The Sun. — London, England, 1815-03-02 00:00:00

NIPERIA L ARLIAMENt NtAßctr the 'Civil Accounts Bill, ana Annual Indemnity Bill, ..vere 'read A third time, and pa , tsed. The Earl of Limerick presented a Petition from the County of Limericii, on the su'oject of to Slave-Trade. Laid on tlie table. Lord Shaftsbnry presented a Petithvi against any alteration 'la the Corm Laws. Laid on the taUle.--Adjourned. HOUSE (ma' COMMONS. SILVER•CUIatENCY. Mr. GRENPELL begged leave to ask the Chan- Tel!or of the ,Exchequer ; whether it was the in tention of Government to make any alteration in the Silver Coinage of the Kingdom ? It was at vre.lent in a most disgraceful state, especially in 'shillings- and sixpences. He was informed also, that there had been very large.importations of the depreciated silver currency of France, so that the town was In a manner inundated- with -it. He thought something should be done on ;this head on behalf of the public. The Copper Coinage had been brought to a•great degree of perfeetion, and might very easily be extended to a considerable de gree. • The CI-T.VACgt.toR of the ExCHEtiVER said, the que3tiou of the silver currency was of much More importance than it was generally thought to be, and Government had discovered that there was no tv.ay in which it could be carried on for the ad toottage of the public so fairly., as by tokens issu ed by the'l3aok, which had been confined to three' shillings and eighteen-penny ?pieces.: but as to shillings and sixpences, that Hart of the coinage trust remain as it was till the, circulation of gold, could be restored. As to the depreciated 'silver coin of other ,countries, it was impo'ssible to pre vent its cowing into this, and only reginre4 care on the part •ot . these .who took it. The eopper . coinage was unquestionably in a very perfect statc. Ile should al‘ays be happy to give every atten tion to the hint s o f th e Gentleman on subject, but could not for the present perceive any. immediate alteration that could be wade for the better. 7 m r . GIZENFEI,L gave notice, that unless some thing should very speedily be brought hirward on this subject by the Right lion. Gentleman, he should feel it'll's ,duty to bring forward such a proposition as he thought was necessary for the public good. The Pauper Linatic Bill was read .a 2d time. Ordered to be committed to-morrow. The. I-106se went into'a Commitree on the Irish Exese Bill—the report.to-!norrQw. General GAscoYNE- begged leave to aNI.; the Ri,:4ht Lion. Gentleman when it was intended that the Corn Bill shbuld be read a recond tine ? llie CHANCEI.LoR of the ExcHEaucti said, it scetned to he the general understanding last night tLAiI it was to be read a second time on Friday next. . . .Mr. 13.tn1zsto. said. he was no party to such an nadcrstanding an 4 therefore felt it his duty to ditclairn it. BILT:. Mr..llomNsoN. hrong-ht in a Bill for altering and 'amending the law now in force for regulating the importationm,of Corn. The Bill was read a first time,, and erdertA to he printed. The second reading was move.; for Friday. Mr. Alderman ATXINS wished to ask the Right I-ion. Gentleman who had brought in the Pill, if in the'present state of public feeling . on this sub jeer, it might not . be wise to nr.tke.-some altera: tions: in the price propqsert to'he maje the impor tation priGe, in order to • conciliate the people. He was of opinion, it would he. well to take the middle course, and bvaintning a price something lower than tie 80s. be (Mr. Robinson) Would meet the v, of that portion of the pnlilic which entered into the feelings 14 the landholders in some degree, lie %would thus give satisfac tiOn to the country, do honour to himself, and s'ecu're - general tranquillity. Mr. ilontxsos said, in the,prcscnt stage of the Thy, uo v racticid alteratiOn could be made. lie bad named that price which bad appeared to him must lik eb; to answer the purpose which thev had in 'Nothing-had occurred to convince him that 805, wa , , an improper priCe, and therefore he had no . fteration to propo , ,e. 'l i last Speaker had said, , by taking a middle course,' he would raise his own' (chat - act...T. lie did not consider his credit-at 'stake. 