The Sun. — London, England, 1806-03-22 00:00:00

~', •) • . thought,. to _deprive .a class of meteor the' right et,: voting; who, although poor, were capable of exer- • rising-that right as independently and as free from Corruption as persons of affluence: He could never, relish the. idea of disfranchising a man for his povcr- . tY, and that would be the efrea of this Bill. In fah},' the proportion of Freeholders which it would disfranchise would be enormous. In .COyentry alone upon a Committee with - respe& to which he was With the Right Hon. Mover, the Freemen disfran chised by such a measure, who reside in Lenden, • Would amount to several thousands.• Another ob- • leaion he had to the measure before the House Was, that it proceeded upon 'a principle of partial Legislation, by enacting one law .for EnglaOd and leaving the law of Ireland upon the sarrf subje& in statu quo. The law, ought,• in his -opinion, to be in all cases general, as far. as was consistent with the . difference of local_ circumstances. Sir R. BUXTONentreated the House notlightly to reject a measure which •he thought perfealy con genial with the spirit of the British Constitution. — According to the 'principles of. that Constitution a man should come into that House free and hide- Pendent, and the constituent who sent him there Should be free and independent also. Now the former could not be so if he were to •pay an enor mous sum of money for his- eleaion—enor could the latter be so if he were to receive money for hiavote; and disguise it as Gentlemen please, the expence of carriage was\ a species of payment to the votere—e there was a .time when, instead of Members pay ing -for their election, they were paid for their at tendance.; and' he • would be glad to see the same praaiee. again —(a laugh). The. Honourable Ba-: ronet repented hiS wish. Members would be likely to.enter that House not with a view to derive any emoluments frorri the State, but for the benefit of the Country. Mr. G. ROSE said, that he never understood it to be the fixed general Opinion of the La , vyers, thit defraying the travelling: charges of the Voters was not a violation -of the Treating Aa. All dqubts Upon this'subje& would be removed, by the measure under discussion. He trusted that the House would Pause before-. they rejected such a proposition, and begged.them to consider that if the expence of car riages were allowed, it was nonsense to suppose that refreshment and treating' by the way would not fol.. lo w ; also whether compensation for loss of time, Ville!' would lead to complete bribery, might not be the ne:tt proposition. Mr. COURTENAY remarked, upon the purity of, the principle and the refinement of the notion Xtvhich the House had witnessed in the -Speech of The Hon. Baronet over the via*, and the Right Hon'. Gentleman who had just followed kin. rteally'those two Gentlemen were not only so pure themselves, but they seemed to think they were addressing them- • Selves, to an angelic audience. No doubt the Hon. liaronet came into that House with the purest and most disinterested views, and had nothing in view but the good of his Country--and the Right Hon. Gentleman who followed him was inspired with equal purity, and equally discarding' very considera tion but that of patriotistn. 'T hat Hon. Gen tleman had stated, that it was nonsense to suppose that a voter would go from one place to another to give his vote without receiving something more than the law would allow. No doubt the Right Hon. (3-ehtleman spoke from his experience.. He was, it Haight be presumed, tolerably competent to judge Upon such a subjea—and so, perhaps, Were: others also. /I in reality, every Candidate were disqualified Who paid the travelling expence of poor Voters to the hustings, nay, something more, the Right Hon. Gent. would admit, that the benches on both sides Would be rather thinned. :Far himself, he would say, that he did not-like this extreme solicitude to exclude. the peor•from the gratification usually enjoyed at. popular 'Eleaions. They seldom had such 'oppor tunitiese and when they offered they ought not to be shut out from 'them, merely on the pretence of seeking for 'purity.. Ile could not approve of the • ease of a filtering stone to clear away all the mud of povert), vulgar mirth, Elec. from popular Eleaions, and let nothing but the PURE water of affluence, good order, &c. trickle.. down to invigorate the Mem bers of that House.