N u m b * CL The Free Britoa C l m t S f c a p , N O V E M B E R 4, 1731* [ C o fee continued W t t U p i By F R A N C I S W A L S I N G H A M , o f t h e I N N E R T E M P L E , Efq; T o the C I T I Z E N S , Lherymen and Freemen of L O N D O N ; Occasioned by the late Proceedings in Cointttoil COUtlCll, relating to the " Petition for eredte i n g a Statue of King TV I L L 1AM the Third. G E N T L E M E N , Hp? H E Bleflings of the happy Revolution, which are to this Day moft feniibly felt in the free and uncontrolled Exercife of all our civil and religious Rights, muft for ever endear that immortal Work, and the great Prince who atcliieved it, to all who have any Affcftion for Liberty and Britain, to all who have any Deteftation of the worfl Oppreffioii, and of the moft arbitrary Power. THE Poffcflbr of the Throne, who was by his Oaths, and by his Truft, the Father of the People, and the Guardian of their Happinefs, became, in Contradiction to the Duties of his royal Funflion, the moft avowed Enemy to all the Rights - of human Nature. He affumed a Prerogative above the Laws, a Power to difpenfe with them, and to over- rule them, fo that no Man's Property had any Fence, nor any Man's Perfon Security. He invaded and overthrew- all th6 Charters in the Kingdom ; hs gave the fupreme; Magiftracy of your great City, to Perfons who were not even Free Men of your- City 5 he imprifoued the Bilhops of the Church of England, for not concurring with him in the Toleration of P o p e r y h e refufed to fiifter the Sitting of Parliaments, cr to affemble his People in their reprefentative Body ; he maintained great Annie?, in the Heart of the Kingdom, againft the Laws of the Kingdom; he divefted Englijhmen of thcir Freeholds, by a high Commiffion Court, erefted exprefly in Defiance of an Act of Parliament; he fufpended the then Bifhop of London from the Exercile of his Funflion, by the fame lawlefs Means: He thus deprived the Subj- e& s of his Kingdom,, both of their Liberties and of their Properties without Tryal, without Judgment, againft all Law, and againft all Right. He pubiickly admitted Papifts, known and profefled Papifts, to the higheft Employments of the State, even to his Pri-. vy- Council, and to the Courts of Juftice ; . he eretted and maintained Houfes of Worlhip for the free Exercife of Popifh Superliitibn, even in your own City,; he received the Nuncio of the Pope as a publick Minifter, introduced with the greateft Solemnity through your City; he invited over Foreigners to enjoy the Birth- rights of Englijhmen, foreign Papifts: and foreign popifh Priells : Thus, arbitrary as a 7> iAvfj/ i'- Monarch, he made a Free People wqrfe than Turkifb Slaves. The Religion, the Laws and Liberties of rhis Country were facriiiced to. all prevailing Superftition and Power; the Affertors of the Britifb Rights were purfued with Difgrace and Deftru& ion. The City of. London, whofe Immunities had been facred under tbe moil. de-; vouring Tyrants, that at any Time had fat on the Englijh Throne, were deprived of. all thofe Privileges which had been for fo many Ages the Glory of. their great. Comma-, nity, the Encouragement of their, wide extended Commerce, and even the Bulwark of the national Liberty : Even the moft rampant Tyranny had hitherto. fpared thefe; even the moft enterpvizing Princes, who fet themfelves up in Defiance of the Laws, had feared to tQlich> had not dared : t&- invade, the facred Rights of. your Cjiy,, . Uijder Charles thfc'- Kr/?, you were not attacked in your Corporate Capacity ; VoU flcurifhed even in the . Civil Waffe and your Price Four- Pence. Conftitution remained unchanged in all the Revolutions of thofe calamitous, unfetded and fluctuating Times. But' when the Confummation of Tyranny was to appear among us, and the mighty Work of enflaving this Nation, carried on with an high Hand; when James the Second » anticipating the Evils of his Reign, affumed the Direction of his Brother's Councils, and prepared the Way for the Introduction of the worft Superftition, and moft compleat Syftem of abfolute Power, that was ever