The Sun. — London, England, 1845-02-19 00:00:00

issued bi:ththe: Iments• oa de, report vva s , 4 many as i ot A• Now , on doj o luld not 6n „ le i, warraa t ba withstand he Cortim it ; ( oo k the rer t. '• tO ler a re a t was dit con ,„ ' iy t t o n. 13aro ne less re° 3r lve.—( ll°4 a t t he 11°1 ' t' se o f this P (1 ,0 h e had t ae . do a M. Maal it i l l e tt Owen") pi • -Onc e n y 0 • r. hear.er a,;,, ) , no y t s ". Orel' tt,:on o f a 5 it Muttietiti°l/ 0 1 1(1 c alla 1 1° 4 ,4 t i n this re d 4 - 0) Mas eh , a n 31 , ul thereforevoi, tot he (, r iette P Mazzia is o f e ri ll cry na y s tie)j had been adds,to do s o ,; re as r ll4 „ been t pbr that the bd l ett s foto° s t n t•it, o f 1 ,0 the err°r tlf 011 er tog 7 r,p , for opened , n tesP„ io.be) c u :Is ristros i b i a m oot hich is Po e ri g v ` l The r ' r eir acar/ • p in 019 0 6 ere from tun e , • vibl e l ar 4 been tsa r is tbt 'Toss er'nrwan toyedlll4,, he he lit d, t 1 h e beliegtoo,l:o ling O len rOO O F oreign 3r for °Pe.004,, seeretlY lot err, and g ,4 • hat t be r 0 ic ers ore v ' • the °P its ° ed 0 04 i n i I,va but 0, A 4 them; T e o ( mself, °e l isS i e o iffereat ' t he e . 0 t EasT A lt pot v ie my w" tbe l a t oJ ly s 000 4 4 sug ges oo ol ,o no t r" ba d ttion as cony ed been ) IS I ar, hest. 4e o by t be ? a nu btirre he sa ß- otbi ll° o L i; that 11 4 ro d ,, f ore.- yo e6 ;n fore . - e t rt • of t-e ole /t. sehood 5°0.04,4 bat eld use, ; this be be my too 4070 fOreig lt to ro' re drs il c reate c od !/ • proP% h oe 6: o f Ere' .tio io on For the opt,,, Ott e pf o ') an se to v ;, of tb ° D t ioc c iol l e he • e el 's 15° I n teo1,S ° t the Tort • on cl ot iltioJ" 11 he nie theY be he A 4° • tor t - tY ; 0 Cor, re o pO,y e na COre en, 5 tO ill-. F . ie J JO Th is . 1 ,00 ,111 1 . 1/ tr • d b i eeu r ti er e$ , 1 w ere _a § 4 ,5 ,hen r e ' w o !`ca °. t. 41 -1 the ir 0r , pr esseu t ool o g',i[ ll l he e l / erit il fie#4' e t h eir i „ Ita li k.ofe 'ritish „wit, 0 ( 11 ' 0 1 , •,1 mP" . (c he e.f 4 o6 ,) vehen le ag° • d e „a ro belt that t o ° o o°' he t hel Wily • did ,a,t,n l h . eers• .) you ° op I)h ir l thnt , /heir ' °' t ), _ A t lltt snm ge o tl pr - u , 'the e'''r. b e trig' 0 t o t i o f t c h ss wbl 'e g gcse et ) w ent, 111 BAt o f fell le o idfo r etee l ea rhet l a , jieve , ,o ~,t i oh eo4, ' b rJ Hear ijoo fe ebd - incl b ide `0 ene t• l, - e d be i . ' e st of the 'let" to „ g el", `°- °"" S o 'lo' h tb° el le to 0 itedl i o OY, t he Pr7dotof et Ihe o e", go l . ;',r , iraal i ° t ell of tt ;W t y he co• s po A/ o lettif prO, wi ct near er her' • t sg of $ 41 eV ' P7'o6 ip,pity °l p tiO. e :eil c o . 4 ,0 I , 1,. ~op je • odo ,'er t..1 47 . b y • , h t h a e tbi t y 1, 4° ,0 6 0 4 0 tittee d form', 900 e y 00 $ 9 0 ' ll° ` ° •ttee (2 0ec tI J orawl the orb/ o/ v i s it ° ,te t e t f 1 • $ 1 " 0 4 0 4 nr 7hog h o t ust l to ie , l igeien t t 1 0° 01; ime the t o i le r o p tho e f it oco. jf ffe ct o l 01ti ( 4' 1 0 ; 4 ; neth; 0)7 e' e r ier,/ eY • At fo a or it e ) cri 01 : e t : 0 f_ i f 11 ' 1 1 : portti ll 'tjef u tie r ) 'P tee ttl O e t• 3 a 11 ,00a r '( 0 et" ' 61 , 11 oti•es l a the S enti e lib ei p t er , ,se K ea „b 0 , v t aile d o° l4 V ; t it o .e. tb 1 0,i;, 0 1 ly Roe kso te' too o ce° 11/ 91: e ar „t,:sref,0' , i ; io tt 00 0 0 4 01 t i; I ; n d ce: et e; ,r hom e t hes e .,o u pon , ;e§.l 00 , 4 Y r luk n iof 44 0 , 1 L ' c t Spies po t .0e itheo p ies • ht t). : ; lid th e d. dirt "' of the oitb ti here apo n t be .....( r oe !W • Yl' ong' the sfr Coto° t bst tifris elle/a oia e t o , r e , doing: f etl be o„l4 hich PL er e. ir o, 4 ex iles " 001 ,ttef lette rs, bot ta o it. ° thing he r e forc i it a vore of t io c or twookaos alp °>< r ° t 0 ,,) ri h t gu bjec nii' h all o f 9 .a 0 boritl dri c • l o he °it the g u 'eeo e..„, e k the ° el ° , through,- coolie s a J! e o tsr j e xile, ° wed / 0 . 0 1 ip. • e rss° sr eir S4 l : t eti /l e e of tbBt rtg0 t0,.,,) o di Y i l e ° er, of per f ,„1 I vi "" , t br lt Tes tP. e 1 110 ; .. ..be5 , bear oeir n ' 113 `-‘ oto O d o „cla w o p, ebA rr o , olfe el thele Or d An ° o f , A e lideV ee A a ll le ."Ci 01 1 ,p - to r. I V; gl) ' e vit b , r e Y e r; ol a t : eto o b a t h r e vioto ));: e to le) tlie Palie° THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY MORNING-, FEBATJARY 19 1845. that charge, many people thought it was imaginary. But what did they find in the report? The Committee of the House of Commons stated that they believed formerly such a practice prevailed in the time e.fMr. Charles James Fox and Lord Car- Marthen, but the practic e o f open i ng di plomatic correspondence had for some time past been discontinued.—(The lion. Gen tleman here read the extract at length, but. in a very rapid time.) But from the Lords' report it appeared that this phrase of " discontinued for some time " meant only disconti . nurd since the preceding month of June. (He then read the paragraeh from the Lords' report.) H e as k e d th e Route to set the statements of the two Committees one against the other. The statement of the Commons was a most disingenuous ( Hear.) He would say that the prac tice was most disgraceful, and injurious to the reputation of Britain among other naeions.—( Hear.) If Hon. Mem bers would tak n e the trouble to read what t ok place in respect to the Venetian Ambassador in the year 1641, they would see in what way the clia- acter of the country was damaged by loch treachery. The would find it recoided in the Journals of the /louse Lorde— The lion. Gentleman then read a letter addressed in that year to the House of Lords, cemplaining that the writer's letters had been opened in the Foreign-office, and that when he remonstrated with the Foreign Secretary, the latter assured him that it had been done by Mistake. He was satisfied, trusting in the honour of the Court of England; but he fulled that the treachery was re teatedr and he p raye d t h e House, fer t h e c h aracter o f t h e 'own and people of England, to interpee e and prevent the re irtition of •• so damnable and disgraceful a system." The polite of Lords sent a deputation of Peers to apologise, and 1 ° asorre the A m b assa d or that the pract i ce should b e discon. -ti nned ; but he refused to accept any amends until an Extraor alinary Ambassador should be sent to the Mats of Venice to 4Pologise, and he himself should have received an order on tThe Pos tmaster -General to send his correspondence direct and opdesntse the recommendation o f the Ho us e cif things were done, and the humiliating affair ter *sated.] H e should not wonder if all the Stales with which Ulcountry had relations, should require a similar apology.— tear, and a laugh.) He came now to the charge which he ad made respecting the opening of lett, rain the north of Eng a d• The Committee denied that there had been a roving heotoinission appo i nted to open letters in that part of the coon -7e but wh at were their own statements? They said that they hand that in 1849, when there was a violent outbreak in the h oar lerk frem - the Post-office was sent down on a war ?tam the Secretary of St et, with authority to open the let. to °f 'ix iersoto, and, at the same t me, another clerk was sent rinuanr mnatkiline , ;etters of ten others, and afterwards, of one endive in ad seventeen. [He reed from the report.] He 'contended that there was no precedent for this conduct. It eras absolutely illegal.—( Hear, hear.) Who could tell "shelthere this open i ng o f l etters en d e d ?—( H ear , h ear .) tt "' Co mmissioners were not to open any , her letters than °se described in the warrant—it was rather a vague order: lal.isiThoiee.y:ereare to open the letters of six parties named therein. did that mean the letters addressed to these individuals written by them? He supposed it meant both. were they to ascertain that a particur leer was in th taheiwriti ng of a c er t a i n individual? There was a great simi•e be in hand wr i t i ngs , an d t h e superscr i pt i ons of letters might ee attributed to persons who really did not write them. They ght say Mr. So and So wrote this letter," but how were la ndwr they to prove it? They could not d o i t positively by the iting. Then he wished to know what directions were given to the Commissioners to enable them to conclude what letters were written by either of these six individuals? Btit he wanted to know whether there was any precedent for this warrant ? He believed it was entirely invented by the Right Hon. Baronet. The same sort of thing appeared to have been issued in August, 1843, directing a commission to inspect tile letters of one person, and this was the only precedent be (Mx. Duncombe) could fled. Besides, it was a most dangerous power to entrust to individuals ; and it was anything but proper for the Government to have sent them down in this way. They aught then to have some further explanation on the sub ject. In another part of the report the Committee appeared to deal with a statement that the entire mail-bags containing letters were sent to the Home-office for examination. He Meer made such a statement—he never said the mail-bags had been opened at the Home -office ; but he did state, and he was !hose b ags w o as f the 1 3 Prepared t o prove, that certain mail-bags were opened for the 4) Post -office. It was suspected that some dis !hl going on, and for the purpose of tracing it out ose b ags were opened. He never stated that mail-bags of lthe etters had been sent to the Home-office for inseeetion ; and if Committee had answered the charges he did make, it would ive been mu c h b etter t h an answer i ng c h arges w hi c h h a d tfaverritbizt heard by any one . It wo uld a ppe ar th a t if a l e tt er ,ring4h a particular p os t- mar k, an d w r itt e n in a certain st3le were dropped int o the Post .offiee, it was imme• 'al rely dispatched to the Secretary of State for the Home De tesajtment. Now, he wished to know how they were to ascer a7 this fact ? Many letters bore the same post-mark, and to aPPearances were directed by the same hand. Of course, 1",,!_• ced in this difficulty, they often opened leters which they h u n t/fined had been 'written by one individual, and discovered tatdoubt to their astonishment—(Laughter)—that it con ektmld a private communication from another.— (Laughter.) eee m ee in this way they everybody's letters till they 11 v dat the one they anted.— (Hear, hear.) Now, he t w e Ted the G overnment to show him any precedent to justify in all the anna l s of letter open i ng.—( H ear, hear, and 4 eh o Ps u l i lt d ) He said i t was o f t h e greatest importance t h at t h ey sltubt , have an explanation upon this subject. Instead of e e , e, ' ° g what the Duke of Newcastle did one hundred years ,„ latius the Committee ought to have given a copy of the war the is : sued by the Right Hon. Baronet. He came now to out se 7t charge upon this point. He thought he stated in the lett er — that his correspondence had been violated—that his **e re liad been opened. Now, upon this the Committee telSrfectly decided. In his place in that Hciuse, he eon lerailt..in the fi rst i nstance that h e h a d only been informed redsletters coming through the Admiralty had been helie v Ile admitted that at the time he was inclined to dis. this li e i t . But a l t h oug h t h e C omm i ttee h a d d eci d e d upon e could nevertheless prove that his letters were detained Ititht°sPected at the Post-office, upon the authority of the lie ation. Baronet.—( Loud cries of " Hear, hear.") Now, ts ifte t 1 " t say that he felt degraded in this kty e h he ;bought it was a degradation for t6k, r of the House of Commons—(Loud cheering) eT t s e Ruilthe ot ivas a worthy object of suspicion—that he had tigh t e some offence which . the Secretary of State tstid entitled him to open his private correspondence. He Be eau t i t conceive a greater personal insult than this. eteere e .,:: not conceive a greater insult to the constituency he 7 4 ro . o . ,.. t , h1 ; e ' r l e fie was not the representat ire of merely a rotten wil t (Loud cheers)—but of a very large and numerous, s ait, a s an intelligent constituency.—(Hear, hear.) He tseprroets itatet i t t h wasno s t t. merely an insult to him, but it was c tu encv which tie had the honour to fureht that Heonussel.—( Hear, hear.) lie would go • fi 2 t r. If his correspondence was not to be fr l e u e, t h h e e was not thee rePresentative of them.— (Cheers.) t iohe es ° a f bi his constituency he . called upon the Right iv,. ie Baronet to 'ustifv, ne could do se, the -6 0 his letters. H j e knew not what story he might il t e ll e ra ted u . p in the Committee off Lords, but House but o h f e Co s ( lint uttnittee of the House o h: n • Baronetowed it to him and to that House.— rf! aid nio th e e s Oud i' th e— era.) H i it to him and to his constituency to l et , e owes., w ere_ „ahe the House . the justification for opening his eteatet,torste asked the Right Hort, Paronet, before . he orm s Be t he fact if the information he received was true (111... / 7 , hear. ) The Right lion. Baronet stlnc°Mbe) knew he was putting a questiSht which he replied that he tsr.) P, Hon. B aronet ) cou ld not anavver.