Star. — London, England, 1803-03-12 00:00:00

RPSERVEL) IMPRESSIONS of Mr. BARTOLAZ- Zirc mobrated PRINT, to COMMLMORATE the PRE sERV A I'ION of Ills AIAJESTV's LIFE. HE LIKENESS approved by All the Royal familv, and the I'l . lm re.tlonlly patrunifedli) the Right Honour-et - dr the PrOtiletit and t7tinunittecoc that fpitnind Na tion.,! Repulltory of the Fine Arts, the ROYAL iNS VTION. —This beautiful Engraving, whether to commemonite the threatened attempt of a wretched maniac, in the more crimi nal inachicaiktirs of a Trait,,rous Banditti, can never be more fuitably otteredFn the Bruifl Public than at the patent mo m, iit ; and which may unsebe had price One Guinea, at Nos. and tit, Warwick-fouare, Newgate-ilrect ; and of !Mr. Cli..pple. Pall-mill, nearly oppidite St.famcs'a Palace. P.,II:LI4:4IIENT4RT PROCEEDMGS. Vlousr OF LORDS, FRIDAY, MARCH I . ' st. vol.. was hoard in conclaion ot ids argument, and 7". . Adam, for the Refpondi.nt, in the Appeal Lloyd v. (:. ; atter which Mr. AI indteld %vas+ heard in te7lF. 'cx CIIANCELLOII thLn adjourned the Itrtlicr hcarinz I' A tu!ure aisf. I lie I.ordihip alfo adjourned the Houle during pl.-afore, and wnheirew ; Lord A tvAtet v prefer by eotered thc and arterwards acquainted their I,orildtips, that the Noble and Ltarned Lord, whole proper office it was to fit upon the NVoolfisek, had been obliged to retire, owing to indif:tofition, and that lie bad undertaken to MI his kat in his abfence. His Lordthip proceeded tu the Woulfack. Lord Lim /*KICK fubmitted a propolition to the Houle rela tive to the Infle l'eerage, which was ordered to be referred to the Committee of Privdrgcs. The Kenfington, Brcutford, and Colnebrook Road Bill, and the Exeter and Biddeford Retied BM, were read a fecund time, and committed for Monday NOM AFFAIRS OF SWITZERLAND. Lard ro role, and called to their Lordfhips' recolleaion a Notice which he had given, previ oully to the Clitillmas Reed's, of his intention to bring forward, as fpeedily as p•dible after that Re. eels, a Motion for Inquiry into the conduit of his Majefty's Minillers, refpeeting the Affairs of Swit zerland. That Motion it was his intention to have brought forward in the courfe of the prefent week, but the intervention of important circum. Stances, already well known to their Lordfhips,' circumliances prominently developed by his Ma jelly's gracious Mdrage to both Honks, preired fn much more urgently upon the entire attention , of their Lordlhips, as totally to avert their eves ' from all retrnipeCtive views, and to turn their views to the pimp:A immediately before us. The plain path for Euglifhmen to purfue on this neca lion, was fo obvioully chalked out by the animated and eloquent fpeech of a Noble Lord, a few even ings fince, (Lord Moira) that no man could mif take the great line of his duty to his country. Under fuch circumaarces, he Paid, it was impof. fible to withhold Itls expreffions of the prefent fa tisfadion he felt for the unanimous fentiments of 1 both Houfes of Parliament within doors, fupport ed by the Dpiuions, the fortitude, and the b)1,1, manly, and patriotic fenfe of every clafs of the People without. Mivated by foci a fenfe of our ,fituation, and our common duty, fiiniulated by fentiments at once fo national, lo animated, and fo truly charafteridic of Englishmen, there could remain no doubt as to the final iffue of any con. Ilia, into which the exigency of circumftances might, however reluaantly, force us ; and in fuch a contemplation of the cuffing circumaances of our country, their Lordships, he was confident, would not impute to him any dereliaion of his duty, if he now declined bringing forward the Motion which he intended ; at the fame time, he congratulated the country upon the fpirit and energy manife fled by his Majefty's Government, on on occahnn fo interAng to the honour and the rights of the Britifh nation. DMUS P 5005511 Lord MOIRA moved the Order of the Day, for the fecond reading of the Bill for the better Pre vention of Vetatious Arrells on Meru Procefs.