travagant, yet have I seen so few, or rather none at all, cither of the clergy or laity, men or women, made better by a court and its preferments, and so great a number utterly ruined thereby, as is very melancholy for a good man to think of. It puts me in mind of what that excellent preacher and liver Bishop Fleetwood, as I have been informed, said upon the like occasion. This good bishop once came to the house of

Lords a little too early, and overheard certain persons debating this question, whether a courtier could be a christian or not? And when, at length, the company perceived he was there, they would needs have his opinion, he replied, he was no courtier, nor would determine that question; but he acknowledged, that he had learned so much from their discourse, that it was not very fit for a good christian to go to court.*

LONDON COMMON HALL. Resolutions of the Common Hall of London, held on Monday, May 21, 1810. RESOLVED 1. That the rejection by the house of Commons of our late hunble address, petition and remonstrance, appears to us a violation of our constitutional and indisputable right to state our complaints and grievances, and to call for relief and redress.

2. That such rejection is an additional proof of the shameful inadequacy of the representation of the people in the Commons house of parliament, and more forcibly demonstrates the necessity of a speedy and substantial reform in that hon. house.

3. That we have viewed with mixed sentiments of indignation, concern, and pity, the address of certain persons, styling themselves, "An adjourned Meeting of Liverymen, held at the London Tavern, the 4th of May," inasmuch as the statements contained in that address, imputing to the great body of their fellow citizens in Common Hall legally assembled, motives and designs "to vilify and degrade the legislature," to alienate the affections of the people from the government; to" produce contempt and distrust of the house of Commons" to "introduce anarchy;" and to" subvert the constitution," are false assertions, originating with individuals who derive influence and emolument from the heavy burdens of the people.

4. That amongst the names of those affixed to the address appear the signa

tures of contractors, of commissioners and collectors of taxes, of placemen and place hunters, with a long list of their agents and clerks, of their dependents, emissaries, and minions.

5. That it is undeniable, that power, influence, threats, and delusions have been employed to prevail upon many to concur in the said address.

6. That whilst we disclaim any imputation against the motive of several, who by gross misrepresentations, by arts of the basest kind, or by downright intimidation, have been induced, and compelled to lend their signatures to the said Address; it is to us a source of high consolation, that the Address carries within it its own refutation, consisting only of allegations unsubstantiated, and of calumnies which those who have propagated them, must know to be groundless.

7. That the said Address appears to have for its real object the excitement of civil dissention, the increase of public abuses, and the further and fuller participation in the wages of corruption by many of those who have signed it, and who, taking advantage of the present unhappy contest between arbitrary privilege and constitutional freedom, have endeavoured to confuse and corrupt the public mind for the support and contingance in place of a corrupt, weak, and wicked administration.

* Whiston's Life, vol. i. p. 260.

10. That inseparably attached to our glorious constitution, we admire, venerate, and will support and defend our King, our Lords, and our Commons, in their respective and collective capacities, with all their just prerogatives, rights, and privileges; but we can never consent to grant separately to King, Lords, or Commons, a power contrary to, and above, the laws of the land, which are and must continue to be the results of their collective wisdom and authority.

11. That notwithstanding the rejection of our late petition, we still feel it our duty to give to the house of Commons every opportunity of hearing and redressing the grievances of the people, and that an humble address, petition, and remonstrance, be presented to that honourable house.

12. That the said petition be fairly transcribed, and signed by the Lord Mayor, the Aldermen, and 10 Liverymeu, and presented to the house of Commous by H. C. Combe, Esq. one of their representatives.

13. That the thanks of this Common Hall be given to the Right Hon. Lord Erskine, Sir S. Romilly, kut. M. P. and S. Whitbread, Esq. M. P. for their able, constitutional, and independent conduct on all occasions, particularly for the stand they have lately made in favour of the dominion of the law against arbitrary discretion and undefined privilege.

14. That the thanks of this Hall be given to H. C. Combe, Esq. alderinan, and one of the representatives of this city in parliament, for his support in the house of Commons of the right of the livery to petition the house, and for his general conduct in the house.

15. That the thanks of this Hall be given to the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor, for his readiness in calling this Hall, and for his independent and honourable conduct in discharging the duties of his office.

