The Sun. — London, England, 1822-07-31 00:00:00

- Spain had received any information from the 'Havannah, that Anglaral should invade that territory, and thus involve not only the two nations, but all Europe in war. If that were the Hon. )ember's mode of preventing bloodshed, it was happy fbr the world that he had no: the direction of the national councils.— The lion. Member said he would not respect a flag borne by a small vessel belonging to a power at peace with all the world, if that vessel committed any depredation. He (Mr. Croker) would till the Hon. Member, that there would never be any ,peaCe in the world if individual officers were allowed to decide on the degree of protection which a flag affbreied. The law of raticos was founded on expediency. It was built on interna tional riff!-, and was intended for the benefit of the world at large ; and he must contend, in accordance with that law, that where a ship sailed ursder a particular flag, it might be consider ed t-caza fide as belee , eing to that country whose flag it carried. The muse complained of was, that on pretence of making war en enemies:, the parties implicated had made war on neutrals ; 'and here, to.holster up his case, the Hon. Member argued that tat South American States were at peace with all the world. This was not the fact. They were at war with each ocher, which led to the circiunstanceof five onsix independent flags being hoisted in • those seas. The Hon. Member's statement was as extraordinary in poirt of fact as his recommendation was unsound in point of law. His Noble Friend had truly stated that the people of those countries were already sufficiently astute in evading the law. From ha nature the law of nations was more difficult of exposition than the municipal law ; and the very answer which the Hon. Member's argument had wrung from his Gallant Friend behind him (Sir G. Cockburn.) would perhaps do all the mischief which his Noble Friend had apprehended, by teaching these persons effectually to evade the law of nations. Unless a case could he adduced which would lead the House to pass a censure on his Majesty's Government, he thought it would be much better both for the interests of commerce, and for the power and character of the British navy, if Hon. Gentlemen would do Ministers the justice to place in their hands whatsoever information they collected, and 'leave them to make the best . arrangements which the circumstances admitted. All the cases of capture which had been mentioned, comprised but two in stances of condemnation. One of them was a condemnation in a .•• case of absolute and avowed fraud. The other was a case ofl a doubtful character. -But such was the force of British repre sentations, that, though a condemnation had taken place, and • the goods were sold in the second instance, yet the proceeds of re the cargo were lodged in the Treasury of the.mother country, there to remain for one year, pending any appeal which might -• be lodged by the parties themselves, or by their Government ; and the British Governmentliad at the time sent out orders to Sir Thomas Hardy. There was therefore but one case of con . tiemirationS and that wasA juut one, because.it was founded on a fraue on the part of the haptured. Was it not, then, better to I:•ave this matter in the hands of the Government, instead of bringing complaints before that House, which could only have the effect of giving encouragement to piracy ? Dr. LUSIIINGTON said, it was not all unnatural that the merchants of London and Liverpool should desire, in a public manner, to call attention to - the losses they had incurred; nor was he satisfied that the public discussion of the subject would produce those evils which had been anticipated. He saw, how ever, that it was not possible for the Government, whatever • might be its exertions, to protect our commerce from all in convenience during the continuance of the present hostilities. There was now a war between Spain and her colonies, and while that war continued, it was quite clear that our ships would be subject to the rights of visitation and search, unless we denied that right to others which we vindicated for ourselves. While visitation and search might be carried on, our vessels must be subject to all the consequences that attended it ; to oc casional vexation and inconvenience in the manner of executing it, and to liability to condemnation, if the laws of war be violated ; for if a neutral vessel entered the port of a belligerent • - that was de facto blockaded, she was undoubtedly liable to be condemned. These mischiefs, he hoped, would always con • tinue.—(Hear !)—The sight of visitation and search, on the • part of a belligerent, was the most valuable which England possessed.—(Hear, hear.} _He desired to see it freely allowed to other States ; and if, as in the present instance, it was at 'tended with some inconvenience to the mercantile interest, it would be infinitely outweighed by the advantage to that very interest in time of war.---(Hear, hear, hear.)