GENERAL MEETING OF THE INHABITANTS OF EDINBURGH TO ADDRESS HIS MAJESTY. In a general meeting of the inhabitants of the city of Edinburgh, held within the Pantheon, upon the 16th December, 1820, in conse quence of a requisition signed by 112 inhabitants, for the purpose of considering the propriety of presenting an humble, loyal, and dutiful Address and Petition to his Majesty, contained in a letter addressed to the Lord Provost, and published in the Edinburgh newspapers,

James Moncreiff, Esq. was unanimously called to the chair.

The chairman having read the letter of requisition, the following resolutions were proposed by Francis Jeffrey, Esq., and, having been seconded by Leonard Horner, Esq., were severally put from the chair, and unanimously agreed to:

Resolved,-1. That his Majesty's present ministers have entirely lost the confidence of the great body of the people of this country; and, by a series of injudicious and reprehensible measures, have deservedly become the objects of such general distrust and aversion, as to be no longer capable of conducting the affairs of the nation with safety or advantage.

2. That they have for many years persisted in a course of most improvident and wasteful expence; and, in times of unexampled distress, have obstinately rejected every proposition for effective retrenchment or economy.

3. That they have, in like manner, pursued an ignorant and illiberal system of policy as to the laws and regulations of trade, by which the national distresses have been aggravated, or the means of relieving them withheld or intercepted.

4. That, at the close of a war, the professed object of which was to vindicate and restore the independence of the European communities, and which

had been brought to a successful termination chiefly by the distinguished valour of our free British soldiery, they lent themselves to a policy inconsistent with the best principles of national liberty, and so conducted themselves towards various independent states, as not only to tarnish the honour of the nation in the eyes of the world, but to bring such suspicion on our good faith, as must be productive of great practical embarrassments in our foreign relations, both political and commercial.

5. That they have manifested at all times an unconstitutional and distempered aversion to all popular rights and privileges; and have, on many occasions, imposed unnecessary restrictions on their exercise and enjoyment.

6. That, in order to effect this object, and to maintain, if possible, their own power and influence in the country, they have ascribed the discontents, which arose chiefly from their own misgovernment, to a prevalence of a spirit of disloyalty and disaffection, which has had no natural or extensive existence among the people.

7. That they have struck an alarming blow at the morals of the people, and have invaded the private security of every class of subjects, by employing, encouraging, and protecting an unprecedented number of spies and informers, who are proved in many cases to have been themselves the instigators of those disorders for which others have been exposed to prosecution and punishment.

8. That in pursuance of the same objects they have taken advantage of the peaceful and loyal dispositions which prevail generally in this country, to persuade many well-meaning persons of the truth of their calumnious misrepresentations, and have thus excited among them grievous and groundless alarms, while, at the same time, the severe measures and reproachful language which were consequently adopt

Black, AlexanderCraig, David Brown, and James Stuart. Mr Stuart to be convener, and five a quorum, with power to the committee to add such persons to their number as they think fit. Thereafter it was resolved, upon the motion of John Clerk, and seconded by John Peter Grant, Esq., that the thanks of the meeting be offered to the chairman for his able conduct in the chair; and, upon the motion of John Craig, Esq.,that the thanksof the meeting be also given to the gentlemen who signed the letter of requisition for calling this meeting together.

ABERDEEN.-In consequence of a requisition, signed by the Collectors of taxes for this county, and other gentlemen, the Lord Lieutenant and Convener fixed Wednesday, the 20th, for a general meeting of the Noblemen, Deputy Lieutenants, Justices of the Peace, and Commissioners of Supply, to address his Majesty. The meeting accordingly took place in the New Court-house, every part of which was crowded to excess.

The Marquis of Huntly, Lord Lieutenant, took the chair.

Mr Menzies, of Pitfodels, opened the proceedings, by referring to the advertisement, signed by the Lord Lieutenant and himself, calling the meeting.

The Marquis of Huntly then rose, and addressed the meeting nearly as follows:-"Gentlemen, it is highly gratifying to me to witness the respectable body of gentlemen now assembled on this most important occasion, and I trust that we shall all be unanimous in voting a warm, loyal, and affectionate address to his Majesty; and I also trust, that gentlemen have come here only with that view; and whatever address may be agreed upon, I shall be proud in having the honour of forwarding it. Whatever my political opinions may be, I have never obtruded them in public or in private,

and the line of conduct I have hitherto pursued I will still continue. I am satisfied, gentlemen, that you are assured I have only one object in view, namely, the welfare and interest of this large and important county.”

Major Leith Hay admitted, that the address was unexceptionable, but conceiving that its real intention was to prop up the tottering fortunes of the present administration, he was determined to oppose it.

Mr Menzies and Lord Forbes strongly denied any such intention.

Mr Skene, of Skene, rose, and said that he had so much conviction that there was a private intention to support ministers by means of the address, that he was determined to oppose it. That at a meeting of the county some time ago the Lord Lieutenant had, in the most handsome manner, declared, that there was the utmost loyalty and tranquillity in this part of the country, and that no meeting like the present was necessary. Did his lordship mean to say that he had now altered his opinion, and that we were now disaffected and in a state of rebellion? For himself, he had the utmost loyalty and attachment to the throne, and, so far as that went, there was not a man more ready than himself to express it; but, at present, he saw no necessity for such a measure nor such a meeting; and unless the address should bear to be confined to the Royal Family alone, he would oppose it. He was always ready and willing to support the just and constitutional prerogatives of the King, and was well satisfied of the blessings we enjoyed under our free and happy constitution, if properly administered; but he would never consent, by a side wind, to give a possibility to ministers to say that he approved of their conduct, which he thought no man either did or could.

