The Sun. — London, England, 1812-04-21 00:00:00

tiIPERfiL I),4pLiIImEA7I. HOUSE OF PEEFiS: DIONDAY,' APtilL 20. Royal As.enigiven by - CoMmiscion tO auras Earl of Wellcnton's Annuity . t.he Hon il"s Mahogany, the Irish Svirits Exportation, the r cal Militia Amendment, the Irish- Militia Farni "s arid S Idiers‘ Bill, the Thames Navigation, and to several other Bills. The• Lords ,Conimissioners were, ,r he LORD CHANCELLOR, the Earl Of LIVER ) °() L, and Lord WALEINGHAM. The Irish , Grain Exportation, the Coffee Duty 4 egulati oo , an d Blachford's Divorce Bills, seve -1.114 passed - through Committees of the whole 1 ° r use, and were reported. "'he LORD CrIANCELLOR, with reference to the t an mentioned Bill, adverted to the Clause regoired (1 be proposed by one of their Lordships' Orders for pr o h;k• • M g — the Intern3arriage pf the Adulterer with 1 e Divorced Female, and to afford, an .opportunity 0, this being proposed, if it should be deemed pro on the occasion of the third reading of the e observed -that some interval should be allowed efOre thit staae took place. I TRADE TO INDIA'. 031 - 1 FITZWILLIAM presented h Petition Nom cer rn Me rc h ants , Ship-Owners, and others; of the ° 't of Kingstori-npon-Hall, praying a participa 1 - lu n in the British'Trade to India. t h rheNoble Earl also presented a Petition from Guild and _Brotherhood of the Trinity House, test Pilot s o f t h e same P or t ; an d one ..f r om the Docks Company of the same; both to the t a I . l e effea as the first. All which were ordered to lie on the Table. a T he Duke of BEAUFORT presented a Petition -for of B s 'ruilar objea, from the Corporation of the City ristol. Ordered to lie on the Table. Tlra Report of the Inspeelor General, on the state h,, l „`le Piisons in Ireland, was presented at the BAr, .6, 41 r. Johnson, from the Irish Secretary of State's ince. • 1 4n , M l. Base, Principal Cashier of the Bank of Eng al"' Presented an Account of the tota: Nominal/I: u e of Notes presented for payment at the f°rand refused on the ground of their being " r ged. Marquis of Sr4rronD pre - i - ented - s 'Petition anci r n Certain Manufa6tur e rs, and others, in the Town t o , neighbourhood of Kilveston, Staffordshire, 4 S imilar etfea- with the abovetnentione&Petitions. CATHOLIC QUESTION. vi .r he Earl o f DONOUGHMORE rose to bring for oard and present a Petition from the general Body iv his Maj es ty' s Catholic Subjects o f I re l an d, w hich 6 1't fully, h e o b serve d, t o ex p ress th e un i ver sal 1111 uedivided sense of that great portion of the vi e l t:Ple of Ireland, as to the important question of . c h wonld s h ort ly come un de r the c ons ideration their L or d sh i ps. Th at suc h was the • case, he pad te satisfaction of learning , not only from those l 0 - were more immediately concerned in forwai-d -st the Petition itself, but from his own knowledge I , • t 0 t he general sense and sentiment which pre "lled throu ghout the country as to this 'great na ,io•, i questio n . ' He had, on the present occasion, ; re quest the parti cu l ar aftect i on of their Lord•hips 0 the language and wording of the Petition, which ' i t'as of the most candid and respectful nature, not 4 / 4 1 Y to the high Assembly which it add resse d, but 41 % 0 to - the cause and circumstances of the petit ton- Z s th emse l ves, an d was , i n Ins op l a i on, ca ll e d ' for Y the justice and merits of their case. The pre sent Petition was at fir s t, int e nd e d f or ifgesentation d ya'Noble Friend, bit who was precluded Iron) ;itig so by indi s p os i t i on ; and unable from the state t 14 ' , his health to state his sentiments on the subject, hich he was extremely anxious of doing, but these had requested and authorised him (the Earl of i d' to de c l are 1 0 hi s behalh . He concluded by " That the Petition be now read," width iy t as accordirgly done so by-the Clerk, and ordered "' h e nn the Table. The Noble E ar l a l so p resen t e d P e titi on ' s from' the co unties of Kilkenny, Monaghan, and Kild ire, and ' i °4l the City and CountY o f Cork, praying theße t °v at of the vari o us legal 4 e , tr i4i ons an d Disahrli e ti " which his Majesty's Catholic Subjects laboured Und er. The last mentioned Pe t i t i on ' was , on t h e motio n or his Lordship, read at length. E • arl G REY p resente d a P et i t i on f rom his RI lj'esty's i l 'ieCts professing th e Roman Catholic religi o n in