—Another point was attended with greater difficulty, and arose out of the state - -of our relations with the Sopth American States. We did not yet acknowledge them as independent States. What then became of territorial claims with reference to those colonies, which were in - this dilemma—dc facto, the territory was in the independent "States, de jure, in Old Spain ? Yet it must he the union of both characters to constitute a basis of a territorial claim.— The Noble Lord had said that Spain was not at liberty to en lone her colonial laws, as. she was not In possessi o n of th e co lonies. Now he could not but remember the case of St. Do , mingo. That colony was wiested from France in 1794, yet in 1803, the High. Court of Appeal ? with Sir W. Grant at its head, - • iteld that it was still to be considered a French Colony. This brought him to a subject in which he felt the greatest interest ; • 'lie was most. anxious to see Great Britain come forward, as early .as her honour would permit, to acknowledge the independence of e the Sonth American states. He was aware there was some difficulty, e on .account of the treaty which the Noble ••' Lord •liad .tinfortunately signed, in -which it was - stipulated that Ave .should not give assistance of a "particular .descrip tion to the revolted . colonies, and it was moreover declared that •- hit •Beititinie Majesty w as. mos t anxious' -that • they should re - halt to their allegiance. The treaty hardly should have been sighed, when, a.ahe well recollected; General Picton, as repre- SO Wive of this. Government in 1798, urged by all - the Means itt•biS povier these colonies. to assert their independence, and attiongh those persuasions did not then take - effect, great part of - the noble • and generous courage 'of the inhabitants of South e America had been called forth by those incitements of our Go e vet:orient. As to Cuba it had been said, that before any steps Were taken against the pirates who harboured there; it was ne - ceiSitryto - apply to the Government of Old Spain. If Cuba etas si colony d; ~..t0 and de jure of -Spain, then it might be necessary to make previous communications to the mother coun try; but if, as was the case, Cuba was governed by a GoVern merit in reality not at all dependent • upon Spain, though it might be right as a matter of compliment to make an applica tion to the mother country, it would be absurd to wait long for her to do that which she had not the power of doing. We should go to the Government of Cuba, and say, we presume " you must have received such orders as a civilized Govern ment would give," and if measures were not taken, the task of seizing and • punishing the pirates would devolve upon us. As to the appropriation of the British vessel which had been 'recaptured from the pirates by the Spaniards, he allowed that Sir C. Rowley might well hesitate to decide on such a point of law, th6ugh the impression on his (Dr. Lushington's) mind - was, that the seizure by pirates did not alter the property of the vessel; and that on its recapture, the property was still vested in the original owner, and had merely changed hands. The . Admiralty orders, he .allowed, •were, very good; but the best orders, it must be remembered, were of no use, un less they were executed, and to execute them there must be sufficient force. The last difficult question was, what they should take ? Spanish vessels they must not touch : independent vessels the Noble Lord said they should not touch; that is, wavieg the question of law, he had given orders that it should he put on the same footing as the! Spanish flan.. Veesels intending to commit acts of piracy might take any flag. If they took the British flag, for instance, no -. ship. of c,ny other nation could do any thing but make a very low bow and pass on. Only that country whose flag it bore had a right to deal with a vessel. The only way was to make representations to the States whose flags were made the covers fur piracy, and to allow the Admiral, on his best judgment, this - country being responsible for any mistake, to capture vessels, to identify the pirates if he could, and to try and execute them. The difficulty had not now risen for the first time. It had been discussed for one hundred and twenty years, and pro bably longer, and he co u ld no t oven suggest t h e mode of' re lieving it. As to the sugge s tion th a t th e protection of our con voys should be allowed to other neutrals, he saw an insur mountable difficulty. A neutral flag might be employed to cover belligerents' property, Now it was the practice of the British convoy flag to allow to search :—and he hoped that for no temporary difficulty, so valuable a right would be tres passed on.—alearl)--The subject of the petition was certainly •of the highest importance; it was not merely the immediate loss, hut the rise on insurance, as the increased rate of wages, and of all other expences, and the consequent diminution of British commerce ; nor was it to be left out of the considera tion that most of the acts of piracy had been attended witth eir eintistances of horror and barbarity.—(Hear !)