The Sun. — London, England, 1817-02-25 00:00:00

assnmed a character, not only of treason, but of crime, which would Nall mote easily to its deice teetion and repressioo. The different tribes of disturbers, tbe•Ludditeist.end the Spenceans, bad committed open violetioas of the laws, besides the essumptioa of doctrines SO 111151,1111, as, al.; thisugh otherwise intended by designing men, to .nffend the sense of all who were able to judge.-- e The character of the treason had sunk to the 'owes: classes, and disgraced itself wit!! ealeol,e ed Coootelitet rite purposeS 01 the traitors -themselves.-- e ( Hear, hear, hear 1)--This was cer tainly a consolation, but the Government would ebandon its duty it it slept on the existing dangers. 'Whilst he concurred with the view recommended to be taken by the Secret Corninittee,that the pe rils of the present times should be contrasted with those of the earlier part)► of the Revolutiou, . he wished the House not to imagine that there was any absence of talent or ingenuity among the conspirators oh the day. Let the House look at the discontent in which their wild doc trines were explained, and it would see deo 'it would be difficult to find more talent or ingenuity. There certeiuly was. no lack of abilities ameeg the iediriduels engaged iteethe desperate enter ise. Let the libels with which they attempted to degrade theamthoeities of the State be examitt eds--eo trace of a vulgar turn of mind would he marked in them. They were meo ut eilacation, but of psrsoted education, and I,f great talents. lie appealed to 'his Leat 7 ned and Ilououratile Vriend (the At torhey 7 (.leiteral) as to tire dif ficulty is Welt lie had foiled in dealing with these disloyal and immoral libels. But this was not all. These were many men, distiogeished in station nod abilities, who, if they were.teit coimeeted, with those meetings, conducted them selves in such a manner as to countenance their priuciples and their proceediegs.—(licar, hear, bear ! from the avloole of the Oepositiott).—They were recognised by the conspirators as their Allies. (hear, hear, bear !)—rie se copharked in a cotil lions teuse--e(ilear, hear,,Areer !)--and though they did not root e r linble to the ope• !litho) of the laws, yet" iu the deliberations of the eonspiraters, they were ri terred to, and named (*motherly, amongst themselves as those who sllOlllll olyolipio , e then Committees of Public Strict y—(llsond anti repeated ties of Hem., hear, hear ! and Name, name ! front the whole Opposition..)—lle did not feel it his duty to name any one--(Meer, hear, hear !)—but the conspirators considered that such persons so effeettially aided and abetted their proposes, as to be persuaded, that as soots as an leserreetio n should have avert turned the State, those individuals worth( be ready to declare theta selves, and t'o put themselves at their head.— (clear, hear, hear !)—Thougli they ,could not be eltarged et the ber of; beir country, s yet in the eyes of God tool maneeealear, hear, hear ! from the Oppositioo)--I hey stooktresponsible for the ca lamities which might' fti'llarptio the, land—(fiear, hear, hear !)—aed foe the (hes which deluded in dividuals might pay for theareeson which they had thus encouraged.---(liear, hear I)—He should now give the House a fair, and nut exaggerated de scription of the nature and extent of the dengers which menaced the country, and direct its atten tion.to the remedy seitieh bis MiliestY . s ;Niinkters thought fit to recommend to Parliament. The Report of :the Secret Committee had not beeu drawn by, orte tslass of seen alone, It did got go beyond tbe.state of the ease ; when a Caps mittee so composed laid that a conspiracy existed which emborgered the existence of the Constitu tion and the dearest interests of the country, it might well.be - credited that it only went as tar as it was supported by evidee(sie If the baSis of the haormation before the I lon,e amounted ,to this, that is conspiracy of ..;o extensive a OW ore and so tbiugerous i teedency exited, he apprehended that he wits justified in assuming, that it was a conspiracy not remotely looked to, as likely, to . be (sallied iota execot in it wider triune Cirelllnatiloces, bet one of sedesperate character, On the paint Of tlpluding, and which in fact had exploded.