The Sun. — London, England, 1839-05-01 00:00:00

of the Report m the L ndon and Southampton (Ports outh B ranch) ailway Bill. Mr. FINCH moved the insertion of his clause to oblige Directors to make cai!s of their capital stock, !and to apply them to the paymmt of borrowed money. Mr. EASTHOPE unde stood that this clause had been recommended by the Committee appointed on the motion of the Right Hon. President of the Board of Trade. He had never yet been able to understand the precise objects of that Committee, nor onuld he under stand the precise object of this clause. If this clause was intended to state that any Railway Company should have the power of opposing the authority of Parliament, it would be better to state so. If it was intended for a general Act, why should one Company be exempted from this provision while it was applied to another ? He hoped that some Mem ber of the Committee woulal explain the meaning of this clause. _ _ Mr. LOCK was glad the subject bad been brought forward by the Honourable Member. The clause appeared to him perfectly intelligible. It had Leen brought before the House at the recommendation of the Committee, and the House conceived that a clause embodying the regulations of this part of the Bill should be introduced into every Railway Bill before the House, and that no Railway Bill should be suffered to proceed without the introduction of this clause as part of it. He should oppose every Bill in which this clause was not introduced. Mr. SHAW LEFEVRE was understood to say that he considered it would hare been better if this clause bad been brought up before the Report. FRESHFIELD could not allow the question which the Hon. Member had put to the members of the Committee requesting an explanation of the meaning of the clause to pass without answer. The Southampton Railway and other Railways were now before Parliament. It had been found necessary, in order to put an end to many pub lic inconveniences which had arisen, to put all Railways ender certain regulations, and a question had arisen whether such regulations should be inserted in the Bills now before Parliament. Those regulations had met with gre4 opposition on the part of some of the Companies ; and a question had been put in the Committee whether these regulations should constitute a part of the different Railway Bills now under consideration, or whether those railways should be left to the operation of a general measure, so that all that was proposed was that the Hon. Member's Com pany should be bound by such regulations as all other railwirs. It was not intended to apply to this particular Companies, but it would be only bound by such regulations as were applicable to all Companies. ?Jr. EASTHOPE said, that not knowing the par tieular railway to which the clause referred, he had merely asked the question, for information. CH UReH-RATES. Mr. BAINES then rose to bring, under the con sideration of the House, a ease, he thought, entitled to that attention which was always bestowed when tis liberty of the subject was under discussion. The oase he had to call the attention of the House to rviis that of John Thorogood, an inhabitant of Chelms ford, whe was now confine] in the gaol of that place for Lis' refusal to pay Church-rates. The petition he had the honour to present on the 28th of February, from that individual, stated that the peti tioner had for twenty-three years resided at Chelmsford —that he was a Protestant Dissenter—and that in the month of September last he was summoned to eepear before the Magistrates of the county of - Essex, to answer for his neglect in not haying paid 6s. 6s. demanded from him fur Church-rates. When before the Magistrates, he was asked why he had not made the payment, :led his answer was, first, because lie entertained the opinion, that it was not con sistent with a religious onliption to pay a com pulsory rate for the support of religion ; and, its Site next place, because he believed the rate to be an tmproper one. Upon this the Magistrates dismissed the complaint, and it was not till the month of Nov. that he received a citation from the Consistorial Court. Fie declined to answer that summons, and his reason 'or doing so was that he was of opinion he should not receive justice in the Court before which he was sum weaned, and that he was not in circumstances to en counter the expense likely to arise out of that pro- Reeding. The matter continued in that state till the month of January, arid on the 16th of that month he was seizes] by the oiS . cers, lodged in the gaol of Chelmsford, and there he had remained ever since. The petitioner further stated that he had conscientious objections to Church-rates-:--that he believed all corn vulsory payments for the purposes of religion were in eoesistont with the Divine Scripture, and that in plying this rate he should violate a law that be held of more importance than any human law ; 1 and he prayed, first, that Church-rates might be ex tinguished ; secondly, that Ecclesiastical Courts might be abo:ished ; and third.y, that such relief might be afforded in his case as the House in its wisdom might think proper. He (Mr. Baines) thought that the case of the petitioner was such as ought to excite the syin %lathy of that House. For sixteen hours during the twenty-lotir he was not allowed any communication with his friends. He was subjected to great privations, mid he was also not allowed to have advice from his religiows instructor, neither was he per -1 mitted to see his wife or his family on Stinday.—(Hear, hear ) He had now been confined for nearly four months, his business had gone to ruin, and his health had greatly declined—lie tbotqlit that Ithis punishment was rather toe severe for a mli who Ifelt ft conscientious objection to the payment of Church rates. Now, what was the case with respect to Mies:: rates? Why, in small tewns they were imposed (Too the people with the utmost seta rity, while in the larger ones they were treated with utter contempt. if j such a state of ti:ings existed—and that they did he i woald h— C thought i was take upon hi mse lf to prove • high time that the law on this subject should he either I abolished or skated. An attempt had been made by j her Majesty's 'Ministers to do away with this law, but Ithat attempt ha] been resisted in the counties of i Devon, Wilts, and Essex, and also in Wales. The petitioner, after praying for the abolition of Church rates, also prayed for the abolition of Ecclesiastical Courts, and he (Mr. Baines) thought eller the exhibi- tion which had taken place the ocher night in that House upon the subject, the time hal come when they ought to be abolklied, for it had ht . !en.shown that the Judges of those Courts had acted most unjustly, and that the eeelesi.aStieal law was vio:ated by elergyinen eery Week in the year. The E , :elesiasCeal Courts were tatitalgent towards great offenders, hut visited minor outs with the utmost stvedty. would defy . . Hol. Mumbers is thAt House to name a clerg3, man who . . . idi:chargi d his dot- properly, accord:ng to the c intros of the Church.—(Cites of .‘ OA, oh.") Hun. Mem bwes might cry " 0,3, oh," but such was the fact, and 1 yet they went without reproof. It was his firm belief that not a single canon of the Church was h• the letter performed. In making this statement he did not wish to cast reproach . on the clergy—all he wan ed was to show that t trosa" persous who had the adrninitration of the ecclesiastical 11w, did not adraini,ter it in justice and equity, because they punished persons in low degree wirile they permitted the higher ones to escape. Such being the case, he thought that Mr. Thorognod had acted as became a man in po titioning for the abolition of the Eeclesiastie.id Courts. It was clear that the present state of things ought not to exist. Men ought Oct to be shut out from society for such trivial offences when great crimes were overlooked. IMinisters had been denomin a t e d as t h e enem i es o f t h e Church—he thought that they would show themselves its friends if they abolished Church-rates.---( Hear, hear.) In conclusion, he begged to state that he thought the case of the petitioner well deserved the consideration of the, House, and he should there foro move that there should be laid before the House a copy of the decree issued against Mr. John Thorsgood by the Consistorial Court of the Bishop of London, at the suit of the churchwardens of Chelms ford, together with a copy of the warrant under which he was committed to the gaol of that place. Dr. NICHOLLS said that, perhaps the Han. MeMber would have no objection that the name of the Learned Judge who had pronounced the decree, should be added. Mr. BAINES observed, that he had no objection to any addition to his motion that would further the ends. of justice and humanity. Mr. EASTHOPE seconded the. motion. He thought that every friend of the Church must feel that something ought to he done upon this subject—he knew that this unfortunate man had been committed by a most liberal and right-minded Judge, the Mem ber filar the Tower Hamlets, but that only aggra vated the case, because that Learned Judge, in the present state of •the law, had no discretion whatever in the matter. He was sorry to say, that by that day's post he had received a letter detailing a twin ease to the present, and as that letter had come from as individual in whom he could place the most implicit confidence, he believed that every word it contained was true. The letter stated, that a poor Dissenter, named Israel Brown, had been arrested at Broadway, in Worcestershire, for Easter dues, at the suit of the Clergyman of the parish (he would not mention his name). The sum was only 3d. a year for three years, and there were 31. 3s. expenses of the action. The poor man was married, and had six children, but fortu nately the money was borrowed, and the debt paid by a few kiwis, to prevent his going to gaol, and thus great hardship and misery was prevented. He trusted the time Was come when some remedy would be provided for these evils. The mischiefs they occasioned to religion we're irreparable. He trusted that one advantage of . the.„ , pverent discussi o n would be to quicken her Majesty's '' veronent in their determination to apply a remedy to these abuses.