Star. — London, England, 1812-01-08 00:00:00

les s so nobly employed in resisting the Usurper and and declarations of the Prince Regent, he was pea'- enemy of all nations. They had also agreed upon snarled he warnot one of those Princes who wished to w ai l er important principle. They thought that it hear nothing but what was sweet, pleasing, and wou ld be idle to expect the attachment of the Spanish 1 agreeable. The conduct and declarations of his Royal co lonies to the mother-country, if the principles of Highness were of a very different kind, and he (Sir their Governments should be opposite to th ose of the ; Francis Burdett) felt that he should not do his duty Government of Spain. The colonies were to be con- ;to his constituents, to the country, or to the Prince l i c ked as forming a component part of the Spanish Regent himself, if he let go the present opportunity of i ripire, and represented as such in the getter al,meet- addressing his Royal Highness, and expressing to him jag of the Cortes or States. Ministers, he waver, never ; what were the real feelings of the country at the pre conceived that the mother-country should press upon ' sent moment, and what were the grievances of which the colonies more strictly titan the practice was even we had to complain. The exertions of the Spanish tiring the existence of the monarchy before the trou- people against our common enemy, were, no doubt, to, bles commenced. A great mass of prejudice and be regarded by us as of consequence, nor were their jealousy. had, in fact, existed, which was to be en- losses to be attributed to any failure on our part; and countered. There was.. however, every hope, that it must afford us pleasure and gratification to know sleuld our intervention prove unsuccessful, we should that we had a brave army, who did not disgrace the s t ill have taken our measures with that degree of spirit of their fathers. But, in the course of the -caution and prudence, that would not be likely to ex- compliments so largely and justly bestowed on our the jealousies. When t hi s a ff a i r proceeded to a more army, we never once heard mention of that word, as elviuiced state, he should h ave no objection to sub- the spring of our exertions, the word FREEDOM—to ;nit to the Noble Lord, or to the House, the whole the love of which, in old times, we were so much cowse of the conduct which had been pursued. At accustomed to attribute the bravery and courage of pr e sent, he wished to say no more upon the subject; our armies. It could not be contradicted, that for perhaps, he had gone already beyond the line which the last eighteen years, every succeeding year in which s trict prudence pointed out; but be did wish to sa- , the Members of that House met each other in their tisfy the Noble Lord. ' places, was more calamitous than that which had pre- Lord HOLLAND said, that the Noble Marquis ceded it. He was afraid he might even go farther had really given him wo answer to his question. back, and declare that this had been the case even from From public report, he (Lord H.) most erobably the very beginning of the present reigna-that our ca urred with the Noble Marquis's views ; but he 'amities had been begun from the commencement of I still wished to know what steps had been taken. The the American war, and had been going on in a progres- ' Noble Marquis had detailed his general views, using sive encrease for nearly half a century. And, if for the general words r e s pecting nec e ss ary caution and cir- last 50 years, the situation of this country had always camspection ; and had na m e d a commission for me- teen growing worse and worse—was it not now time diating : but it was the nomination, and not the exe- to reflect? Must we not, at length, be convinced that cation of the commission, that would create the jea- there was something in our system that is radically lanes. What progress had been made since the strong ? It should be his (Sir Francis Burden's) en commission was named, or what prevented that being deavour, this being the case, to endeavour to point done earlier ? If two friends quarrel, it would be out to the attention of his Royal Highness in what odd to say, wait patiently till they come to extremi- this fundamental error consisted. The effects of the ties, and give one an o thcf black eyes and bloody • American war, he contended, were felt, at this d ,y, noses. The evil of the differences between Spain and in the war in which we were now engaged. It was the Colonies must have been perceptible to the saga- a war commenced on the very principles of the Arne city of t:w Noble Marquis, from the very commence- rican war. A detestation of the principles of liberty sent of the reverses