Star. — London, England, 1801-03-20 00:00:00

pnv, repeat that commandment frith dte ciefifTLi elf 4 41? Would his congregation, knowing that the miniiter had himfell committed adultery, and violated the bonds of marriage, receive it with tile awililnef: that it oti ! :ht to ithyrcfs upon their winds ? IF; Lordlhip h, had d,dar. ed lalt year great objection to the mode of obtain ing d itnrec by Parlianieolai y Ilill, becatife it hut a partial remedy—in ft& it was toady a re rnedy for the rich, but not fur the poor, li, : caufe a poor man could not go to the espenee of applying for Inch a Bill. In his judgment it would be more advantageons to cite community if div,:re„..s were t ticen out of the hands of that Hour: and of the falter, and put under the cognizance ofa very dif ferent tribunal. :Oat Houfe contained nearly three hundred Members, and the two together A rm* amounted to• a thoufand, which certainly made Parliament ilbadapted to try, to judge, and to pronounce fcntence on inch a lubjea with that impartiality and &int& which ought to accom pany all deeitions of fo ferions and important a na ture. With regard to what the Noble Lord, who fpoke lent, bad tlaid about the want of notice to the Petitioner in the prefent inflance that fuch a dance would be moved, the Noble Lord mutt know that no inch notice was necetrary, and that every Noble Lord in that Houfe had an undoubted right, when a Bill was in a Committee, to move whatever a mendment he thought proper without any previ ous notice; and as to the dangertthe Bill would be placed in, fhould the other Houfe of Parliament throw out thetlattfe, it was not regular nor decent tin fay beforehand, what would be the conduaof the other Houle, but at all events, their Lordlhips • would, in cafe the other Houle thould fend the Bill back with amendments, agree to thole amend ments or not, as they thought bell. On every ground, therefore, that could be imagined, Lord Auckland declared the claufe moved by the Noble Marquis fhould have his hearty fupport. The Duke of Ctaasirce °Vetoed, that the Bill before the Committee was avowedly for the relief of Mr. Taylor, and, as it was natural to fuppofe, drawn up under' his dire Lion by his Solicitor, pointed at no fuch prohibition with refpeil to Mrs. Taylor as that enafted by the propofed Claufe. Such a circundlance did not feem to have entered into his contemplation. He therefore mull fubmit it to their Lordfhips, how, continently with the principles of Humanity, and, be mutt fay, of Chrifban Charity, they could entertain that which scruff throw the miferable woman, the objet of the Gault, into eternal prottitution ? The A.c.t before the Committee was to daisies the marriage of Mr. Taylor with his now wife, and to enable him to marry again, and not to punifts, perhaps, an already too miferable a woman. With refpei to himfeif, the more he tonlidered the fubjed, the more he was fatisfied with the reditude. of the part he had taken. Did he think the propofed matures likely to prevent the crime of adultery, no one would more cheerfully fupport them; but the contrary was his decided nonillion. He re probated theprinciple alluded to, as operating molt Injurioufly, WIWI as unjaftly, with refpeft to the females of this country, who wen its brighten or ninnenti and, generally (peaking, remarkable for their virtues and correftnefs of conduft. He firmly believed, that, in the great majority of thole inftances where the conjugal vow was broken, the profligacy of the man was the principal caufe ; at the fame time he was aware that in tome cafes the fault relied with the woman; there were, un fortunately, among the fez, fome meretricious and infamous charafters, and fuch, he thought, de ferving-of the fevereft punifhment. For his own part, he had continually before him the brighteft patterns of domeftic virtue and conjugal affeetion-- la Him who filled that Chair (pointing to the Thrust), and was fo juttly the objeft of their Lordfhips' reverence and affeftion. Such a bright example, he was determined, as far as in him lay, to imi tate, and to perfin in his deteftation of the deftruc tive crime of adultery. Recurring to the general queftion, his Royal Highnefs proceeded to ob fem, that the confideration of the charafters of both fetes rerpeftively were upon very different grounds. In this Country, a tnan of adequate talents and an enterprifing fpirit, may rife to the higheft offices of the State, or to opulence the molt ettentive, notwithitanding his charafter might be ;only fortiited on account of his committing the crime in queition, or even on account of treachery to his friend in the perpetration of that crinie.