-4 Hear, be Iti g h t h t „elle then, how stood the question between Member of le" let latn ure had, i n t h e exerc i se o f hi s pu bli c d uty , opene d tt th e rt of a Member of that House, and now they found I s l•rat e th7cretary of State, while he had the baseness to per lo)m e i l act, bad Lot the morel courage to acknowledge rt. (e " ,, refis e '.! er s•) He maintained that this was a degrade sictes of 'n lC not only upon himself, but upon the House.— "Mr se e Order, order," " Chair, chair," in the midst of it ' e s e istiton. Member resumed his seat.) e er d ex „ UEB. informed the Hon. Member that he had °fa et e ' re aston wbich reflected upon the individual charac ittle b u rnber ot that House. r t kht N CONH3E said he applied the observation to the roitsisn°'• Baronet in his Ministerial capacity, and to this ob ti:il'ad to e !uuld adhere.—(Cheers.) Another complaint 44: 'abj ec was, that the Committee had n t referred to th ee hthees . maketheir report. He had made the same charge be -ea; j° the room up stairs, when 'he was called before "at but still th e lls th . ey were entirely silent upon this poipt. Now ne tt e inference to be drawn from this The inference she there ra t e pts _ Was nothing in his correspondence to justify the t e e "' whi ch ,!*( 1 by the Pest-office gentlemen. The same jus rertt "ad been rendered to the Right Hon. Baronet, had ei s ndi cate t° Nothing was mentioned in the report to e es Ito before the House of Commons, and hence a heat "'after l e , • Kr h _was plectra in the hands of the Right Hon. Ba ttle' for th Placed in this difficulty—he had been sa te _. W as °Purpose of screenine the Right Hon. Baronet, and - 4"‘itut e e . ari a te dditional reason why another inquiry should be Ish ii ' chi re 1-1 ° celled for that inquiry in vindication of his d tet te °ter. W elt tei th ?ne st then, the . Committee ended their report in s h e e toes ,. a sort of summing up; but they altogether eve thlitilet h e 'I'M whether they would recommend that this power e Nue, abolished at all. And if any gentleman had taken ale we to r te eth In , ek e anytielaindg t e h f e it c , o h n e O w ud a i s ng part of the rep:et, and sure it was more than the lie•c h 'e t ttee e ter hs mo sel , c ould do themselves —(Laerehter.) Some allu re sI Y to ! r was made in the report: tolreL'lnel) but this was eat. Implicate the Govern. of the present. tele ! , -nut L o Gove. of ptry f or 6 rd Normanhy, who had presided over `hat Department,itrietve Years, stated in his place in the other House o that never while he presided over the Home el:and, e arl !bis country, or held the Lord-Lieutenancy of nth •t Neu tarn a single warrant for pelitical purposes. ark s 91e ere "'lobe) had seldom an opuertunity of agreeing 11 1 , 4 4 /g jii e ': ft n,of the Government, commonly called the tide 'Per, House must, in justice to the editor of Lord d to cie eeo a inse ad to the what he (Mr. Duncombe) con eruertfnecer•er.ecoedflitet article upon this subject. The article si r°ngl le iboa charge which had - _ i beenmade against It ible ge niandea t o pening the letters of I r. O'Connell, and "let if he t o dish _ an opportunity should be given to the %C a fie c h ar 1 rove the charge. The article went on to state 1 ° trete e • ge.w ere true, the then Governmen t had been guilty ttt s, k ; s or be of th • ,econstit ut ion of tee country. Now,h!s l e i, _le for • - ' 1 " °Pened • se sn 't• It w as a and the Government were responsible_ . lame was breach of privilege to open the letters ' s atire See, eta " without an especial warrant from the e ,t l R exe , a re of State; and this justified him in de. arie t ;, , , , ght Hon._riation from the Right. Hon. Baronet. If tLd he to Opeetneadronbeist l l e ia t d ter n s ot ha is d suee' tee warrant, the indi `"•!%e t °ll id loft te al 0 dsc,certain]y summon theminked the his b p ar ri o vi f le t g h e e , li e ;rie e rid e st en '°,..se their ' authority. In the absence of any re plitisetit:ryt etimoz etteis:Y:ehe Secret Committee, it was left for Par 14heehis, Part u whether this power should be continued. Nth )'t°RetherQrillne twee convinced it ought te be abo ( ( Bear, hear)—and if the House agreed tr e r e Y tha t tZePt hoe elle att_l(l be . no necessity . for further lle v .T. on m s T t l i d have two points. .But still it. was rieces the nht e , subject, fo e r another inquiry, and a conclusive the House would remember that loe:9_th. Lord the Admiralty (Lord Haddingtorr) stated, on tltileslsati'esyhte4,Zed'rniatissttylar, that it . was a power which had er ov ert ways exist in any country where there wee °Quid b e ittent at all, es :vr. th n o • he Noble Lord added, that :eit,ittl.ositesi,,Gaisvepdi4feeEinerdnment unless they were entrusted maintained . that the Government 1:34- tY ‘ ra l t t • — l nosiest wer did not exist. He said, no ,Go 14114in' tngt esd ne Gape d nment—required this power. fhe ileenedeurero esufeEhnpgtrantede'aiannd.aesftlit.ise;gliainhdmehne a... 4 ''Opdee ed 4 t it n a p t the e oeta e t t ,s r, h ea h . ' ) an p d u.neep.e 71,4es:44;toltetrees:seadss;i0a.h.nnite,erhriitati:ocal repeal of this odious power. mg these views he had been in- P E T dire attention ' of the Hous , e than th e ick appointed, to ietint.oliitee bee a d conclude by moving,. That detained, ete stan or at any Prohvincial post-otfice, t(r e ' rs have beer! Tatli:kh l i s ts y s , e t i d s t a 2 ti a n ti d y er se t ees inquire into the mode - e o p t e fi n e e e d , aanncidalrseo esvery warrant for that purpose has s in a t l o ed th a e t of . state, from the Ist day of presentar} time ; the said Committee to it P i c " thei r `t;'. ,tot he Pluiun thereon to the House, and also whether * th e p lit re M. ""'" that lio n v Port A nd ev . the practice should be continued :—That re :,and 'dance the Secret Committee of last ses- Taeost-office be referred to the said Com- Si r quest', steel,me lkts.ing been put b • . L 4 h GR A: A .the SPEAKER, tho e p ° thought e a. as said, when the matter was first time that t , iala d s teit ehsess consistent with his public duty that e the ._ no es ef T s nihreseetosrs the manner in which he ex ~gtiiryr w as ti. ma:e. tfeet let intimated at the same and i t was the pleasure .ef thit 4oysi. - : to institute an LI " Pleasure pf his 'S9sereiy' 'rtleafe him • • a • •• from the office he then held, he should be quite willing to make a full disclosure of all the circumstances connected with the case which the Hon. Member had brought before the House. The House, however, after going minutely into the details, de termined that a Secret Committee was the proper tribunal for investigating a case of this description. The Hon. Gentle man, in the course of his speech, had thought fit to scandalise the latter part of the report of the Secret Committee, and he thought, under these circumstances, it was necessary for him to call to the recollection of the House arid the country, the way in which that Committee was first proposed; and here,he would take leave to remark, that it was impossible to find gen tlemen niece entitled to the confidence of that House and of the country, than the nine Members who constituted that Cern ' mince. He bad often feared that a very large share of per sonal aversien had entered into this discussion ; and yet, on the part of the Government and himself, he did ant hesitate for a moment to nominate upon the Committee a decided ma jority of his political opponents. The nine Members se lected by the House, on that occasion, were I. ord Sandon, Mr. Wilson Patten, Mr. Thus. Barin g . Sir Heatheote, Sir C. Lemon, Mr. Warburton, Mr. Strutt, the O'Conor Don, and Mr. Hawes. Now, the Committee so constituted proceeded to investigate the entire subject matter now brought under discussion for the second time by the Hon. Gentleman. He had promised that if such a Committee were appointed the whole of the circumstances, so far as he was ac quaint. d with them, should be candidly laid before them lie thought he saw in the House at that moment at least a ma jority of that Committee, and he would state upon his honour, in his place in Parliament, that every minute detail, without exception and without reservation, that was within his know ledge, was not extracted from him by cross-examination, but voluntarily tendered by him to the Committee.—( Cheers. ) He osserted that lie had voluntarily tendered to the Committee, w e;tout reserve, all the information which he possessed on the subject. There was not a point now brought under discussion by the Hen. Gentleman which was not the subject matter of his ( Sir James Graham's) evidence bef.me that Corn mittee.—(Hear, hear.) He had kept back nothing, he had concealed nothing. If his conduct was base and moan, that coirduct had been hi ought under their judgment, and they had acquitted him of baseness and meanness. —(Cheers. ) He had at least had the courage before the Committee to make a full disclosure of the whole of his conduct. Charges of want of credit were easily made; and if it was consistent with the dignity of that House to have such charges banded about, it was a matter of the greatest indifference to him, after his conduct had b'en sehmittml to the judgment of the nine gentlemen who composed the Committee. fie was acquitted as a gentle men and a Nlinister, and he cared not a rush what might be the opinion of the Hon. Member for Finsbery.—(Cheers. ) Now, the Hon. Gentleman said that the report of that Committee was unsatisfactory and evasive. It was not his duty, being the party accused, to enter into any defence of that report. 'there were, however, upon that Committee some of the most experi enced, the most learned, and the most honourable 'Members of that House. He was quite persuaded that it was not their inten tion to avoid any portion of the subject matter committed to them. They were incapable of wilfully deluding that House. He believed that House had investigated the matter with fidelity and care ; and he was satisfied, from his knowledge of their character, that they had conveyed to the House the exact impression produced on their minds by the evidence adduced. Now the Hon. Gentleman charged the Committee with dis obedience to the order of the House. He fancied, be cause a particular expression was used, that they did not trace each warrant from the period of its being issued to that of its being carried into effect ; and, therefore, he argued, they had dis obeyed the ,order of the House on the subject. He (Sir J. Graham) was confident that everything which related to the office which he Clef', in connexion with the issuing of the warrants, had been carefully investigated. The House roust recollect that he was not the only witness who had been called before the Committee. Every statement made by hitnself was contrasted with those made by the officers of other depart ments, whose statements, if his were inaccurate, must have been at variance with it. The Postmaster-General, the Secretary of the Post-office, and all the officers connected with that de partment, a ere carefully examined as witnesses. So far from the orders of the House being disobeyed, he was quite satisfied that with regard to the issuing of the warrant, and in every other respect, they had been carefully attended to and minutely observed. But the Hon. Gentleman said that iii his case there had been unusual frequency in the exercise of the powers vested in the Secretary of State. He conceived that this portion of misconduct imputed to him was one of the most important mat ters submitted to the judgment of the tribunal appointed to in vestigate the subject ; and he would read to the House the recorded judgment of that tribunal in reference to this very point of undue and comparative frequency of the exercise of author i y. The opinion of the Committee was given at page 15. The Right Honourable Baronet then read an extract from the report, stating that the warrants had been issued with nearly equal frequency by the several Administra tions since 1799; though in certain years, in consequence of maternal comtrotions, it had appeared that the number of war rants issued by the Secretaries of State was unusually great, while in otheis, for a contrary reason, it was exceedingly small. Then, again, at page 19, it was stated with respect to wart ants, not of a criminal but of a political character, there had not, upon an average, been more than four yearly ; while the greatest number ever issued in one year for such cases was 16. Now, he had hitherto referred only to the report of the Com mittee of that House; but the House must remember that a Committee had also been appointed by the House of Lords. In the House of Commons, so highly was the honour of its Mem bers estimated, that the declaration of a Member was held equivalent to his cath ; but in the other House of Parliament he had been examined upon oath, and there, also, witnesses were called who might have contradicted his statements. Fur ther, the Committee of the House of Lords, by. the advice of the Government, contained a majority of their political oppo nents. It had been said that there was no eminent lawyer, no person who was used to the examination of witnesses. Now, was that the