Star. — London, England, 1815-06-21 00:00:00

fees and venation reeeseild - spilte public offices, and ppon such funds • it had been an old custom to assign pen sions for the compensation of retired Of fi cers, or as a reisunekititin to persons rendering some public service in such departments. Upon the Poet Office,' for instance,' between 6 and C7OOO a year were so Charged. including an annuity of £3OOO to Mr. Pal mer. Bur it would seem from the strain of the Learned Gentleman's observations, that the peasions to which he referred were really smuggled cases which noT" for the first time had come to light, 'hereas. the fatt was, that above SO such Pensions bad been granted within 35 years, yet never annum:l ivened upon or pronounced illegal, although such grants had come under the consideration of the Fi trance Committees of 1785 and 179.7. Nay! although Public grants had been noticed in the C o m mittee on Public Expenditure in 1801, of which the Honour able Mover was himself a Member, the subject had Slot been brought under the consideration of the House until the present moment. How came it then that the subject had for nine years been allowed to >lel) ? s and how came it also that although the Hon. rl fiver's notice reel red only to one case, he had this ;tight brought' forward three cases ? But where, he would ask, was the law, written or unwritten, that forbid this mode of granting Pensions by the Crown? The 41on 9 orable Mover had stated that those Pen sions were vittually granted out of the Civil List, and that. beng granted without the previous consent of that House, they involved a violation of Mr. litsi - ke's mt. But 'he denied the Hon. Member's fact, and his inference also. He denied his fact be ause those pensions were not granted out of funds sucluded in the commutation of the Civil List, for the hereditary revenue. But evep admitting his fact, leis inference was incorrect ; for, according to Mr. Burke's Act, the Crown was authorised to grant Pensions out of the Civil List, to the amount of 495,000 a year; and the fact was,that up to February last only £87,000 had been so granted—so that as only the pension of Colonel Congreve, and £7OO a year to that meritorious servant of the public, Mr. Cooke— (Mar, hear, from Lord Castlereagh)—it followed of course that Mr. Burke's Act had not been in any degree violated, even supposing Colo. Cringreve's Pension to have been granted without the previous consent of that House. — But in truth the prerogative of the Crown was ecn petene to order the allowance alluded to be granted 'to Colonel Congreve for his services in the Ordnance DePartmest, in which department no other grant had been nude for some time, but one to himself (Mr. Ward), for which be did not think it necessary to offer any justification, as he had made a sacrifice by accepting otfice in that department. As to the alleged illegality, however, of si:ch grants, it was evi. dent from Mr. Perceval's Act of the 50th of the Xing, that that allegation was unfounded. For this .Act was avowedly brought forward and drawn up to regulate office pensions, which of course was a clear admission of the legality of such grants as those under consideration. Bin it was obvious that the order of the Crown with respect to the grant to Co- Congreve, that it was made with the consent of that House, for it was included in the ordnance esti- SIMMS which were voted by the House; therefore it appeared that the Honeurable,Mover's complaint teas totally unfounded. Then as to the Honourable Mover's reference to the Act of Anne, there was not 4.ne word in the order of the Crown addressed to the Master General of the Ordnance which implied that the pension to Colonel Congreve was granted during Pleasure. OF course, this pension did not come at ali within the meaning of that Act; for it was not granted with any view to create undue influence upon the mind of a Member of that Hose, but toremu sreirite eminent public services. Sir J. BERESFO RD bore testimony to the great bent fits which were derived from the use of Colonel Congreve's rockets, ai he had himself witnessed in actual service. Mr H. MARTIN, in reply, stated that his reason for abstaining from bringing forward any motion earlier, respecting the particular pension which had been alluded to, was because he thought the Report of Cie Committee of Public Expenditpre would have effectually checked all such grants ; but when be found two other pensions granted of precisely a sirni. lay description, he thought it right to bring the whole subject under the notice of the House, lest the thing ahotild at swell into an intolerable grievance.