The Sun. — London, England, 1827-04-10 00:00:00

further consideration_ of the fill that day six week. ; and, on our return, We fcrad— Lord Diten Appealing to the Noble Marquess, whether it was agrteable to the courtesy of Parliament to move a question in.-01 , rin g the fate of the principle of the Bill, after it bad been the understanding, on both sides, that the House was raer'.4 to occupy itself with the details? The Marquis of LONDONDERRY then consented to substitute for "six weeks " the words " after the holidays." Lord WHARNCLIFFE protested against such delays. great many Noble Lords would remain in town even during. the holidays. It was not, indeed, very likely that they would leave town, under present circumstances, and he could not understand why they might not employ them selves in considering the provisions of the Bill. Their Lordships then divided upon the motion, that the words " to-morrow " stand part of the question. Contents 6—Non-Contents 7—Majority 1. Strangers were not afterwards re• admitted ; but \ve un derstood that their Lordships, eller some diwttssion, finally put off the further consideration of tike Hill until the 7th of May.—Adjourned at Nine o'clock. HOUSE OF COMMONS, Armt 9. Mr. Hutchinson, from the Bank of England, brought up a n Account of all Promissory Notes and Post Bills in ttirculation. The Repor't of the Election Committee for the Borough of Fowey 'was brought up—it confirmed the return of the sitting nembers, and added that the petition presented again'A them was not frivolous ur vexatious. On the motion of Mr. Alderman WOOD, the Thanes Watermen Bill was read a second time. General GASCOIGNE brought up the Report of the Liverpool Water-works Bill. Mr. BIRCH presented a petition of the Surgeons of Northamptonshire, complaining of certain regulations made by the Royal College of Surgeons in London, and praying an inquiry by that house. - Sir R. VAUGRAN presented a petition from Flint shire, against 'the introduction of Foreign Speltre. Mr. DE"..ZISON presented a petition from 5,000 inha bitants o London and its vicinity, praying a better regula tion c;f the Post-office. Lord JOHN HA Y presented a petition from the County .a Haddington, praying protection for the Landed Interest. Sir J. YORKE presented a petition of Geo. Gleuny, of London, praying the appointment of a set of Commis sioners to regulate Friendly Societies.—Referred to the Committee on Friendly Societies. Mr. BELL presented a petition from Upper Tynedale, in Northumberland, against the present Corn Bill. Colonel ARBUTHNOT presented a petition from the Owners and Occupiers of Land in Kincardine, against the Importation of Foreign Corn. On the Motion of Mr. F. BUXTON, an Address was ordered to be presented to the King, ordering a return of the number of Slaves sold in Jamaica under Writs of Exe cation, in the last year. Mr. KENNEDY presented a petition from the Ship owners of a district in Scotland, praying that the difficul ties under which they labour be taken into consideration. LICENSING BILL. Mr. ESTCOURT presented a Petition from a person named Kay, who complained of having- been deprived of his license, owing to a dispute with one of the Magistrates of Hertfordshire. It appeared that the petitioner had bought property near Tring, and had pulled down an old public house, for the purpose of rebuilding a better one in its stead. He prayed relief. Sir J. SEBRIGHT thought the principal grievance of the present Licensing Bill was, that the magistrates' deli berations were always with closed doors.—(Hear, hear ) He had invatlably put this question to the vote among the noa a rietrates, but he had always been out-voted.--(Hear.) After a few words from Mr. GORDON, Mr. ESTCOURT said, his object as to this Bill, was to have it printed, and to have it recommitted after Easter, with a view to its discussion..--(Hear, hear.) Mr. CALCRAFT said, that there might be exceptions to the conduct of a Magistrate, in a few particular cases, but he was sure that, as a body, they discharged their ar duous duties with seal, with ability, and with benefit to the country. Mr. HUME said great abwes existed. Sir J. SEBRIGHT tnePait no reflection on the Gentle men who acted with h;:ni on the day alluded to ; they were all most respectable Men—indeed they were all Clergymen, except himself. -_(A laugh,)—Fl, only found fault with this mode of ":liscussion with dosed doors.—(Hear, bear.) The P'etitiort was ordered to be printed. COUNTY FIRE OFFICE REPORT. - _ 1-1 0BHOU,SE_ea,re• - ..b001d, to morrow, present a Petition against the Report of the Commissioners of Inquiry into the County Fire-office. Mr. WALLACE said, he had seen the Petition, and thought it would not be advisable to enter into a discus sion upon it at present. The Right Honourable Gentleman went on to stat.: his reasons why the Petition should be withdrawn; but he spoke in a tone so low as- to be alto gether inaudible in the Gallery. Mr. HOBHOUS said; the suggestion had placed him in a difficulty, He had the Petition by him for some time. It bore 1,500 signatures, more tha❑ one half of which were those of hie Constituents, and he could not give an answer without first consulting them. COUNTY COURTS. Mr. JOI-IN SMITH presented a petition from Brighton complaining of • the serious evils which arose from the abuses of the practice of the County Courts. The peti tioners alleged that these Courts frequently granted seizures for sums treble the amount of the original debt, and this enormous increase was generally caused by the costs, which swallowed up every thing else. The Hon. Member, among others, mentioned the case of a poor woman, who was sued for a debt of I 4s. , and an execution being taken out against her for that sum, and for 15s. costs upon it, her goods were seized for a sum considerably exceeding the amount of both debt and costs, her bed, her pillows, and several other articles of furniture were taken from her, and in this case, as in several others of a similar kind, nothing was returned. The bailiff, in this case, was summoned before Sir David Scott (than whom a more worthy Magis trate never existed), and was by that gentleman bound over to answer at the Sessions. The bailiff, however, who knew that other charges of a similar kind could he brought against him, decamped before the time for his appearance at the Sessions, and the poor woman had, consequently been unable to abtain any redress. There was another evil to which he wished also to allude, and that was, that persons summoned for small debts were sometimes served with the summons only on the night immediately preceding the day appointed for their appearance at the County Court, which was sometimes as much as eight miles from their residence, and where they were desired to appear by attorney. The Worthy Magistrate to whom he had al a eady alluded had told him that there were above fifty cases of the kind he had mentioned, and expressed an earnest wish that the matter should he laid before Parliament.