in Spain, yet a year and a half which had broken out in France, first involved us in ot civil war had ensued, in which both parties were a war with that country ; and on the same system, he in the wrong. A commission had' been named, but was afraid, we were proceeding at the present mo delayed : a just view of the subject taken, but not I stunt. The former war was undertaken, as it was al the consequent steps. lodged, for the protection of the navigation of the Marquis WELLESLEY said, he had not stated ! Scheldt, which the Dutch themselves admitted to be that' we had had se intercourse with both parties a miserable pretext. After that crusade was finished, 'early; fur, in fact; i sm bad: but that vse had met we now found ourselves engaged in another seem with great obstacles. It was necessary to be tads- ingly endless contest ; and he did not believe that any fed that both parties were likely to agree, and that one of the persons who defended it, Could say what there was a hope of a settlement. There was,, there- 'we were fighting for. Not for Liberty—That was a fore, such progress in the transaction as the nature tvoil which never once escaped their lips. Was it for of it admitted ; and had we pushed it on at an early the independence of Spain ? No. They talked, indeed, period, we should have raised prejudices, excited of the enemy of the Sovereign of 01 country ;—but animosities, inflamed jealousies, and shut up : every.: the rights of the people Of Spain was a thing they avenue to conciliation. never thaught of. Those rights of the Sovereign of Lord HOLLAND mentioned his intention to I Spain, however, which Gentlemenuright say we were move, at an early day, for those papers on the sub- : no , .v contending for, had been, by that SovereigU ject which' were notorious, in order to put the House ! himself, resigned into the hands of Bonaparte, and and the public in possession of the dates. were now completely frittered away. speech, UM MAJESTY. on the prisinit occasion, the Hon. Baronet must, in a The Earl of LIVERPOOL gave notice of a Motion for Thurs- peculiar degree, consider the speech of the Minister. *by nat, respecting the Report of his Majesty's Physicians. I Su long as there was any hope of a successful issue posed he plight, ee the present oeces'inn, to observe, would not have been insisted on, and that the House would not have been offended, though he did not re. gard them as to all intents and purposes the pure se presentatives of the nation at large. This defect in the representatve system was one great object to which he (Sir Francis Burdett) was anxious to call the attention of the Prince Regent, after he should be free from the shackles with which he was at present loaded, and which, as an encroachment on the just pre rogative of the Throne, he (Sir Francis Burdett) was of opinion ought never to have been imposcd.— The Hon. Baronet looked forward with corldenee to the period when his Royal Highnoss should be freed from the fetters with which he was at presznti bound, assured from the plinciplesofhis Royal High-, ness, and from those declarations to which he had , pledged himself, that he would redress the complaints of the people in this important point, on which the salvation of the country in a great measure depended. The Worthy Baronet is td seen persons who stood up in defence of an Absolute Government ; he had_ seen others who preferred an Aristocracy ; and a third party who would rather chose a Democracy; and he had perused well-written articles is defence cf each of these systems. But a man who would re commend an Oligarchy—and that too not of great men, but of rotten borough-mongers—persons not to be found in any other country but our own— was one whom he had never yet met wi h.-- That was the root of all the evils under which the country now groaned; ai.d to this grand and Inisda mental grievance he (Sir Francis Burdett) Lad felt it his duty thus early to call the attention of the House, and of the Prince Regent. But what had been the effects produced by.the system under which we now acted ? Those Kings who had been persuaded to be-. come our Allies, had been compelled either to abdi cate their Thrones, or to content themselves with scanty pittances of the dominions they had once pos sessed, and to hold even these at the will of their Conqueror. This had not beiallen one, but all of our Allies ; yet we calmly looked on, calling our selves wise and free, and did not think of changing a. system from which such evils resulted. If we tut Led our eyes from the Continent of Europe to the state of our country at home, we would there see nothing con solatory, mil which could relieve the gloom of the. other part of the picture. We should