The Statesman.
London, England, 1822-06-12 00:00:00

THE STATESMAN.


speech we relent to state we are prevented, by *elate-
nem of the hoer as well as from a press of other "setter,
from giving, expressed his regret that the Hon. Geode-
man (61. Foote) had sot taken the opportnaky of is
forming the Agricshoral Committee of his oewireli-
ridged secret with respect to the importation iota this
country of Foreign under the denomination- of Irish
Cern. He also denied the existence of such corrupt ito
kenos its Parliament as had been stated; or if it did ex-
ist, he pledged himself that be was ignorant of it. Ad-
vertiag to what had been said of the pressure of tux-
edos, be stated that, 4,0011,0110il of taxes had been re-
cently taken off—a peony *tremor proof that the seism-
slated house of Commons was sot so bad as it had been
described.—(Applasse.)
Mr. Roos., in an eloquent address, which the causes
already alluded to prevent esteem reporting, supported
the prayer of the petition.
After a few words in explanation between Mr. Foote
and Sir E. Knatchbull, relative to the importation of
foreiga under the name of irieb corn,
Mr. LARKIN addressed the Meeting. sail forcibly Im-
pressed upon the Meeting the absolute necessity of Par.
liamentary Reform.
Mr. HONYWOOD, Is an animated and energetic ad-
dress, pointed oat the necessity of adhering stninelousl,
to the cause of Reform, and assured the Meeting that he
should ever, whether their Representative or otherwise,
feel the warmest interest is the prayers and petitions
which came from the Freeholders of *lse cosily ofKiet.
—(Applause.)
r. Hadose supported Gee prayer of this Paid's, and
congratulated the Meeting upon the very great increase
which had taken place in the number and respectability
of the supporters of Parliamentary Reform. By perse-
vering in their efforts they Would bold out to Rerope
the proud etample of a nation correcting the aSuses of
its Government without revolution or bloodshed, but
solely bF the influence of public opinios—(Hear, beer.)
Mr. Loeser', who had taken his station le one of the
waggons placed et some distance from that occupied by
the Hies Sherif. stood forward to address the Meeting,
and was sessile/4,y loud cries of—off, off! no, no ! he
is not a Freeholder! mixed with cries of—be is! he is!'
this is unfair! heat every lase.' litc.
The Urroxi•Sansire a Mr. Farmer, we believe,'
here asked Mr. Cobbert whether he was a Freeholder?
Mr. COIIIILTT•A am, Sir.
[Some Geotleinen near the High Sheriff bees ebserred,
that the Gentleman might be a Freeholder, bit aht of the
county of Kent.]
The Smut IPP (to Mr. Cobbett)—Ara you(rit. I ?tee-
.
bolder of the county of Kent ?
Mr. CO/11111TT.4 um a freeltolder of dui 'County of
Kent, Sir.
[While this conversation was passing, theft was • most
discordant mixture of applies° and disapprobation, kept 1
op by different parties. Silence bevies been at length
restored]—
Mr. CORBETT proceeded. It you. lot originally his
intention to have offered a single okeermsd to the Meet-
ing. but a slight omission or two made by the Noble
Lord (Gormley). and the other Grudgers& who had
spoliso, induced him to come forward. Wee Gentlemen
bad stated that they bad never holm isoleso numerous
and respectable a Meeting in the Chosty of Kent ;
but they should, in common fame% in common
justice recollect before they made a Nest of having
the seines of four hundred nimbi& people to a
Requisition (be did not himself Itsowlime Hequiattionists,
but he had no doubt they were ripe cable, and
be was glad it was so); yet before they made that
boast; the ought to recollect that it was the
Radicals, the mss who bad is 1817 been sent to prison
for advocating the saline doctrine, who had originally
presented &petition to Parliament isa the subject. Whit,
lid the perseceseil people of that period ssk ? Why,
they asked nothing more nor less than that which was
now belied and prayed for by the Nobles and Gentry of
the county of Kenr—they•unly prayed for -a reduction
of taxation—a reduction of the salaries in the public de-
partments, the abolition of sinecure places and pensions,
and a Reform in the House of Commons—they were put
in prison for this, and now the Lords and landed propno
tors of the county of Kent came forward with the
same prayer; and (said Mr. Cobbett) letme tell theNohle
Lords who are now hers ; let me tell the man in the
'flannel waistcoat who stands on the opposite waggon,
that they will not save their estates, and that he will not
preserve his remnant of independence, unless they re
ceive the cooperation of those men who were a few years
ago crammed into prison for supporting the very
doctrines so mach lauded at the present period. Let
the Noble Lords recollect, that by a perseverance in the
present system, they must be pillaged of their last acre.
Let them understaed that without a reduction of tees.
tion there is no safety-for them—let the persons too. the
body of the people, those men who were sent to prison
for osaiutaioing those doctrines, now tarn towards those
Noble Lords and say, we know well you had no feeling
for us ' • nevertheless we shall feel for you.—(Cheers).—
Mach had been said about Reform is Parliament—the

