may very truly observed, though it did not call upon us to praise the Opposition, and to express our wish for a change of ministry, it did, in fact, amount to the same thing.The grounds, upon which I endeavoured to convince the Meeting of the propriety of adopting the Resolution, which it fell to my lot, though contrary to my wish, to have the honour of proposing, are so fully stated in that Resolution itself, that it will be quite unnecessary for me to dwell upon them here; and, therefore, I shall now insert that Resolution, together with the others that were passed by the Meeting, and afterwards add a few words by way of concluding the history of the transactions of this memorable day. "At a Meeting of the Freeholders and other Landholders, and the Inhabitants "in general of the County of Southamp"ton, holden at the Castle of Winchester, "on the 25th April, 1809, the HIGH SHE"RIFF of the County in the Chair; been thanked by us at all; for, though he spoke, almost at the risk of his life, during the debate; though he did that while he actually leant upon his crutch, he was unable to go to vote on the night of the division, and, of course, was not one of the hundred and twenty five, to whom Mr. Powlett and Mr. Herbert wished the meeting to confine their thanks.But, this was what we had to expect, if Mr. Powlett suffered himself to be led into any thing belonging to party, of which it is very notorious that Sir Francis Burdett is the great and declared enemy; this was to be expected from men, who should still cling to either party, and who had heard Sir Francis Burdett, in the House as well as out of it, declare, over and over again, that he liked one of the factions just as well as the other; and, this was to be expected from such persons in Hampshire more than any where else. To such persons here it must have been deadly to propose thanks to Sir Francis Burdett, when they recollected, that, at the election of 1806, one party had, in hand-bills pub-" lished for the express purpose, accused the other of having his good wishes, and that the other, in a counter-hand-bill, had vowed to God, that they held his good wishes in abhorrence, and added, as a proof of this, that one of their candidates, Mr. Chute, had gone off, post-haste, to Middlesex to vote against Sir Francis, and for that very Mr. Mellish, who has now been censured by the unanimous voice of Middlesex for having voted against Mr. Wardle; aye, that very Mr. Wardle, to whom both factions, at our meeting, were willing to give thanks.— -To both parties, therefore, it must have been singularly mortifying, to see such a numerous and respectable meeting; to see, in fact, the good" sense, the justice, and public virtue of the county, voting, in the same place where their hand-bills had been distribut-"wicked men have but too long stifled the ed against sir Francis Burdett; voting, after the most full and attentive hearing, thanks to that same Sir Francis Burdett !Aye, last Tuesday's proceedings have convinced them, unless their minds are for ever shut against the light of truth and reason, that the people, the real people, of this county, are completely undeceived; that they now know who are their real friends, and that any attempt to restore the influence of delusion will be, and must be, unsuccessful. I objected," further, to these Resolutions, because one of them was exclusively levelled against the present ministry; and, Sir Henry Mild 66 "RESOLVED, That the Thanks of this Meeting be given to Gwyllym 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; for having, "unconnected with, and unsupported by, any faction or party, prosecuted that laudable undertaking with talent and "zeal, temper and perseverance, rarely "to be met with; and especially for hav ing had the resolution thus to discharge "his duty, in defiance of the threats of the King's Servants, and in spite of the prejudices endeavoured to be excited against "his Charges, through the false and hypocritical pretence that they proceeded "from a Jacobin Conspiracy, a pretence which, for many years past, has been the best ally of corruption, and through the means of which pretence, artful and 66 66 "voice of truth, have abused the ear and "drained the purses of this unsuspecting "and loyal nation :- That the Thanks 66 of this Meeting be given to sir F. Burdett, bart., who seconded Mr. Wardle's "motion for the Inquiry, and also to lord "viscount Folkestone, for the active and "zealous assistance which his Lordship "aflorded Mr. Wardle during the whole of the proceedings connected therewith; "and to both of these Gentlemen for their