། 66 6 the House; but, the application to it for "ultimately delivered from the scourge of the purpose appears to me to go much "one of the most loathsome diseases to more naturally from the King, representing" which humanity is incident, you, doubtto them the complaints of his people, and re- "less, all remember. For that discovery, questing their early attention to those com- "the sum of 10,000l. was voted by the unplaints. MR. BENTLEY, who was for a "animous voice of parliament to Dr. JenPetition to the Parliament, stated some most per; and certain I am, that the friends of curious facts, in order to show the necessity humanity, of science, and of their counof a Reform in that body,who had the guar- "try, did not think that remuneration more dianship of the public purse, of which we than adequate to the transcendent mewill just take a specimen.- Gentlemen, a "rits of Dr. Jenner. Gentlemen, it hap"few years ago a Board for the Encourage-"pened that the doctor luckily had a friend "ment of Agriculture was established in "in the House of Commons, who knowing "this kingdom; than which no measure "something of the nature of these trans"could be more laudable, or more conge- "actions, observed, with affected careless"nial with the inclinations of the people. "ness, when the 10,000l.s were proposed "That Establishment gave universal satis- "as a remuneration, I suppose you mean "faction, and excited the most lively hope "the Doctor to have the clear sum of "of the improvement of that art, the vi- 10,000l.?' Certainly. Why, then, it "gorous prosecution of which has ever "had better be specifically so expressed "been found to be the fundamental in the Grant." And so it was express"strength of all nations. By an address "ed; a few weeks after the Doctor had "from the House of Commons, the an- "received this sum of 10,000l., down "nual sum of 3,000l. was directed to be "comes the Chancellor of the Exchequer placed at the disposal of this society, "to the House of Commons, with his an"for the purpose of promoting the best "nual list of items, required to be made "views of the country. And such was good by that house-and what do you "deemed its importance, that it was "think was the official charge for paying thought worthy of the privilege of a "this sum to Dr. Jenner? Only 7357.!! "patent, by which it was established as a "Is it possible that the People of England regular Board. Letters Patent were ac- can any longer preserve silence. cordingly directed to be issued; the "the name of God, what could the "forms of office were regularly gone Clerks in the Public Offices have to do through; the Letters Patent were fairly "in the payments of this sum, granted "transcribed on vellum, and finally re- by the House of Commons, but to asceiving the sanction of the Great Seal," certain the authenticity of the grant, they were perfected. There then re- "and the identity of the party to whom "mained only the usual, but in all cases "it was granted? Why, gentlemen, "indispensible ceremony, even those in "there was no more difficulty in effecting "which the national interest is concerned," this simple operation, than in the pay"of satisfying the demands of the officers" ment by any of yourselves of a Butcher "through whose bands these Letters Pa- "or a Baker's bill! [not a bit more,-nos "tent had passed in their progress to- "so much.] And yet the enormous suin wards perfection. Now what do you "of 7351. is charged for this simple ope"think, gentlemen, was the amount of "ration."-Through a speech of consi"those charges for writing out fairly on a derable length, abounding in facts such "skin of vellum these Letters Patent, and as these, Mr. BENTLEY appears to have re"passing them through the oflices estab-ceived almost continual applause, which "lished for that purpose? only ELEVEN "HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-NINE POUNDS ONE SHILLING AND TWOFENCE!!!-[Scanda"lous! impossible! considerable agitation.] Gentlemen, if you doubt the fact, I have it in black and white; printed by the king's "own printer!!! [Go on, go on.] The next "instance to which I beg leave to draw your attention, is that of the justly cele"brated Dr. Jenner, whose grand discovery, by which not only the people of Eng#land, but the whole human race will be In was certainly well merited; for a speech 66 it not manifest that no man can long, under such a system, have any thing to call his own?But, it is useless to be impatient, or anxious; a Reform must come; for, I will not believe, that England is destined to sink under the arm of an invader. DUKE OF BRUNSWICK.-The Duke of Brunswick, of whom we have lately read so much as one of the formidable enemies of Buonaparté, is, it would seem, arrived in England, and, what is odd enough, the very same ministerial news-papers, which announced his arrival, contained a Hanove theoretic form of government that the "liament, in order that all corruptions genius of man could suggest, they form "and all abuses whatever may, in time, "that which is of greater importance, the" be entirely swept away."Of this best practical form of government now mind, I trust, the whole nation will be, beupon the face of this earth; it is, how- fore many months have passed over our "ever, imperfect in its Representation; heads. In the counties it will, probably, and I shall never rest satisfied until I be soon enough to meet after the harvest see a perfect Reform in the Representa- is in; but, no more time than is absolutely <tion of the People in Parliament. That necessary should be suffered to pass away, "is a blessing to which I look with an before we make a solemn expression of "earnest anxiety; a blessing which can our sentiments upon this subject; this subalone be effected by the members of the ject, compared to which all the wars upon "House of Commons being fairly chosen the continent are not worthy of a mo"by the people themselves, and not no-ment's notice. Seventy millions of money a "minated by the servants of the Crown, year! How are we to support that! Is " or composed of the Livery of the Aris"tocracy of the country. Representa"tion is a valuable deposit of the rights "of the subject; a sacred trust reposed "in the Representative, and was not "meant to become matter of profit to indi"viduals, to which, I am sorry to say, it "has been in too many instances con"verted; for now, many individuals "have the means of returning more mem"bers to Parliament, and thereby to pos"sess much more influence in the coun"cils of the nation than whole coun"ties have, superior as they ought to be "to any individual, of whatever conse-rian account of his being engaged in "quence he may be in the country. With bloody fights against Jerome Buonaparte's "regard to the different modes of Reform troops! This is a pretty good specimen " which have been mentioned at various of the frauds, which these hireling prints "times, I have no difficulty in confessing, practise upon us. This Duke has "that I feel attached to the form which brought his army with him, too, it seems, "was stated in the year 1793; by which amounting to 1,700 men! What a num"it was proposed, That the right of voting ber of foreign princes we shall have here for a Member to serve in Parliament, by-and-by! Pitt used to call England the "should be allowed to all Freeholders, to worid's List hope. He might, if he were "all Copyholders, and to all Householder, (Lord preserve us!) alive now, call it the "paying direct taxes to the State.-With world's last shift. Before Buonaparté, regard to the duration of Parliament, I who nunts down kings and princes with think it of but little importance whether as little remorse as sportsmen hunt down "it be annual or triennial. We have not foxes, all the game seems to be fleeing been deprived of triennial Parliaments into a corner.— -The news-papers tell us, "for more than 90 years; it was settled that the Duke has very large mustachios, "by the Revolution, by which, and by " and whiskers on his upper lip and side " which alone, the family now on the " of his face." But, how came his army "throne of Great Britain hold their situa- with him? This is the most interesting tion, that we should have triennial Par- part of the question. Who brought the liaments. We have a right to demand army? Who gay orders for its being "a restoration of that practice, so well brought to Eugful? Or, is it all a newsadapted as I think it is, for the pretec- paper fabrication ?-Well, time will ❝tion and security of our rights and liber- tell us all about it. "ties, a benefit which we have only lost ninety years. Thus much, at present, "for my sentiments on the duration of "Parliament; but the great object is, that "every honest man, should come forward 46 and support a system of Reform in Par WM. COBBETT, Botley, Thursday, 17th August, 1809. PROCEEDINGS of a SPECIAL COURT of COM- Held in consequence of a Notice of a MOTION given by Mr. JAMES DIXON, to RESCIND the VOTE of THANKS to Col. WARDLE, passed on the 6th of April last.-(Continued from p. 192.) [Mr. Waithman, in continuation.] The great ground of accusation against colonel Wardle appears to be, that he has paid for that Evidence on which the Duke of York has been convicted of connivance. Admitting now, for the sake of argument, that fact in the fullest latitude; in the name of common sense, what has that to do with the important service that has been thus rendered to the country by col. W.? I would ask those gentlemen, whose morality is so awakened at this alledged discovery, whether it was not generally, if not universally believed, at the time when we passed our vote of thanks to col. W. that he actually lived, cohabited with Mrs. C.? For my own part I candidly confess, that such was my belief; and such, I dare say, was at that time the opinion and belief even of the gentleman himself who gave the notice of this motion. Yet, though we all believed the existence of the fact at that time, no man, whatever he thought, breathed a doubt of the propriety of our Vote of Thanks to col. W., notwithstanding the reputed and believed existence of the important fact, that he was living in a state of adultery. It is most strange, that the morality of the gentleman did not at that time take the alarm, and state his moral objections to the passing of the Vote of Thanks! From this imputation Mrs. C. has fortunately delivered col. W. by the publication of her Letter, in which she corrects the mistake into which the public had fallen; and for thus clearing the character of col W. from so gross an imputation, it is impossible not to feel grateful; that such are my feelings, I very freely confess, for it is my opinion that in every public character it behoves us not to be utterly regardless of the private character of the individual; although it cannot be denied, in strictness of reasoning, that the defective private character of an individual should diminish the value of his public conduct is a species of prejudice. It is, however, a weapon that has frequently been used by the friends of corruption, and that too with great success, to destroy the influence, and paralize the exertions of men of public virtue. This renders it most extraordinary that so formidable a 66 weapon should have been suffered to lie idle when we passed our Vote of Thanks. Nothing is more common than for the friends and participators of corruption on the discovery of facts that are clearly indefensible; to turn short round and accuse the accuser of using that language called seditious, thus attempting to silence the arguments they cannot answer, by knocking every man on the head who exposes