fet up in any Country; he boldly feized upon your Charter, even in the' Time of Charles the Second, by his governing Influence, and infaijtoufly fequeftred all your Privileges, not only during the Remainder of that Reign, but likewife through the whole Courfe of his own. To refcue us all from this raging Abufe of Power, and to reftore thofe ancient Rights, which had been fo rudely, fo impioufly feized on by the moft profane and barbarous Hands, our great Deliverer King William the Third fired with a virtuous, a beneficent Ambition^ called hi<- ther by our Cries, and invited by our Supplications, left his native Country at our Intreaty, and generoufly undertook our Deliverance. It was about ' this Time, that he ljndqd on our Shores, and became the Proteftor of our. Liberties. Your. Forefathers, the Citizens of London, whet implored his Afliftance, received him within their Walls. It was among you that he firft begun the Reftoration of civil Liberty ; it was in your Common Hall, that he firft affembled the Reprefentatives ofthe People ; it was there, that the great Refolution was taken, which revived the Britijh Conftitution, and thence we date the Returreftion of the Britijh Parliament. O F all who fhared the Benefits of King William's glorious Enterprizc, none, Gentlemen, owe fo much to his; Memory as yourfelves. To him you owe the very Being of a free City; the very firft Aft of Power which he executed in this Country, was to reftore the Government of your_ City, to your own Citizens. Tlie. earlicft Inftance of his great Benevolence to Engli/ bmenwzs given to Yourfelves. In his firft Parliament he gave you a C H A R T E R , ample as ever you had enjoyed, more iecure than any you had ever obtained ; eftabliihed not meeriy by the Grant, and fubjeft to the Power of the Crown, but given to you by him in his legiflative Capacity, by an Aft of Parliament; exejnpted from Forfeitures,- from quo Warranto's, ar. d every Tiling which had once: made it precarious or dependent Off. the Power of Courts. From fuch a dreadful Condition did he fave : yau. In fuch a. happy Situation did he leave you. And if" to be free Citizens of London is _ of any Value ia Jjour Eyes; if to. have, the great Offipes( of your Citychp^ len from among your Citizens; if to- hate the Eleftian of all. thofe great. a, nd. confiderable Officers entirely in your own Hands; ii. 4iefe ar « precious Privileges, and worthy of your Eileem, what Gratitude, what'Monument.: of Prajfe are due to. the brave and benevolent King William, the Author of. your Happinefs, tiie Reftorer of your Rights,, by. w h ° m you were dt.-. ivered, and by whom you vverp preferved; Wjit^ ou? jrV^ pm., you h | d been undone, no longer loagH- titglithfteri, no longer Citizens oT London, no longer endowed with. Immunities, or pofieffed of an inviola- | ble Charter', but Slaves, irredeemable Slaves, in the J Hands, and at the Difpofition, of moft defpotick Power ? W H E N therefore we confider the prefent Day, as that which gave King William Birth, it is, and ever will be, among all the Friends of Liberty, remembered and rejoyced on with the warmeft Gratitude. Whilft the Britijb Conftitution remains entire, the Deliverer and Protedlor of that Conftitution will be dear to thofe who value their own Happinefs, and would tranfmit it to their Pofterity. When the fad Effefts of Time and Fate, which have changed and overthrown the ' moft free States, ihall even be felt, if ever ib difmal a Period fhould happen in this happy, envied Nation, Kir. g William, and the mighty Bleffings which we received from his Hands, fhall ilill be reverenced by all who are not willing Slaves; and the Influence of his generous Example, may even preferve a noble Emu • lation, to fave the linking Liberties of Britain in Ages yet unborn. AND Ihall not this Deliverance, and ( hall jiot this Deliverer be ever dear to you ? You, Gentlemen, will ever reflea with Pleai'ure on his Name, and on the Day that gave him Birth, and that brought him to this Country, the Saviour of your City, and the Reftorer of your Charter. Whenever