The Sun. — London, England, 1823-06-18 00:00:00

a‘liil bins no discredit.—:(Hear, hear 1)—On that account he • knew tha his case must suffer; but he hoped, on the other litintl,lhat Hon. Gentlemen would not suffer themselves to be led away by the abilities of the Hon. Gentleman who had just sat dowti, and who, without .impugninglis general discretion, was equally incapable of arriving at a candid decision on any matter that respected the conduct of the Chief Baron. He-there fore requested the House to dismiss all undue colour that the representations might receive from either side: the result ought to depend merely upon matters of fact.—(Hear, hear !)—The charges professed tube founded upon the Ninth Report of the Commissioners of Inquiry into Courts of Justice; but it was equally true that the Commissioners themselves, in the most pointed and solemn manner, bad declined any intention of e becoming the accusers of the Chief Baron. It remained, therefore ' for the llonourable allemberfor Limerick to charge, and- for the House to detertrane. The Ninth Report had been laid upon the table three years ago ; but previous to that event, the • Honourable Gentleman, as it were in a pro. phetic spirit, /had moved for its immediate production. An in vestigatton4f its contents was instantly actively set on foot, and eleven reSolutioos,. containing eight or nine charges, were founde4 upon it. These were examined by two successive' Compiittees, and the charges were reduced to three or four ; and one of the hardships of which the Chief Baron had to com plain was, that in proportion as the charges were lessened in number, like ahe hooks of the Sibyl, they were magnified by his enemies in value and importance; and whereas formerly eight or nine eharges were embodied in eleven resolutions, on the present occasion only three or four charges were extended over no less than twelve resolutions.---( Hear !)—The charges were stated to be grounded upon the evidence apatended to the report ; but it was not to be forgotten that the Commissioners for the furtherance of their object had the power of selecting the witnesses, of' determining upon the questions to be put to them, and of inserting just so much of their testimony as supported the point that was to be established. Yet it was upon this very Appendix that the Chief Baron was obliged to rest his defence; and when it was remembered, that 'with this only he had teen able to rebut so many,. of the original charges without being able to examine or cross-examine a single witness, • the wonder rather was, that he had been able to eccom. plish so much, rather than that he had not been able wholly to do away with the few remaining accusations.— (Hear, hear I)—The caseof Mr. Pollock had been brought for. ward to show that the Court of Exchequer had acted upon the report of the Commissioners, but the fact was precisely the reverse: the Court had decided that the Report formed no reason for imputation, and that it ought never to be received in evidence.--( Hear, hear !)—Nevertheless, much stage effect had been attempted to be given to this case. Another instance cited with the same object was that of' Sir J. Galbraith, but 'there the 12 Judges unanimously held that the report formed no sufficient ground for putting a man upon his trial, but the 'Attorney-General must adduce his evidence on 4he prosecution. Ile did so, and the accused party was acquitted.—( Hear, hear!) Ile would now shortly call the attention of the House to the eircumatances attending the elevation of' the Chief Baron to his present dignity. In the first place he gave up an office of nearly double the emolument, and he succeeded Lord Avon more, who, while he devoted the most anxious attention to the public interest, paid but very little regard to his own private concerns. He had thus allowed a system to prevail, which 'threw all the fees of the Court into the utmost confusion. The declining health of Lord Avonmore had also occasioned a great smear of business. Under such circumstances the different arrangements were made by the present Chief. Baron, which were now wrought up into a criminal charge.. The Chief , Baron, in fact, on coming into office, had been compelled to put both himself and his officers in possession of, their legal rights .--an arrangement necessarily attended with uch trouble and difficulty'. Still he had in the end accomplished his object; and he (Mr. O'Grady) appealed to every gentleman conversant with the Irish Courts, whether the measures which he adopted had not been attended with an increase of business at the bar of the Court of Exchequer? If the Chief. Baron, under his arrangement, had taken some fees to which he was not entitled, he had lost, on the other hand, many to which his title was un doubted; and It was only asking common justice from the Committee to ask them to look at the whole of his conduct in office, and not at isolated parts of it. The first charge now re. lied upon by the Hon. Member for Limerick, was that as to the feea.aken for signature to the bills of costs. He was free to admit that the spirit of the Chief Baron's order had not been sufficiently attended to upon that point, and that some small addition to his receipts might have been the consequence of that error ; but the House would recolleet,that there was no evjtience .