16. That the thanks of this Hall be given to Matthew Wood, Esq. one of the sheriffs of this city, for the independent manner in which he has always discharged the duties of his office.

WOODTHORPE.

FARRINGDON WITHOUT. At a numerous Meeting of the Freemen Householders of the Ward of Farringdon Without, Mr. Deputy BREWER in the Chair, the following Resolutions

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were, with the exception of the 11th, against which one hand only was held up, unanimously agreed to.

Resolved 1st. That in the 29th chapter of Magna Charta it is declared, "That no freeman shall be taken or imprisoned, or be disseized of his freehold or liberties, or free customs, or be "outlawed or exiled, or any otherwise "destroyed; nor will we not pass upon "him nor condemn him, but by lawful "judgment of his peers, or by the law "of the land."

2. That the committal of Mr. John Gale Jones and Sir Francis Burdett to prison, during pleasure, by the order of the hon. the house of commons, for supposed libels, appears to this ward meeting an unreasonable and illegal assumption in their own cause, of the accumulated offices and power of accuser, juror, judge, and executioner.

3. That the late assumption of undefined privilege by the honourable the house of commons, will, in effect, abolish that bulwark of our liberties, trial by jury; will supersede the Habeas Corpus act; and will annul the Bill of Rights, and the wholesome provisions of Magna Charta.

4. That the exercise of illegal power naturally engenders violence, riot, commotion, and ultimately revolution; that the introduction of the standing army to enforce the arbitrary warrant of the Speaker of the house of commons, has already produced the most deplorable calamities: our sacred charters have been violated; the blood of peaceable passengers has been spilled, and our fellow citizens murdered in our streets; and this ward meeting entertain a fervent hope, that any future attempts to introduce arbitrary power, to excite violence and riot, and to goad the people into resistance and commotion, may, by the steady, firm, and wise conduct of our countrymen, be foiled.

5. That this ward meeting trembles for the consequences probable upon this conflict between the people and the privileges of the house of commons; and they aver it to be their opinion, that this unnatural struggle is a certain evidence of the little influence the people possess in that hon. house. That they believe the representation of the people in parliament is unequal, deficient, and now manifestly inadequate to the security of the subject; that it appears uncontradicted upon their journals, that seats in

the hon. the house of commons are notoriously sold and bartered; that a majority in that hon. house may be at all times, with perfect facility, procured and purchased, by any set of ministers; with the ready means of places, pensions, sinecures, patronage, and jobs; as only 154 powerful individuals, peers and others, return 307 members for England and Wales; and the representation of Scotland and Ireland is equally corrupt: that by means of the majorities thus obtained, public defaulters have not only been exculpated, but suffered to enjoy the fruits of their nefarious conduct, and retain their seals in that hon. house!

6. That this ward meeting declares its entire approbation of the conduct, resolutions, and petition of the livery of London, in their last common hall; that this meeting avails itself of this first opportunity to express its abhorrence of the seditious attempts of a band of contractors and venal jobbers, to decry all public spirit; and to induce the timid and the weak to join in libellous declarations against their fellow citizens, and the venerable magistracy of our city.

7. That for these accumulated evils and calamities, one only remedy offers itself; namely, a full, fair, and free representation of the people in parliament.

8. That this ward meeting do hereby instruct their representatives in common council to promote and support in that court all legal measures whatever that may be proposed to procure the liberation of Sir Francis Burdett and John Gale Jones; and for that necessary and indispensible object, a radical reform in the commous house of parliament.

9. That the thanks of this meeting are due to Sir Francis Burdett, for his manly and constitutional resistance to oppression, and for his learned and legal argument in favour of the unalienable rights of the people.