--( Hear, hear, from Lord J. Russell.) It I'Pla a questio n which he hoped would never be taken up in that House as a party question ; all parties were interested in removing nt s , and so chargeserious utt a ino.ane nto against the dsuch punishments, and suc h grievous mischief.—(Hear.) Mr. Mr. G. VERNON congratulated the Hon. Member who Ivy! 1,,15t spoken, upon the spirit in which his obser vations had been framed, although he could not say so t Such for the Hon. Member for Leeds. That Hon. Member had claimed great credit for the good temper of his manner, but then there was much of asperity and aspersion in the substance of the observati s he had addressed to the liouse.—(llear, bet .) These observations, he felt bound to say, must have proceeded from the most extraordinary i g nor nee on the part of the lion. Member. The Hon. Member had stated that Judges in these Courts would not are to look large communities in the face—that they op pressed small ones, and that they did not measure out equal justice to the rich and the poor. Now, he con tended, that the Hon. Member had no grounds what ever for such an assertion. He defied the Hon. Mem ber to produce any instance of such a course having been adoptcd. If law was not to be deprived of all authority, and if it was to be repealed by Mr. Thoro good, saying " I will not pay rates"—if that principle was not to be adopted, he knew not what. course Judges had to pursue but to a dminister the law as they found it. He would not trouble the House further, but he hoped the observations of the Hon. Member would not be allowed to go forth without at least that explanation. Sir GEO. STRICKLAND hoped some legislation on the subject of Church-rates would be shortly brought forward in that House. He agreed with the Hon. Mem ber opposite, that so long as the law existed in its pre sent state the Judges had nothing to do but administer it. He himself while acting as Magistrate had met with many cases of extreme hardship owing to the forms of the ecclesiastical tribunals, which were of a very expen sive nature. his selectio i.—(Hear, hear.) The other Commissioner Mr. Lewis, never having, through ill health, practised at the bar, he should never have dreamt of putting upon a Commission for framing a code of law. He was glad that he could also state that his Noble Friend, the late Secretary for the Colonial Depart ment had not been blameable, even for the error of judgment, which at present was the only charge, though a far heavier blame would be incurred if the ordinance were now persisted in. It might, at first sight, appear that his Noble Friend had de layed for two years acting upon the Report, but the result was that the Commissioners requested to be allowed to withdraw their original draft, and prepare another, so that it was a second draft that now ap peared, and therefore the delay was apparent and not real. It was not one of those oases in which he thought great haste was to be attended to more than good speed. He could willingly have for given a longer delay than had taken place ; and if he had any fault to find it was, that instead of sending it in the beginning of March, he did not delay it a few days longer, in order to take the opinion of English lawyer', and if that had been done, this ordi nance would not have gone out. There was another reason why the Noble Lord was not to blame. His Noble Friend sent it out to Counsel to be considered. He gave a general approval of the principle, praised the diligence and learning displayed by the Commissioners, and called the serious and undivided ettention of the Malta Counsel to their draft of the ordinance, because it would require much consideration as to details, and adapting it to the circumstances of the matter. Now if that attention had been paid to the details, they would have been found so in consistent with each other, that he would defy Counsel to have passed them. He was not sure they might not have passed easily enough a Council of General Officers and civil servants, who bad no lawyer amongst them, just as they pissed the Commis sioners.—(Hear, hear, hear.) But it so happened that this draft of an ordinance was submitted to be considerde to be weighed, to be examined and sifted, and to be finally adopted altogether, or rejected or altered, or adopted in part and in part re jected—all these matters of a legal description were submitted to a lack-learned Counsel—a Counsel without the shadow of a lawyer about him. A change took place which deprived them of the in valuable assistance of the Chief Justice, and compelled them to resort to the Attorney-General as their law adviser. Now what was the result of the labour of the Commissi.iners ?—of the incompetent Commission ap pointed to examine the question. In the firstd place, the ordinance had one quality of the law which was only found in the statute law of one part of the civiliz-al world—he meant conciseness, for which the statute law of the ancient kingdom of Scotland was distinguished. He admitted that since the union they had made up for that conciseness. The ordinance consisted of five chapters and four pages, but to these four pages and five chapters, were appended 4'2 closely printed pages of notes and comments-64 notes and 40 pages of comments to explain four pages. In England they were not bound to explain the law if it were not intelligible The people had nothing to do but to obey it. but an extraordinary division of labour had taken place in the present legislative effort. The four pages of law were sent eut to the people of Malta, and the forty pager of explanation were reserved for their Lordships' table. The law was sent out to those who were only called on to obey, ;but those who were only to comment upon that law in dis cussion had the explanation lad before them which was to have rendered the law intelligible. Whether the People of Malta suffered any loss from the want of that explanation he knew not ; bat when he looked , •at :the explanation he did not think the loss had been'-very great. They might have had to complain that a law had been sent oat which was not easily understood, but Lite -doubted whether the explanation had not left them in that state of mind which a person was said to be in `when - he wris'a little confused by one statement and was worse,cessfesed by the explanation.—(A laugh.) Tile notes were certainly Written by a learned, acute and in genious mind, but . whether they tended very much to the explanation- of the question was another matter — that they - Were admirable for the closet and for` meta physical discussions on the law, there could be hardly any doubt. " At'page 74 the Commissioners stated— , "Perhaps the notes Will not be strictly authoritative," and in thenext page e they state that it was obvious that they were not to be .considered as authoritative in law ; they also add, "that - if these notes are published by the authority of the legislature of the island, they would merely amount to an authentic interpretation of the law. The notes had no authority whatever. But it might he worth while just to see whether they afforded any very great degree of knowledge of the subject on which they treated. He wished to show their Lordships there was a very great affectation of accuracy in this docu ment. He never saw so great a pretence to ultra 'accuracy. 'They -were accurate about everything where accuracy was of no value ; they were. accurate about ' . everytning' where accuracy was untenable, but -where it-*dS Or 'ratite and tenable, they were totally regard less of it. ea -(Hear, hear.) For example they .said, "any words printed in alphabetical' or other charac ters." Why- all characters of every language except , the Chinese were alphabetical. Then again, "a printed writing properly consists of the printing of the words and not of the substances on which they are printed since it is the substance of the words," and so on, that were important. "No attempt. -- is made to . enumerate the species of sub- HOUSE OF LORDS, Aritn 30. - starters nn 'which writings may he printed, or to de- The Loan CrwieELLoa. took his seat on the Wool. t cir..gmus. 7-7 uc_i laughter.) He was very fi " ( 1 sack at Five o'Clock. glad that' ttii.twas not put into the Maltese Gazette, for Lord HATHERTON presented a petition from it Certaittly.would not have tended to have Walsal, praying for the adoption of a uniform rate o f 7ensurerl-respeetftir the lasv,makers. There was one penny postage. thingabove-.al others, perhaps, he might say, important Lord HADDINGTON presented a petition from to observe, and that vr..s this, that the party was re- Inverkeithing, praying for Church Extension in Scotland. peatedly told if he did not pay " due attention," h e An officer attended from the Ecclesiastical Court o f 'should be in a certain way punished. Then the ques- York, and presented papers. .tion was what that due attention was to be considered ? Au officer presented from the Court of Bankruptcy. " Negligence is the want of due attention—meaning by certain papers. due attention, the attention due from a given pares , by Lord ASHBURTON presented a petition from the virtue of a given law, or rule, or principle cf morals."