The Statesman.
London, England, 1821-01-19 00:00:00

RE.YT COUYTY MEKTING.

lllatorroxv, JIPI. I,%.—The refusal of the High
Sheriff of the county of Kent to rally cannty meeting
wily served to excite a more than ordinary ard.orr to
meet, and to discuss the sulijerts proposed in the re-
quisif to the High Sheriff. Very early this morn-
ing all the public roads into Ilaidstone were crowded
with gentlemen's carriai rs. postchailes, and tillers
and long before tit dre, the lomr appointed for thr
meetinw, the street in front of the Town-hall etas ex-
' cessively crowded with rvntlemen impatient to have
lan opportunity of expressing their feelings as free-
holders of the county of Kent. Before the thous were
regularly opened, a 7,reat number had coa:riveil to
Make their way into the hall, and when the 111111 r%
were opened the crush was more violent that we nir
observes' on any occasion whatsoever. lltich anxiety
peas generally estrressed to adjourn into the open Air.
but it wa4 at oti..e repressed by the cireaor•t once that
a ‘alfiejent nans'Aer of .Magistrate. had n ,t signed the
requisition to entitle theirs to wee in the open air.

•
TZcii~llan or tounties in EnglUnal- had been as-
sembled to ileliberais on the state of affairs. All this
proved, that when they called on the High Slieri,ito
hold a counts meeting, they had tort acted on light
grantual. It was mot inconceivable from the Sheriff's
politics, who the major part of this respectable county
were. 'ibis major part thought that public meetings
were not the places fur public business, but holes
and ens ners.—(Langlater.)—lle held in Isis hand an
address from the major part of the county of Kent.
It hail nut been presented to a public meeting, but it
was published fur signatures. mi. Noble Lord here
read the address from public print ; and the loudest
burst of law:liter followed such phrases as the sapping
of religion, the devotion of life anal fortune, anal the
refutation of tied for their guide, defeating all their
enemies.") This address was sent forth by lie knes
nut whom, lint it was not signed, Al it ought to have
heel), with a raw head and Woolly bones.—(Loud
cheers.) If the evils alluded to in that distress were
the only evils felt by the country, he should cnlc have
to came ratailate them ; but far otlyr evils which re-
quired the best energi,s of the nation to grapple
with, w ere hanging heavily on the country. (Applause.)
lie had read to thew the address of West Kent.
Ile would now read to them the address of the re-
speck:l4e p.rt of E :st Kent. note who signed it
were all magistrates. Ile therefore regretted extre:ne-
ly that none of them were there to explain some parts
of their a hires,. 'they complained of a systematic
circulati, n of 111.1s:die:nous and seaitions publications.
What slid tiler mean ? They were in the habit of at•
tending the quarter sessions. lie should nice to hi sr
souse proof of suds a circulation iu this county.
(1.0u.1 applanse ) There was not oat insti.ace of a
prosecution its that county fur a puhlieatioo.
lie would tell them why the words " blasphemous sad
nen. ill the address. '!'her were seat to
thesis frmis another ',bee: and hav;ne heard that
blasphemy :Lad sedition existed, the magistrates of
Kent have the !r coofirtaation a' !I* they it to be
true. (tireat applause ) What h-- tel to was,
that they hail asserted not only what was false, but
what was esleulated to deceive and tr. cheat. (Loud
cheers.) But the addl.! sses of both the sets of
loyal and respectable gentlemen proved the pro-
priety of their reqnisition to the High Sheriff.
Cotton- meetings stare as touch a part of the con-
stitution as the two houses of parliament. The
church au I tire King were parts of the c0r....;•-ltion,
but not the wily parts. The popular part was neither
the least important nor the least valuable. (Applause.)
Ile therefore called upon the.Eaglisli fletitlemen to
stand by that liberty, for (to site the worz:s of li!ack-
stoue), the protection of the l'berty of their country is
a duty which they owe to themselses who enjoy it, to
those Ancestors who tratismitte I down, and to their
posterity, who will claim at their /MIMS, this, the best
him brig lit and mildest inherit ince of tuankind.—(Ap-
pletnse).....liut he tell ) feared or despised tite people
was ineoutpetetat to the performance of this sacred
duty. After an iiiipres.ite history of the sufferings
of the queen, the Noble Lord o!,-4ervcd, that although
N. 1111.• Noble ',mils who votes' ag::inst- the Hill of Pains
awl Penalties declared the iletern Eni/tv, there were
tosalay who voted frr that 1111 U, without any

