The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1835-07-28 00:00:00

MEETING OF THE YOUNG FREEMEN.

Yesterday, pursuant to notices, a meeting was held in the
large room, at the GoldMi Lien, of,,the young freemen of this
town, who assembled for the purpose of petitioning the House
of Lords against those clauses in the municipal bill, which will,
if suffered to pass into law, be fatal to their accruing rights and
privileges. The room was crowded .with young and old bur-
gesses, at a few minutes past twelve o!clock.
Mr. PARSONS proposed that the chair shuuld be taken by Mr.
Jaques Myers.
Mr.•E. CoantE, in seconding this motion, said, it would be
unnecessary for Inni to make any further comments on the qua-
lificationnf Mr. Myers, than first to call the recollection of the
meeting to the very able conduct of that gentleman when he
filled the office on IL loaner occasion. Though they were inex-
perienced in public affairs, it was happy for them that they had '
a chairman upon when. they Might rely with conlideuce.
Mr. Mvaas was greeted with great applause on his assump-
tion of the chair. He said that if he had felt uneasy on his last
assumption of that office, .how much more excessive must his
feelings be on the preseut occasion, when expectation was ex-
cited by the eulogies of too partial friends. lie could not but
regret that it' had become necessary for them so soon again to
be called together, urged to action by a most unjust, a most
arbitrary sentence passed upon them by a small majority of the
House of Commons. 'Mit assembly, with the advocates and
partisans ()film measure itself, had felt it to be so exceedingly
unjust, that' they could not find even one argument to set against
the many thousands which- had been exhibited in its favour.
Could anything be more evident than that it was both arbitrary
and unjust in any legislative assembly to take from a body of
persons that which was fixed theirs by hereditary and constitu-
tional right? Since they last met a trifling alteration had taken
place in the bearing of the clauses in the bill of which they corn-
plained,which would extend privileges to perhaps a hundred per-
sons; himself amongst the rest. This alteration was to the effect
that the bill was to be availablefrom the period ofits own date when
passed, instead of from the sth June. The House of Commons
having passed over their claims, with the exception of this small
boon, they were now met to petition the House of Lords, a body
of individuals who were never yet known to mark coldly the in-
fringement of rights, whether of individuals or communities—a
body which was never yet known to turn a deaf ear to the just
claims of any party, however humble. (Cheers.) He (Mr.
Myers) would just observe that he trusted that their proceed-
ings on the present occasion would be characterised by the
same spirit as had distinguished the former one,—a meeting
which was, be was happy to say it, conducted in that spirit
which had given satisfaction to all parties except one. He
alluded to the editor of the Liverpool Mercury, whose sneers
upon their efforts to preserve their inheritance inviolate were
illiberal and unjust. What if that ingenious gentleman had
obtained a patent, a right from the king, to give to him the sole
right in some article, no matter whether a cork collar jacket,
la laugh,) or something possessing equal immensity of value in
his consideration, what if this immunity were to be wrested
from him, shoulo we ever heMr the last of his lamentations?
should we ever be relieved from the complaints whereby he
would set forth the grievance? (Laughter.) Ile (Mr. Myers)
had immediately subsequent to their firmer meeting on this
subject, written letters to the members for the borough and .the ,
-county, which, with the permission of the present assembly,..he
would now lay before them, with the replies of the noblemen
and gentlemen' addressed.

IIYERS then read the following letters, which he had
writted to Lord Sandon, Lord Stanley, and Mr. Ewan on the
subject of the late meeting:—

".Liverpool, 22d .June, 1835.
My Lord,—At a numerous and ropectable meeting .of
young men who would be entitled to the freedom of this borough
either at the termination of the period of their apprenticeship,
or upon attaining the age of twenty-one years, over which I had
the houour to preside, held on Saturday fast, the accompauyiuk
petition to the House of Commons was read and adopted.
• "'lt was a ISO unanimously resolved, that this petition when
signed should be forwarded to your' lordship for preseutatiou;
and I now-respectfully beg to transmit you the same, trusting
your lordsnip will consider the justice of our claims a sufficient
apology for the trouble we are imposing upon you.
" The petition is signed by 2,5,55 persons, all of whom are
deeply interested in its praer.
" 1 have the honour to be,
" My lord,
" Your lordship's most obedient, very humble servant,
' (Signed) •` JAQCJES MYERS.
" The Viscount Sandou."

