Star.
London, England, 1809-05-02 00:00:00

HOUSE OF COMMONS.

The Scotch Local Militia Amendment Bill was read a first
time, and ordered to be read a second time on Thursday next.
The Irish Insolvent Debtors' Bill was read a third time, and
ordered to the Lords.

The LORD ADVOCATE of SCOTLAND gave notice that
be would move to-tnorrow for leave to bring in a Bill for the re-
lief of the families of Militiamen in Scotland.

The Nova Scotia Trade Bill was read a. second time, and or-
dered to be committed to-morrow.

The LORD ADVOCATE of SCOTLAND brought up the
report of the North-America Trade Bill ; the amendments were
agreed to, and the Bill was ordered to be read a third time to-
morrow.

The second reading of the Catholic Claims Bill was postponed
to Wednesday se'nnight.

Sir JOHN.NEWPORT moved that there be laid before the
House an Account of all sums of money paid into the Treasury
of Ireland on account of the Army of Reserve by the Treasurers
of Counties; also an account of the Custom-house and Excise•
Officers of Ireland, receiving pensions en account of superannua-
tion ; and of all pensions payable out of the establishment of Ire-
land up to the Ist of January, 1809.—Ordered.
Mr. HUSKISSON brought in a Bill for regulating the Duties
on Sugar.—Read a first time, and ordered to be read a second
time to-morrow•.

'llie Reports of the Committees of Ways and Means and Sup-
ply were brought up and agreed to.
The House resolved itself into a Committee on the Irish Mili-
tia laws Amendment Bill; and the Report was ordered to be
taken into consideration on this day fortnight.
Mr. CANNING presented a copy of a Letter from Sir John
Moore to Mr. Frere, dated Salamanca, Nov. 16, 1808.—Ordered
to be printed.
Mr. TIERNEY wished 'to know whether the Right Hon.
Secretary would have any objection to lay before the House a
Copy of the Remonstrance sent by Sir lobo Moore to Mr. 1. rere,
on the subject of his calling a council of war, for the purpose of
examining Colonel Charmilly, as in that case, he should move for
a copy of that paper to-morrow.

Mr. CANNING said, he did not know whether *ere was any
paper in kis office of the description alluded to by the Right
Hon. Gentleman, and therefore he could not give p precise an-
swer on the subject.

Lord TEMPLE postponed his Motion relative to the affairs of
Spain, which stood tor to-morrow, to to-morrow se'nnight.
On the Motion of Mr. ROSE, the Prize Goods Sale Bill was
read a first time, and ordered to be read a second time to-
morrow.

Mr. WHITBREAD wished to know from the Chanceller of
the Exchequer, whether it was his intention to bring forward
a State Lottery in the course of the present Session of Par.
liament

'I he CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said, that he
had not yet made up his mind upon the subject, and therefore
ciuld not give a positive answer.
Mr. WHITBREAD then gave notice, that In the course of
next week he should submit to the HOUSe a Resoletfon relative to
State Lotteries, founded on the Report of the Committee last
appointed to inquire into the subject.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER assured the
Honourable Gentleman that if a Lottery should be found neces-
sary, every precaution would be devised to lessen the evil of in-
surance. '

Mr. WHITBREAD wished to be informed by some of the
Right Hon. Gentlemen opposite, whether Colonel De Cltarmilly,
besides the pay of his Commission in the Army, had not a pen-
sion from the British Government.

Mr. HUSKISSON said, that Colonel De Charmilly enjoyed
his full pay as a Colonel of horse; but, besides that, he was ig-
norant that he had any other provision from the British Go-
vernment.

pte•Pident eye to the* own interests, they had char-
ged five per cent. on the gross amount of the sales of
the proistrty committed tb their charge. When they
were asked by Mr. Pit►, at a peri•,d when Govern.
ment laboured under very. serious embarrassments, if
they could make any advance to the public ouz of
the baßinces which they held in their hands ? theyan-
swered no ; and yet at that time there was a very
large balance in their hands, which they were conver.
ting to their own privatf emolument. The Hon.
Member, after commenting at some length on the
abuses disclosed in the Report, said it might seem
something strange that Mr. John Bowles, a Member
of the Society for the Suppression of Vice, shoUld
have been concerrred in such transactions. It was
said that some of the Commissioners had given up
lucrative professions to devote themselve to the duties
of their situation, anti therefore they ought to be
handsomely remunerated. Mr. John Bowles might
have starved in his • profession, had he not found out,
under Mr. Pitt's administration, that the trade of an
anti-jacobin was a much more lucra:ive employment
than his own ; and this was the origin of all his
boasted zeal and loyalty. He conceived in the pre-
sent instance, that Government was much more cul-
pable than the Commissioners ; for what other con-
duct was to be expected from a hirling author like
Mr. Bowles, than that of which he had been guilty ?
Government, by its neglect, held out a bounty to
roguery. The Honourable Member said, he differed
from the Committee as to the remuneration which he
thought ought to be given to the Commissioners, and
was of opinion that their palpable malversation and
gross abuse of their trust, called aloud for the cen-
t sure of the House. After commenting at some
length on various parts of the evidence as given in
the Report of the Committee, he concluded with
moving a series of Resolutions to the following effect :

