The National Register. — London, England, 1809-04-30 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER,: sideration of the House is simply, whether the Noble Lou! )ms, or has not done that which deserves the censure of th^ Noose. As I have now discharged my duty—alltily unposed on me by a feeling of its public importance, and the magnitude of the subject it embraces, I beg leave to move that the evidence of Lord Castlereagh, Lord Clancartv, and others, examined be fore the Committee appointed to inquire into the eXiii!CIICP of any corrupt practices, in regard to the appointment and nomina tion of Writers and Cadets in - the ser% ice of the East India Com pany, be read, for the pnrpw.e of itirTafting thereon a motion relative to the cmninet of Lord Castlereagh in that transaction. ------- - - - Lord Castlercaell rose, one: was on the point of addressing the house. when a q aestion arose as to the order of proceeding. The Speaker said—" There is no poiat more undoubted that: the course which has obtained for at least a century, upon sub jects of this kind before this liouse, which il:, that when :. charge is brought against any Nimbi.r by another, the documents upon which that charge is fonsuled are laid before the !louse. Th,sn the Member so Charged, if pre,o•nt, is immediately heard io his defence. The course then is, for the Member who stands . charged to withdraw, while the whole natter is to be consider ed. Then the Bon. Member iv ho exhibits the charge is to li:diL: it forward in form, :tonal to propose such a motion as to offer to the House. Lord Castlereanh here rose again—((Order ! Order !—Order ! in the Gal:cr:l, said srveraf. illewbtl - s !—qtdce at the flute ! said the Spcokor.) Sir, if' I. have committed an error in the course of the disch,:r: - -e of my ofdria.l ditty, I a,n anxine , the House should be impre:ssed with the truth, that it is: s not arisen from :soy improper motive on my part; for I ca:, assore the llou:e tiest steel so much upon that subject, that I shall not, in any ex , sl;,...ation which, I -hall ,five of my conduct, say one wort by which I cao appear to lend any sanction to an', principle woich I think injurious to the interests of tin. country. having said this, I do not complain of the course is hick the "Noble Lord has take,s, although I do not feel any excess of kindness in the condor! which the Noble Lord has shewn to wards me in this proceeding; for the general rules of Parlia mentary practice would nut enable him to depart from the mode which he has adopted, which you, Sir, so correctly, laid down before I had the honour of addressing you. I stand accused io this transaction, with being concerned with persons of whom I knew nothing. My conduct, be it right or wrong, is not connected in any degree with theirs ; and it is par ticularly necessary for me, as a Minister of the Crow's. to ex plain the real motives by whis-h I was actuated ; and I do here most solemnly declare, that there never was any intention On my part, in the traa , action now before the House, to acquire, by any means, any endue is fltzelre by a return of anv person to parliament ; nor had I any idea whatever that ally other person was about to exerei-e any undue infittence, or do any net concern log an election of any member of parliament, that could come as a breach of privi:ege, or in any other shape of complaint, before this House. I say this with perfect sincerity, notwithstanding the seeming as:old-lone:it of the Noble Lord,w hose intemperance appears to outrun ii is discretion; at present I could wish him to keep in a temper of mind which is suitable to the present occa sion. I do say. t hen, that the part which I took in this trim :lo4m nbether correct or incorrect, in itself, vyln: such that no man who examined toe matter with atsention can 4:IV this was a patronage used by toe I,‘ a Minister of the Crown, to create in fluence its this Ifoow, h . undue soesos• ; but the Noble Lord, in the course of his so" .eh, did :sot estatdish it :15 applicable to me : for nothbie that fell resod sot lip-, as the Noble Lord has frequently told toe }louse, or from my Lord tlanearty, about obtaining a seat. in pad inntent. or an tiling even about procur ing the return of soy Lord Clancartv . for the purpose of any un ,due influence in parliasoent, or of tisk»; any noilee tolluence in -the election of :.turd Clancart. to a ~e.,t in this llouse. If I It Id felt that inclination, lost:sores might have occurred in which tinizlit have inrls*o-41 is, atilt its wis ieit the powers ofohice might tave been. stirs ii e ibie to lay - own return, or might hate till'Olded blue facilities to the return of my Lord Ll:ant-arty ; but it never .occurred to either of ns to tuse the influence of otliee to afford these facilities foe the retorts of either. Indeed, Sir, it is w toss great personal reA7et that I oiso.that circumstances should have brought, the to a personnel communication with a man of the charheter of Mr. iteding, I declare I had no notion that such a character existed. I say, I really did not imagine that such a character did actually ex is ',n than a trafficking broker in beats in parliameot. " • if any Honour . nnle Friend of his or '. at the time to set sb I ant now ' a character elg T. APRIL SO. as that of a broker of seats in parliament, 1 lament that he did not call the attention of Parliament to it sooner ; for, upon my honour, I slid not • conceive that such a character existed. It may he said to be want of penetration on my part ; but, how • ver, so it is. AI r. Reding nos nothing more than a Gen :letnan who wrote to me a letter to which I was to give an an saver. I did afterwards see Mr. Redive, and I understood that 't wre was a Gentleman w ho , :e intention it was to retire fri.in Par liament ; and I do not see why he should not have applied to me i!