fact? Were there no experienced and eminent lawyers on that Committee? Why, it so happened, that on that Committee sat two of the most distinguished lawyers now living in this country—( Hear, hear )—bothof whom had held the Great Seal, and had been at the head of their profession. Upon this Committee were Lord Cottenham, Lord Brougham, Lord Auckland, Lord Colchester, the Bishop of London, Lord Somers, and Lord Colborne. The question, whether there had been an improper exercise of the authority, was brought before that body, and this was the judgment of the Lords' Committee:— " We are bound, in conclusion, to state that, having looked back to the proceedings of several Secretaries of State durisig successive administrations tor more than twenty years, we have found the practice nearly uniform. The power has been very sparingly exercised, and never from personal or party motives." hag was a negative to the charge of baseness and meanness which had been brought against him—(Cheers)—never from per sonal and party motives; " and that in every case it seems to have been directed by an earnest and faithful desire to adopt that course which appeared to be necessary, either to promote the ends of justice or to prevent the disturbance of the public tranquillity, er otherwise to promote the best interests of she country." That was the recorded judgment of the house of Lords. Now, the Hon. Gentleman proceeded to advert to a paragraph which had recently appeared in the newspapers, that the Secret-office, as it was termed, in the Post-office, had been suppressed by order of the Home-office. Notwithstanding the intimate knowledge which the Hon. Gentleman possessed of this subject, he seemed to have fallen into error in contra_ distinguishing that office in connexion with the Foreign-office, from a secret office in connexion with the secret office of the Post-office. With respect to that establishment, it would appear, from page 17, that it was conducted by officers ap pointed and paid by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, from whom the orders were received, and to whom alone theye were responsible. Such an office had existed in this country, 41 connexion with the Foreign Department, for more than a century. Its existence was no new intelligence ; it ex isted in 1840; and no step had been taken which showed the disapprobation of Parliament. For a long time it had existed, not in immediate connexion with the Post-office, though under the roof of that establishment. He would now state that, not by an order from the Home-office, but by an order from the Foreign Department (as we understood the Right Hon. Baronet), it had been removed from the Post-office, and no longer existed. The Hon. Gentleman, in referring to the case of M. Mazzini, had thought it consistent with his public duty to declare his belief that the warrant presented to the Committee of both Houses of Parliament for the opening of the letters of M. Alazzini was fabricated by him for the occasion. No other ground for that harsh construction, which the lion. Member was now disposed to put on every act of his (Sir J. Graham's) —( Hear, hear)—no other ground was adduced, except that certain general terms were used in the report of the House of Lords, which he thought were at variance with the date of the warrant. The words used were that the warrant was in force for about four months ; whilst the Committee of the House of Commons stated that the war ra d was issued on the I st of March, and revoked on the 3d of June. He solemnly declared that the warrant was issued by him on the Ist of March, and revoked on the 3d of June; the original warrant having, he believed, been issued for four months. He must beg to call the attention of the House to that portion of the report which set forth the important circum stance, that new checks had been introduced in modern times with respect to the issuing of the warrant. In the first place, since the year 182:4 all the originaliwarrants had been recorded in the Post-office. In ISO 6 regulations were made, impoiing most essential and material checks upon the issue of these warrants. It was not possible now for the Secre tary of State, unknown to others, to issue a weren't of this description. Both the Under-Secretaries of State, and a confidential clerk at the Post-office, were cognisant of every matter of this description.—( Hear, hear.) So much for the fabrication of the warrant, and the assignment to it of a false date and it was impossible that he could have committed the , base a• int ien act attributed to him by the Hon. Gentleman, without its being .. hnow . n to the two Under- Secretaries of State, and to a confidential -lc. who, although a clerk, was a gen- - tleinan in every sense of the wo. -a. and as inca p able of a base itel false act of this description, as any f the Hon. Members to whom he was then speaking.—( Hear, hear, and • cheers.) est He would now pass to another accusation, which had bee.. . . ore - ferred by the Hon. Gentleman against a Noble colleague Os his, upon whose honour and worth he had thought fit to cast imputations—he referred to the Earl of Aberdeen. Now, he was bound to stater that the accusation was made in round terms, and certainly in the most harsh and offensive manner, but when he came to hear the grounds of the assertion it appeared to be altogether vague. The assertion was that the declaration made by Lord Aberdeen, in his place in the House of Lords, was at variance with the report of the two Houses of Parliament upon a most important fact—viz., whe ther NI. Nlazzini's correspondence was intercepted, and was communicated to a foreign Minister. Load Aberdeen, in his place in Parliament, gave the most solemn denial to that asser tion. Now, let the House hear what the Commons said on this point. The report maid—" Such information deduced from those letters as appeared to the British Minister calculated to involve dangerous consequences, was communicated to a Foreign Power; but the information so communicated was not of a nature to compromise, and did not compromise, the safety of any individual within the reach of that Foreign Power, nor was it made known to that Power by what means or from what source that information had been gained." That was the report of the Secret Committee. What was the statement of the House of Lords on this subject? It said, " Certain parts of the information thus obtained were communicated to a Fo reign Government, in so far a; su h communication appeared to be warranted, and without names or details that might ex pose any individual then residing in a foreign country to dan ger." That was the opinion of Lord Cottenham, after all the transactions had been fully developed. (Mr. Duncembe here made some observations across the table, which we did not hear.) Did the Honourable Gentleman deny the accuracy of that report ? He had himself quoted that report when he made the accusation, and was he ( Sir J. Graham) to be prevented from quoting the same re port, when the honour of a amble individual was assailed ? (Cheers.) He thought ho certainly might refer to the de cision; of that noble individual's Peers, the majority of whom were his political opponents, in vindication of his honour. — (Cheers.) He could not suppose that the House would think that his Noble Friend the Secretary for Foreign. Affairs would deliberately, in . his place in Parliament, make a declaration inconsistent with the truth, knowing as he did that the statement would be tested by an examination before Committees of both Houses of Peelle , ment.—( Hear, hear.) Now, he ( Sir James Graham) per haps might be permitted to state an opinion, which he strongly entertained, that with reference to this particular power—that odious, that invidious and obnoxious power vested in the Se cretary of State, by . warrant—he might.be permitted to state that for dornestm purposes it was generally inoperative, and the exercise of it on many accounts objectionable. With res pect to our foreign relations this power stood on different grounds. The House must remember that in this country (he thought he said it advisedly, the only country in Europe, whatever might be the danger to public interest from the presence of any foreigner)—the Executive Government had no power vested in them by law of averting that danger by removing a person found abusing our hospitality. In the case to which reference had been made, the facts were stated pretty fully in the report of the Commons, at page 14. From the correspondence whiele had been intercepted it appeared that it was intended that a descent should be made on the coast of Italy for the purpose of excitiag internal disturbance in that country. That there was danger was not imaginary, but real. It was formidable, for if it had been carried into successful execution, it was not to be dissembled the peace of Italy would certainly have been dis ' turbed, and he believed that the peace of Europe, under those circumstances, could not have been preserved; if an Euro. peen war ensued, England could not have remained a mere spectator of the quarrel. it was said that a descent on the coast of Calabria was contemplated, and that an unfair use was made of the information gained in that instance, and that a trap was laid for the cer respondence of M. Mazzini. Now, he absolutely and entirely denied the facts upon which this assumption was grounded. The Hon. Gentleman, in the course of his speech, with great harshness said that the blood of the persons who were exe cuted on the melancholy occasion to which he referred mast be on the heads of persons in this country. He (Sir James Graham) denied in the most solemn manner that any trap had been laid for the individuals in question. In the first place, no descent on the coast of Calabria was expected. The con spirators abusing the hospitality of the British Government at Corfu, concocted their plans there. It was not true that the point of their destination was believed to be the coast of Ca labria. No information whatever had been given by the Bri tish Government to the Neapolitan Government oa the sub ject.- And so far from the Neapolitan Government having prepared troops for the reception of those persons who had been led into a trap, as had been al leged, those persons landed without meeting any troops. They were arrested not by troops, but by a body similar to the posse coraitztus in this country. It was not until the lapse of a considerable time, during which the troops had to be sent from a distant point by a steam-boat, that the troops of the Nea politan Government came into contect with those persons. He understood that only:one of those persons was a Neapolitan, all the other parties came from the leathern parts of Italy, and had no connexion whatever with the king - done of NaFles. He cer tainly could state with confidence that what was stated in the report was true, that all information received through the Post. offiee was transmitted unread to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. It was the solemn assertion of the Secre tary of State for Foreign Affairs that he never transmitted to any foreign Government any document, hut that he only "gave the substance of the information."—(lronical cheers.) He was now frankly avowing what had beer. done. His Noble Friend endeavoured by giving th,t infermatiim to check a dan gerous movement, but he had done nothing calculated to compromise the life of any individual.—( Hear, hear.) The Hoe. Gentleman had referred to a Pole of the name of Graliski, and said that information had been given to a fo reign Poser with reference to Polish movements—informa tion which might have compromised the safety of innocent per sons resident in Poland. Again t this Graliski a warrant was issued, and certainly he (Sir James Graham) was bound to state, upon his own responsibility, that he ism ei that warrant under circumstances which, if presented again for his con sideration, would lead him to take the step which he had taken on that occasion. The Hon. Gentleman, referring to an expression in the report, intimated that he (Sir J. Gra ham) had issued general warrants. Now, he could only say that he had never issued a warrant of that description—a warrant without the name of the party being set forth. He could say confidently, that on no one occasion had he issued anything approaching to a general warrant. He thought he tpis m ishniateo i efia : nuirpr l efs t emoue t tew.laav t rset tow, with propriety, drop for the present this most e y u iror, b rn : so: s u b ject. teoe: since al t dt ‘ bi al y : ele i b t :ue h t reaeso r h t e itbuegi s ott pneaneidonhcwi fedtaad(tQlso,nt Queen eh t woe h ateee i nn s nr. bet p Aghe o tiianhi w vtenee e vy ;i r e beinghi thateh w vestedaasn be f ore e fo i r n e t t hh fur t heree ? p t o r etTphahereeyd Secretaryc to ou r l e d vo n k oo revoke require further information on the subject. Everything that inquiry could give was now before them. If it should be found necessary for the 'public safety to limit this power, the proper coarse would be to repeal the statute, to pass another, and im pose the necessary checks. But if it had to be exercised by :he Secretary of State it was impossible for that individual faithfully, fearlessly, and honestly, for the public, to exercise the powers entrusted to him by his Sovereign, and not by the Sovereign without the confidence of that House, for without the confidence of that House no Sovereign could maintain a Minister for a single day. He said, that if it was for the good of the public that the Secretary of State was to be trusted with the exercise of those powers, it was incompatible with the honest, fearless, and advantageous exercise of those powers, that he should be calla upon to declare publicly what were the reasons and what were the circumstances which had led him to exercise them.