VOL. 59.-No. 6.] LONDON, SATURDAY, AUG. 5, 1826.

[Price 6d.

"That law which placed your Royal Highness's family upon the throne "says, that the people have a right to Petition the King. This is de"clared to make part of our birth-right.' This right so necessary to "King as well as people, has now been wholly set aside, as far as regards "those who are in danger of being oppressed or who may be disposed to "give your Royal Highness any information unpleasing to those in power. "No oppressed man can cause his petition to reach your sight. The Secretary of State may present, but he may burn, whatever is presented to "him. He, and not your Royal Highness, is the person petitioned; and with your People, you have no communication.

It matters not, may it please your Royal Highness, that "you are not the real cause of these haughty and repulsive regulatiops. "It is impossible for the mass of the people to know that. They find, that "they can have no communication with you; they never know whether 66 you hear them or not; they are never informed whether you receive "their petitions; they never hear any thing you say, or any thing of your "thoughts.”—Register, Vol. XXXIV. p. 717. 722. February 27th, 1819.

L

Printed and Published by WILLIAM COBBETT, No. 183, Fleet-street. [ENTERED AT STATIONERS' HALL.]

❝ individual has the right of pe- petition shall be presented to "titioning the King for the re- either King or Parliament, "by "dress of grievances;" and then more than two persons at a time.” he illustrates the good of this by This clearly shows that the law describing the practice of a des- contemplated a direct petitioning; potic state. "In Russia," says a petitioning in person, and not he, we are told, that the Czar through the hands of Clerks or Se"Peter established a law, that cretaries or Ministers of any sort. "no subject might petition the This Act of Charles the Second "Throne, till he had first peti- was made to prevent great numbers "tioned two different Ministers of persons from going tumultuof State; in case he obtained ously to the King under the name justice from neither, he might of petitioners. It was proper "then present a third petition to enough to guard the King against "the Prince; but, upon pain of acts of this sort; but, the grounds "death, if found to be in the of the Act, as well as the Act itwrong. The consequence of self, clearly proves that the right "which was, that no one dared to "petition the King" (which "to offer such third petition; and the law declares to be amongst "grievances seldom falling under "the notice of the Sovereign, he "had little opportunity to re"dress them."

the birthright of Englishmen), means the right of carrying a Petition, and putting it into the hands of the King.

Now, we do not present peti- And, is not this a right which is tions to the King on pain of death; of very great importance? Would but we, individuals, cannot pre- it not, pray, if it could be freely sent them at all. Leaving a peti- exercised, as the law provides, be tion at the Secretary of State's a very great check upon the Office; that is not "petitioning King's Ministers ? Would not the King." Petitioning the King means putting a Petition into his own hands; which clearly appears from the Act of Parliament made in the reign of Charles the Second, placing restrictions on the exercising of the right of peti- pression, if they knew that every tion. This Act provides, that no man was at liberty to go and

they, if they knew that this right could be freely exercised, be more careful of their conduct? Would not they be more vigilant in the discharge of their duty; more careful not to commit acts of op

make their conduct known to the If it answer this purpose, my

King? Then, again, is it not greatly injurious to the King himself, to be thus cut off from his people? Must it not, necessarily, lessen him in the eyes of his people? It is, in fact, to take away one of his great powers and prerogatives. It is to take away

time and pains will not have been hrown away; though I shall continue to regret that I had not an opportunity of presenting the Petition to the King..

WM. COBBETT.

the right of hearing the complaints MR. COBBETT'S PETITION

of his people.

ΤΟ

THE KING,

In favour of the Distressed
Manufacturers.

TO THE PUBLIC.

Kensington, 1st. August, 1826. BELG wholly unacquainted with the hours of rising, and so forth, at the King's Cottage, I at about eight o'clock on Saturday went to Windsor, where I arrived morning last. I knew there was a gentleman there who regularly Court News;" and I thought attended in order to supply the he was a likely person to give me the information that I wanted. man, that the hour of twelve, or Having learnt from this gentlethereabouts, was the proper timè to attend, I proceeded from Windat that hour or thereabouts. sor to the cottage, so as to arrive

'I do not know at this moment, that the King was at the Lodge in Windsor Park. I am not even certain that Lord CONYNGHAM was there; so that, if I had left my Petition, all that I should have known was, that it was in the hands of Mr. DowSETT; and it would, in fact, have been a Petition to Mr. DowSETT and to nobody else. As to an "answer," how was I to know that the answer was given by order of the King? In short, here is a complete bar to the right of Petition, which is, in reality, enjoyed by nobody, who cannot, at suitable times, obtain liberty to get into the presence of the King. I shall now insert the Petition, together with the other papers that have already been published in the Morning Chronicle and Morning Herald. Ia petition to the King, and that am in hopes that the Petition will serve to point out to others, the grounds of Petition at this time.

