Star. — London, England, 1820-07-21 00:00:00

GRANTKAM ELECtION. QIR FRANCIS COLOM BINE DANIEL, with the k.. 7 mast lively sense of watitudi, returns his best thanks to these Gentlemen who did him the honour of soliciting him on Monday last to represent in Parliament thit truly respectable Town of Grantham, in Lincolnshire. Sir Francis assures .the worthy Electors that liscl he been apprised ofrheir wish earlier, be would most certainly have done himself the bon* of ac cepting their kind Suffrages; and that in the event of any-future vacancy, Sir Francis would consider it highly honourable to represent so antient and so respectable a Borough. Sir Francis's mind is Only independent, he is warmly attached to thOse prin ciples which placid the reigning Family on, the `crone; and should he ever have'the bonourof being seturßed i o Parliament, be will ever vote conscienthusty, keephill in view the true spirit of...the Constitution,"by supporting the King, Lords, and Commons. (hove Cottage, Mile-End; add Charlotte House, Surrey, JuW 20, 1010. PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINC;S. lIDCSE OF LORDS, JULY 20. The Earl of LIVERPOOL moved, " Thkt a•Committee be appointed to search for precedents relating to the Royal Divorce Bill, and to consider of the most effectual means of enforcing the attendance of Membets of that House;" which was ordered accordingly. On the :notion of the Noble Minister, several Peers specially named, were ordered to compose the said ComMittee. Among whom were— The Archbishop of Canterbury The Earl of Liverpool The Earl of Shaftesbury Viscount Alelville The Lord Chmcellor Lord Calthorp l T.ord Redesdale Lord Holland. Among the Bills upon the table which were severally-for warded, the Alien Bill, the Bank Notes Bill, the Irish Fisheries, , the Turnpike Returns, and the Irish Lunatic Asylum Bills, were read the third time and passed. Mr. Joitesom, from the office of the Chief Secretary for Ire land, presented certain papers to the House. IRISH COURT OF CHANCERY BILL• The House having resolved itself into a Commit tee on this Bill, _ _ . Lord ItEDESDALE proposed several Amend ments, one of which had for its object to correct a. practice which had long prevailed in Ireland, and which he had frequent opportunities of witnessing at the tinge when he had the honour of presiding over the Court of Chancery there. It was that of persons issuing process, and not giving due notice to the par ties against whom it issued, until sequestiation took place. The Noble Lord then came to that clause which went to prohibit any Master in Chancery from sitting as a Member in the Commons House of Par liament ; and after making some objections to the in justice of such a provision, particularly inasmuch as it would affect an individual who was lately re• turned for the City of Dublin, he moved as an amend ment, that the clause be omitted from the Bill. • The Earl of LIMERICK maintained that the clause was essential to the due administration of justice in Ireland, as was evident from the declaration of the very Gentleman for whose sake it was now proposed to reject this clause. That Gentleman, a Master in Chancery in Ireland, had stated before The. Committee of Inquiry, that a great variety of busi ness was attached to his office ; that the duties pf that office were of the most important nature With regard to the administration of justice; that he i was often associated with Judges in the Court of Dele - gates in Ireland ; and that his duties were so heavy - 63 to occupy him ten months out of every twelve.— • He wished to know then, what hardship could this _Gentleman suffer by being excluded fiom Parlia anent, the duties of which he must be unable to pei -form, without neglecting those attached to his situ- . ation in Ireland? If that Gentleman was ambitious of having a seat in Parliament, he had nothing to do but to abandon his laborious duties. He (Lord Limerick) was decidedly an enemy to any man uniting in himself the double character of a high law officer and a legislator. The close attention re quired in the one situation was incompatible with the ambition inseparable from the other. The judi cial and the political character should never be united in the same person, One of the greatest evils for merly attending the administration of justice in Ire land was, that the Judges obtained their seats ,in consequence of bein . Members of the House of Commons, and of their subserviency to the Minis ters of the Government. But tlnit practice was now happily done away, and none but lawyers were made Judges. He was therefore an enemy to anything like an union of judicial and political power. Some persons might say, that it would be a great hard ship on the Gentleman lately returned for Dublin, to be prevented from taking his seat : but it was of . more importance that the interests of five millions of people should not be sacrificed by a neglect of those important legal duties in which they must be all interested, than that a single individual should hold a seat in Parliament. He therefore hoped the House would not reject the clause. The Earl of