" Liverpool, 2'2d June, 183.5.
" Mc Lord,--The municipal corporation reform bill, lately
introdiked into the House of Commons by his majesty's go-
vernment, containing clauses which contemplate the deprivation
of all freemen of their inchoate and just rights who are not
now in possession of them, a meeting of all persons who would
thus be disfranchised, of which I was appointed chairman, was
held in this town on Saturday last, wbeu it was unanimously
resolved that a petition representing the injustice of these
clauses, a copy of which is enclosed, should be presented to the
House of Corn 1111 l us.
It was further unanimously resolved, that your lordship
should be solicited to support this petition when introduced by
Lord Sandon, to whose care it is committed,- and I have, on
behalf of that meeting, respectfully but earnestly to solicit your
co-operation in promoting the prayer of the petitioners upon
every_ suitable occasion during the progress of the bill through
the House of Commons.
" I have the honour to be,
" My lord,
" Your lordship's most obedient, very humble servant,
(Signed) " JAQUES MYERS.
" The Right Hon. Lord Stanley, M.P.

The following were the answers, which he also read to the
meeting:— _ _

" London, June 25, 1835. .
" Dear sir,—You will observe that a large portion of the
objects of the petition (a copy of which I had the honour to
receive with your letter yesterday) was conceded by his Ma-
jesty's goverim; cut, in parliament, last night.
'" 1' beg-to assure you that every consideration shall be given
by me to the remaining objects otho petitioners. . •
" But.ou this, as on all other su jects, I shall deem it my duty
to follow the course which appears must conducive to'the inter-
ests of the whole community of L►verpool generally, and of the
couutty Sit. large.
" I remain, dear sir,
"Your faithful servant,
" Jaquei Myers, &c." "

• " Carlton-garilens, June 21, 1835.
" Sir,-1 have-the honour to acknoWledge the receipt of your
letter of the 22d instant, enclosing copy of a petition from per-
sons having inchoate rights as ficenien of Liverpool ; and I
have much. satisfaction in being able to express a hope, a taough
Ive failed in the endeavour last night, to secure to those persons
a continuance of their pii:itical franchise, that we shall be able
to obtain front the government this evening an extension Au
persons now upprent:ced, and to sons of 'freemen now burn,, pf
the same reservation of p6cuniary advantages as has already
been provi.led to persons actually in possession.
" I am, sir, your obedient servant,
" Mr. Jaques Myers.". " STAN LEY.

" London, June 24, 1835.
" Sir,---I shall have great pleasure in presenting the petition
with which I am entrusted, in behalf of the inchoate rights of
freemen; the question was raised last night, but unsuccessfully,
as jou will see by the public papers. It will, however, be again
raised upon the report, and if the freemen will only exert them-
selves as they ought to do in defence of such valuable rights,
rights they so lately recognised and confirmed by the reform
act, I may hope it will be raised with, better success. I look to
being able to present the petition to-morrow, if the ballot, which
regulates the presentation, should prove favourable: to me.
'• I am, sir, your faithful servant,
"J. Myers, Esq." • • " SAN DON.

Mr. SHAND stood forward to move the first revolution. On a
former occasion they had met to petition the House of Com-
mous. They were now assembled for the purpose of laving
their case before a more just tribunal. lie was confident, how-
ever, that if the present legislature were deprived of the power
to carry their designs Tutu effect in the present instance, that
they would attack their rights iu every way in future, they
' would endeavour to smuggle clauses against them into every;
bill that came before the house; and why all ? because they
made a party question of it—because they (the young freemen)
were essentially conservatives. At the time of a termer dee-
' too of Mr. Ewan with Mr. Denison, it suited the patty to
which those individuals belong to designate us as pure, as inde-
pendent, as enlightened, to declare that corruption had for ever
departed from amongst us, and .should be for ever erased from
'their memory; but afterwards, when it again suited their pur-
pose to wind back to their original ground of mock purity, they
again thought fit to assail the burgesses with obloquy., The rea-
son of this was evident. We thought lit-to choose fur ourselves
—we rejected Mr. Thornely, and sent to parliament the man of
cur own choice—Lord Saudou. The measures of the present
ministry have not, as, they ought to have, the public good for
their object; they are a war of party feeling, carriedon strongly
against the interests of those who are not of their faction. Their
reform bill was characterised as a healing measure, calculated
to bring into more compact union those poi tions of the consti-
tution which had become disjointed by age. What, however,
was it in. reality? It was just a bill to destroy the existing
rights of a number Of ancient boroughs, that-the theu ministry
might be. enabled to create an equal number of whip boroughs.
As to our represeptative, Mr. Lwart, he (Mr. Shand) would
compare him to the wolf in the fable. If bribery had existed,
it was he who had bribed them—they-had not bribed him. Hu
had stirred up :and troubled the waters till they were impure,
that he might in that impurity find cause of offence. Ile had
mudded their waters. (Great applause.) Mr. Shand concluded
by moving the first resolution, as follows:

