The Statesman.
London, England, 1809-09-16 00:00:00

THR STATFSkiAN.

itiacence of hisAajesty with respect to the lode-
penitence of the Judges. For himself, be fully
subscribed to the doctrine, that " Me King could
d, no wroag ;" and if on the private character of
the King we aloes depended, ho had no hesitation
in adolitting that we should have the very best se.
airily that- tould be added by the private cha.
ratter ef.any man ; hut he ardently hoped that the
liberties of the People of England were not held
on so insecure a tenure as that of the private cha.
ratter of any individual, however excellent, or
however virtuous he might be. Nu—he trusted and
believed that there was yet sufficient energy kft in
our Constitution to-preserve us from a dependance
so uncertain as the private virtues of a Prince.
Were such unhappily the case, what was to be-
come of the people of this kingdom, if unhap.
pity a Prince of an opposite description should
ever ascend the Throne ? lie awls astonished
when he saw Gentlemen' speak its so diverting a
strain on facts, in themselves not only grave, but
even awful. On a former occasion the worthy
Batintet pathetically implored us to come forward
—the salvation of England depended, he told us,
on the deliverance of Spain—upon that ground
1 he demanded our support and assistance.—Did be
now look fur salvation ? Was not all hope of
salvation now lust in that quarter? lie was utterly
astonished that the worthy Baronet could speak
lon the subject in so diverting a manner, or think
this a moment for rejoicing. The worthy Baru.
I net had said that the urst act of his Majesty was
Ito maks the Judges independent, and the abolition
'of General Warrants. He (Mr. W.) held in his
hand an Address of the Livery of London to his
Majesty, which was presented on the 6th of
March, 1770, a very few years after the
Accession of his Majesty. It ran thus : "We
have already dutifully stated our grievances, but
hitherto our complaints remain unanswered. The
.only Judge who was removeable from his office,
has been removed fur defending the laws and the
constitution of the country in Perliament." Mr.
W. was certain it was unnecessary to iuform the
I Court, that on the only mall on whom the royal
vengeance could fall, that vengeance was inflicted.
Lord Camden fur his independence, virtue, and
integrity, was compelled to resign the Chancellor.
ship ; and this Court presented him with the Free.
door of the City in a gold box, for his manly in.
dependent conduct. (Near ! hear!) Having
guise so far into the subject, he (Mr. IV.) was
: constrained to follow the Worthy Baronet e little
farther to another point. The Worthy Baronet
had lugged in General Warrants, but with
what view, or whether In support of his ar.
gement, or against, he (Mr. W.) defied any
nun to comprehend. Dili he mean to con.
ph:neat his present Majesty for having abu.
I lished the irregular, uucuestitutional practice of
entering the dwelling and sexing the papers and
persons of individuals, on the authority of a
general warrant, signed by a Secretary of State ?
--(Sir William Curtis nodded) By the nod of
his head he did. Why then let teem look how this
fact, on which the worthy Baronet had coespli.
resented tack Sovereiga, really stood. It was the
I Ministers of bis present Majesty that unties.
Toured to cuferce general warrants, and thereby
crush an individual, who, whatever might have
been his private mural cite:auger, yet, by his un.
daunted firmness, had been the cause, and the
I sole cause, of bringing to decision that great
Iquestion which terminated in the recognition of
j the illegality of general warrants. Till Mr.
IVilkes made that important resistaace to the
priuciple, a Secretary of state could cause
the house of any man to be forced—
his papers to be seized, and his person
to be imprisoned. Ministers were at that time
intently heist ea destroying the liberties of the
subject. lie (Mr. W.) said Ministers, for a man
mast be an ideot, nut to di,tinguists between the
sewer a Sovereign in this country and his advi.
sers. Ile was sure he need not remind the Court
of the ferment and confusion which prevailed, mail
i the matinee ill which the military were directed to
act at that period. To these arbitrary acts of
Ministers, succeeded the violation of the rig at of
election, by depriving Mr. IViikes of his seat.
Could all these acts be forgotten? Ile thought
not...bet that every gentleman who heard him
might be convinced that lie had not overstated the
facts, he would request that certain Addresses of
the City of London might be read. in one Ad.
dress, in 1176 n, the city complained, and that too
most loudly, of that secret influence w!tich had
defeated every good, and suggested every bad
immure—whose conduct was more uncoastitu.
tional then those who, in former reigns, sap-
ported the Star Chamber, and the levying of
ship-money—sod who had even gone so far
in the case of the Middlesex election, as to
take the sacred right of electing represents.
tires out of the hands of the people.
