Star. — London, England, 1810-06-21 00:00:00

PROCEEDINGS. HOUSE OF LORDS, JUNE 20. 'Their ILerdships met at ten o'clock, on the Roxburgh Estate sod Peerage cause, when The Earl of LAI7DF.RDALF, rose, and delivered, from a writ ten book, an argument on the subject, replete with deep research and Ingenuity, which lasted five hours and a half; in which Isis Lordship contested the opinion of the Lord Chancellor; and main tainel from various grounds and illustrations, and quoting•tin in finite variety of 'cases and decisions, that the " heirs male" meant heirs male genera)ly, and nor simply heirs male of the body. The LORD CHANCELLOR made various remarks, and the awl of Lit en x RDA L It explained, after which the House adjourned during pleasure. ROYAL COMMISSION. The LORD CHANCELLOR, the Duke of MONTROSE, and Lord WALSlNGHAM,returned,robed, and took their seats on the Woolsack, as Lords' Commissioners—the Royal Coirimis lion was then read, and by commission, the Royal Assent was given to $2 Bills. DEBTOR AND CREDITOR LAWS.. Lord REDESDALE, in the Committee, proposed some amend . . tuents, and stated his opinion, that a new Court should be formed for this branch of Judicature, composed of one Judge. The Earl of MOIRA and Lord HOLLAND spoke strongly In favour of the meaibre, lamenting any delay, (however now tn.- , eessary) till next Session. • liar! STANHOPE was in favour of three Judges, rather than . • 4 • s , K ef one ; and, after various remarks, the Bill went through the Committee, and was ordered to be printed. - • ' • RoXEUROU CAUSE. o The House resumed the debate on this cause, when The LORD CHANCELLOR spoke again at considerable . _ length, and ended with moving a Resolution, which was finally agreed to; after tikeeches from the Earl of LAUDERDALI on the one side, and Lords RELIESHALL. MELviLte, and the Leap CHANCELLOR op the other. • • The,purport of the Resolutions was to give to Sirlames Inns Kerr, as the heir male of the body of Lady Margaret kerr, the preference of claim to the Estate, 'reserving the question of the few., Ste, and the proof of .propinquity, forth* establishment of his right to the Earldom of Roxburgh. The LORD CHANCELLOR then stated his Intention to move the taking the remaining part into consideration in the ft* week of next Session. WALCHEREN riP EDI T I 01.1. The Earl of DARNLBY made 'several remarks on 'the Wal- eheren Expedition, and stated his intention ro move early next - ' liessitn on tbigaubject, when he would shay more clearly' the errors of Nttnisters.--Acljoumed. -` x HOUSE OF 'COMMONS. The House attended in the House of Peers, and Iteard the Royat Assent given to 32 different Bills. COVENTRY PETITION. Mr. MILLS said, that misrepresentation having extensively prevailed respecting a Petition from Co ventry, laid upon the table on Wednesday last, which had been said to be the Petition of the Mayor and. Freemen of that City, although his Hon. Colleague (Mr. Moore) had distinctly and correctly.stated it to be the Petition of the Inhabitants, Householders, end Electors of the City of Coventry. He .was autho riZed aid earnestly pressed to assure the House, that the Mayok had refused to call the Meeting at which the Petition was agreed to, which met with his dis approbafon as well as that of the Aldermen. Mr. Mills observed, that, as he did not intend to make any motion upon the subject, he could not presume • to take up any more of the time of the House. A new Writ was ordered for the Borough of Ripon, in the room of the Hon. Frederick Robinson, who bas accepted the Chiltern Hundreds. Mr. WHARTON brought up an Account of the Increase and Diminution of the Salaries of Civil Officers. Ordered to lie on the table. On the motion of Mr. PETER MOORE, the Amendments of the Lords to the Drury-lane Theatre Till were agreed to, and the mover ordered to take it to the Lords. COUNTER ADDRESS FROM SIIEFirIELD. Mr. WILBERFORCE rose for the purpose of performing a duty, which, notwithstanding his con tinued indisposition, he was proud to discharge. Fit helil in his hand a Petition-from a very large body of his Constituents, inhabitants of the town and vicinity of Sheffield. It was from the state of his health im- possible for hun to have been in his place when a pe tition from that town was rejected. He had now only to observe, that he derived great pleasure from pre senting a petition, claiming such respett from the num ber and respectability of the persons whose names 4vere affixed to it. The Petition was then read,--it disavowed all con . neetion with the persons who had carried the rejected petition. It placed its confidence in the wisdom and justice of the House of Commons, convinced that it -.should take the proper- means of effecting such an economical and parliamentary reformation, as to them • should