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minster! The Rump, or Skeleton, has, however, received recruits from time to time. Amongst these is a Mr. M'CLAURIN, who is the rider, or traveller, to some large wholesale dealers in London, who has a great deal of talk, though in exceedingly bad English, and who is the great patron, in Westminster, of Mr. BROUGHAM.

The Committee, thus reduced; thus perverted from its original intention, we may, I think, without being charged with any want of good manners, denominate a Rump. The Rump, therefore, we will call it in future; the Westminster Rump; and now I will proceed to detail some of the intrigues of this Rump.

So bald a thing as this; a thing totally destitute of talent, could never expect long to stand upon its own legs. It would naturally seek something to lean upon for support. Mr. BROOKS very soon found, that, being the Chairman of a Committee, towards which the

paper, in order that, whenever you wrote a letter upon politics, the correspondent might enjoy the additional advantage of knowing that you dealt in glass, and that you had for sale such and such articles of glass at such and such prices. Yet, this would be much more excusable in you, in the case supposed, than in Mr. BROOKS, seeing that the paper on which he wrote was paid for out of the public subscriptions.

Besides these advantages, Mr. BROOKS was the Treasurer, as well as the Chairman. Large sums of money went through his hands; and we all know very well, that, supposing perfect honesty to exist, and I really suppose nothing short of this in the case of Mr. BROOKS; we all know very well, that even servants, and much more persons concerned in trade, desire nothing so much as to have the money of other people passing through their hands. There is the "market-penny," there is the "Christmas Box; there is the "glass of wine," there is the " pair of gloves," there is the

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good-luck shilling," there is always a little something which hangs to the transaction: a little reciprocity of some sort or other. Those with whom Mr. BROOKS expended the money, would naturally, when they wanted glass, buy glass of Mr. BROOKS

eyes of the whole nation were directed, was a situation, not only of honour, but of profit. It brought him into correspondence with persons in every considerable town in the kingdom. It brought to his house persons from every considerable town in the kingdom. This was no trifling matter, in the way of trade. Ir you were to go to London, for instance, and become a seller of I have not been led to make glass, do you not think that these observations from any deyour glass would have a run? sire to cast the smallest reflection Yes, and you would have a right on the honesty of Mr. BROOKS; to sell your glass to any of your for, I explicitly declare, that I political friends who might choose believe him to be a very honest to buy it. But I am very sure man, and that, if occasion called that your politics are too much for it, I would trust him with unmixed with thoughts of gain to property to any extent. The obsuffer you to have an advertise-servations have been made with a ment of your trade printed upon view of showing, that there were the second side of a sheet of letter motives for Mr. BROOKS's retain

six out of seven of the Committee

of

ing his office of Chairman and Crown and Anchor. Sir Francis Treasurer, which motives, though had written, after his arrival at perfectly inoffensive in themselves, the Tower, what Corruption deemmight nevertheless, operate, as ed a very impudent letter to the I shall show they have operated, Speaker of the House of Commons. to mischievous ends. Mr. BROOKS, The Committee was to assemble, feeling the insignificance of the in order to determine what the Rump, naturally leaned upon Sir citizens of Westminster ought to FRANCIS BURDETT for support. do upon that occasion. I, who He, the Chairman, was wholly thought the letter most admiunable to draw up a Petition, an rably good, was utterly astoAddress, or a set of Resolutions. nished to find, that there were Then, as to knowing any thing about the subject, to be proposed or discussed, Mr. BROOKS had no pretensions to any such knowledge; or, at any rate, he had the prudence never openly, in my hearing, at least, to put forward any such pretensions. Therefore, the Rump would no more have thought of calling a Meeting at Westminster without first obtaining the approbation of Sir FRANCIS BURDETT, then they would have thought of storming St. Stephen's Chapel in person. In fact, he always was consulted; and very frequently Meetings were prevented from taking place by his not being at hand to be consulted, or, by his not sending an answer by post to the applications made to bin. However, in order to show that this Rump has been nothing more than a mere tool in the hands of Sir Francis Burdett, for a long while past, I have only to notice three or four striking facts.

