The Statesman.
London, England, 1809-11-27 00:00:00

ME. CO DUE 7T,

" The delibet of RepreiesitAlan Is the—isaiis4il 'Anse s
" aad, sides you apply a remedy directly in that disease,
" you me isevitably take the contegoract, with which it b
" repent. —Withost a Pdrlieweatary Reforms the nation
" will be PLUNGED INTO NEW WARS t obboot a
" Parliaateatary Reform yes CANNOT BE SA FE
" AGAINST BAD MINISTERS, nor c.to good Aliolwerp
" be of ewe to Jou. No HONEST run CM, according to
" the present system, cooties, Misiktor."
Ma. Pus Speed, 1784.
To /As INDEPENDENT PEOPLE of HAMPSHIRE.

LETTER Iv.

PARLIAMEIVr.fRY REFORM.

GENTLEMEN—My addresses to you, upon this
subject, have, for some months been diseuntinticd
pa account of other matter having forced itself
upon the public attention. Now we may resume
the discussion without much danger of its 'being in-
terrupted by the interest excited by warlikeevents,
seeing that, after what we have now seen in that
way, there can happen nothing of the sort, capa-
ble of esciting our wonder, or rousing our intlig..
nation. Since the date of my TIMID Letter; that
is to say, within 'the short space.. of six month*,
we have seen, I. The war and .the peac,t, begun
and concluded in Austria. 2. We have seen the 1
campaign in the southern Peninsula, the destruc.
live campaign in Spain aid Portugal, and the list
of titles bestowed upon our cummander. 3. We
have seen the splendid anti enormously expensive
embassy to Spain. 4. We have se.n the Wel.
chercu Expedition, for the achievements of which,
as well is for Mimi of Bard* Douro, else Nesk.
and Tower guns were fired, and government illu-
minations were made, in token of joy. 5. We
have seen, one week, materials (even to brick and
mortar) and workmen shipped oil fur the purpose
of building barracks wherein to lodge unr troops
in the island of Walcheren, am!, the next week, we
have seats it stated, that these troops are ordered
to evacuate the island. In short, six such months
fur military events; six months of such import.
ance to the world have, I am rsetty confident,
never been before, though my opinion is, that the
next six, after this winter, will not be less impor.
Cant. Well, Gentlemen, nnw, look hark over
these six last months, not forgetting that one of
the Ministers remained in office along with another
of them, and suffered that other to plan and eats.
cute the terrible Expedition to IValcheren, while i
the former carried in his pocket a promise of the
dismissal of the latter, tenon the ground of lois
unfitness fur his office; not forgetting, I says that
millions of our taxes and the lives of thousands of
our countrymen were committed to he nailed coun-
cils, to the co-operating wisdom, of men whose
jealousy and hatred of each other urged thew, at
last, to shoot at each other's heads : look back,
over these six last months; then read my motto ;
and thee ask yourselves, whether you bare not I
there before you the disease and the remedy.
When Pitt uttered these words he did not foresee
that he himself should go so far in the way of fol.
Oleg them; Ile could hardly have foreseen, that,
46 without a Reform," he should become mitristee,
and "continue" such for nearly twenty years ;
had he foreseen this, he would not have declared,
that, withogt a reform, no honest man cook con-
tinue minister. We are new in a situation to
render this subject particularly interesting, be.
cause we bare the vertical consequence before.
our eyes. A change of ministry is called for by
some persons, as the means of sniping the nation ;
or, at least, of affording it a chance of salvation ;
hut, Pitt, in this memorable speech, told as, that,
44 without a Parliamentary Return, even good
" ministers would be of no use," a truth which,
I think, none but such persons as the Edinburgh
Reviewers, that is to say, those who profit, or
seek to profit, from corruption, will attempt to
deny.
There cannot, I think, be the smallest doubt,
that it is owing to the want of a representation of
the people, that this station has been plunged into
new wars, and ex peosiveland useless, and inglorious
wars ; for, indeed, it is manifest, that almost
constant war is necessary to the present system,
war being the source of such endless moans of in-
fluence. But, to takes recent instance or twos is it
not nuturiuus, that the war for Ferdinand VII. a.
war which has already cost us so many millions
in taxes, and so many thousands of valuable
lives, a war, the events of which make one
shudder with horror ; is it nut notorious
that this war was never approved of by the people
of this kingdom, who were willing to make any
sacrifices fur the purpose of restoring the liberties
of Spain, and of defending them agalnstßonaparte,
but who abhorred the idea of aiding in the loupe-'
tuating of Spanish bondage The Edinburgh
Reviewers have-asserted, thit the people have to
thank themselves for the National Debt, for that
they have always urged the government to make
view : That every one of the wars of this reign
has been a ear of the people. 66 The people!"
—What a shame for men of talents thus to
prostitute those talents ! The people ? lor what
way did the peopit express their approbation of
this war for Fetidlasusil ? I need not tont the
cptsestitin to those of you, G., ntletnen, who hap-
pen to live at Winchester, and who saw some taro
score of sycophantic clergymen, and tax.gatherers,
and barrack-masters, and dook7yard contractors,
trouping to St. John's (louse at the heels of George
Rose, and there, calling themselves a Manly med.
ing, passing, in the form of an Address to the,
King, an approbation of the war just then re-
solved
upon, dud which Address was brought',
ready manufactured, in the pocket of the said
George Rose, or some one acting under his direc.,
lion. Now is it nut baseness to the last degree for
aoy well-informed man to call this the voice of the
People of Hampshire s Our voice, as your well
know, was directly ageinst tech w war ; and, in.
deCd, our interests must bee tern Illy opptefell to
every project, calculated, es this was, to pr.oducot
a waste of national resources, without the smallest
I chance of effecting any good purpose whatsoever.
It is not so with the far greater pat* of.those, who
assemble upon such occasions. They have an in.
terest not only separate ?rem, hut in direct oppo-
sition to, our interests. To them every addition i
to the taxes (no matter from what cause) is a be.

