The National Register. — London, England, 1817-06-30 00:00:00

no • JUNE SO. He there found Preston himself in great distress, with two daughters, all lying on the ground. He searched the house, bat tossed nothing, nut even a piece of money.. This was done by Site sole power of the existing laws, and Sties! being found adegeate to ensure the safety of the country, what necessity was there of any new or extraordinary measures ? With these feldjny_he was "solved to oppose every stage of the Bill. btr W. Cuaris praised the Lord Mayor for his seal and ac tivity, but denied that the present measure was calculated to diminish the liberty of the subject. He spok e from experience, tor be bad never found his own personal liberty in the slight. get degree lessened during the suspension of the Habeas Cor pus. What was the effect of meetings at the Crown and An- Cigar Tavern, *here Major Cartwright, and the rest of the Wrssighsed family, matte speeches with delegates, about physical force; but all such people thought to counteract the all effects of their inflammatory speeches, by meeting the peo ple whom they bad excited to outrage, by saying, '• What do you want hers with your physical force, go aloes about your ' business.** Lord Cocitiens prayed the House to consider what they were called spun to do—nothing less than to suspend the whole fabric of our Constitution. He trembled at the conse quences of such a mersure, not only in its immediate effects, b ut as it must operate uu the character and habits of the peo ple. Mr. H. ADDINGTON, alluding to several speeches that bad been made en this subject, disclaimed any idea of wishing to hurrY the Bill through the House. He could not conceive to what the Lord Mayor had alluded. when he spoke of the dis respect which he had suffered. It certainly did not proceed from the office of the Home Department, for there one was deeply impressed with a high arose of the Right lion. lientleau.in's activity, courage and vigilance. The House then proceeded to a division. when there ap peared—For the second reading 90—Against it 30- -Majority 1/o.—The Bill was then read a second tinie. IIIiTOXT Or VIC 11VDGILT. Mr. Bann = brosight up the Report of the Committee of Ways and Means. Mr. I'o/.401411Y wished to know the accurate weaning of the words provided for," which appeared in the account of the Eschectare Bills attached to certain classes. Was the House to understand that they were actually paid off? The CH . • Mt of the EXCHEQUER said, that the 3C ettunt was made up iu the same way with every other meow el this kind t h at came wit/sin his experieuce. Mr. BARING wished to know whether the-e were any fonds coming in to discharge those Exchequer L;ills? or whe ther at the end of the year, the whole 23,004,0001. would be outstanding, together with the additional 1,00440041. voted this part The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER an►nered, that It was impossible to ascertain exactly what the amount would be at the end of the year. The Report was then received, and the Resolutions agreed to. On the motion of the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHECIVER, the House resolved itself into a Committee neon the propo. sitioa for erecting churches and chapels fur the performance of Divine Service, according to the rites of the Church or England, and for the accommodation of those likely to resort thereto, in parishes wuere there were not sufficient conve niences and facilities afforded 10 the maw of the parishioners, dining their attendance ou Divine Service. is the committee, the Cii.oiceLhoa of the EXCHEQUER moved a KoliOhatioll to the above effect. The oilier orders of the day were thee disposed of, and the I louse ad jouructi. WEDNESDAY, Juke 25. CHIMNEY SWEEPERS' ROSS. Mr. BENNETT rose, pursuant to his notice, to submit to the House, a motion of the utmost importance to the character of the co y, as well as to the interests of a etas+ of unfor tunate beings, who, from the nature of their present loath sonic occupation, seemed to he shut oat front almost all social intercourse with their fellow men. Their cruel treatment and sufferings had nut escaped the attention of that House. In deed it had come to the knowledge of the Committee, that in some distant places even female children were employed, :aid that their sex and delicacy of limbs and proportions, were considered most desirable requisites for insinuating the Lodies of these unfortunate young creatures into the tuffs• chap end ill constructed narrow flues of ellimnies. He then moved for leave to bring in a nil! to regulate :al amend the practice of SweepingChinudes by the Mans of Climbing Boys which provided that no person should in future be procured for the purpose of such ocettpatiou. until the) had completed their lith year. Mr. Wn.BEnvoNrE seconded the motion. Afters few obsetvatimis from Mr. CI:EWEN, who hoped the Machinery at present in use would he so far improved as tb answer in all eases, .leave was given to bring iu the Bill, and it was read a first time. The Loan Mayon presented a petition from certain indi viduals, praying that the prayer of the Attornies, petitioning Parliament lately as .lo the expeiliescy of p ting those who were not attoroies, from practising as conveyancers, might