—He hoped, therefore; the Government would continue to give it their serious attention Mr. CROKER, i. explanation, stated that a dispatch had been ent out on toe 18th June, to the Admiral.on the stations, acquainting him with the answer of the Spanish Government, and the orders they had issued to Cuba, and desiring him to look to their execution. Dr. PHILLIMORI; said he hoped this country would al ways extend to other powers those principles which, under dif ferent circumstances, she had defended for herself. It would, he conceived, be most atrocious conduct if, after the arduous struggle they had maintained for the right of search and visita tion, they should be the first to turn round and oppose the ex ercise of that right by other nations. Mr. FORMS said that the trade to South America might he a very profitable trade, but undoubtedly it was a very hazardous one ; and those who engaged in it must be prepared to abide lay those hazards. The petition was then brought up. On the question " that -the petition be now read," Mr. MARIWATT thought that at all events the discussion which had occurred would do good. The Noble Lord had given the best account of the transactions generally which had yet been furnished ; and the Honourable. Secretary of the Ad- miralty - had read a dispatch which did bins much credit. A mistake, he (Mr. Marryatt) believed, had prevailed among some Gentlemen who had spoken : they supposed the petition to be ft petition from the underwriters. The petition did not come from the (underwriters, but from the shipowners. The underwriters, indeed, presented no petition to the House, and . for the best of all possible reasons—they were able to protect thermelves : Whenever they found any particular voyage be come dangerous, they raisLd their premiums in - proportion ; anti the consequence was, that the risk from Jamaica to the Havannah . ,. which, under ordinary circumstances, did not ex ceed les. per cent., was now charged at 10 guineas. The Petition was then read, and laid on the table. AMENDED BILLS. Mr. WETHERELL gave notice of a motion next Session, that it might be allowable, when Bills came amended from the House of Lords, for Members of the House of Commons to move for Committees upon them. The propriety of this mea sure suggested itself to him (Mr. Wetherell), upon noticing the amendments attached to the marriage act bill. PR ESONERS IN INDIA. Mr. HUME rose to move for a return of the number of prisoners taken at Benaboralbai ; stating the number of prison ers given up by 31aj.-Gen. Smith to Imaum Musehat ; the num ber carried to Bombay, and the inanner in which the latter class had been disposed of by the Biimbay Government. He made this motion, the lion. ( lent. said, with a view to some late proceedings in India, which demanded explanation. An expedition had been undertaken up the Persian Gulf against certain Arabs who had committed acts of piracy. The commanding-officer had attacked a village, and carried off the whole male popula tion as prisoners. The boys from five to fourteen years of age bad been delivered over to one of the native authorities ; the men had been taken to Bombay with an intention that they should remain prisoners for life : and many had already died in consequence of the severities they endured. Mr. C. W. WYNN said, that there was no intention that the prisoners should remain in bondage for life, although the ag gression of the Arabs had been marked by the most atrocious features of piracy. The Court of Directors did not approve of the measures which had been taken, and had directed that the prisoners should be restored to liberty, and compensation, as far as possible, made to them. Air. MONEY quOted an order from the government of Bom bay to prove that the imprisonment had not been contemplated as perpetual. Mr. H. G. BENNET wished it to be explained why the children had been given up. Mr. W. S3IITH said a few words which did not reach the gallery. Mr. FORBES objected to the bringing on of matter involv ing accusations against individuals at the close of a Session. The return' was then ordered to be furnished, and Mr. HUME desired to be distinctly understood as making accusations at such a time against no one. He would forbear from entering farther into the subject until the papers moved for should be furnished. The Hon. Gentleman then made a second motion, for a list of all persons confined by order of the Governors of the East India Company in the several presi dencies (except those persons committed for trial before civil or military tribunals), the list to state the name of the supposed offender, the nature of the offence, by whom committed, and in what place confined. Mr. C. W. WYNN said that the return could not be made without first communicating with India. If the Hon. Gentle man would withdraw the motion, he (Mr. Wynn) would take every step during the vacation towards procuring the informa tion desired. Mr. HUME withdrew his motion. CANADA. Mr. WILMOT moved for leave to bring in a Bill to unite the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada. The Bill was read a ,first time, and ordered to be read a second time to-morrow, in order to being printed before the close of the Session. POOR LAWS. Colonel WOOD, seeing the very thin state of the House, deferred his motion upon this subject until next Session. The Stamp Duties (Ireland) Bill, the Barilla Duties Bill, and the Deeds' Registry Bill, were reported, and the amend ments to each being agreed to, they were ordered to be read a third time to-morrow. The Militia Pay Lill (Ireland) was read a third