— With that wish he (Mr. Smith) had now most willingly complied, and he should only add his opinion, that the subject was one which loudly called for the most serious attention of the House. The Petition was in the following terms TO THE HONOURABLE THE COMMONS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, IN PARLIAMENT ASSEMBLED: " The humble Petition - of some of the Inhabitants of the Town of Brighthelrnstone, in the County of Sussex, " inzwrrit, " That your petitioners have had to deplore the very se rious evils which have arisen from the abuses of the County Court for the Recovery of Small Debts, and particularly against those persons who, front their situation in life, are least able to bear them. That many of your petitioners have suffered very greatly themselves from having had their goods seized to more than treble the amount of their debt, which had been swelled by large costs, and against which, from the pecu. "Cr mode o f proceeding, it was impossible for them to have guarded; it being no uncommon practice for a person to receiv e a summon s for an insignificant debt, of a few shil lings, t o , appear, by his Attorney, at the County Court, seven or sight miles off, on the following morning ; and, in case of failure, to hare an attachment levied against his goods, followed by an immediate seizure. " That, by thes e oppressive means, some of your peti tioners have bee n nearly involved in total ruin. That the ordinary costs for d efending an unjust or doubtful debt are so great as to be utterly beyond the reach of many of your Petitioners, who have no alternative but to submit to the subj ecte d unjust demand, or be i n many instances to utter ruin. " That your Pe titioners are well awa re that, owing t o the vigilance of the newly established Institution of the Town, and to the activity of some of the Magistrates, some of the evils have been remedied; but your Petitioners humbly suggest they have no security if that vigilance and l activity should cease ; and they p ra y th ey ma) not again be subject to the same oppressive measure; besid e ,. which, many of the evils alluded to are i rr emediable, but thro u g hl.. the interference of your Hon. House. " And your P e titi oners h um bl y pray that your lion. Hous e will take their case into your most serious conside ration ; and that you will adopt such measures as your non. Rouse 'nay deem fit, to put a stop to the recurrence of those grievances, under which many of your Petitioners have so greatly suffered. " And your Petitioners wiii ever pray," &c. Mr. M. A. TAYLOR confirmed what bad been stated by the lion. Member who preceded him. Mr. MONCK concurred with the observatiohs of his two Hon. Friends. The petition was ordered to be laid the Table and to be printed, IIEV. C. SLOMAT47 . . Mr. MIME presented a petivtibli from the Rev. C. Slo man, complaining of the reattnent which he had received in the Island of Cerigo. The petitithier stated, that in the cours.c -or his travels he had visited that and had teen ordered to perform quarantine; that he had been accused of havl;;:g oroken quarantine, and was then put into soFtSy confinement, and treated in a manner very ~ I:frerent from that which a traveller and a clergyman had a right to expect—Ordered to be laid on the Table. Mr. HUAIE presented a petition from the Owners of Land in the vicinity of Perth, against the scale of Duties agreed on by the Resolutions lately passed on the subject.— Ordered to be laid on the Table. PRISONS. Mr. HUME then moved for a return of all the prisoners for debt, received into the custody of the Marshal of the King's Bench Prison, in each month in every year, since ISI3 ; also a return of all prisoners for debt, discharged in each month, within the saute time ; also a return of the aggregate number of prisoners for debt, received into the King's Bench Prison, and the Rules thereof, within the same time; and a similar return of prisoners for debt, re ceive.d into the Prisons of the Meet, Whitecross-street, and Horsemonger-lane, within the same period.—Ordered. Mr. MABERLY presented a petition from the Retail Brewers of the City of Gloucester, praying for an altera tion of the laws regulating the manner in which they should carry on their business. ire also presented a peti tion from the Cotton Spinners of Blackburne, in the County of Lancaster, praying for the establishment of a minimum of tvages. Mr. BYNG presented a petition from the Coroners of the County of Middlesex, praying for an increase in their fees. Mr. CURWEN moved for a return of all the vessels, with their tonnage, employed from the Ist of August, 1825, to the Sth of April, 1827, in the importation of foreign cern, meal, and flour, either for the purpose of warehousing or home consumption.—Ordered. CORNWALL AND DEVONSHIRE MINING COMPANY. Mr. Alderman WAITHMAN presented a petition from nine Subscribers to the Cornwall and Devonshire Mining Company, complaining of the transactions of the Directors of that Company. The petition stated, among a variety of other things, that an Ho n . G en tl eman , a M em b er of the House, did, some time in April, 1825, enter into a contract with a Mr. Teed, of Devonshire, for the purchase of cer tain mines in that part of the country—that the contract so entered into between them was unconditional, and not absolute, and was to become void, unless the Hon. Member who made it should succeed in forming a Mining Company. The purchase money agreed on was about 78,000/. ; and et a Meeting held at the Albion Tavern, in the City of London, soon after the contract had been entered into, it was resolved to fettle a Company for the purpose of working these 'mines, The Resolution which that Meeting passed, declared that the purchaser had obtained possession of the Mines in question, at a very reasonable rate, and that Resolution was said to have been made after an accurate inquiry had been instituted into the matter, these Mines being then described as very valuable. The Mines thus recommended were to be purchased by the Company, who were charged 121,000/. for them. At this first Meeting Mr. Barrett, an Hon. Member of the House, was in the Chair, and at a second Meeting, held a few days afterwards, when Mr. Peter Moore was in the Chair, a prospectus of the intended Company was issued; a prospectus, which the petitioners declared to contain false and fraudulent statements respecting the property. Out of the gross number of Shares detetznmed to be issued, two thousand seven hundred and fifty were to be reserved for the benefit of the Directors, who were to be at liberty to lock them up in a tin bole which was only to be opened when the necessities of the Company should require. Some time afterwards the Directors, in order to raise the price of Shares, and to give them a fictitious value in the market, purchased, as time bargaiis, from certain brokers, one thousand Shares of the Company, for which they paid a sum of six thousand pounds, which was charged to the Company at large in their accounts. Mr. Wilks, the Hon. Member to whom he had alluded as having entered into the contract fur the purchase of the Mines at the time, not only agreed to sell them to the Com pany, hut received 20,0001. on account; a sum which was soutcudiy peid by a cheque from the Directors, before he had'l obtained a complete and absolute interest in the property. New agreements for the sale of the Mines were entered into, and the 45,0001. obtained over and above the original price, were agreed to be divided among the Directors—(Hear.)