The Statesman.
London, England, 1821-10-27 00:00:00

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been long' enough a public character, nor 4,3,1,,
L such gurioeur sertrie to his country, as toqii pi,.
title him to the tha $ of that" Court, arof the fret,
dim) of the City.

Mr. GRIPVITIIS supported the motion. A
plain undeistanding, II
amid the Worthy De
0r00.4
never utter such things as he had heard f.:11•
ia
Hon. Member who had just sat dawn. • 'Ms •tu ti
t
He could not conceive upon what grounds h • 4 Nos
Member could oppose a Vute of Thanks to such 4 I:
as Mr. Hume, who bad deserved to well of the tot
try. He knew no man more entitled to the thank,;
the country. Mr. Hume had stood almost alone, std
had laboured with indefatigable perseverance in et,
posing the extravagance of Ministers, and prounotio• -
retrenchment and public economy. No man more so',
no man half so much. Ills labours were worth 4 dooq.
elaborate orators. They only spoke in favour a si;
form ; he, by his exertions, was bringing it abost
Mr. T. N. WILLIAMS asked whether it was the lines.
t ion of the Worthy Member to follow up his !notion for
a vote of thanks by a motion for conferring the free*
of the City ?
Mr. FAY eta. replied, that it was certainly his la
tention, if his first motion 'ere carried, to loos
that the freedom of the city be conferred upon Ur,
Hume ; in what particular manner, whether ie
box of gold, or of heart of oak, -he sliouid lean
to the Court.
Mr. 'l'. N. Wintesats said, that as this was oio
case, he should certainly oppose the motion. He A
admit•ed that a considerable degree of praise was
due to Mr. Hume, but he could not go the whoa
length Igf the measure. It was extremely easy
find fault with Administration, and to call upon
them for a reduction of the public expenditure;
but if they went into sweeping retrenchment, whemo,
he would ask, could the Soya reign plate his finger
to reward his meritorious servants? He knew No.
thing of Mr. Hume, and had no wish to disparage
him, but it appeared to him extremely probabli •
that he did not go to very pure sources for his in
formation. How, indeed, could be obtain it, but
from discharged clerks and serrates of the difu.
ent public offices? The Worthy Member was pre
reeding to arraign the conduct of a Member of iue
Council, whom he accused of wasting the mosey
of the Corporation, and assembling u jnota for the
purpose of carrying a particular object, when he
was interrupted by loud cries of order!"
Mr. Alderman Warrumax rose to order. It vu
the paramount duty of every member to uphold the
honour acid dignity of the Court. He had seen with
sorrow, for he was not present at the last Coart,the
account of the disgusting proceeding which Lad takes
place on that occasion, and he thought even the Woo
thy Gentlein .n must have felt some shame at reading
the report of his own language in the newspapers.
Mr. 'l'. N. WILLIAMS said he would not be deuna
f.ow that line of conduct by any statements no the
newspapers. lie eepcated that the Worthy Member to.
whom he alluded had called upon the Council to veto
away a sum of motley, and at the Sallie time nubbin&
the thanks of the Court to Mr. Waitliman. He should
oppose the motion, because he conceived the object of
Mr. Hume's parliamentary conduct was inure to haua
per the wheels of Government than to do good to his
Mr. Alderman WAIIIIMAN began by obsereiretem
it had been said, that the object of Mr. Hume's thee
sures was to deprive the public servants of those else
lumenta to which their labours had justly entitled
them. Now, for his part, he gave Mr. Hume credit for
just and honorable motives ; but it was enough for kin
to know tloht he had acted beneficially for the public;
and w !miller his motives were good or bad, he (Mr.W.)
as an individual, was equally obliged to bins. Same
observations bad been made upon Lord Camden's re-
tinquishmett of elsoneasolunients of his Ate; bat,
whatever might be the merit of that relinquishwest,
it should be recollected ,that it was preceded la
many Petitions of that Corporation, complaiuing if
the wasteful expenditure of the public money, aid
by complaints of distress from all parts of the king-
dom. A public benefit, however, was derived Iron
Lord Coroden's resignation of the emoluments of his
Tellership, and a 'public acknowledgment was his
due. With regard to the political conduct of Me
Hume, he was not a mere partisan, upholding the
interests of a particular party ; but he bad taker
that painful, laborious course. which no man thateo,
tered the walls of Parliament had ever taken before.
He had himself been an eye witness of some of his
exertions, and he had eta the base attempts which
had been made in the house of Commons to ridicule
him and put him down. It was not by the impression
which he made within the walls of the house that bit
labours had succeeded ; no, it was his rigid twist-
lion of the finances of the country, and his exposure
of the extravagant expenditure of the public mosry
that had made an impression upon the public mild,
and at length compelled the House to give hint a re*
luctant hearing. It was not in great debates, in which
a splendid but useless display of talent was wally
made, that Mr. Hume bad signalised himself; he had
taken an humbler walk, but one which was infinitely
more beneficial to his country, by sitting night afar
night„.and investigating with patient and itairearlili
perseverance every item of the public expenditure un-
til the eyes of the public were opened, and Parliament
ous
was at length induced to take the subject into
consideration. Let the public then stand np for
serithil
man, for unless they shewed that they approved of the
conduct of able and disinterested public men, and ire"
determined to uphold them, there would be no chance
of effecting a redaction of our expenditure, or of !I'
medying the grievances under which the country la.
%loured. Notwithstanding all the opposition whir!
Mr. Hume had met with, after all the attacks tbitn
had been made upon his private character, and Its
former situation in life, he still continued- to per'
severe in his useful labours, until be compelled
reluctant Administration to come forward and adopt
.
time very proposition which he had subunit:
to Parliament without success. Could any alas be.
credulous as really to believe, that if he had nal P.r'.
severed in calling for Papers and Committees of lo'
quiry, his Majeety's, Ministers or Mr. Hanks naplu
have brought forward a proposition for retrene
bisest
as an amendment upon Mr. Hume's motion, or that"
air. name's motion had been shaped in press the
saute terms as that of Ministers, it would bare boa
adopted by them ; As to great political debstra .
ig te
the House of Commons, they were worth sot
to ascrsega
the people; the object of them was merely