All this was the effect of corruption. Again, iu
1770, were complaints preferred by the City of
London--but these Addresses were unanswered,
1 their grievances remained unredressed, and the
only Judge who could be dismissed was dismissed.
Thus passed the early part of his Majesty's reign,
in a perpetual struggle between oppression and
complaint. For many years it had been the cus.
tom fur some few Gentlemen to monopolize a
greater • ,ortion of luj silty than came to their share,
and those Gentlemen charged with disloyalty all
those who differed with them. In the revolution.
ary war with France, Mr. Chairman Iteeves, and
Mr. John Bowles, and inairy other Gentlemen of
that stamp, claimed the possession of a very ca.
traordinary degree of loyalty. In that asscmbl)
there were also some Gentlemen who professed
more loyalty than other people; but whets the con-
duct of (base persons came to be sifted into, it was
discpeered that these Gentlemen had tics other idea
of loyalty or gratitude than as articles which were
to be paid for. Those loyal subjects nere always
looking fur sume favour from Government, frillier
fur self, brO'ttier, or sun. The Court had seen and
known these men so long, and su appreciated their
characters esti{ motives, that although it was by no
means serprisiug that they should take every up.
purtuuity of bringing forward their loyalty, in
order that they might be poldfor it in some way
ac aauthos.; yet it was milli sucprieiag digt a

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number of respectable and independent Gentle-
men *unlit sutler themselves to be any longer duped
and deluded by those interested pretenders to so.
perior loyalty. These men now presume to
charge with disloyalty all those who would wish
to change the old Elute systems, for the principles '
of the British Constitution; but among all those
distinguished professors of loyalty, he never
knew tine that was not rotten el the core,
and who did not manifestly act from mean and
selfish motives. It was to be remembered with
what spirit the same Gentlemen swallowed their
turtle in aid of She Spanish cause ; sell yet,
if that very cause had been supported by our
Government as it ought to hare been, it would,
most probably, have succeeded. Instead of
assisting the exertions of the Spanish Penin-
sula, we appeared to paralyse all their efforts
from the moment we undertook their cause. We
stopped the liberty of the press, and checked the
ardour of the patriots. In fact, the whole policy
of our Administration was, to endeavour to patch
up and support old rotten Governments, and to
prevent, as far we could, the patriots in other count
tries from effecting any salutary reform. The natural
consequence of this contracted and mistakeh policy
was, that all the fire of patriotism appeared
to die and be extinguished wherever we ad-
vanced ; and so far from assisting the native
spirit and patriotic exertions uf the Spanish
and Pertuguese nations, we gave them aid in
such a manner as tended to decrease the pa.
j triutic energies of the inhabitants. There
was, respecting. Sweden, a tale yet to be tin.
folded, most lamentable. It would, when that
should come belie e the Public, be seen that the re-
! cola:loss in that unfortunate country, was abso-
lately the cot:rcpt.:see of M.: measures of thepreseist
ministers. lie did (singl:Ask out light grounds, but at
present sbould not further pursue that topic
In the meats time, both factious (for lie would
not call them parties) pretended tu tell us, that
the emoluments of (lice were considerate's', far
below the ambition of honourable men like them-
selves; and yet those Journals, that are noto-
riously in the pay of the dfcrcnt parties, never
appeared to think that there a as any political con-
sideration of the least importance, except which
of the two parties were tu get into office, anal in.
Ito the emoluments at office. It appeared by a
public statement, that a Noble Lord (Lord Castle.
• who was a Most put-tiers:or friend of the
worthy Bart. (Sir William Curtis) whose meeting
with him was so pathetic, and who had been des.
seethed as hiving waved his lily hold to him on
the deck, did reccove by himself, anti fur his fa-
mily, nn less a stim than 30,6001. per annum from
tbis highly faxed country. And yet, if it were
asked what had Lord Castlereagh dune to descry.;
it, it could only be answered that his time v. 23
emplaril in endeavouring to corrupt the Parlia.
mew, aed us planning expeditions fur the disgrace.
of the country. It ha,l been calculated, that if
the sums which the family ef-that Noble Lord re.
ceived from the public had been laid out at corn.
pound interest, it would have exceeded two millions,
a sum equal to the expence of one of Queen Anne's
j wars. When the country was called on for ajuhilee,
it would be right to think what it was we were to
congratulate his Majesty upon. Was it for the loss j
of America, of Hanover, and of all our allies upon
Continent?lb. And yet these were the events which
marked the history of his Majesty's long reign.
lie would wish to know whether the. Gentlemen
who formerly considered Hanover and Spain net
misery to the salvation of the country, were now
of the same opinion. He was always an advocate
fur peace while he conceived it practicible ; but
now he was free to confess that the cowry eat,
beets brought to such a sittiptifin, that we could
nut even hope fur an honourable or secure pence,
or fur a peace which should nut be as espetiiive as
the present most expensive war. During his Ma-
jesty's reign, this country had not only suffered
materially in its liberties, but the Empire load
been dismembered, anal America was lost._..