— ( 1 4 4 tiginer.)—For elthough the conspirators had Hot beet) joined to the extent avbieh they ex pected, yet they had conceived that the general means which they bad provided were maidens to enable theta to' make the attempt with a reti - imal prospect of success. There was now therefore a. degree of proof which had never before been . possessed when Parliament had been celled upon to adopt precautionary measures. Its no in eecept perhaps in Ireland, had conspiracy proceeded so far as to levy war; and.by the force of arms to attempt tnseize oft the Executive Porter itstses From this, , however, be drew the evil misfit be entirety eXtetiv,stneching when ,the character of desPeret too, which it had not assififieil in former, days. The fact of a conspiracy was therefore established, with the fact of an attempt and effort in arms. It would be confining the ex feet of the peril within too narrnw Ihnits, to con sider that it, sprung from the Meeting of the 2d December alone. If the feet of acoespirkcy rested only on the events of that day, and he saw nothing in the other purls of the country hitended to sup. port that .ellort, he might have tbonght %Otis the Gentlemen opposite that it was crmtemptible in itself, and that .the State was not under the ne cessity of resorting., to extraordinary mea,sures, bit it would be disgatisipas the truth from the House ,to, narrow the ..thooser to that single effort, orjo sepiolite it from others goi ng o il rte ; this very Inoi nClit hurler :the pietenee of seek iog for Parliemenoo y Reform. Ile would not deny that many iorliVithlais throughout the coon. try bad a Reform of Parbionent really iu view ; hut most of s them looked et it merely as it halt meastoe,.or a veil to the, carrying on of their de signs. All these various Societies intruded to co-operate, together in order to controul the Coe. stituted Authorities of tine State, and impose upon the Ration, the . deluge, whatever it might be, w hich dal considered neeessery s , It was not re tt"ione to fellow the Spencer's*. Clubs through a ll their ramifications, or to bring legal evidence be fore the Mau) how they acted in all their secret InQcuedings. But woisht any man in the country " "Y Mei - niter it) {lint 1100 Se hose Societies exiatett Rod acted a .} 'II* o f !_en e a e it r in t, a e m n i oOolitsso-7:ll:eClini, L tiOl e ig Xl ; Whiner Chn,ame I Rely as vehicles to coin; Muttieute revolutionery ' s vomi t) *Anne were He w lintl rind 'u s';ecere its the's:. wit itor itefosla, it was in evidence befos..e tee, th a t even these, admitted iirdiv ub professing the Spencean fictri., to heconte their Members.. It hail bees clearly out that a cnu spiracyspir acy eXisted hi the coontry for the soltrersiou of the Constitution and the State. It had h evs proved that ti strong effort had been made in arms to attain the object in view., and it appeared that crimes 1 the individuals wh o wer e de ep l y implicated the L crime of treaSon had keen the inoSt‘t active to pro cure meetings for the apparsto pnrpese rf Portia mentary• Helene, particalarly that 'of the ed of December. The petition of one ludivideal was before the House. nci did net, pretend to say with what sentiments he (Mr. Hunt)' had gone to that meeting, but a d mitting the whole of what lie had stated, vet the meeting would appear to have been made to feel the pulse of the people.— The House lied nbw tit deal with treason, the ex istence of which wits acknowledged in the coon. ti y, For while time conspirators bad not even yet abandoned 'tire hope of fi rd ing an occa s i on , by desperate eff o rt, t o t a k e possession of the - ruling power, they did not neglect other means, but 'timed at the total:meet of their . objects by the progressive Corruption of the minds of : the people. The arts were chiefly directed to per vert the morals anti loyalty of the notunfaeturine classes ; those very classes which had always set*- , fen., and would el whys stiffer most front disterb ' antes and civil broils in the State".