Star. — London, England, 1801-04-25 00:00:00

P.IRLI4MENTARr PROCEEDINGS. HOUSE OF LORDS, FRIDAY, Ann. 24. The BIM before the Houfe were forwarded in their refpec. rive Magee, artier, theft were the Lottery and Timber Duty Sill, which were read a ...bird time and puffed. The Earl of Mont* moved, That the Infolvent Debtor; BM be read a fecund time on Monday next, which wai ordered ac.mrdingly. Mr. Burton, an Officer of the Chancery in Irdend, prefented fevers& Papers from that Court, relative to a pending Appeal. Mr. Owen prefented eatain Annual Accounts from the I:fi lmic= of the Ea* India Company. Several Bills were brought up train the Commons, two of which were by Mr. Corry, Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland, and related to the Government .of that p..rt of the United Kingdom. They were nSpeelively read a firft time. MRS. famsou's Divosci SILL. Mr. ADAM was again heard as Counfcl in 'be half of Mrs. Addifon's Divorce Bill. A queltion having arifen, whether the record of the judgment in the Court of King's Bench ob tained by Campbell o. Addifon for Adultery with his wife, could be admitted as evidence t The LORD CH•PICiLLOR (Eldon) laid it might be admitted, but it was not =diary ; nor was it that kind of evidence on which the Houle ought to ground any part of the Bill then before it, becaufe it did not relate to Mrs. Addition. The record was then read in evidence. Mr. ADAM then returned his argument ; in the courfe of which he contended, that the adultery, in the prefent cafe, was of that incefluous nature, that the offending parties, from the affinity fulifilling between them, could not legally intermarry after a divorce obtained by his client. To fupport this pofition, he hated, that the diffolution of the mar riage by a legiflative aft, grounded upon the adul. tery of the party, would nor de (troy all the relations produced by the marriage --as, in the cafe of a divorce, a vincula matriAsnii, grounded upon tome pre-exifling incapacity; but that Mr. Addifon, after a divorce, would jail fiend in the fame degree of affinity, with refpea to Mrs. Campbell, as if Mrs. Addifon bed cited inked of being divorced from him. If this a-atement fhou:d prove right, then, he faid, there could be no danger of a future marriage between the offending parties—a mar riage between a man and the filler of his deceafed wife being within the degrees of affinity prohibited by the common law. The LORD CHANCELLOR did not conceive it ne zelfary to agitate that point, and that it was one more proper for ditcoffion in the courts below. The Marquis of BOCK:NG/IAM moved, that the Counfel do withdraw ; and then afited tome quef tions as to whether Inch a marriage was void s or voidable ? The LORD CHANCELLOR faid, there were mar riages of that kind which were eonfidered as legal marl iages, unlefs application was made in the life time of the parties for diffolving them. He did not, however, confider this a tubjeft which the Houle ought to difcufs. The Earl of CLARE faid a few words upon the points adverted to, and teemed to agree in much of what had fallen from the Noble and Learned Lord. It was not a point to which be bad direc ted much of his attention, but had collefted from the opinion of a Learned Friend, who was, per haps, one of the ablell Civilians in Europe, that fuch marriages as thofe adverted to, were void able. The Noble Earl teemed to deprecate the pradice of their Lordfltips in their Legiflative ca pacity, propounding queftions for the argument of Connie', and ex-park, at their Bar, which more than poflibly might come before them in their ju dicial capacity ; he alto glanced, as an additional argument againft fuch praaices, at the confider anon of the influence which fuch proceedings on the pan of their Lordships mutt have on the Courts below. The LORD CHANCELLOR felt it incumbent on him again to addrefs the Houfe on this tubjed. —He had to apologize, lie faid, to their Lord. thips is general, and to the Noble Marquis in particular, who did him the honour to require his opinion—for not being . fully prepared to !Peak on the very important points in queflion ' • but on a former night, when that part of the fubjelt was first adverted to, he happened not to be prefent, having not tben the honour of any particular duty to attend in the Houfe. The confiderationsarifing from the legiflative meafure then under the dilcui fiou of their ..aardfhips, were of the greatefl im portance, and required the moll deliberate atten tion. He propoted to turn his mind particularly to it, and to make every I.:ft:arch in his power. He olio wiffied that their Lordships fhould have the benefit of an opinion of his Noble and Learned Friend (then abfent), who lately occupied the Woolfack t not only on account of his general le gal knowledge, but becaufe he had very anlioufly turned his attention to the point in queftion. For there reafons he very much wilted that the difcuf fion was poliponeJ to tome future, but not diftant day. He repeated the opinion he bad offered up on the point, in the coorfe of the eonverfation above alluded to, that Marriages fo eonftrufted, were, at leek, voidable—but as he was upon his legs, he would trefpafs on the indulgence of their Lordlhips, while he offered a few obfervations on the general fubjeft, of which that, particularly under difeuffion, formed a part. Such, he ob. ferveJ, was the prefent hate of morals in this Country, that the pernicious praaice of adultery mull inevitably inereafe, until it was rendered, he would not fay criminal, for even in the contem plation of the Law it was already a crime, but a crime of that defcription as to be " whipt of Jut. tice I" Strong and decifive Legiflative regula tions were necelfary to Rem the growing evil.