The National Register. — London, England, 1811-03-31 00:00:00

NATIONAL REOTSTER. ■ IM • ,«n•••'aps•!,,;. .111, ••••• • • .c 4 General flisei. said, the Hotta Gentleiiiii Who preceded hint might have added to their eulogiuins that Gerieral Graham .was the securer of Malta, and the friend of the valiaut and amiable Abercrombie. To the excelletit appointments of the late Commander in Chief we owed • half the success of our arms, and the other part to that general and ent:trprising soul which wa,rmed and moved them all. - Of the character of Geri. Graham he had the highest opinion, and had that-Poet now to write, that " The age of chivalry is gone, neekled only to be acquainted with General Graham to make hinbrenounce his opinion. General Feacussom spoke to the same purport of amiable testimony to his character as a private Gentleman, and of his ability as an Officer. Lord CA 31'L I.:REACH was not personally acquainted with. General Graham, yet he felt personal pleasure in his heroic ac tons. He acknowledged the splendour of his present achieve ments, and exulted, as a soldier would, when he heard that his countrymen had furnished another victory for the triumphs of the country. In executing the military wish of the gallant Ge ueral Moore, the late Commander in Chief performed a - Most gratifying duty both to the dying soldier's request and to the prosperity of the country. • He felt strongly the deservings •of General Gr.:ham, and joined inthe present motion most heartily and cordi.l;ly. ,Vlr. 1 7 1tEk.NIANTLr. joined in the Address of Thanks, and said he had some remarks to make on the subject of the War in Spain, which he would keep to a future time. . General T.: eLF. FON supported the motion. Mr. FLI LL r wis!ied they had such motions to agree to' every day. He was proud of the o3ibrtunity to ray how mush • he admired the late Commander in Chief; he hoped that . hd would be speedily restored.—(llegr, hear,' hear Thanks were .then voted to Brigadier-General 'likes, and the other Officers serving under General 'Graham, and the Non conanissioned Ofilcers and Frivafes, who had cbritributed their quota to the success of his Majesty's-ani s. INFORMATIONS EIC-OFFICIO. Lord Fotx.s - roNe rose to his promised motion, relative lake. fo informations, filed ex-olticio,...l?y the Attorney-General, dur irg the last ten years. • Tlie grottuu on Whiclate made this mo tion was, tbegreat increase .which had taken place, in presecom Bevis. within the last ten years, cortniared to what they had been fn former periods. 'Within a si)ace of thirty years hefOre that time, .ette ntanbf..r of prosecutions anaocr.ted to 7Q. Flom 1800 to : 1806, the ttiformatton,s aanotttited.to t 4.. -ln 1507, th;. re . Were none. • 13thsince then there were riled, by.thei prqent Attorney detierdli no hiss than 4:2 1 ..—1n the course of a la . to trial: ft)? a libel in Tsc Ait newspaper, it had •;:ppeart:d. from an flida iit, -sworn b One of the persons convicted, ,that it i,vas the trinFiple of c conduttet of a newspaper . to:peu, rather than I 4ad the public opinion. It night be tben Emit iiireirkd, th:it the nuttier:l4s, prosecutions which h.ca 0. late' tslceii.plice for li bils,,bad been directed against Persons who.. - .:e sole guilt had been tie givirig utterance to stlie . t>tyular nuiions of the dines, in ;wil; they iived. it woukl appear, then,th,it it was' [lie ex tires 'dn.& lite Penj;4o_ f tlicontent .tkillich 4ad Caned for such and free :ens itilfreziens by . t%e hitrid . 6f pril,4er; and if auCh.disContepta were acknoWtedged to eittir (and' he • tEd not see liiivirthe agnissitnreOUH•be iffdklEa); it lkehOved the tiOitee t„o explore . its sources with alfjoesiibie .I:retie:nits and assidliity.