The Statesman.
London, England, 1815-01-28 00:00:00

SOUTHWARK ELECTION InNiVER.

Yesterday the Friends of Parliameotary Reform
and Purity of Election in the Bornagh of Southtvitrk,
dined together nt Cumberland Gardens, Va. (Jabal!,
N (SILLI L 4, EN. us tile (.1. sir.
The object of the. meeting being to select a person to
support their .rights in Parliament, and it being
known that Sit Francis Burdett and hi, !nether, Wm.
Jones Burdett, hay. %sere to honour the meeting e Ott
their presence, the company 54,:as Illltnel'OUS and
respectable. Dinner at as served up ie good style at
live o'clock.
After rite cluth was removed the CIIA I Rat ‘,4 rose,

and stated the object of the
.nteAing.-17,a observed,
that the Independent Electors of Southwark, who
were now assembled in that place to give ',roof of
their political principles, and the other Ei••c• Ifs
of the same Borough ho entertaitted similar sett'''.
smalls, and nein siatilarly aettnued, had. now an op•
portuttity of giving a pto•eticol instance of that
relief-titian for l'utity bf Election alum! l'ardanveutaly
Reform which it was known I fh..v. citesiihoij; and
upon which principles depend the salvation of the
country. Th:s opportunity of shosti3g their attasit-
theta to the th.st -rights of the People and the COW-
stitution, and of surce,:sfully canting theotselves.
to procure the retttrn to Rirlilmeni, for the Borotto4
of Southwark, of an independent 111embor,
knOVI 11 to rwcrtain•Nueli seill1:11:1115119 TM,' 11
1,ot: it'iSCCI, was afforded by the death of their la:.1
I\l der, Thornton, on %Otos,• po!ititA ch tone-
let it was now unnecessary fur him to enlarge. It w.ts
happily equally unn icessary for Iti it to punt out
the person who ought to represent them iu Parlia-
ment. Thermost proper vorson whom he kpew for
That purpose sat on Ilk 11:411i. William J 0111,5
Burdett, Esq.—a man whom he believed they would
all concur in opinion was, in every respect, worthy
of their unanimous suffrage, for he was no less a
foe to Court corruption and Ministerial depettdelice,
and as much a friend to the privileges of the people,
and the honour and interests of his country, as his
estimable brother, Si- Francis Burdett, who had also
done them the honour of appearing among them that
evening. Ile was aware, that however just their
saute was, they had many obstac'es to overcome,
not the least of which was, the utter stupidity, sub-
serviency, and venality of the mass of those who
were in the train of their opponent ; who, he was
verily persuaded, without makiag any illiberal allu-
sion to Mr. Barclay's profession, would, for do
sake of filthy lucre, return a brewer's horse. lla
would conclude by saying, that now was the tim-s
for showing their upright and independent conduct
in the cnoice of a Representative, and hoped they
• would act upon the present occasion as became them.
The Chairman then gave the following toasts:—

The King,
The Cnnititution, the %thole Constitution, and nothing lvd
the

A speedy union between Taxatiuo and Representation, never
to be put anis d..r.

Mr. KEMMISII, in a speech of considerable lengt!i,
animation, and fluency, animadverted on the Cha.
I i:cter of the live Member for the Borough, (Mr.
Thornton), and drew a contrast betwixt the conduct
of o)rit Ttidividual, and that wh'clt ought to distin.
gui,ti the Representative of the free and independent
Electors of the Borough of Southwark. Mr. K. took
a review of public events during the last twenty
years, avid concluded by observing, that the exigeo-

.
cies of the times and the situation of the countrv,
imperiously called for the exercise of such integrity
and political principles as were the diAinguishing
charactet .;tics of Air. Jones Bartlett, upon whom
and his worthy brother, the Baronet, he bestowed
some just culogiurns. lie oas firmly of opi,:ion tlt t
choice of the Electors of Southwark could not fall
upon a titter person than the Gentleman whom they
had invited to accept the office of representing then.,
and he would therefore propose the health of
Iturdett, Eeq.

'Tills toast was received with great :mai:motion,

and drank with three titnes three. The Hl'Nlau•es
were further testified by the discharge of guns from
without.

Ott t his Mr. W. JoNrs Bveetrr arose and addressed
the company. lie said he felt all the fotce of the

honour which they had done him, in seleving him as
a person fit to fill die present vacancy in the represen-
tation of the Borough of :iouthwarls, and of watching
over the interests, the privileges, and the honouts of so
respectable a part (gibe British nation. Whilst he con-

fessed this grateful impression, and beheld with pride
and satisfaction the manly ito:ication which they had
given of (heir wishes and their motives, he was under
the necessip of avowing his disinclination of taking
upon himself the discharge of so high and important
a trust, incompetent as he felt to the discharge'
!of it, constituted as the House of Commons at
present was. In regard to the imperious duties
im-
posed upon a Representative of the People, and
the corrupt state of the Representation, he had to de.
dare himself of the same opinion as that so often de-
clared by a person nearly allied to him, whom he
need not name. He was sensible, and the discerning
Electors of Southwark would be also convinced, that-
unless a thorough Reform was effected in the Re-
presentation of the People of this kingdom in Par.
liament, the efforts of an individual would be but of
little avail in stemming the title of corrupt influence,
and guarding the rights and liberties of the subject
against the growing and overwhelming torrent of ar-
bitrary power. He would here show, from the
highest political and legal aitthnrities, the very in-
adequate manner in which Ow people of Great Bri-
tain were represented in Parliament, the scannial,,us
and Illegal innovations made upon their impre.
scriptible rights, and theeneces‘ity which existed for
bringing Parliaments to their original-d owl( n, and
frequency of renewal, as also the anevec,:ity esktnn4
on the part of the people to assert their Catt-f-
-: totional Right to be represented in the manner which
the boasted palladium of their lil4enties WAS ori-
.ginally intended to afford to all who had the hap..
piness Of living under that -Constitution.
(Air. Jones Burdett here read extracts from
Brackstone's Commentaries, the (yew) of Mr.
Charles (now Lord) Grey on presenting the Petition
of the Friends of the People to the Rms.,. of Com-
mons in 1793, and from the Petition itself; as like-
wise from the Parliamentary S;weches of other mi..
Inent orators. He the a -yr nt on.]—Much bad berth
ssid on the subject of education and its advantages,