able and constitutional speeches in "the discussion upon Mr. Wardle's Mo"tion of the 8th of March, and the subse«quent discussions, arising out of the evi 66 6 under the King, or receives a pension "from the Crown, shall be capable of "serving as a Member of the House of "Commons; but that, notwithstanding "the wise precaution of this Act, which "is one of our great constitutional laws, " and which, as its preamble expresses, "was made For the further Limitation "of the Crown, and better securing the Rights and Liberties of the Subject,' "it appears from a Report laid before the "House of Commons in the Month of "June last, in consequence of a Motion "made by lord Cochrane, that there are in "that House Seventy-eight Placemen and "Pensioners, who, though part of what they receive is not stated, are, in the "said Report, stated to receive £178,994 "a year out of the Taxes raised upon the "dence taken during the said Inquiry: " of Settlement, in virtue of which Act "That the Thanks of this Meeting be" and of which Act only, his Majesty's given to lords viscount Milton and Al- Family was raised to the throne of this "thorpe; to lord Stanley; to the hon." kingdom, it is declared, That no person "T. Brand, and W. H. Lyttleton; to sir "who has an office, or place of profit, "S. Romilly, and sir T. Turton; to major-" general Ferguson; and to S. Whitbread, "J. C. Curwen, T. W. Coke, H. Martin, "J. Calcraft, and C. W. W. Wynne, es"quires, who during the discussions afore"mentioned, stood forward the advocates "of impartial justice; and also to the Mi"nority of 125, who divided in favour of "Mr. Wardle's motion, amongst whom "we, as Hampshiremen, observe with "pleasure and with pride, the names of sir H. Mildmay, bart., and of Admiral "Markham, and Newton Fellowes, esq., "while we, though not with very great "surprise, observe, and trust that the fact "will be remembered, that the name of "neither of the Members for this County "does appear upon that honourable list: "That, in the course of the above"named Inquiry, acts of meanness, pro- people, and, of course, out of the money "fligacy, and corruption, unparalleled, as "to watch over the expenditure of which "we firmly believe, in the history of any "they are appointed : — That, if any "Government in the world, have been "doubt could have remained, as to the brought to light, and proved to our per- "baneful effects of such a state of the "fect conviction; and that while we, as "House of Commons, that doubt must "Englishmen and loyal subjects, cannot "have been removed by the rejection of "help feeling sorrow and shame at seeing "Mr. Wardle's above-mentioned proposi"the Son, and indignation at seeing so "tion, in the teeth of the clearest and "many of the Servants, of our Sovereign, "most conclusive evidence, positive as "involved in such scandalous transactions, "well as circumstantial, written as well we cannot, as men setting a proper value "as verbal; and upon which occasion it "upon religious instruction and example," appeared that all the King's Ministers, "help entertaining the same feelings, and, "if possible in an aggravated degree, at seeing deeply implicated in those trans"actions, no less than five Ministers of "the Established Church; nor can we « refrain from an expression of our anxious "hope, that the Clergy in general (fol"lowing, in this respect, the example of "the two Reverend Gentlemen who signed "the Requisition for this Meeting), will "lose no opportunity of inculcating an "abhorrence of such practices, and there"by of shewing, that the Church, like her Founder, is no respecter of persons, and "that her endowments are not received "as the wages of dependence and sycophancy, but as the worthy hire of the "labourer in the vineyard of Christian "piety, and of private and public virtue: 66 "all the Placemen, and all the Pensioners "then present, voted against the said pro"position:That, in the Act of Parlia"ment, commonly called the Bill of Rights, "it is declared, That the election of "Members of Parliament ought to be "free,' and, in the same Act it is de"clared, That the violating of the free"dom of elections of Members to serve « in Parliament,' was one of the crimes "of King James the 2nd, and one of the "grounds upon which he was driven from "the Throne of this Kingdom; but that, "notwithstanding this law, which is said "to be one of the great bulwarks of the "Constitution, and notwithstanding divers "other laws, made for the purpose of pre"venting undue returns of Members of Parliament, it does appear, from evidence given during the above-said Inquiry, that Lord Clancarty and