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of that civility being shown me, which is usual • I when an individual is charged with a crime. Toe explanation which the lion Gent. (Mr. Ash• ton imith) has given, is suffieient to satisfy me as to his motives in brie ging forward this Wird. I do not know any . necasion upon which I ever in curred his personal disolrasure or animosity. The H•ot. Basonet who has just spoken. halms known me ; and I unreel -hilly unconscious of ever having incurred his animosity. With reaped to one Hon. Gent. whom Idon st see now in his place. I have ; to express my astonishment, that at the very mil. If rsent when be was bestowing noon me a pee sonal der ve of regard, he has signed the Petition contain ; 1 1 • ing this serious charge against me I partook lately of a splendid entertan.ment at the house sit the Rig t Honourable Gertleman to whom I allude, et the very time that he must hove been preparing this dowse against me. I shi uid think tha• he had invited me for no other purpose then to pamper me, as he would do a o turkry ireenied for some of his enterrainnstnts• is believe, however, that he has b •en satiated by the sam • motives which have At , tasted several other gentlemen, viz. a perteet igno rance of what they were about, or what was the no tuie of the Petition they were signing. The Peti tion now presented, was not the one which was ("ni si , ally made out, *heti •g the ohjcetions to the Go vernment tiiteie,t, bur a new Point n, fabricated Only a few .Lays ag , ; and I believe it was signed by that Gentleman, like otheis, merely for the ()h -ied of abusing Government, and of attack ag me. I should be ashamed Were I t- commit layscit to paper, and not deem roysed• respensible ti:r what I may have therein stared. five fetter, which the Honourable Ilarsoatt has sate as proceed. irg from me, was merely a copy, wh h could im plicate en indieidital. Of this ircumetance, however, 1 shill take no idliAi:Li^e. have taken the pains to proem.. from (foment! Hewitt, the identical letter 'mimed to.-1 mast beg to read it again, in order the: the House may judge of the tro t meaning of it ; and that 1 mpf make some ob er! va ions upon it. Thi tis dated, Treasury Chambers, Sept. 221, n, which was previous to • diesolution of hilianient, and is masked upon Kit. • • --[hicreMr. Fremantle read this -' t was reeommendieg to the attention of • • .4n Hewitt. the two Candidates, who hay, been ire sorted; and also to Major Davis, the Barroc!:- Master-Ge..e al, and others in that department.] " It is unfortunate (continued hi) that the lien Gent. ( Mr. oraitiO had not given nut a prey sus coin moomation upon this subj'el, because I could have ioduced him to pause b . ire he broug st lot ward such an accu•ation, so as to have saved that dis grace which awaits the reiitioners. and been the means of saving the Hoes • the trouble of listening to my declaratt n upon the subjed. I have to in form hire, the Hower, and tae Pethionert. that I am a FrecOmider in the county where ;hi Eleelion has lola% p!ace (Near hew! hear him I), and that I have the same circumstances and inducements, to guide me it; the representation thereof, as any man amongst them has • I nave possessed a considerable prop r y us that county for many yews; and I may also state, that those who are said to have been guided by my opinion u, on toil subject, possess prop, ay in the same county an connection with me, superior to most of the people who lave thought proper to sign the Pesoion. Is it to be supposed. because- I am Secretory of the Treasury, that I am to he debarred from the birth-right of =Englishman? Is a man to he deptivei of all those advantages which are supposed to bi• attendant upon character, wealth, influence, and every thing that can conduce to give him weight in the eountiy, merely because ! be has accepted of a situation in its Government ? This is a sioatine which cannot be maintaioed its this hour. It is neither consistent with common sense. nor common feelings , Add to all this, that Mr. Thistlethwa te, one of the Candidates, is a near c• nnedtion—he is my cousin, and we had ions been upon the meet friendly teams. I am persuaded that this will strike the feelings of every one. Was this not an inducement snffament to justify me in afford• hog that Gentleman any influence I possessed ? Knowing General Hewitt, I begged him to • apply to Major Davis. whom 1 was informed was a tretheider in else county. I never learned whether that Gentleman