3 ■^ CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY THE WORDSWORTH COLLECTION FOUNDED BY CYNTHIA MORGAN ST. JOHN THE GIFT OF VICTOR EMANUEL OF THE CLASS OF I919 1818. AN ACCOUNT lP^.(D(BIi®IDaK©i From S^TURDJSYf the 27th of JunMj, #inal €\tmt of % JJoJI^ VStKTBD ST KICBABS MC4B, FIKKIE-Sf REST, KEM1>A»» -—•^ ^^M ■ ~ ■^ m^ Jy?^' - r t; t - f \ I* ft '^ y :., Z G r t la ~ 1 1 ■ ■ I l i If / \ /^ V"'^-^-.^ -^mmaS^^^S WW". V ' ' msset. Westmorlanti (eiutioiu \ ON Saturday, the 27th June, preparations for tbis Election began to be manifested in Appleby^ The Hustings, Polling Booths, and the Booths for ad- ministering the Oaths were erected, and the respective Candidates, and some of their Agents and Friends ar- rived. Mr. Brougham and Lord andColonel Lowthbh, who happened to meet on the Hustings, respectively addressed the crowd which had been collected by their appearance. The former referred to the recent events at the Cumberland Election. On the Sunday, and even during the night, as well as -early on th« Monday morning, jeveral post-chaises began to arrive. In the course of Monday the streets began to assume an ap- pearance of bustle, and the partisans of the Lowthers and those of the Independent Cause began to parade the street, decorated with the colours of their parties. In the forenoon a band of Music, engaged by the Low- thers, wjthlargeyellow ensigns, and with the Performers dressed in yellow, paraded the street, playing different tunes. The persons who were denominated Special Constables, began to be seen with their Bludgeons. , Tents and str Lambton, Esq. M. P. for the County of Durham, Mr. * Baker, of Durham, Lord Molyneux, Mr. Langton, ^ Mr. James, of Barrock Lodge, and several other Gen- J tlemen, friends of Mr. Brougham, had eatered th« town, and soon after the entrance of the Kendal Pro- cession, dined with the Candidate at the Castle. About seven o'clock the Voters in the cause of In- ;i dependence, from Windermere, Grassmere, and the ' other adjoining districts arrived. They too had per- ; formed the long and tiresome journey from Ambleside, i — a distance of 33 or 4 miles, mostly on foot. They ,T were led by Mr* King and Mr. Crump, on horseback- ^^ Mr Brougham also met them, and welcomed them to \i Appleby in an address, in which he mentioned some of the facts which he had liefore stated to the m«n of i; Kendal. He also observed to them, that they had come > from a neighbourhood in which soiiie persons were in /jj the habit of writing much in prose as well as in other , U compositions — not prose — and which he wished he |? eould call poetry. These persons, who had been raised 'J\ from a cond'tion little above that of paupers to affluf- Vf* ence which they had no reason to expect, by means of \ijj. sinecure places and pensions, had now in thisir eleva- i€] tion discovered, that not only their own former pover- ^ i ty, but that even a moderate fortune, was qujte i«com- 'r patibie with political honesty and political wisdoaa* ^ * / 6 r .. , i He hoped these Gentlemen would be as honest noW I wliea rich, as they hid been in their honourable po- f ^crty, but the men of A'ubleside and those who accotn- I panied them would at least shew them, that there was as much honesty of spirit to be found among the Yeo- manry of Westmorland, as among those who wallowed ; in wealth— 0rea though they drew it from the Publi« ' Purse. Mr. Broujham's speech was listened to with the spi- rit which such an occasion was calculated to excite, »ad the crowd separated after repeated cheers. THE FIRST DAY.— (Tuesday). All the arrangements had been made for the com- meMcement of the Poll. The Hustings were placed across the street opposite to the Countess of Pem- broke's Hospital. The four Polling Booths were lower down, on the left hand, arranged in this order — Ken- dal, Lonsdale, West, East; the Kendal booth being nearest to the Hustings. The place fixed for the Sheriif's Assessor, before whom the disputed votes were decided on, was the Chapel of the Countess of Pem- broke's hospital. John Heywood, Esq. Chairman of the Wakefield Quarter Sessions, was the Asbessor. — f/ir. Maude was the Counsel for Mr. Brougham ; thfr Couniel for the Lowthers were Mr. Warren, Mr. Rain- coek» Mr. Courtenay, and one or two others. The streets now became more and more crowded, and the multitude was soon concentrated in front of the Hust- ings. At nine •'clock the diflersnt Candidates and their friends came to the Hustings, accompanied by bands of Music. Shortly after Mr. Briggs, the Under- Sheriff, came forward, and read the Writ directed to him, and the Act against Bribery and Corruption, and then call- ed on any Freeholder who wished to propose a Candi- date to come forward. Mr. Hasell, ofDalemain, then addressed the Free- holders, and shortly proposed Lord Yiscount Lowthek. Mr. Hilton, of Casterton, seconded the nomination, and said that the Freeholders were now assembled peaceably and orderly together, to exercise a great constitutional pririlege, and he trusted from the quiet "which then prevailed, that the public peace would be preserved during the whole of the Election. They had »o\f to deliberate on que of the most important ques» 'm>t ^-^«' -JS;iE;:*-«^<»>ca«^' tions which came under their consideration as ffeemea or subjects, namely, by whom should be regfulated the conceriis of this great Country. It was on the wisdom of Parliament and the uprightness of our Rulers, that the property of the Kingdom depended, and it was their duty to make their choice, with this sense of its importance upon their minds. We had now ended an eventful war by a prosperous peace — after a long pull, a strong pull, and, he wished he could say, a pull alto- gether (some applause); he was aware that different sentiments prevailed in this as well as in other free countries on public affairs, but he hoped they would agree to differ as friends. He, therefore, did not find fault with the opposition to his Majesty's Ministers, but he would say, that the wisdom of their councils had preserved the country from the greatest tyranny which had ever afflicted mankind, and through their measures we had arrived to the greatest height of opulence and prosperity. He detested war, but when we had been attacked it was necessary we should be defended, and we had defended ourselves with such success as to es- tablish not only our own independence, but the inde- pendence {such as it was) of the rest of Europe, The steady conduct of the illustrious family to which Lord Lowther belonged, had done much towards this ehd. Somathing had been said, and truly, of two sons of one family representing the same County — these Repre- sentatives being the sons of a Noblemaii. It was th© principle of the Constitution that every man who had integrity and talents might reach the highest honor of the State. Suppose, for instance, the L'earjaed Gentle- man, who, he understood, was to be proposed as a Can- didate for the other side, should by the exercise of his great talents, reach the situation of Lord Chancellor,. he would probably be created a Peer of the Realm. If he then had sons arrived at an age of maturity, who had the talents which fitted them for the office of Repre4 sentatives, was it not fit that the County should confide, in them as well as in their noble father? Much had been said on Independence, but was Independence all on one side? {Ves, from the Crowd). He did not blame the independent men who wore different colour* from his own ; on the contrary, he honoured them, but be would ask, were not the Country Gentlemen whom, he saw around him independent also ? ■ He never arro- gated independence to one side only, he believed there was much on both sides. Something, too, had been said respecting property. Every man by his industry might ftcquire as much property as th& richest indivi- V-'- 8 I I lijual in {be Coimty ; but "what would be the coHsequera- ces if tli8 quiet possession of property was not secured to the ptrson wiio has by his industry obtained it? It was the security of property which created that union between high and low, which existed more beautifullj in this than iu any other country. Having answered what lie conceived to be the objection to the election of Lord LoAvther, he coftcludedby seconding his nomi- nation. Mr. Wilson, of Abbot Hall, then proposed Colonel Lowther. ColviifJ. Maude seconded the no«iination. After con- fessuighis inability to do justice to the subject, lie profess- ed that he came forward from no mercenary motives — ■ be seconded Colonel Lowther's nomination from the con- viction of his amiable qualities and his abilities. Colonel Lowther had not been brought up in idleness, he had served under the great Wellington, and had been engaged in much active service. Since that time he had an op. portuuity of attending to his Parliamentary duties, and he now proposed him as a gallant soldier, as a gentleman of education and high rank, and nearly allied to that noble family whose interests were so closely connected with those of the County of Westmorland. J^r. H yhcrgh then came forward amidst considerable applause. He congratulated his brother Freeholders, sincerely, that the day had arrived, on which they would tnjoy the lor.g-wished-for opportunity of giving their votes to a candidate of their own. — Hitherto, they bad enly Hobson's choice (a laugh); they had, now, a choice ©f their own, and he congratulated the Noble Lord and his Hon. brother, in whose praiue so much had been said» that they too, would be taught the difference between the nomination of a Lord Lieutenant, and the election of the unbiassed Fieeholders, at large — {Applause ) But, most of all, he congratulated his learned friend on hie right, on the triumph which was prepared for him— fjipplause.J Under the auspices of this approbation, he' had the honour to propose, that Henry Brougham, Esq. be chosen one of the Knights of the Shire, to serve in Pari liament for the County of Westmorland — {Great a^^plausey It was totally unnecessary for him to add another sylla- ble, though he had quite as much room to enlarge upon the public merits of Mr Brougham, as tfcose who had proposed Colonel and Lurd Lowther had, in the good qualities of those gentlemen, which he neither intended nor was inclined to depreciate. — He agreed in one thing with Mr. Wilson, of Castertnn, that at some time or other hi& learned friend might be appoimed J^iord Chancellor; "tills hope was a little premature — bnt he wouid tett them what his learned friend was, and what he was not, without fear of contradiction. — His learned friend TV as not a Courtier, he was not the son of a Lord Lieu^ tenant — he was not the son of a Peer of Parliament — he was not the heir apparent to large estates, or modern built castles — fa laugh.) He was a private Westmorland gentleman, descended from a respectable family, long re- sident in the county, and though not heir apparent to a modern built castle, was in actual possession of one of the most beautiful seats in the Ceunty — (o tavgh.) He confes- sed, that had these been his only claims to consideration, many other gentlemen on the hustings could advance equal ones. — But where could they filid the man with Stis transcendent abilities — where could they find aman with his commanding eloquence — with his indefatigable activi- ty — with half his political information on all those subjects which had been agitated in th« last Parliament, and which- would be agitated in the next. (Cries of " No where.") — This was not all. In addition to these splendid tilents, ts that unremitting industry and profound political informa- tion, his learned friend added a peculiarly acute discern- ment and independence of spirit, which, to use the lan- guage ot the famousCouutessof Pembroke, made it impos- sible that he should be cajoled by a Courtier, or bullied by 4 Minister — (^jpulause.) He would not have it supposed, that this was a 'mere personal question as to the? com- parative merits of two Candidates — It vras a question of infinitely more importance — it was whether the County of Westmorland should be free or h.'ld by arbitrary tenure ?