The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser. — London, England, 1810-05-04 00:00:00

Ms opinion, Ministers had acted wisely and correct. ly; and were the tame to do again, they should have 148 support. By their conduct they had acquired mach credit in the country ; had they acted .otherwise, then, ioileed, the country might, with good reason, have been dissatisfied with them. He would vote ogaitist receiving a petition, which, so far from being respectful, only cooforined to the terms of petition, to cloak ita insults. Lord A. ilauft.t.is thonght, that the nine Freeholders out of ten, who would have opposed this pedant, had done extraordinary injustice to themselves end the House, in suffering it to be agreed to Nu I presented. He did not thick the word 6 ' protest' ought to cause it to he rejected. At for the object of the petitioners, which had been alluded to, he was totally ignorant of what it might be, and could not therefore take it into his consi deration. He was of opinion that the House had the right of committal, bid condemned the too fre goein or unnecessary exercise of that power. Much as the petition had beets commented upon, litre was one passage which struck hire as more ob jectionable tha:i all the rest, cud totally uniiscea may to be introduced. It was That in which it was repeated, he was sorry . to sap, repeated from the authority of the House itself," that the sale of seats way as notoeious us the sun at noon-day." He coacluded by imputing to Ministeril toe blame of all these petitions, as their conillict had furnished the arguments sod language in which they were composed. Mr. SrEVEN said, the qu-oition before the House was: aliether they were honiiit to retrive a paper c tiled a petition, however tosalting, declamatory, and campolsatory it might be ? and, second, why therthis was a paper of that description? • He hal been anxious for the wijoaraineut, that Gentlemen might have sit opportunity of examining sutra thcse and coining deliberately prepared to &vide thereon. In the course of the &hate, he• curd r stood but one Member, the Right Hon. Gentle man nu the dour, (Mr. Ponsunby,) to haves sake , ' in favour of laying the petition on the table, on the gronitil that the sahj-iA hid that right, hos ewer ilisresapet•tful the laugh ige in which they up • pro:idled the 110U6". Tne right of 'petitioning was denied by no one; but would it be held that, because that right existed, it might he exercised in the must offensive . way ; and language of contempt, nutlet the name of pe titiaa, he addressed to Parliament ? The subject had an eon J ti4ht to pennant the King as he bad to petition Par's stile:.l ; then let them tarty principle of the Right Hon. Gent. a little fis ;liter, and it would give the sithject right to use contemptuous language to the Sove reign. [Tie Hon. Geist. luxe read the preamble to the Act 13. of Charles 11. to chew that by law (a law not trenched on by the Rill of Rights) the manner of petition was regulated to prevent vio lence, stud why iniprlit it not be regulated to insure respect to the fountain of laws, and not bring that, and, by direct consequence, the laws theinselvre, into contempt He then animadverted on what had fallen front his Learned Friend, (Mr. Morris), who, in declaring he would have been against re ceiving the petition, had it denied the autho illy of the House to commit. had gene further towards narrowing the right's of the subject, than either he or his Honourable Friend (Mr. Wilberforce.) were prepared to go. The subject had a right to deny the legality of any act, but thereinto Jo it in respeetful mid proper tra.ns. Has Learned liiend had, sorely, not considered the petition, when, after defining what he would consider an in sult, he had &Oared he did not perceive any In sult in its coutents. it not only denied their rights, but accused them of " assuming and exercisiiig a power tiithisoarii to the biw, earl one:aria:lw' by the Constitution." They protested sot only against the exercise, but against the existence of the power. Agin', it was said, that this might be an accident rl expression ; but the petitimiers them selves had precluded the possibility of this apology', for they went on to state the object o f their p •ii. thin. They stated that their protest was the more necessary, because your votes in its support (i. e. the support of the existence and exercise of this power) are entered on your Journals—nut so the letter of Sir F. lint:lett to vou- Speaker, denying you Inch joindiction." tile.n was the object of their vote. The necessity for burin it recorrbd as Sir F. Burdett's letter was hot. He was sorry lie did out fee an Hot. Gentlem at (Mr. Whitbread) in his place, that h.