— With refpea to the Bill then before their Lord fhips, it was one, in every point of view, of the grcateft importance, and one which their Lord- Lips could not think ofton often before they palled it. He was well aware of the fituation in which a woman, circumftanced as the Lady who fued for the Bill in otieftion, was placed. The feelings and honour of a woman were as much at flake in thefe cotes as that of a man ; but though they muff feel fur, and attend, in jullice, as far as poilibk to the C4l of the individual, yet the quenionabk and i• siortaat eficas of palling filch a Bill I.toold be I ferfeefdy conlideral. The fituation of the children of parties affeacl by fuch Bills merited particular confideration, and in this view of the cafe, the fituation of a hulband lying for a divorce, and that of a wife engaged in a like purfuit, were materially different; in the former inftance, they remained under the care and proteftion of the huf band who was injured, and fuppofed to be inno cent, and were taken from the guilty wife : in the latter cafe, by the operation of the exilling and referring emphatically to the particular cafe before their Lordthips, the innocent and helplefs children were deprived of the flittering care and proteftiun of a virtuous mother, and Purely the poignancy of her Milk:Lion mutt be lamentably aggravated by the confideration that they were to be taken from her care at a moment, when they were alto bereft of the proteftion and guidance of a father. At this part of his Speech, his Lordfhip yielding to the preffure of the finch and mit lau dable feelings of the human heart, was vifibly seeded : and he obferved, it was no wonder his head fhould be affefted by the confideration of this fabjeft, as it had found the way to his heart. Another view in which it was to be confidered was, the deftruftive confequences which would arife from an increafed facility in obtaining, or a multi plication of Divorces. The crime of Adultery, he had grounds for aliening, was very general in this Country. It was not from the confideration of the number of Applicants for Divorces at their Lord fhips' Bar, that its extent was to be eftimated ; or even from the Suits inftituted in the Courts be low. Were the door opened to applications from the Wife, he begged their Lordfliips to confider, what might be the confequence. A profligate, a flagitious Hulband, in order to break his Mar riage, might be induced to do that, which, in the prefent Hate of Society and Morals in this Coun try, he was forry to fay, would be no degradation to him, at leaft among his own rex, with a view of affording the Wife an opportunity of ruing for a Divorce. This was a molt fa-ions confideration. The facility of obtaining Divorces might alto be much increafed by it, and here his Lordfhip ex patiated on the folemnity and importance of the Marriage Contraft, principally in a religious point of view, as a folemn engagement entered into in the pretence of GOD, and as a religious inflitution of the firft praftical importance, in which light it was certainly confidered by Chrillianity, and re- , cognized by the Law of the Land. He preffed the Houle to confider ferioufly ere it adopted any nieafure which by facilitating the obtaining Divor ces, might increafe the praftice of Adultery, a crime which daily involved the ruin of families, and mull ultimately, if not checked, deftroy that great aggregate of families, the Public. Lord AUCKLAND rote briefly to 'late, that when he came to give his vote on the prefent Bill, he fhould give it under greater embarraliment than he had ever felt. His Lordfhip, however, exprefied his objeftion to the application of deep general rea toning to a fpecial cafe, which ought to be decided upon fold) , by its own particular merits. The LORD CHANcet.Loa then returned to the ta ble, and informed Mr. Adam, that the Houle con fidered the evidence he had given of the criminal faEts as fatisfaflory and fufficient. He then quef tioned him as to the refine of his own inquiries, how far he had thought the affinity rendered mar riage void, or only voidable ? Mr. ADAM Paid, he had ftudied the cafe with all the attention in his power, and though it was his duty, (peaking as a Counfel ex parts to do every pollible jultice to his client, he mull fay, he had not found any proof of a nature that went further than to (Late, that marriages between parties with in the forbidden degrees, were voidable. He added, that all the learning on the fubjeft was to be met with in Lord Vaughan's Reports, and that a pam phlet had been publifhed on it many years ago by Mr. Allen, a Gentleman of the Law, which lie had feen. HIS Lordfhip faid, he would thank him, if he could obtain a fight of that pamphlet, to let him feet it. The Duke of CLAILINCE fpoke of fearching the Journals for precedent*, though he thought there was nothing Analogous to be found on them. Lord MULGRAVI faid there was a cafe on the Journals which happened in his own family ; but that was a cafe of a feparation on account of cruelty. The Marquis of BUCKINGHAM mentioned the cafe of Downing (landing on the Journals. After more confidrrauon, the further proceed ing was adjourned to Tuefday next.