1 - I . lt;Etillin-fohned a painful duty in bringing the business turward. Any Gentleman could propose a:iy alte?'atio:n of th e p r ie e lh e h a d named, and it v - as for the House•to determine which proposi tion should be adopted. Mr. Alderinan Ai KtNs said, 'there had appeared on the precedinf!: evening. a feeling in the House vpurablel to,7Gs.. bring named as the protecting priee. 1114 such a proposition been submitted to the House then, he thought it very likely to have been . hgreed to. He thought it might be well . to makc - that the price at which Corn might he im ported, or to make 725. the pricc ; with a ditt:Y attaching- to the - foreign Corn brought' into the country. Mr. LocptAtt-r stated.it to be- the opinion in most country towns, tlnit some alteration ,in the earn Laws was ,necessary. He defended the Bill. Lord LAScELLES bad 'voted on the preceding night for 80s. as - the protecting price, but he had only voted for - this in opposition to the 72 , . which had 13:..en proposed. He stated this, that his con dtret-ntight not he considered inconsistent if he voted fair any price betw een them that Wright b e proposed in tile progress of the Bill. Sir It. PErt.P. said the speech of the Hon. Al derman-(r'lrijns) had made a great impression on his mind, I n h a d seasons he thonght it might he tall to . give bounties to encourage the importa tion of Corn, if a foreign supply was found ne, ccsswiT.. . _ Mr:Aldeurn;in C. Smt oppoeci the Bill. General GAscoiGNE hoped Goverinfient would alter the Bill, so as to conciiiate the people.. If it was attempted to pass it as it now stood, he vas sure their table would he covered with peti , tions against it trout every part of the kingdom. FINLAY felt disposed to concur in the sug gestions of the Ilon. Alderman. Mr. BARING said it was Fero,' well known to - Ministers that a strong feeling a7,,ninst this mea sure existed in the country. in some parts of JLtan'casl ' re it appearetl tsti height. — "tbe general initiation would not he laved by hurrying this measure throngh the House. He thought it would be but decent to give time for petitiOns to he presented for and: agaiott TVs was a sufficient argument for not Foreeding to the second reading on Friday. Ile moved, as an amendment, that the Bill should be read a:se cond time on Friday se'nnigth. Mr. P. Mooai: spoke against the Bill, as one Willett went to lay a Tax 'upon one set of subjects for the benefit of another. Sirj. SES3RIGIIT asserted, the en"cet of ,the Bill would be to keep the average price of Corn low, in proportion as it made the protecting price high. Mr. GRENFELl.supported the Bill. Mr. MARRyATT hoped the protecting price would be lowered. Such an alteration in the Bill would have abetter effect if it were made by Go vernment than if it were brought about by an Amendment, moved by some Member who was not connected with them. On an assurance that such a change would be made in the measure, he would support the second reading on Friday, but if this were not given, he should vote for the Amendmtut. Mr. CALvERT declared those he represented were unanimously against the measure, and stat ed it to be his intention to take the sense of the House on the question now under consideration.. Sir .GiuIERT HEATtiCoTT, without pledging himself as to the course he might oftimattly take with respect to the Bill, was resolved in the pre sent instance to vote for the aniendment of the 03.1)0 inconvenience could result front a week's delay. Mr. J. P. GRANT thought the subject had been saflicivtirlY discnssed, that more time was not ne cessary to enable Gentlemen to decide on the met)- sure submitted to their consitiorathm; •and Was einsfident Gat, in the end, the people themselves tonic be' convinced that the Government who brotight it forward. and the Gentlemen who sup ported it, had ; in doing so, done their duty to_ their country. Atter a few words in explanation, from Sir Gil bert Hootheott, Mr. J. P. Grout, Mr. Alderman Smith, and Mr. Aldermati Atkins. Sir J. iEwetnias ol.posed the amendment. Mr, Cst.ceArr spoke in favour of postponing the second reading till Friday scnnight. He con tvntled that half the representatives of the people hod not yet voted oft this important .quesrion.