not induce Parliament to pass any law to that effect, which was read and lajd on the table; as •vas likewise the petition of Messrs. Dews and Itoyde, presented by Sir S. ltomilly, upon the same subject. VEXATIOUS ABOUT'. Sir S. Rout rt.v moved for leave to bring in a Bill to eon tinge the Act of the Sttlt of Oco. 11.1., cap. 144, for prevent • :ng Vexations Arrests iu Meant Process, for aunts ander 101. --Leave giv en. LORD lIIDMOVTIrI CIRCULAR LETTER. Sir S. fterstrit.v—lt was necessary for him to offer any apo logy to the House fur bringing b e fore th e ir u'rentlon the Letter of Lord Si"mouth to the Stagistristes of England. If any apology were necessary, it was rather for bring so dila tory in noticing a subject of such importauce to the safety of tbe.peuple and the liberty of the press. The debit , however, was not occasioned by say insensibility to the great interests involved in it, but front a-coprintion Mot Me aboold not snake it a subject of deliberation until be had wetland seriously ex amined it. The Circular Letter to which be alluded was writ. ten by Lord Sidiumatb, ore the 37th of March, informing the Magian*lea t qf the differeat futilities what the linv was res. peering 'steins in cases of libels sad seditious publications. and apprising harm thet they possessed aorlitroordinery power in such castes, which it directed —or, what was the thing recommended diem to exert.—Of this he complained ; for it deeplj affected the constitatioaril rights of the country, that the Ministers of the Crown should, its any case, even Hippos. Is; the law to be Perfectly clear on the subject, direct the Magistrates bow to exercise the discretion reposed in thew 'Ti` NATIONAL ntravrtn. by law. It was his own opinion, as well ao of many other feentienten in his professioo, on whose jedgesent he pieced the greatest reliance, that there was no safliciaut authority to vest such a power in the Magistrates. There were only two means recognised by the constitetion, by which doubtful awes could be decided ; Oise was by the Legislature, and the other by the Judges. Such was the principle of oar law, as laid down (luring the bt st, end even the•vorst timesof OUf history. The Honourable and Learned Gentleman then entered into a consideration of the luw of the ease, observing, that it had been argued so fully in another place that uo lawyer could add any thing to what had been said. Ile stated that Magis trates possessed power either from their conanistion or from Statute, but their commission bore so reference to the offen ces noticed in the Circular Letter, and there was no Statute to supply that deficiency. It was therefore important to chew that if the old laws were sunk, the faith was not that of the country. The Hoe. and Learned Gentlemen concluded by moving, Ist, for the opinion of the Law Officers of the Crown, as submitted to the Secretary of State for the Home Depart ment ; and 2dly for a Copy of the Case on which that opinion was founded. The AsTonnalr-GargoaL rose to oppose the motion. All he would say was this, that whatever opinion he gave was an honest one, and the dictates of his conscience, quits inde• pendent of influence at one side, or calumny at the other. On the law of the case his opinion was decided, according to the uniform practice of the Courts of Law, which was, that in cases of libel the Magistatesbad the power to commit in default of Bail. The nonfarm priictice and dictum of the law was in favour of the principle laid down io the Secretary of State's letter; and when it was consid -red that itinerant hawkers were at the time circulating their poison through the estuary, at the cheapest rate, the necessity of such a circular as that which was opposed by his Honourable and Learned Friend, became °brunt'. lie must therefore op. pose the motion. Sir WM. BIIRROVGMS replied at considerable length to the legal arguments of the Attorney-General, and contended, that there was to nothing to j waif, Awed an assumption of power on the part of the Secretary of State for the Home Depart. meat. Mr. COURTFRAY protested against the doctrine of the Secretary of State in this instance, and contended that no decided case was made oat in support of that doctrine. Sir P. BUM:MCr contended, that, informations ex-officio were contrary to the fundamental laws of the country — and represented it, as a great absurdity and violation of eon. science, that in order to put persons elsargeJ with a libel on their trial, the accuser Amid swear to a point of law, that is to the pablication being a libel, which tAisild only be deter mined by a jury of the country. 'Flue Souctroa-081tERAL cap d his full concurrence in the opinion given by the law officers of the crown, and maintained that the main point to be considered was the tolinrine‘s of that opinion. There was nothing illegal in the act of calling the attention of Magistrates to particular of fences. The principle of the proceeding was recognised in proclamations, and in the addresses of Judges to the Grand Jury. With respect to the right of Magistrates to hold per sons to bail for seditious and blasplymous publications, it was clear from Lord Camden's arguments on the subject, that he had no doubt of the power Justices of Peace to do so, and only hesitated as to the poster of the Secretary of State. Mr. W. WYNN eonenrred in the arguments of the Hon. and Learncd Gentleman. The Secretary of State Lad a right o rail upon blagistr►tes to do their duty ; but he would admit that hr should act en his own responsibility, and not on the authority of the law officers of the crown. Sir S. Ho atel.v, in reply, animadverted upon the indiffer ence which Ministers had manifested towards the constitu tion, by declining to say a single word on the unconstitutional part of the question. He insisted that it was always the practice to give the case with the opinion, as indeed it was impossible to understand the opinion without it. He did not mean to to►e the sense of the House generally on the resolutions ; but hr did not think parliament, althongh it might pass to the other orders of the. day, would so far for get its cleat nem'. in the eyes of the croupy, as put a direct negative upon the first ',solution. The Soeterron-Gensnat. explained. The House then divided ; upon the first resolution, there appeared—For the Motion, 49. Against it W.—Majority against the resolution Wu. The Order of the Da for going into a Committee upon t'.e further Suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act bill, was postponed.—Adjourned. THURSDAY, Jona 2G. SEPTENNIAL ACT. Mr. BNOVGHAII put off his motion for the Repeal of the Septennial Aet, until early in the next Session of Parliament. FINANCE. Mr. Trsmart rose and read his Resolutions, which were four in number.. The first embrace** statement of the sums expended by the Commissioners for liquidating the National Debt, and the amount of the Exchequer Bills issued, and not provided for, from which he drew the conclusion, that the National Debt, of Great Britain and Ireland had increased within the present year to the amount of 4,323,0001. The se cond Resolution stated the amount and charge of the Consoli h dated Fund, iu which he contended'lliere was a deficiency within the year of 3,3,1,0001. - The two others referred to the amount of the Unfunded Debt, which including 32,000,0001. of Exchequer Bills previously outstanding, an issue of Ex , cheqner Bills this year for Great Britain of nine mil lions, and for Ireland of 3,600,0001. with Treasury Bills out standing for Ireland of 6,304,0001. firmed an Aggregate of upward. of 70,000.0001. the floating debt of the country. Ordered to be printed, sad the dibste be adjeuised tiU Tuesday next. MR. WOOLEN'S PETITION. Sir. F. Bownrre rose, to preseita petition which involved considerations of the /slalom Importance tads/ liberty of the tubject, anti the freedoms of the press. The petitioa slated a , namber of hardships which Mr. %Yoder had nairleegune. Two 1 e.r-olicio lathromitions had been filed against the petitioner. In taking the verdict of the Jury in this tube. there was so much irregularity in the esierlact of the Judge, as to put the justice of the country, as well as the iddivitisial tried, is a very extraordinary predicament. It certainly was very estmommil for a Judge to take and record a ventiet, the Joey not being in the Court, and yet such happened in the present instance. The eireamstaaces were such As should have compelled the Judge to have the Jury curled into Court, and have their ope• Mon public!. demander/I and if they bail mot agreed Ms their verdict, to have sent the. back to cossider it. Affidavits, of tithe circumstances ' and of the disseat of three Jurors from the verdict, were te ndered by she Jame themaolies to dm Court, but Mr. Justice Holroyd, than whom nOt a more en lightened Judge ever sat on the Wends— declared, now tor y! could not be received, because a rode fora new trial b.ul beta granted; bet affidavits were received from several by-smold ers one or whom declared, that one of the Jur o rs bed rupees seti his dissent to the verdict In words trad enough to ha heard by every one in the Court. The King's Bench had however, got Into this dilemma, tlrst they could act proceeded to posy such a verdict, and Mr. Wooer was, in iht; memo thne, kept in close confinement under the original warrant, until he could be 4 . liberated by due course of law.' The Court of King's Bench offered Mr. Woofer the indulgence of a new trial lodokroco I—such a word should not he men tioned in a Cocoa of Law, what was required from the Joiolea was justice and not indulgence. But suppose that Mr. Wonder was Lronglit up to a new trial, it could be doubted that a plea of mitre/ohs acquit would be a wariest plea in bar—and it seemed equally clear that geterfois evariet would be , equally effective against a new trial. It should. therefore, lee con sidered by the house, how far they would allos the overhasty conduct of a Judge to affect the safety stony subject of the realm. He felt that it world be his duty to propose some other question to the Home than merely that the-petition should lie on the table. The petition was then read. It stated that the pet Mater was proprietor of • weekly publication entitl e d" Th e Black Dwarf," that two er did, infoonnatioas hetheen filed against Alva by the Attorney General ; that he was not furnish, with a ropy of informations, although a promise of such can indulgence had been made to him by the Ationfey-Gesseral. (to applying. however, for the copy, Le was refused it, nnless he were to p.oy a sum of several pounds, which he was nei ther wiling nor able to do. and Aids he conceived was hoe-' tile to the article of Magna Chute, which said that justice should not be sold. It complained of Isis heiug hurried to triok on the second Information, after being exhausted by a long detenee of the first, and Alluding to the mode of re- relying the verdict of the fitatj:ay, prayed the protection of the House. The ATTlMllET•larlelnlal. declared, that he was arr.