Devon And Exeter Pitt Clu...
The Times, 1824-09-28T00:00:00

(From the Bleslrj's Exeter IVews.) A nmeeting of this club took place at the hotel, in this city, on Sa- turdav-+e. i18;t; inst. About five o'clock nineteen persons sat tdown to dbst4 being all the friendis and adherents wthiCh thc Pittasystern coi' 'atster in the county of Devon and the citv of Exeter ; that is, aui who could be broughit to think it was wortih while to support these principles at the expensc of a dinner ! fa(deed, had it noe happened by s ome fortunate accident that Lord iRolle joined tiem, It tioes not appear probable that there would have been any dinner at all ! It wf ill surpri:;e our readers the less, perhaps, when they learn that the Mtayor of Exeter wvasin the chair, and. however this might have operated upon the companv, it certainly was most appropriate to place the Mllayor of Exeter in ihe chairof the Pitt club, in its pre. sent state, because itentbled hhistobe in atthe death! Itis also uprpo.s shat onc ef the chgnmber of this anciont and loyal citv should come in at the fag conl of a rotten club, to prop up the rottent systemr of the '" Pilot that weathered the storm." Nothing couli be more com- lilete. in thle representative of the Chamsber of Exeter may be seen the repreicmativo of the Pitt system in miniature: while one weas squandering the property of the people abroad in useless wars, thle other wvas endcavAouring to evince their devotion to the saine rauSe by holding Courts at Proadclist ! Vhile tOne Chamber of Exeter were careless about the provision for the orphan and the Widow at hoMe, thc Pi!t system wr,s cereful to produce them in plenty, for the glory ot God, abroad. Wi'hiie the Pitt system was filling the moulths and the pockets of the pious anrd the'loval, tite Chamber of Exeter laid claim to the possession of all the loyalty in the city, ant held the public purse to helong to tiemislves, for " thefr ov:n proper use and benefit." W'hile the Pitt system was contetidiig for what it called the Altar and the Throhoe, the Chamber of Exeter maintained roundly, that they were one or th:c other, or both. They forn altogether a comnplete tr o: the Pitt System, the Pitt Ctib, aid the thamber of Exeter ! All thtree mnich in the ~aale state. worn out-rotteni_fit only to be I hrownin ito tihe famnily vault " of ll the cipulets." The Piht system spent the pe-ipke's nioney without remorse, and contracted a debt t iat never caln be paid. Thic Pitt club, io humble imiitation of its presiding zenius, hait also otitracted a del)t, wvlich is nittc in the sanlie predicamsent; and the fhamnher of Exeter, as fit companions for P.tt systems anti Pitt clubs, have also their debt, which will never be pAid, even :i the wh!l* bo-ly cirporate Wvere lut up to the hainmer. Wlhether we I.sok at the Pitt syCtem, the Pitt club, or the Chamber of' Exeter, we see a company that ought not to have parted witlonut singing the glee ii Maclblreth, " wvhen shall we tltrec meet again." I t certainly was a meeting.a unlion ni' spirits wvhich cannot occur again eeatlil'. But what would the hisgh-spirited, the domnticering, thelofty, William IPitt saV, could hle lok fromtdhc tomb, arndseehitpecteru(iedi suippo)rters tit.er henouring bis mattes? W'e can picturetoourelvashisgatiunt tigure,with his piercingproboscis, andthe clark mtlignant scowl ei the reneeado, threatening with all the pow- ers oflhis eloquence to pour oit his wrath upon the heads of his pjeudo friends ! llle v lie wouldi exert the thunders of his tongue at seceing Itis cause 1elt irn such hands as our Pitt Club ! And bow piiietly he isvpild retie to the sienccoof the grave to finid that lhis " cha-acter is w well known as to need no remark," even from the M4iavor of Exeter ! Hlow sweetly he changes ring upon this leashi ofincurablees:-The Pitt sy5tem s'pports thli corporations, the corporations supmport the Pitt clubs; the Pitt clubs supqort the corporations, the corpora- tions sutppoirt ile Pitt system ! n fact, they may aptly be termed a Trinity in Uiti _listinct. yet the same ; having thc same grand object in vicw.-th2t of making the multitude labour for the tew. 'Thc mecetine wass exceedingly dull, not a man among them} daring to av:ow that the system they worship is the onTly one that is right and! proper. There were ino rectors of Lapford to anathemnaulse better nmen than hinselF because titev differed with hirn in opinion. All seem-d at fault. The wine was drank, the nuts were cracked, while a mosnt chi'ly silence prevailed throughout the company. The at- tempts at a cheer were emnplete,a,ortions: in short, all was " flat. stale, and unprotitable." rLord Rolle rc tired early, and the rest of thc cormpany s0on went to sleep. ,ctramusit gloria mutdi-Piti anl(. Co. DE VON' AND AXRTER PITT CLUB.