VOL. XVII. No. 23.]

[Price 1s.

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SUMMARY OF POLITICS. BERKSHIRE MEETING.---The account of the whole of the proceedings at this Meeting will be found in another part of this Number, and I hope, that no one of my readers will lay down the paper, 'till he has gone through every word of that account. -The petitions, which were agreed to, will be published either in this number or in the next; but, to judge of the sentiments of the county, we want nothing more than the Address to Sir Francis Burdett, which I have taken as a motto, and which does equal honour to the party addressing and the party addressed.- -When Mr. Perceval and Mr. Canning and Sir Vicary Gibbs and Mr. Lethbridge and Sir Robert Salusbury were carrying on the work of getting Sir Francis into a prison, they did not, I imagine, anticipate that the consequence would be Addresses to him from Cities and Counties, carried up by Sheriffs, members of Parliament, and gentlemen of great property.To be sure, a more severe mortification to them cannot well be conceived, than this Address from the County of Berks, moved by such a man as SIR JOHN THROGMORTON, and supported by other gentlemen so respectable in every point of view; and it is hard to conceive any thing more honourable, more encouraging, more heart-cheering, to Sir Francis Burdett himself. Here it is; it is in this way, and in this way alone, that he can receive his reward for so many years of anxious toil for the public good.

Now, what will those persons say, who, just after he was lodged in the Tower, asserted, that "even his friends had disclaimed him?" What will be now said

[866 and thought by the mean and dastardly wretch, who, when he thought danger was approaching, was the first to give the signal of desertion? What is now become of all the predictions of the hireling prints, that nobody would any longer have the boldness to defend the conduct of Sir Francis? And what are we now to think of the judgment of Mr. Ponsonby, who said, that he did not believe, that the people of Westminster would, if the occasion were offered then, det Sir Francis? Really, it does not appear, at Mr. Canning hav ing withdraw his good opinion" from Sir Francis, has done the latter's character any harm. It has not ruined him in the opinion of the nation.Those who thought that sending Sir Francis to the Tower would sink him in the eyes of the nation have now been proved to be wise men indeed. But, the "gentlemen opposite" must not pretend, that they had no hand in the work. They did not, indeed, vote for the Tower; but, they proposed a reprimand; and who is fool enough to suppose, that Sir Francis would have received that reprimand without such an answer as would have compelled the House to do something further; unless, indeed, they chose to submit to him upon the spot?Therefore, it is all a mere pretence; it is an attempt at deception for the OUTS to say, that they had no hand in the Tower project. They most heartily lent their hands to prepare the way. They condemned, in language the most bitter, the Address of Sir Francis to his Constituents; they even censured the ministers for not being prompt enough in executing the warrant; and, when Sir Francis was in the Tower, they boldly come forward to "rally round His ? E

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"Majesty's government," the persons composing which they had, only a few days before, denominated the Demon of England; Yea, verily, in opposition to the principles of Sir Francis Burdett, they were ready to rally round even "the Demon of Eng"land!" Let them, therefore, hold their peace. Let them take their full share of the reproach tacitly passed upon the enemies of Sir Francis, in the Address of the county of Berks. The three persons, who distinguished themselves most in speaking against the principles of Sir Francis were Messrs. Adam, Anstruther (late Indian Judge) and Ponsonby; and the second of them was one of the first to give the word for rallying round His Majesty's govern"ment,' after Sir Francis was safely lodged in the Tower, and after the army and the cannons were arrived in town. Let us therefore hear no more from the OUTS in the way of censure on the INS for having sent Sir Francis to the Tower, and thereby roused the nation to resent his wrongs.-The notion was, that the committing of him to the Tower would degrade him. It was thought, that, though a few persons might be loud in their complaints, the nation in general would quietly acquiesce, seeing so large a majority in the House against him; and, that, as the world but too frequently think the worse of a man the moment he is within the walls of a prison, the measure would tend to lower the great object of their fear. This was the notion that prevailed amongst those, who were for sending Sir Francis to prison. How have they been deceived! What must their fears be now! They are rightly served. But, they have, as yet, experienced only a small part of their mortification. It has generally been the case, that those who have been the means of doing their country great services have, at first, been objects of censure and abuse, on the part of those who were interested in the supporting of tyrannical measures. There was hardly a man, who largely contributed towards the putting down of the House of STUART, who was not at some time or other, in prison. But, the FIVE BISHOPS, who were arbitrarily committed to the very prison where Sir Francis now is, by JAMES II, lived to see that bigot, fool, and despot driven from his throne, in terror of the very troops, upon whom he had relied for the support of his despotic government; and, WILLIAM PENN, who was almost pitten upon by the bloody JEFFREYS,