— 'With regard to the Post Office Revenue, that was distinctly commuted upon the accession of his present Majesty, and the Crown therefore had no tight to charge pensions upon it. As to what had fallen from the light Honourable Gentleman respecting the ap. plication to that Houie in the way of estimate, for its concurrence, if he was correctly informed, that pension had been paid to the individual IColoneh Congreve) for at least ten years out of different of fices, and which they were now called upon to con tinue. He apprehended, however, that the constitu tional way of granting a pension was not by foisting it into an estimate, but by a message from the Crown. TheAight Honourable Gentleman said that the seat of Colorttl Congreve in that House was trot a ff eetpti by his pension , cause it did not come within she meanuig of the statute of Anne ; but upon that point, and especially the latter, he differed from the Right Honourable Gentleman. What was the intention of she Parliarneut that passed that Act ? To prevent she ettension of the influence of the Crown—net surely so • far only as related to granting pensions from tire Civil List, but in every other way. Was it probable indeed that Parliament would leave the crown in possession of numerous offices, with the power to grant pensions upon those offices in any manner except ttoot the hereditar y revenue ?. He apprehended, therefore, that the Right Hon. Gentle man was a little incorrect in his 'hew of the effeCt• which, the pension ought to have Upon the seat of 01111'nel Conyers. The House then divided, when the numbers were; 'Ayes 13—Noes 71. • ' ' •" • . Trig watt. The PEIANCELLPR of the EXCIAQUER moved. that' the elder of the day for continuing the adjourned.dehate Upon the alpha of the Bank should 1;e reid.'for 'the pnrposet Of further'pestponing it, as' he had. not ' l a had tiMe to obtain and . egenvine . all the nettestary paperys• • After' I few wvOrd from Mr. Paeurer,c, who ex deitia h* wilt og ; neai to defer the disc u ssidn to any bo cciavenient to th e Ripigt Honour- Q. t !!t i "L :s, • • !:. t 4.1 I% • able If f entlesto it trio Wiped to Thattdoy seen night. ' 'ovum* Sol* Mr. MARSH rose porsumit to notice, to move that he petition of Mr. Fink late his Mbjesty's At try-General in the prOvince of Upper Canada, be referred to a Select Committee, to inquire into its al legations, and report thereon. He said he should cog tent himself with merely stating the circumstances of the petition, and leaving it to the judgment of the House to determine upon what course ought to be pursued. He begged leave, however, to say, that he was in no manner influenced by the feelings which actuated the Petitioner, who was goaded and stung, no doubt, by a deep sense of injuries which he be lieved himself to have sustained. Who was the Peti tioned ? Not an obscure, not an ignorant individual, not a person who, from his condition in society, or his conduct, was likely to be disaffected to the Go vernment, but a gentleman educated to the bar in this country and selected by the Crown as a fit per son to execute the duties of an: important legal ap poiatment in one of our most important Colonies. — He understood that he owed his appointment to the late Mr. Windham, a patronage which, of itself, was su fficient to confer no mean dignity. He understood, trom the petition, that Mr. Firth went out in 1808, at a considerable expence, to take possession of his office. Shortly alter his arrival, Governor Gore thought proper to let loose a number of petty vexa tions against Mr. Firth, and which continued during the last two years iif his residence in that Province. Those minor persecutions were not indeed exactly specified in the Petition, but it did not require any very deep knowledge of human nature to kieiw that the combined effect of a series of petty mortifications, incessantly repeated, was often as great and greater than that produced by pers ecutions of g reater magni tude and severity. It did appear, however, that the grievances complained of, w ere not all of that min o r get rid of the description. A plan was devised to of the :by Gov Attorney-General, by dep rivin g him emolu ments of his office, and