Prior to 1810 or 1811, the Committee continued to be tolerably numerous, and ventured to exercise their own judgments very frequently. When Sir Francis was sent to the Tower, I, who lived in the country at the time, and who had, indeed, quitted Westminster before the first formation of the Committee, remember going to the Committee at the

loud in condemnation it. Amongst these was Mr. STURCH, and he, being a man of talent, was not an opponent to be despised. They had caught the panic; it was imprudent; it was seditious; it was every thing that was bad, and Mr.BROOKS, particularly, said, "after this Í wash my hands of SIR FRANCIS." Nevertheless, that very Mr. BROOKS concurred, at last, in a most flaming Address to SIR FRANCIS, highly approving of every part of his conduct. That Address, was drawn up by me, altered materially, and, as I was convinced, greatly for the better, by Mr. WILLIAM FRIEND, who is a very able man, and who displayed, at that time, as much of firmness as he did of ability. Had it not been for our endeavours upon that occasion, Sir Francis Burdett might have come out of the Tower at the front gate without the smallest danger, either to himself or to any body else, from any commotion arising from the concourse of spectators! The Committee were perfectly sincere in their disapprobation. They saw nothing but the violences on Sir Francis's side. Overlooking the violence that had been exercised against him, they did not perceive that moderation in him would have looked like cowardice; and, there

fore, having taken a wrong view of the subject, they were prepared to condemn him. When, however, they had heard what was to be said on Sir Francis's side, they were convinced of their error, and were perfectly ready to give him most hearty support.

pose to show that they were determined to support the man who had suffered in their cause; though, God knows, the suffering was slender indeed. Never was more public spirit shewn in this world. Never was there a people more grateful towards those who make This shows, that, as long as the exertions in their behalf. Did Committee continued to be nu- not these men deserve some exmerous, it was by no means the planation as to the cause of their tool of Sir Francis Burdett. When grievous disappointment? At that he came out of the Tower, or, ra- time I had just been convicted of ther, got away out of it somehow what they called the libel, for or other, and left half a million which I so heavily suffered, and I of people, amongst whom were sincerely declare, that I felt more Major CARTWRIGHT, the present on account of this disappointment, LORD MAYOR, and many other than I did in the prospect of passmen of most excellent character ing two years in a pestiferous jail. and of great weight; when he left You, who were, at that time, con- this half million of people to form fined for three months in the a procession in honour of an Emp- King's Bench Prison for an assault ty Phaeton; when he suffered the upon a man, who had insulted you, procession, all covered with the and who had even stricken you the dust of the month of July, to pass first blow; you, who were, on acalong from Tower,hill to Picca- count of your politics, actually dilly, amidst the hootings and ridi- suffering an imprisonment for cule of all the hosts of Corrup beating a man in your own detion; upon that memorable occa- fence; what was your conduct sion, some of the Committee wait-upon this occasion? You could ed upon him, informed him of the not participate in the honours of disappointment, the sorrow, and the day; you could not go to even of the displeasure of them- march in the procession; but did selves and of the friends of Re-envy sting your breast? Did you form in general; and they told act the dog in the manger? No: him they were deputed to beg for you made the prison flow with an explanation. He declined giv-porter at your expence, and at the ing any explanation of his reasons; said that what he had done he was sure was right; and that was all the explanation that I have ever heard was given, from that day to this. There were, that day, above a hundred thousand men in Lon-I well remember the sorrow lon come from different parts of with which you spoke of that the country, to witness the pro- day's transactions. Yet, concession. Some of these persons vinced of the honesty of Sir had come a hundred, and some Francis Burdett; and, which two hundred miles on purpose to was of still more consequence, witness the procession. On purseeing no means of putting any pose to do him honour. On pur- other man into Parliament on

time when you calculated that the procession was leaving the Tower, you yourself gave the signal for a shout of triumph that shook the very walls of the prison. In a few days afterwards I saw you.

country. I can have no selfish motive. It is out of your power to do me harm, or to do me good in a private capacity. I am at a' great distance from you. I have neither heard from you nor written to you 'till to-day since I left England. But I have known you most intimately for fourteen years. Our acquaintance arose out of your desire to promote the public good upon a particular occasion. I have never observed any deviation from the path of rectitude in your conduct; I have always found you the same man from the first to the last. This being the case, it is my duty to declare it, and particularly upon an occasion when it is my intention to urge the necessity of the people putting you in that situation where your talents and your courage may be exerted with effect.

