Star. — London, England, 1815-02-15 00:00:00

4 k t' HOUSE OF LORDS, FEBRUARY 14. PiINLMMENTARr INTFLLIGENCEt Lord Walsingham's Annuity Bill was committed and reported. Let's Divorce Bill was read a first time.—Adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS. • Petitions against the sontlasapce of the Property Tax were presented from Dorchester, the County ut Southampton, the Isle of Wight, the Ward of Qucenhithe, Shoreditch, New Brentford, Great Yarmouth, the City ofYork, Boston, Carlisle Troubridge, the County of Durham, Newc.4.le•emettr.line, and Carlisle, Lynn. Criered to lie on the table; as was a Petition front Worcester, i rating :or the further continuance of the Property Tax for one year, with certain mod.ficatious. Pe:ition4, praying for some legislative measure to protect the Corn Trade, were presented from the Landholders of Wiltshire, ant Fluli tach,ltt lAncoinshlre.—Ordered to lie on the table. Mr. serjcant BEST gave notice of a Motion for hurselay, for I,ave to bring In a 1111 to alter and amend the Insolvency Acts t•f the =.5.1d and 54th of the King. 11. r. 6teJSINSON presented, pursuant to order, certain Papers with r.gar.l to the Fees, &c. of the Court of Common Pleat whi,h, i,et the motion of Sir John TewpOrt, were ordered to be printed ; mgt.. her with the papers premn:e.! on Friday last, with rega.d to the Rev.:nue of Ireland. GAOL FEES. - - - Mr. BENNET moved for leave to bring in a Bill for the Abolition of Gaol Fees, and certain other Fees received in the Prisons of Great Britain. The Honourable Member stated, that the Bill which he proposed to introduce was a copy of that which had unanimously passed that House last Sessions, with the exception only of certain clauses which he thought proper to omit, because they were objected to else where. That a measure of this nature was necessary, he was more and more convinced from all that he had been able to collect upon the subject. .Indeed, from his own personal observation in the course of a pretty extensive tour which be had lately taken, he could entertain no doubt that the Fees and other ex actions complained bf in our prisons, was one of the greatest practical evils which justice and humanity bad to deplore in this country. Mr. Alderman SHAW asked the Honourable Mover, whether it was his intention to include all the gaols in the kingdom in his proposed measure, or to make any exception ? Mr. BENNET replied, that it was his intention to comprehend all the gaols, excepting only those of the Icing's Bench, the Fleet, and the Marshalsea, which .were under the direction of the superior Courts of Law— but even with respect to these prisons, he had leis contemplation to propose the appointment of a Committee, to enquire into their state and conduct, especially upon the subject of fees. • Mr. Alderman SHAW thought it would be more expedient to postpone the introd uction - of any Bill on this subject until the Committee the Honourable Ocilflemart bad in contemplation should have made i!; report, because on such report the measure might be rendered more comprehensive. Should the Bill pass in the shape now proposed, the Hon. Member must be aware, that any prisoner in the gaols meant to be excepted, might by Habeas Corpus have him self removed to the City prison, and so contrive to' escape the payment of fees, while he would also be. come entitled to certain allowances. Thus the City Loadm might become liable to an additional in cumbrance.—The motion was agreed to. CORN LAWS. Mr. ROBINSON gave notice that he should on Friday next bring-forward certain propositions with tepect to the Corn Laws; and the Hon. Member suns: qiiently moved that the Houle should on triday resolve into a Committee to consider the Report of the Committee of last Session, upon the subject of the Corn Trade. Lord A. HAMILTON asked whether the Hon. Member meant to propose a Bill upon this subject, t r to move certain Resolutions ? .Mr. ROBINSON apprehended that it would be contrary to the regular course of proceeding to more for a Bill at once; therefore his intention was, in the first instance, to propose certain Resolutions. Accounts of the quantity of grain, meal and flour imported into Great Britain from foreign countries, aad also from Ireland, distinguishing the quantity from each country ; and also of the quantity export-, ed, stating to what country, from the sth of January, ISM to the sth of January, 1815, were ordered to be l,i.i before the House. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said, that in consequence of the urgency of the ques. l time to which his HonourableFriend's notice referred, should postpone until Monday the motion of which he had given notice for Friday, upon the sub. jet of Finance. Upon the motion of Mr. Honwza it was ordered, after a short conversation between that Gentleman Messrs. Rose, Robinson, and Lockhart, that .accounts should be presented of the grain, meal, and exported and imported (torn the last date in Mr. Robinson's motion, up to the latest period at which the same could be made out, an also of the yiainity of foreign corn warehoused in the _Rom London, Liverpool, Leith, Glasgow, and Hull, rip io the latest period at which the same could be ;rade cut. SIR JAMES DUFF. Mr. ROBINSON presented, according to - order, coyit