voted for Mr. Thistle. thwaite or Mr. Herbeit. I pledge my charac ter. that on promise of reward was ever given by me to any individual, in other to procure a vote. The Petitioa is only signed by 112 individuals, while there are upwards of 6000 voters in the county of Hints. Tf.:s it 110 to r criterion of the popular s ei l time.o, N Ivo as to the charge of bungs made 4:1 improper use of the public money, this 1 positively d my, both in behalf of myself, and others cormeaed watt my department, as uo money could be so employed without coming thrdugh nay hands, or paid, or given ou:, trtti4tut my knowledge." Mr. BRUDERILK thought that the Right Hon. Gentleman's being possessed of property in the county. furnished Lo argument for his using that influence which was acknowledged to have been practised. Mr. HER BIF.RP said. he rejoiced that this mat ter had at length become the subject of investiga tion, as the incisuations which had for a bug Inn: been thrown out, would be made to appear per t:3ly groundless. Ile could not help asking the I lost. Uebtlassian, who had brought it forward, how he could justify himseir, in regard to his assertion s ' that Le could have presented the Petition at the be ginnirg of toe Session, had there been a sufficieut number of c aurtry Gentle:nen present f—He could poste, that tl e Petition now ;.resented was not then ince:he:lc:, hot eta: another was prepared, hot wily stiff:test in substance butt in sigootures,and ermosin ing use charo es ag allot his Right lietletlr4Ole Eitel:4 but others not teentoocd in the present Petition. 1 This he thought w as a most i mportant tact. i n showing t;:e orooin and pri.,lress of those motives whi.:h actuated those Geooernen uho supported it, end would enable the House to ohcoveo whether they were acting to gratify private views and male irseence, or whether it was pees:este:l for the purpoac of obtaining tho great ends ut public justice. Mr. Jif.r . FEit f (qt Poor) said. he could not help, upon this oceasion, be ruing testimony to the improper influence of Government, in other goer- Oen of the kingdom. He could ,:are to the House, what had come to his own knowledge, as having j,... , here ptedised against him, when standing Conch • I 1.4 the Secretaoy of the Treasury, that it was impos sible he could exped any degree of that patronage which used to he given to the burgh of Poole, be cause he ventuted to oppose the present Govern ment. Pi evious to the dissolution of Parlioment, he was told by the Gentleman himself who was to start as a Candidate along with him (Mr. Mich.iel Angelo Taylor), that he was sent down by Govern ment for the purpose of opposing him by every meaos in his power. Mr. BI ODU I .P El rose and said —" Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Hon. Gentleman who has now sat down, has. in an ardent and energetic monner, called upon the H , use to express its disapprobation of the prhs ciple and allegations of the Petition, on which the Motion of the H' , n. Gentleman ne it me is found ed. Really, Sir, with the feelings which I entertain on this subjen. and without the least party bias, for, in this H Alsr, or out of it, I am attached to no po litical party, I can by no means subscribe to the hopes and wi.hes of the Hon. Gentleman, nor con ceal my opinion that the Petition is a proper one, introduced on proper grounds, and fur the intro duction of which, whatever delay may have been occasioned, the persons woo h we taken it up, de serve the warmest gratitude of Parliament. There have fallen sentiments hem the Right Hon Gentle. man whose name I. particularly alluded to in this Petition. which I do confess havestruck me with me small share re astonishment ; indeed, when I heard Ivan this Met asserting the positive right of Go vernment to interfere, as a Government, in the exer cise of Cie de:live franchise, I felt not only auto ni‘hed. tint attually dismayed This. Sir, is a prim:plc against which it is the duty of this House to m.ke a stand, and which should not be suffered to escape, vfithout the individual reprobation of every Member of this House. to ther with the ex pressed and recorded disavowal of the Legislature. That Has. Gen ' , orlon has also declared, that no ki td of undue influence was exerted, during the late . by any department or individual of His iy's Government ; that if such F fluence had been veinal, from the si uation which he held, as Sec•etzfry of the Tre:oury, it could not Lave escoa:cd Lis notice and observation ; in fact. he has