Let me, however, first, proceed with my history of the Westmin

whom we could rely, you, in the most patriotic manner, made a sacrifice of your displeasure, and continued to support him in the most zealous and disinterested way, as you had always done before. Was there any thing selfish in this your conduct? Were you then actuated by ambitious 'views? Were you then hunting after that popularity which Corruption now accuses you of hunting after, and for which pursuit sbe chooses to regard you as worthy of having your blood bartered away by a hired Spy? There is no need of my reminding you of this incident of your life; but at this time it is right to inform the nation of it. It is right that they should see, that you have always been the same sort of man that you now appear to be. The whole swarm of hack writers are pouring forth their calumnies against you. It is clear as day-light that your life was bespoken, that it was promis-ster Rump. The blank proces. ed; that it was sold; and that the sion from the Tower destroyed purchasers were only waiting for the greater part of what was good the delivery in order to pay the in the Committee. Many of the price. Under such circumstan Members retired in disgust. They ces, it is right that the people retired in fact, though not in exshould know you well; and it press terms; and thus, in a very would be a gross neglect of duty short time, the Committee became in me, were I to delay informing a complete tool in the hands of Sir them of what I so well know. If Francis. When, in 1812, the you have life and health the peo- second election was coming on, ple must and will choose you to the Committee; or, the Rump, as make a stand for them in the only I should now call them, would place where you can do it with not have been for electing Lord great effect; and, it is right that COCHRANE if they had had the they should be informed of those means of electing another person. facts, which cannot possibly leave But, not having the means to make in their mind a doubt of your fia stand against him, they sufdelity. It is impossible for any human being to invent a reason for the part which I am now act ing other than that of a perfect conviction of your political integrity and of your ability to render the most essential services to the

fered his Lordship to come in a second time. When his Lordship was about to be expelled in 1814, the Rump, who had had all the opportunities of investigating his case, had resolved, as you well know, upoa

It must appear utterly astonishing to any body not in the secret, that the Rump should have dared to think of palming a brawling lawyer upon the pro of Westminster, while Major CART

the choosing of Mr. BROUGHAM in his stead, as soon as he should be expelled; that is to say, they had so resolved until you came up and told them, that if they pro posed Mr. BROUGHAM, or any other man, except MAJOR CART-WRIGHT was at hand, but, the WRIGHT, you yourself would come Rump had, indeed, nothing to do and stand a fourteen days' poll with the matter. It was Sir FRANagainst their cock, let him be who CIS BURDETT that had selected he would. This frightened them, BROUGHAM; and his object in this, and the Major would certainly as in all other cases, was to keep have been chosen, had it not been as much as possible from before for that noble defence which Lord the public every man calculated COCHRANE made in the House to equal him in popularity. You afterwards, and which raised such and I were so fully convinced that universal and strong feeling in his this Rump would, at last, reduce favour, that the Rump, who dared the City to the state of a rott n Bonot think of any other man than rough, that, in the Spring of 1815, the Major, before, could not be we struck a stroke, which absoexpected to make opposition to lutely astounded, not only the his Lordship's re-election, espe- Rump, but the whole circle. At cially when the gallant old Ma- the time here alluded to, NapoJor hastened to declare that he leon had returned from Elba, and thought that it was bare justice Corruption was manifestly reto his Lordship to re-elect him by solved to make war upon him. an unanimous voice. Had it not Indeed I am quite convinced that been, however, for your inter it was her intrigues that brought ference, I am quite convinced that him prematurely back. The the Rump would have pledged the French People were getting someseat to Mr. BROUGHAM; and that thing like a free Governmentnotwithstanding his Lordship's under the Bourbons. France, was defence, the lawyer would have left in a pretty happy state. Corheld them to their bargain. My ruption saw she had not done her LORD COCHRANE, therefore, work sufficiently. She therefore owes his re-election to you, and laid her bait, caught her prey, and all his thanks bestowed upon the set her havocking fangs to work. Rump were your due. How But this is beside our present enever, about this you care nothing:quiry. We wished, and the peo you have acted towards his Lord-ple of Westminster wished, to ship, in the same manner that you would have acted if he had loaded you with thanks. You have kept your eye steadily fixed upon the public good. You have had no regard to self, in any other way or degree than as your reputation was connected with the publ c good; and therefore you have acted a part, which will at all times bear examination.

have a Meeting to petition against going to war. We happened to be both of us in London at the time. You went to Mr. Brooks's to ask whether a Meeting were to be held. The answer you received was in the negative, and you were told, that there were no means of calling a Meeting. Having related this to me, I informed you that I had, that very morn

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