Star.
London, England, 1820-12-26 00:00:00

COUNTY OF EDINBURGH MEETING.
Fri d ay, .at tweiye o'clock, a "sfeeting of the .Noble-
men, Freeholders, Justices o.f. the Peace, and Oom-
missioners of Supply of the County 'of Edinburgh,
was held in the. County Hail here, pursuant to a Re-
quisition, for the purpose of noting a Loyal Address
to his MAJESTY, on the present state. of the Country.
the Marquis of LOTHIAN was called to the Chair.
Sir JouN HOPE then rose to propose an Address to
his Majesty. He said, he would not trouble the Meet-
ing,,With any remarks of his own, but would only ob-
serve, that there never was a time when public duty
more imperiously called upon them to, vote an Ad-
dress to the Throne than the present.
Sfi% JA 7.IES WALKere, of Dalry, in rising to second
the Address, observed, that all must allow; of what-
ever party they were, that the most flagittous at-
tempts had lately been made to excite disaffection,
and these 'attempts were still pursued witlk such au-
dacity, perseverance, and success, as to excite serious
alarm in the mind of every lover of his country. It
was true that the clamour for Radical Reform was not
at present so loud as formerly—the itinerant field-
preachers of treason were not now traversing the
conntry---drilling and training had been put down,
and the assemblies of armed rebels had proved abor-.
ive. The-blood-thirsty gang of Thistletvood had ex-
piate' their crimes with:their blood. But the cham-
pions of rebellion were still active. The spirit'of dis-
affecii.n, though banished, was not ; And the
object of the discontent was still the same:. During
the late inquiry, s, !ilk a regard for decorum and
ju-rice had re.t: ai,led the reasonable part •of the
community from evoressing their sentiments, the
agents of disatfec:ioa,- engaging a certain portion
.t the Press, had, the most wanton and unprin-
cipled manner, exerted themselves in biassing and
prejudicing the public. mind ; and in whatever issued
from them, whether in the, shape of newspapers,
pamphlets, or caricatures, whether in the ceaseless.
A Idre,ses to the Queen, or the ceaseless Answers to
those Al iresses—the two Houses of Parliament—
.ltid_tes of the Land—the Dignitaries-of the Church
“vaina: y Ministers olour Holy Religion-
..

and Religion itself—have all been made the objects
of their ridicule and invective. Nor was it to the
lower orders aim-Le that those feelings were con-
fined. Examples of; a similar spirit had been seen
those from whom better might have been
among
expected. In the House of Peers, the second
Counsel for the defence had asserted, in the most
open and barefaced manner, that the conduct of Nero,
the Roman Emperor, afforded the only parallel to
that which had been pursued towards the Queen.—
In defiance of his duty and allegiance to his Majesty,
and forgetting the respect be owed to that august
assembly, that radical Gentleman did not scruple to
borrow from the political manufactory of Hone, that
most foul, unjust, and scandalous libel. And to what,
he would ask, were they to ascribe this unprece-
dented, this unjust persecution of his Majesty and,
his Ministers ?—Why, because they would not con;
sent to place at the head' of female society in this
country one whose conduct had been the corn-
mon scandal of Europe, whom a majority .of her
Judges had voted guilty—(Hear; hear ! ).—Was it
for this that the Government was to be . abused—
because his Majesty had assumed the tried • and
faithful servants-who had enjoyed his father's confi-
dence, and who, during the glorious period of the
Regency, had pet severed in the struggle for Enro. -
' pear independence till they had achieved a. triumph
'unexampled in the annals of the country? This was
a time when the voice of loyalty should be heard
,from one end of the country to the other; and though
a few restless demagogues continued to alude the
ignorant_ and mislead the unwary, and wished to
overturn all that was sacred and valuable in the Con-
stitution, yet he was confi'dent the great body of the
people would rally round the Throne, and defend it
and the Constitution with their fortunes and their
lives. He particularly concurred in that part of the
Address w hich spoke the language of hope and con-
solation; and concluded by seconding the Address.
General FRANCIS ausnas supported the Address.