ENNISKILLEN said, he differed al together from the sentiments of the Nbble Lord who spoke last. The clause in the Bill went to exclude a Gentleman from his seat in Parliament, and it would be a most cruel thing to try him by an ex post facto law. This Gentleman (Mr. Ellis) was returned by a very great majority of the electors of Dublin, and particularly by the loyal part of the electors; and it would be great injustice to those electors, as well as • to the object of their choice, to render that choice null and void. The Noble Lord spoke of the great interest which he felt in the welfare of the five millions of people in Ireland, but he could assure the Noble Lord, those people would think he was pouch more friendly to them, and would be very happy, if he would give them a little more of his company. Lord HOLLAND seldom recollected a provision in any Bill on the table of that House, for which so many just reasons might be given as the present.— Indeed, the provision did no more than enforce the law of Parliament, which said, that Masters of the Court of Chancery should not sit in Parliament. In England they were the servants of that House, and of course they could not sit in any House.—EHere some Noble Lord exclaimed, a Some of them sit in tie House of Commons.l—That, resumed Lord' Holland, was done by connivance, in the same man 4ter as the Attorney and Solicitor-General sat there; although by law they should be excluded. There was another circumstance which ought to induce their Lordships to retain this clause ; that was, a de ference which was due to the opinion of the House of Commons on a point immediately connected with - the constitution of their awn body ; because this enactment in the Bill was conceived by the Members of that House ns necessary for the preservation o f their independence. It was asked, why should a Member be &Frivol of his right to sit in the House 'of Commons ? The answer was, *lute his sitting there would be injurious to the infapendence of the 'House. Resides, his seat'in the House would intent fere with the clikties of a very important office which this- individual filled in Ireland. Here the Noble Lord read over the statements made by the Geatie mauin questiim, relative to his numerous and useful' duties. From these it appeared that he was a most useful officer r hut it was impossible be could attend to those duties if beanie to attend his Parliamentary duties in London. He confessed he did not like to see such a return _as this 'Made by a great City ; it wasfar from being a good symptom of political feel ing in Ireland, whatever the Noble Lord might think of the loyalty of those who made the return. With regard to the objection, that this was an ex postfado law, he would ask, whether there were not many Statutes, which had exactly the same operation ? Tbe Statute, for instance, which prevented Excise men from voting at Elections, was an exTost facto law; and so was the law which excluded Roman .Catholics. But the present was not so much an ex post facto laW as those to which he had just alluded; for it declared, that after the first of August, no Master of the Ii ash Court of Chancery should sit in the House of Commons. By allowing such a person to sit there, the purity and independence of Parlia ment were affected, as well as the administration of justice. He concluded with giving his hearty sup port to the clause. The Earl of LIVERPOOL would not now inquire what was or what was not an ex postfacto law. With that he had nothing to do, his business being to con-, sider whether the measure at present before their Lordships was just towards a particular individual or' not. He believed it was not a just, bat, on the con trary, a most unjust measure. And was there, he woulif•ask, any urgent necessity for such a proceed ing ? No, it could not be asserted that there was: yet, without any motion of that nature to sanction it, their Lordships were called upon to do an act of direct and manifest injustice. But then it was said by the Noble Lord who had spoken last, that it was contrary to law that Masters in Chancery should have seats in Parliament. If such was aknowledged to be the fact, why had not the opponents of the Gentleman in question petitioned against his return, and urged that as an argumeril before the Flquse of Commons ? The Parliament would: then have de cided upon . tl , a question at once. But though he was not prepared to deny that the law was against the practice, still he should contend that custom had recognized it for the last two hundred years, and it was not, therefore, worthy of the Noble Lord's usual mode of reasoning, to swell out his arguments by such feeble aids. He understood that a Noble Friend of his (Lord Redesdale) approved of the principle of the Bill. Possibly he saw just grounds for such ap probation, and he (Lord Liverpool) did not mean to question its general expediency. But he would ask ,their Lordships if they did not think it extremely un just,- to apply a retrospective law to a measure that had taken place, perhaps, before any law.on the sub ject was contemplated? If it could be justified