s of the Correspondence between Earl Bathurst Anti hirJames Doff, respecting certain conduct of the latter in Spain. Mr. W HITB RE AD said, that he thought it ne ceisny, on this occasion, to call the attention of the I - Huse to certain circumstances connected with the t tik . ',oct referred to in those papers. It happened that our of the Spanish Gentlemen so unjustly :wren ailed at Gibraltar, had 'arrived in England, and thought proper to state his own case with respect to sh4t surrender, io which statement he had given 'direct contradiction to the grounds upon which Ge- Iter4l Smith professed to justify the arrest of that Geittlien'tem ThsrUeneral stated, that Mr. Puiv •blanch anti his Companion had entered Gibraltar without perroissien. under feigned names, and that by thus violating the standinfs orders of the garrison, they became liabte to arrest; but these two points are distinctly denied by Mr. Pulgblanch, who had, alter , his surrender, been pronounced innocent by the tri bunal to which his case was referred, even at Cadiz, ' since rhich aquittal he bed found his way w Zng 14nd. This Gentleman alleged, that po far from hay, log entered Gibraltar without pannisoon, sadunder a fogped name, he entered that garrison In bit proper tiamsv with a pasipott signed in the ;spat form, add. ing, VIAL 134 had also Allem ,ai alenentendation 10 • .-mip-cepident Merchants at Gibgaium t vbich into{ crq presented to 1122 Alum/ tif whom In waS rested at a public inn, where he had resided for the three days that he had been is the forms. With such a direct contradiction of General Smith, he , would ask whether jt was not intended to inquire into the subject s+ And he hoped that the minor Officers of the Administration would not imitate the example of those great leaders who had announced their reso lution to answer no questions—to attend to no inqui. ries made in that House. He trusted that this ques tion would be fully investigated, and if it turned out that this much injured Spaniard should falsify the statement of General Smith, proper measures would be taken accordingly with respect to that Officer.— But even were General Smith's statement correct, as to Mr. Puigblanch's mode of entering Gibraltar, that would not justify the surrender of this Gentleman and his companion to the Spanish Government. For that surrender, however, he understood that a prece dent was quoted in the case of General Campbell, who delivered up to the Governor of Ceuta four per sons who had escaped from the dungeons of that On. vernor. But he (Mr. Whitbread) had obtained such information with respect to the treatment of these four persons, as must, he was sure, excite the horror of every man in England, and in Europe, who did not, like Sit - James Duff, devote himself to the de testable Government of Spain. These persons, who were highly respectable in acquirements and condi tion, antigne of whom had rendered great services to Lord C.amelford when he accompanied Vancouver, as Lord Camelford's family acknowledged, had sur rendered by capitulation to General Monteverde, in South America,'and one of the articles of that capi tulation was the immunity of their persons; yet, by a most scandalous breach of faith they were arrested and sent in irons to the dungeons of Ceuta, from which they contrived to escape to Gibraltar, encou raged to hope, as they had been told, that when they reached any place blessed with the name of English, they should be secure from tyranny and persecution. But, vain the delusion 1 they were basely surrendered to the Governor of Ceuta, in whose dungeons they still languished, unless relieved from their sufferings by death. Such, then, was the precedent pleaded to justify General Smith. General Campbell was now no more. But after describing the transaFtion, he could not think it necessary .to make any motion upon the subject ; for he could not allow himself to doubt that measures would be taken to prevent the repetition of such a proceeding by any British Officer. Resorting to the statement of General Smith, con trasted with that of Mr. Puigblanch, he again express ed a hope that the case would be duly examined ; and as to the papers just presented, he could form no opi nion of them until they were printed. Mr. GOULBURN said, that he had not before this evening heard of the statement of the Spanish Gentleman whom the Honourable Member had men tioned; but upon reporting that case to the proper office, he could not think that there would be any hesitation to inquire into the subject. As to the affair of General Campbell, it had never before come to his knowledge, but he had always understood that the surrender of prisoners escaping from either, was an established custom between the Governor of Gib raltar and the Spaniards. Mr. WHITBREAD denied that such a custom had ever prevailed, and that, on the contrary, a case had occurred, in which the Governor of Gibraltar had refused to give up some Spaniards accused of murder. There had, indeed, existed an agreement fcr the reciprocal surrender of deserters, but accom panied with this express stipulation, that such deser ters should not be punished. The Papers were ordered to be printed. FEES IN COURTS OF JUSTICE. - . Sir JOHN NEWPORT rose, pursuant to notice, .to move for leave