Star. — London, England, 1821-02-16 00:00:00

PARLIAASENT'AR' PROCEEDINGS. - HOUSLOF LORDS,. FEBRUARY is. .An - Ilfeeount of the Snms . issued-during the last year tow** .• be payment of the Russian Loan was laid before the Haile: sisa-an..46401114 .PFAS"s Paid Ant of the Civil List of The RepettOlhe,,Longitude Bill 'Was brought up, - and . agreed - .•• . • • •-• AlHlCQUitahi's •ANNUITY 1111.1... • Mr. Enoissen and.other Members of the House of Commons brought up the nil-for settling an Annuity of £60,000 a-year apiker Maptsty,,which was read a first time, and thorns Inter vitWat quirt& of In hour L The Earlrof LIVERPOOL rose, and moved thatthe ßill 'minted ;: end that it be read a secOnd time 1:41 Monday next. ' The Noble Earl at the same time observed, that as le thruway* some take business stood for Monday next, he should have no objection to put off the second reading till Toes dar,'ittlur Bill. was'likely .to give rise to any discussion.—The House thatiidjourtled.• • 1 ' ROUSE OF 60MMONS. ttriiigeip were nOt admitted until within a quarter to five Vdoe.h.tjfis day, the House being engaged in ballotting for a Colidnittee to inquireiiso the ,merits of a Petition complaining of an undue Election for the Borough of Boston. Mr. MABERLY moved that there be laid.before the House An Action of thi quantity of Flax-seed imported and exported fat ,i4itpes 1849, 1820, and 1891 , distinguishing the quantities "tor la ''Wil ) ; and IQ Portiwhence imported, and to which ex -4 bri e Member :alsd moved, that there be laid lore the - Hi use an AbcOunt of the Annual Amount of Burleson Inhabited Houses and Windows.—Ordered ' ..ihs the mdtionrof Mr. /Assiut:row, the House resolved itself 'IMO a Committee Of the'whtde House on the Malt Duties Bill. .The Bill went through the Committee.—The House resumed, and:the Repait Was ordered t 6 be received tomorrow. On the motion of Mr. Luassuoaros, the House again resolved itself into a Comiriittee of the whole House, on the Transfer of Grants Bill.--Vie Bill having gone through the Committee, the House resumed, and the Report was ordered to be received tomorrow. BOSTON ELECTION. • The• House, at its 'kiting, proceeded to ballot for a Committee to try the merits of the Petition presented against the Return for Boston. The following Members were selected : Hon. & Cu. , Sir J. Bowyer. Sir W. H. Pringle. P. Corbet t Esq. W. Sharpe, Esq. Lord Fitzroy. B. Legge, F.sq. W. Childs, Esq. H. Hutchinson, Esq. W. R. Bruton, En. J. Rayne, Esq. Sir R Heron. C. Calvert, Rsq. General Gascoyue. J. Clement, Esq. . ESTIMATES. S:r J. NEWPORT gave notice that he would, to-morrow, move a Residution of that House to the elect, that, as guar dians of the Public Purse, they should think it essentially ne •eessary tba there be laid before the House, within one week after the commencement of every Session, copies of the Esti mates for the Army, Navy, and the other Public Departments. COURT Or SESSION IN SCOTLAND. On the motion of the LORD ADVOCATE, the Order of the Day was read for the House resolving itself into a Committee of the whole House on the Court of Session Acts. The Learned Lord said, he would detain the committee with a very few obser vations. The Bill had been brought in agreeably to the recommendation of the Commissioners for in- Cuiring into the Regulations and Fees taken in the ourts of Scotland. It was the object of the Bill to provide stated and fixed salaries for tke.Clerks of the Courts, to be paid out of the Fees Fund, and to make provision in case of any deficiency of that fund. The Right Hon. Gentleman was proceeding with his observations, when Mr. J. P. GRANT rose and said, that the Right lion, Gentleman seemed to carry the Bill through the House in too great a hurry. The LORD ADVOCATE said, that it was not his with to hurry the proceeding ; the Bill had been before the House before, and now came back with improvements. ' Mr. BENNETT said, if the salaries for the Clerks were not on the most moderate and reasonable scale, te should feel it his duty to take the opinion of the tommittee on each 6f the Resolutions. The LORD ADVOCATE said, he would satisfy the Hori. Member that the salaties were not more elan adequate to the trouble. lhe CHAU:6IAM then began to put the Resolu tions, when Mr. CREEV E Y objected to the whole proceeding. lie said,' that the business before the Committee was to be found in the Orders of the Day, and it was the usual course of proceeding that the notices of motion should take precedence of the Orders of the Day. • The LORD ADVOCATE observed, that when he moved for the House to resolve itself into a Com mittee on the Bill, be did not see in his place the Noble. Lord (A. Hamilton) whose notice stood first en the list, and rather than that the House should sit without any bUsiness before it, he had moved the Order of the Day, and 'now wished to proceed, as the movie the Resolutions could not take up much time. ' Sir OBERT WILSbN said, that his Hon. Friend (Mr. - Levey) made no objection to the Bill before the t eammittee, but he understood his objection was -tp &order of proceeding, and he (Sir Robert Wilson) , . . agreed with him that the notices should take prece dence of the orders. • : TgcHAIRMAN observed, that the House had , • ..); ...