Star.
London, England, 1820-12-21 00:00:00

Grievances, but a

plain and honest truths which were conveyed to the Royal Ear,
in order to screen themselves from those Parliamentary En-
quiries which will be necessary to satisfy the prayers of a much-
injured and oppressed People. WOODTHGRPR.

COURT OF coin ON COUNCIL.

the general character of the measures permed * Ad.,
DEBATE (*THE ANSWER OF THE SING TO THE minner.atioes seem li to reconcile the Peep)* so
ADDREalleteit THE DISMISSAL OF MINISTERS. the oovestma of the
‘. . , . . _
(CSlssinued from the Sr.to of Lesterday.)
Upon the motion of Mr. Sheriff WAITHNAN, the Mr. CHARLES PEARSON opposed the Amanda**,
Minutes of the Proceedings of the Court on Decem. because he considered that it was calculated to nib.
bee 28, 1816, were read. lead his Majesty, by an affectation of submission to
Mr. Sheriff WAIrUMAN said, he had moved for the caprice of his Ministers which wan not sincere,-
pra-.
the reading of that part of their Jburnals, in order to and that it would bring discredit upon the Cor
thew the Court the course which they had taken on lion, and dishonour upon the character, which, as
a former occasion, - when they had gone up with a Englishmen, they ought to preserve....(lrker, beer i)
The speaker expressed his astonishment at the obser:
Petition to the Throne for a redress of grievances,
and an unsuitable answer had been returned.. He vations of the Hon. Member on the floor, that there
were severed expressions in the Address of which he
could never agree with the worthy Gentleman that
they ought to enter the King's Answers on their disapproved. He (Mr. Pearson) had 'carefully read
over the Address since these observations had been
Journals on all Occasions. It was no want of respect
to the Crown to express an opinion of the King's An- made, and he could not find one expression in the
ewer. In a constitutional sense the King could do no Address, of which, both in matter and in language,
wrong, and whatever censure the Court might feel' he did not most highly approve. The Address was
s
themselves called upon to pass, would apply, not to strong, ha granted ; and ought it not to be so ? The
circumstances that called for that Address were ain-1
the King, but to his advisers.. The Petition did not
contain a single sentiment which lie (Mr. Waithman) precedented. Fortunately for this country, a parallel
was not ready to seal with his blood. He never re- to the multiplied and aggravated grievances of which
the Address-complained, was riot to be found in its
membered a Petition which had undergone so little
annals. Would the Hon. Gentleman who complained
alteration in thcCOmrnittea. He said this, in order
of the strength of the etpressions in which those
to rescue himself from the sort of imputation which
had been thrown out against him. The argument grievances were conveyed, have had them set to
which he bad used on a former occasion, and
which
music ? Would he have had the Common Council
put under the hands of a daiicing.master, to be tu-
had been much misrepresented by the worthy Gen-
demon, was this, that all the measures of the present cored is the arts of servility, before they appeared in
the presence of their Sovereign, to express, as Eng-
Administration tended to produce a Revolution ; and
he appealed to what had happened in other countries lishmen, their dissatisfaction at the conduct which
—in Spain, Portugal, Naples, and Sicily; where Re- his Ministers had pursued? But, observed the*
volutions had beau effected by means of thatvery mi- speaker, I defy the Hon. Gentleman on the other
litary force-opOs which bad Ministers had reckoned side to point out one expression in the Address'which
betrays such a contempt of the ordinary rules of re-,' as an engine of-Oppression. A Revolution, or a mili-
spect which govern civilized society, as one of them'
tart' despotism, would be the inevitable result of a
= and the People of this country were much ace in the measures pursuid by the present which disgraces the Answer that has been eulogized
.
by some of the Members. It will be observed; that,
Mo enlightened to itodure.a military despotism. To strong se may be the expressions of the dissatisfaction}
of the Corporation at the measures adopted by the Mi-
avoid these eatremes—to prevent this catastrophe, it
nisters, the Address does not impugn the motives of
was incumbent upon the People 'to carry up loyal
those
and dutiful Petitions to the Throne, praying for a who ham, by their actions, brought the sotto-
timely Reformation. This was the language which try to the very brink of ruin. Whereas, the Answer
presumes to attack the intentions of the authors if
stitutional language. It was the language of the
be had used, and this, he contended, was sound con-
the Address with a want of ceremony, supposed to
f
great Lord Chatham, who had said, that " if'Parlia- be as inconsistent with the conduct o a public O 6
ment did not reform itself, the People would reform ficer, as of a private Gentleman, Mr. Pearson ob.
served, that it was possible for a person to assert
Parliament, and if Reform did not come from within,
it would come from without with a vengeance." it- an affirmative proposition, and at the same time to
neg
.was the language- of-Judgoßlackstone, who had ob-
give it double force by the ative language in
g I
served, that "all acts of oppression led to a struggle, which it mi ht be clothed. " do not know (ob-
andserved the Winister) the motives of the framers of the