— That seemed to him one of the most serious parts of the petition, and certainly, if true, was a pretty strong proof of fraud to that extent. It appeared, too, that the calls due one the 2,750 reserved Shares, had not been paid up ; and that they should have remained unpaid after the investment of the rest, seemed to create suspicion that the agreement which existed between the Directors upon the subject of these Shares was fraudulent. That suspicion was strongly confirmed by the statement of the petitioners, who al leged that the effect of this reservation of Shares was, that if they came to a high price in the market, so as to afford a good profit, the Directors would have been enabled to appropriate it to themselves, while if the shares fell, the loss could be thrown on the Company. Some of the Directors, when informed of the transaction of the 2,750 shares, certainly had expressed the greatest asto nishment, and had declared that they were entirely igno rant of the matter ; but the fact was, that not only the money had not been paid up, but that though it still re rnained unpaid, another call had been made on the share holders, and actions had actually been commenced against some of them for their subscriptions. In stating these facts, he certainly was bound to say that among the Di rectors there were many very respectable names ; ten of them being Noblemen, Baronets, and Members of the House. Seine of the Directors he was personally ac quainted with, and he entertained the highest respect for them; and he did believe, that if an investigation was made into the subject, it would be found that they had com mitted no other fault (a heavy fault, however, as he was ready to admit) than the folly of having connected them selves with such transactions. The Honourable Member concluded by observing, that the petitioners prayed the House would inquire into the claims they now made for re dress. If the House should not be prepared, after the petition had been read, immediately to grant a Committee of Inquiry, he should be the last person to press such a measure upon them, but he should certainly move, at an early period, for a full inquiry into the subject. At present he should confine his motion to the bringing up and read ing. of the petition. The petition was brought up ; and on the question that it should be read, Mr. Alderman WAITHMAN requested it might be read at full length, as it contained such important matter. Mr. JOHN WILKS said that he, too, was anxious it might he read at full length, as he had something .te say upon it. In the course of reading the names of the persons con nected with the direction of the Company, a name occur red which seemed at first to sound like Astell. Mr. A STELL begged that that name might he read a second time, as he positively disclaimed ever having had any connection whatever with the Company. The name was accordingly read a second time, when it appeared to be (as we understood it) Astolli. On the question that the petition be printed, Mr. WYNN begged the House, before they went into the consideration of this Petition, first to consider whether it was a case in which their interference could be of advan tage either to themselves or to any other party. That House was not a Criminal Court.—(Hear, hear.)—He was not acquainted with any of the facts of tile case, but from what he could collect in hearing the Petition read, an individual, not at the time a Member of the House, was charged with being guilty of acts which might be prosecuted as frauds in the Courts of Law; and be understood that proceedings of that nature were now actually pending. Under these cir cumstances he would ask the House whether an individual ought to be called upon to make a statement there, which might prejudice his defence in another place?—(Hear, hear.)--If the House thought with him, he hoped they would not allow the Petition to be printed, but take no further notice on the subject. Lord PALMERSTON said, it was a matter of perfect indifference to him what course the House took with the petition ; but as his name was mentioned in the petition as one of the Directors of this Company, he would trouble the House briefly, with a statement of the simple nature of his connection with the transaction. First, he should say, that he had no concern whatever in the formation of the Com pany. At the meetings at the Albion Tavern, or else where, be was not present ; nor did he know any thing about them. If it were true, as certainly it was, that the Honourable Member for Sudbury obtained a large profit upon buying these mines, and if it were true that some of th e Directors shared a portion of that profit, he was not one who enjoyed the benefit of that participation. lie havingsubs cred to the undertaking as one of fair promise, and embarked his money in it, he became a Director because he thought he should hat's an opportdnity of seeing how its affairs were managed. He only attended as a rector five tim'es ; he received not one sixpence of money, and he had paid up nearly the whole amount of his sub scription on his shares. And he must obserVe that if some of the persons who had sighed their names to the petition had stood ire the same situation. vg ithregard to the paythent of their more'' ) not have been one of less credit and honesty than that they now occupied. But there were many who entered the Company not with a view to the success of the undertaking itself, but for the sake of a miserable traffic in shares, That was the situation in which entle t-.f the petitioners stood, They Were now tindtr prosecutions in the Courts of Law to compel them to make good their engagements ; and he believed the real object of this petition to be, an endeavour to interpose the autho rity of that Hotise between them and the course of the law. The transaction, as far as he was concerned in it, was one of great simplicity—(hear, hear)—and had lie the power of influencing the House in the course it would pursue, he would not say one word to do so.—(Hear, hear.)—The petition was before the House, he should be most happy to meet inquiry, and it was for the House to act as it thought proper.—( Cheers. ) Mr. POWLETT said, that it was impossible for him not to take the earliest opportunity of stating what his con duct had been, after the allusions, direct and indirect, made to his name. He had entered the Company about the same time as his Noble Friend (Lord Palmerston). lie had nothing whatever to do with any of the arrangements either previous to or after tl.e formation of the Company. —(Hear, hear. )—He had regularly paid his instalments when called upon, and from the first to the last he had never received one farthing from the Company in any way whatever.—(Cheers and laughter.)—He trusted that that explanation would prove satisfactory to the House—(bear, hear)—and with respect to what was done with the peti tion it was to him a matter of perfect indifference. Mr. WILKS said, that after the very pointed allusions made to him, both by the petitioners and the Hon. Member who had presented the petition, he trusted that the House would grant him a patient hearing, if he found it necessary in vindication of his conduct, to trespass upon its attention for some time. Before he proceeded to make the observa tions he should think necessary on the allegations contain ed in the petition, he would state, that never was thers a more impudent petition presented. The petitioners knew that the statements which they had made were false ; they must have known so, for he himself had told them that they were.—(Laughter.)—But the country should know, and he would show to that Honourable House that the charges brought against him were unjust and untrue. The peti tioners knew very well that an issue was in a short time to he tried for the purpose of compelling them to fulfil their engagements, and they had presented the petition merely for the purpose of creating a prejudice in the public mind, and thereby influencing the Court and the Jury. That was a case which he was prepared to make ont to the satisfac tion of the House; and as he had not been in the habit of addressing such an assembly, he had, although he knew it was not strictly Parliamentary, set down in writing the heads of the remarks he should have to make, and he trust ed the House would excuse him for having done so.