— The Order of the Day being read, Lord Mouta role, with a view, he raid, of tref palEng, as shortly as poilible, on the attention of their Lordfisips, in explaining his objeas under this b7ll. which he had introduced, after many years of deliberate c,nfideratinn, as the bell refult of his • CM'Il judgment on the fubjea. His main porpore in this bill, he raid, was public juilice between all the parties concerned ; tempered, at the fame time, with as much humanity as was conidient w;rh, as well as indilpenfibly neceilary to, the adminittra• tion of that jutlice, confiflently with the fpirit of Britith legiflation and Britith jurifprodence. He bad to exprefs his fincere thanks to thole Law Lords, who, happily for this country, prcfide at prefent in the public adminifiration of national jußice, for the deliberate confideration and whole thine counfcl, whereby they had favoured him in 12is endeavours to bring this bill forward. To their wifdorn, as well as to the colleCtive fenfe of their Lorellhips, he would now fubmit it, deferibing, as briefly as poffible, his views, under the feveral clanks it contained. His lard principle was ground ed on the quantum of debt for which a man may, as the law now (lands, under the 12th of Geo. I. be arrefied in merle procefs, namely, a debt of 01. ennfidering the very material change in the value of money fiom the period at which that bill paired and the prefent, and the great promptitude of creditors for (mall fums, and the low clefs of pruCtitioners, by sviimo they are bit too much in t! tien:cd, to artea their debtors for (mall fums, his Lordfli;p thought that an incrcafe of the film frori tcl. to 2.-.)!. cnuid in no d.gree alter the fpi ra of the i 2th Gen. I. though it fhould prevent many ilithirces of ci itchy and npprcflion, which it s mild ncv:r have hen the objea of that law to au thorii.e. The objeet was the litm of main tenance to be all..wcd by the arrelli.:l4 creditor to tly! impritOnesi &bun. Than the principle of this repl num, as it Rood now auth"rihed by law, no tion,: in la, Lordthip's m nd could he morenit or reaf . ..r.thle. It was, however, er:dulively appro priated to thofe debtors only who were detained und , :r e rcention. Bat it a man was thrown into prif‘m for a debt w1;:li h.: was alike unable to haj I:: tr. di:.:harac, it was to all intents and purples the fame it h.: had been 1:r:d to exe-iaion ; and there(' ,re the Noble Lord couid ice no rational cittlf;• why th a t cafe Should not be ol‘lived ti; atiord :imac iodic unfortunate r whom he throws :. i n prifon, and deprives of dl ro , :ans to earn bread, as :a the other. Cer tainly the railing of the lum would war tat;t 1-:ca from uti :wear.) , rounds, swat coo. fider4Sly to dintiniffi the evil as, it now [lands; — but the principle in his Mind WAS equally valid in the one cafe as in the other. The next principle el his bill was one, which he conceived highly ne ceftry, to prevent oppreffive and fiandulent ar reft*, and the adoption of which could never, in the ffightea d.-gree, impede jultice. For intlance, as the 14w now Itands, nothing more is neceffary to procure a warrant for the arrelt and imprilon ment of any man, than fweating to a debt. Upon Inch an oath a warrant is iffued, the man thrown into pi icon, and though the oath he abfolutelyfalfe, and not one penny fairly due to the plaintiff, vet the arrcfled perfon has no alternative for his liber ation but to pay the debt, or enter bail. If he does the former, he fubmits to injußice without any privilege of fublequent appeal, and as to the latter, he may be an titter ilranger, with his pocket full of money, and ample climes in another country, yet he maw remain imptifoned for many months until the iifue of a licit is determined, without any certain mode of forcing the plaintiff to ptocced, in order to accelerate the itfue of fuch fait. Now, what his Lordship wifficd, was, to enable the per. fon arrelted to pay into the hands of the Sheriff, or fome eligible officer, the amount of the debt, and probable cons for which he fhould be arreli ed, and then he entitled to go at large until the debt thould be fully invelligated and fairly prov ed in law. It might be laid that a man, for ma licoufly (wearing falfely to a debt, for the purpofe of embarraffing a man by arra}, is feverely pu nifhable in law ; but fuel) is the complicated na ture of debt, under fo many balances, counter ba lances and let offs as may be pleaded, that nothing would be more difficult to cubit:lll6.oe on a probe cution, than fuch a malicious fwearing. The re medy which the bill propoled, however, he con ceived with deference, to be a reaftmable one for the evil he mentioned. On this ground, having barely mentioned his objeds on the bill, he thought the Committee would be the proper place for fug. gelling fuch amendations as to their Lordlliips