hi order to accomplish this he was prevented e rrfor Gore, from carrying on various public prosecution s, by which his income was diminished one-sixth, and all the dignity and efficiency of his office abolished. Another mode of persecuting was also resorted to. When, from some peculiar circumstances in which the province hap. pened to be placed, no servants, except soldiers, could be procured, a special exemption of the Attor ney. General, as entitled to a servant of that descrip tion, was made by Governor Gore, and he was re duced to tl:e necessity of performing all the menial offices and drudgery of domestic life himself. Here again he begged to remind the House that he did not state those things as facts, but merely as allegations contained in the petition brought forward by a man who had held a high station, and prima foie, there fore entitled to belief. They were such, in his opi nion as ought to produce enquiry, not on l y tha t the Character of General Gore might be vindicated, if he was innocent, but that the shame and disgrace of having made such allegations, might fall with ten fold aggravation upon the head of their author, if they were false. There was another most important charge in the petition, in so far as it went to the de claration of a serious change having been introduced into the administrative justice of the country. It ap -1 peared that a very mysterious case of child-murder had occurred in that province, into w:iich the Aftor , ney General thought it his duty to enquire; but, during the prelimiaary investigation which he insti tuted, General Gore interfered, and expressing his aversion to the enquiry, ordered it to be st • d.— In consequence of that proceeding , and be ' g .'' dos in o roimu worn out and wearied with those multiplied. • tions, Mr. Firth applied for leave to return to Eng land, which was not granted ; but his residence in the Province became so utterly impossible, that he was obliged to leave the country without obtaining the consent of Government, and he now applied to the justice and compassion of that House for redress. Such were the allegations contained in the petition, and they were of a description which must make Ge neral Gore himself, and his friends, anxious for an enquiry, that they might be repelled, if unfounded. In presenting the petition to that House, he had re. luctantly undertaken a Task which he was far from seeking, because it was an unpleasant thing to ap pear as the accuses of any man, without knowing all the nietits of a case. Ile had, however, long been atquainted with the petitioner, and he could vouch for his general. honour and integrity of character ; and he sloiuld have been subject to the reproach of his own feelings and conscience, if he had deserted an old and early friend by refusing to present his pe tition when he stated that lie had been seriously ag grieved. He should conclude with moving that the praitien be referre,l to a Committee. Tne question being put, Sir J. BE RESFOR U spoke strongly in behalf of General Gore's character and conduct, both as Go vernor of Bermuda, and in his present station. On his (Sir J. Beresford's) arrival in this country. he was asked if he knew any reason why Governor Gore had dismissed the Attorney-General ? and his answer was, that before be left America there was not a voice in that country which did not say that Governor Gore had done right, and that it was impossible the colony could go on with such an Attorney-General. He was sure General Gore had acted from the =Who nourable motives. Mr. W. SMITH said he could not support the motion for inquiry, and he would state his reasons. why he could not. - With respect to the petitioner, he knew him well and long ; he believed him to be a man of strict integrity, and he wasstue the petition did not contain a single allegation but what be believed to be well founded. When he returned from Canada, :he requested him (Mr. Smith) to ley a memorial be. fore the Secretary of State, which, after reading it, he did, together with as strong a recommendation as ,he felt himself justified in using. That memori •al procured to him a certain degree of relief as to cer tails points which were urged in it : but that relief did not satisfy him, and he e - then requested him to present his petition to the House. Upon looking into the petition, however, and finding the allegations extremely vague, and Many of them such.as