Let any man, said Mr. Hunt, look at the annual expenditure of the nation, which, within a very few years, has increased from sixteen millions to the enormous and incredible sum of more than seventy millions! Let any man look at this single fact, and then say, whether it is not necessary to check that corrupt influence to which we are indebted for this lavish expenditure. But the existence of corruption is no new doctrine; for since the Act for triennial Parliaments was passed, we have had no fewer than sixty-five Acts of Parliament to secure the freedom and purity of election, of which acts, sixteen or seventeen were passed during the early part of the present reign, and sorry I am to say, with little effect. Corruption is a crying and selfish evil, and there surely cannot be any man so weak as to expect that the House of Commons will reform itself; it might as well expect that a malefactor, while there is a chance of a reprieve, should put the halter round his own neck, and drive the cart from under him, as that Parliament should reform itself. (True, true! Loud and continued applause.) The House of Commons can never be reformed while there is a majority of placemen and pensioners sitting in it. (Never, never.) That corrupt influence, which is now become so notorious, has been eloquently described by the late Mr. Burke, as "the everlasting spring of prodigality, the destruction of

the liberties of the people, and of the wisdom of our counsels." Nor was the opinion of the immortal Chatham less decisive on this important subject. He most energetically observed, "that what was called the management of the House of Commons, that is, the exertion of corrupt influence, was unknown to the Constitution." There are large sums in the public accounts sunk under the head of secret service money. Boroughs are bought with the money that comes out of our pockets to pay for secret services; bought for some state-hireling, who receives a pension for supporting the minister. If England is to be saved from the fate which has overtaken Holland, Italy, and Prussia: from that fate which now threatens Austria, we must begin immediately with the important work of rooting out those corrupt practices which have more powerfully contributed to the downfall of those governments than all the armies of Napoleon. You must instantly set about this great work with firmness and perseverance, but at the same time, with temperance and moderation; for the constitution of England, of which we must never for a moment lose sight, does not admit of this great object being effected in any other manner. We are assembled in this place to support that Constitution, of the violation and infringement of which, we complain; and let it be remembered, that we are not assembled in

this place as a matter of indulgence, or to claim any favour; we are assembled here to exercise our indisputable rights, and to which we all know and feel we are entitled to. (Applause.) If England is to be saved, the people must be assured that they are fairly dealt by, and the money produced by the load of taxes with which they are also heavily burthened, is spent honestly. (That's all we want.) As to the resolutions I am now to propose, I think every one must feel the absolute necessity of a Parliamentary Reform (That we do; loud applause); and feeling that necessity, I don't know why we should not set the example in this county. It is of no use to petition the Parliament-that is out of the question; we must petition the Throne. It is expedient that we should meet at some early day, to petition His Majesty to assist us in this great and necessary undertaking, and in enabling us to preserve the laws of the land. Here Mr. Hunt offered his acknowledg ment to the meeting for the attention they had paid him, observing, that he yielded to no man in zeal for the welfare and preservation of the country, and introduced Lord Bolingbroke's remark, that "the constitution of England is the business of every Englishman."

Not above three persons, out of as many thousands who had assembled, objected to the resolu tions proposed by Mr. Hunt.

Mr. Bleck, then, in a most animated speech, proposed a vote of censure on the conduct of the Representatives of the County of Wilts, which was carried by acclamation.

Sir Charles Warre Malet was in the chair during the business of the 17th of May, in the Council Chamber of the City of New Sarum ; and among the spirited Resolutions passed on the occasion, were the following:

That the thanks of this Meeting be given to Gwyllim Lloyd Wardle, Esq. for having instituted the recent inquiry in the House of Commons relative to the conduct of His Royal Highness the Duke of York, as Commander-in-chief; for having, unconnected with, and unsupported by, any party or faction, prosecuted that laudable undertaking with unexampled magnanimity, talent, zeal, temper, and perseverance; and especially for having had the resolution to discharge his duty, in defiance of the threats and prejudices excited against him by the King's Ministers, and by many of the leaders of the opposite party.

Besides thanking the whole minority of 125, it is added, "That we, as Wiltshire men, observe with pleasure the name of that venerable and truly independent senator, William Hussey, Esq. who, for NINE successive Parliaments, has represented the City of New Sarum with ability and perseverance, and with undeviating integrity and inde

pendence; of Thomas Goddard, Esq. member for Cricklade, and of Benjamin Walsh, Esq.member for Wootton-Basset, in this county, while we observe, with indignation and regret, that the name of neither of the members for this county. does appear in that honourable list.

The resolutions, which, generally speaking, were the repetition of Mr. Hunt's speech, respecting a reform in Parliament, concluded thus :—

That Henry Penruddock Wyndham and Richard Long, Esqrs. the representatives of this county, have, by their late conduct in Parliament, proved themselves undeserving the confidence of their constituents, and of the future support of this county.

DOVER.

Here a Common Hall was convened by E. Thompson, Esq. Mayor, in compliance with a requisition, signed by a body of Freemen, to con sider a vote of thanks to Mr. Wardle, to Mr. Jackson, one of the representatives of Dover, to Mr. Honeywood, one of the representatives of the county, and the other members of the House of Commons, who supported Mr. Wardle in the business of the Duke of York. The resolutions were moved by Mr. George Finch; after which an amendment was moved by a Mr. Beauchamp, a native of Dover, but a resident in London, which