—(Cheers.) Mr. SHEIL then rose and addressed the House as follows : —sir, in what I have to address to the House I shall be very short, and I hope very temperate. The Right Hon. Gentle , man has unequivocally admitted that the letters which were addressed to M. Mazzini were opened, and the substance of the information contained in those letters communicated to a foreign power. The report says so, and the evidence of the Right Hon. Gentleman is almost more than confirmatory of the report. The Right Hon. Gentleman justified that proceeding. This is not the time to consider whether that proceeding was right or not. That question was not raised. My Hon. Friend will have an opportunity of raising that question by bringing the subject before the House and the country upon another and more fitting occasion. But thus stands the broad fact—the let ters of M. Mazzini were opened, and those letters regularly conveyed to him after being opened, himself being unaware that the correspondence was disclosed. The Right Hon. Gentle man says no trap was laid It would have been as well, then, to have informed M. Mazzini that his letters had been opened. The power was exercised by the Right Hon. Gentleman at the Post-office, and certainly the substance of the information thus obtained was communicated to a foreign power. The Committee state—" The facts of the case, as far as the Com mittee feel at Ithet ty to disclose them, appear as follows." It appears, therefore, that there were facts which the Committee did not think themselves at liberty to disclose. Ido not mean to say that a Committee of Secrecy, appointed under such pe culiar circumstances, was not justified in exercising this discre tion ; but. it is clear that the whole is not known, there is no suppressio fuell, but suppressio veri is admitted. It is re markable tnat this passage occurs in the report of the Com mittee—" They think it most desirable to make known that the above three warrants are the only warrants to open letters which the present Government had issued." That question was not referred to them. The Committee gratuitously state that these three ate the only instances in which the present Government have exercised this power. The powers exercised by , other Governments had nothing to do with the question. Upon this part of the case—fulfilling the engagement—to he very brief, I may say, that it is still more objectionable. The Com mittee state the names of persons who are no longer living in reference to warrants of this kind which have been issued. They then proceed to state that they will not mention the names of any living individuals, with certain exceptions. The passage runs thus :—" Your ommittee abstained from giving particular information concerning any warrant, and from naming a single individual whose letters were directed to be opened ; but they have been induced, with respect to the mode of executing certain warrants, to mention the names of parties included in them, inasmuch as they are connected with the circumstances which mainly led to the inquiry your Committee were appointed to enter into." They accordingly proceed to mention the names of two Poles, and I think al. Mazzini. Now, I want to know why it is that nothing has been said about the letters of the Hon. Member for Finsbury—(Loud cheers)—it that Committee have adhered practically to the rules they themselves laid down ?—( Hear, hear.) The names of two Poles were mentioned, the name of M. Mazzini was mentioned. Were those the only names specifically men tioned in the House of Commons ?—( Hear, hear.) The Hon. Member for Finsbury, the representative of a great section of this metropolis—( Hear, hear)—boldly stated in the House of Commons that his privileges as a Member of Parliament were violated—( Loud cheers)—and that his letters had been opened. —(Cheers.) There was a statement as distinctly specified as that made with regard to Mazzini. The name was mentioned. Why is it that the Committee said nothing of Mr. Duncombe ? —( Loud cheers ) The statement was repeated before the Committee. You excluded Mr. Duncombe who brought the charge.—(Loud cheers.) Mr. Duncombe offered to appear before the Committee to corroborate the charge, to prove the accusation—the Committee refused to allow him to conduct the case, or, I believe, to hear him.—( Hear, hear.) Under those circumstances it ie a matter of legitimate curiosity to know what justification there is on the part of the Com mittee for omitting all mention of the lion. Member for Finsbury —(Loud cheers.) How stands the fact ? When the Right Hon. Gentleman was first interrogated on the subject, he refused to give an answer—( Hear, hear)—he sheltered himself behind official prerogative.—( Cheers. ) When public clamour arose the Right Hon. Gentleman at the head of her Majesty's Government, who observed how uneasy was the beating of the public pulse, came down to the House and said that a Committee would be conceded—that which in the first instance was withheld.—(Hear, hear.) A Committee was granted—" a great fact "—but the fact, of all others the most important,—the opening of the letters of a Member of Parliament—was not mentioned —( Hear, hear.) I now ask this question of you—(Cheers)--Tell me, y.hy (turn ing to Sir J. Graham), who answer for Mazzini, who anwered for the two Poles,—tell me will you answer whether you opened the letters of Mr. Duncombe?—( Vehement cheering. ) Lord SANDON rose; but having remained silent for a short time, a cry of " Question; question l" was raised by the Oppo sition. He said he did not catch the question of the Right lion. Gentleman, and begged he would repeat it. 11Ir. S HEIL—I did not eels any question of the Noble Lord (Loud Cheers.) It was of the Right Hon. Gentleman I asked the question—(Loud cheers)—l asked the question of him, and I now repeat the interrogatory—( Loud cheering. ) Lord SANDON said that, as the question of the Right Hon. Gentleman was not addressed to hint, but to the Right Hon. Gentleman the Secretary of State for the Home Department, end as he did not think it consistent with his duty to give cheers) —he believed it was his duty, i:onamittee, to make a few observations.— in the first place, that ( Hear, hear.) e "erriitrk, ' tinder a great disad vantage, members of the Committeelaboureu a a a ny Ch a al;man of because, from the cireemstances under which the vantage, begged to make it a secret one, thereby signifying tn4i there ~ #24; p!'pe-• Committee was appointed— the 'House lif.'jn. i e thought fit to thing in the nature of the subject which should not be re vealed—they were precluded from replying to many questions that might be asked of them. It might be wrong to appoint a Secret Committee, but as long as the House was of sptniun that it ought to be so, they could not go beyond what was stated in the report, witholit violating their duty to the House which appointed them. That report contaiued the answer to all that had been said by the Hon. Genths.roah (Mr. Dun e combe). It might he said that the report was evasive a ci d un satisfactory, because it did net gratify the prurient curiosity Of indiveluals—(Cheers)—bnt it contained a full and fair ac count of the entire transaetiou, He believed he spoke the opinions of the entire Committee, when he 444 t! ! 3t the in formation conveyed to them was full and complete and at to Hight Hon. Gentlemen (Sir J. Graham) had stated, it was net extracted by cross-examination, but was fully and freely laid before them, and they had the opportunity of t§ting the asser tion' made by reference to the documents themselves. klo doubt the public sympathy went in this case along wi:h thOse persons who took refuge in this country, upon whose soil the slave became free the moment he touched it; bit it shenid be recollected that they were engaged in tratisaistiuns which might have compromised the peace of Europe.—(lJear, hear ? ) Ho would not give any oninion as to the propriety of the course adopted. The Hon. elentleasan had exercised his powers of ridicule on the last page of the report, and he did not mean to say that it would bear the test of criticism. He edmiteed It was a piece of Mosaic—a bit of white here and a bit of black there; but the Committee were of opinion that it was better to state the arguments which might be used for and against the power of issuing warrants fur opening letters, than that they should state any opinions or conclusions of their own. lie believed it was admitted that the issuing of the warrants had taken place only in the exercise of a conscientious duty on the part of the Government. He believed that, on the whole, the Government had exercised a sound discretion in the course they had porsued. Sir JAMB, GRAH t e Nif felt Wend at the present moment to make a few observations to the House, as he should be ex. tre mely sorry to have it supposed that he intended to act dis courteoudY to those Hon, Members who had put questions to him. The House would remember that in the last session hp had declined, 'respectfully hut firmly, to answer any questions with respect to the warrants that had been issued. At that time, however, he stated that if the House thought fit to ap point a tribunal to inquire into the matters he should at once bow to their decision and make any statements to them they might require.—(Hear, hear.) It was the pleasure of the House to appoint that Committee —it was formed of his pilitical oppcinents, and yet he had given every information to them that he could. There 'was not one act of his for which he was responsible as a Minis ter of the Crown which he had not stated to the Committee. —( Hear, hear.) Having done this, he could not, comistently with his duty, answer any further interrogatories.—( Hear. ) He had given all the information in his power in M. Mazzini's ca'e, and the other one that had been referred to, and he could not go further ; and if any other warrant was brought before the House, he should be prepared to deaiwith it as he had done in M. Maazirti's case. Mr. HU.IE tkoug ht they had no right to blame the Right Hon. Baronet when he stated that he had given full informa tion before the Committee. What, then, were they to do? Why, they should not question the Right Honourable Baronet's accuracy till they knew what the Right Honourable Baronet had stated. He wished to impress upon Hon. Mem bers last session that a Secret Committee would not satisfy the public, and he thought that in that opinion he had been borne out. The House appointed a Select Committee, and that Committee was appointed at the suggestion of the Right lion. Baronet. lie had said on a former occasion that the character of the country was at stake, and that the only course to be pursued was to make the proceedings of the' Committee open.—( Hear, hear.) The. report that had been produce& from the Committee was of • such a character that no person could form an opinion upon it. He lk lieved that the proceedings tkat had taken place would never have been sanctioned, if it had been supposed that the Government would have pursued the course they had done. He never could have believed, until the, Right Hon. Baronet admitted it, that he would have become the police-officer of the King of Naples. After the statements that had been made that Members of that House had had their letters opened, and their affairs made public, was it to be supposed the public would rest quiet, or that they would allow such things to con tinue ? It was true, the Right Hon. Baronet had su fficient in numbers to stifle inspiry, hut, after what had been stated, it was impossible Ministers couli so far forego their characters as to permit the system so cont i nue.—( Hear.) Why was the Committee appointed ? Why, for the purpose of considering whether it was fit that this power should exist in the Ministry or not. The present was no political matter, but one io which the whole country was interested. The duty of the House was to see what they could do to prevent the evil in future. He trusted the discussioe would end for the present by a declaration on the part of the Right Hon. Gentleman that the evidence should be printed, and then Members would be enabled to come to a sound and satisfactory conclusion. Sir HANMER had on a previous occasion given his vote for inquiry. That inquiry took place, and it pleased the House of Commons to make it secret; he thought now that it was proved they were to blame in that, as the report that had been produced was anything but satisfactory. What were the facts that had been stated that night ? Why, an Hon. Member, the representative of one of the Metropolitan districts, had stated in his place in that House that his let ters had been opened and subject to inspection.