to bring in a Bill to authorize the Commissioners appointed, or to be appointed, for in. quiring into the fees of the several Courts of Justice in Great Britain and Ireland, to examine witnesses upon oath. The Right Honourable Baronet argued, that without investing the Commissioners with such power, their labours were likely to be ineffective, be. cause witnesses would be subject to no penalty in stating lalsehoods ; and to shew the necessity of an Act of Parliament upon the subject, he quoted the authority of Lord Coke, who stated in his second and third Institutes, that the authority to administer oaths could only arise out of immemorial custom. or an Act of Parliament. But the Right Honourable Baronet thought the precedent of 1807 conclusive upon this point; for in that case an Act was passed to arm the Commissioners appointed by the Crown to investigate General Vallancey's accounts with the power of administering oaths. Hance he conceived it evident, that the sight of granting such a power did not vest in the Crown, and that it must emanate from Parliament. The SOLICITOR-GENERAL opposed the mo tion, conceiving it unnecessary, and that its adoption would imply a doubt of the prerogative of the Crown tit authorise Commissioners to administer oaths. That such a prerogative did belong to the Crown, upon any Commission appointed under the Great Seal, a long train of practice, sanctioped by the highest authorities in the history of the law, suf. ficiently established. That, however, this preroga tive did not extend to Commissions appointed under ' the Sign Manual he was ready to admit, and he ap prehended that the Commission alluded to in 1807,' was of that description. But as to Commissions under the Great Seal the Honourable Baronet was aware, that according to Lord Coke, whom he had quoted, to administer an oath witbcut legal authority was a great misdemeanour, and could it then be supposed that the Commission of 1713, including some of the highest law authorities in the country, among others the Lord Chancellor, would have administered oaths if not legally entitled so to dot But the known ad. ministration of oaths by the several commissions under din Great Seal, which had since existed, was conclu sive upon the point, and no less than 2.5 or S 6 of those Commissions bad acted from 1762 to 1800.1 Was it possible to imagine that such a succession of Com missioners could have been mistaken in their interpre tation of the law and the prerogative, and from their interpretation he concluded, that the Honourable Baronet's proposed Bill was totally unnecessary,-' With regard to compelling the attendance of wit nesses, h; could, not see why this variation from the Commission of 1732 should he introduced. Weis,' indeed, sots stronger grounds could be shorn thui ad yet beets brought fur ward by the Right Hon. Gentlernen, be for one, should think it quite amts. tessarr to pegs the present ISill. If rase testimony . • rem given before chase Conimissionen, though the *riles could nst be indicted upon the statute of the sth Elia. a statute, indeed; upon which perjury was now neves prosecuted, yet at Common Law it would be a high misdemeanour, and, as such, punishable. Thinking, therefore, that any Legislative enactment was unnecessary, be should think it his duty to move. the previous qa' Sir J. NEWPORT replied, and animadverted upon the manner in which the Commissioners were fre quently appointed, being sometimes Police Magi:- trate:, Masters in Chancery, &c. He also dwelt upon the necessity of compelling . witnesses to appear, as, without such compulsion, individuals would reluc tantly come forward, when, in so doing, those in par ticular who held situations in the various offices, would oftin risk their places by disclosures they might be in a condition to make. _ _ _ _ _ The SOLICITOR-GENERAL explained; after which the previous question being carried, the mo- tion was of cnnrse lost. _ _ _ _ ..... Sir J. NE,‘.VFORT gave notice, that he should. oa Tuesday next, move tor leave to bring in a Bill to compel witnesses to attend before the Commis sioners. FREEHOLD ESTATES. Sir S. ROMILLY rose, pursuant to a notice which he had given, to move for leave to bring in a Bill to render the freehold estates of persons dying in debt, liable to simple contract debts.. The measure he said was precisely similar to one which had passed that House with a considerable majority last Session, and therefore it would not be necessary for him to dwell upon its character at any length. He wished, however, to obviate a few objections which he had heard made to the principle of the Bill, and which he was sure could have arisen only from a miscon ception of its intended operation. The only object of the Bill was, to give to simple-contract creditors the same remedy against real estates as specialty cre ditors now had; the claims of specialty creditors being always first satisfied. Another objection was, that the remedy was in equity only, and not in law; this provision certainly did sot arise from any predi lection is the Mover to equity cases, but because it would produce a great diminution of expence, and a great check upon vexatious proceedings, for if the remedy were in actions, they would ultimately be removed into the Court of Chancery. He