Star.
London, England, 1821-05-29 00:00:00

PM' CLUB DINNER.

The Anniversary of the Birth of the immortal Right
lion. WILLIAM PITT was celebrated yesterday at the
City of London Tavern.
Shortly after six o'clock the Chairman, THOMAS
SHERLOCK GOOCH, Esq. M.P. the LORD CHANCEL...
Loa, the Duke of WELLINGTON, Lord Stvxotrm,
the Earl of WESTMORELAND, Earl Barstow, Sir
♦VILLtAM Scone, and several other distinguished
persons, entered the room. They were received with
general applause. The Chairman was supported on
the right by the LORD CHANCELLOR, and the Duke
of Wet.morost sat on his left. There were present,
besides those Noble Lords already mentioned, Lord
Aioxitau, Sir E. KNATCHEULL, Col. VAUGHAN, Sir
F. GIBBON, E. B. WILBRAHAM, Esq. Sir R. PEEL,
Bart. and many other distinguished Gentlemen.
The cloth having been removed, Non nobis Donzine
was sung by Messrs. Leete, Taylor, Bellamy, and
Nares, in admirable style.
The CHAIRMAN then gave," The King, GOD bless
him." This toast was received with the most un-
bounded enthusiasm, and drank standing, with three
times three.—" The Duke of York, and the other
branches of the Royal Family," was the next toast;
it was received with similar satisfaction, and drank
with the same enthusiastic approbation.
The CHAIRMAN then rose and said, that it might
appear presumptuous, or at least, unnecessary in him
to preface the toast which he was about to propose
with a single observation. They were assembled on
that occasion to celebrate the Birth-day ofthe greatest
and the most virtuous Statesman that this or any
other country ever produced—(Applause).—England
had been blessed with him, providentially blessed
With him, at a moment when his services were most
required by this vast, and at that period, troubled
Empire—{Applause).--It was to the principles of Mr.
Pitt, and to his steady adherence to those principles,
that they were in his conscience, he believed, to at-
♦ibute the present independence of the English na-
tion. His firm resistance to French principles, and
his skilful and well-concerted policy, when immense
efforts on the part of the enemy abroad, and dismay
and faction at home, seemed to paralyze the country,
saved it from impending ruin, and raised it to a
height unexampled even in our most favoured annals.
The natural consequence of these great and extraor-
dinary exertions on the part of our population, had
been a temporary distress, and that distress was, under
the circumstances, quite unavoidable. It was one of
two evils. It was the alternative to dependence, and
Mr. Pitt chose rightly, and nobly chose the alterna-
tive—(cheers).—lt was their duty, as he was sure it
was their inclination, to relieve by every possible and
practicable means, the extent or the severity of that
distress ; but whate7er means were calculated to di-
minish it, he was sure that its reduc, .in did not de-
pend upon modern patriotism, or revolutionary doc-
trines---,(Loud cheers).—He begged to apologize for
the unreasonable length of time that he had occu-
pied their attention, and should conclude by pro.
posing to them—
" The immortal memory of the late Right Hon. William
Pitt, with three times three."—The toast was duly hottoured,
and the cheering continued for some time after.
The CHAIRMAN then proposed as a toast—
" The House of Brunswick; and may they never forget the
principles that seated them on the Throne of England." This
toast was received with much enthusiasm.—Song, Hail, happy

