Star. — London, England, 1817-03-01 00:00:00

the re . i• - nt of o, e Om . ries:its ervt up a: it ..y chic and offering evidence in vindication of its • • les. It stated that the Club was instituted to promote the cause of reform , by obtaining pre ," . e arai_ion ets extensive. with taxation, annual yriiaments, and unbiassed freedom of election. The petition was brou . i.bs up, read, and ordered to .nn the table. I:SPEN6ION OF THE HABEAS CORPUS TLe CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER r .„-.vel the third reading of this Bill. Upon the goes non wag put, Mr. M. A. TAYLOR rose, and said he wished 'obese those sentiments recorded which for a _series f years he bad always expressed up..n the subject ofl pispending the Habeas Corpus, and which would die with him. As to the doctrine. p.ufesed L. eat rf men caliing themselves Spenceans, he felt no alarm st theni ; they had slept fur twenty years, and if now t oil , cc! , he slid not think it likely they would have no.ty converts. If any person imagined that there ‘..iA an insurrection now upon the eve of bursting nothing which he could offer would be calcu laieJ to remove that suspicion from their minds; but oath regard to that which took place on the 2 , 1 of Daember, it had been crushed by the existing laws. 'liaise laws also had since been found sufficseat to pc down a conspiracy in another part of the island, ar:•;rding to the declaration of a Learned Lord upon a fl r nier evening. He did not, therefore. see any adtvte necessity for the present measure, and with o,: a case of extreme and positive danger, no power (A earth should induce him to stnction a law by .I,icii any man might be imprisoled fur an offence t:: it in other circumstances would not send him to trial. He would trust no individual with such an i:h►nt icy ; he would not even trust himself. The worst tc,iture of it was, that it placed every man's personal sitay within the reach of insidious, malignant whis per, against his character. He would put a case that happened to himself, and he hoped he was not sus rcted of treasonable intentions. He loved his Lowry too well, and the comforts he enjoyed in it. When Mr. O'Connor was forced to leave Ireland in consequence of being an United Irishman, be brought letters of introduction to several persons in this coun try, and among others, to himself (Mr. Taylor.) He was ready to declare, that while he visited at his house, there was nothing in his conduct that would have led him to suspect he was an United Irishman. It happened, however, that before he was appre hended, be was trend from his House to several places where United Irishmen assembled.. Now sup. pose his (Mr. Taylor's) character had not been what it was, what mig ht have been his situation? Upon mere suspicion he might have been torn from his fa mily and thrown into prison, without the means of exculpation, without being permitted to tell how he became acquainted with Mr. O'Connor, without the power of demanding his trial that he might provehis innocence—(Jicar, Isar.) A similar occurrence might happen to a osan in a lower situation of life, and bow was he to protect himself against its consequences?— (Naar, Attie.) And yet it was the boast and glory of Englishmen, that. every person, whatever his station in society, found equal protection in the eye of the law. It was because such evils might happen, that be would never consent to •suspend the bulwark of British freedom. If the law, as it now stood, was insufficient to punish those libellers who strove to :mine the very basis upon which the morals, order, and the well•being of society tested, be ld arm the Executive with greater power, but would not give it arbitrary power • • (Hear, laser.) had opposed the Suspension of the Habeas Coe. in 1794, arid. was one of a weir small minority, ante many went over to the other side of the House that time, whose *names, he believed, might now found upon the Pension List—Weer, hare.)- 1797, be remembered the same question was Ws is that Howe, in the presevice of not more than Members, ch was the fatal constqueftee of minds becoming habituated to suck a proceed ;—(Hear, hear). With respect to the question of Momentary Reform, though he was not prepared go the length of some persons, yet he had no hesi ioir in declaring that he was a small Reformer— ' laugh.) Yes, a small Refamer, for there were coral things whi:h he wished to see reformed. Who say, for instance, that Scotland ought not to differently represented?—(Hear, Isar.) Or that Boroughs should not be di sfranchised ?