—The Houfe then adjourned to Monday next. HOUSE OF COMMONS. Tic for enabling the London Affuranee Company to Witte Butz s and Small Craft employed in the Inland blaviga non was read a firft time, and ordered to be read a fecund time. The Accounts moved for by Mr. Plies of the Chanel at tending the Collection of the Hair Powder and Armorial Bear ings Taxes were laid upon the Table, and cal the motion of Mr. Jones ordered to be printed. Mr. Owen, from the KA India-Houfe, brought up an ac count rd the Sales of the Ealt India Company. IRISH COURTS or JUDICATURS. Mr. Gaoaca PONSONST role, in purfuance of the notice he had given, to move for leave to bring in a Bill, the principle of which was, to put the Courts of King's Bench and Common Pleas in Ireland, upon the fame footing with refpett to perfonal ac tions, with the Court of Exchequer. There were inconveniencies attending fuitors bringing aftions in the Courts of King's Bench and Common Pleas, which did not attend them in the Court of Exche quer. He then proceeded to hate the different forms which afuitor had to go throughintheCourts of King's Bench and Common Pleas, which he (hewed; were much more tedious and expenfive than thofe cf . the Court of Exchequer. The con. fequence of this was, that of perfonal actions, not above one out of fifteen or twenty were brought in the Court of Common Pleas, the reit were all brought in the Court of Exchequer. But the Court of Exchequer was alfo a Court of Equity, and of Revenue, the confequence of this was, that 'that Court was fo crowded With bufinefs, it was really impoflible to difpateh the butinefs of any one of its jwifiliaions. The objea of this Bill was, to put all the Courts upon an equal footing, and thereby very much facilitating the dilcharge of public bufi nefs, and at the fame time relieving tht Court of' Exchequer !logo the prelinre of bufindi which had: hung upon it fo long, and to render that Court more competent to difcharge its peculiar bufinefs. Having Rated thus much, he hoped the Houfe would fee the propriety of bringing in this Bill, and indeed he was not aware of any real oblation that could be made to it. It might, perhaps, h e urged, that the interefts of particular Officers of the diffe rent Courts would be affated, that Conic would be injured while others would be greatly benefited. In bringing in this Bill, he had no ohjea in view but that of public advantage, he did not propofe it either with a view to injure or to ii.rve any parti cular perfon. He had received no applications to bring in this Bill by chore to whom it might prove beneficial, nor had he been requefted not to bring it forward by thofe to whofe interefts it might prove injurious. He had not the honour of being known to a Noble Member of that Houfe, who certainly would be benefited by the Bill. He had but very little acquaintance with a Noble Perron in another Houle, who would alto derive advantage from it, but he was acquainted with a perfon who held a high fituation in the Exchequer, whore interefts would undoubtedly be affeaed by it. He had it in contemplation Tome time ago, when a Noble Lord (Clonmell) held the fituation he alluded to. He had made a motion in the Houfe of Commons, againft that Noble Lord, for what appeared to him to be an improper exercife of his authority, which motion was related by a fmall majority. The con fequence of this was, that he did not think it right to bring forward this motion while the Noble Lord held the Office, left the motive by which he was atuated fhould be fufpated. The Noble Lord who now held that Office (Hobart), received it as a reward for the fervices which he performed as Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, but though he did not think the Cervices of the. Noble Lord quite Co meritorious as other perfons did, yet as the Crown had bellowed that Office for life up on the Noble Lord, he certainly fhould not think of bringing in this Bill, without at the fame time, propoffiig a compenfation for that Noble Lord, be cattle he conceived that under thofe circwxiftances he had a freehold in the Office. With rer j ra to other O ffi cers who held their places at the afure of the Crown, and thofe in judicial fituations, he did not conceive that they were entitled to corn peufation. There were the objeas of the Bill which he meant, with