The Statesman.
London, England, 1824-02-11 00:00:00

MEETING OF OF WEST INDIA PROPRIETORS.
......e.—
- of the

This long-annonneed and important meeting.
persons intetested in our West India Colonies took place
vesterday at the City of London Tavern. The meeting
gas fixed for but so early as half-past twelve o'clock
a number of Gentlemen had already assembled. and hy
one o'clock there could not have been fewer than al%
present in the Great Room. At half-past one, Mr. Charles
he se Ellis, M. P. for Seaford. the Chsirman of the
31erchants ard Planters' Committee,entert,i the room with
)Ir. Manning, M. P., Mr. Grossett, M. P., Mr. Hihhert,
p., Mr. W. Taylor. Mr. John Frailer, and other Gentle-
wen connected with %Vest Indian affairs.
Mr. C. K. Eitis took the chair, and, before proceeding
to other business, begged to propose the addition of the
following names to the Standing Committee:—
The lEarl of Harewood. the Hon. %V. [ism:elle*,
m. IP. Lord Viscount St. Vincent, Lord Saltonn, the
night Hon. Sir 0. Rose, M. P., Joseph Biich, Kaq. M. P.,
if K. K. Douglas. Esq. M. P., W. H. Hervey, Esq.
These were stretchy put and unanimously approved.
John Irving, Esq. M. P. Spencer Mackie, Esq. M. P.
John Gladstone, El. M. P. A. Barclay, Esq S. Hibbert,
Eq. and several otiicr ti-otlemen, were also added to the
standing Committee, on tae motion of various Individuals

present.
The CHAIRMAN then proceeded to address the Assembly.
Is tonsideration of the very general opinion which bad pre-
vailed. that a Meeting of all persons connected with the
Colonies ()light to be called, he bad, in the exercise of that
.I,acretion confided to him as their Chairman, issued the
,tdrertisements for calling those whom he then saw toze-
it er, and he had also convened a Meeting of the Standing
Committee to determine what propositions should be sub-
ri.itted. It had appeared Rine Conimittee that from the
ehrts made to misrepresent the situation of the Negroes
and the conduct of their masters, it was necessary to
make a solemn protest against such proceedings. It
was deemed right to prove that their title to the property
now attempted to be interfered with had been confirmed
by as solemn enactments as the right to any whet' descrip-
tion of property. If it were thought just to inter-
fere with the possession of negroes. it was open to the na-
tion to fulfil what it regarded as a high moral obligation,
by offering a just compensation to the proprietors. The
assertion of these points it was considered could not be
embodied in any better shape than in that of a petition to
the Crown. They had thought that in the present dis-
turbed state of the Colonies they had better petition the
King, as the only authority, perhaps, to which all the in-
habitants of the Westlndia Islands looked up with respect,
ntonixed with jealousy or distrust. They had thought
that his voice might reconcile the jarring ele-
ments, and have the effect of restoring to the property of
the planters somewhat of its lost value. The importance
of establishing their right to their property, and their
claim to compensation if it were to be interfered with, was
5 Ich that, without abandoning other claims,the Committee
had thought it right to mix these considerations up with
any thing else in the Petition which it was proposed to
carry to the foot of the Throne, and which would now he
read to the meeting. The petition, one of the principal
o'ujects of which is to urge oo his Majesty, the two
latter considerations, were then read, but want of room
prevents its insertion in otir columns.
Mr. PALAteR proposed to the Meeting that they should
adapt the petition which had just been read ; and though
he could not hope to add any tbiog to that Petition, as-
isterl as it bad been by the very forcible introduction is hid)
it had received from their Chairman, yet he could not ab-
stain from expressing the satisfaction which it had in-
spired. It left matters which might he controverted out
a sight, without abandoning Any right to discuss them at
a future period, and wisely confined itself to establish their
right to compensation, if the policy of the State inter-
fered with their property. To him it seemed to he a con-
stitutional appeal to their Sovereign, and to a nation,
which however it might be led astray for a moment by a
too ardent love of liberty, never failed in the end, to re-
turn to the path of teeth and justice. He, for one, had
never desponded for the Colonial cause. He saw a ray of
hope for the Colonies in the returning ptosperity of this
country, and in the circumstance of the people of this
country becoming better acquainted with the true merits
of the case. He concluded by strongly recommending un-
animity, and by calling on the meeting to adopt the
petition..

Mr WATSON TAYLOR felt it necessary, for the sake of
stn itimity, to repress his feelings on this occasion. He
luped the Petition would be carried without opposition,
•od thought she recommendations of the Crawl). in the
verb j.ist delivered to both Houses, "to temper zeal with
t4ution," a favourable otnen, ■nd this proved, so imme-
dhoely after that speech, a happy moment for petitioning
on a subject of such vital importance.