Star. — London, England, 1822-06-06 00:00:00

b o red that would itcit thenise The Marquis of LONDONDERRY said. that if • by the-Mord:Wish*, were . meant' .a Committee up stain, he was serest* itOthing had 'ever fallen from , that side of i lftelie l lo countenance the expecta tion of, such-an the inqiimintn the•state of Ireland being instituted. Thcstate ;lithe agricultural interest; the police of the empire, Ihe yySteni - of tithes, and most other questions ureivincthe: consideration of the state of the leedinernteresitk of. the.critintry, had un dergone inquiries in tisidAlbuie,..in a way which he conceived' to be' the iinlrpractical mode Ter the House to inquire. To such an.inquiry, Geiverninent. were most anxious to lend themselves. In his poi ; nion, the best mode of inquiry in such caseswesl i io allege the grievance, and to seek for the lkest remedy that could. be. applied to it. That species of inquiry. was cnestantly going on, ant rise hoped would never' cease whilst there was any euestion of consequence to' thi interests of the nation demanding their attention. He should be extremely happy to glve.his most cor dial co-operation to the suggestions of any measure from the Hon. Baronet opposite, applicable I. the , present state of Ireland. Honourable Gentlemen op posite had . with great readiness given the Coercive measures required for Ireland, in confidence to the Government of chat country ; and he had no doubt that the information which would be afforded by his Right Hon. Friend (Mr. Goulburn) would convince them that they were justified in the grant of confi dence which they had made. The spirit of leniency in which his Majesty's Government were disposed, on both sides of the water, to treat that country, was seen in their intention to remit the Suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act. Mr. C. H. HUTCHINSON said, that if his Ma jesty's Government suffered the Session to pass away without doing anything for Ireland but continue the Insurrection Act, and apply certain local relief, with out pointing attention to the internal state of that country, and devising some system of' general ame lioration, they would not do their duty to that coun try or the empire. If the Noble Lord and his col leagues did not devise some means of turning the • misery of that country to happiness and pease, not all the military force of England and Scotland could keep down the population. He called upon his Ma jesty's Ministers, therefore, to put their shoulders to the wheel for the security of the empire, and not to satisfy themselves with saying that they were willing to lend themselves to any measure that might be proposed. He was excessively grateful for the noble contributions from this country, and for the disposi tion shewn by Government to relieve Ireland of taxes to a certain extent ; but all that would not do. He knew the difficulty of the case, and' in proportion ".as it was difficult did it behove Government to look it in the fake, as the certain destruction of the whole country would flow from the evils under which it at present laboured, were they not removed. The Marquis of LONDONDERRY thought his Majesty's Government had not shewn any disposition to be inactive in procuring labour for those who were idle, and food for those who could not get it for them selves. The Hon. Gentleman admitted the difficulty of the case, and although he (the Marquis of Lon donderry) had professed himself willing to give his cordial co-operation to the Hon. Baronet (Sir J. New port) in any measure he might propose for the relief of Ireland, he had not pledged himself to accede to all he should come forward with. . The Motion for the Return was then agreed to. SALT TAX. Mr. CURWEN gave notice, that he would on Tues day next move for the entire repeal of the Salt Tax. Mr. BRIGHT presented a Petition from James Pe ters, a fish-curer of the City of Bristol, on the sub • ject of the Salt Tax. It was very obvious, the Hon. Member stated, that the retention of the tax upon salt used in the fisheries would be highly prejudicial. . The country was obliged to the Chancellor of the Exchequer for the relief now to be afforded ; but it was always to be remembered that that relief was purchased--that it was not given by savings which had been effected, but by increasing the public debt pro tempore. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER had no objection to the Petition which had been presented. He defended the plan which he brought forward, as that which went to relieve the various interests of the country more than aaj odor which had been sug gested. The duty which it was intended should re. main on salt, was in future to be collected at the mouths oldie pits et pans. but that which was to be exported to foreign parts was to be delivered free of all duty , Salt obtained for any other purpose was to pay duty, but ip order that this regulation might not interfere with the trndo of our 6:berme:kin foreign marketi, where salt could lie_ procured on easier terms, it was proposed that a drawback to the amount of the duty should be allowed on every barrel of herrings or other Ash exported, bet this was not to be allowed on fish cured for, borne consumption. In other respects the , fislierieiyould be relieved from manyinconveniences and restrictions of an extremely rigorous nature to which they„ha& been subjected, .and which, while' the dutp continued, were undoubtedly necessary.