Star. — London, England, 1815-03-07 00:00:00

. n posite door was IRSitei dpie at ti st i a i n e t i se .. the .110 b seized me by the collar—struck me India blows w outi, not permit Me to edtet the House btit ~t the has ird of my life. I refused do tell Mt: mine -rbich they repeated l y demanded to know. In the iurr y and confusion I escaped froui . ti eir Violence ; r 'ne,l they, not perceiving at, began to fight with Lu s not knowing who, indeed, they were fi g h t i ng i s it h, There certainly was no soldiers present at that ir ", nor was there, as I saw, any appearance of a :01 stAble. This tau owing to the neglect or the per. on w hose duty it was to take ears that the civil powe r free egress and regress to the House. It is my bel:ef, that a few constables would have pre ,ect,.l it. That the Civil Magistrate required the of the military, I believe, will turn out; upon ,r,quiry. The Members were demanded to give l oges for their votes."—(Hear. hear). The SPEAKER—" It will be mere satisfactory , o che House it I state to the House what I know of v y own knowledge. Before I came &win to the House this day, apprehending the possibility of tome disorder, I sent to the proper Peace Officer to lustre that he would have a sufficient civil power to :cep the peace in the approaches towards the House. !The High Bailiff was directed, it being his duty, to ;cep the passages free. The Serjeant and Mom. ;ers under him had the charge of the lobby,„ The ;tone passages were under the charge of the aonsti bles. About an hour before the division; a Noble LATI came to me, and said that he had been inter. ,upte ,l by a mob in his way to the House—lle came !,rou4l mine. Upon hearing this, I ordered the :;:rjeant at Arms to go to the Civil Magistrate and dorm him of these circumstances, and if the strength trii‘h hehad was not sufficient, to call further strength. do not know whether I said the military or not • ,it, at all events, he was to secure to the Member s gross and ingress. I hope that if the military was •iecessary, under the authority of the civil power, the l 3t , llSe Mille approve of what I have done—lam re. Isponsible—the House must be protected."—(Loud' , igrrs.) Mr. WHITBREAD suggested the necessity of ailing the High Bailiff to the Bar, to ascertain the ict, whether it was necessary to call in the aid of .he military. He admitted the propriety of providing . or the protection of the Members. The Honourable 7.entleman then moved, el That the High Bailiff of Xcstminster be called to the Bar of the House." The SPEAKER.—'" It is right tint I should let •hc Howe know. that in addition to the High Bailiff, .here is another Magistrate amenable—Mr. Baker, of be Police Office, Marlborough•street." Mr. WHITBREAD.—"" It will be proper to call n the High Bailiff first, and examine him, and then Baker may be examined." Mr. CROILER.— ,, I must state, for the informa• ion of the House, and in justice to the High Bailiff, ost outside of the doors of this House I found, no Ace officers but there certainly was abundance in the ;corer rooms." _ Mr. FITZGERALD.... , " I went with ten or relve Puce Officers, to rescue my Hon. Friend who ,:as just spoken." Mr. PONSONBY contended, that on coostitutit, prinoiples,nl it was proper to resort to the Civil , ' ?our for aid. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL.-- 41 I was the' last MO* who entered tht HOOK. I taw lb* pasz% ages thronged, and therefore thought I could go round to the great gate of Westminster.h.itl. When my carriage stopped, I was surrounded by a great number of persona, who asked me who I was t Whe ther I WAS a (timid to the Corn Bill, or adverse to it I told them who I was, as I knew it was in vain to conceal my name, being so well known in West. mimic'. I said, I will not deceive you, nor state what my vote will be. I mean to act as my con science will direct me. after a fair and ample discus sion of the subject has taken place. Some of the per sons present said they knew me well, and some did me the honour of saying that I was a friend to the people. There were many present who did not think quite so handsomely of me. There were various °pi llow of me, and bow I should be dealt with. At length, however, that part of the mob who seemed to be triads (and indeed were so, for they protected me), made way, and escorted me through th e crowd up through the steps of Westminster.hidl, to the passage which parts the Courts of King's Bench and Chancery. There I *as met bran immense number, who called upon me to give a pledge as to the vote which I should give. I told them that was exacting too touch. It must depend upon eircbmstanees. Members must do their duty that Ehey had better leave it to the judgment and discretion of Parliament. I was quite sure that Parliament would do their duty—that if they did not, some measure must be adopted, which would have a more serious effect, and that they. might repent it ; for they might, if this Bill was not carried, have to depend on foreign aid for a supply of bread. There were some of the mob who seemed to think that I deserved to be as roughly handled as several of the Members had been before. However, I made a bargain, through my friends, to let me.ga into the Houle, and thus escaped. What has been j said by other Honourable Members is very trot, thit the assemblage was so great, and their conduct so outrageous, as to give cause for serious alarm. The serenity of calling in additional force in aid of the civil power was manifest."