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or three empty barges caught fire and were damaged; the dwellinghouse and all the premises were reduced to ashes. It does not appear that any lives were lost.

3. At the mansion-house a Jew, of the name of De Younge, was charged by the solicitor of the mint, under an act of Queen Elizabeth, with the offence of selling the current coin of the realm called guineas, at a higher rate than the current value. By the statute in question it is declared, that any person who shall extort, demand or receive, for any of the current coin of the realm, more than the legal current value thereof, shall be esteemed guilty of felony. It appeared that the prisoner had sold fifty-six guineas for a sum amounting to about 22s. 6d. or 1s. 6d, for each guinea more than the legal price and current value. Evidence being adduced to prove this case, the prisoner was fully committed to take his trial for the offence.

4. The O. P. reconciliation dinner took place at the Crown and Anchor Tavern, between the managers of Covent-Garden Theatre, and the soi-disant town.

Soon after tive o'clock Mr. Clif. ford took the chair, Mr. Kemble and Mr. Harris, jun, being seated on his right hand.

The first toast, after the removal of the cloth, was-The king. After which followed-The voice of the people-The trial by jury, with three times three-The stage -The ancient and unalienable judicature of the pit.

Mr. Clifford then entreated particular attention to the toast which he was about to propose, feeling confident that no toast could be

more appropriate to the object of the meeting

May this happy reconciliation be of equal advantage to the public in amusement and the proprietors in emolument !

The health of Mr. Clifford being given, he rose and addressed the company to the following purport: "Gentlemen, - I return you most sincerely my thanks for the honour you have conferred on me, by placing me in this situation, and for the very kind manner in which I have been treated. Gentlemen, there is a circumstance collateral with that of the recent dispute, to which, I trust, I may advert without offence to any person present. It was my lot to be the plaintiff in an action at law, of the trial of which all my information is derived from the reports in the newspapers, not having been myself present on that oecasion. In those reports it is stated, that during the course of the trial, or after it was over, I do not know which, it was publicly said that I was the leader of an infuriated mob, meeting to injure private property, to destroy the government, to subvert the constitution, and to overthrow the monarchy. Such, gentlemen, is what is stated in the reports of that trial in the newspapers to have been said. Gentlemen, I recollect full well that when Colonel Wardle introduced the charges against the Duke of York, into the House of Commons, Mr. Canning made use of this very true, but certainly very dangerous expression"That when the characters of others are attacked, infamy must attach somewhere-it must fall either on the accused or on the accuser." Now, gentlemen, I have the honour

of

of your authority-I have even the authority of the proprietors and managers of the theatre-and, what is still more, I have the authority of the public voice, from the Orkneys to the Land's End-to justify me in believing that infamy does not attach on my conduct in these transactions. Gentlemen, I have the same authority of the public voice for asserting, that infamy does not attach on you. But infamy must attach somewhere. Let it attach, then, where it will best fit: and let it shine not as a brilliant and luminous planet, but as a dim and pale halo, around the hoary head of him who dared to utter such a calumny. Gentlemen, I first had the honour of meeting you in this room at a period of disturbance and of great dissention between the public and the proprietors of the theatre. That such a dispute was not sooner terminated I, in common with every other person, sincerely deplored. For myself, I certainly was in some measure brought forward unwillingly, and was induced reluctantly to take the lead; but being placed in that situation, I did nothing that could tend to widen the breach, or to excite disturbance; so far from having appeared in such a character, I, on the contrary, have the pleasure of believing, that my humble efforts have contributed to restore peace and harmony between the public and the proprietors of the theatre at Covent Garden. Gentlemen, I thank you sincerely, from the bottom of my heart, for the attention with which you have honoured me, and beg leave to have the honour of drinking all your healths."

5. The Persian ambassador visited the Bank.

6. The treaty of peace concluded between France and Sweden.

9. Dispatches were received, relating to the mutinous conduct of the Madras army.

A coinmon hall was held for the purpose of receiving the report of the lord mayor and sheriffs, on the address voted by the livery to his majesty.

