The Sun. — London, England, 1825-06-29 00:00:00

lured at Nagpore, that " the booty taken at 'Womb, Mahide House.; for though the lion. and Learned Oentleman stae a pore, and Nagpore respectively, should belong to the divisions that the witnesses were at hand and ready to be examined, he of the Deccan army engaged in the respective operations iu (Mr. Tremayne) believed that no order was actually made to which. the same was captured ; " that no part of the booty that effect. Not being at all personally acquainted with Mr. should be granted to the East India Company ; and that a Kenrick or his affairs, he dill not intend to address the House grant of the•entire - spoil should be matte to trustees ""for-the on the subject of the petition, but had-felt it to be his duty, on purpose of ascertaining and collecting the said booty, and for being applied to, to present it. preparing a scheme for the distribution thereof , co nformably to The petition was then-read. It set Forth that the petitioner the principle above stated," and subject to the ultimate sanction had been taken by surprise' by 'the order made by this Ho of his Majesty. nourable House fete examining,a great oumber of witnesses on That by his Majesty's warrant, bearing date 22d March, a certain charge brought against the petitioner by J. Franks; 1823, founded on and embodying the Treasury minute, a grant that the petitioner had not had sufficient notice of this order to of the booty was made to his Grace the Duke of Wellington and enable bins to prepare suckinstructions for his Counsel as might the Right Hon. Charles Arbuthnot, as trustees, for the pnr- enable them to cross-examine such witnesses ; and he prayed es specfied in the minute. to be allowed further time for that purpose. pos That no n distribution of aoy part of the proceeds of the booty Mr. DENMAN was not sure that this petition would mate has'yei been made. rially alter the course which he had originally proposed toe:lke. That your petitioner having a deep personal in terest in the The substance of the charge to which on it the related, preceding n and which grant, and feeling a strong sympathy with h is brother officers, was the subject of the paper he had it • and with the soldiers who have served under him in circum- laid on the table, he had stated a fortnight ago. The wit stances of peculiar privation and danger, has made repeated ap- nesses which at the same time he expressed an intention of call plications to the general prize agent in England, Major Wood, ing were now in attendance, and ready to be examined. N ow anti to the law agent of the army, for information respecting lin regard to Mr. Kenrick's - wish for store time to instruct the proceedings of the trustees, and more especially as to the his Counsel with a view to enable them to cross-examine views taken by them of the large and complicated claims of the M those witnesses, he (lir. Denman) could have no objection to army, in respect of booty seized by the civil servants of the its being complied with. He did not understand that the East India Company, and as to the extent and manner in which House at to-morrow (this day), and he would therefore pro they have enforced or proposed to enforce such claims. But pose that those witnesses should attend on Thursday, by your petitioner has found them entirely unable to afford him which time Mr. Kenrick would have had time enough to any authentic information on these subjects; and he haslearned prepare himself. It had been intimated to him (Mr. Den with surprise and reeret, from the correspondence which has man), that in respect of the case of Franks, however, Mr. passed- between the Trustees and Lieut.-Gen. Sir T: Ilislop, Kenrick would not be able for some time to prepare instruc that ever since October, 1823, all communication between them tions and to procure evidence to meet them, in which case and the trustees has been refused by the latter and withheld, it was suggested that that matter must stard over till next although your petitioner is wholly unable , to discover in that Session. It did not to him, he confessed, seem necessary to correepondence any adequate cause or reason whatever for this do any 'such thing. The witnesses were now i the spot, sudden changes. of the conduct of the trustees, from that liberal and -might not be got together again hereafter without great and satisfactory course which they appear originally to have difficulty, if at all. At any rate, they, might he examined, been disposed to adopt. . • the charge might be gone into, ay.(' the answer would stand 'That your petitioner is painfully sensible of the vital in). over, for which Mr. Kenrick would have so :much the more -- .. time- But in this, as in all other parts of the case, he de . sired to say, that he felt himself entirely at the disposal of the House. The papers were printed, and in .theilarals of Hon. Alembers ; therefore the contents must be, by this time, tolerably well known to Mr. Kenrick himself, and must have so from the moment, - almost, that they were first printed.— After the Petition - that had been presented from that Gentle man, he (Mr. Denman) certainly would not, as he had in tended, move to call in the witnesses in Franks's case now, but he would move that-motion-on Thursday. Mr. PEEL, admitting that this was a most grave end serious question, did not mean to say much upon the expediency of that House's proceeding to examine witnesses to the charge which had been brought forward on the preceding evening, in the paper introduced by the Hon. and Learned Gentleman. The accusa tion in this case involved two charges of the gravest kind ; but at the same time they were such as might he tried by the men nary tribunals of the law ; and seeing that no proceedings -ap peared to have been taken in respect of them in any--of those tribunals, - he (Mr. Peel) did think it-very doubtfunwhether the House should hear witnesses to either charge. . If Air. Kenrick had brought forward a charge of felony against Mr. Franks, which was. unfounded, and of which Franks had been- acquitted, the charge against Mr. Kenrick, - he presumed, would be one of wanton and malicious prosecution. If Mr. Kenrick had pub lished a letter in a certain newspaper, containing a libel on Franks, then there was also a charge of a malicious and •un lbunded libel against • Mr..Kenrick. In either case, however, why not bring an action at common law ? In respect to the in.: stitution of the proposed inquiry, he put it to the Hon. and Learned Gentleman whether it was possible, with any degree of justice to the Hausa , at large, and- to the course of public busi ness, to enter upon it in the way proposed ? He understood that it was not till one o'clock .that afternoon that Air. Kenrick knewany thing of this second charge being brought forward. He had only had the interval, therefore, between one and four o'clock for instructing Counsel, and no opPortunity at all for getting witnesses, if he proposed to call any. It might be very necessary that he should have time for that object, however, for' ' the purpose of .showing what the character of Franks was. Of . that person's character he (Mr. Peel) knew nothing, except from what appeared on the printed papers. It might be very important to Mr. Kenrick -to show that the, character of -Franks was such as to warrant the suspicions he seemed to have enter taieed against him. Sure he (Air. Peel) was, that if this in ' quiry were now begun, they must go on and through with it ; for he could not at all assent to that proposition of the • Honourable and' Learned Gentleman to take the charge against Mr. Kenrick first, and the. answer next Session. , Wag it after that charge Should have been carried and circulated in every direction, as the House well , knew it would be, espe cially in that part of the ccuntry where Mr. Kenrick resided— was it possible that six months afterwards the House could agree to take the answer of the individual to it ?