" That it appears to this House, that, to commit pecuniary
trusts of extraordinary magnitude to any persons whatsoever,
without settling the mode or amount of their remuneration, with-
out providing any checks on their proceedings, and without re•
minding them of their responsibility by calling on them for any re-
gular or periodical accounts, is a neglect which may lead to the
most prejudicial consequences, and is a deviation from the ac-
knowledged duty, and from the ordinary practice of Government.
" That it appears from the Fourth Report of the Committee
appointed to inquire into the expenditure of the public money,
that the Commissioners for the sale, management, and disposal
of Dutch property, have been guilty of gross abuses in the execu-
tion of their trust.

" That the said Commissioners be forthwith directed to use
their utmost diligence to make up and transmit their accounts to
the Lords of his Majesty's Privy Council, with a view to their
being submitted to the Board of Treasury, and by them referred
to the Auditors."

The first Resolution being read from the Chair,
Mr. THORNTON entered into some explanation
of the views upon which the Committee, of which he
was a member, had framed its Report. He had no
objection to the first Resolution proposed by the Hon.
Member, becaSse that was nearly in the words of the
Report to which he had already agreed ; but he
thought the best step for the Hon. Member to have
adopted would have been to inquire what course Go-
vernment had taken in consequence of the suggestion
of the Committee? If Government had done nothing,
it might then be very well for the Hon. Gentleman
to press his Resolutions ; 'but if it turned out tl4at the
recommendations of the Committee had been attended
to, then he did not see the necessity of them.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER de-
clared, that the principal directions of the Report had
been acted upon by the Treasury with as little delay
as possible. They had written to the Privy Council
to direct the Dutch Commissioners to make up their
accounts as speedily as they could, in order to their
being submitted to. the Auditors of the Pubic Ac-
counts ; and the Commissioners were directed to
charge a commission of 5 per Cent. on the net pro-
ceeds only of the property which passed through their
hands, and to render an account of the interest they
derived from balances of money in their possession.
This was the .recommendation of the Committee,
and upon it the Treasury had acted. The Right
Honourable Gentleman took a view of the nature of
the Commission under which the Dutch Commis.
sinners acted, and contended, that no degree of blame
attached to Government, that a settled remuneration
was not fixed for the Commissioners at their first
establishment. As for the first Resolution proposed
by the Honourable Member, he felt no extraordinary
interest in its rejection, because it attached equally to
other Administrations as well as that in which he had
a share ; but as he couldperceive no good that would
result from its standing on the Journals, and.the re-
commendations of the Committee had already been
attended to, he hoped the Honourable Member would
have no objection to withdraw it, otherwise he should
feel himself under the necessity of moving the previous
question.

SirJOHN NEWPORT supported the Resolutions.
A good deal more, he was of opinion, ought to be
done than was proposed by them, and if they were
agreed to, he should be disposed to follow them up
by an Address to his Majesty, praying that he would
give directions to his Attorney General to prosecute
the Commissioners for gross nialversation and fraud
in the execution of their trust.

Mr. ROSE said, he was ready to admit that there
had not been that strict attention, on the part of the
Treasury, under whom the Dutch Commissioners
had acted, which the importance of their charge re-
quired. The Commissioners, however, were not ap-
pointed by the Treasury, but by the Privy Council,
and being appointed, their accounts were to be ren-
dered to the Treasury. He never conceived that
they were to be allowed a poundage on the amount
of the property they were to dispose of, but, on the
contrary, imagined, that on the passing of their ac-
counts, they would receive such a compensation as
the nature of their occupation seemed to warrant.
With respect to the literary productions of Mr. John
Bowles, he had them certainly hid on his table, but
he would aver, with great confidence, that he never
read a single line of their contents.
Mr. WHITBREAD contended that it was incum-
bent on that House to express its marked reprobation
of the transaction—to place its finger on the guilty
persons, and particularly on one, who had for seven•
teen years been the favourite of the Treasury, and
the libeller of some of the most respectable Members
of both Houses. After such a scene of fraud as had
been disclosed, it was impossible to pursue any other
line of conduct. This man had been the CiAo of the
day, correcting 41 the vices of the public ; he wrote
SO pamphlets to favour of the Treasury, and, indeed,
the Right HonoUrable Gentleman paid him but an
ill compliment when he said he had never read any of