— With a woman it was the reverfe—her charaßer once facritieed that way, every thing was loft to Ler, and it peihaps inipoaible to retort her charaßer hut by ow. way, and that the propofed claufe west to do away, which if the Honk adopted, it would nand pledged to a conliderable talent. In obierving upon the fatal confequoices which the achiption of Inch a principle would be to the unfortunate obje;ts of it, he raid, that a new el.!fs of females, fechided from general (witty, would be created by it ; thole would he di iven to prornifeuous prollitution, or to live with their paramours, R o ot which numbers of illegitimate children would molt probably atiti. if the mra lure in coweniplation was propofed as a punilli nient, why not extend it to both the offending p:tr. ties ? lu Mull ration of :his part Cl his aroatment, the Royal Duke alluded to a cafe of cont!.ktahle aggravation, (we believe ilia., of Addilini, now pending before their I,ordlliip.) in whir, the Hof band was convicled not only or adultery, but with the Sigler of his own wire, whole huts:mil was his particular friend ; that rarely was a cafe to which the principle could not poflibly appl).—Conld they for a moment think, in Inch an inliance, of punilk ing the innocent and min - ending woman by a prohibition from a future marriage, and letting inch a hufhand go unpundhed ? Lord ADNOR had come to the Houle to vote for the claufe, becaufe he approved the principle ; he did not think it went far enough, but withed the law was made general. Lord flittavii.tt entered into a defence of the elatife and the principle; he alluded to the former debate, no which occafion thofe who differed with blast upon the (obit& sainted to know whether no sate might occur in which he would not be inclined to forego the retteißicia he certainly *doiitted there Ought i they then argued the a ..isciple ough isot tA be trade gianitai, tut calittl for a jutilitu lar cafe; that talc was now befwe them : !tad . t 1!;.% now oblefted to the partiality of the el:lde. It any conchillons were to be dr.tv:at from rt, parti cidar cafe, this farely wa . that cafe; for a :tore ilagiant one could not poffibly ennui before thefts; and lie deried the imagination of an 7 man to go beyond that of a priell in holy orders, to whom the cure of iuuls in a country village was corn mitt cd, ledueing the wife of one of his parithioners, ard Still prcthming to teach them to walk in the m i :ribs of truth and ; except they were to add thereto the letting up as an example of be ing rewarded fix Ll - .eir vices, the woman who had hen a partner in his guilt, by violating thole holy law., which his duty bound him to teach his neighbours to obey and rcfpca. Where, when he fild, " Thou flialt not commit adultery," would the eyes of the congregation be turned ? and what mug he their conclutions t With fuch examples, what adherence to religion and morality could be. eNpeeted from the people ? His Lordlliip denied, that it was in fat denouncing any puniilunent againft the woman, for it left her in the Rate to which, by her own imprudence, the had fuffered herfelf to be reduced, while, on the other hand, he firmly believed that the prohibiting the crimi nal parties to marry wouli be to her advantage, as it would remove one of the great temptations made tile of by the artful- foam- ; indeed, if it was to become the eftablithed law, that filch might marry, he could hardly fee any renfim • why a man might not as openly addrefs a married woman as a tingle one ; for he would only have to prevail on her to commit the all of adultery to be at liberty to change her hufband, as her inclination thould With refped to what might be the fate of this claufe in another place, he did not think it ought to have any weight with their Lordfhips, and the complaint of the injured party could not be made agaitilt them, but thole who prevented his having the &fired relief, becaufc a regulation for the be nefit of focicty was annexed thereto. His Lord fhip then went at length into the