Mr Skene then moved an amendment to the address, which was second

ed by Major Hay. On a division, how ever, it was negatived, and the original address carried by a majority of 91 to

14.

MEETING OF THE COUNTY OF EDIN

BURGH.

22d. The meeting of the Noblemen, Freeholders, Commissioners of Supply, and Justices of Peace, called by public requisition, was held in the County-hall on Friday at twelve o'clock. Both the body of the hall and the gallery were extremely crowded. Upon the motion of Mr Wauchope, of Niddry, the Marquis of Lothian was called to the chair. When the roll was called over, Sir John Hope rose, and after making a few remarks, submitted an humble, dutiful, and loyal address, which he proposed should be presented to his Majesty. Sir John then read the address, when

Mr James Walker, Advocate, rose. He regretted that the task of seconding the address should have been imposed on him, especially when there were so many gentlemen whose qualifications and consequence better fitted them to discharge the duty. It was evident, he said, from all that was passing around us, that the most flagitious attempts were making to degrade the Government, and which had created the most serious alarm among all classes of the community. It is true that itinerant preachers of treason and the regular system of training in arms are now put an end to; but the agents of sedition are still active, and the language which they now assume is not less alarming though it is more artful. While the late investigation was pending before the House of Lords, without waiting the issue, every abuse was heaped on all that was venerable or that ought to be respected: the ministers of the land, the dignitaries of the church, and all in authority, were attempted to be degraded. Every en

deavour had been made to extinguish all feelings of loyalty to the King. This was not confined to the lower orders. And it was no less true, that the second Counsel for her Majesty had ventured, in the House of Lords, to draw a parallel between the character of our gracious Sovereign and that of Nero. To whom was this most unjust system of persecution to be ascribed? Was it to be ascribed to ministers, by whose advice the late prosecution had been instituted against an individual whose conduct had become the scandal of Europe? The time was now come for the people, from the one end of the island to the other, to support the government of the country. The present meeting, he said, fully and fairly represented the sentiments of the people of this county, at least of all those whose opinions were of any value. He felt convinced that the people would soon discover and separate their pretended from their real friends; and he hoped that the period was not far distant, when that part of the community, in whom one spark of religion yet remained, would return to their loyalty and allegiance.

Mr Fergusson of Raith rose, he said, from an imperious sense of duty. The address at the Council-chamber was one which would be signed by none but those who were attached to power, and he felt it to be his duty to resist or protest against any such attempt here. It was true the address which had been moved was softened in its language, but its tendency was the same. He deprecated in particular that part of the address respecting the licentiousness of the press, and maintained that it is not the King, but his ministers who are responsible for the acts of government. The plain meaning of the address was, that the ministers were to be supported against the feelings and voice of the people. He denied that it was the rabble only who

had condemned the treatment which the Queen had received. The middle and well-informed classes had held the same opinion. If public confidence was lost, ministers must either adopt some conciliatory measure, or fall. The support of a few aristocrats would serve them little. The friends of ministers should say " Change your measures, and all may be well:" but he had no doubt that, instead of this, they would boldly and impudently try to put all that was past out of view, and continue to tread in the same path. Whatever might be thought of his sentiments, they were those of an honest man and a lover of his country. He then proposed an amendment, which he read.

Mr Stuart said, little more than a twelvemonth since this meeting was called upon to vote an address of a similar nature. Upon that occasion, believing that a part of the population were acting under the influence of demagogues, he had shewn his readiness to support the government to a certain length; but upon the present occasion we were called upon to address the throne, merely on vague statements of the existence of disaffection and irreligion prevailing in the country. Now, he firmly believed that there never was a time when there was less pretence for bringing such charges against the people of this country. As to the charge of the dissemination or circulation of irreligious tracts in this country, he had made diligent inquiry from sources the best informed, and which, if he was required, he was ready to name; and he was certain, not only that no such tracts were in circulation, but that a greater number of religious magazines and tracts were now sold and distributed in this country than at any former period, above one hundred thousand finding their way among the people every month. And from whom, he asked, did the charge of irreligion

brought against the people proceed? From the landed interest, who, he fearlessly asserted, were less attentive to their religious duties, and less sincere in the performance of them, than that class of society whom they were attempting to libel and defame. The introduction, therefore, of religion into the discussion of this day, and the necessity which had been proclaimed of protecting it, appeared to him to be nothing else than hypocritical cant, and as such unworthy of all notice. Then, as to the disaffection which was said to prevail, he knew nothing of it, and not a statement had been made to shew in what it consisted. That there were discontents he well knew; and although the hon. gentlemen who had spoken had not yet alluded to the addresses to her Majesty, he firmly believed that it was to the language used in these addresses that they_referred, when they spoke of the disaffection of the country. He did not mean to defend or to be the apologist of the language made use of in these papers, but he must say, that the interest which the people had taken in the oppressive proceedings instituted against her Majesty, had raised their character in the eyes of all Europe, and in the estimation of all thinking men.

Sir George Clerk was anxious to recall their attention to the nature and object of the meeting. It was not necessary for them to meet and express their loyalty; that was never questioned; but it was necessary to convince others, who vainly imagined that they represented the people, that it was only necessary for the loyal and peaceable to show their determination to put down the mischievous attempts of the disaffected, and to shew the noisy disturbers of the public peace that they are as contemptible in numbers as in respectability. He was by no means anxious to enter into an examination of the question regarding the claims of