them. The Commissioner's were appointed to seee
from French rapacity Dutch vessels and property see,
for proteccion into our harbours. They did not w•
for remuneration in the ordinary way from thc
sury, but paid themselves for their trouLle.
took to themselves 5 per cent. on the Bros pr .
l'eeeds, and any thing more gross Was never heard (e.
They said they acted according to usage. This w,,
a gross falsehood, no such usage existed. The expl:..
nations they made were a gross aperavation of tle..e:
conduct ; they even went so far as to dare t 5 cane; ,
the votes of Members of that House. He wished a
bill of discovery might be filed against them, to male:
them account for the very last shilling they put is.
their pockets. He would not, like Mr. Bowles, tr
vel into the regions of the dead. That Saieeke, (eel,
meter had, in the grossest and most scandal,,.,, reae.
ner, calumniated the late Duke of Bedford after 1.:,
! death. He did not conceive it necessary to seek aft:e.
!-the evidence of persons who were no more.
was sufficient evidence without them. He thoue!e
it very extraordinary that the Right Hon. Genrik
who spoke last, had not thought of these Dutch
missioners since his return to office. A plee f
multiplicity of business could not avail him. I: eT,
material to carry on a prosecution against this es
! who, like a certain Athenian, might go home and
! regard the hisses of the populace; but unlike e.e
Athenian, he should not he able to console Lirriel:
his ill-gotten pelf; for that pelf he must re,teae......
Mr. Whitbread took notice cf the ilrit;:jaceilin Revitt.,
which was edited by three great men, ore cf them
was Secretary of State, the other had been appointed
Minister to Spain, and the third was Mr. John Beel„.
This was a work witch contained gross libels av,..inst
some of the first characters in the country. It web
the duty of every Member of Parliament to mark W:til
reprobation the conduct of men who had applied so
enormous a portion of money to themselves. Thee
were responsible for 40 or 50,0001. which they haat
suffered the public to lose, by not putting the money
in their hands out to interest. Mr. Bowles mi:;ht iu
his writings rail against Jacobins as much as he liked ;
but of all the Jacobinical acts he ever heard of zhii
was the greatest, fOr never was there an act that ten-
ded more to shake the monarchy of the courtry_
Here Mr. Whitbread quoted a passage from one of
Mr. Bowles's pamphlets, wherein he inveighed against
the insatiable love of gain, which characterized the
age we live in, and nothing could describe that gentle-
man's character better than the words used by
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER,
in explanation, said, if the auditors found the charges
were improper they would be disallowed.
Mr. ROSE said, the Commissioners ci:uld have
had no final remuneration until they pi-educed their
accounts.

Mr. HUSKISSOI4 said, in the multiFlicity cf
business that came before the Treasury, it was ia;t:
surprising that some omissions took place. Therefore
the House would not justly feel any disposition to pass
a heavy censure in a case of this kind.
Mr. PONSONBY said, it was impossible for the
House to pass over an act of negligence of this kind,
without due reprobation. Here 14. years were allowed
to pass over, during wh;ch, these Commissioners had
all this money in their hands, and they never was
called upon to give an account of their proceedings.
In allusion to the character and conduct of I\r.
Bowles, he read passages from one of hispamphlet:,
where he talked of men losing all conscience, and
having no principle to restrain them from vice; and
of men defrauding the public revenues in a most
shameful manner. Another passage alluded to the
fraud committed on the Bank, by a culprit, who
was one of those who had neglected the moral and
religious duties inculcated in the pamphlet. If Ili::
House passed all these abuses without notice,the public
would believe that it participated in the fruits of them.
Mr. MA R RIOTT observed, that the Hon. Gentle-
man who attacked Mr. Bowles was also a patuphle-
teer himself; and it appeared that two of a trail.:
could not agree. The circumstances which caused
the appointment of Mr. Bowles to be a Dutch Com-
missioner, was his having written an answer to
Paine's Age of Reason, which book was so approved.
of by Mr. Pitt, that he sent for him, and gave him
the appointment in question. He certainly disap-
proved of many parts of the conduct of these Com-
missioners ; but the House should wait until the ac-
counts were audited. •

Mr. PETER MOORE said, that this was a case
of two millions having been kept for fourteen yc.us
in the hands of individuals, for the purposes of tram!
and concealment. And if the House passed it Lnci,
the public would think it was the maxim in that
House, that public plunder was private virtue.
Mr. H. SMITH. wished to separate the conduct c f
Government entirely from that of the Commissioner-,
and that the latter should be preceeded against acce-
ding to last'.
The SOL ICITOR-GENERAL for SCOTLAND
vindicated the grounds on which his Right Halloo:-
able Friend (the Chancellor of the Exchequer)
op-
posed the resolu.tions.
Lord H. PETTY did not think that any War=
attached to the present or to the late Govert.ment.—
But yet a general censure and vote of reprobation
against the conduct of the former Government oudit
to be passed; for if the House did not express its
reprobation, nothing but contusion and fraud would
ensue.

Mr. BARHAM' said, there was here disclosed :t
most aggravated fraud, and the House had sou au
opportunity of restoring the public confidence, by
voting for the resolutions.
Mr. CANNING contended that the more foul the
transaction in question was, the more cautious shoule.
the House be of passing a vote that should involve in
the guilt of it, those against whom there Should be
no suspicion of connivance or neglect.
Mr. TIERNEY saw no reasonable ground of op-
position to the proposed resolutions. The House shouid
not wait for what would be done by auditors of ac-
counts, or the Privy Council, on the subject,
it should
shew the country what it was able to effect of itself.
( Hear, hear ! )
Mr. H. THORNTON read a Resolution, which,
he said, he framed for the purpose of doing away the
objections on the other side, and because one of the
original resolutions was rather too strong against the
Commissioners in point of their violating an Act cf.
Parliament, which, by its unspecific tenor, in saa.
measure created an apology for them. He did not
mean by this to say, that he did not entirely reprobate
th conduct.