_(Near, hear.) Mr. FINLAY stated that he had also been as saulted, and received several blows on his way to the House. Sir R. HERON said he could shew more evident signs of his treatment from the mob (holding up the skirts of his coat, which were nearly torn off.) Jn aced of meeting a set of kind persons ready to listen his harangues, as they did those 'of the Attorney- General, he met with a set of orators ready to speak all, and to answer their own questions. After being mocked about like a shuttlecock between two battle leers, he made his way into the. House. He had not intended to speak on this question, but now he must declare his entire concurrence with it i and if he 41 not, be should think himself unworthy of a seat 13 that House. 411' FREDERICK FLOOD declared, that he 4 d been carried a hundred yards on men's shoulders, like a mackerel at Billingsgate, and that he was , s!led *boat as unhandsomely as if he was tossed in a blanker, till he .thought for certain he was dead I !id worse t h an ir-.4bat lie was quartered I But, Rowever. nothing should terrify an Irishman from cL•fig 121 s duty. whether dead,m alive ; and cv if be was billed he would still vote" tid die atillieo t s will oolf nothing:had happened 1011. the SPEAKER reatindid dita ifotioirrable bard: net that on an affair, of :Lich 'deep interest any levitt was not exactly in its ift6piir plea, and therefore begged that' the Honourable Member *mild alostaiai iron; any thing not immediately beating tea the sbh: jest under consideration. Mr. W. WYNNE considered '..the codree recom mended by the Honourable Gentleman (Mr. Whit bread) was the only proper one for the House to' panne. The SPEAKER then put the' question, that the High Bailiff of Atestrbinster be called to the Bar; which was carried. The thou BAILIPP appeared at the Bar, aad stated in answer to the Speaker's interrogatories, that, as soon as he received the Speaker's note, he collected all the civil force under his controul. He issued his precept to the High Constable to call out the whole civil force of Westminster, amounting to 80, in the morning; they were there, and he had seen them in attendance since two o'clock ; they were stationed in the hall, and in the lobbies and avenues. There were also some of them on the outside of the House doors. tie believed they had remained in the places in which thei had been stationed. The power under his con troul was but a small part of the civil force of West minster. All the day there had not ceased to be some of, his men outside the doors of the House. He could not say how many of his force had attended Lto-day, .but he u n d ers tood a b ou t 40 o r 50. He found bitewn force and that of the Bow-street Magistrates insufficient to preserve the peace. The Magistrates would be able to speak as to the additional force wanted; for having no authority for that, he looked to Mr. Birnie and Mr. Baker for any additional force. He had seen the military about the avenues within the last half hour. In answer to a question by Lord Nugent, he was not aware that any person was in the custody of the civil power for a breach of the peace. Mr. BAKU. a Magistrate of Marlborough -street, was next called in.—ln consequence of an order, he attended at two o'clock with 50 constables. His duty was to guard the lobby and staircase, which he be. lieved was kept very clear. There was a body of constables outside, in Palace-yard, under the orders of Sir Nathaniel Conant. He found some difficulty in clearing the outside of the doors. He was perfectly satisfied that the civil power was insufficient to main tain order, and he brought the troops from the Horse Guards himself. He sent several constables outside, where he thought more were wanted. He believed no one was in custody for a breach of the peace. He saw no actual assault committed; but he heard a great deal ,of hooting and hallooing. There was no attempt, he believed, made to take any one for hooting. Sir N. Conant was called away to disturb. ances in other parts of the town. He did not know how many constables were under the orders of Sir N. Conant ; there might be about 30. He could not tell how many constables there were altogether. Sir N. Conant's men were removed before the military came. He saw a great crowd towards the Abbey; they were doing nothing but hooting. He saw some Members obstructed ; but be did not take any steps to apprehend those that did so, as his attention was directed to get the Members safely in.