nature of Divorce Bills, and perfetaly agreed in the fentiments which had been urged by his two Noble Friends, the Marquis of Buckingham and Lord Auckland. Lord Mu LGRAVE defended what had fallen from the illuarions Duke, and like him had found him fell the more confirmed in the juftice and propriety of the pan he had taken on this fubjeft, the more he confidered of it, and the more it came under difeuffion. Tikere was not one fingle fcntence thrown out by the haft Noble Speaker, from which he did not molt decidedly diffeut--efpecially as to 'the example that he fuppofed the permitting of theft particular individuals to marry would have; for in his opinion, their continuing to live in a fiate of illicit commerce, would have a much wurfe drat ; that by the feducer's being at liberty to Phew he was willing to make every atonement in his power for the crime he had committed, and by that means re-condo& her to that path of propriety from which he had (educed her. His Lordihip ' then turned to the particular hardthip the prefcnt injured Gentleman would Puffer, if the - claufe thould be adopted in this, and thrown out in the other Houle, as he would then remain unrelieved, or they would be obliged to pars it in its.arnended !fate and having dwelt for tome time upon the idea thrown out of that Houfe ' from their num bers not being a proper tribunal for fuch cafes, he faid he Mould certainly vote againft the claufe. The Biihop of Rocuerria, in fupport of the claufe, fpoke at Come length. He (aid, that confifteutly with the fentiments he uniformly felt refpedmg the heinous crime of Adultery, and from which no confideration would induce him to fiverve, he Ihould fupport the pmvifo moved by the Noble Marquis. He thought that the interdielion fhonid be general, but which confideration did not preclude the propriety of its application in a par ticular infiance. The Reverend Prelate fpoke in appropriate language of the conduit of the Clerical de►inquent, and exhibited it in a Rill more crimi nal view by defcribing the nature and importance of his facred fundions, as a Minifter of the Gofpel ; a more horrible cafe, his Lordilip obfervcd, could not be imagined. He perfedly agreed with thole Peers who thought filch a perfon deferring of the moll exemplary evtleliallical punifitment, and in this part of his fpeech he touched upon the nature and conftitution of the Eccletiahtcal Courts. After confidering at Come length the general quellion, and erincmg the neeellity of the adoption of Tome decifive remedies, he paired so the particular cafe before the Committee ; and refpeding the idea, I that the adoption of the Claufe might pollibly have an unfavourable effeet, in regard to the palling of the Bill, obfervcd, that the objettion, even admit , ting it to be well-founded, ought not to withhold them from doing what they felt to be right—as it was well known, that in many cafes, individual interett Ihourd girt way so public confideration. The queflion was now called for, when The Loan CHANC!LLOR rofe, and in delivering his fentiments upon the quaint; before the Com mittee, took a legal view of tome of the points conneded with it, and referring to the precedents adduced by the Noble Marquis in the early part of his fpucch, particularly to that of the cafe of I Lord Bruce. obferved, that no of law obtain : cd upon what was, or seas not a legal marriage: that confideration lay entirely with the Eerie:llli- I cal Courts. His Lordtbip proceeded to ?late that the praftice of other Prutellant countries, par ticulatly of :icotland and Holland, decidedly was to declare the marriage of the adulterer with the :Wolter& abiblutely invalid. In this country the lass- had been left in a tine of uncertainty, nothing having been decided by the Common 'Law upon the fillijet4. In his Lordthip's opinion, the Legit lature might to exprefs a diflitie fentiment refped ing the future illegality of inch marriages, but at the fame time to remove any apprehenfions that in • fuck a cafe might he entertained, that their Lord- !hips ought to acknowledge the legitimacy of the • ilrue from Intl marriages entered into under fuch cireumfiances. Lord CLARE rald, that notivithltanding all that he had heard from Noble, Lords, or from the Right Reverend Prelate, he was not fatisfied in his owa mind, that the Class& propofed would prove