The Sun. — London, England, 1822-02-26 00:00:00

Oat 4es a , j, , s Od ; N., 445; \A L c;"74 • Ai • J.. 7 - mUtoth- - '\\ //Z NUMBER 9206.] EQUITABLE ASSURANCE OFFICE. AQUARTERLY GENERAL • COURT of this SOCIETY will be holden here on THURSDAY, the 7th March next, at Eleven o'Clock precisely. _ WILLIAM MORGAN, Actuary. PRIVATE PUPIL. A BENEFICEDandMARRIED CLERGY MAN,.Os. whose Family consists of a FEW PRIVATE PUPILS, has a VACANCY for ONE. The distance front London Nine Miles. Letters left for Rev. I. C. C. Mr. Hayes's, Bookseller, 8 Henrietta-street, Covent Garden, London, will be duly for• warded. TO MASONS, BRICKLAYERS, SMITHS, and IRON FOUNDERS. ST. MARY, NEWINGTON, NEW CHURCHES. THE TRUSTEES appointed by an Act . o f Parliament for BUILDING TWO NEW CHURCHES or CHAPELS in the Parish of ST. MARY, NEWINGTON, Surrey, will meet on TUESDAY the 26th Day of March next, at Six o'Clock in the Evening precisely, at the Parochial School's Committee-Room, near the Fishmongers' Ahiss- Houses, Newington, for the purpose of receiving Tenders in Writing from such Persons as may be‘willinito undertake the necessary Works fur inclosing the New Church-yard at Wain orth. The Plans and Descriptions of the Works, and the Form of the Contract, may be seen at the said Committee-Room-every day (Sundays excepted) after Saturday the 9th March, until Monday the 25th of March, between the hours of't'en in the Morning and Three in the Afternoon: Any further informa tion-may he obtained, by applying to Mr. Edmonds,Architect, No. 16, Penton-row, Walworth. The Trustees will not he bound to accept the lowest Ten der, unless the most satisfactory references are given; and the Contractor will be required to enter into a Bond, with tw o sofficient Securities, and in a Penalty to he named by the Trustees, for the due performance of his Contract. JOHN CLUTTON, Clerk 48, High-street, Southwark. • CUSTOM-HOUSE, LONDON, February 13, 1822. FOR SALE , (by Order of the Hon. th e Coni t missioncrs of his Majesty's Cttstonrs,) on TUESDAY, the 26th, WEDNESDAY, 27th, THURSDAY , 28th Instant, and FRIDAY, the Ist March, 1842, at One o'Clocii in the Afternoon precisely, at the Commercial Sale Rooms, Minc ing -lane, the FOLLOWING GOODS FOR EXPORTATION, East India and other Prohibited Goods, Suceadcs, Books, Prints, Pictures, Ste. • FOR HOME CONSUMPTION, Cambric and other Linen Drapery, Lace, Thrown Silk, Rough Amethysts, Jewel lery, - BoOks,Pictuts, Prints, Grocery, Verdigris, Tonquin Beans, Cross Bows,Morets, Bugles, Wax Candles ; Whiskey and other Spirits ; Wine, China, Shine ; Deals, Mahogany; F us ti c , an d other Wood ; Boats ; a vessel called the 4. Parfaite Union;" and Sundry other • Goods, as mentioned in the Catalogue. CLEAR OF ALL DCTI ES. Also, Hops, Dried Herbs, Calamus Aromatiac, Spars, Deals, Rosewood, Stases, &v. for Exportation duty flee, or for Home Consumption on Payment of the Duties of Cus toms and Excise. To be viewed 'at •the Tobacco Ground, Rotherhithe; and the King's Warehouse and Cellars, Custom-House; on Tues tiAY. the 1 9th, Wednesday the 20th, Thursday the 21st, and Fri re iday the 22d Instant, from Ten o 'ClO c k i n th e morn i ng to Te o'Clock in the afternoon: N.B. Goods bought at this Sale must be paid for at the Receiver of Fines and Forfeitures Office, Custom-House, on or before Monday, the 18th March, 1822, or the Deposits made thereon will absolutely become forfeited. Catalogues to be had at the King's Warehouse, Custom nouse, price One Shilling each. HUDSON'S TOOTH POWDER AND TINCTURE T HE above Discoveries, if attended to, will effectually supercede the necessity of a Dentist ; they are sure remedies for all Disorders of the mouth ; they not merely cleanse and beautify the Teeth, but preserve them from decay to the latest period of life ; they are an antidote f or'Gnat-boils, swelled face, and the tooth-act ; they remove the scurry from the gums, leaving them firm and of a healthy redness; they infallibly arrest the progress of Caries in the Teeth, refresh the mouth and sweeten the Breath ; they both possess the same virtues, and may be used alone, or together, but the Tincture acts more speedily in fastening loose Teeth, removing the Scurvy, &c ; and it is an infallible remedy for the looth•ach, at.d prevents a relapse ; they are so perfectly in nocent, that ;Child may take the contents of a Box of the Powder ; and ttc Tincture is an excellent Stomachic; price 2 5- 9d. each. Also, HUDSCN'S TOOTH BRUSHES in sets of three, Made on Scientific principles, price 3s. and in Ivory, 7s. 6d. The following Agents are appointed :—Mr. Atkinson (wholesale Agent) 44, Gerrard-street, Soho-square ; Sanger, ts °; Chandler, 76, Oxford-street; Gattie, 57; Rigge, 35, ki ond-street ; Howell and James, 9, Regent-street; Taite, 41 , Cornhill ; Prout. 