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Gay Fancy hers, that spurns controul, And Love, the minstrel of the soul! Then, Memory, hail! by whose creative power, [Affliction's hour. Is nerv'd the Patriot's arm, and sooth'd

When Cynthia mounts her silv'ry car, And Venus lights the Western star; When Fancy soars to bigher spheres, Then welcome Memory's balmy tears! When the pale moonbeam gilds the silent

sea,

Then, Laura, then my spirit flies to thee; With thee I seem o'er wonted haunts to rove,

Or list unseen to tales of hapless love.
When Evening comes in vermil dye,
To tinge with mellow hand the sky,'
With thee I seek the lonely wood,
Where tyrant vigils ne'er intrude;
If then perchance I frame a lay
To scare ideal griefs away,
Should fond Affection praise the artless
song,

How rolls the fervid tide with energy along!

Sun of my life, whose matin beam Has ceas'd to warm its freezing stream, Be thine the mild, meridian ray, Which glads the frosty noon of May; And when, at last, Death's gloomy midnight o'er, [more,

That beam shall cloudless rise to set no That hallow'd form, and passion-speaking

eye,

Far lovelier glow in immortality;

Ye seraphs say, when thron'd above, (If ours that promis'd bliss to prove) Shall Memory then the song inspire, And strike with holier hand the lyre; In Angels' ears those joys pourtray, Which spirit breathe to lifeless clay; And Reason, freed from Nature's servile rein, [and of pain. Combine these dreamy hours of pleasure Stockton-on-Tees, Aug. 1816.

LINES,

P. J.

Addressed to a Lady's Billet, A. D. 1785. LITTLE Billet of the fair,

Tell me when, and tell me where ;
When Maria strikes the strings;
Where she sits, and where she sings;
Does she, with the Nightingale,
Warble o'er the woodland vale,
When darkness mantling o'er the dell,
Suits her love-lorn ditty well?
Does she seek a livelier scene,
Dappled meads, and pastures green,
That their varied treasures bring,
To deck the lovely lap of Spring,
When the Sun illumes the sky,
And the earth-born vapours fly?
Little billet of the fair,

Tell, ah! tell me when and where.
D. CABANEL.
GENT. MAG. February, 1817.

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HISTORICAL CHRONICLE.

PROCEEDINGS IN THE FIFTH SESSION OF THE FIFTH PARLIAMENT of the UNITED KINGDOM OF Great Britain AND IRELAND; continued from p. 79.

HOUSE OF LORDS, Jan. 28. THE House resumed between three and four, when Viscount Exmouth and Lord Prudhoe were introduced.

At half-past five Viscount Sidmouth intimated that he had a communication to make to their Lordships of the first importance, which rendered it necessary that the bar should be cleared.

Lord James Murray was then examined respecting the attack upon the Prince Regent; and an Address was voted to be presented to his Royal Highness. (See it in p. 79.)

In the Commons, the same day, the Speaker having read the Speech delivered that day from the Throne, Lord Valletort moved the Address. His Lordship considered that, although the late war had thrown considerable burthens on the people, yet we ought to be gratified that all the objects sought by it had been attained; nor ought we under the pressure of temporary adversity, to give ourselves up to despair. The expedition against the Government of Algiers, whether regarded with respect to its motives or i's end, formed a subject of unmixed congratulation ; nor was a renewal of aggression from that quarter to be apprehended. With respect to the wars in India, they had been forced upon us by a series of aggressions; but the Treaty with Nepaul, combined with the wise arrangements of the Marquis of Hastings, promised to secure the future tranquillity of the Peninsula of India. He agreed that the House ought to enforce economy; but it ought to be borne in mind that the weight and dignity of a powerful Government must be kept up; that this Government was the guardian of social order; that our Empire was wide, and our Colonies spread over the whole face of the Globe. He would enforce on their consideration, that nothing was so expensive as weakness, nothing so prodigal as insecurity. (Hear, kear!) The House must be sensible that the Prince Regent was sincerely desirous of lessening the burthens of the people, and would adopt any plan consistent with public security and public faith, that the House might recommend. The deficiency of the revenue was no ground for depression; the present distress was but temporary, occasioned by the transition from a state of war to a state of peace. The expenditure during the last year of the war, among the labouring classes of the community, amounted to 130 millions;

in the year after it was only 70 millions; this joined to the great discharge of soldiers and sailors, effected a diminution of employment at the very time when there was a greater demand for it than ever. A mischievous spirit had been diffused among the poorer classes for the worst purposes: they had been told that the remedy for all their grievances would be Annual Parlia ments; but he trusted that the House had the will and power to defeat every attempt to subvert the Constitution, which, in spite of clamour, was still unrivalled, and acknowledged to be the most perfect that had ever fallen to the lot of man.