England, (Neal of Isles.
The CHA IRMA N then rose to propose a toast, which,
as an individual, he should drink 'with heartfelt satis-
faction, he meant " Protestant Ascendancy." This
toast was drank wish three times three, amidst the
most ardent acclamations.—Glee,
" Here's a health to Old England, the King, and the Church ;
* May all plotting Reformers be left in the lurch !"
The CHAIRMAN said, it was now his intention to
propose the health of those men who, following the
illustrious example of Mr. Pitt, had brought the war
to a most fortunate and favoured termination: he
meant " Nis Majesty's Ministers." This toast was
received with loud cheering : it was drank with three
times three. The LORD CHANCELLOR, the llnke of
WELLINOTaN, Lord Siumourn, the Earl of WEST-
BIORELAND, and Earl BaTatinsT rose, and the cheer-
ing continued for several minutes. As soon as si-
lence was obtained,
The LORD CHANCELLOR said, in the absence of
the Earl of Liverpool, which he regretted, but which
lie believed to be unavoidable, it became his duty for
himself, and on behalf of his colleagues, to express
their gratitude for the manner in which the Meeting
had been pleased to honour their humble efforts to
serve the country. It so happened that he had had
the honour of having a share in the Government of
the nation mach longer perhaps than any other Mem-
ber of the present Administration. It had been his
fortune to know intimately the views and principles
of that great Statesman whose birth they were that
day assembled to commemorate. He might there-
fore take the liberty to say, that if anything could
increase the gratification which he and his colleagues.
felt at the compliment received, it was the circum-
stance of its coming from those who were not assem-
bled to commemorate the birth of Mr. Pitt a short
time after the body of that great man had been con
signed to the grave, but who now, at the end of 15
or 16 years had met to manifest their gratitude to
him who had deserved more, perhapsoalhis country,
than any man who had ever lived!—(Applause). He
believed that he spoke the sentiments of all his Ma-
jesty's present Ministers, when he declared, that in
their opinion, if any merit at all was due to them, it
grew out of their following up the principles and car.
rying into effect the plans of Mr. Pitt, for the salve-
*ion not only of this country, but of Europe and the
world. There might have been differences of opi-.
Mon among Ministers, as to questions touching the
Protestant Ascendancy and Parliamentary Reform ;
but to his knowledge, the great man whose birth they
*ere met to commemorate, would at any period of
his life rather have gone to his grave than have con-
sented to give uthe Protestant Ascendancy to the
injury of any of the Protestants in this country. That
he was willing to concede to the Catholics the bene-
fits of a great and enlightened system of toleration,
consistent with the safety ()idle Constitution and the
permanency of our establishments, he would readily
allow, but certain he was that Mr. Pitt was not dis-
posed to go further—(Applause). Much had been
said of late- on the subject of Parliamentary Reform.
He would state what had fallen from Mr. Pitt the
last time he (the Lord Chancellor) had talked with
him on that question. Mr. Pitt bad then said We