—(ilear !) The case-charged on. Franks's part against Mr. Kenrick was one of great moral weight and responsibility, whatever might be its legal complexion ; but he was still at a loss to know why no steps had been taken in the ordinary course of - legal pro ceedings. Be considered that all these facts were well known to the parties long ago ; but he did not suppose that the ion: and Learned Gentleman was at all influenced by the circum stance of his having'been Counsel against . Mr. Kenrick in one of the prosectitions that had been instituted against him ; yet he certainly must have known of these facts souse time sinte Most of them were known in October, 1E124 ; all of them before the Ist of February, 1825; and yet the Hon. and - Learned Gen tleman, even, had allowed Mr. Kenrick to go to his circuit with all these charges hanging about his neck. He hoped he had now satisfied the House, and even the Fenn and Learned Gen tleman himself, of the impossibility of now going into this in quiry.—(Hear!)—The Address of that House to the Crown, proving it to remove Mr. Kenrick from his situation as a Welch Judge, would be of no avail ; unless there was an address also to the sante effect from the Upper House, who would of course previously institute an inquiry of their own, and examine evi dence themselves to the charges.—(H ear !) Mr. DENMAN, observing from the general impression of the House and so much of the statement of the Right Hon. Gentleman as he had been able to collect, that it was not the desire of lion. Gentlemen to proceed at present with Franks's case, would feel it to be his duty mot to press it further now ; (Hear !)—but he would certainly bring it forward next Session, unless in the mean time circumstances should occur very tnae. rially to change his view of the case ; otherwise he would then introduce the subject in its present or some other shape, as might appear to him to be most expedient. He would now take the liberty of moving that the Committee on Cantor's petition should resume its sitting. W YNN thought the Hon. and Learned Member had acted most properly in withdrawing his motion. The motion was then withdrawn. • Upon the Order of the Day for the House going into a Com mittee upon the petition of Martin Cantor, Mr. DENAIAN said that has the Committee for which he had moved,.•andao the. consideration of which belied thought it his duty- to submit certain considerations, had resumed its labours, he would -take the liberty of congratulating the Hon. Members who composed it, upon their not coming toany pre- , violls Resolution of applause or censure upon the conduct ofellr. :Kenrick. They had, he thought, reason to rejoice in agreeing not to enter into any other discussion concerning facts, which .merely proved on -satisfactory evidence, before the papery were printed and placed in the hands of them all.- They would now, form theinjudgm•ent, not after a meager debate, nor influenced by the eloquence of Counsel, but they would come to a decision after nail and .mature deliberation. He would beg to make a few remarks, upon the cross examination of the witness at their Bar. lie did not allude to any of the answers, for they did not require explanation n but -some of the questions were not, he thought, equally clear. „Many inquiries were made of witness as to the time and object of presenting his petition, and the sup, port he received from those who thought thernselys interested. For himself he would declare most absolutely, that he knew nothing of the petition until it was put into his bands, and lie was informed by a respectable friend' that it was intended to present' it to the House. Ile admitted some of the facts were known to him by what occurred at jhe Bar, -what he read in the News papers, and from affidavine made in the Court of King's Bench i Under the circumstances he did not feel warranted n refusing to resent the petition, which lie thought most-worthy of serious attention. He presented the -petition concerning this Act in conjunction with statements of much more insportance, -and of which if the individual were guilty it would be impossible for him to remain. in re high place of judicial trust. He. did not bring forward this case alone ' • he'brought it forward with that of Frank s , so t h a t h e c o u ld not be met by the supposition that he relied upon this insulated matter. He thought the -entire. conduct of Mr. Kenrick, as a Magistrate, was liable to much animadversion ; and here he felt in a peculiar situa tion from the nature of the audience which he had the honour to address. The Menibers of that House were in fact a special Jury of Magistrates performing their duties—he was well aware with honour to themselves and utility to the coun try, but perhaps no: free from a certain degree of sympathy Or persons holding the same office—who were of course the best andges of the motives that may influence Magistrates, but also tinctured by prejudices in their favour. Of the advantage to be derived from this defence he did not wish to deprive AI r.Kenrick. If the conduct of this individual as a Magistrate were general, it should be departed from as such acts made a magistrate liable to just reprehension, and deprived his character of that useful ness and respect which it ought to possess- The testimony of Canfor at the Bar was said to be flippant and arroga nt, bu t to bring it into discredit it should be shaken in some im p ortant point. The Learned Gentleman alluded to the comments made upon the motives of Mr. Canfor, which he contended were ut terly immaterial. It was no wonder he should have appeared ner vous and agitated at the bar, being for the firstaime among per portance of stich nornmunica" don to the interests of the army, and of the stranoe and embarrassing situation in which they are placed while it is 'denied. Your petitioner has heard, though, from the system of secrecy adopted, he cannot confi dently assert, that a sum of about 100,0001. has been realized and admitted to be due to the captors, but