nefit, because the gain of most of them is lit pro.
portion to the anionist of the takes. Ands whkis
applies to the whole of &us they,. at eat%
I.
have in vie* some plape,,pessaioss,. ma swat
et
from the Ministry of the days and, theta, they
ought Dot to be, itt such a sae, considered*, steak.
1
tug the voice of the people, nor, iodised, of aor •
portion of the people.
It was my intention, at this time, merely to
point out to you seine of the consequence., which
we have, at this *moment, before us, of a want of a
Parliamentary Reform; bet, an advertisement,
which • I have just seen, for a Coonty.ineeting in
Heusi' t 11E, " to consider of an AddrClS,Coliplet(l.
" Whig his Majesty, on . his entering the eoi)s
" year of his reign," induces me. to beg leave to
trouble you with a few words upon that subject.-
1 If there should be a meeting called in this county tut
I a similar purpose, and if the Address, there pro.
I posed, should contain, whether estpresssly or by
implication, any. praise of the Miiistert and aka.
sures of this most unfortunate and calamitous
reign, it will be our duty to demand an alteration
in such Address. There is not a man of us who
I will be disposed to dissent from any expression of
good wishes or of duty towards his Majesty;
j but, at the same time, that we 66 congratulate
" him upon his having entered on the both year
" of his reign ;" at the same time that we express
our fidelity to him as our sovereign, it will be per.
reedy proper for us tocepressour unfeigned regret, -
tha• ;luring tho whole of his reignske has never had
but very few servants, in whom the people confided,
and that every set of his servants have been, by
„desk eu4eaeorst accused of wing of honesty as
well as want of wisdom ; so Wail, • each set Of ser.
vents have made false assertions, or every set
have been bad.—l trust, that we shall not keep
awls from this meeting (if one should take
'Alec) toeivly because it may be called by ethert‘
--It is a time of the year when must men
have some leisure. My decided opinion is,
that it is impossible for George Rose and all. his
underlings to pack a meeting in such a way as to
obtain any thing resembling a majority, miles •
they were to hire carts and waggons, and actually'
bring up loads from the Dock-yards and the Bar.
racks in the Isle of Wight. Indeed, they cannot
du it: let the yeomanry act as they did upon the
last occasion, and there is not the smallest okapi ,
of their success.--This county has long bean re.
gardud as lacing full as much at the Ministers'.ll
as if it were a rotten borpugh. It *ea only
because it had lent itself to faction. Every
man almost was persuaded to attach bias.
self to one faction or the other, and thus be.
I came a political slave of his own accord. This is
nut now the case. We now ak', each man of
us for himself, and we have proved to the nation,.
that Hampshire is yet a little more dear to us than
Hanover.—l beg leave to add one caution. The
factions may, perhaps, agree to call together only
the Noblemen, Gentlemen, Clergy, and Free.
holders. But, they have no poster of exclusion.
Every inan, who can possibly attend, should attend,
and no one dare attempt to get his voice asi4e. There
are thousands of persons who have copyhold or
leaouchold lands, or wino have good persenal pro.
perty, though they bkve nothing of whelk called
freelsold; but, will such persons be weak enough
to keep away from a .county-rnecting upon that
account, anti thus tacitly sanction the abominable
abuse, of which we complain, and which abuse
sets a forty-shilling freeholder, who is not unfre.
quently a pamper, above the copy or leaseholder,
or the man in trade, or the farmer, who is, per.
haps, worth thousands of pounds, and who pays
in taxes every year, or, perhaps three or four
times a year, more than the fue.sinsple of the forty.
shilling freeholder's property is worth. Nu: I trust,
t hat. there are, at this day,very few indeed of theyeo.
manry and tradesmen of this county, who are to
•los thus deceived, or thus intimidated from doing
their duty. Every man in the county has a right
to attend a county meeting, and, for this reason,
that no one leo a right to put any question to him'
as to what is the nature of his property. Those
mho pay no taxes, indeed, if any such could he
found, might, with some show of reason, be ob-
i jectcd to. At a meeting, some time ago, at Reading,
it was tusked whether there were any but freeholders
in the Hall; whereueon Mr. HALLETT said :' 66 If
66 there be any man here who does not pay taxes, it
66 oneshapeor another,let him withdraw." A laugh
ensued, and all stood fast.—This is the principle
whereon to act in such a case. Taere is no one
who has authority to examine into any person's
qualification. Nu ono has authority to hitt ano-
ther go awey ; and, therefore, I trust, that any
1 trick intended to make the meeting thin, will be
defeated. •