fhould feem necelfary ;—and for tile prefent he would offer nothing further on the rubjed. Lord ELLIA BOROUG H laid, that certainly chef. Noble Lords whofe more peculiar fundions led them to the adminillration of the laws in this coun try, had many cogent oblations to the alteration of thole laws, where firong motives for Inch alte• ration were not made clearly apparent. His Lordfhip was, however, ready to acknowledge that there were borne of the alterations propolcd by the Noble Lord's Bill on the exifting laks between Debtor and Creditor, which were but jail and reafonable, and might have a vet y falutary effeel. That, for inflance, which propofed an encreafe of the film warranting arreft in the mefe,e procefs, fiorn tot. to 201. in which fubjea he agreed in the principle laid down by the Noble Lord. But rn that part, where the Noble Lord propnfeil to in creak the allowance from the Creditor to his Debtor in prifon, beyond the prefent firm allowed by law, or to the Debtor confined in truffle procefi, and not in execution, he could not fo readily agree, as it would be rather hard uon the Creditor who arrefted his Debtor in purf uit of redrefs, to he obliged to increafe the debt, and his own injury, by an extra fubliftence to his Debtor, who might flay in gaol eapricioufly, though in many initances able to pay t and with refpelt to the liberty which the Noble Lord willed to give the Debtor arra ed, of paying the debt, and the trivial coils incur red in the firll inaance by fuch arreft, and thus procuring his liberation, the perfon an-efied had already that privilege under the law as it now liands, and may pay the fum into a Court, nr to a Judge at his chambers, and thus procure their liberation. Lord ALVANLIT obferved, that there was cer tainly fume points worthy of notice, and which, in 'its n.ind, called for remedy. On the point laft mentioned, certainly a man arrefted, however li,4,ll.ilently, by paying debts and coils in the firft initancr, would be entitled to his liberation. But then, in foci' a proceeding, he admitted the junice of the claim, and had by law no fubfequent ground of app-al againft its injullice ;fo that to be entitled to a Lnir trial on the merits of Inch claim, he had no alternative but to go into gaol, or enter bail to Iland the iffue—a thing which the almoft nniver. fat objeftion which all men entertained to becom. ing Imeties, even for their deareft friends and re. lations, was often found impraßicable to men of good charatter and property. However, as the Bill was to undergo a full diktat - lon in a Commit tee, a proper remedy might lupeft itfelf on this point ; but he trolled that difcuftion would not take place in the atdence of the Noble and Learned Lord who ufually prefided in that Houle. On the motion of Lord &lonia, the Bill was committed for Tuelday, under the ftippolition that the Lord Chancellor would then be iu his place.— Adjourned to Monday. HOUSE OF COMMONS. About 1,,1f pat duct Prayers were read by the Chaplain of the Houle. A uuniticr of Private Dills were then puffed through their different Rages. t/encrtl 'FAR Llt TON prekmed a Petition from Lord Gwydir and other pi againfl the eftabliihment of .41 Iron Railway in the mislay of Surrey. which was referred to the Committee on tbc fecund reading of the itill. _ _ Certain Account. were yrefented at the Bar by a perfon from the Trratury of Ireland, which were ordered to be printed. Accounts from the Cußonts relative to the number of Ship ping cleared nut and entered inwards, their 'Tonnage, Re. were prtfented, and ordired to lie on t' e Tab'e. Aceoui.t. were preknted from the Company of Merchants trading to the Cotft of Africa—Ordered to lie on the Table. A Mertge from the Lords informed the 1 loaf: that their :.oriltbies had agreed to the Militia Training Bill, the hillt Re v nae Officer Difqualification Bill, and a nurnter of Private 13,11', without any amendment. 0.1 the motion of Mr. Johnfon. Sir W. W. Wynne obtained leave of ..,f nee for three weeks on private buftnefs, on account of Lis having reeved on the Stranracr EleCtion Committee. S•:rtrai other Alembers were caroled attendance. on =mot of indifyofitioa. The A TTTTT • Gammas of Ireland moved the third read ing tot the Watt ChaJhing Bill, which was ordered. The Bill tb• npartA, and was andered to the Lords. , . The Hoare went Leto a Consomme on the It ith Frivolous :Arrett Bill, and the Report was ordered to be received oa Monday. 