seem fit and proper. Mr. WILBERFORCE, in rising to move that it should lie on the table, took the opportunity of ob serving, that the House must feel the propriety of its course, when it called forth such concurrence from the public as was expressed in the petition just pre sented. He entered eloquently into a panegyric upon the many and great blessings which the people of this Country enjoyed, by that Constitution which was the object of admiration with all nations. With respect to Parliamentary Reform, he, who was a moderate reformer o preferred a time of coolness rather than one of public heat for the discussion of that grear_ques- 'Ltion, because the greater danger was, lest the House' ';:should go too far, rather than too little,in follbwing.up such a principle. He thought the House, then on the point of breaking up, could fairly take a review of its conduct, and feel itself perfectly justified. In discus ; sing the many popular objections now so prevalent, ' there was not one in his mind so replete with injurious consequences, than the unceasing endeavour to direct the public attention. wholly to the blemishes of the Constitution, thereby weaning the public mind from every consideration of the many blessings which the people enjoyed under it. Mr. HUTCHINSON said, that however disposed he might have been to let the present motion pass without any observation upon his part, yet there were ene or two passages in the speech by which it had - been introduced, which he could not so 'caddy suffer to go unnoticed. It had been too_ much the practice of those who pretended to an exclusive attachment for the Constitution to call in question the motives of the men who, in order to preserve that Constitution, —were anxious to abolish all the abuses that endanger. ed it. He certainly could not impute to the Hon. Gentleman the having made any direct charges. of that sort, but the 'general tenor of his speech did ap. pear to him (Mr. Hutehinscin) tosonvey more than indirect insinuations to' that effect. He 4iNuld not follov the Hon. Gentleman in the steps of his elabo rare eulogy, but suilly if the Constitutiop was worthy of such high praise, it more particularly called for tiler preventing care i and without imputtng motives , • . • . all the d' ..4:: to any set of men, he oonld not help thinking that .41. f they who were anxious to remove these blemithes which the iunovatink of time bad introduced, gave as rational proofs of their loyal attachment to the con stitution, as those who thought it enough to praise it. -He, for his part, would rather witness the removal those defects that had grown upon the Constitu tien, thanlisterrto the vague praises of its original Excellence. 'He preferred those practical eulogies that took effectual careto preserve what they praised. , Another point was the right of petitioning : this was' 'one of the most valued and unquestioned rights of the people. He feared that the conduct of the House that Sessions had not been such as to shevi their re spect for that right. In examining petitions it had too much indulged in a minute and verbal criticism; equally unworthy their dignity and their justice: lie contended that so invaluable a right ought not to be defeated by sophistical cavils. The language of in dignant complaint could not be expeCted to please the objects of it. .The , l§lonse, constituted as it then was p had been the subject of general complaint and dis trust, and would, he feared, continue to be,so until the wishes of the country were yitlded to in a reform of its representation.. On the subject of privilege he would say nothing more, than that he had: alwayA thought that the privileges of that House were only valuable in defence of the peoples' liberties ; certainly that he conceived to be the object of their creation, and in that view he was sorry to be obliged to give it as his humble opinion, that the exercise of their privi leges during that Session had been in certain instances hostile to the interests of the country. • Mr. CA ',RAFT observed, that afte .r lis .LC_ _ agreements of the 'Session, in which Ministers were left in many Minorities, it was impossible for him to subscribe to the infeience, that they separated with that unity of sentiment which the Honourable Mover fancied to exist. He was assured that the real fact was, that the House during the Session had done no thing to raise itself in the estimation of the public.