—(The Hon. Member then proceeded with a long statement, which was drawn up principally in question and answer, and in terspersed with argument. The substance was as follows) : —Who had signed the petition ?—Thirteen persons, nine of whom were shareholders, and four were not. How many shareholders were there 7—Eighty-one. The amount of capital subscribed to the Company was 80,000/., and of that sum the petitioners had scarcely subscribed an eightieth part. Out of the 80,0001. he himself had sub scribed 30,000/., and he therefore put to the House to say, whether he was not much more deeply interested in the proper administration of the affairs of the Company than the Petitioners could possibly be. The Petitioners stated, that they were shareholders and scripholders ; but he trusted that the House would not be deceived by the tatter term. Prior to the deed of settlement being drawn and signed, persons joining the Company received a cheque from the banker, on the payment of a certain sum, which cheque was a vendible article on the Stock Exchange, and too frequently wait purchased for no other purpose than that of _ . . raffle and speculation; but when the deed of partnership was drawn up, all the persons wlso had taken scrip were called upon to sign it, by doing so and paying their in stalments they became bona fide shareholders ; but if they refused to sign the deed, they forfeited all claims upon the Company; with that fact the complainin g parties were well acquainted. The way in which the Company was to be managed had been made fully known to them ; a hook had been circulated, a copy of which he held in his hand, in which was stated the number of Directors there were to be, and the power they were to have. The Petitioners knew all that; yet, when they were called upon to sign the deed and pay up their ifistalMehtr they 'tensed : and he asked, therefore, what right they had to come forward as scripholders, when in fact no such thing existed ? That was not the first petition which been got up against him ; but another that had been prepared did not suit the taste of the Hon. Alderman, and therefore the one before the House had been procured. Nor was that all that had been done to prejudice his character—for public meetings had been called, and, besides petitions being at tempted, it had even been proposed that subscriptions should be entered into, for the purpose of injuring him. No subscription, however, had been made, and no petition had been adopted by any public meeting. Hon. Gentle men on the other (Opposition) side were in the habit of asking, whether a Petition was signed at a public meet ing, or whether it was a hole and corner petition ; let them ask that question with reference to the one then before the House, and they would find that the Petition had been sent round slily for signatures ; and if he was correctly informed, the Hon. Alderman who presented it, knew when he did so, that one or more than one of the Peti tioners were desirous of withdrawing their names. That Petition had been for months abroad, and had only obtain ed the signatures of nine out of the eighty-one shareholders, and yet, notwithstanding the pending trials, and the evi dent intention of the Petitioners, the Hon. Alderman asked for a Select Committee to be appointed, to investigate the allegations brought forward. In the case of another Company (Arigna Mining), the Hon. Member might think that he had met with a triumph ; but he (Mr. Wilks) well knew that there was but one feeling on that subject, and that was, that every Honourable Mem ber whose character had been impugned had been materi ally assisted by the result of the inquiry which the Com mittee had gone into.—(Laughter.)—The first charge brought against him, was one respecting the postponement of the public meeting. The fact was, that the delay could not be prevented. The meeting ought to have been held on the 30th of March, but the accounts from being badly kept were in arrears a month or two, and in consequence of the General Election coming on, it was thought best to defer the meeting.—The second charge was, that the meeting agreed to purchase some mines from him at 121,0001. That was perfectly true, and to chew that he was convinced the bargain was fair and honourable, he had filed a Bill in Chancery to compel the shareholders to fulfil their agreement, and the object of the petitioners was to throw an impediment in his way, hoping that if their own wish was complied with, the Noble and Learned Judge would say, why do you ask me to enforce the bargain, when a Select Committee of the House of Commons is appointed to try its merits on the charge of its being a fraudulent transaction. But another reason of the Petitioners was, that they were defaulters—they bad not paid up their in stalments, and even that day, two hours before he entered the House, he had been served with a subpoena to attend a trial as a witness on the 28th inst. With respect to the purchase of the mines, the Petition did not contain one allegation against their value ; nor did it notice the fact, that one to the value of 15,0001. had been taken from the mines. Had the Petitioners been really aggrieved, they would have sent down surveyors to examine the miner and report, but he had uniformly said to the Company, if you are discontent with the bargain, let it be referred to arbi trators. The meeting which purchased the mines was open to all the Shareholders, and the minutes of that meeting were always ready for inspection. Nor was the purchase made ignorantly ; on the contrary the resolutions of the Shareholders proved, that ample inquiry had been made and that they were satisfied with the value of the Mines. And there was another fact to which he wished to call the attention of the House. To show that there was no concealment as to the profit, he should prove the very persons from whom he had purchased the Mines were present when he sold them, and took their seats as Direc tors. The question for the Company to consider, was whe ther the Mines were worth the sum he asked, and not what he gave for them. He had applied to the Hon. Member who had presented the petition, to be allowed to inspect the petition, and the names attached to it. Mr. Alderman WAITHMAN said, No. Mr. WILKS—He (Mr. Wilke) repeated it. H e had applied by letter to the Hon. Member for an inspection of the petition, and, in the fit st instance, it h a d been entirely refused to him ; he had afterwards been informed that he might see it ; but in what state was it produced ?