—(Hear, hear !) But they avoided themselves of the facility with which they could be found and assembled to int liths 'their doctriees upon their mintl47and lead them to acts of desperation. :Ile had explained natere of the l t.aoger, and should now cull the attention of the House to time measures whieh his Majesty's Minivets should feel it their duty to recommend. First of all, though he should not have a motion to propose on the subject, he should open the whole system of measures which were deemed necessary to strengthen the hands of G o ,. vermnent at this important jultetnre. Ile should therefore be entitled to refer to a Bill now under the consideration of another House, for the temporary suspension of the Act of Ha 'bens .Corpus. There WAS no MeaSnrn Which could Jellies upon him greater personal pain, or a heavier load of responsibility. Al though it was one, which time Constitution had. recognised whenever asease of suflicjent necessity had been shown, there was none which he thought thotilti be Adored with mere reluctance, (Hear, bear !)—There was no kw VdliCh so nobly and so proudly distinguished the British 'Consti• tution as the Habeas CorpuS blw.---(liear, hear!) But while he assumed the whol e weight of respOn sihility upon himself for snspending such 'a law, must say that the House would not duly protect the liberties of the country if it did tiot : artn Mi nisters for a tittle with that power, without which neither the Constitution. nor the State could be secured from Ilse blow aimed for their overthrow. The necessity of the present Measure erosc, per haps, from the great tenderness with which the crime of Treason was treated by the existing laws. It was reqnired to be, . established by so many legal circumstances, 'as well as by the evidence of two wituesses, diet the situation of the country might be such, that Omagh the State were in poiisession of evidence which in any other case would send att intliehltea to his trial, yet unless armed with the power ealled for, it could not wrest a couspirator at time ter) , eve of his deluging his country with blood, without running the risk that for want of evidence on thee particular crime, lie shoohl apply for au flattens Corpus, and be at once restored to liberty. By the temporary s us p ens i on now prop osed, the in dividual might be delivered over, to the regul ar laws of the count r y: No Gentlemaoost the other side of the House could.feel more seosibly thee he did for the most limited snspension of the Charter of our liberties. Nothieg butt a case of the most imperious. necessity, like :the present, coulti justify such a measure. His Mojesty's Go vernment intended to propose it with every pos sihle guard, to skew the reluctance with which they adopted it, and their dispositimi remit it at the earliest opportunky. lie shonld not wish in the preamble to the Bill to fix a leriger period' for its duration than the present Session of Par liament so that if might naturally expire with it, unless fresh Clrplillilitatices tilloithi arise to render its continuation Necessary. lie should also wish to render it a local measusre. No thing had appeared before the Committee to require the extension of the proposed 511.1. pension to other parts of the. Ileited Kingdom, (Hear, hear, hear !)—The internal situation of laved was so tranquillized as to show a nobl e nonoce its that c-fst-it.;;;Y 'and to an. Lot state of peace and loyalty which would do honour to the whole kingdom.—(Hear, beer, beer !) He should now.proceeri to other measures, which, in consideration of existing circumstances, he should think it Lolispensihie . toy k i arliortent to adopt. A. latv bed been passed; ice heliaed - itr 1795, in consequence of an atrocions',act then at tempted on the person orthe Sovereigu, as be was going to perform one of the most importatt functions of the Legislature. Asimilar attempt had been made on the person of the Illnstrieets Individenl stow, holding the highest nethorily iii the State. A similar law worth! therefore be pro posed to extend to his Royal Highness the Pt iece Regent theprotectfon whi c h t h e f ormer Act pro. smiled for the better security of his lilnjestO Person. On this branch of the subject he wes sure there would not be two opinions in the House, but that it would be determined to be wise to extend to the Prince Regent the slime lewd protectioo in the, discharge , of th's duties of hie high office, Wbich it hod been thought preper to provide for the pet sun of the Sovereign in e