COBBETT'S WEEKLY POLITICAL REGISTER. VOL. XVII. No. 11.] LONDON, SATURDAY, MARCH 17, 1810. [Price 18. There is a sinecure place, which is, at present, he'd by the EARL OF BUCKINGHAMSHIRE (late Lord Hobart), which place is worth £.11,094, or, in words, eleven thousand and ninety-four pounds, a year. The reversion of this enormous salary, that is to say, the possession of it after the present possessor's death, has been obtained and secured by LoRD HARDWICKE, not only for himself during his life, but, beyond that, for the lives of his two sons; and, this Lord Hardwicke is, as the reader will recollect, a brother of MR. CHARLES Yorke. MR. CHARLES YORKE, of whom the public bas, within the last twelve months, heard so much; that Mr. Chares Yorke, who, upon Mr. Wardle's opening of the Charges against our late Chieftain, solemnly declared his belief that there was a Jacobinical Conspiracy on foot against the illustrious House of Bruns wick; that Mr. Charles Yorke who, from the moment the Walcheren Inquiry began, moved the Standing Order for shutting the Debate Reporters out of the Gallery; that Mr. Charles Yorke, who, when a motion was made for Inquiry, which motion was opposed by the minister, declared that he thought it his duty to stand by the minister, because the minister had resolved to stand by the king; aye, that very Mr. Charles Yorke, has, within this week, received through the hands of that same minister, a grant, for life, of a sinecure place, (or place where nothing is to be done) called a Tellership of the Exchequer, worth £. 2,700 a year; that is to say, he has thus secured, for his whole lifetime, two thousand seven hundred pounds a year to be paid to him out of the taxes, raised upon the people of Engiand. 385] "Off! Off! No mock Loyalty! No Cant!" -[386 gether with such observations as have ocSUMMARY OF POLITICS. curred to me thereon, and as I am led to hope may be of some little use in furtherCAMBRIDGESHIRE ELECTION.- -In my ing the great work of effecting a legal and last Number, at the close of a Letter to the constitutional reform of that House, who, Freeholders of the County of Cambridge, I last year, rejected MR. MADOCKS's motion expressed my intention of addressing ano- for an inquiry into the sale of seats; that ther Letter to them, upon the same sub- House, who, this year, have voted away ject; but, I am happy to perceive, that 2,000l. a year of our money for three they neither want nor wanted, any Letter generations to the man who left his sick from me, or from any body else, to in- and wounded to the mercy of the enemy, duce them to act a part worthy of uncor- upon the very spot whence he takes his rupted Englishmen; Englishmen having title of Viscount; that House, who, while still a proper sense of what is due to them we are actually sinking under our burdens, from their rulers. The reception, which have just voted nearly a million of money MR. CHARLES YORKE, that constant sup- for the purpose of taking 30,000 Portuporter of every measure hostile to the guese troops into our pay; that House, public purse, and to public freedom; the who, while it has, this Session, reduced reception which this gentleman met with the numbers of our native army, has augat Cambridge, at the Nomination, on Tues-mented the German army, now maintained day last, the 13th instant, is, however, of in this kingdom; that House, in short, great importance, in many points of view, without a reform of which no good can that a particular account of it demands, be expected, no change for the better, no in my opinion, the precedence of all other alleviation of our burdens, no punishment matters, with the sole exception of that, on the heads of Public Robbers, no justice to which I shall, in the latter part of this for an injured and insulted people. Number, have to call the public attention. The first circumstance, which I have to In my next, which will be a double notice, is, to me, a most pleasing one, number, I shall insert all the speeches, at namely, that, in opposition to Mr. Yorke, full length, made upon this memorable or rather his intolerant and tyrannical occasion. What I shall now offer to the principles, there appears to have been reader will be merely an account of what arrayed, not only great talents, but great A Mr. KEENE passed, upon the occasion referred to, to-property and high rank. N proposed Mr. Yorke and was seconded by | This was the first salute he received, not a MAJOR PEMBERTON. These are men who may be known in their neighbourhoods; but, they are utterly unknown in the nation; while, on the other side, we see LORD FRANCIS OSBORNE proposed by the MARQUIS OF TAVISTOCK, seconded by MR. BRAND, men who are well known to the whole nation, and to receive praise from whom is, of itself, no small honour.Mr. Yorke seems to have been surprized at the thunder of indignation, with which he was received by those who had sent him to parliament for 20 years past; and he complained grievously of the being refused a hearing.