—He was then ordered to withdraw. Lord CASTLatEAGEI -said, that titer bee it now from two Magistrates that the civil power was insufficient to protect Members; but if the Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Larnbten) • was not satisfied with that, the other Magistrate might be called. Mr. W. WYNNE said, there appeared to him to lime been a culpable negligence in not exerting the' Civil Power to suppress the riot in time. He did not mean to say there was no necessity for calling in the military, but he felt that the frequent calling in of the military might be dangerous. The mob ought not to be allowed to intimidate Members, else their proceed. ings could not go on. It seemed to him that the High Bailiff thought it his duty only to clear the lob hies, whereas he was to keep Parliament-street and every avenue to the House clear also. He wished Mr. Kinnaird, the Magistrate, to be called in. After some observations from Lord NUOICNT 9 the BMW, Mr. FITZOSIALD, Mr. WHITERICAD, and Sir . NLWPORT, as to proceeding further is the enquiry, Mr. KINNAIRD, a Magistrate of the Thames Po lice, was called in. He received an order last night to attend with his civil power to protect the House. The officers were in attendance at twelve o'clock, from Charing Cross to Parliament-street. He hod about fifty constables stationed in the avenues. He saw no obstruction given to any Members entering the House. He was not called on to assist any other Magistrate. He saw no disturbance but the ordinary anxiety of a mob. He did not know when Sir N. Conant was called away. Mr. BIRKIIi a Magistrate of Bow-street, was neat in. H ei attended at three o'clock with forty constables; the greater part of whom were stationed. in Palace-yard, and the' rest at the other doors. He had no particular station himself, bat was sometimes inside, and sometimes outside the doors. He saw aamablembers jostledriefrd triad tiiirevent it; but he could not apprehend any individual, as he was engaged in protecting the persons of the Members. One of his constables was wounded with a stone ; but the man who threw it escaped through St. Mar. garet's Church-yard. The civil force was certainly insufficient to preserve the peace. Witness withdrew. Lord CASTLE REA.GH said, Members would now be satisfied of the necessity for the military ; but whether the Magistrates had beensufficiendy vigi lant or not should be'a hibject for future enquiry, which they could not then go into without interfering with the duty of the Magistrates, He then moved, that the minutes:of these proceeding{ be printed. Mr. LAMBTON was now satisfied of the necessity - for calling in the assistance of the military. Mr. WYNNE thought great advantages might be found in having the Magistrates admonished by the ' Speaker as to their future conduct. They ought to have taken some of the mob into custody for hooting the Members and jostling them ; and that might have put a stop to the disturbance. Mr. WHITBREAD thought the Civil Power had not done so much as it ought, and should be admo nished. He thought it better to 'proceed with the Corn Bill another day. Lord CASTLEREAGH said, it would be de sirable to mark specially, that their deliberations were not to he interrupted by popular clamour; for that would be to grant theta the 011.17 ;bey vi!alfd. Be • . . oea Meted, that the dpethei should leave the Chair, to .. Into 'the Committee again. • . ~,,, "SONG agreed. with *hat MI from ibe • ~` ' .1.014, and that they should mark their deter. . . • . •,. of sup potting their own dignity. ICSI - W,WYNNE still thought it would be a pro per frislasoie to admonish the. Magistrates, which Int t Ol %event di recurrence of those riots. H. ADDINGTON stated, that Sir N. Co-, mutt as called away to another disturbance in another patt of the town. The Saimaa of these proceedings were ordered to be printed, and taken into considbration on Mon day next. The SPEAIKEI & then, with the consent of the 1 Hons., directed the Secjeant at Ar&s to order the different Magisttites to retiair to their several posts for the remainder of the night • and also that they should attend the House on Mo nday next, when the minutes of their proceedings would be taken into consideration. The House then resolved itself again into a Com mittee on the Corn Laws. Mr. BARING discussed at considerable lengths the rate of 80s. for which he strongly contended, that no sufficient argument had been advanced, nor any reason given. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER supported the original question. Mr. MAR RYATT and Mr. Aldertian ATKINS spoke is favour of the Amendment. Lorf (ASTLEREAGH contended strenuously that was not too high a price against the im porftflu the present situation of the agriculture of the country. He reprobated the principle of making it a temporary masers. Some permanent regulation was India. pensahly necessary. and every parliamentary proceeding was re vokable at the discretion, of the legislature, without pledging itself to duration la the first instance. On a subject so calculated to agitate, the popular Mind, it was not desirable to protract or multiply discussion. For the sake of the lower orders ; who were affected not so much by an actual price es by uncertainty or fluc tuation, he wished to see the 8411 before the Committee pass into a law. Mr. HAZING replied to the speech of Lord Castlereagh, which be considered as the least argumentative and the most de ciamateg that had been delivered on the *object. The Rmmittee then divided—For the Amendment, 77 Against it, 209—Majority, 131. The Report is to be received on Wednesday.—Adjourned at Half-past Thee &Cie& this morning! THE EVENING STAR. LO N DON. TUESDAY, MARCH 7, 1815. PRICE OF lOCKS THIS DAY Al' TWELVE O'CLOCK. Reduced sbut—r4 per Ct. sbut—S per Ct. Na•y 931) Cams* 1114—for account, 6411—Oninium sf die. Hank Long Amts. sbut—Boods 7s. Ss. pre. Exchequer Bins is. es. preen.