your petitioner be lieve-. that such sum, though large in itself, is small, when compared with the claims urged by the prize agents and the prize committees on the spot, to the whole booty seized by the exertions of the army, part of which has been appropriated to the use of the Indian Government ; part restored without com pensation to the defeated enemy ; part perhaps lost, or frittered away ; and part secured by the civil servants of the Company under the very protection of the army by whom it was won. That the anxiety of your petitioner is increased by a report which is prevalent among the army, that several of the most important heads of claim have been abandoned ; and that it has been arranged to receive from the Directees a sum wholly ina dequate even to satisfy those which have been nominally ad mitted, though your petitioner is convinced that such an arrangement -would not have been made, nor would the 'Direc tors have desired it, if liaise who can best understand and ex plain the cause of tile army had been allowed to share in the discussions, and to bring the information, which they can com municate, to hear on the questions in issue And your petitioner humbly submits that it never could be intended to exclude the artny, by their agents, from all knowledge of.- proceedings in which the bounty of the Crown has-given them the sole inte rest, and to .subject them to that uncertainty and sense of help lessness. which such exclusion after long disappointment and - delay has cast upon them. That your petitioner humbly submits not only that the amount of the general- fend to be distributed will be greatly lessened by the want of timely communication, but that with out such communieation it will be impossible to prepare a satisfactory scheme of distribution of the funds 'Which may remain according to die principle recognised in his 3lajesty's warrant. As the booty is to be appropriated respectively to the dial , siota of the Deccan army, engaged in the respective operations in which it was captured, die scheme must, as your peti tioner apprehends, set forth the particular capturss in which. the various portions of the army are respectively to share, as well as direct the number of shares which the different ranks of these portions are to receive. To prepare a scheme of this na`ure, applicable to a most complicated series of operations, width extended over a vast field of exertion, seems impossible, wit'out constant reference to those who were on the spot, and who have employed years in collecting and arranging information applicable to the delicate questions which may arise, and who have the - means of communicating with the witnesses of . the - various exploits - ,to be • rewarded. I our petitioner himself having served - both - with the fourth and the reserve divisions, feels that his own individual claims, and of the brave men whom he had the honour and satisfaction to have under his immediate command, are in peculiar danger of wanting due appreciation, from their liability to be misundirstood or confounded by the trustees, - however anxious they may be, and your petitioner doubts not are, to do justice. And ydur petitioner, from his knowledge of tne scene and the nature of the operations, is convinced that from that cause the wise and just principle of distribution sb clear 4 developed, and so strongly insisted do in his Majesty's Warrant, must in many instances be defeated. That your petitioner has been mainly induced to pray for the . interposition of your Honourable Ilouse, by his knowledge of the wants and the anxieties of the surviving portions of the army in Engler I—he knows that many of its most active and meri torious ofi . :eers and soldiers have died since its termination, leav ing widows and orphans in circumstances calculated to excite the strongest sympathy—and he is most anxious, not only on his own behalf, but on behalf of his suffering comrades, that their claims, if disallowed, should at least have the privilege of a hearing—that information procured by the labour of years should . not be' rendered useless—and that their hopes, existed by the bounty of the Crown, long che rished and long delayed, should not be defeated at last by any unfortunate misunderstanding with those who have been appointed to watch over their interests and to assert their just claims. Your petitioner therefore humbly prays your Honourable House to institute such inquiries, and to grant such relief in the premises, as to your wisdom shall seem meet. And your petitioner shall ever pray. &c. BRITISH CLAIMS ON SPAIN. Lord JOHN - RUSSELL, seeing the Right Hon. Secretary • for 'Foreign Affairs in his place, - wished to ask a question on a subject of great importance. lie hoped the Right lioneGen tle.man's reply would comprise such general information as he might have it in his power to communicate upon 'the point.— The Noble Lord then added, that he wanted -to know - what progress had been made by that Commission which had been established for the settiantent of claims by British subjects on the Spanish Government? Perhaps the Right Hon. .Gentle man would state in his reply, what was the amount of the claims which had been brought before the Commissioners e and what was the amount of claims which fly Commissioners nominated on the part of Spain had acceded to. — l . ll ear !) • :Jr. CANNING in reply said, the amount of claims which had, up to this time been broUght forward, was, he believed, about 2,009,0901., but he by no means meant to pledge him- . eelf that that would be the whole amount to be brought for ward. What had been the proportion of them that was al.: . lowed, it was not tas we understood the Right Hon. Gentle man) in his power to inforin • the Noble Lord. .He did not mean to deny that every possible impediment had been thrown in the way of the Commission, by conduct on the part of Spain which he could not describe as very becoming—(Hear, hear!), —namely, by the constant changing of the Commissioners in behalf of the Spanish Captors. On the part of the British Go vernment, every desire had been felt to make all possible pro gress in the objects of the Commission - with the- least possible delay. It was proper to add, that unfortunately, even in respect of what adjustments it had effected, money, the most essential result of all, was still not forthcoming.