- -Oh! then it was that he might have been reminded, that Mr. GALE JONES was, upon his motion, sent to Newgate, without any trial, there to be kept during the pleasure of those who sent him and then it was that he might have been reminded, too, that he was one of the forwardest in supporting Pitt in the measure for suspending the Act of Habeas Corpus, in consequence of which suspension, so many persons were sent to prison, and there kept, for years, without any trial, without any crime alledged against them in any court of justice, and when finally let out of prison (those who lived to be let out), without being able to obtain any redress. While the air was ringing with shouts of indignation at the very sight of him, and when, in a few hours after, he intimated his intention of declining the contest; in those moments of humiliation he niust, one would suppose, have reflected a little upon his past manly conduct, and upon the sufferings of Mr. GALE JONES, who, upon his motion, had been sent to Newgate (where he then was, and where he still is) for having called Mr. Yorke's conduct, in shutting the Gallery, "un outrage upon public feeling," and having advertised his intention of having a discussion thereon. For this was Mr. Gale Jones, without any trial, and by the sole power of the offended party, sent to jail; and, upon this point, as well as others, did the Freeholders of Cambridgeshire express their opinion. Mr. Gale Jones proposed to discuss the conduct of Mr. Yorke, in causing the Gallery to be shut, and Mr. Yorke caused him to be put into jail for such proposition; but, the first greeting he got from the Freeholders of Cambridgeshire, from those who sent him into the House of Commons, was, " Off, “ off, clear the Gallery! Is it again to clear "the Gallery that we are to re-elect you?" from a rabble, as he would have called the people in Westminster, but from the very persons who had sent him to parliament: these very persons saluted him with a repetition of that for having uttered which he had caused Mr. GALE JONES to be sent to Newgate. What a rich thing it would be, if he were, after getting in again, through the stinking channel of some rotten borough, to move for the sending of his old constituents to Newgate! And, why not! They told him, not only of his shutting the Gallery, but of many other of his parliamentary feats, many other his despotic acts and attempts, such as moring for the imprisonment of MRS. CLARKE, during the investigation about the Duke of York. Well, then why not bring up his old constituents, and put them in jail too? What right had the House to put Mr. Jones in jail, any more than they would have to put the Freeholders of Cambridgeshire in jail? This, bythe-bye, is a question that must not be dropped. The House has negatived Sir FRANCIS BURDETT'S motion, and some of them have declared, that they have the right of committing people to jail, who do not belong to their own body; but, this is a point which is yet to be discussed. It is yet to be settled, and made known to the world, whether there does really exist, in England, any man, or any set of men, having the legal right of sending whom they please to prison, without a trial, and keeping persons, so sent to prison, in pri son during the pleasure of the party exercising such power. endeavour to ascertain this point; we will Yes, sure; we will endeavour to know, whether there be, in England, any body who can, at any time, seize any of us and put us into jail, and keep us there, during their pleasure. We will find out, and we will, before we boast any more about our liberties, fix the point, whether our representatives" have the heels, whenever they choose, and of keep "privilege" of laying any of us by the ing us so laid by the heels as long as they choose. I, for my part, never yet did vote for any member of that honourable House, in which Mr. Madocks's motion will; I am quite sure that I never will was negatived; and, I am sure I never vote for any one; yes, I am quite sure, that I never will help to choose any man to represent me, unless he will first promise me never to bring me before him and lay me by the heels. Mr. Jones seems, from | tration, by whom the pressure of taxation his excellent Letter,* to be resolved to bring this matter fairly and legally to issue, and, in so doing, he will confer a great benefit upon the country.