- it was whether the elective franchise should be exercised by the Freeholders, or by the Lord Lieutenant of the County ? He cautioned them against coming t» a wrong decision, lest, in surrendering up their own . rights, they destroyed the liberties of their country— {applriust.) l".o elect the two sons of a Lord Lieutenant, and a Peer of the realm, to represent a County, was, ta their utmost, to uncermine the virtues of the Commons, and to reduce the representation of the people to a shadow. In sup- port of what he had said, he bhould quote an authority, which V70uid not be controverted. He meant John, the first Lord Viscount Lonsdale, who (when Sir John Low- ther) represented this Cou/ity ;_ in troth he was a consti- tutional whig, a term they now did not often hear ; and the meaning of which, some of that Nobleman's descend- euts professed that they did not understand. '1 his Noble- man, too, was as respectable in his private as in his pub- lic character. He was, as the learned Editor of his Me- Ktoirs informed us, "at his table hospitable, but not lus«. '/■ M , ■*««»^iWS*^v;-'"'* / fti-lous, encouraging the learned and the good, batT)ani«h- ing from his presence, with indignation, the flatterer and tlie calumniator." When James 11. attempted to get into hij power the cities and boroughs throughout the king- dom. Sir JohnLolvther was at the head of the opposition, and on ^hkt occasion he said, that it was manifest, when the Crown got possession of the power cf sending citi- zens and burgesses to Parliament, the House of Commons would retain only a mere name ; its virtue was gone. If Peeirs of. Parliament and Lord-Lieutenants possessed the power pf appointing, not only burgesses, but knights of the shire, the effect which Sir John Lowther foretold was more completely produced. The Noble Lord and kis fViends had told them, that on their side was the real independence of Westmorland. What ? was the real in- dependence of Westmorland only to be defended by 500 gentlemen with staves — fa laugh.) Were the two leaders of the real independence of Westmorland to have their persons defended by 500 bludgeon-men, with the gallant. Lieutenant-Col. at their head ? What a preposterous per- version of the English language was this ? — (^ApplauiC.)-:— l he real independence of Westmorland would need n* calumnies, no anonymous letters. It would scorn to ea- couragis attacks on the private character of gentlernen, aye, and of ladies ..too, in the Courier Newspaper, if the Noble Lord to whom he referred had been alive, he would have needed no body-guard — (alaugh), — the Car- lisle Patriot would have had no sale, and private characters would have passed untouched, even, though like him, they voted "for his learned friend. His idea of real independ- ence Inj this, aiid every other county, was when eack ittdivida.al Freeholder had an opportunity of giving fiis vote to the Candidate he preferred, without the dread of apy over-grown arisiocraticat power. They had now tojecure this independence.- He asked them to do their duty, to obey the King's writ, to retain t/ieir loyaltij, and preserve, their lig/tls- — (applause.) — They had to exercise a privilege which was above all price, and they could not de their duty better, nor serve their country more efTectualiy than by sending to tLe next Parliament, one of the moot Useful of Patriots, one of the most incorruptible of Stales- men. — (Loud applause /allowed this speech). John IVakrjield, Esq. said, that, impressed with a due sense of the duty they had to perform, and of the truth of what had been said by Jvlr. Wybergh, he begged to se- cond his nomination. They all knew the transcendent talents of Mr. Brougham ; he had faithfully served the people, and he trusted they would hereafter as hereto- foru, always find him at his post, and it was time enough^ wheu he deserts the people, tur them to desert him, li Lord Lowther said, it wai his duty, as well as hfa wish, ti> thank the Ffeehofders for past favours. — He had con- scientiously performed the duty which was entrusted to him, and h« could only say, that he should not have pre- sented himself upon this occasion, unless he had been oallcd upon by many unbiassed, 'unsolicited Freeholders. Whatever might be the professions and principles of hia antagonist, in attachment to this county he would yield to no one. He owed his former election to the unbiassed choice of the Freeholders, for he had gone through two months canvass previous to the election, and at that time HO opposition was made to him When he was : in Parliament, he had thought it his duty to support the Government against any foreign enemies, and the- result was, that we had arrived to a state of affluence, no other country had ever before attained. We now enjoyed, the blessings of peace, which had been delayed by t">je incle- mency of the season, and we had reduced the taxes. (^Hear.) He atked, could it be denied, that seventeen «iillions of taxes had been taken off? — No county had made more rapid advancement than "Westmorland ; thirty Acts for irclosures of commons had been passed sinte the Union with Ireland, (a laugh,) and a great work was now undertaken, he meant the great canal from the borders of Lancashire. fA laughj For atten- tion to the immediate interests of the County he chal- lenged any one to charge him with neglect. In his ether capacity as a Member of the Council for directing the affairs of the nation, he would take his share of credit or blame attached to the Legislative measures which had b«en enacted. He placed his independence against that of any one ; he had as large a share as any one in the in- terests of the County, and he had no doubt, but that he should have the honour of being again returned by the County to Parliament, Col. Luwther said, that two of his family had been returned as Representatives for the County, because BO person had erer opposed him, and it was to be con- eluded, because no such opposition took place, that they were returned by the general consent of the County. In answer to what had been said by Mr. Wybergh, he observed, that he had not known that a beautiful Seat on the top of a hill was necei«ary to constitute a man to represent the County. He asked, also whether the Kendal Paper had not been full of anonymous letters against his friends, before any had been written on their side, and indeed before a third Candidate had been proposed. He wished any person to stand forward who could prove that any of the Free- liolderB gaT* their vatcs through the influence of tl>« ^''- \i 12- Lord Lieutenant, and not from thefr own choice.—. Though human nature is liable to deceive itself, he had Very great reason, from the success oF his canvass, to expect that he should be again elected, and he hoped the Poll would be kept open so as for aii to come fsr- ward, and if it was the free choice of the people, in- stead of two Members of one family, he did not see vyhy twenty should not be returned. t Afr. 5cottf ('mm came forward amidst loud applause, and I , - said, that he as well as Mr. Wybergh congratulated them ' '{ on the arrival of the day, when the result of their exer- I tions for the Lljeration of their native County was to be ' seen. Professions of success were so usual on these occa- , * sioBs, and human nature (as the gallant Colonel had ob- , ; served) was so apt t» indulge in unreasonable hopes, that he should not say one word as to what his hopes — what his most coofident expectations of the result of their ex- ertions was. He shc/ula not indeed have troubled them at all, andshi'uld have been satisfied with proceeding to the material business of the day, had it not been fcr some topics introduced by ihe seconder of one oi the opposite CandidarM,and for some observations of the Candidates themselves Though he had the suppon of «ome who differed from him in puljtical opinions he would not dis- guise from any man that his doctrine, that his conduct, that his professions were ae different from tho»e of the two Noble Candidates as wh'te from black, as midnight from noon-day. (^ppLjuse.) He wcpld disclaim any feeling of persr>n>] ho#iility cr disrespect. They might be uir easotisble in their picteosions, but the whole blame of that -^-as not to be attributed to them. The County too shoulii bear ii» share. — The Freeholders had been too loivjr iufferiiig ; they had permitted one man to be named till his dea h -he meant his kinsman Sir Michael Le Fleming, who had been first elected on the independ- ent interest-, but who had contnued on very different principles. 1 hey had -^llowed Lord Muncaster t© succeed hitn — when Lord Muncaster had been gathered to his fathers, the gallant Colonel had been nominat- ed in h'6 stend, and on the last occasion Lord Low- ther had been e'ected It was not to b» wondered at, when the County had given so mudi, that the Eoble funily siiculd not only take hat, but grasp at more^ and he did not wholly bh me them for making this their last effort Ti was hardly, perhaps, to be expected, that they should relinquish, without a itiuggle. two close seat* for a respi-ctable and virtuous county. Having said thus much as to private respect, he openly confessed that he disapproved of their whole public conduct, and boldly called upon the Freeholders to contrast it with hi> own. it) H ' ^/cr/ai ^au.^ -6^. \ CLOSE .J- COMMENTS <^/ WPON A STRAGGLING mt^^ AIRBY AT«D BELtlNGHAM, PRINTERS, KENDAV ii — . 1818, CLOSE COMMENTS, We are told that, during the whole of Mr, Brougham's harangue, which the Kendal Chro- nicle says lasted an hour, the snow fell without intermission upon that ' numerous assemblage of iiien, women, and children^* which, according to the same paper, listened to Mr. Brougham ' wdth universal satisfaction.' We cannot say that Mr. Brougham's eloquence was ' as soft as feathered snow that melted as it fell j' but in some points, nevertheless, it resembled snow : it fell as fast, and was not at all weightier ; and we may hope will have as fugitive a power to annoy the good people of Kendal : in another point it did not resemble snow ; it was warm — it was even in- flammatory ; if I were to say incendiary, it will appear from what follows that I should not wrong him. i 1st. — As, without condemning himself, Mr. Brougham cannot find fault with us for affixing names to writings which the authors have not avowed, we may begin with observing that Mr. B., the Senator, speaks — as Mr. B., the ano- nymous Trader in Reviews, writes. He resorts to a stale trick, and affects to separate Lord Lonsdak from those who lend their support to the Lowther cause — as a generous Principal frofti ignoble Underlings : his Lordship has ' better sense* and ' more just feelings ;' but those who support him are * indiscreet tools' — are ' para- sites' — are ' hired agents' — * whose proceedings it would be a degradation to watch.' He hopes, by this abuse of those whom he would represent as Underlings, to pass himself off as a Principal. But this will not do: pace tanti viri, it is not such an artifice that will screen from our eyes the Underling of Lord Thanet. The case is now understood to stand thus : — Lord Thanet wishes to try the strength of the Lowthers ; but he is prudently economical of his money and his credit, and does not wish to risk much of either upon the issue. No member of his Lordship's family, therefore, is yet brought forward : that is post- poned J and Mr. Brougham is brought forward, ad interim, aS a cat's-paw, to procure Lord Thanet a triumph, if it be possible, or -.t the worst, to save him from the mortification of a defeat. If any proof were wanting to justify this view of the case, and to prove how laboriously Mr. Brougham plays the part of parasite to his patron, it will be found in the sneer with which he speaks of Lowther Castle — as of a mock castle — connected with the remark that all the -real castles in the County belong to Lord Thanet. Lowther Castle is, it seems, a sham castle ; and Broiigham Castle (as though it stood in any telation to the political Charfataix of that name,} is one of the real castles ; and all the real castles, says he, belong to my vi\i-a.t 'i—fmnd. Lord Thanet. 2d. — For the sake of accrediting his abuse of those whom he calls ' hired agents,' Mr. Brougham does (as I have said before,) in one part of his speech compliment Lord Lonsdale, by way of distinction from them, on his sense and feehng : but with what consistency ? In another part of the same speech he accuses the noble Earl of doing what he would be above doing himself if he had even but ' the tenth part' of his pos- sessions — of allowing a son of his ' to take eleven or twelve hundred pounds a year from the public' (Beware, Mr. Brougham, that the Oppositionist, Earl Spencer, does not hear this, or he will call you a conceited coxcomb, not forgetting that his own Son, Lord Althorp, when the Foxites were in power, held the same office !) This Son of the Earl of Lonsdale, and generally all of the House of Lowther, are said to have their ' purses filled with public money :' nay, their own purses do not content them ; they are adjured by Mr, Brougham to keep their hands out of our* pockets ; (that is, let the reader remember, out of the pockets of a Kendal mob.) Again, the family influence of the Lowthers is secured (Mr. Bo in- * As Mr. Brougham is fond of Shakespeare, 1 will quote the very short speech of Antonio in the Teinpest. — [Act II. Scene I.] — " If but one of his pockets coul4 speak, would it not say— he lies ?" slnuates) by ' aitb' such as ' the undisputed pos» session of twenty counties would not bribe' ^ hit^ friend Lord rhanct to practise. It is a ' ridicu- lous thing/ moreover, in Lord Lonsdale to dare him (Mr Brougham) to ' the contrast ;' — Why ? Because he does not ' dread any comparison that can be made' between them ; and because he will oppose to Lord Lonsdale's riches his own " pre- sent fitness" and his " honesty :" what can thi^ mean but that, as he has nothing to oppose to Lord Lonsdale's wealth except his personal merits and honesty, so Lord Lonsdale has nothing to oppose to his honesty except wealth ? Self-con- tradictions leading to such absurdities are most pitiable things. Mr. Biougham had better desist altogether from praising the Lord Lieutenant, after a declaration that in the generosities of pa- triotism his Lordship makes a sorry figure com- pared with himself and the Hereditary High Sheriff. With how little ceremony Mr. Brougham treats his own consciousness, when he would raise jhis reputation as a public man at the expense of that of Lord Lonsdale, and what especial breach of decency is involved in the attempt, will appear •when certain political tamperings in Westmorland (for I wish to keep to the concerns of the County} shall be divulged. One word more, also, upon the subject of the other Individual, whose pubHc character he is so blind as to beheve, or so base as to pretend, will acquire lustre by being placed in contrast with that of the Lord Lieutenant. Leaving out of consideration the * arts' by which Mr. Brougham insinuates that influence is se- cured, I will ask a question about the use that may be made of it w;Ae/i secured j and for answer will refer to the hoary Parodist of Scripture, (excellent authority in these matters,) whose jo- cose effusions proved so entertaining to Mr. B's supporters at Appleby. Who first sold a seat in "Westmorland ? — Who next sold a seat in West- morland ? — What were the sums received ? — And whether he of whom the Referee will be reminded on this occasion was not the only one who, in ouj: days, has ever sold a seat in Westmorland ? 