When we plunged into a mad contest with France,
in order to stop the progress of its r •rolution,
every single step we took in till! war only
,served to lay the foundation of greater aggran.
dizement to France, and to provoke her to extend
her conquests. It was the Government of ilia
country which erected in France that gigantic
power which makes every throne in Europe inse-
cure. Under these circumstances, he thought true
loyalty would be hest expressed by pointing out to
our Sovereign the pernicious system which ha,
brought the country and his throne into such "I state
of insecurity. When he recollected, that the Geis.
denten on the other side bad not very long ago
come forward with an an address of thanks fur
" the great, decisive, and magnanimous measures
which bad been adopted with respect to Spain," it
would be natural to expect that men profes.inesuch
sentiments would have afterwards come forward to
express theiildisaatifection at the manner in which
the assistance to Spain was directed, and to those
measures which they would hardly now call "great,
decisive, and magnanimous." Besides the i,t.mense
expence of the wars (many of which he beliered
unnecessary) in the present reign, was it not to
be recollected, that millions of human lives hal
beet, sacrificed in these cnntests, and the whole
issue of all this sacrifice was the aggrandizement
of France ? As to the millions who have fallen,
" nothing can touch them farther ;" but when it
is considered what an immense sum of misery has
been entailed on their surviving relatives, and
when all this blood and all this misery is added to
the enormous expence and increase of the na.
tional debt during the present reign, he must be
at a loss to know what subject there was of con-
gratulation. Our military Clain were now en-
trusted to Lord Castlereagh, who had selected
Lord Chatham to command our great ex-
pedition. All he would say of Lord Chat.
ham was, that he understood that he was a
man who was usually asleep when he ought
to be awake : bat what was .to be said of those
who selected I* h a man, or what was to be
said of that *wry who, even in that Court, could
ever brim; tilivimselves to think any Wag was
wrong that was done by any Administratiors
?hey could always see event enough to fogad
wit:tight"' celled loyal iddresses; but never, fix.

• -T 461.1

public life, did
tlee manydisapprobation
seey thatao anyhe therehacmcoi be.mcfceim
al
ns dustsl nt
ins
eerxp . r eslt
h
was a most extraordinary circumstance, att.! di
mPrwaZnyr ofNoi f the
a
r ,hoseresigned r professorsattu
des
in
nid
f tshule;el superior
l of
oecreloyalty,thatitude of hit
power, after having created nearly half the House
of Peers, and conferred great benefits on num-
ben of the other House, yet when he was in
sOuppiops
osrittei
non hecould
~
lie
cnlid
notn u m t
eveuns 7);
ry tipaii aublowv
ac 0
t tlis
worthy Baronet (Sir William Curti.) to give hilt
a vote. Ile kne•-: how this would rib explained. It
would be said that Mr. Addington had dune To.:le-
thing fur a brother of Sir IVilliam's, and that
therefore Sir William must support hon. I...reit if
this excuse were admitted, it would oiiiy
that the political conduct of the worthy Baronet
was, like cleat of all the other professors of great
loyalty,
.dependent on considerations of private
interest. Nor would it be supposed, that eve 3
the title which he had obtained of Baronet, was
a circumstance indifferent to him. lie though it
so evident, that all the Members of that Court,
who pro;-essed more loyalty than (be rest, were
acting from private and corrupt motives, that it was
unnecessary to dwell farther upon the subject.
