Southwark Dinner.
The Times, 1824-06-23T00:00:00

The Sixth-Anniver.sary Dinner in celebration of Sir Robert Wil. son?s return to Pa-rliament for the boroagh of Southwtrk, took place vesteidav, at -the florns Tavern, Kemnington. Sir R. WkLSON, l. P., wzas in the chair, supportedl on his right by Sir F. Burdett and Mr. Lambtou; and on his left by MIr. Ilobhonse. The rest of the room was principally filled by the electors of Southwark. After the cloth was removed, the Chal man gave " The King, and may he never tbrget his own declaration_' that the crown was held in tirutfor the people.' "-.A free and unshackled press,a sure safteguard Froid tyranny and opprcssion."-_' A full, fair, and equal re'presentation of the people in Parliament." AIr. WVEATnERSTONE, in a complimentary speeli, ptoposed the.health of Sir tobert Wilson. He congratulated the electors on their gallant iepresentative's strict adherence to his principles, par- ticularly to thoud oT teform, ana of the rights and privileges of the subject. Amongst the various measures discussed iR the course of the present session of Parliament, there were several which afrected tnese nghits and privileges, all of which Sir Robert had strenuously opposed; but his speech upon the alien bill, in particular, did his principles and his talents the greatest honour. They had not the pleasure of his presence at their last anniversary; a call ha.T been made upon him by the Constitttional Government of Spain, which he feltithis duty to obey; and if hehad not succeeded in accomplisli- .ng the object most near to his heart, it was owing to no faulton his part_he failed neithet from atny want of pcrsonal exertion, nor from any want df personal valeut, of which he had given abundant proof (eheets) batt ils object was defeated by tteasons concocted br men who wiere att the head of the very Government. which he haa gone over to succour. Ile (Mlr. Weatherstone) wouldI not attempt to de. tail the iarious sufferings he had undergbne; they weresuiicierit to harrow up the soul nor Wvere those leWs ev~ee which he endured of a domiestic natire. He thefefore posgessed po*erful claitn8 upon them (the e ectois% for their exertions in the event of a futiure contest rendering them neccessary; and as a short period would now elapse before we had a general election, they would do well to hold thernselves in readiness to engage in tile contett, should one take place. ffe concluded by proposing " The health of Sir Robert WVilson, our gallant and intrepid representative, whose ser. vices in the defence of freedom entitle him to the respect of his countrymen." (Load applause.) Sir R. WVitsow got upon the tablc amidst loud cheering. He had ever, he said, contldered these.atlnikersaries as festivals not alone intended ttn celebrate successful clecdont, bit also to allow the representativesan opportuiiitv of taking a full review of their politics and their conductin the preseice oftheir constituents. He should there- fore advert to his absence on the last anniversary, not because he took an active part in the transactions which were then going forward, but because they withdrew him from his Parliamentary duty. Ever since he had known the borough of Soutbwark, he had professed himself to be the friend of reform, and of civil andreligious liberty, not only in every paTt of the empire, but in every part of the world. (Cheers.) If, therefore, his going out to Spain as a volunteer were to cause asv injurious feeling against him, he knew he should have found a de,ender in the person of everv free and honourable man. But he left his country under peculiar circumstratices t propositions wete made to hint; which; after the prlnciplip he had professed, he could not have declined *ithout eovering himself wlth disgrace and infiuay. Before hl left this country, he received a proposition to take the command of the army in Portugal, amounting to 30,000 nien, and backed by the p6pulation of the country and alsoi to or- ganize and disdpline an European corps of 10,000 men, which weie Lu act in a certain specineti way. Notwithstanding all that had passed, he (Sir Robert Wilson) would still ventltre to affirm, thsat if the projects then proposed to hitm had becn carried into execu- tion, thle Invasion beyond the Ebro never woald have taken place. In acceding to those propositions, the only stipulation he made was, that the Government of Spain were to have the ftil command over him, and the army under him, and that he was neverto receive a shilling from the Spanish Trea- sury. Cheers.) He was not esponsible for the circumstances that rendered his efforts unavailing; it waS notnecessary to explaia them here, particularly as he could not do so without accusing others, who were now sufflring from the effects of their errors. ISe made great and disinterested t:crifices upon that occasion, but he was only able to reach Oporto at the timb when that revolUtion took place, at the head of wlich was the Royal chief who had lately at- tempted to dethrone his father l and It was not until the 14th of June, on the eve of the battle of Corsitiita, tlathe received any authority; but it was then nugatory, as they did not possess a single place of refuge, or a post for organization. If he had then consulted his own feelings, he would have returned to his native country ; but so long as a hope remairied, he was determined to keep his engagements; and therefore, notwithstanding his unwarrant- able treattnent and detention in Portugal, lie did not go to Cadiz until there was no Ionger any other pltace open to him; and from there he weut to Gibraltar, where he procured an asyluia for some of the unfortunate