The Statesman.
London, England, 1809-12-19 00:00:00

COLONEL WARDLE.

MEETING AT VIE citowN AND ANCHOR.

The ;ace lit the NeelPdpell of a Moeda;
or the riends of Col. Withal for the purpose of
esprtesiu( their Sink of Nil Meetly, intirpendenti
sod itedeasslcclcondusto;nts ditremely rand hod*
unusually) short, uotwittsstanding which a ruiner.
nos and respictable isseeidlege of the Mends of
that truly relyeetablebnitleautn, was eullccted
sows after 12 o'clorkt,
imMetitate object of this Meeting was, as
eel been expressed iuthe V.vertisentent, " to in.
.1 mleinnity Col. Wardld 'plot the losses he may
" have sustained, or may be liable to, in come-
" (IlleliCe of leis spirited exertions in behalf of the
" public, during the last Session of Parliament."
At ode b'efocit , Put k.lll' M Eq. liar.
ri,ter (theGoitlemart, whose speech at the filer.
paid, at Ilaeksiei; at the Middlesex Meeting,
tscited so greatly the piablie attention), *as mita.
ui.nously (Ailed tb the Chair. . •
Mr. St it.r.cTT immediately opened the business
of the Meeting, by stating, in the terms of the
a Ivertisement, the object for which the Meeting
oat coaveiwil.
M A ("LETT, then addressing the corn.
'any, expressed a hope that the importance of
time occasion, and the suddenness with which he
11.1 d been called to the Chair, would not only jus.
efy him for offering himself to their notice in so
i-aiort int a cause, namely, th it of the Public,
bat induce their excuse for his inability to do
jollce In a cause of such imminent importance
no the interest, the: welfare) and the happiness
of every individual in the United Kingdom ;
and sincerely did he lament that it hail not
Oleo into abler hantls.—[iipplause.]...it was
nut but of personal regard to Colonel IVarille,
that he had accepted the Chair, fur ho had nut
the honour of being even personally known to
that Gentleman—it was solely from the high opi.
'lion that he eutertaimiod of his manly spirit and
unimpeachable itite,:ritv in maintaining the into.
tests end tights of tha public, that he had been
ieduced to accept that situation. It had been
said, that Colonel Wardle had acted indiscreetly
in the cour.me which he had pursued in ob.
taming the vvitlence of Mrs! Clarke. To Col.
Wardle indiscretion might possibly be ins.
vut.il; but sure he was, that those who re.
fl cted on the nature of the task which he
ha I um.,:ertakeit, arilituus as it was, beyond all
Nee:este:it, cuald not by any potsible grgismetit,
impute to that exalted Character impropriety,
or deficiency in true zeal for the discovery, of
those practices which had by him been dragged
t ell' to public view, and which every one music
know to be inconsistent with the public welfare..
No man mould deny, no, not even the participa-
tors in that corruption which he had so vigour.
uusly attacked, that to Colonel Wardle's coura.
gems exertions, and to those alone, is the nivioti
Toilebted fur those discoveries (applause). lie had
flu intention of becoming tailor apologist or
panegyrist, but such were the facts, and as
to the indiscretion imputed to Colonel IVarille,
ho thought that time only subject of surprise
was, that he should have accomplished the Elem.
ken task with conduct so generally 'Curial; as
had marked every proceeding amid eserr step
'vhich he had taken. The great object of Colionet
I
Wardle had been to elicit truth—his objest was
legitimate—he had succeeded beyond all expects.
lion in that object, and ho was iminently entitled
to the thanks, the gratitude, amid the protection
of the Peoree or ENOGAND. [Very !owl ap-
plause.) Colonel Wardle, by openly attack.
ing a system that no other man had had the
courage to assail, exposed himself to a series of
calumny; injury, persecution, and loss; of e hich
it would but ill become the people of this king.