—In returning to the Cambridgeshire election, it is not the mere circumstance of driving away Mr. Yorke so much as the principles, upon which it was done, that is of importance to the public. He was not opposed upon the old stale ground of party. It was not by a body of people, brought forward by great political leaders, that he was hooted off. It was by the real freeholders of a county, moved by principle and not by the weight of what is usually called interest. The speeches of the Marquis of TAVISTOCK, Mr. GUNNING, Mr. BRAND, and the REV. MR. BROWN, most ably and clearly state the grounds, upon which Mr. Yorke was driven away: namely, That he has been an uniform Supporter of an Adminis *To Sir Francis Burdett, Bart. has been increasing, until it is almost intolerable; that he has supported those, under whom hordes of Foreign Troops have been introduced into this country, in defi ance of every constitutional provision, and to the hazard of cur rights and security ;-that, upon a late Inquiry, he revived the old exploded cry of Jacobinical Conspiracy, with a view to prevent the adoption of the honest and unprejudiced opinion, which the nature of the charges against the Duke of York was calculated to produce;--that he has recently endeavoured by enforcing the Standing Order, to deprive the people of the slender and melancholy consolation of knowing who were the authors of their calamities; in short, said the Marquis of Tavistock, such have been the political acts of Mr. Yorke, that, " if the people "were fully and fairly represented in parlia ment, he might go from county to "county, from town to town, and would SIR; I request permission to offer the "not get a single elective body to confide tribute of my unfeigned thanks for your "in him."- - MR. GUNNING, whose most able, legal, consitutional, unanswer- speech was not inferior to that of the Marable, and unanswered defence of the Rights quis of Tavistock, charged Mr. Yorke with and Liberties of the People, which you having, from the first to the last moment are of opinion, have been violated in my of his career, been the advocate of every person. So strongly fortified is my oppressive act, and the enemy of every atmind, by the authority of your judg-tempt to restore the blessings of the constitument; so fully assured am I that no Englishman can sustain any wrong, without having some remedy, that I am firmly convinced the House of Commons never had, nor could have, the privilege of exercising the power of passing a sentence of imprisonment upon any person, not a member of its own body; whilst the common law, Magna Charta, the Petition of Right, the Bill of Rights, the Act of Habeas Corpus, and the Act of Settlement, are the unrepealed laws of the land. Therefore I will never so far degrade my character, as humbly to petition for my liberty, which I boldly claim as my right. "Forgiveness to the injur'd doth belong, They never can forgive, who do the wrong." Nor will I," from a slavish fear, or private policy" compromise the Liberty of my fellow-subjects, by allowing a precedent to be drawn from my acquiescence, which, though it may relieve my weakly frame from a prison, must plant sting for ever in my mind.-I have the honour to be, Sir, with the highest respect, your most humble servant, JOHN GALE JONES. State Side of Newgate, March 13, 1810. tion;--with having supported every measure for increasing the burdens and diminishing the liberties of the people;with having been amongst the foremost in supporting the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, and for inflicting torture in Ireland; with having advised and justified the ignominious Treaty of Amiens, though he had denounced as traitors and jacobins all those who had, for years before, hinted at the necessity of peace between this country and France;- --with his having attributed MR. WARDLE'S charges to a Jacobinical Conspiracy against the House of Brunswick, though the investigation brought to light acts exceeding all others in grossness of corruption, in barefacedness of profligacy, in degradation of manners, though venality was proved in every department of the state, though the church was found not free from its baleful influence, though even its most dignified preferments were attempted to be procured through the intervention of a strumpet, yet this conscientious and uniform patriot could conceive no danger but from a conspiracy of the press;——with having proposed to have Mrs. Clarke, a wit " " "to connect himself, as he had done, with "a woman of such notorious character as "Mrs. Clarke. If that question had come on before the other, he should have voted for "it. With respect to charging the Press "of London, with being engaged in a Conspiracy, he avowed the charge, and "would say, that it still exists. He complained that every thing he said in the "House of Commons was misrepresented; "and could appeal to Mr. Brand, and "to the Marquis of Tavistock, whether at "this moment, there existed not a conspiracy among them not to report the "speeches of Mr. Tierney and Mr. "Windham.