„, 'me opoccupie , and he thought the Learned Lord - wits perfectly stified in the course he had taken. Sir JOHN NEWPORT urged the objections made by Mr. Creevey and Sir Robert Wilson. Lord CASTLEREAGH did rot see any ground for the objections made on the other side to the pro gress of the business now before the .Committee. His lion. and Learned Friend had not moved the House to resolve itself into a Committee until after five eelock, an hour at which, as everybody knew, it was not usual with the House to sit, without any business before it, in expectation that Hon. Members 'woad come down. •: Sir' JOHN NEWPORT said, that Honourable . . Gentlemen had not come down that day as early as ttlusil, - in consequence of the understanding that two ftmmittees were to be balloted for, but one ballot • sp . pltirad taken glace. s .:YI • • Ir ' Mr. CREEVEY said, he should waive all objet. tion, ilie,v2tse to undesetand, that after the business • befefe the Committee were disposed of, the House 'lt •.• " *Air toArrOceed with the notices in usual way. • 44. I Trre ORD ADVOCATE said, he had no objec tion to withdraw:the proceedings, if it wpre the plea. • l e „in,sh'otthe Committee. • t, ..11,A . C)?atrapan of the Committee put the Resole. •)f , , .retious rersaik 4E41 went through the Committee, ". -had ihelippoti was ordered to be received to-morrow. THE BOWDITCHES. Mr. WARRE began by observing, that he conti anted is hold the same opinion still which be enter tained At the time he gave notice of the motion s which he was then going to make. 'The circumstances of Ate question, to which he would sOlieit the attdation of the-Home, bad been IcnOwn'to-ill Wbo were klthe itabieef itioittng into the public Newspapers—ha meashte trial and conviction of the Bowditches.-- He should, however, notwithstanding their notorietf,• 1161 V Witty notice the fittio:for'the purpbsaof his mo- I don. In that case, ten individuals were indicted for a consitiracy.aactforsible abduction of a young Lady named Maria Glenn. They were tried for the clyitrps on the iiidenei ortlfatl e ady, and the Special Jury,, before whom tbeevidence was given, returned, through the month albeit-Foreman, a verdict of Guilty. The consequence. shis; that they were sentenced to a very long term of idirlionment. They subsequently made a motion in the-Court of King's Bench for a new trial, and affidavits were put in by Mary Whitby and Maria Glenn, which - induced that Court to discharge the , Rule for the' ew trial. It was on these affidavits that the perjury was assigned, for which these females were , afterwards tried and found guilty of the grossest sys tem of perjury that was ever practised. On the con viction of these females, a professional Gentleman, whose humanity does him great credit, he meant Mr. Harmer, drew up a memorial of the case, and pre sented it to the Noble Secretary for the Home De partment. Notwithstanding, the ten remained in confinement until the expiration 'of the term of their punishment, in November last. The consequence was, that the mother, infirm on account of her age, had been destroyed inkier health after twenty months imprisonment, and the son was ruined by the heavy expenses. Taking all the circumstances of the case together, he thought it a fit subject for the considera tion of the House. He was aware of the inconvenience .of entertaining a subject of that nature in that House, but it appeared to him reasonable, that some com pensation..should be made to the parties; not only for their sufferings whilst in gaol, but also for the pecu niary loss they sustained in the first trial, and in sup porting the motion for the new trial after. He should. lastly observe, that the parties remained in confinement for five weeks after the prosecutots were convicted of pen jury. The Hon. Member concluded by moving, that there be laid before the Hciuse a Copy of the Pe tition presented on the part