time, and passed. SESSIONAL ADDRESSES. On the motion of Mr. Ix SHINGTON, the House went into a Committee, when the usual Sessional Addesses for remunera tion to the Officers of the House were agreed to. Report to morrow. PRINTING AND STATIONERY COMMITTEE. Lord PALMERSTON brought up the Report of the Print ing and Stationery Committee. Mr. HUME took that opportunity of protesting against the conduct of this Committee with regard to witnesses. Instead of confining themselves to the inquiry for which they were ap pointed, they actually put witnesses who came before them on their trial, touching matters past and gone. He particularly alluded to the case of Mr. Jennings, who was examined as to previous evidence. Lord PALMERSTON did not understand -what the Hon: Member meant by sav i ng th a t w it nesses .were . put upon their trial. It was impossible for any Coriiiittee...tojieUnore fairly formed then this was, as it,was.impartially selected from both sides of the House. • Mr. BENNET said the,House might judge how impartially the Committee was selected when they knew that : it was com posed of eighteen of the Noble Lord's (Lord Palmerston's) friends and adherents, and only three.from his (Mr. Bennet's) side of the House, of which three his Hon. Friend (Mr. Hume) wa's the only one that attended, the other two, no doubt, not liking their company. Mr. HUME said, that as a specimen of the way in which business was conducted in the Committee, all papers that came into it were locked up in a box, whereas they ought to be left within the power of any Member to chew to any Member of the House to take his opinion. The object of the Commit tee was to elicit truth, and such a course militated against that object. Mr. WYNN said, that the object of a Committee was to obtain information to lay before the House, and he appealed to the Chair to know, whether any Member had authority to spew any paper whatever, laid before any Committee. The SPEAKER thought there could be no difference of opinion on this subject. All information, whether evidence or not, was laid before a Committee as a select body, and for its use alone. This was pointed out in every day's practice, when motions were made for certain evidence and papers to be print ed for the use of the Committ ee alone. Mr. LUSH INGTON did not rise to prolong the discussion, but merely to point out to the Hon. Member for Shrewsbury, how much in error he was in saying that there were only three Members from his side of the House in the Committee in ques tion. The Hon. Gentleman then proceeded to read the names of Lord John Russell, Mr. Brougham, Sir 11. Iktrnell, Mr. Ricardo, Mr. Monk, Mr. M. A. Taylor, Mr. Maxwell, Mr. Chetwynd, and Mr. Hume. - These were nine of the Hon. Member's friends, besides which, on the neutral ground, were Mr. Bankes, Mr. Smith, Mr. Lamb, and one other. He hoped the generality of the Hon. Member's statements were more cor rect than the one he had made on this subject, for he defied him to appoint a more impartial Committee —(hear!) Mr. MONEY cited a case in illmo ration of what had fallen from the Chair, in which a paper got into the daily prints, be fore it appeared in the printed minutes of the Committee on Trade. Mr. LUSHINGTON presented Papers from the Excise and Tax Offices.—Ordered to lie on the Table. Mr. PRENDERGAST complained of certain insinuations which had been thrown out against him by the lion. Members for Aberdeen and Coventry. He should look over the papers which had been presented, and move for the printing of any that affected him. lie hoped. the Hon. Gentlemen to whom he had alluded would do the same, and if they found a single paper that appeared to make against him, he trusted they would move that it should be printed.—Adjourned at Eight o'Clock. ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE. NORTHERN CIRCUIT.—YORIC. SPEEDY J USTICE.—John Smith, of Sheffield, was detected on Saturday, between twelve and one, at York, in the act of picking a pocket, and fully committed for trial. On the Mon day following, between ten and eleven, he was tried, convicted, and sentenced to transportation for life. We regret sincerely to learn from York, the continued in disposition of Mr. Baron WOOD. It is reported, that in con sequence of that circumstance, and of the great pressure of business at York, there being in the west, north, and east Ridings one hundred and fifty-two causes for trial, the Dur ham Assizes, appointed fin the 3d day of August, will be postponed. This would also affect the time of holding the other Assizes on the Northern Circuit—unless it should be determined wholly to postpone Durham only, and pro ceed to Appleby, at the conclusion of the business at York.__ The 7th of August is the Commission day at Newcastle. It is expected that the cause-lists at York cannot be cleared off till some da• after the 3d. The Judges could leave York on the 6th—and by postponing Durham, the remainder of the Circuit woukl be undisturbed. We give this only as the current ru mour in York, transmitted by our Reporter.