—Bo. which, he believed, the Idinisters.themselves be glad to get rid of, if they could. He did not pry into the sestets of the Cabirot he never been, and be se d never should be, a Mi • but he wou ld live undo any tyranny the tyranny of 'certain Boroughasongers. He not allude merely to those who were now in if his Honourable Friends on that side of the in place tomorrow, they must submit to same tyranny, unless the constitution of , that were altered. He was of opinion, however, sooner or later some species of Reform must be He.might not use to see it; but when any considered Reform anA Revolution as synonimous, "flooded two things that were totally distinct. ir. WINDHAM QUIN contended, that the very - cumstance of the lower classes being embodied in ibs, was the most alarming part of the present con. Icy; for if there were any poison to be infused, clubs presented the means of 'circulating it at the whole society. The Honourable lan who spoke last had alluded to the arrest certain conspirators at Glolow, and considered as a proof of the adequate vigour of the law ; but he recollected right, the Learned Lord, on a few er evening, stated also, that there were other persons a very different description, to whom suspicion ;17 attached, but against whom, notaithstaod e existing laws could not be enforced. It had in said, also, that on former occasions, when there 'ctaal rebellion, when there was a entity at the the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act wet . resorted to, and the reason was obvious. it was , measure of precaution, of prevention, and not of '4l Ament ; and there' was no good , is adopting it the explosion had taken place. In the present ii•fioa of the country he thought it necessary, and 'fore should give his vote for the third' reading. tr. PROtHEROE sail, that though he was as .Ming *as any man to give up what was justly , e 1 the great bulwark of she Constitution, yet, the intimate conviction he had, that in certain mA^ufacturing districts the most ett4iisive c6Wtlinti• tioos existed, for the worst purp 'see. which were car ried on with a degree of system, of method, and of caution, which the present laws could not reach, he should support the presrnt 'may've. Mr. LYTTLETON fast petsuAcled that every Member of that House, Who was opposed to the pre sent measure, must he solicitous not to give a silent vote. He was the mire inclined to offer his opinion from the anxiety of cleaving himself from the impu tation of a Noble Lord (Cistlereagh), that every in dividual who was unfriendly to the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, might be presumed either to have countenanced, or to 1) tee been concerned with those whose nuchioations it was ;vended to coup• teract--(Cries of No, No, from Me Ministerial Beitehes.) He was gl4d to heAr the disclaimer, thong)) he tos pected it would not be co extensive with the impoita- tion. Since the production of the Report of the bun mittee of Secrecy, it was to be recollected, that evi dence had been produced and nwe (SAO, that went to shake the authenticity of its character. No man was more willing to admit than he was that there existed a treasanable activity, or if the term conspi racy was considered more applicable, he had no ob jection to employ it, in some districts of the realm. Still, however, these partial disturbances could not be arrayed against the whole kingdom. It was a matter of notoriety that great distress and great discontent pervaded the manufacturing disir;cts, but to be thus informed the country 'did not require the so. keno investigation of a Committee of that House.— The Government itself must have been aware of its existence, and they mast also feel convinced, that it was fully competent to theta to suppress all danger arising from such causes, without any extraordinary reference to the adoption of new laws.. What would a wise, a conciliating, a Constitutional Administration have done on the notoriety of such procceJings ? Assuredly they would have called Parliament toge ther on the manifestation of the first symptoms of public disorder: In place of such a constitutional tourse, they themselves appeared to be dormant, they suffered the public tranquillity to be disturbed, with out any recourse to the natural remedies; they acted as if it was their very objecrio bring Parliament into discredit, and the Common Law into disrepute. He could not be considered as imputing improper mo. gives, when he contended that the Ministers of the Crown seemed to be under any influence but a pure and constitutional feeling....(Hear, Hear)—that they took the very course that a Ministry determined to disappoint the country in their just views of retrench ment and economy, might be supposed to take; and that, unwilling by an honest and direct course of policy to ingratiate the people of England, they looked for a resource against their own mis-doings in the terrors of despotism—(Hear, hear.)