tional Dinner is materially untrue; and that the account given of the first toast, in The Times, is a most flagrant falsehood. It was, The King and Constitution.

The meeting broke up without the least riot or disturbance. That the public may judge whether the proceedings of the day, and the toasts, were or were not reprehensible, the following true narrative is now produced, the authenticity and truth of which I will vouch for.

The proceedings of the day were preceded by an advertisement in the Birmingham Chronicle, published that morning, of which the following is a copy:

"Birmingham Commemoration of the French Revolution.

"Several hand-bills having been circulated in the town, which can only be intended to create distrust concerning the intention of the meeting, to disturb its harmony and inflame the minds of the people; the gentlemen who proposed it, think it necessary to declare their entire disapprobation of all such hand-bills, and their ignorance of the authors. Sensible themselves of the advantages of a free Government, they rejoice in the extension of liberty to their neighbours, at the same time avowing, in the most explicit manner, their firm attachment to the constitution of their own country, as vested in the three estates of King, Lords, and Commons: surely no freeborn Englishman can refrain from exulting in this addition to the general mass of human happiness. It is the cause of humanity, it is the cause of the people.

In the morning, however, after this was published, many rumours of the probability of a Riot were brought to the friends of the meeting; and as there was too much reason to think that means had been used to promote one, they determined to postpone the intended dinner, and accordingly agreed to put it off, and prepared a handbill for that purpose, of which the following is a copy:

"Intended Commemoration of the French Revolution.

"The friends of the intended festivity, finding that their views and intention, in consequence of being misconceived by some, and misrepresented by others, have created an alarm in the minds of the majority of the town, and, it is thought, endangered its tranquillity, inform their neighbours, that they value the peace of the town far beyond the gratification of a festival, and therefore have determined to give up their intentions of dining at the hotel upon this occasion; and they very gladly improve this renewed opportunity of declaring that they are to this hour entirely ignorant of the author, printer, or publisher, of the inflammatory hand-bill circulated on Monday."

This was sent to the printer; but before he had composed it, Mr. Dadley, the master of the hotel, attended, in consequence of having the dinner countermanded; and represented, that he was sure there was no danger of any tumult, and recommended that the dinner

might be had as was intended; only proposing, that the gentlemen should take care to break up early, and then all danger would be avoided. This measure was then adopted, and orders given to the printer to suppress the hand-bill. Accordingly there was a meeting of eighty-one gentlemen, inhabitants of the town and neighbourhood, at the great room in the hotel, where they dined and passed the afternoon with that social, temperate, and benevolent festivity, which the consideration of the great event which has diffused liberty and happiness among a large portion of the human race, inspired.

The following toasts were drunk, and were agreeably intermixed with songs, composed and sung by some of the company :

1. The King and Constitution.

2. The National Assembly and Patriots of France, whose virtue and wisdom have raised twenty-six millions from the mean condition of subjects of despotism, to the dignity and happiness of freemen. 3. The Majesty of the People.

4. May the New Constitution of France be rendered perfect and perpetual.

5. May Great Britain, Ireland, and France unite in perpetual friendship, and may their only rivalship be the extension of peace and liberty, wisdom and virtue.

6. The Rights of Man. May all nations have the wisdom to understand, and the courage to assert and defend them.

7. The true Friends of the Constitution of this country, who wish to preserve its spirit, by correcting its abuses.

8. May the people of England never cease to remonstrate, till their Parliament becomes a true National Representation.

9. The Prince of Wales.

10. The United States of America. May they for ever enjoy the liberty which they have so honourably acquired.

11. May the late Revolution in Poland prove the harbinger of a more perfect system of liberty extending to that great kingdom.

12. May the Nations of Europe become so enlightened as never more to be deluded into savage wars, by the mad ambition of their rulers.

13. May the sword be never unsheathed, but for the defence and liberty of our country, and then may every man cast away the scabbard, until the people are safe and free.

14. To the glorious memory of Hampden and Sydney, and other heroes of all ages and nations, who have fought and bled for liberty. 15. To the memory of Dr. Price, and of all those illustrious sages who have enlightened mankind on the true principles of civil society.