229, Strand; Barclay's, Fleet-market; and most Medicine Venders and Perfumers. N. B. As mistakes hare arisen to the Public respecting the above articles, the Public are respectfully informed, that M. Hudson, Chemist, Haymarket, has no concern with them; I nor is any genuine without the Pruprieto'rs name and Address is printed on the label. PUBLICATIONS. To be published in a few days, A PRACTICAL TREATISE on the DIS ORDERS of the STOMACH and BOWELS ; with a new Method of Curing Strictures without either Bougie or C austic. By JOE-IN LYNCH, 44, Duke -street, St. James's. Recently published, price 2s. - - A LETTER to the Right lion. FREDE -4- A. RICK J. ROBINSON, President of the Board of Trade &c. &c &c. on the SUBJECT of the rec e nt DUTIES COLONIAL TIMBER, and on some other Colonial Sub t'et,t and on the r e lati ve SITUATION o f the BRITISH " 0 ItT I-I AMERICAN POSSESSIONS with the United States ,"f America and GI eat Britain, pointing out the value and " li portrince of the North British Colonies to the Parent State, ritl the means of increasing their mutual prosperity. By WILLIAM SABATIER, Esq. Late Chairman of the Halifax Committee of Trade. On Saturday next, March 2, will be published, In Two Volumes Royal 4to. with Portraits with Characteris tic Devices from the curious Pen and Ink-Drawings of BENTLEY and MUNTZ, as inserted in the Original MS. N I EMOIRES OF HIS OWN TIMES, (The present p or ti on compr i ses t h e Last Ten Years 4 f the Reign of George II.) t , By HORACE WALPOLE, EARL of ORFORD. ',Nal the o r i g i na l MSS . f ound in the Chest left by his Lord- I nituld a s : l 4es Will to be opened by the first Earl of Waldegrave who ttain the age of Twenty-one after the Year 1800. , "Th oug h some, who know mankind, and the various follies, 'aults, and virtues that are blended in our imperfect natures, ' 4 3' smile with me at this free relation of what I have seen :brid known, yet I am aware that more will be offended at the letty I have taken in painting men as they are : and. that ahe, from private connections of party, and family, will thdislike meeting such unfiattered portraits of their heroes or eir relati ons . Y et this, I fear, must always be the case in history written impartially by an eye-witness ;—and eye tresses have been generally allowed to be the properest historian,." —(Extract from LORD ORFORR's Postscript.) Printed for 301-IN MURRAY, Albemarle-street. PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF LORDS, MONDAY, FEB. 25 AGRICULTURAL DISTRESS. Lord ROLLE, in the absence of the Lord-Lieu tenant, had been requested to present a petition from the noblemen, gentlemen, clergy, and yeo manry of the county of Devon, praying for agri cultural relief, the reduction of taxes, and, in a rider, for Parliamentary reform. He should briefly explain the reasons which had induced him to second the petition as it originally stood. His desire was, that individuals who were really suffering should have an opportunity of express ing their opinions fully on the causes of their dis tress,. and the remedies which they conceived might be applied to it. ",He wished that no party consideration should be mixed up with such a statement ; and that it should be signed in 'the most numerous manner possible ; and he had the satisfaction to say, that the original Petition had been carried unanimously. A Rider was then proposed, containing a prayer for Parliamentary Reform, and such was the disposition of those by whom it was introduced, that every one who came forward to protest against it was most grossly 'interrupted and insulted, but no insult could prevent him (Lord Rolle) from fulfilling his duty, and opposing the intrusion. The re sult, however, proved what was the real sense of the country, for out of 10,000 freeholders and 10,000 leaseholders which it contained, only 446 had subscribed their namep to the petition, in consequence of the addition which it had re ceived. Not more than 14 Magistrates and 16 Clergymen had been induced to sign it, though every thing had been done to procure signatures. Placards had been put up, and papers carried about the country, telling farmers that if they wished to get rid .of their taxes they must peti tion for Reform. He trusted therefore that their LOrdships would think with him that a petition, which, under those circumstances, presented only 446 names, did not speak the sense of the majo rity of the county. He then moved that the Petition be read and laid on the table. Lord KING expressed.his satisfaction that the Noble Lord should have seconded a Petition which recommended.economy and retrenchment, because no doubt could be entertained of his having well weighed their necessity. He there fore gladly hailed the prospect of enjoying 'tor the first time the assistance of , that Noble Lord in cutting down the public expenditure. With respect to the rider to the Petition he (Lord King) understood that when it had been pro posed, not more than fifty hands had been raised up against it. The Noble Lord said, that every art and cunning had been used to procure signa tures in favour of Reform, but there was no (Treat cunning in intrusting it t o the ca re o f the N oble 7) Lord, whose sentiments were well known to lie so little friendly to Reform. Lord ROLLE would reply to the congratula tory anticipation of the Noble Lord, that in seconding a Petition which prayed for extensive retrenchment, he had waived every private opi nion and consideration for the purpose of pro moting unanimity, and had been successful until the Rider in question had been proposed, when no one who spoke against it was suffered to be heard. He believed that those by