there see taxa tion carried almost to an impracticable height ; we should see oppression on every hand, a i ,.;;;Tavated to the unfortunate sufferers by peculation, waste, and profusion without bounds, and unrepressed. We had heard, in former times, of the extol ions of Empsou and Dudley; but these were now hardly worth think ing of. Formerly it had betn thought, that even the enactments of an Act of Parliament were ineffectual to justify extortion. Now, we had only to tok to our surveyors and our turchargers, and we would see that even to pay our taxes, burdensome as they must be felt, was not sufficient. We had now Empsons and Dudley: in every district, and not only were we de— prived of the right of trial by Jury, but it was even provided, by special Act of Parliament, that when a person came before one of those physical tribunals, he was denied the benefit of Counsel or Attorney, so that it became more advisable to acquiesce in an un just surcharge, than to seek redress by complaint.— I^LPEDITWM TO JAVA. The Earl of LIVERPOOL save notice of a Motion for Friday next of a Vote of Thanks to the Governor-General of Inaa, Lord tlinto, and General Sir Samuel Auchmuty, for the late expedi tion to Java. to the strugeda.b.e.the people eof Spain, he (sir Fran. Chen came another subject of complaint in the mill cis Burdett) had no objectien that every assistance in tary force of the country ' • and as if it was not suffi our power sheuld be rendered th em. The language dent that the military should be in possession of the held in - the speech, however, on this subject, he did country, to our own soldiers were added a great n)tm not believe ; nor was he b y any means convinced that bee of foreign mercenaries, Germans and where, as Gentlemen entertained those hopes which they ex. if England was incapable of her own defence. If pressed. The laurels earned by our gallant soldiers, there was any thing more than another requiring irn. he sincerely rejoiced in. Their bravery had been mediate redress, this was a thing highly deserving of great, and the honour they had thereby purchased teas the attention of his Royal Highness. If we reverted I prop rtionate ; but, after all, the victories they had to the time of Charles I. we should find, (so jealous achieved were barren, and were followed by some- were our ancestors on this important point) that an thing very like defeats. The French, notwithstand- address WAS presented to that Sovereign on the tub ing, were still mak.ing progress, and though occa- jest,, in consequence of his having IWO foreign col sionally repulsed by the bravery of our troops, were diers in the kingdom, and in his pay. Realty, the ' still successful in getting fortress after fortress, into feelings of Gentlemen were so altered, that one their possession. The original object of the present rDUSe almost be inclined to doubt whether it Was the contest, on the part of this country, the Honourable same country. Bot even our own soldiers, it would Baronet conceived to be to support the principles of seem, e ere not thought efficient, unless they were NEW warts. l a wild doitpotism . He *light be asked, did the transformed into toreigners in appearance. Had the On his return. the SPEAKER informed the House, that since , French proclaim Liberty ? Certainly not. But every French taught the people of this country, or the Go ssiper Session he had ordered writs to be issued for the clef.- thing which ought to have been d ne to reconcile the vernment at leas; to believe that German or other ion Si new Monithers for the followin laces v z —For th e people to the support of the cause for which tlit:y !oreign soldiers were more efficient than British sol. ____ urg .o, conthivng of kortrose, Elgin, &c.tn the room Wrier 11a;Ure, jun. Esq. deceased • for the City of York, in the were called on to fi ght, had been•omitied on our diers, that we found it necessary to disguise our own soldiers, and to adopt the rough chin of the German _seen the or se W. M. Milner, Bait deceased ; for East Grinstead, part— and we conte s ted ourselves with leaving the instead of the smeoth chin of an Englishman. Such 111 room of Sir N. Holland, deceased; for Toti%u, in the old system to prevail, held out no inducement to the tbm of W. Adams, Etq deceased; and for Shrew sbury in tare toily he was almost ashamed to think of, and was se am of Sor T. T. Jones Bart. deceased, s le people, nor attempted to shevi them that they had New writs were orde e tu tube • ed for the Borough of Lewes, any thing for which to contend. It struck the Hon. tistied more real advantage arose from the plain dress Mite . roons of H enry sho w , Esq. deceased; for Barnstaple, i n Beronet t h a t our con d uc t, in regard to the Spaiiiih of the English cavalry, th an from the cumbersome and useless accoutrements with which, in imitation of !ar ti ly:: j of G. W.