Lord Viscount Castlereagh, both of them Servants of "the King, and the latter a Privy Counsellor, a Secretary of State, and a Mem That in adverting to the cause of" "the injurious and disgraceful acts, thus "revealed and demonstrated, this Meeting" "cannot help observing, that in the Act " of Parliament, commonly called the Act 66 "cessors, to themselves and their chil "nown of their country, to declare their "decided conviction, that no change for "the better can reasonably be expected, without such a Reform in the Commons "House of Parliament, as shall make that "House, in reality as well as in name, the "Representatives of the People, and not "the instruments in the hands of a Minis"ter; and further to declare, that it will be expedient for us, at a future con"venient time, to assemble in CountyMeeting, in order to consider of a Pe"tition to the King, praying that his Ma"jesty will be graciously pleased to afford "us his Royal countenance and support in "of borough mongers, not less hostile to "the true dignity and just prerogatives of his Majesty's Crown, than to the in"terests and feelings of his faithful, suf"fering, and insulted people. "ber of the House of Commons, did offer "to give a Writership in the East Indies," dren, to the safety, happiness, and re"in Exchange for a Seat in the House of "Commons, and that the failure of that "corrupt negociation was owing, not to any disinclination on their part, but on "the part of the seat-seller, to whom "the offer was made :- -That this Meet"ing have observed, that during a debate. "in the House of Commons, on the 20th "of this month, upon the subjects of the "aforesaid Inquiry, Thomas Creevey, Esq." "one of the honourable Minority of 125, "did distinctly state, that, it was not only "his belief, but that it was within his own knowledge, that Seats in Parliament had "been bought and sold; that the Treasury "not only openly bought and sold those" our constitutional efforts against a faction "Seats, but kept, in a great degree, a monopoly of the market, and that it was "perfectly well known, that a dissolution" "of Parliament was not an appeal to the "people, but an appeal to the Treasury; " and that this Meeting have further ob"served, that, in answer to this statement "of Mr. Creevey (for which that Gentle"man is entitled to our particular thanks), "the King's Minister, Mr. Perceval, did "not attempt to deny the facts alledged, "but contented himself with insinuating, "that the opposite party, when in power, "had been guilty of similar practices: "That, from the foregoing facts, as "well as from numerous others, notorious "to the whole nation, this Meeting have a "firm conviction, that it is in the House " of Commons, as at present constituted, "that exists the great and efficient cause "of that profligacy of manners amongst so "many in high life; of that corrupt dis"posal of offices; of that endless train of un"punished peculations; of that squander-" "RESOLVED unanimously, That the "Thanks of this Meeting be given to Wm. "Powlett Powlett and Wm. Cobbett, EsIquires, for the part they respectively "took in calling the Meeting, and for "their conduct thereat.. RESOLVED unanimously, That the "Thanks of this Meeting be given to "the High Sheriff, for his readiness in "convening the same, and for the impar"tiality with which he presided. "RESOLVED unanimously, That these "Resolutions be signed by the Sherifi, in "the name, and on behalf of the Meeting, "and that the same be printed and pub"lished in the County Papers, and in the Statesman, the Morning Chronicle, the "Times, and the Courier London Newspapers; and that the Sherifi be requested ing of our earnings and incomes; of that "to forward the Vote of Thanks to Gwyl"establishment of an army of foreigners" lym Lloyd Wardle, Esq. " in the heart of our country; of that in capacity in the conducting of public "affairs, both at home and abroad; and of "all that national misery and disgrace Signed on behalf of the Meeting, Now, before I advert to some of the ob "which have been but too long so se-jections which were urged against the Re 66 66 solution which I proposed, let me put upon record the fact, that there appeared to be for it almost the whole of the Meeting. The question was, in consequence of a very judicious choice of the High Sheriff, to be verely felt, and the dangers to be apprehended from which have now at"tracted the serious attention of even the "most thoughtless and unobserving:"That, therefore, this Meeting, anxious " alike for the preservation of his Majes-decided by the holding up of hats, and the "ty's Throne and legitimate