Mr. Dawson seconded the motion. Mr. Ponsonby moved the following Amendment:

"That we have seen with the deepest concern the continued embarrassments of our agriculture, manufactures, and commerce; the alarming deficiency of the revenue, and the unexampled and increasing distresses of all classes of his Majesty's faithful subjects. Of these facts he was sure no one could have any doubt. That we are willing to indulge the hope that these distresses may be found, in part, to have originated from circumstances of a temporary nature, and that some allevia. tion of them may be produced by the continuance of peace; but that we should ill discharge our duty to his Royal Highness, and be guilty of countenancing a most dangerous delusion, were we to conceal from him our opinion that the pressure that now weighs so heavily on the resources of the country, is much more extensive in its operation, more severe in its effects, more deep and general in its causes, and more difficult to be removed, than that which has prevailed at the termination of any former war. That we are firmly persuaded that the same exemplary patience and fortitude with which all rauks have hitherto borne the difficulties under which they labour, will continue to support them under such bur thens as may be found indispensibly ne cessary for the unavoidable exigencies of the public service; but that to maintain this disposition it is incumbent on this House, by a severe and vigilant, exercise of its powers, to prove to their fellow-subjects, that the sacrifices which it may be their painful duty to make, are strictly limited to the real necessities of the State. That while we acknowledge the gracious. dispositions announced in his Royal Highness's Speech from the throne, we cannot help expressing our regret that his Royal Highness

Highness should not have been sooner advised to adopt measures of the most rigid economy and retrenchment, particularly with respect to our military establishments; that a prompt and effectual reduction in this and every other branch of our expenditure, his Majesty's faithful Commons most naturally look to as the first step to relieve the sufferings, and redress the grievances of which the people so justly complain, and that to enable themselves to assist his Royal Highness by their advice in the performance of a duty so imperiously called for, by the present situation of the country, they will lose no time in instituting a strict inquiry into the state of the Nation."

Mr. Bragge Bathurst replied to Mr. Ponsonby.

The Hon. Mr. Lambe said, our calamities were produced by the war, though their complete pressure was not felt till the arrival of peace; they were thus connected with the peace in point of time, but they could not be traced to the peace as their cause. In this situation the great object for us to pursue was, not to propagate a delusion with respect to the cause of our distress, but to take every means of alleviating it, or preventing its extension, by supporting and maintaining public credit. He stated this opinion, not from any fear that the recommendations of those who attempted to justify a breach of national faith would be attended to, but from a firm conviction, that breaking faith with the national creditor would bring no relief to the people (hear, hear), or tend to remove, in any degree, the embarrassments of the country. On the contrary, he was convinced that such conduct on the part of the Legislature would aggravate and extend them. If we were to trust the dictates of experience, we had it in support of this opinion. Some time ago the complaints against the laudholder were as loud as they now were against the fundholder: these complaints were now heard no more, for there was no reason for them. Rents had been reduced, the landed interest were straitened in their incomes, but who had benefited by the change? The distresses of the manufacturing and labouring classes, instead of being alleviated, had been increased; they had been deprived of employment by the reduced circumstances of those who employed them, and found no advantage in the diminution of the income of those against whose wealth they clamoured. Any interference with the fundholder, he was convinced, would be productive of similar effects, instead of relieving our distress. Our situation should be supported with that firmness and patience that could alleviate every calamity, instead of leading us to attempt plans and expedients which

might aggravate temporary sufferings into irretrievable ruin, by destroying entirely public confidence and national credit. But how were we to support public credit, if we did not resort to such expedients? He would answer-by economy and retrenchment. (Hear, hear!) Parliament, he hoped, was prepared for entering into economical reductions; Ministers, he hoped, were prepared for the task; and the Country, he hoped, was likewise prepared. He said, he hoped the Country was prepared for it; for, although he meant no reflection against any particular individuals, he could not refrain from observing, those who now called for economy and retrenchment would be sorry that they were adopted. A strict and rigorous attention to economy, and reduction of all our establishments to the lowest possible scale, must be productive of evils to certain individuals, and he was not disposed to under-rate their sufferings, but the national good and the public security were paramount to all other considerations.

Mr. C. Grant argued that the transition from war to peace was the cause of our present distresses, and added, that the scarcity of the present season would lead to increased cultivation the next, and contribute to raise Agriculture from its depressed state.

