Star.
London, England, 1810-10-23 00:00:00

• .
jeeted by the House of Commons : ytt, the great
complaint of the people ieas not that this plan, or that
plan of Reform had beedrejeeted, but that the House
of Commons altogether refused to enter into the discus-
sion of the question. But he trusted, that not only the
county of Kent, but every other county of the kingdom,
would call on the House of Commons, to adopt such
measures as may be necessary for the effectual Re-
form of all existing abuses. It was his own firm opi-
nion, that no plan of reform which had been proposed
since that of Mr. Fitt could have been adopted with-
out producing great public benefit. For himself, he
could say, that in the part he took upon this occasion,
he was not actfiated by any private motive ; and he
had only to lament that the task had not fallen into
much abler hands. If they should be gratified in the
grant of what they sought upon this occasion, nothing
more would be wanted to insure the prosperity of the
country; end he could not put this matter in a stronger
light, than by quoting the concluding part of an ad-
dress of the House of Com Mons, in the year 1783 ;
" that the King of Great Britain can have no more
perfect security for his Crown, than the support of an
Independent and uninfluenced House of Commons.
He concluded by moving the petition.
Mr. Honors then read the following petition, amidst
the most marked demonstrations of applause :

" We the Inhabitants of the County of Kent, In full County
Meeting assembled, conscious of the rights we possess, of ad-
dressing and petitioning your Honourable House upon all public
affairs, and impelled by a high sense of the duty we owe to our-
selves and to our country, beg leave to lay before you our opi-
nions and sentiments on the present defective state of the Repre-
sentation of the People.

" To the wisdom and justice of the original design of eonven-
ing in Parliament the Representatives of the People, to deliberate
and co-operate with the Sovereign and the Peers upon every
question of National Concern, we give our unqualified appro-
bation ; but when we take into our consideration the decay of
sonic Boroughs. once proverous and well peopled, the rise and
flourishing condition of others. formerly of little note; when we
reflect upon the effects of the heavy and insupportable expence of
Elections, which closes the doors of your Honourable House to
many of the best friends of their country, and roLs it of their
faithful service; when we chink of three things, we are of epi.
nion that your House is at this time, by no means a
fair Representation of the People • and from the manner in which
a large portion of the inditidual Members Obtain and secure their
seats in your Honourable House, we cannot but infer, that that
re high and sacred office, intended for the public service, is frequent-
ly sought for and procured by unconstitutional means, and is too
often perverted from its original design, and rende:ed subservient
to private ends. To this cause we ascribe the greatest part of the
national calamities we now have to deplore. The mean princi-
ples, and narrow views which have too long governed the Coun-
cils of the Cabinet, the false ambition and little intrigues of its
Members, the continuance of a system of Expenditure lavishbe-
yend example, the many disgraceful expeditions, in which the
blood and treasure of the country have been too prodigally wasted,
the decisions of your Honourable House in direct opposition to
the general sentiments of the nation, the unwillingness hitherto
evinced by your Honourable House to promote inquiry into, or
correct abuses in the Representation—an unwillingness which
cannot fail to excite our distrust and to diminish the respect we*
owe to the name and functions of your Honourable House. And
we deplore particularly one instance of this unwillingness, of which
we complain, in your rejection of a motion made in the last Ses-
sions of Parliament, by one of the Members of the County of
Herts—as that motion, had it been adopted by your Honourable
House, must necessarily have brought before your Committee a
full inquiry into the present deft( tive state of the Representatios
of the People, and thereby hare led to a substantial Reform m the
Conununs House of Parliament, so essential to the salvation of
the State, by restoring to us a tree Constitution, that inestimable
inheritance, transmitted to us by the wisdom and Intrepidity of
ear ancestors.

" The times demand this open avowal of our sentiments, and
In the language employed to convey them we intend no disre-
spect; though we are persuaded that no words can be too strong
to express our feelings upon this occasion. Therefore, we most
earntstly entreat your Honourable House to undertake, before it
is too late, In a true and cordial spirit, the measure of Reform,
upon principle. which, by conciliating the affections of the People
and tong restoring to your Honourable House its due weight and
character, may rescue our country from domestic discord, and
secure it from the foreign foe, give stability to the Throne, and
perpetuate the Constitution."