• might have asked of him, whether this letter of Sir F. Burdett had not been declared, by the unasinanne voice of the House, " a flagrant violation of their privileges ?" and whether he (Mr. %V.) had not pronounced his rearli- MIS to adopt any stron4er terms that could be applied against it ? This was the judgment— the naafi:awns judgment—of the House, upon the letter ; and yet the petitioners protested sgainst that-eats, anti wi.hed to have something at oNeitaive, nay, if po...sible, more offensive, gibes tided for it, that they might li:ar them on their very tl"roolfs - ' - (iteoe. Ater. Fhis was the moat of fensive pa,. tut: in the petition, and he could not cuoi•eive how Geotle:nen opposite, culled one great party in the House, aid sharing in the general oblorpsy thrown on all parties by these persona, could think of exonerating themselves by imputing all the dissatisfactioo created to Ministers. They twist stand or fall together there was no distinction. It was said, no danger menaced. lu his opinion there was much to be feared from 'system ssaidurniafl and elaborately pursued, to alienate the- affections of the people from the Legislature. It was part of the same system which 15 years ago had made a similar attempt upon the Monarch, and, foiled in that, now tried a more dais. germ, • flight, in attempting to bring the popular branch of the Government ioto contempt. He did fear, with the ignorant and lower orders, they were too successfu', cud the more so at this period, when the pressure of the times, end of taxes, were so sr. yerelv felt, as to engender discontent, suspicion, and ill-will. InJus!,rioustly did these systematic Re formers in one way or other continue their attempts to overturn that glorious fabric under which Britain had enjoyed happiness so great, Sod deviation so high. it wail iiicum%-eat on the Home ta check the raixii-e, and time whole flirtation now was, w ht:ther to." , should do n, or initristier tc their urn dislio- no s• There wom a it'an anot;.er passage in the'peition, to w•i•eii he wished to c4ll their attention. It V/2.1 that la winch Mae patitsaucts declared they ~ viewed • with suspicion 3!) . (1 jealousy • the alhuttiog up Sir F. Burdett in pri-ou, when the attention of the nation war ditecttd with autiety to his intended motion for a reform in the representation of the people." This, "if it meant tiny thing, meant that the House had insidiously got tid of a zealous re. former, to bait. thut reform► which was siece,sary. It was arraigning not only their proceedings but their motive*, and upon no other principle but that of the. Right Hon. Gentleman (Nlr. Ponsontiy) could the reception of such a paper possibly he con tended for. The arguments used in favour of re ceiving the Westminster petition were, that a con ciliatory diTosition on the part of the House would spew their readiness to attend to the complaints of the subject, and thereby ease them froin being in undated with similar petitions. They had nuw found 'that this did not answer, as, front receiving one, an other still more °Hi-noire had followed. If this also was received, it would be represented as wrung from their pesillanitnity ; and, in pursuit of that which they called acting tirio!y and temperately, others still more degrading would till they were brought into utter contempt. It was now, therefore, time to make a stand, and chew the na tion, that, uninfluenced by prejudice, and unawed by menace, they only cousulted their good in pre serving the trust reposed in them by the people. Mr. POMP/NOY said, that an expression had been attributed to him, which he had never used. He did not state that it watt the duty of the House to receive troy petition containing an insult to it, but that it was the practice of thel louse to receive all petitions. He acknowledged the propriety of re-. jesting tint thing of degrading and injurious mat ter, and considered the nectssity of doing so as in. • Mr. By rto