you aflemble on any Occaflon in the Exercifeof your eftablijhed Rights, ask yourfelves, How thofe Rights became yours? and own the meritorious Generality of him who reftored them to you. Whenever you enter your Common Hall, remember who it was that made it fafe for you to aflemble within that Place, who it was that you once received with open Arms, and with the kindeft Endearments under that Roof; who it was that gave you a free Parliament there, and empowered you to reaflume thofe Immunities, which had been forced from your Hands by lawlels and violent Men. Y O U R Gratitude to King William's Memory is as little to be difputed, as your acknowledged good Senfe, by which you have diftinguiihed yourfelves, as much as by your Wealth and your Trade, the capital City of all Europe. Should you be conlulted in your unreprefented Body, ihould your Opinions be taken by a Poll, and every one of you admitted to declare himfelf on the Occafion, no Man can pretend to doubt, that the fame Zeal which you always exerted for the common Good of the City of London, and the fame Spirit of Liberty which always appeared fo eminently in you, the great Example of all the Corporations in the Kingdom, would rife in a Manner l'uitable to the Importance of the Occaflon, and decree fuch Honours to King William the Third, as are deferved by his Services done to you. I F, Gentlemen, thofe Perfons who may happen to reprefent you in your Common Council, if unfaithful to the Truft which you repofe in them, or unmindful of the Senfe of their Principals, or miftaken in their Notions of either ; if at any Time, through any of thele Caufes, they fhould aft unbecoming of your Reprefentatives, injurioufly to King William % Name, and to the Rights of their Fellow Citizens, you, Gentlemen, are not to be charged with the Errors of their Proceedings ; you are equally affronted in every fuch Cafe, as the Memory of that great Piince, or as the warmeft of his Friends can be; and you Will, I am perfuaded, on all fuch Occafions, vindicate both your Deliverer and yourfelves frora every Indignity of this Nature, that hath been done, or Ihall be done to Him, and to Yourfelves. I T is therefore the more highly fitting, that on this memorable Day, when your Attention is fo naturally drawn to King William's Merits, and to his generous Services done both to the Britijb Nation in general, and to the City of London in particular ; it is proper at fuch a Time as this, to inform you what Ufage his Memory hath lately received in your Court of Common Council. And, Gentlemen, as I have taken the Pains to enquire and to know more exa£ tly than others, how your Reprefentatives proceeded upon that'Affair, it behoves me to give you a faithfill Account of the Whole ; it will even be ufeful to them, when they fhall apply to you, as they fpeedily muft, for a hew Election ; and as they have anfwered the Intention for wiiich you was picafed to chufe them, fo will they deferve your future Choice when the Seafon returns for re* chuling them. O N Friday the 22d of OBober, after the Common Council had fpent a confiderable Time on a Bill then depending before them, Mr. Alderman Barnard produced a Petition which had been put into his Hands: It was expedled by moft of the Gentlemen prefent, and this Expectation had occafioned a very full Court. The Bill which had taken up fo much Time, delayed the Petition fome Hours. When that Bill was over, Mr. Alderman Barnard did not immediately prefent it, but fuffercd Mr. Alderman Salter, a junior Alderman, to prefent a Petition from a City- Tenant, concerning private Bufinefs, which was read, and the Petitioner called in, and the Opinion of the Court taken thereupon, all which fpent fome further Time ; and many Gentlemen apprehending from this Delay, that Mr. Alderman Barnard would not prefent tha Petition that Day, they left the Court before the Time. A T length he rofe up, and faid, ' That he had a Pe- ' tition figned by a great many Citizens, praying Leave ' of the Court to ereft, at their own private Expence, an ' Equejlrian Statue of King William, on the