t t" "gland. Thi s d ocument i n some d egree re f erre d tha forme r P et i t i on presente d on t h e i r b e h a lf, w hi c h e y request may be taken into their Lordships se -I,6us considerati onc Th e sign at ures t o t h e p resen t ctil ioo were, 'from circumstances, tar more tI ut terous. It was si g ned by the most co ns i o eE'a ble persons throughout the country of that per suasion and by many Gentlemen of very tc 'usitterable p ro p e r t y. H is Lordship - moved that the. Petition be read, which was accordingly done, 0 “ oider e d to li e - on t h e table. The Noble Earl theft presecred another Petition, which he observed a ' ) f ar ) more numerously signedt han• the foregoing; h a d the signatures of'many thousand persons font erettt alla es in the northern parts of tie king urn, as Yorkshire, Durham, Nurthumberl md, and Ot her places. It was not only a Petition from Ito.- l i Ttt Cath o li cs , but from other descriptions of Issenter s from the established Church, praying in e utumon for relief from the various disibilities which .. 11 / 7 suffered. Th e P e tition syas also signed by ' l 4 members of the Established Chutch, who Were rightly of opinion ; that ihe measure prayed for ' r ested not only upon the principles .of justice, bre W as nece•sary fot the security, will-being, and tranquility of the country by inducing that even ‘ive unanimity which was the only thing that could C arry the country through the arduous -and event ful struggle in which it was engaged. The Prti- I f t) n, which was read by ht,i Clerk, was entitled— ' The Humble Petition of the undersigned Chris tians:" His Lordship afterwards presented Petitions from 1311 - field and two:her place; and also one signed by Peron of all religious persuaions, from the Town 15 t Berwickfupon Tweed,. • Lard HOLLAND preseived a Petition to the same "Met,-as we understood, Irani Norringham; all to . a etie,tt, and which being% shot tlj read, Were or dered to lie oil the table. The Marques o LANspowrit stated thit he had rive Petitions direeled to the same objeol. Thtee df these Were immediately handed to the Clerk, being from'Exeter, Plalifax, and Bristol, and read in the way.—The Noble Marquis then observed, he had two other Petitions to present, of a totally diffe rent nature from any that preceded, and behold therefore to call the particular attention of the House to them. They were Petitions from Protes tants in Ireland, resident in that country, and from Protestants in England, who .were possessed of con siderabli- properties in Ireland, praying that the Ro man Catholics of Ireland may be admitted to a full participation of the benefits and advantages of the common constitution under which Iliey all lived. = They were not craving a boon for themselves, but for others, and they considered lbe interests of a part as the interests of the whole The one was signed by considerably more than eight thousand persons, and that from this country by upwards of one thou sand. He was further authorised to state, and as far as his own personal knowledge enabled .hiin to judge, he was correalty informed, that the signa • ture of the petitions about to be read at their Lord l . ship's table, represented decisively the greater part of the proprietary of Ireland. Were their Lordsibps to examine these signatures, they would find _the names of many distinguished Members of their own. -House—of a large proportion of the landed proprie tary . ollrelawf who considered the security of their estates and properties, 'particularly- those of the ma ritime counties, as essentially conflated with the furtherance of the measure in behoof of which they prayed. Of many leading members of the milit.ary and learned professions, who for themselves relin quished the claim to their respeCtive monopolies, as, considering these professions may be More usefully exercised for the public, by a full admission of their Catholic brethreti. Of many of the parochial clergy of the Established Church of Ireland, wlio to their honour subscribed their names, in a conviction ioCtniionto thefhat such a measure would.greatlY tend, n, public benefit, but for the, safety and advantage of their own 'establishments, calling forth in their defence the exeitions of the whole community, upon the sole princhile u. on which those can be . hoped for, namely, the extension o( the privileges of the Constitution to ail those who live under it.