a cbeck to dis foroziog of fuck counsaions, L nn 4 ui to •••, nor ehe approve to the trOutimuft br rodi a Chute into a Myatt: Dill, which might, in its conftquences, :died tln private rights of many in dividuals, and reach to an extent of which many Noble Lords might not be aware. Would it Le proper or advifeable, or were their Lordfhips prepared to fay, that by fuch a Legiflative de clartttion of the Law, they were ready to pro nounce, virtually, a fcntence of haftardy againfl the Ate of marriages fo contracted ? and which, as to the matter of Law, were heretofore confi dered as of a doubtful nature ? With regard to his own fentiments on the fubjed, his Lordihip conceited that they were in favour of the legality, if not of the propriety of fuch marriages. He confidered the marriage ceremony , to be of the nature of a civil contrail between two parties, and that if that compact was declared null, his opinion was, that the parties wereat liberty to enter into a new contract. He begged their Lordfhips to con :icier that the confegnence of adopting the propofed Claufe would be to give a Legiflative declaration in a Private Bill which would have the effect of a General Law, afteCting the validity of fuck con trails. But if fuch a Claufe were adopted, the Houfe was bound in Juitiee, to declare that all fuch frefh Commas formed under the circum fiances which had been (bated, were legal as to the fecuritv of real and perfonal rights, to the, Ate of fuch Marriages. His Lordfhip repeated that his objedinn went to the adoption of'a Claufe ht a Private Bill, giving a Le: , iflative fanClion to little a difiaited quellion. Ife pettedly agreed that the offending Clergyman ought never to be fttffered to officiate in that charaiter. He appre hended that the power of tin: Bifhop was fitfficient for that purpofe, and that lie would never be lUiFer- ! ed to ctifgrace a pulpit in England. But his Lord fhip Paid, he could not agree that if that man fhoald be obliged, by the introduCtion of the clatife, to call the woman out into the wide world, and caprice her to proffitution, or that if he was flit - - fere,' to marry any other woman, that the exam ple would be lefs an evil, than by marrying her whom he had (educed front her conjugal vow ; nay, in his opinion, the only retribution which he could make to Society for the offence he had com mitted, would be to marry that woman, and thus to recall to his relledion fentiments of penitence • and morality. He faw no fofficient reafon to de viate in this inftance, from a general rule, merely becaufe this offender was a Prieft, for if not de graded from his office, he apprehended his Bilhop would have both the power and the difpofition to refute him iodation to a Living, or a Licence to a Curacy. His Lordiliip Paid, that his opinion on this fubjed was that if a general Law was paired, compelling every Adulterer to marry the Adul terefs, and that if every perlbn Petting out on the trade of feduCtion, was to do fo with the terror of ' matrimony before him, it would operate more ef feittrally to prevent the crime of Sedueion, than by any other means that could he deviled. If any. ,doubt remained to be cleared up on this fubjeit, it ought to be done by a general Law; at all events, 'he confidered it a point of public Jullice to declare ,the aim of fuch Marriages heretofore coatraded, to be legal. I The Lotto CHANCILLOR obfervccl, in anfwer to what had fallen from tht Noble Lord (Clare 4, that although by the Adultery of one of the Par ties the Marriage Contrail was rendered null, yet, in marrying again a fecond Contrail was to be entered into • but it was a good rule that no legal, Contrail could fpring out of a crime. The Bifhop of DuilIAM, after complimenting the Reverend Prelate (the Bilhop of Rochefter) .for the ability with which he had delivered his fentimenta,and particularly on the Divine Law, upon the übjed of fuch Marriages, laid that be had alto paid every attention to the injundion of our Saviour, as became an Interpreter of the Divine I Law, and that he was forcedto differ in opinion from his Reverend brother in his Expofition.