—Lottery Tickets tn. Last night numerous Petitions against the Corn Bill, many of them signed by immense numbers of the most respectable population, were presented to; the Huase of Commons. That from Manchester had 52,000 signatures. Petitions from Glasgow, Birmingham, Leicester, Nottingham, and other large,manufseturing towns were among the number presented. The Petition from the Merchants, bankers. and Traders, had about 70,000 sign- Ilbs'i4Can& would have had thee,' flmet the nuThbei had a sufficient number of places for signature been appointed. In the discussions on the Corn Bill, various mo. 1 dons were offered for postponing the consideration of the Bill, and for lowering the proposed price ; but they were all negatived, and the House went into a committee on the Bill—Mr. LAUBTOPI then informed the House that a military force, which he considered as unconstitutional, was at the doors of the House, and moved an adjournment. It appeared, however.. that the calling in a military force was rendered im perious by the conduct of the people, who were as tembled in great numbers in all the avenues, and hid insulted several of the Members. After some time, the House resumed the consideration of the Bill.— On the division respecting the price, the numbers wele—for 80s. 208 ; for 745. 77; majority, 131. As itif Readers may be anxious to be made acquain ted with the occurrences of last night, we subjoin the particulars : The City, particularly in the neighbourhood of the Mansion House; yesterday presented, at an early hoar, a scene of extraordinary bustle and activity, in consequence of the crowds pressing forward, from all directions, to sign the Petition against the Corn Bill. The West End of the Town also presented a busy scene. The Civil Power displayed a great force of constables, and the military were also in a state of preparation. The guard, at St. James's, "which was relieved at ten o'clock in the morning, instead of dis petting, as usual, were marched to the Horse Guards. The guard in the Tilt-yard was augmented ; and in the' forenoon the Guards were paraded in consider. able farce in St. James's Park. The bustle on the part of the people was excited by the committal of tho &en Bill, which stood for last night in the House .of Cbannons. The fineness of the day also contd. bid to draw great crowds into the - streets, which were further increased in the vicinity of the Parlia. 1 meat House, by the expectation of seeing Lord CAS. Tulteacm. At an early hour the interior passages, toll* House of Commons were lined with chnstables,l and nearly filled with persons pressing forward to gain admission to the Gallery ; the doors of which I were thrown open soon after one o'clock, when the I crowd rushed eagerly in, and filled it in a few mi nutes. The people, however, continuing to accumu-i late, an order was given to clear the passages, which nougg hparty Westminster of const Hall able ersw wase I with some di ffi culty carried into e ff ect. All the, a s liouse s t t h ro r a to the closed, and a placed at each door, leaving the portico passage, oppo-; site Westminster Abbey, the only one open for the 1 Odalimion of Members. This passage was filled with essitables, who had strict orders to permit no *rangers to pass. The House of Commons was early occupied an receiving an immense number at Petitions against the Corn Bill. The one from Lon doe; by Sir Wittiest Coarse, was Divest dimensions, a=derable merriment was excited by the worthy n's attempt at bearing it towards the table. Lord CASTLXIMACM entered the House about five olclock4 • His Lordship's arrival was unaccompanied ley that greetings which hailed his entre on his first "ass frost: Parts. The fatigues and anxiety of 'IS wen ant impriatod upon }Lis Lordships looks, indeed be never appeared to more personal ad. vantage. lie was di t'bi.ed fp a blue.coat. with the Star of his Order, and he wore the garter round his kiiee. A. very. ii.ll attendance or Memers took place, While the interior of the House. was thus occupied * t considerable camber remNined outside, shouting— No Corn Bill I" and hailing, s% itL loud vocifera: tions, the several Members as they ar r ived. La r 4 t; URN VILLE and Lord STA:4II4 , E were loudly cheered. The latter bowed courteously in return ta their sate. rations. The carriages were gencrall, stopped be. fore they teethed the di or, and the Members made to walk through the crowd, amidst homing and hissing. This was the state of tl.e pl.tce until about ten o'clock, when the crowd continuing to increase to an alarming extent, and threatening personal vio lence to some Members, it was considered necessary to call in the aid of the military. A strong body of the Horse Guards, with a fe..v infantry, arrived in a few minutes. The infantry took post at the entrance. to the House, and the cavalry having divided into parties, proceeded to disperse the populace, which they quickly effected. In doing this, we regret to say. many Gentlemen, whose business brought them to the House, sustained serhus personal injury.