— . I'he Noble Maignis then rnoved--" That the first mentioned Petition be read, and also that of the Noblemen and others in this country, connected by birth -or the possssion of property with Ireland." These derma - tents were .accordingly read, and or ,dered, to lie on the table. The Noble Marquis also presented Petitions from the County of Kerry, and Queen's County,, and from the City and County of Limerick, in suppoi t of the Catholic Claims. Th6.l),:ke of DEVONSHIRE presented one toahe same effe& from the County of Dublin, and other's were presented by the Earls of Besborough and Fit z william, the titles of v. h'cli being read, they were ordered to. lie the table. ------ Lord GRENVILLE observed, their Lordships h a d now on their table Petitions in behalf of the just claim of a proportion of more than a fourth of the population of the Empire, and pr a y in s relief f rom the. disabilities by which they felt t h e y *ere highlyinjured and oppressed. They had just heard read Petill,,hs from their - Protestant fellow subjeas, of requ „' ts so just . and r Ireland, in support ofreason_ able, and praying tire' might be permitted to break clown those h. , rrierair4thicb their Lordships still co n t. curred iii maintaining between them and their Ca. thou', 8,..-triren. But he :had now to lay before - --- them a Petition of a very different description and character on the pert of the U o iversity'of Oxford, viz. otte pr4yng t h-o th e ir Lordships would steadily continue 'to Muse t h c _ jus ices to the prayers and . petitions of their fellow s .ojeeis, whether of t h e persuasion of Catholics or Protestants, in England Or ins Irelatid. The near relation in which he had th e honour to stand, andea great honour he certainly fel t it, naturally induced him to comply without hesi tation to the request of that learned body to present their Petition to that House. He respected that ference of opinion, which he greatly lamented. He gave to others the full credit of entertaining an anxi ous desire with himself to do that which they deem ed best for the security and advantage of the estd-, blishments of the country. He therefore presented their Petition, while he was under the necessity of adverting to his own unalterable sentiments, and to his objection to oppose its prayer; not in the least front disrespea to them, but in pure justice to hi m _ self;, and La deelare that he utterly dissented - rom the opinions therein adVanced, and disapproved of its 'prayer, as really tending not to promote, but to defeat those very objeels which the Petitioners have in view. The Petition, he observed, was the as of the majority, therefore the aa of the Corporate . body ; but its adoption was far from being unani mous : it was diisenteds from by the Vice Chancellor and both his Proaors, by, several heads of Howes,.' and by many others remarkable for their learning, wisdom, and talents. Coming forward as he did, he had to request their Lordships would receive th e ' Petition, and hear the tats and arguments therein stated, wiqt thardegree of attention and respec to which any thing coming from so respeaable a body was justly entitled. The Petition of the Master, SehOlars, &e. of the University of Oxford was then .read* by the Clerk, and for the rearins therein assigned, prayed their' Lordships not to accede to these.claims,advanced by the Roman Catholics, &c. The'Petition was ordered to lie on the table.' On the question for adjoMning, Tlre Earl of LAUDERDALE rose, and shortly ad verting to the subject of the Orders in Council, -the system of licensing, &c. notified his intention, on' . - Friday next, to move for the produetinn of certain farther documents tending more cleanly to \ sliew the nature and area 'of the licensing system on the trade of both countries. Mr . . MEHBUX presented copies of the Military Plans of the Marquis Cornwallis, relative to a trans fer of the East India Company's troops to the ser vice of his, 'Majesty, pursuant to a recent vote of their ,Lordships, which were ordered to lie oothe table...—Adjourned till to-morrow: ROUSE OF COMMONS. MONDAY, APRIL, 20. The House was summoned to the House of Peers, tohar the Royal tV>setit given. by Colurnissioo to 4eveial public and private .134, 1 8,—LF0r wejlich see tords.j I • f„ , .r • A MeFiit7e from the- Lords SigpiEBcl Choir' agree- Men! to t,h"Legal Quays Bill. Lord G. L. GOWER presented a Petition from the Mannf36urers of Bilston; in Staffordshire; against t.he East India mnnopoly ; Mr. *STANIFORTII pre sented one from Hull, and 'Mi. BATHyRST another font Bristol, on the same subject.