The Statesman.
London, England, 1812-04-08 00:00:00

COMMON HALL.

-----,....
A meeting of the Livery of the City of London
was held yesterday, at Guildhall, to take into con.
sideratiou the Report of the Sheriffs, as to the.pro.
ceedings which had taken place in consequence of
their having waited on the Prince Regent, agreeably
to the instructions of the list Common Hall, to
know when his Royal Highness would be pleased to
receive their Address and Petition. Before the hour
of proceeding to business, the Hall was crowded,
almost to the remotest corner.
The 1•01:1) MA rua shortly addressed the Livery,
informing them of theeenson of their meeting toga.
ther that day. The answer of the l'rince Regent to
the application of .the Sheriffs was, that he would, itt
conformity to they usage of his Royal Father since
the year 1775, receive the Petition and Address at
the Levee. That the Lively, however, might haven
more perfect idea of the manner in which the Seed&
had executed their instructions, his Lordship had
procured a copy of the Report—which should be
read to them. In discussing the present subject, in
which it was natural to suppose the Livery might feel
themselves peculiarly interested, his Lordship begs
ged it to be understood, that, as the act must be con•
sidered as the act of Ministers, he could eat permit
tile sacred name of his Majecty, or the almost equal.
ty sacred name of the• Prince Regent, to be treated
with contempt. As to Ministers, Gentlemen might
. speak of them as they p!eased—they were powerful
enough, and able to defend themselves, a tech they
might do when they thought proper. His Lordship
was no poeitician—all he had to do was to watch
over the rights of his fellow-citizens, while he held
the situation of their Chief Magistrate, and lie pre-
sumed to think, he could not do so better, than by
adopting the constitutional mode of calling them to.
Igether, as he did today, and in, requesting, that
j they would give a patient hearing to every one who
/ addressed them.
I• The Report was then read, which was exactly
'similar in substance, to what our readers ire already
lin possession of on the subject. The concluding
• part of the Report notices, an additional conimuni.
I cation from Mr. Secretary Ryder, in which he in..
; forms the Sheriffs, that the Address.and pstition will
not be read at the Levee, but that in ad&tiou to the
I Lord Mayor, Sheriffs, Aldermen, and City Officers, ,
1
1 10 of the Livery in their Gowns, may attend the
; Levee, to present the Address and Petition.
Mr. Werrnerae now stepped forward, and was
received with shouts of applause. As far as his
I humble efforts could prevail, he would beg leave to
I recommend to the Livery, as great a degree of silence
as could he expected in so large and crowded a meet-
ing, and that every individual should receive a ftii
and patient hearing. Nothing could be so advan.
tageous to a good cause as to hear every thing that
could he adduced on the subject, whether agreeable
or not. However irritating the language used
. against them might be, he hoped the Livery Weald'
I put up with it, rather than expose themsetvei to the
obloquy of those Gentlemen, by whom such len.
page might be used, who, in all problibility, would
be those who denominated themselves the friends of
social order. It would not be necessary for him.
(Mr. Waithmari) to detain the Livery long. Had the
right of petitioning West new for the first time called
ls question—had the right of that body to present
their petitions or remonstrances at the foot of the
Throne been now for the first time denied—iu that
case it would have been necessary for him to enter
,l much at length Lao the history of the country, and
particularly into a history of the privileges claimed
by the City of Loudon. But unfortunately, this.was
I not the first occasion on which the City of London
I had been sought to be deprived of its just privileges.
Up to CA year 1775, the Lord Mayor and Common.
alty of the City of London, had never had it quen
firmed that they were entitled to approach his Ma.
jesty, and to present the it Peitions to his Majesty
s' ated on his Throne. Subsequently to this period,
on several oreasions, the Addresses and Petitions of
that 1611 had heed refused to he received in the usual
manner, and, on several of those occasions, Resole-
, ewe 113 d been come to by the Livery, expressive of
; their feeliag on the subject of such retinal. - His
j (Mr. Wsitliman's) path, therefore, was much ear.
rowed ; and after having subreitted a few obser.
vetionson the circumstances of. the present ease, he
Ishould content himself with moving Resolutions al.
I most Similar to those which had .been so ..frettoeutly
agreed to by the Common Hall. He must be allowed
to say, that of all the rights which the people of this!l
country enjoyed, there was no right so impertent,
teethe of which it was sought to deprive the Livery
of the City of London. if there was any right esti.
mable above others, it was this right. Previous to
the Revolution, at a period when this country was
cursed by the most tyrannical Government that ewe
I
existed, this .right was first atteeked. 'Thee there
was a denial of this right; and that denial *ea fol.
lowed by a ieleure of the Charter of the city, be.
cause they insisted on maintaining the right of *hick
. •
it was sought to deprive them. At that time there
/ was undoubtedly, a calm fora number of years; bat
that was a calm only of sullen discontent, foreboding
a storm, whites afterwards burst out with redoubled
ferry from the time it had been kept concealed, and
which afterwards swept the possession of the throne
of this countri from the then reigning fatuity for
a
ever. In the II of Rights the right of Petitioning.
was demanded, and insisted on as an indisputable
privilege of the inhabitants of this country.. lie •
(Mr. W.) muse say, that it etrack him as eetraordi..
nary, that elute the Stuart family •had been expelled
from the Throne, and another had been Galled in
.their place, merely because they bad reftised• to listen
to the Petithies of their Subjects, there should have
.been found, so early as the year 1775, man so *bap. '
dotted, as to recommend and advise any thing se
fatal to the Royal ear, as the rejection of a letitium .
of tets kind...4Applatiscs, tan one three outcry of
ditapprobailort.l—ile hoped be should beer the .
Orator who disapproved of this sendaseof point • .
out in what reflect it was entitled to his repro.
'ration, and that he should have an opportunity of -
answering his attack. 110 yea sorry to find (het
there wail one magi to the C °inmost Mill, who could,
be capable df bartering, this right, for which many .
of their ancestors had fought and gloriously bled,.
The interruption he bed now received, brought,back
to his attentten, i 9 a more peculiar nsenner, what
bad occurred at flue Revolution, indirldeila Ow

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