said, that having delivered his sen ft:twists upon the subject of the petition, he would not detsin the House. lie could not, howaver, help taking notice of an assertion which had been titide by an Hon. Gentleman iMr. Wood) that the cresting was not respectably attended. The lion. Glotticinatt was not present ut that meeting, and the ti6stort from whom he had received such iiifor mown, had been guilty of a Must gross misrepre deist etion. The meemhly was compcised of the most revertible individuals. • -tenths of whom were of opinion, that though, in certain cases, the of Commons had a right to commit to pri son, yet in the case of Sir Francis Burdett no such right existed. lie held precisely the same opinion ; and even if the House had the power of 1,,,,;ty ;nuk ing such commitment, it was a power winch ehottiri • Ise relinquished. • Mr. Woon said, he believed ht was correct in stating that the inijority of the pet 401 assembled at that in sting were not freeholders; :tad that. if the Ilotn. Geittleinati had no more votes in his le II than those of the freeholders who were present, he would not be possessed of a sent in that House. Mr. Metrasit said, that he would not say any thing as to the respectability of the .neeting, but he me:rived that he was not Ilriking an erroneous assertion, when lie said that the majority of the senility were not freeholders. Although Itis senti ments were strongly against the words of the pe tition, he would vote that it should lie on the table. If it was rejected, another Would Ire framed ; he wraith'. of 1701111 PW, an was his duty, attend the tweet ing of hits constituelit,, but he despaired of the fa vane of a hearing. When, upon the late occusion, he hail Amer' that he conceived it his duty to bring tip the petition to the House, and that he would most faithfully perform that duty, he was heard wittiont tide, ruptian ; but when he begat' to urge any argument against the propriety Ofsi tiding such a petition to Parliament, all was t.,inult and so ciferation. Mr. StuEx explained. Admiral !kw/E said, that he would give his most d,eided Vo'r 1 . ,r the rejection of the petition. A diviston their toJk place, when there appeared, For the reception of the pi.toodi., ..... 55 Almost it 139 Majority di AMUSE OF IRISH ItIENk.',NUE Sir imam N LIIPOKT said, that,. to the question which he hail to bring before the House, lie hoped the most calm, dispassionate, and deliberate dis cussion would be given. It was of most initerial importance, as it concerned the resetine of Ireland, and deeply affected the interests of that count.y. Under these considerations lie was convinced that the discus-ion would be abstracted from all preju dices. Ttie legislature of that country had been transferred to this; the revenue then of that coun try should be the peculiar rare of England, inas much as its benefit was the beneiit of F.oglarid,. and as the neglect would be must calamitous to both countries. He had bong considered the plan of incidents as one extremely prejndici,d, and one which it wits most necessary to abolish. Under the denomination of incidents, not only pension and salaries were ranked, hut every erooluinent and fee obtained by those couriected with the revenue. In bringing before the House the present subject, he was not unattenderl by authorities of the most toirptestionable nature. The Commissioners ap poioted to inquire into the Abuses of the Irish Revenue., hail observed and censured this system, as most injorious to the interests of the country. He would direct his attention to ten eases in which grants were made of pensioos t the first case was that in which the grant of 10001. was made to , Mr. Croke'', Surveyor-General for Extra Official ' Duties ; this appeared, in the bill :'.'port of the Com:Min:Muer*, censured. He did not mean to un dervalue the exertions of Mr. Cruker, or the services which he had rendered ; the Commissioners al lowed that his business was of a most weighty nature, but yet not sorb as to justify a grant to such en amonot. He could not conceive any greater evil than that of applying the public money upon occasions where it was not deserved; the evils resulting from a practice of this nature would be of great magnitude and extent. The first resolution he had to put was, thilt it appeared, from the ntli Report .of the