The clerk proceeded to read the report of the sheriffs, which stated, that the remembrancer had called at the secretary of state's office with the address, and an intimation that it was intended to present it on the levee day. Next day he was told that it must be left at the secretary of state's office, to be presented (as was usual with all addresses, except those from the two universities, and the corporation of London) by him to his majesty. On the levee day the lord mayor told the secretary of state, that he then had the address in his pocket, and wished to present it. The secretary said it was best to give it to him, and he would save the lord mayor all further trouble; to which his lordship replied, that he would not consent to present it to any one except to the king in person; and that it was both the wish of himself and sheriffs to do it in any way which would save his majesty most trouble. The secretary said, the king's pleasure had been already taken and expressed as to the mode of presenting it. Mr. Sheriff Wood then demanded an audience of his majesty, which the secretary replied could not be granted, except upon some especial and expressed reason, and that no audience could be granted on a subject upon which his majesty had already expressed his pleasure. Such was the

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report, to receive which the hall had been called.

The following resolutions were then passed:

SMITH, MAYOR.

through the hands of those very servants, and the people can have no security that their complaints are heard.

: V. Resolved, That whoever advised his majesty not to receive the petition of the livery in the accustomed and established mode, have committed a scandalous breach of their duty, violated one of the first principles of the constitution, and abused the confidence of their sovereign.

In a meeting or assembly of the mayor, aldermen, and liverymen of the several companies of the city of London, in common hall assembled, at the Guildhall of the said city, on Tuesday the 9th of January, 1810.

Resolved unanimously,

I. That it is the undoubted right of the lord mayor, aldermen, and livery of the city of London, to present their petitions to the king sit-, ting upon the throne; that out of personal feelings towards their sovereign they did at the last common hall wave the exercise of this right. II. Resolved unanimously, That it appears, that the secretary of state informed the sheriffs, that the petition of the livery could be received only through his office, that they have been denied not only the usual access to his majesty, by a personal audience, but the undoubted right of presenting the same when they had actual access to his majesty at the levee, where they attended to present, and did present, a petition from the court of common council.

III. Resolved unanimously, That such denial is not only subversive of the rights of the livery, but a flagrant violation of the right of petitioning, claimed, demanded, and insisted upon, and confirmed to them by the bill of rights.

IV. Resolved unanimously, That all complaints of the misconduct and incapacity of his majesty's servants are most likely to be nugatory, if such complaints must pass

VI. Resolved unanimously, That this common hall, disregarding all attempts and designs of interested and corrupt hirelings, who derive emoluments from the national burthens, to impute unworthy and disloyal motives to those who resist unprincipled and dangerous encroachments upon their established rights, are determined, to the utmost of their power, to maintain them against those evil counsellors, who have thus raised a barrier between the king and the people, and thereby prevented their just complaints reaching the royal ear..

VII. Resolved, That the following instructions be given to our representatives in parliament:--Gentle men, You are hereby instructed to move in the House of Commons (or support such motion if moved) for an humble address to his majesty, praying for an immediate and rigid inquiry into the course of the unexampled failures and disasters which have attended our late expeditions to Spain, Portugal, and Holland, whereby the blood and treasure of the country have been shamefully sacrificed, without rendering any effectual assistance to our allies, checking the progress of the enemy, or tending to the glory or security of his majesty's crown and and dominions. You are also instructed to support all motions which have for their object inquiry into the violation of the right of petitioning-into the wasteful expenditure of the public money-the correction of public abuses-the abolition of all unnecessary places and pensions---the shortening of the duration of parliaments, and restoring them to their constitutional purity and independence, as the only means of retrieving our public affairs, and enabling this country successfully to contend against surrounding nations.

VIII. Resolved unanimously, That the sheriffs attended by Mr. Remembrancer, do forthwith wait upon bis majesty, and deliver into his majesty's hand, in the name of the lord mayor, aldermen, and livery of London, a fair copy of the foregoing resolutions, signed by the town clerk.

IX. Resolved unanimously, That the thanks of this meeting be given to the right hon. the lord mayor, for his independent behaviour upon all occasions, and particularly for his conduct this day.