—( Hear !) Lord JOHN RUSSELL said a few words which were in audible in the gallery. lelr. CANNING suggested that there was this difficulty in the present instance. The cosmnission was established in virtae of a certain convention that was entered into after some nego . dation. That convention grew out of inthreat of force on our part. Where force was absolutely used, there was something co quicken the progress of an investigation like this. But this convention grew out, and was the consequence of orders that were dispatched for the seizure of Spanish property, in conse quence of the negation of the British claims on Spain. When it was recollected what the condition of Spain now was e it might be inferred that it was extremely difficult to obtain the settle ment of any of those claims. The Noble Lord and the .House might rest satisfied, that on the part of the British Govern ment no energy would be left unexerted to procure a-speedy ad justment of these claims on the one hand, and to effect any rea sonable compromise on the other. COMBINATION LAWS. Mr. lIUME presented a petition from several inhabitants and artizans of Sheffield, in the county of York, against the Combination Laws. MR. KENRICE. Mr. TREMAYNE rose to present a petition from Mr. William Kenrick, in reference to a paper which had, upon the preceding evening, or that morning rather, been laid upon the table by the Hon. and Learned Member for Nottingham, in reference to the case of a Mr. Franks. The petitioner stated that he was takea by surprise by the order which the House had th.ereupon made for examining witnesses in relation to that charge ; and that therefore he was not prepared. Now he(Mr. Tremayne) apprehended that this Gentleman was not correct . as to the order which he supposed to have been made by the sons of supsrier rank, and preferring a charge against one of their equals. Upon such - occasions, when Gentlemen pushed a wit ness hard upon a -cross-examination, and he succeeded against them, they who failed were the first -to exclaim that he was impertitent, and should. not be encouraged. This was not the way to treat an indifferent witness in a Court of Jus tice. He could . not, therefore, abandon Canfor to .the charge of being discredited in his - own evidence. All the statements made upon one side were admitted upon the other, and the House had nothing to •do but to come - to a satisfac tory judgment. He then stated the circumstances of the case, front the month of May, in which the ram was lost, com menting upon each, and maintaining the consistency of the petitioner. Upon the subject of search warrants, the Learned Gentleman said he had conversed with acting Magistrates, and they wereof opinion they -should not begranted without a strong • pima facie case, as they threw a strong imputation upon the characters of those against whom they were issued. lie admitted this to be true ; but surely a Magistrate should not dismiss the charge altogether, nor allow the accused party to destroy all proofs of the property. His duty upon such occasions should be to act in a conciliatory manner, to cause as little pain as possible, and secure truth without injuring reputation. Ile considered that the note - was a very.odd one,,and calling for the fleece, in the nature of a command, on a charge of felony was singular to say the least. Such a note was a strong attack upon Air. Beale; but Mr. Kenrick did not take a deposition, neither did he issue a search warrant; but he said a constable might go with him to demand the fleece, in ordered to be produced I before the Magistrate. When the note was received, Beale laughed at it, and without once shewing that he had a ram so .like the other as that a mistake might have been made. — But here the Magistrate 'had only the statement of Beale, anti what was next done ? Canfor did not obtain the fleece, neither was he allowed. to prosecute the offender; and there fore-Cantor was placed in a worse situation than lie ought to have been. Cantor went to another Magistrate, who refused to act; anti again he went to Mr. Kenrick, who again re fused to act 3 5 .a Magistrate ought to hare done. Magi strates should follow . property wherever it could be found.; and •of course a search warrant was not to be granted as a matter cl favour. Mr. s Kenrick should have taken the evidence upon oath, as leading to the -recovery of the. lost property of Canter. A reference was said to have taken place, as to whether or Canfor was mistaken as to the fleece; but this was. not _a matter of difference a; to a civil right, but as to the feir suspicion of a felony having been corn mitted or not by l 4 leale. Mr, Kenrick thought he was doing hi; duty by allowing a reference; but Mr. 'Kenrick forgot that another question remained behind, on which the justice of the country mainly.depended.. The referees then met, anti allow ed the fleece to Canfor. -Having in this way - obtained it, could any thing he more natural than that Cantor should say to 111 r. Kenrick, lam aot wrong here—l have the , fleece, and I cannot have acted Wrongly. Canfor produced the-notes of the referees, giving the fleece to him, while filraK. added, in his defence, -that he did not believe the-fleece to be the-property of Mr. Can for! How 111 r. Kenrick could come to such a conclusion, he • (31r..1)enman)-could not ascertain. -One thing, 'however, was certain, that Mr. Kenrick must have been very confused upon the subject. Another thing as clear was, that Alt."Kenrick had been guilty of a ..dereliction of his duty, „although from what cause be (Mr. Denman) -would not say; but if the object of Mr. Kenrick was to protect Mr. Peale, he took a very debt:taus me thod of . doing so. • He (Mr.' Denman) wished the mildest course to be pursued in this - case, and; he was quite sure that _any •other.Magietrate having such a charge made against a reepec table neighbour, would have requested hia neighbour to - come, forward and clear himsen.—(Hear, hear!)-It appeared to him that Mr, Kenrick neglected .what he owed to the public, ' -by the conduct which he pursued on that occasion. lie-did not think that Alaghneates should act in - haste or irritation, and he thought Mr:- Kenrick reprehensible, not for not granting the Smith 'Warrant, but for. dismissing the case out of his bands altogether. So much for- the first part of the case; but look at the sequel. Here was a man coining to look for redress treated with outrage and' made a prisoner ! If such conduct was pursued by the Magistrates in consequence of imagined offence or wounded dignity, they should be taught ' a different - leaven. He imputed no • corruption to Mr. Ken rick, but he imputed to him haste, irritation, and an arbitrary feeling, .unsuited to the -character of a Magistrate. Perhaps ( .•nfor was, importunate, hut why not produce Adams, the butler of Mr. Kenrick, and Mr. Beale, and the two arbitrators, to prove it ? The constable the butler selected to assault Canfor was not called ; and so far Mr.