Ist Resolution.—That it was the opinion of the meeting that
those clauses of the municipal corporation reform bill which
deprived of the elective fianchise all persons not admitted to
their freedom before the passing of the bill, will inflict a serious
injury upon the suns and apprentices of freemen iu the borough
of Liverpool.
Mr. E Corms:, in seconding the resolution, said he hoped
their lordships would be induced to blot out from the bill the
unjust clause which went to deprive the freemen of those privi-
leges to which they were justly entitled. The resolution was
then put and carried unanimously.
The second resolution was moved by Mr. KEAIisLEy, and
seconded lev Mr. WILLIAM BRANCKERO without comment from
either gentlemen. It was as follows:
" That a petition to the House of Lords, prityitsg for protec-
tion of the rights and privileges of the suns and apprentices, of
freemen, be forthwith presented."
Mr. JOHN FosTLit, jun., previous to proposing the third re-
solution, said, that he would read over the petition. To this
petition Mr. Foster said he did not believe any person present
would be found to offer any objection.
A person named ALLUN here stepped forward, and Legged to
be allowed to offer a few tentaiks on the petition.
Mr. Mvsns called the individual to order.. He reinindcd
him that the present was a meeting. of young freemen, and he
could not with propriety suffer any individual who was not dis-
tinctly of that class tointerfere with the direct course of the
proceedings.

Mr. ALLEN insisted, as the meeting was a public one, that he
had a perfect right to speak at any juncture when he thought
proper.
Mi. NITERS begged of him to be silent, and allow the proceed
inns for which th.Oy had assembled to go on peaceably. When
that business was concluded, Mr. Allen might make what re-
marks he thought proper. Mr. Myers was supported by the
- sense of the meeting, and Mr. Allen gave way.
Mr. FosTEn then proceeded. Having read the resolution,
which was to the effect—'• That the petition read be adopted,
and forwarded' to his Grace the Duke of Wellington for pre-
sentation," he said that he did not believe that their cause could
possibly-he intrusted to an individual who would espouse it more
warmly, or watch. over its progress with more ability, than the
Duke of Wellington. That nobleman was not the one to retain
to them so shuffling and cvasive an answer as had been received
from Mr. Ewalt. Ho was firm end unbending in the justice
and rectitude of hisiiurpises, and his principles gave earnest of
the confidence with which those whose immunities were threat-
ened might rely upon-him. lie could tell the meetin7 by what
party their former petition bed been disregdrcled. 'lts claims
had been thrown out by the Irish party. (Much confusion was
at this juuctiVre created by' Alien, the individual before tr.en-:

...''b~„+~j .~~l.litl~FMrl4i~gt

tinned, who, in the warmth of his feelings, ;interrupted the
speaker, and. drew forth many expressions .of digapprobatlen
from the assembly.) He (Mr. Foster) had: loOked with 'great
confidence to the commons, where they bad the able and indefati-
gable advocacy of Lord Seudon and others; but he must say
that he now looked forward With much greater hope to the other
Vouse of legislature. That house had rights of its own WhiCh
had more than once been threatened.• • Let them guard =the
outworks. If they did not listen to the claims which they. (the
petitioners) were about to lay before them, how soon might the
House of Commons propose some resolution which would affect
their own rights.
Mr. WARNER SHAN° stood forward and proposed that the
thanks of the meeting be cordially and warmly given t that
member and friend of the burgesses (Lord Sandon) for his va-
luable and untiring zeal as the champion of their rights. (Loud
cheers.) Whether a similar compliment should be paid to Mr,
Etc❑rt, ►t was not for him to say. (Strong expressions of dis-
approbation.)
Me. CLAY seconded the resolution. He could bear testimony
to the indefatigable zeal with which his lordship had watched
over their interests. When be was in the metropolis on a late
occasion, he had narrowly watched the conduct of both our mem-
bers. When the noble lord who was now the subject of their
expressions 'of admiration stood up to speak, there was no
shuffling of feet, no cock crowing, as was the case when their
other representative presented himself to the• notice of the
house. No;
,his lordship was listened to with respectful atten-
tion, and he (Mr. Clay) hoped that he would soon have a col-
league who would be more able to protect them when their
rights should be assailed.—Three times three cheers were then
proposed and given for Lord Sandon.
An OLD FREEMAN, whose name we did not learn, stepped
forward and requested to be informed in what the rights and
privileges, of which he had that day heard such frequent men-
tion, consisted. He bad been a freeman for thirty years, and
had not yet found it out.
Mr.'Mvelis said that as the business of the meeting was now
concluded, the person might, if he pleased, remain and discuss
the subject.
Mr. E. T. KEA RSLEY proposed that the thanks of the meet,
ing be given to Mr. Myers for his able con4uct in the chair.
(Loud cheers.)
Mr. Myers bowed and quitted the chair.