Star.
London, England, 1816-09-12 00:00:00

Made!, he would advise the Prince Regent to grant
that which was so justly demanded. !Let him remind
his Master of the fate of the )louse of Stuart, of the
,fite of Charles 1.. betT)re Whitehall and let bim tell
the Prince Regent that the great cause of that Mo-
narch losing his head was his not listening to the
voice of the people ; let him tell him that the people
of England were not leis re4dy or willing to do them-
selves justice now than at that time. This was a
lesson which ought to be tAtight also to the Chan-
cellor of-the Exchequer, to the Archbishop of Can.
terbury, 'and to the arch hypocrite Wilberforce—a
mm, wits, for the l.►;t twenty years, had been weep-
ing for black, and voting hr white slavery (Hear,
bear.) An armed force might drive away meetings
like the present, but it was a thing impassible to col-
lect taxes out of pot kett that have got no money in
them. He firmly believed that it was the intention
of Ministers to rule the people at the point of the
bayonet, and they purposed keeping up this great
force to enable them to collect war-taxes in a time of

peace; but he was quite sure that however English
men might be Germanized in dress, yet they were
still Englishmen in heart ; and not even soldiers
could be taught to turn their arms against their
countrymen. fie concluded with moving the second
Resolution :
is That whether we direct our eyes to the factions' grand bar.
vest—wdr—to a profligate expenditure In useless places--to exor-
bitant salaries for nominal services—to a devouring and insatiable
Civil list—to a band of court hirelings in the House of Commons,
holding enormous emoluments—tn the organlzaticn of a corps of
direct plunderen, denominated sinecurists—er to an immense
standing army in peace, for destroying our liberties; we see in
the whole body, and in every feature of this system, the strongest
proofs and clearest Illustrations of the imperious necessity of a ra•
(Leal reform In the national representation ; without which, Inc.
citable rain and slavery must be our country's fate:*
It was read, and carried unanimously.
Mr. WALKER then came forward. Me spoke at
length on the immense amount of the funded debt
of the country, and contended, that as a very large
portion of it was contracted in a depreciated currency
when a pound note was nct worth more than 14s. it
was not just that such creditors should be paid the
full interest in a currency restored to its original
value. It was but fair play, however, that in the
first instance the unmerited emoluments of the sine-

curists should be at once struck off : and it would
only be just that the public salaries, increased osten-
sibly on account of the depreciation of the value of
money, should be restored to their original standard:
all this would afford considerable relief. He then
proceeded to assert, that the mischiefs of which we
had to complain—the enormous debt and taxation
with which the country was loaded—chiefly arose
from the long duration of Parliaments, and their not
being freely chosen by the people. Parliaments for
many centuries were only annual; afterwa,ds they
voted themselves triennial, then septennial; and if
matters went on as they did at present, he supposed
they might vote themselves perpetual. He concluded
with proposing the following resolutions

" That adverting to fact, we find that, for a period exceeding
1,400 years, antecedent to the reign of King William, while our
law was a stranger to Parliaments of a continuance exceeding
one year, oar country was equally a stranger to toe curse of a
national debt.

fbat we cannot, without horror, contemplate the melan-
choly eontrsie, that, in little innre than a twelfth part at a like
period of time, Parliaments of " too long comittuatice" have in-
curred a debt uttelly unredeentable, the very int...rest of which,
inflicts on is the torture of a taxation exceeding 45 millions a
year, exchnive of the extray.gant exrense of a corrupt govern-
went ; and that bath together exceed 7i millions a y-ar—a tart-
don under which the nation groans with in:speakable misery.
84 That to obtain relief fiont their present di•tress, and to
prevent for ever a return, it Is me.rssary the people, in their re-
spective counties, cities, towns, and I.i:inc.:, should cordially
'en-operaye in the measures adopted by the i:iths of I.ntiler and
‘Vestminster for the salvation of their couctry, in firmly and
perseveringly claiming by petition their tight ta a real represen-
tation annually dieted,
" That a Petition be presented to the Prince Regent, beseech-
ing him to take into his consideration the sufferings of this indus-
trious and patient people—and praying that he will be pleased
forthwith to cause the Parliament to be auembled, and to re-
commend to them, is the most urgent manner, to r.tduce the
army, to abolish all sinecures, pensh es, grants, and emoluments,
not merited by public services; and to listen, beloru it be too
late, to those repeated prayers of the people for being restored
to their undoubted right of choosing their own Representatives."