- Kenrick had proved his own conviction. • He (Mr. Denman) heard it said there could be no felony, because the sheep was found upon the Common. He thought the Right Honourable Secretary would not adopt that argument, for felony consisted in taking the property of ano thee man, not from his premises, but from the high road Well, then, the butler of Mr. Kenrick was made a constable— he searched Mr. Canfor under no pretence— the pretence. was a mockery ; but Mr. Kenrick said, " Because you- got the fleece in consequence of an arbitration you shall still deliver 'it up to me, because I wish to rat it into the hands of the con stable in case a charge should be substantiated." But Mr. K. refused to hear the charge ; he dismissed it in point of fact, and •what could he mean by saving he .wanted to keep the fleece as evidence-for the purpose of a -charge ? Mr. Kenrick could only 'so Want it in his charaCter as . Megistrate,wheeeas as Magietrate he had dismissed the charge! Here was a Magistrate making his butler a special constable to outrage a, suitor for justiceea... now was that, he asked, to be tolerated ? He thought that this case was one of' Very serious importance, and if otherwise considered .by the lq-agiYitracy of this country, the matter was one of the greater importance. He knew it •wassaid that Mr. 'Kenrick had paid a - compensation for this injury to Canfor. True he had ; but what amwer was that to the House of Com mons ? Certainly none. The case was admitted to be against him by the Counsel of Mr. Kenrick; but could it therefore be said that the House of Commons should not interfere ? If the House did not interfere,' how would they be able to say that a person after such a conviction was fit to be continued as a Ma gistrate ? IVas such teperson to be, continued in a high office —to tilminister the law—tO, be allowed for ever to perpetuate injustice or oppression? Suppose the common case of a ser vant convicted of stealing my plate, and sent to prison-for 12 months—su armee at the expiration of that time he came again to ask to fill a similar situation as he held before, because of such punishment—would the House say, because the servant suffered the penalty of the,law, that he should therefore be replaced in his old situathin ? For himself, he thought that the Judges and the Magistrates were too much placed beyond the reach of responsibility ; he thought that no men when they discharged their duty were more entitled to reverence teed attachment ; but when they acted otherwise, thesame feeling should not be en tertaihed in their favour. He considered that the Government should have interfered the moment they saw the affidavits in the newspapers. When the Government found that a strate had been convicted of improper conduct, they shoal(' have examined the case, and see if such a peraon should be any longer CO7 , timiefl ui the Conerniaion tOf the .Prance. The 'Go vernment loaded the Magistrates with extraordinary power,- which increased with their irresponsibility. It was high time that the House of Com Mons should interefere upon this subject. With respect to the individual whose conduct was inculpated, he never had toe honour of his friendship ; and therefore lie had not violated any sentiments - of that nature. He harboured no feelings of animosity towards, anti never wasa to his knoee ledge, until the present occasion, under the same roof with him. .fle acted from a 'sense of public justice ; and it would be deeply degrading to him if it could be supposed that he was influenced by feelingsofany other description. It was his inten 'lion to strbm it the following propositions to the House : • " That this Committee is of opinion, that the allegations contained in the petition of Martin Money Canfor have been substantially proved.• " That the said petitioner preferred his complaint to Wil ram Kenrick, Esq., one of the Magistrates for the county of Surrey, relative to the loss of a ram, and required a search warrant, to recovertitte,sam as well as its fleece, both of which were, in the possession of William Beale, the brother of the said William Kenriclee bailiff, but that the said William Kenrick refused to grant a search-svarrant, or to take the de positions of the petitioner- That the said William Kenrick, in this respect, appears to have neglected his duty as a Magistrate, in not inquiring into facts of a suspicious character ;• and that his subsequent conduct, in causing ti.e said petitioner to be arrested, and commanding and 'ordering him to be - searched, was illegal, ar bitrary,-and oppressive n aad a gross abuse of his authority as a Magistrate." The first resolution having been read— Mr. PEEL said that he would' be the last man to impute any improper motive to the Hen. and Learned Gentleman in bringing forward this charge. The general manliness of his character was a guarantee for his impartiality. For his own part he had no personal acqUaintance with Air. Kenrick, and all he wished was that strict justice should be done to Mr. Ken rick and to the country. The question for the Committee to decide was upon the petition of Canfor, and as to what report they were bOund to make upon the evidence in support of, it. The case of Franks should not be mixed up with the question. He was sure that no sympathy upon the part of Magistrates would induce them to forget their duty in .coming to a deci sion ; nor th a t personal f e eling. on other subjects, would be in ' Bulged in against Mr. Kenrick. The subject was pr operly and naturally divided into two parts, and he would follow them, as th ey h a d b een so s t a ted. He did not wish to sh ew that Mr. K enr i c k h a d a ll t h roug h the case acted with proprie t y ; that wo u ld not h e necessar y ; but he meant to shew, that the conduct of M r . K enr i c k did not call for the interferenc e of the House. He acquitted him of all corruption, and he believ ie, ed him to be a c t ua t e d by the beat possible feelings. Mr. Bea against whom the charge was made, was- known to be a very L ret o . r p d ec o ta p b p l o e si m te. an, H a o e w co e r v d er in , g m to r. t c h an e tfesortihmaodnylosot f so t tn he N e sh o ec be pl, which sheep found their way to Westwood Common, near the farm "of Beale ; and how, therefore, cold it he argued that Beale had feloniously become possessed of these sheep, merely because they had strayed towards his farm ? It was not explained to Mr. Kenrick that Canfor claimed the ram as his property: Mr. Kenrick thought it more a matter of civil charge than of. criminal proceed in g ; and knowing the character of Beale, he did not grant a search warrant against Beale, whom he knew to. be a respectable man. Tho Right.