siteatiou, lie shottld therefore pro. pose to extend to the person of the r Priewe Re?,setit those putts of the Act of the 35th of tlte present reign, which' related to the proiectioo of the per ton of the Ktuij ,Another petit of, the Pion which ' , mild propose related to the Attempts w hi c h ...well matte to drew over the soldiery to a pde cipation in the crimes which bad beco commit ed. It bed evidently : been part of the }logics of Itc tlisaffected to succeed by seducing the Military force ; and it was proved the systetneticso tempts had been mule to effect that purpose. The House, 'NtiC be was ore, 'feel tire neeetsity ertiirotee - ing the soldier agreittst such Artifices as 'Might tend to make bias bretdt his allegiance, tont join in the crimes of his, sednekrs ; and it woold be allowq tlrai the most .effeetnaf way to succeed in affording this protection would he, to enact that those olio should attempt to' seduce soldiers from their allegiance, should for the future be consi dered guilty of the greatest crime, a n t} punishahte accoralingly.—(Heer, hear !) On this part of the subject ho wits sure there . would only b e one opinion the Ho u s e . He note came to a branch ot.the tpsestion , which, Whet) formerly agitated, bad caused much discussion, and on %Illicit great diflereure of opittiott hail prevailed. ‘Vltat he al luded to tvms the debates in 1795 and 1799. Dot he was. sure -that .all the considerations which weighed on the whirls itt the Legislature at these periods, and induced them to pass the vote which declared the illegality of all secret associations for political purposes, and of all affiliations, which admitted to a -fraternity with such associations other classes o f p ersons , whose sole object, was the application of what they- called '' physical force," for the purpose of bloodshed and rebel lon, would be adthowledged to occur more for cibly on the present Occasion. The House had not hesitated, ft) 1799, to declare such assochrionS illes gsl, by a lawdiot of a temporary nature, hut perma nent stud unrestricted as to the time &riot; which it was to runtime iii torce.• It was Jar from the wish or the intention of o the Legislature by that Act to oppose atlyobstacle - to the exercise of constitu tional rights. What it was wished to oppose, was to pot down that System, springing out of the Freatch lievolutioo, which sought, by titeatis of Societies and :affiliated Societies, to czeite the people . to rebellion agitiost every Government. That laW considered the very principle of affilia tion and fraternization so abhorrent to the spirit of our Constitution, that the law against them was made perms rtent ; but it had become ineffis dent by the Accidental - eircumstanee of the Act of 'the 3Gth of the King then in force being only temporary Act, and it so happened that s,ottte the operativ'e clauses in the Act of the 39111 rf ferret! to the pros isiotts of the Act of the 360 existence of which tuns therefore necessary to operation of the Act of the 39th, in its •execti, clauses. When the Act of the 36th expired, t intention of the Legislatro e was from this citron) stance defeated, and the Act of the 39th of the King became inoperative. With respect to this part of the subject, therefore, Parliament would 'timid it now not only_necesiaq to revive the•Att of the-39th of the King, but also that of the . 3611); corronrittly' knoWn ''by the came of the 'Sedition Act, •At the ti-me when the Scditiot) Act was passed, sevet al Meetings of A very alarming nature, had beett held, amid threatened.tbe most serious consetittences . . But none of the meetings . at that time hail pros-ceded.to acts of open leoce. The Legislature then did what waif:very wise, in anticipating the designs of the agitators, and preventing all .the 'mischiefs - and cabaiiiiier with whieli the comitry was threatened. Do, in the present case, there tvas 1.0 need to (7)CrciSt: trittCll foresight ; it was net neees.sery oow to cal culate on the probability of aces'of openslideirce, which, in 1795, whet: t!lis. Act had been passed, were guessed at awl expected.. Xhost-acts of !4'iolence,- which, in 1793, had 'only bees come!». libtted, had in the present ease hoes) put inio exc. tution.'There Wkl3 110 CXl6"lllity to Wiii . Cll.tity ilOt