enforced the necessity there was of encouraging such men at this time. He then passed to the mention of a gentleman who stood in a near relation to them, and who had been throughout the firm supporter of Mr. Wardle, namely, Charles Shaw Lefevre, Esq.; their worthy and valuable representative. He observed, that on this occasion Mr. Shaw Lefevre had not imitated the example of many members (well meaning members perhaps) of the House of Commons, who had put their invention to the rack, and tortured and abused the good plain English tongue, in order to make nice shades and distinctions of criminality, and placed the Duke as a connoisseur does a fine picture, first in this light, then in that light, now on this wall, now on that wall, in order to adjust the Duke exactly to his right situation; but had uniformly voted for every motion which tended either directly, or indirectly, by charge or insinuation, to attach guilt upon the late Commanderin-chief. With respect to the general system of corruption which prevailed, were he to attempt to detail the mischiefs of it, the sun would sooner go down than he could finish the catalogue. He farther observed, that such must be the complete success of the present spirit of the peo❤ ple, that he would venture to predict, that in patriotic festivals it will be a standing toast with - posterity, "Thanks to the Virtues of Lord Chatham, and to the Vices of Lord Castlereagh." Mr. Henry Marsh then seconded the resolutions, in a speech where the most powerful argument was enlivened with the most happy sallies of good humour and pleasantry. We were met together, he said, to exert the undoubted right of Englishmen, and return our sincere thanks to a true ancient Briton, for having, by his firm, manly, and persevering conduct, been the means of disappointing a grand Duke who held a high station in the State, of which the great majority of the people thought him unworthy. He then expatiated at some length on the many difficulties Col. Wardle had to cope with, and paid his tribute of applause to Lord Folkstone, whom he described as an ornament to the country, a resident freeholder in this county, and he would he were something else for the county. He observed that the Duke had been very fortunate in that he had met with several friends, who had kindly taken a considerable weight of infamy from his shoulders, and placed it on their own. He said His Royal Highness's managers reminded him of the treatment of Gulliver at the court of Lilliput, who, they would all remember, had extinguished a fire in the queen's palace, by a process wholly subversive of a fundamental law of the land; but this great criminal being at the same time a great nardac, or courtier, it was strongly recommended by the court that he should not be found guilty. He then adverted in a humourous strain to the patronage of Mrs. Clarke, and remarked, however infamous she might be, she had acted impartially; for though it might appear strange she should use her influence within the pale of the church, yet, considering she was under the protection of a bishop, as well as a soldier, it seemed but fair she should extend her patronage to both the professions, and thought, after the pathetic sermon preached by Dr. O'Meara at Weymouth, the least His Royal Highness could do, would be to resign his right and title to the Bishopric of Osnaburgh in favour of the Reverend Doctor, and leave him to serve Bonaparte with a writ of ejectment. He next compared Mrs. Clarke to a winuowing-machine, which had divided the chaff from the wheat; and considered those who voted only for Mr. Banks's motion, as the chicken's meat. He then alluded to a London Alderman, who, in defending his con. duct to his constituents, declared, if he erred in opinion, it was with Noble Lords, with Honourables, with Right Honourables, and the great majority of the legal ability of the country-such may be the opinion of those persons, but he was happy to find that the country was now taking the opinion of another Right Honourable (in the true acceptation of the word) he meant the Right Honourable John Bull, whose opinion on plain matter of fact, like the present, he would take in preference to that of the Right Hon. Attorneygeneral. He then asked what could be the reason that the great majority of the country should have been of one opinion on the subject, and the majority of parliament of another, and concluded that the only reason in his mind that could be given for it was, the imperfect mode of representation at present existing. BERKSHIRE COUNTY MEETING. Monday, April the 17th a meeting of about fourteen hundred freeholders and inhabitants of Berkshire, was held in the Town Hall, Reading, Sir Theophilus Metcalfe, Bart. High Sheriff, in the chair. Sir John Throckmorton observed that, being one of those who had signed the requisition, he was called upon to propose some resolutions relative to the late investigation. They tended to declare the opinion of the county on the abuses, which had crept into various departments of the state, and had arisen to a height, which must be attended with irremediable destruction to the country, if the late investigation was not followed by a complete reform. No hope of this necessary event could be entertained, unless the voice of the peo. ple was heard aloud and firm to demand it. One of the objects of reform, to which the eyes of the nation were most naturally directed, was the shortening the duration of parliament. He traced in a most forcible and eloquent manner the history of parliaments; mentioned and answered all the objection that had been made to triennial parliaments, during which the country had attained its glory under the Duke of Marlborough. He said, that if ministers were at any time, as might be at present the case, afraid to take the sense of the people, they might vote themselves into a decennial parliament. The Hon. Baronet's speech was distinguished for dignity of feeling, strength of expression, exemplary moderation. The resolutions, which follow, were then read, and passed almost unanimously : 1. That the recent investigation into the conduct of the Commander-in-chief, and the result of the other late inquiries, fully satisfy this meeting of the existence of the most scandalous abuses in the several departments of the executive government of the country. 2. That Gwyllim Lloyd Wardle, Esq. by his unexampled courage, ability, and perseverance in the inquiry into the conduct of the Duke of York, has faithfully discharged his duty as a Member of Parliament, and has in a high de |