tures; to liberate the public re sources by an honourable discharge of the public debts; to, keep within the requisite limits a standing military force, always remembering that an armed and trained militia is the firmest bulwark of republican governments; that without standing armies their liberty can never be in danger; nor, with large ones, safe; to promote by authorised means improvements friendly to agriculture, to manufactures, and to external, as well as internal commerce; to favour, in like manner, the advance ment of science and the diffusion of information, as the best aliment to true liberty; to carry on the benevolent plans which have been so meritoriously applied to the conservation of our aboriginal neighbours from the degradation and wretchedness of savage life, to a participation of the improvements of which the human mind and manners are susceptible in a civilized state :-As far as sentiments and intentions such as these can aid the fulfilment of my duty, they will be a resource which cannot fail me. It is my good fortune, moreover, to have the path in which I am to tread lighted by the examples of illustrious services, successfully ren dered in the most trying difficulties, by those who have marched before me. Of those of my immediate predecessor, it might least become me here to speak. I may however, be pardoned for not suppressing the sympathy, with which my heart is full, in the rich reward he enjoys in the benedictions of a beloved country, gratefully bestowed for exalted talents, zealously devoted, through a long career, to the advancement of its highest interest and happiness. But the source to which I look for the aid, which alone can supply my deficiencies, is in the well-tried intelligence and virtue of my fellowcitizens, and in the counsels of those representing them in the other departments. associated in the care of the national interest. In these my confidence will, under every diffi culty, be best placed; next to that which we have all been encouraged to feel in the guardianship and guidance of that Almighty Being, whose power regulates the destiny of nations—whose blessings have been so conspicuously dispensed to this rising republic, and to whom we are bound to address our devout gratitude for the past, as well as our fervent supplications and best hopes for the future. MEETING OF THE FRIENDS TO PARLIAMENTARY REFORM : AT THE CROWN AND ANCHOR, LONDON, On Monday the 1st. inst. the meeting of the friends of reform was attended by above twelve hundred persons, who dined together. At five the doors of the great room were thrown open, and the room was full in a very few minutes. Several other rooms were also thrown open for the reception of the company who could not get admission into the great room. Sir F. Burdett, Lord Cochrane, Mr. Wardle, and several of the Stewards, entered together, and were received with very loud applauses. . The first toast which was given after dinner was "The King, and the "principles which seated his fami"ly on the throne." This toast was premised by the chairman (Sır F. Burdett) with an observation, that the Sovereign was the person who was most deeply interested in the promotion of those measures, which they then assembled to promulgate. The toast was drank with loud applause. The second toast was "The People;" and the third, "The Progress of Public Opinion," which were also drank with loud applause. Sir F. Burdett then arose, and addressed the meeting to the following effect: Gentlemen-Since I have had the bonour of being chosen chairman to the very respectable meeting I now see assembled, it becomes my duty to open the business for which we are now met. The importance, the absolute necessity of parliamentary reform, seems now to be so gene- rally understood by the enlightened part of the community, that I fear that it would be an idle waste of your time, to endeavour, by any words of mine, to make that plainer to your view, which I am sure you see distinctly now, and which has been the cause of your meeting here this day. I have, however, heard many gentlemen of large estates express doubts about the propriety of reform: it appears to me that this is particularly surprising, as they themselves would never be content that their own estates should be managed by agents of any other person's selection. The whole case respecting parliamentary reform had been stated in 1793, by the society of "The Friends of the People," so plainly, so clearly and simply, that it was impossible to add much to that statement. It appeared at that time that one hundred and fifty-three individuals returned an absolute majority of the house of commons. Nothing could be more evident than the impropriety of committing all the great interests of the nation to agents not chosen by themselves, but by 153 individuals. Many people, however, have now grown somewhat wiser from experience, and joined in our opinion, who were originally led astray by misrepresentation and un founded alarm. The corruption which had been brought to light by the persevering exertions of an individual, Colonel Wardle, who now honours this company with his presence, bad made a great change in. the opinions of some gentlemen. The undaunted and persevering exertions of that gentleman had brought to light matters which were of great importance to be known, and have given him that weight and character which he so well deserves. If we look at the Revolution, at the Petition of Rights, and all those measures which placed the present family on the throne, we find that the system which has been pursued in latter times, is as contrary to the principles which placed the present family on the throne, as it has been contrary to the