now e i t h er actu all y proceeded, or . at 'least carried so fae Hs to make tiny doubt or hesita tion as to their designs iinpossible. All the aril -6ces-L--all the preparationsall the precautions. which could Make such crimes most dangerous, had in the Present case beet) .resorted mob Was aisembled—their bastot passimosiwere appealed to—their cupidity inthitned—oheirintost lawless appetites' proMised to be gratified -s—the means too Were pointed out,, and these :rtgi-: tators Watched in the countenances of the de luded rabble the effect of their harangues, till they foutol them wrought tip to the perpetra tion of the most horrid excesses and, eritnes.-S-- All thiS had actually been done. There were not only thesemeetiogs the Orators, but also those who absolutely went there to 'watch the effects produced opun the people. After all' this, lie wool(' say that it be most 'besotted, if Parliametir were' to wait brfoits it p;it these laws into force,' till ,it should see there was re a lly Occasion for them by a repetition of the crimes.— (Hear, liesr, hear !)—liriten tinder less menacing circumstances the Legislature had drought it ne cessary to - coact the IaWS to which he alluded, there could be very little doubt Whether, in the present times, it was 'not the duty of Pat liatnent to make these • laws ticictit, and to give th:11 power to the Governmeol which it had 'formerly given. There had grown out of that law a good ef 40.»...th;Ip'rkeisieltirerilieTailto7.uhil 'sift"?' lirbeeesoptrlittel'iroferaottii:oift preventing the exercise of the right or prtiti" (wtifch this Act was, o menus, wa"s oui)d by every (c n ib t l e y 7t l t ii : i the cub+entry i i 3 t ttoi ft pruvet)ted that right froth being made the iodireer tucans.of corrupting the public wind-'—(llear not merely corrupting, but leading the ' to the p er p etrat i on of ' every Atrocity, high On m itea son, felony, And reb e llion,---(heat', hear,hear !) Ile bad no doubt, that when Parliament spoketto the public on this subject,' in the authoratatiVe ..,„ . language of the latv—whett it wasby P 1 .Parlian lent that by such .means a few ronounpo deiloring , Oleo were attempting to lead .the: tunny.to,:t lie commission of such dreadful crimes ; wilco ,this tens done, he had or) donto that all those crimin a l NC's Would . explic U nder the the,n oora l infl uence of the law ; that the public mind "wild be en lightened ;. the instigators %torrid tall into me rited disgrace,, and such a change, would he produced where t)te mischief was now begun, that it would not even be : found necessary to ut in force„ or to inflict the penalties which , e 'Act imposcs.- 7 ,(He ar ,..b ear , h ear 'tot* illy remed m y ost also txtt4tol to the ofe its which these pernicious doctrines had dissemitrated. The most extraordinary assi uicy and isidustry had been used in time eitenla4 ion of blasphemy, every,species ot ittfisfclity, and From the means used for this purpose), it deemed it necessary to have all serf )t ions Clubs. Fusel Debating Societies placed' r) the Same fe . roring AS to crinnuality as they had been by the Aetor E the of phi ass:ociat iuueti 1 71):'). TJic Same sy:tern %vas now renewed. Tilde seas in any publis...bouse whielt some meeting of this kind. It waster, ' - much regret that he found that sore such a rank in society as left them so the ei mutt] of ignorance/ s h o uld I n Ilampdeti Clubs .and moue sltcecurtttKt doctrines svhicl., to say the most mischievous description. w!t r S , it society that deserved to be repobati on , and .to have its name held onmeee execration as had., been branded the. Legislator( on such (;lubS As diet-1; r : : men, he' Col responding SOCirtiti, Chl'• the same kind—the Speneeim Serving every mark of reprobation. •;, opposite (Lord Cochrane) bad cliscano. this Society did nut consist of more th 4 tired Members. He could only 53 1 , , „.. was evidence before the Secret Cobiall'l",i' proved, that at one point of reuniono,',.: cicty in the metropolis, the number trial than that at which the Noble Lord tlicy. per to estimate ; and this, bad appel„f e . a ett other evidence than that of the very 0,51` Society w" -had, with a strange slactigefie their statements and disclosures tvi readiness. These men seemed to e"'", when they called thernselveis pliilatithr.olll'lo very name must disarm suspicion. I I, : characteristic feature of these r eforraig, v) that p l,al e ies n arlteleld they u r e all projects,rcf.ese all l set t he most tiotP)ll"6".k against our our believed them, conceived in lovioi , the human race.