3d. — Mr. Brougham, still unable to forget his old trade of scribbling in Reviews, attacks and libels* a man whose name I will not dishonor by connecting it with the trash of a Jacobinical ha- rangue. ' Fit audience let me find, though few/ — has been the prayer of that great man, as of * By the side of Mr. Brougham's weightier offences, it i^ not much to charge him with slighting the courtesies of private life ; but let the reader recollect, first, that this part of his speech must have been unintelligible to most of his audience, and therefore unserviceable for any object; — ■ Secondly, that the gentleman to whom he alluded, had not uvoived any paper connected with the contest, and could not therefore justly be made answerable by name,, or by de- scription, for what might have offended Mr. Brougham ; — ■ Tliirdly, that Mr. B. spoke in the presence of Mr. Cracken- thorpe— known to himself as one of his own principal sup- porters ; and to himself, in common with all the respectable part of his audience, as a near relative of the gentleman in ijuestion. Among the few gentlemen who support Mr. B. Milton before him ; each knowing that an audi- ence fit for him must in any age be few: — to each of them, I believe, his prayer has been granted. Mr. Brougham also appears to have prayed for an appropriate audience ; and his audi- ence, by the blessing of heaven, shall not be few — so long as there are mobs and blackguards in the land — so long as theie are * women and chil- dren' on the Fell- side — so long as there is igno- rance to be deluded, and malignant folly to ap- plaud. I will take leave to remind him, however, in spite of such applause, that, on more accounts than simply as a Parliamentary Candidate, he i& a probationer for public favor ; and that he has something yet to do before he will stand on that height from which he can dispense or withhold laurels after his own private likings and dislikings. His dickey* is not the station from which he can be allowed to give or to take away honor : his own laurels are yet to be earned 5 and by more Mr. C. is one ; and we find that, in a technical sense, he was one of hj^ two supporters whilst speaking. Whether Mr. C. sets a due value upon so illustrious a connexion, is more than I can say ; but at any rate he must feel respect for the private character of his kinsman ; and therefore I should do him wrong to doubt that he mnst have felt wounded at the manner of Mr. Brougham's unmerited attack upon him. * The reader is to be informed, that in villages unfurnished ■with a Market-Cross, and generally throughout the dales of Westmorland — in default of a tub, or other customary accom- modation for itinerant orators — Mr. Brougham harangued bis audience from the dickey of his carriage. 9 ^^vere Igibours, of intellect than he has at this time to shew — whether he appeal to his tongue or to his pen. 4th.— It is false to say that the gentleman just now mentioned, or any other well-wisher of the Lowther cause, ' has begun the use of personali- ties ;' it is false to say that this gentleman at all, or the Lowther party generally, has condescended to adopt the use of personalities after this use had been begun by Mr. Brougham's Committee and the Kendal Chronicle. The contest is of neces- sity in some respects a personal one ; since it is fit that Mr. Brougham's pretensions should be examined : the mere personal question is to some degree, as it happens, a constitutional question. But the intelligent supporters of the Lowther cause have all along raised their views from the personal question to the political question — from a strife about men to a strife about principles ; and have not, I affirm, travelled out of this higher region into the personalities which offered them- selves further than according to the necessities of the matter. I will not answer for every individual paper : there may possibly be some which I have not seen — less forbearing than those which I have : but that this spirit is characteristic of the Lowther party, I may assert without fear of contradiction from any impartial man ; and, in part of proof, I appeal to the whole tenor of the Carlisle Patriot ^s contrasted with its antagonist in the same city, and with the Kendal Chronicle. 10 5th.— Mr. Brougham informs us— as of his own private discovery — that England ' mi(jht at- chieve the highest things' ' if all her sons were kind and natural.' At this day we do not need such news : nor does it need the warrant of. a quotation from ' our immortal poet' — nor a fling at another immortal poet. All her sons are not kind and natural ; and yet, in spite of that, Eng- land has atchieved the highest things — for her own everlasting glory ; and for the shame and mortification of Mr. Brougham's party ; and for the confounding of their abject predictions. 6th. — Mr. Brougham speaks angrily of scrib- blers. Is the trade of chattering then more ho- norable tjian that of scribbling .? — And does that of scribbling, which it seems is intolerable for electioneering and political purposes, become honorable for purposes of private malignity in Reviews ? 7th. — Mr. Brougham is loud and long on the subject of personality ; and does not scruple to charge, as the original offender in this way, a man of whom all who know him will bear witness that, neither in the beginning nor in the end of a dispute, is he capable of descending to a littleness so unworthy of himself. But this has been al- ready noticed. Mr. Brougham proceeds to sup- port this ' jolly slander' by the following plea- santry : — ' He has never yet been imitated by our side.' In many capital respects I admit that he has never yet been imitated, nor will be itnitate4 II by those on Mr. B's side, or on any side. In the particular here meant, however, not only have those on Mr. Brougham's side been the first offenders and the last — and, to my belief, the sole offenders, but, most unfortunately for Mr. Brougham, it happens that the principal specimen of offence in this way is the whole of his own speech ; — it is indeed, in reference to our opinion of its author, memorable that a speech — which might have been expected to contain a bare rehearsal of political grievances, with some account of the panacea offered by the speaker — is so framed as to convey whatever is of public and national import in the shape of a personal invective against some private opponent ; and, as the speech stands in the report of one of Mr. Brougham's friends, it does hte- rally contain gross and scurrilous personalities, more in number than the sentences of which it is composed. In keeping close to a desultory speech, I havebeen of necessity desultory. I will conclude by taking a short notice of the answers which Mr. Brougham makes to four charges against himself which he has chosen to single out from amongst many others made against him : — 1. That he is poor. — This charge he admits; and therein to all constitutional ears he admits his unfitness to represent a County ; but, at any rate, even to his own ears poverty can be no absolute recommendation : whence then does he draw his 12 title ? Ill pure modesty, he draws it from the exchequer of his own services past or to come— of his own labours assigned or assignable — of his own merits sacred or profane — of his own glories to be sung or to be said. Lord Lonsdale, it seems, and the whole property of the County, are bent upon the ruin of the Constitution j if indeed they have not already ruined it. But is there no remedy ? — no hope ? Yes — thanks be to a discerning mob whether with or without breeches — there is a Brougham, who, from the height of his dickey, can descry the enemies of the State, and will attack them even as erst Guy Earl of Warwick attacked the Dun Cow of Essex. Nevertheless, for a vast majority of the West- morland Electors, I believe that they will take their chance of ruin with Lord Lonsdale and the property of the County rather than of safety with Mr. B. and his SansculloUerie. It is not genera lit/ made matter of charge against the Lowthers that they are the leading House in Westmorland for property and influence ; nor is it generally held criminal in them to have carried their great Parliamentary weight to the party who made a conscience of opposing the enemies of England^ 2. That Westmorland is poor. — And there- fore, says Mr. Brougham, according to the Lowther party is of right Lord Lonsdale's pro- perty for Parliamentary objects. But in saying this he has grossly misstated the argument of a most able writer j and he has to choose between 13 a wilful misrepresentation and a misapprehension not creditable to his understanding. Westmor- land is undoubtedly, whether for population or wealth, in the rear of the English counties ; however honorably distinguished on other ac- counts : in many ways I am persuaded that she can shew just titles to respect, though Mr. Brougham insinuates that she cannot when he says that she is to earn the applauses of posterity by voting for him. But, be this as it may, West- morland is comparatively a poor County ; and, the poorer she is, the more reasonable is the po- litical influence of the Lowthers. Even Mr. Brougham in his present speech, talking, as he is, to a mob, does not disallow ' a due influence' to property ; and, if any influence, I suppose of necessity, a proportionate influence ; so that, if twice as much property, twice as much influence. Now, upon this concession, it becomes a mere question of more and less, whether the House of JLowther ought to influence the return of the two Members, or only of one. Accordingly, at the Dinner which followed the speech under consi- deration, it was admitted by Mr. Wybergh, using a stronger term than a Lowther Independent would tolerate, 'that by their possessions and station in the County, that House was fully en- titled to nmne one of its Representatives.* At this point of the argument then it becomes im.. portant to fix the relation between the Lowther pr ^erty and the County of Westmorland j foij 14 as It IS in virtue of that relation that the right e*-- ists at all, so according to the measure of that, relation should the degree of influence be greater or less. It has been accordingly contended, for a clear view of the case, and not in any dispa- ragement of Westmorland, that it is poor to an extent which may justly give to the Lowther pro- perty the influence which it has hitherto exercised ; and that, if due consideration be given to per- gonal and other circumstances affecting the rest of the leading Families in the County, it will be found that there neither has been an injury nor an indignity in the representation having been placed where it now rs. Properties not equal to the Lowther property, and balanced by other great properties, exercise an influence upon the elections in counties sixteen times as populous as this, and far wealthier than by that excess : a fortiori then may the Lowther property, which stands unba- lanced, and with almost every other considerable property on its side, exercise that influence in this County. 