40] 
most vulgar professions, gave up @ 
considerable portion of their time 
and occupations in attending the 
numerous meetings that were call- 
ed in every part of the kingdom, to 
the professed intent of counteracting 
this attempt of the ministry. 
The whig club, comprising not a 
few individuals of the first rank and 
property in the kingdom, led the 
way in this celebrated opposition. 
It met on the eleventh of Novem- 
ber, and was presided by the duke of 
Bedford. All the members of both 
houses of parliament belonging to 
the club attended on this occasion. 
The speeches and opinions delivered 
were uncommonly spirited and. re- 
solute. After mature deliberation, 
it Was unanimously resolved, that 
they would give every aid to the 
civil magistrate in detecting, and 
bringing to punishment, the persons 
concerned in the daring attack 
made upon the king, in his passage 
to parliament, on the first day of the 
session: that,lamenting, as they did, 
this nefarious act, they saw, with 
theutmost concern, that it had been 
used as a pretext for introducing into 
parliament a bill, striking at the 
liberty of the press, and the freedom 
of public discussion, in substance 
and effect destroying the right of 
the subject to petition the branches 
of the legislature for redress of 
grievances, and utterly subversive 
of the genuine principles of the 
constitution; and for proposing ano- 
ther measure, calculated to produce 
similar effects, by means still more 
exceptionable. That it was there- 
fore highly expedient, that meetings 
of the people, in their respective 
districts, should be immediately 
called, to consider this important 
Subject, and for the purpose of pe- 
titioning parliament against the said 
bill,” ot any other measure which 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1796. 
might tend to infringe the just rights 
of the people of Great Britain. 
The corresponding society’s nu- 
merous members, together with an 
immense malueede of their adhe- 
rents and well-wishers, assembled on 
the twelfth of November, in the 
fields near Copenhagen-house. Here 
they solemnly denied all intentions 
of raisingcommotions,and disproved, 
by the strongest arguments they 
could adduce, the charge brought 
against them, by ministry, of being 
concerned in the outrages com- 
mitted against the king. They 
framed three petitions, one to the 
king, and the two others to the lords 
and commons; stating them to be 
the unanimous petitions of nearly 
four hundred thousand British subs 
jects, met together to communicate 
their seiitiments, and express them 
freely, aS authorised to do by the 
bill of rights, on the measures of 
ministry, which tended to invade 
the liberties vested in them by the 
constitution, They supplicated, 
therefore, the king to exert his 
royal authority, in the preservation 
of his people’s rights, directly 
threatened by the two bills brought 
forward by his ministers ; and they 
requested the two houses to inter-’ 
fere in behalf of the public, against 
the ministerial attempt to procure 
their passing. 
The livery of London, the elect 
ers of Westminster, and the free- 
holders of Middlesex, agreed to re- 
monstrances and petitions of the 
like nature, and were followed by a 
number of counties, and almost 
every town of note in the kingdom. 
In the public meetings, held for 
those purposes, people were nearly 
unanimous in their opposition to 
the bills: but they were secretly 
counteracted by the agents of mi- 
nistry, who circulated clandestinely 
counter= 