Mr. Fermusorr, Of Raith, would have apologized
for intruding himself upon the notice of the Meeting,
were it not that an imperious sense of public duty
rendered any apology unnecessary. For some 'time
past attempts had been made to get up Addresses,
which, under the sanction of loyalty, were in fact no-
thing better than libels•upon the community at large,
more especially considering the commentaries and
speeches by which they were accompanied. As to
the Address moved by the Honourable Baronet,. it
would have given him most unfeigned satisfaction
to have concurred in it ; but, he was sorry to say,
there were some expressions in it from which he
must dissent, more particularly considering the
speech of the Gentleman by whom it had been se-
conded. Taking that speech as a commentary on
the spirit of the Address, he must•enter his deter-
mined protest against it. Such an Addresi, at such
a time, ought not to be sent to his Majesty, without
tendering an advice to Ministers, relative to what
should be their future conduct, and entering a pro-
test against their late measures;. and particularly it
ought to contain some allusion to the late proceed-
ings in Parliament, which were so much to be de-
precated, and the impolicy and impropriety of which
was so manifest and undeniable, that even the Minis-
rters themselves regretted having 'engaged in theni;
nor was there an adherent of Government with whom
he was acquainted, who did not sincerely deprecate
and lament this improdent step of the Administration.
And he could not but express his regret, that, though
these were the feelings of individuals in regard to
those measures, they could still meet collectively to
give them their support. What was the reason of
this ?—Why, there was art order from the Ministers
to their partisans at this time, to force Addresses of
this description. He was convinced that such Meet-
ings, and such Addresses as the present, were, in
many cases, inconsistent with their feelings; bin
, there was an order for them from the higher Powers,
and it must be obeyed !—(Hear,hear,and a laugh).—
The legitimate inference to be drawn from the'terms
of this Address, was not only that they approved of
the past conduct of the Administration, biit.th'at they
would support them, whatever their future conduct
might be—whatever measores they might aftervorcls
adopt. There was an allusion to a certain subject in

the. speech of the Gentleman who seeeinciall the Ad-
dress, at which he was very much astonished; neither,
the Requisition calling this Meeting, nor the Address
whiCh had been proposed, involved at all the case of
the Queen ; and he submitted, that the discussion
of that question was not at ptesent called ior.-•--
That question was now at an end, and just and legal
steps ought now topbe taken in regard to her alajegy,
and to give quiet to the country. The People re-
quired this, and this they must get. It bad been in-
sinaated that it was only the lower-Orders—that it
was only the rabble who spoke that language. This
was a most malicious and rnischievotts,mtsrepresen-
cation. It was the middle and respectable el:Ages of
the community who now raised their voice, 'and it
was a voice which must, sooner or later, be attended
to. - One of the many causes of the present unsatis-
factory state of the country, were the attempts made
.
to alienate the Aristocracy from the lower orders of
the Peopli—to separate the interests of the higher
and lower classes of society ; and he would say, that
if such a system were persisted in—if the chasm was
unfortunately widened—the higher orders would at
last be compelled to shrink for shelter behind the
shield of force—a protection which would prove ut-
terly unavailing, when the great body of the Peopt:
were. roused to make a united and simultaneous
movement of resistance!—(froaciue clic:•ria.a).—
The hypocritical cant of a few Aristocrats and minions
of Administration would never overpower or over-
balance the general voice of the community--(Hear).
Mr. Ferguson. concluded with proposing on amend-
ment to the Address which had been read by the Ho-
nourable Baronet (Sir John Hope), which, while it
breathed the same spirit of moderation, contained also
sound advice, and which he trusted. the Meeting
would view as one of such a description, that every
loVer of his country and friend to his Sovereign could
adopt.--(Hearr). • •
Sir A. M. GIBSON seconded the amendment.
Mr. 14. VERE spoke in favour of the amendment
Mr. JAMES STUART said, that he could not help
observing, that although threw Gentlemen had now
spoken hi fas our of the Address proposed by the lio-
nourahle Baronet, he bad pot heard anything but as-
sertions from them, and-least of all, any statement-of
facts, or any argument on svhich:they were founded.
They had contented themselVes with making one re-
mark,
that if ever there was a-period when the Meet-
ing should vote a Loyal Address to the Throne; the
preseut was the time. They had not said why, and
he therefore proceeded to notice the speech of the
Learned GentlemaP who had seconded the Address,
and who bad fliunded its necessity on assertions for
which no authority had been adduced, of flagitious
attempts now made in the country to excite 'dis-
affection, And of the necessity of. the interference
of such Meetings to protect the religion orthe etiun-
try—(hear!).—He should not repeat these asser-
tions, because they appeared to him to be a cruel, ca-
lumnious, and false libel, on the people of England.
But he inn eated to observe that the Learned Gentle-
man, so far from shewing any ground for his state-
ments on account of dangerous or secret Meetings
having taken place, had admitted that such Meetings
were now discontinued: He-had not brought forward
even one solitary tact in support of his statement, so
that he really appeared to him to fancy himself the
very individual alluded to by the Roman satirist-
-4' Marcus &tit, et est."