—no point of evidence—that, before the appearance of thhcom. n-,iminoners` report, the Chief Baron had been aware of such a fact. Upon the next charge against the Chief Baron—that connected with the oath of the Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland--the Hon. Member made some observation which was inaudible in the gallery. As to the third charge — the Chief Baron's having taken his fees in English instead of Irish cur rency—he (Mr. O'Grady) would merely remark, that the same course bad been pursued by the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the Masters in Chancery if, therefore, he had been in error upon that point, it was an error into whi ch he had not fallen alone. The Hon. Member then proceeded to touch upon the last point of accu sation—the fee taken for the decrees— but we were unable to collect the substance of his,ittatement he contended, however, upon the whole, that wherever abuses had existed, those abuses had been unknown to the Chief Baron, and that there was nut a shadow of foundation in what appeared before the House upon which a criminal charge could be set up against that officer. Throughout the measures which the Chief Baron had adopted, it would be seen that he had advanced his claims either upon legal right or general usage. But even supposing the - Chief Baron to give up that ground of defence ; suppose him to say inertly, that in consideration of the alterations which he in troduced into the practice of the Court, be had thought is ne. calvary to institute certain fees in place of others which he gave up; supposing him to rest his defence merely upon that state. merit, would he not have the example of judges for the last hundred years to bear him out in what be bad done ? The Cominiesioners distinctly declared in their Report--no matter how far it might be legal for the officers •of' Justice to create new fees—that the practice of so doing within the last hundred •yeara hail existed to a very considerable extent. And let it be recollected that this inquiry went to facts which had taken piece eighteen years since ; that the public had no interest in It ; and that no prospective advantage could be looked for to it. Let it be remembered dolt these charges had been hung up over the Chief Baron for three Sessions, new proof being in process of collection ffom day to day in support of them. Had the chargem now brought forward been brought for. ward in Ireland, the character of the C hief Baron would have been his sufficient protection against them. As it was, lie (Mr. O'Grady) could only entreat the House not lightly to cast a slur upon the administration of justice, especially in a country where the administration of justice needed every protection which Parliament could afford it.—(Cheers, as the Hon. Mein. ber sat down.) The Resolutions were then put seriatim from the Chair, and the three first agreed to without a division. Upon the fourth . Resolution being read, .Mr. C. HUTCH INSON rose and declared, that the Coin. mittee could not be in a condition to pass any vote of censure upon the conduct of the Chief Baron of Ireland. If his Hon. Vnend, (Mr. Spring Rice) meant to push his Resolutions to any serious end, he owed it to the interests of Ireland, to the in tereetieof the empire, and to the interests of justice, to institute • in the most selemn manner an investigation before the House, and to call the Chief Baron himself to the bar. He (Mr. H.) already knew,enough of the case to see that there was no suffi cient ground before the Committee for censuring, and in point of fact dismissing one of the best Judges upon the Bench of Ireland. Before he could consent to the Resolutions proposed by the Hon. Member for Limerick, he would not only insist that the Chief Baron should be allowed the fullest means of defence, but he wool(' have evidence called to show the origin of fees in the Courts of Law in England. Mr. Hutchinson sat down by tweving the .previous question. Mr. Illt,oo DEN informed the i fon. Member that it was not possible, under the circumstances, to move the previous clues tion. He might move, however, that the Cbaltinall do leave the chair, which would have the same effect. • The SOLICITOR-GENERAL said, that although he had been a Member of the Committee above stairs, he had been .pre vented from attending its proceedings aoregelarly as be could have wished. Whether, with the ad vantageof more constant attention, he should have concurred in the opinions expreasedby the Com mittee, he could not, as at present situated, with certainty say; hut he felt himself, under every circumstance, hound to oppose the unfair course attempted to be taken by the lion. Member for • Limerick. The nine first resolutions of the lion. Member for Linieriek were resolutions of' affirmation—the last two were re solutions.of censure; and the effect of voting those resolutions would be most illegally, most unjustly, and he would add most unconstitutionally, to condeinti an of of rank and character, without giving him an opportunity of being beard in his de fence. The House was bound to look with caution at the Re port of the Commissioners; and it could not take the state ments contained 'in that Report as evidence. The Court of Exchequer in Ireland, in the cases of Mr. Pollock and Sir James Galbraith, had refused to accept the Report of tho Com missioners as evidence ; and Sir James Galbraith bad actually been acquitted of the offences which that Report alleged against him. The witnesses upon whose testimony the :timers had founded their Report had not been, it should be remembered, cross-examined on the part of the Chief Baron ; nor had that officer been allowed to call other witnesses for the purpose of rebutting their statements. His (the Solicitor- General's) opinion distinctly , was, that die Honourable Gen tleman (Mr. Spring Rice); if he meant any thing serious by his motion, was bound to give the Chief Baron a full op portunity of appearing at the bar of the House, and calling Witnesses to exculpate his conduct. But Since the Honourable Member relied so entirely upon the Report of the Commis sioners of Inquiry, it was worth while for the House to look at that Report, and judge to what confidence it was entitled. What were the charges originally.brought forward by-that Re port ; and what