Star.
London, England, 1818-03-24 00:00:00

WESTMINSTER MEETING.

Yesterday there was a very numerous and respect-
able Meeting of the Inhabitant Householders of West-
minster, held in Palace-yard, ftlir the purpose of con.
slating how best to accelerate the obtaining a full,
equal, and constitutional Representation of the People
is Parliament. The hustings were, as usual, erected
in Palace Yard ; and at one o'clock Sir FRANCIS BUR-.
DETT, accompaniedbylord COCHRANE, Major CART..
WRIGHT, Messrs. Cs.muty, WALKER, PERKINS, &C.
took their places.
Sir FRANCIS fluanterr then came forward, amidst
loud clouts of applause. He told the persons assem-
bled there, that he had been desired to preside at the
Meeting that day, the object of which was to consi-
der of the best means of obtaining a- full, free, and
equal Representation of the People in Parliarnent.
The Gentlemen who desired him to preside there,
would addreis them on this great constitutional
' point; aid he hoped theyiellsold give-a-Mr and at
tentive hearing to every Gentleman who should de-
' liver his sentiments—( Loud applause).—lt was only '
by so doing they could hope to come to a rational
conclusion on what was this day to be laid before
them. He was fully persuaded it was unnecessary
for him to say more, convinced as he was of the im-
partiality
of those he had now the honour to address.
Major Caerweionx then addressed the 'Meeting.
He said, if he had a voice as loud as the largest bell
in London, they should hear him, while he stated the
grievances under which the people laboured ; because
there never was a time when it was more necessary
than the present for the people to hear those who
were disposed to give them advice (Amlatises).
As he himself had now nearlyimtlived his competi-
tors, and outlived the Constitution itself, he was not
able to address them at the length that his inclination
prompted him to ; and therefore he hoped they would
excuse his inability to make a long speech; but he
had written an Address to the Electors of Westmin-
ster, which, by the favour -of their common friend,
Mr. Wooler, had already been sent forth to the pub-
lic. He should now therefore content himself with
proposing his Resolutions one by one, making his re-
marks on each as he proposed it.—Major Cartwright
then proposed his first Resolution, the substance of I
which was, that Parliament held a vicarious and de-
legated trust; that they could not suspend the liber-
ties of the country, which would be the subversion
of the Constitution ; and that they had no authority
to screen, by an Act of Indemnity, any persons who
had been guilty of violations of that Constitution. 1
Sir natters BURDETT said, if any Gentleman
present had ..ny remark to make on the Resolution,
the present was the time to do so ; and if not, he
should put it to the vote.
Mr. WALKER said, he should second this Resolu-
tion ; and in doing so he did not wish to weaken its
effect by any observations on so clear and compre-
hensive
a statement as his venerable friend had just
now delivered.
Major CARTWRIGHT said, that in his next Resolu-
tion he had to take notice of a prominent fact, which
had not been sufficiently attended to in public meet-
ings. For the last twenty-four years Parliamentary
Reformers had become objects of public persecution.
He took the date of the commencement of those per-
secutions from the time when Mr. Hardy and Mr.
Drake were taken up on charges of high treason,
merely because they wanted to obtain a Reform in
Parliament—because they had committed acts of
treason against the boroughmongers—(Loud/aughter
and applause).--Another persecution of a similar kind,
took -Place five or six years ago, when a very worthy
man, a Mr. Knight, and thirty-six other persons,
were taken up on a charge ot hilt treason, when
their only offence was that of reading a Petition for
Parliamentary Reform—{Loud applause). He then
read the second Resolution, as follows :
" That it appears to this Meeting, that for four and twenty
years lan past, Parliamentary Reformers have been constant ob-
jects of calumny and persecution, by those who are interested
in the continuance of state corruptions."
This was then put by the Chairman, and unani-
mously agreed to.
MajOT CARTWRIGHT next brought forward his
third Resolution, which he thought it necessary to
draw up on account of the House of Commons hav-
ing last year rejected 4.68 Petitions for Parliamentary
MIDDLESEX, Reform, merely because they were printed, and not
Between HARROW and EALING, on the Road to written Petitions. He then read the Resolution,
UXBRIDGE, seven miles from London. which was as follows :
Capital FREEHOLD and COPYHOLD ESTATES, ettr " That last year's rejection at one time, by the House of
Commons, of four hundred and sixty-eight Petitions signed by
to FREEHOLD, upwards of FOUR HUNDRED A °D al
the hands 'of the Petitioners, for Parlianientary Reform,, because
EIGHTEEN ACRES, the principal part rich Meadow, the
the subject matter of those Petitions was printed, was an illegal
remainder Arable Land; Eligible Cottage Residence, Farm-
and !indecent. obstruction of the sacred right of petitioning
House!, and Buildings ; part bounded by the River Brent, qua' y violating the Nation's bitenies, and the House's own
and near the Grand Junction Canal. Land-Tax Redeemed.
rules; and all the pretences for the outrage were false, frivoloust
By Mr. ROBINS, absurd, and scandalous."
At Garraway's Coffee-House, Exchange Alley, Cornhill, on. Lord COCHRANE said, he should conceive that he
TICURSDAY, the 16th April, at Twelve o'clock, in Lots, (un-
was guilty of a dereliction of his duty, if he abstain-I
km an acceptable offer is made for the whole before the lit of
April), ed from giving an opinion on the subject of this Re-
THE VERY VALUABLE FREEHOLD and solution, which opinion was different from that of..
part COPY HOLD ESTATES, held under the Bishop of the worthy Major. It sometimes happened, that
London, and equal to Freehold; comprising Pitshanger, Dzay- persons on whose judgment he generally placed the
ton Green, and, l:rei.; F..rnis ; containing upwards of utmost reliance, were on particular occivions in an
VOUlt HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN ACRES error. In his place in the House 4 Commons he had
Of fine old Meadow and Arable Lands, in an excellent state of • already given it as his opinion, that printed Petitions I
cultivatimi, with an clisible pleasant Cottage Residence, Offices,
Coach-house, Stables., Farmhouses, Barns, Stabbni, and all cone- ought not to be presented, because he did not con-
nient Oitt-buililin;; i. in poi,,ession of KW. Morse, Esq. Mr. Haw- sider them to be the spontaneous opitii,•ns of those
kits, and Mr. Ma-;•cocli, tor the remainder of old Leases,which who signed them. It was a bad system of petition.
expire at Michaelmas nest. The present estimated value up- ing ; and, on that account, he then ht the present
wards of a
ONE THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED POUNDS Resolution ought not to be adopted. He had a Re-
per Annum; solution in his hand which he thott7:lt might be sub-
Satiate in the pari-h of Paling, on the North sided the Uxbridge stituted for it, and which he would read. A Morn-
lt oml, at I h-. 1% ton (i%t tt, and adjoining the Lands of his Royal i„. Paper,
ifight•a the Dli',.e r f Rent, and Hartwell Park, a stwrt distance —,which seldom published any thing that
u•
from I lac re.;:; a must dedrable property for the invessevnt of was good or favourable to l iberty, contained n para.
1 raorxy, or liassitlenres : many darts of the land commanding fine . graph which might be oonsidered as a strange de-
i t,:xi.ri..nt..i vs of the :wintry, and within seven milmof London. parture from its usual principles. It gave an account
M 1 sy be ....wed by epei /*mg to the Tenants, orat the Bell of the death of the tyrant of .Algiers ; and observed,
sod the Old Ides, on the road, where Particulars may be had;
at the White Ilart, and Red Lion, Southall ; White Horse, that HEAVEN had thus interfered for the benefit of
Whridge ; the Civic, Salt Hill, Brantiord, and Richmond; mankind, and swept the despot to his g:ave. The
t",e Talbot, and King's Arms, Artoa • of Messrs. Loves and Resolution he had now to propose v'as founded nn
Cowtetrn, Temple ;at flarraway's; and of Mr. Robins, War-'that paragraph. He hoped the Meetiiii; would aieic.‘
. wick-smet, Golden-spate, wbetu a Plan may be seq.