Star.
London, England, 1820-12-07 00:00:00

lie hoped, preserve a just spirit of revenge ; for the
existence of that spirit was necessary to excite theiel
endeavours for the attainment of proper redress. Mi.
sisters might calculate upon the forgiving disposition;
of Englishmen, and if they did not so calculate, it
was scarcely possible that they could have so long
persevered in their system of misrule—in their stub-
born hostility to the principles of liberty and justice.
But Englishmen could never forgive or forget the
horrible atrocity, for condemning which it was now
sought to punish Sr Francis Burdett. Such punish-
ment, therefore, if it were inflicted, must only serve
to heighten the public indignation, which the recol-
lection of that atrocity could never fail to excite.
Toe motion was put and carried with enthusiastic
shouts of unanimity.
Sir FRANCIS BURDETT here stood forward, and was
saluted with loud and long continued cheers. Upon
silence being obtained, the Honourable Baronet said,
that he attended there in conformity with his duty, as
a Representative of the People whom he had the ha
tour to address, in order to carry into effect, by all
the means in his power, whatever decision they Might
think proper to pronounce upon the subjects to which
the Requisition referred ; and upon such an eccasion,
he should have thought it necessary to say only a
few words, if it were not for the very flattering man-
ner in which the worthy Gentleman who had spoken
last had thought proper to mention his name. It
was quite unnecessary for him, at this time of day, to
declare, that he was always proud of being one of
the People of England—that, in his mind, indeed,
that was a much higher distinction than any title
within the reach of any human power to bestow—
(Applause). But, if proud of this distinction at other
times, if he were gratified in the reflection, that he
belonged to a country always anxious for liberty,
and ever ready ardently to struggle for that muse,
his gratification must be heightened by the patriotic
and public-spirited exhibition which his countrymen
had recently presented, when the Queen had gone to.
St. Paul's, for the purpose of returning thanks for the
triumph which she had obtained over her enemies.
And a complete triumph her Majesty had obtained,
through the constitutional and manly exertions of
the People of England. The People had, indeed,
rescued this country from the disgrace which the
Government, or the Ministers and their tools, had
sought to eatail upon it, by the folly and wickedness
of :heir measures; for when all the means, both con-
stitutional and unconstitutional, which were of late
years generally supposed necessary, for the preserva-
tion of the public peace, were totally withdrawn,
the late procession of the Queen presented the im-
posing spect.,cie of a People who could enjoy all the
triumph .if success, and all the exultation of vic-
tory, without any ex?ression of violence or symp-
tom of disorder, who were capable of good govern-
ment, and incapable of bad conduct--(Applause).
—But it ha, pity appeared, that such was "the cha-
racteristic f all the people in Europe, who had of
late manifested their solicitude for l'inrty and justice,
rimd iu whose movements the people of England very
-7-naturally felt an anxious interest ; for, wherever the
..•stirridarcl of liberty was raised, the people of Eng-
lAncl could not be disinterested spectators.. They,
.-, .
~, tiaerekote, must -. view, with peculiar pleasure, the
:,,f)tmertions which were makinr; in different quarters of
*trop*, and especially in Spain, Portugal, arid
: `)NaPlefp itiiitiabhsh the principles of freedom. Tht•se ,
. , principlei had, indeed, made such progress, that a 11;
~ Ithe tricks made use of at the outset of the French Re-
: • volution, must now be resorted to in vain ; for the
'time hid come, *hen it was obvious, that for the
..:1 taA.
FeOple to be free,' it was sufficient ;ALA they willed
.. it—(toad apilause).—With respect to time case of
,the Queen, his seatiinents upon that subject were so
• 'Well known, that he felt it unnecessary to repeat
them ; it was not necessary for him to repeat what
belied urged at the outset, against the proceedings
which Ministers thought proper to institute with re-
gard to. the Queen ; nor could it be necessary for
him to state to that Meeting, that her Majesty had
come out of those proceedingi, in despite of all their
rigour and their rancour, most completely acquitted.