had become of the major part of them ? The charge of an increased fee exacted upon affidavits sworn, had made a great show at first in the Report of the Commissioners. The fact was, that ;the Judge's fee upon affidavits sworn in Court was one shilling and fivepence, and upon affidavits sworn at the Judge's house, only one shilling. To prevent the attornies from carrying all their affidavits to the Judge at his own house, the fee was made one shilling and fivepence in both Situations; and this was one abuse--concurred in, too, by all the Judges—which had been strongly insisted upon in the Report of the Commissioners. This charge, he knew very well, was now given up, but still itivas necessary for him to advert to it. In judging of the value of the Commissioners' Report, it was fit to see not only how much of it remained, but how much of it had already been abandoned or disproved. A second charge in the Report was for an addition of five farthings to the - fee upon an affidavit taken under particular circumstances; it turned out that the loss arising out of that arrangement was greater to the Judge than the gain from the increased fee. Anothe r charge of the Commissioners, and one which had made a -con siderable impression, was for an increase of the fee taken for swearing in the Sheriff. Now, there certainly was a particular Act of Parliament, fixing the amount of the fee to be taken for swearing the Sheriff;. but there was no reason to .believe that the Chief Baron had been cognizant of that Act; and his pre decessor (Lord Avonmore) had uniformly taken the same fee which he took. And here he (the Solicitor-General) would ask the House whether it was reasonable to expect that .a Judge, when appointed to his seat, should set about investigating, upon the instant, the origin of every fee which he took ? Of course 'he would leave such a matter to his officers, and take probably the same sums which had been taken by those who sat before him. The charge, however, as to the fee far swearing the Sheriff was given up, and the next charge in the Commissioners Report was declared by the Committee to have originated in a clerical error; so here were four charges, and four of the gravest charges, in the Report which the Hon. Member for Limerick so much relied upon, entirely abandoned. With respect to the charge contained in the resolution now in debate (the 4th resolution in the list of the Hon. Member for Limerick), the Committee had not negatived it, but on the other hand, they did not confirm it; and until the Chief Baron himself was heard upon it, how was it possible for the House to decide? Who was there in the House so well informed upon the case, that he could lay his hand upon his heart,.and say to the Chief Baron, standing for judgment—" I find you guilty ?" Had the written evidence, such as it was, been fully considered by the House ? The Honourable Member for Limerick, perhaps, had read it, anti one or two other gentlemen ; but was it fully in the knowledge of the Members, generally, of the House? For his own. part, he (the Solicitor-General) had eatain ly read the evidence; but his opinion was, that if it made out a case against the Chief Baron, it was at the most only such a case as admitted of an answer , and therefore, again he said, he would pass no vote of censure without the Chief' Baron being fully heard. Much stress was laid upon the change of practice with respect to the fees upon the bills of costs. The case in reality stood thus—'the Judge signed the writ of taxation, and lie signed the bill of costs, and lie received for each signature a fee• of one shilling. The signature to the bills of costs being merely a matter of form, the Judge gave up the practice of sign ing them, and directed his officer to collect the two shillings upon the signature of the writ of taxation : and certainly it had hap pened in some cases under this practice, that the clerk had col. lected the fee of 2s. where only Is. would have become due; but that fact had been utterly unknown to the Chief Baron, who had only gone on in the same course which his predecessor, Lord Avonmore„ had followed before him. The instances of undue charge had not been known, and how were they likely to he known to the Chief Baron ? For the argument that it was an abuse to take the fee without giving the signature, where the signature was nothing else than a matter of form, it was an argument which, he thought, could hardly require an answer. The officer took the fee, it was said, and did not perform the duty. Well, and half the fees taken in our Courts of Law were taken under the same circumstances. The Chief Justice, in the Court of Common Pleas in England, took a tee for the taxation of costs, and the duty was performed, not by the Chief Justice, but by the Prothonotary. Ile (the Solieitor.General) could not help repeating, that lie thought the measure of the Hon. Member for Limerick contrary to law, to fairness, and to constitutional principle. flow beat to meet the measure, he hardly knew; it could not be met by a direct negative. As " the previous question" was not applicable, he should move ',that the Speaker do leave the Chair. Mr. C. HUTCHINSON suggested that he had already moved that amendment. The SOLICITOR-GENERAL, in that case, would sit down by seconding it. Mr. TIERNEY thought that the House could be no way bound by the Court of Exchequer (Ireland) having rejected the Commissioners' Report as evidence in the case of Mr. Pollock. To the Court of Exchequer the Commissioners were strangers ; but they were the officers of the Maloof Commons., and therefore entitled to its confidence. Ile begged to be un derstood at present as speaking only to the point of form. He thought that the time was not yet come for the Chief Baron to be heard ; and the course winch his friends were