No. III.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE PUBLIC MEETING HELD AT

FREEMASONS' HALL, ON THE 18TH JUNE, 1824,

FOR ERECTING A MONUMENT TO THE LATE
JAMES WATT.

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INTRODUCTION.

MANY of the friends and admirers of the late Mr. Watt had long regretted, that no tribute of national gratitude had been paid to a man, whose inventions had so essentially promoted the prosperity and increased the resources of the British empire; and whose talents and discoveries as a philosopher were universally allowed, both at home and abroad, to have conferred honour upon his country.

Those feelings were strengthened by the recent exhibition of his statue by Chantrey; not more admirable as an exquisite work of art, than as a striking and characteristic resemblance; and by the appearance, nearly at the same time, of an interesting, though brief memoir of his life, in the last volume of the Encyclopædia Britannica, to which the beautiful delineation of his character by Mr. Jeffrey was subjoined. Time and reflection

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London, John Murray, Albemarle-Street, 1824.

had contributed to enhance their estimate of Mr. Watt's extraordinary merits, while the beneficial effects of his inventions were every day becoming more and more conspicuous in all parts of the civilized world. It was known that the statue was intended by the present Mr. Watt to be placed over his father's remains in the parish church of Handsworth, in Staffordshire; and that another statue, for which that gentleman had engaged the same great artist, was designed by him to be presented to the university and city of Glasgow, as a mark of respect to the place where his father's talents had been first encouraged, and where his great improvement in the principle of the Steam Engine had been made. But the friends of Mr. Watt were decidedly of opinion, that it should not be left to filial piety alone, to commemorate genius and talents from which the whole community had derived such signal benefits; and they, in consequence, formed the resolution of erecting an appropriate memorial in the metropolis of the British empire, by private subscription among themselves. They could not, however, divest themselves of the conviction, that Mr. Watt had peculiar and indubitable claims to the highest honours that are ever conferred by government, on men who have deserved well of their country; and under this persuasion, they considered it right to make application to his Majesty's ministers, to sanction a vote of Parliament for the erection of a suitable monument, either in Westminster Abbey, or in St. Paul's Cathedral.

To this application, a prompt and willing attention was given by the leading members of administration. It appeared to accord with their own wishes and opinions; and expectations were for some time entertained of its being carried into effect. But no precedent could be discovered for such a measure; and ministers felt great difficulty in establishing one, which might eventually place them under the painful and invidious necessity of discussing the merits of other eminent men, for whom claims might be brought forward. In intimating this difficulty, they at the same time announced the high sense which His Majesty entertained of the merits and public services of Mr. Watt, and his gracious desire to contribute a large sum towards the erection of a monument by public subscription. Ministers likewise expressed their individual wishes to take a prominent part in the execution of such a plan; which, supported, as they were convinced it would be, by the general concurrence of the country, would become a national tribute to Mr. Watt's merits, and a permanent record of the public gratitude.

To a proposal so honourable to the memory of Mr. Watt, his friends gave a ready and cordial assent; and, as the session of Parliament was drawing to a close, and many of its Members most friendly to the measure were leaving town, it was resolved to call a public meeting in London, to be held as speedily as circumstances would admit. A notice was accordingly inserted in the newspapers, and addressed, by circular, to those gentle

men who were presumed likely to take an interest in the proceedings. The unavoidable shortness of time prevented the attendance of many warm friends of Mr. Watt from distant parts of the kingdom, yet it may truly be said, that a meeting more distinguished by rank, station, and talent, was never before assembled to do honour to genius, and to modest and retiring worth; and that a more spontaneous, noble, and discriminating testimony was never borne to the virtues, talents, and public services of any individual, in any age or country.

To present an authentic record of the proceedings of that meeting is the object of the following pages;-proceedings as honourable to the Monarch who patronized, as to the eminent statesmen and distinguished men who bore a part in them; and which must ever prove a source of pride and gratification to the friends of Mr. Watt.

Rook's Nest,

Godstone, Nov. 1, 1824.

C. H. TURNER, Chairman of the Committee.

MONUMENT TO MR. WATT.

A public meeting will be held at the Freemasons' Tavern, on Friday next, the 18th instant, at one o'clock, to consider of the propriety of erecting a monument to the late James Watt; as a

tribute of national gratitude to him, who, by his genius and science, has multiplied the resources of his country, and improved the condition of all mankind.

The Earl of Liverpool, K.G., in the Chair.

June 12, 1824.

PROCEEDINGS AT THE FREEMASONS' TAVERN.

EARL OF LIVERPOOL.-Gentlemen, we are assembled here for the purpose of paying a public tribute of respect and gratitude, to the memory of one of the most extraordinary persons to whom our country has given birth. It will not be denied that, amongst the benefactors of mankind, there are few who can have a greater claim to public gratitude, than those who have improved the productive powers of human industry; and where shall we find, in modern times, or, I may say, in any age of the world, such an invention as the Steam Engine? Of that invention, the late Mr. Watt, by his improvements, may be said to have been almost the author. It was by his steady perseverance, by the sagacity of his mind, by his patient thinking, that he was enabled to apply the profoundest principles of science to the practical purposes of life; and, by abridging human and animal labour, and increasing the force of mechanical power, to augment incalculably the resources of his own country, and even of the whole world.