— He was of opinion that our Blared &moult made no fuch prohibition on the Parties as had been afferted, but that he left them at liberty to marry or not ; he confidered what Our Blefted SA9/401 , 44 had Paid, to bean improvement of the Mofaic Law, that he laid down the Mofaic Law as the text, and his explanation as the comment upon it, and that his meaning was, to give relief to the injured party without faying any thing refpcaing, or giving diredions to the offending party. But if fuch Mar riages were confidered at illegal by the Divine 'Law, with what propriety, he would afk, could their Lordfhips be called on to pars a Bill legalise ing fuch fort of Marriages ? Earl 1 7 :T2%44.1.1Am thought that the enaftment of an AO legalizing Inert Marriages ought to be well confidered. He faw many difficulties that ' would attend fuels a tneafttre. The Bifhop of Lonoos raid, that the adoption of this Claufe met with his entire concurrence.— His fentiments upon this fubjeCt he had already declared, anti they remained unaltered. He ac knowledged that filch a prohibitory Claufe would not go to the root of the evil, but certainly would operate as force check to the rowing crime of Adultery, inafmuch as it wade; prevent the wo man from entertaining the profile& of a future marriage with the object of her criminal attach ment ; and lie was afraid that it was this hope which in moll cafes operated upon the female mind, for though no promife to this effect might be made, yet the expeClation almoft always operated as an tquirstlent. To import filch a reftraint was doing more fervice to the caufe of Morality, than the modern refinement of pleading pity, &c. on behalf of crimts, of which Adultery Rood the forentoll. And although their Lordfhips might not be able to do all they could with, they Should do what they could, and though they could not cut up this odious crime of Adultery by the roots, Still they might lure it a fort of hideous trunk. The Bill-sop of ROCHESTER laid, he (Load not then enter into the fubjell of difference between a Reverend Prelate and himfelf, all he Should fay was, that the opinion he had expreffed as to our Say i ov mcaning, wh en fpeaking of adultery, was the concurring fentiment of the Greek and Latin Churches from the time of Chryfoltont down to the days of Luther- In the teat referred to, he. coufidand our LARD aot as as sapolitor of the NTifaie iitit mther as an l,rig:nal Lgitim , )r, refloriiig ivi.oriage to Its pt;il;4l c i ty . t xt :hough he confidertd the I)ivin4. Law a, n., 0 4.g.. mutt to inch marriages, yet he would tell the Re verend Pretty and their Lordliiips why he would concur in kgaliting filch marriages as had been entered upon,. Ear froM approving them, yet he conlidcred there were many occafions on which they were called to make their choke of two evils, even pofitivc amitnoral e... 415. Now if the Divine Law was gencridly rulfunderifood, and the Law of the Land was oti the fide of fuch marriages, he would agree to protea the ate of fuch marriages as had been already entered into. The Marquis of Buciusousins foul, l.is (bjel't was, to reduce to fume: certainty the Law on this fubjc et, and to cheek a mifehief which was horridly increating. Their Lordthips had heard of a dif., Terence of fentiments on this fubjell and even froni two Reverend Prelates that evening—all this pointed out the propriety of fettling the Law.— From the esamination he had made, he had found, that for tso years pail, their Anceltors deemed inch marriages equivocal; and for the loft years, them had been no legal decifion whatever. By the prekiit Bill, they were now called upon to add one more to the horrid code of uncertain laws. He fhould be more content if his clank was rv.:e& e. ed, that fense noble Lord would mov e the dirat inverfe of the propofition, rather than leave the matter in the prefent fad flaw of un. certainty. The 'Houle then divided—For the Claufe A it 24.—Majority in favour of the Claufe 3. 'After fume conversation between the Duke of Ciai owe and the Marquis of Buckingham, it was fettled that the Report was to be brought up on that day ferinight.—Adjourned at 8 o'clock. HOUSE OF COMMONS. An Aconite was pref . , iited from the Commit:Motes of this Cullom% in Scotland, Eddie quantity of Grain ea:putted front the fev.tol }Kolb te7 the la II tour vita. An Account of the Unfondeti Debt for the Navy wan alb plefented, and ordered to lie on the table. A new Writ was moved for the Burgh of I)ownton, in the county of Wilts, in the room of Sir William Scott, who lassao crpted the Chiltern Hundreds. A iktition w.t prefunted by * Mr. jefferys ► from the prifonets coiGned for debt in Mc gaol of U'arwick, praying for relief, which was ordered to lie or the table. Mr.Citat Les Dux ear brought.