taking was such as would preclude him from being heard altogether. The matter, for the present, ought certainly to go on. In the case of Lord Melville, it was after inquiry, and previous to a de termination to proceed by impeachment, that an interval had been afforded in which the accused party had been heard. He thought that the Chief Baron should be heard, and lie did not urge it in any other way than as a dry question of form. He pledged himself to no specific opinion upon the case. The SOLICITOIt.GENESAI., Mr. C. HUTCHINSON', and Mr. Ti EItNEY, said a few words by way of explanation. Mr. CANNING said, had the resolutions been simply an extract from the terms of the reports, he was ready to affirm them without any immediate inquiry. But as they com prised matters of charge for which he found no grounds sufficient to satisfy the House, he recommended delay. At any rate, he was not prepared to go along with the lion. Gentleman who moved them. If the Committee should entertain the charge, he saw no other way of following it up hut by im peachment. Perhaps, in the present time of the season, and with the present appearance of the House, that might be too difficult. If there were any better Mode of proceeding, he should be glad to hear of it. It was possible that the . proceed. ings might be suspended after the adoption of an initiative resolution, which would operate as a warning for an application on the part of the Chief Baron to attend fur his justification at the bar. Mr. C. 'WYNN said, that as the two reports of the judicial commissions contained charges against the Chief Baron, that personage already had warning to apply for hearing in his defence, and that had in some respect been done by the two letters which had been written by the Chief Baron to the Com mittee. He thought it advisable to suspend the proceedings in order to give the Chief Baron an opportunity for applying to be heard at the bar. He would be glad to know from his Hon. and Learned Friend opposite, if the Chief Baron was desirous of appearing at the bar. If not, the Committee had no reason to delay proceeding. Mr. SCA it LETT saw no ground whatever for coming to the last resolution, in the contents of the reports. lie thought that any resolution, under the circumstances, would be excep tionable, which implied a censure, as the Reports only related to facts, front which no direct insinuation could be drawn.— There was no proof before the Committee that the Chief Baron might not be entitled to the fees -which he was said to have received. If the question were to go, to the vote, he would move as an amendment, "hut that such" (the practices in question) " was not known to the Chief Baron." Mr. S. RICE justified all the proceedings which he had taken upon this question for three years past. Sufficient notice had been given to the Chief Baron for his defence, the proof of which fact lay in the two letters of the Chief Baron, in answer to the reports of the commissions. He defied any imputation of unfairness. Those who could make such a charge ought to point out a fairer. mode of proceeding than that which he had adopted. Mr. PEEL said, if there were any difficulty, it was not to be obviated by postpsnement. There were several modes, but he preferred that of impeachment. lie did not approve of that course which would fix a resolution of censure upon a Judge— a person of that station should be dismissed altogether if guilty, but he should by no means be partially degraded. fie did not approve of proceeding by mire Alias, nor by address to the Crown. Ile thought impeachment the only constitutional mode but he could not consent to follow any of these courses, for to each of them many and serious objections presented themselves. His opinion in this respect had not been formed withoutdue deliberation, nor had it been influenced by commu &cation with any other persons : it was founded on the nature of the charges themselves. Supposing those charges to be proved—which but for the sake of the argument could not be admitted—still they would not amount to the high crimes which had been alleged against the Chief Baron. II e (Dir. Peel) could very well conceive that in such a court as that over which the Chief Baron presided, improper charges might be made without his knowledge. He would not be understood to deny that it was the duty of a Judge to examine accurately and scru pulously the conduct of the officers of his Court; but if that case had not been shown in the present instance, lie could not think, taking into consideration the character of the indivi dual, that the neglect called for so grave a punishment as im peachment. Another objection which he had to this latter measure was its importance and solemnity, which rendered it unfit to be applied to the charges now brought against the Chief Baron. He knew that it would be easy for some Gentlemen to rise and say to him---" Will you, then, con. rive at offences so reprehensible in their principle, because they are only small ones ?" but he should reply that he did not connive at them, nor did he go the length of vindi cating the Chief Baron, but he objected for the sake of the public interests, which were so powerfully upheld upon im portant occasions by the pro . ce . edin_g by impeachment, that its solemnity should be dimpnshed. by exercising it for an inferior cause. If it were objected to him that what lie had now urged in favour of the Chief Baron ought to have been urged three years ago, he would admit that, as applied to him self, the argument ad holland)t would be opanswerable, but as applied to the House, he thought it would be amore dignified as well as a more candid course, to say we have let pass the ' time at which this charge and the defence would each have had a sure efficient operation ; and for this reason it would be better