— Many ~. vho had attended the debates, had 'left the 'ffoUse without voting, not having vet made up their iuinds.. Under these circumstances, it was Wit reasonable that the second reading should be postponed till Friday se'nnight ; this was in fact necossary to give the country time to petition against it. He laniented that the Hon. gentle men; on whose bench he now so seldom anpear cd, but with whom he had formerly had the ho nour and (happiness to vole, were so changed as they now Appeared to he. A something seemed to have come over them ; and to have obscured their sight on this occasion, for which he could not account, but which he could not but deeply regret, as it preFluded him front acting with than. lie strenuously opposed the Bill, and urged,the proptiety of supporting the Alnendment. Mr. WurrititErso was in favour of the Amend.. Meta, but surprised at the language which lie had heard from the Hon. Gentleman who haul just sat down ; he rose to exempt himself from the sWeePing condemnation which .he had passed o u him (Mr. Whitbread) and his t'riends, awl to tell him (Mr. Caleraft), that though -he might be changed, be (Air. Whitbread) and bis l iends were not., The 1-font. Gentleman (Mr. Calcraft), had paid them 'a great compliment, by speoking'so well of those happy days in which he had hail the good fortune to vote with them, which he Seemed to rententher wittti so much satisfaction ; bat he gave himself a hit of a wipe in doing this when lie seemed to announce an intention to do so no more. When the question was, whether the se cond reading should take place On Friday or Fri day se'unight In a matter of such inontetit he should vote for its being fixed for Friday se'n night. Though he had nut taken a very. promi nent part in these debates, he had opposed the measure in contemplation AS far as he could by the declaration of his sentiments. Mr. CALCRAFT said the Hon. Gentleman had redeemed himself by his declaration, and he wished each of his Friends wmild do the Same. • The 11014 S e divided, when the ()timbers wer e ,— For the Amendment , 30 • .• Against it. • 109 .•• Majori:v in favour of the Original Motion . • fur the second reading on Friday - -79 On reentering the Gallery, we foam! Mr. BARING. pn his legs, asking the Chancellor of the Exchequer a question, ‘vhicli in consequence. o f. the noise made by the strangers, returning to their sears, could not be distinctly heard. We. under stood him to ask on the authority of letters, the accuracy,of which he could not doubt, if a mil lion of 'dollars which had been advanced by the . English Government. to effect the deliverance of Sp;tin, had -.not been. seized by the_Spanish Go vernment,.taken from the British Consul at Cadiz, and still.deudned ? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER admitted some difficulties might exist, though not exactly of the nature supposed, which (he was understood. to add) were in a course of ;Adjustment. Mr. BENNETT enquired if the Chancellor of the Exchequer Was prepared to give any account of the sinus of money received by Mr. Henry Wel lesley, and flue to England o❑ account of the troops last sent our. The ettANcit.Lott of the EXCHEQUER said, no information had been received on this subject since the former inquiry had been made.. • SIR JAMES. DUFF. Mr. WniTsticAD.—ln the course of last Session, owin g to. some information %Odell had appeared in a Newspaper, he had mentioned to the House a transactiou which was supposed to be of such a nature that it could not have taken place. In gaily, however, was made, and the result was, nut only that the report was true, but that the case mentioned was marked with many aggrtvat jug. circumstances. 4-le afterwards took the berry of asking, whether bi 3 Majesty's Consul at Cadiz had endeavour e d to obstruct the escape 'Of some Spanish subjects from their infernal Govern ment ? The Chancellor of the Exchequer at •th,it time spoke in the tom of a man who disavowed such prnecedingt With itiml4ynation pater", however ; had been since / ,i c yd nuc d, and t h er - did appear to-be. some cordeolietion of the ot-gilial statement Of the Right Non. Oentlerimn. The Chancellor of the EX elieener had reeominended some specific motion 'on the snimiect ; a reCorn- - medationwhich at first he was tint disposed to attend to, becatr,e hr conceived that there cook be no person who would presume to palliate the con duct which he represented, and because Lord Bath - nrst had himself condemned the transacthm. But as the matter had turned out, he was not