3. Tfiat he and his party are jacobins ; 4. That he and his party are joined in ' a con- spiracy ayainst the great landed proprietors :* These two charges may be conveniently thrown together, as they do not otherwise differ than as cause and effect. — Whether Mr. Brougham be a jacobin, Mr. Brougham protests that he cannot tell : if that word means something very <;harm- 15 ing, he owns with a blush that it will probably be found true of him ; but if it means, as a friend of his thinks it does, " something particularly dis- agreeable, and really unpleasant to talk about," he begs leave to have no further acquaintance with it than may be for his convenience. It must not be allowed to depend on Mr. Brougham's de- finition of a jacobin — whether we shall account him one of that class. A jacobin is understood to be one who arms the passions of the mob and their ignorance against the property of the State, and the government of the State : for his own safety he may stop short of treason, as defined by law ; and yet, for public mischief and danger, he may go far beyond the evil of any treason that is punishable and formally known as such. By way of disguise a jacobin will generally affect rever- ence for the personal head of the State j (accord- ingly, the King's Arms was carried before Mr. Brougham on his entrance into Kendal) ; whilst the props on which all supremacy must rest, as the affections of the people towards their imme- diate superiors and the just influences of rank and property, he will labour to undermine. He, who does this, is a jacobin ; and, if he deny it a thousand times, he is a jacobin. Whether Mr. Brougham has done this, let his writings and his speeches say; let this speech say ; let the very part of this speech say, in which he is rebutting the charge of jacobinism and conspiracy : he there holds out a threat to the janded proprietors 16 that from this conflict they may possibly * retreat despoiled of that legitimate authority which, if cxer- cised within (what Mr.B. thinks) reasonable limits, never would have been disputed or grudged.* A conspiracy, which goes this length, he avows ; but no other : he is * aware of no other risk to property'. — ^What need we any further words ? — Habes comfhentem reuml If a mob be to judge what are the reasonable limits to authority, or if a mob be at all to take part in a conspiracy formed for the objects here avowed, we can well antici- pate the issue. But the very act of addressing speeches on political grievances and rights to the mobs of a country — is jacobinism : to make them arbiters in questions of this kind — ^is to reject the constitutional arbitration which lies in the pro- perty of the County. And, from the manner in which Mr. Brougham has done all this, k demands no great degree of sagacity to foresee at least one result : — the contest began in an effort at dissolv- ing wantonly an old connexion, by the admission of enemies not oppressively maintained, between the County and the paramount House of the County ; and it will end assuredly, be the issue what it may in respect to that connexion, in em- bittering the inevitable connexion between the Gentry and their Dependants — between those who can offer counsel and assistance, and those whom it has pleased God to place in a situation to need them. i^rey and fieUipgham, Frintersi £^ead^. AN i Wittau^u TO THE YEOMANRY OF THE COUNTIES dS WESTMORLAJSTD and CUMBERLAJVD, ON THE PRESENT STATE OF THEIR REPRESENTATION JN PARLIAMENT- BY A WESTMORLAND YEOMAN. - LONDON: PRINTED BY F. JOLLIE, JUN. LOMBARD STREET; ANd'sOLB BY THE BOOKSELLERS OF WESTMORLAND AND CUMBERLAND. 1818. [^PJIICE THREE PENCE.} ADDRESS, &c. LITTLE accustomed to express my sentiments on paper, and therefore apprehensive that I might not be able to present them in an intelligible form, yet prompted by a strong- sense of public duty, and a warm affection for my native county, 1 ventured, not many months ago, to address you, my fellow Yeomen, through the columns of a weekly publication. The design of that first appeal was to sound your inclina- tions, and tiy the temper of your minds ; for, judging from my own feelings, I could not believe that you, any more than myself, were insensible to the state of political servi- tude to which you -^ere reduced, or could voluntarily ac- quiesce in the extinction of all your most valuable pri- vileges. Had it proved, indeed, that from a long suspen- sion of the exercise, you had also lost all estimation of your rights, and that the love of independence and constitutional liberty had no place left in your affections, then must I have contented myself with lamenting in silence and despair, the expiring- happiness and freedom of my country. For herCf have I often said the sacred flame of liberty will live, when in other districts, servility, avarice and luxury, have obli- terated the veiy idea of patriotism ; even here, in our re- tired and delightful vallies, the genius of liberty will take her last stand, and gild, with her parting smile, the summits of our mountains. But I rejoice to say, that I was not destined to feel the bitter disappointment of finding the independent mind extinguished, either in this or the sister county. My appeal was listened to, and my call obeyed with a sympathetic and affectionate ardour; my sentiments" have been recognized as the sentiments of thousands, — as the sentiments of a very great majority of such of the inhabitants of these two coun- ties, as dare express or entertain an opinion which is not dictated by tlieir superiors. This spirit of patriotism has discovered itself in persons above the rank of those, whom I more immediately addressed ; and I can say it with no less confidence than satisfaction, that neither numbers, wealth, talents, nor integrity, will be wanting to our cause: — th^ emancipation of the county of Vt^'estmorlaud, from the poll- tical oppression of the house of Lotcther. Encouraged by these unequivocal symptoms of a reviving spirit of independence, I now renew my appeal, directed more particularly and formally, to the Yeomanry of my native county, but in a tenor and spirit, scarcely less appli- cable to those also of Cumberland. If I succeed in gaining your favourable attention, I doubt not but I shall make h appear, that your comforts, as well as privileges, are sacri- ficed to the present sJate of your representation, and that it is no less your duty than your interest, to break through a system which threatens to entail moral and political degra- dation on yourselves, your children, and their posterity. But it is not enough that I shew you, that a gross abuse exists, and that it is both your duty, and interest, to correct it, except I also succeed in shewing you that ihe correc- tion is still practicable, and practicable by the simple exer- cise of those rights, with which the constitution and laws of this country have invested every Freeholder. The frame of our constitution is certainly incomparably good, and as nearly perfect as can be expected, from any political system of merely human organization. The legis- lative authority, uniformly diifused over the three Estates of King, Lords, and Commons, but the executive power being committed to the prince alone, is a circumstance wise- ly contrived, to combine the freedom, patriotism and pub- lic spirit of a commonwealth, with the steadiness, vigour and policy, of a monarchical government. But it will be obvious to every one, that it is not from the name and shadow of a constitution, combined of the three gradations of power, but from the active and virtuous ex- ercise of their several functions, that these advantages must be expected. -fa ifijij- ^^lf, for instance, the representatives of the people, when ^x assembled, should assume the power of electing* a King-, or selecting a House of Lords at their own discretion, who does not perceive that our constitution would, from that moment, lose its mixed character, and degenerate into a mere demo- cracy, or rather into a factious junta und«r some specious title ? — Or, on the other hand, if the prince conspiring with the nobles, should either appoint the persons who are sup- posed to represent the people, or, when actually chosen by the people, should gain such an undue ascendant over them as to command a majority of their votes; who does not, in this case likewise perceive, that the constitution loses its free character, and passes into a mere despotism, or oligarchy, according as the nobles are subservient to the prince, or the prince to the nobles ? Now, althouo'h I do not contend that the Commons have lost all authority in the state, yet so far at least, I am borne out by facts, that they have lost their proper rank and di^nity^ and have fallen, into a lamentable state of depend- ence and subserviency. The majority are, in fact, chosen by the influence, or as the phrase is, " brought in" by the king's ministers and the peers. And of those who are introduced by the people into the national council, many, allured by the prospect of individual profit or power, shamefully abandon the interests of their constituents, and run the disgraceful race of court favour and ministerial patronage. What then can be expected from a legislature, however excellent in theory, so perverted and distorted in practice from its original frame and purpose? — What, but acts of leo-islation suited to the views of those M'ho possess the real power, and a great indifference to the interests of the people ? It is I know, very confidently asserted by wily politicians, and repeated by the thoughtless and credulous, that our political machine, though in many parts Avarped and de- cayed, yet, by opposing one defect to another, and by a balance of countervailing props and opposite forces, ii runs extremely well, and performs its office even with better effect, and greater precision, than if it were restored to its original simplicity and soundness. Were this actually the result, however I might dislike the system of keeping the frame of government together by a balance of conflict^, ing vices, yet for myself I should have remained quiet. Nor should I have openly expressed an opinioa on politics, except it were to declare my gratitude to those statesmen who are degrading their own characters, and polluting their own consciences, for the benevolent purpose of securing i6 us the blessings of a good government, and the protection of wise and equal laws. But this is so remote from the real state of the case that except the bias which the constitution has received from the dependency of the knights and bur- gesses on the great lords, be vigorously resisted, by tha unanimous efforts of the people, it will gradually circum- scribe their privileges, and leave their liberty and property at the mercy of the aristocracy. An impartial review of the statutes passed in the present reign, would prove the exist- ence of such a bias beyond all controversy. But a con- sideration of the laws, which have received the sanction of the House of Commons within the last twenty-five years, is more than sufficient to shew what has been the predom- inant influence in that assembly. Take, for example, the militia laws, which are so consti- tuted as to amount to a conscription among the lower classes of society, while to the higher they are nothing but an in- significant poll tax. Service may, indeed, in all cases be commuted for money, but the sum is the same to poor and rich, and, therefore, the Freeholder of forty shillings a year, or the labourer with no real property, contributes as largely to the defence of the countjy as the nobleman with an annual income of forty thousand pounds. Take also the tax on riding horses, which is charoed at the same rate on a Yeoman of £ 20. a year, as upon a Noble- man or Esquire of twenty thousand; nor is it the worst feature of the tax that it amounts to an absolute prohibition to the Yeoman from the use of bis own horse, however pressing the emergency. For the surveyor, concluding that every man on some necessity or other, (especially if he or any individual of his family be afllicted with sickness), will. use his horse at least once in the year, sends hiHi a surcharge at a venture, and puts him upon his oath ; by wJiich he is either to charge or exonerate himself— a mode of proceed- ing, if not vexatious and tyrannical, certainly most subversive of all religious principle, and a profanation of that sacred book which is abused to such impious purposes. Another specimen of oppressive taxation meets us in the property tax, by the provisions of which the small estate of the Yeoman was taxed after the same rate as that of the most opulent Lord in the kingdom. If the Yeoman occupied his own freehold he was made liable to an additional seven and a half per cent, and thus the small proprietors were paying- three shillings and sixpence, while their legislators were so modest as to be satisfied with contributing from their own pockets two shillings in the pound. The excess of taxation, however, is still more demonstrative of the subserviency of the House of Commons to the execu- tive government, than the apportionment of it oppressive as It is. During- the reig-n of his present majesty, the annual taxes have been encreased by fifty millions, nor has that beea sufficient to meet the wasteful expenditure of ministers; for there has been added to the national debt, during