was not surprised that objections such as these should have arisen in the minds of individuals who were not pro fessionally concerned in the law, but he was greatly surprised to find them in others who were so con cerned. He could attribute it only to their not having duly considered the subject. If he should be so fortu nate as to carry his measure, he hoped some other indi vidual more fortu n a te than he had been in bisendeavours to amend our legislative code, would follow it up by other remedies, which the general state of our debtor and creditor laws required. The law in England proceeded upon a most extraordinary principle with respect to debtors; a principle of the greaten rigour against the pers o n o f the debtor, and the greatest lenity towards his property. It punished a man for‘ not paying his debts, and yet left his proper(, which could pay them, untouched. Imprisonment for debt toe often became imprisonment for life ; and so tar as the late enactments remedied that monstroui - evil, they had his cordial approbation. He hoped, how ever, those enactments would oily be the beginning, and would be followed by ethers which would rectify the numerous deficiencies in that part of our laws. While the case of the debtor was considered, that of the creditor ought also to occupy the attention of Par liament- He hoped some means would be devised to put down the many artifices by which the fair credi tor was now deprived of his just claims. Those who were opulent and profligate enough, might, as the law now stood, protract the payment of their debts bywrits of error, bills in chancey y,and various other sham pleas. He trusted they would not, by repealing the insol ' vent acts of last Session, bring us back to that barba rous state of the laws in which we were before they were passed. Among the evils which have been de scribed as flowing from those acts, one was, that they diminished credit; but, paradoxical as it might ap pear, he confessed he was not sorry to see that sort of credit which they affected, diminished. It was not the great commercial credit of the country that was touched ; it was those little debts, the facility of con. tracting which, added much to the general misery and depravity of society. The destruction of such credit would be beneficial. l'ke Honourable and Learned Member then concluded with moving for leave to bring in a BiU to subject the freehold estates of persons dying in debt to the claims of simple con tract creditors. Mr. Serjeant BEST said, it was not his intention to oppose the Bill in its present stage ; but, as he believed his Honourable and Learned Friend was not in the House when he gave his notice respecting the repeal of the Insolvent Acts, he wished to state, that it was not his intention by such repeal to bring back he law to the barbarous state in which it was before. No person was more an enemy to perpetual imprisonment for debt than he was; and indeed, such rigour never could be exercised, for temporary Insolvent Acts were frequently passed, and liberated those individuals who were so circumstanced. While, however, be deprecated severe imprisonment for debt, he did not think it right they should be discharged with so trifling a punishment as was now substituted. His object, ther e ore, was to enlarge the proportion of imprisonment. He differed entirely from his Ho. nourable and Learned Friend in his view of the effects of those Bills ; and be confessed he did not wish to see that species of. credit broken in upon, Lwhich was so necessary is the present state of so rciet y. Mr. HORNER expressed his satisfaction at hear ing that the Honourable and Learned Gentleman who had just sat down had no intention to propose a repeal of the Insolvent Act, notwithstanding the hos tility which he had oa a former occasion avowed to the measure: In his opinion, nothing could be more lamentable than that the term of the imprisonment of a debtor should be extended for a single week, after the complete and satisfactory disclosure of his pro. party. By the Insolvent 4t, sufficient power was gtvrn to the Court to continue the debtor's llmprison ftt until such disclosure bad taken pl a ce. Wi t h t to the operation which the measu r e had had reciprocal credit of inferior shopkeepw • ike. he agreed entirely with his Honourable and Leatned Friend near bins in thinking that effect highly silvan tageoul to the cot unit' ;no that is whOed to • destroy all trust of that description, but merely to tr . a limit to imprivident and indefinite credit. Mr. Serjeant BEST erplained. He certainly ct.l not approve of the principle 4.,f the Insw!vent Ace, 4. though he was ritislizd with tic manner in which .t had been acted upon. Mr. LOCKHART :agreed with the princiule ei the measure proposed by the Honourable and Learned Gentleman. fle agreed also with the Holiourable and Learned Gentleman in his apparent intimation, that funded property should also be rendered liable to similar purposes. In fact, all property that could be come at ought in justice to be so liable. Advert. ing to the insolvent Act, he contended that it bad been extremely mischievous. Many persons would never hesitate to run in debt if they knew that imprisonment of three months would 'exonerate thew from their obligations. Ungnestionably