Ground in ' Cbeapfide, where the Conduit formerly ftood'. And, having in this Manner opened the Petition, he defired that it might be read, without adding any Recommendation of his own, or illuftrating the Matter of it with fuch Obfervations, as might have been copioufly furnilhed by that admirable Eloquence which he hath fo often exerted on other Occafions, and which, it is much to be lamented, that he could find 110 Room for exerting in the prefent Inftance; fince, had his Friends, had thole who fo jutlly yield a conftant Deference to his Judgment, known his Opinion; had they heard him deliver it in a more explicite Manner; had not many there prefent unhappily imagined that it was a Matter of abfolute Indifference to him; or had they conceived that he was heartily and zealoufly bent to promote the Defign then in Agitation, doubtlefs great Numbers had voted for the Reading of the Petition in Deference to that Gentlemen : Nay, many of thofe, whom his Influence could not have governed, his Eloquence might have fubdued; fo that had his perfonal Intereft, and his popular Talent of Perfuafion, been employed in Behalf of this poor unfortunate Petition, it would perhaps have had a better Fate, or at leaft more decent Ufage. BUT the great Refervednefs and feeming Coldnefs of this worthy Gentleman being fo apparent, it happened that when Mr. Recorder put the Queftion, Whether this Petition Jhould be read, there arofe a moft overbearing Outcry of N o's. And the judicious Mr. B1 & c H was pleafed to iignalize his Wit and good Manners, , in Behalf of the Neighbourhood of Cheapfide, by addrefling himfelf to the Court in this civil and diicreet Manner; My Lord Mayor, I ri) e up to deftre that this Petition may not be read; we have been very lately delivered from one Nufance, and now they want to ar. noy us with another. THE Gentlemen, who undertook the Support of this Petition, were prepared to anfwer every Objection that might be offered, to prove either King William or his Statue a Nufance to the Neighbourhood of Cbeapfide. They had in their Hands a Draught of the Statue, and were ready to flievv, by the Ground that it was to take up, that there was Space convenient for the Purpofe, without being a Grievance, or, in Mr. Birch's modeft Stile, a Nu- Jance to any one, unlefs fuch as abhorred to fee that Statue erefled any where. But the Clamour increafing, no Hearing could be o b t a i n e d , either for the Petition or the Petitioners, many of whom attended, had the Court been pleafed to have fhewed them the fame Indulgence, which they had juft before ihewed to a City- Tenant on a Private Affair. At length, upon the Queftion put, a Divifion was demanded; the Numbers in the Common Council were Seventy Seven againll: reading it, to Twenty Five who voted that it m-' ght be read: The Names upon this Divifion will, Gentlemen, fpeedily be printed for your better "' Information. The Aldermen prefent were in Number Eight; fome of them who were commonly known by the Appellation of Tories, had, with one or two Whiggs, placed themfelves in a former Divifion, on another Queftion, on that Side ofthe Chair which was for the Affirmative in this. Wh « - ther they were for . reading, this Petition, or otherwife, they had no Occafion to move to the other Side, or to diftinguifh themfelves on the Occafion, feeing the Negative was refolved on below; fo they, with the Whiggs their Neighbours, continued Affirmatives, and the Whig- Aldermen, who had placed themfelves in the former Divifion on the Negative Side, went over to the Affirmative Side on this prefent Divifion. Thus the whole Court of Aldermen appeared to vote for reading the Petition; but whether they would all have done fo, whether the Tories, who fat unmoved in their old Places on the Affirmative Side, would have continued there, had it been material for them to have removed; or, if the Common Council had been for reading and granting the Petition; whether the Tories, prefent in the Court of Aldermen, would not have attempted to have put their Negative upon it, you, Gentlemen, who know them