A18 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1816. 



complicated evils have not arisen 

 from a mere transition IVom war 

 to peace, nor from any sudden or 

 accidental causes ; neither can 

 they be removed by any partial or 

 temporary expedients. 



Our grievances are the natural 

 effect of rash and ruinous wars, 

 unjustly commenced, and pertina- 

 ciously persisted in, when no ra- 

 tional object was to be obtained — 

 of immense subsidies to foreign 

 Powers to defend their own ter- 

 ritories, or to commit aggressions 

 on those of their neighbours — of 

 a delusive paper currency — of an 

 unconstitutional and unpreceden- 

 ted military force in time of j)eace 

 — of the unexampled and increas- 

 ing magnitude of the civil-list — 

 of the enormous sums paid for 

 unmerited pensions and sinecures, 

 and of a long course of the most 

 lavish and improvident expendi- 

 ture of the public money thi-ough- 

 out every branch of the Govern- 

 ment, all arising from the corrupt 

 and inadequate state of the repre- 

 sentation of the people in Parlia- 

 ment, whereby all constitutional 

 control over the servants of the 

 Crown has been lost, and Parlia- 

 ments ha^e become subservient 

 to the will of Ministers. 



We cimnot forbear expressing 

 our grief and disappointment, 

 that, notwithstanding your Roy- 

 al Highness's gracious recom- 

 mendation of economy at the 

 opening of the last sessions of 

 Parliament, your ministers should 

 have been found opposing every 

 proposition for lessening the na- 

 tional expenditure, and that they 

 should hnve been able to obtain 

 majorities to support and sanction 

 their conduct in defiance of your 

 Royal Highness's recommenda- 



tion and the declared sense of the 

 nation, affording another melan- 

 choly proof of the coi'rupt state of 

 the rejiresentation, in addition to 

 those facts so often stated, and 

 offered to be proved at the bar of 

 the House of Commons, in a pe- 

 tition presented in 1793 by the 

 Hon. Charles, now Lord Grey, 

 whereby it appeared that the great 

 body of the people were excluded 

 from all shaie in the election of 

 members, and that the majority 

 of that Hon. House were return- 

 ed by the proprietors of rotten 

 boroughs, the influence of the 

 Treasuiy, and a few powerful fa- 

 milies. 



We can. Sir, no longer support 

 out of our dilapidated resources 

 an oveivvhelming load of taxa- 

 tion, and we humbly submit to 

 your Royal Highness, that no- 

 thing but a reformation of these 

 abuses, and restoring to the peo- 

 ple their just and constitutional 

 right in the election of Members 

 of Parliament, can afford a secu- 

 rity against their recurrence — 

 calm the aj)prehensions of the 

 people — allay their irritated feel- 

 ings — and prevent those misfor- 

 tunes in which the nation must 

 inevitably be involved by an ob- 

 stinate and infatuated adherence 

 to the present system of corrup- 

 tion and extravagance. 



We therefore humbly pray your 

 Royal Highness to assemble Par- 

 liament as early as possible, and 

 that you will be graciously pleased 

 to recommend to their imme- 

 diate consideration these impor- 

 tant matters, and the adoption of 

 measures for abolisliing all use- 

 less places, pensions, and sine- 

 cures — for the reduction of oiu' 

 present enormous military estab- 

 lishment 