whom the tumult had been excited were people who had no property in the county. Cobbett himself had not come, but his papers and placards were there. He felt therefore convinced, that the prayer for Reform did not proceed from the majority of the county. Lord HOLLAND thought the Noble Lord had taken an odd opportunity of revenging himself for the treatment which he had experienced at Exeter, by giving their Lordships the speech which he had not been allowed to deliver at the meeting. No Petition had ever been placed in more unfortunate circumstances ; for the whole address of the Noble Lord to the House was one of censure on the persons who had signed the Petition. And the Noble Lord had stated that the Petition, which he in duty to his King and country had thought it lit to lay on their Lordships' table, did not contain the opinion of the persons who signed it. It was true, that it was not signed by the High sheriff, and that ac cording to the forms of the House it could only be received as the Petition of the individuals by whom it was subscribed ; but he did not doubt that it expressed the sense of a large majority of the county. Lord Roux drew his conclusions with re spect to the sense of the majority, from the fact that there were three thousand persons present at the Meeting, and that the Petition was only signed by 446. He also knew that many who had intended to affix their name had retired in disgust without doing it, after the Rid er h a d been proposed.—The Petition was then laid on the table. The Duke of SOMERSET presented a Petition 'corn several Agriculturists of the Parish of 110 - beach, in the County of Lincoln, complaining of Agricultural Distress, and praying for a reduc tion of taxes. lie considered that it was the pressure of distress which impelled the people to think of Reform. Taxation was so oppressive, that it had driven away many persons out of this country to others, where the means inadequate to their support here, enabled them to live• in comfort and even in affluence. If our expendi ture were reduced at home, and the peace esta blishment diminished, distress would not exist to such a degree. If retrenchment were carried as 'ar as it could be, much would be 'done .to quiet 1 ,7) SUN. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1822. the minds of the people. On these grounds he should support the prayer of the Petition. The Petition was then read,.and laid on the table.. Viscount 111ELvILLE presented a petition from certain Land-owners of the county of 11Tigtonn, praying for AgriCultural relief. Read, and laid on the table. ; : Mr. SCOTT, from the Chamber of the City of London, pre , vented Accounts of the Receipts and Expenditure of the Or. phans' Fund. Laid on the table.—Adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS. MISCELLANEOUS. A person from the Bank presented Accounts of the Balance of Cash in the hands of the Bank of England.—Ordered to be ririnted. Mr. SCOTT (from the office of the Chamberlain of the City of London) presented an Account of the Orphans' Fund, and other Accounts.—Ordered to be printed.• Sir W. GUISE presented two Petitions from the distressed. Agriculturists of two towns in the county of Gloucester, pray ing the House to t a k e th e i r ' rase i nto cons id eratio n.—Ordered to lie on the table- • Mr. GOOCH presented a Petition from certain Occupiers of Land in the county of Sussex, praying the imposition of Protecting Duties on imported Gram.—Ordered to lie on the table. Lord ALTHORPE presented a Petition from Lieut. John Crouch, of the Royal Navy, setting forth that the petitioner after serving his country for many years, and receiving se vere hurts in fighting with its enemies, had rendered important services to his country in - other ways.' He had saved not less than 20,000,0001. in property of British merchants. He had supplied important corrections to the charts now in use, and had produced various useful and important inventions. Ile prayed to have his case taken into consideration, and begged to cite to the House two instances in which pecuniary remunera tion had been given to those who had exerted themselves to supply nautical improvements. The one was the case of a Lieut. Popham, who had received 50001. for his services ; and a ropemaker, in the Haymarket, had been voted the suns of 60,0001. for discovering an improved way of making cables. The Petition was ordered to lie on the table. FOREIGN COMMERCE. Mr. WALLACE was aware that it was not customary to bring forward business of importance so early in the day, but as he could anticipate no objection to the motion he lad to make, he would forthwith proceed to submit it to the House. He rose to move for the re-appointment of the Committee, which sat last Session on the Foreign Trade of the Country. He had, on a former occasion, so fully explained the objects to be pursued by the Committee, that to enlarge on the subject' now was wholly unnecessary. Measures were already in ope ration, which lie hoped would relieve British Commerce, and aided by such other regulations as might be deemed eligible, would. he trusted, make this country the great emporium of commerce. lie was anxious that the harbour duties on foreign merchant