Star. — London, England, 1816-06-19 00:00:00

could not suffer the Bill to pass through its last stage without repeating his strong and decided dilappro - bation of it. He thought it peculiarly disgraceful, that on the very anniversary of that glorious day by which the liberties of Europe were achieved and the glory of this country shone forth with peculiar lustre, measure sknuld be - in the contemplation of Parlia ment okrotatory to the justice and liberality of Great Britain. His Lordship should give his decided vote against the Bill. The Earl of MORLEY spoke in favour of the Bill. l'he Duke of SUSSEX could not suffer the Bill to be read a third time without stating, however briafly, 'the seasons for which he must give a decided nega tive to it. His Noble Friend near him had alluded to the comm•!moration of that glorious day which at ri:,ce had been the salvation of Europe and the pride • cf the arms and policy of Great Britain. Only one year had since elaosad, and though no person more enthusiastically cl erishe I the resection on the high achievement, he should consider it a victory too deeply purchased, if it was to be followed so soon by the eii.honour and degradation which seemed essen tially attached to the enactment of the Bill on their Lordships' table. It was at least incumbent on the . framers of so ;:gracious and so unconstitutional a measure to make out a clear or at least a plausible ' case of necessity, before they ventured to violate and, supersede the inestimable provisions of Magna Charta and the Bill of Rights. But instead of any such case, founded on ostensible reason or overt acts, the only argument adduced by Ministers was, the existence and operation of the Bill for twenty years back, as if precedent itself could ever sanction injustice or a de parture from the soimd and acknowledged principles of the British Constitution. Upon the ground of pre cedent they might as well proceed to render perma nent the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, ur any other Act or security provided brthe virtue and wisdom of our ancestors for the safety, welfare, and Ereatness of the country. As to the itopolicy as well as the illiberality of such harsh proceedings as the till suggasted against foreignets, the Noble Duke produced the authorities of Judge Blackstone and Sir Wiiiiarn Temple. If for the inconvenience of other countries, we were to barter the Constitution of this, then we were legislating for them, and notlor ourselves. The Marquis of BUCK INGHAM began by paying a compliment to the talent and information of the Il lustrious Personage who had just sat down, and whose admiral" e remarks spewed how well he had studied the Couctitution of his country. The King had no right in this country t i interfere with the per. s'iHal liberty of any 1213 V, except in time cf war. The instant a strang er set toot in Englarfd he was free, and how could it be maintained that the King had by • his prerogative the right to seize his pcnon and send him out of the counity ? The case that had been quoted as occurring in the reign of E4ward 1. was of a nature quite eifferent from what lead been in tended ; so tar from that case proviiig that the King bad the pourer by his prerogative to send people out ' of the country, it only stated that the citizen.: tit London had presented a Petition to the King, to noel ali foreigners out of their city. Atter the revo. I cation cf toe Edict of Nantz, when tatty thou:doe: Protestants sought refuge here, no prerogative was ever exercised towards their removal. The great ob bection to this measure was, that or its giving an ar itrary pokier to Ministers, by which tiiey could ex pose any Frenchman or Spaniard to the veugeauce of their own Governme nts; and their power us this re spect was wholly undefined. Upon these grounds he must oppose the Bill, and move that it be read a third time that day six months. Lord REDESDALE contended, that the King had, by Magna Charts, the power of ordering fo reigners out co the kingdom, he could do so by liso elatalation ; but as such power rniAht be evaded, it was necessary to have a new power such as this Bill created, by which that could be done in a tomato)! way. In the piesent state of Europe, he asked if it was expedient to permit an indiscriminate infll ux of foreigners at a tio e of as much danger to Europe as eany that ec..r existed at any former peti , :d. The dan ger existed to such a degree, that he should not t hi n k he did his duty if he did not support his motion. The Marquis of LANSDOWNE said, he now understood, that after the successes we had gained in war and the security said to be established in Europe, there was still as much danger as existed tiering any period of that war 1 Such was the opinion the Noble Lord who spoke last. It was never in the contemplation 'of the Constitution to give to the King's Government such a monstrous power as this Bill went to give in time of peace. The supporters of this measure in 1793 supported it on the ground est immediate and urgent danger ; and now they con tented themselves with holding forth a mere imagi nary danger. Their Lordships however should con sider, that remedies like this to meet imaginary fears Must have the effect of sapping and undermining the Constitution of the country. In tact, it appeared as if ttie Legislature of England was to be made sub aerfent "to the views of other countries. la the reigns of Queen Elizabeth and King William, no recourse was evet had to such a measure as this, and no danger ever resulted. No such paltry mea sures were adopted when the Doke of Alva drove so many people into this country. The Constitution of the country was her best security ; and • she gained strength and power from opening her arms to fo reigners. It was a maxim of ancient Rome, that a great part of _her power arose from the reception given in her bosom to the people of the nations she had conquered. He wished their Lordships to look to the persecutions practised against British subjects under the tyrannical House of Stuart, who fled to and gained protection in Holland; and to see what t h e consequence would be if they had been denied that protection. The world would have lost all the benefits derived from th 4 labours of that great and excellent man Bishop Butnett, if he had not been protected in Holland when the tyranny of King James IL obliged him to fly from England ; and let it he recollected, that James used every art of ne gotiation and every possible threat, but in vain, to person removed, which must have get that eminent been the case it such a law as this existed in Holland. For these reasons be would give his decided opposi • tion to this all. Lord SIDMOUTH observed, that in the course of .25 years, the Alien Bill had been enacted nine times to ithout any opposition having been girca to it. • , • The Nolee Lord quelled a eau Which occurred in 1571, in the reign of Elizabeth, from which it ap peared that an order was issued for making a general search for all strangers, and to prevent the landing of all strangers in the country, and to send them back in the vessels in which they came. Orders were also given to all householders, forbidding them to enter tain foreigners, or employ foreigners in any work. — A similar order was given to search for all Scotch men—(e loud laugh)—pod to send them back to their own country. These orders were issued by Secretary Burleigh, under the direction of the Queen. He would rest hi's defence of this measure on the pru dence of their Lordships, who must all be convinced of the danger of an influx of foreigners into this country from other States, where they were not allowed to remain. Earl GREY denied the statement of the Noble Viscount (Sidmouth), that this Bill had passed an 1792 without opposition, for it must be within the recollection of almost all who heard him, that it was not then passed until after long, repeated, obsti nate debates. Before he placed any reliance on the cases that had been quoted, he must know the cir cumstances and the necessity belonging to them ; but he believed that the orders against foreigners were the result of an unjustifiable exercise of autho rity on the part of the Privy Council. In the time of King William, when attempts were made to assas sinate that Sovereign, and when the very Constitu tion was in danger, while there was au siocomnion influx of foreigners, there was nut a giinle instance of a foreigner having been sent out 01 the count y.-- There had been from the time of Richard 11. J. iwn. wards, repeated laws passed respecting Aberis, which laws would have been wholly unnecessary it the King had such a power as was contended for. By Magna Charta, it was expressly provided that sill Alien Merchants should have liberty to remain in this country. Now, by the mere order of the Secie tart' of State, an Alien tni;:ht he torn horn his Tastily and connexions and banished fri.m the cudnzty. lie maintained, that there exited no danger to call for this measure. He recollect=ti at the'r , me it wrs firs, introduced, that Lord Minto and Mr. Bur ke sup. posted it as a measure necessary for the public safety in a time of emergency, but not in one which was founded in any prerogative of the Crown. At that time the re-action of the Fiends Evolution was 'rushing over the wail like a torrent of liquid fire, lad the measure on that account might he justified ; but nothing of the kind existed now. On all the. grounds which he had stated, he should oppose the measure. It was not consistent with the Government ot this cnuntsy to be hunting out people who might be suspected of having bad designs. He had stared What was the cause of the French Revolution.