now to postpone it. At the period alluded to, it must be re membered that the charges were of much graver import than they now appeared to be. That relating to the fees taken on swearing in the sheriffs had then seemed to be a serious violation of the law ; but no person could now say that it had not been materially altered ; for it seemed that this practice, unjust as it certainly was, had at least the sanction of the Chief Baron's predecessors. To this charge he might with great truth reply, that his attention had never been drawn to the particular statute under which it was received, and that he had never required of his officer information on the sub ject. He (Mr. P.) knew this was no reason why Parliamentary proceedings should not be taken ; but he thought it was a reason why an impeachment should not be the course adopted. There were other charges made against the Chief Baron with which he (Mr. Peel)4as not satisfied. Considering the burden which the Judge's duties imposed upon him, the time which they occupied, the importance and anxiety of the office, and the character of the individual by which it was filled, lie was prepared to believe, that although grounds might exist for those charges, still they were far from authorizing the charge of corruption against that individual. He (Mr. Peel) could not conceal from himself, that a very lax method of proceeding had been adopted for many years in taking fees in the Courts of Justice in Ireland.. The remedy for this was not to select any individual as a victim for these offences, but to abolish the sys tem ; and this had been dune by an act of the Legislature. 'the Right Hon. Gentleman here referred to a list of the fees claim ed by the Masters in Chancery in 1815 , contrasted with those allowed in 1715. This long continued practice weighed, in his mind, as a powerful reason why they should not select the pre sent case to visit with a punishment which had been withheld for so many years. So strongly did he feel this, that if he were now called upon to choose between the evils (for they were both evils) of passing by altogether the further investi— ation of these charges, or of proceeding to impeachment, he should feel inclined to choose the lesser evil, and to pass them by altogether. When the House should have decided to pass the resolutions before it, it would have to decide upon the mode of proceeding, and he had therefore risen at this time to call to their notice the difficulties which in his view of the matter seemed to beset their future progress. He could not sit down without bearing testimony to the pains arid intel ligence with which the Committee of Inquiry had discharged the duty imposed upon them by the House. He had had fre quent opportunities of observing and communicating with them, and he had never beheld a more inflexible resolution to surmount the obstacles which had been opposed to them. They had, as was their duty, exposed themselves to misconstructions, in their task of pointing out all that was wrong, and of prescrib . ing a remedy for it. Some allusions had been made to the Committee in the course of the debate, and he could never hear . any thing like censure cast upon them without expressing his . opinion of their merits. Sir J. MACKINTOSH thought the House had heard a fu and fair charge, and the defence for that charge. Anon he (Sir James Mackintosh) left the House, which he had been unavoidably compelled to do, he understood that the difficulty was not whether the House should proceed, but the manner in which that proceeding should be conducted ; but now, from the last part of the Right Hon. Gentleman's speech, he under stood there was an objection to ulterior proceedings. Mr. PEEL had expressed an opinion, that proceeding by impeachment would be better than by address. SirJ. MACKINTOSH said, the Committee, so far from being called upon to decide that question, had no right to give an opt.. nion upon it. Ile objected strongly to the argument which hail been used, that the smallness of the offence ought to excuse it froM punishment. To sanction thisprinciple would be to sanction the destruction of the judicial body and the character of the House. He thought the Chief Baron ought to be heard before the House, if he thought fit to apply. Three years had now elapsed since these charges had beep preferred ; and during the whole of that period the Chief Baron had not thought fit to present a petition for being heard by himself or by counsel, or for permission to refute charges by the examination of wit nesses at the bar of the House. If his lion. Friend would therefore withdraw his amendment (which though it should be carried. would be no acquittal for the Chief Baron, but rather an escape, which he (sir J. Mackintosh) would disdain), lie would then move that the Chairman should report progress, and ask leave to sit again on this day fortnight, while in the mean time the Chief Baron would have time to prepare his de fence, and vindicate his character. After a few words from Mr. J. P. GRANT, the amendment was withdrawn, when Mr. S. RICE moved the insertion of some verbal alterations in the original resolutions, which were adopted. Mr. SCA ItLETT thought it appeared from the present dis position of the Donee, that it would be a waste of time to enter now upon the discussion of the general question. He supposed the Chief Baron would be upon the circuit in a fortnight, and he did not see how the postponement could answer any useful purposes. He knew very well it might be said that it was the as it might be necessary to pro ceed course should be resolved d ee u e t d y of ith w the an llottse to impeachment,s it as lo on ; but he knew also the difference between theory and prac tice, and he knew it would not so sit. Sir J. MACKINTOSH felt the force of that argument ad inertiam so ingeniously used by his Hon. and Learned Friend. He should propose, tha t if th e House would pass the first reso lution amended, the others should be proceeded with, and an opportunity would then be afforded him of moving an adjourn ment for a fortnifht. Mr. R. SAIP 11 thought a fortnight would be too soon, and yet the House could not afford much more. He was strongly disposed to concur with the Hon. and Learned Mem ber for Peterborough (Mr. Scarlett) in opinion that the busi ness had better be postponed until the next session ; but still he thought the House ought to make such an entry upon the Journals as should show they had entertained the business, but not at the same time to imply any thing against the Chief Baron.