>mh •rd rheuessOn, Esq. deceased ; and fur Ald- nation, afforded a wonderful contrast to our conduct See , I ulk,iii the room of John M`Malion, Esq. appoin- ,i n a no t her respect. In regard to the Spaniards, who the dress of the Germans, they had been invested.— ed eaymaster of Widows' PeEsiens. I were of the Roman Catholic religion, it was to be ob. There was another topic, however, connected with BATTLE We ALBUERA. ne Srzniteit acquainted the House, that he had received a le- { served , that we scrupled not to regard them as va- the military, to which he was also happy to have hss from Lord Wellin t ,ton, inctosing a leutr from General Brake, ' luahle allies, in whose* behalf, not even excepting this early opportunity of alluding ; and that was— the punishment of the lash—a subject which he ho tetsruohing darks tor the honour done to General Blake and the their religion, we ought to exert ourselves to the sit. ped to see discussed at length in an early period of , ....Ane w y under his coinmatid, in the unanimous vote of termost, even'at the expence of our,best blood and tree ratruslo, , approving of their courage ar,Al bravery in the b.:rtle sure. While we thus acted towards the Spaniards, the Session. This was at all times a question of the The two Letters were read, and ordered to be entered on ra ' the .. W./E it not extraordinary that we should omit to re- highest importance ; but it was rendered so now, in Jost l e,. ' I ebncile to ourselves those most valuable of all allies ;an infinitely greater degree, in consequence of almost ___ SPEECH OF TUE LOnDS COMMIS/110)MS. the Catholics of Ireland ? ' Was it not now highly ne- even' man in England being forced to become in some . The sZert then informed the House, that the House bad eessary, that by a dmitting them to a participation in respects a suldier. He had, on a former occasion, re. ne to ouse of Lords, and had heard . a Speech read by marked, and must now, with much additional cause, the rights of citizenship, we should do what in us lay repeat, if such a punishment was suffered to exist, we 'cease C h ancellor, one of the Lords Commis s ioners, to both of Parlhimnt, of which he had, for the•greater converd- ' to reconciletheir irritated feelings, and to render them could not complain of being called a flogged nation! Ilice4"ctik'"l a copy, and which, %seal the leave of the House, truly our allies, in 'feeling and in interest ? In the 111 ..skonid.. then read to Mem. i S l;;! ech, which he must again consider as the Speech No exertions of his, the Honourable Baronet pledged a s lie . beech was accordiavy read, (for which see the Lords). I of . the Right Hon. Gentleman opposite, there were himself, should be wanting to wipe off th is ' stigma from the country. Some people were pleased to say, _ l r FRANCIS BURDETT immediate( rose,. several ot.ner omissions, and there were observations that this was a punishment which could not be en le, d addressed the Cheir, observing that he felt it his ' which would receive the sanction of that House, if, as dispensed with, and that it was only inflicted *lutTeee take the earliest possible opportunity ef ad- * they were supposed to be, they were really the repre- timely , -- - Royal Bighneis the Prince sentatives of the people. in a few instances. Let the offences, however, for i seemed to him to be of : The SI'EAKER here called the Hon. Baronet to which it was to be inflicted, be defined, so that it : country. ; order, this not being language in which the House might not be an arbitrary punishment ; or let a sub the same time with the aught to be addressed. stitute, whatever it might be, be found for it: Officers ;CIS BURDETT having first i Sir FRANCIS 'BURDETT declared, that no. were exempt from such a punishment ; and why - should the soldier be exposed to it. 1 his was ano -ecen, he decided that the ' thing could give him greater pleasure than to be call possession of the House, it he ' ed to order on such a subject ; because he was now i ther complaint under the head of grievances to which from theiese to understand that it was to insult the he wished to call the Prince Regent's attention. — House to say, that they were not the representatives i Amongst other grievances, to wich he felt it obe his duty now to call the attention of the House, t and of the people. If this doctrine had been held previous of the Prince Regent, was one which operated both t o the year 1808,.1re (Sir Francis Burdett) should not in the nature of a tax, and of a grievance and impo have been so much surprised ; but really, after