10. That the late conduct of Sir C. Price has proved him unworthy of the confidence of the Inhabitants of this ward; that it has stamped his character with meanness and duplicity, or with the grossest ignorance of his duty and of the laws and customs of this city; with meanness and duplicity for having attempted, by a frivolous and contemptible subterfuge, to shift from his own shoulders the disgrace and responsibility or refusing the meeting, and attempting to attach the odium upon our worthy and much esteemed chief magistrate;

PORTSOKEN WARD. At a Meeting of the Freemen House holders of this Ward, held May 15, 1810, at the Crown and Magpye Tavern, Aldgate, to instruct their Common Councilmen to support a Petition from that Court to the Commons House of Parliament, for the release of Mr. Gale Jones, Sir F. Burdett, Burt. and a Radical Reform in the House of Commons :-(Sir James Shaw having refused to comply with a Requisition for the same,-THOMAS PARKER, Esq. in the Chair :

Resolved, That the Inhabitants of this ward are firmly attached to the constitution of this realm as by law established, which constitution provides, "That no man of what state or condition he be, shall be put out of land or tenement, nor taken, nor imprisoned, nor disinhe rited, nor put to death, without being brought to answer by due process of law."

That this meeting are impressed with the deepest sense of alarm at the proceedings of the house of commons, in departing from the Great Charter of the land, by the assumed privilege of their house, in committing to prison Mr. Gale Jones (untried by his peers) for a supposed libel. In breaking into and forcing from his house by the aid of a standing army, Sir Francis Burdett, Bart. M. P. and confining him in the Tower, for alleged libels on themselves, and thereby becoming at once legislature,

jurors, accuser, judge, and executioner in their own cause, without any appeal tolaw, and thereby attempting to change the law of England, which cannot be changed.

That this meeting are fully persuaded, that from the useless waste of blood, and expenditure of our treasure in a ruinous war, without any specific object; and the alarming height of corruption to which the house of commons have arrived by the prostitution of our liberty, leaves us without hope that any good can be expected but by a full, complete, and radical reform in parliament. That the common council of this ward are hereby instructed to support every motion brought forward in their court, which has for its object the liberation of Mr. Gale Jones and Sir Francis Burdett, Bart. and that most necessary measure, a reform in the commons house of parliament.

That the thanks of this meeting be given to Sir Francis Burdett, Bart. for his upright and constitutional conduct in parliament on all occasions, but more especially for the manly struggle he is now maintaining against assumed and undefined privileges.·

That a deputation of eight gentlemen, with four of our common council, do wait upon Sir Francis Burdett, to present this resolution.

That the thanks of this meeting be given to four of our representatives in the common council, Deputy Atkinson, E. Colebatch, J. Hoppe, and R. Carter, Esqrs. for their upright conduct in the common council, and for their polite attendance at this meeting.

THOMAS PARKER, Chairman.

CASTLE BAYNARD WARD. At an adjourned Meeting of the Aldermen, Deputy Common Councilmen, and Freemen Householders, of the above Ward, holden at the Church of the United Parishes of St. Mary Magdalen and St. Gregory, in Old Fishstreet, on Tuesday, the 22d of May, 1810, pursuant to a Requisition made for that purpose, JOSHUA JONATHAN SMITH, Esq. Alderman, in the Chair:

Resolved, That warmly attached to the genuine principles of our constitution, as established at the glorious Revolution by king, lords, and commons, we have seen with deep concern those corruptions, abuses, and peculations, which have so long and so shamefully been suffered to exist, the want of due and efficient inquiry into the calamitous failures and misfortunes which have attended our various military expeditions; also the corrupt traffick for seats in the house of commons, and the power lately assumed of imprisoning our fellow subjects without due process of law.

Resolved unanimously, That it is become the imperious duty of every true friend to the real and genuine principles of the constitution of the country, to use every constitutional means to obtain redress of those great national grievances, and a reform in the representation of the people in parliament, by which means the house of commons may be restored to its true diguity and independence.

Resolved, That this meeting do hereby instruct their representatives in common council, to promote and support all such motions or petitions in the common council, as may have for their object the redress of their public grievances and a reform in the commons house of parliament.

Resolved unanimously, That the thanks of this meeting be given to Joshua Jonathan Smith, Esq. alderman of this ward, for his readiness in convening this meeting, and for his upright conduct as a magistrate on all occasions.

Resolved, That the Thanks of this meeting be given to Messrs. J. Griffiths, R. Slade, R. Howell, T. Farrance, J. Treacher, J. Hurcombe, P. Fenton, and J. E. Pownall, for their independent and able conduct as representatives of this ward in common council, and the attention they have at all times shewn to the interest and the instructions of their

constituents.

GEORGE ARROWSMITH, Ward Clerk.