Star.
London, England, 1817-03-29 00:00:00

*high was professedly levelled it legal Meetings le-
gally culled to Petition that House. The House on
Ai occasions sheared itself laudably jealous of any
rp;!oletituent on the privilege of originating all mea-
ds:es ss hich touched the purse of the subject. It was,
tot A 'es important or less essetit;al tof the power
ot. the Iluuse, 1.1 receive the Petitions of the people.
thing which lessened the commun:catilu -be-
t even ch House of Commons and :he iseople, lessened
;rflaut.c.e, and rendered it has a counterpoise :0
taro other braarkes of the Legislature. The ether
hid an interest to disunite and weaken them—
w ts the duty of the !louse of Commons to resist
vralleit attempt to touch s, vital a part of its
r.:‘,o.,3res, It was al says from smell beginaings
hid meisur:A ofiginated, as sip:Wet:A infrae-
of right might :shays be m id: precedents for
1:;.•;I:er ones. The attempt t.. 9 connect the ro.sent
with some inc wove:shoo:cc which was said to
i1.0re1.1.717n felt lei the Courts o: I.rw, Wai Very
• .4,15. I i the first place he doubted the fact
(11.08.)—f:r if Cott was the casc, they should be-
tare 01:t: 1•114: l-ard Of it; awl if it were so, a
measure should have been introduced to
,:,inset dint inconvenience. instead of tacking such
class to. a Dal intended to meet a temporary
srs with whizia it had no connection.,
or:„:)-7.0nraorable Gentlent.m called upon those who
e,romJ Itelor no on this ground, that they would
rin'ist::4l to any change in the Constitutions to
car, :ward i:i consistence to reispose the Clause on.
,! :co' .iiere;oll; for suds Gentlemen we-te bound,
.;,:o.g to their iNrotessed princ,pie. to resist any
as sr, il upon tl.e si:i?ots arti privileges of
the eg %lives of 1.1. e Crown,
o.he pocro,;et.ves or power of the Crown seldoni,
j; ever, experienced any °jots:is:trot* from that quarter.
th.: a 41 ol Close Gentlemm for the preser
ratio i lit Co: solution seemed reserved to wit%-
itteJ ahy chang,: ta favour of popular principles.—.
Diener C.t power of the. Crown had gone oa ad•
yhrit:;;L, tpeciaily within the last Liiiriy yetis, s.)
f.a. tl, s poser seas now become such as to be felt
ir.rr.ity direr:ic:to The power of the. Crown was io
tat present in •Il [dices, and in most places irre-
vri:V.e. Friu4 that power, therefore, the most stri-
ass danger was to be ap,reheodld, and yet no alarm
appeared to be kit us to 'es et.s:tnee and effects,
rticelmly aca mg those tuna were so in their
ails ler the safety of the Conrittititia, when any po-
rkies was I ,ught forwai o extend the rights of
e people. On the contra, y those who were
sent eat nest to support end eLI orl,;e the porn :•to 4,f. the
Quoit, were always nio)t forward t, ahrdge the
pe.tileges of the people. Of that f,,ritrardn..is the
Cl ruse b fore the House furnished a striking vs: mph::
far here was :in attempt made, not to interkre with
s4ltitous or inept meetings, as the 1.1111 proposed, but
to cur:ail the right of meett:igsainexcepti at ably
Upon what ground, he %mold ask, was such an ex•
traursfolsry proposition brototht forward, or why
shosl.l t'.e Lif co in of Westminster he precluded from
imeitairing at their usual place of meeting ? There
was no good reason for thus interfering with the Elec-
tors at Vs-estininster in particular. He never lecol.
leCted an in;tance in which any practical inconve-
nience had resulted train the meeting of the Electors
of WIE. minster in Palace-yard, tither to the Legislt-
sure or the Courts of L tiv ; therefore the Cl ruse Ti•
dcconsi.teration was totally uocalled for. Licked he
&tyre semembereti a measure more uncalled (or, more
unnecessary, or more inconsistent with the Constitu-
tional ivileges of the people in general, and there-
fore he felt it his duty to give it his must decided
ems:Alain.

11.. n. Mr. WARD declated that he could not
ate that such importance belonged to*.this proposition
as the last speaker laboured to attach to it. If it were
thecbject of the clause to prevent those inflamma-
tory ur insolent, or foolish discussions which gene-
rally prevailed at Westminster Meetings—it it were
desired to put an end to these' offensive, and often
long and dull speeches, so pregnant, however, with
libellous attacks upon the principles of the Constitu-
tion, and upon the character of that House, which
were usually heard at those Meetings, he could mi-
derstand the motives of Ow orpo,itiou the House had
board. If it were intended to interfere with the right
ot petition, or to prohibit the Electors of %Vest:loa-
ner hem being entertained with those insulting ex-
perisnents upon the patience of that House, there
might be some alarm for the enjoyment of their ta-
',mune privileges ; fora practice had prevailed at
those meetings which was equally new in the history.
of this country, and inconsistent with the dignity of
Pariiammt, as that practice involved a system ot de-
tracti:,n and contumely upon the reputation of that
Home. Heretofore it WAS the principle of popular
leaders to raise a clamour against particular measures;
but the 'minim object of those who usually took a
lead at Westminster Meetings was to deprecate, by
every means in their power, the proceedings and cha-
meter of that House, to point it our, indeed, as the
great grievance which ought to be removed. (Hear,
bear. from as Ministerial licarbes.) It was indispu-
table that the harangues of those leaders were irately
directed to excite hatred against that Asset:Coly.—
Tee people were not immediately called upon to pot
a- end Oa the existence of that Assembly ; but that
call was perhaps reserved for the eve ut the great
Kelorm— (Thar, brag —But it was the duty of Far-
Lunent to guard the people from such acts of outrage
as the system of their leaders had an obvious tendency
to proveke. For the sake of the people themselves, he
called open the House to accede to the clause under
consideration. For if they should be guilty of that
7'4i:conduct to which the system of their leaders
-e-oeld prompt them, that House would be a party to
the guilt it it rejected the proposed Ain:ailment.—
Ile Meetings of these people, so liable to be misled
isy those who, it appeared, were but too willing to
mislead them, ought to be removed from the place
n+.tre the great temptation to outrage was CON Vellieili•
Still was the best provisioa that could be made to
'protect the
.dttuded people from giving immediate
effect to those fl:elings, to excite which so much mis-
chievous in.Justry was generally employed—(Bear,
ke").—PtrsuAded that the clause under cunsideration
met the approval of the greater part of that House
--(.1 laugh, anal hoar, hear, on the .011torilion basehes)—
and that it was also approveilby many of thve who
usually opposed any measure originating on that side
of the House. he should vote fur its adoption, con-
'incest that it had no tendency to interfere with any
constitutional privilege, and that it was calcalatet to
&sail ossialat gnat chischal.