The National Register. — London, England, 1809-04-23 00:00:00

APRIL 2 narkimity of ParliamenWpr claim•ito indulgence ; for a proposition for al tering . a t)rmer decision.: In,dointthis - ' however, he was solely actuated . by a regied to , justice , and for the diameter of 1 that House; as 116 *Vac IV holly unnt4tittinted with the - connect inns..l of the gallant Officer to whose case - he was to refer. The Hun. taronet then proceeded to state, -that if ho had been msent...at the discuydon, he should have employed his humble ell'ofts,; though he thirst not flatter hini4elf he should Gave beett'sUccess fill, to dissitade the House from the decision it had tome to. He then contended that prevarication could not apply:to the evi dence given.by that Officer, and was proceeding.to an examine• don of the evidence in the printed inintites,. in order to establish that point, when . . . Mr. Whitbread called the Hop. Baronet to order, as he nn* derstood his-object to he to induce the House to reverse a solemn decision it had come to in this, Session, in the same Session, which was contrary to the usage of Parliament. The Speaker was`of the same opinion.—Sif Thomas Turton accordingly -withdrew his motion, BILL TO PREVENT run SALE OF PLACES. Lord Folkstone had a few words to say on the subject. He observed that these sort-sof preventive bills very rarely did any good. As long as temptations were sufThred to remain, offences would be committed. Notwithstanding. the provisions of such bills, the ingenuity a offenders would continue to. evade them, at a little more ex pence or trouble. If the inquiry he had pro posed a few nights since had been gone into, there would have been no occasion for the present measure. As to the othces con nected with the courts of law, he found they had been for a long time regularly bought and sold, but he could no reason why this pr:ctice should he suirored to continue. There was another Omission, however, in the act, which appeared to him of more material • moment. The attention of the House had been much fixed to Last India w•riterships and cadetships, but there was another thing of much more consequence which had not been noticed. It was most notorious that there was a traffic for other plAees., and also for seats in Parliament.—( Hear ! hear !) This was a thing most contrary to every idea of the constitution, and vet it was most notorious ; and as it was most notoriotv, - be thought the Right [Linton:able Gentleman would do well to introduce a clause in his bill to prevent trafficking for seats in Parlia , aent. The Treasury was .the place where this traffic went on• to the greatest and most corrupt extent. The Secre tary of tire Treasury was generally the agent in all those trans actions on the part of the Government, ( Ilear ! hear ! ) ciendetnen meant by this sneering to imply at doubt of hi- state tusat, he ,sktpuld be very happy to he allowed a committee to exatuitie into the fact. At every dissolution of oarliament there i%O.s an office open at the trensnry, where' the friends of adminis tration stated theft terms, and where persons made their bargains on differeot terms, according to the abilities with which they were supposed capable of stipporting the Government. This svnQitis firm belief, anti he believed it was also the belief of the pantie.. thought the House should correct abuses of this tpagpitude s at. the same time that they were - passing a bill with respect to minor offences. Mr, Creevey said, that the Noble. Lord was perfectly correct in stating, that - seats-in Parliatnent had been notoriously bought and sold- by- the Treasury. Ile would say, that this - vas not wily Ms belief, hut that it: was within his knowledge. The Treasury not only openly bought and sold those seat, but the) lievt in a great degree the monopoly of that .market. If this Ao, attempted to be denied by Ministers, he should he glad to have the-opportunity of proving it, and he could easily prove it from the lips of any one who had ever been Secretary of the Treasury. It was absolute -nonsense and delusion On the public, for the House to spend their time in considering abuses in the Commis sioners of the Lottery, and every oilier minor department, when they knew, and when the public k'ww, that the greatest of all atuscs was constantly practised b) every Secretary of the Treasury. in buying and selling seats in Parliament. To talk of a dissolution of Parliament as an appeal to the people was mere mockery and imposition. It was perfectly well known that a dissolution of Parliament was not tin appeal to the peo ple, but to the Treasury (Hear! Rear !) Although he had great respect tar the last Goverment, and owed some personal favours to them, Set he must say, that their dissolution of Par liament at the end of four years, like the dissolution by the present Ministers, at the end of about four months, was not nn appeal to the people but to the Treasury (loud cries of Hear ! Hear !) Until tie House was disposed to suppress this odious and unconstitutional traffic, the legislating on those .miaow abuses was mere mockery and delusion. THE NATIONAL REGISTER. The Chancellor of the Exchequer said, he