When I spoke to the Court news writer, whose name is Dowtold him that I wished to present sett, I told him my business; I

my intention was to send à note order that he might put me in the to the Marquis Conyngham, in way of doing it in a proper man

Windsor.

ner. Towards the cottage I went, the gate. Here, also, I found then, in my chaise, with my note, Mr. Dowsett, whom I had seen at Now, when I mentioned my business to Mr. Dowsett, at Windsor, he asked me if he should apprize Lord Conyngham of it, as he, Mr. Dowsett, should be at the cottage before me. I said "no," because there could be nothing to justify me in sending such a message to Lord Conyngham; but I knew very well that Mr. Dowsett would tell his Lordship that I was coming; and the fact is, though I did not think it right for me to send a message, I thought it was right, and for my own credit, that his Lordship should be apprized beforehand, if I could, with propriety, cause it to be done; because, otherwise, it might have appeared that I was desirous of getting in slyly, and taking his Lordship by surprise.

(No. I.,) for Lord Conyngham,
ready written. The cottage is in
the midst of a little wood, sur-
rounded, wood and all, with a
high paling, there being a gate,
and a porter's lodge, to keep a
passage open through this high
fence. This fence, or line of cir-
cumvallation, is an interior line;
there being another line of cir-
cumvallation drawn round this
interior line, and at a consider-
able distance from it. This exte-
rior line has a gate; and, indeed,
it has several gates to let people
in and out at. At this outer gate,
there is a park-keeper dressed in
green, and there is a sort of rural
sentry-box on the inside of the gate.
When I came to this outside
gate, the keeper asked me whom I
was going to see, or whom I had
business with at the cottage. I
told him, with Lord Conyngham.
He hesitated a little before he
opened the gate, looking hard at
me, and observing that the usual
way was, to send in a message or
letter, or whatever it was. I,
without appearing to pay much
attention to what he said, bid him
open the gate, which he did; but
then I said to him, "I want to
have this note sent in to my Lord
Conyngham, while I wait for an
answer." Upon my asking him
to do it, he, with great civility,
took the note from me in order to
carry it in, or to cause it to be
delivered to Lord Conyngham.
He went on before, and I followed
with chaise; but we now came
my
to what I was not aware of; name-
ly, the gate in the second line of
circumvallation. That gate was
not open, though the porter, in-
in-to
deed, was there and standing by

Mr. Dowsett did then tell Lord Conyngham that I was coming, and that I was coming with a Petition to the King; and, now, Mr. Dowsett I found at the gate, in the interior line of circumvallation, prepared to inform me, which he did, that Lord Conyngham was gone out; that it was impossible to say when he would return; and that Lord Conyngham had directed him, Mr. Dow sett, to inform me, when I should arrive, that if I would leave my petition with him, Mr. Dowsett, he, Lord Conyngham, would take care that it should go through the proper

channel.

1, however, took the note from the Park-keeper, and gave it to Mr. Dowsett, requesting him to carry it to Lord Conyngham, and to bring me an answer of some sort or other, giving him clearly

to understand that I was resolved is, to get together the people of not to go away without some answer or other to that note.

Mr. Dowsett took the note. The Cottage gate, at which I was, is situate at about four hundred yards from the Cottage itself; so that to go backward and forward could not be a work of more than ten minutes, that being at the rate of only three miles an hour, yet, Mr. Dowsett was absent about three quarters of an hour, though he found Lord Conyngham at the Cottage. However, he brought me a verbal answer from Lord Conyngham, which answer is

London.

Westminster or of the County of Middlesex, and to induce them, if I can, to join the people of the North, in praying for reform and for a total repeal and abolition of the Corn Laws.

WM. COBBETT.

(No. I.)

Royal-Lodge-Gate, Windsor-Park, July 29.

stated in the Note No. 2. When My Lord, I have a petition I had written that Note, and given now with me, which I think it my it to Mr. Dowsett to carry it to bounden duty to present in person Lord Conyngham, I returned to to His Majesty the King. The law tells me that I have " a right I think it right to add, that the to petition the King:" my own presenting of this petition, though judgment tells me that the subject an object, in my estimate of the of my petition is of the greatest matter, fully justifying my request and most pressing importance to ing an audience with the King, the well-being of the King's subwas not the only object that I had jects, and to the tranquillity of in view. My intention was, and, his kingdom. I therefore request indeed, my resolution was, to tell your Lordship to have the goodHis Majesty many things, of ness to apply in that manner of which I am pretty sure he never which you are the best judge, for yet heard one word. It was my permission, that I may, with all resolution to tell him the naked the humility that becomes me, truth, with regard to the measures discharge towards His Majesty which I deem absolutely necesand my country that sacred duty, sary to be adopted to save the a deep sense of which alone could country from a terrific convulsion. have induced me to give your It was my resolution to tell him Lordship this trouble. upon this subject that which i would have told the Parliament, if I had not been kept out of that 'Parliament. Now, then, I have done, up to this moment, every thing that it has been in my power to do. There remains but one thing more, at any rate; and that The Most Noble the Marquis one thing I shall endeavour to do in the course of a few weeks; it

I am,
With the greatest respect,
My Lord,

Your Lordship's most obedient
and most humble Servant,
WM. COBBETT.

Conyngham.