— merchants and others of Liverpool, praying f o r som e (Immense laughter.) But he had to remind their Lord. alteration in the Imprsonment for Debt Bill. ships of another thing. Talk of introducing the liberty The LORD CHANCELLOR said the recom- of the press in Malta, without a jury why noboile ever memlation of the petitioners certainly deserved the at- heard of the liberty- of the Press VI ithout a jury. In all tention of the House. these cases what was glee attention was a fit question for Lord ASHBURTON then presented petitions a jury, and yet that was to be left to a Maltese in favour of Mr. Rowland Hill's plan of penny lawyer named by the Crown, and by the Crown to be postage from Dundee, Kirkcudbright, Aberdeen, Piy- removed at pleasure. And yet it would be extremely mouth, Ramsgate, Glamorgan, Hastings, Birmingham, difficult to find any thing,- like a. proper meaning of the Devonport, Cupar, and several other places. words whizh were to be here left to thii one Maltese Ile Marquis of HE AD FORD presented a petition lawyer , because th e framers of this cl,curtient changed from Dablin, praying for the introduction of a rai;ro id their words a most unaccountable manner. They system into Ireland, as the only means of benefiting' used the word revile, traduce, awl ridicule. One was that country. anxious to know how they defined revile, but when he Earl FITZ WILLIAM presented petitions from came to look to the notes, he found contrary to all Haddersfield, H ilitax, and several other places in principle, they threw aside that word and u s e d th e wor d Yorkshire, praying for the adoption of a penny postage. vituperate; and there was a whole page upon the word Ala.) a petition from Kirkaldy, against. further endow- vituperate. There was also another word here, which merits to the Church of Scotland. Petitions from the he comp!ained of the introduction of, and tat was the ikensed victuallers of Dewsbury, and other places, word censure. Iu this country they' knew what against the Beer Bill. And petitions from Strotnness, defame meant ; they knew what ridicule meent; Otley, Kirkby Lonsdale, and other places, r4ainst any they knew what invective meant ; and in their alteraion in the Corn-laws. Lordslep's House they hail even a tolerable knowledge Lord CAM PERDO W N presented a petition in fa- of scurrillity (Great laughter)—but there was a your of the penny postage- word in this ordinance which he never saw in The M arqu i s o f BUTE p res ented petitions from any law of libel, and that was censure. The ordinance Hamilton, and other places, iii favour of Church Exten- did not tell what that meant, but when lie came to tion in Scotland, look at the notes he found that it was " a statement of ' The Duke of NEWCASTLE presented a variety alleged misconduct, unaccompanied with express infe of petitions in favour of the adoption of a penny postage ; renees against the person, but leading others to draw and also a petition from a place in the county of York inferences against him, will therefore amount to censure, against any further grant to the College of Maynooth. as the term is understood in the ordinance." If he were The Duke of RICHMOND presented a petition asked what the meaning of this was, after reading this from the owners of orchard and garden grounds in the note, he certainly would be just as much in the da-k as county of Kent, complaining_ of the operation of the if h e had never read it. Censure was the va g uest term. Tithe Commutation Act, and praying for certain alter- that could be used. It was the smallest possible ob ations to be made in it. - jection that could be made to the most insignificant por MALTA. tion of a man's character. He censured, a man by Lord BROUGHAM, then said, that he rose to saying—" That man is a murderous and felonious' indie bring before their Lordships a subject, in his opinion, viduel—his whole life has been a course of deliberate o f g reat importance, both as regarded the administration crime- e he is corrupt in his public conduct, and unprin of the law in what might be called an nufport of the eipled in his private?' But then he also censured him Empire—of; great consequence in the military and by saying—" He is not so good a man as it might be commercial affairs of this country—and as regarded wished he was—there are many better men the general principles of our jurisprudence. What- worse spoken of—he is far from being a per ever may have been :the law of Malta, .previous feet man—he has many little faults—and his to the issuing the ordinance on which he was to conduct is n ot entirel y free from blame."—. remark, if that ordinance should he sanctioned, it would (Hear, hear.) Would any human being think of calling appear that principles were sanctioned of which he en - that a libel ? But still that was to be a libel by this' tirely disapproved—of which he k new their Lordship s note, and to be subject to twelve months imprisonment, must all disapprove—principles which he knew to be Then, again, the word " tends" was used, because it repugnant in some respects to the law of England, and was a vague and an indefinable word. Whereas, in this more especially to the law of libel. It was natural country, the honest, manly, intelligible, home-spoken that it should be asked why he meddled in the affairs of tongue of English law said that which" defamed" a man Malta, a subject to which he had never given the was a libel, not that which tended to defame him. That smallest attention, and upon which his information must wherel a man's estimation was lowered, and his cha be as limited, almost, as that of any of thei`r Lordships. ratter tarnished in the eye of the public, was the mean. But he must say, in defence of his so coming forward, ing of the word " defame." This word " tends," how_ that he did not come forward so much in respect ever, was used three or four t im es over. Again, " any to Malta, as to the law of England genera ll y , and the Publication of any writing, censuring or disrespectfully law of libel in particular, as to which he had frequently, mentioning her Majesty," which meant the Sovereign, during the last thirty years, made various represents- was punishable with twelve months' imprisonment. tions, and he was sorry to find that legislation on this Now, he could figure to himself 10,000 expressions subject, so far from advancing or even from remaining used without any evil intention, and without any stationary, had been retrogading, retreating from the unkindness, which might be considered in a sense dis light, enveloping itself its darkness, following a worser respectful. " The poor blind King said of one Mo period of legislation, a nd in all re spects lessening the narch ;" " the great fit King said of another Monarch." security of the subject—diminishing the rights of free . These were very improper expressions, and he did not discussion, and fettering, instead of exalting, the Press. justify the use of them at any time ; but would any He was greatly disappointed, and so would others be, man dream of sending a man to prison for 12 months who b a d gra t u lated themselves upon the occasion - for using them ? But he could figure another expres of the assurance g i ven by the G ove rnment in 1836, sion—" that jolly old tar, William the Fourth"—au ex that th e censors hip o f the Press should be abo- pression which lie himself had heard used fifty tines, dished in Malt a , to find that an ordinance had been solely from kindness to that most warm-hearted of all issued with w hi c h it was utterly and absolutely Monarchs. The law held the King to be perfect—to impossible that there should exist even a shadow of a be an object of veneration—and above all such fami shade of the liberty of the Press ; neverthe- liarity, and not to be stigmatised by any such breach less he came forward on this occasion with of decorum as that. Still such an expression was not great reluctance, because he had great respect to be justified ; but was it to be called a libel, and pet , for the learning and talents of those indi- nished with 12 months' imprisonment? But it was enough viduals who had been placed upon the Maltese Commis- for him to say there was so means of gaining any sion. Ho had himself shown his hi g h o pi n i o n of on e of information of what the disrespect here mentioned those individuals (Mr. Austin), b y pl ac i ng hies on the meant. There was again another word, nernely, " mai- Criminal Law Commission ; and, he was bound to versation," used here, of which be believed a definition say that never had any man more fully justified was given, but it was a definition that involved the Mr. NICHOLS thought it was too hard that the odium of the case, if odium there were, should be cast upon the clergyman. He regretted that some change in the constitution of these Courts had not been made, which would lessen the severity of their proceedings. Although the motion of the Hon. Member was some what objectionable in form, he did not think it worth while to offer any opposition to it. Mr. HUME was glad to hear the Hon. and Learned Member opposite express a wish that these Courts should be abolished.—(Cries of " No, no.") He would only refer to the treatment of the Church-rate victims at Truro the other day, when a splendid procession, and an elegant dinner awaited them on their liberation from prison, to show them the impolicy of persevering in the present system. It appeared to him a pitiful course of proceeding to oppress the poor in order to support a Church which ought to be rich enough to support itself. It looked as if it was a beggarly Church. He thought Mr. Thorogood deserved great credit for having suf fered so much for conscience sake. He held in his hand a list of persecutions (for so he would call them), which had taken place in Birm,ngham. Men for small sums had goods to a large amount taken out of their shops, and sold for a few shillings. Why, it was no thing less than robbery—(Oh, oh) —it was a robbery against conscience. —( A laugh.) Hon. Members would not deny that the pockets of the people were picked by law every day. The system was one which no en lightened community ought to suffer to exist any longer. It was inconsistent with Christian principle to punish a man for believing according to the dictates of his con science. Why were not the Bishops called upon to make up a purse for the purpose of promoting peace and good will ? He thought it was a reproach to the House and to the Government, who made no attempt to put an end to such a state of things. Let the Noble Lord bring in a Bill to abo!ish these unjust laws, and it he failed, he at all events would get the credit of intend ing well, and let the odium fall upon those who opposed him. Mr. GOULBURIN said the Hon. Gentleman who had introduced the motion had made many mis takes in the staternant he had laid before the House. He assumed, that according to the canon which he had luckily quoted, the clergyman of every parish was guilty of an offence in not representing all immoral persons in his parish, whereas, in looking at the canon, every gentleman would find that the direction Was per fectly d:scretionary ; the Clergyman was not directed to do it, but he might. Mr. BRAMSTON defended the conduct of the Magistrates. The prisoner was treated in all respects according to the rules and regulations laid down by the Visiting Justices. Sir J. TYRRELL could not assent to all that had fallen from the Hon. Member for Kilkenny, but he cordially aisented to the renrirk, that that Hon. Mem ber did not like subscriptions.