authority, hats, in some parts of the area, were, for "and for the restoration of the rights and the Resolution, so thick as not only to "liberties bequeathed them by the wis- touch one another, but to be held one over "dom, the fortitude, and the valour of another; whereas for the Resolutions pro"their forefathers, hold it a duty which posed by Mr. Powlett, there were, bethey owe to their Sovereign and his suc-lieve, only eight hats held up. Several Mr. gentlemen said, that there were only five. of Sway, who made a very excellent It is, in so short a space of time, and so speech in support of the Resolution, and wide a surface for the eye to cover, very whose talents cannot, upon future occadifficult to speak positively; but, I think, sions, fail to be of great use in effecting I could safely aver, that there were not that reform, without which nothing of real more than ten, one of which was the hat utility will have been done.- -Sir HENRY of Mr. Powlett's own groom, who had had MILDMAY, who was received in the most the modesty to keep on the outskirts of flattering manner by the Meeting as a the Meeting.. -I do not thus state parti- young man, who had had the spirit and culars, because it is a proof of a triumph the sense to break from the trammels of to me; but, because it is a proof of the the county factions, disapproved of the triumph of the good-sense, the sound prin- Resolutions of Mr. Powlett as breathing ciples, and the public-spirit of the county. a party spirit; and of mine he disapproved, I do not state them as any mark of the in as far as they conveyed a tacit censure county's disregard for Mr. Powlett, who upon the two county members, one of is deservedly an object of respect with the whom, Mr. Chute, was from illness unable whole county, and especially with the to attend his duty in Parliament, at the yeomanry, who formed so large a portion time when the 125 gave their votes. of the Meeting; but, as a proof, that even BIGG WITHER stated the same about Mr. the partiality which such a gentleman Chute's illness, and, with modesty quite could not fail to create in favour of any equal to his judgment, said, that, on the motion, was not sufficient to induce the part of the other member, Mr. Heathcote, county to adopt a motion which they he should appeal from that Meeting to the thought insufficient for the purpose of ex-freeholders; that is to say, to the Dockpressing those political sentiments, which, upon this important occasion, it appeared their evident duty to express.I know that Mr. CHAMBERLAYNE wants no praise; but, I am sure I should disappoint the county if I did not say, that his speech was one of the best ever delivered in any place, and so far surpassing any thing ever before heard at a County Meeting, as to be beyond all competition. In manner as well as in matter it was equally an object of admiration. The whole of the proceedings will be given in an Evening London paper, the STATESMAN, where, of course, Mr. Chamberlayne's speech will find a conspicuous place; but, though a very able short-hand writer was present for the purpose of making a correct report, I am certain, before I see that report, that it is impossible for even that gentleman to do complete justice to this admirable speech. To be sure, it was the most lucky of all accidents, that Mr. Chamberlayne should happen to drop into the Inn just at the moment when he did. If I had had to choose through the whole county, and, as far as I know, through the whole kingdom, for a man to lend the weight of his character as well as of his talents to any effort of mine, I could not have selected such another man. This was what I thought the moment I had the good fortune to see him; this was what was said by every one after the Meeting was over; and this was what our oppo nents most sensibly and severely felt. The county has also to thank Mr. JONES yards, the Barracks, the Custom-house, and to all the swarm of creatures, who are held in slavery by a dependence upon the ministry for bread. The REV. MR. POULTER (who, as the reader will, probably, remember, sometime ago wrote me a letter in defence of his friend, Mr. Garnier) said nearly the same about Mr. Chute's illness, though he seemed to allow, that that gentleman was out a fox-hunting on the day when the memorable division took place. MR. PORTAL corroborated what had been said about this illness; and said further, that Mr. Chute, at the time alluded to, only rode to the cover, in his great coat, and saw the hounds throw off, but took no part in the chase. We might, if we had thought of it, have reminded them, that SIR FRANCIS