'I ht kith Stamp. and other Trim Doty BiW were peed, sod ordered to the Lords. r - Mr. Wit ICIIA x pottpoodbiostootiosittstivc to as Lint MI /Lela 14U to Mostd.y. AUGMENTATION OF THE VATr. , 1 Thealioule having refolved itfelf into a Corh a mittee of Supply, . Mr. GARTHSHORN. moved, that to,ooo feathen, . including 2400 marines, be voted for the lea vice , of his Majehy for eleven months. , . Mr. FRANCIS began by obferving, that at this •j tune, the Rate of the country was such, as to re. quire the moll ferious and attentive confideration. , It would Rill) be proper to confider oft flu:. rneans. by which it was brought to this Rate, and the per ' fons who were iiillrumental in doing At. He could have wiflied, that the reColution I tr voting an ael . drefs to his Majelly on a former night had palled at once by one unanimous acclamation, and not produced any debate, which mint be liable to mil. conlirut2ion in foreign countries, and from which no advantage whatever refulted ; for in the end, the Houle was not better informed than before the debate began. He conceived he hail a right' to enter into the prefent fubjeet, becaufe he had up to this time given all his confidence to his Ma. , jetty's Ministers. When the Preliminaries of Peace had been figned, he partook in the iiniverfal re-; , joicing which took place in the country ; he felt , I himfelf under obligations to Ministers for having a 1 at length relieved the ccuntry from the preffirre of . war. When the terms were made known, they i I were liable to very great objeCtions; but although a 1 he did confider the terms as diladvantageons for 1 this country, yet they were not to be compared to the dangers of continuing the war : fach as they ! were, they did not amount to a greater price than' the objet was worth, becaufe they delivered us from the horror, always attending a flare of !Lai- 1 I lity. Jn hi; mind, neither the public no; the Par- , I liament had much right to enquire into the terms of the peace. The making of that peace was the exercife of thofe prerogatives veiled by our Con- Ilitution in the Executive Government, which had I • the right of peace and of war ; and if any perfons I thought 1 it WAS injurious to the country, they could only move for the punifhment of thofe perfons who were the confidential advifcrs of his Majefty I on the occafion, if they had betrayed the intcrefts of their country; the country was, therefore, I bound to agree in what had been done. Ile would l now alb, Whether, after all the facrifices we had made, we had gained our object ? He would an- Aver that we had not. We got a hollow peace, ' and a certain war. He eontended, therefore, that ; on the prefent occafion, Come explanation mint be I given ; the country demanded, and would not he 1 satisfied without it. Neither that Houfe nor the ; 1 country wanted, at this time, to hear any plirafes , 1 recommending harmony and union among them;' there was no occation to tell the people to I e united. Ifan aggreflion should take place, there I was not a fubjeil in the United Kingdom., who waauld not untie, heart in band, in refilling it.—, ' Why would they do fo ? becaufe they were E.ag- , Itthmen—becaufe they were Scorchmen—and, he-; caufe they were Irishmen. If nlinnters, then,' withed for the Itipport and confidence of the peo ple, they mutt give them information. Until they thew that their former conduct has been wife, firm, and vigilant, the Houk was not now at liberty to continue that confidence it had hitherto afforded them. Tae Houfe was now railed upon to hip port the Minifter without any kind of explanation Phe Honfe was called on that day to vine for an Approbation on the conduit of Mininers without fufficientilaplanation. The Mininer was bound, by a manly explanation of his condat, to Mew that the events which now interelted every body, did not happen through his means. If this was not done, the country would be ditheartened.