The Statesman.
London, England, 1810-06-09 00:00:00

Ir7rr'ri

SIIDDLESEI PRTITIOB*.

House of Commons, and if we are not there in a
reasonable time, the doors will be shut against as.
I hope, therefore, you will allow the business to'
proceed without interruption.
Mr. Sheriff Atkins expressed himself to the
same effect.

HACKNEY MEETING.

The Freeholders of Middlesex must have been
:Jst to every sense of their own dignity, they
would have compromised their character, and the
rights of their fcliow-eithiens, if they could
trmety, sod without a jest expression of their in.
dignation, have submitted to the contemptuous re.
jection of their Faith* by the persons compos.
ing the preseti,t House of 'Commons, who have un-
constitutionally endeavoured to convert into an
engine of popular tyranny, those privileges which
were entrusted to them only as a barrier against
regal influence, and aristocratical oppression. It
Was hardly to be supposed that the Freeholders of
the first Province in Great. Britain, would, with.
out remonstrance, endure the insult they had ro.'
,rived from those who arrogantly call themselvep
the Representatives of the Country--they were
Lensible, that if their Petition was couched lux
strong and ene.rgetic language, the wrongs of
h hich they chtiplained were not of an ordinary
description, but might well have justified expres.
sions of reprobation infinitely more forcible than
those they had adopted.
Urged by these feelings, a Meeting of the
Freeholders of Middlesex was yesterday convened
at the Mermaid, at Hackney, to lake into coital.
deration the rejection of their late Petition by the
House of Commons. At one o'clock, the She.
riff, M. Wood, Esq. and John Atkins, Esq. took
the. Chair in the Great 4Loom. Mr. Sheriff Wood
was very much cheered, but Mr. Sheriff Atkins
was received with undisguised marks of disappro.
batien.
Mr. Sheriff' WOOD came forward to address
the Freeholders. He had scarcely began, whoa
there was a general cry of " Green, Green," while,
others exclaimed " No, No." At this time the
room was by no means crowded.
Mr. Sheriff WOOD.--Gentlemen, I really
think you will be much better accommodated
*here you are. The room evidently is not above.,
two.thirds full. I cannot see the advantage of
adjourning to the Green, where you will be ex-
posed to the burning heat of the sun, while here
you will be itrthe shade. I will take care that
you shall have all the air that can be admitted,
and li am sure that every Gentleman will hear
much better where he is. There was still violent
clamours by the persons who wisht.d the Meeting
to adjourn to the Green.
Mr, Sheriff WOOD.—Gentlemen, the Requi.
sition I hold in my hand is signed by a great num.
ber of Freeholders. Perhaps you will be satisfied
with hearing the Requisition read, without repeat.
ing the signatures, which will occupy a -consider-
able portiosat dine. I will request the Under
Sheriff to read, the ILequisitiets.
Mr. SMITH attempted to read the Requisition,
but he was iaterrupted by those who wished for an
adjournment.
Mr. Sheriff ATKlNS.—Gentlemen, my col.
leave has offered you his reasons why we should
not adjourn. We wish to give you every possible
accommodation, but it is necessary that von should
pay attention to our authority.—The Requisition
was then read, but not generally heard.
One of the Freeholders addressing the Sheriff,
said the room was too small, for that the great
body of the Freeholders were on the outside. A
considerable tumult ensued; and some person.
used the exclamation " turn him ow.' '
Mr. Sheriff WOOD.—That is language which is
very improper to be used—l viii nut hear any
one desire that another may be turned out. I
uish to act with partiality to one party as well as
to another; bat I will not suffer such lan.
page to be used by either.— (" Brares, 1) rains!"
the noise increase.l.)—Gentlemen, I have already
cltimated to you that if the room appeared to be
too small, I would adjourn to the Green ; but as I
(:..) nut at present see aiy necessity, you must al.
'to, us to proceed to business.
Mr. Byng attempted to speak, but Mr. Sheriff
A tkins would not suffer him. Mr. Clifford also
ea.;ic forward, but Mr. Sheriff Atkins iusisted the
Freholtlers should not be addressed by'any one
tilt the proceedings were regularly opened.
Mr. Sheriff Wood and Mr. Sheriff Atkins again
arldressA the Meeting, hut the room rapidly fil7
ling, and the clamour being universal, the question
IPLS put to the spew of hands, and the majority
-.vas decidedly in favour of an a.!jourinnent to the
nreett. It appeared afterwards, that there were
nearly a thousand MOW. Freeholders than the room
would have contained waiting at the outside.
The Requisition was again read by Mr. Smith,
the Under Sheriff.
Mt. Sheriff WOOD.—Gentlemen, I have to re.
geese you will ;say ail thatattention which is item.,
sary at a Public Meeting of this kind. I trust you
%Pi permit every man to have an impartial hear-
ing, in order that there may be no cause for one
party or .he other to say .that they have not been
fairly heard. It is only by acting upon that prin.,
,lade you can know what men's sentiments are,
Without hearing them you can form no judgment i
of their merits ; unit if you do not this dry give
every oue an impartial hearing, I shall feel it E*
duty to break up the Meeting. Allow me to
"!,,it the other Sheriff and niyself have another lit; t
to atteud to. We have to carry a Petitioo to the.

Mr. CLlFFORD.—Gentlemen Freeholders of
the County of Middlesex, I am extremely sorry
to inform you, that m_ y friend Mr. Townshend,
whp moved the last Petition, the rejection of
which we complain of, is prevented (rote attending
you by a severe illness • I have, therefore, been de.
sired to state to you the object of the. Meeting,
and to propose to you smother Petition to the
House of Commons. I am peculiarly unfitted for
doing so upon the present occasion, because I
have myself bee* long labddelrig under a well
illness, from , the effects of.-. Which I, have
scarcely recovered, and I fear I shkall hardly
,y'
sufficient strength, without your kind indef...
genco towards me, to go through the duty which',
the circumstance I have mentioned has imposed,
upon me.—(Cheerie es and plaudits.s)—Gentle.
men, of all the Middlesex Meetings I ever was at,
I never witnessed any which, front its appearance,
gav‘ use so much pleasure and satisfactiou as
the present one. Ido remember at some former
Middlesex Meetings at which, whatever might -be-
the difference of Opinion on political subjects, the
expression of their.- political sentiments was at.
tended • the subject matter of them fairly dig.
cuss etii—
tithe motions which were produced by
cantos ng opinions, were carried or rejected ac- 1
cortlineto the sense of the majority of the Free.
holders, after hearing all the arguments on both
sides.
.01 late we have seen something of a very dif-
ferent intern ; it Is true, we have seen at those
Meetings which have been censtitotionallycalled;l
the voice and sense of • the Freeholders of this
County,—and, I believe, of the Public in
general, echoed and re-echoed; but we have
also seen unconstitutional, I had almost said Jaeo.'
binical, meetings of persons, professing themselves
. to be Freeholders of hliddlesex,held in private rooms
, and taverns. We have' seen these persons, for
the most nefarious ends, hiding and skulking iii
-the dark, and never daring to meet their antago-
nists in the open day. Ido hope that the lie will
be given by the conduct of this Meeting, to the
slanderous aspersions which have been cast upon'
the Freeholders of Middlesex, In and out of the
'House of Commons.. I trust that it will no longer
be said, that persons who differ from you' in opt.
mien, in vain endeavour to obtain a patient hear-
ing, There arc .persons present who differ from
my sentiments and yours, and I will do them the
justice to say, that they think they honourably
differ from us—men who have signed the Counter.
declaration, of which sit lately heard so much. I
think It auspicious to the cause of the People of
England that they are here. I beg, if they 'offer
themselves, they may be heard attentively ; fur I
am persuaded, that the more their principles are
discussed, and the more they are contrasted with
yours, the more converts we shall have. As a
zealous reformer of the abuses of our Coustitutiun,.
and as an ardent friend to the rights and privileges
of the People, I do hope that those whose upi.
nions are different from ours, will be allowed the
full opportunity of expressing them, satisfied that
by so doing they will be convinced, that they are
combating arguments, of the truth and justice of
which the majority of the People of England are
thoroughly convinced. Having said thus much, I
do not think I need long detain you. You well
know that's petition was *deed' to at a former
meeting, and that it has been rejected by the
House of Commons; and here. l'hes.particolosrly
to address myself to one of your Shinbers, I mean'
M. Mellish—there is a part of his public conduct,
as a Member of that House, which calls ter some
explanation. I know not whether the nords re.'
ported to have been used by him in the House of
Commons, were actually used by him or not; I
only know, that they have appeared in the News-
papers as having been uttered by him. He has
been supposed to have said that the List .11i;eting,
though it was numerous, was not a Meeting or
the Freeholders • that it was not a respectable
Meeting ; and that it was far from declaring the
sentiments of the Freeholders in general. Mr.
Mellish, I think, cannot be offended that I
have taken notice of this circumstance. If
he did say so, I must differ froth hiM, for I
must own, that I never NM a (Wore respect-
able Meeting assemble(' thin ' ;hat wae.--H
If there-were any persons preterit who li ere nig, I
Freeholders, it was open tO those Who were Free.
holders to object to theta, and . doubtless they
would have departed. I think the best test if j
their being Freeholders was the personal knowledge
which the members themselves must have had of
them. I know of no persons who could better
have had it in their power to ,detect these whe
being present at a County Meeting *ire nut Free.
holders, than your own Representatives,' end yet
no objection was made to any one at 'the time. I
should hope, therefore, that if knowing there are
persons present who are not Freeholders, they
neglect to point them out, they will not afterwards,
by their language in the Muse of Commons, give
a sanction to observations in tho newspapers, to
the effect that your meetings arc nut composed of
Freeholders, and therefore 'arc not respectable.
Gentlemen, the Petition which has been rejected
by the House of Commons we are told has been
rejected on different gresinds :--f-the grounds upon
which we sederstsnd our Petition has been re-
jected are these—that it contains certain situp-
'
40w. which were not believed by the House to he
;trust that it wee-not worded to a misuser ie tk.