the same space of time, the enormous sum of seven hundred millions!! The principle of our constitution is, that Englishmen tax themselves ; but is that the practice ? Is it probable, is it natural, or is it even possible, that the inhabitants of this country could have been so blind to their own comfort, or that of their children, as voluntarily to take upon themselves burthens under which they are not able to stand ; and to mortgage, not 6n\y their own property to its utmost value, but the fruits of the industry of many generations for ques- tionable objects of policy ? But you are required to believe, that this ever-growing tnass of taxes is imposed from honest intentions, if not just views of policy I What, then, were the character and cir- cumstancies of those Members who were constantly support- ing, by their ^peechiss and votes, these annual supplies? Why, they were by far the greatest part of them men who were largely participating in these taxes when raised; or who iad the near prospect of preferment, place, or title for them- selves or some of their family : or they were members^ brought into the House of Commons by the Lords, and of course voted as they directed. These were the description of men, who, allured each by his individual interest, voted' millions after millions out of the pockets of the people, and have oppressed them with a load of debt and taxation under which they are likely long to linger and struggle but never perhaps to discharge, till set free, or rather entirely ruined by a national bankruptcy, succeeded by a long series of con- vulsions and anarchy. We have now had a specimen of the effect of the present system of parliamentary influence upon the legislative enactments ; let us next consider a little its operation on the executive department. It is notorious, that the way to suc- ceed to place in the church, in the law, in the revenue, ia the army or navy, is not to be qualified for its due discharge, but to secure the interest of some influenced member of parliament; and this system holds, not only in the lower offices but in the appointment of the heads of our ecclesias- tical and juridical establishments, and of the commanders of our fleets and armies. And so restrained and shackled is the Monarch by this system, that when inclined, he is told by his advisers that he cannot select the man most fit for an arduous office, except his appointment lays an obligation on some member of the two houses of parliament to vote with ministers ! Thus is unfriended merit in every depart- ment depressed, and the faithful and zealous servants of the public discouraged and disgusted ! In the army and navy, novices, with parliamentary connections, are perpetually rising over the heads of veterans who have fought the battles of their country. And officers thus promoted are entrusted with the lives of their fellow citizens, and the most momentous interests of their country. Thus, wars which are sanctioned in their origin by a corrupt legislature, are pro- tracted in their duration by a paralyzed and encumbered executive, which is not at liberty to select its servants and officers for their merits alone. In contradiction of this I may be told of the exploits of a British army under a Wel- lington ; but these did not take place till twenty years ex* perience of expensive and disastrous expeditions, commande4 as I have before described, had reduced the- nation to the utmost distress and danger; and when another defeat would, I will not say have ruined the kingdom but cer- tainly would have destroyed public credit, and shivered ta atoms the system of parliamentary influence. Then the ruling party, wise in their own generation, saw that they had arrived at a crisis when they must suspend for a mo* ment, in order to preserve for a perpetuity, their ordinary policy, and did seriously look about for sterling talent. We owe therefore a Wellington, with his trophies at Salamanca, Vittoria and. Waterloo, to a long succession of generals, (whose names let eternal silence and oblivion cover), who commanded our brave but unfortunate countrymen in the- low countries, Holland, at the Helder, Buenos Ayres, Wal- cheren, Cintra, and many other quarters which my confined acquaintance with military afiairs does not enable me to enumerate- And this is the system of influence so much vaunted and recommended, as being so mild in its opera- tion and beneficial in its effects. A system which, in plain language, is this : that such members should be returned to serve in parliament as are prepared to vote as their noble patrons direct ; or to accept place, preferment or pension, as a remuneration for consenting to abridge the liberties and empty the purses of their constituents, in such measure and manner, and directing the proceeds to such purposes as the minister of the day shall prescribe. Now, as to the method of providing ministers with materials proper for this influen- cial process, the chief engine for raising them is some great nobleman in each county, who is himself, in the first place, properly influenced. To hira is committed all the govern- ment patronage of the county— the civil, military, and ecclesiastical appointments ; from which having selected a few of the choicest morsels for himself and family, he applies the remainder, together with his authority as a great landed proprietor, to the laudable purpose of influencing the people. By having many places, and still more promises to bestow upon those who are sufSciently ductile ; he and his agents 10 exert all their art to teach the Freeholders the same lessori "which the ministers have taug^htthe members of parliament J namely, to sell their vote, their honour, their country, and their conscience for the prospect of preferment or place. Nor ought we to be surprised, that m^n in the humbler walks of life, encouraged by the example of their superiors, and g-oaded on by necessity, should sometimes sacrifice duty to interest and honour to advancement. But we have reason to be astonished, that men who have received a liberal educa- tion, who are far raised above the apprehensions of poverty, are nursed, one might imagine, in the lap of honour, who Lave great pretensions to morality, and who even talk much of religion, should be the authors or instruments of demo- f alising the population, and of poisoning the stream of public virtue and happiness at its very source. But scenes of greater turpitude still develope themselves in the election of burgesses in the close boroughs. The constitution of many borough towns, returning memfeers to parliaraent, is' this: the number of voters are limited in the original charter; and the privilege of voting passes from one Freeman to an- other, together with certain -extinct tenements. These tene- ments, or the majority ©f them are bought up by some' neighbourifig grandee. When the time for choosing a new representative arrives, he has these several tenements con- veyed, by the semblance of a legal form, to those of his ad- herents in whom he can best confide, and which instrument is to be destroyed when the election is over. But this is a matter of some difficulty, as it is not easy to find men who will violate an oath, and yet keep their word; who will laugh at perjury, and respect veracity ! The truth of this I believe the Earl of Lonsdale experienced himself at Hasle- mere in a recent instance*. But when this is accomplished, * The case to which I allude is that of John Greenway to whom Lord Lonsdale had conveyed a freehold in the borough of Haslemere, for the purpose of voting for his Lordship's nominee : placed in a situation in which he must either take a false oath, and exercise an usurped act of civil power ; or violate his word of honour, given to his patrol ; he preferred the latter, and exercising his franchise as ionajide his own, voted for the opposite party, and made property of the freehold with wliich he was invested. 1 leave to casuists to il knd these poor victims are thus invested with their ficttious franchise, they are conducted before the Mayor, and in his presence, and in the presence of their fellow-men, and in the name and presence of the most high God, solemnly and de- liberately ^wear that they are iona fide proprietors of cer- tain extinct tenements ; in right of which they are entitled to give their vote in the election of a member of parliament. Can any thing on earth be more corrupt, more profligate, more revolting to a virtuous mind, or more offensive to a God ef truth and justice than such a complication of crimes. Ct)n:sid«r, too, who are the authors and abettors of such scenes ; and then tell me whether you, my fellow Yeomen, are willing to be any longer either the promoters or dupes of this disgraceful system ; which is not only calculated to obliterate every trace oi virtue^ conscience and religion from amongst us ; but even to draw down the signal ven- geance of heaven on a nation, which in its most solemn transactions combines the prostitution of all public duty, with the most notorious falsehood and deliberate perjury. But why, you will begin to ask, address these observa- tions, which are common to the whole nation, to the Free- holders of Westmorland in particular? Because you fur- nish the most striking instance in this kingdom of the system I hare been reprobating. Four members are returned td parliament from this county : two knights of the shire, and two burgesses for the town of Appleby. Three of them are as absolutely and immediately nominated by the Earl of Lonsdale as his own butler or valet ; and we have no secu- rity but this nobleman's good taste, against these respectable individuals being qualified and appointed by him at some future election as the actual representatives of this county. Now, as to the morality and expediency of such a system I may appeal to every man's common sense. As to its legulity and consistency with the constitution, I refer to the sub- joined extract from Blackstone, whose authority as a con- >i — — — - — — — — — ■ — — settle the balance of turpitude and guilt ia such an alternative ; and to the conscience of honest men to designate the conduct of every one, piinciiial, agent, and instrument \yho are engaged in such foul transactions. 12 stitutional lawyer, I believe the most venal and servile of the interpreters of the law will not venture to question. " And *' as it is essential to the very hein^ of parliament, that elections "should be absolutely free, therefore all undue influences *' upon the electors are illegal, and strongly prohibited ; for *' Mr. Locke ranks it among those breaches of trust in the ex- " ecutive Magistrate, which, according to his notions, amount *' to a dissolution of the government, if he employs the force, " treasure, and offices of the society, to corrupt the represen- *' tatives ; or openly to pre-engage the electors, and prescribe *' what manner of persons shall be chosen. For thus to regu- ** late candidates and electors, and new model the ways of " election, what is it, says he*, but to cut up the government *' by the roots, and poison the very fountain of public security.'' And a little below, the same respectable author informs usy *' By vote also of the House of Commons, to whom alone *' belongs the power of determining contested elections, no *' Lord of parliament, or Lord Lieutenant of a county, hath any ♦' right to interfere in the election of commoners. If any " officer of the excise, customs, stamps, or certain other " branches of the revenue, presume to intermeddle in elections, *' by persuading any voter, or dissuading him ; he forfeits one " hundred pounds, and is disabled frOm holding any office." I^Iay, so notoriously opposite to the principles of our consti- tution is the interference of Peers of the realm in elections of the commons, that the following votes are publicly read at the commenQement of every session. *' That no Peer of this realm hath any right to give his vote in the election of any member to serve in parliament." " That it is a high infringement of the liberties and privi- leges of the commons of Great Britain- for any Lord of par- liament, or any Lord Lieutenant of any county, to concern themselves in the elections of members to serve for the com- mons in parliament." Now the language of our laws is this, that " no Lord of parliament, or Lord Lieutenant of a county, hath any right to interfeie in the election of commoners." But it is not a * Book L p. 17S. Christian's edition. 