• , (lividually, as well as to any both. el.". Now , that aas the v communication I had with Mr. P. , !,!ing ; and certainly I never i•ad the least notion that Mr. Reding was a character of the de s,ription which he has since appeared to he. As to myself, 1 have no advantage from it; I had no view in it, except lilt of promotieg the object of my friend; and if I had any other view in it, I sll I) It FI not have concealed it. In trath I stated Ivhat i felt, that :ny Lord Clancarty was a person posseswil of ,- i valities that rendered him particularly conversant in Parlia mentary business, and xr hich adapted him to the discharge of the duties of that station; it therefore Ircalire a thing which I very 'ouch wished to nrcomplish, to have him returned into Par thment, Finer I was satisfied that he would have performed the duties of his trust in a manner honour:Ode to himself, and b;•nefici - illy to tha public; mid I will Own also, that us he was of tie same way of thinking 'Alin myself, and those vv ith whom l have been io the habit of ctin„ I thought him (the Noble Lord will pardon me for it) the more likely to do his duty well iu thi: House. I sin not mean to deny that Mr. Reding wished to procure tha w CC:lshii), and that on the view which he had in it, the transaction was dishonourable. But ti .at has no anlication to me : for I never had any ctonmunication even with in fri.tntl Lord Claneart, during t he period of the conounnications which were made to me in this transaction by \lr. Reding ; bet when my Lord Clancarty advised me to fill up that department in the claire, I did assent to it from an entire conviction that his return to Parliament was to he facilitated on terms of perfect integrity, and ho nour ; I had no communication with this Mr. Davis for any object of this nature, mail I found a letter which he wrote to me, and which I immediately carried to the Chairman of the Committee, to whom this matter was referred; and there I ex plained, most readily, the. transaction of which the Noble Lord complains, and which is a transaction perfectly distinct in itself. I wrote to Mr. Davis that very night, stating that he could not do me a greater or a more particular favour, than by going be fore the Committee, and giving in it all the iuformation he was able, of so infamous and abominable an act as that to iv hich his letter referred—so hateful a falsehood as it was. But this 1 did not like to leave entirely to the dili g ence of Mr. Davis; for I went ins ;elf before th e committee and stated to it that wwbich as certained the falsehood of the assertions with regard to me. That is the whole of what I know of Mr. Davis'. I do consider at the time of creating the Board of Controul it was in• tended nut to make an improper use of patronage ; but it do not consider that I stand in any degree under a greater responsibility than any other Member of the Executive Government. Now, sir, having stated what appears to me to CARR' properly under the head of ag,gravation of the case with which I ma charged by, the Noble Lord. lam desirous. of taking up as little as I-can o f the attention of the House, and I um glad it will not be necessary for me to detain it long, because all the facts of the transacting' are before the House, and they are laid before the Committee by me without any disposition to disguise t hem. ( Hear 1 heat ! ) I can assure the House that w!tatever its . jnilginent may be on the propriety or the impropriety of these transactions, nothing was more foreign from my thoughts, than that a hich 1 was doing was likely to . be. productive of corrupt ion, or of uraiue influence, or that it was likely to procure for myself any fa vour. in the 1111119 t remote degree; hut, certainly, althouah the Why idual was never mentioned to me, yet, in a conversatiou of my Lord Clancarty, I did* understand the person aho was, to retire front Parliament, and in whose behalf 1 was to place a writership conditionally at the disposal of my Lord Clan . - early, was a person of' great repectability, iv hose habits of poiitirzti life were in unison with mine, and those of my Lord Churarty ; and it is fortunate for this country that there are such persons in it, and that there do exist places in hich such persons have a preponder atin g in II uence, by which the electors are not deg raded but honoured, for it is by such means tint rty. , n of the first intelligence and in tegrity find their way into Patliament;—men, whose labour's have so often been most valuable to onr constitution;—men of le tiling and researeh, who, hut for such places, would not have any oppurtunity of beiug Ocelot!, for, ;Although tthoun4itl. ;;-et that 1 owu.that circutristaace shouhl have 1 ouch person, in it, and that there do etht inures m personal coonnunication Wi t h a man of the I which such per,ons have a preponderating in II uence, by lteding. I declare t had no notion that such i w hi c h the elector; are not degraded but (immured, for it 'll. I say, 1 really did not imagine that such a I ii. by such means that ny. , n of the first intelligencei and n- 'ally e.4:ist— near, thats)f a trafficking broker 1 te4rits find their way into Valli:uncut ;—men, whoie labour's 11 1 oent. _• : ;4 1, ..::- )6l, or if any Honour- I base so oto•n been most valtulhle to our eimstitution ;—men of 0 4 .1 i•....• ".. • • cs. - s " i i .../ • --, 4 lis t w%, at the time to le sluing. and research, who, hut for , uch places, would not have all r T ''' f. ' 4 a a caurarter i any opportunity of leciug Ocelot!, for, altnough abouuthq lii • ) ..s., 4 , - ~. , k 4 •-• • - - tvi . .k, 4 • '''...• '-' e N- Ir e . . . . 4. .....•••• - -4 _. , 27G