regard to her gnilt or innocence, were anxious only to
get rid, as a certain Ministerial Paper stated, whether
as a criminal or as a martyr. But the Queen was, in
his conscience he believed, perfectly innocent, and
was therefore entitled to those rights of which Mini•-
tere would have totally deprived her, if they eoul.l*
have passed the 113111 of Pains an:l Penalties ; but, be
trusted those Ministers woult! be turned out of office,
and Parliamentary Reform, to which he was always
a strenuous friend, would be carried, in order to guard
against the visitation of any such Ministers in future.
Mr. BROCKMAN seconded the Address, which was
carried by a show of hands, only our being held up
against it.
t Mr. Howywoon rote to move a Petition to the
House of Crinintons, en the subject of the gueen.pray-
ing that her Majesty might be restored to the enjoy.'
ment of her full rights and privileges. He was then
lin the presence of a part of his constituents, and it is
prevented from seeing them all face to face, because'
the High Sheriff, in his discretionary wisdom, did nut
think fit to allow them an opportunity of appearing
in such numbers as must hare been expeete,l, hat
sanctioned their assembling according to the purport
of the requisition. This was the reason, and the only
one which prevented Lira from fa;ing, on this occasion.
the whole body of his constituents, of a 13,01, although
that ball was then crowded des ond pr,tceJent, it was
capable of comaining lint a stn.:ll put. Diet wore
times come to this, that the !Egli SLeriff shottill desig-
nate as a seditious Meeting tie ft-N., unfettered assetits
blage of the "Alen of Kent," to express their hot,est
opinions upon public affairs. at the most itrporfatl
crisis which had ever dawned 1111111 this country ? For
his own part he should never sh :nk from any op?orto-
nity of expressiag his opinion upon tit,. late vicious a.. 1
seandalutts proceedings it the house of!tottl,,
the mole they were :toady-51.d, the more they excit..l
a just isolignation and amipathy. lie considered rise
DPI of Pains and Penalties, at first sight, wire-
cessary and odions, tut the (nether cousitleration
it raked that feeling to abliorreece.--(Cheers.)—lt
was trite, that the Minister of the Crown had ssi Is
that the pro.nnlings, which they sad all honest men
reprobated, were necessary for the maintenance
support of the morals of the Countr?; for he con' '
net see what advantage could be derivable; eithi•rlis
the Crown or the routtnenity, from the offer whicli
Ministers had made her Majesty, if the vindicatiou
of the interests of either was any thing but a pro-
text ; was it necessary., he would ask, for the honour
of the Crown, or the morals of the people, that the
Queen, if really such a women is Ministers had repre-
.- • 4 41—
rented ner to he, should
.risomine_ an anneui • sous of • ,
bfr,lWPfrt. frofnThis country, along with a plenary it:-
.diligence to sin on as she pleased, anJ to make her-
self as happy as possible in a state of unbridled lieen-
tiansness.—(Hear, hear!) ?----The Honorable member
then adverted t 3 the conduct of Ministers in prorogu-
ing Parliament without the observance of the accus-
tomed and decent formality of thanking the House of
Cumitious for the Styptics. There was noth:tig, he
said, to shew that the Crown was really itif•rimal of
the bounty of Parliament The County was ignorant
whether it had really reeeived the supplies vote.!..---
(Hear, bear could not con.litde without -
lug One word about a set of men, some of whoa' werc
to be found in that and every other ccuott.. These
men thought, or pretended that they were more loyal
than others ; but the fact was, that they arrogat d to
themselves an elt'llisiVe till* to loyalty, which they
neither uuderstosid or practised. Ile (Mr. Holly-
wood) believed his own loyalty to he the better o: the
ttr;, who; while he gave to his King all the rights
and the deference due to him, d••foitled the rights and
interests of himself and fellow.subjeves from le•truction
or encroachtuent.---(11..ar believe!) that true
lovo.1:y did not Mean sublervieti.e to Ministers, hot a
faithful attachment to the honor and integrity of the
Crown and Constitution.—(Cheers.)—He concluded by
assuring the a.,-embly, that hr would not only present
their Petition to the House of t;onamons, bat would its
his place support it, and hoped he should have the
aid of his honorable Colleagne----(ilear and langli-
ter.)-- -.rise question was then about to he put, when
Mr. L.%UIN rose to deliver his opinions, and en-
tered into a lengthened view of the state of the na-
tion, and the conduct of Ministers, in order to prove
that the only effectual remedy for the grievsmTs
of which the country complained, was Iteinim in
Parliament.
The Petition was then tooted and startled unani-
nionaly.
Mr. Hon vteoon neared a similar Petition to the
House of Lords, which was also carried unanimously.
Mr. RT;,KR proposed a petition to the House of Com-
mons on the subject of the Agricultural Distresses of
the Country.
Mr. Fuo rt seconded the motion, anti took occasion
to observe, that lie did nut look to any effectual re-
medy for such a state of this as existed at resent, ex-
cept a reform in Pariialtient, as it was not Ilse
object aif the meeting, be %%mild not have alluded to,
had it out been previously brought before the notice
of the meeting ; but, whatever his opinions on that
subject might he, his hornet ',Tykes 'Tonld be alwa}s
at t'i • coninisnil of his col .0-..--(Applmv/p.)
The Petition was then tinned and carried, with only
the oppo-ition of the individual who had before singly
opposed the sense of the meeting, and W'AO we undei-
stood to be a Mr. Purvis, a Liettteoant on half-pay.
Lord THANST proposed the followior resolution,
which was carried with unanimous and fervent ap-
plause:—

" That in the opinion of this meeting, the High
Sheriff, in refasint: to convene the county in confor-
mity with a requisition mutt nutner,usly and rt.-
apectably signed, has neither acted with the respect
he owcs to the county, nor cunsisteetly with the daty
which his situation impses on him, which we tea-
-1 ceive by no means authorise, his arrogating to Itito- •
iserf the powcr of judging of the sense of the county a ,