of the Bowditches to the Home Department in the month of October last. Mr. CLIVE applauded the motives of the Honour able Gentleman in bringing forward this matter, and commended the manner in which he brought it be fore the House. He was desirous to afford every in forthation in his power on this subject, from which it would be seen that the Petition had not been neg lected by his Majesty's Government. In the trial of Mary Whitby and Maria Glenn, as alluded to by the Honourable Gentleman, the perjury was proved so clearly against'them, that the-Lord Chief Justice re commended a Memorial to the'llomO Department, which was accordingly drawn up and presented in October last, the original trial and sentence of the Bowditches having taken place in 1819. In conse quence of the representation of the Lord Chief - Justice, to whom application was immediately made from the Home Department:en the subject, Mrs. Mulraine was discharged from prison,the Royal pardon being granted her. One of ie Bowditches had already' suffered his term of imprisonment, and the other two were not at all affected by that part of the evidence on which the perjury was assigned against Mary Whitby and Maria Glenn. It did not, therefore, ap pear proper to interfere with their punishment. The evidence against them for having forcibly carried away Miss Glenn, remained undisturbed and un shaken. lie hoped he hid given satisfactory informa tion on the subject, and such as would obviate the necessity of laying the Petition before the House. Mr. WARRE said, the Public regarded the mat ter in a different point - of view from the Honourable Gentleman who had just sat down. For himself, be could not see how any distinction could be made be tween the different members of the family. He cer tainly did expect opposition to his motion on the grounds alleged. • Lord 'CASTLEREAGH said, the question ap peared to be with respect to thorthree remaining pri soners. One was released from prison on the appli cation of the Lord Chief Justice ; but he did not see. that, because the Lord ChlefJustice had made favour able representations in her behalf, the others were to expect to be discharged also. He trusted the Ho. now able Member would see the propriety of with drawing his motion, upon the understanding that the application, addressed to the Home Department in October last, did not at all tend to exculpate the two 800-ditches then in jail. Mr. BENNETT said, that the two Bowditches in question had been branded as conspirators, and con victed as such by•the grossest and most systematic perjury ever exposed in a Court of Justice. The fact was, that all of them were innocent of the whole of the crimes with which they had been charged, and did not deserve any of the punishment they had suf fered. He therefore was anxious the House should know why they were not all discharged from prison when the representation alluded to was made to the Home Department. Mr. BANKES said, he bad been well acquainted with the matter, -and could assure the Hen. Gentle. men the impression which had been made on their minds regarding that subject was quite erroneous. Mr. WARRE then obtained permission to with draw his motion. THE QUEEN AND THE LITURGY. Lord A. HAMILTON in rising to submit the motion of which he had given notice on a previous night, felt it unnecessary to bespeak the indulgence of the House, because he was. persuaded he should experience it without solicitation. He could not help complaining of the very severe terms in which his motion had been spoken of by the Noble Lord op posite (Lord Castlereagh), who said it .was -" a dis grace to the Orders of the House."--{Here Lord Castlereagh intimated his dissent.--He understood him to have characterized it in those- terms, and he' alluded to the circumstance only for the purpose of giving the Noble Lord'an opportunity Of disclaim ing the words, or of giving to himself the grounds of vindication. The erasure of her Majesty's bame from the Liturgy was only au incidental ciecumstance with respect to the present motion. The object he had it view, was to ascertain how far his Majesty's Ministers were leg ally justified in sending the in. structions wbieh had been forwarded in the year 1819 to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. That Church was completely independent of all earthly power, eacept what it recognized in ,die Clencral Aisombly: Yet an Order ix CO'eadt • ~;; .;sl #' • !titbit% tinted for the pnrposi oral ant. shit too on the arery seine day;t`that tht ord been issued for directilig tire English. Churck in the affnir•Of