mast have existed in the imagination only of the ; ; pet.t.oner, lie told him Ile peld not undertake to present , it, un less he also felt disposed to move something iinpeachMent against the Secretary of State, for not . paying more attention to the first memorial, which he s cqtainly was not inclined do. to ~. ... ~ ..U pon thee grans*, . , therefore, he should feel it his duty to rit 140 motion. . Mr. FORBES ought that there were abundant grounds for an inquiry, and was proceeding to press the necessity of similar investigations into the con duct of certain Governors in India, when The SPEAKER called the Honourable Gentle man to order. Mr. FORBES apologized, and concluded by ex pressing his concurrence in the motion. Mr. GOULDBORN said, that he could by no means accede to the proposition of the Honourable mover. If such unsupported accusations were listened to by Parliament, they would soon have nu other business. He by ,no means disputed the integrity of Mr. Firth, but there was nothing on the face rf the petition which demanded the interference of Parlia ment. • Governor Gore had been selected by Mr. Windham, when Secretary of State, to go from Ber muda to Upper Canada, which, at that time, was in a state of great tumult and confusion, and the reduc tion of which to order he effected with the utmost ability. Adverting to the charge against Governor Gore of sheltering a person who had been guilty of child murder, he :toted the circurnstancesof the case, in the course of which it appeared that the individual implicated had proved a complete alibi, and had, therefore, been discharged. With respect to the sub sequent proceedings in the province, he maintained that the petitioner had suffered from his own impru. deuce, and that the petitioo . proceeded simply from his irritation at having been deprived of office in conieque ice. Mr. P. MOORE stated, that the petitioner was ready with witnesses to prove all the allega:ions in the petition. Were he in Governor Core's situ ttion, he should strenuously urge his friends to institute au in quiry into his conduct. The case of Mr. Firth was nonsingular. He bad in his possession a variety of other cases. Among them was one of a Gentleman, Mr. Wyatt, who was almost as dear to him as a son. Mr. Wyatt had been appointed Surveyor General of the provin c e of Upper Canada, and by his commis. sion was rendered wholly independent of the Gover nor, being directed to communicate immediately with the Treasury. Mr. Wyatt had gone on for a consi derable time in surveying the province, and in .the more difficult task, the location of it, when Sir C. BURRELL spoke to order. The Honour able Member was going into statements which shad nothing to do v itfi the question bef o re the House. The SPEA R observed, that in strict order the Honour:Jc Member must conflux himself to the al legatiots of the pe.ition. Mr. P. MOOR E resumed. He said, that it ap peared, that when Governor Gore arrived in Upper Canada, all was harmony and conciliation, hut that shortly after the different public Officer: were turned out to make way for persons of his selection. Tons Mr. Firth was replaced by a youth. Mr. Wyatt having refused to appoint a Deputy of the Gayer nor's choosing, was dismissed in three days. The Governor made every effort to reduce his govern stunt to a simple despotism. The Judge, the Actor. ney-General, the Sheriffs all suffered. Even the Speaker of the Lower House had been intimid iced, that, on a proposition for an Address to remove the Govrnor, he gave the casting vote in favour of the Governor, an occurrence which he (Mr. Moore) thought would not have happened in the British Par liament. There was another instance--(urder.) The SPEAKER reminded the Honourable Gen tleman chat he must coofine himself to the question before the House. Mr. P. MOORE concluded by observingohat it was for the honour of Governor Gore that an inquiry should be instituted. Lord CASTLEREAGH concurred with his Honourable Friend near him in the opinion, that no case of this nature should be gone into, except where such corruption or oppression appeared as called for' the high jurisdiction of Parliament. The case had been successively before three Secretaries of State, himself, Lord Liverpool, and Lord Bathurst, who all entertained the same opinion of the high charac ter of Governor Gore, and of the unsupported cha racter of the charges adduced against him. With