county to look up; secondly, to shew, that Mr. Chamberlayne and I had not (as being near neighbours it might be supposed we had) been contriving any operation for the day of meeting, and, in justice to Mr. Chamberlayne's talents as well as his motives, to show that he had had no time whatever to frame a speech for the occa He came at about half past eleven; and, as there was no time to lose (the Meeting being to be held at twelve o'clock) I immediately went into the room where he was, and where, at my request, his Resolutions, which will be found below, were read, in the presence of Lord Northesk, Mr. Bonham of Petersfield, and Mr. Budd, of Newbury. I frankly declared to him,sion; thirdly, to show, that there was, on that they did not meet my approbation, our part, no trick, nothing done underhand, and that I was morally certain, that the nothing, from beginning to end, which Meeting would view them in the same ame could be construed into a design, or a light; and I added, in nearly these words: wish, to induce the Mecting to adopt any as we have not a moment to lose, and as thing, which did not perfectly correspond straight lines in politics, as well as in with their own opinions and wishes; and, geometry, are the shortest, I will frankly fourthly, to show to the nation at large, "tell you, Sir, that if those Resolutions that the Resolution, passed at the Meeting, "are offered to the Meeting, I shall move does contain the free and unbiassed senti"to set the whole of them aside, and to ments of that Meeting, the like of which "substitute my Resolution in their place." Meeting Winchester had not seen, I beAfter a few words more, I and Mr. lieve, within the memory of man, and Budd walked out, leaving Mr. Bonham certainly not for many years past.— and Lord Northesk with Mr. Powlett, the The Meeting was opened in the usual former of whom, we were in hopes, would place; but that being instantly filled, I have prevailed upon Mr. Powlett to take proposed an adjournment to the great what I proposed instead of his own. Hall of the Castle. Even that, however, -Here ended the communications between being thought too confined a space, it was us. Just before I saw Mr. Powlett, I determined to adjourn to the Grand Jury had, by mere accident, seen Mr. Cham- Chamber, as a place to speak froin, while berlayne of Weston, and whom I had not the audience took their station in the seen, or had any communication with, for court-yard of the Castle.-The number a year and a half before. Mr. Chamber- of perscus present, exclusive of comers and layne, who was sitting down to breakfast, goers of the town, might be from eighteen said to me, in his usual frank maimer, hundred to two thousand, as nearly as I "come, Cobbett, let's see what you have could guess. They consisted chiefly of got to propose to this Meeting to-day." the principal tradesmen and yeomanry from all parts of the county, persons able to spare the time and to afford the expence of carriages and horses; nor should it be forgotten, that, except the time of harvest, a more busy season of the year could not have been fixed on.We saw, upon this occasion, none of that rabble that follow the heels of an election candidate for the sake of a little dirty drink; we heard no senseless bawling on one side or the other; no squads of hirelings to hiss or to applaud; what we had the pleasure to behold from the Grand-Jury Chamber windows that day, was, an assembly of sober, intelligent men of property, a fair representation of the sense and the integrity of this county; and, therefore, the decision cannot fail to have great weight with the kingdom at large, especially when it is considered, that the discussion lasted for nearly four hours, that ample oppoftunity was afforded to every one to express his sentiments, and that the regularity of the whole of the proceedings of the Meeting (aided as it was by the con 66 "There," said I, "take the paper "and read it, while I run down to Mr. "Powlett, who is just come in."- -The moment I left Mr. Powlett, I went back to Mr. Chamberlayne, who told me that he most cordially approved of every word in the Resolution. I then gave him an account of what had taken place between me and Mr. Powlett, and added: * if they should render it necessary for me "to move this Resolution as an amend"ment, will you second me?" To which he answered, "I will."