—.. a mere piece of written paper, without a signature attached to it. For the charge that he had dealt doubly or fraudulently in the sale of these mines to the company, he repelled it. He had produced his books to the proprietors op en ly and fully. H e had told them distinctly—. I have given so much for these mines; but I shall not sell them to you for that price." Surely there was nothing strange in this? The Hon. Member opposite would not be surprised that people should refuse to buy and sell without a profit. A heavy complaint was tucle about 2,150 shares that bad been re served. Why, the very resolutions of the company dis tinctly, and in so many words, empowered the Directors to reserve as many shares as they thought fit. There was no secret in those resolutions ; they were the conditions attached to the undertaking; and those who joined it were V?oiind tb he tognizant of th6n, as they had the means of being. But the truth was, 11:a4, after all, them 2,7L0 shares had not been reserved; for, in the eriel, ottt of the original 10,000 shares, 9,300 had been carried into the market. The fourth charge related to the purchase by the Directors of 1,000 shares out of the market. (Here the &Ass which prevailed in the House prevented us from catching the effect of the lion. Member's observations.) — As we understood the Hon. Member, those shares had been purchased because the stock of the Company was falling in the market. The story on the Stock Exchange had bean, that the company was not the sort of specula tion likely to take. That a foreign adventure, with hard names and very florid descriptions, was the popular commo dity. That too much was known of the adventure in ques tion for effect, &c. In consequence of these opinions, it bad been at one time contemplated to buy up the outstand ing shares, and put an end to Company, paying any loss which had been incurred ; but in the end, there had ap peared to be no necessity for such a measure. The fifth charge was one to which he (3lr. Wilke) would earnestly beg to desire for a few momexts the attention of the House. —(Order, order.)—lt stated that he had not been him self entitled to the mines at the time when he had sold them. This statement was wholly unfounded. He had agreed for the mines at the time in question, and had paid a deposit on them. It was said that his agreement with the original proprietors was conditional. Certainly it was conditional ; and it was so conditional at the desire of the proprietors ; and he would tell the House why. When be went to purchase the mines, the original proprietors asked "Do you mean to work them ?" He said, " : I mean to sell them." The proprietors then said, " Our agree ment must be conditional; because the mines must, at all events, be worked. We are bound, by our holding, to work them in a given time ; and as your i. , :ention is not to work, but to sell them, our contract must he, that unless they are in operation within a fixed time, they shall return to us." But that arrangement was merely one of conve nience. If there was a doubt that the sale by the proprietors of the mines to him had been absolute—here was the proof—they were suing him for the money. Thus, he had paid part of the original purchase-money for the mines—he had paid up his deposits upon the shares that he had in the Company ; but that which the Company owed to him he was not to be paid ? The Company had the Mines ; they had the title-deeds of them ; they had worked them, and exercised every kind of acts of owner ship over them ; but they objected to pay fur them. It was said that he had neglected to tender the Company a title. He could make a title to them to-morrow; but that they held his deeds, and would not allow him even their inspection. In short, a case of more gross hardship had never been put upon any individual. The Company dis puted the price which they were to pay him for the Mines : had they paid even the sum which he had paid to the original owner ? The whole that they had paid him was 54,00.7. lie himself had to pay 78,0001., and the sum he was to receive was 121,000/. The object of this peti tion was sufficiently clear : the issues at law connected with these transactions, were to be tried in a few days, and a prejudice was to be cast upon the minds of the public to his injury. It was easy to talk; but that which was known to be said and listened to within the walls of the House of Commons, could not fail to have some effect beyond them. But he would not be intimidated. He feared no legal examination, nor any inquiry that was fair and candid. The Company in question was, at least, no bubble. There was the property,—the mines. and the machinery, and the produce,—worth still, with proper management, all that had been paid fur it.— That he thought the Company a prosperous specula tion, there was, at least, one circumstance of proof, he had been a holder of two thousand shares in it. The ninth charge in the petition, and there was only two more ---(laughter,)—was, that 42,5001. had been divided by the directors. In the face of the House and the public he de nied this. When the mines had been sold to him by the company, not one word had ever been said like a division of profit among the directors. At a time subsequent to that transaction, there were some individuals—one of them a person who had become a director, others who were share holders, and others who were not either shareholders or directors—who heel assisted him materially ; and to those persons he had stated that he should certainly make them some compensation for the trouble they had taken. Upon one point, however, it was fit he should be perfectly expli cit to three Hon. Members of that House—the Hon. Mem ber for Cambridge, tFe Hon. Member for Dublin, and the Hon. Member for Durham : to neither of these three Hon. Members had he presented any gratuity whatever. In fact, the Hon. Members Lad been of no use to him, of no assis tance whatever.—(Laughter.)—There was only one Hon. Member of that House to whom he had presented a gratuity; and that bad been out of his own money. not sets of the money of the Company. In doing this he had dune no more than fairly to remunerate the Honourable Gentle man for his service that he had performed. He bad only behaved as a British merchant e•eht to do, and as he would do again in the same situation. In the charge that the mines were not worth the money that had been given for them, his surprise was upon what. pretence the petitioners could presume to state this. One of the very persons who had signed the present petition --(Mr. Hammond), was one of the same individuals who had investigated tbe Mines, and distinctly given his opinion at the time of the purchase, that the speculation was a fit, and likely to be a prosperous one. He would not deal as harshly with the Hon. Alderman as the Hon. Alderman bad done with him. He refrained, because he would not wound his feelings, by any reference to the proceedings respecting certain transactions which be thought unneces sary to name. He would, however, put it to the Hon. Alderman what utility could there be in this proceeding? Any proceeding in the House must prejudice the prosecu tions which must come to issue, unless the parties chose to refer their rights to the arbitration of some honourable men. How were the shareholders to be benefitted ? Would the House supersede the public tribunals? That could not be. For the claims of the shareholders there could be no other resource than the verdict of a jury or the award of faithful arbitrators. Suppose that the House should be induced to interfere, could it restore the money to the subscribers? He might say, without losing sight of the respect which was really due to its authority, what right had the House to interfere with his transactions as an indivi dual,transactions which had taken place full IS months before he had thought of canvassing for the honour of a seat there ? —He remarked upon the small proportion of the share holders who had signed the petition. The House would of course follow the doctrine observed in other cases, that if the matter of accusation