respect to Mr. Wyatt,-in advising his removal from Upper Canada in consequence at his differences with the Governor, he had accompanied that advice to the Treasury with a representation that there was nothing whatevet in that Gentleman's conduct which ought to prevent his being employed in some other Colony. If Parliament were to be continually called upon to inquire into all the little cases of difference arising in the Colonies, no Governor could return to this coun try without the occurrence of a multitude of applica tions similar to the present. Mr. BENSON bore testimony to the high cha racter ut Governor %bre, and read the Address of the two Houses of Upper Canada on his quitting dab Government. Mr. GORDON stated, that he had in his poses& :ion a letter in'the hand-writing of the Noble Lotd, in which he expressed himself perfectly satisfied with Mr. Wyatt's conduct. Lord CASTLEREAGH said that he was per fectly satisfied with Mr.Wyates conduct so -his tion, but that he thought his conduct towards the Governor ill judged, to say the least of it. Mr. MARSH, in the course of a short reply, ob served, that he had never heard until that moment that Mr. Firth's petition had been offered to the Member for Norwich, the suffrage of whose intelli ent mind against it almost shook his own opinion. Still . , however, he maintained, that if any one Mem ber in the House entertained sentiments unfavourable to Governor Gore, it would be to the Governor's ho nour to have the case fully investigated. Tltemotion was then negatived without a division. The CHANCELLOR. of the EXCHEQUER gave notice, that on Friday he would move to refer the Report of the Committee on the Civil List to the Committee of Supply. The other Orders of the Day were then disposed of, and the House adjourned. CAPITAL COLLECTION OF PAINTINOSe••TO be Sold by Aucdon, by Mr. WILLIAMS, at the Auction Mart, Bartholo mew-lane, on FRIDAY, June 23, at Twelve o'Clock, a very fine COLLECTION of Pictua es. the property of lt. Wray, Esq. Also several capital Specimens by the following esteemed Masters, via. Gayer Pomona M. A. Carravagio, Vernet, Murillo , L. Carraechi, Albano, Claude, Mienori e Rembrandt, De Brims, Vandermstr, Beerstraten, Vandaveld, Brooking, Hogarth, Al. bert Dorer, Jan Stein, Sir F. Bourgeois ' Wilkie, Morland, Wil. ' son Ibbotson,* Town, Petber, 9athbone, Sweickhardt May be viewed, and CilaloSuP bad et Mr. Williams's 02112$ In tbo Auction Matt . . • tz*. 7.; PRVISET,S-C1ZE77 . 0 • st:COND 41.H.LEr14. ife &mots, .)una 11 1 ,(Ten in the morning)._.. Colonel Wanthen, Aid 4e ,Camp to the Prince a Orange, has just been sent me by his Royal Highne ss with a summary of the affai r of yesterday fur los jesty. The affair was !body,. and 81%104 for ail the troops of his Majesty and is Our army kept the field . of battle, and bivou acked there during the night. The ettenty was re pulsed far beyond Quatre l a in;. The Prince of Orange, who wis in the,heat of the battle, is pe:, fectly well. The Colonel left him th:b morning, at half past six o'clock. " The affair was going to begin again this ing—all promises the B the hapopieAstrtinZ.o P" THIRD MILLE I'IN. 44 By news from head-quarters, atrivej at six tldt, evening, Prince Blocher has moved his head-goat-tem to Wavle, to join his corps to that of General Bul , tw. This movement of the Prussian corps d'armee has determined the Duke of Wellington to •enucentrate his forces, 311d.t0 tiL head- isarters at WAtefloo. in os der that he may be constantly able to eff.ct his junction with the Prussian armies. 66 The eut•my has made no movement rine ycorr d.ty, and his positions are the sat..:. Our tstoTi. only a part of whom have hitherto been eiT,.igett, ate animated with the best disposition. ft Th e Prince ot• Change, as miles Psis:cc FittkfT• tick, are perfectly well. T:te Secretary of Stet:, (5 gild) " L h tron 1k CAPIILLEK. " Generals Dinnoul:n and cansbaceres, Camp of Bonaparte, aie among tile number at I:, prironers who Tic artived in this city."-4ansal tieAr Bdio . itit s June 15. BRUSSELS, it :NI 17. During the whole day yesterday s .and till late s u the evening, there were desperate engagements N . wards the plain of Fleurhs. 