A Petition to the Parma RgGKPT, of great length,
embodying the preceding resolutions, was then pro.
doced, read, and unanimously approved of. It was
ordered to be signed on behalf of the Meeting by the
High Bailiff, and twelve inhabitant householders,
and to be presented to the Prince Regent by the
High Bailiff, accompanied by Sir Francis Burdett
and Lord Cochrane.

The next Resolution put and carried, amidst the

loudest acclamations, was,
That the thanks of this Meeting are cordially rendered to
our Representative, Sir Francis Burdett, fur his steady edits.
rence to the true principles of the constitution, and his resist-
ance to political abuses."
Sir F. Bunn= then came forward and addressed
the assembly. He thanked the citizens of Westmin-
ster for their approbation of his political conduct, ex-
lressed, as it was, by a meeting so respectable, so
arge, and so well attended. The sentiments by
which the meeting was animated shelved dim the spi•
tit of Englishmen was not extinguished in the people
of Westminster ; and be hoped that the time 1N,15
now come when the same spirit would shcw itself in
every part of the kingdom. We bad to content
with a formidable enemy—an enemy entrenched be-
hind parchment forms of law, and rows of bayonets
—an enemy too powerful for the City of Westmin-
ster, though united with the City of London, unless
there should be (what was loudly called for) a firm
accord of Englishmen of all denominations, to ob-
tain what was as clearly their right, as that right was
evidently violated and abused. After so much had
been said by his able predecessors on the present si-
tuation of the country, be should think it presump-
tuous in himself to attempt to enlighten the citizens
of Westminster as to the causes of the overwhelming
distresses of the times, especially when he considered
the long experience they had had of the evil.—an evil
long predicted, lung foreseen, which they had long
wished, but had never been able to oppose. it was
his duty as their Representative to speak truth, which
he should do as openly, though perhaps he could not
speak it so. forcibly, as some who had gone before
him. The petition which had just been read to them
expressed in a few sentences a just opinion on the
subject of those great evils which, as they effected
all, ought to engross the attention of all. It bade them
look for a ru remedy, and not to be mocked with a
sham one—it denounced that corrupt representatidn,
that seat-selling faction, whose practices were said, by
one of the niembersin that place, to be as notorious as
the an at aoameday,practices whish the Spe aker(thogh

disgraceful to be sere,pretended to be etc* innocently
rant of the very existence of such
declared, however, to be of that startling atroci:,
would have made the very hair of our fore!atbert
an end. And so they would. Nay, they would ha,-;
done more—they would have made their sword;
east
out from their scabbards. They might and wadi
have been astonished, but they would not have et.
dared such abuses of their privileges and charters.
(Loud aNtlause.)—We could not imitate their coq.
duct, however we might feel their spirit. But though
we were a disarmed and helpless people—though arel
were not only unarmed ourselves, but also encore.
passed by armed men—though the very meeting now
assembled was surrounded, as it were, with barrack'
and guard.bouws—though we could not move out
of the circumvallatien of military lines and intreno.
usents, for barracks and armed establishments arose
to our view on every side, both in town and country
—and though it might be said, without a metapho.
that the fear of bayonets was always before our eyes!
yet, even to us, humbled and degraded as we wart
below the proud position of our ancecti,r., out, ani
only one way remained by which we m'g'it try to
get rid of the enormous evils that hung ov •
though they were backed by enormoirs povtr.
way, indeed, was a very humble ere —in ham*
that the very worm, when tratnpled on t, o ma 4
might venture to use it. It was nurely to iay I,) ()
Rulers—" Tread on us no more : we have bee
pressed long enough, and now presume to ask Ihz
we may sot be pressed more than we can bear.",
This submissive appeal—.this unpresunfrig truth,
might yet, all unarmed as we were, vtr.ture to curl.
to the ears of our oppressors: and to the °mess;
nothing, except force itself, was more terribly aopai,,
ling than the voice of the oppressed.—(Ptiati
tiause for a considerable tune.)--Mr. Hunt, in his ate
speech, has drawn a very just distinction betweto 11111
glory (as it is called) of John Bull, and the elary
John Bull's rulers. Their glory consists in the -
blishment of tyranny—ours in the buiden
tricable debt and an insupportable taxatit
success has been our overthrow. But Ili
not so to be. The unredeemable debt w

