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Mr. PAULL, after a suitable apology, left the Meeting, with several of his friends; and the chair was occupied by

Mr. COBBETT, who again addressed the assembly: -"Gentlemen," said he, "when I before had the honour of addressing you, I had forgot to make some observations, in answer to some of the leading objections, made by the friends of Mr. Sheridan, and the newspapers devoted to his cause, against Mr. Paull. Amongst others, the editor of the British Press-(I know not whether he has any aristocratical blood flowing in his veins)-states, that Mr. Paull is the son of a Taylor. There is a strange propensity in some descriptions of men to reproach their neighbours with the meanness of their family origin, without first looking back at their own but, I believe, in a Country like this, which owes all its strength, its wealth, and its greatness to industry and trade, no rational Englishman will hold it disgraceful to be the Son of an honest industrious Tradesman. [Applauses.] But whose son, I would ask, is Mr. Sheridan ?why the son of a man, to whose memory I mean no personal disrespect, but who was a Play Actor; and, as such, denominated by the good old laws of England-a Vagabond. Now, any man who will read the history of the City of London, will there find that some of the good old kings of this Country,-(I don't mean any of the modern kings, who have lost us several important branches of the empire, but the good old and valiant kings of yore, who conquered France,

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and raised the glory of the British Name,)-felt no degradation in being enrolled as members of the Merchant Tailor's Company in London: but I never yet read of any British king, ancient or modern, desirous to enroll himself as a member of any company of strolling players or vagabonds: nor was it until very modern times indeed, that Stage Players and Mimicks were deemed fit friends and companions, and guests at the tables of British Princes. [Bursts of Applause.]-But the distinctions which those aristocratical gentlemen have drawn for the degradation of particular trades, are not, it seems, confined to Mr. Paull, but extend to some of his friends. A flippant paper (the British Press), speaking of the gentleman (Mr. Gibbons) who seconded Mr. Paull's nomination, as a Candidate, on the first day of the Election, calls him a Commission-man. Another friend of Mr. Paull, I mean Mr. Hewlings, it calls a Feather-man. The same low print calls me the Register-man; and, I suppose, when its Editor finds out that I live great part of my time in the country, he will call me the Plough-man. Now, who were they who proposed Sir S. Hood? The one was Lord W. Russell; the other Mr. Dawes, the undertaker; so that the gallant Commodore was proposed by a Place-hunter and seconded by a Death-hunter.-Another ground of objection with the Aristocracy against Mr. Paull, and against all men, who, by their industry or their talents, have raised themselves to wealth and importance, is, that such men forget

their origin and reject their poor relations. But what is the conduct of the Aristocracy themselves? Do they not constantly cast from them their nearest and dearest relations? Does not the eldest son of the family take the whole fortune to himself,(which, by the law of nature, reason, and justice, should be equally divided amongst all the children of the same parents,)-and cast his younger brethren and sisters as a burthen on the Country, or by corrupt and fraudulent means quarter them on the public purse, by procuring for them places and pensions! I can myself mention a recent example in the case of the youngest daughter of the Earl of Uxbridge, who, notwithstanding the princely fortune of her noble father, has been placed upon the pension list at 300l. a year.--But, gentlemen, it would seem, from the doctrines of this modern aristocracy, that notwithstanding the elevation of Mr. Sheridan, no man in the Country, be his talents, his industry, or his fortune, what they may, must look for any honour or respect in society, unless he can trace back his family for fifteen generations. Those gentlemen are shocked, that Mr. Paull, whom they call the son of a tailor, should be proposed as a representative of the trading City of Westminster. Pray, whose son is Mr. Sheridan? and, who are his friends and partisans? Lord Percy, you will remember, was proposed by one brewer (Mr Whitbread), and seconded by another brewer (Mr. Elliott); and how, I should be glad to know, does the vending of beer ennoble a man any more than the vending of Fea20* thers?

thers? It seems, the profession of Stage Player, or the occupation of Brewer, is no bar against Parliamentary introduction, and political elevation; but that, in the opinion of the new Aristocracy, no class of men, however raised by their industry, or their talents in other walks of life, shall presume to look for respect or rank in society; and, least of all, for seats in Parliament, unless they can trace out their pretensions to the Paste and Paint of a Green Room, or to the Grounds of a Beerbarrel. [Bursts of laughter and applause]. I should not, gentlemen, have said so much on this subject, had it not been for the insults offered to our candidate, Mr. Paull; and let it never be forgotten, that it was our adversaries that cast the first stone." [Loud applauses].

After some observations from Mr. Clifford, stating, that an offer had been made to Sir F. Burdett to allow him to come in for Middlesex without opposition, if he would refrain at that time from declaring any public principles, the Meeting separated. The following are the Resolutions passed at this Meeting.

Resolutions moved by the Chairman, Major Cartwright, and seconded by Mr. Gibbons, at a Meeting at the Crown and Anchor Tavern, on the 19th of November, 1806.

"Resolved, I. That our principles, relative "to Elections in general, and that the feelings " and motives by which we were more especially "actuated at the outset of the present contest,

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are fully set forth in our Resolutions agreed to "at this place on the 30th ultimo, and signed "with the honoured name of our then chairman, “sir F. Burdett. -II. That, proceeding in strict conformity with those principles and motives, we have from that hour unto the present, scry pulously abstained from every attempt at undue influence, making our appeal to the good sense, "the integrity, and the public spirit of the Electors; while, on the contrary, the partisans of our enemies have had recourse to every species "of unfair means, whether of compulsion or of "fraud.-III. That from a conviction of the "unfitness of the other Candidates to become. "the Representatives of free and independent men, "Mr. Paull has from the beginning, uniformly "and explicitly declared his fixed determination "not to be connected with either, and that the "coalition between sir Samuel Hood and Mr. She"ridan did not take place, until after the former "had obtained upwards of two thousand votes, "under the effect of an opinion sedulously propagated, that he was not, and would on no "account be, connected with the latter.-IV. "That Mr. Paull has polled 4,481 votes of free "and independent Electors of Westminster, of "which 5,077 have been whole votes (or plumpers); while Mr. Sheridan has polled only 955 "whole votes, and sir Samuel Hood 1,033; and that, from the combination of these latter Candidates, we find that they each polled 3,240 split votes.-V. That thus, notwithstanding 20* 2

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