told us, that it most have a&ually gone through him, as the official channel. With this ea:un tory statement, from the Honourable Gentleman, upon this plain and perspiouous acknowledgment, 1 put it to himsclf and to the House to deckle, whether a cotaideroble suspicion dues not naturally attach to the interference of a person so connefted %%eh His Vajesty's G vernooent, in the eleetive rights of tee people ? and whether it did not become a perempti ry point of duty with the Hon. Gent. to exercise tie most scrupulous caution and delicacy, in any step, either personal or official, which he might have been induced to take, with reference to the eleonion of Members of Parliament ? It has this nigh t come cut, that be, a public charo:ter, did wri•e - to the head of the Barrack Department of the Coanty of Southampton, a letter, dated Irons the aficiol Chamber of the Treasury, the purport of which was, to desire Lis influeoce with all those conneteed with that department, to obtain their votes for the Gentlemen who had started on the Ministerial intereit. In what way, I ask was such a communication to be received by the officer; of that department ? or what impression must such a request, on t' e pal t of a Gentleman who held a high official situ tion in a branch of the Gnv en ment with which the Barrack Department had fre q lent intercourse, have made on the persons thus addressed! I do seriously contend, that such a communication most be considered as one of those suite of ordsrs they were in the habit of receiving from the Treasury. Arguing ft om my own view of the case, I conceive, that such was the natural impression of that request, and that the ofli:ers or person.. to whom the application was made, did con sider such application direnly oflical. But the House has been told, that nut one of the officers employed in that depot tmeot, did aftuolly vote for either of the candidates, who were supposed to pos ‘co.: the iathienre of Government. Such a circum stance, in no degree changes the view of the case, nor in any manner lessens the charge of undue in fi ience, it the chage be otherwise well-founded. l'he was not to operate on the ME s of the Barrack Deportment alone; but it was to he exn-cised by those officers, over the numerous persons who may be fairly supposed to be connected v. ith, and under the direet centroul of, the B.urack Department. For instance, the owners of barns. hired out for barracks 1 the dealers in hay, oats, and these various other articles, which that branch of cur establishment so poi ticularly demands. With the merits of this petition, I WAS totally unacquainted, until this night. My opini.)n I have formed from what has fallen from the I lon. Gentlemen who have preceded me in this discus. non. Finns the acknowledgment of the Right Hon. Gent. the Secretary of the Treasury, I du feel, that the privileg s of this Hou.e, and the liber ties of the people, have received, by this influence, in the county of Southampton, a Constitutional stab ; and that it becomes a paramount duty with the Representatives of the People, to immediately interfere. With such a convietiou, I shall certainly support the motion for referring this Petition to a Committee of Privileges " Mr. FREEMANTLE rose to explain. He en.- toinly did not mean to inert the right of Govern ment to interfere in aleetive rights, as a Govern ment. His observation went only to support that right is the individuals of the Government. He did not say, that it undue influence was used, by any of the present Administration, be. from his officio' situation, must have been acquainted with it. In his observations on that point, he did certainly taintse himself to doe infloience of the Treasury. Mr. CHARLES JENKINSON—" Mr. Speaker, I rise, Sir, with feelings of pride and 51'601142t0n, to ackaowledge myself as one who has lent his mane to that Peutii-n which at present engages the atten tion of the House. I susacribed it from the strong conviaion I felt of the truth of its allegation.. and with an ardent hope that the House of Commons would interpose its const:ohinnal protcaion between the privileges of the eleiftive body, and the destruc tive asides of Ministerial encroachment. These feelings originated in my mind. not from the soli too y case of the county of Southampton, they were justified by the cambia and hostility wOicli I myself experienced, as one of those individuals against 0... alsaf ea nf Ll i.i.tot wl i." 1 ,3644 WOW sir GIAISP ly, but unsuccessfully dire!led. At Dover, of