—( A ',ugh.) He was sorry that he would not suinort the nim with his purse as well as his tongue. A large stihs(!ription had been made for the man, and he was neither poor nor ig norant. Mr. BAINES shortly replied, and the motion was agreed to. LITHOGRAPHED PETITIONS. Mr. G. W. WOOD, in pursuance -of directions from the Committee on Petitions, brought the fact un der the notice of the House that many lithographed petitions had been presented to the House.—(Hear.) The Committee were of opinion that the same rule ought to apply to those petitions, as did to letter-press: printed petitions, and they wanted to know the plea sure of the House upon the subject for their guidance. He moved " that lithographed and engraved petitions be considered printed petitions." Mr. WARBURTON rose to oppose the motion. Au. HON. MEMBER said the question was an impor tant one, and ought to be discussed in a fuller House. i He moved that the House be counted. Tne House was counted, and forty Members not 1 being present, the House adjourned. to most dreadful acrd fearful law. The d e fi n ition given lif a reward of 501. :were to be off.•ied in a proclamation any pehton who should toke away the Queen's life the nr was, th et it signified " any violation, positive or nega- 1 cletnation would be adduced as ev•dence' of a " n tive, of any legal or moral duty." If any person was . against the life of the Sovereign. The piracy C a theli e c on r s e l o n guilty of that he was to be accused of malversation. i was the establithed one i e M a lt a ; is to tee , rotestant reletio 1 So that if he said of any man in an official station I was merely a Sect, and all dissenting bodies wsee equally t that he was not a charitable man, that he did not i tolerated ; but to revile any one of them would be a libel. spend his money in supp ort of the poor , then he would i tl must say . that he approved of this enactment. The cenie within this definition of the Commons , and be publication of Mr. Wilberforce's book in Malta would be a punishable with twelve mont hs' imprisonment.--(Hear, libel, because it said (as he had been very sorry to perceive) hear.) The persons who were protected from mad- that Socinianism was the half y tii b e nu l s i e to infidelity, and to versation furnished a very curious chapter. He ob- publish the oath, statine that 'va ass was superstitious persons i n a public station in the , and idolatrous, which their Lordships ' used to take before served that they wets IS29—to publish this in Malta would be a libel three - - Government, Judges, Jurors, and a sentry—( Laughter) i !he did not object to more provisions, because the . 6 ."3.' —employed as a centinel—he was a public functionary tube founded on good feeling, but he objected to those info " " employed or concerned in administering" the govern vations and those perversions of the definition of libel 'and ment of the c ountry.—(lmmense laughter.) Here were publication, which made that punishable which no law ought officer and guard, 1 the very words," a Ju r y m a n, a military tnpunieh, and which was totally at variance with the law of or a ' sentry' on h i s p os t is employed or conce rned I England. But it had been said that before we condemn in administering such government in a transient cepa- t la h w e . p e r f e i s ib n e t t, syeewe ought to compare it with the tete city."—(Roars of laughter.) Then, if he were to say of then e it would be seen th it there was an that public functionory who was " employed or con- imerovementan(butish the d p re p fer to the promise that had cerned in administering such government" that he was been made to ; abeland establish the Li too food of drink, as too many of those p u blic function- berty of the Pros ' s, as was stated in j a u n tr or i die ince of the . Government of Malta, dated - the ' t. cries were—( Hear, h_ear, and much laugeter)—that ,,, S t 3ti t 1 . , e nut r w which would be twelve months' imprisonment for him. It was ' promise vvre, net performed. He denied 't, Law of Linel was any improvement on the old Maltese tee said, nay laid down as a positive doctrine, that to revile, Censorship. If he were an Editor of a Newspaper, or a to vituperate persons in public capacities, did not affect publisher, he would rather follow his oceupatior, under the their reputation or wound their feelings, as it was to be law. Censorship than under the present uncertain Lind vague considered as proceeding from party feeling. He would i i p a e w d . ,r3t l.l ,l n ri d . er the present system, he ass left ineapsble of ask if that was true ? Hu rather believed that if any when he avoided an infraction of the Law man in this country in a public capacity was held up I of understanding mg guilty of it ; but if he were under the and reviled in every newspaper for a twelvemonth, be I Censta ' shin t' s w b f e as mig i h 3 t 1):: sure that whatever passed. the would have very little reputation to lose and very Censer was t' u o t the present system was worse in little feeling to wound.—(Hear, hear, and cheers.) another respect—the a. was rinteldd l a a t w il i a n l practice ap at least, was con- Suppose he said of a Minister of State, that the . fined to wha t 'tnted books upon any stature of his mind was less than his body ; that he was subject were allowed to be imported—that t system was now a person with the soul of a cockchafer, and the spirit of cut up; the Cemmissioners, however, boasted of it as a merit; t and the Catholic clergy, they hl. a titmouse—(Much laughter)—orsupposing he was to . . a a . were well pleased at * neing Able to excite; , . e those books which under the old sa y—a Minister, as Dean Swift said, "is an • • nutlet sv-tom used to annoy their demieaet sect. 11 thought devoid of all feeling whatever; truth is an entire the present system ought altogether to he abaltion,d stranger to his bosom, as feeling and humanity is to his One of its crying evils was, that instead of leaving it to nature. He never says yes, except when he ineang no jurors iie to decide whether there were in an alleged libel —(Laughter..) He never denies a thing unless heculpability, the question was decided by a positively knows it to be true."—(Hear, hear, and single le or Jud and that not an English Judge, laughter.) It watt a fact that that was said of Sir but a Mafte had the other day Robert Walpole. " When you aro a suitor for his favour sentenced a s p e erso a n wy t e o r, six wbo o o m e. nth F a , : r imprisonment th for if he smiles upon you, have a great distrust. If he ridiculing the Catholic relig reasons, he (Lord Broughine) thought it his duty to the makes you a promise distrust him still more ; but if this position of the Maltese La w before thei y r Lordships. he of . squeezes your hand, and professes friendship for you, He lied no doubt that if the Queen's Government did not give yourself up as a lost man."—(Hear, hear, and ofdecrec to call or suspend the ordinance for the purpos,, of laughter.) Every man of common sense, in this situa - reconsidering .hec)e and improving it, their Lordships would call tion, leaves town and retires for his life, or at all eveutsupon Court to disallow ta it. It might Itc said. that to do so until the Ministers change.—(linrnense laughter.) would be still l the H l u esired establishment of the liberty Surely no man would envy the repose, or be jealous of of the press in M e slta y t utely it would bs better, after the dignity of such a Minister, if it were said that his the time that had already elapsed, to wait a month or six repose was the repose of a shuttlecock and the dienit • weeks longer and hate ' the Iprt, measure a boon, and Lot a of a puppet.—(Laughter.) Suppese these words dignity bane as it; was: now. c b c t ' ul t i o de the origin of this evil, be must say that all th l o7s e e n used in reference to Mr. Pelham, could it be a t- 6 1 1 1e si lees lre trotl.tributahie to the Commissioners, ' at doubted that it would not have a tendency to Noble Friend, but to the Council of Malta ,to for 'la lower his reputation, and to wound his feeh the Learned Judge to whom he had referred,. he ings ? Yet this. very extraordinary document now was fully aware of his long practice and experience. before him said No : for a very curious reason it said, be- If the Chief Justice had continued a member of the Coun cause that it must be known that these words would cii,He begged ordinance would have seared the fate of the others. be the ebulition of party animosity and the weapons of b t a o d apologise to their. Lordships for the length party aggressitn, and because the party attackod must of time he hear)—but he had made know in what light such charges would he re aided by these remarks woitcheunpoiedd—( occupied—(Hear, degree of p r f egret, as regarded the the people. But suppose that three-fourths of the subject, which he held to e paramount importance, people should regard such charges in a very favourable and which had occupied his attention for some time past. light, and one-fourth in an unfavourable light,His would long esteemed and much loved friend the Governor, they wound his feelings then ? Now , according to the being a military man, was not to be blamed on account of old fashioned feelings of English law , such words wouldspared this ordinance. Ile had hoped he would have been the task of adverting to thin subject, but it had been thought ,be considered a libel, as having a tendency to lower the that the better part of valour was not discretion it had reputation, and wound the feelings of a party, and been determined to find it out, and therefore he hoped a they , would be redressed by actions, and punished b veryy satisfactory defence would be made. In conclusion, he prosecution.--(Hear.) The law of England was begged .,‘ril to , move that an humble address be presented to betleite some respects, but in nothing worse than in not herthis ordinance might be disal ,jf:e;rty:t,lepr)aying that fi allowing the truth ire justification, under prosecution for lowed, laving its different pieta iecon lidsel• Perhaps it ought not to be admitted in an ac- sidered.