the permiffion of the Houle, to bring in ; it was his with, at the fame time that he was improving the Adminiftration of Jullice, to make the meafure as agreeable as poffible to all the perfons concerned. If leave was given to bring in the Bill, he fhould fubmit it to the confideration of the Law Officers of the Crown here, he &mild then with to fend it to Ireland, in order that it might be canvaired, becaufe he was Pure that the more the Bill was inveftigated, the snore it would be ap proved of. He then concluded with moving for leave to bring in the Bill. ThCCHANCELLOR of the Excl.! eopea raid, he was not in the Houle when the Honourable Gen tleman rote, but he underftood that the objea of the Bill was, in a certain degree, to facilitate the Adminiftration of juftice. This was fo important a fubjea, that it mull neceffarily befpeak the fa vour of the Houfe. The purpofe for which he now role, was in confequence of fomething which had fallen from him refpating a noble Friend of his. The Honourable Gentleman had Rated, it was his intention to propofe a compenfation for that Noble Perfon,and he had alto Rated correaly that the Noble Lord had a Freehold in his office. He really had not heard of this Bill until a very (hots time before he came into the Houk. He had, however, had a communication with the Noble Lord, and was authorifcd to Rate his Noble Friend's earneß hope that no confideration refpec ting him might affect the progrefs of a Bill that had forits object a great public benefit. He was fore that the difinterefted mind of his Noble Friend would revolt at the idea of his intereft Rending in the way of the public advantage. He should not, however, do juttice to his noble Friend if he flop ped here, for the Public had already received a confiderable benefit from the noble Lord's holding that office, for immediately on - his being appoint ed to his prefent office, the noble Lord had given up a great proportion of the profits attendant on the latter,amounting to aoool. per annum. He thought it right to Rate there fats, and if it was founded upon the principles which had been Rated, he was not aware of any oblation to which it was liable. Mr. COIIIY raid, that the &nation he held in the Exchequer of Ireland, being Chancellor of that Court, made it neceffary for - him to Cay a few words. From what had been Rated, it muff be obvious that he was one of thole perfons whore private interefis were interefted in this banters. He was therefore anxious to take the firft opportuni ty of Rating, that no friend of his would give any oppofition to the Bill ; and, for his own part, he should forbear to take any, the ma minute, part in the difctiftions upon the fabled. He was not able to decide whether this Bill would or would not Facilitate the adminiftration of public juftice ? Having raid thus much, he hoped be might be permitted to add, that there were other perfons not (landing fo high in that Court as he did, and not poiliffing many of the advantages which he did, whole interefts would be moll materially affeaed, and who were therefore entitled to the at tention and the juftice of Parliament. He thought it hard that when perfons had pallid a great part of their lives in qualifying themlaves for an office, that they (hold at lalt be deprived of two thirds of their means of fubfiftence. He therefore trolled, that thole perfons would everience the liberality of Parliament, and that the Hon. Gentleman him felf would take them under his proration. Mr. Lztos faid, he conceived loch a Bill necef fary, from the great prelim.e of bufinefs in the Court of Exchequer in Ireland. Sir Jona P 4 KKKK L approved of the Bill ; he thought that the perfons where interefts were at: felled ought to be indemnified, and he hoped that the Right Honourable Gentleman oppofite to him (Mr. Corry) would allb receive a compenfation for his lofs. He then proceeded to speak in very high terms of tLe Cervices of the noble Lord (Ho bart), and faid that the fituation which he held in Ireland was by no means too great a compenation for the fervises he had rendered that Country. The ATTORNEY GENERAL ttid that lionnura. ble Gentleman had brought in this till in in can. did and honourable a manner, that he had no doubt but that it would pats in a nti:Tanoty ner Undoubtedly any alteration in the mode 4, 1 * adminiftering the Law was a mere delicate fulii but the Honourable Gentleman had very candidly. raid that he would not prefsthe bufinefs,but wr.uid give full time for coufideration. With relpej t to remuneration, thofe who held Patent Places were undoubtedly entitleii to compenfation, aea in his opinion, thofe who held other offices, ev en judicial ones, quandiu fe bent &fn*, ought to indemnified for their loftes. Mr. G. Powsox sr laid, he did not go the len ,, th other Gentlemen did with refpen to comp,, ; . „_ tion, but if that was the opinion of the Houh, Le fhould not objea to it. Leave was then given to bring ia a Bill, and Mr. Ponfonby and Mr. O'Hara were ordered to prepare it. FINANCE OF IRELAND. Mr. G. Pon sossv faid, he could not bring for. ward the motion of which he had given notice, Int certain Papers relative to the Finance of Ireland, not tieing able to find in any of the offices of the Houfc the laft volume of the kith Statutes; with.. out which he could not well proceed. A fhort converfation cnfued between Mr. C. Ponfonby and Mr. Corry, the latter of whom ae length faid the Volume alluded to was to be found in the office of Mr. Dorrington. EGYPT. Mr. JoxEs raid, he had given notice of a MO. tion refpetting Egypt for this day, and had bc:n requefied by a Noble Lord to put it off; he did not with to take any body by furprize, he fhould therefore content to,put off his Motion. SUPPLY. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER moved, That the Houfe do refolve itfelf into a Committee of the whole Houfe, to confider of a fupply to be granted to his Majelly, to which the Houfe agreed. Several accounts which had previoully been laid before the Houfe, were referred to that Committee. The CH AN ex taloa of the Ex c M mixt then moved, " That the Speaker do now leave the Chair." Mr. Nicnou.s laid, it was extremely painful to him, and mull be fo to the Houfe, to feel the no. ceffity of going into circumftances Co diftrelling as thofe which the prefent war had produced, but he felt himfelf called upon to do to on the prefent occafion. We were now in the ninth year of a calamitous war. He would not at prefent enquire . whether or not the war was originally neceffary, ' bat he felt himfclf warranted in alledging that &eat portion of its calamities was owing to the obilinacy of his Majefty's late Mini ft ers. In the year slim they had rcfufed to liflen to the propo. fall of Bonaparte, although they knew that at that time there was a famine in this country. They thought it was better to expofe this land to the horrors of famine, than linen to the propofitions which were then made for peace. The Right Honourable Gentleman (Mr. Addington) had de. dared in that Houfe, that he Mould take the moil effectual means to obtain peace. There was no reafon to apprehend that we can have better terms of peace now, than in the year illoo, and there. fore that declaration of the Chancellor of the Et chequer amounted to an acknowledgment, that is his opinion, his predeccifors ought to have liftened to the propofals which they rep/led, and that we have been for that period carrying on the war un. necefikrily ; if fo, every Member who oppofed the extenfion of it, was doing his duty. He confider► ed our condua againft the Northern Confederacy, by which he meant our having fo perem ptorily in filled, by force of arms, on th e lUi m t of Scare, as of very doubtful policy ; it was a point on whick he had never given a decided opinion; but he thought we ought to have paufed a little. The SP E•K IR recommended it to the Honoura. ble Member, to confider whether the turn his fpeed was now apparently taking, would be brought to bear on the Motion now before the Hoare ? Mr. Nic MOLLS maintained, that confiderable la. titude had been ufually given to a Member of Par. liament, on all dileuffions of queflions of Supply, and he apprehended, that he was not going beyond the ufagc of the Houfe in the courfe he was taking. The SPEAKER faid, that the Hon. Member ap• peared to him to be about to proceed to the difeci fion of an abflraft queftion of Right, on the fubjeß of lurching (hips, and therefore it was that he had taken the liberty of fuggefting what he did. But, undoubtedly, it was pollible to conclude what he had begun, with an application to a queftion of Supply, and if the Hon. Member did fo, he would be regular. Mr. Nicitoxi.s raid, that on a Vote of Supply, it was, in his judgment, regular to ufe every ar gument that occurred to a man's mind in that Houfe, againft a Ripply, to carry on a war, which, in inch man's opinion, was an unneceffary and CV lamitous war. _ . The C•ANCILLOI of the Excnsop sa Iliac . to Order. He did hope, he Paid, that the imam t;on given from the Chair, would have been firfEcic::t to induce the Hon. G entleman to defifi from pr , - eeeding in the line of argument he had adopted, which he appeared to be about to follow with 31 1 unufual minntenefs. He was proceeding to arn:e on the fubjea of the Northern Confederacy vd..eh was not now before the bottle, and in which the Hon. Gentleman did appear to him to be irregu lar. He did apprehend that nothing of this fort was regular on a quefiion that the Speaker do leave the Chair. There were feveral papers referred to the Committee of Supply : not one of them con tained any eflimate upon any fubjea conneaed with the wart he therefore was unable to conceive how the Hon. Gentleman could fupport the rep larity of his eourfe of argument, upon this quell:iv'. That the Speaker do nuw leave the Chair. Mr. Nrcitoi.xs Paid, ,if nothing was to be net" pofed to be voted in the Committee of Supply for carrying nn the war, be had no right to infin oa his merle of argument ; but if there was any vete to be pterofed which tended to fupport Oic " r i be was regular in what he urged. 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