Star.
London, England, 1820-03-08 00:00:00

MIDDLESEX ELECTION.

A numerous and respectable assemblage of Free-
holders of the Countr c.f Middle,e: took place yes,'
ur Jay, at the l'roemasons. Tavern, in queen-strnt,
Lincoln's Inn-fields, fur the purpose of considering
an Address presented to CltAttr.r.s SAMUEL Willi.-
BrEAD, Esq. second son of tie late SAMUEL Wilrr-
carm), Esq. inviting him to become a Candidate for
t! e. it.:i;:•esentation of the County, te:ether with his
:tamer to that Adtl:2s,.

At one o'clock, the Rev... Mr. DRAPER addressed
the Meeting, and, after an intimatioa that it was
now time to proceed to the business of the day, moved
that Mr. Martin (a Gentleman at the Chancery-bar)
shOuld take the Chair.

This motion was carried unanimously.
The CHAIRMAN then signified, that haying' been
aapoi.ited by so narneorts and respectable a bOdy of
Gentlemen to fireside over their deliberations on this
ceeasion, he was not aware that he could better dis-
cearge his duty than by commencing with a state-
n:en: of the communications which had already taken
piaee between Mr. Whitbread and these who signed
the Addre:s conveyed to him. With their Fermis-
sue, thercet.e, this correspondence should be now read.
Toe Meeting seemed to approve of this suggestion;
but a panse ensued, in consequence of there Leing
no copy of those documents at hand.
Sir f7ItANC.ii Illornare, who had previously en-
tered the room, was received with loud cheers, and
the most general manifestations of applause.
Mr. NrotetiaN came forward to propose the first
Resolution, winch was to the follow effect: " That
the distressed state of Commerce and Agriculture in
this once happy country, the increasing discontents,
acid aggravated and overwhelming bordens im-
pose I upon the People, called for serious considera-
then throagh every part of the United Kingdom, but
nowhere mine imieratively than in its Metropolitan
caunty."—Tiiii Resolution was seconded, and car-
ried unanimously.
Sir FraNcis BURDETT, in rising to submit the
second Resolution, observed, that it was now many
years since he and the Freeholders of Middlesex had
been :connected. They, however, could not have
forgotten the struggle in which they had been, toge-
ther with himself, engaged, nor. the manner in which
the present Member, at the tail of a severe contest,
had been forced, by Ministerial influence, into a si-
tuation to which the free and unbiassed votes of the
electors would never have appointed him. The Frea-
holders of the County had now, however, an oppor-
tunity of disengaging themselves from such a tie,
or at least to make an independent effort, in order
to shake off a Representative who had, during a
series of years, been the constant, uniform, and so
far consistent, supporter of that system and course
of measures which he and they, and all who had a '
will of their own, deprecated and deplored (Applause).
—lt was not till this morning that an overture had
been made to him, inviting him to attend this Meet-
ing, and support the Gentleman whose name had
been submitted to their choice. Although it was
impossible for him to speak of one of whom he had
no personal koowledge in terms of panegyric, and
although the youth of the Gentleman must also
prevent any other persea from pronouncing an eulo-
gium on his merits, they had yet some assurance
derived from the ability and services of his lamented
father, and to which assurance would probably be
added, a frank and explicit avowal of his own send- ;
ments. When he said this, be meant such an avowal
as would justify the Freeholders in their choice, and '
in the contribution of their support—an avowal that '
should justify their good-will towards him, and their
ill-will towards his opponent. He must, of course,
be understood as expressing nothing more than poli-
tical ill-will—a feeling of political hostility towards
one whom he could not but regard as inimical to
their rights and liberties, the supporter of every
innovation on the ancient laws of the land, and as
steadily assisting in the imposition of all those bur-
dens under which' the country now groaned.—
Looking at the subject in this point of view, he sin-
cerely hoped that Middlesex would on this occasion
assert its former character, and re-assume, in the
eyes of a great and intelligent Nation, that attitude
of spirit and independence which in other times it
was its glory to maintain—( Loud applause).—The
Resolution which had been put into his hand stated,
That in the deplorable state of things, tending di-
rectly to subvert all social order and to demoralize
the People, we cannot fail to discover cause and ef-
fect ; and while we deplore a taxation so utterly. be- ,
yond our strength, and a Debt for which the produc-
tive industry of the country for ages to come has
been mortgaged, we feel that, in having heretofore
returned to Parliament an avowed partisan of a sys-
tem so vicious, we have ourselves contributed to the
grievances of which we complain." There was little
on the face of this proposition which it appeared to
hint possible to dispute, and nothing but his respect
for those whom he was oddly:sing, would have in-
duced him to oi:er anything in confirmation of the
undeniable trtol.s which it contained. All must join
in deploring the present amount of taxation, although
the question as to tire means by which it had been
imposed might be matter of dissent. With those
who had incurred that taeetion, by supporting what
tney deemed or characterized as a just and necessary
war—as a war that could not be avoided without en-
dangering our national honour and safety, any com-
plaint against that taxation would nut be consistent,
unless they acknowledged that they were the dupes
of wicked and artful men, by whom they were led
into the support of an unnecessary and ruinous sys-
tem of measures. But whatever might be the con-
. duct or feeling of such men, there could be no apo-,
logy for those who had opposed the war from the'
c etset—who had maintained, that if a different course
cf measures had been pursued, it would have led to
a different result, if they did not raise their voice
•against the present state of things—(elpp/ause).—
Tnere might be some difference of opinioa as to the
preptiety of a retrospect, or of calling those to ac-
couot who had occasioned our present misfortunes ;
lert there could, he apprehended, be no difference
whatever, unless among those who were absolutely
bliodfclded as to the necessity cf looking forward
and providiag some remedy fur the manifold evils
notice which the Nation at present laboured—(Ap-
Fause).—lt was obvious, that under the present in-
congruous and absurd system of Representation, the
power of returning the Members of the House of