--They were all oldeled to lie on the table. • Mr. O'HARA postponed his intended motion for InstruCtions to the Finance Conithittee to inquire into the stile of the Debt of England and Iteland, to Wednesday nest. Papers from tl'e Bank of England were presetited, Containing Accounts of the stamped Dollars and Tokens i , sued by the Bank up to th 13th ut April, t 812 ;'ll,ti also the Balances in Cash belon!1- ing to‘Pordic Offices, lying .in the Bark, from t:.e loth of 06t0b..1, 1811, to the . 13th of April, 1812 Orth.'red to lie on the table. Various Papers were vresented, fan/l i the Trea sury. The Committee on the Mail Coach Toll - txemn tion Abolition Bill wars posrponed to Nlrdoesday next. - • Mr, M. FITZGERALD gave notice that he. would move to-morrow for an Address to the nince, Re gent to stop the Distillation from Grain in Ireland. Mr. POLE said, chat if becould have caught the Spe4er's eye before, he would given notice of his intention of moving to.morrovi for leave to bring in a Bill for that purpose: Mr. M.• FITZGERALD slated that he shoukl•still persevere in his tuotitin, and his reason for so doing was, that he did not the proceedirg.by Bill sufficiently expeditious to merit the exigency of the case. Mr. W. POLE said, that the n - iude he - Auggested, would fully answer the exigency of the case. Sir F. BURDETT presented a Petition from Sa muel Fletcher, brewer, of Pimlico, complaining against the Excise of iippress . ion.—Ordered to lie on the table. CATHOLIC QUESTION. Mr ELLIOT said he was 'about to present in the House a petition from a loyal, important,.and illus trious portion of his Majesty's subjths, the Roman Catholics of England. 7 1'hose c:nirns were once in the 'tends of one Who was capable of doing justice to any cause'; bat the splendid talents to which they were then committed had since been drawn frOrn us by dispensations not to be questioned. The present advocate, however, he hoped would be permitted to say that there never was a period when great ta- lentswere more nece•sary th.an now, under all the aspe&s in which the public affair's had presented themselves. The detail of grievances of• which the petitioners complained were contained in the peti tion presented by Mr. Windham. in 18 10', Froth that it.would appear that the Roman Catholics of England were placed on a different looting from all, others. The English Catholics were excluded from . many of the privileges which the Irish Catholics en joyed ; they could not vote for Members in that House; they could not hold commissions in his Majesty's army and navy. Such was the state of persons whose names contd not be read without emotions of the warmest kind, connealed with the renown and past achievements of the courury.-- Such was the situation of the descendants of those who had exerted themselves in former times, not only against foreign influence, but in favour of our dikarestid rights andliberties;and who, in conformi ty with such noble sentiments, had led our fleets and•agn'res against foreign invaders. It was not his intention to do any more at present than merely to Move that it should lie on the table ; but he did not mean• thereby to exclude himself from taking any further proceeding when it should appear to be ne cessary.. The petitinn was then brought up, and ordered :o lie on the table. Mr. M. FITZGERALD said, he had a petition to present in favour of the Catholic claims, signed' by Protestants, having properly in Ireland, *the nature and circumstances of which rendered some explana tion necessary. In the first place he should explain . why it had fallen to so insignificant a person as him• self, to introduce one of the most irnpot tant petitions that had ever been presented to Parliament. - His Right Honourable Friend, the Member for Dublin (Mr. Grattan) having been unavoidably absent while he petition was preparing, he (Mr. Fitzgeral,l) at- tended to the detaili, and therefore was entrusted with the care of the petition. It was a general pe tition from the Pro►estants haVing property in Ire- _ _ land, and was perfealy new and unprecedented, nut only in "the amount of property it represented, but al4a as being the first general application of.the Pro testants irriteland in behalf of their fellow subieds. It was sufficient