which port I have the honour of being a It ipresent alive, there are two parties s the one immediately under the iniuence of the Vaclua;ling Board, the other controuled .sy , the Ordnance Denartuacitt. From inch causes, a number art the EleCtors had determined to give one rote at the request of the principals in these respolive branolses, reserving to themselves the rigbt of suppentlng me with the second. This determinatiOn was not in unison with the inclinations of His Majesty's Government, and a communication was absolutely made to .dl per sons in the various gradations of employment under the Boards I have mentioned. that whoever voted for my return. would be diiip issessed oldie situation he held, and be Aeltully deprived of his livelihood. To Cie honour of some of my cunstituents, they waited on me, and apprised me of their intention to adhere to their promises, even at the hazard of their persoaal interests. The House will do me the jus tice to believe s that, under such circumstances. I immediately released them from their previous en gagements to me; whilst the fear of Ministerial per amnion operated so much with others, as to force them, at the alter of their God , to disregard the sa cred pledge they had given; the piece of election be. ing there held in tiie Church, by a .eculiar institution. From this plain statement, the House and country can decide on the merits of His Majesty's Ministers, ' and on the geneial principle which governed than on the late Eleelinn." Mr. TIERISIEY...-" Mr. Speaker, 1 am of opinion, Sir, that the time of the House will he spared, and snit-•h irrelevant sliseirsiun prevented, by barely ptsttitg this q testion in its proper view.— As it at p-esent stands, toe H nor is not involved in any unintelligible or unexplained investigation; it is net direetea to any general or abstract proposi tion; the whole of the documents are submitted to cur immed;ate view ; the letters upon which the charges against my Right Ho.. Friend are ground ed, have been read by the Hoa. Seconder, not only once, but twice. In sending them to a Committee, then: is n exse:laton or probability of adducing any evidence in ire conclunve, or any new matter likely to ascertain and confirm the objea wi.ech the Hon. Gentlemen opposite profess to have in con templation. It has been observed by the Hon. Baronet, that when this Petition was presented, I complained of the delay which had taken place, and the interval of time which was suffered to elapse. It is true, that I did so complain, and the reasons which governed me on that occasion will be found to be emelt. What are the falls of the ease ? A petition has been presented, signed by some Mem bers of this House, complaining of an infringement of its privileges. Ten weeks since the Meeting of Par liament are suffered to pass without any notice being taken of this violation. IVithout comment ing on the unusual circamstance of a Member of the House petiiinning against an infringement, at the moment when, it it was not his duty, at least it was in his power, to rise in his and demand from the House the vindication of its ovoi rights, 1 proceed to assert, that a Member, attually in pos. session of a fait, from which such a violation ensued is guilty of a derelietion of his legi,lative duty. in not embracing the first opportunity to explain to Par. liament the injury it hassustained is its charader and privileges. This is not a new or obsolete doftrine, but the stritt and sound Parliamentary language of the Constitution. It is the pradical and salu tary usage of this House, which gives to a question of privilege the precederr:e e:en of the consideration of Mis 'Majesty's speech.-- But I put it to the House, was it not more natural and more compatible with that principle of sub stantial justice, for which they petitioned, to have made their application two months age, when the circumstances were yet fresh on their memories, whilst the wound which was infli3ed on the c , n stitutional rights of this House and the count: e, was yet open, than without any solid reason or even plausible pretence. to come now to the House, with a complaint, which. from import, has frequently changed its form. and which, from breathing a ge neral and strong accusation against His Majesty's Government, has since dwindled and diminished into solitary. uagrounded, and idle allegation. against one Right Hon. Gentleman, a Freeholder of the County of Southampton, and whose criminality consisted in exerting his personal