-6.rw a~"

•i';ie Resolution of the Hon. Gentleman was in
effect as JO; iow s
‘• ArraNed, That the Commisßioner‘ of Dutch Prizes appoin-
ted the
rear 1;95, taking advantiige. of the neglect If Govern-
-; in: 0: :I;iving irterfrrid by investigating their conduct, Lave
their use, ard appropriated to their own purposes, several
I"'‘ t
• .nev which from time to time they should have lodfTd
pariC of Ergland, and that thereby they have-been guilty
lit/la:ion of pubic duty."
STEPHENS defended the previous question.
0.1.(»iel ELLISON gave his support to the
\-;cn.lment proposed by his Honourable Friend
Nl, Thornton.)
ORD made a few observations in reply. He
ti;,it he Nvould persevere in taking the sense of the
Mouse cr. the Resolutions he had the honour to pro-

t' The House then divided, when, the motion for the
question having been withdrawn, the origi-
; iZsolution Avai negatived : Ayes 77.—Noes 10'2.
The House again divided, the. word " omission"
proposed instead of " neglect," as an amend-
r,r,°, can Mr. Thornton's amendment (as we under-
. ..d) when the numbers were : Ayes 98—Noes 78.
.:-he Gallery being opened, the other Orders of the
Da were disposed of, anti the House adjourned at
half pat twelve.

REFORM OF PARLIAMEAT.

CROWN AND ANCHOR DINNER.

Yesterday the Meeting of the Friends of Reform
vs attended by above a thousand Gentlemen, who
cited together.
five the doors of the Great Room were thrown
even, and the room was full in a very few minutes.
Sverzl other Rooms were also thrown open for the
reeepticn of the company who could not get admis-
sion into the Great Room.
Sir FI:ANCIS BURDETT, Lord COCHRANE, Mr. WAR-
mr, and several of the Stewards, entered together,
aad were received with very loud applauses.
The first toast which was given after dinner was,
The King, and the principles which seated his
family on the throne." This toast was premised by
the Chairman (Sir F. ButoErr) with an observation
that the Sovereign was the person who was most
deeply interested in the promotion of those measures,
which they then assembled to promulgate. The toast
eras drank witn loud applauses. _ _

The second toast was, " The People," and the
" The Progress of Public Opinion," which were
Liso drank with loud -applause.

Sir FRANCIS BURDET7I then rose, and addressed the
kering to the following effect :
Gmtlemen—," Since I have had the honour of '
chosen Chairman to the very respectable meet li
-
i.a; I now see assembled, it becomes my duty to open
the business for which we are now met. It is impos-
saile that any subject of greater magnitnde or impor-
titae can be offered to your attention. It is of equal
heportance for the security of the Throne, as for the
',elution of your liberties. The importance, the ab-
s law necessity of Parliamentary Reform, seems now
to be so generally understood, by the enlightened
part (4 the community, that I fear that it would.
be an idle waste of your time, to endeavour, by any
words of mine, to make that plainer to your view,
which I am sure you see distinctly now, and which
kis been the cause of your meeting here this day. If
I feel any sort of didiculty in speaking on the subjitct
et Parliamentary Reform, it is only from the awk-
wardness of endeavouring to prove by reasoning,
t!!it which appears generally known and allowed. It
is like endeavouring to prove by reasoning that day
day, and night is night, to endeavour to prove
!!.it the interests of the people would be best attended
vt by Representatives of their own chusing. I liave
however heard many gentlemen of large estates ex-
;less doubts about the propriety of reform—it appears
t me that this is particularly surprising, as they them-
would never be content that their own estates
s:laild be managed by agents of any other person's
selection. If a Committee of Stewards were to get
together in London, and lay down laws to determine
hew their estates w ere to be let out, the gentlemen
would soon perceive the impropriety and absurdity
o strangers managing their estates ; and yet they did
tot sec the impropriety and absurdity of persons ma-
eaginie, not only the properties, but the liberties of
engliind at their pleasure, who were not the chosen
,gents of the people, but persons appointed to that si-
tuation from corrupt influence. 4,lause.) The whole
case respecting Parliamentary Reform had been
sated in 1793, by the society of " the Friedds of the
iple," so plainly, so clearly, and simply, that it
Was impossible to add much to that statement. It
weared at that time, that one hundred and fifty-
three individuals returned an absolute majority of the
Ifease of Commons. Nothing could be more evi-
due than the impropriety of committing all the great
;:terests of the nation to agents not chosen by them-
e..'ves, but by lob individuals. From this great im-
peipriety had proceeded the many evils with which
tie nation was now afflicted. Many people, how-
ever, have now grown somewhat wiser from experi-
re and joined in our opinion,,,who were originally
d astray by misrepresebtation and unfounded alarm.
Tile corruption which had been brought to light by
'.!.e persevering exertions of an individual (Colonel
.adle) wlea now honours this company with his
:,:e,..nce—(l,outi applause)) had made a great change
I:. ;he kyieions of some Gentlemen. The undaunted
and persevering exertions of that Gentleman had
brought to light matters which were of great import-
eece to be known, and have given him that weight
and character in the country which he so well de-
I.ves (4pidater6.--lie was not to be deterred from
honourable pursuit either by numbers or by power;
he first undertook the business, alone and unsupport-
ed. Many who before that time had been led away
by false alarm, are now undeceived and convinced
that they mistook the real ground of alarm. It was
nO: a wholesome reform that they should have been
larmed at, but those abuses to which they clung. It
isenpossible tD retrace the history of the later years,
vehout seeing how the ancient liberties of the people
0 this country had been infringed, and by the Parlia-
.nt, as it is now constituted. If we go back to did
ee_hte which is now almost obsolete, Magna Charm,
the Petition of Rights, which was only a deve-
• :-Prrwy.t of those principles which had been always
in this country by our ancestors, we
• .1d %:!e how oppotite the conduct of Parliament has
in later years to all the principles which had
el held dear by Englishmen, from the obtaining of
Gr. at Charter down to the time of the Revolukon.