- - He did, however , hope, that when it was again as. sembled it would the absolute necessity of taking the course recommended by the Petition, namely, of considering the best means of an Economical and Parliamentary Reformation. He hailed the admission of such grave authority as that of the Hon. Movn, when he pronounced himself a friend to Reorm. Mr. WILBERFORCE, in explanation said, that be had not avowed himself a Friend to Parliamentary Reform, only that he preferred for such consideration a season when the public mind was not sanguine in the pursuit, because, then there was no danger of car rying the principle to a dangerous extreme. Lord TEMPLE observed, that when specific grip'''. ances were brought forward, he Was most ready to admit that specific remedies ought to be.considered. In that view, and that view only, was he a friend to Reform, always opposed as he should be to gene. ral undefined changes, such as was demanded under what the public clamour designated Parliamentary Reform. He defended the Privileges of the House of Commons, but protested against the principle of any subordinate Court being allowed to decide upon them. REPORTS OF COMMITTEE OF FINANCE. Mr. BANKES brought up the second part of the Sth Report of the Committee on Public Expenditure, rether with an a' lndix, which were Ordered to lie should, on the contrary, assert, that our ancestors had been guilty of practices at which the present ge neration would startle.. He was truly afflicted when ever he heard the present times represented as *nes of the greatest corruption iniquity. All be beg ged of - Gentlemen to recollect was, the Limo when returns to that House were decided like admissions to a club, by ballot. Of this he-was sure, that there was more honour, more purity, and more principle in the present than in any former times. Mr. BROUGHAM agreed, that corruption had greatly diminished within the last 150 years, in con sequence of-the great increase of civilization, and the consequent extension of vii tue. Put he must observe, that so little of the practices of bribery had been of late discovered, because of the decency with which the thing was managed, and the experienced cunning of the election agents. The Learned Gentleman then took a brief review of the.pr. ..f the Bill, as opened by his Learned Friend, and pointed out those which he would recommend to him to re-consider.— His Hong and Learned Friend had his thanks fn. not only this bill, but also for these which he gave notice of his intention to bring forward next Session, because he considered these as part of the wisest find most desirable plan of reform, and the only cute that to him appeared pracicable. The Hon. Gentleman then adverted to the ferment which the unauthorized pub lication of his letter oil reform, solely intended for the perusal of. a few of his friends, had produced in the northern parts of this kingdom, and concluded by stating it to be his intention, if no Member better qualified fur the task should undertake it, to bring forward a measure on the subject of reform, which tog_ __ppet on t 1 table, and to be printed ; as were also a re. port from the same Committee, respecting the col lect:on of the property and assessed taxes in Scotland ; a report relative to the buildings; civil and military which have been carried on and are now carrying on in Great Britain ; a report concerning the linen board in Ireland ; and a report which related to the printing and stationary, together with an appendix. „Lord PORCHESTER moved, that the Committee appointed to investigate sinecure offices have leave to report their Minutes of Evidence. Leave was given, 'and the report afterviii-ds brought up by Lord Por chestcr, and ordered to be printed. BRIBERY BILL. Mr. C. WYNNE, in rising to move the Order of 'the Day for going into a Committee on the Bribery Bill, felt it necessary to apologize for trespassing on the attention of the House in stating the objects that he had in view in bringing forward this Bill, which there was no possibility of passing this session. But he felt whia great advantages would be derived from having the provisions of the Bill known, and thereby taffording Gentlemen an opportunity of thriving their attention to the subject. What had been offered to be proved at the Bar of that House last year, respec ting a charge brought against a Right Honourable Gentleman (the Chancellor of the Exchequer); and 'others, Members of that House, shewed the necessity of providing further measures to prevent the practices which were known to exist. The Bill of an Honou rable Friend of his (Mr. Curwen) not then in his place, went a certain length towards that object, but it was necessary to go farther. Under that impres sion he had brought forward this measure. By one of the clauses, every Member would be obliged, on taking his seat, to take an oath that he had not been guilty of bribery at the election. Such an enactment as this was absolutely necessary ; as, if seats shout 4 still continue to be sold, the Act of last Session would be a perfect mockery. By adopting progressive measures of this description they would infinitely bet ter accomplish