Commissioners, that the suits of 10001. was, in the year 1807, paid to Mr. Cruker, fur his Extra Official Duties, together with the annual aunt of SOU!. a house, &r. that the Commis ' sinners of Enquiry did not conceive those duties I were such as to entitle him to site Ii a'sum. Tee neAt resolution he had to propose relater+ to a grant to Sir John Slice, Receiver-fieneral—a grant in contradiction to the rules of that Horse. He had been in dice' only eight years, during which he had performed i.one of the ilotioi of it. was no ease of coninii4eraiibit; it as the ease of a Mill of rank and fortnoe; lie WdAg I:eVerlileteSß, superannuated. The Der and ie.olution was that it appeared to the Coittiiii...toners that in the incidents of the customs, Sir John S'iee had received the awn of 56731 from the sth of August, tarn, to isos ; and that he wits 'auperiumintied after being in office but eight years, during which he had riot attended to the duties of his office. Ile had another tiou respecting the grant to the treasurer of the pest-office. He could not help stating the grounds '_upon which this gentleman had requested a su perannuation: The money received in the pod office, instead or being delivered into the bank, was left in the hands of the deputy-treasurer.— A reform was thought necessary, and a minute was made fcir the purpose of getting the inn nay into the Batik. Many attempts were made to do sway this minute, that the cask might return into the old chtimel ; but the attempt was ineffectnal.—The Treasurer wai•ed for a Go vernment which would superannuate him fur his services, and he at last found it. Re supposed, as he had not made away with . the money which went through his hands, that he was entitled to a large remuneration. The last resolution he had to make was, that the House considered such a sys tem of conduct as this, highly- reprehensible, and a violation of what it was the duty of Ministers to preserve. That the yuldie money should not be matte use of by (Acerb, and ihat such as had dune so, were deserviiia the reprehension of that Rouse. The Humnivalile Baronet said, that what he had stated were hut parts of a vi• - v extensive system. It would be found that main I.Hficers, nu sunerannuated. had salaries ❑nder Govern went, arising front other situations; that the ur six pounds r-year were g.veti to a store keeper, when it could be proved, that bitwieu 130,0001. and 150.0001. sable in gricsila had dime?. pelted, and never trait accounted for f,y ? A ° were justly TI.1 , 11011i111!€. lie coi•jure:t the mouse to negative those grants—th.• moat be dis contented at seeing the rewards of girl f.dennusiurted services. Mr. Fosrea denied the fact of ih , . statement respectiug Sir. Crasher. It we. the sopiiii.tti of the Coins inssioneis, an opinion expres.e.d iii their re port, dint the money allotted to was not ob tained in consequence of extra services; ow the co itr.ity, Mr. Crave had • right to insist upon it; this money was toot elven as a reward to Mr. evoker, it was compensation for a debt whn•h he could have gained by law. Ile then stated in what manner. Ile &feinted the conduct' of Sir John Shee, which, he said, WON completely free from any charge, either of neglect or unsconduct. Mr. W. Staten coatended. that if Mr. Croker was the cause of ativ abuse, was not for that noose to consider, lint of tiros. who were his con trollers, the Conitniss•ouers of Excise ; and they had lironglit forward, or produced, a report, which world bear the Right Hon. Baronet oust or his al legations ; they declare that the torn of 10(101. WM. a compe:l-aticiii which Mr. Croeee was not „ w ith d to, under the head of extra official duty 11,iw have they come to (Ms enticlusion. without cutering into purticolar heads and the merits of the case Thew was, in lusopiniou, no ease that they a hont d l uce entered more minutely into thin the expenditure of money. There was an Hon. (lent. on the tipper site side, who, from his connection with the Gentle man who W. 14 accused, OnAlli ti be calculated to make an expusi and explanation of the conduct of his relative. He conceived that the Right Hon. Gentleman was as much at liberty, as if hi, parent's conduct was not brought before the view of the. House. In his upitioni, this charge could not be equal to thit against Mesas. W. an d J. Edwards, for tlit-rr de la:eatioh, which had not any thing to do with Mr. Croker. It was stated in the Report that it had :teen justithetile to make remuneration to those S'ir.eyors *hit had remitted hues; which went to the extrid to sae, that Mr. Croker w uent,ted to the I,a f• of 48,ti001. Fur the first time it hail come to Its knowledge, that the Siirvey a.