When Mr. Pitt, however, returned to power,
then all these loyal nien who deserted hilt when
he was in Opposition, ralli•al 'gale under his
banners, and wished to have et thought that
their politics were the same as cis ; but althowglt
in City feasts they might swallow turtle to his
memory, yet it would be recollected, that they
were °lily his friteids as lung as he was in power,
and that they were full as reAly to profess their
great respect fur his successors, as to ask theta.
fur places for themselves, their brothers, or iii. it
sons. They, like tate Parliament, were ale ays
ready to be handed over from Pitt to Fux, or
from Fox to Perceval. It was sails b, some pro-
' pie, that Parliament was of great 44d that
the parliamentary inquiries did great gwel. Ik
would ask, how did they do goo tf, atter rob-
bing and plundering for 20 ye,' such a man •is
Lu d Melville was obliged to rcs:;it, what good
Iva: there in that, if lie could :mt nis family lis
places, 4 preserve, by seen , influence, the same
i •
.0 bur which he had before What satisfaction
could the (wintry di rive from k rr.; •sing that Mr.
It •itter, who came up to London wit iout a Old.
ling, km erected a palace at the .e
100,0001. ? There na. no puitislement fo.• :%nat
like these, while others at.:e dragged to the scaf-
fold—Yet we, a besotted people, cvaiinued to
endure all this with patience. If the Duke of
York resigned in consequence of w hat passed in
Parliament, was that auy merit of the Parliamenf,
ut was it snit evident that it was merely the effect
Of the public indignation which was anticipated,
because it was kasown to In' slue? Those men were
nut to be branded with disloyalty, who said that
nothing could be expected from the Parliament,
while it was governed by the Burough-monger
faction. The decisions of such a body as the I'ar-
I of the country, ought to be governed by
argument mud justice ; and it is saying nothlit in
the favour of Vie l'eflialneilt, to say, that on some
occasions, et is afraid of ravishing popular indig.
nation. He believed in his conscience, that if his
Majesty had employed Racii :Ministers a' the groat
Lord Chatham., whom he found at the helm at his
Accession, the country and the word would nut
have beets in its present distressed and alarming
situation ; and that if even sow the old Bate NV.
tear was done away with, gad Mittisten of liberal
and enlightened views appointed, the country
might still recover from the disorders and
the dangers in which it hail been plunged, and b^
gradually brought back to that state ire which the
nation was when his Majesty ascended the Throne.
Gentlemen might complaiti of clamour as lung as
they pleased ; but let them remove the cense.
worthy Baronet had gravely told them this million
was wholly uncoteneete.l with politics—mei) a lit-
tle eating and drinking—a kind of jollificution Its
or wmtaiiing of that sort--a day of Sills ill
and rejoicing. 01 what materials the mind of
th it man could be camposted, who, after the
picture which be (Mr. W.) had drawn, and
faithfully drawn, of the state of th:s coun-
try, could think the present a season fur
mirth and rejoicing, he was at a lota tee conceiv...
In what particular way or manner did theWortby
thrunet propose to celebrate thy day t Was it
by the tumult and expenee of an illumination, at
the very moment that we were informed by a
public Priut that near 300 persons ui wee parish,
close to this city, are unable to pay their Assessed
Taxes, whilst, from the rigorous orders issued to
Cie tax.gatheren, a eutesiderable slumber of those
persons are metier the necessity of tendering their
resignat:ons • (/lear, hear, hear!) Was this a
period for rejoicing ? Fur his own part, hr had
no objection whatever to cutegrateilatieg his Maj. sty
in a decent and appludii.ite ni; ; he 4 11.4
only rotteor etc an AilstreNs rlitete with gt+. 1110
and sincere l,iyalty, but w, old most cheerttilly
carry it up himself—but let sit the Court forget
the evils which his llrjesty, in r.i••:inun with his
faithful people, had endured ley bud
the Court endeavour to extricate at once both the
King and the People, trim the dangers with
which they were now surrounded. lf, how-
ever, the worthy Baronet was of opinion, that
nothing was so proper on this occasion as the
swallowing of given portions of turtle and veni-
son, let him invite those who concurred with hit.,
in opinion, to that appropriate specie, of civic
celebration nt the London Tavern...l4 loud
laugh.) lie (Mr. \V.) was certain too, that if
the worthy Lurd Ma) or were to evince his co.
Incidence of opinion by a co-operation of hoc-
pitality at the Sl:nisi:in-house, his Loidship
would not want loyal guests— [Ucre the roan.
[mance of his Lordship, which add aeurcely re.
covered from the laugh in which it hod patted,
suddenly resumed its w. wed inflexibelliy, and
the Court renewed the lairgh.]-..T0 be serious, it
was his (lir. W.'s) deliberate opinion that a Ge.
ncral Jubilee at this awful moment would be a
general inset! to the people of this kingdom, who
had so deeply suffered, and were at the very time
So deeply soferthp' The Reeohttiott.or the Court