Mr. Foot then rose and addressed the Meeting.
Atter the very able manner in which this business has
been opened to you, little remains ft r me but to go
through the customary form of strenuously and hear-
tily, seconding the Address which has just been pro- I
posed. But even in the performance of this duty, I
feel it necessary to throw myself on your indulgence,
arid to solicit with all the diffidence of a man unused
to public speaking, a candid and partial bearing.— "
Were we met together to discuss some abstract ques-
ti,in of policy—some difficult theory in the art and
mystery of Government, I shculd not presume to in-
trude myself upon your notice ; but the subject of our
Address is a simple one. The grievances we com-
plain of are common to us all—the remedy we seek
is obvious and infallible. We are anxious for nothing
new—it is the Constitution that we seek for—the I
Constitution, as established by the wisdom of our an-;
cestors; the Constitution of King, Lords, and Corn.;
mons—the Constitution of the Statute Books. It is
with no common anxiety we request, that Parliament
ivill in its wh.dom adopt some measure calculated to
support its own honour and vindicate its own purity.
We wish that some effectual method may be resorted
to, to prevent the recurrence of scenes oo disgraceful
as those which have during the two or three last ses.
sions, been exhibited to the eyes of an astonished and
insulted pi!ople. We wish to see the time when car-
, ruption shall no longer be avowed • and advocated,
and when ministerial imbecility shall cease to be pro. I
tested by ministerial majorities ( Loud cries of Hear) !
We wish to see the time when the guardians of the
public purse shall disburse with wisdom, what they
grant with caution, and when the great machine cf
the state shall be worked, not for the ambition or in-
terest of the Governors, but for the happiness of the
governed. It is from an extension of the right of vot- I
ing from freehold. to copyhold property—it is from
increasing the number of members in a due propor_
tion to the population of boroughs and of counties—
it is from efficacious measures for the reduction of the
enormous expence attendant upon the present system
of election, that we shall obtain this object, so con-
genial 1,
to the principles of Englishmen. Gentlemen,
I presume, ;:nd I think I, presume fairly, that this is
the sum and substance of our wishes, and to wishes
so reasonable, it would at first sight seem difficult to
suppose an opposition ; but, Gentlemen, the creatures
of administration, the minions of office, the expect‘ts
of emolument, are embodied in firm phalanx against
us. The contest in which we are engaged is arduous.
Self-interest is dead to the voice of reason and of
truth, and to talk to the borough-monger of reform,
and to the hireling of retrenchment, were, indeed,
es. to bluster to the ocean, and to whistle to the wind."
V 144 hair.) Against this, mercenary host of toes
we havitorbisiaie the unanswerable argument of
,common :case, supported in the first instance by the,
countenatste of this, most •respeetable meeting ; and,
in the neat, by the uhanirneusetteetkerihr independent

explanadan,
on which
•.• - - .
men nf all descriptions and af la Illitim woist. I askMedr.ifit. hrDealwoutegld present the samPetieti nicest are dictated by reflection, a 7.-are
inthe judgments they have formed. Let us then been voted ?