by any plea of State necessity, or that a_case could be made out of so urgent a"nature as not to admit of delay, he might indeed be disposed to acquiesce in it. But here was no such plea; here was no such case; nO argument was adduced to'shew that the proposition could be supported upon its map merits. He insisted that their Lordships ought not to legislate retroipec tively, unless from. considerations of peculiar ur gency. It was a well known fact, that Matters in Chahcery, of different political sentiments, had served in Parliament, with credit to themselves and advan tage to the Public..; When the Act of the first of his late Majesti made :the Judges independent of the Prince of Wales, certainly a most wise and salutary measure, would the Judges who had been supported before that Act . passed, have been justified in be having in such a manner, as to excite the displea sure of the Prince of Wales, merely besause it had passed ? Assuredly they would not, for that would have been to presume upon the retrospective effectOf the law. But it was to be observed, in the case now before their Lordships, that the individual had law fully purchased the office, and it was very hard that he should now, by an ex post fbcti law, be deprived of a place for which he might fairly expect an ho nourable remuneration under any other circum stances. He said this, because since the time he had purchased the office, a law had passed prohibiting such purchases to be made in future, and conse quently he was not now at liberty to dispose of it.— He considered this.to be not only an unjust but a cruel measure. He was not influenced by any prin ciple of political hostility to the - memory of the fa ther of the Gentleman who stood opposed to this in dividual. On the contrary, though happening to differ from the late Mr. Grattan upon political sub jects, he had invariably held his character in * the highest respect, and he was glad to have this oppor tunity of stating, that from some private transactions which had passed between him and that - Gentleman, he was the better enabled to bear testimony, io his worth. In fact, he had never known a more ho nourable man—(Cheers).—He knew nothing of the person against whom this clause was to operate, for he had never once seen.him, but he should neverthe less oppose any measure calculated to do a manifest injustice, whoever might be the object of it. The Earl of LIMERICK contended, that the ar guments of the Noble Earl could not justify the in dividual in acting in two characters that were incom pauble with each other. If that individual had pur chased ar office, he must have known that the duties of it were to be performed. The. Earl of ENNISKILLEN said, he had pur chased it under circumstances less favourable to his interest than he could have reason to expect. The Earl of LAUDERDALE maintained, that even upon the statement of the individual in question, his present duties were of such a nature, as to render it impossible that he could be a useful Member of Parliament. The case was quite otherwise with English Masters in Chancery, who could perform both duties at the same time. The Earl of LIVERPOOL said, he did not argue as to the difference of facility with which English and Irish Masters in Chancery could serve as Members of Parliament. All that he intended by what he had said respecting English Masters in Chancery, was that their judicial integrity was not shaken by their having seats in Parliament. The LOlttl CIitANCELLOIR. said, that the de scend-Ants of persons who had filled high judicial si- LONDON. • 7 FRIDAY, JULY 21, 1820: THE FUNDS PRIME OR STOCKS THIS DAY AT ONI O'CLOCK : S per Cent. Reduced 69 1 ,4 Vs lh 3 per. Cent. Cons. 69 68% 69 3 per Cent. 77 7 A. % 4 per Cent. 87 7 / 8 5 / 8 5 per Cent. 103 9 / 8 Y 4 % 5 ,4 Long Annuities 18 1-16 1 / 8 India Stock 21714 %--Bonds 20s. 21s. pre. Exchequer Bills, Es. 6s. prem. Omnium sh prem. Cons. for Acct. 691 A Vs- *u fatal to devitism! So it hut:Oen-at Naples, imposition - of the Fritiaria had caused great discontent among the people: they had promise 4 themselves; like the people Of all the European States, ly ameliorations on the overthrow of the French illation; and it is true that some reforms had been introduced: these came; - however, with the snail-pace oflgnorance--not a ith the manly steps of matured intellect and knowledge. It is true that mankind seek with some anx;ety 'What may benefit their posterity ; but it is equally true that they are so much more solicitous to obtain enjoyments for themselves, that they never will take a promissory note, payable fifty years after date, excepting only when they know that circumstances preclude them from being paid on demand. The People, as we have said, were discontented, and the discontent reached the Army : nor cuuld anything else be wanted to decide the issue. In fact, Europe is not what it was in the dark ages: - and what is more, it is morally impossible that it should ever be brought again into that state. TLe fact can hardly be doubted, that there is now mope real information. to be found in the ranks of the common soldiers