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The remedy of the law for falfe imprisonment barred and defeatedThe plaintiff and his attorney, for their appeal to the law of the land, punished by expences and imprifonment, and made by forced engagements to defift from their legal claim.

A writing determined to be a libel by a court where it was not cognizable in the firft inftance; contrary to law, because all appeal is thereby cut off, and inferior courts and juries influenced by fuch predetermination

A perfor condemned in the faid court as the author of the fuppofed libel unheard, without defence or trial

Unjuft treatment of petitions, by felecting only fuch parts as might be wrefted to criminate the petitioner, and refufing to hear thofe which might procure him redress

The thanks of one branch of the legiflature propofed by a minifter to be given to an acknowledged offender for his offence, with the declared intention of fcreening him from law

Attachments wrefted from their originialintent of removing obftructions to the proceedings of law, to punish by fentence of arbitrary fine and imprisonment, without trial or appeal,fppofed offences committed

out of court

Perpetual imprisonment of an Englishman, without trial, conviction, or fentence, by the fame mode of attachment, wherein the fame perfon is at once party, accufer, judge, and jury

Inftead of the ancient and legal civil police, the military introduced at every opportunity, unneceffarily and unlawfully patrolling the freets, to the alarm and terror of the inhabitants—

The lives of many of your majefty's innocent fubjects destroyed by military execution

Such military execution folemnly adjudged to be legal.

Murder abetted, encouraged and rewarded

- The civil magiftracy rendered contemptible by the appointment of improper and incapable perfons

The civil magiftrates tampered with by adminiftration, and neglecting and refufing to discharge their duty

Mobs and riots hired and raised by the miniftry, in order to justify and recommend their own illegal proceedings, and to prejudice your majefty's mind by falfe infinuations against the loyalty of your majesty's fubjects

The freedom of election violated by corrupt and undue influence, by unpunished violence and murder

The juft verdicts of juries, and the opinion of the judges, overruled by falfe reprefentations to your majefty; and the determinations of the law fet afide by new, unprecedented, and dangerous means; thereby leaving the guilty without reftraint, and the injured without redrefs, and the lives of your majefty's fubjects at the mercy of every ruffian protected by adminiftration-

Obfolete and vexatious claims of the crown fet on foot for partial and election purposes.

Partial attacks on the liberty of the prefs: the most daring and pernicious libels against the conftitution, and against the liberty of the fubject, being allowed to pafs unnoticed, whilft the flighteft libel against a minifter is punished with the utmoft rigour—

Wicked attempts to increase and establish a standing army, by endeavouring to veft in the crown an unlimited

unlimited power over the militia; which, fhould they fucceed, muft fooner or later, fubvert the conftitution by augmenting the power of adminiftration in proportion to their delinquency

Repeated endeavours to diminish the importance of members of parliament individually, in order to render them more dependent on administration collectively. Even threats having been employed by minifters to fupprefs the freedom of debate; and the wrath of parliament denounced against measures authorifed by the law of the land

Refolutions of one branch of the legiflature, fet up as the law of the land, being a direct ufurpation of the rights of the two other branches, and therefore a manifeft infringement of the constitution—

Public money fhamefully fquandered and unaccounted for, and all inquiry into the caufe of arrears in the civil lift prevented by the miniftry

Inquiry into a paymafter's public accounts ftopped in the exchequer, though the fums unaccounted for by that pay-mafter amounted to above forty millions fterling

Public loans perverted to private minifterial purposes

Proftitution of public honours and rewards to men who can neither plead public virtue nor fervicesIrreligion and immorality, fo eminently discountenanced by your majefty's royal example, encouraged by administration both by example

and precept.

The fame difcretion has been extended by the fame evil counfellors to your majefty's dominions in America, and has produced to our fuffering fellow fubjects in that part of the world, grievances and appre

henfions fimilar to thofe of which we complain at home.