'The cannob.,de, which was terrible, was heard distinctly hoe. An immen4 crowd of inhabitants cf this city went o' (.1 tl. e gates of Namur and Halle. The discharge.; of at. tillery sounded with rapidity, and announced a con. tinued fire of an immense quantity of artillei y ; wards eight o'clock the fi ring became more oistai , which made it supposed that the enemy-had retird, and this opinion has been completely confirmed by the accounts received this morning. l'he Duke Lf Brunswick Lunenburg, at the head of his fine corp, was struck with a' mortal wound; thus this. brae Prince has terminated his life in the field of honotir —a death worthy of a hero like him. His moral remains were Conveyed here last alter having been embalmed, will be removed to Brunswick. For the rest the details of these affairs ate .not yet knoivn ; there are variations in the particulars, het what is c•rtaia .s, that the troops have covered item selves with glory, aid that the enemy has retro. graded. These events have foliowed so cl..se on eacia other, that it is impossible to c. Beet the details. His Royal Highness the Hereditary Prince dicplayed un this occa:a..n a &give of bravery, of rettep:2 :y, and izng fr)d, - w.tich has excited the admiration ct :he .t: TT' Belgian troops have maintained the rye:lava for valour, wni•ch they have at ad times enjoyed. The numerous and inisgr;i::ent. English earralre. which was cantoned in the of Ninave and Gr .nimont, and which is stated t. .I.7nnunt to 10,000 men, oetiled yesterday afternoon, be r lialte anc •Enghien, with 40 pieces of cannon, to p.ace itselt the left wing of the French army. last night and this morning a superb train ot English ;riflery has been passing through this city, or alon..r the glads, proceeding to the army c f the Duke of s.rei lington. At noon the 27th and 40th regiments o the line, with music playing, passed tilmigh here, and proceeded, without stopping, to the 6d me destiny tion. On the other side we leatii, that 12,000 Pr ue sians set out this morning from Liege, ;n carria:-es to join the army of Prince Blucher, an.! that a ciap of 30,000 men defiled the day before yesterday b; Namur, coming from the environs of Lenart, Marche and Huy. We think it our duty :n cummenicate ti the Public this news, which is sufficient to tranqul lize the most fearful minds. Last night and :hi morning a certain number of wounded have Lee: brought to this city, where every measure has beet. taken to receive and take all possible care of them they mostly belong to those fine Scotch regimen:. which have made a part of our garrison, and which are as estimable for their valour as for their diseplinc. and the gentleness of their manners; the greater par of those wounded belong to the Prussian army. Thi morning some French prisoners hay: been 'oreuglr in; among whom, we observed an - Officer of Bona pane's suite. A greater number are - expected. In the merning, Thursday, at. two o'clock, th alarm cannoh'iras heard out-poetsCharlerui. The Freerl . had attacked at Thuriu. The Prussian out-poets ie.. back. The magazines which were a: Charleroi, wen evacuated with the greatest order. A warm an uloody actioh took ;mace ip the strce.s of that lowa. which was taken and re-taken several times.. YOter• day afterneron a• bw-ce7 campo which seemed. tc . come from the side,ol the plains lstablcurw, annot,nee: a general bhtde: AbOut eight oisioce the tiring seemed to gtOw fainter . , or more distant. An express sent` yesterday to Genappe, and who n just returned. reports, that after an affair Of .outpost'. Which took place at Millers Pcrwez, the French heita:; to retreat, and have fallen back three leagues. At midnight the fires of our bivouacs 41111011110 . d. that all our positions were the same. Toe tr were arriving in force at Genappe. They w day be on the line, as well as the numerous arobvi; which passed in the night through Brussels. The English troops, those of the NetherlanX, of Nassau, who were engaged, have coveted 001 11 ' selves with glory. Some wounded and fugitive • Prmsians, who ar* rived by the road from Namur, caused an Aare which spread for a moment. The inhabitants may make themselves easy, a nd depend on the ability u : , the Generals and the v a lour ot the troops. The equipages of some Scotch battalions, and the corps of Brunswick, are this moment coming i , ‘I J Brussels, where they are come to repair their 1055... ' Considerable forces, among which is the 'brill. on and numerous English cavalry commanded by Earl of Uxbridge, have been proceeding ever 51/iC,! ' yesterday morning to the theatre ot war. The Duke of Wellington left Genappe 1 11 4 InO" _