--( Hear !) Mr. CANNING had no objection to vote for the first re solution as altered, but he was far from concurring in the statements of the other resolutions being correct inferences drawn from the reports of the Commissioners. The fact stated in the Report of the Commissioners might be true ; but to admit this was very different from admitting the truth of the resolutions. Mr. S. RICE said he had taken gnat care in drawing up the resolutions, anti indeed there was no Gentleman into whose hands he would not put them for revision. As his only object was to convey by them the sense of the Commissioners' Rep ort, he believed the best way would be to adopt the words of that Report, and he thought if they were compared together no very material difference would be found between them. After some further conversation it was proposed—' Chairman report p rogress , a nd ask leave to sit again." The motion vies agreed to; the House resumed, and the Chairman obtained leave to sit again on Thursday. LAW EXPENCES BILL 11 , 1 IRELAND. Mr. It. MARTIN 'Moved that the second reading of this Bill be postponed for three "weeks, in order that the Chief Se. cretary f'or Ireland might, in the interim, consult with the 'rig& Judges upon the subject of it.—Agreed to. The Irish Court of Chancery Bill went through a Committee. USURY LAPS REPEAL BILL. ." That the Mr. DAVENPCißfopposed the second reading of the Bill, and after a few observations, moved as an Amendment, that it be read that day six months. Mr. RICARDO supported the Bill. Monty was the same as any other comm o di ty , an d, i n his opinion, borrowers and lenders stood in a s i m il ar re l at ion to each other as buyers and sellers. At present, borrowers, in order to attain their object, were obliged either to evade the law by indirect and expensive sale. The Usury Laws resembled a law not long repealed , means, or to bring their property to an inconvenient against exporting the coin of the realm. That law did not pre vent the exportation of the coin, but it threw the trade into the hands of persons of ..bad character, and the Usury Laws also forced the borrowers of money to deal with persons of bad character. Mr. J. SMITH, so far from considering the present Bill in jurious to Country Gentlemen, should, if called upon, point it out as a measur e ca l cu l ate d for their relief. It had been proved in a Committee of the House, that money could not be obtained on annu i t i es for less than 15 per cent., and he himself h a d k nown ma ny persons who were reduced to beggary by being connected with such transactions. To shew the house what opinion was entertained of the present Bill out of doors he need only state, that he was frequently Chairman of a meeting of Bankers in the City of London, and they were adverse to the measure because they thought it would reduce the rate of interest. He should only add, that in Holland, where there was no fixed rate of interest, money was always cheaper than in any other country in Europe. Mr. PHILLIPS warmly supported the Bill, and trusted the Hon. and Learned Gentleinan who introduced it should be disappointed this year in the accomplishment of his object, that he would still persevere in his endeavours to abolish the Usury Laws. Mr. T. WILSON and Captain MABERLY supported the Bill. Mr, F. PALMER opposed it. Mr. W. Smith, Mr. C. W. Wynn, and Mr. Bennet (Wilt shire), supported the motion for going into a Committee. The House then divided— In favour of the motion, 33—Against it, 15—Majority for going Into a Committee, 23. The House then resolved itself into a Committee upon the Bill. After a few words from Mr. RICARDO, Mr. M. A. TAYLOR objected to the discussion of so im portant a question with such a thin attendance of Members, and particularly in the absence of the Attorney-General and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The House resumed, and the Report was ordered to be re ceived this day. The other Orders of the Day were then disposed of, and the House adjourned at ONE O'CLOCK this morning. A LIST OF THE MINORITY Who voted against passing the Bill to prevent the Brewers of Ale and Small Beer from brewing the ss. Beer on the same premises. Birch, J. Hobhouse, J. C. Bright, H. Hume, J. Caleraft, John James, W. Cheere, E. M. Jervoise, G. P. Coffin, Sir I. Lushington, S. Carter, John Moore, Peter Ebrington, Visct. Nugent, Lord Kennedy, T. F. Oxmantown, Lord Pergusson, Sir R.C. Ricardo, D. Grant, J. P. Robinson, Sir G. Searlett," J. Smith, C. Wells, T. Wilson, T. Williams, W. Wood, M. TELLER!. Maberly, J. Monck, J. B. PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. BRITISH AND FOREIGN SHIPS.. A BILL to authorize His Majesty, under certain circum stances, to regulate the DUTIES and DRAWBACKS on GOODS imported or exported in FOREIGN VESSELS. Whereas by the laws now in force, higher duties are charged, and smaller drawbacks, bounties, or allowances are granted, upon the importation or exportation of certain goods, wares, and merchandise, into or from the United Kingdom, in Foreign Ships or Vessels, than are charged or granted on