Moft gracious fovereign, Such are the grievances and apprehenfions which have long difcontented and disturbed the greatest and beft part of your majesty's loyal fubjects. Unwilling, however, to interrupt your royal repose, though ready to lay down our lives and fortunes for your majesty's fervice, and for the conftitution as by law eftablished, we have waited patiently, expecting a conftitutional remedy by the means of our own reprefentatives; but our legal and free choice having been repeatedly rejected, and the right of election now finally taken from us by the unprecedented feating of a candidate who was never chofen by the county, and who, even to become a candidate, was obliged fraudulently to vacate his feat in parliament, under the pretence of an infignificant place, invited thereto by the prior declaration of a minister, that whoever oppofed our choice, though but with four votes, fhould be declared member for the county. We see ourselves, by this laft act, deprived even of the franchises of Englishmen, rèduced to the most abject ftate of flavery, and left without hopes or means of redress but from your majefty or God.

Deign then, moft gracious fovereign, to liften to the prayer of the most faithful of your majesty's fubjects; and to banish from your royal favour, truft,andconfidence,for ever, thofe evil and pernicious counfellors who haveendeavoured toalienate the affection of your majefty's moft fincere and dutiful fubjects, and whose fuggeftions tend to deprive your people of their dearest and most effential rights, and who have trai

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terously dared to depart from the fpirit and letter of thofe laws which have fecured the crown of thefe realms to the houfe of Brunfwick, in which we make our moft earneft prayers to God, that it may continue untarnished to the lateft pofterity.

Signed by 1565 freeholders."

Narrative of what happened previous to the prefenting of the petition of the livery of London to his majesty, with a copy of the peti

tion.

THE

THE 26th of June, the right hon. the lord mayor fent to lord Rochfort, to know when it would be convenient to prefent the petition of the livery of London; and received for anfwer, that it was a matter not in his department. Lord Weymouth, being then out of town, did not return till Wednefday; accordingly on Thurfday morning the lord mayor went to ord Weymouth's, but did not fee nis lordship; he therefore left his bufinefs, which produced the following card:

True copy of a card fent by lord

Weymouth to the lord mayor. "Arlington ftreet, June 27, 1769. Lord Weymouth prefents his compliments to the lord mayor of London, and begs leave to affure his lordship that he fhould be extremely glad to give him any information relative to the prefenting the petition of the livery of London to his majefty, as the fecretary of ftate never takes the king's pleafure with regard to the time and place of receiving petitions. They are ufually prefented to the king, either on Sunday, as his majefty is going to or returning from chapel; or on

Thursday, as he goes to or returns from the drawing-room."

On the 30th of June, the sheriffs went up to court, and requefted an audience; which being granted, the petition was to be prefented the 5th of July.

Accordingly, the right hon. Sam. Turner, efq. lord mayor, fir Rt. Ladbroke, Mr. ald. Beckford, and Mr. ald. Trecothick, together with the fheriffs, accompanied by Peter Roberts, efq. the city's remembrancer, proceeded in ftate to St. James's, with the petition of the livery of London; where, after waiting a fhort time in the antichamber, his lordship fent in a meffage by the remembrancer to the lord of the bedchamber. He was defired by Mr. Pitt. groom of the bed-chamber,todeliver his meffage. The remembrancer anfwered, his bufinefs could only be delivered to the lord of the bedchamber, and that his orders were to communicate it to none but his lordship. Soon after lord Huntingdon came out, and acquainted the lord mayor, that lord Orford was in waiting, that the levee was begun, and therefore he could not leave the king; but if they had any thing to prefent, they might walk in to the levee. Mr. Beckford an fwered, they were ready to obey the king's commands, and lord Huntingdon returned. After fome time, ford Orford, the lord in waiting, came out, and told them, that, if they had any thing to deliver, they might walk in to the levee, which they immediately did; and the king being near the door, the lord mayor addreffed him to the following ef fect:

"Moft gracious fovereign, We the lord mayor, the repre fentatives in parliament, together

with the fheriffs, of your majesty's ancient and loyal city of London, prefume to approach your royal perfon, and beg leave to prefent, with all humility, to your majefty, the dutiful and most humble petition of your majelly's faithful and loyal fubjects, the livery of London in common hall affembled, complaining of grievances; and from your majefty's unbounded goodness, and paternal regard and affection for all your fubjects, they humbly prefume to hope, that your majefty will gracioufly condefcend to liften to their juft complaints, and to grant them fach relief as in your majefty's known wifdom and juftice fhall feem meet."

After which his lordship prefented the petition to his majefty, who delivered it to the lord in waiting. It was as follows; .

To the king's most excellent
majesty,

The humble petition of the livery of the city of London, in common hall affembled.