keep the grand specific of Reform constantly in view , Sir EDWARD KNATCHBULL replied. th.,
—let us not be lulled by hope, or dispirited 6y disape ...,.feel it Its duty to present the petition that
pointments. Our sober voices may at first be stifled idopted by the Meeting. He had beforte
by the yell of corruption, and our requests may at former occasions, supported in Parliament
first be denied by prejudice and by power. (Loud cries ject's right of petition, where the mode
of Hear.) Let as, however; be true to ourselves. Let was not in itself objecticetobie. He felt
us never swerve even for a moment, and our final proud in saying that the wording of the
success must be the insolt. The march of justice Lion did not appear to him to be urn
may be slow, it is nevertheless sure. gurs is the great county which petitioned, or the high
cause of justice, and it *ill, believe me, ultimately to which it was constitutionally appealing
triumph. (Hear, hear.) It isly those means we hope, He thought it respectfully worded, add
at no distant period, to see a Houseof_Commons so would willingly present. it.—(ifeoslawees,
constituted, that whilst they honour the Crown, they spect to another point. he would give them'
shall protect the people—who shall attend to our real rents with that frankness which their eanoi
interests, not lording over our rights, but helpers of tion was *aided to. Upon any question
our joy. It is by these means we hope, at no distant general importance, or more immediately
peridd, to see the weak, divided, incapable adherents the interests of the county in particular, he'
lof the present Minister turned out of office—the ma- it to be his duty, in the first instance, to
nagement of the British Cabinet placed in the hands self acquainted with the sentimenteof his
of those who will once more open to us a free career and then, from an honest and conscientious
for the restoration of our honour, our liberty and our of his own judgment upon the matter in issue,
!happiness : for nothing tends further to promote the his own conclusions, and firmly to act
nation's safety and the people's comfort, than to see conclusions. This had been the principle
i men of talons, loyalty, probity, and honour, direct ' hitherto guided his public conduct, and
the public touncils (Loud approbation). I am de. himself, he would continue to be actuated
lighted with these unequivocal marks of your acqui- . had nothing to reproach himself with.
escence, and shall conclude with seconding the mo.' along acted upon the dictates, and rewarded
tion now proposed. I approbation of an honest heart.—(Here there
Mr. Cox called upon the Freeholders to unite heart : murmurs.) He might have erred, but they ,
and hand in the great cause of Reform ; the system , the errors of judgment, and not of intention
of venality had so far prevailed, as to require steady the murmur: increased.) Gentlemen, said '
and uniform exertions to resist it. It was a system Ido not shrink from telling you, that the
which had hitherto triumphed over all law, and bid I which you have committed to my hands '
defiance to every public principle. It had succeeded betrayed. I have dischaiged my duty i
*in concealing from their beloved King the real semi. fidelity and integrity—(Here there was
menu of his faithful people. He trusted that the re. of no !no !)
suit of that meeting would set the example to Eng. Mr. LARKIN'S . next addressed the M.
: land, and that their gracious Monarch would at length asked if the Honourable Baronet, in the
be undeceived ; hitherto petitions intended for the professions, had said any thing bearing
Royal ear were consigned to the office of some State sent question ? He wished to know if the
Secretary, and then transferred unopened to the but. Baronet would now pledge himself to
ter shop: (laughkr) ; the present Ministers had abused the House of Commons the Petition, a,
the confidence they had, by a trick, gained from the there approved, or at least had not opposed
' public delusion, and how had they rewarded that con- In tact, all that hod been yet said by the '
fidence ? Mr. Perceval, whose brother, Lord Arden, Baronet amounted to little more than
took yearly 21,000. pounds out of the pockets of the the subject then before them. The Freellohlers
people ; this Mr. Perceval, the Clerk of the Irons, or quite in the dark as to the intentions of
the Clerk of the Mint, he did not know which to call able Baronet with respect to the Petition
him, had told that people upon whose hard eerningi agreed to. He was bound to state frankl•
lie and itis,family ntaintaioed themselves—he had told constituents how he would act—whether '
the people that Mr. Hunt's pillage of £200,000 of of, or in opposition to their sentiments,
their money was but a inisapplying of that money ; lardy so in consequence of his antecedent
but he would ask them if it was any thing else than since, if the Freeholders were to judge of
. public robbery ?—(oloninsurr). He concluded by be his conduct from what had been, they
calling on the Freeholders to be at once steady and elude him to be on the side which was hostik
temperate. In the present crisis the advice of no man, sentiments—(a/lA/aunt). What had been
however huinble was to be scorned. He would con- duct of that Honourable Baronet upon every te
chide by telling them, in the language of the Poet, that respecting a Reform in Parliament ? He had
i When dangers call and delegates are met, every occasion proved himself a bitter enemy
• Sage counsel should not come with tardy feet; form. He would ask the Honourable
For in the crisis of our country's fate,
had ever given one vote for entertaining
I He merits death who gives advice too late.