— The ketition was thea read, and ordered to be printed.' ILCIIESTER JAIL. Sue LBURDETT, in moving for the production of the journal kept by the Magistrates at Ilchester Jail, thought. as a matter of course, it would have been produced when an inquiry was pending on. which it aright throw lieu, and was much surprised that the Fortner motion on this subject had not been acceded t o. The statements which Mr. Hunt had made, that door had been closed which was necessary to be opened, in order to ventilate his apartment; and that a Magistrate bad refused him permission to see his sister, which .it.was saki the Rev. Dr. Colston had authbrised an Honourable Member of that House to contradict, deserved some attention, in order, to :hew what degree of importance ought to be attached to his authority.. The new jailer had opened the door not on Mr. Hunt's account, but to correct the iusalu... not let been telaailt. The - cithei tellittAnasinote int portant. In 1890, application had Iseen,- . made by Mr. Hunt to Dr..Colston; and =POW cliabsArisiting Magistrates (Mr. Moody, be believed), kelaraission to see his sister, in order to excetals .legal in strument, and had been denied. Now**, pi the con tradictions authorised by the Rem. PipeAr being ne =at by what he himself had soam A and }he other . as he believed,. capable of ben contradicted r by - witnesseewho were ready,to appear at , their Bar,. he know not What Berm to apply to the conduct of: that individiab t btat he thought it clear that he was unworthy tp remain in the Nragistracy of the County. He had seen at Bath, ,in a paper called the therborne gircuti, a lengthened' report of a speech made by anitio" Einalet:an near him, in which, very incor lectly, prdbably, it iras stated that Mr. Hunt and a turnkey of the name of Hobbs, bad conspired to punish a Mr: Wyatt, because the latter had surprised Mr. Hunt with Mr. Wyatt's niece on his knee. This story., he was convinced, was without the — Aigh*st. foundation. The insinuation whiCh it contained was very gross, and ought - not to have been 'advanced on slight grounds. This Wyatt had waited upon' Mr. glint, who had 'finally quarrelled with him. 'lane, Hon. Bart. then proceeded to shew that the evidence of Wyatt was not worthy of attention—that he .was 1 at best hilt I half-witted fellow, who had been Con fined for a violent assault on his wife and children, and that his testimony had been very properly stopt by the interference of the Commissioners, on account of its trifling and irrelevant character. He then called the attention of the House to the case of a man of the name of Evans, who had complained against Bridle, and who had been confined in irons. By the way he thought it right to remark that all who had com plained against Bridle, whether officers or prisoners, had been visited for doing so in some way or other. It appeared that an Hon. Member of that House, to whom he had before alluded, had sanctioned the use of irons on one occasion. Hehad gone down to look at the wall where the man had got over, and had approved of confining the individual in the way he had described. Evans had been confined for six months, but it did not appear what had then been done with him. He could wish to know when the man was delivered, or whether (as might be the case for aught that appeared to the contrary), he was still in solitary confinement? The subject must be followed up in some way. It was absolutely necessary to as certain what had become of this man, and that ap peared to him an unanswerable argument in favour of the present motion. The book which he called for ought to be produced. The Right Hon. Gentle man, In refusing to grant it, had fairly admitted that it was not to be regarded as private, as containing merely the memoranda of the Magistrates' private pocket-book. He would not call for it if he thought it would make against the jailer Bridle. But he should judge, that instead of prejudicing him on his trial, its production might be necessary for his de fence, in order to shew that this or that act was per formed in conformity with the order of such or such a Magistrate. He hardly wished to see Bridle prose cuted at all, as he conceived much of what he had done to have been caused by the course which the Magistrates bad pursued. There were two acts which appeared to be his own, the placing a blister on the head of a prisoner, by way of punishment, and the confining a poor female, with her infant, without giving them even the refreshment of a drop of water. He hoped he would only be called upon to answer for those acts which were undoubtedly his own, and that the Attorney-General would be careful to lay the venire in another county, and to make such other ar. rangements as should secure him a fair and inipartial trial, and counteract, so far as might be necessary. any disadvantages under which he might labour at present. He, however, could not see that the pro; duction of the Magistrates' journal was likely to pt.' , judice his case, and from the manner in which it was withheld, he suspected that it contained something of importance. He concluded by moving " An humble Address to his Majesty. praying that he would be graciously pleased to give directions that there should be laid