ships shouldsbe removed. He had stated on a former occasion, what he considered would be the effect of those duties. The opinion which he had then expressed was con finned by all the intelligence which he had since received. In consequence of the high duties which attached to their ap. proaching our coast, unless in imminent danger, many vessels had kept the sea in bad weather, and much property and many valuable lives had been lost. The Committee had been en gaged in inquiries on this subject when their labours were interrupted by the prorogation of Parliament. He now wished for the ssivival of the Committee, with a view to the resunip lioniof that inquiry. Many other matters would come before them, but that was one of such immediate importance, that he mentioned it as one of the first objects that would claim their attention. He moved for the appointment of a Committee, to take into consideration the means of improving and maintain ing our foreign trade. The motion was agreed to,_ and a Committee fo r thwith ap pointed, (for the Names of Which, see the article under the head of " - Parliamentary Proceedings.") CIVIL 141`8T.' Mr. LENNARD postponed the motion, of which he had given notice, on the subject of the Civil List, till after the Easter recess. FUNERAL OF THE LATE QUEEN. Mr. BENNETT postponed the motion of which he had given notice respecting the occurrences which took place on the day of the Queen's Funeral, from the sth to the 6th of next month. Sir R. HERON gave notice that he would; on an early day, move for leave to bring in a Bill to do away with the necessi ty for renewing offices and commissions after a demise of the Crown. He also gave notice that shortly after the Easter re cess, he would movefor leave to bring in a Bill to alter the Law of Settlement, with a view of making a better provision for labourers. the end of that Act came the regulation that Petitions, might be sent free of postage, being open at the ends, and not exceeding six ounces in weight. If this should happen by any means to get abroad, the publicity it would gain would be very ser viceable. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER ofFered a few observations, which we 6 inaudible in the gallery, and the con versation terminated. AGRICULTURAL DISTRESS, AND PARLIAMEN TARY REFORM. Sir T. ACLAND presented a Petition from the Gentry, Clergy, and Freeholders of the County of DeVon, praying for relief from Agricultural' Distress, and also for relief by Par. liamentary Reform. Though the distress was great, the Peti tioners did not claim relief by protecting or prohibitory duties, as they were of opinion that the'distress sprang from causes to which such remedies would not apply. They considered them to be in part the effect of taxation, and they were there fbre of opinion that it was necessary to diininish the public establishments—to adopt a -system of severe economy with respect to what remained, awl to pare down with an, unsparing hand all the salaries, from the highest Officers in the State down to the lowest. It was his duty to state, that the meeting at which this Petition had been voted was unanimous on these points; but there was another clause on which a difference of opinion existed, that which expressed a hope that relief would .be afforded by that House going into an i nqu i ry int& the pre sent state of the representation, with a view of effecting a timely and salutary Reform in Parliament. He (Sir T. Ac land) agreed with the Petitioners that a system of severe eco nomy ought to be adopted, but on that part of their Petition where they called for a timely and salutary Reform in Parlia ment, he would now say, ache had the honour of saying to the Petitioners at the meeting, he differed from .those who favoured that call. On this subject it was his opinion he should best do his duty to his constituents by acting on his own judgment. The Petition was not framed exactly in the usual way. Instead of praying the House to accord that which they . desired, they confidently relied that the House would afford the relief they craved. He however hoped, when he stated that he was pre sent.at the meeting, and knew the intentions of the Petition ers, that any little informality of this sort would not prevent the House from receiving the Petition. Lord °REAVES said, it came within his knowledge that when it was known that the Petition called for a Reform in Parliament, a great number of respectable men, of high rank and consideration in the county, desired to withdraw their names from it. He did not believe. that on that subject the sentiments of three-fourths of the county of Devon were ex pressed in the Petition. Mr. NEW MAN stated many to have been disposed to sign the Petition, and to call for a Reform in Parliament, who had been preventing from doing so by inability. to bear the charge of the travelling expences. This might account for its not being more numerously. signed. At the meeting a very large majority had been in favour of a Reform in Parliament. Lord EBRINGTON thought the Noble Lord could not im pugn the numbers and respectability of the meeting, and he could not deny that that part of the Petition which related to Reform in Parliament had be