was then put by the Sheriff, that the discussion of the qoestion ? There never
The question '-
a question affecting the people's liberties
Petition, as read by Mr. Hodges, be presented to the Edward Knatchbull was not found to be
House of Commons.—lt was carried in the affirma- opponent, or to evade his public duty byabsenting,
tive unanimously. self from the discussion altogether. In stating this,
A Freeholder then proposed three cheers for the (Mr. Larkins) made no vague charges. He might
High Sheriff, which proposition was immediately ac. cite some of the cases to which he alluded if it would.
ceded to, and carried into effect. not lead him into too tedious a detail—(N*, es, p .s.
• Mr. RYDER then rose, and moved that the Petition go on)—He would ask then, what was the vote of the
be left for signatures in the different towns of the Honourable Baronet upon the Investigation of the
county of Kent ; and that a Committee be appointed Duke of York's public conduct ? ( Rear, Hear.)
to carry into execution the objects of this meeting ; Was not the delinquency of the accused party proved
and that the persons whose names are to the requisi- so clearly, that if the same proofs had been laid before
:don do constitute said Committee, with the power of a Jury, aed that they bad returned so iniquitous a
enlarging the number of said Committee. verdict they would have been scouted from the Hall
Mr. Foot, before the question was put by the She- of Justice with indignation ! (oloe/aeser.) In that
riff, said, that he was anxious to remind the Free-
county, he affirmed,
holders, that one of their Representatives, Sir Ed- that ninety-nine, out of one bun-
ward Knatchbull, (then in his eye) had not held u deed of the inhabitants were upon that occasion of
P an opinion opposite to the vote of the Honourable
his hand in favour of the Petitinn which they hid so
recently adopted. He, on the contrary, had opposed Baronet. Another momentous questioa was that of
the• Walcheren Expedition—never had there been as
that Petition ; and he (Mr. Foot) was not at all stir-
Prised that the Honourable Baronet bad opposed it expedition planned with more imbecility, or =dm-
; ted with more ignorance. It had been the fruitful
indeed, he sheuld have been surprised if he had not ; source of triumph to the enemy, and disgrace and
such an opposition was only consistent with die gene-
ral public conduct of that Honourable Baroneowhich discomfiture to England. He would ask the Hon.
Baronet how he had voted upon that question, and
had been, be was sorry to say, uniformly in opposition
to the sentiments of his constituents—(4ydawer.) what were the feelings of political honesty which
influenced hie vote upon that memorable occasion?—
Sir EDWARD KNATCIIBULL replied with consider- (Appian:el.) In tact, he had never proved himself
able warmth. He said that when he first saw the ad-
a friend to reform. He had never yet been found at
vertisemeet, leg illy convening a meeting of the Free- the side of the people, in opposition to corruption. lit
holders of the County, be, as one of their Representa-
his duty to attend. He did attend ; his speech that day, he had said nothing to the p..r-
tives, had felt itpose ; his promise to present their petition was trifling
and since he came his conduct was before the eyes of
with the Freeholders, because no Member of Polio-
his Constituents. The petition proposed had been ment would have the boldness to decline discharging
read, and when put by the Sheriff it had been un . so important a part of his duty to his constituents ;
ani-
ftioady adopted ; and yet, notwithstanding that undis- i so that this was the mere common place of those Re.
puted expression of unanimity, the person who spoke . presentative:
could 'not refuse to do. He therefore now call-
with who wished to make much of the little
last ( Mr. Foot) had had the assurance of charging him
with having opposed that proposition. He had dared ed upon that Honourable Baronet to state distinCyr
th
to charge him (Sir Edward) with having opposed whether he would support their petition, or not?
what he 'had supported. He had only to say, that lf tie would not support it—if he refused to obey the
the charge was false— that that Gentleman had been ? voice of his Constituents, he was then bound, as a
guilty of asserting an untruth of one of their Mem- I
man of honour, to resign the situation he
bets, and in the face of that Member's Constituents. ' potent to fill, and cease to be the Represeetative of
He called upon him (Mr. Font) to retract it. He was incom:
Constituents whose political wishes he uniform!! op-
( Sir Edward) o•ould no proceed further, till he called • Pow— Applause). He concluded by exhorting his
upon him io retract jt. ,
ss ; but Sefore thei• could succeed, it was first abso-
' brother Freeholders to a perseverance worthy of 112
Mr. Foor admitted his assertion, and contended '1
for the truth of it on this ground—the question be- .
good a cause ;he was confident of their ultimate suc-
fore the Meeting had been in substance this---" Those ' lutely necessary that men professing the public Pj2l.-
who are for the Petition hold rip their hands—those i eiptes, and pursuing the political condcrt at Sir L. 4
ce
who are against it keep them down." He had his eye , werdsKnatchbull, should be prevented frorn finding
on the Hon. Baronet, and he affirmed that that sett
Hon.i their way into the House of Commons--(Mi i
Baronet kept his hand down.—(Laughter and ap- Sir W. Ggtar thought it unticessary, alter whet
lea•
Amer.)
'
subscril. Sir Eowein KNATCHBULL, with unabated warmth, •
ing ;the paper to which his name
• had been
repeated his former assertion, and said, that if the
Gentleman would not retract his assertion, he would before
had been said, to trespass upon the time of the met-
ed; contained his sentiments upon the question .
leave to that Gentleman all the private satisfaction vocate for that reform which he there saw to be so
that could be derived from the consciousness of hav-
ing uttered in the face of the county an untruth of them. He had been in Parliament an uniform ad
necessary (optic:uses.) Their ancestors had distin-
one of its members. they bad
- heroic resistance to a foreign toe. The foe
Sir WILLIAM GEARY thought it not a little extra- . now to contend with was Corruption—a do nestic
ordinary, that one of their Members who had just more formideute
uished.theniielves, and the county of Keno by their
enemy ; and beyond all comparison
spoken had not said a word in the course of his warm be In such
speech upon the great question that had brought them a contest he trusted that the men of Kent would
together. (Applause:.) The Hon. Baronet had not
conveyed to his constituents any one.opinion upon than any foreign one cauld possibly • ..
act
worthy of their ancestors, and take no mean share. is
'the great question of Reform. He now. called line illausei). 110 :erproved* of the proposition now be k"
of the
tthe I•l9.baronet, a5.011e of the Representatives of the them, of placirg the Petition in different parts
county, to state his sentiment: frankly and decidedly. the support of England against her enemies isle
county conveniently for signatures; and hoped 1134 the

lanatenn, and
rhich had just
hat he woull
that had beet
ek upon many
ment the sub,
le of petition
elt happy AM z•
present peti.
lbecoming tb,
tigh authoriq
ng for redress
nd as such la
's.) With re. •
hem his semi.
candid oaten.
tion of great •
ttely afecong
he always felt
to make
If constituenu,
nticrus exercise
issue, to draw
: -up to dote
pie which La
nd if he itrew
:ed by it.
• He ha.hl
yarded by
there were Met
they had beo
ention— (lime
Sir Edwar.
he great trus.
Is has not .
to yo t with
r a general tr,g
Wetinr, aoi
e crowd of his
upon the pre.
le Honourable
to support is
uhich he hJ
(afttintra;
e lionouri
silence as to
*boilers were
f the Honour.
tion they had
frankly to his
ter in support
ti and portico-
!dent conduct,
of what would
ley must eon'
hostile to their
been the con.
every question
He had upon
enemy of Re-
Baronet if be
ling the mere
r yet had beta
in which Sir
be either their
tbsenting
stating this he
s. He might
led if it would.
( N., so,
tile vote dine
igation of the
Ihdr.)—
e
p arryid befed
laProvote
o iniquitous a
from the Hall
nes.) In that
at
of one bun-
rat occasion of
le Honourable
)14 was that of
there been n

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