- Not another word passed between us; nor did I even see him again, till he stepped forward, and, in a speech which deserved and which received unbounded applause, fulfilled his promise.I have thought it right to state all the circumstances, in order to shew, first, that, from beginning to end, I did all that I could possibly do, to avoid the necessity of being myself the person to take the lead at the Meeting, and to leave that office in the hands of those, to whom it would be more natural for the spicuous ability as well as the strict imAttempt of his Majesty's Ministers to partiality of the High Sheriff) might afford exculpate the late Commander in Chief, 66 and shewed, by their Votes, a Convic"tion in their Minds of Abuses in the State, and a firin Determination to resist them." 66 These Resolutions were objected to by me for several reasons: generally, because they were an inadequate expression of the sentiments, which I thought ought to be an example even to assemblies, whose proceedings, down to minute particulars, are regulated by orders having the force of law. Such was the assembly to whom the Resolutions were submitted, and i now proceed to insert those Resolutions, beginning with those proposed by Mr. Powlett, whose motion was seconded by the IIonourable William Herbert; and this I do, in order to put upon record what the Meet-expressed, upon the occasion; and, partiing rejected as well as what they adopted. "Resolved, That his Majesty's Ministers, by their attempt to deter the Mover of "the late Inquiry, by threats of disgrace "and infamy, by their conduct during its progress, and by their influence which they exerted at its conclusion, have sa"crificed the true interests of the Crown, "treated with contempt the opinion and "the Rights of the People, and proved "themselves unworthy the Confidence of their Country. 66 "Resolved, That it is expedient that Parliament should take into their serious "consideration the great and increasing Expenditure of the State, by which the means of Corruption are multiplied, and "immediately adopt the most effectual "mode of retrenching all Profusion of the "Public Money, and diminishing the influence of Ministers over the Electors of "the Kingdom and their Representatives. "Resolved, That the discovery of abuses will prove of little permanent advantage, unless followed by further Inquiry and Reform, as the only means of transmitting to Posterity that Constitution, which is the pride of every Bri"ton, and the admiration of the World. " cularly, because they omitted to express distinguished approbation of the conduct of those members of parliament, who had acted a distinguished part in support of Mr. Wardle, and also of those Hampshire members, by name, who had voted in the minority of 125, while all the other Hampshire members had been either absent,or had voted against Mr. Wardle upon that most interesting occasion; but, with regard to this point, I objected to the Resolutions, in a more pointed manner, and without being able to suppress my indignation, seeing that they omitted the names of SIR FRANCIS BURDETT and Lord Folkestone, without whose support and assistance, the whole nation must be convinced, that it would have been impossible for Mr. Wardie to have proceeded on to that success, which attended his most excellent exertions. He, I am certain, is the last man in England to deny this: he has repeatedly acknowledged it in the House; and would it not be shameful for us to endeavour to suppress so important a truth? Though Sir Francis Burdett was, by illness, prevented from attending during great part of the examinations, does not every one perceive the great weight which was given to the charges by his seconding the motion for inquiry? And, as to Lord Folkestone, not only did he firmly stand by Mr. Wardle, when the whole of one side of the House, and many on the other side of the House, were openly and violently assaulting him, and endeavouring to run him down; but his lordship had the merit of bringing to light himself, one very important branch of the subjects of inquiry, namely, the Loan transaction with Kennett. And, were these two gentlemen to be merely huddled into the 125, without any particular mark of approbation? And, were Mr. Whitbread and those by whose exertions of eloquence so much was achieved to pass without being particularly named? Besides, and I beg the reader to mark it, if these Resolutions had passed, Sir Francis Burdett would not have 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 SHERIFF of the County in the Chair; "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 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 published 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 Mid-" dlesex 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 judices endeavoured to be excited against to give thanks.- -To both parties, there- "his Charges, through the false and hy fore, it must have been singularly morti-pocritical pretence that they proceeded fying, to see such a numerous and respect- "from a Jacobin Conspiracy, a pretence able meeting; to see, in fact, the good "which, for many years past, has been sense, the justice, and public virtue of the best ally of corruption, and through the county, voting, in the same place the means of which pretence, artful and where their hand-bills had been distribut- « wicked men have but too long stifled the ed against sir Francis Burdett; voting, "voice of truth, have abused the ear and after the most full and attentive hearing, "drained the purses of this unsuspecting thanks to that same Sir Francis Burdett !