distress was admitted on all bands—the corrupt influ-
ence exercised in the election of Members was admitted,
and so also wee the necessity of Reform; but little or
nothing had been said as to the mode by which that
Reform was to be brought about. He would not thee
enter on the question of Annual Parliaments. The No.
We Lord (Darnley) had intimated that there should be
an Act of Parliament to bring about that Reform ; why,
to be sure, there mast be such an Act; but. could
any man of comma sense or understanding expect
that the lions, of Commons would reform itself
merely upon the people asking them to do so ?
The Noble Lord bad said that a great step towards
Reform would be the independent election fur popu-
lar towns. Now his objection to that was, in the
first isstance, there would be a long time to wait. If
agricultural distress was not relieved until then, agri-
culturists he feared would be in a very bail way; hat
supposing that period to have arrived. where would be'
the chance of their election being more free or open then
before? The way—the only and effectual way to bring
shout Reform was to press, legally—mind that—upon
the proper authorities its absolute necessity. The Mem-
bers did not take their seats of their own accord, neither
did they go in by the authority of the people at large; but
they did go in, or at least a groat majority of them did upon
the authority of some 130 Peers or Oentlemen of large
landedirroperty. Is short, if they wished for an effec-
tual reform, the right way to proceed was to petition
the Peers—to abolish the Boroughs which were in their
gifts. They indeed talk of blasphemy and sedition, and
riot and confusion ; they talk of corruption and corrupt
influence. Why. if they wished to put an end to that
corruption. let them openly and honestly walk down
with their dirty burgage tenure deeds in their hands,
and say, "take them fur ever from our sight."—That
would be the most effectual mode of reform.—(Applause.)
—lf they do sot do so. they will (said Mr. oobbett)
witness scenes in this country which I wish not to con-
template. My opinion, however, is, that in their efforts
to keep their boroughs', they will lose their estates and
every thing else which belongs to theso.—There is not
in the country an honest Nobleman who will not thank
me for stating these opinions, and until what I now
recommend be done, no man seed expect to see an
effectual Reform. The Petition was right, at Wet as
far as it went, though he, perhaps, differed in some
points from it; but what he should recommend woold
he, that the yeomanry of the (minty of Kent—that the
yeomanry of ever/ county is England should petition
the Peers to give up this influeoce—this corrupt indu
cue which they possessed. If this were done, he had
no doubt that even In the present Parliament the Reform