[ A laugh!]-He believed that there was now a conspiracy to "misrepresent or suppress all that was "said by persons who were not favour "ites of the London Editors. That a great conspiracy did exist against the "Duke of York was, as he thought, suffi "ciently proved by the Jury, who, in the ac"tion against Mr. Wardle, in which Mr. "Glenie and Major Dodd were impli "cated, conceived that there was a con " spiracy to run down the Duke, and in this Conspiracy he conceived the London Press "a party. -Much had been said upon the Standing Order of the House of ComIt was not merely intended that "because the Gallery was sometimes open "to strangers, that therefore the people of "England had a right to be present at ness at the bar of the House, imprisoned, during an adjournment ;--with having, upon all occasions, been the steady assistant of every minister, in doing whatever was ininical to the rights and liberties of Englishmen ;--And, can you, said Mr. Gunning," suppose that he made "himself thus active, and thus obnoxious, "without any view to personal advantage? "Indeed, it is much more probable, that "he has since delivered in his bill of work "done for the ministry."--MR. BRAND aceused him of having been constantly a supporter of those, who were ever endeavouring to excite one part of the people against the other; to propagate suspicions of disaffection and of treason, to set English-" man against Englishman, and this was, he said, a permanent unvarying part of their policy.--The REV. GEORGE BROWN exhorted the meeting to prove to the country their sense of patriotism and public spirit" by rejecting with marked dis"regard their late Member Mr. Yorke. "He had, forsooth, complained of the misrepresentation of his speeches; could "he say that his votes were misrepresented? When did he ever vote in favour of constitutional freedom ?—or, what was the measure which went to infringe" that freedom that had not his support? "Was he not the principal actor in up"holding an incapable, profligate, and contemptible Administration; men who came into office upon the diabolical warwhoop of religious dissensions, and who "have shown their attachment to the sa"cred precepts of religion, by an open vio"lation of the laws of God and Man ?". assembled upon Salisbury Plain. The The MARQUIS OF TAVISTOCK, at the close "Gallery of the Ilouse of Commons did "not hold above 150 persons, and was of the debate, said, that Mr. Yorke was now the hired advocate of Ministers, and had generally filled with Reporters, Editors, received his retaining fee."and Proprietors of the London Newspa -Well; what had he, to say, in answer to all these pers. The Order of the House, which "he had enforced, was settled shortly charges? I will, even here, give the whole" after the Revolution, by those great of his speech, as I find it reported amongst" men whose conduct it would be always the others, as far as it relates to any thing" his pride to imitate.-His object in enbut mere county matters, and even that part shall be inserted in my next."He denied that he had ever brought for"ward the Cavalry Bill alluded to, or that "he was a Member of the Cabinet at the" the proceedings of the House of Commons. "conclusion of the Treaty of Amiens. "As to the charges against the Duke of "York, although he thought in his con"science that the Duke was not guilty of corruption or criminal connivance, yet, "that from the high rank he held in the "State, and the example he was bound to "shew, that it was very improper for him 66 mons. every discussion of their Representa"tives; in such case, in place of St. Ste"phen's Chapel, Parliament should be 66 66 forcing that Order at the present was to "guard against the gross misrepresenta"tions, the gross mistakes, and he would say, the wilful misrepresentations given of "no means hostile to an inquiry into the "He wished also to be considered as by "late Expeditions, though he opposed "motions which were substantially a con "demnation before inquiry. It was not "necessary for him to enter into any de"fence of his general conduct. ["No indeed!" He had ever been the active " " " opposer of those who, either at home or | done which, those gentlemen have re- heart-felt thanks of every honest man in |