Star.
London, England, 1819-10-06 00:00:00

BRISTOL MEETING, OCTOBER 4.

•
The Mayor having recuseet to.erant the g 7! _of the
guildhall of this city, according to the prayer of a
Requisition to that effect, signed by about fifty in-
habitants, freeholders, and freemen of Bristol, for
the purpose of considering the late dreadful events
at Manchester, &c. a very large concourse of people
repaired, agreeably to several advertisements, pla-
carded through the various streets, to Brandon-hill,
(upon which some Hustings had been hastily erected)
by two o'clock this afternoon. At three percisely the
proceedings of the day commenced, by Mr. Wm-
TON'S moving Mr. STOCKING into the Chair, which
was seconded and carried.
Mr. Srocesso, in returning thanks for the honour
and responsibility conferred upon him by this office,
regretted that it had not fallen into more able hands.
He should take this opportunity of adverting to the
conduct of the late Chief Magistrate of this City,
who had refused them the use of their• Guildhall. At
the same time it was not his intention to make any
unnecessary or invidious remark upon the propriety
or impropriety of that conduct—all he had in view
was, to observe, in answer to those who entertained
great prejudices against Meetings held in -the open
air, that they were now driven to :onvene them there
by the determination of the Chief Magistrates. For
his own part, he had no reason to be dissatisfied with
the event—for he thought the spot upon which they
now stood a much more eligible one than that
wherein they should have met, had the Requisition
been acceded to. In the latter instance he should
not have had the honour to address above one-fourth
of the numerous Assembly whom he now beheld.—
He could only conclude, therefore, that those who
had denied the Hall thought this a better place. He I
must next observe upon the conduct of a certain
class of Gentlemen whom he perceived to be absent,
li
but who
,ought to have been there—he meant-the'
Whigs-4ear.) Now, they were not met there tot
discuss *piety question, or the merits of one parti-
cular system of Reform over those of another sys.•
lent; but they had met to consider no less a question
than whether the Constitution of the country.was to
be finally extingnished? And yet he did think, that
the apathy discovered by those Gentlemen in 'regard
,to the suWerings of the people, proved that nothin'
was to be expected from them—(Hear.) A gre
many persons assembled at Manchester peaceably
and legally, as those Gentlemen to whom he now
addressed himself might-have done. These persons
were shamefully outraged—and it was upon this fatal
occurrence that, the following Requisition was pre-
sented to the Ilapir. (Here the Requisition was read.)
Such were the terms of that Requisition ; but the real
.question for their consideration was, whether they
mere prepared to give up their yet remaining liberties,
:or to maintain thenefew remaining rights which yet
.were left to them, or to recover those which they had
:been deprived of? Would they remain passive and
inactive spectators,lehaieloords Castlereagh and Sid-
mouth erected * stenderd of despotism on the ruins
of tivir! once free Constitution? It had been said,
that the/ were prematurely judging the question, and
proceeding withteit sufficient evidence. Mr. Stocking
whit ou to skew that this charge applied far better in