Star.
London, England, 1821-01-09 00:00:00

• ,

BERKSHIRE COUNTY MEETING.

• A Meeting of the Nobility, Gentry, Clergy, Free-
holders, and other Inhabitants of the County of,
Berk:, was held yesterday at Reading, to " consider
of the propriety of presenting an Address to the
KING on the subject of the treatment which the
Quint, his Consort, has experienced, and is experi-
encing, on' the part of his MAJESTY'S Ministers, and
of passing such Resolutions as may then and there
appear desirable, on the present state of the country."
At half-past twelve o'clock the spacious place in
which the Meeting was held was crowded by respect-
able Gentlemen of the County, notwithstanding the
unfavourable state of the weather for travelling.
Mr. J. 13. Mouca, M.P. was called to the Chair,
in obedience to the general wish of the Meeting.
The CHAIRMAN then opened the business by read-
ing the original Requisition presented to the High
Sheriff, with which that Officer refused to comply:
the consequence was, that the present Meeting was
called by a number f Magistrates, according to the
provision in one of the late Acts. The Honourable
Member, in calling upon the Meeting to pro-
ceed to the business of the day, expressed his sa-
tisfaction at seeing so large and respectable a
Aleeting of the County. He should not detain them
long from the real business of the day ; but could not
refrain from making two requests, more for form's
sake than from any real apprehension that in point
of fact there was any actual necessity for his pressing
either. The first was, that they would hear with
p itience and temper whatever might, in the heat of
debate, fall from any Gentleman who might think
proper to address them in the course of the day—..
(Hear, hear)—and the other was, that by all means,
they would give a full and fair hearing to every
speaker without reference to his opinions ; fot they
must he aware that nothing was more necessary to
the proper appreciation of their own station and cha-
racter than that they should afford no possible pre-
text to their enemies, or tc the hireling portion of the
Public Press, to misrepresent them by any insinua-
tion of partiality or clamour—(Hear, hear). Having
said thus much, he should beg leave to read to them
a letter which he had received from Charles Dun-
dos, Esq. one of their County Members, which was
accompanied by a physician's certificate, setting forth
the indisposition of that Gentleman. The letter was
as follows : " Barton-Court, near Newbury, January 8.

" SIR-T regret that lam prevented by indisposition from
being present at the Meeting of the County of Berks, at Read-
ing, on Monday next, as- I consider it a duty which I owe to
my Constitstents to attend on every occasion when they publicly
express their sentiments on the proceedings in Parliament or the
business of the country.
" On the subject of the present County Meeting, without in-
terfering with the consideration of the conduct of her Majesty,
or the treatment she has received, I beg to state that I am de-
cidedly of opinion that the mode of prosecution by a Bill of
Pains and Penalties was Impolitic and unconstitutional, and that
a retrospective act tsf the Legislature can never be justified,
even by the plea of necessity, when the necessity may probably
exist only in the minds of those who are influenced by the. Ali-
;Asters of the day. If such proceedings are to be sanctioned by
former prectdents, or established by the present, farewell to that
protection irbich every British subject is entitled to while he
acts in obedience to the just and established laws of his country.
I have the honour to be, &e. "CHARLES DUNDAS.
" To the Chairman of the Meeting of the
County of Berks."
This letter was received with several marks of ap-
probation ; and a person in the crowd asked the
Chairman whether he had recaved any letter from
their other Member, Mr. Neville? The Chairman
replied in the negative.
Lord FOLKSTONE came forward to propose the
Resolutions, and was received with loud. and reite-
rated cheers. The Noble Lord cum menced by saying,
that it became his duty to offer to that large and re-
spectable Meeting some observations upon the object
of their assembling, and to propose to them certain
Resolutions for their consideration, which he trusted
would be unanimously adopted. He would endea-
vour, as shortly as he could, to state his opinions upon
the present crisis of public affairs ; but, from the ex-
tended nature of the topic, comprehending as it did
so many points of momentous interest, he feared he
should have to trespass longer upon their attention
than, tinier any other circumstances, he should feel
himself justified in doing—(hear). He confessed,
that when he reflected upon the present agitated and
calamitous state of the country—when he considered
in particular the late unjustifiable proceedings in Par-
liament of Isis Majesty's Ministers—when he was so
forcibly impressed with the fatal tendency of these
proceedings upon the peace and tranquillity of the
country—when, he repeated, he felt the weight of all
these reflections and considerations, he approached
the great business of their Meeting with fear and ap-
prehension—fear, that he was unable to do justice to
the subject; and apprehension, that he might expose
himself to misinterpretation upon so momentous an
occasion. But the present crisis overpowered all
feelings of personal forbearance, and called upon
every man who had the good of his country at heart
to come forward and boldly state his opinions upon
the prospective dangers and calamities which im-
pended over the country—(Hear, hear). It was in-
cumbent upon the People of the country to step for-
ward, and endeavour, by the unequivocal declaration
of their opinions, to ward eff the evils which threat-
ened them, and to make their best effort to produce
an alteration in a system of misgovernment so fatal
in its consequences, and which could only be amelio-
rated by the firm and general voice of the Peoele at
large—(Applause). The terms of the Requisition
were as general as the subject to which they referred ;
they comprehended the whole state of the country,
and opened a wide field of discussion—into the mi-
nute details of which, however, it was not his linen.
tion to carry the Meeting on this occasion. The state
of the country was, indeed, widely appalling—(Hear,
hear). Turn to whatever quarter they would, they
only -met distress and dissatisfaction. If they looked
at Agriculture, they found it suffering in all its
brancbes—(Hear). Manufactures and Commerce were
alike weighed down with the heaviest impediments.
The country was in a state which called for the se-
rious attention of every honest man. Such was the
universal pressure of distress and calamity, that the
Public had reason deeply to regret that the united
attention.of Parliament, during its late Sitting, had
been withdrawn from the consideration of a state of
things so alarming in every point of view, to any
other consideration, whatever might have been its
charactep--(Hear, hear!). In the course of the last
and the recedinig year.. Petitions ~bad been pawed
into Parliament fromeve: y interest and every quar.