the Liturgy. • The order sent to StOdand was. also signed by the same parties that signed the, English order, viz. the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lord Chancellor, and others. He would ask the Noble Lord if that order vas in reality sent to the General Assembly with the view of asking obedience, which could not be asked without subjecting the parties to the utmost derision ? The only authority upon which they could presume to found such a demand was two Acts of Parliament, neither of which went to sanction it in any respect. The first was the Aet of the 10th of Queen Anne, and the next was the 32d of George 111. He had made it his business to discover those Acts, and after having looked over them with the most careful attention, the decided impression upon his mind was, that they did not by any means bear out the Order in Council. Indeed so surprised was he at - finding such an erder had been issued, that he thought he should have heard before that it had actually been sent by mis take, and that it - vas never intended to have any effect ; but in that persuasion he saw himselfdeceived. The Order in Council was illegal and nugatory— illegal, as addressed to the General Assembly of a Church which owed it no obedience, and nugatory s it could produce no effect—(Hear, Ater, hear). — In his opinion, the. Order would prove much more disgraceful to the books of the Privy Council, than his notice would to the books of the House•—(Cheers). He would now instance the cases in which it was at tempted to be enforced in Scotland. The first notice taken of it was by the Sheriff of Kirkcudbright, who called a Meeting of the Kirk Session, at which he himself, his son, a Colonel of Yeomanry, a Clergy man, and some others, attended. At that Meeting, the majority decided that the Order should be obeyed, and that the Queen was not to be prayed forby name. The Clergyman, however, very properly expressed his dissent, and the matter was afterwards laid before a full Meeting of the Presbytery, who ap proved ,of the conduct of the Clergyman, and strongly disapproved of the Order in Council. A do cument expressive of their disapprobation and censure of it was read publicly in all the Churches. He now came to the next instance. The Sheriff's son (the Colo nel of Yeomanry) asked the Clergyman, who was Chap lain of his Corps, if he intended praying for the Queen, in disobedience to the Order ? The latter did not feel himself called upon to give any distinct answer on the'subject ; and at the close of the Service, on the ensuing Sunday, after praying for the King, he was guilty of the mighty offence of saying " and bless, likewise, our gracious Queen, Caroline!" for,which he • was put under arrest on the same day. •He (Lord Archibald Hamilton) did not mean to say that on being placed under arrest he was treated with any personal severity ; but it was enough that he was pre vented from going out of the County. He would then ask the Noble Lord, if this was not a fit subject to fie brought before Parliament—or if a notice of it was a disgrace to the Orders of the House? (Cheers). Upon whatever side of the House he might sit, he would never suffer an attack to be made upon the freedom and independence of the Church of Scot land, without bringing it under the consideration of the Legislature. He wished to act temperately on all occasions, but he felt it difficult to restrain himself when he reflected on the extraordinary measures to which his Majesty's Ministers had recourse. He heard, and was told, that the Order in question could be justified by precedents. There might, perhaps, be precedents; but what weight druid they have, if found to be invariably wrong? If even there was a 'time when precedent might be strictly scrutinized, it was when the Order was issued, it being at a period of heat and irritation. He was induced to believe that both the Orders were issued with that haste and promptitude which reflected but little credit on the parties concerned. He was the more convinced of the •act from considering, that when, on a former night, t he Honourable Member for Oxford (Mr. Wetherell) moved for certain Papers respecting the Liturgy, Mi nisters did not seem aware upon what authority the 7 bad issued the Order for excluding her Majesty s name. He would now read to the House the Order which had been sent to Scotland. He could hardly have thought the Order genuine; and yet he knew not how to doubt the fact,' for it bore all the usual marks of authenticity. He saw it published in a Scotch Newspaper, as coming from the Privy Coun cil, and the letter accompanying it was signed " J. Buller." The Letter ran thus :—" You hereby receive an Order of his Majesty's Privy Council, directing certain alterations to be made in the Form of Prayer for the Royal Family, so far as relates to Scotland." Now this was surely a most singular and absurd di rection, when it was considered that in Scotland there existed no particular Form of Piayer, in which an alteration could be made !