—( Hear.) But it did concern every free man in England that the House of Commons should inquire into this charge—( Hear, hear)—it was bound to see whether or not any letters of the Hon. Mem ber had been opened, and if so, whether they had been opened with sufficient reason—( Hear, hear)—for that would be no in considerable guide to them in that question which must in a short timewith be brought. this extraordinary uoder power—.a consideration—what power, i the intendedxi e o to c be done of which, he declared, though he hoped he was not unacquainted ith the history of his country, and though he had paid some attention to it, and though he had been some time in Parlia ment, came upon him with as much surprise as it might on a man at the Land's-end.—( Hear, hear.) He therefore thought there were strong grounds for an inquiry ; he thought the House ought to appoint a new committee or re-appoint the old one—(Loud cries of " No, no")—in order to conduct that c ir o iq m a p ir le y t ; e so to ppor t t_ hat ( HoCommittee a h n e d hesheshuloduld give e e that; support to a motion for it, without ent er i ng i n t o an y o f t he imputations that had been made ag a i ns t th e Ri g ht H on . Gentleman. He did not for a moment entertain them, for as a man he respected the Right lion. Baronet. He be lieved the Right Hon. Baronet was as honest as any man who had held his high situation ; but he did demand that this inquiry should be made when it was demanded by a Mem ber of that House itself. _ Mr. Sergeant MURPHY said it was not his intention to approach the consideration of this question in anything like an acrimonious or party spirit, and before entering on the ques tion, he might state that he had had the opportunity of pe rusing attentively the report that had been made on the sub ject, and the result that had formed itself in his mind, and the conclusion he drew from the perusal of that report was, that this was a privilege en joyed by the Government which was useless for the well being of that Government, and which ought to be abandoned for the safety and honour of the country.--( Hear, hear.) That was the conclusion at whit.* he had arrived ; perhaps he had formed a crude judgment on the point, but it was his intention calmly and dispassionately to lay before the House the reasons that had induced him to form that conclusion. Before he did so, he might, in the first instance, address himself to an obser vation made by the Noble Lord the Member for Liverpool. He must say it struck him that one observation he had made was not justly suited either to the dignity of that House or the dig. nity of the subject. The Noble Lord 'used toward the Hon. Member for Finsbury the language that any person who made an inquiry into a matter so deeply involving his own personal interest, must be actuated by a prurient curiosity. But the im pression upon that House was, that the Hon. Member for Fins bury did not demand that inquiry in his place in Parliament on account of his own personal feelings, but as affecting a matter involving the individual privileges and feelings of every Member of the House of Commons.—( Hear, hear.) He would read an extract from the report, and he would then ask the House if it was possible to conceive terms more stringent, er language more forcible than that employed, to convey to that House, and through that House to the country, that it was the privilege of every representative of the people to have an unreserved communication with his consti tuents. In page 8 of the report, it was stated, that " in 1739, the House resolved, inter atia, that it is a high infringement of the privileges of the knights ; citizens, and burgesses, chosen to represent the Commons of Fingland in Parliament, for any postmaster or his deputy to look into, or open, by any means whatever, any letter directed to or signed by the proper hand of any Member of the House, without an express warrant under the hand of the Secretary of State for every such opening ; nor shall such ponmaster or hia deputy look into or delay, or detain, any letter addressed to, or signed by the hand of any Member, unless by an express warrant from the Secretary of State for every such detaining or delay." Now, he would ask, when any Member of Parliament, like the Hon. Member for Finsbury, relying on this forcible resolution of the House, came forward in his place and demanded an answer to his alle gations, he would repeat again, notwithstanding the reasons given by the Right Hon. Baronet for not answering that de- rnand, that the impression that would be made on the country by that silence would be an unsatisfactory one. He stated that, because he recollected that all the difficulties that had been created on this subject might have been avoided altogether, if the Right Hon. Baronet would have pursued the same course in the case of the Hon. Member for Finsbury, as when the Hon. and Learned Member for Beth brought before the House strong and impressive charges against several individual Members of that House.—( Hear, hear.) He recollected perfectly well at that time, that an objection was made to placing the Hon. and Learned Member for Bath on the Committee of Inquiry, but he was afterwards selected as Chairman of it, and he (Mr. Sergeant Murphy) would challenge any person who was present at the investigation of what was called the Compromise Committee, or any one who sat on that Committee, to say whether the conduct of the Hon. and Learned Member for Bath, as its Chairman, did not raise him still higher than before in the estimation of the House, on account of the impartiality he had displayed.—( Hear, hear ) He brought his great natural sagacity, as well as his legal acumen to the investigation, and he asked if the Hon. Member for Finsbury, whose privileges not merely as an individual, but which were in some respects the property of the country, had been violated, might not fairly and reasonably have been added to the Committee ? It was because he was not added to it, that the investigation had been so unsatisfactory.— ( Hear, hear.) T e Right Honourable Baronet had came forward to-night, and declared that he did not feel called on by his sense of public duty to make any decla ration to the lion. Member. But he at the same time de clared, on his honour as a gentleman, that he had made a free ahlousdue and unreserved of theervedcomirou communication of Lords;icationto and h theCom e mittees of this Murphy) was bound is and did b e li eve that he had Sergeant Murphy) done so. But when he said that, he was afterwards led to another ques tion, which arose from another statement that had fallen from the Right lion. Baronet. He told them that no communica tion of his bad led in any degree to any intervention between this country and foreign States, by which the latter were en abled to repress some attempts at invasion or insurrection. But he asked the Right Hon. Baroaet whether he would go to the length of telling them that no other person connected with her Majesty's Government had not given such information ? ( Hear, hear.) He asked whether, even in the dim and shadowy manner in which that information might have been givens it was not sufficient to convey to those Governments who, it was well known, had secret and very able diplomatic they nco fo ll owed agents in this country, an intimation of who were the parties, just as clearly as if the names themselves had been given ? ( Hear, hear.) Did they not know that this. g country was ü b in e r e n f t ur s, up such investigations ? Was it not known that Russia em ployed a great number of persons of this 104 whose busi ness it to was denounce to furnish such pinsotheir Hon. G r s e " na .ar a m rk in ab g le w fo it r h th t e he sag d a ip c l i n ty m a a n ti d e skagilelnwtsithofwfhoicrel: tries, Finsbury, therefore, asked the question , and he ( Sergeant Murphy) did not think it had b en satisfactorily answered, and unless an equally distinct assurance could be given by informationlon T to he th e Right Hon. Baronet, as that by which he had exonerated him self, that the Earl of Aberdeen, her Majesty's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, stood equally absolved from making any such communication. Now, before he went into any other branch of the case, he might be allowed to state pertain matters he believed had a useful bearing on the question. From the manner in which the report was drawn up, he thought these warrants might be done away with altogether. He might class the use of these warrants under three se parate heads ; the first was in matters purely criminal; the second in matters seditious and political ; the third involving us in relations with Foreign States. Now, with regard to ;, V 1 antiquity, and the antiquity cf t l h a ;: s n r e w was rr an t thats first Gt' the fiat. One nf the grounds ail which 't 2 4 possible to be rnain upon a warrant of Anne, po Pfi?lffinations i ssue d antecedent to that period, but he was c ertain if th ey went higher up in sea rc h a dPe ll4d of precedents for popular liberty, they would hardly adopt the re ign so precedents. C h a r; n e s o h r at J yy am ly es lii , ,,pr o; ththe elTCl.orrni4rlmtosnuwseedal?th,lworil thoseter St, and he was confirmed in the belief of gard to criminal resiters, a lt his ettp;rtence qr inns : tigaiions proved that ne OtteF_ wane ever protltteed Whicoh at all nal elucidated any part of a criminal proceeding. He had never Right Hon. Baronet him iktr i s l 7 iti a l n ity in b st y an th c e e self; io'hOinidilienf t4 3t ln l l ffiMad tn tha 491,14 exercise of this privilege, it was t unsafigaacry anti incon venient, and, he believed, he went the length of saying that it wiieht be dispensed with. Was not the House aware of the deep koingt r ti, privilege which existed in the public mind, when the Hon. t''3 ,l )49:brolight thismotion forward last year? Did not every sotfatement of the newspaper iiironglioist the coiptry, no sor P ttcf what nolitics, deqognce it ?--ss (Hear, hear.) Di Alt wt . ) . 4Seipty chin, which a 'ra t an went to obtain polit ical i nformation from, ring with one universal titiferY dust the Governm en t ?—(.' No,' from 4 r i l d not ~,b,eltley‘e that the present Secre tary A b l e ini s s a t i e d ria “ l t 4 e nt!Priin said it Ng, ne," remendmis cries of No, no.t') lie did not mean to determine with what justice that opinion preceded' 1,4 4, e, tor exercise ncll. privilege, than any r ho had qre arYeriT w s ezipsretastsee4w, was that, as busted by ' the 1 - 6 a• Baronet btit It W4s certa i n 10)9 spice last (Sir J. Hammon) that it came upon the countr.,: ' i a no velty. Wherever he went at that time all parties, irrespective of creeds or politics, joined throughout the country in one uni versal feeling against it.-- Cries of no.") t s le sT rii th ie e n i lfte tellnigeanil4tNo with which i h b e t i tl 4 l oi ( " r icT s appealed e t i o n e those t that: n.hs ifssia . , Was if, Useful finr foreign purposes . ? Would it no t h ave b een more useful to make a stringent Alien Act, which would give kl the power of reimv jag wont _ plotting ainst foreign St a t es , than for the Member& of 4 k-Osernrnerit to act as spies for foreign States ? It was alleged on the present occasion that no information had been given which could prove hurtful to in dividuals. He must say that he considered such information, so far from being useful, would be highly injurious from its vagueness, and that it was likely to involve innocent persons by reason of the suspicion which it would entail. For these reasons he wished that this country should get rid of a practice which, so far from being beneficial, was, he thought, on the whole, likely to prove hurtful, by making this country, instead of an asylum, as it had been for the exile, rather a trap for ensnaring them, and handing the m over to foreign Govern ments.—( Hear. ) Sir ROBERT PEEL apprehended that the question to which the Hon. and Learned Gentleman had adverted was not the vestion now under the consideration of the House. A great part of the speech of the Hon. and Learned Gentleman was occupied in discussing whether it was desirable or not, that the power should be continued in the Secretary of State, at his discretion and on his own responsibility, to open letters. Ile discussion of that subject would come much better under the notice of the House in the shape of a distinct motion for altering the existing law and the existing usage, rather than upon the particular motion which the Hon. Member for Fins bury had introduced; and if it were desirable that the course hitherto pursued in this respect by the Secretary of State should be altered, he thou g ht the substitute which • the Hon. and Learned Gentleman had offered would be scarcely prefer able—a stringent Alien Act.