Star.
London, England, 1821-01-11 00:00:00

COUNTY MEETIV? AT

A Meeting of the Nobility, Gentry,
Freeholders of the County of Derby
Monday, the Bth instant, agreeabl
meht of the sheriff, FRANCIS MUN
sequence of a Requisition signed
and highly respectable body of Noblatien
tlemen." The object of this Meet`
tionists stated to be to address hi
important crisis, for the sole purr),
of their permanent attachment to thi
their detertfilltation to sUppsrt the '
its branches."

The Meeting thus convened was
rons ever remembered in this Counts
quence of the great interest excited ,
ment, suitable preparations were made
Hall for the accommodation of those
petted to attend. Hustings were err
end of the body of the Hall, by orr'
and every precaution was adopted
sure facility of access. The purport t.
Address, brought forward at this partici
under the very peculiar circumstances,
was considered by a very large major'
wereconvened, as being intended chi _
" to bolster up," as a widely circulated
pressed it, " an Administration whirl-
contempt and aversion of an insulu
opinion was not confined to the sm,
of the County, but pervaded the hii
it being. understood that the Memi
trious House of Cavendish, and otlac_
viewed it in this light, it was etpectcd,
announced, that an amended Address
posed to the Meeting.
Under these circumstances, an i.
of people flocked into the town ear)
from all parts of the county, and
hour of assembling, which was fix!
At that time, the Sheriff proem.
and the doors being opened, the husti
and Nisi Prims Courts, and the spr
Hall itself, were instantly filled I
who had crowded about the place
part of the building being thronged,
anxious concourse of people being sti
admission, it was proposed, that tht
be adjourned to the Hall-yard.
area appearing already crowded,
dation having been provided there
gency, it was deemed impractical)]
able, to comply with the wishes.for
loudly expressed. The tumult thus
excessive, and a very considerable tit
silence was so far obtained as to a?"
declare the purpose of the Meetii
ceeded in this, and being called to I
forward in the most manly mans_
high sense of the honour thus conferred
his determination to discharge the,
ous station with strict impartiality,
desire that the peaceable and orderll
Meeting should afford to every ,
to deliver his sentiments, whatever
tical opinions, a patient and attend
After this, Sir GEORGE CREWE
Address, but it is impossible to dent
tion which was manifested in every
whtn he citme forward. This was
able, as his character and conduci
held in high estimation throughour
tumult with which he was assailed
referred solely to the unpopular occasii
presented himself to the notice of
ter many vain attempts on the part
his Grace the Duke of DEVONSGIR,
GEORGE a quiet hearing, and after .
calls to the High Sheriff, on the part
leading Requisitionists, to dissolve'
calls were the loudest u henever there
of silence), the worthy Bat onet addressed
Lions to those immediately surround
eluded by rearing a very short
the following is a copy :
"'TO THE KING'S MOST EWELL,
" We, your Majesty', loyal and dutiful
Gentry, Clergy, and Freeholders, of the
Moe to offer to your Majesty the saw
fidelity to the Throne, and of our firm
our unrivalled Constitution in all its branches,
our security and happiness:*
This was seconded by Sir Rol
Chaddesden, amidst the same noise
that had attended the mover of it.
distinctly and loudly by the Under
seemed to be the fixed determinatir
lable.majority of those present, to
whatever from any of the party
the' Requisition.
Loud and long and repeated
meantime, made for the Duke of
his !fame was hailed with the most
of applause. At length his Grace .
amended Address, and, amidst repeated
of applause, mixed with occasional
disappointment and dismay, from '
winked Requisitionists delivered
the following effect :
He began by stating, that he
times, when occasion required, to
opinion and by his conduct, his 10,
and his unalterable attachment to
by law established : but that he shi
part only of his duty if, while he ct
nions to the Throne, he did not
by a statement of the causes which,
had led to the present agitation
the Liberty of the Press, said his GI
tially abused—if designing men
who have perverted it to thew,
making it the vehicle of seditiou.
opinions—if persons have been foul
advantage of a time of difficult
alienate the minds of the ignorat
blislied Government of the Countr:
gour on the part of the Government
have been repressed, and they are
to account for the present disturbed
state of the public mind. If not the •
part of all these evils is to be lout.
nate and disastrous counsels of those
prosecution to be instituted against
Public cannot fail to suspect the pr
proessed that the injury, done to
the conduct of the Queen abroad