— He bad traced it from liberty to an unbridled li cense, from that to a military despotism, and from a military despotism to a wish for universal empire. The restoratieri of the B,urbnns, that followed, had beer. productive of consequences which he had by nu roeans foreseen. The Protestants had been per secuted in a must shameful manner ; and was this country to league with the persecutors ? To do this, or to remove those from this country who were called the supporters of Bonaparte, would place the Noble Lord in. a very difficult situation :—but would they come here if they saw that a Bill like the present was passed purposely for their exclusion from. our shores ? They would go to America—to that country which held out to them the hand of protec ' lion and the means of subsistence ; to which they would carry the arts and manufactures of their native land and of the places whence they had been driven by the hand of oppression. It might be said to Frenchmen as well as Spaniards, and to every op , pressed person in the rest of the world, you need not ' go to England, the policy of that country is changed —there, there is no longer protection for the exile and the unfortunate. This was a measure, which placed at the will of the Executive Power the hopes and fortunes of every Alien in the country. Nay, every man, however exemplary, and however careful in hi, ci.nduct, was liable to be seized and driven from his home. If their Lordship . s would look at the Bill, they would find it completely inoperative on Aliens who might •laud in Ireland.. By Ac's (which the Noble Lord produced) all Aliens on taking such and such oaths, and of any nation or sect, except Jews, might he naturalised; Le rd ELLENBOROUGH said he wished to re lieve himself from a most degrading and calumnious aspersion, cast upon him by the Noble Earl, who had accused him of deliberate misrepresentation on a former night, respecting the Petition which bad been presented from the City of London in the reign of Edward I. He contended, that he bad not used a single word on that occasion which was not to be mound in the Petition; and the Noble Earl, therefore, had no right to throw a doubt upon the authenticity of that instrument. He hoped lie bad used no aspe. rity of language—(4 load laugh.) That laugh awa kened only one sentiment in his mind, which he would not express. All lie should say was, that a man who was capable of patiently enduring the imputation of having falsified a document was capable of doing it. Earl GREY said i whether the Noble and Learned Lord had indulged in any unwarrantable asperity of language, he should leave to their Lordships to de- , terniine. For himself he could only say, that whether l , he had or had not, was a matter of perfect indiffe rence to him ; if, indeed, lie were to add that his feel ings upon the point bordered upon another sentiment, he should not belie those feelings. No apology was due from him to the Noble Lord; though he did not however recollect that he said the Noble Lord en deavoured to impose a premeditated misrepresenta tion upon their Lordships. What he stated was, that the document brought forward by the Noble Lord led to a very different inference from . that which he had drawn. He mentioned that as an explanation which was due to the House, not to the Noble and Learned Lord, whose manner and tone precluded all apology from him. The Noble Lord would never find in him a person who would sit and bear such language, without repelling it; and he was in the judgment ot the House, whether there was ever a more unfounded or a more unprovoked attack than that which the Noble Lord had made upon him.. (Hear, hear, hear.) The Ear l of LIVERPOOL maintained, that aR authorities were in favour of the Bill, nay, if usage WAS sought after, that also would be found to be in its favour. Magna Clam' itt itself, though a decla ratory law, contained a strong presumption at 'testi that each I prerogative elided: Wu this ministry to be overrun with foreignen ?—with Ines (ruin &eery country and every quarter of the globe, whatiVer might be their deigns? • After some farther discussion, in which the Loup CHANCELLOR, Lord HOLLAND, and the Marquis of BUCKINGHAM, took part, the House divided, when there were for the third reading, 60—Proxies, 48—. 