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spectful a, it ought to have t,l that it was
'ivied by n small number of persons; that it eon.
tained a Protest against the Privileges, and spoke
in terms of contempt of the dignity of the Heise:
of Commons—these are I believe the only ground's
upon which \the House of Commons thought it
right not to receive. our Petition. Now I am
convinced there tis no person who must not be
sensible that the first. principle of Reform is to
make that House as respectable as possible, and
that consequently our first object must bt' to exalt
the House of Commons 'truly representing the
people. It therefore never could be *an object
with us to use offensive lenggage towardi the
House of Commons, with n'view to lesion its im-
portance, or insult kt_dignite. Though- I leave
iitudied chi English language with as much awls
deity as I bluebeen able, 'I hive never learet'hOsi
it was possible to complain of corrupt in-dui:lice ill
-the House of Commons without telling that body.
they were corrupt. In every ,case where I corn.
plain against a person fin an offence, I mast of
necessity tell him he has been guilty of that of..
fence. The Douse of Common; bay it is true you
have a right to Petition...it is true you have a
right to complain of corruption ; but if you pre•
sume to tell us that we are corrupt, we will nut
'receive your Petition. Gentlemen, I think ,it
would be extremely improper in us not to persist
in adopting that language which is truly coustitu_
tional, merely because the House of Commons
have rejected our Petition. We should betray
the duty we owe to ourselves as freemen if we
were to shrink from that language which we know
to be right; theiefore in the Petition which I shall
have the honour of reading tq ;you we state the.
grotuds on which the various allegations in our:
former Petition' arc *founded. We state, by re..`
ferefice to the• Journals of Parliament, that the
words we have used are proper Words to be used,
and as they are offended that we state their con
duct to be a violation of the Law and the Bill of
Rights, we state hi our present Petition that it
proceeds upon the same principle, which, con.
demned as illegal the punishment of the seven
BishOps for declaring to the King that his conduct
was unjust and unconstitutional. Gentlemen,
the terms' of our Petition are justified by a Poi.-
don of the Electors of Westminster, presented to
the House in 1779, by General Fitzpatrick ; it is
further justified by the terms in which the mis.
of Commons complaiiied of the conduct of the
House of Lords. Our Petition was drawee with
reference to 'these precedents, and we could not
possibly have thought it could be offensive whew
we had called the very expressions used by the House'
of Commons itself at a period when their rights were
attacked by the Lords. The orator, after referring
to and repeating part t( the eloquent argument used
by Sir J. Throginorton, proceeded. ( ientlenieni
we have in drawing this Petition stated the grounds
on which we think the facts contained in OUT for.
trier Petition arc trite, and on which we think the
law resultingfrom them is correct. 'We conclude
by praying the House not only to take our pre.
.sent Petition into consideration, but also to re.
ceire our former one. Gentlemen, there have.
been some curious debates of late respecting the
Bill fur abolishing Pensions and Sitteture Pieces :
it has been urged agaiiiit Col. Wardle and others,
who have been liieketi up to as the immediate
friends of Sir F. Burdett, that upon those occa.
sions they icre not present. Friend as lam to
Reform, I should not have thought it worth my
while to have gone out of the way to support such
questions, and I will explain my reason by a simile.
If a person is ill, and calls a physician to his aid,
that physician would ill perform his duty, and his
prescriptions would be of little avail, if he should
apply his medicaments to a few blotches in the
face, while at the samu time ho left the constitte.•
tion of his patient iu a state of impurity and cer.
ruption. I wish to set you and the public at large
right upon tuffs subject. I know that the object
of Colonel Wardle iff to promote a radical Re-
form ; the ground on which he wishes to do so is,
that he is conscious there are abuses existing which
threaten to unilermiae the very existence of the
country. He wishes todestroy every thing that is
hostile to the interests of the people. I, adopting
his principle upon that subject, could nut think
it necessary to attend to questions of subordinate.
inquiry,, with regard to reversions and sinecure.
places, while at the same time there was any thing
left behind which might made and destroy the
Constitution. _Let people only, explain the terms
they use we are for Reform,, shut not for revolu-
tion—though; perhaps, the necessary Reform we
seek might,.'by some of those wleo are supporting
the present corrupt 'system, be called revolution..
-We wish foss a House of Commutes which shall got
be composed of jobbers, contractors, and public
peculators. If we have a commote interest top.
(her, we shall hue a common understanding with
each other. We are told that reversions ace to be
abolished, and sinecures to be dune away ; but
what will be the conscqueuoc if, we have nut a Re.
form in the House of Commons ? None of the
money will ever revert to the people, but it will
afford the Minister an additional means (of corrup.
tion. The only remedy for the evil is a Reform in
Parliament, for if you have an honest House of
Commons, no Minister will ever dare togive sine.
cure places to persons who, by their public con-
duct, have rendered themselves offeoisive to the
people; I wish, therefore, that the people would
otiderstund that what is celled ettonoinical Reform
is nothing but a delusion calculated to impose upon
them. Gestletries4 1, feel exhausted, and I shall
now read to you the Ttesulations and Petition we
mesa its propose. Gentlemen, you silt observe