.
poseention, and who yet were willing to leave tution appear to Me to belong to naturally and so
ile and countenanced that evil by making necessarily to every English Gentleman, that it would
Stance of 00,000 per annum, if she would be nothing but an idle waste of your time, and ittsnit
elatinue toff ive abroad in the very place where her to your understandings, were I to enter into any Pro•
opposed oences were committed. The Public can- erosions of this nature. Consistently with these ieel.
vis respect those who attempted to establish their ings, I should not have objected to the Address which
cage by witnesses whose character would not bear the Hon. Baronet has proposed to you, provided I
A, test of inquiry, and who at the same time nog- saw any occasion to call for it, and if I could cons'.
;led to apply to those persons of respectability who der it abstractedly ; but, as I find this to be impoe-
htW situations near the person of the Queen, who Bible—for I cannot disconnect it from the recent acts
mid 'have confirmed or contradicted the reports of a weak and wicked Administration, which has ex-
raised against her. Are we then, exclaimed his . cited the disgust and condemnation of all moderate
Grace, to be surprised if a loyal, noble, and generousipersons, of all descriptions, and of all political opi-
people adopt with ardour and with zeal the cause of nions—viewing it as an indirect expression of the
or Queen, whom they consider injured and op- approbation of this independent County of measures
„toed? Are we to be surprised if, in their ardour which have been declared by a memorable Tote of
Win their zeal, they occasionally exceed those the House of Commons to be ' derogatory from the
bowls which extreme prudence and sober wisdom dignity of the Crown, and injurious to the best inte-
would prescribe? The Public had a right to expect rests of the country,'—viewing it as an attempt to
that no Ministers wind(' dare to institute a proceeding obtain indirectly your sanction to measures which
of such importance and solemnity without the clear- have already brought us to the very verge of a civil
est and strop est
ett proof. Yet, in the result, they have war, and which, if encouraged by you, and continued
been compell
in obedience to the declared voice by Government, must inevitably lead to the dreadful
of the People, to abandon their own measure.— alternative, of a military despotism or the horrors of
lent the evils of this disastrous proceeding have not a Revolution, I can by no means support it. If it be
ceased with the proceeding itself. They have sunk asked why so inconsiderable a person as myself should
deep, and it is to be feared they have done more to have intruded on your notice ? I can assure you that
injure the morals of the country, and to shake the I have done so with extreme diffidence and reluctance.
stability of the throne, than all that could have been But the Requisitionists have proclaimed that a crisis
I done in a long course of years by those designing has arrived!! And I admit that a crisis has indeed
persons whose efforts are supposed to have been so arrived, which calls upon every private Gentleman
successful as to have imposed upon the country the holding those opinions which I hold, to stand forward
necessity of making a public declaration of its loy. and avow them, and to place himself (for the security
sky. He wished, he said, to state, that in the vote of his property and the safety of the State) betwixt
he gave in the House of Lords, according to his con- an arbitrary Government and an indignant People.
victims and according to his conscience, he felt that With these feelings and these opinions, I cordially
he was placed in the double character of a Judge approve of the amended Address of the Noble Duke,
and Legislator—and that he was bound to consider and move that it be signed by the Sheriff on behalf
not only what was just towards the Queen, but what of this Meeting, and presented to his Majesty by the
was most expedient for the country and the monarchy. Lord. Lieutenant and the Members for the County."
He had, however, no hesitation in declaring that, in On the motion of Thanks to the Noble Lords who
[his opinion, the proceedings against the Queen had cpposed the Bill of Pains and Penalties,
I been the chief cause of the present agitation, and SAMUEL Fox, Esq. thus addressed the Meeting:—
that the conduct of Ministers had been most..culpa- " It may be deemed somewhat intrusive in my offer-
ble. " Thus feeling, thus convinced, (said his Grace)l ing myself to the notice of this Meeting ; but I feel
am willing to make the strongest avowal of loyalty impelled to come forward by a sense of duty which
to my Sovereign : but I should act with injustice to I owe to my brother Freeholders of the County—a
hen and to the People, if I did not urge the accom- County hitherto not exceeded by any in England in
raying of the avowal with a plain exposition of the true patriotism and genuine loyalty, under every (111.
awes of those evils which we all deplore. Attached ficulty which PROVIDENCE has destined us to endure,
as I have been from my infancy to the King, I feel or which the folly of man has heaped upon us. Let
the more pain that the conduct of his Ministers has us not, then, as independent Freeholders, shrink from
been such as alone could lower him in the eyes of our duty in the hour of our country's greatest clis.
the People, and cast humiliation on the Royal Family. tress, in laying our complaints before the Throne in
lam glad to have this opportunity of declaring in a respectful but firm and proper manner; not insult.
this county, which I consider as my home, my total ing our Monarch, but laying before him a history of
disapprobation of the persecution of the Queen. As the numerous errors of his Ministers, which, in the
a Queen, as a woman, as the mother of her whom course of many years past, but particularly in the
is have lost, I congratulate my country on the last few years, have brought us to the brink of de.
mien's escape from the Bill of Pains and Penalties; struction, and which, if persevered in, will inevitably
ad I trust that the time is not far distant when the ruin this enviable country, and bring us into a series
eyes of the King's Ministers will be opened to the of difficulties and dangers, out of which no set of men
folly of their conduct, and that the good heart and can extricate us. To vote a partial Address, as the
sounder feelings of the King will induce him, when sentiments of the collective body of the independent
uninfluenced by bad advisers, to restore her Majesty Freeholders of this opulent County, would be an in-
*that situation, and to those privileges, which are fringement on the right of every respectable Free-
bie to her.' His Grace then read the amended Ad. holder; and, at such a crisis, to overlook or gloss over
Bras, which was as follows: the fundamental errors of Government,which are daily
" TO Tllt MO'S MOST GRACIOUS M 1.11311. undermining the most valuable part of our excellent
• WS, the Nobility, Gentry, Clergy, and Freeholders of the Constitution, would be to act as traitors to our coun-
besty of Derby, convened by the Sheriff, humbly desire, at try. I beseech you to turn your attention to the state of
ilkirgertant crisis, to renew to your Majesty the assurance of the kingdom—to its national debt, hanging like a
millstone on its neck ; look to the lavish expenditure
ill UGhalien devotion to your Majesty's Person and Family,
ad we unalterable attachment to the Constitution, as by law of its resources, as if they were obtained from some
inexhaustible source, instead of being wrung from a
dellied. We are so sensible of the manifold blessings which
suffering People. Look at the distresses of the Poor,
welkin enjoyed under a free Constitution, that we shall never
at the increase of Pauperism, and the growing bur.
Ow countenance or support to those who seek to encroach
den of your Poor-rates, which, if they go on in the
*wear liberties, or to diminish that respect which is justly
same ratio as they have hitherto done, will swallow
die to the Laws, the Parliament, and the Throne.
up the fee-simple of our soil. Look at the distresses
• Your Majesty may, therefore, now, and at all times, depend
of the Commercial, Agricultural, and Manufacturing
spa our most earnest and zealous efforts to maintain the autho-
my of laws, to defend the rights of the People, and to uphold Districts, particularly the latter, in which there is a
universal, heart-rending cry of distress from one end
the dignity of the Crown. of the kingdom to the other. But to the purport of
*Animated by these sentiments of attachment and devotion,
the motion: I hold in my hand the vote of thanks to
we yet feel it to be incumbent upon us, as free and loyal sub-
the Noble Lords who so effectually opposed the Bill
jests, dutifully but firmly to represent to your Majesty, that the
of Pains and Penalties. I make this motion with
hie proceedings against her Majesty the Queen have, in our opt-
peculiar satisfaction, and in doing this I cannot re.
4001 been undertaken without an adequate motive, conducted frain from addressing you in the words of the illus.
without judgment, and, as was predicted by one branch of the trious and virtuous Lord Grey himself :—. Let us
Legislature, have been proved to be ' derogatory from
.the dig- act like men and Englishmen, who, having rights,
sky of the Crown, and injurious to the best interests of the
dare maintain them against the threats of power or
entry: When we recollect, that these proceedings were corn- the blandishments of corruption. Let us be sober,
weed after this solemn warning front the House of Commons, however enthusiastic ; temperate, yet firm ; moderate,
we are compelled to regard the advisers of such measures as no but resolute and fearless ; and the country yet may
kW entitled to the confidence,of your Majesty, or the sup- be saved !' "
pone( the Comer. The conduct of the Sheriff throughout this inte-
_