—( ISforniag Post) FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE. FRONTIERS OF SPAIN. PARIS, JULY '2 . —All the news is favourable to the Royal cause. We regret that we are forced to abridge it. The Trappists sent a division of 9,000 men and seven pieces or artillery to surround the town of Vich, in which the Liberals were joining their forces to recover the Seo d'Urgel. lie sum moned the town to surrender, under pain of put ting the inhabitants to the sword if they opposed the least resistance. Vich has capitulated.— Lerida has fallen into the power of the Royalists, as also the fortress of Hastalrich. A letter from Urgel of the 15th July is as fol lows :—" The enthusiasm to deliver his Majesty from the tyranny of the revolutionists has reached a high pitch ; brave men of all classes present themselves in crowds to form part of the Royal Army. The solicitations are so numerous, that they would suffice to recruit an army of more than 60,000 men."--(Quotitlienne.) Letters from Naples assert that a Neapolitan rand French squadron united will cruise on the coast of Spain.—(ibid.) On Friday (26th) the book shop of Corread was visited by the police, to seize a part of the Collection of Authentic Documents respecting the Captive of St. Helena.—(lbid.) The Nuremberg 'Correspondent affirms, that the Congress ►•ill take place at Verona next September, but that the only Sovereigns present will be the Emperors of Russia and Austria. England, France, and Prussia, will only send Ambassadors. M. de Tatischeff, who had daily conferences with Prince Metternich, was charged with all the preparatory negociations. The ob ject of the Congress will be, it is stated, the affairs of the Est. The Emperor Alexander in tended to repair from Verona to the South of Italy, and M. Italisuki, the Russian Minister at Rome, has received orders to prepare a palace for, his reception. COURT OF ASSIZE AT COLMAR, JULY 23. After some preliminary proceedings, the Ad vocate General Rossee opened the case of the conspiracy to the Court, which he attributed to the restlessness of young citizens who, having become soldiers, and being discharged at the peace, and who could not take up again " the utensils of the artizan, or the aratory instrument." He examined who were the authors of the plots at Belfort and Colmar, and concluded that they originated from a common. centre. Of 44 accused, he observed, that 26 were inhabitants of the capital. The principals, he observed, had hidden themselves after the failure of their schemes. After some general remarks, he called his first witness, Henri Piuzac, Captain of Voltigeurs in garrison at Rodez.— He deposed, that being in a Coffee-house at Marseilles, in the beginning of December, a person unknown to him addressed him; he offered him a glass of brandy, and said he wished to establish a mercantile house at Gibraltar or Cadiz. The un known announced to him " That there was much agitation as well at Paris as in the provinces ; that a blow a la Quiroga would be tried ; that there was an Association in Paris, and that they would rise in due time." M. Neuroy, a Lieutenant of the same regiment, was present at this conversation, and wit ness observed to him, that if they learned any thing they would give infofmation to the Civil Authority, for they would not give it to a Commandant of Battalion, who was not of a right way of thinking (qui ne pensait pas Lien). The unknown added ." these people on the left' ide wish for power ; there are rich people - among them—for example, d'Argenson, who woiihl make sacrifices." The Ministry changed ; witness was satisfied, and wrote to a great personage with whom he had re - latlons, and congratulated him. Witness, on his cross-examination, said he was yet in the ser vice ; that the great personage was M. Villele ; that he meant by a right way of thi n ki ng , " b e i ng so l e l y d evote d to the King, being a good Royalist." He could not recognize any one of the accused for the man who spoke to him at Marseilles. Second witness—G. M. .T. De Neuroy, proprietor at -Lyons, deposed, that he had received a letter from his son about the 15th of December, stating to him, that a young man had just told him that there would soon be a con spiracy. M. Henriet, one of the Jury, asked whether he had the letter with him ? Witness.replied, that it was not now in existence. Third witness—George Neuroy, son of the former, was called but was not admitted, as his name had not been notified to the accused. The Procureur-General said his evidence would be favourable to the accused. Fourth witness—The Sicur Gast, of Issenheim, deposed, that he saw, on the 31st December, Laurent Erhard, a - game-keeper of M. D'Argenson, living at Bolwiller. This person brought him a letter from M. Maire, director of the forges of 11. D'Argenson, at Aberbrulk. While witness was answering this letter in his closet, Erhard told his wife that they would soon hear great news ; lie said also, that Lorez, a stable servant of M. D'Argenson, at Oberbwck, had assured him that ill. D'Ar genson was in a very myste r i ous way , an d t h at h e h a d b een obliged to save himself out of Paris. Witness, on cross-examination, stated, that he had been in M. D'Argenson's service, and had been discharged when M. D'Argenson had reduced his establishment at Bolwiller. He was asked whether he had not, since his discharge, written to different persons, abusing M. D'Argenson ? The President observed, that correspondence was a sacred thing, and the Coun seldesisted. Filth Witness—Louis Francis de Tessieres, Sub-Prefect of Belfort, gave evidence that a Madame Seutubery had said to another lady, not named, that there would be a dance without a fiddle. This saying was reported to him about the Ist January, by a M. Goll, who communicated this important information under the seal of secrecy. He had given his word of honour not to name M. Gull, not knowing that the facts might affect his conscience. The Sitting. was adjourned before the end of M. de Tessicres' cross-examination. FROM THE TURKISH FRONTIERS, JULY 6.