l76 PubUe Aff'alrs. — Resolut 



90 lavishly persevered in : and his speprli 

 ■was received with loud applause. The 

 ©like of Kent pronipiiy proposed, tliere- 

 fnre, tliat the objectionable elaiise should 

 be oioitted ; and, Lord Cochnine's amend- 

 weni being witlidravvn, llie following leso- 

 Siitiens were adopted :— 



"That iherc do at this moment exijt a 

 sfaanation of employmeut, and a reviilbioa 

 ef trade, deeply aft'ecting the situation of 

 many parts of the ccinmimity, and prodii- 

 cius many instances of great local di^tre^s, 



"That, from the experienced generosity 

 oflhc British nation, it may be confidently 

 expected that those who are able to afford 

 the means of relief to their fellow subjects, 

 will contribute their ntniost endeavours to 

 remedy, or alleviate, the sufieiings of those 

 who are partienlarly distressed. 



''Tliat, although it be obviously impos- 

 sible t"or auy association of individuals (o 

 attempt the genera! relief of difRcultics at- 

 fc'itiug so large a proportion of the public, 

 yet th;it it has been proved by the experi- 

 ence of this association, that most impor- 

 tant and extensive beiiefitsraay be derived 

 from the co-operalion and correspondence 

 of a society in the metropolis, en( ouraging 

 the efforts of those benevolent individuals 

 •who may be disponed to a-^sociaie them- 

 selves in dilieienf districts, for the relief 

 of their several neighbourhoods. 



"That a subscription be opened and 

 eiTtitribiitions generally solicited, for carry- 

 ing into cficci: the ohjecis of this associ- 

 ation." 



In consequence, about 40,0001. had been 

 strbsciibed \0;rii this sheet was put to press, 

 and the collections must alleviate, iliongli 

 thry may not wholly relieve. 



A very numerous meetir.g of the Livery 

 ©f F^ondoM was bold on Wednesday, Au- 

 gust SI, at Guildhall, \vhi'n the following 

 lesolations were passed nnanimnusiy, afier 

 energetic and eloquent speeches from 

 aiexsrs. Fj.o\v;:r, Thompson, and Hunt, 

 to which we regret our inability to do 

 jttstice. 



"That the distress, which weighs down 

 the agriculture, the commerce, foreign and 

 domestic, and the mantifactures of Gieat 

 Britain, is unparalleled in the history of 

 our country, and deeply alarming to all who 

 have at heart its true greatness, real free- 

 dom, and lasting prosperity. 



" 'I'hat this distress is the natural result of 

 a corrupt system of administration, and of 

 a long and profligate waste of the public 

 treasure, during a period rf u|>waids of 

 twenty years wai fare, which lias occ.asioucd 

 an expendilure of 1000 niiliions, and in- 

 creased our debt, taxes, and poor rates 

 to an insupportable and frighttid ex'ent, 

 brought our liberties into iniuiincnt peril, 

 and proved destructive to onr national 

 prosperity ; whilst, also, it has terminated 

 disastrously to the best interests of a con- 

 siderable poi tiou of civilized Europe. 



tons of Public Meetings. [S«pt. 1, 



" That the oppiessive weight oC taxation^ 

 under which the people groan, is producing 

 rapid depopulati(m, inereasins and widely 

 extended pauperiMn — threittening conse- 

 quences the most ruiuoHS to all classes and 

 ranks of the community. 



" That all attempts to redress, or arrest 

 the progress of, these overwhelming evi's 

 by subscriptions, however laudable the mo- 

 tives of the subscriber^, uir.st prove ineffi- 

 cient, and aff'ord but a tiifling and tempo* 

 rary relief even to the most depressed class 

 of the people ; and that we therefore de- 

 plore, no! oiily the magnitude of the na- 

 tional distress, but the very inadequate 

 means of Relief hiliurto proposed ; and are 

 deeply impressed with the painful appre- 

 hensidu that tho sufferings of jnany thou- 

 sands ef our countrymen will, in the event, 

 be aggravated, rather than alleviated, by 

 holding out expectations which can never 

 be realised. 



" That it is as insulting to the imderstand- 

 iiigs, as it is injurious to the independence 

 of the pc'iple, to receive a miserable pit- 

 tance in the shape of alms from those place- 

 men and pensioners who derive their un- 

 merited and exorbitant incomes from the 

 very taxes wliicii constitute the grand caus< 

 of the people's sufferings. 



" That we have spcn^ with shame and in- 

 dignaliou, that the poverty of Great Bri- 

 tain has been prochiimed to the whole 

 world; and that this once prosperous and 

 independent people are reduced to the ne- 

 cessity of accepting charily from a prince 

 of (he House of Bourbon ; and that, wliila 

 lamentiug this degradation of our national 

 charaiter, we canuot refrain from urging 

 his Majesty's ministers to demand payment 

 from foreign powers of the many millions 

 borrowed of this country, under the solemn 

 faith of treaties in addition to the still 

 larger subsidies lavished on those powers, 

 to enable them to rai'c their own armies, 

 fight their own battles, and promote their 

 own ambitious projects, to the manifest 

 prejudice cf the dearest interests of thiis 

 country. 



" That the siauiliug army, at all time": an 

 object of jealousy to the I5ri)ish people, i» 

 of a niaguitude in the time of peace unpa- 

 ralleled ; and the more alarming to us, as a 

 cnnsiderpble portion of it has been em- 

 ployed, in union with the armies of conti- 

 nental despots, in violation of promises, 

 solemn anil tepcated, to impose on the peo- 

 ple of Fiance a Lovennr.eut in opposition 

 to the declared cm ice of her representa- 

 tive-, and Id prevent 2.t millions of peo- 

 ple fioni exercising the right, without 

 which a nation camiof be tree — a right re- 

 peatedly ex« reised by the people of this 

 country — a liirht, the assertion of which 

 placed the House of Brunswick on the 

 throne of these icahns, viz. — that of forming 

 and reforming a government for them- 

 selves; the eBoire.cBB expence of this nn- 

 •snstitnlionftl 