disinclined. to adopt the suggestion of the Chancellor of theEx cimetpier ; for he hoped that his motion would af ford aid opportimity of contradicting the opinion, that England supported the tyranny of Spain. Such a contradiction was not unnecessary, as it, was well known that General \Vhittinghatn, an Officer bearing an English commission, and who had been instrumental in the &fence of Spain against its enemies, was the man who had been employed to command the force which overthrew the Cortes, and enabled Ferdinand to commit the most signal,acts of. ingratitude. It was saitl and thought in Old Spain, that the army could not have advanced to Madrid without the aid of Eng lish gold, and . a sum, of 52,6721. was repOrted to have been furnished to General Whittingham to place Ferdinand ou the Woody throne on which he now sat, and from which in all proba bility he must soon be hai led. When the Spanish people SaW this, and even more, that the per sons who endeavanred to escape to Gibraltar had been delivered ult to their op:,ressors, it was im possible for 'them not to think that England sane tioned, the proceelings of their Government, and took part with Ferdinand and the Inquisition.— (Hear, hear !) ii• Smith Ain - erica, that territory where En! end•had so- often interfered with pro mises of siimport, the So Me ophlionl could not but prevail. • It was completely felt, that the expedi tion :it Uadiz could not b e fitted oot except at the immediate . ex pence of England. The connivance of the British Government was' still more appa rentio the surrender of those four persons, who had been called state prisoners, and who having fled - to Gibraltar, were given up and sent to Ceuta, wh ere th e y were now lingering in imprisonment. At le:meth, though only ott . this very day, the pa pers relative to this transaction had been publish ed. Among these appeared a document, of which no previous mention had ever heel' w a d e , t h oug h he sinposed it eium.i.:d now he relied upon as a sort of jostifiratioin it was a Copy of a Convention made in 1795 between General Ilitinsford a - nd.the Spanish Commander Lomas, as to the surrender of deserters, Exc. together with die Dike of Portland's ans Wel' and approbation of this agreement. Now it *Tras remarkable that Lord Bathurst in his letter to General Smith had proceeded oil different grounds, and had not made the slightest mentiou of this convention, bat at once expressed his disappro bation of time fact, and• his utimvillingness to be lieve it. Indeed he thought that General SMith 'would never be able to discharge from his mind the dreadfully. painful recollection that he had been the i:s or consigning an honourable per son to the dangeon or the galleys,•and hail been the means of destroying the general notion, that the English territory was a pence of refuge for till who could put their foot upon it. Gen. Smith, however, had sent a letter, in which lie d e f en d e d his condoet by a detail of circumstances there given. This detail he (Mr. W.) was sorry to say that he hod been instructed to declare was not correct. And the person who authorised him to make this statement was ready, (if die twins of the House could have permitted it), to verify his narrating - c - Ticeilmilm. The Spanish Consul would - not take on himself the reipousibility of custody, and the indi . 6dnals were sent beyond the lines', and de livered up to-the-Spanish Commandant, who t reated, them with a sympathy which was a eontrasetowLitt they had experienced inOibraltar ; but it was dan ,,etous ":ar him to do much for the m , an d he colt :, d uc t e d diem to C,atliz, where they were treated With intomianity. .As to General CampbelleaSe, lie Was informed, that he had received, an caYi,ort respecting fotir - persons, who w e re i d t ;... mately•sent back: The application was in Ja nnary, 1814, on a charge of high erimes and mi,;,- deineanoitrs: 'Some tneechants requested the ad mission of these foam- pers'ons' into the•garrison : but Genet al Campbell refused, saying, the Medi terranean was open for escape. However, they went to Alg - esiras,,where they. were arrested. As to the present cae, M. Cabrera was accused of egniting disloyalty, but he had a passport frOnm Valdez and Sir.!. Duff,:and he afterl.v.mirmis escaped to England. Lle apprehended evOi here, ree'-nima