influence in behalf of a respeaable relative of his family ? How were the Gentlemen employed in the intermediate time ? Was the objeft of their industry to search for new cnoses of e anplaint ? or having. in the beginning, u;.fortunately hit on a wrong Petition, have they been since sedulously engaged in finding a right one I The signature of one Gentleman was got. we are told, without his knowledge. A becoming apology has been certainly made tar that irregu larity, by the Hon. Baronet. Another Hon. Gen tleman (Mr. Jeffery, of Poole) has, in the absence of an Hon. Friend of mine (Mr. Angelo Taylor), traduced bins, in a manner not consistent either with the comae of oaf Member to another. or even from Gentleman to Gentleman. (Order! or der!). ____ Mr. SPENCER STANHC)PE called the Right Hos. Gent. to order; he never heard, as long as sat in the !louse, such unturliamentary lan guage; it was lansuage, calculated to produce a quarrel, and aanally to put pistols in the hands of the Geatlemen alluded to.—/A Krairal laugh.) The SPEAK LK thought the use of such terms, in such an application, better dispensed with. Mr. TIERNEY-4. Sir, I have to apologise to that Gentleinan, and to the Hattie, for any ouiaten tto:lal impropriety of explession, which has escaped tn... It would be rather unfortunate, were I plunge my absent friend into an additional scrape, wink endeavouring to vindicate him from, what appear to me, unmerited aspersions. However, I confide too strongly in the good sense arid dia. cretion of both the Hon. Gentlemen, than, f,r a moment, to m;, .r, that they will suffer them selves to be led away even by the broad hint of the Huo. Gentleman, whose warmth of ex pression, in c tiling me to order. was likely to produce the fatal 'teas, which his ap.. prehensions induced him to atirihute to my lan. gunge (a bad hark) But, resumlng the discus sion, I am sore in tlAs House there is n t an indi vidusl who would be mate jealous than 1 would be, of an r thing which savintsed of an improper or usdlurinauence on :he part of the Government with eleJtss ri7h:s ; nor ivoul4 I countenance any Ministry which would degrade its omen character by those shameful and direct atrocities, or trooe unconstitutional encroachments. which even Cie Right Hon. Gentleer) uppo he (Mr. Goiroe k . even he had de.:lared to he toiprecedmosof /bra, ! bear !J. It is, Sir, rather extraordinary, that after the interval of ten weeks, with all the labitur which has been employed, the industry which bin been exerted, the Honour tide Gentleman eau bring nn cue corroborative fact, eAursot so ai.4rt his at. legetious against my Right Hon. Friend, or the Al. nt:.:istratiam, !.v any concurrent facts. An avowed letter, writit-n to a Gentleman lately at the head of a certain Deprotnient, the purport or which cot never be tortured into any thing like an official order, Or, in the remotest degree, approaching to tne ex ercise of any undue trifionrice, is the oily potion. work Of this unsupported charge. Was thee, av neral disposition, on the part of Hi, Majesty's G. 'eminent. enjustifiably en I unconstitutivoniiy to in, terfere in the rights of Elesnion, hart it beets acemed with strong presumptive prooli of criminality, cr hoeing, in other cases, exerted an improper MlL ence. the angle allegation, on which this Petition is founded; might, as an additional illustration, be good for something ; but, stsnding by itself, and unsupported as it is, it is nCtualy good for notnin x . The essence of the guilt attached to my Hon. Friend, is, that he direded this letter to the Head of the Barrack Department, from the officail chi;tris bar of the Treasury, Was he guided by viner praSitioners. he would have dated it float his house in Stanhoge-stmet ; and, instead of sending the letter by post. be would have dispatched it by his servant. But the T. ease-y is the rub ;at the merition of this term, tt e Right Hon. Gaels mina opposite (Mr. Rose) stud all aghast en the sp. portunity my Right Ho: . Friend enj.iys of diretting his letters from the Treasury, hinges all the alarm and constitutional jealousy of the Right Hoe. Gen. tlein.iit opposite, mid his Friend. Another 'nitre of their dismay, and an additions: proof of the ' criminality of my Right Homoireble Friend is. that this fatal letter . was marked up: ivate ;" that is, it was only intended for the perusal of Gene ral Hewitt. If the letter was sent for -the pur pose of being handed about, it might, by pos sibility, be converted into an argument in memo of