in this country that straggle had always tended
Address, but its tendency is to aggravate the evils
to confirm the liberties of the People." He-would
suppose, for the sake of argument, that sonic of the with which we have to contend." A sentence which,
grievances complained of in their Petition to his Ma-
while it asks the question, gives more than an an-
testy testy. were imaginary; but was that any reason why
ewer—it impugns the motives of the Corporation;
the People should be insulted, and why no notice and were it not resented by such a motion as that
should be taken of those grievances, which were ad. now before them, would mark thenv as the veriest
witted to exist even by the faction who were now slaves of servility and sycophancy. Mr. Pearson also
carrying up what they termed Loyal Addresses ?
remarked upon the observation of one of the speakers
Every individual in this country, from the highest to on the floor of the Ceurt, who bad objected to the
the lowest classes of the community, enjoyed the Address because it imputed to the Ministers conduct
right of petitioning. • The meanest of his Majesty's intended to excite treason and sedition. This had
subjects was entitled to this right, and if, in the ever-
been properly met by the Hon. Alderman, who had
cite of it, anithing indecorous or indiscreet escaped disdained such an inference from any part of the Ad.
d
him, even his errors, arising perhaps from the excess dress ; but who had contended, that the recent detec-
of his sufferings.-ought to be treated with indulgence, Lion of the Placard Conspiracy would have justified
and it would HI become the Ministers of the Crown such an assertion. He (Mr. Pearson) contended, that
were there not evidence to trace this home directly to
to advise their Sovereign to insult even anindividual
of this class. As to the Loyal Addresses, as they the Ministers, still their conduct afterwards, and the
were called, be could not help Making .one or two conduct of their Officers, was quite sufficient to sups
observations on the manner ha which they were pre- ply the want of proof upon this point.. The Minis'
pared. In the Ward of the worthy Alderman (Roth. tens, by themselves, by their Officers, their pliant
well), the sense of the !Wetting had actually been Magistrates, and their supple Lawyers, had con-
taken whether persons should be alloired to speak ! trived to get up and remove from the purposes of
In his own Ward, seyeral loyaliodivichials had at- public justice, all the evidences of this man's guilt
tended, as it appeared, for the express purpose of
which came within their power; and seeing a certain
Alderman in his place, he (Mr. Pearson) called upon
making a confusion, and had conducted themselves
in a very indecent and disorderly manner. These hiss to answer for his conduct, in removing from the
arision-house all the placards and band-bills which,
Loyal Gentlemen affected to believe that the whole M
during his Mayoralty, were brought by the officers
rcouutry was disaffected, and they skulked into holes
to the Office ; and having been deposited there, were
and corners. for the purpose of calumniating the
_e (Mr. Pearson) thought, perhaps, that
'People; They did not really believe, however, in the
no more his property than the Sword or the Mace on
disaffection of the People, and he had no doubt that the table. H
if the country were threatened with invasion, they it miXht- be too great an encroachment upon the Al-
would readily enough seek their own security by put. derision's sensibility to call upon him to say where the.
, ling arms into- the hands of those very men whom hand-bills and placards came from, but it was not too
'they charged with disloyalty. if the Crown were in much to expect him to say where they were gone to,
danger, his Majesty would find his !sect security by Alderman Arsaws said, that having been engaged.
throwing himself into the arms of the t, eat body of in conversatiou with a brother Alderman, he had but
-the People." They were the men in whom his Majesty imperfectly limed the charge against him, and begged
might best place his confidence, who would defend that it might be repeated.
him in every emergency, and rescue him from the Mr, PEARSON was very sorry that to a Gentian's
bands of his.enemies, as they were endeavouring to of the Alderman's penetration lie could not make•
rescue him sow from the hands of wicked advisers. himself understood; but he repeated his request. in.
The People of-arioglaud had been basely calumniated, .still more forcible terms.
for Ministers themselves, and • not the People, were Alderman Aids's, amid loud fans for him to
the true Revolstiouieta. He had not charged Minis. come forward,. said, that- if he might gather the
tens with exciting tmisoa, as was stated by the wor- charge against him from S report in a Newspaper of
Nay Member, but he Itatisaid, that the, measures of what passed 4 a ;recent Co,mrnon Hall, he could
~Banisters bad a direct tendency to excite disaffection, only say, that he.l4lderman Atkins) did never, mai
pod by-exciting disatffection to-lead to nets of treason &.d up in a-greatcoat, -give any meeting to a strap.-
and sedition. It appeared, too, that the-People had ger ; that the statement was entirely: untrue; and
beer stimulated to4cts otaiideme aid wan)* by.sita , altbaosh 43,e44‘1,11401140.41.41.4 Oilipnyvetts
I
circulation of ba/D
irnitto:7 hioad-bills.. ife had him- letters, ih,vitis hil to 'wit eat ii;Frifw, he never