16. Peace and good-will to all mankind.

17. Prosperity to the town of Birmingham.

18. A happy Meeting to all the Friends of Liberty on the 14th of July, 1792.

It is but justice to the liberality and public spirit of an ingenious artist of this town to mention, that he decorated the room upon this occasion with three elegant emblematic pieces of sculpture, mixed

with painting, in a new style of composition. The central piece was a finely executed medallion of his Majesty, encircled with a glory, on each side of which was an alabaster obelisk; the one exhibiting Gallic liberty breaking the bands of despotism, and the other representing British liberty in its present enjoyment.

A truly respectable gentleman, [Mr. Keir,] a member of the Church of England, was chairman, others of that profession were of the company, nor was a single sentiment uttered, or I believe, conceived, that would hurt the feelings of any one friend to liberty and good government, under the happy constitution we are blessed with in this kingdom. I aver this to be a true and just representation of the proceedings which have been so scandalously misrepresented in the paper above-mentioned; and am,

Sir,

London, July 20, 1791.

Your obedient servant,

WILLIAM RUSSELL.

No. XII.

MR. KEIR'S LETTER TO THE PRINTER OF THE BIRMINGHAM AND STAFFORD CHRONICLE.

MR. PRINTER,

(See supra, pp. 349, Note, 374, 380.)

As I find that many gross falsehoods have been circulated through the country, in order to inflame the minds of the people concerning the meeting held last Thursday, to commemorate the French Revolution, I will beg leave to state what I myself have had occasion to know respecting that subject.

Some gentlemen in Birmingham had proposed by an advertisement in the newspapers, to hold a meeting of the friends of liberty and of mankind, at the hotel, to commemorate the French Revolution, in the same manner as was done in London, and many other parts in the kingdom. Two days before the time appointed for this meeting, a very respectable gentleman called on me, and said he came to tell me, that it was the general wish of those who intended to meet, that I should be their chairman on the occasion. I accepted the compliment, and promised to come to Birmingham to attend, never conceiving that a peaceable meeting, for the purpose of rejoicing that twenty-six millions of our fellow-creatures were rescued from despotism, and made as free and happy as we Britons are, could be misinterpreted as being offensive to a government whose greatest boast is liberty, or to any who profess the Christian religion, which orders us to love our neighbours as ourselves.

We accordingly met and dined with the greatest peace and harmony, and after drinking some toasts, expressive in the first place of our loyalty to our own King and Constitution; and, in the second place, of our joy at the happiness which the French have acquired

by their new constitution, we dissolved the meeting entirely, in the greatest order, between five and six in the evening, and quitted the hotel, every man retiring separately to his home, or to his private affairs. I returned to my house in the country, nor knew of the disturbances till next day. The meeting in London* was conducted with the same decorum,† nor has there been an instance, as far as I know, in the many similar meetings throughout England, of the smallest irregularity attempted by them. Now, Mr. Printer, as actions are the best interpreters of men's intentions, it is evident that the malicious insinuations, that these meetings were intended to disturb the peace and government of the country, have been, by the event, proved to be false and groundless.

I have lately heard that it is reported that we drank disloyal and seditious toasts. Now the very first toast that was given was, The King and the Constitution. I do not know any words in the English language expressive of greater loyalty; and one of the last was, Peace and good-will to all mankind, which cannot easily be interpreted to excite people to tumult. I shall hereafter publish a list of all the toasts, which were altogether in the same spirit of loyalty, peace, and charity.

A second report is, that Justice Carles was insulted and turned out of the room. The fact is, that Justice Carles never was in the

At the Crown and Anchor, where Mr. George Rous, a barrister, was chairman. See his "Address to the Public on occasion of the Riots at Birmingham," quoted Vol. XV. p. 493, Note.

+ This I can testify, having been present on that occasion.