A

If we look at the Revolution, at the petition of Rights,
and all those measures which placed the present Fa-
mily on the Throne, we find that the system which
has been pursued in later times is as contrary to the
principles which placed the present family on the
throne, as it has been contrary to the best interests
and genuinefeeling of the British nation. At the time
of the Revolution, it was stipulated on the part of the
people with William 111. (who accepted the Crown
under this stipulation) that none of those grievances
should exist of which the people now so justly com-
plain. Among the many abuses which our ancestors
could not endure, they reckoned the standing army
which was kept up by James 11. and which was one
et the abuses, that led immediately to drive
that unhappy Prince from the throne. Although I
do consider our standing army as a force most dan-
gerous to the liberties of the people, and most weak
and ineffectual as a means of defending the country
from invasion, yet it has been so long interwoven
with the system of our Government, that I feel al-
most ashamed to condemn it as an abuse, although
it appeared to our forefathers as an abuse of such
enormity as was sufficient to justify them in driving'
King James and his family from the throne. The
violation of the freedom of election was an offence'
that appeared to our ancestors of great magnitude ;
and yet we have now every day proofs of the free-
dom of election being so violated. We have seen
lately a Minister of State (Lord Castlereagh) guilty
of the shameful abase of his official patronage to in_
fluence the election of a Member of Parliament, and
yet the House of Commons protected that criminal.
If there was not any other argument necessary to use
in favour of Parliamentary Reform, that single in-
stance would be sufficient (Certainly, certainly and Ica
applause). All the evils we endure, all the grievances
we suffer, and the oppressions which we are bound to
witness, proceed from the want of a fair representa-
tion. It has been the perpetual practice of every Mi-
nister for many pars past to force his tools into the
House as substitutes for the real representatives of the
people (applause.) At the time that Lord Castle-
reagh's conduct was under consideratim of the House
there were many persons who unblushingly said, that
it would be a great hardship to punish a man for an
offence that he committed by accident. These gentle-
men wished to describe Lord Castlereagh as an inno-
cent young man, who had accidentally become a
dupe to an impostor. Others had represented, that
it was a great mitigation of his offence, that the crime
was not absolutely completed. This put him in mind of
an epitaph that was written on old Chartres, a man
notorious for his infamy as well as for his wealth and
the high situations which he had filled. This man was
at a very advanced period of his 1 ife tried and con-
demned for a rape. The point of the epitaph was,
thathaving every day, of his life deserved to diefor what
he did, he was at length condemned to death for what
lie could not do. This case seemed to him strongly to
apply to the case of Lord Castlereagh (4 laugh. )
After the variety of transactions of this sort in which
he was engaged, he was at length brought to his trial
and condemned by the public opinion, for a corrupt job
which he was not able to complete. I felt considerable
indignation at Ministers setting up this defence fief- a
colleague, when I recollected that the poor Cornish
tinman (Hamlin) was prosecuted and absolutely
ruined for ofiering a bribe to Mr. Addington. The
offence of offering a bribe was then reckoned most
serious in an humble individual, but in a Minister of
State it was said to be absolutely nothing, unless the
bribe was taken and the transaction completed. If I
were really to express my whole feeling upon the
protection which Lord Castlereagh has met, I should
be obliged to use words which would not be fit or pru-
dent for me to use in such an essembly. The House'
of Commons, however, now stands in this aukward
predicament ; they have in their records a Resolu-
tion of the year 1779 against those practices, and
pledging the House to punish them when detected,
and another of the present year declaring that they
would not punish in a case where the guilt was con- •
fessed. There is another grievance of which we have
a right to complain. By the words of the Act of
Settlement, " No person holding places, pensions, or
emoluments under the Crown, should nave seats in
the House of Commons." The reason of this was
manifest, and if this provision in the Act of Settle-1
ment had been adhered to, most of the evils would
have been avoided, of which the cottntry now com-
plained. It was also expressly stated and stipulated
at'the Revolution, that this country should never go
to war for the defence of his Majesty's foreign pos.
seesions ; and yet the war in which we are at present ,
engaged, was principally with the view of saving his
Majesty's foreign possessions, and the late Ninisters ;
had even made the recovery of those possessions a I
sine qua non isf peace. If you will take the trouble'
of inquiring into the history of this &rough-monger
faction (for I will not dignify it with the name of
Government), you will find that they have brought
back upon this country all those grievances and;
abuses which our forefathers so manfully resisted.—
It is no answer to the people to say, that it is
their Parliament that has done all this. This
makes the matter worse ; it is like that crime which
was mentioned in the Bible, of seething the Lid in its
mother's miM. This was turning to death that which
was given to nourish and support liter It was the
worst of poisons that was thus extracted from that'
which was given as a remedy. (Loud zipplause).l
We cannot forget the sacrifices which the country has
made, and is now making ; we cannot forget, cr at
least I cannot forget, the long, cruel, and oppressive
imprisonments which innocent individuals have suf-
fered in this country front the iron hand of despotic
power. How many innocent men have been immur-
ed for years in prisons, and never allowed the oppor- •
tunity ufjostifyiseg their innocence by being brought
to trial ! We have seen the seas covered with exiles
from their country, and the shores polluted by blood
in one part el the United Kingdom ( I mean Ireland),
and when we turn our eyes at home, what has been
our situation for many years? Have se not seen
innocent men immured for many years in solitary
dungeons, and afterwards deprived of redress at
law against those who inflicted this cruel injury ?
Have we not seen a Boroughtnon:7,cr Parliament giving
indemnity to the persons who thus deprived their
countrymen of their liberty ?—lt is now no question
who were the guilty men, for the Ministers confessed
their guilt in asking an • indemnity for themselves,
whet. no indemnity was given to the unfortunate suf-
ferers. ( Loud applause.) Gentlemen, when I men-
tion these things, I must add, that 1 should not be in