were capable of being tried at law or in equity, the charge ought to go first to one or other of those tribunals. What was there in this parti cular case to distinguish it from those which were subject to that safe and proper rule ? He complained of the use made of the proceedings on the Lrigna Mining Associa tion. The evidence was not actually published, but state ments were put forth from day to day, preceded with " It appeared quite clear," or " The Committee had reason to believe," and so forth, all of which must have the effect of defeating the ends of juctice. Again, he begged pardon of the House for taking up so much time. If they did actually suffer the petition to lie on the table, he trusted that it would not be printed. In the mean time the trials would proceed, and after the issues should be tried the Hon. Alderman might come up with his report. He (Mr. Wilks) would welcome him, and he promised to be in his place on that day. Mr. BANKES said, that under the circumstances it was plainly not possible for this petition to be entertained by the House. Mr. ROBINSON could not see how the House could put by this Petition, after the assurance given to the Hon. Alderman, by the Right Hon. Foreign Secretary, that if he would put a specific case of fraud on any future occa sion, it would certainly receive the attention of the House. Without in the least degree prejudicing the case of the Hon. Member for Sudbury, enough had been shown to demand inquiry.—He would ask the Hon. Member for Sudbury himself, if this was a state in which he would like to have the question left? In the former petition (alluding, as we understood, to the Arigna Mining Association), the gentle men "ho were accused stood up in their places, and de rnande' the inquiry. He had heard that there were par ties who were prosecuting for the recovery of the money which they had advanced under the direction of the Hon. Gentleman. He knew nothing of these parties, but he could not help thinking that they were right in refusing to compl e t e the purchase, if the mines were not such a pro perty as had been described to them.—(" Question, ques tion ;" " hear, hear.")—He contended finally, that when M e mb ers were accused of offences, such as those in the Pe titian, the House was bound to inquire into them. Mr. D. W. HARVEY begged the H ouse to consider its functions. They had that awful and imposing power of calling parties and witnesses before them ; but were without the power of a dministering the oaths which were to secure them from perjury. He admitted if in the generally disturbed stated of Administration it were pro pased,,that the Hon. Member s hould succeed Lord Liver .i"stlyi with such a petition before them , pb4 they might se t tee upon the doubt, that, however powerful his talents, he might not possess the moral strength of character which belonged tg , that nobleman ; because it was plain that though many would ha-e no hesitation in trusting to his professional dexterity, there were sonic who had not an equal confidence in his professional integrity. There was, however, another view of it. The Hon. Gentleman was an attorney of the Court of King's Bench, a tribunal which was not overbuidened with delicacy towards airy of its officers against whom redress was sought, nor was the public affection for that body of men so great as to make probable that they would withhold their complaints. Had any affidavits been prepared and presented to the Court for the removal of his name from the Rolls? If so, and the Court had concurred that he was a disgrace to his profession, he could not he an orna ment to the House, aad ought to be expelled. But the House would remember that he (Mr. Wills) had appealed to a pretty large constituent body at the late ele:Aion. if the Corporation of Sudbury hail been really so profligate as to choose what they considered a real representation of themselves, let them complain. If they Ilan returned one damnified in reputation, and prejudiced in character, as their Member, the House, if they so considered him, should return him back to his constituents; but, before they did this, they were bound to wait for the decision . of the Courts, from which he wished the Hon. Member a good deliverance.—(Laughter.)—He meant out of the Courts of Law ; because, as for his deliverance from the Court of Equity, neither of them could hope to live to see that. If any accusation, founded upon record of those Courts, should be forthcoming, he would then vote for an inquiry, and if the character of the accused could not be re-established, not by flaws and quibbles, but in a manner which would prove the Hen. Member fit for a seat in a House of Honour, his constituents ought to have an opportenity of selecting a better man. Mr. Alderman WAITHMAN, in reply, said, that if ever a case deserved inquiry it was that before the House. As to the motives attributed to him, he did not expect such an imputation from the Hon. Member (Mr. Nirilks.) When the Hon. Member was brought before him, he had not ex ercised any particular severity towards him, and the Hon. Member had felt himself bound to thank him for his le niency. However, the question for the House to deter mine was—had the petition, with regard to its own merits, and the character and dignity of the House, sufficient claims upon their attention to be entertained. He would impute no harsh motives to the Hon. Member, but he Must say, that he (Mr. Wilks) of all men living, was the last man in the world with whom he would trust himself without the presence of a third person.—(Cries of " Or der" from all parts of the House.) The SPEAKER.—Whatever the Hon. Member may think, common decency requires that he should express himself in language more becoming the dignity of this as eembly.—(Cheers.) Mr. Alderman WAITHMAN confessed that, in the warmth of the moment, he might have exceeded the bounds of moderation. He would say then, that he had waited a week for the Hon. Member ; that he had shown him every courtesy ; that he had left a copy of the petition at the vote office for him ; and when, after all this, he heard such statements made by the Hon. Member, what he (Alder man Waithman) meant to say, was, that he should he afraid to trust himself in any conference with the Hon. Member without a witness. With this explanation, he bowed to the correction of the chair. He contended that even upon the Hon. Member's own showing, enough had been made out to call for further inquiry to ch eck this scandalous and delusive system. There was likewiee the Welsh Iron Company— Mr. WILKS rose to order, and complained that the Worthy Alderman was travelling out of the petition, and introducing irrelevant matter. Mr. Alderman WAITHMAN insisted that the affairs of the Welsh Iron Company were referred to in this petition, and the Honourable Member for Liverpool (General Gas coyne) would not consent to lend his name to that specula tion. _ Mr. WILK S again rose to order, and said that be was at issue with the Honourable Alderman as to the Welsh Iron Company having any reference to this petition ; the petition wee on the table, and let the House decide between them. . Mr. Alderman WAITHAIAN resumed exactly where he was interrupted, and said that not had the Honoura ble Member for Liverpool refused to allow his name to that Company, but he had also returned a cheque sent to him. WILKS again rose to order. The SPEAKER here interposed, and said that the Honourable Gentleman (Mr. Wilke) was a new Member, and had better rely on the judgment of others, than upon his own, for seeing when the House was or was not in a state of disorder. Mr. Alderman WAITHMAN continued, that the con duct of the Hon. Member for Liverpool had been most becoming on the occasion to which he had alluded. He implored the House to pursue this inquiry; here was pal pably a suspicious transaction, in which some of their own Members had been deeply engaged. One Hou. Member had avowedly participated in the money arising out of them.