The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1821-06-15 00:00:00

. Certainly I,
osier Iniejdoidironiditive Id* inierty
that it was destined to be employed by /Ir.& & Sharpe to
striver, be bed almost sold le sabots *they Orton, or to en.
trap • w MID the conemiatine of *wiser which wow to }ay
the greeted fur prosecelieg him to hie ruin, The natural tee..
dency of the Society emit bd to leewaye the rancour of poli-
tical animosity, which was bed room% in the degree bi
wiieb it already prevailed eves in that Horse. It ought,
however, to be conned so it, and not to be carried u a
braid of discord hue private society. Unless the Alec( of
the Petitiniter could be eceomplished, unless some mesas
were afforded of draggiog to light the names of this acting
Committee, it wood be in the power of this Society to esta-
blish a wows without • remedy, which was contrary to the
spirit of the Enelish law.
The Petition woe ordered to be printed.
•

SCOTCH BURGHS.
Lord A. Hastivrox brought up the Report of
the Committee on the Scottish Burghs. The No..
ble Lied said the Report was not concocted by
him, nor had it in any manner his assent or con-
currence; but it came to the House from a Com-
mittee which had been appointed in consequence of
petitions on a most important subject, more nu-
merous and urgent than he had ever kiwi.° before,
and from individuals scattered over Scotland, and
having no concert or communication with each
other. But a. it was opposed alike to his views
and the wishes of the Petitioners, he could not
move that it be printed without stating his opinion
upon it. The complaint he had to make was, not
that the majority of the Committee differed from
him, and his Hon. Friend behind him, but that it
had not reocceded according to the imtructions of
that House to inquire impartially into the subject
of the Petitions—that it had thought proper to de-
cide, but not to investigate them. He did not
mean to stay that the Report contained any false
statements, .or that it contained any thing which
might not properly be brought before the House,
but he must repeat, that the Committee had not
taken the proper steps .to inform themselves fully
on the subject.
.It would be in the recollection of
the House that • few" weeks back he bad obtained
leave of absence for ten d Iv, on bushiest; which he
was necessitated to attend ; lee procured, however,
the atteuttance of a person to take up his duty in
the Committee, and pledged himself, if the Com-
mittee would in the mean time proceed with their
Misers, that he would lie ready with a Report in a
week utter his return. He *es, however. much sur-
prised on his return to find that the Report now
on the table way already made out and submitted
to the Committee for colisideration. Ile only mere
tinned this to justify himself in haviug departed from
the usual practice of Chairmen of Committees ou
presenting Report.. by expressing his entire dis-eat
' from it., and to file* that his so doing wus the roe.
ces.ary consequenceoffthe situation in which he
hail been placed by the Committee. His objection
to the Report was not ro much against what it co i-
tained as against its omissions. He should move
that the Report he now read, and if that were agreed
to, he should thew move for the production of the
in ttttt tes of evidence before the Committee.
Lord BINNING at some length defended the can-
diet of the Committee. He shroud have acted in-
consirtenily if he lied followed any other line of
conduct in the Committee, having decidedly op-
posed the motion of the Noble Lord for its appoint-
' ment. He had no objection to the production of
the minutes of the proceedings of the Committee,
hut he could assure the Noble Lord that it would
be found a perfectly harmless and useless docu-
ment. The Noble Lord had taken quite • new
view of the duties of a Chairman of a Committee.
He (Lord 13.) was not aware of any rule of the
House which made it imperative that the Report
should he drawn out by the Chairman. He was
aware of the courtesy which generally assigned hint
that office ; but be was not aware that it wessttsuid
for a Chairman to absent himself from a Committee
and expect them to proceed in his absence as if
he were present, and when they had conclud-
ed their inquiry, to wait his leisure fur the
drawing up of their Report. The Committee,
however, had no desire to take the Noble Lord by
surprise. The Report was not laid before it, until
the Noble Lord's return, and then Reconsideration
was adjourned for a week to give hint time to be-
come acquainted with its contents, and to bring
down a counter Report, if he thought proper.—
This Null not the proper time to enter into the con-
tents of the Report. He trusted the Committee
was now fairly concluded, and would not be re-
vived again. If the suggestions contained in the
Report were adopted, it was his opinion, and that
of the majority of the Committee, that aim effec-
t ail remedy would he furnished for such abuses sad
grievances as actually existed.
Mr. ABERCRolilly said he was not a member of
the Committee, nor much mete/lilted with its pro-
ceedings; but he had heard the statement of his
Noble Friend, and the observations of the Noble
Lord opposite, and he wus decidedly of opinion
that the complaint of his Noble Friend was well
founded, and even borne out by what had fallen
frens the Noble Lord who spoke last.
Lord BIN/HIM explained.
Sir G. CLERK said, the minutes of evidence be-
fore the Committee were in the appendix to the
Report. The minutes which the Noble Lord in-
tended to move for were those of the proceedings
or the Committee from dry to day, which would
afford no further means of judging of their pro..
eeeding than was furnished by the Report itself.
He should be prepared to defesid the conduct of
the Committee whenever the Noble Lord brought
it regularly before the House.
Sir R. Faiteusost said, as he had been one of
those who withdrew from the Committee. be hoped
the House would allow him to state the reasons why
he did so. Its 1819, • Committee had been ap-
pointed to investigate the abuses that existed in
Scotch burghs, and that Com tttttt ee had fairly done
their duty; but Minis.ers, not liking to have these
abuses too much exposed, uppointed another
mittee, composed of their adherent.. He did Hot
mean to cast any Ideate on three Gentlemen; they
must at least have the ctedit of consistency, for on
that, us well as on other occaitious, they were dis-
posed to support every abuse. •Resolutions were
proposed in that Committee to investigate these
abuses by means of mail testimony, whkli were nee
ga'ived. He, therefore, felt it his duty to retire,

1
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