all objects of practical reform than by enterirg into general discussions—whether Parlia ments, for instance, should be annual—whether': small Boroughs should have the right of returning Members to that House—or whether the_ right of suffrage should be confined to Freeholders, or exten ded to all persons paying taxes ? Bribery had greatly increased, and the Act: against it had proved nuga tory. He did not, however, mean to make the pe nalties against b ribery too heavy, for that woad in duce Jurors to hesitate in finding the parties 04. He proposed to repeal the provision of the law as at at present stands, which indemnified it person, wbp' discovered, against another guilty of bribery, lot every act Qt bribery he may have committed during the election, and to limit the indemnity to the partt cular act of bribery - so discovered. It was, as it ap. peared Co him, highly impolitic to allow ii person *ho may have tempted Atoo oes 500 poor persons, to accept bribes, to cover hisneelf frurn-the consequences in so zany cases, by making * discoviry against nee person. - The last clause his Bill Was to enable pe:sons, not bin ither idiaates electors, • I would shew that he was not open to the attacks which had been made upon .him. . Mr. LOCKHART agreed that the Honourable and Learned Gentleman, the author of the Bill, was entitled to the thanks of the House ; end, feeling t:iat the direct tendency of the measure was to put down bribery,expressed his determination to sn pport the Bill. Lord POkCHESTER expressed his surprise that none of his Majesty's Ministers had favoured the House with their sentiments upon this measure; If this Bill, and others of a similar description, should be adopted, nothing was to be expected from the blank piper Bill of last Session. He thought his Ma. jesty's Ministers, more than all other persons, were interested in the passing of this measure. Sir SAMUEL ROM - ILLY was unwilling that this Bill should go over to next Session of Parliament without his expressing his entire concurrence in' its general provisions. He agreed with his Noble Friend that it was strange his Majesty's Ministers should not attend the discussions of such a measure, considering what passed last Session, and that the Bill then introduced was represented and justified as commencement (t a series of measures of reform. If that Bill were not to be followed up with other", it would have a most pernicious effect, by throwing a monopoly of the traffic in seats into the hands of Go vernment. He trusted, however,. that measures of moderate reform would .be steadily pursued, as that was the only species of reform that offered any pro. speet of being carried into effect : and the radical reform, which appeared to sortie persons attainable, could not be accon4plished without convulsions of the most destructive description. Mr. WHARTO',..I observed, that as the Honour able and Learned Gentleman had proposed only to open his measure in . that 'instance, to the House, and nothing final was to be determined on respecting it till next Session, it was rather extraordinary to make it matter of charge against his . Majesty's Ministeq that they had not taken part in a discussion which could lead to no result. • Mr. C. W. WYNNE made a few oboarvations in reply, and to thank his Honourable and Learned Friends for their support ; after which the Bill went through a Committee ; the report was brought up ; the Bill, with the amendments, ordered to be prigteth and the report to be taken into further consideration this day week. • TWEE Of GLOUCESTER. Mr.-BROIJOHANI wished to be informed, as a report Whs abroad on the subject, whether the sum granted out of the Droitt of Admiralty to the Dole of Gloucester, was not ad the Enacts. tor of his father ? • Me2I,ONG answered, that the sum granted was Dot to the fresest, but to the late Duke of Gloucester. , • 'COLLEGE OP PHYSICIANS. Mr. PRENDERGAS r rose to give notice of I motion for next. Session., It respe c ted certain bye-laws, which be under stood had been adopted, and wer e now acte d upon by the Col lege if Physicians. The operation or these bye-laws woad be found to opefatte in a manner to involve a question of great put,- lie Interest,. as:far as it •affeeted. the rights of some very eminent professional gentlemen, and interfered by that operatlen with the 'Crimea:rice of 'a large portion of the inhabitants of the metropp- hs. IThe tow not on the veiy eve of a prorogation attempt to enter fully into the question; hi should content himself with giv- z - can,.._ _ or ,to petition against O l— re et tu t in for bribery aid co rruption. iv notre,e• - tbst be siould subcnh smelled to thi Route respect ing the whple be 0 pl&early period of tile tnsuing Sesdon, ThOugiii doubts, be. understood, were felt upon this links) the College of Phyeicians should find it expedient to re. point, he could dot but cot der some sftat provision seiruklaws which wo u ld a pp ear . to b e extremely vtgatiou. sad necessary, becauso ha soots* of the small iSiteughi *ill usitiff. :4- * . tulaked ST to-tiorrow• ~,~.. . Atk, AMT . INDIA HOUSE. 