The Hon. Member was proceeding, when he was interrupted by a message from the Lords, announcing the attack on the Regent, and desiring a conference. This was agreed to, and a Committee appointed.

Lord James Murray was then examined, the questions being addressed to the Speaker, and by him to the witness.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer then said, that the House, having heard from the mouth of the Noble Lord the particulars of this daring outrage on the person of the Prince Regent, would require, he presumed, no other reasons to induce them to adopt the Address which the Lords had communicated, especially when it was considered that this flagitious attempt took place while his Royal Highness was returning from the exercise of his royal prerogative in opening the Session, He then moved, that the House do adopt the Address of the House of Lords, which was agreed to unanimously.-(See p. 79.)

HOUSE OF LORDS, Jan. 29.

Their Lordships, after going up with the Address to the Prince Regent, proceeded to the consideration of the Speech from the Throne. The Earl of Dartmouth moved the Address, which was seconded by the Earl of Rothes.

Earl Grey, at the close of an argumenta. tive speech, moved an Amendment, similar

tr

to that proposed by Mr. Ponsonby in the House of Commons. (See p. 162.)

Earl Grosvenor, Lord St. John, and the Marquis Wellesley, supported the Amend

ment.

Viscount Sidmouth, in his reply, stated, that the estimates of the year were formed on the strictest principles of economy.

The Amendment was negatived without a division.

On the Commons assembling this day, they went, preceded by the Speaker, to Carlton House, to present the Address. At five, the Members having returned, the House resumed.

Lord Cochrane presented a Petition from Bristol, signed by 20,700 inhabitants, attributing the Nation's misery to the enor mous amount of taxation and debt, and praying for Parliamentary Reform.

Messrs. Protheroe and Davis, the Members for Bristol, said they were certain the Petition did not speak the sentiments of their constituents, nor was the Meeting where it was agreed upon attended by one hundredth part of the population. Ordered to lie upon the table.

Another Petition from Saddleworth, in Yorkshire, was presented by Lord Cochrane; it was worded in very strong terms. Considerable discussion took place whether this Petition should be rejected or not. Messrs. Brougham, Brand, W. Lamb, F. Douglas, and Sir W. Geary, spoke in favour of its being received, but disclaiming at the same time any knowledge or concurrence with the Reformers out of doors, whose conduct they conceived would be prejudicial to that cause.

Messrs. Canning, C. Wynn, B. Bathurst, and C. Grant, spoke for its rejection, as a libel on the House. On a division, the Petition was rejected, by 135 to 48. A third Petition from the town-hip of Leeds, in the parish of Ashton-under-Line, was read, and ordered to lie on the table. A fourth, from the town of Ashton-underLine, was rejected, because the signatures were not written on the same sheet of paper which contained the Petition.

The Adjourned Debate on the Address, was then resumed.

Mr. Curwen said, that the Speech from the Throne was calculated to mislead the Country, and that no faith could be reposed in the promise made by Ministers of economy and retrenchment. He then drew a gloomy picture of the situation of the Country.

Mr. Bankes reprehended the Amendment, and conceived that the Committee of Inquiry which Ministers proposed to institute, would make a faithful report, and satisfy public expectation. Retrenchment in the expenditure was not an unmixed good, as many persons were there

by reduced to distress. Seventeen millions of taxes had been taken off last year, but our state was not at all improved. It was highly satisfactory to learn, that no fresh taxes would be imposed.

Mr. Brougham went into a long and argumentative reply. He observed, in conclusion, that during the American War the whole amount of taxes did not exceed four millions, while during the last War the permanent taxes were more than 35 millions annually, and war taxes were besides imposed to the amount of not less than 26 millions a year. Was not this a frightful contrast? and was not any man guilty of a gross, of a wicked delusion, who told the groaning people that they were not burdened; that the national debt was nothing; that taxation was nothing; that the pressure was merely temporary, and that relief would be more speedy than even the most sanguine dared to hope? Were not these insults almost as difficult to be endured as the miseries to which they were exposed ?—(Hear.)