BURDETT, whom they refused to thank at all, went on that same day, and spoke in the House of Commons upon crutches; but, we contented ourselves with stating that all that we proposed to the Meeting, upon the score of Mr. Chute, was, to declare that his name was not in the list of the 125; and that, when that acknowledged truth had been declared by a Vote of the Meeting, we had no objection to Mr. Chute's friends proposing, in a separate Resolution, a declaration of the fact of his inability to attend parliament at the time referred to. This they did; but, though MR. NEVILLE of Easton added himself to the other vouchers for this fact, the Meeting, without any body's speaking against it, negatived the motion, and for this plain reason, that a man, who was able to ride so far in to say, that I did not, in the smallest dedid, with simply appealing to the Meetgree, contribute, contenting myself, as I ing, whether Botley had that day sent forth any thing indicative of hostility or disrespect to either Bishops or Kings. -An attempt was afterwards made to divide the Resolution, making each clause a distinct resolution, and, of course, taking the sense of the Meeting upon each separately. To this I objected, upon the same ground that I have frequently given my opinion, that what Mr. Wardle has done is nothing unless more be done; and, that it is perfect nonsense to thank any his so doing leads to the pointing out of a one for telling you of your disease, unless remedy.the question was put, and the decision was Here the objections stopped, what I have before stated. the morning to see his hounds throw off, | must have been able to go to London in a carriage and to give his vote upon so important an occasion, than which nothing could be more characteristic of the justice and good-sense of the Mecting; and, 1 cannot help noticing, as an instance of their discernment, that when Mr. Neville said, “ a fact, a fact, gentlemen; we only call upon you to resolve upon a fact,' numerous voices exclaimed: Yes, but we "don't know the fact to be true."- -Sir Henry Mildmay objected to that part of the Resolution, which related to Lords Clancarty and Castlereagh, upon the ground, that they were as yet under trial in the House of Commons; but, upon my bringing out the book of Evidence printed by order of that House, the Meeting thought themselves full as able to form a correct opinion, and full as likely to pass a just sentence, as the House of Com- There are several very important subjects, mons were; and, a hundred voices at which I should have touched upon in this once issued from the assemblage, reminding Sir Henry Mildmay of certain late de- The Resolution passed in Hampshire is of Number; but, I have not had time.——— cisions.- These objections having been great consequence in a national point of got over, there was another of the REV. view; and, therefore, it was necessary to MR. POULTER to the form of our proceed-give a minute of its origin and progress; ings. He contended, that the Resolution introduced matters, to agitate which the Meeting was not called, and in support of which objection he appealed to the chair; but this objection the High Sheriff' overruled upon the ground of the comprehensiveness of the Requisition, which certainly allowed us to discuss and to express our sentiments upon the remedy as well as the disease. Mr. Poulter gave into a good deal of personality, and brought what he appears to have looked upon as a pretty antithesis about the Crown and Mitre reposing in more security in the sun-shine of Pall Mall than amidst the damp banks of Botley; but, besides that Botley is well-known to be one of the driest and most healthy spots in the county, while Pall-Mall is for half the year smothered with smoke and fog, the jest had been rendered pointless by the sentiments which I had uttered about the king and his family, and after which any man in this whole world, except Mr. Poulter, would have been restrained from making such an attempt at personal sarcasm; and which attempt, as all his friends foresaw it would, brought upon him those scoffs, that general expression of contempt, to which I was sincerely sorry to see a gentleman of his sacred calling expose himself, and towards the producing of which every one present will do me the justice because, without minute particulars, it is which I have received from distant parts Which, in the compass of Sixteen Volumes, Royal Octavo, will contain a full and accurate Report of all the recorded Proceedings, and of all the Speeches in both Houses of Parliament, from the earliest times to the year 1803, when |