Did Marcus say 'twas fact, .
Then fact it is,
No proof so valid as a word of his !
Lord Rossnm—lf this had been merely a question
of men and measures he would have been the last to
have intruded upon their notice, but it was impos-
sible for any individual to be silent on the present
' occasion who had a due regard to the rights of the
country. He readily concurred in many parts of the
Address, and thought it was worded with great tem-
perance and moderation. There was one part of it,
however, in which we were told that an attack had
been made on the Constituted Authorities of the
land. He knew of no such attack, except it was
made within these walls—( Hear, hear!).—An at-
tack had been made on the just rights and independ-
ence of the Bar; every Advocate was entitled to de-
fend his client by every lawful means in his power;
and if a just and manly exercise of this right was to
be considered as a dereliction of his duty to the
State, farewel to all the most valuable rights of
citizens, and even to those rights which affected
life and property—(Hear, hear!)—But this is not
all, such an attack upon the sacred rights of an
Advocate implicated the_ tribunal before which
such language complained of was used. The Gen-
tleman should have. remembered, that if any li-
bellous language was used by the Counsel at the
bar, the Judges present should have interrupted him;
But that his language was not libellous, in their.opi-
nion, was evident from this, that no such interruption
was made. This just defence he considered due to an
absent and calumniated individual, and to the inde-
pendence of the English and Scottish Bar-:-(Cheers).
—They were not here assembled to judge .of .the in-
nocence or guilt of the Queen, a matter which had
been so lately discussed in Parliament ; but he could
not with propriety; after what had been said by an
Honourable Baronet, pass by it altogether. In the
opinion which had been expressed of the measures
adopted against the Queen, all ranks of the commu-
nity had joined, an' particularly the great; commer-
cial body of England, and the sedonclaty class
cf traders, who were the depositories and sinews of
our strength, and from whom we had derived all
cur glory, Independence, and wealth—(hear, hear)
—all that class, in short, who acted as Jurymen, and
to whom we had to trust for the administration of
our civil rights. He was confident that the put e and
11 uncorrupted administration of justice was the glory
of this more than any other nation ; and we owed it',
`to the great over-ruling power of the enlightened,
body of the People. It was this that kept all right
and straight. The Judges of the land were like
other men ; they had their passions and their preju-
dices, and were worked upon by their interests ; but
the voice of the public, and the independence of the
tar, were the great securities
.for the exercise of
justice, in matters tegarding life, honour, and pro-
perty—(Applause),—No man could take it upon him
to say, that the House of Peers, in their proceedings
agnitist the Queen, were not acted upon by the Pubic
opinion. They knew well that the People suspected
the justice and policy of the treasure, and appa.
rently there was some cause for such a suspicion.—
The Noble Earl; after levies% 'lna 4 !Ain:tele:wit and.

with greet ability, the ceases of the prevailing
content, concluded by submitting a cwition tc thlse
whose sentiments might be opposite to his, and tLat.
was, that there was nothing more 11'<e'y to nitjoin
the frame of society than to hold out the cicA trine
that all who do not support the Administi atio:i ore
disloyal, and that none are friends to the Constitulk.r4
but such as subscribe the creed of their political party.
Sir GEORGE Ctank; -for. the CouLty, sup-
ported the original Address. '
Mr. MICII A EL. FlissirNo followed on the same siay.
Mr..Lssres Orniloas spoke for the An:end ment.
The Limp ADVOCATE, though an <titlicial servant
of the Crown, thought that he would be deserting his
dirty if he did not explain the grotirras on which he
conceived it right that the Meeting should agree to
the original Address. He concluded his speech amid
loud cries of " Vote, Vote—Question, Question."
Mr. JEPP REY did not think that any clear cr
tinct view had yet been given of the groan& rol
which he conceived ahe question to rest, ar.'.
would shortly state the reaa,ons which wnt'ld
duce him to press the Amendment to a
With regard to expressions of loyalty, he trts,e.i
that there could not be any difference. or a shade of
difference, between any of the Gentlemen prose: -.