-1- more astonished than at tbe statement contaioed in the peti tion now read, because many of the assertions contatoed in it, were, to his nwo knowledge, wholly w ithotst fotindatios. ye far had he been from evincing any vindictive spin?, or wishing to detain the petitioner hi custody tutigef than wi.s necessary, that he wept in scare degree out of the urtial course, to permit the trial to COM, on in the 'it'll:lP after the Easter Term, meth being the wish of the pri soner I t i asso l t ; With respect to the mode of receiving the vrrilist, flew Learned Judge miss correct. for it was laid d o w n b y L or J Coke, Lord Hale, Hawkins, and °dims, that a jury having once given in their verdict could never again alter it. God forbid they could ! for had a Jury such a power it woeld • much endanger the security of the subject. After considerable discussion on the necessity of 'be forskis of law being rigidly adhered to, between Mr. Pantonlsy Lord Aliliorp,Mi . Brougham. the Solicitor4leneral, &c. Sir F. BUROLTT, in re ply, animadverted on the laiimaisee • of the Attorney-Getieral respecting Lis motives for bringing forward this petition. The worthy Baronet, after ems ! la menting Mr. Justice Helmyti on his legal ability, iisgaire4 whether it was tine that Mr. Waller bad been offered M. re lease from custody, on his own remount recognisance, to appear when called spoof The Arrolimer—GinattAL replied, that not wishing Mr. Wooler (who pi ovlonsly was enable to obtain bail) to safier a prolonged imprisonment, is consequence of any mistake in the delivery of the verdict, he had directed that this ogre of liberation on his personal recognisance shwald be made to him. He was glad to bear that it had toms& mode, Omagh be had received no anther on the &abject Women: Sir. F. BuNDWIT rose, and said, that the seer made Se Mr. Wooler was a handsome wee, and be wandered it was .p accepted. The petition was then laid on the table. • HASEAS eon PUS WIPPENRION. Lord CASTIARt 4011 moved the order of the day for the House resolving itself into a committee on the further iispeu sion of the Habeas Corpus Bill. Mr. GUIINEY expressed himself strongly against this Mea sure. Sit J. Neweorr said, that after the deela►ntioo wide!' was, he understood, made by one of. the Ministers of the • Crown, that the, e was uo intention of thaeolving Parliament , daring the suspeusion of the Habeas Ostpus Act. He would, therefore. merely move— " That it he an instruction to the Committee thet thp fur ther suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act belimhed to tGe Ist of December next. Lord CASTLURCAGIf knew nothing of any such declare tion : he had not certainly heard of any intention of a disro lotion of Parliament. The Committee then proceeded to a division, when the re . appeared—lsur the Ainendmeut .}:i.—Aggiubt it Mt4o . rity 33. Lord • FOLXSTONE asked, whether it was the opinion of Ministers that the Bill did extend to Scotland? He knew that persous of high legal knowledge entertained doubts upon this question. Lord CASILCRIZAOIII said, he did not think that Ministers were called upon to state, whether, le•gahly, the Bill would • apply to Scotland. It certainly was so intended, and he ' hoped would operate in that way. The House then divided on the chose for extending the provisioise of the Act to SCOthillil 129.—Noes, • 8.-- Majority 81.--Thc House• resumed, and the Report was • r. cored to be brought up 10-morrow. The other orders ot• gm day were thew disposed of and the House adjust:bed. FRIDAY, Alm I. EV NeS PKTITION. r. rRN FIT regretted lie tins once more (obliged to draw the attention of the Hesse I. the most sev me and alioarnib.- ' able exercise of authority that ever Parliament had yet bea:.l uatatiened within their walls. as having occurred iu a ease try calling itself free. It was the case of due sturocruinite Mr. Evans. He had been arrested ea the 9tb et February with his son. aad conisicd is Collhatlstields prison ; during winch he had been eiamiard six times before the Privy Coca. cll. who pat no questions to hint. hat sack *ibis's 41.4 lama ' Serial eats, as, Whether he heels 'nastier' oevl, or Watson awl. his sea. Os the leds'ef April, he was retested to a solitary toodesaaed Mt is Horseineager.bose gaol. This wog of ra6 . trensely serail dissensions, scarcely adinittias am baba ; mid its timeshare etteniatedaf a bucket of water. 11160111f* le eerie asp privy,a legend to serve as a talale r a dune, and tea .rthing like *substitute fat a bed. Bete he was rigaeoind, e, h a we d. s od ae siaiwoe•aarilylearab had he bees vas* that rows a du**, epee which be had bees aceovloned taislace his icolsineli mad lamely bearr,dariag the motif suave of Ins wet. . J ,webby* emiliseemtisl o waa Irbil, teem bus. boas, toe, bad area