—Again, the Moderator ofl the General Assembly was told, " You will be pleased to see that dirt - obedience be paid thereto." Who ,owed this obedience? Not the General Assembly; .for they owed nothing whatever to the Privy Coun cil—consequently it could not be expected this the •Order would be held as binsliez: Then the House would see to whom the Order was addressea--:.to the Moderator, a person over whom the parties had no • more authority than over the city Ofieonstantinople! (A laugh).—The Noble Lord next read=y copy of the Order in Council, and observed that BishoOwete enjoined to carry it into execution, irsi:ceuntry *We there were no Bishops !—(Laughter).:,; -The Act of the 10th of Anne ordered that the Queen and the Princess Septia of Hanover should be piayed•fortly name,' while living. The ground of that Act was; because in most parts of Scotland a strong * disposition prevailed in favour of the Pretender, who was usually prayed for as ling . The frequency o f th e pract i ce had given rise to the well-known distich— • 4 . Who the Premier is, and who the rso k r— , " Goa bless us all—is quite another Mae It was very clear that the Act was limited to Queen Anne and the Princess Sophia, and that no alteration could be made in it as to the English At. If the Privy Council had in reality any such power as that they had usurped, what good could an Act of Par liaMent do them ? What necessity had they for it? The other Act to which he had adverted wasthei* 'B3cl of Geo./11. It appeared . to- him th a t thi s A c t gave the Privy COuncil no more authority than if they quoted the Koran. It was addressed solely and exclusively to the Episcopalians. What use was it to ides u Act of Parlament which product! ao effect, and did not in the least apply to the It' those Acts ever had any operation ie - was not because they were held to ' but in consequence of a special I the peneral Assembly. Thus, when married; the Prince and Princess • commended to be prayed for by Churches of Scotland. No ream , the facts adduced, and all he now was, upon that principle the first that of the Kirk Session, and the second, that of the arrest, could have occur • whole proceedings were nugatory - sooner they ceased the better. In rest, he would claim the sympathy the individual aggrieved. He understood a highly respectable Clergyman, in posed to create irritation the put rather repressed his own feelings w, did not accord with the sentiments an outrage on the Clerical character Gentleman, who discharged Clerical i be put under military arrest because at the word of command !=—(Cheers.' was this proceeding to be endured ' were precedents for it. Precedents, precedents mighfbe quoted for draggit to the Old Bailey !. It appeared that, in of the arrest, a cerrespondence had been with the Noble Secretary for the Home '... and transmitted. by him to the Lord Advoc - aft himself, he made no previous application • tain the nature of that correspondence, .- go to the fountain-head at once, and in; tion before the House, The letter of Lort.,„. must eithei justify the arrest or condemn it. If justified it, would it not be a gross injustice? —if condemned it, would not the Privy Cc_ -- their own Order? 'lle would submit to the from the facts - he:had stated, a Nether the the present motion could be considered a the orders of the House? Ile could: that the Noble Lord, who hid so desi ) most unfairly and most unjustly by bin., when he made use of the words at a tin* s, lowed no opportunity either of expianation cr* The -Noble Lord concluded with moving for amp s of the Order ju Council sent to the Moderated, ' General Assembly of the Church of Scetlaad, also a copy of a letter addressed vy Lord to Colonel. Gordon, respecting his having pla t a Rev. Mr. Gillespie under military arrest. Lord GLENORCHY rose to second the mesa -lie considered the order sent to the Modem:aril General Assembly as a breach of the fundaem 'principles of the Church of Scotland—(Hear, lee a Church that admitted of no temporal intoferes; either as to the discipline or regulation of :dainty, netted with public worship. This pi ivilege hak e long contended