_

the least surprised If a similar sera was now commenc-
ed. I should not be in the least surprised if some
alarm were now to be raised, and similar measures at-
tempted. The cause in which we are embarked is
sufficient to alarm the Borough-mongers; and they will
doubtless endeavour, by every misrepresentation, to
excite a cry against the Friends of Reform. I firmly
believe, that these persecuted persons of whom I have
been speaking had no other object but .a fair Parlia-
mentary Reform, (app/auses), and the Borough-
mongers have the same interest and the same motives
to persecute the Friends of Reform as they had then.
It is enough, however, for the nation to be once
duped by their artifices ; and if they attempt to play
over again that wicked game, I hope that the good
sense of this country will resist them with firmness and
moderation. I am convinces that unless we have a
Reform in Parliament, there will be nothing existing
in the country which will deserve the name of free.
dom. lam certain that this measure will be no less
beneficial to the King upon his throne, than to the
liberty and prosperity of the country. (App/auses.)
His Majesty is now bound down by this faction of
Borough-mongers—he cannot carry on his fair share
of the Government without employing them as inter-
' mediaries—he is thereby prevented from that first
honour which the Conititution intended to repose in
him. The profligate waste of the public money must
also affect him in another manner. There is certainly
no sum which he or his family could reasonably de-
mand from the nation that would not cheerfully be
Fiven, if it were not that the national wealth is wasted
In consequence of the prevailing system of corruption.
As to the foibles or follies of some of his family, we
should be well disposed to shin our eyes against them,
if we were but allowed our Constitution and our liber-
ties. We certainly cannot expect Princes to be all per-
fection, and we should be very ready to shew every in-
. dulgence to them, if we on the other hand were to be in-
dulged with our liberties and rights. There is one cir-
cumstance that I can mention with pleasure; the Prnice
in whom the nation has thegreatest interest, has not been
subject to the slightest suspicion in consequence of any
of the late disclosures. If I were asked which of the fa-
mily I believed to possess most of the true spirit of an
Englishman, I would say that prince (the Prince of
Wales). Ido therefore really suppose, that it is not
impossible but that persons in his situation may feel
; a common interest, and make a common cause with
the people of the country. (L.ud Applauses.) We,
• want no speculative plans, no new systems or novelties
of any kind ; we only want to be put back again in
the situation that the country was formerly placed
with respect to its rights. We want to have some
security in future against the recurrence of the abuses
of which we now complain. This is the whole extent
of my wishes. (290/auses.) I never wish to call
' forth the full vengeance of the country against any
detected individn it ; for it is not with individuals, but
with a corrupt system that lam at war. In the House
of Commons it was alledged in favour of Lord Castle-
reagh, that if those who were to be his judges were
J asked, if they were not themselves conscious of offen-
ces of this description ? they could not deny it. Now-
" I firmly believe that this is the case generally ; and
it being the case, what hope can the country have,
I except in.,representatives chosen in another manner,
I and who shall be the real agents of the people ? (Loud
Applauses.) As to what is called partial reform, I con-,
I sider that as doing no manner of good. For example,
Ithe Chancellor of the Exchequer is bringing in a Bill to
prevent the trafficking in places (and these are the kind
of things which are calledpartial reforms) ; and yet that
same Minister, at the same time, was protecting Lord
Castlereagh for the worst species of trafficking in
places ; namely, the applying, not his own money,
but his official patronage, for the purpose of corrupt,
ing and polluting the national representation. —(41:-
I plaus.•.)—l firmly believe. that none of those measures
called partial reforms, would be of the slightest ser-
vice ; but that, on the contrary, they might remove
us to a greater distance from the attainment of our
wishes, a fair and just government. I remember to
I have read a story of a noble Genoese of great wealth,
who seeing that his country was burthened with an
oppressive tax on salt, conceived the idea of accumu-
lating so much wealth as would purchase up this tax,
and relieve his countrymen from the pressure of it.