108.—Against it, 25—Proxies, 23-48.—Majority for the third reading. 60. The Bill was accordingly read a third time and paned, and the House adjourned at One o'clock. HOUSE OP COMMONS. The Holyhead Harbour Bill went through a Committee. Re. port to morrow. Sir I. NICHOI.L brougtd tip the Report of the Select Com mlttee oo Tythes, which was ordered to be ',rioted. Mr. CUlt WEN, M bringing up thejteputt of the Cortimittee on the Poor. Laws, observed that it was tno late in the 'ess oil to hope for any advintage frtun the further consideration of them, but hoped that in tie next Session the sAiject would meet the most serious consideration. Mr. I). GIDDY expressed ids satisfaction at the porponement of the subject until neat ;:ession, but observed that the salvation of the country depended on a radical returm of the Poor.' Laws. The Mad-House Bill was recommitted, and some amendments agreed to. When the House resumed the Iteptrt was received, and ordered to he taken into limber consideration to-morrow and to be printed. On the motion of Mr. ROSE the House went Into a Cora mime on the &slugs Bank Bill. Mr. 1.1 NLAY objected to that clause which give to the Chef Baron of the Court of Ses.lon in Scotland the power of vesting the Funds of any of the Banks, in any of the chartered Banks of ticAthoul. Mr. Finlay moved as an amendment that the piiwer should nut be put into the hands of the Chief Lon, but be lat to the et.icre of the Committee. Uu th;s the Committee divo:rd—For the original Clause, 45 Fur the Amendment, 14—Majority, 31. I he Clause was then agreed to, and lie Committee were pro cretliog in the discussion of some other clauses, when, on the motion of the. Chancelior of the Exchequer, the Chairman was ordered to report pro? revs, and ask leave to sit agaiu. Leave was them given for rite Committee to It': aya•n that day. he CHANChI.t.t dt of the EXCHEQUER moved that a Connoitree be forthwith appointed to ;native the Comerence wi h the I or& on the subject of the last Conietence. The Com mittee being appoimed, proceeded to the Painted Chamber, and at their return to the House, The CHANCELLOR ti the EXCHEQUER reported at the Bar, that the Lords desired the concurrence of the Commons in an Address to his Royal Highness the Prince Regent, on the sub ject of the arrangement of the Statutes. This Report was or. dered to be taken into consideration on Friday. Mr. SWANN presented a Petition from Mr. Butt, stating that he had paid the fine of 21000 according to his sentence, but that it had not yet been received into the proper office, and he prayed the House to take the nutter into their consideration.—Ordered to lie on the Table. Alter a short conversation between Mr. Tierney, the Chancel. Inc. of the Exchequer, Mr. Brougham, and Mr. Wilberforce, in which the last Gentleman refused to give up the precedence which his intended motion for to-morrow had, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, at the suggestion of Mr. Tierney, consented to let the sd reading of the Irish Consolidation bill stand over for Thursday, with the understanding that it should have precedence of every other business that day. The second Report of the Committee on Illicit Distillation was brought up, and onieted.to be printed. General HART took that opportunity of complaining to the House of the grcss misconduct of some of the Ulficers of Customs and Excise in frelind, particularly in that part of the cowry which be represented . He would rather see martial law estab . . lathed in his cour.ty, Doningal, (and he would even think it a boon) than the tyranny v. inch was practised by some Exch.? Of ficers there. He ho i ed that the independent English Members would takz this Matter Into consideration. r.inu AIENTAK Y It LF.,LtAt•-,-ABEItUSEg.-..GLACGOW. Mr. B ItAND said, he held in his hands two Peti tions from the tuv.n and vicinity of Aberdeen, praying fur a Reform in the Commons House of Par liament. Every day's experience confirmed him in the opinion which he had constantly entertained, of the necessity of Parliamentary Reform. He regretted extremely the apatLy which pervaded this part of the country, with respect to this subject. He thought this might be in some measure accounted for by the imsevering tenacity with the Gentlemen more immedi tely connected with this measure insisted on a vio- ' lent and exclusive mode of Referm...