" From the late prorogation of Parliament, so unexpected at
the time, and in its manner so ungracious, after the liberal pro.
tidon made for the Civil Lkt, we are led to Fear that there may
a be some intention of further proceedings against her Ma-
jesty. We therefore humbly hope that your Majesty will yield
to the ardent wishes of your People, and direct such measures
to be taken as may remove every obstacle to a speedy and final
arrangement, and preclude the possibility of a renewal of dis.
cessions which have agitated the country, encouraged the
disposed, and caused pain and sorrow to all who are interested in
preservation of public morals and the security of the Throne.
We further presume to hope that your Majesty, from con-
dderation for the heavy burdens imposed upon your subject%
"! enforce a'most rigid but necessary economy in every depart-
ment of the public expenditure, and adopt a system of policy
conciliatory towards your People at home, and liberal towards
other nations, so as to secure internal tranquillity, and ram:
character fad prosperity of the Nation."
During the time his Grace was reading the above
amended Address, he was repeatedly interrupted by
the noisy vociferations of the ltequ►sitionists, call-
ig on the Sheriff to dissolve the Meeting. This was
their last vain attempt to disturb the proceedings,
for, on witnessing the enthusiasm of the Meeting in
the reception of the amended Address, they slunk
way from the Hall. Their numbers, however, were
inconsiderable, in comparison with the multitude
remaining, that their departure was scarcely noticed.
T. W. COKE) Esq. jun. one of the Members for the
Borough of Derby, seconded the.amended Address,
a short but forcible speech. The Address was then
adopted, by the most enthusiastic burst of applause
ever heard in that Hall.
On a motion that the Lord Lieutenant and the
'leathers for the County should be requested to pre-
sent the Address,
HENRY THORNHILL, Esq. spoke as follows
' Loyalty to the King and attachment to the Consti-