18 .mere interference with the election^ but an absolute appoinU ment of our representatives that we have to complain of, by one who is both our Lord Lieutenant and a Lord of parlia- ment ! How is this to be reconciled with that admiration of our happy coastitution, with that veneration for the laws, with that abhorrence of every illegal act or disaffected word which is pretended by the same persons who are guilty of a crime which, in the opinion of the soundest reasouer that ever wrote in the English language, is put upon a level, (in guilt and turpitude I mean but not in punishment,) to high treason ; because by it, he says, " government is cut up by the roots, and the very fountain of public security is poisoned." Or, are Ave to be told, and w^hen told tamely acquiesce in it, .that to trample underfoot the rights of the people is so meri- torious a thing, as to justify the means however base and criminal : but to assert these rights, however moderately and legally, is faction, sedition and treason. But we shall not only be told so, but feel it so, ere long- if we submit as patiently and silently to an over-g-rown and ever-gTOwing power, as we have done during the last forty years. The laws are gradually but progressively tend- ing to that point. Ambition and love of power are active and indefatigable principles, and if not met by patriotism and independence on our part, will, infallibly, in the end fix their fetters and manacles so closely around us as to de- prive us of the power to resist. And what, I pray, is it that we gain by this complaisance and subserviency? Why — the contempt and disdain of the family that has the benefit of it : That we may not flatter ourselves with any shadow of independence, or any decent veil to cover our disgrace, the Earl of Lonsdale nominates two of his sons as representatives of the county ; young- men with whose private character I have nothing to do, but of whom as public men 1 have a right to say, that they have not one qualification that fits them for their oflice, excent that of beino- connected with the Lord Lieutenant both as their patron and father ; their political submission must, by a double obligation then, be unqualified and pro- found. Their votes in the House of Commons, (for of their u ^eeelies we have no reports) bear testimony to the influence under which they act. As young men, we cannot suppose all the kindlier blood frozen in their veins there must be some drops in circulation of that natural temperament which combines with generosity, patriotism and compassion ; nor will 1 be so unjust to them, as to suppose that, if left to the spontaneous movements of their hearts, they would not, upon occasion, originate some measure for the common benefit, for the relief and advantage of their constituents or at least for their own popularity; but alas! in tlieir whole parliamentary conduct not a symptom of such feel- ings appear, but a uniform cold-hearted resistance to every patriotic or popular measure ; while, on the contrary, when new taxes are proposed or old ones to be continued; when new restrictions are to be laid on the liberty of the subject, or the old bulwar]^s to be thrown down ; there we never fail to see the names of these young men in the list of veteran jobbers and dealers in places and pension?. Indeed I am almost ashamed tp say, that the young nobleman, who is heir apparent perhaps to the fairest patrimony, of any sub- ject in the British dominions, degrades and disgraces him- self by accepting and holding two places, virtually sine- cures, one of £1000. a year, as Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and another of o£1600. as one of the junior Lords of the Treasury. The first consequence of his thus dipping his hand into the public exchequer and sharing the spoils of the people is, that he is the servant of the ministers, ready for any work they may require of him, whether it may be to vote the renewal of the Property Tax, or a fresh suspension of the Habeas Corpus, or any other measure equally oppressive and odious. Another evil consequence is, that he is the means of in- creasing the burthens of this county ,i^2600. every year ; for although his annuity is paid out of the general fund of the nation, yet as the system is universal, and we have no reason to suppose that our representative receives higher wages than those who perform the same service in other counties, there is no error in considering each member with a place, the annuitant of his own county. Consider, now. IS ^e year of difficulty and distress we have just passed through, and the hardship, poverty, and even hunger to which many of his lordship's constituents were exposed while they were contributing to supply — what wants? — or repay what services ? of their noble representative. — As to the nature of his services, I have already characterized them; ^ut as to his wants I decline to touch on them, lest, con- trary to my resolution, I should be led to animadvert on ^he private habits and pursuits of any individual. That you have surrendered your franchises, my fellow ^ountiymen, and sacrificed the interests of your country by patiently acquiescing in these abuses, is manifest: but you have as some equivalent to those sacrifices, improved, per- haps, your condition as Freeholders of Westmorland ; that is to say, you have the satisfaction of seeing your magistra- cy, your clergy, your military and civil officers, selected and preferred for their subserviency to the ambition of one fami- ly, and their hostility to manly and independent principles ; you have the satisfaction of feeling a kind of domestic ty- ranny established at your own doors, so that you can neither take a step nor utter a word, but under the eye of minions who are ready to stigmatise every free sentiment as jacobin- ism or treason. Your fields are trampled upon, — your dwellings invaded, -—and your persQus insulted, by a swarm of insolent game- keepers; and to such a degree does your political master despise your weakness, or presume on your tameness, that his farms are let to the highest bidder, and his tenants, as no longer necessary to support his ascendency, are left to struggle with exorbitant rents, and to live under the terrors of the bailiff and a jail. The remedy which I propose for these numerous evils is one as effectual, as it is simple and practicable ; that by a jfirm, unanimous^ and spirited effort we bring in, free of all expence to himself and therefore free to serve his country faithfully, one independent member for this county; the effect of such an effort would be felt, not only in the emancipation of our native county, but would diffuse its salutary influence through every corner of the land ; it will shew the ministry, and iheir s^lierents, that tli^re is a point t>eyoiid wMch |inraai| patience will no^ endure: and tftat in order to sefcure the «uffr«g-es of tlie people, tliey raust not merely pander to the ambition and avarice of the few ; but, by v/ise and ecjiial Jaws,— bj.a frugal dispensation of the revenue, — and a con- liequent (llminiifion of the public burthens; by an honest, and jildipeiss seleotioR of pwbli<^. servants; and, lastly, by aii abolition of 'vexatious aud oppressive statutes, conciliate the^-Qod opinion and promote the happiness of me ■whql^'' nation. ^ Despising, therefore, the threats, and scorning the" bribes 6f those ^'ho have too lon^ v^antoned in the exercise of a power ernanating; from yourselves; 1 entreat you to exer- cise, at the ensuing contest, a disinterested and patriotic conduct, Ayorthy of men descended from free aiid Virtuous ancestors, ,and \f orthy to. transmit a noble inheritance to your posterity. Reijiember that not oiily the authors and insti- g-atoTs of cori:upii«i3!, l>«t tLe ageHls^axul insirufULeuts ^ are culpable in the sight of God and man ; that to betray your country is not less sordid and criminal, and is even a thou- sand times more mischievous, both in its example and effect than betraying your friend; in as much as the bad conse-, quences of the latter is confined tp an individual, or at least to a few witnesses^ those of the former extend to unnum- bered and unborn millions; you love your fi'iends, yOu lova your kindred, your ptirents and children, but before and abovie all, you .love yjopr country, since it embraces a&H comprehends the affections and interests of all other objects. -Shew but the same integrity, firmness and disinterestedness in the most noble and important act of your lives, that you do ia every private trai\sact]on, and the cause qf your coun- try will prosper in your hands :: — cot^sii^' your own unbiassed judgments, — satisfy your own ponsQiehf es,— then, if we are defeated we shall have many reflections to soothe our dis- appointiuenl ; but if, as 1 trust we shall' Be^ successfuli w«^ will have iiO compunctions of conscience to mar Oiilr triumph^ , *^ We^tmojrland Yeoman., '¥. JOLhlE, PRINTEKj JbOAtBiRO STREET, LONPON. u AN ADDRESS TO THE YEOMANRY OF THE COUNTIES OF WESTMORLAND Sf CUMBERLAND, 0\ THE 'RESENT STATE OF THEIR REPRESENTATION IN PARLIAMENT, Little a':customed to express my sentiments on paper, and therefore appr-hensive that I might not be able to present them in an intelhgihle turmj yet, prompted by a strong sense of pubh'c duty, and a warm affection for my n tive coir tv I v n- tured, not many months ago, to address. )ou, my feUuw Ytomen, through the columns of a weekly pubhcation. The design of that first appea' was o ^outd your inchnations, and trv the temper of your minds; for, judging from my own feelings, I CO. Id not belit ve that you, an^ more thin myself, v/ere insensible to the stite of political fctrvitude to which you were reduced, or could voluncar.Iy acqu'esce in the extinction of all yuur most valu- able privileges. Had it,provt'd, inde< d, hat iVom a long suspen.ion of the exercise, you had .ilso lost all esiimation of ynur ri^t.ts, and that the love of jndeptndence and constuijtional liberty had no place left in your aff'.'Ctioii-, then mu-t I have con- tented myself with lamfjicing in bilence and de^ spair, the expiring happmess and freedom cf my coun ry. For here, have I of'en said, the sabred ilame of liberty will live, when m o her districts, servility, avarice ard luxury, hnve obliierate"' the very idea of patriotism ; eym has discovered itself in persons above the rank of those whom I more im- mediately addressed ; and I can say it with no les« confidence than satisfaction, that neither numbers, wealth, talents, nor integrity, will be wanting to cur cause: — the emancipation of ihe ccunty of Westmo land, from the political oppression of the house of Lo'xther. Encouraged by these unequivocal symptoms of a reviving spirit of independence, I now renew my appeal, directed more particularly and formally to the Yeomanry of my native county, but in a tenor and spirit, scarcely less applicable to those also of Curriberland, If I succeed in gaining ycur favourable attention, I doubt not but I shall make it appear, that your comforts, as well as privi- leges, are sacrificed to the present state of your representation ; and that it is no less your duty than your interest, to break through a system which threatens to entail moral and political degradation en yourselves, your children and their posterity. But it is not enough that I shew you that a gross abuse exists, and that it is both your duty and interest to correct it ; except I also succeed in shewing you that the correction is still prac- ticable, and practicable by ihe simp'e exercise of those rights, with which the constitution and laws of this country hive invested every Freeholder. The frame of our constitution is certain'y in, comparably good, and as nearly perfect as can b- expected, from any political system of merely hu- man organization. 