'the inhabitants were ses touch interested in the conti. i nuagce of the practice, that there could be no pros- .-__ • pect of detection, unless the right of petition should 1 Yaterd at a General Special Court o f t h e be given to strangers. He had thus gong . through tors of India Stock was held at the India the provigidgi of the Bill; bin there were other points ' The CHAIRMAN declared a dividend of which he should barely mention, by way of notice, half per cent. on the Capital Stock of the that he should bring under the consideration of the from the sth of January Last to sth of July House nett Session. The first was some regulation . was agreed to. relative to the conveyance of electors to the place of Agreeably to one of the Company's bye election ; the next. was some regulation by Act of titles of the different papers, connected with Parliament of the manner of issuing the writ. Ann. pany's affairs, lately laid before the two ' ther ai•as the adoption of some measure for shorten- Parliament, were read, among others, tl ing the duration of the poll, and enlarging the num- comparative statements of the annual cha, ber necessary to be polled in each hour, in order to nual revenue of the. Company, in the dig, keep the poll open, one only being required at pre- l dencies for the three years, 1805-6, It. sent. He meant also to propose to enlarge the re. 1807-B„and estimates for the year lgoa.o. cognizance of persons presenting frivolous petitions, J Mr. RANDLE JACKNOS asked, if tl..t whole in order to compensate the injured parties, the d2OO laid before Parliament were now on the table now required being to the Crown, and not to the Court ? party vexatiously aggrie*ed. Having said thus much I The CHAIRMAN stated, that all the paper s of his objects and intentions, he should conclude with fore the House of Commons had been pr ! moving that the Bill be committed, in order to have the Court. There were other papers the blanks filled up, when he should propose that the the Select Committee of the House of ( Bill be printed, and afterwards lie over for consider- tides of which it had not been thought ation till next-Session. to r...ad to the Court. On the question being put, I Mr. Ifamm.E maid, it was his intention to k m . Mr. G. JOHNSTONE agreed with the Honour- stiov,:d that the Accounts relative to the state to* L y e . able and Learned Gentleman, that it was extremely Company's affairs should have been referred to desirable to put a stop to bribery, but could not con- Committee of the Directors, or of the Pnapra etots, • ct cur with him that any new law war necessary for the purpose of preparing an accurate and compl ete that purpose. The fact was, that the practice of bri. statelneat of the same ; but, as he under s t oo d k m bery had greatly diminished.; and as it had been said - die tides of the ;,.‘ ers read, that these accounts in that House, that avowals had been made in Par- Iprepared by the Company itself, and not by t h e c aw liament, at which our ancestors would startle, he istlittee of the House of Commous he did sot di t it necessary to follow up his intention. ,Mr. RANDLOACKSON said, be had not asked if al; the titles, but if all the papers, were on 11:e tablet so that their contents could be accessible to the pr o . prietors. Mr. Gnarr said, all the papers which had ism laid before the House of Commons in consequence of an order from the . Speaker, were befise the c ourt ._ Those which bad been produced without any order were not now produced, but they might be added the Court required them. Mr. Rrs-c begged to ask, if Sir George Barlow bad received instructions from the Government at home fur his late condiact, in which case st must be understood that the responsibility did not attach to him ; or if he acted on his own authority The CIIAIRMAX thought die question irregular, as the business could not now be discussed. In justice to. Sir George Bailow, however, he must say, t h at Isis conduct had been the result of instructions from the Supreme Government in India, and from this country. Mr. R:MIDLIC JACIESON thanked the Hon. Chairman for the candOur of ' his communication on so delicate a ~object. He begged to take tilt opportunity of re• commending to Gentlemen, before the next Sessicn of Parliiment, to make it their business, as far as was possible, to understand. the situation of their own affairs. This •Antild afford the best answer which could he given to the charges which he could already anticipate would