—The Hon. Gentlemen opposite, in arguing the necessity of the Suspension, passed over, with a marked silence, all the precedents of fortr.er Suspensions of the Habeas Corpus, save that of the Revolurionary one of ~1791. Through a kind of dastardly apprehension of the explod.d doctrine of that period, they endeavoured to work upon the fears of the country at this moment, although is every appearance there was the greatest dissimilarity. There were no men of any importance now supposed to entertaio the abandoned opinions of the former period. Not one of the superficial symptoms of 1794 were now evident. There did not exist now, as there then exited, a Convention at Edinburgh, and delegates from this country to the national Convention. Every comparison went to prove, that- the precedent, of 179/, as applied to the present state of the king dom, was altogether I phantom. When be recol. hoed hew the Noble Lord, to whose discretion the proem suspension at the flak,, Carpal would give arch esbnled powers, acted a year ago, perhaps tie r"false representatious bat certainly to the din. Vase of his department, towards unfortunate and helpless foreigners under the Alien Act, he was not disposed to trust him with an unlimited contrail , Civcr the liberty and security of Englishmen. The 'advocates of the present measure asserted, that the public opinioit of the nation was its support, and as a proof of that assertion, no doubt, they were pressing it with such unaccountable rapidity through all its stages in that House. He could see no distinction between the present measure and the late law against suspected ,persons in France. Were Ministers not afraid of the parallel that would be drawn between the Administrations of the two countries ? Whether they were or not, they might rest assured that it would be impossible to place the same chains upon the of England. people LAMB agreed its opinion that Parliament ought to have been immediately assembled when his Majesty's Ministers were made acquainted with the situation of the country, and referred to the precedent Lis November, 1800. On that occasion of public, dis-, tress, his Majesty declared, in his gracious speech, that his tender concern for his people had alone in duced him to convene Parliament so early. Although ,that was the course he considered Ministers ought to have pursued, he still, from the genes al state of the country, from a wish to preserve the public peace, and not merely from the riots alluded to an the Its. part of the Committee, was willing to support the temporary suspension of the Habeas Corpus. It had been said that a Reform in Parliardent was all the people wanted. But what hopes could we give, what benefits could we confer, what prtvileges could we grant to induce thipeople to be satisfied with this Could a Reform in Parliament - carry into execution all 'those measures of which the country stood in need f Shew him that it could, and hg would consent to it. An Honourable Friend of his had said, that retrench. meat and economy were necessary ; but be had al ways held it to be a gross sad idle delusion, that any retrenchment would relieve the present distresses of the country. It was from the resources and energies of the country alone that we could expect to derive any relief; and wee must be careful to preserve the birthright and property of every man, which west now assailed by the dangerous practices referred to in the Report of the Committee. It was impossible to overlook the-seditious meetings and the numerous r publications, the delegat e s and the subscriptions, and not to say that theseoperated very considerably cas the bead of the country. It was of the highest possible coomqemose to revesst. these persons Ironi cal:lung forward and p . those plans into execu tion which they had ttttptied. The ordinary laws might benalesient, ii duly bad their course f but bi believed it to be one part of the plan, by threats and mews, to prompt the complete execution of jus dr. Zear, frvin Me bit 4ii;00).-; , :i-it did eat cersceive that the 'sews now in toece wtre adeqaale the dangers of the country; and where were they it., look for security but to the meet:ire - which sees now proposed? He sincerely, believed that, it Or:: HOW should adopt it, they would hear very little more Al any treasonable practicer; and, ansious as he was for the peace and prosperity of the colintr y, he should he happy to beer his share of the odium it; consent- I inn to the Bid n before them. Lord FOLKS FON E —The speech of the H .n Gentleman whit had last sat 4!