= a Bill to explain :Ind amend an Ad paired in the t3th year of the reign of his prdent Tlajetty, refisexqing the Enelofime et Commons and the Cull. ♦atinn of Potatoes on Wafte Lands, which *ma rend a fait time, and ordered to be read a feeond time to-asorrovr. '1 he Report of the Committee en the Continuation of certaim frith Duties u4S r:ecived and agreed to. It was then moved as an initrudion to the Committee to whom the fubjeet of id& Duties was referred, that they do make provifton for this as. folution. The Hook went Into a Committee on the frith Matt and tillety Bits, and fevers! Claufes being filled sip, the Report woo brought up, and ordered to be rcceived to-morrow. The Rcport on the Habeas Corpus Sufpention Bill in Ireland was received. agreed to, and the hill ordered to be mad a thiril time to•nturrow. MAITIAL LAW II MILANI,. Lord CASTLEREAGH moved, that the Solicitor- General have leave to bring up the Report of the Committee on this Bill. Mr. Garr oppofcd the bringing up of the Re port. He hid, that if the Houfe bad given dun attention to the Bill, he was convinced, that no thing could induce them to concur in its principle. He went aver. his former obje&ions to the Bill. which he raid, armed the Chief Governor with a defpotic power, and enabled him to infEtt corporal punilhmcnt or death, et en without a Court Mar tial. lie might do this even if the fuppofed delin quent had been previonfly acquitredby a Civil Tri bunal ! The Bill in thus foperfechng all law went, in his opinion, beyond the neceffity of the cafe ; he Bionid therefore move, that it be read a third time on this day fir months." No reply was made, and Mr. Grey's motion was negatived without a divifton. The Report was then received, and the Bill ordered to be read a third time to•morrow. IRISH MASTLR OF THR LOLLS lIILt. Mr. Hosirouse rofe. He contended that no office fhould be held by Deputy, and quoted Lord Chid Jullice Hale in rapport of his opinion. He reprobated the meafure in the Rrongell terms, and after repeating and enforcing many of the argu ments advanced againfi the Bill, moved, "that the Bill be read a third time this day Si; mouths.' Mr. HARRISON raid, he could not help obfer ring, that in this till there was a remuneration to two perfons for life, for the lots of an office which they held during pleafure.—So that thin Bill went the length of giving a reward for life, for the Ida of that which was held during plea lure.—That was giving more than was taken ' away. He faw no reaton whatever for making this remuneration. If the office was a finecura, and held during plcafure, there could be no pro. text of rewarding fervices, and the emolument to be gained, ought to be on the fame tenure under this Bill, as that which the Bill took away was under, that is, it ought to be during pleafure. The Bill as it is now prupofed to be read, was a meafure which appeared to him to be a profligate Walk of the public money. The ATTORNEY GFNICAL ra;el, it would fare a confiderable deal of time in difcufllng Bills in that ' Honfe, if Honourable Members, before they ob. jedcd to them, woul.l take the trouble of wading them. It would appear, that there was not tiee word about remuneration to any of the CotruniP (loners of the Rolls in the Bill, from the beginning of the Bill to the end of it; to that in that refped e there was no foundation for the objection of the Honourable Gentleman who (poke laf. As to the fubjed of findir..± a Deputi to perform the duties of die o ffi ce, as it flood in the hands of the two No. blcmcn who now held it, there was no foundation for any oblervation but One, which was, that no public duty attached to the office, for it was a queen:T. Mr. Gast was ferry the praaice which pn. vailed in certain other places, fhould be introduced into the Hnufc, and reprobated the nk of fpecial pleading in the dikuffion of any Legiflative mew. flue. He begged tediCent from the doCtrine that the Houk were never to travel out of the record * Led contended that it was their doty to confider every mcafiire, not only in its letter and fame, but in its (phis itad copfequestees. The immediate