before that House the journal kept by the Magistrates at &hes ter Jail." Mr. Secretary PEEL said the Hon. Baronet had, perhaps unintentionally, misled him and the House, - when rising, as he had understood, merely to move for the production of the Magistrates' Journal, he had gone. into so many circumstances connected With lichester Jail. He now ptoposed to confine himself to-the motion, and the grounds on which he should oppose it. He had already stated, that on the Re port of the Commissioners to the King, he had felt it to be his duty to advise certain proceedings with re spect to that Report. He had taken the opinions of the Law Officers of the Crown: they had advised a prosecution of the jailer, and had accordingly di rected a prosecution to be commenced. He had also addressed a letter to the Lord Lieutenant of the County, stating what had been reported by the Com missioners, as to the scite and condition of the jail ; and requesting hilts (though he believed that to hale been unnecessary) to call the attention of the Local Authorities to the subject. He also wrote to others who were concerned, calling on them to explain what had affected them. The Hon. Baronet admitted that Mr. Bridle at present laboured. under some disad vantages: all he (Mr. Peel) desired was, that these should not be increased ; and therefore he was anxious that the Journal in question, and the explanations which it might be necessary to give with it, should be reserved till after the.triil ; then, should it be ne cessary to the elticidation of the conduct of the Ma gistrates, he would pledge himself to consent to the production of any part of the Journal, or the whole. The explanations which would be given, he was bound to say,. would in many instances afford much satisfaction to the House. With the Journal, the trial being over, he . would consent to the production of any document respecting the scite and condition of the Jail, or the conduct of the Magistrates. Till ~.S. to expect at the time that ge Coercive measures siine the risen card sreetOr ' 4111 r ha weft e granted by the House to his Majaty's Govethnsent: ployediberciii ng been tangly for Ireland. that some period' .of the Session would burned down. N o w . F. . ) had been at *lvy emu' isnnALCUTSCIOISIt inping.tienv An. is lichestur, • . own quiry as to the stas l of *land. The present was a eyes, could say it was impossible. **k Woad bass j)erioti that loudly Cailidloirit ; and, although that.appearedaellsseA7 SD-Gia• as doer ley a. rouge -wholesome inquiry bad always, been Rf stponed, be which had been assigned, as not a stone had been booed that would ace hss the ease on Ibis occasion. touched since the die aka plaxi,:stistitiliklictory had ject he found it necessary in the course of his argument to repeat what had been said before, and to take grounds which had been pre-occupied, he hoped he should not be charged with a tedious consumption of the time of the Rouse. He thought that even his most determined opponents upon this question would allow that he was meeting it fairly and legitimately if he applied himself to the evils, against the danger of which they were called upon to guard—to the re. medies for preventing the evils—and to the objections which bad been urged against those remedies. First of all then, he would consider the evils against which they had to guard. He was sensible that he was about to propose an Alien Bill inn time of peace, and at a time when peace wau in its seventh year. He wail fully sensible that they were under relations of amitil with foreign .nations, and that his Majesty, at the commencement of the Session, had assured them that such relations of amity were likely to continue ; yet whoever should consider the late war in regard to its peculiar character and length, the principles which its commencement involved, the change of dynas. ties which its progress accomplished, and the new in terests which had grown up at its termination.:.-who.. - ever considered all these, could not assert the possibi lity of the mere signature of a treaty of peace having restored the affairs of the world to the situation in• which they were, or of destroyin); the principles which the war had called into action. Whoever looked 'into the present condition of Europe, would seein that quarter of the globe that there had been great ferment and political agitation. There had been conspiracies to overthrow established and legiti mate Ocivernments, carried on bysecret and organised associations. There had been also attempts at revo lution, which had been put down Sy the arm of power. He did not mean at the preient moment to pronounce any opinion upon these transactions, but it was im possible that the spirit of those conspiracies and fer ment's should not continue to exist. 