e n carried by a very great m a . jority. To prove what were the feelings of the people in Devon generally, he would remind the Noble Lord that a meeting had been held last year on the subject of Parlia mentary Reform, and a Petition voted, which, in the course of ten days . received the signatures of 4,000 Freeholders—a greater number, he believed, than had ever united in one cause in that country. • Lord GREAVES and Lord EBRING TON severally explained. The Petition was ordered to be printed. ILCHESTER JAIL. Mr. Alderman WOOD wished shortly to call the attention of the House to the case of two persons who' had died in Il chester Jail : but, in the first-place, he thought it necessary to call for th e ) proceedings before the Coroner's Inquest which had been held on their bodies. He moved an Address to his Majesty, praying that he would be pleased to direct that acopy of the notes taken on the Ifith, 19th, and 20th January, at the Inquest held on the bodies of James Bryan and Honey wood, before Upham, Esq. Coroner for the county, should be laid before the HOuse. Mr. PEEL made a few remarks on the difficulty of comply ing. with the motion, and on the attendant expence ; and, after a few words from Mr. Bennett, Mr. Alderman t 1 ood withdrew his motion till to-morrow. IRISH TITHES. Mr. BROUGHAM wished to ask his Hon'. Friend, Mr. Mine, if he would postpone his motion on, th,e subject of Tithes till after the L as t er recess . He begged:ter - suggest that it was desirable that the greater part of those Members Of 'the House who were in the profession of the law should' be present when the subject came on, and these must leave town to go on the Circuits in the course of next week: Be therefore thought it would be better for the question itself that the subject should stand over for the present, for the reason he had• given, and also for the purpose of affording time to his Majesty's . Government to conic to some decision on the subject. Sir. HUM; consented to put off his motion till the 16th of April. • fir .r. NEWPORT remarked, that than this, there was no question connected with Ireland of more vital importance.— 1.1; was sure th a t no thi ng wou ld be more soothing to the peo ple of that country than to know that that subject was under the consideration of Government. For 44 years, within his knowledge, this had' been the leading cause of all the evils that had been known in Ireland. ' tier. GOULBURN said, the attention of the Irish Govern ment had been directed to this subject. But in the present state of that country, the Right Honourable Baronet must be aware that if the Government had been longer there than it had yet been, there were other matters which would have demanded its immediate care. • Sir J. NEWPORT imputed no blame or dereliction of duty but he gave it as his opinion that the consideration of the sub. ject would prove highly beneficial. POOR LAWS. Sir 'l'. LETHBRIDGE begged to put a question to the Hon. Member for Peterborough (Mr. Scarlett). He wished to know if the lion. and Learned Gentleman intended to intro duce any new Bill on the subject of the Poor Laws ? SCARLETT could not answer the question till he saw whether or not the Noble Lord meant to persevere in his plan for lending 4,000,0001. or any considerable sum to the Over seers of parishes.—(Hear, hear !)—lf he did, he (Jr. Scarlett) saw no hope of ameliorating the Poor Laws.—(Hear, hear !) PARLIAMENTARY PRIVILEGE. Mr. JAMES rose, pursuant to a notice which he had given, to bring under the consideration of the House a subject on which some conversation had taken place a few evenings ago ; a rule established in certain places, which went to violate the security hitherto extended to confidential communications by letter. He had complained, in his place, of letters from him to an individual now confined in Lancaster jail, and suffering a most cruel sentence of two years imprisonment for attending a Reform Meeting, having been opened. These had been broken open by the jailor as well as those written by the indi vidual (the prisoner) to him (Mr. James). In one instance, the letter written by his Correspondent had been wholly with held, and only a copy of it sent to him. Petitions and public documents, the transmission of which could excite no just sus picion, had shared the same fate. This was a practice which be thought the House ought not to sanction. Let them only reflect to what abuses it might lead. If letters were thus in tercepted, the greatest cruelty might be exercised, the greatest oppression carried on ; nay, torture even might be inflicted, and yet the fact might be concealed from every human being. It was enough that personsin confinement were eta off from unrestricted communications with their friends, but the practice of preventing them from writing to Members of Parliament on the subject of their sufferings ought never to be countenanced. He should perhaps be told. that there were visiting Magistrates to whom any complaint might be made: But this did not satisfy hini 2 knowing as he did, that in some of those prisons where visiting Magistrates superintended, the greatest cruelties had been inflicted, and Gentlemen had been found in that House ready at all times to