their corruptions. Is, or is it not true? Has it, or has it not been proved, that there did exist a traffic for seats in the House of Commons? If this important fact cannot be denied, where is the man who will have the hardihood to say, that it is not the duty of every man who pays the enormous taxes, imposed on the individuals of this nation, to expose even the immaculate Lord Castlereagh, or the conscientious Mr. Perceval, who have "served the country so long?" [Hear! Hear!] The salutary Bill brought into the House of Commons by Mr. Martin, was opposed, because it was thought necessary to have the power of rewarding services. Of reward for services, Mr. Perceval enjoys, in addition to those, of which he is in the actual possession, the pleasant reversionary prospect of 40,0001. per annum, which his brother now receives. It is not a little extraordinary, that among the almost innumerable motions that have been brought forward, by the absent gentleman and his friends, it should never have occurred to them, in any one instance, to have suggested a single proposition for the reformation of abuses in any department whatever. It cannot be that they are not accustomed to interest themselves in public matters, for it might seem that they are not a little fond of popularity, from the forwardness with which they have been found ready to vote away the City money in swords and monuments, and the City thanks to the no-popery ministers, for turning out their predecessors. Yet upon any measure that is proposed for the amelioration of the general condition of the community by the suppression of abuses, and the eradication of corruption, they seem to hang their heads. At such unlucky periods their dejection is so extreme and so apparent, as to excite even our pity and compassion. In fact, the depth of this dejection can only be equalled by the height of arrogance that was displayed when col. Wardle stated in the House of Commons, that an office actually existed in Threadneedle-street, for the who published what were termed seditious pamphlets? Have they not, on the suborned evidence of spies and informers, sent men ignominiously to Botany Bay for 14 years? Did they not attempt to deprive others of their lives by the evidence of informers who had contrived to possess themselves of their confidence? And for what were some convicted and transported, and others tried on the bare information of authorized spies and informers? For asserting that men practised those corruptions which have been since acknowledged to exist by the Speaker of the House of Commons, who expressed his reprobation and detestation of that practice. [Ilear! hear! hear!] Even members of the present administration have been compelled to endure the accusation of a traffic in seats in Parliament, which it was beyond all their ingenuity to disprove. [Hear! hear! dear!] Have we not even seen men executed on the evidence of spies and informers, who have assisted in plung sale of offices and places. What did this assertion produce? a horse laugh, and a most bitter and severe rebuke for having dared to vilify his Majesty's Government. But I would say to the Ministers of his Majesty what I should not hesitate to say to the House of Brunswick: let them shew some anxiety to preserve their own credit; for that is what even common decency requires. And most marvellous to tell, notwithstanding the horse laugh and derision of Ministers, and their host of adherents, in consequence of the discovery thus dragged forth by the intrepidity of col. Wardle, a prosecution has been instituted by the Attorney-General, and the very persons pointed at by name by col. W. have been tried and convicted of an offence which tended to bring his Majesty's government into contempt. Who then are the men who rilify and bring into contempt his Majesty's Government? the man who asserts the existence of such practices, and argues for their suppression or the men who deride the assertion, at-ing these unhappy persons into irrevocatempt to bully col. W. into silence, make ble acts for which they suffered? Surely I that assertion the ground of inquiry, the am not incorrect in speaking of facts, which institution of a prosecution and the con- are known to exist as certainly as the light viction of the offenders originally pointed of the Sun; and if, as we now see, men out by col. W. ? Now, when I hear the are liable to prosecution for such actions, Attorney-General state the facts relating we may surely be allowed to speak of them to this case, and at the same moment see without incurring the risque of transportathe press from almost every quarter, pour- tion to Botany Bay, or of being overwhelming forth torrents of abuse on the devoted ed with the abuse of venal hireling newshead of col. W., I cannot repress my asto- papers, to which I, however, believe no nishment; for he surely must in fact be man in existence is more perfectly indiftheir very best friend, by dragging forth ferent than myself. With respect to the to public justice those men, the tendency connection of the private character and of whose practices the Attorney-General conduct of col. Wardle, with the Vote of charges to be that of bringing his Majes- Thanks passed by this Court, I see with ty's Government into contempt.' The much satisfaction that no attempt has yet gentleman opposite to me is the only one been made to-day to substantiate that who has yet ventured to open his mouth proposition, and I will take upon myself to in opposition to the Amendment of the say, that no possible turpitude, of which worthy Alderman; and even that gen-human nature could be guilty, would tleman admits that the "Trial has nothing justify our connecting the consideration "to do with the question.' But he says of his private character with that of our that we ought