The Statesman.
London, England, 1810-01-26 00:00:00

now, if we could but bring back. thiegs to th.
situation which they were in at the time the
original dispute took place about the °penis
of the Scheldt ! How happy would we j
if Ale could bring back France to what was rill
utmost extent of her ambition under her eig
Monarchs, or in her Republican times— Ole howl.
darks of the Rhine toil the Alps ! Huw happy
would we think it, if we could go back to th
time before Bonaparte resolved to make himself
master of the Spanish Peninsula ! How happy if
we could be brought back to the period of the
Peace of Amiens, or to the time before we Welt,
that Treaty on false practices ! The Minister au,
der whom that Treaty
.bad been signed, and ult.
der whom it had been broken, had been since tie.
sated to 'the Peelhge : but he believed that the
country had cause deeply to repent the breskisg
of that Treaty. In all those transactions which
had taken place since the year 1993, there vas
not only a 1)1.0,00 waste of the treasures of the
country, but of its honour alio. • We had heard
on the last night, of Igtrren laurels (an expel.
sion of Mr. Canning). Ile must, however, be
leave to say, that true laurels are seldom barren;
and if the laurels now said to be obtained wets
barren, blame must attach goinee here. Ministers
had confessed that there was no fault to be found
with the army in Spain ; that consummate skill was
displayed by the commanders, and cousinviestt
courage by' the troops. If such be the case,
the blunts must light ',pen themselves, far seal.
in.; such an army to places where it was impel.
sible gain any important success.. There
were many otter evils grown -up of late
rests, destrectice to the rights, liberties, and pri.
vil sof Englishmen. Of these he would goes.
as amuse; the must dangerous to the liberties
of the people, the building of barracks all user
the land ; the occupying military stations; buts
above all, the power which the Crown now ae;
sumed of introducing, at its pleasure, foreign seer.
cenaries into this country. But what sort of
mercenaries was it that Were latelyintrodueed into
this country ? The corps of the Duke of Bruns.
wick, which had been stigmatized by the Archduke
Charles in his General Orders, previous to the bit.
tie of Wagrusn. England wants nomads defenders as
these. The next evil which occurred to him wasobe
practice of inflicting secret and solitary imprisoe.
meet, as a punishmeat for offences against the Go.
'eminent. In all the inventions of despotic
power, there was nothing more odious, more
dreadful to consider, or more likely to break the
spirit of men,,thast a long 'period of solitary cese
' fineesent. Ho cunt& hardly conceive any thing
more hurtful in the whole range of 'despotism, and
yet this was an evil which was nowpermifttel to
'exist ,in this country. Considering then the n.
tent of oift foreign calamities and disgraces, and
of our domeitic evils and oppressions, it did au.
pear to him, that the insult lately offered to the
City 'of London, • iu the esercise of the un•
doubted right of Eugliehmen; null the privi.
icier of that great and autient city, ought to be
felt by all the people of Etiglaud, as an at.
tack made by his Majesty's Ministers on sit On
remaining privileges which Kiaglithmen cui,low
, cedes. The City of London had, in the late ie.
stance, spoken, the voice of the people of- Eng.
land, cud therefore the different couuties euglit
II lb es to unite-themselves hs the satac Geese; fat if
the King was never to be informed of the grim.
antes of his people, but through the polluted m.o.
ilium of his Ministers, . who hate an .interest
slitting ih voice of the people; thee could be no
'lo2ee of their grievances:being fiver redressed.
When it was considered for what a great length of
tiine this country had been ruled by a hi:limiest
Sovereign, whose reign was constantly usifortuoite
*:..who was every sliest s.ive year of his lung slip,
compelled to regret the necessity of imposing frees
burdens upon his people, some would attribseeiltis
constant course. of misfortuiin to so:ne inalignant
star which ruled ft the period of his aecesslue.
It was riot, however, necessary for the Members
4.641 Assembly to look to any start, btat only
to themselves. It was there', and on the door of
that roans, that ho saw the organiz,il Causes of all
the calamities and evils which afflicted sad op.
,•
pressed this country—it was there• be saw that
tree, under whose shade no salutary plant would
thrive. The fruits of that tree were bitteraess
and grief to the People of England. He had
high authority for saying, that it was fair to
:judge of the tree by the fruit ; and ". thit the
tree which beareth nut good fruit should be
1. hewn down." It was the corraption which
I struck its root in that room and assembly,
which had brought, anti which continued to
bring, so many evils, upon this country. It
was that which deitroyed our national Ismer
abroad, by its interference with our artly,asid Davy.
The principle being once established; that.the Mi-
nister must get by some means or other is majoilty
in'that Mouse, was the cause that our honour eras
sureladried- -tes Ahe enemy, ussit'oesqusiiple si
pressed by the toad of taxes. This corruption,
taialcfm was the 'WO of all' our misfOrtunes; he
should constantly oppose. It had beekformerly
urged by a Roman Senator, in every discussiun,
That " Carthage must be destroyed." This saying
had been sometimes applied by France to this
country. Ile had the same opinion of the neces-
sity of Reform as the Roman Senator had of " the •
destruction of Carthage," and therefore must
again and again recur to this topic, whenever the
great interests of the country were discussed in that
Assembly.' It was to Parliamentary Reform that
he looked to remedy all our evils, and heal the suf•
ferings of this injured people.
Mr. YORKE
, said, that before he proceeded to
observe on the topics urged by fke Honourable
Baronet, he should request to call the alienti
of the house to the terms ho used through air
whole course of it. The Honourable Baronet had
never addressed or alluded to them as the House
of Commons; but he had always called that House
" this Room," or " this Assembly," by which.
he would seem to infer, that they were not the
Representatives of the People; and the Honour.
-able Baronet had but one bturilit n to his song, for
he began and ended with the' same position, tbst•
it was necessary to have a reform in Parliament;
that was) he (Mr. Yorke) supposed) a systematic