—lt is now very difficult to obtain from Constantinople information that can he depended upon. It is affirmed that, since the events at the close of the Ramazan, when the Sultan threatened to leave the city, a general alarm prevails, and the letters are opened. Only those who have a correspondence with diplo matic persons can depend on authentic intelligence. The mer cantile letters received by the last post are written with the most anxious caution. Only those letters which are allowed to be put into the packets of the Ambassadors of Austria and Eng land can give authentic information. BERLIN, JULY 13.---It is true that the Stu dents who have been called to account for criminal intrigues have received their final sentence; but the Government has not pub lished any thing official, either respecting the real nature of the affair, or the sentence and grounds on which it is founded.. It is thought that such a statement will soon be published, and till then we must leave undetermined the accuracy of the cir cumstances published in several Journals, relative to the suppos ed association of the Armenia with other secret p o li t i ca l societies; for instance, with the Polonia, with which the ringleaders, it is said, desired to fraternise, &c.— We learn, however, from pretty good authority, that the misguided young men really had very extensive plans of.a chimerical union and amalgama tion of the States and people of Germany, &c., which are the less to be denied, as the proofs have been found in several copies in writing. After so many warnings, and the declared will of the Sovereign to defend their people from such a pro- I pensity to revolution, there can be no doubt that exemplary punishment will fall on the guilty and be a security against relapses. VIENNA, Jur.'s" 16.—Metalliques, 79 1-16—Bank Shares, 771 4 S—JULY 17 (by express)--Illetalliques, 79k—Bank Shares, 775 3 16—.TuLY 17 (in the evening)—Metalliques, 79.i—Bank Shares, 779. MARRIAGE ACT AMENDMENT BILL. FOR -7 1`11E SUN. TO THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF ELDON, LORD HIGH CHANCELLOR OF ENGLAND, &C. &C. LETTER 11. MY LORD--I shall now proceed to make some remarks upon the . Bth Section of the Bill, which provides for the manner in which Licences of Marriage are to be granted from and after the Ist September next. It has always been held impolitic and dangerous to throw any unnecessary obstacles in the way of marriage, and every one is aware that the stamp duties and expence already attendant on obtaining a licence are so heavy as to render this description of legal in strument not within the reach of all classes of society. Perhaps it may be said it was never in tended that these dispensations should extend to all ; I am not prepared to combat the question, but I will say it would be extremely difficult and invidious to draw a proper distinction. I beg, my Lord, to be distinctly understood as offering no opinion on the policy or impolicy of marriage by licence in general ; all I wish to convey is, that so long as such marriage is recognised by law, it ought to be put upon as moderate and cheap a footing as possible, with respect to the public ; otherwise the objectionable principle will be extended, of having,one law for the rich, and another for the poor. It is well known that hitherto, in cases where both parties have been alleged to have attained twenty-one years of age, it has beeh sufficient for the party seeking the licence to make affidavit of his own age, and his belief as to the age of his intended partner. The new Act requires each party to swear as to his or her age, and as to his or her belief of the age of the other party.* In addition to these affidavits, copies of the regis ters of the baptisms of the parties are to be pro duced, and their authenticity established by the affidavit of a person who has examined such copies with the original registers. Now,' my Lord, I cannot help thinking that the affi davit of the Lady might have been dispensed with ; I may be wrong—probably am—but to me there is an appearance of absolute indelicacy in the proceeding. A young Lady on the eve of forming the most interesting and delicate con nection that can be conceived, is to be hurried into the presence of an official person, to do what ? why (inter din) to swear that she believes her in tended husband to be of , age ! The provision was probably intended to guard against fraud in cases of minority; but in such cases, I fancy it will be found, on inquiry, that the female has generally been the party injured ; it has not very frequently happened that a man of full age has been entrapped by