-to. Thelaincrpf#o4 pigib,iy Would be t4iti of little avail dealriii• the tiraccir4tEelia - ot; but Abe laty 11:4ifenteid the criminal iitinund. With forriai; and aditintites • of ever* kind Were Winded liirhy ittehWtrifthi . &l2hlsi hhn tn . relv . ti4th* safety bli-bh inntoCerice, if he Iliad the good W4iriF to ptis3it4 it. Time Noble l i erd then. adverted-, to the .isevitgliy witir•viliich 'the laW Was - ariiiiihistritt , d in caa-ei of •libel ; inany Zoitvietetl fizions wike..l)o l /fslle4 orilY. with - Shan iihprisott*pt,; but "rprfons foetid gallty of libels .vere•sent to -cfiltant E_.,)_sls l __ to the - ritter iiiitr•of their -huaineasi kliatx lately ti apt Winchester Assizes 'f'or a most brtital. 4..,„.1t111", with' iinter.t to cotritiir a refill; was ' - e:ritenct'd to two yeat'irtniprisorntrunt . , but a' . i . yriter ivllo.sluald displease theGo• vernrifeutWai 4 nnish6d Witi ienfght more Severity tbvti 'tire most, atrociolo cfratact . a. in 'ae - cfsty, 1314'111 . e bar"diifilpi uf a 40 . - kndate..did not end lere, fOt tfige'‘vas a ireat:Ymckrtaintyin the law ortilie subject i' Lora Fitenitigrotgfi 4id . it-4oivn in . tifi - f ~ .11 of Cob:Sett,. that - e.r4ere thellielirlis-nf any . persOn trial : ll4 Lae hurt, there the libel eoliimenii4; bit lb el% ot/c %Le riL lien- • . , . 4 , Vitt . * i WI . xfoi '. and 'insult the feelings lastone.then ad..' lapers, WhiCh tie • ' . those pUtashA aocecuted; it *;:ti• a only for thet:crr inierit.- Tiiiii...w4s • by the MitiStry: it rfotierruktitit ...." L) all who wrote libels, or-against nestle. The Noble Ldrci con eluded a speech of two hours, with moving for accounts of all prosecutions by informations ex-efficio filed since the Ist of Ja nuary, 1801, together with the" proceedings had on each. The ATTORNEY-GENFR4L rose and said, many of the topics. which the Noble Lord had. thought proper to indulge lame!lf in descanting , upon, were directed against the laws themselves p which he ;might, in his own place, propose to reform, bue which had, in truth, no connexion with his personal conduct as to ap ed° informations.—(licar !)—Something had been insinuated as to an undue exertion of the influence of the Crown :—now, he would deny the Noble Lord, he would defy any other than, that the influence of the Crown had been exerted against such offenders. Prosecutions of the kind were, perhaps, more fairly conducted than in other cases ; for was there ever wanting abi lity, or property g or zeal, to detect and.expose the misconduct of an Attorney-General ?—(Floc r .9—Did. there exist the official character whose conduct was more scrupulously examined— allowance being scarcely made for human infirmities—than the Attorney-General ? Fie would defy proof of having filed any information for a libel after one term from the time at which he' was apprised of it. Other kinds of cffences had called for dif feaent kinds of treatment. Complaint was now of the want or the power of - prayinr , for tales, in cases of libel ; yet this defect, the Noble Lord ought to have known, was constitutional, and. utterly out of his power to supply. The Special Jurors are taken from the Freeholders' book. The Master of the Crown-Office will suffer no person to fix on a particular part of the book. From pages promiscuously opened without intention, he takes 48 names. A list of these is given to each party ; each party strikes off a portion till they are reduced to 24. The 21 are de livered to the Master of the Crown-Office, out of which 12 are drawn to tie the information. A more impartial course could not be - devised. The Noble Lord had complained of sentences recently pronounced as severe beyond measure ; but the judg-. meats delivered in the time of that upright and learned Judge, Lord