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

INVERNESS COUNTY MEETING.

The Meeting, held on Thursday last, was thinly
attended, there being but thirty-three Gentlemen (in-
cluding only eleven Freeholders) present.
The Iflet-LIEVTENANT and CON vENEahaving been

called to the Chair,

The Sheriff Clerk commenced reading an Address,
when he was interrupted by
Mr. GRANT, of ltothiemurchus, on the score of
irregularity : he observed, that if the paper in the
Clerk's hand was an Address, no person had.moved

or seconded it.
Mr. FRASER, of Culbockie, said, it was an Address
which he would now take the liberty of moving, and
it was seconded by Major FRASER, of Newton.
The Clerk then again proceeded to read the Ad-
dress,. which purported to be an Address from the'
Freeholders, Commissioners of Supply, Justices of
the Peace, and other Heritors of the County, when it
wassobserved by a Gentleman present, that the two
last mentioned classes had not been summoned by
the Convener, and that it was not therefore correct to
assume their concurrence to that in which no power
of dissent had been given them ; they were accord-
ingly struck out, and the Clerk was allowed to go
on with the reading of the Address without further
interruption.—After concluding, a silence of some
minutes ensued.
Mr.Gaassr, of Rothiemurchus, then rose, and:said,
that he had expected to hear from some person the
reasons for moving themAddress!—that he never was
at a Public Meeting in Isis life where a Gentleman
came forward and proposed to send an Address to
the Throne, without having, or assigning some rea-
son, or necessity for so doing. He considered the
Address to imply the existence of sedition and blas-
phemy in this County, which was contrary to fact.—
(An observation was made that the expressions were
general, and were not intended to convey any such
idea.)—Mr. Graht defied any man to read that part
of the Address, and to say that a person who did not
know the County would not suppose that such prac-
tices did exist here. He objected to it, because a
stigma would thus be falsely attached to a loyal and
religious community, in order indirectly to convey
an approbation of the late measures of Ministers.
When a Public Meeting is called, at a period of great
agitation like the present, the natural inference is,
that the words used to express the sense of the Meet-
ing referred to the cause of this agitation. Though
this was undoubtedly implied, and is well known to
be the use uniformly made of such Addresses, he was
persuaded that if an approval in so many words of
the proceedings of Ministers regarding the Queen
were put to the Address, no Member of the Meeting,
nor any man in his senses, would sign it. He would
beg leave to ask if any Gentleman present would stand
up and say that he approved of these proceedings ?
He would even dare to say, subject to correction, if
wrong, that there were not three Gentlemen present,
who would sign an Address approving directly of the
measures of Ministers generally. The present agita-
tion in the country was chiefly owing to the ill-ad-
vised measures against the Queen: and that being
notoriously the fact, it was the duty of every honest
man to oppose the adoption of an Address, which
would be construed elsewhere into an approval of
measures, of which no party voting it confessedly
did approve. He would, therefore, if the Gentlemen
who had brought forward the Address which had
been read, did riot accede to such alterations as
would remove what was objectionable, tend it neces-
sary to move, as an Amendment, another Address,
which he then read.
Mr. FRASER, younger, of Torbreck, seconded the
Address proposed by Rothiemurchus. The with-
drawal of the Bill of Pains and Penalties was a proud
triumph to the People of England. Without enter-
ing into the guilt or innocence of the Queen, he con-
sidered her an ill-used, persecuted woman, who was '
entitled at least to the sympathies of a free and gene-
rous People, into whose arms she had thrown herself.
He considered the proceedings against her illegal and
unconstitutional ; for he had yet to learn how to re-
concile with justice the making a law against a par-
ticular person, on account of actions preciously com-
mitted by that person. No man could say, who had
the least regard for the happy Constitution and equi-
table Laws under which we live, that he could wish
to see it drawn into a precedent, that a subject of
Britain could be tried by a Tribunal where the cha-
racter of Accusers, Prosecutors, Judges, and Jury,
were combined in the same individual! He was one
of those who thought that public opinion should in-.
fluence the deliberations of the Legislature. He con-
cluded by asserting his pretensions to loyalty, which,
he said, would not give place to that of any man,
and for which he was ready, should occasion unhap-
pily occur, to lay down his life.
Mr.FRASER, of Rolig, deprecated the introduction
of any discussion of the late proceedings against the
Queen, to which, as one of the Requisitionists, he
declared, before GOD, it was not intended that the
Address should have reference directly or indirectly;
that matter was thrown entirely out of view by the
Requisitionists; and not meant to be at all touched
upon ;—(the other Gentlemen present, who signed the
Requisition, corroborated this declaration)—of that
proceeding he would say nothing, but it was quite
notorious, that very recently the principles of Radi-
calism had been carried the length of epen rebellion,
and therefore he thought it the duty of every good
subject to approach the Throne, and declare that he
would resist such attempts with his life and fortune.
He must say, there were some acts of the present
Administration which he thought wrong, and of
which he could not approve. But although he dis-
approved of some of their measures, he concurred in-
the propriety of the Address, and did not see the ne-
cessity of any alteration—since it was uerer content-