Constitutionallsts,which lie was happy to say had since been preserved tO tHemntrnmoleited. Upon his return home, an attempt was made to degrade him. He brought the matter forwvard in Padfamen; they (the electors) were aware of the liberal feelings that wereexpressedtowardshirn--feelingsthat,whilst theyconferred an ho- nourupon bim, also did honour to thoseswboconferred it, considering that hewasthtir political adversaty.hewould not sayenemy, for he hoped he had never been the enemv of any man. He now hoped that his conduct met with their approbation. (Loud cheers.) His opinion on the necessity of teform still remained unchanged. He adtmitted tliat vv enjoyed as miich freedom of discussion, and as much securltv of person and property, as any dthdr nation In Eu- rope; and heknew that many individuals thought that tve blight to be satisfied with the b essings we enjoyed, and leave good alone: but it was our duty to secure these blessings ; and besides, it seemed to him that there was still much to be done. The poor Irishman, for instance, could not be said to be in a state of beatitude; neither were the West Indies as they ought to be. WVe oughtnot, therefbre, to testor ourarms. Reform would give a spe- C< aRse,bo*njho v lereacnt. ,bat it would be the onmut, was the state in which a people ought to .be. (HeaF4bear .)H Hwas a friend to that plag of reform suggested by his friend MIr. Lambton, and of which Sir F. Burdett professed himself the friend at the late anniversary dinner at VI'estminster. He wvas satisfied of the increas- ing respeci for constitutional principles whieh prevailed on the conti- nent; as a proof of which he need only look to the news from Portugal that day. He was convinced it was also increas- ing in Spain; and he would mention an anecdote which he had lately learned. There were 2,000 Constitutional prisoners in the town of Liliidges, in Frante, ih which was also a chief whose tteason was the cause of his country's misfortunes. The Governor offercd to give any of these prisoners his liberty if he would wait upon this chief; but he could not find one amongst the whole 2,000 base enough to purchase his liberty by serving a traitor; (Lond cheers.) He next alluded to thb Greek cause, whichj he said, giusts upn dtlilltaty princdples, be triumnphant ; and lastly, to er, where they might observe the rapid progress of good government. He hoped that Southwark would follow the ex- ample of U estminster, Mlanchester, and other places in demanding from Ministers the recognition of her independence. After a few other observations, he concluded by saying, that they should never nd him, in his delining years, deserting his engagements or his dut,. (Long aund loLid appl2tise.) The CsAtrets next gave his lon. colleague, and mideh respect_ ed frIend, Charles Calvert, Esq. After which, he said it would be applying epithets to virtue if he were to meke any remarks upon the subject of the next toast, which was, "s That able, h'onest, and incontrovertible representative of the people, Sir Fr.ancis Batdett." L vnls toast was received with the greatest enthusiasm. Sir F. BitRjn?f masid, that beforc he ietii?tied thanks for the ho- noott conferred upon ini, he ought firs; to mention that an honour. able fiiend of his (S. Whitbread, ;sq.) woild have been here but for his faalt-jf it could be a fault not to have kniown sooner that he should not have been prevented by a motion 'hich he. was to have brought forward in the fftlbte ot Cdmmons that evefiing Fre (MIr. WIhibredte) Was then attending that motion in consequence of Dot havIng been apprised that it was to be aeferred. Their gallant chairuan had entered into a long and unnecessary (unneces- sary, so far as it *as intended for a justi-fcation) account of the 'cause o'f his absence last year. He wits fightig the bat.. tles of libtrty iR foreign countries, whilst they *eth fighting its battles at bome; and the enemies he bad to contend with abroad were tiot more dangerous to the principle they (the mneeting) wished toadviance, tban those they bad to encounter at home. (t{ear.) The warm manner in which th'ey had dranik his health slhbwed him that he (Sir r. Rardettj poss ed their cbnfS. dence, whith was tlieaest reward be coild ' receive for his ser; vices.l He thonght thegreat caiuse of reform would be advanced if Mr. bAmbton's plan were adopted by aill the reforniers. Whilst it gave efFec to their rights, it was sufficiently reasonable and mode- Tate; it seemed to havehit tbat hapiy medium, thatwhilst on the one hand it erdangeredthe sacrifice of no property, on the other, itgaveto thevoiceo 'thepeople a control over the ExecutiveGovernment(hear). He admnitted that tfe countryenjoved coniprative ease atpresent,to wltat it had for sotne years past; that was, wve were so accustomed to endjire what oftr Forefatbets netdr 4iptild have endured, that it made our present condition tolerable. But when they foisldered all the advantages the country possessed, it did not enjov that extenit of ra- tional liberty to which it was ettitle ;-neithet was it in thdtprospe- rous state in which it ought to be, for it was still suffering from the effects of that unfortunate war against liberty in France, which left a burden upon it tbtat was now considered ridiculous to think of ever remoVing, an lion; member actually observing in the House ofCom. monsanibhtor two ago;that you migbtsvwell thinkoa'bottling oiFthe Atl6anc Ocean as atofpaving oiff the nitinail debt. (Laughter.) So long as the House of Commons remained in its preseit sate of cor.: ruption, the voice of the people would never be heard or felt. (Hfear.I the Itonourable baronet concluded by assuring