I sin, Gentlemen,
Your frieni,
WM. COISSETT.

Batley, 44 Nov. 1809.

The new regulations relative to the privou.ships
were on Thursday carried into effect at Plymouth,
when all the Naval Curnmiusders were discharged,
and others, appointed by the Transport Board,.
succeeded them. Each Comm a*der is to have 15s.
per day.
Two vessels have been wrecked, tad several
others damaged, on the Norfolk coast, during the
high winds which prevailed there iu the early part
of the last week.

The East Snlfolk Militia has arrived at Blot.
chindon Barracks, near Seaford, whieh makes the
ninth removal this regiment has been ansjece to
within less than eleven months.

A line large turtle was, a few days since, rauzlit
in Lochfine, near the point of Hinard, by the Ifoi.
elven uf Mr. CAMPBRI.I.) of Kilberry.
On Saturday afternoon, u the Earl of Win_
chelsea was walking homr,in fussing Mr. Bailard's
Livery Stable., in Stinth.strret, near his Lord.
ship'h howe, a dog ran efter him, seised him by
the bane, and bit him. His Lordship immediately
wailed WI Mr. ileitie.ddt., who directed that the
part bitten should Ira inataatly tut away. •
Lordship acqeiesced in this opinion, and undo.
went the operation. The dog was triZedt
taken to his Lordship's house, where it will be
kept for a rim..., in order to ascertain whether it. ti
affected by the hydrophobia, which, we are happy
to hear, there Is .littie mega to apprehend.

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