duns to suffer him to beat the pressure— for
under all those aggravated circumstances, Colonel
'Wardle, with that unconquerable 'perseverance,
so peculiar to a man of firm mind, had at last
succeeded, in defiance of the efforts at intimide-
Coo, with which his progress had been attempted
to be arrested. Ile had succeeded in establishing
his case—he had succeeded in exposing the sys.
tem—he had proved its existence—he displayed in
*sir native colours the paramount application of
influence and patronage, in a way that must be 1,
deemed a greater crime against society than the IL
elution of a written law, inasmuch as it was a
*Weeds of the confeletice of the nation (applause)
...and the highest duties in the nation, it must he
remembered, were not eennericil with positive
institutions, but depended on the liberal intcrpre.
tation of rules of right and wrong—such as must
be presumed to exist in all honourable minds.
This was the ground of his objection to the con-
duct of the Duke of York. Cul. Wardle had, in
Sect, in many instances discovered and exposed
that system which has bronght so many other cone.
t:ies ill Europe to snbjection—and the system
must, in this country, be destroyed. It had been
said, that it was peculiarly herd to single out
All individual at the object of public justice;
to the doctrine of hardship he coeld not subscribe,
for what was in it, but giving publicity to the
case Of the greatest notoriety ? The more we saw
of these things, the more did it become our duty
to support Colonel IVarelle, for venturing to at.
talc smut line man, but the whole phalaax of con
ruption, backed as that was by Ministerial step.
port. The men who hi:stone:it, and the man who
accepted, this corrspt patronage, were alike
lenity, and alike cowries to the interests and
happiness of the country. What did the cue.
mits of Colonel IVarelle say ? Not that the
corruption, which he attacked, did not exist ;
that was incontrovertible. As well might a
wan deny the existence of light. The utmost
they could devise wherewith to attack him, was
the means by which he had rendered the cuotitry
an vast and so incalculably important a service.
Of the eorruptiun that existed, no man knew the
beginning, and what was still worse, no maim
Lot w the intl. In the declension of the Roninn
empire, corruption, as we all know, was the sun
of the times. That the evil of corruption ex-
isted is au alarming degree in our times
would not surely be dcuied, and it sins from

consclonsetsi of the exteUt of the _evil
that the people had felt strong an Mi.
terest in the etettioni of CAleci' Wardle.—=
Bat were the peoplt Mow to relax in their
exertitiiis—iihat has alreadj so seriously 'in.
Owed the British Empire must ultimately prole
its lulu. The support of Cul. Wardle was
upon another grdehd of the highest importance—
it would show that the people cannot boonorate-
fel So those who Mite stood forward in their cause,
epd would be a shitting example to others to tread
in his steps. Whey to a man of patriotic lade-
pendeut feelings, reward could be more priziotble
than the Sympathy of his fellow-citizens' They
were not met on the cold calculating principle of
reimbursing Cul. Wardle for his pecuniary ex.
peaces—they had not met to declare that he had,
lay his exertions in the cause of the people, ruined
his fortune, and must be relieved from the poCkets of
the people. Nu; they were met there to say, that
when such men step forward in the public cause,
the public would display their sense of his ser.
vices by standing forth, and impelled by a senti-
ment of universal sympathy, eagerly embrace
that opportunity which now presented itself of
sliewiiig theirapprubition of his efforts, and grati.
Wile fur the services which he had indisputably
rendered to the People of the United Kingdom.
Mr. WAITIIMAN then presented himself to
the' Meetin,, and was received with bursts of ap.
'douse. Ht: said, he must heartily concurred in
every observation that had fallen from the Chi*.
man, who he considered to have placed the object
of the Ste etiug in a correct point of view. Nu did
not think it fair that any individual should devote
himself-to the, public service to- the Wei' of
Ms ur<u Private fortune ; and if it was teeelleet:
ed the difficulties Colonel WWIo bad surmount:
et!, no doubt of his merits &Mid Be ehtertained.