Commons belonged to a comparative few, while the
great majority of the intelligence and property of the
country were utterly excluded;_ while, indeed, the
owners of that property had no more to do with the
election of the persons who were to dispose of or le-
gislate for it, than they had with the appointroent'of
the Grand Seignior—(Applauscs).---This was the great
evil that loudly called for a cure, and without which
no effectual remedy was ever likely to be had for the
many other evils that afflicted the country. Ile
hoped, then, that this great Metropolitan County
would not allow its character to be again,violated by
:he re-election of a man -Alm was the avowed enemy
of any such measure. But to guard against such a
violation, the People must contribute theft- active and
liberal assistance. For the same system of corruption
which held the Boroughs in complete subjection, had
so undermined the Constitution as to render the
means of an individual, generally speaking, inade-
quate to defray the expenses of a County Election.—
But he had no doubt that the Freeholders of Mid-
dlesex would so contribute, on this occasion, as
to insure the exclusion of a Gentleman from the Re-
presentation of the County, who, without any per-
sonal disrespect for him, was never fit or worthy to
have been placed there. Those whom he had the ho-
nour to address, would, he trusted, as well as others,
feel the strong stimulous to exertion which offered on
this occasion, and return to the old constitutional
practice of returning a Representative free cf ex-
pense—(App!auses). For this was the course to pur-
sue, in order to further the principle of Reform, for
the attainment of which, no doubt, Mr. Whitbread
was anxious—(Applauses). If it were said of this
young Gentlen:an that the Public had as yet had no
experience of his principles, it could be urged in his
favour that he was free from reproach, and that, at
least, he could bear very well' any comparison with
the character of his opponent—(Applause ayal laugh-
ter). Adverting to the language of the Ministe-
rialists in Parliament, and of all their tools of the
Press out of it, as to the disturbance of social order,
and the demoralization of the People, the Honourable
Baronet asked, whether any thing could be more cal-
culated to promote immorality that the present sys
tem of Election, the mere contemplation of which
was enough to make every man of honest feelings
shudder ?—(Applause) This system it was, indeed,
which had occasioned the degradation of the People
and the Parliament. But it was materially aided in
its operation by its natural ally, the Spy system, as
well as by the practice which had recently obtained,
of casting dust into tile eyes of the People through the
medium of' Courts of Justice—he meant that practice
of committing one man to prison for an act of which
a Minister of the Crown, confessedly guilty, was en-
tirely acquitted, because, forsooth, such acts were—
" as notorious as the sun at noon-day !" Gentle-
men would, of course, understand that he alluded to
the c.t,e of Sir Manasseh Lopez, compared to that of
Lord Castlereagh—(Applauses).--But Sir Manasseh,
who was an old dealer in Borough business, had no f-a-
mily connection, or great Parliamentary interest, or
lordly patronage. He- might have been influenced
in his conduct, like others, by the dazzling prospect
of those coronets and honours of which the Crown
had the power of disposing, which were originally
meant to be the reward of virtue, but which, of late,
had too often become-the reward of vice—(Applause):
The " Worthy Baronet," as he and others of the same
rank were generally called, was, however, disap-
pointed in his speculations, for he had been sent to
prison for a very long period and fined £lO,OOO.
This he (Sir F. Burdett) could not help thinking a
very severe extent of suffering, which could not be
warranted, and the more so, as such suffering could
answer no useful object, especially while the recol-
lection remained that his competitor in the same
practice enjoyed, not merely complete impunity, but
one of the highest offices in the State. But Sir Manas-
seh had no connection with the great lordly Bo-
roughmongering interest which governed the coun-
try, and which felt no solicitude about him. He was
a trafficker upon hi s 'own bottom!—(Applause). For
this observation about the Boroughmongering Gen-
tlemen he might be charged with libel, as he had
been for his Letter to the Westminster Electors, in re-
probation of the atrocities at Manchester; but no
matter, if such a charge were preferred, he should
be pi epared to meet his accusers with as little appre-
hension as he felt in the prospect of meeting the At-
torney-General's charges of " sedition, malice, and'
disaffection," at the approaching Assizes of Lcices-
tet—(Loud applause). But, to return to the cases of Sir
Manasseh and Lord Castlereagh, was not, he would
ask, the comparison of these cases peculiarly calcu-
rated to pervert that sense or love of justice for which
the eh-al:refer of England had formerly held a para-
mount rank among the nations of the earth ? Fos-
these cases sheaved that the equal rule of justice was
set aside in this country—(Applause). Yet what end
could be answered by the punishment of Sir Manasseh
Lopez ?It was vain to suppose that Sir Manasseh could
be made the scape goat of Israel in this case, or that
he could carry away on his.back all the evil and all
the odium of Borough corruption. On the contrary,
be apprehended, that such punishment of one man,
compared with the reward of another, could only
tend. to demoralize the country, and to sow disaffec-
tion between the People and the Government—(Ap-
plauses). The Honourable Baronet, after an anirria-
ted exhortation to the People to do each his own.
duty in this case, by contributing, according to his
means, to the common cause, observing, that al-
though the exertion of one man might be small to-
wards himself, it might be important towards the
whole, concluded by impressing upon them, for their
common safety, the necessity of casting their eyes for-
, ward, even if it were determined not to cast their eyes
backward, with a view to promote that Reform for
which nine-tenths of the country most anxiously
looked ; because it was the strong conviction of all
candid intelligent men, that through Reform alone
the country could be rescued from its present unex-
ampled condition of distress and suffering—(Loud
and long continued applause).
The Resolution proposed by the Honourable Baro-
net was agreed to unanimously.
The CutiutsiAN then read several letters, and
among them one from Lord John Russell, Mr. Ro•
binson, and Mr. P. Moore. . }ach of the writers ex-
pressed regret at his inability to attend the Meeting,
inclosed a subscriptim, and promised to take down
a certain number of Electors to Brentford, free of
expense.
Mr. BueroN stated, that he had received, since be