—( Hear, lw rea se r. ) Alone but itrOught always to be admitted, not by a plea Lord GLENELG commenced by • theable,sayinlg that he felt on the record, but in evidence to the Jury, to rebut the the disadvaramee of rising aftere L o e q ar u n e e n d t, r i w e er- Cbergg elf nhaliee, ~This was always his doctrine, but ful, and facetious speech 6 - f his Noble and not. sq the., C4Mmissioners. Now, pas Sing b y ,: „,. ata i He felt that with his defect of legal knowledge it would n b d e . grapple imprudent and absurd for him to attempt to with minor imperfections, he would expose se v e r al of the the Noble Lor uo the egal topicsca he id urgd. glaring evils oft the present system of ce n so r s hi p . Whoa - His Noble and Lea p rn n ed all Friend had paid a just te trib . e o f me ever a printed censure was -uttered against a man's chi.d r - praise to the Co:nmissioners, and he (Lo Glenelg) had meter ehoeMaitat the ordinance divided the offence h ' " into de a right to claim that tribute, as w n arrantine him in Pla i • twohiiyishanat• It had either a tendency tome „ no small degree of confidence in their judgineca. 'Though the person ; .. or it had not. In the former ' . cos', it was not for him to copy' with wiles Noble hal Leareed the punishment was twelve months' imprisoment Friend in time , gI it .. areurn-ots And tit- legal tneaoiug of th o for the defam a ti on , if t h e o ffence came under the words, rto pretend: .to e e n x t.•i iuto . a discussion with him aseo latter division. Perhaps their Lordships might the bearing of certain expressions, yet he could not but say that this was nothing at all, and that there feel that if those Learned ') c d nessionere were pe present to would be no punishment as there was no defarna- answer his Noble and Learn. , Friend . ._ those points, their Lerdahips would, at least • , ~ p ect ish there was very tion—but here their Lordships would be quite mistaken little ground for exult. • aeon on the superiority et hie ergu. —the punishment in the latter case would b. ' six moot. He thoue,lit th , proposition of his NL,bla any months' imprisonment for classification sake.— Learned Fe . Fiend, that this ordinance was worse than the (Langhter.) But a censure on a man which did not le c‘c;inlitieship that somewhat um estrous.—( Hear, hear. ) defame him was not a libel ; and so far from being a!1 discussion censorship? It was a complete sueprees'on punishable with six months' imprisonment it ought root of a t which n i t i to l litical subj sets. \Viten he looked to to be punished by an imprisonment of six days, or :ht: in ,o 7 i c e a r s l i n " 1 tits hid beet, gov,•rned. aid to the even six hours—the fine slould not be Id., f or th ere abuses that h a ul 's' grownu i p in tha . t 4 stttlement during the lao was not a half-penny damages, because it it died not n ie conee.ered that the Maltese had defame the publication was no offence at all. Oh b e en depressed and insulted - 7 -that all places of emolument and honour had been a:- ' hut the Commissioner said it may wound his feel-twee. to persons from this ceuntry ...._ logs ; but the English law did not regard such -'nit for their integrity. or great tea, ioog, hum for very (lit tender probabilities. The principle of ttte• 1I• ferent purposes--that -or wt hene,hheafd.,:eneint4laid exhorbi I T , tautly, and were siteee.area ; e tieh law was " lea de minimis non Curet,: • - ti n W ipi d Hit 4 .:Ait ay: l antll the , w hole speent: ,of -battier' their charities say that a man was not an impressive speaker to say . I. , i ti c a n t ,l i i ; :. d .iy:ii:z ii , , , t i h ,) ein- ho sviOuhi' sits' that' among the ean.... ' e< that he was a bid poet—that he was neither hernio-disc-talus result, be would t ahi:e - n. u ,. tr n :t f l to an that nious in verse nor eloquent in prose—this certainly ;.I,,ce the wound a mao's feelin es (altliutib part of the p.ople, of y illy 'n : cc ' , ) , I "i ily `' t s di-euss et i "' " n the might very not undlydee, tt :were ars Le• km:: beck for t:w l a st ce , itur ::', (l :; t c or i many might wish that no!lunte wo•so was slid ‘-,r t ii•?:” ); but surely it Itollid be ;deur(' to cap e t th 0 on , i a , the history or this eolat, - 1, lie iv;lld , i :k it :y7 c l " ... l r ' e ll.2lt. in ~f abuse; ead nat bee il owing to that '' p t Oey t er r i . ul e Yi l a ' would punish one that threw out such an imputation reeli " u s-rum-nt the Press. Wet he to believe that the complet t e with six montlishimpritonment. To tell a worn m that. ex , iuction of public discussion, whi..h in every other plat a man who sued for her favour was ten times nior , .. (hill of shy.' world bad produced injurious consequ-n:es and stupid than ene%of his rivals; Would certainly he one had in M.ilta been perfectly innocent, and hid been pro of the most peinful euggesLons that coeld be inflicted cl i u a ctive of no evil coesequences ? Then, said his Neble on his fitelingshAlatipgliter)-hbut Ito moan would think. „,,,„ Learned Friend, they had prevented public dons in surely, that this: w e e a hoe' oe s e r cjog t o 1) : ! puoished ‘; hut they could not preteat its importation. tvith six months' ; ; anPr•lontbent.—( il,ar, hear.) What, Wh "u e ntrY ' island y o . fi e ‘i s a u i rpr, scion of all printed publicatiees in the should he (Lord Brougham) say of the Noble anda was au odious and ti - ' hl L •esetee, ;Let. It was Learned Lord (Wyirford) opposite., that no man calculated to exeite suspicion,. t, to bring the Got ernmexit perpetrated .worse penmanship, not . even himself (Lord into discredit, and to niiilz. ( Hea li . nation to think there was Brough 111)? It.migbt certainly wound his feelings (if his something to conceal.— ) One consequence of the Noble Friend boasted of his calography, which he did admission of printed publications was, that whereas the , discussions in the island were carried on by charge . not) ; buthshOidd a ni,..n b! pnnished for six months printed and answer, by accusation and defence, the imprisonment . fur eating . tide, supposin g that it did lications imported into the country were the works pnb" emend the feelings of his Nublo Friend ? —or ouelit one of the most violent agitators, and contained nothing to be punished with six months' imprisontnent for but ip extreme representations and the grossest exaegera'- Woundieg , enother man's feelings for saying that he was t, into arty of the conduct of the Governor. He would not:enter One hf the worst - dancers he ever saw ;or to say that i refe a r ct itb y l a:g t - o am ti c a nt with h respect to the present systeni being . when a man wrote censure, and yet inflicted no pain, it censorship n ic .a h s b e a n dbean fern - leaf adopted. He woeld, in fact, be taking the sting out of the writing? Lew the . censc:paralysis of the public ought a man to be punished with six month's voice, and therefore he was notabsolute eras prepared to argue whether imprisonment for wounding an author's fI. such a lew as the e ! ,, , ing,s . h ~ . _ present d . .not better than the censor by such a statem tnt as this? .Yet all these L slop es it had been described by his Noble and Learned series o. Friend. , statebsuents would he punishable -* ' ' nen six months' hnpri- d Si l on g as the principles of a censorship were eonment in ftl -rite, thouell they would • ti'm rl be reearded as -- • It °fled and free discussion admitted, which of course ad ludicrous in England. Sup '' mated time great principle for tylliee every lover of freedom . . se a. man were te say with theintention of givin ,, pain, - , trust contend, very c e ••t1 se '' , oast ce atilt advances wou. 1 he made in o, jour relation has died SUddenly (as he knew it to r ' havep the progress oflreedom The Noble and Learned feed had been the act would be punishable in Eitel- 1 essay),, such an said that instead of seeing the. P ' ' nein: he had to la .ress aeya ane, but not so in Malta, meet over its retrograde movement. Whatever was the where there was ne provision made for it, because it • state of thiti‘; whther this c ordinance was justly exposed was not a censure, though ithad provided six months - • to the -charges that had been made against it or not, he imprisonment for other statements the that bore merely the contendtid that looking to the position of Malta ' as it stood possibility of woundingfeelings, N , 1. )w he thought prior to that law, every person would agree there was a that lathed given instances enou visible advancement in . the freedom of discussion. It was gh shou l ,ll Le e Ic e o no further to prove to their Lordships the absurdity' not for him i to , _enteh into a discussion respecting the law New he would show some farther absurdities, of the edict. of English i I bd. He was not aware that there was any i If he were to write anything in manuscript, howeverart' eu ibelletis, it would 1 - Li. T , u h a l r al s v tatute or .Act which told them precisely vvlost tli not be a ttcheled to. • If he were to of libel was. There were diffeeet deciaiona and t libellous 20, or ,L)i 'f,: - 2 000 persoos, and read to them the ino a t o; ~ ;A o t in s u . p v en i,.. t h h . e t suoject by Larl:ed Jo-lees entitled to out of a printed book this would not be' s a publication—the ilinuinaiter a t t at h d is h b e e • e tt e •oule s ay, that of late 3e,rs book must be presented to the people whetherthereadi t these leeened opinions ) superseded. Since Mr. or not, or whether they were able to real it or not y ; but of-- Fox's Bill the law 'of libel in this I country might be said to feting the hook to them would be a publication, even though. re et in the roast f• o jurors. t was no ion • ger a question they should refuse to take it, and would be punishable in law of legal dision, but a question of sen • t t i h rn a e t nt t and public as much as if it were 'read by 20,000 persons. Was ever reeling. They all knew perfectly well caaes..in which the opinions of Juries had there were such confusion of 'law heard of as that at Malta ; hut thesuperseded opinions of the meat Learned Judges that ever edict treated as commissions, what merely were omissions: graced the Bench. The Noble Lord had said the ordinance abolished Well, if a man were to omit to prevent a libellous pub the Jury system. lication, which be might have succeeded km suppressing, lie would be guilty and punishable for a libel at Malta. Lora. BROUGHAM—No, no; I said it does not in- If he were ttisee a libel lying on a table, end net burn it, that troduce it. this woutd - be a publication:- This was the first time, under Le el GLENELG TI . L . le question of altering the exist our law, except in caste of misprision, .that n • institutions ' on.feasants me of Mal • h. . La was one thing, and the qaettion were enede opal to a ction- If he,were to leave a . publication, of altering the law of libel was another, - It was not a well 'knowing its contents to be libellous; this would sound argument to say that, because you could not have be La i publication, whether tiny "ether person ifshouhld the complete machinery of Eoglisb law, that therefore you, .happen t . to ' see it of not—but still worse, are not to make any approximation to the system of Eng: in entire ignoranee of its contents, should leave a publics- e, . Jurythe system of England would be:applicable read by another, he would still be punishable, though not to Malta, piit an it was no answer to the application of the -for twelve months,. only for six; that was, provided, by law, present shape lawto say there ld might be a better care a n d attention, he might have made himself master of machineryl w VVOU __ be carried into effect. its contents.