If Colonel Wardle was abused for hit conduct
towards Wright, those individuals who abused
him were precisely the same who had endeavoured li
to traduce his character before, and all the at.
tacks that were made upon him, were of a piece
with the general conduct of those persons against
whose corrupt practices his exertions l•ad beeu
more immediately directed. It might be deem.
cd presumption in him (Mr. Waithinan) to make
any allusions to so humble an individual as
himself ; yet as the circumstance he was about
to mention was particularly analogous to the
condect adopted towards Cul. Wardle, he hoped
it would uut be conceived departing from the
subject, for the consideration of the Meeting. It
was well known, that he had taken some pains
to unmask the abuses and corruptions which ex-
isted in every part of the state; and so üblinxi•us
had his humble exertions been, that some per-
tebns in the interest of Ministers, not been able
to fled any ground for persecution against him
in this country, absolutely sent to America, to
a man who left this country iii disgrace, and of.
fered him fifty guineas if he would give any in.
formation which should affect his, Mr.
mall's, character. %Vhen, therefore, such cue.
duct as this was adopted towards him, it was
out astonishing that some pains should be taken
to depreciate the character of Colonel Wardle,
wham services to his country ball been venter
than those of guy asau, he, Mr. Waithman,'
could call le mind. He would be the last
indi-
vi.lu:,l iii the world to reflect on the conduct of
a Jury, much less was he inclined to call iii
question the charge of a Judge, or to dispute the
conscieetious discharge of his duty. He did
not wish to throw any (Ahem rei the character of
the Judge in a recent case, but lie certainly did
hope never again to see a political Judge in this
1and....-[Lond cheers. ]---1 f Judges uere Cabinet
Ministers, or if their situations were to be consi.
dered the stepping ladders to such elevation, he
could nut foresee what degree of evil the rumor.;
was to expect.. [Applause,.] He did not mean t
insinuate any miscutiduct on tie: part of the Learn-
ed Judge, or to question the rectitude of his in-'
tinitions ; and he had no doubt that he give a
very conscientiuus Charge, but he lamented that
he should have omitted to notice some part of the
Bvidenee. lie feared his Lordship had con tided too
Much to Ms memory. lie, Mr. W. had taken a close
and even suspicious view of the conduct and
reeler of Cul. W. ; but lie euuld see nothing that
did nit raise him in his estimation. It was upon
the broad public ground that th,.. country ought
not to expect any man to drag forward such no-
toriees delinquents, and lay himself open to the
must wicked and cruel persecutions, to the injury
of his own private fortune, that he called upon
that Meeting and the country at large to support
Col. %Vail*, who, in his opinion, was now inure
than veer entitled to the praise of every honest
man in the country.
'rim first Resqlution was then read, and carried
without a dis.enting voice.
Mr. WAITIIMAN again rose and said, that
with notch pleasure he had to inform the Meeting,
of having just seen a letter from Worcester, an-
nouncing that the zeal of the inhabitants of that
respectable City had anticipated the object of the
Meeting, by opening a Subscription last week,
upon the very principle of that which they had I
now met to consider. The City of Worcester
bad the honour of setting an example, which he
trusted would ho immediately followed by every
city, town, and village in the Uuitcd Kingdom.—
[f:`ery great applause for same minutes.]
Mr. JUN Es observed, that he should have felt
himself as neglecting a must important duty, were
he to omit expressing his sentiments on the oc.
cation for which they were met. The conduct of
Colonel Wardle had been marked by the strictest
honour stud integrity. A Gentleman had said, that
he is wild not call in qiiestioe the decision of a Jury,
or the can sludge; it was know'', however,'
that the History of England established the right
of the people to comment on whatever evi-
deuce had been subruitted in a Court of Justice.
lie cummented with much force on the late trial
in the Court of Kiug's Bench, and concluded by
signifying his intention to add his mite to the ge-
neral subscription. It wuold be, lie said, aguinea,
nut the rags of Threadneeille-strect, but one of
those,. a British guinea, which, like British spirit,
seettied.to have miraculously vanished out of vale-
ta{