—( Hear, hear.) He did not think the Hon. and Learned Gentleman could have been pre sent at the discussions which took place on a former occasion ; for if he had been present he would have seen that the Alien Act was repealed from the impression that the Alien Act might be madesubsery lent, not to the interests of this country, but to the paornotion of the policy and interests of foreign countries. ( Hear, hear.) Did the Hon. and Learned Gentleman really believe that the alien was exposed, ender ordinary circum stances, to more inconvenience and danger than ha would be if there was an absolute discretion and power to remove the alien from the country alto Other ? The alien might be ex posed to immediate danger 'from such a course. He hoped that the Hon. and Learned Gentleman, who seemed to be the warmest advocate fur parting with this power, would see the injustice of his opieio.r. He hoped the House would not allow ties future consideration of that question to be prejudiced by the discussion which had taken place, nor by the suggestions Which had been given. The Hon. Gentleman, the Member for Montrose, had made suggestions at variance with those of the lion. Gentleman, the Member for Finsbury. The motion of the latter was for a new Committee; but the Honeursble Member fer Montrose, instead of a new Committee, pre ferred publishing the evidence which had been taken before the former Committee. Why, what were the facts? This House, after a full consideration and dis cussion, determined to appoint a Select Committee, and they further determined that that Committee should be secret. The Commit'ee was accordingly so appointed, and in order that a full and unreserved disclosure might be made before the members of that Committee, by those who had been Mi nisters of the Crown, the members of this as well as of the former Administration had each solicited her Majesty's per mission to make a full disclosure of every fact. They had received permission from 'her Majesty to make such disclosures, upon the statement that the Committee was to be a secret one, and therefore that they could, without prejudice to the public interest, make that frank and unreserved disclosure. ( Hear, hear.) The permission of her Majesty had been granted upon these terms. He believed the Noble Lord op posite (Lord John Russell) had been examined before that Committee.—( Lord John Russell nodded assent.) The late Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs had been examined—the present Secretary for Foreign Affairs had been examined, as well as the present Secretary of State. He (Sir R. Peel) had been examined before that Committee, having received the permission of her Majesty to make a full and unreserved disclosure; they had withheld no fact—nothing even affecting the interests of indi viduals or the general interests of the country—in order that the Committee m ght form a judgment as to the exercise of the power vested in the Secretary of State. On these conditions, be repeated, those persons had been examined, and now the Hon. Gentleman asked that all the evidence so given, in order that the elements of the judgment of the Committee might be perfect, should be published.—( Hear, hear.) The House would hardly sanction that proposal.—( Hear, hear.) As to the policy of such a power, he would reserve his opinion for a future oc casion. The question now was, how far the character and con duct of the present Government were affected. If the Go vernment had assumed to themselves a power not sanctioned by usage, or contrary to law, then their conduct might be justifi ably censured or condemned. But with respect to the exercise of a power which had been vested in the Executive, it was the Parliament—it was you—the House of Commons—(said the Right Hon. Baronet emphatically )—which conferred this power —it was you who, with a full knowledge of its extent, have recognised its continuance. —( Loud cries of "Hear, hear.") It is you who have committed to us this instrument for maintain ing and preserving the public peace.—( Hear, hear.) For 150 years that power had been possessed by the Executive Gover nment. Could they pretend ignorance —could they say that the whole subject had not been brought under their consideration at different periods ? In 1735 it had been brought under the notice of the House of Commons.—( Laughter from the Oppo sition.) Well, he would come down to later periods. Hon. Gentlemen opposite should not pretend ignorance of the his tory of their own country.—( Loud cheers from the Ministerial benches.) They might as well assail their predecessors, as charge the Executive Government of this day with exer cising this power.—( Hear, hear.) The power had not been vested in them without their knowledge and sanction. In 1735 they expressly by their own resolution admitted that there was no particular sanction that Members of the Hence of Commons should be exempted from the operation of this power ; for the resolution went on to say that the privilege on the part of the Postmaster- General to open letters did not extend to Members of that House, unless opened under a war rairit.—( Hear, hear, from the Ministerialists.) That was their own resolution; so that in 1735 this power had been, at all events, fully recognised by that House. This power had been exercised by Secretaries of State remarkable for their know ledge of constitutional privileges, and for their defence of civil liberty. But if Honourable Gentlemen thought that the present House of Commons was ignorant of the acts of their predecessors in 1735, why was not the act of the House of Commons rescinded in a more formal and deliberate manner in 1837 ? Why, Sir, in 1837 the House of Commons was party to an Act of Parliament which did expressly recognize the exist ence of this power on the part of the Secretary of State. The Hon. Gentleman seemed to doubt that Parliament had given that power. He begged to refer him to the Act of Parliament passed in 1837, in which he would find it expressly stated, in reference to letters transmitted by post, that they should not be opened in Great Britain except in obedience to as express war rant in writing, under the hand and seal of one of her Majesty's principal Secretaries of State now in Ireland were under the warrant of the Lord-Lieutenant. Was not this a direct and express recognition ? If not, he must own he did not know what recognition meant. Well, then, the Go vernment had the power, under the sanction of this House. It had been held that the exercise of this power was necessary for the maintenance of public tranquillity, fur the preservation of external peace. This was one of the instruments which Parliament had committed to their hands for the maintenance of external tranquillity, and the preservation of internal peace, and if they had allowed either to have been dis turbed,: from failure in the exercise of this power, the Government would lastly have been blameable. Hon. Members on that sided f the House would, in that case, have been the very first to call them into question for refusing to exercise the power entrusted to them for that purpose.— ( Hear, hear.) It was very well at that time to condemn his Right Hon. Friend for issuing these warrants in the month of August, 1842, but he (Sir R. Peel) wished it were possible to recal to the memory of Hon. Members the particulars of the debate that took place in the House in that very month of August, on the state of the country at the time. He recol. lected, that in that debate the Hon. Member for Wolverhampton rose in his place, on the question that, owing to the state of the country, Parliament should not be prorogued. The danger of civil commotion was forcibly dwelt on by the Hon. Member, and he said it would be madnessio permit Parlia ment to separate withotit taking some measures to call them to gether within a limited period. A motion was passed limiting the period of remission from their duties, and Parliament was again called together in a short time time after, because it was supposed that such a course was absolutely necessary on ac count of the troubled state of the country, The Hon. Member for Wolverhampton rose in the debate that took place in July, at a period when an unusual number of warrants were issued, and he read three letters from the neighbourhood of the place he represented—from the Potteries. He read the whole of the first letter dated July the 20th, and it described the state of the country as most alarming ; it stated that a general feeling of discontent designing men , that the col the town of Hanley, in band s o f afe , oa about with bludgeons, exc iti ng portion of the peopl e w h o irrtsh aofornu dsa thousand terror n men, was miles e e n n , a g rem aroundoi a d nm e g r roamed d thatd were really disposed tq work. They dared not do so, and the destitution of their poor families was in consequence more intolerable every hour. The first open exhibition of violence, the letter stated, had broken out one day last week, and continued for the three following days. The colliers were obliging all individuals in that part of the country to drop work, and where resistance was attempted by the managers, they were treated in the roughest manner. An other of the letters sent stated that ten thousand paupers of all trades were out in one week, and that the number would he increased to twenty thousand. It added that the country was com pletely armed, and the writer said that having twenty or thirty servants, he thought he should be able to protect himself. These were evidences of the state of the country in 1842, and they were given to the House as warnings not to pro rogue Parliament at that period. The Hon. Member for Manchester implored the Government to give their best consideration to the distdrbed state of the mengfacturiug dis tricts, as the evils which were paranmemt there, unless checked in time, would invqlee the country in one common ruin. Then followed the Hon. Member for Stockport, who indignantly de nied that the language used by himself, or those with whom he acted, could he understood as giving rise to these disorders. He asked the House to consider the condition of the manufge, turing districts, and to make some inquiries to mitigate the dis tresses which prevailed. That was the language used by Hon, Members in the month Qf August, 1842, and yet Mi nisters asked for no extraordinary powers to repress the spirit of dieorder which prevailed over the country. Had they neg lected to maintain the public peace which the House of Com mons had intrusted to them? Had they left the manufacturing interest to the mercy of the thousands and tens of thousands of tumultuous persons, who were wandering in a state of idle ness in those districts? If they had neglected the ordinary powers which the law gave, then Hon. Members on the oppo• site side would have been the very first to blame them for this Vemissness, and to find fault for not having in a more energetic :manner exercised in such 411 hour the very power for which they were now called in question, He (Sir R. Peel) knew nothing more painful than the possession of a power of this nature, and with regard to the duties that de volved upon these for the maintenance of the peace of the country, he could only say that in his experience they were most painful duties. --( Hear, hear.) If they had reason to believe, fee instancie, that in this free Country p9rsOß were handed together, or connected with others tq ihe Nary ofanother oouutry, then the painful consideration would weigh with them whether they ought to avail themselves of that power, and so give information of those machinetigna to that foreign country in which it would not lie a breach of faith to examine the eerrespentlegee of private individuals, if they toreow thqt trhe prubaftility of disturbances in those countries would have a tendency to produce a general war—and if by this means they should repress disorders that were likely to involve the interests of two countries, then that original difieulte-.ethe using of that power—would be greatly increased, and it might h 9 Illeetlon how ter they might be justified in availing them selves of fiat priyiloge, - Was it to be expected that, in such a passe they shou l d neglect to use the ordinary precautions which their predecessors had done? Certainly not. And was it fair, was it just, that they should be the Are; Ministry to bear the brunt of nopalar indignation, of pnpu• lir feeling A Elomnlittee had been appointed, and on that Committee there was a majority of their political opponents. Before it they had stated every fact with regard to the exercise 'of that power. Their peedecesecees in office had dqne the %the. They h a d to choOie between the opening the IPtlefs - gf individuals free from blame and the passing over matters matters that concerned welre of mighty countr ies. They Gentlemen have neg. Russia was in danger. Would Henn They examined into lected due precaution in such a case ,. any of the Ho ned been informed last year that the life Of the the accuracy of that information, and if the conduct of the nourable Gentlemen who impugned o this r ower had filled the secretary of State in the exercise of dqac the salamis Would same high office, would nit adopted lr by any Ministry The not such a course have neglecting no means wbioh would Ministry were justified I and internal peace of the country. tend to secure the ezterna • h ad been said that her ajes yNI • t's Government had But .A that some suspicion existed of their hav ing this power, or Emperor I Well, now, the House had all the facts before it, as reported by the Committee, and looking at the constitution of that Com ing perverted it to the base purposes of political expediency. mittee, and looking at the nine men who constituted the Com• mittee of the House of Lords, he would ask, could it be said that there had really been an abuse of that power, or such an abuse of it as would warrant the use of such an expression as a base abuse of it ?