not to vilify Administration: public Thanks for his public conduct. now I say, that the People have rights But even had any thing unfortunately as well as the Government, and where is come out to diminish the respect and inthe utility of the right of petitioning, if terest which every unprejudiced unbiassed we dare not speak out? Of what import-person must, I think, feel for such a man, ance were it if col. W. had actually given money to Mrs. Clarke to induce her to divulge what she knew? Has not the Government of this country done the same thing? have they not been in the frequent and constant habit of doing it! Have they not paid hosts of spies and informers to make discovery of those unfortunate men, دو it had been more candid and more generous to have suffered the imperfection of human nature to have passed unnoticed, than to have seized that opportunity of attempting to prejudice the public against a man, of whose private as well as public worth and virtue, I have the most sincere conviction, it had been more manly so to ficial consequences of their exposure. If even the conduct of col. W. had been marked by treachery, hypocrisy, and fawning meaness, by writing a letter to Lord Grenville, soliciting advancement for a relative, and adding, that much as he desired his relative's advancement, he was unwilling to accept the favour from any other hands than those of his lordship; and, if he had then had the baseness, when he found his lordship's power was tottering, to strike down the reeling Mi cessor, it might be asked, where shall we find a cavern dark enough to mask such infamy? Yet even this concentrated mass of infamy heaped on the head of col. W.; nay, even his conviction for a highway robbery on Hounslow Heath, could not alter or affect the facts which he has established by his exertions in the House of Commons. But of none of these outrages upon human nature and human society has col. W. been guilty; let, therefore, no man cast stones at another, till he has looked around him! I trust I have thus convinced the Court, that so far from any circumstances having occurred which can induce us to rescind the thanks that have been offered to col. W., the facts that have since been made public entitle that exalted character to the further Thanks of the Corporation of the City of London. have acted, than to have come with a whining, pitiful, and hypocritical, canting pretence, of being" so hurt," and of not wishing to hurt col. Wardle. I think I know all the circumstances from the beginning to the end of col. Wardle's proceedings in the prosecution of the investigation, and a more honourable man, I do declare, from the bottom of my heart, I firmly believe never did exist. However, for the sake of argument, I will allow him to have broken his word, to have bribed Mrs. Clarke; in short, to have done what-nister, in order to make court to his sucever the absent gentleman might please; let him have done what he will, his conduct cannot have altered the nature of the thing. The accusation against the Duke of York has been fully proved by the concurrent testimony of unwilling witnesses, corroborated by the irrefragable proof of written documents,-of letters under the hand-writing of the Duke of York himself. The absent gentleman has attempted to obtain a pitiful triumph over that man who so lately he durst not have faced. I have already asserted, that no act of private turpitude of col. Wardle, however flagrant or atrocious, can affect the consideration of his public conduct; but for the sake of placing this position in the strongest possible point of view, let us suppose that col. Wardle was a member of the Society for the Suppression of Vice, let us suppose that he had in this court called on his fellow citizens for protection to their wives and daughters. Let us suppose that he had attacked, and afterwards debauched the wife of his bosom friend! still I say, that infamous as must be his private character, even these circumstances can have no weight in the consideration of his public conduct. Let us suppose that col. Wardle had passed his nights in gambling, that the debts which he contracted to support himself in that scandalous practice he refused to pay, that in his progress through the streets at midnight he should be guilty of outrages against decency and in good order, by getting into midnight broils, and rescuing from the hands of justice prostitutes and their associates. Let us suppose, to form the climax of his moral depravity, that he had increased his fortune by plundering the public under the sanction of an act of parliament, passed for the accommodation of commerce in the metropolis of the empire. Still, I say, these atrocities would not alter the facts established by col. W. of the existence of corruption, or lessen the bene Mr. S. Dixon said, he was prepared to receive any species of rebuke from Mr. Waithman, whose praise alone he dreaded. On proper occasions, he should be at no loss to justify his conduct; with res pect to the denial of Mrs. Clarke, of the cohabitation of col. W. with her, all tha he could say was, that Mr. Waithman wa very anxious to prove the chastity of col W., but, "for my own part," said Mr Dixon, " if I had been with her at the Martello Towers, I certainly should hav had more intimate connexion with Mrs C., than col. W. states himself to hav had." Mr. MAWMAN would have voted agains rescinding the motion, but was averse t concurring in Alderman Good behere Amendment, on the principle of its bein foreign to the purpose of the day, an taking the Court by surprise. Mr. STOKES did not approve of the lar guage which had been held to-day re pecting placemen and place-hunters: h thought it unnecessarily personal, althoug it did not affect himselt; for he disclaime all connection with Government, and a |