— There was another cireurnaance which, at this time, afforded no (mall ground for terror and alarm in the public mind ; and that was, the cir cumliance of all the ability, weight, and talents of England, being at this time excluded from any [hare in the Councils of the Executive Govern ment. He knew that this was generally felt out of that Houfe. Every Member of it onght to look' at the Intuition the country was placed in . and endeavour to fare it. If the fhip was to fink every man of them mull gn to the bottom. Thefe fentiments were strongly imprelfed on his mind, and lie was forced to speak out what he thought and felt. They were not taken up !niftily, hut arofe out of long reflation, and an anxious clan- cern for the Rate of his country. . • , The CHANCELLOR of the EICHIVIR, in reply, a (poke to the following purport :—.6 , I think it my ' duty, Sir, on the prefent occafion to follow the a fame courfe which I thought it expedient to pur- I fue when the motion for the Addrefs to his Ma- a jelly was under confideration. I then (fated. that a wider the prefent circumliances any explanation a was what I conceived the Houle had no rcafon to , I expel ; and to this opinion I Rill adhere. At pre- I , fent I rife folely with the view of animadverting 1 very fhortly on the obfervations which the Hon. i Gentleman has made with the view of Mewing the . I necetlity of explanation. I confers that the ar!tii. ' a ments which the Hen. Gentleman ufed in fay Our ! I of the propriety of explanation, appeared to me, ' a and I believe that they appeared in die fame light ; I to the Houle, totally incontinent with the with , ' which he profeffed %ellen lie fct out, that the Ad i drefs had been carried without any comment at all. I leave it to him to reconcile this opinl. al ~sit h ; die fentiments which he has on the prefttA occa. I fion expreffed. The Honourable Gentleman pro- I fe(Tes a defire that nothing which tell from him, might be confidered as defly,ned to &limb the unanimity which prevailed when this lubjeCt v:as formerly before the Houle. Now, Sir, I all:, if prudential reafons citified which rendered any ex -1 planation inexpedient on a former evening, whe ther, riding on the fame principle, his to ajeny's Minifters ought now to give that explanation ? if in the one cafe it was politic and expedient that con cealment fhould be obferved, it 1-. impoilible for ' any Gentleman to thew that the fame cauf e c did I not operate with equal force. The Honourable I Gentleman, Sir, has laid, that at a crifis when we I may be called upon to contend for our very &ft, ' once as a nation, it is a matter of deep regret that the whole ability of the country are excluded,from his Majesty's Government. I will readily allow, for mytelf, and I believe I may take upon me ' to make the avowal for soy colleagues in offlcfei that we feel in din - to moft ext ent t h e d:f. • ficult and :arduous duties ‘: hich v.e Ate called uron to perform, and are we owe to tde country for Oa ir rltte performanra, This, Sir, may be awry fait of obf era , a ; on to the Honourable Gentle:ram ; tro I may be al. lowed to all:, on %bat rinciplc it is that this C:7. tleman, who tells the Houfe &filially, that a Mi. . Mary enjoyedLis con idence from which the wh o r e ability o, tl.e country is excluded, Zooid now iog War d again a Oirtli the clurge of nets and incapacity I is a fort of cc:aimt which I leave d.e Hon.:arable Gentleman fgtic. fadorily to eapiaia t.: thf: Pottle. I leave it him to explain the reafons tOr withdrawin g tEe confidence which lie forme , ly repofed. Ott t!li; part of the Hon. Gentleman's Teeth r Omit n-t at prelent farther enlarge, hut proceed to m remarks on fo:ne otaer obfervations which h.: .7.1 deiced. The Hononrable Member laid down the: principles by which the declaration of peace or tea is regulated with accuracy and preciti m. By the Conftitution of this Country this declaration is wifely made to reit with the Chief Magillyate. if, however, a peace incrinfitient with national 110. nour and Ilifety is concluded, I admit moll uric ' qtrivocally with the Honomable Gentleman, that his Majtlly'sconfidential servants are deeply reiPon. tible fo: the advice which they have given to their Sovereign. The Honourable Gentleman has ap. plied the general doirine to the prefent lituatio it of the country, and he has argued, that if by the mit:condo& of Ministers the country has been brought into its prefent perilous lunation, thee are deeply and ferioulty refponfible for this fituatio:.. To this fentiment I am hound explicitly to aticr:, and I have no difficulty in raying, that if it can he Ihewn that his Majeny'S Minillers have loft fight of the motives which induced them to recommend to his Majefly the conclufion of the treaty peace Which the Honourable Gentleman himteif. though in qualified terms, has applauded ; it :: can be proved tlatt any of the principles whiz]: they have. hitherto