—(Hear.) Undoubtedly, some mistakes might have been made; but, surely, it c mid not be said that this power had been exercised fur an unworthy purpose.-- ( Hear, hear. ) Well, then, the Cummittee made a report con taining this paragraph. ( Here the Hon. Baronet read the paragraph, which was to the effect that)—" The Com mittee was bout d to say that, having looked back for a period of twenty years, they had found that this power had been very sparingly exercised, and never for party or political purposes, but always to promote the ends of jus tice, the public tranquillity, and the best interests of the coun try." He would conclude, then, by saying, that it %N ai in such a way only that this power had been used by the present Go vernment; that in some doubtful cases mistakes might have been made, but that the report of the Committee had declared that they had not used it for private or personal motives. If the House believed that, when the Government did exercise this power, they were urged to do so only by an earnest and faithful desire to promote the ends of justice —to prevent a disturbance of the public tranquillity—he would then ask this House, who gave the Government that power—not - to imply a condemna tion of their own Committee, or a suspicion of their conduct, when placed upon their trial by those who had constituted them a Committee.—( Loud cheers.) Mr. WARI3URTON said he felt bound, as a member of the Committee, and as a Member of that Hotese, standing in opposiiion to the Right Hen. Baronet, to confirm the statement of the Hon. Member fur Liverpool. He felt bound to say that the most unreserved communication of all the facts that could be made had been made to the Committee, by every Member of Parliament examined before them ; and that, no matter what their political opinions, they readily communicated all that had come to their knowledge upon the subject. He also felt bound to say that he fully concurred in the paragraph read by the Right Hon. Baronet from the report, chile at the same time lie should say that though ha was very active, as a Mem ber of the Committee. in looking hack for precedents, he could find none that, to his conviction, appeared to justify the extent to which the present Government had exer cised that power.—(Cries of " Hear, hear.") A Member of the Committee had said that they would require the assistance of a legel gentleman on the Committee ; but he (Mr. War burton) conceived that it was not law points they had to decide, but to find out what precedents the Government had for the exercise of this power. As to the conduct of Sir James Graham, he ( Mr. Warburton) would 1101 T say, as he had said before the Committee, that--ca. Mr. ESTCOTT rose to order. He conceived it was most unfair and disorderly—(Loud cries of " Order, order")—for •any Member to state to that House the opinions expressed by a Secret Committee, until the House was in a position to ascer tain all the other facts. He apprehended that this having been a Secret Committee, all that passed in it ought to be kept secret by the Members.—( Hear, hear.) Mr. WARBURTON said that he had only spokeu upon what appeared in the report.—( Hear.) If he spoke on what had occurred in the Committee, and had not been thought proper to publish, the remark of the Hon. Gentleman who called him to order would have been perfectly correct.—. ( Hear.) But what he had said in reference to M. Afazzini's case, was only a comment upon what had been made known in the report to the whole House, and upon which he had as much right to express his opinion as any other Member.—( Hear. ) He would press that matter no further. Now the question was, whether it was expedient to grant to the Hon. Member for Finsbury the committee which he asked for ; and he ( Mr.War but ton ) thought that as a member of the former Committee he was bound to state his own opinion on that question. 'Well, then, his own opinion was that the facts had been stated to the House by the former Committee as far as it was for the public good they should be. —( Hear, hear.) It would have been very easy for the Committee to have been more communicative—( Hear, and a laugh)—if they had thought that it would be for the public good that they should be so. He apprehended that it was the duty of the Committee to lay before the House the facts as far as was necessary to enable the House to judge whether it was fit that the power should he continued. In coming to a con clusion upon that matter, the House would be guided by the general impression of the facts, and not by the opinion of any one Member of the Committee. (Hear, hear.) The general effect of the facts stated by the Committee in the report, upon his mind was, that it was not worth the while of any Government whatever to retain the po cr.—( Hear, hear.) There had been eight warrants on the average in the year, and the greater part of them were issued in criminal cases.—( Hear, hear.) Those were cases in which no one could suppose the power was of any advantage; for to effect any public utility the practice should be generally known. But he had inquired of his own solicitor, who had great experience in criminal cases, and that lawyer informed him, that lie had never known the Government possessed any such power. Surely it was not worth the while of the Government to incur the unpopularity of a power of such little use. But further, when he considered the immense physical power which the Government now possessed through means of the railways, and by which they were enabled to send the whole of the army and police to any one part of the kingdom within twenty-four hours, if the internal peace of the country were threatened, surely it was not worth their while to continue a practice so much opposed to the moral feelings of the people.—( Hear. ) Mr. WA KLEY said the Hon. Member for Kendal (Mr. Warburton) had avowed himself the author of the antiquarian evidence contained in the report—( A laugh)—and the Hon. Member confessed that, with all his research, he had been able to find no authority whatever for the Secretary of State's open ing letters as had been done. But the Secretary of State told the House that his authority was in a statute of Anne. Sir JAMES GRAHAM said, no ; he had stated that the power of issuing warrants was first granted in a statute of Anne, which had been confirmed by subsequent statutes. Mr. WAKLEY said, that was in point of substance what lie had just said. The statute of Anne was the foundation and original of the authority, as the Secre'ary of State now ac knowledged. But the Hen. Member for Kendal said, that he could find no authority whatever in ancient usage.—( Hear. ) The debate had gone to such a point that they ought to 'nave an acknowledgment on the part of the Right Hon. Baronet of the source whence he derived the authority 7: Inch he had exer cised with regard to the opening of the letters.—( Hear, hear.) Ile again stated that lie understood the Right Hon. Gentleman to say the foundation of that authority was contained in the Act of Queen Anne. In the course of his speech the Eight lion. Gentleman remarked upon the constitution of the Cons , mittee of the House of Commons, and its great legal acquire nients.—( Hear, hear.) Now he wished to bring to the knowledge of the Ilouse what the Committee of the House of Lords had reported with regard to the statute of Anne. He thought it was a most important fact, for it really appeared to him that there was no legal authority at all for the exercise of this power. But there might be an emergency—a great public emergency might arise for a Minister taking upon himself the responsibility of opening letters, thrcwing himself on the opinion of Parliament and the public to justify him in the act. This was a most important decision on the part of the Committee of the House of Lords. The Committee stated that the pro vision contained in the Act of the 9th of Queen Anne, chap. 10, upon this subject, could only be explained upon the sup position that this power was for the time fully recognised, for the Act itself gave no power to the Secretary of State eitlaor to detain or open letters.--(Hear, hear.) That was the report of the Lords' Committee. Now, the Secretary of State had exercised this authority, and what he wanted to know was, where he got the foundation for exercising it? The meaning of the Act appeared to him to be no more than this ;—lf a Secretary of State, upon his , own responsibility and fur the public safety, should deem it ex pedient to open the letters of persons whom he supposed to be engaged in treasonable practices, the party executing the war rant was entirely free from all responsibility. The Statute of Anne implied that and nothing more, and the decision of the Lords in that respect was important. Now, it devolved upon the Government to show that they had exercised a legal authority, and unless the Secretary of State could show by the statute law that he was justified in issuing these warrants, an action at law would lie against him.—( Hear, hear.) His Honourable Colleague was placed in an extraordinary position by the course of the Government. He discharged his duties with great ability, And he might say, with great valour. He had the confidence of the people, and he was entitled to that confidence, for no man could exercise his fooetions in that House more honestly and ably than he did. Now whattas the position he was now placed in ? A foreigner, re ying on the ability of his Hon. Colleague, placed in his hands p etition, in which he stated—" My letters —my letters have V een opened in your Post-office. I consider that I am an ill-used man, and I have petitioned the House of Qommons for redress." The subject was first mooted there in that form. When the Right Ilot. Baronet, immediately following the presenta tion of that petition, was asked a question with regard to the number of warrants issued to open the letters of an individual named Stoltman, the Right Hon. Baronet replied that, if his Hon. Colleague had given him notice, he would have told hint whether he had done so or not. Well, from this it was imagined that the Right Hon. Baronet had issued such a vast number of warrants that he could net re collect the name of Stoltman ; but it turned out afterwards, front a Committee of the Hotter, of Lords, that warrants had only been issued with regessel to one or two individuals. Well, as the case progres,sed, a Secret Committee was appointed to inquire into the circumstances, and he hoped that it would be a usefel lesson to them never to appoint another. The Secret Committee made a report in which they disclosed everything they thought necessary for the public advantage, and intimated that it would be dangerous to the community if anything more were known. Now, the name of his Hon. Colleague was ex cluded from that report, and he now charged the Government with having °pelted his own letters. What was the answer made to this charge? The Right Hon. Baronet was not ex eluded from his own secrecy, and the name of her Majesty was introduced on that occasion in a most extraordinary manner. The Right Hon. Baronet screened himself from censure by in troducing the name of the Queen. The Right Hon. Gentle man did not deny the charge, but the Right Hon. Baronet the First Lord of the Treasury had made a sort of justifica tion, or attempted to make a justification of the charge. What did the Right Hon. Baronet say ? He said the country in 1842 was in a state of commotion. That the rural districts were in a frightful state of agitation, and that incen diarism was rife throughout the country. Now what was the conclusion to be d rawn from all this? 'Vas it that his lion. Colleague was connected with seditious movements at that time ?—( Hear, hear.) not was the inference. That was the justification of opening the letters of an Hon. Member of that House.—( Hear, hear.) The Right Hon. Baronet's language was so plain and obvious, that it could not be misunderstood by any one. If the Right Hon. Baronet did not mean that, what did he mean ?—( Hear, hear.) Why were those circumstances cited ?—( Hear, hear, and cheers.) Observe, his Hon. colleague, in his political warfare, was fond of attacking illinisters; and the Right Hon. Baronet the Secretary of State for the Home Department being high game, was often selected for assault.—( Laughte e r m ..) . Ho 000asiuually attacked the judges. Now was an Hon. to N Mem ber, who exercised those very useful public functions, haveattacked his letters opened, and that by the a —( Hear, hear)—who sheltered himselfun -) de r r t w y called responsibility, though that responsibilityl aswhaatthl'ags t t e y r could was, which nobody could touch, and no subt o t discover. 