()Wil tea: Oii Of t!e most extraordinary he hid ever hard. lie to express in the strongest moiler able nten se of the grounds on which that Howeirahle Gootiettem had give* his support to the meaerre. The Lilliet had cause to complain of the Holiour able Gentlemen resting his support of the measure en Ilee gcnerai state of the country, which he describ:d to b, bed in the extreme. as the laws were not and cotiLl ri he put in force—(llear, lieu r.) Now that sod' wa, the ease, he very notch deubted, and he haul reasen to question it, when he considered the reeeeteit assu rances to the contrary he had received Irons malty country Gentlemen—( Hear, hear.) If the state of the country was the reel cause of the proposed mea sures, he could nut help thinking that Ministers dealt unfairly with the country. But the Itue. reason had come ont, for the last Speaker bad honed that the measure was meant to intimidate the country ! Why was this net plainly said in the Report ?—(/ear, hear, hear.) It was a curious argument to make the measures of 91. a prec:dent, and they argument amounted to inertly this, that because unjust mea tuses were then carried they ought now also to be adopted-e(Hear, hear.) He was glad the plain truth had now come out in the speech they had-last heard. and he was the more glad when he considered the people had afforded no opportunity for being intimi dated, no riot whatever having °mitred in a single quarter where meetings for Reform were held. Spa fields was urged as an exception, hut he deitieJ it was so, for Ilse disgraceful riots of the 2.1 of December did not originate there. and at all events that westing WAS held with the sanction of Ministers—( fleor, hear.) It was equally Lite to say the people were resolved to have their rights by tome. The people had sitewn the contrary—they had shewn their love to the Con stitution by applying to Parliament for relief—by addressing in autumn his Royal Highness, in the most loyal and respectful manner, imploring him to commiserate their distresses, and convene the great Legislative Body of the nation. But had that Address been attended to ? Alas, tie painful exPerieoce of the people 'hewed the contrary. Ministers, ittetten tire to the public prayer, regardless of the public complaints, had delayed assembling Parliament the very moment they wanted money. They now, in every speech they delivered, reviled the people. and instead of relieving them, instead of cluing any thing to soothe them, they brought down a preen What was their Report ? Why it cons;sied merely er history of what Ministers bad seen the last sworn meet. Why were they then so miserably inactive and supine They knew what was going en, yet they prorogued the meeting of Parliament to the latest niement:-. (Hear, hear). They had promised daring last Slfs Wm to adopt muesures of Economy and Retrenet mentebut unfortunately they bad raid little attention to these promises, for initead of remaining at ,home to do so, the Right Honourable Gentleman (Mr. Cenningy was amusing himself with the gaieties of France—(Hear, hear,) white the Noble Lord (Cat tlereegh) namely oily hie colleague, but now hap-1 pity his Noble Friend—(loid cheering from Me Ultpiaiil how .thaeher)—was making speecoel at convivial entertainments in Ireland. Such were the men to whom the affairs of the country were entrnsted. Tu House were told by the Right Honourable Gentle man -that his Noble Colleague (Lord Sidmouth) was at home doing his duty, and that the country might safely place confidence in him—(/Isar, hear). This really looked mighty well; but he would Ask, when did the Right Honourable Gentleman himself enter min such confidence in that Noble Viscount ?- (Jou& cries of hear s hear). The time bad not long elapsed since a very different opinion was entertained by the Right kron.Gentleman, but it was very happy for hint he tied now got a little more light —(Hear. hear). He really thought there was an evident ignorance on the part of Ministers respecting the existing laws, and that they actually did not know what were the laws of the country. Thete was an Act passed in 1812 respecting illegal oaths, but, like the other laws, it had not.been in force. It was absurd in Gentle men to talk of the Friends of Reform expecting that immediate relief could be afforded from Reform., This idea was irrational. and had never for tone mo. went been entertained by the advocates of Reform, who knew the relict afforded by that salutary mea sure must be gradual in its progress. But did this give any reason to argue that no Measure, in the mean time, should be taken to soothe and conciliate the people, and to chew that the