best interests and genuine feelings of the British nation, At the time of the Revolution it was stipulated on the part of the people, with William the 3d. (who accepted the crown under this stipulation) that none of those grievances should exist of which the people now so justly com plain. The violation of the freedom of election was an offence that appeared to our ancestors of great magnitude; and yet we have now every day proofs of the freedom of election be ing so violated. We have seen lately a minister of state (Lord Castleeagh) guilty of the shameful abuse of his official patronage to influence the election of a member of parliament, and yet the house of commons protected that criminal. If there was not any other argument necessary to use in favour of parliamen tary reform, that single instance would be sufficient. All the evils we endure, all the grievances we suffer, and the oppressions which we are bound to witness, proceed from the want of a fair representation. It has been the perpetual practice of every minister for many years past to force his tools into the house as substitutes for the real representa tives of the people. At the time that Lord Castlereagh's conduct was under the consideration of the house, there were many persons who un blushingly said, that it would be a great hardship to punish a man for an offence that he committed by accident. Others had represented, that it was a great mitigation of his offence that the crime was not absolutely completed. This put him in mind of an epigram that was written on old Chartres, a man notorious for his infamy, as well as for his wealth, and the high situations which he had filled. This man was at a very advanced period of his life tried and condemned for a rape, The burden of the epigram was, that having every day of his life deserved to die for what he did, he was at length condemned to death for what he could not do. This case seemed to him to apply very strongly to the case of Lord Castlereagh. I felt considerable indignation at ministers setting up this defence for a colleague, when I recollected that the poor Cornish tinman (Hamlin) was prosecuted and absolutely ruined for offering a bribe to Mr. Adding ton. The house of commons, however, now stands in this awkward predicament; they have in their records a resolution of the year 1799 against those practices, and pledging the house to punish them when detected, and another of the present year declaring that they would not punish in a case where the guilt was confessed. There is another, grievance of which we have a right to complain. By the words of the act of settlement, "No person holding places, pensions, or emoluments under the crown, should have seats in the house of Commons." The reason of this was manifest, and if this provision in the act of settlement had been adhered to, most of the evils would have been avoided, of which the country now complained. It was also expressly stated and sti pulated at the revolution, that this country should never go to war for the defence of his Majesty's foreign possessions; and yet the war in which we are at present engaged, was principally with the view of saving his Majesty's foreign possessions; and the late ministers had even made the recovery of those possessions a sini qua non of peace. If youwill take the trouble of inqui ring into the history of this Boroughmonger faction, (for I will not dignify it with the name of government), you will find that they have brought back upon this country all those, grievances and abuses which our forefathers so manfully resisted. We cannot forget the sacrifices which the country has made, and is now making; we cannot forget, or at least I cannot forget, the long, cruel, and oppressive imprisonments which innocent individuals have suffered in this country from the iron hand of despotic power. Have we not seen innocent men immured for many years in solitary dungeons, and af terwards deprived of redress at law against those who inflicted this cruel injury; Have we not seen a boroughmonger parliament giving indemnity to the persons who were depriving their countrymen of their liberty? It is now no question who were the guilty men, for the ministers confessed their guilt in asking an indemnity for themselves, when no indemnity was given to the unfortunate sufferers. Gentlemen, when I mention these things, I must add that I should not be in the least surprised if a similar era was now commenced. I should not be in the least surprised if some alarm was now to be raised, and similar measures attempted. The cause in which we are embarked is sufficient to alarm the borough-mongers; and they will doubtless endeavour, by some misrepresentation, to excite a cry against the friends of reform. I firmly believe, that these persecuted persons of whom I have been speaking had no other object but a fair parliamentary reform, and the borough-inongers have the same interest and the same motives now to persecute the friends of reform as they had then. I am convinced that unless we have a reform in parliament, there will be nothing existing in the country which will deserve the name of freedom. I am certain that this measure will be no less beneficial to the King upon his throne, than to the liberty and prosperity of the country. His Majesty is now bound down by this faction of borough-mongers: he cannot carry on his fair share of this government without employing them as intermediaries: he is thereby prevented from that first honour which the constitution intended to repose in him. There is one circumstance that I can mention with pleasure; the prince in whom the nation has the greatest interest, has not been subject to the slightest suspicion