---( Laughter.) Why, at this rate he should He did jot by see why this could not be brought to tremble every morning when letters came by pest CO him, a fair trial before' - a Judge,a)ob. object without a Jury. if e sucli a law existed in England.—( Laughter. ) For if It was his (Lord Glenelg's f theje. to secure from persons he did not read his letters, another mighe, and thus he skilled in the jurisprudence ocountry such a code of should be guilty of any libel they might contain. Sup. law as would be adapted to the el t. =instances in which the pose a heap of newspa p ers should come et him, and that he island of Malta was at presentto placed, and as would be • in should. . leave th em on his table without reading them, telligible and practicable the legal practitioners. The ~ end that Upon an oth e r re ading them it should turn out that Commissioners were gentlemen of there . - were is one paper a dozen of libels, his would have to applied themselves to thei r task with the mo s t a t tent i ve _suffer seventy, two mon th s , i m prisonment for m ore libels, consideration : and in s judgment, he c on f esse d, t h e p l an because, according to the edict, he might, with care and which they bad selected was well suited for the condition attention, hi have mead the paper and discovered the libel. of the island—containin g provisions conforming to the English T h would be his case if the Maltese law ruled in Eng- principles of thelaw, so far as they were applicable _land, Such was the nature of this most extraordinary to the country, aid favourably received by the population. document. Yet notwithstanding all these severities and Acceptable, , beyond all doubt, the ordinance was to the res. c.ruelties, and absurd inconsistencies, the truth was not in pectable portion yra of the Maltese; and let it not be imagined Melta allo we d to be produced in mitigation of punishment that this _matter of little consequence. The people for a lib e l, If h e were a bout to be punished for the libel of Malta had s a always been considered worthy of the atten of saying that a man had been guilty of felony, he tion of this d country. It should be recollected that we held would not be allowed to produce the sentence of theist under a peculiar tenure ; neither by conquest nor the man's conviction, though he might have it settlement . an But the Maltese having resisted the oppression in his ocket, the truth would not be admitted either i n of the French, to whom they had by their - leaders been defenceMalta.Here • claw was or elimination in severe enough, ... ii . but it allowed the truth to be produced in to throw off the yoke, arid had voluntarily accepted our neite t ,a . tion of punishment for libel, though it would not all protection. Now, as to the commentary. Notwithstanding admit it as a justification. But except in the case of mad_ the invectives of his Noble and Learned Friend, be versation of public ofsSeers, the author ities at M alta said considered that it manifested the greatest ability, and that that th e law there and in England was the same, whereas • it was a powerful and intelligible exposition of the main it was quite th e reverse . Then there was another chapter, principles of law. But he was surprised to find, after which h e ld forth 'curious doctrines respecting what we the manner in which his Noble and Learned Friend should consid er t reas onable publicatio ns. if a man in had attacked the commentary • which was but th e Malta were to publish printed article s, excitin g th e people Appendix to the ordinance—that he should have so to subvert the Government by armed force, or to t a k e up mollified his rage, when he came to speak of the arms to effect some great change, or to .assist a fo, ordinance itself —on which he (Lord Glenelg) had reign foe, the h would be treated • pu lication only as a libel, whereas in England such a petei i nant eloquence. With regard to the provisiongespectin carton would be treated as an act of high treason," i religion, it did not prohibit examinations or discussions g High treason, according to the English. law, mea i upon religion, but only "reviling" or " insulting" the ex conspiring to take away the life of the King, and thoue n l t t Listing religion of the country. And he would venture to . Charles the First was beheaded, Halket and the other c a. , say , that no sincere Protestant would quarrel with such a spirators were tried, not for cutting pff the King's head, hut - pro,ll,ition. The Mah,se were pecidiarly sensitive on the for conspiring to take away his life; but then the cutiinr, off subject of religios e , a n d surely Protestants could ask no his head was adduced as an overt act of the conspiracy i e —so, more- than permission to discuss the question with- out reviling or insulting.—( Hear.) As to the prosecution. the person prosecuted had publicly affirmed the Catholic religion to be the most detestable religion upon the face of the earth—and whet he (Lord Gleuelg) considered the character of the Maltese population, he really did congra tulate himself that the ordinance enabled a punishment to be inflicted on a man who could so disregard the first principles of humanity—so forget the principles of the re ligion of which he professed himself the advocate—as to stigmatise, in such terms, the religion under which he was tolerated. Then with respect to the censure of private individuals. The law of England, in precept, if not in practice, was very severe upon defamation. And if it was remembered that the Editor of one Maltese paper (we un derstood the Harlequin) had actually threatened to publish a minute examination of every family in the island— ( Laughter)—he ( Lord Glenelg) certainly did not regret that this ordinance afforded the means of punishing such unwarrantable interference with private character.— ( Hear.) This, then, was his responsibility with regard to this ordinance, which be had approved of generally, as a proper substitute for the censorship of the Press. Had time allowed, he was persuaded that there would have been multitudes of petitions in favour of the continuance of,the ordinance, It was in consequence of petitions from Malta that the Commission had been appointed which framed the oreinance. And already a petition had been presented by the Malteise agent in this country, through whose in strumentality the cemmission had been appointed, earnestly praying_ that the ordinance might not be altered. The Noble Lord concluded a speech, which at times was very i nau dible, fro:n his droppii.g his vice at the close of sentences, by entreating their Lirdships not ro repeal this ordinance, believing, as he did, that the result would be most prejudicial to the Island of Malta,—framed as the ordinance had been, as the first atternet towards effecting any thing like the freedom of the press in that island. Lord BROUG H A M explained. The Bishop of EXETER felt it necessary to make a few remarks in consequence of the expressions which had fallen from the Noble Lord, and the Noble and Learned Lord relative to the Roman Catholic religion, being ties established religion of Adele.. He greatly mistook if in any part of the detnintons of the Sovereign of England the Reman Catholic religion could be' the established reli gion. It was contrary to the Act of Supremacy—it was contrary to the coronation oath . ; for her Majesty bad sworn that she would maintain the Protestant religion as established by law in England, Ireland, and all the ter ritories thereof. Was not Malta one of those terri tories ? If not, he was ready to admit that his observations did not apply. He was ready to admit that the inkabitents of that Island had strong claims upon the utmost liberality iu protecting the religion which they professed ; but when they became subjects of the British Crown, they made no bargain that ,the fundamental laws of this Kingdom should be violated., He looked forward with great gratification to . an improved era of religious improvement in, that Island, particularly from the visit of the Illustrious Queen, whose benefits were experienced in every place she visited. The Marquis of NORMA NBY said, be would take up the question from the time at which he came into office, and did not doubt that the Noble Lord would be pre pared at the proper time to vindicate the whole course of his policy with respect to that island. With reference to the individuals to whom allusion had been made, the Chief Justice and the Attor ney. General, he wished to speak of them with every re spect. He concurred in the decision which his Noble Friend had given as to their continuance in office not being advantageous to the community in which they resided, and that they were overpaid servants with very inadequate du ties to perform. The simple question now was, what in terference their Lordships would make .under the actual circumstances of the case. He thought the Noble and Learned Lord would not be inclined to press his mo tion, because he had seen the difficulty and delicacy of such interference as he now wished their Lord ships to sanction, by having on four different occa sions varied the terms of his motion. It was rather curious to consider the shape in which this interference first took place. About ten days since the Noble and Learned Lord came down to the House with art Italian newspaper, con taining a copy of the ordinance, and inquired whether it had been disallowed or not. He (the Marquis of Nor manby)stated that the ordinanee had not been disallowed, nor had 'it been confirmed.' The day after the Noble Lord came down with another Italian paper, from which he read an extract from a trial which had taken place, and com mented upon the concluding words of the libel of which the person had been convicted ; but be was sure the Noble and Learned Lord would not have done this if be had read the whole of the libel. If thare were any of our possessions in wllich it w•. 