dons on the part imf tire Spanish Cnvernment : he, knew Pizigblanch and . anuther Juni:been ileiicered. over to a savage •lnpisition, and a wore savage GoVernment ; he - feared he *as not safe even,here, and to our disr,redit fled to France. He seezurd to feel, that •with -the terrors rif the Alien Office,: he was not saftr here than at Air. IV. then read Cabrera,7s passport of the 14th 'of May ; , IRI4, signed Sir Jamrs Duff. The actual Go., Vernor of' Cadiz under the Cortes - gave -passports before-Villa Vicencio's_ kin.; vai to- Pisighlauch and ' Cabrera; signed by Sir J. Duti:and Arch dekin. Because a political change took -p.ace, and they did not wait for the perseedion of Fer—f dinand, they were designated as improper persons by Sir J. Duff, Who wrote to Genual Smith to violate his owrc word and the national faith, 011(1 to give them up; -The- accusations- appeared per fectly groundless, P.tigblanch heid 'been an on known man in political life. Ile vas professor of H e b rew a t a Spanish UniverF-ity, ti) which he had retired at one time, bat left it to esMpe.the horrors of the imptisition. lle had published a work, called " The Inquisition I inmasked." Were these the, reasons on which Sir J. Dna' thought passports should be violated, an:l the individuals given up.% Puighlhnch and Correa were Etna in chains to Cadiz, and wet,: imprisoned among a num ber of others, huddled togei her in a heaslv rooni. Villa Vicencin exercised iris power with a brutal fury. After seventy_days they-were removed and paraded in chains to another prison, and brought to trial. The only charge against ?nig - blanch wits his hook. tie- applied to Sir J. Dull to save him from the Inquisition. His remonstrance to the Secretary of State, he believed did not reach its destination. Notwithstanding the Alien Act, he Oir. W.) trusted th a t the free debates of that hiouse would avert the necessity of any stranzera itetiee to trance fbr sRf . tr. Ie eensh e" Sir JAme, tuspicibns 'of Correatespec ting his libel, or the kaoWledee of t he libeHet 6 ' on the allied ti'ouips at S t . Bch gst i ai A. Lorry !lever wrote : li e h a d beet) - Captain in re Spanish :service; and performed eminent ser i: viees under gtoll and had ex h a dlted Patrinniny, and was Weninded in hi; texeitions tcT free Spain, and rest o re ail very F e erdland;atid 11e had two sons in Frenchpr,Son, one ut the' with eleven wounds, and the other w Seeing the suspending calamities, he addresse, temperate letter to Ferdinand, begging him to re , : fleet, that desp o tic potter was not. the toad t , happiness. For that ,erime he was tried and senC; tented to ten year s i ll the g all e y s a t C eu ta, whe',, he now remains. Who would change Corr;:'", rot for that of G e ner a l S m i t h ? I t was ten more enviable—Correa's.chains might be brnk es; Smith's never ! He then read Lord Bathurst' letter enquiring concerning Sir 3. Deff.s cenPe t " The answer was, that no alien was aliowed come here without the Ambassador's passport , in his absence, Sir James Duff's ; also an e nclosnr. c e ; I of a letter front Mr. Addi ngton saying, that appeared right the,t those who wished to en'. bark for England, should apply for passpOrt 3 s and if any thing objectio n abl e appeare d, it /nig ht be expedient to refuse them,. Armed as the t. Act was, to the disgrace of the Statute 13 0 "' was it to extend its repulsive hand beyond the and to prevent even an arrival ? But were the sr;?' porters of the Cortes to be so treate d ? I'hos° Members of the Cortes, who were a short torte back received everywhere with acclathation, We re, now liable to.the inlults of every petty Clerk ' t Officer. He (Mr..W.) had beet? told that eve"-- the Portuguese were not permitted-to remain ! , er e unless M. de Souza, the Atobassad.or; sined'tbe v rissports ; .and that one Porttiguese, of high Cis lit, had been actually sent away. A Portugues e, of the tune of Correia, established here, had bee t) sent away, as he understood, because the Ambits' sadur refused his signature. He was.sent to Lis" bon, whence he went to the Brazils, where h e was acquitted, and hoa.eured with rewards fro" the 'Prince Regent. Thereby the conduct of th e ' Ambassador, and of the Minister of this country, who prostituted an odious law, was conifer/we d ' If fairly contradicted, he would willingly draw all he bad stated; and he 'trusted that Right Horn. Gentleman opposite w ou ld em i ea voor . to s a v e his own S u it, and that of his Noble lative, by • a clear statement and jastilicatjq 9 on these subjects. lie next animadverted o n the kind of. delight and petty . malignity showu Mr. Sttdinan, who stated that in less than to .