The Statesman.
London, England, 1820-12-21 00:00:00

COMMON COUNCIL.

Yesterday, as stated in our part of the evening, a
Court of Common Council tvu held, for the dispati.li o.
public and private business.

TUX ANSWICI O TUE KING.

The Loan MAYOR acquainted the Court, that a Dis-
putation bad waited upon the King with the Address of
that Court; to which his Majesty ws graciously
pleased togire an Auswer.--(Here hrs Lordship read the
Answer.)
Mr. Farso.t. said, he felt it his duty, upon hearing
this Answer to the Address, to move that the Answer
should be entered upon the Journals ; but at the same
time he must declare, that it was with grief and }mitt he
observed that the Ministers of the Fourth Monarch of
the House of ltrunawiek, at a moment of such difficu:ty
and anxiety to the Throne and the Country. had been so
foolish is to advise an Answer so insulting to the
Court, and totally silent upon the subject of the com-
plaints of the Court, as well as misrepresenting the mo-
tives by which they were actuated. He then moved
that tbi Answer should he entered upon the Journals._
with a censure to the above effect. upon the c.opsiuct of
Ministers, in giving such advice to the King.
Mr. Faros, in *me ailing. the motion, lamented deeply
that his Majesty should have angered himself to be so
advised by Ministers at a time like the present.
Mr. T. N. WILLIAMS asked if the Corporation Would
send forth to the world a declaration, that Ministers
wanted to bring shout a Revolution' He moved as an
amendment, " that the Address be simply entered en
the Journals."
Alderman C. SMITH seconded the motion.

Mr. Nam' declared that the King was die most ac-
complished gentleman in hi', dominions, aril he w 0314
not have returned such an answer to their address had
he not been so advised arc iiiiisters, who had disgraced
the crown, the country. and themselves.
Mr. flamer/ snpported the amendment. He thought
the Court hail not exerrised their privileges in %mit a
way as to entitle them to expect any other answer than
that which hail been returned to the petition. If ro •
epee was due to the City of London, they ought nut tb
forget that respect also was tine to the Throne. Ile
thooght that in the recent prueeedioogs the dignity of
:be Crown and the best interests of the cioncrylial
been trilled with, and it was tit that those farts should
he communicated to the Royal ear, bet he would never
consent to any measure whidi was in any degree disre-
spectful to the Sovereign.
Upon the motion of .Jr. Sheriff IVAITII3IAN, the Mi-
nutes of the Proceedings of the Courts on December
1811 i, were read.
Mr. Sheriff Warrnstax said, he had moved for the
reading of that part of their Journals, in order to chew
the Court the course which they had taken on a former
occasion, when they hail gone rep with a Petition to the
Throne for a redress of grievances, and an unsuitable
answer had been returned. He could never agree with
the Worthy Wildman that they ought to enter the
King's Answers on their Journals on all occasions. It
was no want of respect to the Crown to express an opi-
nion of the King's Answer. In a constitutional sense
the King could do no wrong, and whatever censure the
Court might feel tluiussetwee nailed yea ea plow, woeiol
app y. not to the King, boot to his advisers. The Petition
did not contain a single sentiment which he (Mr. Wahl)•
roan) was not ready to seal with his blood. Ile never
remembered a Petition which had undergone go little al-
teration in the Committee. lie said this, in order to
rescue himself from the sort of imputation which had
been thrown out against him. The argument which he
hail used on a former °resale's, and which had been much
misrepresented by the Worthy Gentleman, was this, that
all the measures off the present Administration tended t,
produce a Revolution ; and he appealed to what had
happened in ',doer countries—in Spain, Portugal, Naples
and Sicily, where Revolutions had been effected by means
of that very usilitary force upon which bail Ministers had
reckoned as in ',lame of 'oppression. A Revolution, or
a military despotism, would be the inevitable result of a
perseverance in the measares punned by the present
alinisters, and the people of this country were much toy
enlightened to endure n monitory despotism. To avoid
these extremes—to prevent this catastrophe, it was i tycoon-
bent upon the people to tarry rep Loyal and Dutiful Pe-
titions to the 1 krone, praying for a timely Reformation.
This was the language which he bad used, and this, he
contenoleol, was sound constitutional language. It was
the langnage of the treat Lord Chatham who had said,
that if Parliament did not reform itself, the people would •
Reform Parliament, and if Reform did not come front
within, it wonid come from without with a vengeance.
It was the langitage of Judge lli ',ketone, who had ob-
served, that all acts of oppression leol to a struggle, and
in this sanitary that struggle had always tended to con-
firm the liberties of the people. Every individual in this
country, from the highest to the lowest classes of the com-
munity, enjoyed the right of petitioning. The meanest
of his M tjecty's sabjects was entitled to this right, and
it', in the exercise 01 it, any thing indecorous or indis:
erect escaped him, even his errors, arising perhaps from
the excess of hie sufferings, ought to be treated with in-
oinigenee, and it would ill become the Ministers of the
Crown to advise their Sovereign to insnit even an indi-
vidual of this claws. As to the Loyal Addresses, as they
were called, he could not help making one or two ob-
servations on the scanner in which they were prepared.
In the Ward of the Worthy Aldermen (Rothwell), the
sense of the Meeting had actually been taken whether
persons shoalsl be allowed to speak. In his own Ward
several loyal inolividnals hail attended, as it appeared,
for the express purpose of making a confusion, and had
conducted themselves in a very indecent and disorderly
manner. These* Loyal Centlenten affected to bellevit
that the whole couotry •was disaffected, and they sk
into holes and corners for the purpose of caiumnh•tin.to
the people. They dill not really believe, however, in lila
disaffection of the people, and he had no doubt that if
the country were tloreatene I with invasion; they would
readily enoulth s!ek their o vn seenrity by putting arms
into the hands of these v -ea men whom they ellarged
with disloyalty. The people of Rngland had been basely
calumniated, for Ministers therneelves, and not the peo-
ple, were the true Reveletionists. He hail not charged
Ministers with exciting treason, as wits stated by tht
Worthy Member, hot he had said that the measures of
Ministers had a direct tendency to excite disaffectien;
and by exciting disaffection to lead to &Nita tr, ason ant
sedition. It appeared too, that the people had been st -
'lodated to acts of ',laicism and %mama by the amnia,
turn of inflammatory bawl-1411c He had himself men a
haad.wi of that thowiptirits,, which bad bees simalated
is the City, sod wbicie., if thebee design Isad.sakowel.
feet, would no doubt haft been made a pretext forwalb-
. 'tug is the military, and. real' mg kmb iureissis apeMbe
liberties of the people. He again
conric:ion that there was not tsingle sentiment in the
Petits:on which ought not to have been conveyed to the