X. Resolved unanimously, That the thanks of this meeting be given to Sheriff Wood, for his general conduct, and for his having requested an audience of his majesty, agreeable to the instructions of this hall.

Resolved unanimously, That the resolutions of this day, together with the petition agreed upon on the 14th day of December last, be signed by the town clerk, and published in the morning papers.

WOODTHORPE.

City Address to his Majesty.--The following is the address from

the common hall, which was intended to be presented to the king: "To the king's most excellent

majesty in council. "The humble address and petition of the lord mayor, aldermen, and livery of the city of London, in common hall assembled.

"Most gracious sovereign. "We, your majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the lord mayor, aldermen, and livery of the city of London, in common ball assembled, most humbly approach your majesty at this awful crisis, to exercise a duty no less painful than imperious.

"It is to represent with humility to your majesty the present deplorable situation of public affairs, that we have again approached your royal person.

"Attached to your majesty's illustrious house from affection and from duty, we should ill demonstrate the sincerity of our loyalty, were we to conceal from your majesty that it is not amongst the least considerable of our grievances, that attempts should have been made to brand your majesty's faithful subjects with dissatisfaction to your person and governinent, whenever they have exercised their indubitable right to complain of gross abuses in the state, or to attribute the disgraceful failure of expensive and calamitous enterprizes to the ignorance and incapacity of those who either planned or executed them; as if infallibility were the appendage of office, and belonged of right to those who may be called into your majesty's councils.

"With equal grief and indignation we have seen the disastrous result of various expeditions, in which your majesty's armies have been unR3 happily happily engaged, and which most forcibly mark the imbecility of those distracted councils which have so scandalously lavished the blood and treasure of a gallant, loyal, and burthened people.

"Towards the close of the preceding year your faithful citizens humbly expressed to your majesty their deep concern and disappointment at the disgraceful convention of Cintra; but we have yet to deplore that due and efficient inquiry has not been made into that disgraceful transaction.

"It is equally painful to call to your majesty's recollection the meJancholy fate of a second army assembled within the peninsula, under the gallant commander Sir John Moore. Ignorant alike of the state and disposition of the Spaniards, and the force and designs of the enemy, this army, being sent into - the interior of Spain, was in imminent danger of being captured: in this critical emergency, and state of agonizing perplexity, abandoned to their own resources, this hapless but meritorious officer at length discovered that he had no safety but in flight: with the loss of his ammunition, horses, specie and baggage, and barrassed and assailed on all sides, he secured the retreat of the remains of his gallant followers by the sacrifice of his own invaluable life.

"Deriving no benefit from ex perience, a third well appointed army, under the command of Sir Arthur Wellesley, was hurried into the interior of Spain, alike ignorant of the force and movement of the enemy, where, after an unprofitable display of British valour and a dreadful slaughter, this army, like

the former, was compelled to seek

its safety by a precipitate retreat, before (what we were led to believe) a vanquished foę, leaving thousands of our sick and wounded countrymen in the hands of the enemy. This loss, like others, has passed without inquiry; and, as if impunity had placed the servants of the crown above the reach of justice, your majesty has been advised to confer titles of honourable distinction on the general who had thus exhibited a rash and ostentatious display of unprofitable bravery.

"After these multiplied errors, and in defiance of reiterated experience, we have seen another expedition, yet more expensive, more disgraceful, and more calamitous than the former. This armament, delayed until the fate of Austria was decided, landed on the unwholesome shores of the Scheldt; where, after some unaccountable state of inaction, thousands of our brave soldiers have miserably and ingloriously perished by pestilence, privation, and disease, without having accomplished one national object. On such an expedition, planned and conducted by a minister, who it is now known had been pronounced unfit for his office by his colleagues---an expedition that touches all minds with shame, and fills all hearts with agony, it is too painful to dilate.

We cannot refrain from representing to your majesty, that while the affairs of the natiou have been so shamefully misconducted abroad, the most scandalous waste, profusion, and mismanagement, have prevailed at home; and your majesty's confidential advisers, destitute of all those qualities essential to good government, and regardless alike of the sufferings of the people

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