- "and loyal nation :- That the Thanks Aye, last Tuesday's proceedings have "of this Meeting be given to sir F. Burconvinced them, unless their minds are "dett, bart., who seconded Mr. Wardle's for ever shut against the light of truth "motion for the Inquiry, and also to lord and reason, that the people, the real "viscount Folkestone, for the active and people, of this county, are completely un- "zealous assistance which his Lordship deceived; that they now know who are "afforded Mr. Wardle during the whole their real friends, and that any attempt to "of the proceedings connected therewith; restore the influence of delusion will be, "and to both of these Gentlemen for and must be, unsuccessful.————I objected, "their able and constitutional speeches in further, to these Resolutions, because one "the discussion upon Mr. Wardle's Moof them was exclusively levelled against«tion of the 8th of March, and the subsethe present ministry; and, Sir Henry Mild- «quent discussions, arising out of the evi 68 ing had the resolution thus to discharge "his duty, in defiance of the threats of the "King's Servants, and in spite of the pre "dence taken during the said Inquiry:, " of Settlement, in virtue of which Act " " " " 46 « ———That the Thanks of this Meeting be given to lords viscount Milton and Althorpe; to lord Stanley; to the hon. T. Brand, and W. H. Lyttleton; to sir 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. Wy Wynne, esquires, who during the discussions aforementioned, 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"fligacy, and corruption, unparalleled, as "we firmly believe, in the history of any "Government in the world, have been brought to light, and proved to our per"fect conviction; and that while we, as "Englishmen and loyal subjects, cannot "help feeling sorrow and shame at seeing "the Son, and indignation at seeing so of the Servants, of our Sovereign, many "involved in such scandalous transactions, "we cannot, as men setting a proper value upon religious instruction and example, "help entertaining the same feelings, and, "if possible in an aggravated degree, at seeing deeply implicated in those transactions, 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 (following, 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 thereby 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: "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 who has an office, or place of profit, "under the King, or receives a pension "from the Crown, shall be capable of serving as a Member of the House of "Coumons;' 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 people, and, of course, out of the money "to watch over the expenditure of which "they are appointed : — That, if any "doubt could have remained, as to the "baneful effects of such a state of the "House of Commons, that doubt must "have been removed by the rejection of "Mr. Wardle's above-mentioned proposi"tion, in the teeth of the clearest and 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 "ber of the House of Commons, did offer "to give a Writership in the East Indies, "in Exchange for a Seat in the House of "Commons, and that the failure of that corrupt negociation was owing, not to 66 any disinclination on their part, but on "the part of the scat-seller, to whom "the offer was made :———That this Meeting 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 "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 observed, 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: 66 66 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 "our constitutional efforts against a faction 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. "RESOLVED unanimously, That the "Thanks of this Meeting be given to Wm. "Powlett Powlett and Wm. Cobbett, Esquires, for the part they respectively "took in calling the Meeting, and for "their conduct thercat. 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 Sheriff, 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 Sherith be requested "to forward the Vote of Thanks to Gwyllym Lloyd Wardle, Esq. 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 unpunished peculations; of that squander-" "ing of our earnings and incomes; of that "establishment of an army of foreigners" " in the heart of our country; of that incapacity in the conducting of public "affairs, both at home and abroad; and of "all that national misery and disgrace "which have been but too long so se-jections which were urged against the Reverely felt, and the dangers to be apprehended from which have now at"tracted the serious attention of even the "most thoughtless and unobserving: Signed on behalf of the Meeting, Now, before I advert to some of the ob 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 juThat, therefore, this Meeting, anxious dicious choice of the High Sheriff, to be "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, 1 bethey owe to their Sovereign and his suc-lieve, only eight hats held up. Several |