for hitn to, state. that it spoke the sense of the decided majority of Protestants haVing property in Ireland, landed and commercial; but he might be permitted further to explain, that though Most, respealably and numerously,signed, it did. not conta ! in the signatures of all those who were favoUr able to the principle of the measure. He should state why. There were many who thought it pro per that in the petition should be included, the con ditions and sectnities with which the measures should be accompanied this • prevented them from signing it. He did not wish to be. understood at the same tirde as meaning to say, that those svho had signed it were against such conditions, but that they thought it'proper to leave the conditions to. Parlia ment i!self, instead of, didaking them in the body of the . pet'tion. There were -many others of' those with wore fat/durable to the general principle unwil ling to take.any part, in consequence of_ the violent proceedings between the Government and the Ca tholic3 of ' Ireland. He should add what he Was' sorry to be obliged to add, that the petition, though - guarded a§ much as possible against ail re'isonable and fair ohje6tion, had all the influence of Govern, ment. exerted against it. Here Mr. POLE dissented. Mr. M. FITZGERALD continued : as the feet he had stated was denied, he felt himself hound to say why he had made the statement. The Government, he would again repeat, had most indecently inter fered with the petition. ~ They had inter feted with one of the most important offices in consequence - of it :.one of the persAis Intended to fill the office of Sherlti for the next year, was set aside for haixing signed it; it was ,signified to him that he . must consider himself an improper per Son to hold that si tuation, after having affixed his name to such an.in struatent.. Persons holding places under Govern., meat wile told-tliat they wculd lost:Allem if they signed it, and terlaLts were threatened in me they should persevere in keeping copies of it in their houseS. Yet, un Jrr a:I these circutnstances, it was, a ptond proof of _the Pr .testant feeling in. Ireland on thiS great o;tiOrpi bubjet.l He h.,d received a let- . ter from Ireland by this d,,y'S post, ►nforming `that ,everal copies of the pe.ii ion had been the county of Down ; he should thttrefore, if he 3Ut rised by the Fiwtse to bring it ti;), recommend it fii their serious cocsicii-r3tioli, .:s c o nt..tioi li g the geueial ,entirnents'of iriajorit of e Prote:itauts of Ir 126(1,. avid iridepethlem of aDy other moti , es than tho4t- of g9od Will to the Cat ho- he part o their 1(.1lotv , Mr W Po sad, it ~ as necessity to s aV a few wnidS, in consequence of of the, ni , .2riiont hie , !lad bcen.,na..le by, lilt. itiht Hon: Gentle . 1113 r, Who had jw sat tt0'.4..13 fly c i ; ,3 not risr for thrt purpos.. of .14g 311 y 4)t Bich the Righ' Bon. Gent4einO3 toide ,p trig the itumber. properly, , t , e 7, tpe&t:ititl ty of per,.tons who Petition Ihr! Pe tititya fo- 811 ibi• he k tie vto t cotltiary, be Signed by a majority of flit P-0 t.: -. tn: o;tcrry in Ireland; he p.al no means at I):e,c•tt cif. aso,r. raining the fsel, and thetefo:e c 061,1 not contrallt , ll the statement ‘t.h.7,li linib.L'en mad. "He however, that theassertion of the light Hon. G,ti tienlan had very much - surprised hint, becathe it was the first time that be had heard it piblicly stated that a great majority of the ReptiesentAtives of Pio- testant propertrin Ireland were iavo , iratile to ill, Ca tholic Ciaitus but he was still more surprised al to no other parts of the R. - Hon. Gentleman's 'speech. It vas perfeally wrl-1 knorn that the greatest pains Lad been taken to RrocUre ssigoatures, tti : the Pettti,:n, and if equal exertions had been used to excite' the zeal of the Pro4estanton the other of the.cies- tion, lite House would have received Petitions of a very ditfmnt nature from thuse which had 'been presented.' He knew, it-deed, that pains. had been taken upon' the subjea, but,Ahe objea of them was not to procure counter Petitions to the Catholics, but to prevent' dissensions' between' the Protestan►s and Catholics in Ireland; and above all, between the Protestants theinselves. But the asser tion of the Right Ho77:Gentlethan, to which h(t rose to reply, - arid to which he meant to give the most unqualiteed centradidion, was, that the Irish, Government had interfered, to prevent the Protes.. taets frOm signing Petitions in favour of the Roman Catholic Claims, and tleit it had refused to apps kit a person a S, eriff because t:e was favourable to the Catholic Petition. He begged to state that he was in Ireland when the Petition e hick had jest been presented was sUggested by an Hon. Gentleman, at the extraordinary • di.iner given in Dublin to the friends of Religious Liberty. Fiona that moment till the present he had never heard ehe slightest in sinuation thrown out that the Irish Government had in any way wha:evet interfered with this Petition, and he could most positively undertake to say, that that Government had neither direally nor indirectly interfered With it. The principle upon which the Irish Government professed to ad, and upon which it had invariably aaied,• was not to interfere' with the Roman Catholics; or with Any other body of his Majesty's subjela, Who might wish to state their claims or their grievances in a Petition to the Leese lature, provided it was done in a manner conform able to law; arid' he repeated his assertion, that the Irish Government, neece, direly or indireedy, in terfered upon the subject." With respect to what the Right Hon. Gentleman had said Arent the reftke sal to appoint a Sheriff, he must really, beg for some further explanation upon the subject, as he was completely ignorant( of the case to which he al luded. He had no hesitation, however, from his knowledge of the prieciples 'by which the Irish GoVemment was aCtuated, to deny. the charge, and . he was sere that no person who was at all acquainted with the charader - of the Duke of Richmond would suspect him to be capable of such conduct. The Right Hon. Genteman had said that the partizans of Government had inter fered; he knew not what the Right Hon.'Gentle, rola meant by " partizans." Persons might inter pose and suppose that they were serving Govern ment, when in fa& they were doing it the gti.atest injury ; but if the Rght Honourable Gentleman meant that any person bad interfered itt conse quence of any instruction , or sugges ion of the Irish Goverpment, he was completely mistaken. If any attempt of that kind had beau mode, it could not have escaped the knowledge of his colleaene opposite to him (Mr. Parnell), and heappeidecr to him to keow if he had ever heard any charge of the kind. Under these circumstances, he le,it it to be his duty, to call upon the _Right Hon. Gentlemin to come manfully forward and state his charge speei-' Really, he wiSleady id meet it. He declared upon itis honour and consciente, as a Gentleman, th he di&norbelieve that there was the slightest founda tion for theinsinuation ; he wished that the Petition should be received,' and that the subjem should be investigated . ; but he did not think it quite fir lof the Right Hon, Gentleman to makfan attack of this kind, unless he was prepared to Support it. Mr. FITZGERALD had no objections to come man fully forward, and make a chargethe' county to which he had alluded wasCar:ow. He had.also a per(eo convidion DI the Lidswhich he llad crated. The Right Hon. Gentlemin might not be aware that on the • nomination of . Sheriffs _taking the name which had been mentioned was struck out. He could also name persons holding offices. under . Government, who were threatened; if they signed the Petition, From tenderness for them and. their famiiies, he would abstain from naming them., He could state ./3e fad, which was this—a person had said, that be could not allow the. Petition to re.. main in his house, for that would be sulAcient to in -.duce his di,chaige kom.cifie: /with regard tothe . threats which had been held- out, he name the ind•vidurds, as he did not choose to ex pose them to the resentment of Government. Mr. NY. POLE said, he was perfectly satisfied with the last expression. used by the Right, Hon. Gentle man, because rt was s a pretty strong , proof that he did not believe that the lei>h Government did not encourage these persons, when . he svgs unwiling td mention their names, lest he should exposelhetu to the resentment of that Govertuneht. thrIGENAN thought, the Right Hon.-Gentle man upon inquiry would find himself unti•Uiken in the hardy assertions he had mad , .l. Cie. had not Seen the Petiti n, hut had nu doubt that it t ontain ed the names of many persoos of landed or open v, big to say that it contained tie great mass of the landed Protestant proprietors of Irtland was too