It was not necessary for him to say to that Meetihg,
- .tfiat all the proofs adduced upon the recent investi-
• gation had failed in establishing anything with res-
Tett to her Majesty, but that she was in the constant
practice of benevolence, and that she was a woman
-orinestintable virtues--(Great applause).—lt was not
ciril.y, that her extraordinary magnanimity was proved
" % lon this extraordinary trial, but that her hand was
. , .
• always " open as the day to melting charity." 01
' ' Otis Character, indeed, her Majesty had presented
• . '..intpie testimony, in every quarter of the world that
she hfad visited. Still it was her fate to have her
very good qualities perverted by her enemies..."
""`lren her virtues proved " holy traitorsio her."—
•''''' icon such. testimony as had been adduced by the
1,, t. •
y
reiecutOrs of, her Majesty, he would not hang a
: .
•
•
.410 g,. Put it had been alleged by some of these wit-
- 'nesses, that 'she was very affable and kind to her ser-
. vaeta, and by some it was observed, that she carried
•" this affability too 'far, He, however, very widely dif-
' ' reietd Worn such ohservers ; for in proportion as any
`indivicinal vies exalted in rank or station, just in the
same degree 'should he or she manifest kindness and
Consideration towards those in dependent or humble
condition—(Applause-This course was indeed the
best mode of securing real respect for high station,
and thus insuring its own stability. Such, therefore,
he was glad to see, was the principle or feeling of
the Queen; for it appeared that her solicitude for
those about her• was such, that her Majesty on one
occasion visited one of her servants who was afflicted
with the plague. Now, if it so happened that she
manifested this generous, perhaps thoughtless, mag-
.
nanimity towards Bergami' with regard to whom 1
she was falsely accesed—if the visit had been to him',
instead of being to another member of her suite,
• -what, he would ask, was the inference likely to be
drawn from such a circumstance by the Attorney-
General in the course of his speech 7--(Applause).—
But would not such a visit be construed by some
base and malignant minds into a conclusive evidence
of the Queen's guilt?—(.Applause).--The decision of
such Minds could not, however, have any influence
With the People, who so well understood by whom
the 'King's mind had been abused, the Queen's cha-
racter slandered, and the public judgment imposed
upon. The Ministers with whom this abominable
system originated were now thoroughly compre-
hended, and the People felt, that if they were not
peculiarly careful) they would not only have to la-

• •

went the imposture practised upon diem, but tot
bear the burthens which such imposture :threatened
to bring in its-train. As to the King, no one could
doubt the mischief that might be done to theism
minds by the industry of what were called tale-
bearers, and that about a Court especially, such tale-
carriers were always to be found active wherever
they could meet with willing
.ears. No one could
tell what injury such incendiaries might occasion—
how they might aggravate dislike or inflame passion
—or how far the King's feelings might be ahenited
from the Queen, or his judgment misled, by the arti-
fice of these incendiaries. Many extenuation: might,
indeed, be supposed for the King's conduct in the
transaction which gave rise to this. Meeting) bur all
that had transpired upon the subject served to prase
that his Ministers Ought to be hanged ! —(Applauss).—
Whatever palliatives there might be for the King's
conduct, there were none whatever for that of his
advisers, as they had no passions to mislead them.
They were bound by their official duty to consult, in
a peculiar degree, the character of the Royal Family,
the morality of the people, and the honour as well
as the peace of the country, and therefore they could
have avoided any proceeding inconsistent with those
important objects. He was aware that Ministers
professed to have brought forward this proceeding
with great reluctance, and if so, the Public had their
own verdict against themselves : for it was incum-
bent upon them to withstand such a measure for the
honour of the Crown and for the satisfaction of the
People ; and if unwilling agents in the transaction,
no Ministers, since the Revolution, had done any
thing more loudly calling for impeachment ! —(Ap-
please). If, on the other hand, it was an act of their
own ; if Ministers were the advisers and willing
agents of this prosecution, they had committed an
excess of folly and of wickedness, for which they in-
curred the most serious responsibility. But whether
these Ministers were willing or unwilling agents in
the case, the country would, he feared, be called
upon to pay the expense belonging to it. For his
own part, however, he should protest against the pay-
ment of one single shilling from the nearly•exhausted
pockets of' the people, to defray any expense incur-
red by such foolish and mischievous proceedings.