better than I do, are doubtlels belt able to determine. W H E N the Divifion was over, and the Numbers reported to the Court, a Gentleman, who had the Honour to vote with the Minority, rofe up, and fpoke to this Effe£ t; My Lord Mat or, if tbis Petition had been offered at any other Time, when the Day was not Jo far J'pent, and the Court not Jo much fatigued, I apprehend that it would have bad better Succefs. Upon which Mr. Alderman Barnard rofe up, and was pleafed to fay, My Lord Mayor, 1 am of Opinion, that had this Petition been prefented at any Time, it would have had no ether Succefs. THE Court however had, notwithftanding this grateful Negative to King- William's Statue, been very zealous and unanimous in their Thanks to H U M P H R Y P A R - BO N s, Efq; their late Lord Mayor, for HIS prudent, virtuous ixAable Adminiftration in the Chair. THE Fafts being thus impartially reprefented to you, fome Obfervations occur to me on the Occafion, with which I fhall prefume to trouble you, Gentlemen. And I have not only the Members of your Commo:. Council in my View, whom I hope you will diftinguifh on the eniuing Eledtion : But, as the Friends of our glorious Deliverer, and of our happy Conftitution in Church and State, which he generoufly faved from Civil and Religious Deftrudtion, do intend to petition their Reprefentatives in Pailiament, by whom they hope to have a more candid Hearing at leaft, if not better Succefs in the IlTue, than they were favoured with by your Court of Common Council; I truft, Gentlemen, you will duly confider this Affair, and alfo how much it behoves you, as well to fubferibe and to back that Petition, as to mark out thofe, who, when they met, according to the Powers which they received from you, to hear their Fellow Citizens with Patience and Impartiality, refufed to give them any Hearing at all. I do not fay this, Gentlemen, as if Subfcriptions were wanting, or, as if the Number of the Subfcribers was thin. Mr. Alderman Barnard told your Common Council, that their Number was many. But I call upon you in Juftice to yourlelvcs, to your City, and to your Country, to vindicate yourfelves from the cruel Reproach, and to wipe off the foul Stain of Ingratitude to your Benefadlor King William, who delerves much better at the Hands of all, who value their Liberties and Laws. I T was, Gentlemen, one of the moft violent and arbitrary Procedures that ever was attempted in a free City, by the Reprefentatives of the Community, to deny their Felow Citizens a Hearing on a Petition, which offended no Man's Perfon, which invaded no Man's Right, which neither propofed to open the common Purfe, nor tended to difturb the common Peace of the City. THE Petition was furely the molt modeft and reafonable Prayer, that ever was offered to any Affembly in the World. The Petitioners, fenfible of the publick Gratitude due to their great Deliverer, defired Permiffion to do by themfelves, and at their own private Expence, that very Adt of Gratitude, in raifing King William's Statue, which ought to be done by thc Publick at the common Charge. And yet, in this humble difinterefted Application, they were brow- beat, and fcornfully repulfed; tliey were fent away without a Hearing, and the Objeftion againlt their Petition was implicitly taken for granted, without ever' being examined. WHO are your Commtn Council Men? Who arc they, Gentlemen, that have ufed their Fel! ov » - Citizws and you, in this arbitrary, this imperious banner ? Tfiey are Men, that are neither wifer nor better than yourfelves; they arc your Servants, your Truftees, to whom they owe all Deference and Fidelity, yet behave with the Haughtinefsandlnfo lence of abfolute Lords: From you they have received all thc Power they have s to you they muft rengn it, and become accountable for itj yet even you they treat as Inferiors, as Vaffals and Slaves: Men that have no Right to be heard by them, much lefs to call them to account, as I hope you fpeedily will: And when you approach thefe lordly Servants of yours with humble Petitions in your Hands, defiring at your own private