the like go ods, wares, and merchandise, when imported or exported in British ships or vessels. And whereas it is expedient that his Majesty should be em. powered to allow the importation or exportation of any goods, wares and merchandize, in foreign vessels, upon payment of the like duties, and with the like drawbacks, bounties and al. lowances, as are now by law paid or granted upon similar goods, wares and merchandise, when imported or exported in British vessels, from or to those countries in which no other duties are charged, or other drawbacks, bounties or allowances granted upon the importation or exportation of any goods, wares or merchandize into or from such country, in British vessels, than are charged or granted upon such goods when imported or ex ported into or from such countries in foreign vessels : Be it therefore enacted, by the King's most Excellent Ma jesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiri tual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of thesame, That from and after it shall and may be lawful to and for his Majesty, by and with the advice of his Privy Council, or by his Illajesty's order or orders in Council, to be published from time to time in the London Gazette, to authorize the importa tion or exportation into or from the United Kingdom, of any goods, wares or merchandize, in foreign vessels, upon payment of such and the like duties only, and with the like drawbacks, bounties and allowances, as are granted or charged upon simi lar goods, wares or merchandize, when imported or exported in British vessels : Provided always, That before any such order or orders shall be issued, satisfactory proof shall have been laid before his Majesty and his Privy Council, that goods, wares and merchandise, imported or exported into or from the foreign country in whose favour such remission of duties, or such drawbacks, bounties or allowances shall be granted, and charged with the same duties, and are allowed the same draw backs, bounties or allowances, when imported or exported into or from such foreign country in British vessels, as are levied or allowed on similar goods, wares and merchandize, when im ported or exported in vessels of such country. And be it further Enacted, That it shall and may be lawful to and for his M a jesty, by an d w i t h t h e a d v i ce o f hi s P r i v y Council, or by his Majesty's order or orders in Council as afore rom paymentte Un i ted f n a i t n e y d d K r i a n w g, b i a o t m !k , n b o v u e nLi e 7 s , belonging on g n afore said, whenever it shall be deemed expedient, to levy and charge any additional duty or duties of customs, or to withhold the allowances, gtoan u y p f o or n ei a gn ny goods, wares, or merchandize, imported or exported into or country, in which higher duties shall have been levied, or smaller drawbacks, bounties, or allowances granted, upon goods, wares or merchandize, when imported into or exported from such foreign country in British vessels, than are levied or granted upon similar goods, wares, and merchandise, when im ported or exported in vessels of such country : Provided al ways, That such additional or countervailing duties, draw. backs, bounties, or allowances, so to be imposed or withheld as aforesaid, shall not be of greater account than may be deemed fairly to countervail the difference of duty, drawback, bounty, or allowance, paid or granted on goods, wares or merchandise, imported into or exported from such foreign country in British vessels, more or less than the duties, drawbacks, bounties or allowances, there charged or granted upon similar goods, wares or merchandize, imported or exported into or from such foreign country, in vessels of such country. And be it further Enacted, That such additional or counter. vailing duties of customs shall be levied, recovered and ap. plied, in such and the like manner as any other duties of cos. toms are now by law levied. recovered, or applied. And be it further enacted, That his Majesty, by and with ' the advice of his Privy Council, or by any order or orders in Council as aforesaid, is hereby iinpowered to remove, or again to impose, any such additional or countervailing duty of Cus. toms, or to renew or withhold such drawbacks, bounties, or allowances, whenever it shall be deemed expedient so to do. And be it further enacted, That a copy of every Order in Council which may be issued under the authority of this Act, shall be laid before Parliament, as soon after the issuing there of as may be practicable, it' Parliament shall be sitting, and if it shall not then be sitting, within after the meeting thereof. TIIE ARMY. Yesterday morning, soon after five, the Royal Horse Guards, Blue, left Knightsbridge. Barracks (which place they occupied upwards of two years), and marched to lirindsor, in order to relieve the Ist regiment of the Horse Guards. The lat ter arrived at the above Barracks soon after ten, from Windsor. The Ist Royal Dragoons, commanded by Col. Clifton, were yesterday, previous to their departure from Canterbury to Man chester, inspected by Lord Edward Somerset, who was pleased to express great satisfaction at the discipline and general ap pearance of the troops. His Lordship afterwards dined with the Officers of that Regiment.—The Isis and Hussar are or dered to be hastened out of port without any delay ; they will therefore shortly go to Longreacit.—(Kentisli Gazette, June 17.) Commission in the Essex Militia, signed by the Lord Lieu tenant of the County of Essex. ' Joseph Holden Strutt, Colonel of the Ist Regiment or Bat talion of Essex Local Militia, to be Colonel or the Western Regiment or Battalion of Essex Militia, vice Colonel Sir Win. South, deceased. SHOCKING CASE OF MURDERe..