—(hear, hear, bthat lrerol made no scruple of asowing their society wits the destruction or P' r * Perry ; and thus, by a singular P:i: society or association tees 10111101 °1 1 , 1 0 ,0 the direet tendency of which teas the from the very foundation, of t he i t : o l l hee societ . ..v.—(l.lear,, hear !)—M2 O , 11- s a riet' persons trri tied, known by the name of _f. 110 '4 d by some i tulivi had been alleged4";xist, 11 . 0411 d0n Union Society had ee"s g ed o ot , this subj ec t be ... wished explicit'Y ;0 4 - 1 he - Committee had been pot of cnlnen I C i: l ) t e ib ri s y at Sheffield Mans6eld , (jt e 'rd i tWinn csretpt"tr'belisiiieci:riute:lnr(:lll::,eentr(.l)setAlhserdcl:::::b:bree°ll'' this. theby rpranyrten'el'utt 2 ht t n t/ ":;:: Sheffield, or , any of the other pliecyrs'„,. %vim paid thi s Slim Wag tux& an ba n "ii p td', ber o f the Union Society ot. Landon Hear; "Mar I)-13nt really it was ir v r ec io ( Itzt. l 4"lise to attend to a ll theslitifilial44ll,oo . shifts to theie Soci eties tee t!' in'ir•tmtnes ; for they Seen) to 11 ' 1 `. e i tt 1616 Y a t tilimging N°,"14411 o u„iOV, matte, whet her they ek n et i i b e inscor . t mninten t'lts'")•, tliey seemed all %ice !le same Spirit, thcv .futsecf the '''" clung, and the 11Othe m ost not al"!::, p . il:ry nominal 'distinctions --Ili" . r c 'leafed. by Sic , /Lk r ' it; gi Lca-ure would actually be drivel,' te . iided tO any such dig j flc tiOng• elzon; thlCtritlrs ii i i„h t b e bid O'T o ole' , 11. it cheie Sorieties Were 6,lllolthe ! 6 ',1111e 'Whit I,l es , 01 1 1;1( Ot c l o! ,stye efOre till rdtt:+lay tiHn of Prtrihttliellt; S nenc eilf , "‘ 1 :: :ee° gniZeri 31 110 1 i„,„!ote:i by a ll ~..t a t ler by, what Han le they called tlIC3l 3 ' : n'l‘ 4l `/,_l i iY tile ' Sirettcean doctrines ? o 'l t ; all more especially.ag re ' l ' i i„. because they' were founded ' and participation of Pr' l) `: r d'ie 11°11 ,,' ; lion'. beat ! from all plat s `'" was by plunder that they boi' ell w of vise. poor deluded trAdesmaii• ret,' all on the same agrarian principle - -4 ! jo 'gt vision of property--the simultancoos r:ji,„lEler tat isfics,—t he hunting down e'e rile etch 1- I , ty, so beaotifoi,w ki s their systerni fit" poor landholde r was lior CO be etesTroY° I ) , too', P t _ e had been stripped of his pre)l'` li i li e dr. h i c i Y it a pensioner of the public."‘ ft it ' v ele not that it would he ilia' the .door'', it on the rirue Hf t c e r o t t ii s l s : l ll ; ' ;: t r s ;( l ) o ( s l ( :i s c i e t y .a i t r e ll m a kers,- but with stn air of elogrialce astonish the -"u s e. - The doctrinee ir e; nil.' 1 0. r Socid its wished to inipress .pun people, with respect to the eti v " b te old Perry, reminded him.of what linainercoote':. raised to his .soldiers, %vile!), Pareienlar tract of theettemy . g "' tiff°. 4)4: apliropfiaCtd' to than, aura sh)it'Ltlrz,ipiC" This Prcienise had never beery .. 11 V sidoced to enli st tilt.tilt. til eSe, OrtitatititrOplSts: OW the tvi“ )l' io o a its .c : L S :::1: 1 : e s ) r e ; n d 19 ;' l,l vbielt ' P" The trit..To extend the Aet of 1795 'for tile s tet° Ks:l °f' 1 s pers 'an, to the perAou exerekinlgiiStlB::(tailtl.cillitg,:s":;gtob::llll;:l-CC bf di e 3tl ' 34 . 'l'. etithody into,i,riti Act the i;i'vvi'iar/s 1795, relativ e t o tumultuous eneetirwstkiiitdcl'3l-:,:4,''11;: the; iieci ever or if met by secret oaths, 01,,1 ti `.xtrv(oJl r detroidtrie:,:(age! ),se4l x I t ) :: : 1 ea e s o sidur , t 120 11 / 14' 4th. To make stlekettartniCnts s9 OW° br '„atto t ,; w at effectual to !owlish with the utzno 4 t r i g our gain . ulcer Soldiers o r s a il ors to, ac t with :WY „' I P r men, arid wiltiiirAw then film their allegl3", 11'8; liir etas ;•inxiogs tb-tt Ilse Houk should obserglioo of t~ permaneot Taws ; but other,' ;night he alo e ! al ci t e l :i n e4 l4 : l, :: 0 1 1 1 : s l t:i:h i o a t i l i g ls ti t t s :lo d r il : ,°,u b l e i c t' o c: ' lli::g:l4:l ;; ; !; eltr • toobl'it4 aLvitid Ise ltiu i ht absQluttli• neco: