that no irascibility will be shown towards
Mr. Kemble of any kind, but on the contrary that he
will be treated with the utmost civility."—The ac• •
quiescence of the company was given by an universal
shout of applause.
A part of the Committee now went out, and in a
few seconds Mr. Kemble was ushered in amidst a
tcrrent c f applause, and having taken his seat on the
right side of the Chair,
Mr. CLIFFORD continued thus " Be ore Mr.
Kemble made his appearance, Gentlemen, amongst-
us, 1 was stating that I had promised to represent to
you the conversation which took place between us ; I
shall now, in his presence, comply with his request.
When I saw Mr. Kemble, he expressed a great deal
of lamentation at the unfortunate disputes which had
taken place between the Manager and Proprietors of
Covent-garden Theatre, and the Public. The reason
why he had not long before this communicated with the
Public on the subject was, that he and the Proprietors
were at a loss to know whom they were to address; but
as he understood that a dinner had been resolved on, he
thought that would be a lair opportunity of entering
into a candid explanation. He told me, that it was
the wish oldie Proprietors and Managers to conciliate
the public feelings, so far as they could without
ruin to themselves ; and he requested me to chalk
out some plan which, without injury to themselves,
would satisfy the public. His language and man-
ners at this time, as I before observed, were marked
by every disposition to conciliate and remove the
causes of complaint. I said I was aware that I had
been called the leader of a mob, but notwithstanding
that appellation, I had it not in my power to treat
with him on the subject, and I advised him to point
out, himself, such means as he thought most satisfac-
tory to the proprietors and the advocates of sold prices.
I also observed, that the lowering of the prices was
not so much the cause of dissention as the conduct of
the proprietors in introducing the Magistrates, suffer-
ing a threat to be held forth of reading the Riot Act, 1
and introducing hired ruffians and police officers to
insult the audience. (Lend cheers.) • The answer he
gave to this was, that the coming of the Magistrates
was an act originating with themselves, and not by
any desire of the proprietors or managers ; and as to
the employment of persons to insult the visitants to
the theatre, he knew nothing of such conduct till he
saw it mentioned in the newspapers on the ensuing
morning. Now when a gentleman makes a point-blank-
asseaion, I feel myself always compelled to believe
; and Mr. Kemble having made that assertion, I
cannot but say I have no doubt of the fact. Having
then told him that I believed the great grievance was
the private boxes, and that the public opinion was, that
they might he applied to immoral purposes, the cor-
rectness of which opinion I did noteither uphold or op-
pose, he asked me if I thought the public would be
satisfied if the present tier of private boxes were
thrown open for their accommodation, and the Thea-
tre opened upon the same plan as heretofore, with
only the same number of private boxes as in the old
Theatre. (Crier of no and yes alternately.) I told him
I did riot feel myself competent to give any decisive
anSwer, but that I would make the proposition to the
Meeting, by whose decision I could aleine be guided.
Beare I went away, Mr. Kemble desired me to aware

Mr. FAVELL again came forward, and, after a
short energe:ic introduction, moved an humble Ad-
dress to his Majesty, ernbod) lag the substance of the
Resolntit

[The Address it would he indecorous to publish,
bet Ore it be presented to his M.ljesty.]
It I,4as carried nem. tun. and ordered to be signed in
the tu.nal form, and presented to his Majesty by the
Lord Mayor and heri Aridause.
Mr. WArrintAN came forward, and declared that
the Addrc,.s read, was precisely the same with
that voted in the Common Council on the sth inst.
altered only by the introductory words of ‘, We, the
Lord Mayor, Sheriffs, and Livery of London, in
Common Hall," &c.

Mr. S. 1):xt;N, on the Address being read, attemp-
ted to speak ; but was hooted down.
Mr. Sheriff Woon declared that he would cheer-
fully ()hey the directions of the Livery, on presenting
the Address to his Majesty's hand ; and; in case of
atiy impediment from Islininers, he would demand an

I'va ic:11.
mcloiarerawctleirchofl
i • to his Majesty's presenee.eontinced, as you. that the object of himself and the Proprietr,-
lie WO, t his Majesty was always ready to receive' was to do every thing in their power to satisfy tl.,,is
is
alownalyy
so one thing
the
' the Addresses and Petitions of his people ; and that public; so far as they could consistently with their owl
it was to Ministers only that such Addresses were 1
obnoxious. (Applause.) ' 'to submit.
TlhtehMas
Mr. Sheriff ATKINS also declared, that he too lishmen, when they obtained a victory, to tieat tt.e
'should consider it his duty to obey the instructions of vanquished with moderation. I remember an, xpri.
the Livery. ! sion used by Mr. Sheridan, at the last Westmincter
Mr. Favka.r. then meved the Thanks of the Livery election, which I then thought highly characteristic
to the Lord Mayor, for the readiness with which he of Englishmen—" John Bull," said he, ,4 is (Ate.,
complied with their requisition, and the firmness and wrong headed—but he is never wrong hearted.".—
impartiality with which he acted in the Chair, and And I trust this remark will be verified by your cot.
in support of the Address in the Common Council. duct this day. Were you to act unbecoming the
Passed with three tinter three. i dignity of your character, I am sure you would d.!
The Loan Misvoe politely thanked the Livery for spise yourselves for your want of magnanimity; and
the honour of their approbation, and said he should I feel persuaded your liberality would never ieticct
always be ready to comply with their requisitions. you to exact terms which would be injurious to t!,,.
The Thanks of the Assembly were then voted to Managers." (Loud and reiterated cheers.)
Mr. Waithman for his firm, manly, and patriotic Mte.CLIFFORD then sat down but ruse again ir. a
support of the rights of his fellow citizens, on all oc- few minutes. and continued thus :-4. Gentlemen.
casions ; and also to several Aldermen, &c. (See since I sat down, Mr. Kemble has begged me ti.
Resolutions.) Mid at half past four the Assembly sure you, that if the proposition he has made went;
was dissolved. I with your approlr:stinii, he will pledge his bcr.on!- it
slutll be strictly perforeaed."—( Continued (ruts cf I.
No, No, and loud and confined murmurs of dissatisfa-iio: )
A gentleman named FILE, then rose, and addres-a
the Chairman—" It seems to met he said, that tli•
general wish of the company is, that the price of ec..
trance into the pit should be reduced to the old pr,,..
of Ss. 6d. (yes, yes') that the private boxes should Le
abolished, and that, in consequence of his insuit:t f.
conduct, Mr. Brandon should be dischargu.i."....:
(Thunder: of altidau;c, and continued shJurs: of Ihir:d.t
must out.) At the same time they beg me to sal 1,,.
they are ready to accede that the prices of luilt.:..
.;
to the boxes should remain at 7s. and for this 11::
liberality on the part of the public, they do expect 4:-.
apology on the part of the Dianagv: s and Proprit rm-,,
fur the gross insults which have ii,:en offered to tt:•:
public at large."—(Shows of apiti.l;ae continued for so::
minutes afro- this Speech.)
The noise having subsided, Mr. Chfll-•rcl called -t.
tention for a toast, and gave 44 Th..; liberty of the
subject," which was drank with three times throe,
and followed by enthusiastic exclamations of sat's.-

faction.
Mr. CLIFFORD then again rose, he said, he had the
authority of Mr. Kemble to inform the meeting, that
he was ready to say the Managers and Prorrk.tors
would accede to the wishes of the public in every thing
they had stated, except the dismissal of Mr. Brandon.
(Loud cries dirapprolation). He had not the power
to promise;his, but he would make it his business to
report the wishes of the public to the Proprietors.—
(DiraMrobation and cries of, The term:, the terms!)
The terms are as proposed by the Honourable Gentle-
man near me (Mr. File) ; that is to say, the price of
admission to the pit is to be. reduced to Bs. Gd. The
private boxes are to be done away with, and built on
the same scale as in the old Theatre.--"(gries of " as
before Iktr. KENIRLE came to the Theatro,u mu re-
sounded through the room, and loud cheeripp pguwed).
It is my duty to state to you what takes place ; I do
pot give my opinion, nor is it in my awn knowledge
that there was any difference in the Theatre after Mr.
Kemble came to the management. (There was ! there
was!) That I was not aware of; but as there does
seem to be some difference, and as Mr. Kemble has
heard your opinions on that subject, I think the best
way would be for him to report to the Managers and
Proprietors what he has learnt, end let them state
what they can do to meet the public wishes.—(No,
no I come to the 'toilet !) am afraid lam misunder-
stood ; Mr. Kemble is only *axioms that you shot:4
allow him a day or two to consider on the best means
of meeting your wishes."—(No, no ! now or never.)
After a short lapse, Mr. CLISFOAD again rose
" I am desired to submit to you, Gentlemen, a TA-c-
position which, I am sure, you will not al:ilk unre,t-
sonable. The Gentlemen who have had the manage-
meat of the fund subscribed for the defence of such
sons as might be prosecuted on account of the Lite
turbances in the Theatre, have agreed to go out a 7.1
prepare Resolutions indicativSof the sentiment:: ef
e9mpany. lam only to ask, whether it is your
that they should retire for that purpose ? When t!.cy
are finished, they will be brought in for your aprro-
val." An assent was given, with loud accLimaucr.s
Mr. CLIFFORD proposed as a toast during their hb-
sence—" The ancient itnd indisputable right of tie
pit." Which was drank with three times three. A
song was then called for, and sung with much spirit
by a Mr. Jones. After which, 64 The Stage" wee
drank with great applause.
The attention of the company was now directed to
the appearance of several persons in the music gallery,
at one end of the room, and after repeated cries if
" No Private Boxes, out, out!" and other derron,tr.t-
tions of dissatisfaction, the gallery was cleared. (Art-
fusion reigned triumphant for some time, till at
length---
Mr. CLIFFORD again engaged their attention. tie
regretted that he was not before aware dt the cause
of their discontent, or he should instantly have sent a
person round to comply with their wishes. He the::
continued—" The Committee who went out to draw
up the Resolutions have returned with such as they
conceive will be satisfactory to your feelings, which I
shall do myself the honour of reading to you."
Here he was interrupted by an uproar at the other
end of' the room, caused by a gentleman who wished
to speak, and who was with considerable difficulty
dissuaded from his purpose ; he proceeded—
" I hold in my hand the paper prepared by the
Committee. You may probably wish to know wl;c
the Committee are. Ido not know all their :lamest
but I am aware that they are all Gentlemen of strict
honour and upright principles. They are some of
those Gentlemen who served on the Westminster
Committee at the time of the Election, and are, Lt.r-
tainly, extremely competent to judge what is ey.:iza-
ble to propose to Mr. Kemble, as the wisltes or z}:e
public. He then read the followiag Resolutions •
is:. That the Print.- Boxes should be abolished, and the lie:t-
ire placed on the same scale as in the year 1t302, previous
Xemble's being appointed Manager. —( Loud applamw.)
3d. That the Prices of Admission to the Pit should be redu:s'
to 3s. id. and that the Admission to the Bears should still be is.
Uproar took piaci on reading this Proposition, I:t'
0. P. rondo was danced, and loud and repeated ci lei
of 0. P. for ever I" resounded through the room
On silence being obtained, Mr. CLIFFORD hope
he might be allowed to read the Propositions, atte:
which he said he would put the question sep.o-ALciY
on each, and code'[ the votes of [lee meeting there,..::
The Sd Proposition was—
' That as splay shun* be made on the part of :le Propriettt