—(A cry of name, and we understood the worthy Alderman to name Mr. Barrett.) ----He begged of them to recollect that the memory of the last Parliament was tainted in the public mind for the had reputation so me o f its Members had acquired, by passing bills in which they had direct personal interest. Let the present Parliament purge itself of such a suspicion, and discountenanc e all prac tises of so disreputable a character.—(Hear, hear.) --He could assure them, that had he not discouraged the presen tation of petitions pending a late investigation, he should hare bad to bring down 50 instead of one for their notice. This very day a poor man called upon him, who ha d lost every shilling he had in the world by on e of these schemes. Mr. WILKS—Name him. The SPEAKER—Order. Mr. Alderman WAITHMAN in c onclusion said, that he knew another man who had cut his throat, and left eleven children the victims of these speculations ; others had been driven into the Gazette by them ; and one man he knew had become from the same cause so hampered, that his wife fell into insanity therefrom. Indeed a volume could be filled with similar cases. He called upon the Se cretary of State, who stood so high in rblic estimation, to lend his hand to inquiries into these fraudulent and disas trous schemes. Mr. WILKS complained that the conduct of the worthy Alderman had been moat un parliamentary. The petition was then ordered to lie on the table; a nd when Mr. Alderman WAITIMAK further moved that it be printed, Mr. WILKS trusted the H ouse wou ld not a ll o w this allegations. as to future proceedings, having no personal libel upon himself and other Hen. Members to be p rint e d and circulated pending a legal inquiry into the truth of its Alderman WAITIIMAN was entirely in the hands o a l f l e i‘t g hf a re t . House feeling whatev er b e y on d a d es i re to see j us tice done. He would not, ho we ver, pr ess hi s motion now for printing th e petition, but content himself with g i v i ng notice, th a t soon after the recess he should move that it be referred for the consideration of a Select Committee.—(Hear, hear.) FOREIGN CONSULS. Mr. CANNING appeared at the bar, with papers con taining copies of instructions circulated among the British Consuls in France and the Netherlands, which were laid on the table. BREACH OF PRIVILEGE. On the motion of Mr. CANNING, the Order of the Day was read for the attendanc e o f M r. H. C. J enn i ngs (who had written certain threatenin g l e tt er s to Mr. Peel.) The SPEAKER inquired of the Sergeant at Arms, whe ther Mr. J e nnings was in att en d ance , an d on being inform ed in the affirmative, he was conducted to the bar. The SPEAKER—" What is your name ?" Mr. Jennings—" Henry Constantine Jennings." The SPEAKER--" Look at those letters" —(sending them to him by one of the clerks of the House)—.‘ there are three of them, were they written by you?" Mr. Jennings_4 , They were, Sir." The SPEAKER--" Have you any observation, or ex planation, which you wish to offer, upon having written them ?" Mr. Jennings, in a v ery feeble tone of ♦oice, replied, a. we u n derstood him, that he was very ill at the time he wrote them, as the papers which he had in his hand would show, as well as in great anxiety of mind ; but upon reflec tion, he was extremely sorry for having written them. Mr. Pzu, and Mr. CANNING/ immediately rose, but a loud call for the former ensued, and after Mr. Jennings was withdrawn from the bar, Mr. PEEL begged to be excused, for the apparent irre gularity of his wishing to say a word, while his Right Hon. Friend was in possession of the House ; he was merely de sirous of saying, that after the appearance and demeanour of Mr. Jenningli at the bar, the House would not, perhaps, call for the production of the papers to which he referred, as corroborative of his illness. And after the acknowledg ment of his error, he thought the House would come to the conclusion, that he had done enough to wipe away his offence. Mr. CANNING however ungracious it might appear for him, upon this occasion, to differ in some slight degree from his Right Hon. Friend, must remind him that there were some preliminary steps which must take place b e fore the subject could be terminated. After the menace of th is individual against one of their Members, the least that could be done was to reprimand him from the Chair. ("ear.) On the motion of Mr. CANNING, it was resolved that Henry Constantine Jennings had been guilty of a breach of privilege, and that he be reprimanded for the same - by 0 ,6 Speaker. Mr. HUME waa sorry for the latter part of the motive'' It was, he was aware, quite consistent with the usage 19, that House to proceed as they had just done ; but yet it ve o rather important for the public to understand whether 0 Hon. Member was competent to use erroneous expreseie in that House respecting any private individual, and to ells' regard two cr three successive applications to correct le" errcr ; and when the person injured threatened to reel/ from the gallery (he admitted an indefensible and irregula r mode of reply), that he was to suffer under their censure. Mr. CANNING believed the House fully understood was his intention, after the reprimand from the Chair, tbei this individual should be discharged. It was impossible i° overlook such an offence, however becoming was the ape logy offered in extenuation of it, without this mark of their disapprobation.---(Hear, ber.) On the motion of Mr. CANNING, Mr. Jennings S% again called to the bar, and reprimanded by the Speaker' He was afterwards discharged, and the Speaker's repri . mend directed to be entered on the journals of the House , The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER moved ( 0 , we understood) that the Committee of Supply be postpone' till Wednesday next. Mr. A. ELLIS made a few observations totally Maudlin' in the gallery. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER o' 4 , that there had arisen circumstances which ewe' the duty of considering what should be done wi th York House to devolve upon his Majesty's 6° ' vernment. No one could doubt the impropriety o f eor vertiug that building into an hotel, or an y thie4 of that kind. It seemed to him to he desirable t ° appropriate the building to public purposes, if possibl e If it could be made the receptacle of public pictures, thought that it would be much better than to build a fin e place for that purpose, at the expense of the Crown, as Hon. Friend had proposed. There were at' es over som e of the rooms in the present exhibition, but over the c entre , there was a very good light, and if it were floored, it woo l ' snake a magnificent room. The large gallery to the eel° might be lighted above, because there was no rood', above it. To have had the exhibition of the ReY 3 ' Academy at York House, would have been wrong, b e cale" it would be then out of the way of passengers : at pl . '', sent it had a central and proper position. The 1 1 °), 1 ,' Academy was o p en o n ly a f e w m o nth s i n the y ea r, why: the National Gallery was open all the year r ound' As to making the building the residence for an Heir Ar, parent or Qu een Dowager, - it never once entered his heed' In point of f ac t, G overnment was not yet i n possess i o n ° the bnilding. The pirties qualified to sell it had not il l submitted their terms to Government : they were, that fore, not yet in actual possession, and to do any thing t r der these circumstances wo u ld b e i mposs ibl e w i t h ou t the sanction of the House. He would say a word or two re' specting encroachments on the Park. It was originelli proposed to bring the buildings more forward in Sir'', cage-walk, but that had been abandoned, - and the pregef: intention was to build houses by the Barracks, and to 01 3 ' a public thoroughfare from Storey's Gate to Buckinghel Gate.