--(Hear, hear, hear.) —He had already stated it as his opinion, that it Septennial Parliaments were too long, Annual ' Parliaments on the other hand, on various grounds, were too short. But those who thought Annual Par. haments the only remedy for our grievances, con ceived that those who were not disposed to adopt their remedy, were not so sincerely patriotic as them selves. He could not but express his satisfaction th .1t th:s subject had been taken up with eagerness by the northern part of the island ; and they shewed that they had a proper feeling of the value of the privi leges enjoyed by their southern neighbours. Con ceiviog themselves aggrieved, the petition was per haps worded rather strongly, but he should be be traying his duty if be refused to present it. The Marquis of TAVISTOCK could not allow the present opportunity to pass without expressing his opinion oa, this great question. The people had A right to expect that they should be admitted to a par ticipation in the Constitution, and they would not be satisfied till, by a proper Reform, they were admitted to such participation. Mr. BENNET entertained the same opinions which he had always held on this subject. He trusted that as the world was now in a state of tranquillity, we should at last turn our attention to the state of out national Representation. Mr. CURWEN during the whole period he had had a seat in the House, had always strongly sup. ported Parliamentary Reform ; and no time could be more suitable for this object than the present, when r the people were called on to submit to such unexam- 1 ' pled privations. Mr. BROUGHAM rose to express his hearty con. currence with those Gentlemen who had preceded him on this subject. However this cause aught be opposed by some, deserted by others, and espoused by persons whose conduct excited no small degree of disgust out of doors, he, for one, should not be in duced to abandon it, or to entert•.in less zealous wishes for its success than his s Honourable friend be side him. 1. Mr. W. SMITH had not been informed that any Petition on the subject of Reform was to be presented that night ; but as from the earliest day of Lis. poli tical lite he had uniformly expressed himself in fa vour of Parliamentary Reform, and as he had beien more • and more confirmed in his opinion by all that he bad seen during the last 3.5 years, he concurred most heartily in the sentinacuts which had fallen from his Honoutable Friends. He Lad early in life belonged to almost every Society—(Laegh from the Yiailkrialßerakes)—he was nut ashamed to own it— he had belonged to almost every Society which had Reform for its object ; and he had been sorry when the Society of the Friends of the People—from the withdrawing of some of the greatest ornaments of the House—was dis.olved. since drat time he had W' . • belonged to no So ciety ; bnt be fill hoped th at should one day be enabled to give a successful 4 . 7 , in favour of the object which all the so c i et i es which he had belonged h.td in view. Mr. BRAND then brought up a P et i t i on t.e. certain Members of the Cori or. (4 the town Abcrdeefi, and a Petition from otter ci t . zei , v, Members of the Corporation, and the I lhabitants the Vicioity, bolt which were read, and ordered t e ; . n en the table. BRoUGHAM said, he held in his hat:dist,: Petition to the same import, signed by u p w.irds ; 10,000 persons of the populoos City of Gu siteip, ' which was no more represented in that House ths a k that City consisted only of b ire walls with growing on the streets. While many places ..vitit fear or no inhabitants bad two, and some tv:rif,3ll),,. presentatives its the House, that great City h a d, el t one-fourth part of a Representative is the finrouraf Member below (Mr. finlay), who, no ( !,, d b t, ve„ ably represented it and three other ll:Alight. V, Petitioners complained .of their bring sprkrn of reprtlented in Pailia!oent, and they conLitierei,t,i n z, as the strongest case in fav , ,ur of P-A,rni. s m . land, even in the largest c'Ainties, there wAsa u d a , in the heist like a popular represenriti: n. Th e a h ei : country might be representi_d by peist,ns th o l ud nut one foot of land in the country—it mi g h t h i% presented by 4.5 persons, in Change-alley. r ut cis a state of rercs2iitAzion so monstim,s as Z ., (41 loudly for reform. l'-'l:..tever senti4 - Jents nuer rained respectin7 ref,:rni in the case CI L0A1.r,4, he had never braid out of the House oae single d„, sentient voice as to recessity of a It c h = it Scotland.—The Petition was then read, and ard en t to lie on the table. BANK CAPITAL BILL. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER moved the third reatiing cf the Beek Capital Mr. GRENFELL said, he eouhl not m e t e r suffer this Bill to go through its lest stage, wiieeut availing himself of the opportunity to al Gnce !tee the attention of the House to the exorbitant pros the Bank had been making during the last nineteen years, and were now making, at the expense of d'e public. He should confine his observation s to their conduct as Public Contractors, and not aliude to their conduct as Bankers"; in the late transactions bete ese Government and the Bank, but whether this was owing to their generosity or the discussions eleds had taken place, he would leave the House to determine, he trusted that a feeling had been created in the pub. lic mind, which would finally put an end to the system of extravagance on the part of Government, and of rapacity on the part of the Bank, which were without example in the history of this or any other country. What, he would ask, was the amount of profits of the Bank during the last nineteen years, arising out of the Restriction Act and the Con s tracts with Government t In 1797, after time Back had been in existence as a Corporate Body fur a I Century, the Proprietors never heard of a Bonus— having at no time received any thing beyond their annual interest. In 1695, the ai.nual dividends were eight per cent. wlech was nearly the r ate of iotere.t in these -leys. From 1730 to 1799, they never es. seeded seven per ceet. but flectuated between dee and so low es 4i per e:nt. In 1797, the B ink wiee possessed of a surplus of 43,826,890. With thistle) , then started. Since 1797, he spoke practically, Lay. l ing as a proprietor participated in all the advanteges, bonuses, acc. had been divided amongst the preprie ! tors, over and above the annual dividend of seem per cent. to the amount of sixty-one per not. e l £7,101,864. Beside:, these bonuses, they had re. -ceived the present one of £2,910,600 additional Bank Steck, which at the present m rrket price was equi. valent in Bank-notes to 5e6,403,320 ; se that the whole of the bonuses divided among the proprietors arnotne ted to x8!3,505,164. In addition to this profit acv. ally realized, it was known that there must renalln behind an enormous mess of surplus not divided. This was shewn by the price of Bank Stock. It had risen since 1797, from 120 to 220, and was Ogee fore 100 per cent. higher in value new that iu 17":47, which was equivalent to £1141.'2,400. It this suns were added' to the thirteen millions of bonuses, it would make their whole malts, since 1797, antouet to twenty-five - millions. But it would be necesesty to deduct the profits when they started in 1797, bring Cr e 526,890, and there would remain a: the poet made in nineteen years R 21,320,694, being in -these nineteen years about seven times as much as the whole profit made during the whole preceding cen tury. How had these profits been made? Tee! had arisen wholly out of the suspension of cash Fe meats and government con:Tecte.—(l-har, hear.) These profits had gone cn increasing with the dIfF.- cultic's of the Country. Every new Tax had a tee dency to increase their profits. A very considerable proportion of these enormous profits, belonged to fo reigners residing in Holland, America, and Switzer. land. The proportion of Stock belonging to to reignete could wily be ascertained by an inspectiea of their hooks ; but the proportion of names tees known. By the list of the Ist if April, it appi:Artsi, that of between 2200 and 2300 Proprietors, no less than one-tenth were foreigners; and if their Stock was in proportion, one-tenth of the prof is abroad. If the" Bank sent our manufactures abroad, or were the means of circulating the produce of the industry of the country, the enorrnqus sums ehich were Reid to them might admit of some justifies: ioe ; but they encouraged no manufacture but that ef paper, which Government allowed them to carry as to any extent. Their only expeditions were to ll:exit ing-street, and back again. He did not blame tie.. Directers so much as he did the Government of the Country—not the present—bat every Goyernmeet. As long as lie had a seat in the house, till the system was fundamentally and radically thanged, he pledged himself not to. omit deieg every thing in his power to put an end to what he conceived unfair advAntage to the Bank, and ii.jury to the Public. The CHANCE it of the EXC FIEQUE said the arrangement before the House wai one re specting which lie the least expected any ditterei ce of opinion. The Bank hat; lent a large eten of mute)! to Government on thn most advantageous terms, and all that they now asked was the pewer of converting a surplus sum into additional stock, which they could have divided among the proprietors without the con sent of Parliament. Against this arrangement no grounds whatever had been" stated. Mr. GRENFELL explained. t Ir. PONSONI3Y animadverted on the improvi- 60 the G r p the,