'l'he consequence ' of such political agitation had been the expatriation of many individuals, who had fled from their o n country to this. And, notwithstanding the existence of the. Alien Bill, he would confidently ask, was there any one instance iii which refuge had been de nied them ? No matter what their character, no matter what their country, no matter what associa dens they had been connected with, in no one single instance had an asylum been refused them. They had been met on our shores with a perfect oblivion of the past. He said this to shew that in no one in stance had the hospitality of England, which was justly its pride, been violated by the powers which an Alien Adt vested in the hands of Government. A document which he held in his hand, contained the names or persons now in this country, who had been connected with the political movement: to which he had, alluded ; and there had been no conspiracy or attempt at revolution in Europe within the last two yairs, but some of the persons engaged in it were down in Magna Charta for the treatment of ahc.::s. Now he had turned to Magna Charta, and of course expected to find that the ports were open to aliens at all times and under all circumstances, for their free entrance and departure. But what was his surprise to find that this did not apply to all aliens, and that the clause beginning "mimes tnetcatores" provided that all merchants who were aliens should be ex cluded from participating in this liberality. It con cluded in English thus: " If they be Aliens belong ing to any country at war against us, and if they be found in the land at the commencement of the war, they shall be taken into safe custody, and if ours be safe there, others shall be safe in our land." New this did not appear to him to set off Magna Charm to such particular advantage with regard to its protection to aliens. What was the conduct of this country at a modern period of time towards merchants placed in a similar situation ? What was the case at the peace of Amiens ? Did our country resort to reprisals after the seizure of our merchants? He believed that it was impossible even to contrast the policy of this age with that of others, unless it could be shewn that cir cumstances had not changed with time. But if that contrast could be made, he had no doubt that it would always be to the advantage of the present age. Wi:11 respect to Queen Elizabeth, he had no doubt but that it suited her views to admit foreigners into her domi nions: But if it had been her policy to have acted a different part for the interest of her people, he did not believe that Magna Charm would have been an obstacle to . her doing so. That she had no scruples about the departure of aliens might be pretty easily conceived from an Order in Council,which authorised the Bishop of London to write to Alderman Heywood and Alderman Osborn to this effect—that if thete were any aliens in the City of London belonging to no Church and to no congregation, they were presently to avoid the realm. It was really a matter of surprise to him when he heard objections to such moderate discretion being placed in the hands of Government with respect to aliens, where such extensive powers were given to them,without objection, to be exercised towards persons of this country. Upon such occasions they wanted no precedents from Magna Charta, but 'simply contented themselves with applying a remedy to correct an evil. To shew that this was the case, he would net look to any measure proposed from hi; side of the House, but he would take one of a very recent date coming from a Gentleman on the other side, of very high character in the Court to which he belonged, and who might be taken as a mociel of A Whig lawyer. He said this with a full conviction uf its truth, for he believed that Hon. and Learned Gen• tleman to be a real friend to the constitutional libc.• ties of the people. He meant the Hon, and j Aar neil Member who lately brought in presieut tilt) removal of the Poor. Now ns this *Went its %filed contradiction to the provisions of Magna charts, 142 ?WIT thosconneaepislarier,Wwhq,Fin the present year, although only five months of it were not w i th vr - wire 1161 bad elapsed, there was an increase in the number of same to whearilittifes tiveetkilerrelief foot the . - aliens arri•rinwarertbote departing, of 1191.. What inedreniesellrefinieh be was formerly subjected. he meant to infer from thiftwen, jtkavlue . 41iuo Bill With :aspect to imialaf parmissiosimMrsy. had not operatadesopcohmt the resort of miens to this Mat to ace his sister, he 'maid *Piot word of country, wbeie thif had finind . iiri asylum affording Dr. Colon , which iverei' that- 14' thefint intiniason theta preseation - froor.pramosation.. and even immu- lie'recitirecTihat Mr, Heat had oeistet tst,p4 bal. tkity floto trim.. '; Willini ilyiP , instance they had 'frown Ike dedionritin of the tioneuriblealWea . Ito; lend iinelevir4S e t i li• Ash it Psisist be adiesl why had applied to Mr; Hunt the repletion iirdi ' did they req with rasp cite females r- but doing so, Wield ' . to such e h slightest idea he was Interdicting hist frees . riftrt . l ittliodl i ti sl ord jsot.pt,otection and ob Le . h ; 4 . .., iii i•rt 1., • • . • his sister." 11. (Mr.. Secretary Feel) could not en- i 3 A . 