---The Right Hon. Mover had said, that he would not introduce a Bill -to disquae lify Freeholders under 301. But it would not per haps be amiss to call to mind, that the Bill of Henry VI. confining the right of voting to freeholds of 40s. • was itself a Bill of disoualification ; and. it' Was one advantage resulting from the depreciation of money, that the obje& of that disqUaliftcation Law had in a great measure beeti defeated. But to re turn to the Bill before the House, which he felt it his duty to resist; notwithstanding the high degree of regard which he entertained for his Right Hon. :Friend with whom it originated, he should get rid of it with'a couplet of Drtyden's, which was applied in the days of Charles 11. to a measure similarly cal culated to interfere with the popular enjoyments at tleetions— ., Where every man enjoys • His liberty, his property, and noise." Capt. HERBERT disapproved of the Bill, be cause it .have the effea of disfranchising by much the • greater portion of the Electors of this Country-e--natnely; all those who resided at a distance from the place of election. This Bill, if it passed iu ' its present state, would have the effea, in a great County, of making it the Ele&ion, not of the Coun ty at large, but of the County Town ; and instead of operating in faVour of Gentlemen of small for tune getting into that House, aS the Right Hon. Mover alledged, would completely defeat - that end, if they resided in any remote part of the Coun ty, by depriving them of the power of bringing forward their friends. Mr. FOX rose to assure his Right Hon. Friend \ who brought in the Bill that his voting for the Bill's going into a Committee by no means proceeded from his obje&ions to the Bill being done away, but from a desire to see if it might not be there rendered more palatable, if not entirely acri:ceable to the wishes of Gentlemen on all. sides. t ',lt was not for him to Pay, whether it might ,be possible to do away the objeftions which had been alluded to by the Hon. lember who spoke last, - and by another Hen. Member behind him (Mr. Morris). if these should filet be removed, lie could not ultiMately - vote for the Bill . . • Mr.,FULLER thought when they had the high 2 lithoritiee of the Lords Chief Justices of the King's tench ar.d Common Pleas ae,intr counter to each other, it was but proper that all dQubt6 on the sub jee. should be rear.;:ed. Mr.,LE:CESTERW .,, Isi to Dui tho 14ouse right as to the supposed Coutrariety :A_ opinion between the jedgMents of . the too Courts. 'the decision in the Common, Pleas was the only one that could be calculated op, as th-at in the King'S Bench, which was not a solemn Judgment, bin merely a verdi& at Nisi Priu, did not at all proceed on the Aft of King William, but was founded on the Statute of George 11. imposing penalties, where the Judge necessarily left'it to the Jury to find Quo 'Mina), the 301. was given. The ATTORNEY-GE . NERAL hoped to be for given while he in as few words as possible stated the situation in which the law of the case at present stood. The only instance in which a solemn de ciSion on the point had taken place was that before alluded to, in the Court of Common Pleas, in which the law was laid down as stated by his Right Hon. Friend who introduced the Bill ; as towhat had passed at Nisi Prius, that he did not 'pretend to know. .And as to the state of the praCtices before the Committees of the House of Commons, that, he copfessed had been in g eneral contrary to the deci sion of the Court of Common Pleas. He had had considerable prhaice in matters of that kind, and he had seen several Committees find that the providing of carriages to. Electors who resided at a distance, or supplying them with the means of providing such carriages, were not violations of the A& of King William: Other Cominittees he had seen find, that supporting such EleCtors while absent from home, and enabling them to return to the place from whence they Came, were also not to be esteemed as filling under the Aer. For 20 years, he was certain, that had been the general plan pursued by Commit tees. That was, to say, Elections were not declared void on account of such practices. But the difficulty had always been what was properly to be ascribed to those motives, and if under the pretence of such al lowance, any corruption had been exercised. Where no such excess was found,, the fads already stated were not esteemed grounds on which the Eledtions should be declared void. ThiS was an extremely sin gular state of the law between our Courts of Jus tice and our . Parliamentary Judicature. In the, Courts of Law an aCtion for these expences could not be entertained ; in our Parliamentary Judicature they were held to be perleally legal. He he in deed sequ Committees who thought otherwise, and who had esteemed such furnishings to come within the Statute of William. But what mu4s. be the case of the Candidate in such an uncertain state of mat ters ?