Star.
London, England, 1811-02-07 00:00:00

view he was reedy to agree with the Committee that
abuse and calumny would not afford any ground of
argument against facts, however subtle they might
appear. He had read most attentively ;be Report,
and declared himself incompetent to find upon what
ground the removal of the Militia from their ordinary
posts could be beneficial, either to the Government,
the State, or to the City of London. Ile animad-
verted upon the different Clauses of the Report,
which he considered as comprising a variety of mis-
statements, and as not satisfactory in order to induce
the application for a Bill to Parliament. On these
grounds lie suggested the necessity for dismissing the
Report altogether.
Mr. WAITHNAN said, that the Report was a simple
statement of facts, and such a Report as was called
for by the circumstances of the case. The Report,
indeed, spoke for itself, and it was hardly necessary
for him to enter into a refutation of all the slander
which had been poured out against it. He was not
so inexperienced as not to know that the more atro-
cious the nature of any abuses which are pointed out
for public animadversion, the more odious are the
epithets which are heaped by the culpable party on
the head of the detectors. It gave him no surprise,
therefore, that this Report had excited such a strong
degree of irritability in a certain quarter ; but it
would, indeed, have much surprised him, had it not
excited that degree of 'irritability. He had heard the
conduct of the Committee pointed out to the repro-
bation of every Member of the Court ; he bad heard
the Report charged with substituting conjecture for
fact, and insinuation for argument. These and a
number of other epithets were thrown most undeser-
vedlyL on the Committee ; and though he was unwil-
,lmg to attach epithet to the public conduct of indi-
viduals, when an individual came forward and vo-
lunteered himself in the cause of abuse, he could not
but think him, in every point of view, a fair subject
of animadversion. He was sorry to see the worthy
• Alderman who opened this business take notice of the
R author of a defamatory pamphlet which had lately
been given to the public against the Committee. He
should have let the pamphlet, and the author of the
pamphlet, die of their own insignificancy. The
pamphlet, such as it is, seems to be the same as the
speech of the gallant Colonel, and something very
like the speech of the worthy Alderman. The au-
thor quarrels strongly with the reference ; but on this
_subject it is not necessary for the Committee to speak
—the reference is the work of the Court, and with
the reference the Members of the Committee have no
business. The Report, as it branches itself into se-
veral heads, has been followed in their order by the
worthy Alderman (Birch). The charge is the an-
nual expences.—Who pays the ,50,000? says the
worthy Alderman. Is it the City of London ? No
it is Government ; anel you have no right to interfere
.with it. Well ! and although Government pay this
sum, is this a plea to be set up in an inquiry of this
nature ? He had a property in the country, however
small that property might be, and he had a right to in-
quire into the disposal and appropriation of the public
money. Wherever the scene of the peculation might
lie, were it in Cumberland or Westmoreland, still he
had a right to interfere with it. Against such narrow-
arguments he would always give his strong protest.
—But if gentlemen begin to abuse the Committee for
. their conduct, and say that they substitute for argu-
ments, insinuations and gross deceptions (here he was I
interrupted by Alderman Birch, who disclaimed the
using deceptions). A gentleman last said, that he
would prove a gross deception ; but unluckily before
he sat down, he forgot his proof. He would tell those
who abused the Committee, that it was composed of
as good materials as were to be found in the Council.
It might be possible indeed, to find twenty.six men
of greater wealth in the Council, but sure he was, ,
not of greater worth or integrity. The abusive epi.
thets, therefore, poured out on the Committee, de.
feated themselves. They were charged with taking
ex park evidence. They took the best evidence which I
could be got ;—whose fault was it that they had not
better evidence ? When questions were put to the
Officers, they said they held their Commissions under
the Court of Lieutenancy, and were only accounta.
ble to them, and not bound to answer the Committee.
This was a very curious way of shewing respect to
the Common Council and the City of London. He
could tell, however, the worthy Alderman, that if he
had not been an Alderman, he would never have
held a Commission in the regiment. The worthy
Alderman talks of his constituents—why he may put

all his Constituents in a hackney coach-4fteen is the
highest amount of them. With respect t' the cloth.
ing of the regiments. a Motion was made by Mr.
Randle Jackson, that an application should be made
to Government to pay the clothing, and Government
was applied to on that subject, and agreed to pay it ;
and yet we see a sum of no less than £l9OO paid to
the partner of one of the Colonels. A Gentleman
who gives his service as a Magistrate ought not to be
called on to spend any part of his own money in the
service of the public ; but it was disgraceful in any
Magistrate, and more particularly disgraceful in a
Magistrate of the City of London, to put a shilling
of the public money into his own pocket. With re.
spect to the stock purse—it has been said that it is no
stock purse—that this is a misnomer—so says the
Speech of the worthy Colonel and the Pamphlet,
which is the same thing. Why t because you ought
to pay ten guineas, and you only pay seven. It is a
regimental stock purse, and they ought to. have ap.
plied it for regimental purposes, and not put,their
hands into the pockets of the City of London. When
the commutation of seven guineas was agreed on, it
was admitted by the Commissioners of Lieutenancy,
that if men milli be got for less, the rest was not to
be put into the pockets of the OfEccri. A different
doctrine is maintained by the worthy Alderman, the
Pamphlet, and the sublime columns of that sublime
production the Post. (Here MI. Waithman entered
into a variety of details on the subject of the Report,
in answer to the objections which bad been thrown
out, which we are reluctantly compelled to omit, fs,r '
want of room.) Before concluding, he would advert
to an objection which had been made to the Report
It had been said that it was the intention of the Com-
mittee to traduce the whole Magistracy -of the City
of London. Certainly the Court of Lieutenancy,
which it is hardly possible to make a Court,. from
want of Members, cannot be said to be the .Magi;.
tracy of London. But Gon forbid that they should ,
,he deterred from the discharge of their duty, it all the
!Iraq' of tAke. Gisr,,oi LtondOn ippllcated:
The came, hqwrierr.wit "fry ddrernist.; g oar could

$ Magistracy of