'Ihe legislative authority be- ing uniformly diffused over the three estates of K'-ng, Lords, and Commons, while the executive power is committed to the prince alone, is a cir cumstance wisely contrived, to combine the free- dom, patriotism and public spirit of a common- wealth, with the I teadiness, vigour and policy ftf £ monarchical goverEment« But it will be obvious to every or,e, that it is not fi-om the name and sliadow of a CoDstiiutioup comb !ied of the three gradations of power, but from the active and virtuous exerc'se of their se* veral functions, that these advauiages must be ey;., pected. If, for instance, the representatives of the peo= pie, vi'hen assembled, should assume the powev of electing a Kmg, or selecting a House of Lords at their own discretion, who does not perceiv*^ that our constitution w^iiid from that moment, lose its mixed character, and d generate into a mere de- mocracy, or rather into a factious junta under some specious title? — Or, on the other hand, if the prince conspiring with the nobles^ should either appoint the persons who are supposed tp represent the people, or, when actually chosen by the peo- ple, bhould gain such an undue ascendent over them as to command a majority of their votes 5 who do-^s not, in this case likewise perceive, that the constitution loses its free character, and passes into a m.ere despotism, or oligarchy, according as the nobles are subservient to the prince, or the priuce to the nobles ? Now, ahhough I do not contend that the Com- mons have lost all authority in the state, yet se far, at least, I am borne out b-y facts, tiiat the}? have lost ti.eir proper rank and dignity, and have fallen into a lamentable state of dep- ndence and subserviency. Tlie majority are, in fact, chosen by the influence of, or as the phrase is, " brought in by*' the king's minis ers and the peers Aud of those who are introduced by the pe pie in o th€ national council, many, allured by the | rospect of individual profi*^ or power, sliamefu ly abandon the interests of their consti uents, and run the dis- graceful race of court favour and ministerial pa- tronage. \N hat then can be rxpected from a legislaturey however excellent in theory, so perverted and dis- tortec'' in practice from its original frame and pur- pose ? — What, but acts of legisla.ion suited to the views of those who possess the real powe: , and a great indifference to the interests of the people f Jt is, I know, very contideiuly asserted by wi}^ politicians, and repeated ' by (lie thoughtless and credulous, that our political machine, though in many parts warped and decayed, yet, by opposing one defect to another, and by a balance of counter- vailing props and opposite forces, runs exfremely well, and performs its ofBce even with better effect, and greater precision, than if it were restor- ed to its onginal simplicity and soundness. Were this actu&Uy the result, however I might dislike the system of keeping the frame of government together by a balance of conflicting vices, yet for mystlf, I should have regained quiet, nor should I have openly expressed an opinion on politics, ex- cept it were to declare my gratitude to those states- men, who are degrading their own characters, and polluting their own consciences, for the benevolent purpose of securing to us the blessings of a good government, and the prolection of wise and equal laws. But this is so remote from the real state of the case, that except- the bias which the constitu- tion has received from the dependency of the knights and burgesses on the great lords, be vigo- rously resisted by the unanimous efforts of the peop'e, it will gradually circumscribe their privi- leges, and leave their liberty and property at the mercy of the aristocracy. An impartial review of the statutes passed in the present reign, would prove the existence of such a bias beyond all con- troversy. But a consideration of the laws, which have received the sanction of the House of Com- mons within the last twenty-five years, is more than sufficient to shew what has been the pre- dominant influence in that assembly. Take, for example, tht militia laws, which are so constituted as to amount to a conscription among the lower classes of society, while to the highfr they are nothing but an insignificant poll tax. Service may, indetd, in all cases be commuted for money, but the sum is the same to poor and rich, and, therefore, the Freeholder of forty shilhngs a-year, or the labourer with no real prop<>rty, con- tributes as largely to the defence of the country as the nobleman with an annual income of forty thou- sand pounds. Take also the tax on riding horses, which is charged at the same rate on a Yeoman of twenty- pounds a-y"ar, as upon a Nobleman or E^quirp of twen':y thousand; nor is it the worst feaureof the tax that it amounts to an absolute prohibition to the Yeoman from the use of his own horse, however pressing the emergency. For tha sur- veyor, concluding that every man, on somf neces- sity or other, (especially if he or any individual of his family be afflicted with sickness), will use hi« horse at least once in the year, sends him a sur- charge at a venture, and puts him upon his oath, by which he is either to charge or exonerate himself — a mode of proceeding, if not vexatious and tyran- nical, certainly most subversive of all religious principle, and a profanation of that sacred book which is abused to such impious purposes. Another specimen of oppressive taxation meets us in the property tax, by the provisions of which the small estate of the Yeoman was taxed after the same rate as that of the most opulent Lord in the kingdom. If the Yeoman occupied his own free- hold he was made liable to an additional seven and a half per cent, and thus the small proprietors were paymg three shillings and sixpence, while their legislators were so modest as to be satisfied with contributing from their own pockeis two shillings in the pound. The excess of taxation, however, is still more demonstrative of the subserviency of the House of Commons to the executive government, than the apr>' rtionment of it oppressive as it is. During the reign of his present Majesty, the annual taKes have been increased hy Jifl;y millions ; nor has that been sufficient to meet the wasteful expenditure of ministers : for there has been added to the national debt, during the same space of time, the f^normons sum of seven hundred millions ! ! The principle of our constitution is, that Englishmen tax them" selves; but is that the practice? Is it probable, is it natural, or is it even possible, that the inhabi- tants of this country could have been so blind to their own comfort and that of their children, as vo- luntarily to take upon themselves burthens, under which they are not able to stand ; and to mortgage, not only their own property to its utmost Taluc, but the fruits of 'he industry of rttany generationg for questionable objects of } olicy ? But you are req- irecJ to belirve, that tins ever- growing mass of taxes is imposed fiotr) honest in- tentions, if not jdst views of policy ! Wliat, then> •were the character and circumstances of those Members who were constantly supporting, by their speeches and votes, these annual supplies ? Why, they were, by far the greatest part of them, men who were largely participating in these taxi^s when raised; or wlio fcuid the n»ar prospect of prefer^ roeiit, place, or title for themselves or some of theif family ; or they were Members broUght into the House of Commons by the Lords, and of course voted as they directed. These were the descr p- tion of nienj who. allured each by his individual interest, voted nri'llion? af er miUion> out of tlie pockets of the people, an^l have oppressed ihern with a load of debt and taxation undtr which they are likely long to linger and struggle, but nevei* perhaps to discharge, till scl free, or rather (.ntirely ruined, by a naUOnal bankiuptcy, succeeded by a long series of convulsiwns and aiiarehy. We have now had a specimen of the eff- ct of the present sysera of parliamentary influerice upon the 1( gislaMve enactments j let us nest considcf a little its operatiort on the executive depart rr,ent= It is iiLitonous, that the way to succeed to place in the church, in the law, in the revenue, in the army or navy, is not so rnuch to be qualified for its due discharge, as to secure the interest of some infl lenced member of parliament : and this system hold?, not only in the lovver offices, but in the ap- pointment of the heads of our ecclesiastical and juridical establikiimects, and of the commanders of our fleets and arm.es. And so restiaiurd and shack- led is the Monarch by this system, that when in- clined, he is told by his advisers that he cg.nnot se- lect the man most fit for an arduous office, except his appointment lays an obliguion on some mem- ber ot the two houses of parliament to vote with ministers ! Thus is unfriended merit in every de- partment depressed, and the faithful and zealous servants of the public discouraged and disgusted 1 lii the army and navy, novices, with parliamentary connections, are'perpetually rising over the heads of veterans who have fnuglit the battles of their country. And officers thus promoted are entrusted with the Hvesof their feLow-citizens, and the most momentous interests of iheir country Thus, wars which are sanctioned in their origin by a corrupt legislature, are protracted in their duration by a paralysed and encumbered executive, which is not at liberty to select its servants and officers for their merits alone. In contradiction of this I may be cold of the exploits of a British army under Wei ington ; but these did not take place till twenty years experience of expensive and disastrous expeditions, commanded as I have before dt scribed, had reduced the nation to the utmost distress and danger ; and wh^n another defeat would, 1 will not say have ruined the kingdom, but certainly would have destroyed pubhc credit, and shivered to atoms the system of parliamentary influence. Then the ruling party, wise in their own generation, saw that they had arrived at a crisis when they must suspend for a moment, in order to preserve for a perpetuity, their ordinary pohcy, and did seriously look about for sterling talent. We owe therefore a WeUington, with his trophies at Salamanca, Vittoria and Waterloo, to a long succession of ge- aerals, (whose names let eternal silence and oblivion cover) who commanded our brave but unfortunate counirymen in the low countries, Holland, at the Ilelder, Buenos Ayres, Walchtren, Cintra, and many other quarters which my confined acquaint- ance with military affairs does not enable me to enumerate. And this is the system of influence so much vaunted and recommended, as being so mild in its operation and beneficial in its effects. A system which, in plain language, is this : that such members should be refurned to serve in parliament as are prepared to vote as their noble patrons di- rect ; or to accept place, preferment, or pension, as a remuneration for consenting to a&ridge the li- berties and empty the purses of their constituents, in such measuie and manner, and directing the proceeds to such purposes, as the minister of the day shall prescribe. Now, as to the method of providing ministers with materials proper for this infl'ifncl'il pmcc ceived a li- beral education, who are far raised /.hove the appre* hensions ot poverty, are ni.rscd, one n)ight imagine, in the lap of honour who have great pret nsions to moraliry, and who even tdlk much of religion, should be the authors or instruments of demorali- zi 'g the population, aid of poi>-oniiig the stream of p"bl'c virtue :ind happiness at its very '-o irce. But s:enesof greater turpitude still dcve'ope themselves in the election of bur<;,( s-ses in the c ose borough-. The constitution of manv burt)ugh towns, returning mem* ers o parliaivent is this : the nupiber of voters are limited in the o'-iginal charter, and the privilege of voting passes from on* Freemai to ai other, togeihei wi h ce; tain ex- tinct tenements. These len vlrtuon* mind, or mere offensive to a God of truth and jus- tice, than such a compiicat'on of crimes ? Consi- d;r, too, who are the authors and abettors of such scenes, and then tell me whether you, my fe low yeomen, ari- willing to be any longer either the i-ro- motera or dnpts of this disgrac- ful sys'em ; which i'3 not only calculated to obliterate eveiy race of virtue, conscience and religion from amongst us ; but even to draw down the signal vengeance of heaven on a nation, which in its most solemn tran- jactioi s combmec the p'ostitution of all public du- t), with the most notoiious falsehood and delibe- rate ptrjury. But W'y, you will begin to ask. address these observations which arc common to the whole na- tion, to the Freeholders of Wcstaior'and in parti- * The case to whicti I allude is thqt of John Greenway, to whcim Lord Lonsdale had convey -d a F eeh< Id in the borough of H^sie^iere, foi the purpose of voting for his Lordsh'u's nominee Placed in « sitiia'ion in wliich he must either take a false o th, and exercise an usurped act of civil po er. or violate his word of honour given to his patron, he preferred the latter, and exercising his franchiue as kjna Jide his own. vt-ted for the opposite party, aud made p'-operty of the lieehold with which he was invested. I leave to cj^uists to settle the balance of turpitude and guilt in such a:i alternative; and to the C( u- science of honescmen to designate tae conduct of evfry one, principal agent ,ind instrument, who are engiijca tB such foul transiictiont. 10 dular ? Because you furnish the most striking in- stance in this kingdom of the system I have been reprobating. Four members are returned to par- liament from this county ; two knights o' the shire, and two burgesses for the town of Appltby. Three of them are as absolutely and immediattly nominated by the Earl of Lo.sdale as his own butler or valet. And we have no security but this nobleman's good taste, against these respcctuble individuals being qualified and appointed by him at some future election, as the actual representa- tives of this county. Now, as to the morality and expediency of such a system, i may appeal to every man's common sense. As to its legality and consistency with the constitution, I refer to the subjoined extract from Blackstone, whose authority as a constitutional lawyer, I beli: ve the most vei>al and servile of the interpreters of thelaw will not ven- ture to question. "And as it is esbeniial to the very " being of parliament, that elections should be " absolutely free, therefor; aU undue influences " upon the electors are illegal, and strongly pro- " hibited ; for iVlr. Locke ranks it among those *' breaches of trust in the executive Magistrate, *' which, according to his notions,amount to a disso- " solution of (he government, if he t'mj.loys the ■•' force, treasure, and offices of the society, to •' corrupt the representatives ; or openly to pre- " engage the electors, and prescribe what manner '* of persons shall be chosen. For thus to regu- '* lat? cand dates and electors, and new model the '' ways of election, what is it, says he*, but to"cut «' np the government by the roots, and poison the '* very fountain of public security." And a little " below, the same respectable author informs us, *' By a vote also of the House of Commons, to " whom alone belongs the power of determining " contested elections, no Lord of Parliamei.t, or " Lord Lieutenant of a county, hath any right to " interfere in the election of commoners. If any " officer of the excise, customs, stamps, cr certain " other branches of the revenue, presume to inter- *' meddle in elections, by persuading any voter, or * Book I. p. 178. Christian's editisn. 