- el Id re,a ore half the tines which were forfeited to the Crorn. If there was a law for it, all _he could say was, that the stem was bed. He recolleeted, that some years liack ao officer made a 'satire, and was ordered to brew, hut lie refused it, and sooner than give. Up hia object, he allowed himself to lie disiiiiss-d. ' It was out the same iti the present case ; he continued to the tat ; mid when he sent in his Memorial to the CommOsioners, which stated he had done extra duty, lie mi g ht to have re collet:fro!, that he was only lultillin. the duties of the office he recemed a salary for, and which was pail he the taxer wrung from his coustrymen. Mr. Croker was recommended to the attention of his Grace the Lord Lieutenant, and on his review of the tleci•iiin of the Commissioners, he reversed it ; yet he saw the propriety of the question bring brought forward, NS the Report of the Cornmis sioners gave it full sanction. Thanks were dire to the Hon. Baronet, taisJulin Newport, for, 11l his statement, it made an expasi, that tic and those around lion, who were not 'elute acquainted with the cirentnateoces of Irish oFcwtomy, must let I themselves thankful for. Mr. FOSTER spoke in explanntiotu. Mr. CROKE* said, he rose with less agitation than lie would, if he had not been yelled on toy the Hon. Gentleman (Mr. S II). Mr. Croker was' appointed, in the year 1802, to the situatimi of the Surveyor-General of Excise of the Port of Dublin, at the salary of 8001. per annum, when others in the same sititatiou had tire hundred pounds per year, and two guineas per day, when called out upon extra ditty, which was established by law.— Mr. Croker, on overlooking the Er cue Laws, found a clause, which went to the enforcement of every distiller paying into the regular office Isis duties weekly. He informed those persona of it, before he acted ; which clause stated,. that one moiety should go to the Crown s the other to the Prosecutor. But how different del hr act from the geherality of prosecutors—he gave up his own share. The Honourable Member then entered into a detail of each eirtumstance, and stated, that at the peried of the case of the P..dwierts', hid father as in Lonthoi. At the request of the Hmi. Baronet. Sir John Newport. who held the offervel ertuatiou of Chancellor of the Exchequer for Ireland, f•hey weer persons in astute of bankruptcy, and iilw tome in armor) an information as , tiled agaii.st the in. Jo the satouut a the vtrdna levied, sad 20trUi. rectietd from them. Mr. Croker being in Etiglatiti, 'Clerks of the Treasury did not know ling o reti and made a wmng entry, which obliged ),It, (2,,,, to pvtitioa his Excyllency the Lord Lieti.ena n ! have restored to him what was his acted', no The Hon. Member concluded by redornii, g tdaisks to the Hon. Baronet (Sir 3111111 IS elv pot, for the handsome manner he had spoken of ther. He lived in us father's house, in his confidence. and if the question before them was be deuuniiiiitvd a job, he would assure them, during that period he had never heard of it. trusted 4e had not said too sauch—it was the difficult situation Itx had ever been placed in. Sir Jour! NE*PORT said, he begged Ifare understood, that he never did, in sity way, me , ii aspersions against the official conduct of Mr. Croker: and, alter the statement that had her] made by the Hop. Gentlerrao. his relative, lie was perfectly willing to withdraw his two first rerolu. tunas. After some remarks from Mr. Wctt.tstrr Pair:, anti Mr. MAURICE FITZGERALD, the SeLanett put the question, and the Resolutious were accordin i tly aithdrawn. Mr. Tit:Levin- thought, that at that late hour of night, they would act nith proprie!y bt a.iniarni ng the deltate tut the othel Rvvolutittoi or the Hat. Baroliet.