in old Europe, than could formerly have been found in a congregated assembly of No tables: the mechanical bands by which armies had become mere machines, were broken by the great events of the last quarter of a century ; and it would be as hopeful an undertaking, when a worm-eaten machine has fallen to pieces by want of cohesion, to attempt to restore it by glue and putty, as to hope, after knowledge has held up her torch to mankind, to renovate energies which owed their whole efficiency to ignorance. Even in common times—curs are not yet so, though they seem to be now acquiring a character fatal to the hopes of the friends of despotism :—even in common times, a change from a state of war to a state of peace is always more or less critical, becati.e things never do nor ever can return to the same state precisely in which they were before the war: new elements regarding social relations are developed and put in action, • and all actions must yield teselts more or less important. While on this topic we can not refrain from making an extract from a new work, by M. DVPIN, which has just reached us, entitled " Voyager dans la Grande-B►etagne," after which, we shall lay before our Readers the accounts that have been received from Naples : " The passage from a state of war to a state of peace is Altars a critical moment for the prosperity and liberty of natiors— During war, a thousand plausible pretexts, suited to circuc•- stances, are made use of, in order to suspend these civil laws which are the safeguards of the rights of the people. Gover ment, with an affectation of regret, seizes on powers which it declares to be only temporary, but which it secretly hopes -.6 preserve for ever. Prodigal in assurances respecting the future— always presenting general happiness and freedom as things to be attained ere long—it habituates the people to the present depri vation of all the advantages and sweets of liberty. "At length, however, the decisive day of Peace arevrs. It is then that the destiny - of nations either returns to prosperity or continues in oppression and misery, according as the public will is or is qot proclaimed by a legislative, an arbitrary, of a national power. Experience has afforded a new demonstration of these truths since the Peace of INS, disastrous for all Nations, because it was an extortion by all from the misfortunes of one. " When in 1813, when in 1815, the Allies entered upon our territories, and declared that they came to make a grand and a last effort, In the hope Of restorirg peace to the world, and •f being able to disarm the greater pirt of their enormous forces, most of the hostile governments prepared forthwith to chew us the measure of their signal want of good faith ; since all of them, except Sweden and England, have preserved, since peace, the most formidable armaments. . - . “ Russia keeps on foot eight hundred thousand men; it is going to encamp them on her western frontier; which may be come the nursery of future invasions. Since the mysterious Treaty of the Holy Alliance, the conscription en masse has been organized in the kingdom of Poland,by the creator of that sym bol of eternal peace. Prussia maintains 200,000 regular troops; Austria still more; and the greater part of the small Potentates of the Germanic Confederation, trembling at once before their Holy Allies and before their subjects, think to consolidate their Thrones by the ramparts of bayonets and by the Decrees of Tri bunals. Political persecution and religious inquisition an to be ennobled by the majesty of military executions. Such are the fruits of peace in countries desolated by the sceptre of despotism•' The subjoined letters will put our Readers in pos session of all that is yet known respecting the Third Revolution ix Modern Europe. More will follow-- must follow !—and happy will those nations be in which the change shall be effected, as in Spain and Naples, without bloodshed: `-- the Attorne The princi ' _ . ever held a seat _ Legislature, . mire Romilly, would have been excluded. But it appeared that this was an Irish Master in Chancery. Now he could see no difference whatever between an Irish or an English Master in Chancery, so far as the principle of the measure was concerned. Lord KENYON spoke briefly against th e clause. If their Lordships should exclude the Gentleman what& case was under consideration, they would sanction a principle which might be applied to cases that were not at present contemplated. fhe shortness *of the time which this Gentleman had to attend his office during the day, being only four hours, might render it possible for an arrangement to be made which would enable him to attend his duties in Parr liament without any prejudice to the interests of his clients. He was decidedly opposed to the clause; and he was persuaded, that to adopt it would tend to lower the character of Parliament. Their Lordships then divided on the Amendment, and the numbers were— 22 • 10 Contents - Notacontefita - Majority - - • - —l2 They neat divided on the clause, which was nega tived, the numbers being tits same as above. . - now faithfully dislianing4hairalsitiqs ' disci: 0., If they should' •allude Y4tsters ' The 11 Parliament , they . atight at well de.