11 " dissuading him ; ht^ fol-feits one hundred pounds, " and is disabled from holding any office." Nay, so notoriously opposite to the principles of our" constitution is the irterference of Peers of the realm in elections of the Commons, that the foUou'- ing votes are publicly read at the commencement of every session «• That no Peer of thii re.lm hath Hny right to give his vote in the elccuon of any member to serve in parliament." " Thai it is a high infringement of the liberties and privileges of the commons of Great Britam for any Lord of parliament, or any Lord Lieute- fiant of any coUnty. to concern thpmcelves in th^ elecions ol members to serv6 fur the tommons ia parliament." Now the language of our laws is this, tliat " no Lord of parHament, or Lord Lieutenant of a county, hath any right to uiterfcre in t!ie election of common- rs -'* But it is not a men mterter- ence with he electi'n, but an absolute nppoirdm id of our representatives that we have to complani of, by one who isb-th our Lord Lieuenant and a LcrJ of parliament ! How is this to be reconciled wiih that admiration of our happy cuns'itution ; with that veneration for the laws ; with that abhorrence of every illegal act or disaffected word which is pretended by '.he same persons who are guilty of a crime which, in the opinion of the souiidcst rea-oner that ever wrote in the English language, is put upon a level, (ia guilt and turpitude T mean but not in pimishment) to high treason ; because by it, he says '■government is cut up by the roots, and the very fountain of public security is poisoned.'' Or, are we to be told, aid when told, tamdy acqui- esce in it, that to trample uncle > foot the rights of the people is so meritorious a thing, a,-, to jut-tif the means however base and criminal ; but to assert th' se rights, however m.oderately and lega-ly, is fact on. sedition and treason ! But we shall n -t on- ly be told so. but feel it so ere long ; if we submit as patiently and silently to an over-grown and evergrowing power, as we have done during the last forty years The laws are gradually but pro- gressively tending to that point. Ambition and Lve of power are active and indefatigable princi- 12 p1es, and if not n^.et by patriotism and independ- ence on our part, will infallibly in the end fix tlieir fetters and manacles so clost^ly around U8 as to deprive us of the power to resist. And what, I pray, is it that v.e gain by this complaisance and subserviency ? Why — the con- temp! and disdain of the family that lias the be- nefit of it. That we may not flatter ourselves with any shadow of ind* pendence, or any decent veil to cover our disgrace, the Earl of Lonsdale nom^inales two of his sons as representatives of the county; young men with whose private iharacter J have nothing to do, but of whom as public men I have a right to sav, th:it they have not one qua- lification that fits them for their office, except that being connected with the Lord Lieutenant both as their patron and father, their political submis- sion must, by a double obligation, be unqualified and profound. Their Vi^tts in the House of Com- mons, (for of their speeches we have no reports,) bear testimony to the influence under which they act. As young men, we cannot suppose all the k'ndiier blood frozen in their veins: There must be some drops in circulation of that natural tem- perament which combines with generosity, patriot- ism and compassion ; nor will I be so unjust to them as to suppose, that if left to the spontaneous movtments of their own hearts, they would not, upon occasion, originate some measures for the common benefit, for the relief and advantage of their constitue»ts, or at leasi for their own popu- larity ; but alas ! in their whole Parliamentary conduct not a symptom of such feelings appears, but an uniform, cold-hearted resistance to ev^ry patriotic or pop. lar measure ; whi't, on the con- trary, when new taxes are to be imposed, or old ones continued ; when new restrictions are to be laid on the lib; rty of the subject, or the old bul- warks to be thrown down ; there we never fail to see the names of these young men in the list of vete- an jobbers and dealers in places and pensi'^ns. Indeeei I am almost ashamed to say, that the young nobleman who is heir apparent to perhaps the fures' pa rimony of any subject in the British dominions, degrades and disgraces himself by ac- IS cepting and holding two places, virtually sinecures, one of ^1,0(>0 a-year, as Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and another of ^1,600 as one of tlie junior Lords of the Treasury. The first conse- quence of his thus dipping his hand into the pub- lic Exchequer and sharing the spoils of the people is, that he is the servant of the ministers, ready for any work thty may require of him, whether it may be to vote the renewal of the Property Tax, or a fresh suspension of the Habems Corpus, or any other measure equally oppressive and odious. Another evil consequence is, tiiat he is the means of increasing the burthens of this county ,^2,600 every ye?r; for althcigh his annuity is paid out of the general fund of the nation, yet, as the bystem is universal, and we have no rea'ion to suppose that our representative receives higher wages than those who perform the same service in other counties, there is no errtjr in considering each member with a place the annuitant of his own county- Con ider, now, the year of dim- cu!ty and distre-s we have just parsed through, and the hardship, poverty, and even hunger to which many oi hi?, lordship's consti uents were ex- posed whi^e thev were contributing to supply — what wants? — or n pay what serv ces ? oi their noble representative — As to the nature of his services, I have already cliaracterized tliem ; but as t.* his wants I decline to touch on them, lest, contrary to my n^solution, I should be led to ani- madvert on the private habits and pursuits of any individual. That you have surrendered your franchisee, my fellow countrymen, and sacrificed the interests of your country by pa'iently acqmescing in these abuses, is manifest ; but you have, as »ome equi- valent to those sacrifices, imp^ovf'd, perhaps, your condition as Freeholders of Westmorland ; that is to say, you have the satisfaction of seeing your magistracy, your clergy, your mihtary and civil officers, select- d and preferred for their subservi- ency to the ambition of one family, and their hos- tility to manly and rnd'^pendent principles ; toh hare the saisfaction of feeling a kind of domestic tyranny established at your own doors, so that 14 you can neither take 9 step, nor utter a word, but under the eye of minions who are ready to siigma- tise every free sentiment as jacobinism or treason. Voiir fields ae trampled upon, — your dwellings invaded, — your persons :nsulted by a swarm of in- Solent gamekeepers; and to such a degree does your poluical master despise your weakness, or presume on )our lameness, that his farms are let to the highest bidder; and hi? tenants as no longer necessary to support his ascendency, are left to struggle with exorbitant rents, and to live under the terrors of the bailiff and a jail. The remedy which I propose for these nume- rous evils is one as effectual ^ it is simple and prac- ticable; that by ajii w, unanimous, and spirited ef- fort we bring in^ fiee of all txp nee 10 hirnselj, and therefore free to serve hi-i c rum ry JaithfuUy, one independent member for this co nty : I'he effect of such an effort would be felt, not only in the emancipation of our native country, but would diffuse its salutary influ< nee through every corner of the land ; it will show the ministry and their adheients, that there is a point beyond v/hich bu. man patience will not endure ; and that in order to secure the suffrage s of the people, they must not merely pander to the ambition and avarice of the few ; but, by wise and equal laws, — by a fru, gal dispensation of the revenue, — -and a consequent diminution of the public burthens ; by an honest and judicious selection of public sprvants ; and l.istly, by an abolition of vex-iJious and oppressive statutes, conciliate the good opinion and promote the happiness of the whole nation. Despising therffore the threat, and scorning the bribes, of those who have too long wantoned in the exercise of a power emanating from your- selves, I entreat you to exercise, at the ensuing contest, a disinterested and patriotic conduct, worthy of men descended fiom frei' and virtuous ancestors, and worthy to transmit a poble inherit- ance to your posterity. Remember that not only the authors and instigators of corruption, but the agf^nts and instruments are culpable in the sight of God and man; that to betray your country is jsiot less sordid apd crimiual; and i« even «i tho^-! u sand times more mischievous, both in its example and effect than betraying your friend ; in as much as the bad consequences of the latter is confined to an individual, or at least to a few witnesses, v.'hilst those oi tha former extend to unnumbered and unborn millions. You love your friends, you love your kindred, your parents, f;nd children, but before and above all, you love your country, since it embraces and comprehends the affections and interests of all other objects. Shew but the same integrity, firmness, and disinterestedness in the most public and important act of your lives, that you -do in every private transaction, and the cause of your country will prosper in your hands : — con- sult your own unbiassed judgments, — satisfy your owii consciences, — then, if we are defealtd, we shall have many retlt;ctions to soothe our disappoint- ment ; but if, as I trust we shall be, successful, we shall have no compunction of conscience to mat' ©ur triumph. A WESTMOP.LAND YEOMAK. I.ATE DEBATE ON THE LAND TAX ASSESSMENT BILL. This Bill has ^br its object to enah'e FreehoMerg %o vcite althouoli they ?irf nut as^^essecl to the Land Tax. Tlie reason ft>r i' is plain — sisice a: ove half the Land Tax is r^deeuieri. tise uhole reason of rh" Act hasceasid; au'iit only up°rafes lis a disfrancliise- ment of ijood V!»tes, or to make Camlidates redt-em the Land Tax on those freeholds which are not accu- rately assessed. Last Session a Bill v/ns bronoht in bj Mr. Wynn, and passed llie ( omnions with little or no opposition ; but was thrown out in t'>e Lords on account of the jnteness of ihe S'^ssi )n !t contained many regula- tions regarding' tile- tions, whirh were objected to, an have the third lea.lin^- put off a few days, that these thinscs mi*ht be considered, statinfy, liowfvcr his approbation of the clause rela- tive to the Land Tax. Some week> ag-o Mr. Wynn brought in his Bill aarain. Mr Brouffham strongly opposed the part re- lative to expences of Hustmg's, and supported he Land Tax jiart. The whole, howevi r, was thrown if>ut the Lowther Members havinjj- d>scove>ed reasons ag-ainst it m hirh they never thought of last Session. Soon afterwurds the Hon Mr Campbell (son of Lord (Candor and nephew of Lord Morfto>tli) b.outiht in a Bill containinsf o«/y the L ,nd Tax part. The Low- thei-s niiisteit d ail ttieir stienjfth to throw it out, and Sir James Graham, formeily Lord Lovvther's attor ney, opened the debate against it. Even Lord Low- ther said a few words. All the Lonsdale Members voted — and it was qnite clear, as Sir Samuel Romilly remarked, that the only reason of its ^•eiiio' now op- posetl was, that the Westaiorland Comesi had begun since last Session, and that the Lowther party lhous[-ht they had their votvS better registered ihan Mr. Brouffham's «ere It ts to be observed, that the ut- most effect of this manoeuvre, to which the Ministers Icn. themseives, was ti put th-' Independent party to a little expence in redeeming thf Land Tax ; for it is certain that uol one vote will be lost by it. h^ndai Chronicle, May 9, 1818. *.^* All Freeholders in the interest of 3Ir, Brough-m are entreated to redeem the Land Tax ?ipo7i their Freeholos, to prtvent any troulde that their oppontnts may wish to put them to upon the day of election. Printed i]/ Jiicli»rd Jjougli, Finkle-street, Ken-It^, i