he made against 6.cm. There was a spirit prevailing to decry Corporate Bodies, and to treat their property with less ceremony than the pro perty of private - -sons. He was sorry to observe, pm., per was sorry to that this spirit was encouraged even by those Gentle., men who had been used to argue most loudly in fa your of liberty and property. It was qiii!e common now, however, to tal': of the rights of tied Company with eqn.ll indifference as Gentlemen would du of the -weather, or any other casual circumstance. Before .Gentlemen talked so irreverently, he wished they would acquaint themselves whence any temporaryor intermediate wants of the Company arose? If their exhaustion had not proceeded from an over-ardent zeal to serve the country ?" He begged that the Court of Directors, and also the Proprietors, would apple their minds to this subject, and by acquainting them• selves thoroughly with the state of the Company's affairs, they would eas ly be enabled to spew as be• tween themselves and the public, if any thing arose •at present to embarrass the affairs of the Company, 'it originated in their exertions for the public, and was to be attributed solely to the public account. A strange and strong antipathy had lately seized certaio public - characters against the monied interest, whether annuitants or dealers—but this was principally di rected against two Corporate Bodies, of whom the Company was oie. He knew how soon such a feel ing took possession of the public mind—he was anxi ous, however, that he and his fellow Proprietors should be informed as far as it was possible to be, on the state of the Company's affairs. The People of ; England were radically righi, and would not wit lingly lend themselves to injustice. Let the Propn etors but understand their own - affairs, and with that ' species of armour against the attacks of their enemies they might depend on success. The Cumuli:AK then moved, that the Court of Pre prietors do approve of the Resolution of the Direc ' ler% as to the fate of ihe four ships the Calcutta, Jane Duchess of Gordon, Lady Jane Duodas, and Bengal. The 4th of J uly was fixed for taking the ballot on these tour oases. Mr. JACKSON, alluding to the numerous taptures of the Company's vessels, declared his confliction that the only way to remedy this oil was by making. it worth the while of our privateers to capture the pri• vateers of the enemy. It was quite the policy of our enemy, knowing he had no te ,de of his own, to lc: loose probably 40,000 men, or whatever other nun ber he had in the privateering service, knowing such was the despotic nature of his Government, that he could recover then% et pleasure, and that this was the very best 'andboldest education which he could confer upon them to quality them at any after'period for his marine service. Mr. Rini , appiOiled of the' scintiments expressed by the Houtxtrabk and Learned Gentleman. He wished also to know what answer had been made by the Ad kniralty on the subject of regulating the impressing ef stnen from the Company's ships ? The CHAIRMAN assured the Worthy Proprietor that the answer, which was read, was perfectly satisfactory. caners,' Etc. DISMIssRD. The CHAHUIAN was happy to propose to the Court to approve of a Resolution of the Court of Directors restoring to the - service of the Company, in the cap ,ho had boP- ti:' city of ;Witter, Mr. Magniac, 'wl __co Agit , presented by an individual Director.. Mr. JACILIOU asked if there WAS any partisularli distinguishing circumstance in this case ? di t: ;:• , Tho CIIAIRMAN Said there sorely was t hi s k:;:• P4RLI4ME?IydRY ROYAL COMMISSION. The LORD CHANCELLOR, the Duke of MONT] and Lord WALSlNGHAM,returned,robed, and took the on the Woolsack, as Lords' Commissioners—the Royal Ct lion was then read, and by commission, the Royal Asses given to $2 Bills. . DEBTOR AND CREDITOR LAWS.. Lord REDESDALE, in the Committee, proposed some * Mans, and stated his opinion, that a new Court should be for this branch of Judicature, composed of one Judge. • The Earl of MOIRA and Lord HOLLAND spoke stro favour of the meaihre, lamenting any delay, (however emery) till next. Session. .., • liar! STANHOPE wa in favour of three Judges, rathl , K of one ; and, after various remarks, the Bill went throt Committee, and WAS ordered to be printed. • Rognitkitl CAUSE. o The I-louse resumed the debate on this cause, when The LORD CHANCELLOR spoke again at consiu length, and endeel with moving a Resolution, which was agreed to; after skeches from the Earl of L.%VDERDALI one side, and Lords RELIESDALL. MELvittr, and the CHANCELLOR op the other. • The„purport of the Resolutions was to glee to Sirlame : Kerr, as the heir male of the body of Lady Margaret Xe preference of claim to the Estate, 'reserving the question feu% &e, and the proof of .propinquity, forth* establishn ' his right to the Earldom of Roxburgh. ; The LORD CHANCELLOR then stated his Intendant the taking the remaining part into consideration in the firs of next Session.