the allegation of this Petition ; but it is ri ally a departure from every thing probable or reasonable, to suppose. that an instrument, intruaed to effect such extensive purposes, and to create, by its offi cial injuations , such an undue influence, should have been peculiarly limited to the knowledge Knit attention of one person. Has it efichichl its obit& ? or even lias it surcceded in the single reque.t it made therein? Indeed, however piafticaity this conimunication may operate to procure a de bate, it will. be found not very efficient in procuring votes. Does it, I ask, savour of any bold plan to extend the Ministerial ioduence, or has any improper and unjustifieole punishment been vi sited on those connected with the Barrack Depart ment, who positively refused to comply with the tenor of this alleged Trea..ury communication ? Will this House, under such it view of the case. suffer its time to be wasted, and the liberties of the people to be trifled with. by entering into the mnst serious of all legislative duties-.-4 Committlie of Psi. vileges. Suppose, inr a moment, you have Groin' II twits called to the Bar of this House. ' He is asked, Did you, General Hewitt, receive a leiter from the Right Hon. Gentleman, the Secretary of the Treasnry ? Yes, I did. What did you do with that letter t I sent it to Major Davis. What was the answer of Major Davis? That he could not go, as toe Duke of Cumberland, the Commanding Offi cer, had refused him his travelling emirates. Iles. then, is the only information we would obtain by referring this motion to a Committee of Privileges. Farts winch are admitted, and which have never beers denied, and on which this Reuse is now fully able to conic to an immediate decision. Could any BnrrackAccounts be produced, in which charges are made on die public expenditure for an elenion de- • maud ; or could the Hon. G:ntlenaan opposite bring Fruof to this House, that the travelling ex pences of these Officers belonging to the Barrack Department, were defrayed by the public Janney ; then would the Petition be well grounded, and the economical inclination of that Right Hon. Gentle man opposite (Mr. Rose) be seasonably shocked. The economy of that Right Hon. Gentleman has been ever the theme of panegyric; if any thing was wanting to complete it, it was the exhibition we witnessed cn a former occasion, worn. in the woe spirit of regard for the ptiociple of retrenchment, that Right Hon. Gentleman astoni.hed the House with the rare example of printing, at his own pro. vale expence, a public document Belonging to the Treasury. It has been justly sated by the Hon. Baronet. that he could find no precedent tot this case; and, I am sure, it he had eareuded his inquiries. he would Lave been convin,ed, that in the whole Parliamentary history of this country, mete never was an Oppositino which stooped to such 111 mean. shallow, and unsupported ground of et tack against their political opponents. Indeed. on every consideration I can ;rive the enemies stance, the more 1 ree.e:t on the sysiem of con duct the Honourable Gentlemen upposi:e have adopted, 1 t*tl eonvinc..J, that, au are of the ex istence of those nets or undue influence and minis tetial infringement on former ucntsions, and in other Administrations, thin have at preshi.t assented them as incontestible faces. But I can tell them. arid can sincerely assure thee I-11 , htte, rise neither irs I lampshit eor in any part at er of England, a single threat has been held out by Goer foment to influence the sores of any Elector or hint,. of Electnts.— When Gentlemen talk of the influence of Govern ment, it would operate lienefi:inny to the time and judgment of the House. to hare that term properly &titled. '!'here is an infinence, which. I contend, two Gentlemen in differeist offices may exercise is favour of each other, for instance—where the out a.ks the other to Ask Mt. Jana 03 or Mr.Tisompson for his vote and interest in favour of his friend, sucot an exercise is fairly practicable, it is correct and productive of -good effects. Ent should any menace be held out to Slr. Jo 1!30.I or Mr. Tampion, then it bencones a downri n tit undue initience, which it i► the duty cf this lions t, pts nirh and prevent. But; is a Gnsidentan, sAulousLy ernoloyed in the Treasury, to he accused, because he has written. from his oio.l chamoer, a letters whicb, if written at his own house, alter dizesta . • r i ce ti y pn, o,a of Ir. ( a , !) 4.1 e a sm Irv's e I. It uc tn,tf tern G9r 1:•e ton 1, t: .