Holt, for the same offence, so far from being more lenient, were more calculated to prevent a repetition of the offence, as far as greater severity could operate ; and this he challenged his Lordship to controvert. As a public officer, he (the Attorney- Gen.) would have neglected his duty, if he had not increased the prosecutions, is offences multiplied. The Noble Lord had stated, that there had been forty-two prosecutions for libel since he (the Attorney-General) had been in office. •It wasematerial,, hOwever, CO 'fate, that forty-two was. the number of individuals impliCated. Of publicationl or extracts prosecuted as libels, • they were but eighteen; ten of these ha I been prosecuted to tOnvic. km; or suffered judgment by defy ilt ; three defendants had inserted apologies; four ififormations, for reasons detailed by-. the Learned Gentleman, had been -leniently suspended or dre§opedi -and the prosecution against Collier was proceeding to trial. Tie trusted the House would think that there was nO gniund to interpose. Sir FRANCIS BURORTT denied the legality of ex-officio mationsi *Maintained that 'the term libel W-as intended fot the ROrriati imperial law, at a very modern era; and, though he a.l - as much injury niight be done iiyith a pen as with a dug, i tt -r, he' was not ;prepared to agree, that banks, or libels, were trapyily Subjects of prosecution amt. punishment. The Hon. -hatchet then traced &Cat .Part of the grounds•Whteli had been • inlet' by Loi&Fdlksastone, none of whose arguments, he thought, had ben answered. Mr. STEiri.:IIS vindicated the legality of m•-aSicio information. He gate:lie' Baronet:credit when•he stated his doubts as to titetititirti , -of presectve64.for libel's. • Mr. 'PE ritt • MooRE 'thought that the argninent't.frged by Lord Folk estoith liad rotiteOn ittisvireted. SP .:6, ROM - ILLY' that the speeCh• of the Noble Lord (Folkestone) had been Met by .a statement altogether hiconsist diat—fifeor ! ).- . -in4l.tliat the House, which had no data to de4 aide, ought to astenttO the motierj. Mr. Etil,OT : pplioted ' • • Ur: though i tlifita gond do' of vigilance was ne• ces - sary . , lite, pre#iit state of tte - Pfess; but 'Could not approve of he "%••• r Lord y - kw:as-mkt replied, When Strangers were ordered t 9 istithdra . • A divisio•themtnoii • The numbers Were—for the Motion 36, against it 118; major. agaii;st Lto.Ftilkestono'S motion 12.—Adjourned. • 4f .. , v: 0ime..4....• . . .. ~ iti,114411:7 MARCH 29. .. . - a . .. Mr. Bilkin prescntect 'Petition from Upper Holloway ti • fai{our of ibeirif,Ndtp "iechway Bill, .MA . 11111..11,1 iLtisnpre.:•• .isented; another uputi•the '4ll3e' -.l'.ibles-t . -frimic Iccontitt , r o 'ir r y.....: -LSI - dere - 4%0. lie Ow the ItafT.e . ; - ' •• - • . : A Psisitnear from pleieated•rip Necatint of BaalC.: -notes .i.i*nlation; off iarto6s tiihdlc,sl,n'(ie tlrttidri _71 . 91 . ftlii ... - i - eiril• Purrs idt:ti.itkelelit9a fr om tin: iiitli4 - 14fiie...4idpil • • it. * _differ( rt tanguage 'in th e ' trio " , )f Cakr 14000 • ;•iood, for there he held it to I'l,? 4 , 40 libel tolls of an author by criticising his ‘ybrl.z. Lord Folk vetted to the Morning post and Courier Newsp .., kid often contained libels ninclr Stionr,er than I I. Os. A , ti the Attornev-General v hut *ere never pros, 10. k ... .. R fore evident that thoovivr vas exereisva o o ' ' ' '' ''' .: 4 ----- -- . . - , . 1 ....1 upnprtipg ineutuce fur fhe Goveg i lni4 • sr ~, . ;. it ,14. t • , t,±x., ' c c e efr tpte sy s tem' bl:to ey et this tip* 1 . ) , t • - ..ITA T , -- ... 4 ccog, tp.0.44411 ' "GetfrOfirf ll 44 1• - _-• • ,:e-4, - , • - - "-• • - - , .., . .. . t\ . - -......-- , , • 4..., ! -' 0 1__-_ - : •;,,i 4 ,,, , 5..........; .,.. rag -1- 1. •