Of the Address and Petition which had been adopted
by the Meeting, he fully approved, from a hope that
they would effect some practical step towards a prac-
tical remedy for the great evils of which the country
had reason to complain. For chile the present Mi-
nisters remained in power, it was quite obvious that
no remedy could be obtained for the various mis-
chiefs which their counsels had created; but the feel-
ing-was 'universal, except amongst their own crea-
tures, Or amongst those who collected or fed upon
the taxes, that those Ministers were not worthy to
guide the counsels of Government. The voice of the
country should then be loudly raised for the expres-
sion of this feeling, and for the ptoductlon.of a change
of system, to which the removal of these Ministers,
who had disturbed the peace of the country, and
risked the stability of the Throne, was a most
essential' preliminary --(Loa d applause)--Flaring
lived much of late in the country, he was ena-
bled to say, that such was the general impression
of the People. He had lately attended, by invi-
tation, at a popular dinner at .I..eicester; where he had
never been at a popular assembly before, and there
he had had an opportunity of judging of the senti-
ments of the people; and there, where political meet-
ings or ex nessioas of public opinion had' seldom
taken place before, he witnessed such an enthusiasm
of public spirit as could scarcely be exceeded, even
in this great and public-spirited city. But the pub-
lic feeling was the same in every quarter that he
c.,utu tie.tr of, the people being universally, unani-
mott,ly, and Ardently anxious for the removal of Mi-
nisters, fur the redress of grievances, and for the
Reform of Parliameat. The friends of liberty and
the enemies of corruption had, therefore, only to
make a long pull for the attainment of a complete
Reform, and he hoped the example of this day would,
serve to give an impulse to the country.
Mr. Honnouse came forward amidst the applause
of the Meeting, to return thanks for the honour
which they had conferred upon him. He trusted
that, since he had the honour of representing the
City of %Westminster, he had not failed, to the ut-
most of his humble abilities, to make good the
pledge which he had first given them when he of-
fered himself as a candidate for their suffrages.—
In the last great question which had occupied so
much of the public attention, and in which her Ma-
jesty and the People had obtained so glorious a
triumph, be had felt it his duty to take a prominent
part, for he did not consider it to be merely the
cause of the Queea for which they were contending,
but more peculiarly the cause of the People—(Ap-
ylaust)—the cause of those with whom ha was con-
nected, and in his connexion with whom he felt, in
common with his Honourable colleague, a prouder
satisfaction than in any honour and dignity which it
was in the power of the Crown to bestow--(Cheers).
The Electors of Westminster.had congratulated her
Majesty on her return to this country, and since that
period her Majesty had shewn with what justice they
' congratulated her upon having taken that decisive
step. In spite of every effort which had been made
i.not only by the Powers of one great Empire, but by
, that conspiracy of Monarchs, of which the apparent
Object was to condemn the whole civilized world to
slavery, in spite of all the influence which had been
exerted against her, the support of the People, aided
by her own unconquered mind, had enabled her to
triumph over her persecutors, and they were now
met to congratulate her upon her triumph over that
tremendous engine, which had been employed to
crush 'the lives, liberty, and property of Englishmen
—(Load cheering).—Parliament was the engine
*hid) the Ministers of the Crown, for the sake of
preserving their places, and saving themselves, had
always brought forward, when a work of peculiar
atrocity was to be performed. They were assembled
here to convince her Majesty of the gratitude which
they felt towards her, for the glorious part which
she had taken in the late proceedings ; to convince
the world that she was indee-d a Queen, not only of
grace and favour, as she had been styled in the
House of Commons, but of the affections of the
People of England--(Loog aid continued applause),
It was not has intention to occupy the time of the
Meeting, as he was aware that there were many other
Gentlemen who were desirous of addressing them.—
He would only say; theiefore, that unless the people
of England came forward to demand, rot only th

dismissal, but the impeachment-moot only_the im-
peachment, but the punishment of those who bad
heaped such multifariolisevils upon them, work
would be but half done—{Load oAeert).--Letnot the
I people deceive themselves ; let them not believe, that
if they waited till Parliament meet two Months hence,
some means would not be found of tricking the peo-
ple out of their justdemands, for the punishment of
those whom the united voice of the people of England
pronounced to be the only malefactors. Let them
recollect the conduct of Parliament upon the occa-
sion of the atrocious massacre, which took place some-
what more than a year ago. After Meetings had
been held in every County and Parish theoughout
the Kingdom ; after the table of the House of
Commons had been loaded with Petitions, and the
King addressed from every place of any conside-
ration in the Country, what did Parliament do?—
Did they redress any one of the wrongs? did they
remedy any one of the grievances of the People?—
(Cries of " No, no, they did not.") All that Parlia-
ment did was as much as in them lay to confirm
every grievance, to silence every complaint, and
punish, not those who were the cause of our suffer-
ings, but those who ventured to complain—(Ap-
plattse, and cries of indignation). Not only did they
refuse to listen to the complaints of the People, but,
as his Honourable Friend near him (Mr. Bennet) re-
minded him, instead of inquiring into those griev-
ances—initeacrof inquiring in what manner the lives
of the People had been sacrificed, and their liberties
infringed, they proceeded to burthen them with six
more restrictions upon their liberties, and to take
away every possible chance of future complaint.
These events were of so recent a date, that they could
not but feel convinced, that if Parliament met again
under the sanction of the present Administration, not
only nothing would be done for the People, but
everything would be attempted against them. His
own conviction was, that the assembling of Parlis-
ment would give another death blow to their rights
and liberties. The short time he had been in Parlia-
ment had confirmed all the previous opinions which
he had formed of the character and conduct of that
Assembly; and he. trusted they would never forget,
that the sum of all their prayers and petitions should
be to obtain that Reform which could alone give in-
demnity for the past, and security for the future.
Mr. GARDINIER moved, That the Address by this
Meeting be signed by the High -Bailiff, on behalf of
the Meeting, and presented by him to her Majesty.
The motion was carried unanimously.
The Thanks of the Meeting were then voted to the
Hon. H. G. Bennet, R. Gordon, Esq. E. Ellice, Esq.
, and Sir Gerard Noel.
- The Hon. H. G. BENNET, in returning thanks, said
he was at all times most anxious to meet the People,
and never more so than on the present occasion, which
afforded him an opportunity of congratulating his
countrymen upon the noble and manly stand they
had made, not only in defence of a woman, and that
woman a Queen, but in defence of their own riglits
and privileges, which would have received a fatal
Ile* if the Bill of Pains and- Penalties had been suf-
fered to pass. He said, if it had been suffered to pass,
for he.believed that if Ministers bad had the temerity
to press the measure through Parliament, the People
of this country would not, have permitted it to be
carried into effect, and the attempt would have raised
such a convulsion as would have defeated-the unjust
designs of Ministers, and secured the liberties of the.
People. As to his own opinion of the conduct of the
Queen, he trusted that the part he had taken from the
very outset of the proceedings against her Majesty,
was in the recollection of the Meeting. He was the
first to raise his voice in Parliament against the bribe
which had been offered to her on the one hand, and
the menace which had been held out to her on the
other. He was the first to protest against a proceeding
which was, not only an insult to the Queen, but an in-
sult and indignity to the People of England—(Cheers).
What was the dilemma in which those scourges of
the country, his Majesty's present Ministers, had
placed themselves ? If they believed one thousandth
part of the evidence which the legal advisers of the
Crown, to their own disgrace, and to the disgust and
indignation of the country, bad vomited forth against
her Majesty—if, believing this, they dared to com-
promise the dignity of the Crown, and waste tbe pub-
lic resources by offering to recognise her as Queen,
and to purchase her absence by a bribe of £50,000
a-year, then they deserved to be impeached ; if, on
the other hand, they did not believe the charges, how
dared they bring forward such a measure?-7-(Cheers).
He defied them to get out of this dilemma ; it was
this dilemma which weighed them down and op-
pressed them, not, indeed, with a svnse of shame, but
with that guilty consciousness which profligacy feels
at its own detection. Looking at the calamities of
which these men were the authors, when confusion,
distress, and dismay pervaded every part of the em-
pire, and recollecting, as the people had teo much
cause to remember, that their administration had
been a series of continued aggressions against the
freedom, the commercial prosperity, and the domes-
tic happiness of Englishmen, it was the duty of every
man who valued his country, and who had any re-
rd for his own family and his own home, to come
forward and rescue the nation from the hands of
men, who, by abusing the confidence which had
been reposed in them, had acted as traitors both to
the Crown and the Country—(Continued applause).
Having said thus much, he was confident that so far
from incurring the censure of the Meeting, he should
receive their applause when he declared boldly and
broadly on this occasion, as he had done on all others,
that there were some passages in the Address to the
Queen to which he could not assent. He had said
enough, however, to convince them that there was
no part of the Petition, which Went to arraign the
conduct of the present Ministers, which did not meet
with his entire concurrence. Of their conduct, no
man who reflected upon the proud state of England
twenty years ago, and the state to which they had
reduced it now, could entertain a doubt. Melan-
*holy, indeed, were the reflections which such a- corn-
parison was calculated to excite, and we Might well
say to Ministersi—this is your work ; these calami-
Aies you and your subservient tool,- the Parliiment,
have brought upon the country ; congratulate_your-
selves upon the ruin you have made, for. it is all the
labour of your heads, and the sweat. of your brow,
and you have succeeded to your heart% content in
reducing this once flourishing country to such a state,
that those who knew it twenty years ago can scarcely
believe it to be the same country 'With respect to

that Oft of the Petition which prayed his Majesty to
dismiss hit Ministers, he wished to say a few wcr.,
He was aware that it was commonly impu:ed to men
in public stations, that they were only x:ous to het
rid of one set of Ministers, in order that they might
themselves ..ccupy their places. He stout, Oily ob•
serve, with reference to such an imputation, Ilia! in
the present state of the country, he did not chit kit
possible to inflict a greater calamity up, any ma:,-
('than to make him Minister. He would supp e the
Man so elevated to be a man of laudable and ju,t
ambition, anxious to do all the good that c
effected for his country, of pure and h. 1.- titirbie in.
• tendons, of inflexible integrity, aua t.f j t, s e d,
constitutional views; and yet, with all thee
able circumstances, such was the piesent state f
country, that his bitterest enenly could scarcely wi•h
him a worse .sitnation. His would be no b.-sr of rrwls,
as Lord -Castlereagh had said, to repair an OA
wrongs, to remedy all the grievances, of which ;re
present Ministers were the anchors—to restore co:1-
fidence where all confidence hal been destroyed, to
bring back tranquillity an,' domestic security, wlere
the bonds of social happiaess had been torn asun.'er,
to re-establish content where the seeds of dist-01-2:A
had been sown, and sutfe;ed to 3 ii:Cll to 73 WAD
this was a tas:c. in which it was scarcely pr
for any new Admin- 1.4 io t to c..cceed, and ! e
feared that more wont] be expected from their
than it was pose le for human ablit,. to pert(); in.—
He tru.ted, however, that, un er the preseut
stances of the country, no public man would tin.ler•
take to repair, as far as was practicable, the lavagy:
which the present Ministers had made, without
he would not say, a pledge of his intentions to early
intoefFect a Reform in Parliament, but without makio,
' a clear and distinct statement of what he could, ar.:l
what he was willing to effect. Unless he did 'hat, t!:..
People of England would not give him their support.
(Appiause).-All the inflilence aribi.,efrom Church
patronage, the support of State paupers rat ,i.e Cu:
side, and of pensioners on tlic other—the immense in-
fluence arising flO3l the Taxes, the bate collection of
which cost as much as I.IIC whole 3311411.111 t to ti.e Re-
venue at the beginning of die late reign—all this enor-
moui, influence would avail him nothing, unless he
were backed and supp,rted by :he confidence of tile
People. That confidence could only be oht.ti•ied by
the honest discharge of his public duty, and by a sir..
cere desire for the amelioration of public morals
which might prevent the recurrence of those heart-
rending exhibitions which every month outraged the
feelings of 1: Imanity, and reflected disgrace upon the
character of the country. He again expret:sei his
conviction, that no man could obtain the confidence
of the People without giving a distinct pledge of his
intention to redress the grievances under which the
country labottred, and concluded by thanking the
. Meeting for the attention with ss Inch .they had heard
him.. He retired amidst the applauses of the Meeting.
Mr. BENBOW moved the I.llow in:!, Resolution :
" That this Meeting has heard with pectoi.!:. satisfaction the
declarations-of Sir Francis Burdett, Bart. oral John Cam Hob-
house, Eiir of he propriety and necessity-of impeacning his
Majesty's Ministers, for their unconstir utioilal and illegA pro-
ceedings against the Queen, and 'also for the atrocious
of the constitutional rigb,s of the subject, wh::h has long th&-
ractetised their counsirls and measures ; and that this Mertir./,
feeling the greatest confidence in the zeal, pt..rceverstice,ilkiti•try
and talents of their Representatives, do hereby
,r hat Sir
Francis. Burdett, Bart. and John Cam II :bh-use, Esq. un-
dertake, in the name and on behalf of the Peoele or
to move and conduct an impeachment of the Ministers of
Crown, and that the other Members of Parliament now presect
be requested to support the same."
Sir FRANCIB BURDETT trusted that the Meetint:
would not adopt such Resolution as this upon the
spur of the moment. The promiry of impeaching
his Majesty's Ministers was one thin z ; the necessity
of doing so was another. There was another cons-
deration of great importance, which the persons with
whom this Resolution had originated appeared to
have overlooked—namely, the propriety of doing the
thing effectually. They had not considered the means
lof the present Meeting to carry the Resolution into
effect, or the means and powers of the pet-sons who
were instructed to propose such a measure. This was
not time and place for such a Resolution. He sup-
posed no man would doubt his (Sir F. Burdett's) rea-
diness to lend all his assistance to obtain justice for
the country, and an inquiry into that long course cf
maladministration under which the people had la-
boured. He trusted the people of Westminster wou:d
give him credit for being at all times ready to use
his best exertions in' the public cause; and, at the
same time, be felt persuaded that they would text
adopt a Resolution of this kind at such a tithe wi:h-
out reflection, and call upon him to undertake a great
and important measure, which it would be uttey
lout of his power to carry intq effect. •
The great body of the Meeting expressed.a with
that the proposition should be withdrawn : a very
few persons declared in favour of it. '
Mr. BENBOW said, he had ndt been convinced, by
the arguments of the Honourable Baronet, and that
he should still feel it his duty to press his motion.
The llenourable Baronet had talked of the inade-
quacy of their means and forces, but surely they had
force enough to make the attempt ; they had at least
force enough to endeavour to chain the iron hand of
despotism, and let the result be what it mighty it
would teach Ministers an important lesson.
Mr.lloauousr. said, there could be no doubt of
his Honourable Colleague's desire to chain the iron
hand of despotism, and to co-operate cordially in are
measure which could lead to such a result; but the
question now was, whether the Resolution which had
'been proposed was calculated to effect the object
it had in view ? If they thought the passing of such
a Resolution was the best way of effecting that ob-
ject, undoubtedly he should feel it his duty to he
bound by their decision, and to endeavour, as far 2
he was able, to give effect to it. They had elected
him as their servant, and as their servant he cow
sidered himself bound to obey their iirstructions.
the same time he begged them to consider whether
the passing of this Resolution was likely to lcad t
the object which they had in view. He entirely Ce.il
curred with his Honourable Colleague, that in
present state of Parliament, the punishment of in
ters was not likely to be effected in this way.
would recollect, that in the last Session of Pai.lit
ment, when a motion was made for -an inquiry
the State of the Nation, only 170 Members of that F.'
liament voted even for an inquiry into the grieranc-
of the People. That same Parliament had suppol
the present Miniiters throughout the whole of the l:
nefarious proceedings. In au assembly sits COStilntC`ll