House felt for, and would sio all that was in their power to relieve their -sufferings f—(Hear, hear, hear.) He was glad the Honourable g entleman had told rheas the true rea son for passin the Act; it would at lesst 'skew the people what were the grounds , of enacting it. He implored the House to pause—he implored them to consider helot, they proceeded further—he implored them to recollect this WAS not the time to intimidate the people—this was not Abe time to add insult to their already sufficiently-wounded feelings. Such a measure as that now proposed could be productive, to say the least, of no benefit; and viewing it as to tally unnecessary and uncalled (Or, he should give it his decided opposition—(Hear, hear, hear.) The LORD ADVOCATE of SCOTLAND felt himself called upOn to say a few words in reply,. par ticularly to what had fallen from his Honourable and Learned. Friend opposite (Sir S. Rossilly) who ly's4l said that the dense extending to Scotland was a no. reit) , in Acts of this description. On the contrary, it was a fact that in all the preceding Acts for the suspension of the Habeas Culp% (rum the time ul the anion of England with Scotland, a clause was in troduCed in the very same terms us was to be found in the present Bill. 1a 1715, 1722, and 1745. the Law Officers who then sat in that House meant to pat the people of Scotland out of the pale of the law as much as the people of England. With'revect to the Petition which bad been presented to the House by a person of the name of McArthur. stating, that one of the officers of justice in Scotland had been guilty of bona oppressive. acts, and had alto watds tpensii tr ilq Att f.`reolvil trtn . tistshect art Hour! co rrireo:iosr. that an ll.inourable Memlter, JAM WAS now no more. ( Mr. Itirner), had expressed a very favoorabte opinion of that Judge; and, comfy, all who coloic;:red she conduct of that Honourable (ember—all ~ho reflectetion his strict intog.ity and many virtues, both 'n public and psivmelile— al who dwelt on the great benefits which Scotland had rivedde from his ithil;oes and attachmetit to the public interest,—all wh ff tarred themselves, acrd most justly so, with the sxpectea-n that England would derive the mos: essei.tial hriorfirs fruit his par, intism a id talents—(aere Sir Samoel Roma!) appeared to h. deeply air:tell) —would concur in the opinion, that noliiiog criminal or injorious to the reptitatirn of that Judge coald have been corrimirted, or the 44444 rable to !:e It iJ alluded would nut have sulf.reil a to escape his , eioaire. Sir SAtsIUCL ItOMILLY roe merely ro make on. ist 00-ervatioos oa what had fallen from the Learned I.otd• lie bad said, on a ioniser night, that the claioe in question was nut to be found in the Act of I.e 11311 S4id lint it was not to he found is any of the preceding Acts. It was car tainly nut to b,! lound in the Act isif 17.14. however, was a motel of very slight importance s•—• the question was not what w.:s done in former times, but what was to be done now? He entreated the Llouse to pause, and not to suffer any Judge or Magistrate to take any man into cu.cody without the order of. Iris blojesty's Privy Council, signed by six Privy Councillors. This clause may referred to such as had been committed under a warrant born the Secre tary of State. Mr. PONSONBY observed, that the Learned I,aof could have no objection to clearing up the dot ficulty, which did not %assail with regard to the &omit Acts of 1701 and lilt, against wrongoin impiisonment. As the clause was ..t present word.A, it would bear massy c.,nstructions directly opihoed cacti other, which could not be deviled upon atter the passing of the Bill but by a Court of Justice. Sir ARTHUR PIGGO FT also reprobated the obscurity and ambiguity with which the clause was framed. If this Law score to * inflicted upon the People, they had at least a right to expect that it should be clear and piecise. In order that the di n.• culty might be removed, he recommended that the Bill should be recommitted. The'SPEti KElt remarked, that in the present stage the Dei could net be recemrnirted. Any amend ment might be introduced after tee third reading. tie A. PIGUOTT then proceeded :o state has opi nions generally upon the measure before the House.' He would not go so fat as to say, that he eerir: el of ever y eh rate in the Report of the Secret Committee ; but after mature cons: erasion as a whole, it met with his come and heerty cuncurrence. He had lis tened to the arguments at some, and to tee taunts. and sneers of otners ; hut his opinion was the mea e confirmed the pore he reflected upon the ate of the evidence upon which etiat Report was grounded. He dil not shrink iron this declaration, because he held it to be a public duty; and, in his judgment, Minister; would have been liable to the severest cern. sures, had they not ineee the communication to the House that led to the appointment of the Committee. (Hear, he ,r).