'The Right Hon. Gentleman's YfficoiralinegheanrauC and after the without doubt, implicated in thistransaction; the letters of a insinuations which had been . thrown . out, they had a right to was justified opening know why a afinisce Member of that Haw, and casting upon him the odious brand notdenied that the letters of his Han. 'Col of sedition. It was would all hold their seats, league had been opened, and they hues, under peculiar circumstances, unless the characters, Right Hon.außdariovneet..did not state the circumstances which him in prying into an Hon. Member's letters. justified supposin,g there were legal authority by im plication for opening letters, was there anything to justify the whole of these movements being secret? Where wee is sai d in the law that they might open a lettees it up it :vas intendedl and then forward it, the near; whotzt never suspectige nad been dons 2_ Hear ' ) 11041'. Last Caere eiken'this preceessl'nse, :or a morßent, to the ease of a magistrate who issued a search weitette to, search a house; for whether the 'warrant refereed to a house or a letter the principle was Vas, same. Before a magistrate would issue such a warrant he mtsst have, information on oath. Let them sup pose, however, That a policeman had gone into a house by night, and after (Toiling the doors had searched the lipase, and gone out again in such a manner as entirely to conceal what had been done. He believed every one would acknowledge that the magistrate who had directed such proceedings was unfit for his post, and 'he case must be very strong which would justify the Right lion. Baronet in the course which he had pursued. The lion. Member then referred to the case of captain Stoltman and Mr. Wursell, the proceedings in whose case im- -y rj plied, he said, that they contemplated assassination. Were they acquitted? The Committee stated that there WAS ' .147 7 _, nothing to eliminate the gentleman whom the Committee had . .!- - ;;, ,-- Y . 4 reluctantly named. Why did they not acquit them? He - ('5., , /„.., I understood from his Hon. Colleague that the spy who had . -- S,'`V caused these gentlemen to be suspected had already received x> the reward of his infamy. Was this a system to be tolerated ? !- _ lint he would not go into these cases. He would , not now dis. cuss the question of whether the power was justifiable or not. That was not the question now. His Hon. Colleague had stated that hii:, letters had been opened. - A Member of that House alleged that his letters had been opened by the Secretary of State lb: the Home Department, and that Right Hon. Gen. tleman shielded himself behind his oath of secrecy. It was impossible th a t th e p u bli c cou ld b e sa ti s fi e d—th a t House could not be satisfied—th e H ouse wou ld no t d o j u stice to its own character and position if they did not demand a full, complete, and searching inquiry into the pointed and personal accusation that the Hon. Gentleman had made._( Cheers. ) Mr. BROTHERTON then moved the adjournment of the debate, arid it was adjourned accordingly. Mr. ROEBUCK inquired to what day the debate would be adjourned. He understood that, to-morrow, the Committee of Ways and Means would be proceeded with. Sir R. PEEL said the debate on the income-tax would be resumed to-morrow, as it could only be taken on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Mr. ROEBUCK supposed the debate then would be ad journed to Thursday. Sir R. PEEL-Ales. Mr. T. DUNCOMBE suggested that it should be made an order of the day. Sir R. PEEL said that, as far as the Government was con• cerned, they would give way. Mr. M. MILNEs gave notice that, t be would to-morrow, ask the First Lord o f t h e Treasury whether the Government, at the time they communicated t o t h e I talian Government the probability of an invasion, at the same time desired the agents of the English Government to put the parties implicated on their guard, and to take steps to prevent such invasion. Sir JAMES GRAHAM then postponed the introduction of his Medical Reform Bill to a future day. The other notices were then disposed of, and the House ad journed at Half -past Twelve. COMMITTEES on PETITIONS for RAILWAY BILLS. A Sub-Committee, consisting of Mr. Strutt, Chair man, Mr. Clive, Mr. Beckett, Mr. Compton, Mr. Brotherton, and other Honourable Members, assem bled yesterday morning, in order to ascertain whether the promoters of the following Bills had com plied with the standing orders; viz. :—Cocker mouth and Workington Railway ; Whitby and Pickering Railway; Hull and Selby (Bridling ton Branch) Railway ; Kendal and Winder mere Railway ; Chager and Birkenhead Extension ; Lancaster and Carlisle ; Guildford, Chester, and Portsmouth Railway ; and Wakefield, Pontefract, and Goole Railway. The Committee, after proof, decided that the following Bills had complied with the standing orders, namely : — Cockermouth and Workington; Hull and Selby (Bridlington Branch); Kendal and Windermere ; Chester and Birkenhead Extension ; and Lancaster and Carlisle. And that the Whitby and Pickering had not, in some particulars, complied with the standing orders, by which this Bill will have to be referred to the Select Committee. WAKEFIELD, PONTEFRACT, AND GOOLE RAILWAY. The inquiry respecting this line was resumed this morning in a Sub-Committee on Standing Orders. It occupied the whole of the day, and after a few objec tions had been allowed, the Committee adjourned till to-morrow at two o'clock. GUILDFORD, CHICHESTER, AND PORTS MOUTH RAILWAY. One of the Sub-Committees decided that the pro moters of this line had not strictly complied with the standing orders of the House of Commons. The line was opposed by the Duke of Richmond, and the principal ground of objection was, that a quantity of land had been set down in the books of reference, and described on the plans, as the property of the Earl of Egremont, wherras it really belonged to his Grace the Duke of Richmond. NEW PROJECTED RAILWAYS (From the Gazette of last Night) RAILWAY DEPARTMENT, BOARD Oh TRADE, WHITEHALL, FEB. 18, 1845. Notice is hereby given, that the Board constituted by the Minute of the Lords of the Committee of Privy Council for Trade, for the transaction of railway business, having had under consideration the following schemes, for extending railway communication in Scotland, viz. The Clydesdale Junction Railway, The Caledonian, The Edinburgh and Glasgow—Stirling Branch, The Edinburgh and Hawick, The Glasgow, Dumfrics, a n d C ar li s l e, The Scottish Central ; have determined on reporting to Parliament in favour of the Clydesdale Junctibu, Caledonian, Edinburgh and llawick, The Scottish Central ; and against the • Edinb"':" B 7 ti and Glasgo w —Sti r li ng B ranch, ( I..asgow, Dumfries, and Carlisle. . _ DALHOUSIE. C. W. PASLEY. D. O'BRIEN. G. R. PORTER. S. LAING. NAVAL INTELLIGENCE. PORTSMOUTH, PER. 15.—The Lily, 16, Commander New ton, went out of harbour on Monday, and sailed yesterday for the coast of Afrida. She proceeds direct to St. Pants de Loando, to land Mr. Brand, British Vice-Consul and ge,,,- tar - of the Mixed Commission there, who goes out in her as passenger. The Persian, 16, Commander Coryton, sailed from Devon port on Wednesday, for the West Indies. The Eagle, 50, Captain G. B. Martin, C. 8., at Sheerness, is ordered to proceed to Spithead to be paid advance wages, and to wait fUrther orders. She is about 90 officers and men short of her complement. The Espiegle, 12, Commander Harris, and the Flying Fish, 12, Commander Thompson, were off Deronport on Wednes dayat 211. sm. P.M. They made signals, which were answered. They were not to go into the Sound, but were ordered again to sea. The Canopus, 84, at Plymouth, was commissioned yes— terday. The Alarm, 26, at Sheerness, building, is ordered to be fitted for sea. The Dee steam-transport arrived this morning with dis posahleseamen, from Cork. The Black Eagle steamer came here yesterday from the Riv(r. A new first class scraw-propelled steam-frigate, of 520 horse power, is ordered to be laid down in this dockyard ou the plan of Mr. Fincham, master shipwright. The following are the dimensions ordered : Ft. In. Length .. 210 0 Breadth Depth Tons, 1,453. Also a 46-gun frigate, with an auxiliary screw of 300 horse power, for a complement of 450 men, of the following dimensions : Ft. In. Length Breadth 4 Depth Tons, 1,862. CHATHAM, FRIDAY, FEB. 14.—The Queen, 110 guns, in dock, is to have her powder-magazine, which i 4 now in the centre, removed to the fore part of the ship. At present there is no other alteration determined on. The Comas, 20 guns, Commander Thompson, was towed to Saltpan-reach on the 12th instant by the African steam-vessel. It is under stood that the Fantome and Comus are to proceed to Ply mouth to await for final orders ; their destination is su pp ose d to be for the Straits. The Buldog steam-frigate, building in the first slip, is fast progressing —her skinning is complete, except the top-rail. A Court of Inquiry was held yesterday by the Captain-Superintendent, Captain W. H. Sherritf, and the Solicitor to the Admiralty, Mr. Geo. Spill, a t t h e Cap tain-Superintendent's Office, • in the Dock-yard —relative to the recent destructive fire in the yard. The Court was strictly private. The whole of the Dock-yard police on duty at the time the fire was discovered underwent examination. The origin of the fire remains a mystery, notwithstanding the majority of opinions prevail in the Dock-yard that the tiring was wilful, as the Pound, at which the fire first broke out was solely under the care of a keeper, and no one was allowed to go into that place on any occasion ; if a piece of timber was required for the joiners' shops, the workman re quiring it was obliged to ask the keeper for it ; and as the workmen leave the yard in the evening the Pound-keeper locks up the gates, and delivers the keys to the Clerk of the Stores. The Pound, which extended the whole length of the building, was half covered over, for the purpose of keeping the fir timber dry, the remaining part was exposed for tile purpose of seasoning the mahogany, of which there was a considerable quantity. The lire, when first observed by the police, was about 20 feet within side of the gate, and in the centre of a pile of fir-boards of ab ou t 24 t o 30 feet l in length, and from one to two inches in thickness. The night after the fire the whole of the officers and men of the yard were divided off into four relieves ; each relieve, consisting of 500 men, kept watch for above three hours _th o ni a ri l g the night. During the fire private Riddell, in o i f be t r he fi ß m y M ‘ t .c aC1073 tj l , or h t ad his sword broken, r h i i n m e , and u thigh ,tnt broke by a Wood, ° piec e injuries about B‘‘ . s ' abo - Ut his person, by the fall iaungd oafl ssome e e o i f v ethdesoe ruins . inj ITOLNTMENTS. Sia,ournddeorfs the Admiralty, be to p Privatetais—secTrbeetarHyo to —William Wvndham Hornby (1841), to the n. the room of Capt. W. .A. B. Hamilton, second Secretary tn. Admiralty, vice Sir J ti o h6 li ec i l i lla ß 'lidr a s r t row, Bart., retired. the Lieutenants —H. N. - Burroughes tothe stye;' J. C. to the Rodney. Styx; Reginald T. J. Levinge, to command the Dolphin, vice Hoare, inva lided; W. Howatt, W. Tottenham, F. H. Stanfell and H. C. 'fattnall, to the Vanguard; F. G. Leigh, to the Stromboli; W. H. Webb, to the Firebrand; Octavius Cumberland, to the Racehorse, vice Tottenh am ; D avid Elliott, to the Pen' e lope; James Wood (d), of the Fearless, t Pailnidaosrtaer;s_Hß. .T i o l b u y n •, a t ie o , t o l f ie u S le t \ c 'x o . mas, to , the c Z n- x na ; au S ' a t r.nu ll ; S. Flynn, to the Vanguard. Surgeons—Dr. A. Yeoman, to the Styx ; Dr, Andrew Mil lar, to the Trafalgar, vice Bruce; Allan M'Laren, to the I'oictiers, vice M•heclinie ; John Smith, to the Vanguard. Paymasters and Pursers —Thomas Shanks, to the Van guard; Edward NN'ard, to the Styx. Mates —G. H. Wale, to the Cyclops; F. J. Hornby, of the Formidable, to the Excellent ; I. N. F. Congreve, to the Styx ; A. Philliniore, to the Vanguard. Second ?:asters—John S. Smith to the Pandora ; J. W. dal:, to the Vanguard. Assistant-Surgeons—Thos. Luscombe, and Caleb R. Pro thcroe (additional) to the San Josef ; E. Elliott and J. G. M'Cullagh, to the Vanguard. Naval Instructor—G. F. Parker, of the Aigle, to tha Reality: Midshipman—S. Shipworth, to the Excellent. Naval Cadets—H. Batten, to the Lily; T. B. Herbert, to the St. Vincent. Clerk in Charge—B. W. Tribe, to the Pandora. Masters' Assistants—Wm. Barrett, and G. Gilpin, to the Vanguard. ROYAL MARINEs —Major Morrison, to relieve Captain IV. Ford, in the Recruiting Service at Birmingham. Captain John Miller (1843); First Lieutenant C. C. llamley (1841), Plymouth Division ; and Second Lieutenant L. Reeves (1844 Woolwich Division , to the Vanguard, at Ph - mouth. Second Lieutenants W. S. Davis, of the Woolwich birision r and M. Patty, of the Portsmouth Division, to the Excellent, to study for the Royal Marine Artillery. I