—Or what could a person to whom ..he ap plied for advice say to him ?—He might tell him— I cannot advise you, the general turn of the opi nion of the Committees' is so and so—that, by the /I.ei of King William, it was, at least, extremely questionable how far he was intitled to grant any of those furnishings—but still he could give him no precise advice by which he might not be injured either in a Court of Law or by a Parliamentary Ju dicature. Miserable, in such 'a state as this, must the case of the Candidate be. For these reasons he wished the Bill might be, allowed to go through a Committee, where it would be in the power of the House to determine the general rule, or admea surement by 'which conveyances for Ele&ors was to be regulated. He could -t ot approve of the Bill as it now stood. If it were to be laid down, that a Canditate, by conveying an Ele&or on a coach-box from tae place of his residence to the scene of the election forfeited his seat, he should esteem it, not the disfranchisement of the Electors, but of the Candidates. Mr. TIERNEY replied to all the Members who had thrown.out any ohjeaions to the Bill, princi pally recapitulating what he had said on a former night. Lord PORCHESTER opposed the Bill ; when the House divided on the Question for the Second Read ing-7-Ayes-73—Noes7— 7—Majority 57. The Bill was then read a second time, and ordered to be committed. Sir J. Stricemit moved, that there be laid before the House an Account of all Grants already made out of the Forfeited Estates in Scotland.—Or dered. Also an Account of all Balances arising from the said Estates,. with the interest due thereon, and the Persons in whose , hands the same are.— Ordered., Mr. HUDDLESTONE was about to bring forward a Motion for Papers, when The SPE,AIiER informed him, that he understood it now to be settled by the House, till they, should instru& him otherwise,' that notice of all Motions for produaion of Papers must be given, except in the following cases—ist, Where annual and other ordinary Accounts were to be moved for=r-2dly, Where any of His Majesty's Ministers moved for Papers on the PublieService—and, 3dly, Where any Papers were inoved,for of which premonition had been made to the Department by which the produc tion was to he, made, and no obje&ion was made. Beyond these lie understood it to be the rule of the House that a notice - was necessary. After some explanation, Mr. HUDDLESTONE gave notice of a Motion for Tuesday for Papers relative to the Affairs 3f Ousle. Mr. W. Smux brought up the Report of the Committee to whom the Petition of Messrs. Chal rrierE and Cowie was referred ; which was ordered to lie on the Table, anti to be printed. The proper_Officer presented the first Report of the Commissioners of Military Inquiry ; which was ordered to lie on the Table, and be, printed. — Adjourned. i'XICE OF STOCKS THIS DAY AT TWELVE O'CLOCK. Conso6 - - - - - MAILS. ARRIVED--1 Gottenburgh, 4 Waterford. nvE— i Lisbon, Dublin, z Watertotti. ' TII E S 80LIGH Q.UIS DICERE AUDEAT ? L J N 1) 0 N; • SATURDAY, INIARCH 22, :1806. NOTI GE-was this day given at the Stock Exchange that the persOns who mean to bid for the Loan should attend -the Cli4N CELL 0 R of the EXWEGLITER on Tues day nexty in order to knew the terms upon which the biddiags are to take place. ----._. W 4 received this morning We I,r2iJc,4 .I:,;irn4i. of the, 18tb. Atetter'from Frankfort, datsLlthe l ith instant, states, tlilt the Frt - ich Tz'Oops have enthely ' quitted the ,Austrian Territory, the e::ception. of Brannau, and the bead-quarters of, the Fitncli Army have been removed from Angsfiurgh to Ultn. It is said that the most perfeca. understanding sub sists between France and PrussiatespeEting the trite= rior changes which was to tllke place. in Germany, HAGUE, MARCH 16.—A - Courier, dispatched by General DUMONCEAti, from his Head-quarters at Nassau Dielz, arrived here yesterday with the intel liligence that the Batavian Division, .:which has hi therto formed a part of the Grand French Army, in Germany, has commenced its march to return to this Republic. It marches in four Colutnns, w'liich are expected to arrive on the 25th and 28th Of this month at Nimeguen. General DUMONCEAU is ex= peaed at the Hague on the igth. WESEL, MARCH appears that the period is rapidly approaching when the future fail of several Ctitintries, Cities,- and Districts, will be decided. Every thing indicates that. 'our Country will soon. change its Sovereign, as there seems to be no dOuht that this place will be evacuated by. the Prussian Garrison. The Letters brought by the Lisbon Mail confirm the account / we gave some days ago; of the British Troops under Sir JAMES CRAIG having been landed on the Island of Sicily. 