3 mere ricoreua that religious discussion of an lute:lntent , eature aheuld be prevented, it was Malta; and it was also peculiarly improper that the publication of arch a libel should have taken plice at such a moment, because an attempt had been made to connect it with an act of great benevolence, and no ' person would regret such a p.-rverstou of- motives more than Queen Ade laide, in connection with liar having laid the foun &awn- of it Protestant Church in Malta. With re opt,et to tile lileala on private character, he would fairly sly there were words which, at this moment, were under the consideration of the Government. There wasa citseri,i- of horror felt arming many respecteble fami lies for fear they .hould be suhj,:et to attacks from which. in this country, the peers wa. , not entirely exempt. If there was any one pert of the ordinance in accordance with the feelinea of the pe iple of Malta more then 4;10• ther, it was ll+, exemption of private character from sy4- tematie wits such as those made by Mr. Richaidsen in the Harlequin who had thr,a , eited tilmo4t every pet son ea ,Malta. Tae G )vertiment had felt d ffi,ulty cur. •ai,, 1r its of the o,cit:..ince, and in consequence of their attention having been dit eet eti to it, tilt.) , had instructed the G :vernor, by whose authority thew prosecution; were to he ir - , , tlru,d, that this authorio, was to be not ni,,ely nominal. b it tiat he wits to ex -resat a control , over the public pros- titer ea to the pros- Cittiorli that. were to be in lieder there ei:curns aete a he felt that more solid °lT:cones than these urged by the Noble and Learned Lord must be brought fere aril to induce their Lordships to resort to the extraordinery - measure of an address to the Ciro% n. He w;iuld also draw their Lordships' attention to the wer, of the law previous to the isauiag of this ordinance, and remind them that the eff,:ct of disallowing it would be the re.establishment of a censorship of the most disastrous kind, and the re-estabiishment of the (,lovernment press on the footing of a complete monopoly; and another evil would be that during all that time the Island would; as it heretofore had been, be inundated with libels published in foreign permit' consequence of the non-existence of any taw of The Deice of WELLINGTON would not ,have troubled their Lerdships at all up en this question had it not been for what had.. fallen from the N)ble B-.ron oeposite. The Noble and Learned Lord had stated in a most unrivalled speech his objections to this ordinance. but the Noble Marquis stated on this what he had stat?d on a former occasion, that the subject was under the consideration of the Government. Unties these circumstances, he felt himself relieved from the necessity of voting this address, and considered that the proper course for tlm House to adopt would be to request the Noble and Learned Lord to withdraw his motion. He was anxious to address their Lordships in consequence of an observation whieh had b. , en made, by a Noble Baron opposite. °H- . (the 'Debi of Wellington) bad always sup posed if there existed ' any part Of her Majesty's dominions in which a_ free pr e ss was not necessary, Malta that was part. Our business in Malta sees to main tain it as a garrison and a great naval station The popu lation of Malta consisted of .about one hundred thousand persons, for whom he entertained the highest respect and regarc', being convinced that her Majesty bad not better or more devoted subjects.—(Cheers.) It was the duty of her Majeety's Government, as far as they had it in their power, to superintend the government of the good people of Malta, and for a people who talked the Maltese language, and that language alone, and of . whom not one in five hundred can read a line. Surely of all the institutions of this country, the least necessary for such a people 'ens a free press. He would not dispute with the Noble Baron or the Noble and Learned Lord as to the advantages of a free press, but he believed that there were institutions for education, and other descriptions of institu• tions, still more necessary for the happiness of the people of Malta than a free press, and which it would be neces sary to give them before-hand, in order to reader this free press useful and advantageous to them. Tht.re was a c,!r lain liberal aet of gentlemen in this country who thought a free p;•ess in Malta very desirable not for the sake of the Maltese, but for the sake of the advantage to be produced on the eeiebbeurieg coasts of France, Spain, aed Italy. He acquitted tile Noble Lords of being actuated by am feeling of this sort at the pres-nt moment, sithough he could nut acquit thou of this charge at all times. But he believed they had now had enough of private wars— -he believed it It a, neither to the security nor the advantage of this country to carry on wars in distant parts of the world, or in oirtyitearer home ; but he believed such to be the object of this free oreis—an object with the interests and oith the hon:.ur of this coutittl—with the interests, be cause it was manifest that the item sts of this cuuutiy essentially depended not only on the maintenance of peace ceuselves, but in preventing if possible, disttebenee among other nations ; and:with our honour, because our ht.) lour depended upen our not exciting insurrection and rebellion in other countries, at the same moment that their Governinents were ostensibly at peace with this nation. If this free press was for the Maltese, in God's name let it he in. the Maltese language, and he would recommend the Noble Marrois to amend this ordinance, by determining that the press that should come under those regulations, should be in the Maltese language. The Noble Baron had stated, he considered a free press necessary for Malta, in order to remedy the evils of a long period of misgovern. ment. He (the Duke of Wellington) could not see how this press was to save the people of. Malta from such evils, but he would remind the Noble Lord that during the greater part of this period Malta had been under his own Government, at all events, he thought the Noble Lord had been in office under the Governments of those whom be now accused of misgo verning Malta, at least for 20 out of 25 years, with the ex ception of a year and a half, during which be (the Duke of Wellington) bad had the misfortune to lose the confi dence of the Noble Lord, but most certainly not on account of any misgovernment of Malta.—(Cheers and laughter.) He (the Duke of Wellington) must give a different ac count of that Island. He was astonished at the excellence of its government, immensity of its resources, and the readiness with which those resources were afforded to her Majesty's troops to enable them to carry onthealte war se against the enerny_; he said this in justice to the Maltese and to those Noble and Honourable persons who had governed them. He had known _Malta up to within the last twe nt y years, and he believed that on the face of the globe there was not a place of the same extent and population possessing_ a thousandth part of the riches and resou rces of the island. This was a question which ought to rest in thehands a freeoftheGopverernss it, Govern. men t—if they thought proper to establish in the Island ho could not help and had no desire to make any motion to prevent it, but he would beseech theta to remember that while he maintained Malta as a garrison and anaval station, we bad great duties to. perform ; it was . o ur duty to govern the population of Malta according to their laws, and to promote their prosperity by every means I in our power, and he would say that if a free press were ne- I cessary for their happiness and prosperity, let it be a Maltese and not an English one. The Earl of RIPON felt bound to deny tne ignputation that had been made against the edminis ration of the Government in Malta, on behalf of the late Governor., Those imputations were totally uncalled for and unjust. Lord BROUG HA M shortly replied. He agreed with his Noble Friend who had spoke last, that the Government of Malta was undeserving of the sweeping censure* that had been made upon it. With respect to the motion before the House he felt bound to complain of some of the charges that had been made against him. First it had been said that he had changed his motion four times. Now, with respect to that, he thought if the terms of the motion were looked at. together with the alterations, very little difference would be discovered in them. It ba d been said that he had flinched from attacking the ordinances; he had done no such thing He approved of the spirit a peace in which they had been drawn, but he did not think they could be made to work well. He hoped the Govern ment would preserve as much of those ordinances as could be made effectual, and cast aside the remainder. The Noble and Learned Lord concluded by saying that he entirely acceded to the recommendation of the Noble Duke, and would withdraw his motion, as a full discus sion having taken place upon the ordinance, his obj , ct had been gained. After a few observations from the Marquis of LANS DOWNE. the motion was withdrawn, and their Lord ships adjourned at a Quarter before Ten o'Clock. SHIPPING INTELLIGENCI4, (LLOYD'S.) 411. DEAL, APRIL 29. Wind E. S. E.