!we a Constinnion which has enabled me to save
the country in the manner in which I have saved it,
from enemies abroad, and from those who, aiming at
a Revolution, have made it their business to dissemi-
nate revolutionary principles at home; and knowing
this, I must say, that whatever my opinions were for-
merly, I now feel that such a Constitution ought not
to be rashly sacrificed"—(Appleuse. ): If this opinion
was justified by what had.Aranspired before Mr. Pitt
went to his grave, how mach more was it borne out
by what had occurred sinslc? It was by persevering
in the course which Mr. Pitt bad marked out, that
those who had since been entrusted with the Go-
vernment had. been enabled to save the country.
But it had been asked, what had we gained ?
He would boldly say, we had gained all that we have
saved ; and when it was asked, what had we saved ?
be would ask if any man could be so besotted as to
expect that the country could go through a twenty-
five years war and come out of it as happily, with
respect to agriculture and commerce, as if there had
been no war? Time must be allowed for the coun-
try to recover. The Government of the country,
however, had; since the death of Mr. Pitt, been ena-
bled to place the country in the state in which it
now was—had been enabled to place it on the pin-.
nacle of glory, and to secure to all classes the bene-
' fits of the Constitution, and of an impartial adminis-
tration of justice. Much of what had been accom-
plished was owing to the steady perseverance of his
Noble Friend near him (Lord Sidmouth) in the prin-
ciples of Mr. Pitt. But the system of that great
map, though founded in infinite wisdom, had never
.been so proudly triumphant but for the valour and
skill of the Noble Person on his right (the Duke of
Wellington), to whom this country was indebted in
a degree which he would not trust himself co express
in the presence of that illustrious Nobleman—(Ap-
plause).—He had .ennobled this country by a blazeof
glory, the fame of which had spread from one end of
the world to the other, and had established not only
the liberties of England, but those of every other
country, if they were wise enough to avail them-
selves of those principles for which we had success-
fully contended. At his advanced age, it could not
possibly be long before he should be called upon to
quit this scene. He had nothing to ask of the GREAT
RULER of the UNIVERSE but this, that the country
might remain in the state in which it was at present,
with respect to its liberties, laws, and Constitut:on—
in that state in which he had se. n it for three score
and ten years He hoped he should not see those
principles triumphant which had been advocated else-
where. He hoped he should not survive the liberties
of his country, such as he had seen them. These, if
preserved, would give to those whom he addressed,
and to their posterity, a degree of happiness on which
it was impossible that they could improve, by adopt-
ing any of those theoretical changes which had been
pressed on their attention—(Apitause).
" May the principles of Mr. Pitt always animate the Councils
of Great Britain," was the next toast.
The CHAIRMAN then proposed
" Tice health of the Duke of Wellington, with trine awes nine!"
The toast having been drank in this manner,
The Duke of \\*mast:TON rose amidst loud ap-
plause. He begged leave to thank the Gentleiren
assembled on that occasion for the almost unexam-
pled kindness with which they had received his name,
and still more perhaps ought he to thank the Chair-
man, for the introduction of his name on an occasion
so interesting as the present. Whatever humbleser-
vices he had rendered to his country had been more
than compensated, by that most durable of all things,
public gratitude—(Cltecrs)—and the only regret he
could feel on this subject was, that the illustrious in-
dividual whose memory they were on that occasion'
commemorating, should have been removed from
this earthly scene before he had an opportunity of
witnessing the glorious, though not unexpected ter-
mination of all his views, by the co-operation of the
British Army—:(Appittrise).
The LORD CHANCELLOR then rose to propose the
health of "'Their able and spirited Chairman." This
toast was received with considerable enthusiasm, and
drank with three times three.
The CHAIRMAN said, that he felt himself quite un-
worthy of the honour that they had conferred upon
him, but he should endeavour to merit their appro-
bation by persevering in thr,se principles to which
Mr. Pitt had given the sanction of his name and his
adoption—( Cheers).
The CHAIRMAN then read a letter from Lord Li-
verpool, in which that Nobleman expressed his ex-
treme regret at the occurrence of circumstances which
made his attendance at the dinner quite impossible.
The Noble Lord regretted it the more since he was
last year also obliged to be absent from their Anni-
versary. The Chairman concluded the letter by pro-
posing to them as a toast—
" That able, upright, and intelligent Statesman, Lord Liverpool."
This toast was received with general acclamations,
and drank with three times three.
The next toast was—
" The Memory of the best of Sovereigns, the greatest of PA.
triots, and the greatest Friend to every man in his kingdom—
the Glorious Memory of King George the Third I"
This toast was drank standing, in solemn silence.
" When order in this land comatenced," was then
sung, with the following appropriate lines added :
" The glorious reign of George the Third
Demands a Nation's praise,
And with it may by Heal
v' be heard
The fervent prayer we raise—
/day George the Fourth on England's Throne
With equal glory reign,
And by his People's love alone
Ills sacred seat maintain !
And round his Throne may blessings throng,
Peace—health—with balmy wing ;
Aid may this long be sritain's song—
Gun save Great Groaoe our KING !"
The CHAIRMAN then proposed a toast upon the
connection of which true religion and liberty essen-
tially depended, ie meant " Church and State." This
toast was much applauded, and drank with three
times three.
The toast which followed was, " The Health of the
Earl of Harewocd, President of the Club." This toast
was received with much applause, and drank with
three times three.
The Earl of FIAREWOOD said, that as one of the
earliest Members of the Club, he felt deeply obliged
to them for the kind manner in which they had re-
ceived the toast just proposed by the Chairman, and
they would add to the obligation already conferred
upon him, by permitting him to propose as a toast,
" Prosperity to the Pitt Club."
The Lotto CHANCELLOR complained, with much

humor, tb4t the Noble Lord had trespassed a.
ittle on his manor. By the kindness of Meetings in
former years, he had been allowed to give " Prospe-
rity and perpetuity to the Pitt Club,"- and with all
his heart and soul he gave it now.
The toast was drank with three times three.
The LORD Crsescitsa.ost then said, he hoped he
might be allowed to give the toast, as just drank, as
liing as he lived. Then he trusted it would be taken
up by somebody else, and given from age to age, as
long as they had any posterity to drink it.
His Majesty's Ministers then retired, amidst the;
acclamations of the company.
The CHAIRMAN did not take his leave till another
hour had expired. The remaining standing toasts of
the Club were drunk with the usual honours; occa-
sional ones were introduced, and a variety of appro-
Hiate and convivial songs were sung by Messrs.
AKES, LEST, TAYLOR, DioNtm, and other vocal
Gentlemen in attendance.—The company did not
finally separate till nearly midnight.