Expence to raife a Monument of Gratitude to your great Deliverer, and a publick Ornament to your City, they not only refufe to grant your Petitions, but they even refuie to read them. ARE not thefe worthy Reprefentatives of you, Gentlemen, and fit to be continued in your Common Council ? Ask them on St. Thomas's Day, whether they will read your Petitions ? Doubtlefs they will then, to all Appearance be exadtly humble and modeft in their Deportment. But remember what they have been, and if they offer you any Petitions, give them the Law of Retaliation, and neither read them, nor hear them. C O N S I D E R , Gentlemen, what an odious Reflection It is on the City of London; and how fhocking it muft be to all, who do not underftand, or cannot difcern the Difference between your Common Council and yourfelves. Here is, Gentlemen, an Adt of Indignity done to King William's Aiemory by the City of London, in its reprefentative Capacity : For God's Sake what did he ever do to deferve this of you, or of any among you ? He was the belt and greateft Prince of his Age; he was the Reflorer of your Charter, ard the Deliverer of your Country, when both were facrificed to the Lufts of wicked and lawlefs Oppreifors : Yet even He, this great and generous Prince, is the only Inftance of any Britijh Sovereign, whofe Friends delired to eredt his Statue, and whofe Statue had this lhameful Negative from your Common Council. LOOK round your Neighbour- Nations, Gentlemen. Even France can fhew more Gratitude to her Tyrants than your free City to its Saviour and Deliverer ! With what Magnificence has the City of Paris raifed the Statue of Louis thc Fourteenth at her own Expence; and yet your Common Council, not only fparing the Charge, but difliking the Gratitude, have refufed to permit even thofe, who would eredt a Statue at their own Expence, to fhew this Honour to King William the Third! T U R N your Eyes, Gentlemen, round thefe great Cities of London and W. eftmijifler ! See how many Statues of the S T U A R T FAMILY are ftanding ; that very Family which fo often endeavoured to enflave you ! Nay, James the Second, your Oppreffor, your Invader, hath a Statue remaining near the Royal Palace of Whitehall', a Statue which hath been lately repaired, and which is continually preferved at the publick Expence ! Such is the Generality of this prefent Royal Family. And fhall the Memory of James the Second have more Tendernefs, mora Relpedt and Honour than the virtuous Fame of our Deliverer, the brave and juft Prince, to whom we owe our Conftitution? COULD it have been a NUSANCE to the Neighbourhood of Cheapfide, as one of your Common Council fo aptly and ingenioufly expreffed it ? Yet ought not fome Care to have been taken to have diftinguifhed between the Statue, and the Place defired to eredt that Statue in ? Did not common Decency require, that your Reprefentatives fhould hear the Petitioners, in order to prove their Allegations, and to fhew that there was proper and convenient Ground for the Statue to be raifed on, where the Conduit former ly flood, without giving that Offcnce, or being that Inconvenience, which that clumjy, heavy Heap of Stones the Conduit proved to be? Ought not Care to have been taken, that if Leave had not been given to eredt the Statue there, that the World fhould have leen that it was from no Dilrefpeit to King William, nor from any Diflike of his Statue; but that the Ground defired was improper, inftead of adting in this Manner, which had been a modeft and decent M* un* r of laying aiide the Petition, thought m your& ik& onCo! pitil\ a.