5y . . -2 skdt come here to dese taste to givacsildenee to thisetateinent, coming as it crate . .a`nc ua , Jow 4 h . atlas you refuge ; y c; did from a Megawatts and a Clergymanoill,belSogi t , shalt nalin ~ t. 6 P. Offiltose conspiracies an., l ayoff trousi i s ib ri d o i ng ti t hi r i t i gh . ..as 'rid-m:1 7 .. r sefailTof . RS'Ajiiiie ' compelled to fly you 0 y ew Mr. bICKENSON complained of theattachatmS -dviii 'dada j r ~51/t. .. '4 14'bi More unjust towards as him by the ' Honourable Baronet, whisoot theleast, die‘nOVititrirOfbtfiii Countries than to makethis not i ce h av i ng w oo • o f suc h being his intentibn. nietrnl4llA 1 . /bOilt 0 cabal and conspiracy against He bad a faint recollection that an one occasion he 'them ?' . edi ' nOt.pnt this ease opOn mere surmise, went to look at. a wall which a prisoner had got over, or as sispecolatida'V' the mind, but he stated as a What he did on that occasion was written down and . Minister or the . &OM!, upon his own responsibility, left in the jail. If. in that instance he had sanctioned, that he bilierred it te l l* true, that if tTie Alien Act the use of irons, be would appeal to any one in that were not iiiforce, this Metropolis would be the scene House, except the Honourable Baronet, if they could df cabelssand conspiracies against foreign Powers. be more properly applied to anyone thin to a prison- As a servant of the Crown therefore, he desired to breaker ? With respect to the closing of the door, he dike the ' responsibility of this Measure upon himself, stated, that if the well had not been rebuilt, men had rather than shelter himself under the recommenda• . been employed there at the time when it was or- tion of a Secret Committee. He declared that there dered to be shut. He objected to the production of had been no coa.ideration of foreign interests in the the Journal.. . motives which induced him to propose the renewal of Mr. BROUGHAM, after what had been stated by this Act, mach Jess any foreign interference. It the Right Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Secretary Peel), that was as Secretary of State for the Home Department .the Journal could not be produced without prejudice that he came forward to recommend the measure, ktO the jailer, • who was soon to be put on his trial, and his exclusive inducements were the interests o thought the motion had been resisted on reasonable his country. He should next come to state the na- grounds, and was of opinion the Hon. Baronet had cure and extent of the remedy he was about to pro. better withdraw it. ' pose to meet the evils he had described. The Bill The ATTORNEY-GENERAL opposed the im- enacted that aliens arriving in this country should mediate production of the book, as likely to prejudice state their name and rank, and that a penalty should the case of Mr. Bridle.' attach to masters of vessels bringing persons who Mr. W. COOPER read a letter exculpatory of Dr. did not conform ,:o such rule. But the most mate- Colston. . rial enactment was, that his Majesty should be era- Mr. Alderman WOOD maintained that the defects bled by proclamation, by an Order in Council, or of the jail had not been remedied, dud' its state had by an instrument bearing the sign manual to order : been such, that 4,000 prisoners out of 6,000 had been aliens to quit the country. For non-conformity to the ill. He did not wish the motion to be withdrawn. order they would at first be liable to fine; if they Mr. DICKENSON stated improvements to have refused afterwards they would incur an imprison- been made in the jail, and a machine hid lately been ment of 12 months. There were other circumstan. procured to pump water up from the river. ces which, would subject them to be sent from hence. Mr. ESTCOURT said, with respect to the state- But if the Alien could shew good grounds for his ' ment that out of 6,000 prisonersconfined at Ilchester delay after receiving the order, he was at liberty to 4,000 had been sick, it-rested on documents Which had appeal to the Privy Council, where, if he could make been framed for the Quarter Sessions . A new ac- his appeal good , the order of the ecretary of State i count was made every time, the whole remanent being would be rescinded. He then came to the objections urged against the Bill. In the first place it was ob- i carried over, so that one prisoner who should remain during three Quarter Sessions would in these returns jetted to the measure, that it involved a departure ' count for three. He did not think the production of from the ancient policy and usage of the land, and ; the book would be injurious to Mr. Bridle. It had he was prepared to admit that th e fir s t p resum p tion aw i been in the possession of Mr. Hunt many days, and was always in favour of abiding by the ancient l and usage ;but this was always to give way to erner. if it had contained anything that would make against ▪ the jailer, he did not think it likely that it would have gencies. It was a libel on the Constitution to say ! t escaped him .(Mr. Hunt). that it laid down an iron formula , y v hich they were Sir F. BURDETT replied, and after some remarks necessitated to follow. An Hon. Member had aw.i. ` on the probable effect of the production of the book, cipated his opposition to the Bill by saying that it t consented to withdraw his motion. was against the principles laid down in Magna e The motion was accordingly withdrawn. Charta. It was very much the prevailing custom to 5 refer to former Governments upon questions of policy, ALIEN BILL. and to hold them np as examples to the present age. ~ i lia for the e Secre rene tary PEEL then rose to wal of the Alien Act. submitAs the sub- his mo- This had been done with regard to the reign of Ei- -3 - jest bad been at various times - before the House, if zabeth, and that of King John had been spoken of a, if somemost liberal line of policy had been laid hp Cnnnil it neretsaro in the conrse of his argument ~l~,+ . ~ , zat: