The Statesman.
London, England, 1818-08-14 00:00:00

WAITING errs.p FRIIC\DS Qv RISFUtti at
iiIN MINGII4.II.
A Deseret, atqfnablage es the' fared, of Reforill
dined together at the Vausnali Coder's, Birming.•
ham, on Tuesday, the 4th instant. Since the year
091, when the Church and Ring.mobs were testis:
plod by the Magistrates of this loon, to commit
every spectral °Zoology upon the friends of the thaw.
leg liberty of Preece, esti! within Os sat 1811100df
ao display of popular opining has be-n witneoted
in Birroinoham, esrept the Meetings held to procure
the abolition of the Orders in Council. Al the period
alluded to, only 81 Gentlemen, dined together to
commemorate the principlet which pre birth to the
French Revelation. On the present occsiion two
hundred and thirty met to Commemorate the progreis
of Reform is England. All the bed influence once
posse,* by thrillers's of coeropt Ministers over the. ..
minds of the notalilude has 'stashed. The People.
are no longer the crude materials of II Court, nor In
be moulded into every form that the wantonness et •
power, and the profligacy of despotism may teviitto
They begin to see, and to Mat, for themselves. They
are throwing off the shackles of ignorance and taper.
Milian,
_and developing their pOWelli as Merl, at.
freemen. Their cause, they petceive, has been be.
trayed by fraud, and deserted by cowardice ; and
they will mot it no longer is the hands of incipeo •
city or deception. All the reamising infantile sof a
corrupt system is of no soil to check the cerrebt of
opinion which rolls steadily on, accutaulatingla its
progress, and gathering like n_teighty river, as it
lows, its tributary streams. Tito. Country Press,
with soo4i honoarable.escrpOpbl,.ii the only toot
cip
that remain to be destroyed,., keg practice ht bad
habits, and in bad company,t. ,tenderest it voles..
tarily shackled to the Witt,', " Ill' and mint ag
principle renders it oppboeik •is . People, GO far,,
as to libel those who ssptert„ ;'fir waist of some
other and better ntedire el.dlefnliosicattan. This
progress of public opinion iti‘initctikiles all oppOi:
A . •
tiros to arrest its soots,. lit 4, ih:. email gg A •
end truth wants no losiliptlOn to iltslingehatAlr ot
lt,
falsehood.. All it asks is the libe_,ltynf ;!Wea Ong
end a ppro4t, obeli, in declaim, if alkeleoriotti Kg lilO
its ladling, typo lashing on Ike liteedAi qfre 4
dospotism.l „_
Sir CeektaltWOVlttsY, of Wtaseley Park, bar.
log accepted an invitation to attend the Meeting, was
unanimously requested to take the Chilr)! to welds
the Baronet consented. Afyitr thngletil Doi tOs
moved, Sir Charles gave the folliorkig rossys's..... .
The King and Coastitopoo, sail a speedo Terme/4y to both. •
Tor Prople; th' 0..111 jot .ourre Of astiontly.
.„,.
rtL
After deem" Sir.CHAILIs rtET rose to rte.
pose one, which, he obseetecl, e e %cgs certoto would
be drank with katheilism; fni it was the health of
an htdividnal, who had eteiled himself in their
cause. tie meant to give tke health of.
T. I. iviwolir, the Intrepid, rollgluisest, and eloquent ?first
or toe People.
Mr. Wants*, in returning thanks, remarked that
he stood in the proudest of ell possible situations j
since be received the approbation of so eummoos and
so respectable an Ast.erobly. He was not sellielently
vain to invagine it was htins4f, but tho prioriples of
which heist the ardent, elthougli Ste butoble ad"o•
cite; which hadtbeen 'so, eittlonlastlcally retelecti by
the company 'Weskit: Of ttioie principles, hie name
could only, in the present instance, be considered ab
the iodieraltd hi Mr blinself identified with theta
front the conviction that nothing less would rescue
the State from the ruin to which it was hastening.—
He had no other wish thin to be the ocrosionsi•me6
*oriel of those principles, if they succeeded; or to
be one of the records of their existence, should they
perish. Of this, however, he had no fear—the
stosation of the country at the commencement of the
past year, and at the present period, was very eir.
Arent indeed. The cause of Reform hod gained eta
eminence scarcely to have been 'spotted by its most
ardent friends. Thanks to the avowed hostility of
his Majesty's Ministers, for their hatred was honour,
and their persecution advantage, the rause of Re-
form had tripled the number of its advocates, and
accelerated • hundred.fuld its progress. All their
blows at the liberty of the subject bad fallen on
themselves; sod although many bad suffered seder
their contemptible and unfounded persecution, they
had conquered no ooe•—not even so humble au inn
dividual as himself, who owed all his importance to
having been found la the breach, when they' were
striding over the freedom and welfare of their coon.
try. For their attack upon himself, he was mock
their debtor, and felt as grateful to the Ministers
for their favours @gegen they would wish him. Per.
sons% cousideratioisa, however, on so& an occasion,
must be overlooked ; and personal danger must
be disregarded. Our enemies will attempt, as they
have done, to bribe, or frighten es from the pursuit
of justice. The Public were not now, however, to
be deceived—it was evident that they most furnish
the bribe which they received; and us to fear, in a
just cause, he was confident it was unknown to the
Assembly he then had the honour to address. The
public opinion was formed eosin the justice and nee
cessity of Reform; and that Reform the Public
would steadily pursue, and honestly oppose every
thing which had not for its end, the happiness and
the security of the People. The nation had been RC•
cased of madness and of violence! Yet whet Into
had it brakes, 7 what reason had it outraged ?
Nene, whatever. Appeals to the People had simile
been fairly heard, and fairly answered, when the
public gond was submitted to their decision ; but
they did not comprehend that complaint could be
treason, when bare-faced oppression stalked *brood
ht the sunshine of Ministerial favour. Despair was
net with him a word in fashion; he had seen nothing
to despair of, even when the threatened vengeance
ref the peppers in office appoored to An on the poli-
•tical horizon like so angry comet. When the storm
k in the greatest fury, the calm is only the nearor,,-
whets , the night is darkest, the morning will the
sooner oppear--the night of terror Ind already
passed ; and the timid, ashamed of their opprehen.
sine, were buckling on the armour of motto, to
join the marld.rd of Truth, of Justice, and of Par.
liamentoi Reform.
The Rights of the People were the only just basis
of authority; end obedience was their duty, only
while their rights were respected. Thole rights went
now usurped by a faction, as toskaown to the Con.
siltation, as detrimeotsl is the eetiee. This faction