resting Meeting was distinguished by the most in-
flexible firmness and impartiality, and the most con-
ciliating moderation and urbanity ;
,and the vote of '
thanks, expressive of the full approbation of the
Assembly, was carried by the loudest plaudits.
Thus terminated a Meeting, called together at the
instigation of a very few individuals—(for great pains
were bestowed to get up the Requisition)—lndividuals
who seem to imagine that they enjoy a sort of mono-
poly of loyalty ; and the result of the proceedings
may teach them, if anything can, that the feelings
of the great body of the People cannot be outraged
in vain; that there exists in Britons, spite of the
calums'es whicliihave been charged upon them, a
spirit of manliness which disdains to insult an unpro-
tected female—a feeling of loyalty, which revolts
from the base attempt to degrade an injured Queen—
a sense of honour, which cannot endure the charges
preferred only by profligacy and perjury—and a love
of their Country, which leads them to rally round
their King and their'Constitution in the hour of dan-
ger, whether that danger arise from the designs of
popular demagogues, or from the more covert, but not
less dangerous attempts of Ministerial corruption.
It is worthy of remark, that of the only two Noble-
men who signed the Requisition, neither was present
at the Meeting: and of the others whose names were
subscribed to that memorable instrument, there were
some who voted, not for the original, but for the
amended Address. Thus has the County of Derby,
at length been roused from the supineness of which
it has too justly been accused, and a spirit is excited,
which, concurring with the general feeling of the
Nation, must lead to a correction of those abuses,
which have been heaped upon the glorious institu-
tions of our ancestors.
The Duke of DEVONSHIRZ left Derby for his seat'
at Hardwicke the next day, amid the hearty cheers
of a great concourse of people who Were assembled

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