—A man named Carmichael, living at a house occupied by a man named Hussey, in New-street, Cloth-fair, was attacked by him on Monday morning, whilst in bed, with a large smith's hammer, with which in strument he beat him over the skull till it was frightfully wounded ; and not content with this, he dragged him out of bed do - wn stairs into the street, and was about to repeat his violence, when the neighbours, who heard the unfortunate man's cries, came to his assistance, and wrested the hammer from the grasp of the murderer, who in stantly absconded. The poor fellow was taken to the hospital, and died in the course of the night of his wounds. What makes the deed more revolting, the murderer and his victim were cousins. Reveng e is said to have been the cause of the horrid deed. The following, Gen tlemen were yesterday called to the degree of Barrister-at-law , by the Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn : —Thomas Guy Prendergast, Esq., Gee. Sim ian), Esq., Edward Vaughan Williams, Esq. Ralph Doughty, Esq., Charles lleberden, Esq., William sq., Esq., and Lebbeus Charles Ilumfrey, Esq. CUSTOM HOUSE, LONDON. TO CLERKS OF CORN MARKETS, AND OTHERS. A ENTS are WANT ED in the several MAR- E". KET TOWNS of g NGLAND and WALES, to manage the circulation of a Weekly Official Account of Irish and Foreign Corn, Seeds, &c. Imported and Exported., and of the Stock of the same. remZning Waiehoused under tilt , Lock 4 l of the Crown'qn 'tailt Port, and other information con. fleeted therewith. Persons offering themselves are desired to forward their ad dress to C. Ogilvy, Esq. Custom House, London, when a Prospectus developing the plan will be transmitted for their further information, and subsequently the pers:n who may ap pear most eligible in each Market Town will be appointed. Letters must be post paid. '.• For BRITANNICUS, see the Four.h Paige. PRICE OF STOCKS THIS DAY AT ONE O'CLOCK. Bank Stock lndia Stock 3 per Hunt. Red. 84 1 India Bonds 400. 41s. 3 per Cent. Cons. sh u t S ou th Sea Stock — 3.1 per Cent. — 4 per Cent. ( Old 974 98 1 New shut Ditt o Sm a ll 5 per Cents. 1797 Bank for Act. — O ux. ld Bills s mities 20 24 pr. Bank Long Ann. 29 7.l6ths i India for Con. Acct Imp. 3 per Cents. Cons. for Acct. aligi PRICE or FOREIGN STOCKS IN LONDON, JUNE Is, AT ONE O'CLOCK. French Five per Cents. 00. {Six per Cents. 00. Russian ' Five per Cents. (Metallic) 00. Ditto New 80. Neapolitan j Five per Cent. Bonds, 76. 1 Scrip, 00. Austrian Five per Cents. (Metallic) 00. Five per Cent. Bonds, 00. Spanish New Ditto, 31. Scrip, 00 disc. Prussian c Five per Cent. Bonds, 00. 1 Ditto New, 81 Danish Five per Cent. Bonds, 00. Chili 67. Colombian Six per Cent. Bonds, 56i. Peruvian New Loan, 00. Bank Shares £2l 6s. i Six per Cent . 90 —9B. American Five per Cent. 954-97. (Three per Cent. 70. PRICE OF IRISH STOCK, Juwa 14. Bank Stock Grand Canal Loan, 4 p.ct. t ;ov. Deb. 3A per cent, 1 43 i —Ditto 6 per cent.... Stock, 3A per ct 90/ DittoStock Gov. Deb. 4 per cent. Royal Canal Stock Gov. Deb. 5 per cent. - -Stock, 4 per cent 984 Do. Deb. with Gov. Sec.... Treasury Bills, 5 per cent. Pipe Water Deb. 5 per ct. City Debentures, 5 per Do. cent. par Ballast Office Govt. Sec. Lying in Hospital 4 per ct. 5 per cent. Exchange on London, June 13, B{. HIGH WATER AT LOPIDOP Morning. 44 minutes after 10. I BRIDGE TO-MORROW. Evening, 14 minutes Litter 11. THE SUN. SOLEIL QUIS DIOERE FALSUM AUDEAT LONDON, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18, 18,N. The lifoniteur of Sunday contains the follow ing official intelligence from the French Armies in Spain : ARMY OF TILE PYRENEES. REPORT OF TILE MAJOR-GENERAL TO HIS EXCEL. LEND* TUE MINISTER AT WAR. MADRID, JUNE 8. I have the honour to inform your Excellency, that after a slight skirmish the bridge of Arzo bhp°, defended by 400 men of the regiment of infantry of Guadalaxa, and 100 dragoons, was Carried on the 6th instant, at eight o'clock in the morning, by the ninth light infantry, in co-ope ration with the advanced guard of Count Dour mont's column. We had no killed or wounded. General Yellin pursued the enemy as far as Valdelacasas, whence he yesterday continued his movement upon Mesa de Ybar, and would arrive to-day at Romangordo. General Bourmont, with the rest of his troops, marched on the right bank of the Tagus on Al maraz, where he would arrive yesterday even ing, and where he intended making his passage this day. A letter from Count Molitor, dated from Stigura the sth of this month, announces that he continued his movement on Teruel, where he expected to arrive yesterday, the 7th. According to various reports, an enemy's corps was entrenched at Tercial. Ballasteros has marched out in front of Valencia. P.S. Monseigneur has this moment received accounts from Count Bourdesoulle ; they are dated from Manzanares yesterday, at half-past seven in the evening. His advanced guaui at Val-de-Papas, and it was his intention to have remained this day in his present position, but anxious to over take the enemy's rear guard, which is not above four or five leagues in advance of him, he had determined to set out from thence at two in the mornin , and to continue his march. The Major-General, COUNT GUILLEMINOT. A report from Lieutenant General Baron Rot' tembourg to the Minister of War, dated Perpig nan, June 0, 1823, states, that Mina had.eva cuated Tea Cerdagne, retiring by the valley of Ribas with 2,000 men, 80 horse, and 20 mules, charged with munitions and money. It appeared, from his anxiety to avoid an action, that his only ob. ect was to escape the pursuit of Generals Donna dieu,San Priest, and d'Eroles, who were closely fol lowing him. It was supposed that he wished to march on Figneres whilst the French troops were seeking him in the Cerdagne. A report from the Lieutenant of the King, dated Pratz di Mollo the Bth June, informs Baron Rottembourg that a division of the army of Mina occupied the town cc ,Tt