-Hon. Member here proceeded to read several of the answers of Cantor, as to whether he preferred a claim to the fleece of the ram, which, upon being hard pressed, he answered in the negative. But to other questions of the same nature he answered differently, and he admitted that Beale preferred a claim to the ownership of the fleece. Under such circumstances,- then, he asked if Itlr. Kenrick had acted right, and he (Mr. Peel) world say, that he had most properly con ducted himself. Magistrates were not lightly to violate the rights and liberties of the subject, and in this case, if there was any thing culpable, it was the non-interference of Mr. Kenrick. -He admitted also, with the Hon. and Learned Gentleman, that the Magistracy should be above all feelings of anger or irrita tion in the discharge of their public- duty, but few men could bear to be thwarted, insulted, and provoked, merely because they did not grant any request which they might believe to be unnecessarily or impertinently made to them.' Corruption on the part of Mr. Kenrick was altogether out of the question— and taking the evidence of Canfor as the basis of any other charge - against Mr. Kenrick, what did it in reality , amount to? Here was a case of disputed property ; the accuser was unknown to Mr. Kenrick ; the very Christian name of Beale was also -unknown to him ; and even from a trifle of such a nature, the Committee would be able to see that Mr. Kenrick could have no -motive for denying that justice to Canfor to which he thought himself, however erroneously, entitled. Mr. Kenrick thought the matter one of a civil nature—a mere contest as to property; and who, so thinking—what Magistrate, so believing, but would have acted as Mr. Kenrick had ; tione,• and referred the matter in dispute to the arbitration of the friends of the litigant parties -? The case having arrived at thatstage, the partiesagreed to the award of the referees ; but some subsequent damage was: admitted by Mr. Kenrick, and his Counsel, with the consent of Cantor's Counsel, bad agreed to a compromise e and there the matter should have ended.. But Canfor was dissatisfied e he complained of the small amount of the compensation, but why was Mr. Kenrick to blamefor that ? Mr. Kenrick in his :a -w davit denied Any previous knowledge of the compromise, .but having been made on his behalf, he yielded as became him.— Was the House then to be called on for any further interfer ence ? .He denied that they were; and he was sure the Com mittee would coincide with him in fhrming that opinion. He did not give Canfor the credit which Honourable Members were inclined to do, for the purity of his motives in bringing his, case before the House. .1f he was actuated by any ,wish for the fair and impartial administration of justice, why had he slept over the accusation for five or six months, and allow - the Session -to come to a close before calling upon 'arliament to investigate it? But the real question •which came before the Committee was, whether or not such a case had been made -sufficient to bear out the proposition of the Hon. and Learned Member. He again repeated .that no adequate.reasons had been atated to call for the interference of the House. They ought to be cautious how they dealt with .ceses.which affected the character and usefulness of a Magi strate. It would be as discreditable for them to .pasts over in silence charges which might betaised against the judicial con duct of a Magistrate, as rashly to call upon the Crown to e-xer cime the power of diemission. Unless a case of injustice was fully and satisfactorily - made out, the House, ought not to in terfere with the independence of the Magistracy. lint the pro position of the *Honourable and Learned *Gentleman called upon the committee to enter into the extra judicial parts of his conduct, and to apportion to these a certain degree of censure. To declare that the conduct of ellrhKenrick was illegal, .arbi trary, and oppressive, without following up that censure by en 'address to the rown, would be - inconsistent; and if the incon sistency did not stand in the way, it was by far too severe. He felt it his duty, therefore, seeing that corrupt motives could not be imputed to Mr.'Kenrick, and that the Committee had come to a totally different decision, to move the following - Resolution ; " That the Committee:havingheard the evidence in support of the ellegaions contained in the petition of Martin Money Can• for, and heard Counsel in behalf of Mr. Kenrick, they do not think it necessary to recommend to the House the institution of any further proceedings with reference to the judicial character Kenrmck.". :The Resolution .having been put, by - the. Chairma- of, the Committee, Mr. _TIERN-EY rose and said, that he came to an entirely different conclusion on the case which had been submitted -to. the Committee, from that of the Right Hon. Gentlemen. He, directly. .disapproved of the -conduct of Mr. Kearick ; and he thought the House would lower itself in .the estimation of the public, if some step was not taken to express its sense of his outrageous conduct, and to protect the King's subjects against his farther administration of justice. The . question -was not whether Canfor should not receive some atonement -for the effects of that conduct; but:whether the public should not be secured against the possibility of being injured by him— ( Hear !)—for any Magistrate who had acted as lie had done ought not-certainly to be entrusted with such a vast extent of discretion as belonged to one only of the offices widely Mr. Kenrick held. The case had been divided into two parts; the firsfripplied to Mr. Kenrick's refusal of a search -warrant, and the other to Isis subsequent conduct when he imprisoned Canfor for refusing to give up the fleece at his command. The Hon. Gentleman wished to prove corrupt conduct 'on the part of Kenrick in ;clueing the search-warrant. He (Mr. Tierney) did , not make any such charge against him. Whether his temper was not under his own controul, or whether he labourediender a want of judgment, or whatever were his motives to the acts .charged against hiM, was not of great consequence. The Hon. Gentleman said that Canfor had travelled 500 milei in quest of his ram, aye, until the very blood came out at his knees. He did not know exactly what that phrase meant ; perhaps it was meant to be taken in a metaphorical sense only ; or, to explain' the vulgar saying of a man ruffling his skin when"he rode far.--e(A laugh.)—lt should be kept in mind when Canfor was imprison ed there was no charge against him, and nothing could be drawn from the alleged intemperance in justification of - the step that had been taken. But any one who had travelled 500 miles after a rain might have the privilege of being a little intemperate.=. Cantor lost his ram, and applied to Mr. Kenrick, as . a . Magis trate, in order to recover it; there, at least, was a prima facie case sufficient to excuse one, who was not versed in the mysteries of the law, in asking for such a writ, and many men, he. had no doubt, were likely to fall into the same error. Mr. Kenrick said, that as the case was not a felony, he could not grant the war rant sought for ; but he offered to give Canfor a note to the person who was stated to have hat[ the beast in his possession, in order that he might be brought before him. He (Mr. Tierney) had not heard any reason why Canfor's deposition was not taken, or why the charge was not substantiated on oath. He agreed . - with the Right Lion. Gentleman that a search-warrant brought the individual, who was the subiect of it, into an awkward no toriety with his neighbours, and held him up to suspicion. Any man exercising a sound judgment ought to have seen what was in the case, and_ to have set the applicant right. That was the case in all the Police Offices in London, where the Magistrates directed the parties who applied .to them to those steps which might lead to the objects they haul in view. Had Mr. Kenrick done this, he might have soon ascertained what truth there was in the case. He (Mr. Tierney) knew nothing of Beale, bait a 'Noble Lord had given him an excellent character. But his ap propriation of the ram was singular enough.. Suppose that Mr. Beale lost a ram which had e mark on its rump, and he should discover another which was marked on the side, would Mr. Beale be entitled to say, "My ram was marked, and, . sv n er o then to be marvelled very naturally offered to al though this is not mine , it will do as g ood as m y own (Laughter.)