what he had then heard within the walls of that House; 1 sition on the liberty of the subject. A power had after it was not Only boldly asserted, and offered to be j been lodged of late years in the Attorney-General, proved; that seats were publicly bought and sold in 1 by which the law of the land was set :side; and he open day ; when this was not only not denied, but Mi- I was invested with an authority of filing criminal in ntsters even admitted the fact and j ustified the tra ffi c, formations, as they are technically called. This was on the ground of its notoriety, and being of every a power of a novel and most dangerous kind-- day's practice, he should have expected that such de- one which could not safely be for a moment en licacy of egpression as that Whichitscemed to be sup..trusted to neap-tan. The exercise of such a power, COMMITTEES. Lord WALSINGHAM was re-elected Chairman of the Com mittees. Thanks were voted to his Lordship for his conduct hi tkat situation last Ses.ion. HiS Lordship returned his thanks. Adjourned till Thursday morning next at eleven o'clock. HOUSE OF COMMONS. Mr. Quarme, the Deputy Usher of the Black Rod, appeared lithe Lif, and desired the attendance of the House in the House el Lords , to bear the Commission read; whereupon the :peaker, *tended by the Members present, gave their attendtuice accor dingly. Hie new Members, among whom were the Hon. Mr. Dun iss, the Hou. Mr. Bennett, Mr. Courtnay, and Mr. Graham, Vok the oad.s and their seats. The ball to prevent clandestine ondawries was, as usual, read stint time. TT said, he could not , afforded him of offering atteLtioa of the House, and ion, such an Address, as, the country was placed, )usly and peculiarly called i Jyal Highness the Prince truth, and telling him what i 'pie of these kingdoms at conscious of discharging It kind, both to the Prince .t he know of the feelings • **H sitti — th - e - H - o — use a tt a n " d ca h L is P lU 'nen_ t, on a subje ct w hi c h The utntost importance to the Lord JOCELYN rose at tl turn. Baronet, but Sir FRANC ), gin the eye of the SPEAKI non. Baronet was in possess tlaimed his right. Sir FRANCIS BURDE' go the opportunity now amself tbus early to the atte of P r o posing , f or t h e i r adoptit ia situation in which th seemed to him to be imperiou ii r• In addressing hi s R o) "Agent in,thetanguage of tru the feelings of the Peop Present - moment, he was duty of the most important the From what ;••• • '.4,•'7" ~-~~ar- 'P r t 6n no principle be reconciled to the ideas of Ws; of justice, or of common sense or feeling. It depended on the humour, caprice, or stomach of i the person 'sith whom the power was entrusted.— It would be absurd to doubt the illegality of such proze.:din g s. Nothing could be legal which was , not defined. How this power had been used, he should oot now inquire. It was sufficient for him at present to cay, th it more informations of this kind had been fileS within the las: two or three years than in all the period before, since the R^volution.— It was impossible not to see, that, in the exercise of this arbitrary discretion, a great partiality must tale place—that some persons v - ere called up for judg ment and others not. lit one recent case, he alluded to th At of %Vhi:e, for a libel, even the Judge had gone the length of anticip uing condemnation, before olio Jury had given their verdict. When the House saw these things--When they saw, that in virtue of these ctitiainalinformatii ns many persons had in the most arbitrary and unjust man er been scat to distant jails, must they not be convinced that the liberty of the press, one of the grandest bulwarks of the free dom of these kingdoms, was in the utmost danger of being annihilated ? When they saw the conductors of the press held to bail, time after doe, at the pleasure of the person entrusted with the power of riling these criminal informations, must they not be surprised that the press was at all free ? This the Hun. Boronet conceived was another great grievance; and he felt surprized that any persons connt-tad with the Fres* ereremot terrified into complete silence, after the ter rible examples they had seen. Even in the case of ac quittal, the punishment in the way of costs was severe. Forthottgh by law they would have been free tram any farther expence, in the event of the bill net being found, yct, by this mode of proceeding by crimF ind information, they were obiiged to glee bill,. to • renew it from time to time, and to proceed till they obtained a verdict of acquittal; so much so, that the costs of obtaining the verdict of acquittal amounted of themselves to a most severe punis .m Ott. From the Crown no costs could be obtained. He conressed he