plated, as he had already said, directly or indirectly,
to approve tif their late proceedings, and this, he
thought, should be fully 'and publicly understood.
After some discussion, the Gentleman who pto-
posed the original Address, conceded some verbal
alterations, and the introduction of an entire clause
from the opposing Address, to'the following effect:—
" But we have the utmost satisfaction in being able
to assure your Majesty, that, in this part of your
Majesty's dominions, there exists no spirit of disaf-
fection, of irreligion, or of immorality; nor have any
attempts been made, so far as we have been able to
learn, either by the circulation of books and wri-ings,
or otherwise, to shake the loyalty, or corrupt the
manners of the l'euple."—The Address, thus altered
and amended, was unanimothly adopted as the senti-
ments of the Meeting, Mr. GRANT declaring that he
consented to the concluding paragraph, where the
vigour and wisdom of Government was applauded,
on this distinct understanding, that the expressions
had reference to the King and Constituted Authori-
ties in a general sense, and not to his Majesty's pre-
sent Ministers, who, he denied, either collectively cr
individually, possessed either vigour or wisdom ; but
that, on the contrary, they had displayed, in their
proceedings, imbecility and indecision, and the very
reverse of wisdom.

SLIGO T&WN MEETING

Monday sennight there was a respectable Meet-
ing of the Inhabitants of this town. The Rev. W.
G. ARMSTRONG, Provost, was called to the Chair.
Mr. WYNNE said, tfat it was evident co every per-
son who had watched the progress of events during
the last Live years, that there had not happened any
natural calamity which had not been converted by
the disaffected part of society, into an instrument to
bring into contempt all the establishments of the
country, and to excite a hatred against its Religion
and Government. So active of Itne had the malig-
nity of this faction become, that tre Press, to which
he was proud to say the country had owed the esta-
blishment of its Liberties at the zra of the Revolu-
tion, had degenerated, and had become the vehicle
11 of every seditious and treasonable doctrine which
characterised the present times. He urged the ne-
cessity of checking this torrent of blasphemy and
impiety, as the tendency of such pestilent doctrines
was to deprive men of their hopes here and here-•
after. Unless that should be done, it would be in
vain for them to establish schools for the education
of the children of the lower orders, as the rising ge-
neration would soon be corrupted, and be rendered
the active implements of the disaffected. He said
there was nothing in the personal character of the
Monarch which could excite any suspicion that
he was hostile to the liberties of the country, or to
the mild principles of the British Constitution.—
The whole of the King's public life chewed his at-
tachment to the principles of rational freedom ; and
he (Mr. Wynne) was convinced, that if there were
any one circumstance which ought to endear
his name to the people of this Realm, snore than
another, that circumstance was to be found in the
magnanimity with which his Majesty persevered in
the maintenance of the late war, until he had de-
stroyed the upstart Tyrant of the Continent. He then
read an Address, conveying the attachment of the
Meeting to the Throne, and of their determination
to counteract the circulation of blasphemous and se-
ditious libels.
Mr. FAUSSET setonded the Address, which passed
unanimously.
It was then moved and carried, that the Address
should be presented to the KING by Mr. WYNNE.