rise, and not only to vindicate,, but even to eulogise • the parties with whom they originated, pro bably in ignorance of their real character. He considered this inquisitorial and legal practice to 'have 'originated with cer tain Lancashire Magistrates known to be unfriendly to Reform, who had authorised the opening of letters in order to detect any thing that might be said on that subject in letters ad dressed to prisoners. It appeared that the Magistrates had had some doubts as to the legality of their proceedings in this instance, and they had in consequence taken the opinion of Counsel on the subject. But even this was not enough for them, and they in con Sequence applied themselves to form a new code for the jail, by which all prisoners of a particular class were liable to have their letters opened. It was fit that they should see how the law stood on this subject. By the ~t ' PRICE SEV2NPENCp statute of the 9th Queen Ann, cap: 7, it w a s enact ed thae no person or persons should wi lfully or -- knowinkly opt tie ivOil hold, delay, or suppress any letter before it should be given its the - person to whom it had been addressed, except by an ex- press warrant given under the hand of one of the princip a l 4 e : crttaries of State. • He. would next ref er t o the opinion givth by a Noble Lord, late Secretary of State ' for the Home,De partment. In consequence 'of a practice whi c h h a d o b ta i nedt he sent a letter to the keeper of Gloucester, dated Nov. fr, 1314, which letter was sent as a'circular to every county jail i n the kingdom, and ran thus i— " Sin—l have just discovered, in consequenee of complaints made on the subject of the management of Gloucester Gaol, that it appears there has been a practice of opening letters from felons confined by the gaoler,under a notion that he had a 'right to do so, I think it necessary , to repeat the opinion expressed my letter of the 12th July last, th a t thelaw will not warrant such a practice. " SIDMOUTIL s ' Such being the law, then, according to the opinion al'. 'the Noble Lord, that no letter from a felon Could be opened-rill the law was repealed, he apprehended there was no .power 'to set it aside. Were this d o n e , - i t wou ld b e a v i o l ati o n of one ' of the articles in the Bill of Rights, which declares that " the law of the land cannot be suspended or dispensed w ith w i t h out t h e authority of Parliament.' He understood the practice in quest tion was to be justified under an Act passed the reign of George the Second. By the Act of the 82d George the Second, cap. 28. it was enacted, in order to correct oppressions.aild exactions from debtors, that had occurred on the part of certain gaolers, that proper rules and regulations should' tis framed in conformity with an A c t passe some time before for the relief of distressed debtors. This Act had been fran,- ed in the spirit of humanity, and had not been intended to furnish the means of aggravating the suff2rings of those who were confined. But letters had been broken open in the had of Lancaster before the r u l es p ro f esse d to b e acte d upon had been framed. He thought he did not speak too strongly on this subject, when he described such conduct to be scan dalously illegal. Even Mr. Hunt, though the Attorney'-Ge heral stated him to be all but 'guilty of high treason—Mr. Hunt, persecuted as he was for the great exertions he had made in the cause of humanity, had not had this grievance to Corn-- plain of: and was that to be 'introduced into the jail of Lan caster, from which he had be e n exem p te d ? H e k new not what would be the decision of the House on the subject. After what they had lately seen, he should not be surprised to find some Hon. Member rise there, to declare that such a practice was necessary, to preserve the lives and property of the people or this country. From reference to an opinion expressed by Sir S. Romilly, on presenting a petition in 1812, with respect to the treatment of persons in confinement, he argued that the jailer or Magiitrates- had no right thus to aggravate the 'suffer., ings of persons in that unfortunate situation. lie was of mon the Act of the 32d of Gee. 11., did not give any such powers, and if it did, the sooner they were taken away the bet ter. He now called upon the House to decide whether the practice to which he had directed their attention was or was rut a breach of privilege. He had no pretensions to say what were or what were not their privileges, and for the break ing 'open of his letters he should have been disposed to have brought an action in a Court of law, confident of gaining a verdict from an impartial Judge and Jury • but when he heard other Members of grea t er importance dian himself de clare it to be a breach of their privileges, he immediately gave notice of his present motion, convinced that in thus vindicating them, he vindicated the privil eges o f t h e peop l e. He moved the following resolution - :—" That it is the opinion of this House that any person breaking open, detaining, or suppres sing a letter addressed by any prisoner or other person to a Member of this House is guilty of a breach of the privileges of this House." Lord STANLEY did not see on what