for both by words and acts, and hi at last been established and ratified by the blordif persons who thought it an object every stay weatei being achieved. Ihe right for which they had some nuously contended, was secured t' them - by Simi Acts of Parliament, and if those Acts hat:aryl* considered, he did not see how any infraction of den could possibly have been'attempted. The pellet' Scotland were a religious people, and veighed sell every subject connected with Religion, Re ad discover no good motive for the orsiertansminol the General Assembly. Vas it sent withal' view promoting the dignity of the Crown 'and theboor of the Royal Family ? Was it sent for themes of advancing the interests of Religion? No, aco templated neither of these• objects. He etoldiel no other motive for it, than a desire to indulge sal those uncharitable feelings and vindictive polies which marked the whole of the proceeelitig,sspist her Najesty—( Loud chee rs ). The LORD ADVOCATE had hoped thatthe his ble Lord would not have felt it his duty to posies motion, but whether it s uc c e e ded or n ot was tobi La m atter of indifference: It Was clear that these don was brought fo rw a r d with:she view of tea" : 'question upon it, and he gave the Noble Lord kJ credit for the zeal he erinceifin favour oftheatadi of Scotland. 'lf apPiared . tO - hirn, however, Oak war mistaken when he charged a Noble Lord it ig side of the House with having spoken of his UPU as a disgrace to the- books(liear, hear).-1101 Lord Advocate) had never - heard atry.Sedlerfea from the Noble Lord in question. No elan wallas disposed than himself to respect the freedom antic dependence of the Church of Scotland, always ca tending, at the same time, that it should be mdf the controul of the law, and of Acts of Parliaam Facts might be adduced in reference to the pail f'or the last hundred years, to shew that the AP ments of the Noble Lord could not be sustained:lA he should not dviell upon these to shew that is . suing ofthe-Orderin Council addressed to the of Scotland was a legal exercise of power—nor he. talk of the subject of. omitting•the Queeismi in the Liturgy r for GOD knew, it was one npceall the House and the C ountr y ad already heard ft 'etiough—(Hear, hear).— He should confine hie; to that which was the proper questien-a o nelb legility of issuing the Order in 03uncil. .VPeet ference to the Act of the 10th of Anne, c. 7, 134 " found,: that to neglect praying for the Queen, ce ol Princess Sophia, subjected the Clergyman to apeaß of £2o—(Cheers and laughter from the. toil He wouli not refit upon that Act—(LeuraerL s . would appeal, to the repeated decisions in the bco7_.. Courts, from which it would appear that Clergy ad Jaw punished fox neglecting to pray, aa„: 'Q ,been but for George'L—(Hear, hear). ' real question for the House to consider was, Whe t , the Act was restricted to Queen .Anne and then! cess Sophia, or whether it did not apply to eeerl7, tu o re n i l issued Sovereign rn It enjoined that the Princess Sophia should be p a r for, but that Princess having died three manila the He feign w oulodf Queen refe r to A n tau nehOrder heir Cu g the Queen, was it to be supposed that the op-;er, of the Act did not apply in the case of every 'heir apparent ? Upon the death of the Princess 10 phia, an order was immediately sent to the Assembly, directing that the Elector of B r . 0 , / should be prayed for. This order was date d L . :: year 1 1 71.4. An order had afterwards beef 3 : 11 1 directing that George I. should be prayed f or ,ed fordo ' was sent down at a time when persontraY.„ ,_ is King, but did not choose to name hint.: le t. D o .expressly enjoined that they should pray for vercign by nape. After the death of Qat% 1"'" iPply to th e • qutit... !ration in Se n d Id to be compel ecommendatioe , Olen the preient ess of Wales Were by n ame s ire au ,son could . b e . ;i now wi s h ed 7 o ;c7 first case, wi t t eit he second, whi c h , re occurred? u ,tory and absurd, In the Cate 0f the athy of t he H eme 4 understo o d h ien to an, and En little - ! public nsind, L k" ;s when he food ents of othe rs . racer gene ra ll y t arical fu nct i on ,. came lie . did no t reey:s.) would .• red ? But then dents, forsooth! 'ragging a oe • A that, in consti had been ear t i e d le Home Depoi n „, Lord Advocati, application to a te , )odence, pref ert i le t, and bring th e , :tcr of Lord Sid or condemn it. If • grths rivy Council submit to the lin, bether the mir e nsidered a disgra r . cctuld ;tot help sa to designatedit, y by him,pi r o e „ , •, Is at a tittle %ha al.