& been ever fo much determined to- hy i t a f d e : In. 1c. id of this, the Manner of their, Proccedmg- ss^ s fuch, that nothing- was evermore intemperate er c& iags| rus: Nothing but the rujiy Vojces of the iyVs radJfe heard. They would not admit the Petitioners top& ive their Allegations; but palled an arbitrary . Negative. , o £ ^ # ^ t o t i o n to read the Petition, leaving the World to make What Conftrudtions they thought fit, without obviating any, even the worft, - which poffibly could be made. ARE we funk fo low then in our Love of Liberty ? Are we loft fo much tp the Senfe of our great Deliverance, that the happy favolution, and all the Bleffings, which we have derived from it, fhall be treated with this infolent Difdain ! What more can be done, after refuting Leave to ereft King William's Statue, urilefs Leave fhould be given to eredt the Pjetender'& ycifas. lame Place? And, next to affronting the Prince who redeemed us ; there is not any Step can be made beyond it, other than by avowing him who enflaved, or him who would enllave us. THE RE could be no Objection to the Place intended and defired; it was onet. of the molt publicic Places in the City of London : It was therefore molt proper to eredt the Statue there, becaufe there it would have, been moft confpicuous. The Place is aifo wide and large : A SiatKt might fland on that Ground with great Scope and Freedom, though, fuch a Pile of Rubbilh, . as a Conduit, would take up too- much Ground, and make a much worfe Figure. Corifider how little Room the bjavy, ill- Jhaped Statue in Stalks- Market takes up. Is. there any Appearance that this . Would be. a Nufonce f , Or, j at leaft, why fhould, we take it for granted, until it appears upon due Examination? ... W H A T could be the Reafon, Gmkmen, thajt your Common Council would not give the. petitioners a Day of Hearing? If this odious and invidious: O'ajedtipn. of King WilliAnis, ' Statue being, a- Nufancp anywhere; if it could be maintained here, why; was not a Day . allowed to make , i t good ? And then tbe Petition had not only been rejedted,. but the Petitioners had been eiie. ilu. il. ly . filenced. Gentleman, you may be . alfured that your • Qmmon Council " were wife, as well as angry; and jtjflt they Would not hear them, fpeak for. themfelyes, bec& lfe. they certainly knew, that they would prove their Allegation?.: For which- Reafon they did wejl to refufe the Petition a Reading,. and I defy, them all , to give you. a wifer or'ai^ honefterReafon. T H E Common Council of Lwdw arp' a great Body of Men, and we are to expedt according. to.. the wife: Man's Rule, in fuch Multitude of Councilors. . Bat if ever they diredt thePp\ yer with which. they are entruft. ed,. o i f . ever they dire'dt it agaraft thofe Liberties which we i ppfTefs, or offer Indignities to the Authors , of our Liber- . ties, or Compliments to tlie Invaders 9, nd Enemies , of our Conftitution ; if ever they declare themfelves in this. Man- x ner. againft our civil. Rights., againft the Fountain and,! the ; Foundation of our National Happinefs, where is our Safe-„ ty, and in whom is it to. be found? . , J ) 1 D a Lord Mayor of ' Londsn, the Magjftrate pf a Year, neither fignalized by Dangers or Deliverances ; a Magiftrate, who. might have % pt ov. er his. Charge, and found them in Safety, when he waked at the End of the Year ; a'J Magilirate, who had no Occafion or Opportunity, during the whole Time of his Ppwei, to fhew his- Fellow- Citizens what - he would have done* or what he could have done, had they wanted the Alhftsnce of his great Virtues, and o f , his great'Abilities; did l i e deserve, and receive the Thanks c f your Court of Common Council?. And fhall King William, who made; you a Free . City, who reftored your Charter, and fecured the Poffeffjion. of it to you, ' hail He go . • without any Thanks 2 Shall Bis Friends be ' denied Permiffi-. on . to eredt his Statue, without putting you to the Expence . o £ a Farthing? and ftiall your ComthoK. Cauncil pafs this, ungrateful Negative oh King William, refuie to hear the) Petitioners, nay, even to read the Petition ? G E N T L E M E N , we fcorn, and do not . want . to. ftrain, or to aggravate fach a Proceeding. ... I know no Aflembly of Men in the World, who call themfelves Ejiglijixmen, capable of adiing- in this Manner, unlgfs: I ifhould name the P E E T E K D E R.