He would object to the original Address, for two
reasons; first, Lecause it contained expiessions
refere.,ce to the state'of the country which were
supported by facts, and led to false and etrone7l-s
conclusions; secondly, because it omitted to exi,re:Y
those feelings which it was higlily proper aid suit-
able 'to' express to the Sovereign—(Hear,
He did not object to the expressions of loyalty con-
tained in the Address, nor did he. deny that there
existed discontent in the cour.try. They might differ,
however, in their opinions a, to the mode of potting
it down—by what process of treatment the distemper
might be bet allayed.- Now, the Address concludes
not only w i.it expressing attachment to the Throne,
but.espressing also perfect confidence in the mea-
sures which his Majesty's Ministers may adopt in the
• present circumstances. He did not say that it con-
tained in so many words an express approbation of
his Majesty's Government ; but who could deny, that,
.coming from them at such a time as the present, it
virtually implied an admission to this extent? Onthece
grounds, he must say, that he would coml letely belie
his opinion were he to give his assent to such an Ad-
' dress: He doubted whether it was at all necessary for
perssins c,f,::nowu and urique.tioued loyalty to express
any vague attachment to his Majesty at such a time
as the. present. Was that. the only Ohtigation
' quired of them ''by the terms of 'the Requisition ?
tfould it exhaust the whole of their duty, merely to
lay at the- foot of
.the Throne,. empty, hollow, and
general professions of lcryalty=to declare that they
were not rcvalutionists- and denntooores ? Thee
were rarely nor needed to satisfy his A ric.stylof their
loyalty ? they were not in the least called for at pre-
sent; and did not at all meet the exigency cf the times.
He would admit, that there existed in the country
great. and growing discontent, very widely spread,
and daily extending itself among the great body of
the People. He would also admit, that ou this gene-
ral and progressive discontent, ignorant and wicked
agitators had ;engrafted a dangerout and disaffected
'spirit, which afforded ground for serious alarm. This
he allowed was true, but, he humbly conceived that
this Address, containing as it dad a statement clt
these evils, should fully, fairly, and honestly, ei-
press an opinion as to the causes which had pro-
duced them, and the remedies which ought to he
applied. He therefore maintained, that to the Ad•
dress an amendment should be attached supplying
this defect. What could be the bad effect of ad.:r-
ing this to their general professions of loyalty ?--
, He did not doubt that if that part of the amend-
ment which differed from the original Address was
embodied in it, his Learned Friend who proposed it
would have no objection that the professions of at-
tachment in the original one should be retained, if
the expressions were considered to be more loyal or
warm, more choice in phrase, more emphatic, or
more pathetic—(A laugh).—What were the circum-
stances of the present case? Unanimity in a loyal
Address to the Sovereign at such a Meeting should
naturally be expected ; but because they could not
all agree in minor points, would it be inferred that
they were not unanimous in their loyalty ? All,
unfortunately, agreed that great agitation and great
discontent prevailed. It was not necessary to enter
into any detail, or specification of circumstances,
to prove this. It was unfortunately too apparent,
and, in his opinion, it might .he fairly ascribed,
in a great degree?' to that tendency on the part
of the Government to repression, intimidation, and
coercion—that tendency to, vilify and abuse those
who were pnly deluded; and in this manner to
suppress and drive back the external symptoms of
the disorder, in place of counteracting it, at its 'source,
by a milder policy. Could it be said, that all the dis-
contents whioli have existed and do exist, proceed
from causes of *which no adequate explanation can
be given? Some thought that the pnly way to remedy
these outbreakings of popular disaffection, was to
punish seserely the least indication of this spirit; but
surely the more rational method was to inquire into
the cause—to apply a radical remedy to the scat of
the disorder ; and, in place of lopping off the sprout
ings and excrescences, to destroy the root and loan-
dation of the -evil? • An imputation had been fixed,
upon his party by the Honourable Member for the
County, whose general temperance and candour he
was -ready to acknowledge, that in point of fact,
and also in principle, they had of late too closely
allied themselves with the disaffected—(llcar),--
. He was prepared tp give this assertion a flat and
thorough denial. He denied that any of his party in
Scotland had ever joined in the clarhours of the des'
affected, or had ever written on the subject, without
expressing positive disapprobation of the schemes
and attempts of the seditious. Nay, he would go
further: h#would assert, that not even in the heat
of cbliate had a single expression ever escaped there
which indicated the least sympathy with the view
dr opinions of that party. Had his friends on any
occasion refrained from expressing a marked 3bla,
rence at the attacks made on the religion of the
country? Wear, hear)--and in that literary work 0
which he was-attached, had-not he himself constaniff
asserted the absurdityof the doctrine of Annual l'ae
liaments an Universal Suffrage? The fact was, that
for the last three years the Whigs had been mute
more the objects of calumny than the Administrwao
FutwitkAaralioz that tifey had ever shown theinselvd