—After Beale had got time ram, the own er came to him and said, " No, that i s not yo ur ram ; it is mine." Can fsarhOwinthoe fl rder ee t c o e p to rov Al r e. at that Canfor should g row angry—declare that he was ill-used in the business, and go before a Magistrate in the neighbour hood ; and that, instea d of obtainin g a s earch - warrant, as he expected, he should onl y g et a note . Canfor then went to e street he It sari, d evlis Beale with the note, and said the ram was his, but re fused to show the fleece. Canfor had strong cause to be exesp era ted, for he had travelled far, and had had great regard for the said rain. When he found Mr. Kenrick's note unsuc cessful, he went to Mr. Burgess, another Magistrate for time county.; but when that Gentleman heard that his:brother had acted in the affair, he refused to interfere in it. Next, Mr. Canfor bent his steps again towards Mr. Kenrick's residence, and was material to attend to what was said on that occasion by Adams, who was a principal performer in the business, and who acted the part of butler and - constable to Mr. Kenrick.— (A laugh.)—That worthy asked Canfor what he came for—told him to go about his business, that his master would have no more to do with it. It was an extraordinary feature in the case, that that fact, although explicitly stated in Cantor's petition, had not been denied by Mr. Kenrick; and it was, therefore, 'MA too much to believ e , that what was not denied could not be denied.—(Hear, hear !)—Did the Right Honourable Gentle man mean to say that any Magistrate who sanctioned such a proceeding ought to retain his high office ? Suppose that he himself had a piece of plate stolen—that he knew where it was to be found ; and that in his application to the Magi strate he said, " Shew me the plate and I will shew you my arms engraved upon it. But if you do not shew it to me immediately my arms will be rubbed off; and I will have no opportunity of identifying my property." He asked any Member of the C ommittee if t h ey wou ld hlve refused such an application if they stood in .Mr. Kenrick's situatio n ? Without takin g his deposition, granting the searc h warrant, or pursuing an y steps which might lead to the recovery ofthe property, AIL Kenrick, through his butler, told Canfor that he would have nothing to do Li the business.—(clear !)_ What ought Mr. Canfor to have - done next ? He thought it was hard to lose his ram in that way, but he was obliged to sit down contented under the conduct of the Magistrate. The* came the proposal to refer the matter to Mr. Butler and Ur. Nash. Cantor proved by the fleece that the ram belonged to him, and there the business might have rested if Mr. Kenrick had not become irritated, just as Canfor became composed.— Canfor, however, out of mere kindness, went to Mr. Kenrick, to show him the award of the referees, and the fleece, in order to convince him that he had good grounds for applying to Idris for the search-warrant. Now, what reception did he meet with for this praise-worthy conduct ? Mr. Kenrick flew into a passion, and said, " Oh ! you dog, are you come back ; I will give you into the charge of a special constable." Such was the answer of the calm and temperate Mr. Kenrick to the Statement of Canfor ! It seemed that Mr. Kenrick wished to get possession of the note which he had given to Canfor, and demanded it from him with considerable warmth. Mr. Kenrick could not under Stand how the fleece could have been got with 1-out hint. But at any rate lie was determined to have it for some special purpose. What reasons could induce Mr. Ken rick to insist upon this demand ? He could not be ignorant of the law which applied to a case such as that which he'had been called on to administer. He was a Judge—(Hear, hear ) and must know the difference between a felony and a civil ac tion. If he had a proper purpose in view, he must produce Adams and . the referees at the bar of the House, in order to explain it. Mr. Kenrick put entirely in the back-ground the searching for the note. When the constable of the parish came, Mr. Kenrick said to him (turning towards Canfor)_" There is your prisoner ; do your duty, and search him for the note." Canfor was accordingly searched, and the note was taken out of his pocket-book. The fleece was also taken, at the command of Mr. Kenrick, the witness refusing to depart until (to use his own phrase) he saw it scaled up. Upon this Canfor brought an action for false imprisonment. The Right Hon. Gentleman on the mention of this fact, echoed " Yes—but it was never tried." Why ? Because Mr. Kenrick did rot wish it to be tried. When the case came on, his Counsel, Mr. Gurney, made an apology to the Court. Mr. I'EEL said across the table that that was done without the authority of Mr. Kenrick. , Mr. TIERNEY—WeII, then, Mr. Kenrick was much obliged to his Counsel for doing so.--(Laughter.)—After hav ing thus acknowledged his guilt (for the apology amounted to this), he agreed to pay a penalty of 51. and all costs. Such was the information which came before the Committee, in a Satis factory and sufficient way. and the question was, would the House of Commons wilfully shut their eyes to it? The Right lion. Gentleman• had addressed himself to a question which was not before the House, for he (Mr. Tierney) could not think that he meant to defend the acts which Mr. Kehricic was proved to have committed, on the ground that they were the conse quences of infirmity and irritability of temper. Would she payment of 150/. to Franks satisfy the House for Mr. Kenriek'a imprisoning that' person two months in gaol fbr a piece of of timber not worth a shilling ?—(Hear !)--It was not the fault of the Right Honourable Gentleman that Mr. Kenrick did not quit the premises. —(:s laugh.)—ln what situation did Mr. - Kenrick stand? A civil action had been brought against him for a breach of the peace and false imprisonment ; and since he had acknowledged that the act was improper. it was the imperative duty of his Majesty's Ministers to take steps fOr removing him from his present situation by an Address to the Crown. Ile confessed that he had never read a case which excited in his mind more suspicion and disgust.— What could be more hurtful to the Magistrate than to pasty over the acts of, which Mr. Kenrick had been found guilty.