'The regular force which, the Hereditary Prince has under• his command in Calabria is stated to amount to 25,000 men. DISPATCHES have been received at the Admiralty from Sir J. B. WARREN, brought by the Sprig/illy cutter, which state, that the Fleet under his com mand,, consisting of seven Sail of the Line, two Fri- - , . . . gates, iwo Brigs, and a Cutter, 'arrived off Madeira the 15th February,. and continued cruizing there on the 20th. The Molwich Storeship, with 14 Sail of West Indiatnen, which had•parted from the Canada Man of War and Fleet from Portsmouth on the loth, arrived off Madeira on the 20th.Bebruary they had experienced much bad weather. A Report was yesterday circulated that . the French Squadron, respeaiug whose destination so much anxiety has preVailed, had arrived at Rio Janeiro, for the purpose of taking possCssion of the Brazils... We have endeavoured to ' ascertain the Authority. upon which this report was founded, but we: have not been able to trace it to any authentic source.. The Bill. which Mr. TIERNz): has introduced into the House of COMITIQPS, Telative . to: Mt. involves , 'a constitutional point of suet: magnitude, that we trust it will meet with an ample discussion through all'irs stages, and that it • will engage the particular attention of Ministers.— , Though there was a Majority; of.fitty-six for the second reading last night, and the Bill was ordered to be committed, yet, in the course.Of the Debate, many strong reasons Were- alledged against it ; and it was contended, by • those adv&se to the measure) that it would, ip effeEt, tend to the disfranchisement of a Considerable rittmher of the Constituent Body, who, if they were not providod with a convey ance- to the seat of Elee - lioni would be wholly unable to give their suffrages, and to whom, of course, such an, inability would be virtually the same as if they had no right of voting. ';.EveY . y . possible means of guarding against bribery and corruption should be adopted, that the Representative Body may be es pure as possible, and the result of a real Choice of the people at large ; but if those who live remote from the place where their franchise is to be exercised cannot spare the money as well -as the time necessary for the exercise of their right, and are not to be indemnified for mere travelling peaces, they will, in fa&, be excluded from the inherent privileges:of English Men, derWed to them from . ' their ancestors, and defended with zeal through asuccession of ages, and in the, best . pel riods of our history:, We are persuaded that some regulations, might be made with respect to the places fixed on' for the Eleaion that might re move the difficulty without endangering the Constitution, for otherwise it must be admitted. that what was said by Capt. HEanuaT last night was pertinent, striking, and forcible, viz. that, if the Bill passed, County Ele&ions would be the mere Ele&ion of the County Town and its immediate neighbourhood. We have thought it our duty, as warm and staunch Friends to the British Con stitution, anxious to secure its pra6tical ad vantages from the hazard that may attend all theoretical refinements and alluring innovation, to press this subje& on the attention of the -Public, confidently hoping that it will not pass without a vigilant, careful, and deliberate consideratiOn. Yesterday the ROYAL .FsonLY took their usual airing in Windsor Park. Thursday evening THEIR MAJEsrms had a select party‘to a concert. _ _ A Cabinet Council was held yestprday at ,Mr.. Fox's Office, precisely at one o'clock, at which every one of the M - ernhers assisted. It rose about throe tiCIV.t. - -NJ-V2l-1, N E , PL'imopTn H I !, MARC Majesty's, Ship 1S gtins , , Ca;pt..C.kr.imr,, from the Mediterranan; with Disryatcht_.4 : - , ; ' the Staunch Rrig, from the Channel Fleet; and the Danish Gaillot Aurora,- Cl...ftxis .DA w Master,. from M c llaga, with Wines, .raisins, and . lemon juice, put in here for 01-# • • tiers, and being'leaky. . ,came down from Harnoaze His Moje.ity's Brig Moucheron. FALMOUT% ,MATICH i9,—YesteMay arrived Olt Townshend Packet,Coex,with Mails from Lisbon, in four days ; by her we' learn the following gence':--" On, the 7th inst.- arrived at Lisbon the Auckland-Packet, SCHUYLi:R, with Mails from F, ' ,11 g - land, in four days ; off the Buiiinzs . fell.in with a SPaniSh Privateer; but could not corne,up with lier On the 9th arrived the' Brig Stai , with seven Sail from ,Oporto, to join the homeward-bound Oonvoy for England, - under Convoy of His Majesty's Ship Pomone: Also arrived thej,isbon Fleet, under. Cori-- I , oy of His Majesty's Ship PompJe, Sir;•• SfOksY SMITU, which, after seeing then' safe, proceeded for the Mediterranean. On the i ith arril,d the Ann Armed Brig-,- from' Oporto, with sixlYesseis . under Convoy ; came out with seven, 'Jut does not' know - what is become of the other. The Porn one sails on the 16th Witti Convoy' for En; , 'frind.