came into the ream, a list of 200 Electors, who
ttilheemHsenls7insgtsoatvottheefiorrowMnr.elxSpletnitsber.ead, and
polegdogetdo
The Rev. Mr. DRAPER, forcibly urged the claims
of Mr. Whitbread to the confidence and, esteem of
the Electors of Middlesex, from the general charac-
ter of his family, but particularly from the signal
patriotism of his lamented father, whose footsteps
this able and interesting yOung Gentleman pledged
himself to follow. He animadverted upon the con-
duct and character of Mr. Mellish, who was in every
respect unworthy to be the colleague of Mr. Byng,
and whose ret:.en, from his opposite principles to
thateGentleman, served to render the Representation
of Middlesex, in the !louse of Commons, quite nuga-
tory for any purpose of constitutional freedom.
The several Resolutions being agreed to,
Mr. WHITBREAD was ushered into the room by
several of his friends, and he was received with the
loudest and most enthwiastic acclamations of ap-
plause, which continued for some time after he had
taken his station beside the Chair mans Ile seemed
quite overcome by his feelings, and after some
pause, during Which the Chairman read to him the
Resolutions which had been carried, he addressed
the Meeting
.to the following effect :—" I am too
much unaccustomed to public speaking, and'too sett;
sible of my general inadequacy to the task, not to
feel very fully, at the present moment, the greatest
apprehensions lest I should fail in expressing my deep
sense of the honour conferred upon me by the pro-
ceedings of this Meeting. But I trust, that however.
feebly I may express myself, or whatever may be the
result of this contest, you will give me credit for
being sincere, when. I say; that the gratitude I now
feel, will never be effaced from my memory. The
motives which have led you, Gentlethen, to bring
me forward, are as gratifying to me as they are ho-
nourable to yourselves. Unknown as lam in public
life, it is evident to every man in this great Metropo-
litan County, that no personal feelings, no paltry con-
siderations of self interest, have occasioned the present
contest, but that its sources on your part are most
pure and unadulterated. Your object is to return to
Parliament a second Representative, who will ho-
nestly, steadily, and actively oppose the inroads which
his Majesty's present Ministers are but too frequently,
too willingly, and too successfully making in our
valuable-Constitution—a Representative whom you
believe to cherish those sentiments that placed the
House of Brunswick on the Throne, and who will
use his best endeavours to give new life to those
measures that gave to this country a free enjoyment
of Civil and Religious Liberty. To procure for your-
selves sueh a Representative, you have shewn that
you are willing to make the greatest personal sacri-
Ices. You have said that my name, should I be
placed by your powerful exertions in the House of
Commons, will be a sufficient guarantee for such a
line of conduct as you desire being pursued by me.
The motive that has induced you to. select me is so
honourable to my family, that I must be dead to one
of the best feelings of our nature did it not stimdlate
me to prove, that, as far as my abilities will permit,
it will be my first endeavour that your expectations
should not be disappointed. Perhaps, Gentlemen, it
may be expected of me to make a more explicit
avowal of my sentiments on that most important
subject of Reform-4 say most important, for on that
depends the very existence of our remaining liberties.
No one sees more clearly than I do die absolute ne-
cessity of a thorough Reform in the House of Com-
mons> in,its present corrupt state. But this subject is
surrounded with so many difficulties, that it is diffi-
cult to say what plan it would be most advisable to
pursue. This, however, is not the time for the advo-
cates of Reform to be wasting their strength in vain
disputes about any particular plan of Reform, whilst,
all agree that their grand object is the same—to ob-
tain an efficient, free, and independent House of
Commons. I will not longer detain you, than merely
to beg that you will accept of my warmest and most
unfeigned acknowledgments for the exertions you
have made to place me in a situation of which I ever
must be proud. With a continuation of those exer•
tions I have no doubt of final success ; and remem-
ber, Gentlemen, the triumph will be your own."
This speech was frequently interrupted by the
warmest plaudits of the Meeting.
At the outset Mr. WHIennEAH was rather embar-
rassed, and delivered himself with that degree of
timidity which the great paragon and preceptor of
ancient oratory has pronounced an auspicious omen;
but he had not proceeded far when he recovered his
spirit, and expressed-his sentiments with great firm-
ness and animation. His stature is- somewhat taller
than that of his father. his countenance is strongly
marked, his deportment peculiarly dignified, and his
delivery at once impressive and elegant. Ile appears
to be about twenty-two years of age.
Mr. CHATH.Es CA I. VERT was appointed the Trea-
surer of the Subscriptions.
A Central Committee was then appointed, and
thanks being voted to the Chairman, who Shortly ad-
dressed the Meeting, the Gentlemen present pro-
ceeded to subscribe at the several tables provided
for the purpose, and the subscription was very
considerable.