ground the motion of the lion. Gentleman for declaring the opening of a letter from a prisoner to a Member of Parliament a breach of their pri vileges, could be sustained. A similar question had been started last year, and referred. to a Committee of Privileges, and he had never heard that they felt it incumbent upon them to Wu. the subject forward. That the practice complained of wO'uld - , under some circumstances, amount to a breach of moral justice between man and man, no one could deny ; but there were Ihnith to the privileges due to letters, and when he found that the opi nions of Gentlemen of the profession of the law, of Magistrates, and even of the Judges ofthe land, were strongly in favour of the practice complained of in a case like that most particularly' re - - ferred to, he could not think that there were sufficient grounds for assuming that a breach of privilege had been committed. One of she rules ordered that the Keeper of the Jail should examine all correspondence carried on by prisoners on the Crown side, and not forward any letter which contained ina proper matter without shelving it to the Chaplain or one of the Visiting Magistrates. When the letter was submitted to the proper persons, if the letter came to a prisoner, he was sent for, and the unexceptionable parts were read' to him ; if the letter was written by a prisoner, he was told' what were the exceptionable parts, and had the liberty of re-writing that which was not offensive. This rule was ordered by Mr. Jqs tice Bayley, and he believed was in the hand-writing of,that Learned Judge himself; and the whol e o f th e co d e was saric tioned by Mr. Justice Bayley and Mr. Justice Park. There fore, upon a general view of the question, whether the Jailer was justified in opening the Hon. M em b er ' s l etter or not, he firmly believed that it was his duty to do so, and that he would not have done his duty if he had not examined its contents. Whether the mere fact of the frank of a Member of Parliathent went to alter the operation of the prison rules, was a question which others might be more able to determine ; but for his ow.n part he certainly did not think it did. How was it possible; he L •uld ask, for Members always to know what their franks contained ? It might be that they . because the means of con veying matter the most improper in its nature and dangerous in its consequences. Upon the Hon. Member's own sheering, he thought there was nothing in the present case which called for the interference of the House. Mr. PEEL had understood the Honourable Member to 6- tablish his case upon two propositions ; first, that for any one to open a letter franked by him was an illegal act, and Seedritl ; ly, that it was a breach of the privileges of Parliament. how if he applied himself to disprove both these propositions; he . trusted that he should be considered to meet the questionfairly. He certainly had heard with much surprize, upon a former occasion, the doctrine laid down by the Honourable and Learned ,Member for Winchelsea upon this subject; and lie thought that the Honourable and Learned :Member himself, upon consideration, would be ready to allow that lie hadlaken too wide a ground. The Noble Lord who spoke last had put the House in possession of the facts of the present case, as far as regarded the rules and regulations complained of. Thog . regulations had been sanctioned by' Mr. J us ti ce Park and Mr. Justice Bayley. In the first place, he thought there was strong presumptio n in f avour o f th e legality of the act, in the fact of the Judges having signed the rules which authorised it. And that, too, not without consideration; for he under stood that they altered some of them, and that the one which gave the power of opening letters was in the handwriting of Mr. Justice Bayley. He therefore conceived, notwithstandinE the authority of the Honourable Member for Carlisle, that no thing illegal had been committed. The Honourable Member had appealed to the Act of George 11. which bore no reference to the present case, and at the same time neglected to notice a more recent Act passed in the 31st of George 111. under which these regulations bad been made. The former Act applied-to debtors only. The Honourable Member had read to the HOUse the title and preamble of that Act, and he would 1 . 01104 his example by stating the contents of the' preamble'to the other. It was an Act for regul a tin g j a il s an d ot h er p l aces of confine ment. The preamble set forth, that for the better government of such places, rules and regulations, and bye-laws should be made by persons authorized - so to do in the Act of. George 11. And who were those persons ? the Magistrates. And upon that Act the Judges had undoubtedly signed the rules of which the Hon. Member complained. With such signatureaffixe.d to the utders for enforcing those rules, he felt, indeed, that it would be wasting the time, and abuing the indulgence of the House, to dwell. any longer upon the . question of their ille gality. Ile then came to the consideration whether or not a breach of the privileges of Parliament had been committed.