saw no good ground tor any such rule ; but, if the Crown would carry on unjust prosecutions, partiru -1 irly if the Attorney.teneral would file groundless rx r : fficio informations, he thought the party accused *rk a well entitlei to his c , is:s. If such en officer was .4 ail necessary as an cx filer (if informations, he was abo or opinion that there was more, or at least, equal ground, fcr making his an office for life, as that a Judge should be for life. Some of the sentences recently imposed too, op: rated most unjustly; as for instance, in the case of White and Hart, where Hart was sentenced to the sameper iod of imprisonment with White, although Hart was only the servant. There was this additional hardship too, in Hart's case, as he understood it —that he was even deprived the use of small beer, and was confined to the common jail allowance of water. The Hon. Baronet contended, that the unnecessary severity of a Government never failed to produce the brutality of the people; and, when that was produced, it would be found a never failing observation, that the conduct of the Govern ment was at the bottom of it. The education of a nation consisted not in teaching the people to read and write, though those were advantages which he was tar from undervaluing, and which he heartily wished to see afforded to all ; but still be must say, in them did not consist the essential education of a peo ple. These, indeed, were calculated to produce great advantages, but the real education of a nation was produced and matured by the fairness, justice, and mildness of its government. By all the ' , orioles griev ances whch he had enumerated, more particularly by extending the military character to all, and by the sufferings and burdens under which we laboured, was this education greedy checked ; if not annihi lated ; and sympathy and feeling were almost extin guishei f:om the breasts of our oppressed country men. On these various topics he should move, That an humble Address be presented to his Royal High ness the Prince Regent. He bad framed his Address with all respect to the Illustrious Person to whom it was meant to be presented ; and at the same time embracing every point which his own sense of duty to his constituents, and to the country in general, pointed out to him as essential. The great and important point, he conceived to be, a full and fair representa don of the people in that House. To the want of that full and fair representation of the people in Par liament, he, with full confidence that his assertion WAS correct, attributed the debt of the hundreds of millions sterling with which we were now loaded, and the nomerous other calamities which had been daily accumulating on the country. He was happy to think that his Royal Highness the Prince Regent had a short interval before he should be entirely freed from the shackles with which he was now loaded, during which he might have leisure to reflect on the different topics to which he had felt it to be his duty to allude in the Address which he now held in his hand. He had the fullest confidence in his Royal Highness, that they would receive his serious consi deration; and, on a mind so constituted as that which his Royal Highness was known to possess, he entertained not a doubt that the grievances of a faith. ful and suffering people could not fail of making . an impression corresponding with their weight and on portance ; satisfied as he (Sir F. Burdett) trusted his Royal Highness would be, that on a due attention to, and on the redressing of those grievances, depend ed the lasting glory of his Royal Highness's throne, and that of his family— ., lii ego gratiora dicta ails este solo, sad me vera pro grala loqui, etsi meum togenium non moneret, ueceisitu c=ite" Sir FRANCIS then read his proposed Address, the pui port of which was detailed in his speech. Lord COCHRANE rose to second the Address, and took an extended review of the situ ttion of our forces in Spain and Portugal, and of the stem of the Peninsula in general; from which he contended it was plain thecontest we were maintaining there,could not terminate successfully on our part. The Noble Lord said it was notorious, that there was no class of people whatever in the Peninsula which did not abhor the-British name. He then adverted to the state of Sicily, where, he said, we were maintaining an army, not to keep nut the enemy, bet to support the most detelteble tyranny that ever existed. The Noble Lord then adverted to our domestic situation, our manufacturers out of employ, and in a state of star vation—the most horrible csiraes perpetrated in the midst of the Metropolis; and if such was the state if the country now, what would it be when the ••star