a minor. Of what use, I ask, is it for a female to be sworn as to her belief with respect to the age of her intended hus band ? She at best can only swear as to her be lief—according to what he has told her—and by being dragged into publicity in th e wa y requ i re d by the Act, she will, in the event of any de ception on tile part of her intended husband, or of any undue ascendancy he may have gained over her mind, only render more certain that con fiscation of property which the 10th Section of the Bill will produce, and upon which I shall here after observe; at all events, in cases of majo rity, where Registers are to he consulted, this unpleasant proceeding, as far as the female is concerned, might be dispensed with. With respect, my Lord, to the production of the copies of Registers at the time of granting the- licence, I am fully convinced that the abso lute impracticability of doing this in some cases, and the great trouble and inconvenience in all, have not been sufficiently considered. The Act provides, that no licence shall be granted (after Ist September next), where both or either of the parties is or are alleged to be of age, until there shall be produced to the person from whom the licence shall be required, an extract or extracts from the register of the baptism of such par ties or party so alleged to be twenty-one, such extract or extracts to be proved on oath by some other person or persons, to be a true extract, &c. Now really, my Lord, allow me to direct your attention for a moment to the extreme inconvenience and (under some circumstances) absolute impracticability of all this. We will reduce the Act to practice, and suppose a party applying for a license to a Cle rical Surrogate in a provincial town or village. The applicant has perhaps travelled 100 or more miles to marry a person resident near the town or village. The marriage arrangements for pro bably the very next day are all completed, but an insurmountable barrier is at once opposed to the grant of the License. He must obtain a copy of his baptism from a distance, and the affidavit of a friend to prove it a true copy, before any further proceedings can take place; added to these inconvenient circumstances, the case will not unfrequently happen that no Register can be found : then, according to the Act, a more cir cuitous method must he pursued ; and in cases where a conscientious dissent from the Church of England has occasioned baptism to be performed out of the pale of that Church, arid deferred it until the recipient has arrived at the age of matu rity—how are the Provisions of the Act to be satisfied ? Here is a piece of partial Legislation truly ! parties, merely on account of their con scientious religious opinions, will be restrained from marrying by License ! My Lord, the framers of the Bill appear to have been entirely ignorant of the manner in which Licenses are ob tained in general.—They are usually procured from the Clergy (Surrogates to the different Or dinaries) throughout the country ; and, in nume rous instances, parties have to come many miles to obtain them. As the law stood before the passing of the Act of Monday sen'night, the parties seldom went away from the Surrogate without having obtained their object—without taking home the License in the pocket ; and it is well known, the application for the License is an act generally deferred until almost the moment of the solemnization of the nuptials. Now, what 11 " The Act provides that " if a licence shall be required for the Marriage of Parties, both or either of whom shall be alleged to be of the age of twenty-one years, such parties shall respec tively make oath that they are respectively, and that each of them believes the other to be, of the full age of twenty-one years or upwards !" Supposing . only one of the parties are alleged to be 21, how can this provision be complied with ? ,t ' will be the inevit a bl e consequences un d e r th e new system ? The parties, when every Pr e r h : ration has been m a d e f or th e nu pti a ls, Will ," n to to retire in disapp o intment--either the fem ale be swear she believes h er i n t en d e d husband t° o f of age—the father's and mother's certificates consent in cases of minority properly s worn t 5 or the copies of th e reg i s t ers p ro p er ly authe n ti , cated, will some o r o th er o f t h em not be f o rt , coming ; and I hesitat e no t t o sa y, that, ir ° these causes, amongst certain classes of societi g the most deplorable an d ru i nous conseque nce will ensue. Perhaps, my Lo r d, it w ill b e urge d, that vib e : B the Provisions of the Act come to be known, t . s , greater portion of th e i nconven i ence s and 111 ., 1 chiefs which I hav e an ti c ip a t e d w ill not and that parties will come prepared with the nee cessary documents wh e n th e y fi rs t a pPIY t °„ 0 ( Surrogate. My L or d, amongs t th e d e seriPti°" parties to which I h ave more particularlyi of ferred, and which constitute no small portion the applicants for lic ences , I w ill u ndertak e ... , to say that this preparation will not be inad% at Besides, my Lo r d, it can never b e su pposed/t" e in the interval which will elapse between ° lis : ill : 1 4 and the next S e ssi on o f P ar li a ment, the