- .orney and Solicitor-General of their thtnl inciple was exactly the same, and'uron me of the most valuable Members that man at in the Legislature, the late Sir Si-i- domi INSOLVENT DEBTORS BILL. On the motion of Lord AUCKLAND, their' Lord ships went into a Committee on this Bill. Lord REDESDALE proposed a clause for ap pointing one Commissioner, instead of three, as,the Bill provided. He maintained, thit one Commis sioner would answer all the purposes required, and the duties would be much better performed. As an instance of the fact, it was only necessary for him to advert to the Court of Exchequer, where, by an Act of Parliament, all equity cases were decided by the Chief Baron alone, and infinitely with more advan- tage to the public interest than if three Judges were engage d d. Lor AUCKLAND expressed his dissent from the opinion of the Noble and Learned Lord in this parti cular. • It appeared to him that three Commissioners 'were absolutely necessary. A material disadvantage that resulted- from the late Bill was, that by providing citly one Commissioner, the accounts of debtors were frequently passed without any examination. The Bar was then cleared for a division on the clause, but no division took place, Lord REDESDALE having consented to withdraw it.—Their Lordships resumed, and the Bill was ordered to be received to morrow (this day). Lord AUCKLAND said, that it had been his in tentiow to introduce a clause into the above Bills for the purpose of providing relief for persons impri. soned for contempt of the Court of Chancery, but the Noble and Learned Lord on the Woolsack having intimated that he would take the subject into his own hands, he.(Lord Auckland) most gladly transferred the task to that Noble Lord. The LORD CHANCELLOR stated, that the provision to which the Noble Lord alluded as being left with him (the Lord Chancellor) to originate, would apply not only to individuals imprisoned for contempt of the Court of Chancery, but also of the other Courts.—Adjourned it Half-past Eight o'Clock. . THE EVENING S'l`,AR. REVOLUTION IN NAPLES. The fact which we mentioned yesterday, of a' Revolution having taken place in the Kingdom of Naples, similar in its origin and views to what has taken place in Spain, is - fully confirmed. Government , had the event communicated to them on Wednesday, in official Dispatches from Sir WILLIAM A.Tourr, the British Minister at Naples.. All the particulars of this interesting occurrence are riot yet precisely ascertained, but enough is known to mark the character of the Revolution, and to enable any person, of common sagacity, to predict that it must issue in the full establishment of popular rights —in modifying; defining, and putting under respon sible legal controul, the powers of the Head of the Go vernment, and those of his immediate servants. We say—it is impossible to doubt this issue ; for this im portant movement has originated with the military, the only organ by which the Rulers could have hoped to overawe and coerce any efforts the People might make to ridthemselves of real or supposed grievances. What is any arbitrary Government without the mili• tary arm ? But what is it when that arm is lifted against it ? There are several traits of similarity between ibis Revolution and that in Spain. In the latter king dom, the military had been employed -in 'enforcing the mandates of a restored Government, dircted against the very persons who had been most - active in assisting to liberate the country: military were collected, from time to time, to be employed in com pelling the Colonial dependencies to submit to the most abominable despotism: military were, at the moment of the Revolution, assembled for embark ation, to enforce arbitrary mandates.. The militaiy hciiiettel—nay, the military resolved j but thelesolu-. i= NAPLES, JULY 6. " This letter announces to you no less an event than a change in the Government of t his country. — You were before aware of the discontent existing in the provinces, on account of the imposition of the Fundario, and of the little encouragement given to the exports of native productions; but you were act aware to what a degree this discontent had infected all classes, and even the ranks of the army. The organization of the camp at Sessa may be reckoned the immediate cause of all that has occurred, as it appears that it not only gave to the troops an oppor tunity of concerting their measures, but brought them into contact with the Provinots, and assured -them of the community of .sentiment in the great mass of the population. The whole thing has been ~s o sudden, that it is difficult to ascertain exactly how it began, or who took the Itiad.i* the operation. " According to the best accounts, these is reason fer believing that the first movement was made by a body of cavalry stationed at Nota, to the number of about 160 men, who suddenly, and without orders, quitted their post, and witched in a b o dy for t:e mountains of Avellitto: :Whether the result . of pre- 'ice I' .