\ S Tripy Council: And will you fuffer any ^ den to meet and' a6l in this Manner, and in, your Name, even in the Guildhall, of London ? Are fuch Men fit to be trailed with the Rights of their Fellow- Citizens, who insult' the Reftorer of them ? Are fuch Men fit to be trufted iwith the Rights of their Fellow- Citizens, who refufe even • jto read the Petitions of their Fellow- Citizens ? And have ; you chofen them to aft in this Manner? Or will you chufe them again, to aft in this Manner again ? ' Ho,, Gentlemen, vie. have a better Opinion of your good Senje and Integrity, which hath faved your Country on many Occafions; and we cannot think that you will ever declare againft the Conftitution. Whatever unhappy Differences or Animolities there are among us, let us not quarrel with our Liberties, or with the Authors of them. We are the only Nation in the World, who have any to boaft; and if we turn our Backs on the mighty Blefiing, . the Spirit of Liberty rnuft. ceafe. to breathe in the World, the Glorious Caufe itfelf initft perifh. If the Prince, who ' delivered our Nation but Forty Years ago, hath already loft . our National Love and Gratitude; if the beneyolent King William hath publick Difhonour done to his Memory by , the City of London, even in Common Council affembled, who will be encouraged to fave and deliver us Forty Years hence; if any unforefeen, any unexpected Caufe fhould require fuch a Deliverer to help us in thofe Times, which are yet to come ?' . G E N T L E M E N , I heartily recommend it to you, to confider your Interefts and your Welfare, as Citizens of London. I plead not with you for Courts, for Minifies, , nor even in this Inftance for the Prince on the Throne; though my Zeal for his Interefts, and my Duty to. his Perfon warm me with unfeigned Wifhes, that he may ever be the Objedt of yoii. r moft fender Affedtion, as I am mpft fure that his People are of his Royal and Paternal Care. But my prefent Appeal to you, Gentlemen, is in Behalf of your Laws, your Rights, your C H A R T E R itfelf, that , H, E, who reftored it to you, may ever be honoured by you ; that thofe, who combine to infulthis Fame, may be treated. as the Abettors of thofe who deprived, you of your Rights, and, that there may never be Wanting in yoij a Spirit to vindicate your happy Conftitution, your Deliverer King William, and all the Services which he hath done tills Nation. I am, Gentlemen, your mojl Inner- Temple, Ntv- i, 17.31. affetfionate Friend and Servant, I F . WALSINGHAM. A D V E R T I S E M E N T. \ Lately. PubUJhed. R E M A R K S o n t h e C R A F T S M A N ' S Vindication of bis Ttvo honourable Patrons, in his Paper of May 22, 1,731. The Eighth'Edition. Printed for J. P^ ELE, at life's- Head, in Amen- Corner., Pater- ncfter- Roiv. Price One Shilling,. Where may be had lately Reprinted. • j; ThefRE'lf B R I T O N S - , NO. 83, 84. Containing the Detc£ lion of the Infamous Anfiver, publifhed on the Part of Mr. P. againft : the Remarks abovementioned. 2. The F R E J B R I T O N NO. 85. Being a Reply to the late., Lord B -—— te's Final Anfwer to the faid Remarks. 3.' T h e FREE BR ITON, NO. 9 4 . Or the Cafe of Mr. P . " fully Hated and confidered, bctafioped by the tedious and trifling Attempt m the Cfaftfman of September 4, 1731.: to clear his Conduft, in relation to' fome particular F^ as. explained , ia the Free Briton of July the Firft\ with further Animadverfions or. his Secret Ilijhrf, his Ufage of. the KING, and his dreadful Fears. of b. eing expelled the Houfe cf Commons ; in anfwer to the FR EE BR 1 TON of July 1, J f 3 t . 4.' The F R E E ' BR IR< IN; No, G- 6. Oontaining- the Sfteta of a BeparteiPatriot: Bejng the S^ usl of- the Craftfman of September 25, - 1731.' - . • • (,' s, A Defence of the Meajuees - of, the Prefent Adminijlraiion. Being an impartial Anfwer ta- vhat has been . objefted: ag^ it. ' 6. The Popularity ol ' gfc'J/ fn • patmtijm examined. In a Letter ^ to a young Gentleman at Cakbrid^ e. . ' . yi" An Addrefs to the People of' Oreat Britain, occafioned by the Republication of tllie; CR A KT. S M E N .: In which the mifibievms' Ivftuence of, that. COUrfc p[ ^{ itipg oij our Foreign 4jjairs is evi « - dfo^ ly & own.; J . ; . • . . Printed for J. PEELS, at Locke' s- Head in Amen- Corner, Pater- nojler Row.