---• Four French Frigates and a : ..;SloOp• of• War OitTed out of Cadiz a fry days al o•;., their destination not known." • . Arrived the prig Lark, SMITH, frolu Liverpool, bound to London. ' !' Sailed His Majesty's \ Gun-brig Rabbit on a Cruize ; and Walsinkham Packet, GAY, with Mails, for Lisbon: PORTSMOUTH, MARCH 2 ~ . .rfired •His Ma jesty's Ship Tourterelle fi orn Greenock ; ?uke of Kent, EDDINQ7TON, from London; .bpnnd to Neu/- Brunswick ; and the Galliot .Johanna, J. F. NUD6.E. Master, from Chri6tiana, bound to Sr. de tained Jv the Daen4er Gun-brig, MAR6120.-7-The Lark Packet, Cape. i'DELL, and the .4 . ucklanci, Capt. .Br.ti)qn, saile:l tniti morning; the thriller for Cuxhaven,-with the Ham burgh and 'Bremen Mails,. and the latter for • Gotter.-: Imgh. • . • • • . V . AR.iIOUTII, MARCH 'f2o.—/ .ty esterav tine Fleet under the command of V ice-,Adiniral on a Cruize off the Texel ;- but in coosevence of the wind changing, they were obliged:to ivdt back., . . " DOVER, MARsclr'?..'l.-IPliiq morr,in a beautiful new Gin-brig vas launched from the Yard cif Mr, THOMAS KING : she is pierced for 18 bins, acd is of4oo'tons burthell; iiame :La' Sailed the Brig Nordisha Strinan, en`pt k0T,..0f and ror Lube..., with s:llt.from Brig jaliana,Carolinai Capt. Dili KS, of and , for Pc tersburgh,. With vinegar and prilneskj \ the t:,1:5: 1 2i IVorthern Star, Frederica, and a to ioi: 'Convoy at Keerness, under di:ders for the Passed by-for flamburgh ti e Ship Cipt. O'CONNOW; of and - 'frorn Phil: aetpio; from the Delaware 24 'days, all well 3 and - the Shii) Eagle, Capt. NicKERsoN, froal Passed by for. London the Ship London - Packet, RAfiv frOln Messina. MARca 21 .—Arrived the Valorous Evpidioii, from th . e. Ncire and Amiable, ti otn Portsrnoutil.. Sailed the RailLiur Nore ; Trompeuic , , le cher, :And Bold, off .I.3iAllogne 3 and Speculator, Qtr Calais. , 1 ) . - S. 'Arrived the Sovereign, CAMPBELL, froni the River, for Madras and Bengal. . i W . i . i',YMOUTH, M ARCH 21.—Sailed the Diana Pri vateer ori - ii'Crize.. •, , , ~ . .. .. . • A.rried:the .Ear I. Ches terf MI P acket,W o OD, fro m Guernsey and Jersey.. - • Thp.....4mibreczst Gun-brii lb here last eveli ing, and sent a L'Oat on shore, :to warn-- any Yessel,, from sailing . ; ,as the Pipat.'s Crew reported the Re(:- breast had' b'een chaseLi frOM otT the Coast of France, across the'Channel, by a French. Frigate. A letter frorn Lisbon, dated the 12th inst. says, By a vessel ' . froria Gibraltar we learn, that four French 'Frigates and a Brig of War sailed froth Cadiz • the 7th inst. and that the Brig=Was taken." Sir POPII'AIsL in his eagerness .to land at the ; Cape - Of Good' Hope, foi• the purpose of afford : . ing every assistance in his power to thti troops, was niSset, and nearly drowned, in a ntot tremendous surf which was breaking on the beach. He had made almost the last effort to save himself, \ whp a Sailor foetunatcly caught him by ones of his epaulet., • and xescued him from a watery grave.. Thursday the DUKE of So SSEX arrived t Windsor, Bow-STREET.- . --YesterdaY Tiivids Barnsley , and Bill alias Conkeybeau, were brought up for - elcamination before NlCuoLits Bo>Fo, Esq. and Sir WILLIAM PARSONS, charged on, suspicion of having , picked the pocket ofJOHN HEATn, Esq. of pheen square, Blootnsbury, a his poekef-book, contain• ing bank notes to the amount l Of 241 at .the Gener4l Post Office, in Lombard-street, on Friday evening; the 14th. inst. • ii,2 l t - It appeared that the Prosecutor'§ poCket was picked by somebody, but neither 'he nor the constable on duty, who had been called to take a person into custody, could identify the culprit. The Magistrates reprobated; in the strongest terms, the stupidity and ‘.rant of capacity in the Con Stable, and observed, that if the Public were ,o have their poAets picked while doing business under the mi. f bl i the Past Office, th.rre was an end of the use . of Peace Officers„, and this man was paid for doing no thing, or worse than nothing. , But the ilia is, thii man afted as Well as any Other under similar Circum-- stances, for he has not one qualification to be a Police- Officer, he was transferred from a Messenger in the Office to be a Constable to attend in the yard, with• out knowing one pickpocket or improper charaeler, The Magistrates lamented they were obliged turn these tellows loose upon the Public maul. \V\