— For the sake of argument, he must get the Honourable Mein * , ber to concede, that the rule which authorized the Act of open. : ing the letters of prisoners was legally made. And he would contend, that if it was founded in law, there was nothiik Which could exempt a Member of Parliament from sharing its. common operation. The only privilege which a Member of Parliament possessed was that of franking his letters ; but they were as liable to be opened by the authority of the law as those of any other individual in the state. The Act .con tamed no clause which exempted a Member of Parliament from its operation, and it had hitherto been suffered to anply, to all parties without distinction. The - flonourable .Member had alluded to the letter of Lord Sidiricuth to the Keeper of Gloucester' Jail. ,That letter was written in consequence of a SCOTCH COUNTIES. Lord A. HAMILTON gave notice, that on Tuesday, the 2Gth of next month, he proposed to submit a motion to the House on the subject of Scotch County Representation. He proposed strictly to confine his motion to the Representation of Counties of Scotland. • STATE OF IRELAND. Mr. D. BROWN gave notice, that on Thutsday, the 16th March, he would submit a motion to the House, which would bring under their consideration the present state of Ireland. WINDOW TAX IN IRELAND. Mr. HUTCHINSON, in presenting a Petition from the Householders and Inhabitants of the City of Cork, praying for relief from the Window Tax, took upon himself to recom mend it to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to give this subject his most serious consideration. Ile hoped the Right Honour able Gentleman, having a clear surplus income over the expendi ture of more than 5,000,001.11. would be able to. attend to the prayer of this petition. The abandonment of the impost in question would very slightly affect the revenue of the country, while the relief which its repeal would afford must be felt of the highest importance; especially when viewed with reference to its effect on the health of the inhabitants of populous places. He set forth at some length the benefits to be derived from the abandonment of the Window Tax, and the claims of Ireland to such relief. Mr. GRATTAN supported the prayer of the Petition, and was decidedly of opinion that 'greater relief could be afforded by diminishing the Window Tax than by the proposed relief of the Malt Duty. Sir W. DE CRESPIGNY spoke against the Window Tax, as being very oppressive in England.—Ordered to lie on the Table. CHARGES FOR POSTAGE. Sir R. WILSON thought it right to mention the inconveni ence to which certain parties had been exposed from their ne glecting to comply with the resolutions of the Post Office. A petition had been presented to him closed at the ends, and in consequence a demand of 11. les. had been made for postage.-- He had therefore returned the petition.. In mentioning the circumstance he did not mean to throw any blame on the Post Office, he was only anxious to state what had occurred, that going forth to the world, those who had petitions to forward might know in what way they were privileged to send them, anti that it might not be thought that those to whom petitions were sent in the way described had failed in their duty. Mr. JAMES had had a Petition sent to him in the same way, but no charge had been- made for postage on his sending back the cover which inclosed it to the Post Office. Lord A. HAMILTON said, a Petition had been sent to him last year which was charged no less than 91., but on sendinidit to the Post Office, the whole sum was remitted and the Peti tion was presented. Sir JAS. GRAHAM understood the Post Office was bound to charge , for postage when a document was. sent closed up as these had been, but when it was proved that what had been so forwarded was a Petition to be, presented to Parliament, the money was always returned. Mr. HUTCHINSON bore testimony . to the readiness mani fested at the Post Office to correct any inconvenience occasion. ed by Petitions being sent in such a way as to make them liable for postage. Mr. HUME did the Postmaster the justice to say, that he had experienced the same disposition on his part. Last week he remind Petitions which were charged 3or 41. On his send ing to the Post Office the money was immediately returned, with a clause which precluded the sending of Petitions in this way which exceeded the weight,of six ounces. Were this regu lation generally known, it might save much future inconve nience and loss of time. Sir M. W. RIDLEY said, the clause in question was attach ed to an Act for regulating the duties on Tea and Coffee. At Its a 203 ; sack, 'beat irley, Os 6d 29 6d -s Od -s Od is Od -s Od -s Od a 40s -s Od -s Od intly C the and a —s• a 395 a —s a 18s a —s plied ieavy ar- 2s Od is Ott Is Ad •s Od sack 3s Od Is Od 3s od Is Od 3s od from ;ow- -s od A od 4s 6d Es Od Eis Od -s Od -sod -s Od as od -s od 4s 3(.1 Gs Oa 6d-- a 20s 6; a :c of load ; Arhet WZl$ cans, Ss Gd ,ting vhitc !ans, ass. king - hit a :aus, Oats 3d a 32s a !Ss a r qr. E ng - ; 13s a case, ,per new new rkin. von , be sday, Red, bur.- sd. Five wac ory con- . Hay, orses• orsea iday ): its ()f a de teat : Titt is. tO S not sonle. and and 7 wis an of r ren done irlict short I het 'here I ion, bed; 01 ° I 51 Os 31 lOS 11 lOs ST