The Statesman.
London, England, 1812-10-21 00:00:00

TO AIR FRANCIS KuRDETr. BART.
M. P. FOR THE CITY OF WESTMINSTER.

Stn,—lii announcing to you that you letve been
again returned to Parliament for lite City of West-
minster, we cannot suppress the satisfaction we feel
in observing the steady, though slow advance of
public opinion, manifested in the dispruition of the
Electors of We-tminster to do their duty to them-
selves and to their country—to the utter dismay of
all Parties, and the destruction of the formerly over-
whelming influence of base, c,rrupf, am! iufamons
Administrations, who have merely regarded the
ruling, not the benefiting the nation :—n No hate
considered power as every thing, the puttee, pro.
sperily, and haypiness of the people as tti.thit.g.
We would willingly " spare you the moit:ticatiou
of passing a painful life in undignified efforts to stem
the torrent of corruption." But when we cont :n.
plate the effects produced in this great City, mom.
plified as they now are, in the return of yourself
and your late worthy colleague, without ripener, or
personal troubk; without communication with
either and without a struggle—when we hear front
various places, that the People, rousing from their
apathy, are endeavouring to imitate the example of
Westminster, w:f cannot but indulge the how, that
at the next Election, better informed by precept, by
example, and by experience, they will so exert them-
selves, that the " torrent of corruption" may no
longer be irresistible, nor your honourable and manly
efforts be " unavailing" in promoting the happiness
of your country.
By Order of the Committee fur conductinx the Election
for the City and Liberty of Westminster, appointed at
. a Public Meeting of Electors, Ideals to Parity of
/lemon, o I Moeda', the 6th Ortobec, 114,
SAMUEL BROOKS, Chairman.
Committee Room, 38, Kiupstreet,
Covent-garden, 9th Oct. 1812.
(A Letter to the same .Hitt was written to Lord Coebratte.)

Oxford, Oct. 16, 1811
MAR StR,-I found your very dallying Letter
on my return here from Tiverton. The noble be-
haviour of the Electors of Westminster towards me,
makes it impossible for me to refuse any exertion in
my power which they may think advantageous. Ttio
inclosed Answer you will have the goodness to cau.
municate.

Your's, very sincerely.
To Mr. 8 an. Brooks. F. BIM ntrrr.
TO THE ELECTORS OF WESTIIIINS F.R.
GENTLENVI,--1 I is impossible for me to be inset.
tilde to the extraordinary mark of confidence witty
which you have recently honoured me. A.til although f
am thereby again placed in anarduous antl difficult si.
tuation, from which I should gladly have Kithdrawn,
I cannot, ender such auspices, refuse to uniiertakef
the forlorn hope of combating that wide-spreading
corruption, which seems almost to convert the se-
verity of satire, 66 that tint to be corrupted is the
shame," into mere matter of fact ; or, at least, to-
give room to suppose such to be the prevailing opi.
nion. Nothing, therefore, remains for the friends of,
their country, but to stand it out as long as they can,.
prepared, at all times, to mate as decent an exit as
their enemies will permit.
Gentlemen, the small portion which remain, of the
real Representation of the Peril& (the sole Co iist it u-
tional Guardian of our Liberty and Property) is now
confined to the Counties and great Towns ; and even
in them, for the most part, Government patronage, .
places, pensions, promises, threats, and the various,
methods p actised at Elections, render an uneurrupt
body of Electors no more to be expected than an un.
corrupt Parliament.
I may, however, Gentlemen, be allowed to say,
without incurring the suspicion of flattery, that your
conduct forms a shining exception. A conduct un-
paralleled in the annals of this, or perhaps, of any
other country ; proving to demonstration the false-
, hood of those malignant assertions of unprincipled
men for traitorous ends, that the great mass of the
• nation is corrupt, and that Iti.form is, therefore,
neither desirable nor attainable. This outrageous
doctrine, invented by knavery to palliate plunder,
you have nobly confuted, and furnished a practical
and unanswerable argument in favour of freedom tf
Election.

Gentlemen, at the Revolution one honest line, se-
curing to the People freedom of Eke iao, would
have been worth more than a!l that tedious and
ostentatious display of principles add objects set
forth, but never really provided for, by the Bill of
Rights. I would fain hope, unit the example given
by the Electors of Westminster, might encourage
other places still to contend for that small portion
Independence which yet remains in tin. country ;
and thereby keep alive, at least in the reni,mbrance
of their countrymen, their ancient constitutional
right to 'fall, fair, and free Representalivn of the
People in Parliament, their only quiet and peace-
able security at all times for their rights and pro-
perty, against the despotism and plunder of the
few. ..
For these purposes you shall always find me,
either in or out of Parliatnent, READY To LAY
DJWN MY LIFE.
Gentlemen, I have received the highest honour I
can receive, and the best reward—the approba-
tion of those who trusted me, on the expiration of
the trust.
That I should have, and that the Electors of
Westminster should think, that I have conducted
sure!: in it with honour and integrity, will be a
never-failing source of satisfaction to me, as long as
the powers of recollection shall remain to,
Gentlemen, your most affectionate and
devoted Servant,
Oxford, Oct. 16, MY. F,ILANCIS DU RDF.TT.

12, Portman-square, Oct. It, lint
DE4II Stn,—Yon will oblige in. by handing the iu.
closed to the Contmitteee for conducting the Elec.
tion for Westminster.
ilellere me sincerely your's.
-To Mr, Seal. Eiooki. COCHRANE. ,
TO-THE ELECTORS OF WEYTuINSTIEbR. •
GUNTLEKILM,--Hbing uonble to rolvoy io words
the sensations I explitiitice-in reflecting on the man.
net ih which you here returned rat to Parliament, I

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