provisl n o of the Act will h ave b ecome genera lly kn c " t g o throughout the country, or at least so known as be generally und er st oo d ; an d it i s no t a mongst t o t least singular pr ov i s i ons o f th e Bill, that it i 5 ri to be publicly read i n Ch urc h es a nd Ch i l e p until a month after it has taken complete elecw ith In my next I shall cons id er t h e fill! o f respect to Marriage by Li cence , in cases Minority, and with consent of Parents. my I am, my Lord, your Lordship's humble serve, July 30, 1822. BRIT/0 110 Z/. * 4l ,* The Third Letter of NI BRITANCUS on`" day next. PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDIN'OS•. NOUSE OF COMMONS. Martis, 30 0 dic Julii, 18'22. • cog" Mr. Speaker reported the Royal Assent —to East In(bffl coa cb pany's Loan Bill, Malt Dutie s Collection Bill, Stg o e- Duties Bill, Ne w S out h W a l es D ut i es Bill , Aliens i',,e'ite tion Bill ; Queen's Servant s P ens i ons Bill, Salt Pue'r,oilL peal (Ireland) Bill, a nd N a ti ona l Monument Scotian MILITIA PAY BILL } Read s thin' tie, TITHES LEASING (IRELAND) BILL and passel' MILITIA PAY (IRELAND) BILL Wning PlRATES—Petitions of Ship-owners of London, al ; • to of the capture. of ships by Pirates i n. th e West In be printed. tO, MESSAGE FROM THE LORDS—That they have a g i ,„ e ,,g Lotteries Bill, King's B enc h B us i ness BM, and A" (Ire' gulatiou Bill, without amendment ; and Constables land) Bill, with Amendments. tak en EAST INDlES,—Return " of the number of Prisoner!, gs' at Ben-i-bod Ally, s t at i ng t h e num b er d e li vere d tiP Jobe; jor-General Smith to the Imaun of Muscat, th e Lpose' brought to Bombay, and in what m anner they Were of, by orders of the Bombay Government." .L e CANADA GOVERNMENT B ILL —" f or un i t i ng L" ,e tures of the Provinces of L ower an d Upper eanguAs to' seated, and read a first time; to be rea d a second morrow (this day). Oft PRINTING AND STATIONERY COMMITTEE -- " -- brought up and read ; to be printed. PRINTING—Returns presented,—Sums paid to F n g u sed Scotch Universities, as Drawbacks of Duty on PfT e f - to I.l' printing; Classics, Bibles, & c. (ordered 18th July) ; printed. ° NOTICES OF MOTIONS for THIS the I. to Commissioners Mr. Martin (of Galway I ,—To er Inquir concer nl 'rate 4 Office of Coroner in reland tro aPPo to inquire into Judicial Fees in Ireland. 2. Marquis of Londonderry,—To adjourn to :gondol- of die 3. Lord Archibald llamilton—Respecting Residenc e Town Council of the Royal Burghs of Scotland- 0 ' 4. Mr. Prendergast,—Motion to print selection of Pap ers planatory of his case. ORDERS OF THE DAY for THIS DA' 1. Exchequer Bills Bill—Third Reading. 2. Canada Government Bll—Second Reading. , uv la' 3. Stamp Duties R e du c tion (I re l a nd) Bill—'Third" 4. Barilla Duties Bill—Third Reading. 5. Appropriation Bill—Third Reading. 6. Deeds Registry (Ireland) Bill—Third Reading. 7. Usual Sessional Addresses—Report th e reuloon i • ii), an d [ 53 8. Hides and Skins A c t s [4O Geo. 3, c. 91 V l's Geo. 3. c. 60) —Committee thereupon. ' , s ee o— nr 4 h *.• For the Article on "WEST'S GALLERY, PRICE OF STOCKS THIS DAY AT ONE O'CLOCK• .... Rank Stock "51 India Stock ............. .:;. 6 41. 3 per Cent. Red. 3 per (!ent. Cons. . . gOs 4 South Sea Stock . .. .......... --- 3a per Cent 92 Old Annuities.... ......... .:., Pf• 4 per Cent. { Old 99i Ex. 8i115.... `'' . . 1 . ..., New 9J ' i ß Ditto Small ................... .., 5 der Cents. 1797 Bank for Cons. Act. ...... .•••• Bank Long Ann 2.oi India for Con. Acct. ...... 803 Imp. 3 per Cents. Cons. for Account...... PRICE of FOREIGN STOCKS IN LONDON , '4l'l AT ONE O'CLOCK. French Fivc per Cents. 91 25 50. Prussian f Five per Cent. Bonds, 89. 1 Ditto New, 86a. ' ( Old Bonds, 00. Colombian .' Six per Cent. Bonds, 854. ( Ditto Scrip, 85g. Spanish f Five per Cent. Bonds, 62i i• ( New Ditto, 624. Danish Five per Cent. Bonds, 874- Neapolitan Five per Cent. Bonds, 72 , 4 % Austrian Five per Cents. (Metallic) 7 9 • ("Six per Cents. 00. Russian 2 , Five per Cents. (Metallic) 7 8 . (Ditto New 00. Chili 804. Cpllol/C Russian 83. r, ~,s of The Foreign Account h as gone o ff, up t o this / 1014 .., 4 , any defaulter, but it appears most of them are g re Spanish Bonds. A P or t uguese L oan o f 4:5 0 ° , pected in a few days. r to u O.' AMERICAN FUNDS. LONDON. July 30. )thing done. 684 95/ sellers. 964 ditto. ,Es r- 30 June t nothing j done. 98i 94 Divd. from July, 1922. ;e 7. 8 pr. N BRIDGE Evening, Bank Shares . per cents 5 per cents. 1820 1821 . 6 per cents. 1812 . 1313 . --1814. 1815 . 7 per cents Exchan, fl MIT WATER AT LONDI :11 orning, 0 minutes after 1 shut. froili APru Div,a', I 6 TO-31"'nfor r • Rg„nS 1 . i mintiteg_l.o.2./. Mk SUN- SOLEbI QUIS DICERE FALSUM LONDON, WEDNESDAY, JULY 31 We have given, cool ° further extracts from the Paris Journals of Sti r , day, the arrival of which we announced yeste,,, day. We have every reason to believe that the at 313 paragraphs from the Drapeau Blanc,,in in a preceding coluinn, n. Jibe ha s . narl • Tiol, ye: stit -Mc Co atrn Jo' Pal in ti • li a y a n d Lor tion Pet Ro tha Sp c the Sgt ,b ft tar ) , ( 1 . 441 Pla c , +Ve t 21414 Lo ri o tct t eso Sf, er, trio vi ~ o ~ne °lj. ttid t 4 ,11 toti 1),, 11 , Pas ft4b i t) le it