Moft gracious fovereign, WE, your majefty's dutiful and loyal fubjects, the livery of the city of London, with all the humility which is due from free fubjects to their lawful fovereign, but with all the anxiety which the fenfe of the prefent oppreffions, and the juft dread of future mifchiefs, produce in our minds, beg leave to lay before your majefty fome of thofe in tolerable grievances, which your people have fuffered from the evil conduct of thofe who have been intrufted with the adminiftration of your majesty's government, and from the fecret unremitting influ ence of the worft of counsellors.

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We fhould be wanting in our duty to your majefly, as well as to ourselves and our pofterity, fhould we forbear to reprefent to the throne the defperate attempts which have been, and are, too fuccessfully made to deftroy that conftitution, to the fpirit of which we owe the relation which fubfifts between your majesty and the fubjects of thefe realms, and to fubvert thofe facred laws, which our ancestors have fealed with their blood.

Your minifters, from corrupt principles, and in violation of every duty, have by various enumerated means, invaded our invaluable and unalienable right of trial by jury.

They have, with impunity, iffued general warrants, and violently feized perfons and private papers.

They have rendered the laws non-effective to our fecurity, by evading the Habeas Corpus.

They have caufed punishments, and even perpetual imprisonment, to be inflicted, without trial, conviction, or fentence.

They have brought into disrepute the civil magiftracy, by the appointment of perfons who are in many refpects unqualified for that important truft, and have thereby purpofely furnished a pretence for calling in the aid of a military power.

They avow, and endeavour to establish, a maxim abfolutely inconfiftent with our conflitution—that

an occafion for effectually employing a military force always prefents itself, when the civil power is trifled with or infulted;" and, by a fatal and falfe application of this maxim, they have wantonly and wickedly facrificed the lives of many of your majefty's innocent fubjects,. and have prostituted your majefty's facred name and authority, to justify,

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applaud, and recommend their own illegal and bloody actions.

They have fcreened more than one murderer from punishment, and in its place have unnaturally fubftituted reward.

They have established numberless unconftitutional regulations and taxations in our colonies. They have caufed a revenue to be raised in fome of them by prerogative. They have appointed civil law judges to try revenue caufes, and to be paid from out of the condemnation money.

After having infulted and defeated the law on different occafions, and by different contrivances, both at home and abroad, they have at length completed their defign, by violently wrefting from the people the last facred right we had left, the right of election: by the unprecedented feating of a candidate notorioufly fet up and chofen only by themfelves. They have thereby taken from your fubjects all hopes of parliamentary redrefs, and have left us no refource, under God, but in your majefty.

All this they have been able to effect by corruption. By a fcandalous mifapplication and embezzlement of public treasure, and a fhameful proftitution of public honours and employments; procuring deficiencies of the civil lift to be made good without examination; and instead of punishing, confering honours on a paymafter, the public defaulter of unaccounted

millions

From an unfeigned fenfe of the duty we owe to your majefty and to our country, we have ventured thus humbly to lay before the throne thofe great and important truths, which it has been the business of

your minifters to conceal. We most earneftly befeech your majesty to grant us redrefs. It is for the purpofe of redrefs alone, and for fuch occafions as the present, that those great and extenfive powers are intrufted to the crown by the wisdom of that conftitution which your majefty's illuftrious family was chosen to defend, and which we trust in God it will for ever continue to fupport.

To the king's most excellent

majefty. The humble petition of the electors of the city and liberty of Weftminster, within the county of Middlesex,

Sheweth,

THAT your petitioners, having,

in common with the reft of your majefty's loyal fubjects, felt the weight of a variety of grievances and oppreffions, cannot longer be filent on the fubject of a late violent and moft alarming invafion of their liberties, which threatens the certain and speedy annihilation of our excellent conftitution itself.

Your petitioners do, therefore, moft humbly beg leave to lay before your majefty, that the freeholders of the county of Middlefex did, in obedience to your majefty's writ of election, on the 13th day of April, laft, freely and indifferently elect John Wilkes, efq.. a perfon duly qualified according to the ftatutes on that behalf made and provided; that fuch election was afcertained by a poll regularly taken by the sheriff, by which poll it appeared that 1143 freeholders voted for the faid John Wilkes, efq. and only 296 for Henry Lawes Luttrell, efq. that the fheriff, according to the directions of the ftatute, and the oath taken by

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