—(Hear, bees.)—He thought that this would be; very great convenience, and that no one could find fa° with the appropriation of the shabby piece of ground Buckingham-house. Nothing could be further from 111 ' wish than to encroach upon the Park. Sir J. NEWPORT hoped that no additional expel i , would be incurred, while the people were labouring nea t ' their present distresses. Mr. MABERLY begged that the Right Hon. Geatlei man would re co ll ec t th at hi s s i n ki ng f un d o f 5 ,0 00,00°' was nearly extinct, and that in 1828 there would be a a e ; ficiency of 2,000,0001. by the non-sale of his dead weir, annuities. He hoped that the House would not encouraF the Right Hon. Gentleman in plunging into any fresh as pence. Mr. BANKES said, that the Right Hon. Gentlenis had given them to understand that the public would be Yaj to no expense for these buildings, but it, was now clear th3° some expense would he inclined for York-house. It 1 11 , certainly his wish that in times like these the public s hoo!' not be burdened with any extra expense. Mr. R. COLBORNE hoped that this question would be deferred till after the holidays. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said, the' an Act bad been passed in which there were clauses wh ich enabled enabled the Marquis of Exeter and others to make e ertO t improvements near Exeter 'Change ; but he believed the nothing had yet been done. An Hon. lIIEMBEIt, whose name we could not leer' hoped that the portico before Carlton Palace would preserved, and used for some other building. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said, tb# to adapt a portico to a building might be easy enough, bi to adapt buildings to a portico was not by any means 01 ' easy a matter. He had certainly never mounted a ladder' and examined the columns, but he was pretty contideP that the freize could not be worked over again. Mr. PEEL thought that York-house was a very apprc: priate place for pictures, especially when its situation e l considered ; it must be recollected that it was betwee l . Buckingham and St. James's Palace. He thought the: persons who frequented the National Gallery did 0 ° generally come in carriages, and that the access was, there: fore, not of much importance. The access to the Marge ° of Stafford's gallery, which, with great liberality, AP thrown thrown open to the public, had never yet been found cularly inconvenient. He thought that it was not at si c necessary that the academy should be near the residence ° the artiste who exhibited pictures there. Mr. A. ELLIS said, that young artists always went 117 the academy to study. Mr. PEEL did not apprehend that this was a l , () by' tion. If room could be found for the Royal Society, th e Society of Antiquaries, and Royal Academy, under one roof, he thought that it would be a very great thing. Mr. R. COLBORNE asked if it were intended to r r move the statues to the British Museum. doubts on this 1 4..._ ._ _ weretsall sdiffiocuslti leegs,alsubject.The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER sa id, tlit l therei remove Try serious the case of Mr. Payne Knight's b ronzes , f or instance, the were b e queathed to th e B r i t i sh Museum, to he kept will: o ther collections in th a t p l ace. An Act of P ar li tu nee° the House would thi n k i t no light matter to interfere w it' but he was quite sure tht i bequests of thi s nature. After a few wor d s f rom Colonel TRENCH;, CANNIN G said, that t h e quest i on to be cons id er ed was, wh e th er Y or k - h ouse cou ld b e appropr i ated to pu bli': purpo ses . F or h i s own part , h e th oug h t i t might b e v ef) mgh judiciously so appropriated. At the re-assembling of tliO House, he was quite sure that it would be thought a veil great nuisance if this building were found to have bee turned into a tavern, or any thing of that kind. As l e , what h a d b een sa id respecting its being the residence of heir appar e nt, nothing of the kind was contemplated. The Committee was then postponed. On the motion of Mr. C. GRANT, the order of tb / 6 day for th e further consideration of the Corn Duties 1 3 i' was read. Mr. LEYCESTER rose, but spoke in so low a to° that it was impossible to hear the whole of the Hon. Men' her's observations. We understood him to say, that b e objected to the measure, because its tendency was to WO: lice the agricultural interests of this country to those of Go' many, and to make the English gentleman subservient 0° the German Baron. Mr. BERNAL objected particularly to the clause whi ci ' related to the reciprocity of duties. Mr. C. GRANT said, the purport of the clause t° which the Hon. Gentleman referred was this—that if an}' foreign nation should impose a higher duty on the impor tation of merchandise from this country than was la id hi ,l this country on th e goo d s o f th a t f ore i gn na tion, it s h ou t, then be i n th e power o f hi s M a j esty , the Privy Council, to prohibit the importation of core strict analog! from that nation. This he took to be in with that relaxation of the restrictive system of this countd, which had been recognized in Parliament. Whatever luo been the nature sr extent of that re laxation, a po wer had always been reserved to this c ountry of vindicat' ing it s claims on such foreign n ations as should be die' of the British Govern' posed to abuse the generosity the intercourse of other countries with our West In, men t . pi i ,1.ti11e18..22 as , ~ , e when offereda l3 _ i I t l a: w t Ie been Witha s i r s 0 : cu d t ol i dg m ersenilzaoaedttdivng t i : dig colonies, the principle h acted on, for a clause was inserted there to the effec that such foreign countries as did not extend to us the w re e lax w a e t n io t n stil lvl same themselves of the duties were in a great measure removed, we reserved t ourselves a power of exempting from the operation of d further, licil th a e n d ß a i l l t l ho P t r i ° g P li °4 , i which should not agree to a f e l ; ciprocal re laxation. The clause in question was preciseo the same , and the principle which Parliament had so of t . / 0 , ae tcd upon was recognized and preserved in it. That prig ' le did cipnet extend to a prohibition ; but merely reserv, to this country th e power of vindicating such claims i 1.5 ?, were fairly entitled to make. It was not a peremptory f arbitrary power, but such a one as was necessary for ' 9 ` o l relief I ieefffecatl.l foirneiglnB2n3ations own prot ec ti on . If th e f ore i gn na tion should recede f receded from ;'':, that whi c h oug ht t o b e gran t e d, then we ce - ela.xation, and brought the prohibition into effect ag,,be it. He thought he had now expla ined the principle 44