in consequence of any of the late disclosures. If I were asked which of the family I believed to possess most of the true spirit of an Englishman, I would say that Prince (the Prince of Wales). We want no speculative plans, no new systems or novelties of any kind; we only want to be put back again in the situation that the country was formerplaced with respect to its rights, We want to have some security in future against the recurrence of the abuses of which we now complain, This is the whole extent of my wish es. -1 never wish to call forth the full vengeance of the country a gainst any detected individual; for it is not with individuals, but with the corrupt system that I am at war, In the house of Commons it was alledged in favour of Lord Castlereagh, that if those who were to be his judges were asked, if they were not themselves conscious of of fences of this description, they could not deny it. Now I firmly believe, that this is the case generally; and it being the case, what hope can the country have, except in representatives chosen in another manner, and who shall be the real agents of the people? Against the system of a fair representation, a kind of sentiment had been expressed in the upper house of parliament, about temperate, rational, and moderate reform. If this meant any thing short of giving the people their fair constitutional rights, he hoped the nation would reject such a system. Lord Grey, who was the person that was reported to have used this language, was said to have passed his censure on many of the friends of reform, and by his rational and temperate, or moderate reform, he ap peared to imply that other people were not rational, or temperate, or moderate. Lord Grey was once the great champion of reform; certainly, we must hope he will not now be an enemy to it. It was propo sed to parliament some years ago, that a badge of honour should be given to those men who had brought up large families without taking alms of the parish; now I wish that some badge of infamy should be worn on the bosoms of those great men, who by direct and indirect means not only ask but extort alms from every labourer in the country. Another abuse of which the country has a right to complain, is the introduction of foreign soldiers for the defence of this country. It was beneath the heart and spirit of Eng lish men to seek defence from foreign mercenaries. It was degrading and insulting to every British feeling to hear a German officer, a Baron somebody or other, appointed to the command of an English district. When I look at the noble lord, my colleague (Lord Cochrane) I am convinced that the spirit of Britons is.now as high as at any former period of our history. If I say no "QUESTIONS IN THE NAME OF "THE WHOLE PEOPLE OF GREAT “ BRITAIN.” 4. That this meeting believes individual patronage in boroughs bas' increased since 1793 ;—that in those more of him, it is because I know him well, and that he is afraid of nothing, but of bearing his own praises. He concluded by explaining what he had said at Westminster Hall respecting the country gentlemen, and declared that he consi- in which the voters are few, and dered agricultural pursuits highly becoming to the gentry of the country, but that they should always feel that it was of secondary importance, and that their great paramount duty was that which they owed to their country. After reca pitulating many of the sentiments he had delivered in his speech, he concluded by giving the next toast, "A speedy reformation in the representation of the people." Major Cartwright said he rose for the purpose of moving the resołutions of the worthy Baronet, and the support of which was the great object of the meeting. The hon. gentleman here read the resolutions: he wished to have them put one by one, but agreeably to the unanimous desire of the meeting, the resolutions were then put all together, and carried nem. con. 1. That it is "the grand princi"ple of the constitution, that the "people shall have a share in the "government, by a just representa"tion in parliament.” 2. That the long duration of parliaments greatly facilitates the corruption of the members, and removes that wholesome check or controul on their conduct, à frequent recurrence to the opinion of their constituents. 3. That in a petition presented to the house of Commons on the 6th May 1793, it was offered to be proved at the bar, "THAT 151 INDI"VIDUALS DID, BY THEIR OWN 60 AUTHORITY, APPOINT OR PRO"CURE THE RETURN OF 307 "MEMBERS OF THAT HOUSE,”. (EXCLUSIVE OF THOSE FROM SCOTLAND)," WHO WERE THus "ENABLED TO DECIDE ALL which are called OPEN, the returns are for the most part obtained for money;-that the representation for Scotland is extremely influenced ;→ and that there are great defects in that of Ireland; and it is the opinion* of this meeting, that a great majori ty of the members of the Commons' house are so returned that the na tion is not constitutionally represented; though it is taxed to support an expenditure of seventy millions sterling a year! 5. That in the act (commonly t called the act of settlement) which placed the house of Brunswick on the throne of these realms, it was asserted and recognised as the constitutional principle, that no person who" HAS AN OFFICE OR PLACE 66 OF PROFIT UNDER THE KING," 66 OR RECEIVES A PENSION FROM 66 THE CROWN, SHALL BE CAPA"BLE OF SERVING AS A MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS:" 6. That it appears by a report laid on the table of the house of Commons in June last, that 78 of its members are in the regular rêceipt under the crown of 178,9941.' a year. 7. That in 1782, it was declared by Mr. Pitt in the house of Com-' mons that "seven or eight members |