by them ; and on them, and them only,
den fall. It is not a national debt—lL is

the vile borough•mongering oligarchy,
result of their corrupt measures, sanctioned
corrupt majorities. Let not, thtret, re, the
the sufferers for the profligate extravagar
few. What 1 was it not monstrous ? Are

very persons who insolve us in embarr4i
distress--are they to tax the honesty, and
and the virtues of those who abhor their

and for what) To put down liberty a►
world—to replace tyranny in its most cone
as well as its most odious forms—to re•esi

h
swwwainjurieshaaysesi worstnntme,
shot,
rtiouenfmtasdhaameenmt
siedpwsorfoiroyeteErsi
sßsnotmogfi
tu.lParj
scandalousbnuo
yordpineerss thought
voi,iefoi
ttogethernudegjgeuehshartapyndo:tpieeiesn:mewopiumieh;tB:
arhratst:eldati...otsh:ei:
not interfere. Yes—it was to establish despotism,
asmtbeirli dni
carund s
arrfertveetedro check
nmttill e
that
lleioyniersmofm
pm'oolrieenf)
immense
the
ni‘,ho
r,
eebiee7pihnieget, t ,
ifotriftenaenti_.(le
1t
1y(
(
spent to
a,hilart4)7!..lik supposed that most of them wr
acquainted wilt Suakspeare's ly of Catherine le
Prirocktio, where the husband has recourse to :Limo
in order to reduce the spirit of a rather hif;ll
Lady.—(A lung.)--lie did not know whether sa6,
a remedy agaiie;t tier spirit WAS intended brett
rulers for the p..ople of England sure he vat,
that the mode put sued by the o.igarefiy was ttot7ey
dissimilar tia that adopted by Petruch;o to h's tro.—
The lady, when hall-t-,Arved, is anxious to tore
some dried meat; she is tempted first wit:l anvil
of a neat's foot. Would she like that ? " Olt yr,
parsing well." Perhaps site would prefer sortie rti:e
tripe ? " Nothing can be better," says the Lady.—,
Well, but what say you to a piece a beef and
tard ? "Oh excellent—l love it dearly." Ay, bi
I fear that, together, they will not do you good;
you shall have the mortard without the niet.—f,
laugh.)—Sa it was with John• Bull. The d•iiy!at
freedom were laid before him ; he was trld, sa.l
ready to allow, that nothing could be more Soil.
than his excellent Constitution, so nicely Mixed
and composed of Kings, Lords, and Comnioat,
equal proportions ; but while he was waiatting
mouth with the thought of this delectable repast,
fields of a sudden, that out of the three ingretli
which make a Constitution—Kilgs, Lords,
Commons—the most substantial and essential,
the people, are taken out of the d,sh ; and Ent);
Lords only remain—the mustard wlthoutthe bed.
(Loud laugh and appla' ure.)—And this food,
table as it was, was to I), forced down our tho
ay, and by the bayonet. Such was the case
and such, though not so generally aCklrtli,
was the case when that great and himest man,
Horn Tooke, undertook to prove, that places i
liament were to be bought and sold suit
market. That npr;:!ht character was pursued the
file for having thus dared to attack the strcrg
of corruption : nay, his very existence was e:
jeopardy. Strangers to the arts of corrupt pole
were little aware of the thousand sources of
which a wicked and powerful faction coup
against an honest refi,rmer. A man's affair
denly fail—the world knows not how or wif
corrupt oligarchist could tell. It was that
borough-mongering system which, like Briatet
a hundred hands, and one of its hundred ha,
the pocket of every man—that system, for
monstrous appetite no food was too tine—no
fr
coarse—which. like an all•sweeping net, wouli
equally at the flimsiest cobweb and the mot
block. The throne anti the people were both
by its influence—the first in dignity. the srC
every thing : but the thrive was cornFmate,
no doubt was content with the compensation)
loss of dignity, by receiving six millions
tt
people, while the people got nothing but tae
creased, and ever increasing. And this
was the more grievous on the people, becaui
were the only innocent party, for they could
corrupt—corruption must be partial, it could
universal ; because the very term, in a political
implied that private interests were followed
detriment of the general interest; for on the,
if the whole public were ben: upon one object
acrid good, this wutld be not corrupt, but '

on the estar
If an ion.
i Their
.on. The
ings ought
rAS incurred
let its hos.
the deka(
and is tits
ned by dui
he public k
Luce of di
e they _de
issmentid
the isles:
measures.
ill over
mtempti
establish
th the
;" for neva