which be bad noommooded would be brought abut. If
any Nobleman who Maid bine peemeemd suck iallisesce
is that county, let hint manfully lead the way. It bad
been said, and they all felt it, that taxation was the
case. of the dieters* seder which they laboured ; but
a• sae had clearly pointed out bow the grievance was
Who removed. It had been said. " Let us be just," he
said so too—let theca be just even to Castlereagh--even
to hies was he ready to deal oat eves-banded justice.—
Bat they most admit that it would be unfair to ask him
to reduce taxation, unless there was a corresponding re-
daction of expenditure to mat it. A good deal bad
bee. said about retreachuseat and economy, and it was
tree that little redaction had takes place,—but 1.4 the
Meetiag bear this; he prayed their attention, sod, if
they dill not now Nun with him, he was confident that
they would do so is a short time—that there could be
s. e(fectiwl reduatios of taxation--ao effectual relief
*forded to the country, until they reduced the national
debt. They Issl been told, and truly, that the present
amount of taxation was near 70 millions a you (includ-
ing expenses of collecting) Now bow were they to reduce
it ? Sappere that they had reduced half the anny.andlialf
the navy. and all the Civil Litt, and all, or a treat pro-
portion of public places and eneoluineets, dill they could
110 i bring the expenditure of the canter down to
40,000,000 i.; ma that, in fact, there wield still be a dif-
fers... of more than 20,000,0001. hetweea oar present
expeadiftme and that of 1792. The Noble Lord and boa.
Baronet said, they would pay to the last moment,—did
they-neap to say they would goon paying till they were
died atadiatUf? Or did they mean to go on till each
Kegliebmas shall appear like the famished sad forlorn
picture of Ireland, which is :mordants, be supposed,
wills modern refinements in taste, was hung lately up
before the King at the Opera House? no—they
mated so sub thing—they only used words, the mean-
ing of which they did not Clearly understand. If, ',deed,
the Noble Lord meant to pay till he came to his last
shilling, he might certainly pay it; but he (Mr. Colebett)
moot take leave to assure him that he would come to that.
The Honourable Oentleman, after observing that as far
as be was concerned he was little affected by taxation,
'as be used but few article, subject to ditties, observed
that the debt was the cause of all the ruin. To collect
the taxes necessary for it required a large army ; it re-
glared abort four millions a year to be paid to tax-ga-
therers; so that, nothing effectual could be done in the
way of reduction of taxation, unless we began with the
debt. This evil the landlord would gladly remove,
wore it not that we tack a rider to it—we say we will
have Usforin—lie fact the Boroagboongere mooed be
twomi the action and its happiness. They did not know
what to do—they said. " Why the devil should we be de-
prived of the influence of our boroughs?" Bat be an-
swered this by saying, " Why the devil should the peo-
ple of England be obliged to pay all these taxes r"—
He was anxious to support the Petition ; but keine
anxious to prevent the child in the on& ,from beteg
mortgaged to the Jews sad Jobbers of Claaegealley.
With this view be would move as addition to the Peti-
tion; with a view to prevent all the useful classes of So-
ciety from being robbed by a set of Jews and Jobbers.,
who had always in their mouths the cry of national faith
and national honour, while they were anxious only to
promote their sordid interests, sad their selfish and un-
generoes views. He concluded by proposing that the
following be added to and make a part of the Petition:—
"And yonr Petitioners further most humbly pray
that your Honourable House will cause a just reduction
of the interest of the National Debt, as sum se you have
completed a Reform of your Honourable House."
The Earl DAIINIBIT said, that he bad never before
had the pleasereof seeing the gentleman who had last
spoken—a gentleman who was known to every body by
his writing% and for whom powers of mind be is com-
mies wish the sees *lithe world felt great respect. 11
answer to what that gentleman observed, he felt it ne-
cessary to state, that it would in his mind be unfair in
those personewhei had supported the extravagant pro-
jects of Minister., to turn round and say " now we are
on distress, and are determined to pay so much ie the
pound." He (Lord D.) as an honest man, was of opi-
nion that they were bound to par their public sod pri-
vate debts as long as they were able. Mr. Cobbett had
spoken of radical reform, which he (the Earl of Dam-
ley) supposed meant annual Parliaments and Uoiverial
Suffrage. Now surely Mr. Cubbett had too much WON
not to know, that if such a plan was to take plate, it
would end in depriving all who heard him of whatever
property they possessed, and would lead to nothing
short of revolution.
Mr. COBBITT said, be saw no injustice in lowering the
interest of the debt. He would ask, did they not pay the
public Creditor honestly till 1814; anal if sr, why were
they now to give him three bushels of corn, when before
that period they only gave him one ? One part of ho-
nesty was to be sincere; and he requested the meeting to
show themselves honest by declaring in their petition
what they all thought and wished. He had spok n deli-
cately., the subject of Reform; but if the /ruble Lord
forced him to it, he mast say, that in his opinion, every
man who might be forced to take arms in defence of that
Noble Lord's property, was deserving of a vote in the
elections of those persons by whom his life and his pro-
perty, however bumble, were to be protected. If that
were the case, the property of the Noble Lord would be
safe; if that were the cue, the freeholders of Kent would
not ems the disgraceful anomaly of the Electors holding
oae opioion, and one of their Members another.—
(Cheers.) They would not see their Representatives, like
an angry man and wife in a post chaise, one looking oat
*Cone window and one out of the other.
A desultory conversation then took place as to the
mode in which the question should be put by the Sheriff.
Mr. Fpoes and Mr. HIDER expressed their; willingness
to adopt the suggestion of Mr. Cobham.
Lord DARN LIT stated that he would hold up his band
against the petition, if the clause proposed by air. Cob-
bett were agreed to.
The petition, with Mr. Cohbett's amendment, was then
put, and carried by an immense. majority, there being
scarcely three hands held up against It.
Mr. Rifle* moved that the thanks of the meeting be
given to that indefatigable economist, Mr. Hume.
Mr. DARRILL seconded the inuti.to ; hat the Sheriff
refine/ to put the question, as the subject we. not in-
cluded ie the requisition.
Thanks were now voted to the Sheriff. After which,
on the suggestion of al r. enbhett, the motion for thanks
haring been rejected by the Sheriff, the assembly gave
three cheers, as a mark of respect to Mr. Hume. They
then dispersed.

1. to ND u N
WEDNESDAY ITININO. JUNE 12, 1822.

STOCI•EICIUANRI, TWILIT o'CLocc —The Funds
have Wen stationary the whole of the morninx, with
little business duing.—Consols for the Account, Wig ;
Reduced 79i.
Foasiox Evans.—There is • great bustle in the
Foreign Market this morning, particularly for Claim
Bonds, which are rising considerably. in this Stock it
appears as if all were buyers, and none were sellers.—
Spanisk,Stock is also in demand.—The new Rassisn
Lean appears to stick fast, as the public can purchase.
the old at 75, and the new is $U The only difference I
is, t►tat the old is payable.in Russia, and the new in
Landon.—The Prussian Loan has risen, owing to ee • i•