the olLt English law never contemplated imprisonment fiz life for debt, yet it served to deter persons lora running in debt who had no means of satisfying their 1 1 creditors. A great error in the Insolvent Act was that it treated all persons alike—that it was as met. ciful to the hardened rogue as to the most unforte nate being alive. It would be much better if the term of the imprisonment of every debtor were left to the decision of an honest and uptight judge. I. his opinion the Insolvent Bill had destroyed credi,, not only where it wa i f injurious, but where it was mi. nently serviceable, and indeed almost indispensihk. Leave was then granted. Sir S. ROWILLY imm-. diately brought in the Bill, which was read a ti r time, and ordered to be read a second time on , day, and to be printed. The Indemnity Bill was read a second time, a:4 ordered to be committed 1.0-8120srow.—Adjourned. FRENCH PIPERS. PAWS, Fr BitUARV 11. News from Rome of the !.sth is silent with resput to the occupation of that city by the army of Murat. The letters from Italy, received yesterday and the day before, are stilt silent as to the occupation (It Rome by the troops of Murat. It is probable, dm c fore. that. this intelligence is untrue. The Archbishop of Rheims is much indisposed. VIENNA, JANUARY 30. On the 28th Austria delivered in a Note retstrve to Saxony. The amicable tone of this Note increases the hope of peace. It is to the intervention of Eng land that we think ourselves indebted tor this happy turn in affairs. England, in tact, has always main tained, that considerable compensations were due to Prussia, and that Power ought to become, from its population and internal force, a point of support to Northern Germany. The part of Saxony offered to Prussia in this At— trial) Note contains 800,000 persons, and compri,e , -. pan of Upper Lusatia, and all to the North of a lire from Torgau to the Saale ; the King of Saxony to keep Dresden, Leipsic, and all the greatest towns. It is generally believed that tho decision of this great affair will take place in a few days. The receipts at Sir Sydney Smith's ball for the ransom of Christian slaves at Algiers were very con siderable, and have been already neat to Genoa, w be forthwith applied to their °gem. The two L•'m. perors gave each a thousand ducats. VIENNA, JANUARY 21. Commerce never experienced a greater degree of languor. Although no new war is apprehended, ti , c uncertainty which prevails concerning the destiny nt several countries is a great hindrance to commer64l speculations. We expect with impatience fresh ce - ;:- signments of cotton from Turkey, to make trade re live a little, and improve the course of exchalter, which is to-day at SO3: after the close of 'Chang it even fell to BM The Emperor of Austria has ordered a sum af 50,000 florins, as a loan for a year without interest. to be placed at the disposal of the Governor of the Tyrol, to be distributed proportionally, in order to alleviate the burthens of the war establishment. An affair of honour, which took place at Vienna 4 few days since, between a Member of the Diplomatic Body and a young merchant, partner in a distin guished commercial house, has excited a great sensa tion, and furnished a subject for talk ever Ance ill the first circles of this capital. COBLENTZ, JANUARY 29. The Saxon troops, under General Theehewn, left us an the 24th. The regiments which were cantoned in our neighbourhood have proceeded to Duren and Bergheim. Those stationed at Wittlich march to Cologne, where the head-quarters of the Sd corps of the German army are fixed. We expect here the head-quarters of the Ist corps bf the Prussian army. It will occupy Luxemburg and the vicinity of our town. The Prussians say, that the object of these move ments is to establish more direct communications between the different corps of the army I but private letters assure us that the Cabinet of - Berlin is taking measures of precaution relative to an eventual rupture with Austria, and in consequence is drawing the greater part of the troops "from the Rhine to the en• virons of Magieburgh and Berlin. 1111LLIN, 1411110ARY IL The 'ei-iisearit ConnCillor of the Russian Govern ment in Sunny, M. de M. has arrived here, charged with a mission from two great Powers to the King of Saxony. He has offered to that Prince a territory situated on the banks of the Rhine, containing 700,000 inhabitants, as well as considerable endowments for 'the functionaries who wished to follow him, upon the condition that he would renounce the Crown of Saxo ny. M. de M. at the same time addressed himself to the King's Confessor, Father Schneider, but all thee attempts have been rendered fruitless ; the King, faithful to the character he has displayed, has rejec ted all these propositions. A coldness is thought to be perceived between Sar dinia and Austria, on account of some portion of ter ritory claimed by the Court of Turin. The people of Genoa claim their independence from Austria ; Venice sues for her's to the Emperor Alexander, whilst Ra gnsa, with a similar view, pats herieli under the pro tection of the Grand Turk, The change of Ministry which has been spoken of Etas not taken place, but the Prince de Metternich and Count de Neuelrode au longer represent their rester the Cowie.