The Express.
London, England, 1858-04-16 00:00:00

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LONDON, FRIDAY, APRIL 16.

Tire diseismiew on Sir Joule Taxtewxy's motion
respecting the receipt of rewards by Members of
Parliament la consideration of the exercise of their
Parliamentary influence cannot, with any due regard
to the interests of the public, be suffered to peas
altogether without notice. We ate not, of course,
going to stir ap again the BOIT, RYAN, and COFFEY
scandaL These who please may accept the decision
of the Committee as a satisfactory verdict of acquit-
tal • the maiority of the public will probably agree
with Sir J. Tantawue, that it amounts to little
more than a direct negative of the allegation con-
tained in the petition. That Mr. Burr received
monies from the Ameer, that he exerted his parlia-
mentary influence on behalf of the Ameer, are facts
beyond dispute; that the parliamentary influence was
exerted in consideration of the monies so received
is the connecting link of the chain which
the Committee declare to be not established by the
evidence. The money they find was accepted, notes
• retaining fee for parliamentary services here, but
as as instalment of the sum of 10,0001. to be paid as
the price of Mr. Burr's services in India. Mr.
Hamar informs us that the gentleman thee hired is
preparing to fulfil his part of the contract, and that,
resigning his lucrative practice in this country, he
intends before the close of the present Session to
make a tender of himself in India to his Indian '
purchaser. This, we presume, must in some degree
depend upon the disposition of the Ameer to
abide by his bargain. What that Asiatic poten-
tate bound himself to pay for was an un-
damaged article—Bonin his entire and mound state,
not Burr aspersed by COFFEY and imperfectly
whitewashed by a Parliamentary Committee. Should
Au MOOIAD be advised to take advantage of this
point, we hardly see what remedy is open to the
hon. and learned Member for YoughaL An action
for breach of promise, brought by an Irish Barrister
and British legislator against an Indian Prince, for not
sticking to his bargain and buying him upper contract
price as agreed, would be, at all events, somewhat
of • novelty in jurisprudence--what the lawyers
call " a case of the first impression." But let this
pass. The fate of Mr. Burr and his bargain is not
a matter of national concern. Whether he is or is
not worth 10,0001. to the Ameer, or any other In-
dian Prince with a grievance, is a point that must
be settled in the agency marts of the East. Whether
10,0001. is or is not a fair consideration for the re-
signation of " the lucrative practice," &c., is a point
upon which Mr. Burr himself ought to be the beet
judge. We shall meddle with neither.
With regard again to the particular form of Sir
J. TILLAWNT'S motion, it may at once be conceded
that such • resolution as that which he proposed was
in fact not wanted. By a resolution as old as the
year 1096 it was made a high crime and misdemea-
nour for any person to offer money to • Member as •
reward for anything done by him in oonnexion with
his Parliamentary duties. This rule applies only to
persons outside the Home. Sir J. TitaLAWNY'S pro-
posal was to extend the scope of this resolu-
tion so as to embrace the case of Members
reetiring rewards for Parliamentary services.
The answer given by several of the most expe-
rienced Members of the Howie was • suißcient
answer—vix., that the House has always possessed,
and has frequently not been slack in exercising, all
the powers which this resolution could confer. On
one occasion, as most schoolboys know, the
Speaker of the House, Sir Joule TREVOR, was
expelled for having received 1,000 guineas for
service done in promoting the pealing of •
Bill in which the City of London wee interested;
and the like penalty was subsequently inflicted on
several Members who were found to have par-
ticipated in the bribe of 100,0001. paid by the East
India Company for procuring one of the earlier
renewals of their charter. Obviously the thing
required ia not to pass a formal resolution defining
the precise limits of • power which the House has
long enjoyed and often exerted, but vigilantly to
watch and unflinchingly to repress the insidious
growth of any practices, by which the indispensable
rules of nrliamentary purity are at all likely to be
evaded.
It is in this ps.rot of view that the recent discussion
must be regarded a s eminently useful. If it have ne
other effect than that of suppressing the scandalous
practice alluded to b.,- Lord HOTUAII, it will not
have taken place in vain, What can be worse than
such a proceeding as this ?—A barrister in
Parliament is retained by a fee of most
exaggerated magnitude (collurably a fee, bat
really • bribe) to advise upon ynsioess professedly
intended to be brought before the ordinary Courts of
Law. Consultations are gravely held, and sugges-
tions gravely made to the effect that the matter is
one in which resort to a legal tribunal is hopeless:
the only remedy is by an appeal to Parliamont. The
legal member to whom the retaining fee has been
paid is requested to undertake the case. He does
so, ostensibly as a legislator, really as a lawyer;
ostensibly as a Representative of the People giving
his unbiassed opinion on a matter of national con-
cern, really as a hired advocate uttering purchased
sentences at so much a period, on behalf of a
cause in which his interest is only of the
• pounds, shillings, and pence kind. Such is
the imputation. Everybody who has mixed at
ill in life must have beard of it over and over again
in private. Lord Herman has had the courea~ to
make it public. The very publicity will do good.
Let the eye of the general public be once firmly
directed upon caws of this class—let the clue be
once given—and detection is pretty certain to ensue.
The public has hitherto been accustomed to attri-