The Borough of lloniton will be warmly con-
tested ; the Candidates are, Mr. C UST and Mr. CRAW-
LEY, the late Members, and Mr. BUSK,. a mercban t.
For Hull there is at Present but one Candidate,
Mr. MyrsHELL. It is confidently expected, how-
ever, that there will be a contest, and that before the
day of election two fresh claimants for the suffrages
of the Electors will be declared.

Mr. COURTENAY has been prevented paying his
personal respects in Exeter, by severe indisposi-
tion. Mr. NiwmAs:- commenced his canvass, with
a large party of friends, on Tuesday se'nnight. A
strong party, determining to bring forward a third
candidate for the City of Exeter, have held during
the week several meetings for that purpose: at the
first, on Monday, it was resolved to apply to
Lord GR A VES, but it was ascertained the following
day that he had a previous arrangement for Mil-
bourne Port, on the interest of his noble brother-
in-law, the Marquis of ANGLESEY. At a second and
very numerous meeting at the lintel, on Tuesday,
THOMAS TURNER, Esq. proposed Sir JOHN LEMAN
ROGERS as a fit and proper person to represent the
City of Exeter in Parliament, which was unanimously
assented to, and a requisition commenced, inviting
him to
.comply with the wishes of the meeting, which
received the signatures of about 1`.:0 clectorsi
numerous am:nudes of support.