—Arrived from the river auto saikd th't Newton, Laybourne. for Cadiz. PORTSMOUTH, APRIL 29.—Wind S S. E PLYMOUTH, APRIL 29.—Wind N. \V.—Sailed the Noll' tune, Wallace, for Miramichi. FALMOUTH, APRIL 28.--`Vied W., fresh brecaes.--01 Tort the Valhalla, Erickson, froM St. Übe'-': Jc'ss''' Iti~ him. M‘Lachlan, Hamburg; Urania, Bugh, ; and Artnie. Archer. Port-au- Prince. LIVERPOOL, APRIL 29.—Wind N. NV—Arrived the In dependence; Nye, front New York, sailed the : and Cambridge, Burnley, ditto, sailed the Ist inst. Sailed the Ellen,. Yapp, for Penang ; Rosalie, Allsop, ge r oria. nairo ; ElizAtath Wood, Crosby, Barbadoes ; A Gifney, New York; and Geneie, Off i"ir t the Alecto, from Laguna. PENZANCE, APRIL 18.—Arrived offport the Frig. l3na ' Reap, from Calcutta; Perla, Dambert, Havatinah ; (lan Crichton, Halifax; Wild Irish Girl, Tooker. C R P e . ° , Good Hope ; Ariel, Westman, St. Übe's; and Anl P nl trite, Ahrens, Bahia. BRIsTOL, APRIL 29.—Arrived the En p , worthy, from St. Kitt's. Sailed the Teesdale, Sfer/ing, for Boston. PORT TALBOT, APkIL 28.—Sailed thb Thernistochily Rowel, for Marseilles. GLOUCESTER, APRIL 29.—Arrived the Patriot, Nich° ls ' from Constantinople. CARDIFF, APRIL 27.—Sailed the TOM Bowling, Hodges' for Oporto. WORKINGTON, APRIL 28.—Sailed - the Tompsan, Bur ton, for Bay Chaleur. VESSELS SPOKEN WlTH.—Admiral Jsn Evertson. Dordt, to Batavia, Jan. 11th., lat. 26 S. long. 25 Iv• ; Drea. G, breeders, Parma, Amsterdam to Batavia. . 28th, lat. 10, S. long. 103 . E . by the Emanual, "r ely at Brouwershaven ; Mary Ann of and from Liverpo ol..til inst. lat. 48, long. 16, by the Juverna, Miller, arrived Bristol; Jacob Oats, Diereks, Amsterdam to Bstiti 16th inst. lat. 48,Ion.:8, by the;Tweed Gebroeders; arr iV, at Roterdam ; Norman, starring West, and Rhon e boo n°, to Havre, 16th ult., tat 40, long. 70, by the Ind f lt deuce, Nye, arrived at Liverpool; Jonge Jan, Van -D4 , " Passareang to. Rotterdam, ..lan.ll9th, lat. 22, S. Irg• E., by the Prince Frederick der Nederlanden, orivt4 a '' Tesel. . . THE LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELL II4°. TON. —We are requested to state that Mr. Co lburo of Great Marlborough.street, has this day Pub l ?,he the Second Part, price 24. 6d., with an Engraving of Storming of Seringapatam, by Landseer, of .‘ The Lite the Duke of Wellington " embracing his civil, Wilitalc . and political career to the present time. Edited by James Alexander, K. L. S., 42d Rot al Highlanders. cated to Gen. Lord Hill, G. C. 8., &c. This work wi,,," completed in twelve monthly parts, price 2;, 6d. each, or; bellished with Portraits, Battle Scenes, &c., by Landsenat' Ag Warren, Landells, and other- eminent artists. i o ; for Scotland, Messrs. Bell andßradfute, Edinburgh ; Ireland, Mr John Cumniing, Dublin. HELL Ft ciockinaker, who is . 0 by the name of the " Normonton Wonder," and wh o i t k the habit of reciting his verses; was doing so last s a public house near Hardwicke Park. The verses we I l e sort of invocation to the author of evil, and ended with 73. m words "hell fire." A gaelv.eper of the Duke of D'l°oo, shire, who is a bit of a wag, made a circular train a g b ; powder round the orator, connecting it with the be at :be and just before the ominous words were utter eu; pushed a lighted coal to the train, which exploded ir words " hell fir , " were uttered, when the astounded c. maker made hut one b .and out of the heuse, and ran i 7; distance of- seven miles, at thr top of his staged, t ar once looking behind him. —Sheffield Erie. s olli At Worship street yesterday, William SOP er,chman to her Grace the Duchess o' M,,rlhofvfog appered on a summons which charged him with i r k i na , evaded the toll. arid viole:ttly assaulted George He' °4 t he the collector at the Kings!and-road turnpike. G l ad , .se being called on. .Vattuts King, butler to he r G d ' a i .,4l *tepperi forward, and st6t. d that his ntistrus; h'd or b. hint to att.•nd, aed intorm the Magtttrate that the e()3C A man had by ori zr,tk • p-issed through the wrong gate, 3n i had of cQur , e n, rat? nylon wifully tv oie p tyrn e° of the toll. The charge of as,ault only was entre to. Th.'complanta9t stated that he, se. n six arid seven o'ett. in the ekenitig of tho 17th aa; on du 3 tY t ': Kitigsland-road gate, when the defendant drove her ( e carriage up and attempted to pass through it. W itri t c he demanded the toll, upon wh:ch defendant called "ti t , • Oin p numb -r of the Islitim gate, and on witness's te llnt, it would not clear that bar, he l o aded him with abuse, and , es i declaring that it should clear it, he lashed hi andOri forward. Witness ran aft e r the carriage , eoe gi tting befor e it, a tt em p te d t o se i ze the rrissf most which defendant began to lash him i n the. Which violent manner with hi s w hip a nd cu t open his ear,dwl:44,,, bled profusely. Several persons collected rout' 7 • i in d advised him to have the defendant taken a his bo%eve, locked up, but be abstained from doing so. in eoelliotaer of the Duchess being herself in the carriage- P , ‘ "(f a red collector came ap and spoke to her Grace, %Ili ° ng him los. to make up the matter, but he declined ael,,,aig it. Mr. Fleetwood, a gentleman cennected with the On Exchange, corroborated the complainant's taterli cnt ,if, bE defendant being asked what be had to say for hitt ls- „, stated that he mistook the gate, and was very s"E r fa:olt' had misconducted himself. The butler, on boa "- a io, goodthe man bore a character, replied in the Or in . besti Mr. Codd said that his conduct appeared to h av :d Ors' disgraceful, but in consideration of his previous go r ip racter, he would inflict merely a mitigated penalt y SILVER EDGED PLATED DI S r T. COX SAVORY offers for selection, a rangeal in : Roma, a most extensive variety of CORNER Set of Four varies in price from Seven to Ten Gilitt,e%tch COX SAVORY, Working Goldsmith, Silversmith. so" hercir .naker, 47, Cornhill, London (Seven Doors front Graeol street). N.B.—The Handles are made to remove from t— fe- The Covers may thus be used as Dishes ; and the Set yr' Eight Dishes, when required. ---- B 1R TH S. f * of,' On the 23d ult., at Liverpool, Mrs. J. D. Eshelby. °lir,. On the 27th ult., at Penton-place, Pentonville, ' Battiscombe, of twins. Or e ' On the 26th ult., Mrs. David Davies, of Leice ster -6 of a son. r Or' ir On . the 27th ult., Mrs. Barclay Watson, of Ca°' or terrace. 1-I:,pa k, of a daughter. - tree" , ' On the 28th ult., Mrs. John Barwise, of Craven -5 i' f i a son. . fif e On the 28th ult., in Oxford-terrace, Hyde-park, idle , Richard 114thfie'd Esq., barrister at law, of a !on. ds tief On the 2tth ult., the lady of Dr. George Gregory, gig., On the 29th ult., the lady of Thomas M Dorset-place, Regent's-park, of a son. -- An' MARRIED. 'Donnell, "- 11r• r, On the '27th ult., at St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, ptlie drew Leighton Leith, of Villiers. street. Strand , t ° f (laughter of William English, Esq., of Bow, Micidleses'sreneeot O. the 25th ult., at Wotton- Under- Edge, WiPiOttare, Palmer, Esq.. of Henrietta-street, l3ru li ve i ck-ill Honoria, rehet of the late J. M. Farewell, Esq. Gilli °ll ' Os the 27,h ult., at St.' Mary's Abehurch. Jatnoott'tn; eldest son of Mr. John Simpson, of Trinity-squ.tr°., A, 1 3 ' Tavern, liiilinsgate, to Ann, only daughter:of .I.lr. •'• reat Beddow, Essex. O . ' G ... fi de% , fle d' Ott the 27th ult., at St. James's, Dover, J. "''' as " R.N., to Sophia, youngest daughter of the late Thorn to land, Esq., of Exeter. 111. 11 '1 de On the 29th ult., the Hon. Henry FiteroY, p f.. 3 - Hannah Ma)er, second daughter of the late per ° Rothschild. , Fol''. i, .e. On the 27th ult., at Bow Church, Oliver Fo yh ter 0 surgeon, of Kingselere, Hants. to Emma, only (la ' Captain Connolly, 11. N., of Bow-road, Miti:llesex. D r li ai ' er ; ' On Saturday, the 27th ult.. at her house in u .0, PP e f Cse i street, in the '76th year of her age, Augusta, widow orsji,so) Jehn Ltinbe, formerly of the Hon. East India the service. .-, f (-} Atba xn ' . fe ° On the 27th ult., at Prompton Barracks, ,-- '. _ at e 0 1 31st year of her age, Mary. the beloved and affection in Major Johnston, of her Majesty's 44th Regiment - h s e nior.' o „, On the 29th ult., at Ryde, Isle of Wight, JoseP ,dd, ‘ 4l 0, the 21st year a his age, eldest son of Mt. Wedgoi ( c i ete,. merchant, Ryde, in censequence of a told teke n , ia l L of It' j oi while engaged as a volunteer to put down the reba:t ste ph o o On the 25th ult., at Melton Bryan, Bedfordshimpart., $ Anne, eldest daughter of the late Sir Hugh Inghsi • he sister of Sir Robert Harry Inglis, Bart., ALF. bier of t On the 23d ult., Sarah Margaret, the third day 22. of late William Lloyd, Esq. of Barnet, sur,geon, ag h e „,, r , Stag' On; the 2-3 d ult., in ' Lontlon, Bethel Eart' s " - cc - d-P la Rampsbeck-lodge, Cumberland, Esq. f De afer On the 26th ult. 4 Samuel Straight, Esq., 0 cri ed and the Sessions-house, Old Bailey, aged 36. d daug On the 25th ult., at iPutney Miss Ranson, tbir_hange ot the late William Ranson, Esq., of the Stock Ex c .. Little Chelsea. On the 25th ult , Elizabeth, the daughter of 3 1 ''' jenl'- ~,, to, Baker, of the Office of Ordnance, Tower, agel l , l7 ' „ ea r Le -4 On the 21st ult ,at the Vicarag oynde, near de ft a Susannah, the wife of the Rev. W. Reo'se, 'Vicar 0 11 1. " 0 - : Volir Ott the 28th ult., ht Fisher-street, Red Lion- 5, 1 a s our, ,, t s on Staines, Esq., mathematician, aged 75. On the 23th tilt Mr. John Auhin Pearce, the Y ~,t1 21-, e , ~ r •-0, 11b, - Joe of the late Captain Thomas Pearce, ltoyal Ma tit _,... 10 ,1 On the 25th ult., Mary, relict of the late 111 r. ;-`-e' vrig h; on , Neel., of the Strand, aged 79. On the 28th ult., at Newtimber-place, fsq . ' Charles Gordon, Esq., aged 34. Ch a rriere , On the 25th ult., at Greenwich, Charles near aged 56. . London : l'rinted and Published by 11WRIJC2,,_,(ifis a ' ~,, in s' t ri OFnee. 75 , 0. ' 1_,,,„ No. 1 12, Strand, at The , • - ma ,) 0 Inar• the county of Middlesex.—Wednostlai, ) --..,..................'"' EVENING- EDIT-lON-. rui i su N, LON DO N, NV DN ES DA Y, STAY 1, !). EVF,NIN G EDIT .