was happy to find that the Noble Lord (Lord Folkestone) had - attributed whatever' there wasof obscurity in this Bill, to the derive of making it as comprehensive as possible. lie was also glad that the Nobla Lord had admitted that the Iiill•would render the commission of thestoilences more difficult in future. As to the purchase and• sale. of places connected with the Courts of Justice, that had prevailed from very remote times, but he believed that it woold not be said that the practice at all'interfered with the levity of the administration of ,justice. As to what hail been sugge:ted with respect tothe prevention of the tratlie for seats in Parlia ment, this would be a matter which might fairly he stated when the Bill should come into a Committee. - If the .Noble • Lord or' lion. Gentleman would then brine lot ward any proposiSton of that sort, the house would be vt‘ry ready to take it into their consideration. The Noble Lord had stated his firm belief of the existence of such transactions, and the lion. Gentleman had gone further, and stated, that it. was with in his atisolute knowledge. The lion. Gentleman to be sure, might have some , knowleflgel from the confidence %s tile!) was reposed in him by the bite Ad. ministration,with whom lie was connected Lead cries el kyr ! hear ! ) Ile could not recollect, however, that that Hon. Gen tleman (Mr. Creevey) had, at the tithe when a specific charge wits brought against a Secretary of the Treasury for such inter ference given the House the beeelit of his knowledge. The House would perceive, 'that the rest- he alluded to 'iris wfien a charge was brought against a Seirteary of the .Treasury (Mr. l'remantle) for interference in the election of Ilempshire, where he was undoubtedly a.freeholder. T he'll on. Gent!emanelil not then tell the House a word of that practice which was within hisown knowledge, of S.•cretaries of the Treesury corruptly in terfering in the election of Members of Padia:nent. When he had that knowledge, how did it happen that his patriotism was asleep on that remarkable occasion ?—( Heat: ! hear !) If he would, however, then bring foreard impartially those specific cases that were within his own knowledge, lie would probably find the Ilouse very ready to attend to them. Mr. Whitby( a I said, that he wens happy that the suggestio:s of his Noble and I [on. Friends appeared to be received with so much cordiality by the Right Hun. Genthonan (the Chancellor of the Exchequer), and that it seemed to he admitted that the practice of trafficking for seats iu Parliament was a thing which ought not to be tolerated. He supposed that when the Rigll lion. Gentleman (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) called upon an Hon. Friend of his (air. Creevev), to bring one set of cases before the Douse, he was also really to practise that impartia lity which he recommended, and brio; forward those cases which were within his knowledge. (ticar ! Hear! ) It was nonsense. to pretend to he ignerant of those abuses. What Member of Parliament was there that djd not know thatsuch•things were done ? ' Did not he know, did tot the Right hon. Gentleman know, did not every body in the House know', that there were many Members who sat there, that were Representatives of nothing but their own money ? ( Loud cri::> of hear, hcar, /;.one the Opposition I,e nches ! ) And it was a4so known that many who had paid their money cur their seat,: shill felt themselves depen dent on other men, and if they differed from them felt those qualms of conscience or of hoimur which made. them vacate both the seat and the meney they had paid for it. It was not certainly any char te e'. agaihst the present Administratioi .to state dp e.: thites , for the charge applied as well to him and to other Member of the ilitesta lang known that those things were done, and ' wc t newer brought it forward to Parliament in a proper shape.. A 3 to •the case of the Hampshire election, the Right Moo:treble. Geetieman (the Chancellor el the Es.chequer) happened ahout that time to a very short pt:rtion of Ilk lice, to be in a Minaritse He (hlr. Whitbread: had been for l 9 years, generally in a Minority, and theteforh he' was very apt to think Minorities right ; bat the Right [lon. Gentleman ho had been so seldom in a Minorite. to that aloe c, should rather be inclined to suspect that he was w roue when headed so contrary to his usual prectice. Without however, meaning to arraieu any particuler Secretary of the 'treasury, he would state generally, teat under the present system all Secretaries of the Trensury had themselves under the necessity of acting iu this marmer, and there is always an open market at the Treasury for bargains of this nature. If, however, the House was disposed to make it a misdemeanour to trallic for East India Writerships and Cadetships, they should certainly take some notice of a tralfe: which was equally as notorices, hut more scandalous and enconstitutihnal. if tire itiabt lion.:.' emir man would appeal to his until:, neiehbour ( Lord Castlereagh) that Noble Lord would inform him that iu 11 - eta:id, about a in i lion.and a half had been paid for the puichase of Boron \