° hours Puighlanch and the other were arrested; requesting persons to be appoint e d to re ceive them, or the Governor of the gArrisoll pet them forthwith.- He seemed fitted for an strurnent or familiar of the Inquisition : he 104 rt only to pass tire lines front Gibraltar into Srl ie l; He thought the House could not sep a r a t e withol expressing its f ee li ngs on trausactions of so to L L a deseripeiou, and concluded by , moving an dress of the House to the Prince Regent, thaukiorle, Iris Royal Hi g h ness f or the communications the correspondence Of Earl .Bathurst, Gen. Swit.it and Sir James Duff, and the papers relative tk , t J ' e : same ; expressing its disapprobation of the toe"' action, as injurious to du: public, honour, ; trary to the established hospitality to foreie'Ve'," and the characte r o f our Offi cers, ;ol d siginn'll cruel to the individuals ; earnestly desiring h s Royal Highness's reprobation to be conveyed the strongest terms, and the adoption r e f teet v siires to prevent the reentrcuce of similar CO' duct ; bet above all, his Royal Highness's ended' yours to obtain the liberation of the parti4s• The Hon . . Mr. BATHU it ST Said, the Hon? G ell : tleman (Mr. Whitbread) had taken ver y a 0c 414- i gerated v i ew of the subject. Sir J. Did 44 ' merely endorsed a passport of General. Valdei; trill having learnt from the new Governor of Ca, 'lie the character of the individuals to whom had granted the -passp6rt; he had written, to Dural :•_inith to inform our of the character of these persons. %General Smith having succeeded d' ° -• command at Gibraltar, a few weeks beloce: he re ' ceived the two letters from Sir J. Duff and the Governor of Cadiz, coosolted tine former practi ce ; Of the garrison, and found it was the regular ern tons deliver tip. fugitives, in c on s equenc e of ' l , agreement ent ere d i nto , l ong ago , w i t h t h e Governinent. Don A. Pui • • )ianc , be bad asserted, have received a permit t 0.1 1,0 e but the regul a r course was , t h at h e s h ou ld presented himself before the Town Major, and not doing so, h e h a d no t o b serve d t h e sr:1101'1 1f order.. He hoped the House would judge ct! ° ... On the : subject Sir James Duff was, a Man of e iLe years of age ; be had been 40 years Consul at L ' f , e diz,--and h a d b een an enthusiastic admirer of patriotic cause; and he (Mr. B.) could not pose that he had become a toot of arhitrarY sernment. Though both he and General had acted beyond the bo' tiMiS ofpropriety: d f - thought it did not call for the severe censine•-4 the noose ; especially es, froM the let ter Bathurst, .it _appeared, that the same 4 t ets not again he heard of. . ' Gentleman (we understand Mr. GoanoN) de fended the conduct of Sir J.. Did, who had itiere informed General Smith of• facts necessary T ie " hint, tf) know, without g i v i ng an °pillion as to t e , course he should pursue. He allowed that OLl io rat Sinitic had gone a little too far, tho4n tine conduct wa s . -palliated by the agreement with Spanish Government, and. the manner in Correa and Puighlanch had entered the garri 3 . , Mr. Davis defended General Whittinghain.t r ; st tine imputations whic securer) to have been on hint, and stated that this Officer eeceiv.iLthlics order to march to Madrid from General 1 1 Top l , superior in command, coutitersigned by the 1 ; 1 :;1 in whose nature he held his commission. fie." / f o r W. had. received his honours and eynnit' n , er a : eminent services at Balen, an d tlj e He wes so placed that no British Officer bl ot , Spanish s erv i ce cou ld h ave acted otherwise` be had done. 'tfll Mr., Gout-flume thought that it was foreh , this questioo to enter into the merits or oc;',be , of the pr e s en t Sp an i s h Government, or (): the Cortes. It was unnecessary, to travel t a ct ttti;et subject its e lf, in ord er l to f orm an (m i n i on sche l ocl' the persons n o w a cc use d w ItT were guilty or ot g t rc • Of the charges brought against them'