—So tat atom the Report being an et stggerated s.atement, he was rather inzliaci ter t!,ltsk that it scarcely were. as lan as the evidence sente.d • warrant. As to the disclosure of that teitinr%Oto the • Committee had WI:e; j determined not to publish it 1. and : altaurigh rime' e: it was 'alb's: to contradiction, • yet it was nut te tie expected . that 3 CAllallitte, not administering al oath. should obtain informetinn with sill the gaardacejtelacial proceedings. The vbjec:on that tLe evideace was 1)..t anne xed to the Report, was . rather an objection to the nominee n of a Committee • at all; since the witnesses, it it had been deemed pre!. dent, might have been rzamined at the bar of the house. The evils were cert sully neither light nor trivial, and on account of their importance he readily gave his support to the Bills upon the table for the auppres 'ion tit secret associations, for the prevention tit the seduction el the army and navy, and foreee protec tion of the perem of the Prince Regent : bat these et:curare; were 'ail he considered necessary, and ti ere fere he most strongly protested against the proposed Suspeusion ut the Habeas Corpus Act. That mea sure, the House would recollect, was not directed against any particular intlivittuals, or against any particular place; but it deprived equally all classes of • the King's .subjects of their just rights, and confoun ded the innocent with the gutlty. Was it pretended that a single individual of property or consequence had been concerned with these .miserable cinches ? Or could it be argued, that dread of communications • between insurgrntsand foreign. hostile.powers juste— tied the suspension, which was not only diipropor tioned to, but not at all calculated to meet the evil. One Honourable Gentleman ( Mr. Lamb) had indeed supported it for a re+son Never before urged—that lesson was not only extraordinary in itself, but still more so from its want of foundation in truth.— • He bad said that the suspension—this law above the law—wits required, because the progress of the ordi nary law was attested by the pteseat state of the country. This was a pure imagination. Sieere in the Report would any statement be.lour.d to justify such au assertion And upon whet peculiar evidence, in his exclusive possession, del the Honourable Geo- tleasen found his bold assertion !—(Hear, hear). We were now upon tee very eve et the Spring Assizes ; the Judges were about to open their Commissions; and yet they were to be told /hat all was in vain, ter the progress - ofehe law was erreeteo, and there was an end to all justice and its administration. The Report Confined use distur bences to celesta districts, and the evidence warranted that cenclusion, but the remedy wa; to apply to the whole nation ; and because a few demagogues had misled some manufacturers,aglical total baleen ers, and all other peaceful classes, were to be put out of the pale of the law. It.was• enough for him that this extraordinary power was cf a buse—he did not ask who were the Ministers ? bat lie would fearlessly *tete, a lit under circumstances lake the present he would intrust reach traitimittd and uncontroutable authotity to na :Misters, True it was : that unlawful associetions ex;sted ; but was it to be itow said, and to be established as a precedent, that whenever it could be proved that a secret club, how- . ever contemptible, had been eireeed, the totterieft weakness of an Adniiiaisttation was to be bolstered up • by a suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act—(dear.) the Co p nti opultw nceedas u he wnc w as,tcilti.di att;:eat..d to quell y- nine hundredths theuendred etthosno T undermine th the order, an , would arm ti he would not He had oppoi pus in 1796, because many at that time, be found opt In 1797, he used in that seventy Mem men's minds . ng—( Hear, stliamtntir o go the len noon in decl 41 busk.) everal thing ould say, differentl me Boron .ughs whiel ould be gli ' •to pry • ad ,been, as ister ; but halt the tyl id not all • iver : if h onse were .te same t: ..cuse were lint sooner al .ied, H • ne consider tey confiur Mr. Wlls ircurnstant tubs, was t piracy; io • stow clubs 'broeghout eotleman .f eertain ) 14 .13 a pr ire recollt Cr evenini a very :TC41 1 1 17 at i I . G . t e exi ten said, kctoal ore, t h e s ot resorts measure I..ishteee Ater the e: • tuistioa O .4.7 t fore sl Mr. PR • willing 'Lel the the it