—(.4 lout! cry of " on, go on.") The SPLAK Ea theii pot the res..oution. relative to the Right lion. William Furwar.l, Tre.t , tut ! o f t i. e ipoat.oifiee, in Ireland, after e?, 4 ,41 yvart: services on full salary. Mr. %VELLA sa.te Pore i a de fence of the roeusure, mud coot. ude.l , :hat a, it was a „ tent pl ace . it riiight ant to 1* disturbed ; but to the urrsugutent made by the present Lard Lieutenant. it lia.l hecome a pllce of actuai ditty. and the omit who had beet, returned to it «at brought up in the Treasury, and sent there for kis merit, vrithent any political interest. After a few aor.lr (WWI Sir JOHN Newrw Mr. HENRY THoloart., and Mr. IlloNSuNne, the flowe di. tiled. when. there appeared IV, nit: Rita. Aye,' Nur~ Majority agaillst Ilw riceolutiouo sy We ut.de:etutill the Clllll4l.lerati4lll 01 . the dor:ifet of Resolunonn is postponed till to-morrow. Ihe other orders of the day were then ih.posed of, aid the /louse toljourned at TWO O'CLUCIL. sEir TfiE.! MR- Rf) Y. 4 f., COVENT.C.IRDEN. Ibis prrornt. FRIDAY, Mae a, !RIO, will be acted. THE CASTLE OF . AN IeAIICSIA. Din Cr:sr, Mr Bellsmy ; Data Alpholll.l, Mr. liaclidiss; hiisido Mr. Mamie.. Victoria, Min Bolton; Loriaisa, Catalina, Mrs Liston. `To whirls will be added, the Farce of THE CHILD OF N.A . 11:11l. Tis morrow, King Fleury the I.:glith.—On lit, Prince of Deoninik.—lM Tilailav, Macbeth A New Musical Afttrprece as to rehearsal, add .01 rap sutra be produced. THE BRITISH PRESS. LON DON, FRIDAY. MAY 4. Last night, in the House of Commits*, the 0- jourited debate upon the 'Middlesex Petition awe ermined. After i t long 4 iiieti44loll, the House di vided, when there appeared, for ti.e receatiao of the Petition, 59 ; against it, 139; the Petition was thus rejecttd by a mujoritv of 81. The West India fleet, comprising 27 a.ll, owlet convoy of His Mai Lars 'a sloop Part: oslge, CAlot. I' 00T, and Jalonse, Capt. :Vli);:ttti, as fa , as Ma deira, sailed from the Cove of Cork, on Thins.lay last. We have received Paris papers to the 17:h lint. lioKAre RI% was then on the eve eat with Ids Empiess ono too, through his iiewiy-aintiire 1 poises:urns in Midland. Private recounts state, mat arrived at Atitwerp on the 19th last, after having pasard some lime iewing the Canal of St.Q st. t a. The accounts from Spain, in the Frercb papers. are not cf later date than the 13 h 1. st. fie Madrid Gazriie of that day st..te , . th;.t Grenada vaa, quirt : the inhahiutnta thereof, tune; otle t:clued, thonglit only of living peaceably trii e the paternal Government of the King s " who, it to said. remained at Grenada on the. itBth of March, 1 0141 .1 employed in endeavouring to conciliate the natives. by the abolition of exclusive rights and privilete‘ This may have been a true state of King Jostels's aitatation at that date; but we know, from more recent accounts from Spain. through the u ndmin of the Lisbon Papers, the slate of Grenada Inas been since greatly altered, and that the wholi Wis'ern part of it has been evacuated by the French. The sanguinary Alasstaa,• according to report, Is to have the chief command in Spam. On Monday evening • tontwerotts M. cting n r the Freemen of the City of Canterbury took place at the City Arms, wheaas Ilequantion to the Mayor tni C .1 11 .11. " To tax the sense of the'Fret men sto the eattsonlinary assompitoo of poser by a Mitidrity of the Hon , of Own -10.1155, awl Ilse yin lints abust s existing in "crytue l:e-sti-amens, sti-amens, and t•s adopt sods atensares as non he d ec ose.l most lncite to a ratites, /Worn; tu the Kg-natal:de . 01 the People, - Sill propeed, and suantmottsly The Iteniton matt insnieitisirly signed by aotatna of too te st of the most respectable Cdiseus. OD Saturday, at No. ga, Strautl, Madame Waoltich, sou. On the Mb April. M his buns ' m in Bcdford-.lnei eh, Lady of Geuige 564:441eu, Fly. of s daughter. •-sticis %et STOCKS YElitZ Bank Stork a per Cent Itrdered ...... p per Cert. Commie ..... 4 per test ........ ...., s psu Ceat Navy f, ...... .lenq p Long Annuaire .. .. - OAS Imperiel Ansuities 6 15.6t1n. [11(1111 Stu, k 1401 I udla Komi... T • .. 2U CI . p.m FArherpiri Bills 31 b 14 p.m Eogli..i. Lowry Tinitten. ......... ..,stl. 6. Counoin fur ..•....... :: COW! .. 6911 ...... •-• • • • , T . St..a.p.. 4, Curabill, wJ p, Cho. LONDON:— Printed if C. SMITH, Nu. 1, eh am; putibitlitil M 414 bow*. Pie. it., bad o r at. ( Ir. thwack, Sir.aciii. k. *UWE:, .tri• Bare t for the.. rtivr, ! oat to ihe °ace-, 'rat p,... dale aiicaticd w. the turn. oker at t o item loft,) 'll4 to !hilt Ile won tote e soy Mr. been 1 C