- • WALCHEREN tetrPEDITIOIa. The Earl of DARNLBY made 'several remarks nn eheren Expedition, and stated kis intention Co move earl llessitn on this *object, when he would slew more Ilea *errors of Ministers.-Adjourned. • • HOUSE OF 'COMMONS. The House attended in the House of Peers heard the Royal Assent given to S 2 different COVENTRY PETITION. • Mr. MILLS said, that misrepresentation h extensively prevailed respecting a Petition fro sentry, laid upon the table on Wednesday last, bad been said to be the Petition of the Mayo Freemen of that City, although his Hon. Coll, (Mr. Moore) had distinctly and correctly.sta to be the Petition of the Inhabitants, Houseful end Electors of the City of Coventry. Heavas tined and earnestly pressed to assure the House ; 7'zt - the Mayor had refused to call the Meeting at 1 the Petition was agreed to, which met with h approbafon as well as that of the Aldermen. " Mills observed, that, as he -did not intend to any motion upon the subject, he could not pet • to take up any more of the time of the House A new Writ was ordered for the Borough of in the room of the Hon. Frederick Robinson his accepted the Chiltern Hundreds. Mr. WHARTON brought up an Accou the Increase and Diminution of the Salaries of Officers. Ordered to lie on the table. On the motion of Mr. PETER MOORE Amendments of the Lords to the Drury-lane TI - Bill were agreed to, and the mover ordered to t - • to the Lords. COUNTER ADDRESS FROM SHEFFIELD. Mr. WILBERFORCE rose for the purpc performing a duty, which, notwithstanding hi tinned indisposition, he was proud to discharge. - held in his hand a Petitionfrom a very large be his Constituents, inhabitants of the town and vi 'of Sheffield. It was from the state of his healt • possible for him to have been in his place when taion from that town was rejected. He had nov • to observe, that he derived great pleasure from senting a petition, claiming such respect from the ber and respectability of - the persons whose vere affixed to it. The Petition was then read,it disavowed al . neetion with the persons who had carried the re, petition. It placed its confidence in the wisdor, justice of the House of Commons, convinced ...should take the proper. means of effecting s t y economical and parliamentary reformation, as to should seem fit and proper. Mr. WILBERFORCE, in rising to move t should lie on the table, took the opportunity c • serving, that the House must feel the propriety course, when it called forth such concurrence the public as was expressed in the petition jus seined. He entered eloquently into a panegyric the many and great blessings which the people country enjoyed, by that Constitution which w: object of admiration with all nations. With re to Parliamentary Reform, he, who was a mot reformer o preferred a time of coolness rather tha of public heat for the discussion of that great .fion, because the greater danger was, lest the I 'should go too far, rather than too little,in followi such a principle. He thought the House, then c point of breaking up, could fairly take a review conduct, and reel itself perfectly justified. In d sing the many pop . idar objections now so prey there was not one in his mind so replete with injt consequences, than the unceasing endeavour to the public attention, wholly to the blemishes c Constitution, thereby weaning the public mind every consideration of the many blessings whit' people enjoyed under it. ' Mr. HUTCHINSON said, that however dis ' he might have been to let the present motior without any observation upon his part, yet there ene or two passages in the speech by which i - been introduced, which he could not so 'caddy to go unnoticed. It had been too_ much the pr of those who pretended to an exclusive enact for the Constitution to call in question the moti the men who, in order to preserve that Constit —were anxious to abolish all the abuses that end; ed it. He certainly could not impute to the Gentleman the having made any direct charp that sort, but the 'general tenor of his speech d pear to him (Mr. Hutchinson) tosonvey more indirect insinuations to' that effect. He .u!cu: folloY the Hon. Gentleman in the steps of his rare eulogy, but surly if the Constitutiop was vs of such high praise, it more particularly calle • - fir preveuting.care ; and without imputing m • r the P ropel, is Hou le . Df five aad a he c omp* , ly nextorhi c r i bye law s, t i lt 6 'ith the C on , o House; tte differelt large and as. i ficr eitt Pnhi. 18(6:7 ) 4:,4 -9. whole Pap er table of th, apers laid h e . I produced submitted t o omm ons . ti , necessary tu.e