Mr. Canning, for himself and his colleagues, put in his claim not to be deemed less alive to the distresses and perils of the Country than the gentlemen on the opposite side of the House. None could be more alive to the hardships of the times, or more anxious to relieve them, than the Ministry, but some of the causes were beyond human controul or remedy. The Hon. Member denied that the Royal Speech accused the people with want of loyalty; on the contrary, the people at large were praised for their patience and fortitude. It could not be denied that endeavours had been made to inoculate upon their dispositions a spirit of violence and insurrection. He had heard of a meeting in Spa-fields, called for the purpose of petitioning; but he had also heard of a waggon loaded with ammunition that was there also, and to him this appeared no necessary appendage to a Petition for Parliamentary Reform.-There was not in the history of this Country any practice or any theory which could give a sanction to the doctrines of Universal Suffrage and Annual Parliaments. Whenever the question of Reform, therefore, was agitated, he was prepared to meet it-not with any objec tion founded upon inconvenience, not with any suggestion of partial or temporary modifications, but should be prepared to oppose it by a direct denial of the griev

ance.

The present system was good for every practical object, unless it was intended not to exercise the deliberative faculty, but to represent the express volition of the people. Whenever its character should be so changed, and, instead of the deliberative guardian of popular rights, it should be transformed into the mere agent of popular will, there might

be

be some kind of constitution, some untried being, watered with blood, and flourishing to destruction; but from that moment the British Constitution was gone (Hear, hear, hear!) The Hon. and Learned Gentleman had called them wild and visionary Reformers, but they were in fact the masters of the Hon. and Learned Gentleman, and of all those who called themselves moderate Reformers; they made use of them as far as they suited their purposes, and treated their counsels, when they did not, with contumely and scorn. The festal blaze of War bad ceased, but the sun of Peace had not attained its meridian: let not robbers and assassins take advantage of the twilight. England was not, he trusted, to be blotted from the list of nations, because, after an overstrained, though necessary effort, she was sunk in comparative exhaustion,

"Think you yon sanguine cloud, Rais'd by your breath, bas quench'd the orb of day;

To-morrow he repairs his golden flood, And warms the nations with redoubled ray."

Mr. Tierney observed, that the whole of the Right Hon. Gentleman's eloquence had been thrown away upon a subject which was not before the flouse, and to which there was no reference, either in the original Address or the Amendment. He (Mr. T.) avowed himself a friend to Reform, but not Annual Parliaments and Universal Suffrage. He ridiculed the idea of a Committee appointed by Ministers, and consisting of their dependents and adherents, doing any good. He noticed the appointment of Sir Geo. Hill to be Vice-treasurer of Ireland, and several other appointments, to prove that there was no disposition to economize.

After some desultory conversation, Mr. Preston rose to speak; but the question

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January 31.

Sir F. Burdett, in presenting a Petition from Halifax and its neighbourhood on the subject of Parliamentary Reform, protested against the recent doctrine, that Members must read the whole of the Petitions before they presented them to the House. He did not consider himself at all answerable for the opinions and doctrines they contained.

The Speaker said, there were two clear points on this subject. The first was, that it was the duty of a Member to state the substance of the Petition he wished to present. The House could then judge as to the propriety of receiving it; secondly, it was the Member's duty to know if it was respectfully couched; if not, he departed from the line of his duty in offering it. This was the established practice

of the House.

After considerable discussion, Sir F. Burdett said, he meant to steer a moderate rational course, and to endeavour to unite all classes in an understanding of the wishes of the great body of the petitioners, on the subject of Reform. He would be sorry to bring the House into contest with the Country on a mere point of form, or personal convenience; and he had made the stand that he did against the rule laid down, not from any pertinacity, but because he thought the right of petitioning involved in the question. Some of the Petitions which he held in his hand he had read since he came into the House, and would move that they be brought up (hear, hear!} Agreed to.

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF SECRECY,
Presented to the House of Commons, Feb. 19.

That it appears to your Committee, after a most attentive consideration of the documents submitted to them from various parts of the country, that attempts had recently been made to take advantage of the distresses of the labouring and manufacturing classes of the nation, with a view not only to effect a Parliamentary reform on the principle of annual Parliaments and universal suffrage, but to cause the total overthrow of all our institutions, and of every description of landed and funded property.

That this system of general spoliation chiefly proceeded from the doctrines maintained by a number of societies distinguished by the title of "Spencean," whose tenets were principally drawn from

the works of a visionary writer, published above twenty years ago. That at meetings of some of these societies it was urged, that Parliamentary Reform must be held out as the ostensible object of their efforts, and with a view to mislead their enemies; but that it was in fact only a half measure; and that the people ought to look to the possession of the land, and nothing short of that; and that as to the constitution, of which so much had been said, this country had no constitution, for it was not to be found in any book, nor could any man tell what it was. In other societies, founded on the Spencean principles, it had been maintained, that the only remedy for the grievances of the people, was to hunt down the land

owners,

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