— Among these was Mr.' HEN RICH, of Cecil -street, who received a severe wound in the shoulder from a sabre. A Gentleman, at his side, had his thigh broken, and several others were cut and bruised. As the night advanced the numbers increased, and from hissing and bootleg, the populace proceeded to insult the Members still more pointedly on their way to the Howe. Several Gentlemen were seized, and had nearly fallen victims to the fury of the multitude. The doors of Mr. CHOKER'S carriage were forced open. He was seized by the collar, dragged away, and several blows struck at him. lb! \vas then as. sured, that unless he told his name, a:,.: the side on which he intended voting, he would ira b 2 allowed to enter the House alive. He refused, and after a long struggle, in which the mob finished by fight:ng with each other/ he escaped tleoult the Coffeee.oom of the House of Lords, and at last reached the House of Commons. Mr. FITZGERALD, Wl,O with ten cr twelve peace officers had proceeds •: to his rescue, was unable to force h.s way through th 2 crowd. The ATT , IIINEY-GENERAL, though assailed at first much in the same manner as Mr. CHOKER, escaped more easily. I - h' gave the mob his name, and told them he should vote as his conscience would direct him. Considering him as a man of some influence, they represented to him the privations they had ex perienced during the long course of the war, and Ls tened to his arguments in favour of good order with attention ;so that he was able, at last, to make a bargain with his good friends on the outside," by which they retired, whilst he entered the House. Oa learning the treatment which these Members had ne countered in their way to the House, the SPEAKER ordered the peace officers to clear the passage, and to increase their force if it was necessary. It was then the military. were called in, who forced the mob to evacuate their positions. The multitude having for the most part dispersed from before the Parliament House, they soon after re• assembled in divisions, and proceeded to different parts of the West end of the Town to assail the houses of such Members of both Houses as they conceived to be most friendly to the Corn Bill. The dwelling of-Mr.itomwsow, in Burlington street; they attacked with the utmost fury, broke down the railing in front, demolished nearly the whole of the windows, and did other very considerable injury to the house; at Lord DARNLEY'S, in Berkeley-square, the parlour and drawing-room windows were partially broken, but no other injury was done. Soon after the mob commenced an assault upon the house of Lord ELLIN BOROUGH: his Lordship, in the most intrepid manner, presented himself at the door, and inquired the cause of the outrages thus committing upon his dwelling t The reply was, 4 , No Corn Bill, no Corn Bill ;" ud which his Lordship addressed them in a few words— the effect was that the mob instantly cheered the Noble Lord and departed. The CUANCELLOS'S house, in Russell-square, has suffered considerably. All the windows are broken. and the street door was forced tio:n its hinges, the pannels being all broken. The railing in front of his Lordship's house was also pulled down. A party of the Life Guards, together with a number of con stables, were on duty all this day in 13edford-square. The same mob which dernolished the LORD CHAN. emotes windows and main*, proceeded afterwards to a house situated between Great Russell street and Maux's brew-house, and raid to belong to that firm. They broke some of the windows of t.,at house, and of the one nest to it, occupied by a Mr. Beows, a tax gatherer. the Earl of Pommes carriage was broken al most to pieces on his Lordship's return from the House of Lords. The Royal Horse Guards, and the three regiments of Foot Guards, were under orders the whole of yes terday, and to tf-s latter twenty-four round► of ball cartridges were delivered, in case the riotous conduct of the populace should have rendered it necessary to have recourse to extremities. Measures have like wise been taken to forward troops speedily to the Metropolis. • • This morning considerable crowds were assembled in various parts, but, much to the praise of the Ma gistrates, the Peace Officers being distributed wher ever there was reason to apprehend any mischief have been able to prevent any thing like acts of via, fence or riot. It has been reported this day in the City, that the Ratification of the Treaty with America has arrived —brought by the Tom Hazard, in 19 days, to Cu., haven. The report, however, .is not credited. BREAD.--This day the LORD MAYOR inspected the Mealweighers' Returns, and ordered the price of Bread to be lowered half an assize, which is one penny in the peck loaf. MEETING AT PALACEJIARD.ft-This day a Meeting took place of the Inhabitants of Westminster. Mr, STURCH opened .the business, by reading a Petition against the Coin Laws, which W4l also supported by Sir Flunk.Bunnwrr, in a speech of considerable length. The Petition was voted amidst universal acclamations; and, after the business of the Meeting was over, the populace drew the carriage of Si: Flutsas -home to his house in Picead'elly. • The 'Westminster Petition to the Heuse of Peers is to be . presanted by Lord Gaaimmut, and that to the Haw of Conunoa, by Sir .FRANCAS BUELETT. , -