Having formed this resolution, be was content to pass
his life in misery and privations of every sort ; he was
content to live despised as a niggardly wretch ; but
when he died, he left sufficient wealth to buy up from
the Government those salt duties. It would be sup-
posed, that by this patriotism he had rendered great
service to his country : but it was not so. The in-
j famous Government of that country soon renewed
' those taxes which he hadso bought up; and I ant firmly
convinced,that the Government of this country would
not act a whit better in similar circumstances. Against
the system of a fair representation, a kind of sentiment
had been expressed in the Upper House of Parliament,
about temperate, rational, and moderate reforms. If
this meant any thing short of giving the people their
fair constitutional rights, he hoped the nation would
reject such a system. (Applause.) Lord Grey, who
was the person that was reported to have used this
language, was said to have passed his censure on
many of the friends of reform, and by his rational and
temperate, or moderate reform, be appeared to imply
that other people were not rational, or temperate, or
moderate. Lord Grey was once the great champion
of reform ; certainly, we must hope he will not now
be an enemy to it. The people of England have how-
ever shewn so much patience under their burdens, and I
so much moderation, that I think Gentlemen that are
disposed to pronounce lectures on moderation would
do much better to address them to the oppressors
of the people. It was proposed to Parliament some
years ago, that a badge of honour should be given
to those men who had brought up large families with-
out taking alms of the parish ; now 1 wish that some
badge of infamy should be worn on the bosoms of
those great men, who by direct and indirect means!
not only ask but extort alms from every labourer in
the country. (Loud applause.) Another abuse of
which the country has a right to complain, is the in-
troduction of foreign soldiers for the defence of this
• country. As to our regular army, I consider it a
very weak and ineffectual defence against any inva-
der. I Should wish to see all classes of the commu-
nity, the gentry, the merchants, the tradesmen, and
the labourers, organized and armed in the defence
of the country. I should wish to see the 'plough and'
the sword in the same hands (Loud applause.) This
was the mode in which nations used to be formerly
defended, and I am convinced Qur standing armies

_. ~ {t

.

are both enormously expensive, and have a tendencr
to enslave the country ; but that they are too weak to
defend it. It was however beneath the heart and spi-
rit of Englishmen to seek defence from for.Ugn mer-
cenaries It was degrading and insulting to every
British feeling to hear a German officer, a Baron
sonr:tody or oilier, appointed to the cnmmsni of an
English district. (It is shameful, from many per-
sons.) When I look at the Noble DIM, my colleague
BLord Cochrane) I am convinced that the spirit of
ritons is now as high as at any former period of our
history. ( Very loud and long continual applaurer.)—lf
I say no more of him, it is because I kauw him well,
and that he is afraid of nothing but of hearing his own
praises. (Applause:.) I therefore will not hurt his
feelings by expressing those sentiments which I would
otherwise be very happy to have an opportunity of
expressing. He concluded by explaining what he had
said at Westminster Hall respecting the Country
Gentlemen, and declaring that he considered agri-
cultural pursuits highly becoming to the Gentry of
the Country, but that they should always feel that it
was of secondary importance, and that their great
paramount duty was that which they owed to their
country. After recapitulating many of the senti-
ments he had delivered in his speech, he concluded
by giving the next toast, _ _ _

"—A speedy Reform in the Representation of tile People."
Major CARTWRIGHT said he rose for the purpose or
moving the Resolutions of the worthy Baronet, and
the support of which was the great object of the Meet-
ing. It was not his intention to dilate upon their.me-
rits ; they must speak for themselves. They were in-
tended by hina who drew them up to constitute a
continued chain of reasoning, appealing not to the
passions but to the reason of the Assembly, and to
the judgment of the Country Gentlemen. The Hon.
Gentleman here read the Resolutions ; he wished to
have them put, one by one—(A loud cry of No, no—
all together—do'nt separate them.)—According to the
unanimous desire of the Meeting, the Resolutions
were then put all together, and carried nem. con.