them that he wottidt ever persevere, so long as lie was able, in his humble exertions,until their rights were permanently fixed and established. (Long con. tinued cheering. I le next toast was, " John Cam Hobbouse, Esrj., the able de- fender of our public rights." (Loud aIplause.) iM'r. {13s1ro usE, in returning thanks, observed, that ifthe cause of liberty had not been successful in one quarter they had now to look forwrard to it in another quarter, to which we were indebted for all thedvilization'wepossesscd,andfor thathostimportantlesson,that without liberty there could beno civilizedsociety. He looked to(irecce with hopes increased by their failure in the other country, because there was something like afeeling in England, thatif all freedomn were extinguished on the continent, the relations and inteTests of thircoun. try could not be maintained. The hon. gent. next alluded to South America, andexpressed his regret that the petitions presented to Par- lianent for the recognition of the independence of those states had not been drawn up in another tone-that they had not founded their demand upon principles of freedom insteaa of commercial advan. tage. Ncither did he approve of the state papers of Mllr. Canning wich had been sor much lauded. Had they contained the emphatic words._.'-" we aredecermined to prevent your interference if we can," he thought it would barea done more *ervice and credit to the coun- try than all those" models of state papers." He then argued that England, could notrera herfreedom long, if she did not support the reedom of other nations. The hon. gentlenman sat downanmidst loud cheering. The CHAIRitA?k next proposed " Thehealth of .T G. Lamnbton, Esq., the zedlous and independentadvocate of public liberty." Mlr. LAMBTOW expressed his gratification at being present at this anniversary, and his regret that he nad been prevented byindisposi- tion from attendingthelast.lit was quiteneedless for hin, afterall they had heard,to address any words to them upon public topics;but becould notrefrain from making afewobservations upononesubject. His hon. friend (Sir R. Wilson) had said, that we enjoyed as such Efeedomn and security of person and propertyas any other nation in Europe. When he lonkeu at decisions proceeding from-specialiuries.- when he s.q4w men pumislled by judges who were a disgrace -to the bench (hcas) for expressing tteir epinion.-and when he recollected the ~ause for which his hIonourable friend near him (ISir F. 3urlett) was sentenced to imprisonment, he could not bring liianselft think that we possessed sufficient feedom ofdiscussion. Then as tosec.. rity of vroperty, when he saw that he miglit be taken into a court that resembled no otber coturt ever heard-- of,- but that i which tee ancients ascribed to the shades below (cheera)..-.tnd in l wvhichWthe judge who presided entertained eternal doubts upon every subject,hut his own emotumen-.s (loud cheer);-when he eaw that judge endeavouring to root out every feeling of independence from rsin (hear) ;ebe ofting,in theadirtriution oh habred up an l:orgsti thea n,_iberg of (hatin, pr tfe stributihn of ith bmiourse on extend them to such men as Nr. Brougham and M1r. IVlUHiAMas- when he saw such an irdividual at thc head of that court, ind knew that a man might be engaged in it by one suit fromn lis birth tohis death, he must may that lie saw no security for property. (Cieers.) And lastly, he must say that he saw nu security tor personal liberty inl a country where such an outrage could be offcred as that inflicted a few days ago upon Illr. O'Cuallaghan (hear, hear), who had been consigned to a dungeon by the magistr.3teg of Surrey. Of those magistrates he knew nothing at present; he had lately pur. chased a small freehold in the county, and he might know more of them hereafter: but thi he knew.that thrv had dasvraced the hench on which they sat. What had Air. O'Callaghan -done? Ile had chastised a person who tstried out to be a clergyman, for insulting ladies under his protection. To be sure, after the many occurrences he had heard of lately, he was not sur- prised at seeing gentlemen of that cloth manifest a dis. like towards ladies; but the gentleman who was with tbem would not have acted;with the spiritor feeling of a man if he had not done what he did. (Hear.) Andi for this he was treated most shamefully, He therefore repeated that there was not security for personal liberty. He (Ar. Lambton) would not travel over the globe after his honourable friends; he agreed in every other state- nent and prayer they had uttered, and expressed his sincere hope that his friend, to whorm ir. Hobhouse had alluded, (Lord Coch- rane) might be restored to those honours which he had so nobly won, arnd he (Mr. Lambton) believed in his heart, had never tarnished. We might find his services valuable in the event of anotlier maritime war for no man could wield the tbun- ders of War with greater effect. (Continued cheering.) The follow- ing toasts were then given :-` S. C. Whitbread, Esq., and the Refor.ners of Middleasex ," *The Right Hon. Lord Cochrane ;" " Civil and Religious Libertv all over the world;" "Alderman Wood, and the reformners of the city pf Lodon " "lJoseph Hume, Ecq,., the inderhtigable exposer of public abuses ," "The Hon. H. G. ~Bennet, Esq., and the Reformers of Shrewebury;" " The Stewvards." Air. WEATHERSTONE returned thanks on behalf of the Stew- ards, after which, Sir R. WILSON, having again briefly addressed the electors. withdrew. Sir F. Burdett, Mr. Lambton, and Ir. Elobhouse hai been pireviously obliged to go away. Mr. WILSON took the chair for the remainder of the evening. . SOUT-HWARKDINArLE-R.