— He (Mr. Tierney) was not actuated in any thing he had said by any towards Mr. Kenrick. Ile had not conversed with him in the course of his life, and he always felt reluctant to interfere in the exercise of the judicial power of the Magis trates ; for in such cases, it was easier to make than to rebut allegations. He had often refused to present petitions to the • House from parties who considered themselves aggrieved in this respect. When the petition was printed, the statements went abroad in the country, and cast serious imputations upon the subject cf the inquiry. The Right Hon. Gent. concluded by imploring the House to take the case under their deliberate cons. sideration, as it involved no less a • question than the fair and impartial administration of justice.—t Hear, hear !) Mr. CANNING' said, he fully concurred in the last senti ment of his Right Hon. 'Friend, but before the Hou - se carne to the conclusion which - he would pass upon them, they would_ do well to consider whether the case was of so grave a nature as to justify the course proposed by the Learned Gentleman.—' Nothing could be more untrue, than that because Ministers . were not prepared to go all lengths in censuring' the conduct et Mr. Kenrick, they therefore admired and approved of it. The question was, whether the case called upon the House to exercise that highest and most transcendent power which Parliament unquestionably possessed ; and if it did not (as be thought it did not), whether they should pursue an interme diate course which would brand Mr. Kenrick with an imputa tion which would render him powerless in the high office he held, and. thus produce a great public mischief. Witt - teat going into the details of the case, he was decidedly of opin 0 that neither of these courses could be adopted. lie had no acquaintance with Mr. Kenrick ; he believed he had never been in the same room with him; he was sure he had never exchanged a word with him; he had no partiality in his favour, and yet he must say that the case appeared to'hins the most trumpery upon which any so grave a conclusion could be called for. The whole extent to which it reached proved only that Mr. Kenrick had been guilty of a discreditable aril culpable want of temper in his interview with this man (Can for). With respect to the search-warrant, he had thought all that part of the case was given up, until the Right Hon. Gen tleman had this evening revived it. Mr. TIERNEY explained that he did not blame Mr. Ken' rick for that part of his conduct. , Mr. CANNlNG—Well,•then, since that part of the charges that_overt act, was abandoned, all that remained was Mr. Kenrick's conduct on the second interview. That he ha , t suffered his temper and his discretion to be overcome, coal° not be denied, nor could it be justified ; but the complain and provocation must be taken together. Was the loss 01 temper in an interview with that most unprovoking of man' kind, who had lately appeared at the bar of that House, 9 ° great a crime that it could only be sufficiently punished by ref moving the person who had committed it from his office 0 1‘ , 1 . judge ? He (Mr. C.) could . not in his conscience say that deserved any such punishment; and as that was thennly one which could be inflicted consistently with the interests of th e e country, he would not consent to adopt that other measure, e a; unjust as it was inconsistent with those interests, of blasting tis character of the person accused, and yet leaving him in the Pol session of his office. This was the short view which he 1 13( , taken of the subject, and without going any further into it, dei termined hint not 'to vote for the resolutions of the Hon. o ', Learned Gentleman, which would be nugatory unless til e ' were followed up by an address to his Majesty, 'which the Ho e g; and Learned Gentleman did riot contemplate. It could not u t denied that flying into a pasSion—the only charge proved again s e Mr. Kenrick—was a moral fault; but the House of Contro° ll ; must be cautious in inquiring into the private life of pera° ° "" because it might happen that the most venerable characters! and whose public conduct was without reproach, might he We n . to similar imputations in their pjivate habits. The Right 1 - I°,! l a Gentleman concluded by repeating his opinion that nothing 1 ; , been proved which could justify the House in passing upon 14 Kenrick the censures contained in the resolutions of the .H 0" and Learned Gentleman. Mr. H. SUMNER expressed his astonishmene at the Y 3elf , taken of the case by the Right Hon. Gentleman, and a t the n . vere strictures which had beep passed upon the manner li: which the petitioner Canfor had given his evidence at the b s. , It should be recollected that this man was a person of tto e dht cation, and that lie had adopted a manner which be thong, would evince his independency, and about which he hsif o . afterwards boast to his pot-companions, when he detail e , them his conduct at the bar of that house. But althoug h _„." (Mr. Holing Sumner) could find no other excuse for that haw e ner than the man's vulgarity, he.felt himself bound to stat e t t i v e the House that the facts in his evidence were the same, Wit any alteration, as those which had detailed to him,tell (11 ', / x e after they had occurred. .This consistency (while there * O . so many inducements to vary, if' he had been the r o d e lte had been represented to be) convinced him (Mr. 0 0 7 es Sumner) of Cafifor's veracity. Those who treated the sent question as trifling did injustice to the interests aid public ; and the statements as to Mr. Kenrick's character. t a , not alter the nature of the transaction. And with respec t a s the question of character, that w a s a point upon which t e a might be two opinions. He would state one fact which 1 1. 0 upon that question: Mr. Kenrick might be a good f , the_r ° o family, but he was not a g ood ne i g hbour. He r ecollectedci instance, he could tell the House, in which a 'piece of lasto to eco a been to be let; and where th e con d uc t o f M r . Kenrick had ' 1 Any thing rather than'neighbourly. ' 14 Mr. W. LAMB submitt e d, th a t a llusions so person o t those into which the Ho noura ble Member was going We re e of order. t • o n Mr. H. SUMNER protested that in that ease the que s ` l e iter character was one which ought o he left out of the case - ftet gether. He would say, farther, no more than this—that. ° te al• so much as had appeared before the House—after the i_ e ° bail perate conduct of which had been proved that Mr. Kenrick been guilty of—it was impossible to leave him, without f° vestigation, in the discharge of duties, which it 'was iruP° s9 , l ; o o o without such investigation, in the public eye, he could coo" to exercise without suspicion. n eile Mr. DENISON said that, as Mr. Kenrick's near f ho boar, all he k new o f t h at gent l eman was i n favottr o f character. On the first night of the-present .charge' brought forward, Mr. Kenrick had requested. 11i 0 00 6 Denison) tO state to t h e H ouse ,. t h at h e, was Will'''.