Resolved, I. That it is" the grand principle of the Constitutiert
that the people shall have a share in the Government, by a just
representation iu Parliament."

2. That the long duration of Parliaments greatly facilitates the
corruption of the Mcmhers, and removes that wholesome check
or controul on their conduct, a frequent recurrence to the opinions
of their Constituents.

3. That in a Petition presented to the House of Commons on
the 9th May 1793, it was offered.to be proved at the Bar," that
154 individuals did, by thttir own authority, appoint or prccure
the return of 307 Members of that House," (exclusive of those
from Scotland,) " who were thus enabled to decide all questions
in thenanie of the whole people of Great Britain."
4. That in the Act (commonly called the Act of Settlement,)
which placed the House of Brunswick on tho Throne of these
Realms, it was asserted and recognised as the constitutional prin-
ciple, that no person who " has an office or place of profit under
the King, or receives a pension from the Crown, shall be capable
of se: ving as a Member of the House of Cotnmons."

5. That it appears by a Report laid on the Table of the House
of Commons in June last, that 78 of its Mensbers are in the re-
gular reeeipt under the Crown of £178,994 a year.
6. That in 1782 it was declared by Mr. Pitt in the House of
Commons that " 7 or 8 Members of that House were sent there
by the Nabob of Arcot; and that a foreign State, in enmity to
this country, might procure a party to act for it under the mask
and character of Members of that House."

7. That such a state of representation is a national grievance.
8. That in every department of the State into which inquir.y bas
been made, scandalous corruptions and abuses have been detected.
9. That the exclusion of the public voice from all influence in,
and the consequent corruption of, the Governments of the Conti-
nental States, have been the causes of their subjugation. -
10. That so long as the people shall not be fairly represented,
corruption will increase-r-our debts and taxes will accumulate--
our resources will be dissipated—the native energy of the people
will be depressed—and the country deprived of its best defence
against foreign toes.

That,ll. to remedy the great and glaring evils of which we
complain, it is not necessary to have recourse to theoretical specu-
lations, or dangerous experiments in Govenirment, but to recur to
the principles handed dowu to us by the wisdom and virtue of
our forefathers.

12. That the remedy is to be found, and to be found only in a
full and fair representation of the people in the Commons House
of Parliament ; a remedy equally necessary to Jhe safety of the
Throne, and the happiness and independence of the country.
13. 1 hat we therefore recommend to every Town, City, and
County to take the state of the representation into consideration,
and urgently, but temperately, to apply to Parliament to adopt
such measures as shall secure to the nation the reality and uses of
representation.
_ _ _

-Mr. MADDOCKS seconded the resolutions, and with
great pleasure ; for in his conscience he believed that
they contained the truth, the whole truth; and nothing
but the truth. Having pledged himself in his place
in the House of Commons to bring forward the
question of Parliamentary Reform, no consideration
should induce him to abandon his purpose. The ca-
lamities, as well of the present, as of former times,
were attributable solely to the defective representation
of the people ; on which subject, after the able speech
that had already been delivered, he should deem it
presumptuous •to expatiate. He congratulated the
Meeting on the rising sense of the country in favour
of Reform, for which they were certainly indebted
to the perseverance and ability of Colonel Wardle.
He was happy that from his long habitudes of. ac-
quaintance with Colonel \Vai dle, he could bear tes-
timony to his great merit in the execution of his duties
in the district in which be resided. As a magistrate,
as a man, as a master, and as a landed proprietor,
his conduct was most exemplary. But the great and
striking .feature in his character was that of mode-
ration, which bad rarely been equalled, and certainly
never excelled. And he was sure that he had acquired
the confidence of the sober and rational part of the
community. He had attempted this morning to Wake
out a short abstract of the ;.-.,tte of the representation
in the House of Commons, but u;as unwilling to take
up the time of the Meeting with the detail. (.4 load
cry of Read! Read!) If its vas the pleasurepfthe
1 IMeeting that he should read the statement, be cer-
tainly should comply with their wishes. There • were
26 burgage tenures, that were private proper sr,
which returned 52 members ; there were 51 boroughs,
the voters in each of which did not, in the average,
exceed 50 in number ; which boroughs returned 100 .
members ; 23 boroughs, in each of which the number
of voters did net exceed 100, returned 45 members ; .
25 boroughs, in each of which the voters did not ex-
ceed 200, returned 56 members. At the end of the
`list there were two unfortunate boroughs, the voters
of which did not exceed 300, who returned four mem-
. bers ;- 257 members being precisely a majority of
the leading members of 'the House of Commons- cf
England, were returned by 11,075 voters: They had
thus taken a view of numbers, from which he begged
to divert their attention to the subject. of influence.
In the year 1793,' it was' stated, that 71 Peers And
the Treasury returned 126 Members. In the calcu-
lation of the Friends of the People. in 1793, nocaleu.
lation could be taken of subsects !fit eventr, which
have greatly altered the state and extent of illialUlaga