who sent him back to prison, though acquitted by a jury, lived to be the founder of the brightest Province in the world, lived to make laws for the government of anation, while that bloody Jeffreys, though for a while successful and though loaded with riches and titles, ended his days a fugitive from the hands of justice, covered with the contempt, as he formerly had been with the curses, of the nation.* One would suppose, that examples of this being so numerous, and especially in our own history, would teach men in power to reflect well before they resorted to the use of that power for purposes like that now immediately before us. If, indeed, it could have been contrived to persuade the nation, that Sir Francis had really committed some offence, worthy of imprisonment, the imprisonment would have had great effect against him. But, this was impossible. Nobody could believe this; and, indeed, it was next to impossible, that the public in general should not, like the county of Berks, be convinced, that his having resolved to urge, with all his might, a Parliamentary Reform, was his great offence in the eyes of those who were the most bitter against him.—That this Meeting in Berkshire will lead to others there can be no doubt; but, as I observed, in a late Number, the people are so kept asunder, in the country, that their being slow to meet, upon any occasion is not wonderful. County-Meetings for Addresses of another description are as unerring as the Sun. The Secretary of the Treasury has nothing to do but to write a circular letter, and there assemble, in every county, some dozen and a half of placemen, tax-gatherers and dependent parsons, and the thing is done as quietly as the business of a meeting of Trustees to a Turnpike Road. There have been many a score of County-meetings without even the inhabitants of the towns,

*The Trial of PENN and MEAD, and that of BUSHELL, the Juryman, should be read by every Englishman, and he should make his sons read them, as soon as they are able to comprehend what they read.The conduct of these three men cannot fail to inspire, in every youth, useful emulation. The noble stand, which they made against the tyrants of their day, was founded, too, precisely upon those principles, for which the people of England, with Sir Francis Burdett at their head, are now contending.

where they were held, knowing what was going forward. And yet, such meetings as these are, by some, asserted to express the sense of the country!— One of the arguments, the other day, against Reform, was, that it was called for by nothing but a low, degraded, impotent, contemptible crew. Will those, who made use of that argument, repeat it? Will they stick to that doctrine to the upshot? Will they continue thus to abuse the nation? I rather think they will become a little more modest before it be long.- -The petition, relative to Sir Francis Burdett and Mr. Gale Jones, agreed to at this Meeting, has, it appears from the reports in the newspapers, been rejected by the Honourable House! and, one of the reasons stated, is, that it accuses the House of having caused the shedding of innocent blood. Mr. Whitbread and Sir Samuel Romilly contended, that the accusation was to be applied to the ministers only, who had employed the military force in executing the orders of the House; and they, as well as some other members, strongly condemned the rejection of the petition. Upon this occasion Mr. Yorke seems to have made his appearance again, and to have thrown the innocent blood upon Sir Francis Burdett, forgetting, doubtless, that this was attempted without success, the next day after Sir Francis was lodged in the Tower.

As to the rejection of the petition, it is, however, a thing, in itself, of no consequence at all. The Address of the County of Berks, to Sir Francis Burdett, will be received! That is the thing of most consequence; and, indeed, since the Honourable House is apt to chafe and fret at the presenting of petitions of this sort, would it not be as well for other counties and public bodies to leave the Honourable House quietly to itself, and content themselves with Addresses to Sir Francis, or with remonstrances to him, if they should think his conduct wrong? At any rate, it appears to me, that a paper of some sort, addressed to him, should be signed at every meeting. He is now become the corner stone of the cause. This character has been forced upon him by his and the people's enemies; and, therefore, we must either stand by him, or give up the cause, the latter of which, I trust, we shall not do.

ROCHESTER MEETING.A very numerous and respectable Meeting has been held in the City of Rochester, and have ananimously agreed to petition the Ho

nourable House to retrace its steps with respect to Mr. Gale Jones and Sir Francis Burdett, and to adopt measures for a Reform in the Representation of the people. At this Meeting, which, it would seem, the Mayor would not call, some excellent sentiments were expressed. Indeed, there is but one way of thinking, whatever there may be of talking, in the whole kingdom. That light, which, after long struggling against darkness, burst in upon the metropolis in February 1809, through the opening made by Mr. Wardie, has now reached even the most obscure and remote corners of the kingdom. Every soul understands the whole of the question of "Privilege" and of Parliamentary Reform. The history of the Plymouth Tinman and that of the SeatSellers have been compared by every body. The thing is every where understood. There is no new information wanting; and, indeed, nothing is wanting but for the people to settle upon what is now the best way for them to ACT in order to obtain, legally and constitutionally, redress of their grievances. In my

WESTMINSTER ABHORRERS.

last I noticed a long Declaration, which had been published, or, at least, drawn up by certain Abhorrers in Westminster; but,it was without any signatures. Since that the following has appeared, and has been published in the news-papers, in an advertisement.- -It seems to me to be, at once, the most foolish as well as the most wicked thing of the kind that ever was seen or heard of. This is, indeed, a pretty use to put vestry-rooms and churches to.- This GERRARD ANDREWES, by whom the Declaration is signed, is one of those gentry who, about London, are called Popu lar Preachers, or Gospel Ministers.- -His Advertisement is in the following words :

"Parish of St. James, Westminster, "June 2, 1810.-At a Meeting of the "Rector, Vestrymen and Churchwardens, "of this Parish, duly assembled in Vestry "this day, it was moved, seconded and "unanimously resolved, That the under "written Declaration be signed by the

Vestrymen present, and that the same "shall afterwards lie in the Vestry Room "of this Parish Church, from twelve till "four o'clock each day (Sunday ex

cepted) for the Signatures of such of the "Inhabitant Householders of this Parish as may approve thereof, "GERRARD ANDREWES, Rector, Chairman. "We, the undersigned, Members of "Vestry, and other resident Housebolder