66

"Those men," says Mr. Rous, must be the friends of peace, whose fixed principles require them to claim no rights for themselves which they are not equally ready to maintain for others; to wish that the voice of truth only may be heard; and to affect no change, which shall not be previously sanctioned by the consenting reason of mankind. Accordingly, in the numerous places where the French Revolution has been celebrated by convivial meetings, no symptoms of ill-will to any human being has appeared among its friends. In Birmingham alone the cry of Church and King has resounded, and a disciplined banditti, professing to obey orders, have destroyed the houses of revolutionists and anti-revolutionists, of the friends and enemies of the present ministers, with the most impartial outrage. The sole pretext has been, that men presumed to worship God in the manner they deemed most acceptable to the divine nature." Address annexed to "Thoughts on the Riotsby a Welsh Freeholder," 1791, p. 27.

In younger life I well knew Mr. Rous, having often acted with him, in 1793 and 1794, in the society of " the Friends of the People." I am tempted here to add the close of this Address, where the writer appears in his true character of a liberalminded member of the Established Church:

"I can differ from Dr. Priestley without feeling the smallest diminution of that esteem which his talents and virtues have impressed. After reading his arguments, I retain a firm conviction that a precarious provision for the clergy has a tendency to degrade religion in the persons of its ministers; though truth compels me to acknowledge, that the teachers of Dissenting congregations in this kingdom form a splendid exception to the general rule. But the zeal of dissenting, with other causes, may operate an effect scarcely to be expected in the absence of these motives; and it is safe, at least, to place the clergy of the national religion in a state, whenever they deserve, to command respect. Yet a hint may not be useless to the zealots of our church, that a subversion in civil government of the first principles of justice, by an ignominious exclusion of great bodies of our fellow-citizens from political trusts, is not the best possible mode of protecting establishments from the inquisitive spirit of an enlightened age." Ibid. pp. 28, 29.

room, and therefore it is not easy to conceive how he could be turned out. I will add, that I have not the smallest doubt, that if that gentleman had come, he would have been received with due respect.

A third false report was, that a seditious hand-bill had been distributed by the members of the meeting, on some preceding day. A seditious and truly infamous hand-bill had been distributed, it is true, but by whom written or distributed, is not known. It is heartily to be wished that the persons concerned may be discovered, and punished according to law. As soon as the gentlemen of Birmingham, who had concerted the Commemoration Meeting, saw this hand-bill, they perceived that the effect, and perhaps the intention of it, was to inflame the mob against them, and they immediately published in the Thursday's newspaper, an advertisement declaring their disavowal of this hand-bill, and their own loyal attachment to the King, Lords, and Commons. They also sent hand-bills with copies of this advertisement all over Birmingham. It was not possible for them to do any thing more effectual to prevent any bad effects from this seditious paper, or to rescue themselves from the calumny of their being the authors of it.

The last false report that I have heard relative to that meeting is concerning Dr. Priestley's behaviour there. To this I suppose it will be sufficient to answer, that Dr. Priestley was not present.

These are all the reports which I have heard, but I doubt not there may be many others, of the truth of which every man of common sense will judge from what I have said of those which have come to my knowledge. Nevertheless, these false reports are all the pretences for the late horrible Riots; but the event shews that they were only pretences, and that the Dissenters were the true object of the fury of the mob, as many of those gentlemen who have suffered from the Riots were not present. For, the business of the Commemoration Meetings had nothing to do with religious distinctions, and were in other parts composed of Churchmen, Catholics, and Dissenters. It is true, that in Birmingham, the majority were Dissenters; but it is evident that they did not wish it to be distinguished as a party meeting, when they did me the honour to choose me as their chairman, who, it was evident, must have conformed, in order to qualify myself for the commissions which I have held in the army, to all the formalities prescribed by the Test Act, and who never was present in a Dissenting meeting above once or twice in England; although I have the greatest regard for the Dissenting individuals whom I know, among whom are several of the late unfortunate victims, men as peaceable, respectable, and loyal as any in the kingdom. But as the subject of the Commemoration Meeting was quite unknown to the ignorant part of the people, it gave an opportunity of raising any lies that were necessary to inflame the mob to execute their horrid purposes. But that the proceedings of the meeting were innocent, peaceable, and honourable, and also free from every subject relative to religious parties, I solemnly affirm. I am, Mr. Printer, yours, &c. JAMES KEIR.

West Bromwich, July 20, 1791.