declared to be the guides their confine: have been departed from, then I v . -I: allow to the Eon. Gentleman that they have bc.a guilty of a very ferioos violation of their duty to the Houfe and to the Country. • But, Sir, aver that that Rep has not been taken by me or my colleagues in office ; that no advice has been given refpeding the difenfflons now depending betwixt the two Govertnnews,which did not originate frau the moil ardent desire of paeferving:the peace, sod which was founded ia the tree fpiri.t of peace. It is, Sir, with die lime views that Minittersthoupht it their da:y to recommend to his Majelly to tend to Parliament the MJragc on which the pretest motion is founded. It was folely with the view of giving the greater probability to the continuance of peace that additional preparations have been recommended. In there preparations Minilters looked forward to the molt likely means of bring foe; tire points in difpute to an amicable adjuat naent. The Hon. Gentleman, however, infilis on the right of the Houle to explanation. I do net mean, Sir, at all to difpute the ultimate right of the Houfe to a full and! air explanatieti on thit fah. jee. This right I -have already over and (Tee again fully admitted. I do contend. Istrecvo4, that the Houk have not a conititutinesal4-igist to demand explanation at Attie:meat tarn melana tion effeetinfig Ojoq'tbib ihdAsigWittile.k do cerement ailitedirireepealthert 4WmWboaa. It is clear that if Ifiniders ware ei:Or trtyield this call for explanation, they raighttAfti portant advantages refulting Cross ontseioliient • aid at the fame time give no fatisfadtion. points on which different Members tegnimezets: nation are various and difcordanr. One Member fay., let us not hazard a 'war, and therefore let Ministers (hew us that their fyltelin is conciliates*. Another party are afraid of too much concedlok and nothing will fatisfy them but a full esphri4 7 don, to prove that the national honour has asst been compronnifel What advantage, tfietts is to be derived from explanation, and fneh contra riety of opinirn, while, on the other hand, the in conveniencies ofexplanation under the prefenteir cumGances are obvious? It mutt be clear that when negociations are pending which have given rife to co ntirlerable disputes, if they are brought to an amicable adjullment, this can only be ac col:opined by concefriuns on the one Gde or the other. Ia& then, Sir, would it be prudent that the nature of thefe coneeffmns (horrid, in the pre fent Sage of the bufinefs, he explained ? I believe that a great majority of the Houfe think with me. that fuch an explanatino world he highly inexpe dient. From what I n.w fay I beg, however,that no inference may be &awn to countenance the idea that Miniders have contented, or will confront, to any improper concellions. My obfervatinns refer folely to the prudential confederations which wuold in the prefent circumftances, render any explana tion highly impolitic and diradvautageous. As to the motion now before the Committee, the Hon. Gentleman does nut object to it. He gives it his cordial acquiefcence. He even goes fo far as to fay, that the number of seamen propofed to be voted If 1.! been greater, he fhould have givan the o m tioi, hi. tupport. His only obieCtion is f:".inded on Lite want et explanation, which, ' a think, has been tatisfadorily (hewn to be ines 4 sedient at ti .e relent moment. I repeat what t have ahead, m'.re than once diftin&ly Sate that I hold my fell deeply relponfible for comic which hfa Majefly's confidenti a l f e e *ants have thought it proper to adopt, but never (hall I deviate from the principles which I ha ie laid down on this fubjea. I troll it tsrll ultimr, te ly of ;i tither the lecurity of the country will not be endan sees!, I ri g hts be found that in thehands curtailed, or its honour ful lied. I um', that it will be found that no coned lions hay; been made, which they will not be able fully to, luttity by the combined &fire of preferv tug veace and fupporting the honour and the lade- Peadence of the country. I know, Sir, that to :erne Gentlemen this language may excite difgnff.. But if the period than ever come,which Goo grant it never may, as it would involve the renewal of 'hollilities; if ever that time come, I hope the conduit of Minifters will Rand fully jullified.-. Whatever may be the refult of this; whether Geo ' tletten Gall or Gull not be fatisfied with fuels 0 I