The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1810-04-06 00:00:00

0N...*

for some time prevailed in the minds or the people
it was not now the case; and he 0 ought it rather,
hard that the opposite ride of the House should use
such manifest exertion to remiteate the popular
disatnehatiou. Rut it had been said, that the
House should apply to the Courts of Law, Ile
would suppose, that the elector, of Middlesex and
Islewoitti constituted the House of ('unitriteis, and
that' they thought proper, divested of these old Pe...
tablished privilege% to call for an inquiry tutu the
calamities of the Expedition ; what would he the
consequence ? The witnesses whose test iluoily would
be w materially important, might refuse to attend;
mid other evils might happen in surf) a 'tat. of im-
potence and Erbil ity. The House of Corn mons would
then have to apply to the Courts of Law, 11114 bet
that vengeance fur which the people called so loni!ly.
Would any one dispute the power of the House, es
exercised towards General Clay( ring and Captain
Sandon ? In the Court of Chuhcery, d.d not the
Lord Chancellor exer. ise the power of committing
soy person for a contempt of its authority ? And
when an individual was committed f,rr mariying a
ward of that Court, did not the sane artruments
apply with respect to the want of trial by Sury ? It
had been argued, that this case ought not to lie
put to its utmost extent. It reminded him of the
story of a drunken Irishmen, who, having received
coutosions on his face, with his eyes and mouth
swelled up, was accosted with till% remark, that he
was a disgrace to Ireland. " answered the
man, '‘ my dear creature, I like to take the world
easy." lii the present instance, this was the worst
possible way of taking the measure. lie must ac..
kimelodge, it was a most unfortunate occurrence;
but, independent of every consideration of that Da-
Wry, it became the.. House to come to a final vote
ou the occasion.
Mr. ADAM contended, if the arguments of an
Honourable and Learned Friend of his s ere to be
attended to, there was an end of the authority of
the House of Commons. Had not the !Luise of
Commons, from the earliest tunes, through the
reign of the Tudors, darling the tyranny .of
the Jamesee, armed with nothing bat its owe pri-
vileges, Inaght its way through every exercise of
despotism, and the effusioo of human blood ? Rut
it was reserved for the present times, for the year
1810, to start grace doubts upon this important
subject. Hecoujured the House not to give up its
Privileges merely because, in a solitary meranee,
they might not hare heen exercised with a due re.
gard to discretiou. Ile would appeal to every man
alto undeestood the Law and Constitution ef the
country, if it were not the character of every court
of justice to maintain its authority by an inmate
power? aid upon this whject lie would refer
them to the 4th of Cube's laquotes. Wes it
to lie restricted to the House of Lords and the
House of Commons, that they alone should tie de.
Kind of that power so essential to preserve the au-
thority of every other Court ? An.l were they to
be limited to possess no higher authority the.. • tiat
of a constable of the night ? He would ask if the
offence attributed is Mr. Gale Julies was 10.0 cuasi-
derably greater than that of preventing tam in hid
Way to the House ? When he I 11,.:tedupuu she
past struggles of.the House of Common,' he Was
convinced there was not tiny thing. eacepi its
quisitortal power, winch maintained it in the Cse...
mitigate's. He quoted the authority of the care of
Crosby, where Gould J. had expressed his
how far a man was legally liable to be puinsherl far
outing or speaking contemptuously of Judits;—
and to make that opinion apply on the present oc.
coition, it was only required to change the ohijeet,
namely, Courts of Justice, into the House of Lome.
mons, and with them it must be acknowledged,
that whenever Comte of Justice lose Hutt right,
they lose their authority amongst the people.--
Judge Blackstone, alto had been appesled to as an
authority, certainly went on to stale, that if coma•
mellitus behaviour was practised, an attachment
immediately ensued, as a necessary come e;uence.
—This authority, like the pre-cut wider dill.
custaon, could not be traced to it., commencement.
Uid his Honourable Friend recpllect, there was
once a time when a Lord Chancellor, the Keeper of
the Great Seal, attempted to deprive them of the
decision upon the election of their own members
The power of that lions, resisted the attempt, and
preserved their iudependence; and he hoped the
day would come, when the sense of the ',emir, ex-
pressed by there Representatives in that House,
would remove from their situations, those rueu who
incompetently directed the affairs of the country.
—ln support of the doctrine he laid dowp, he
would rite a case in 1774, when Mr. Woodfall
was imprudent enough to reflect upon the conduct
of the person who then tilled the Chair of the
Home of Commons. Th. question then was,
whether Mr. Woodhull should be committed? but
Mr. W. having stated his author to be Mr. Herne,
sad the latter Geottemen being brought rip. plead.
ed not guilty ; acid at that time there was not one
word heard about the privileges of the House. It
was the more extraordinary, because an scrums.
eons discussion took place, and the most eminent
characters of the country, Fox, Thurlow, Lough- •
borough, &c. took part in the debate; but it nevi f
occurred to them that the House of Common, d iit cot
possess the power to commit oither Mr. Woorif..ll Of
Mr. Home. It was left fur the times in which we iive,
to dispute such power and privilege, and he almost
considered it* waste of their nine to referee, any other
prrcedent.With respect to the caw of 1701, there
was dent a division upon the privilege of the Home
of Common. ; and it would be observed, that Sir Ho.
bert Walpole was one of the tellers foe the majority.
It had been admitted in all time*, and reorgnized
by every great autheritp that the pewee-oft:nut ts
oh 1,41 C could not restrict the privileges of the Hausa
of Commons. The great 4.0ril Holt sever delivered
se opinion ogainet their hiving power to commit.
It was no orpiment to adducce the conduct of en
intemperate Committee, as an indemnity to the
intemperei ce of en Whir, in the rouse
of Crosby. a Habeas Corpus was moved for. mot the
gnestiort was argued Wine the Court of Census.*
nen, and shoot the weine nine in the Exchequer, •
the Judges never iittektiened the wiener" of lad
House. He would refer to this eXpTellllOl44 of Lend .
Chief Jnerice Grey. Dennison, and Forst. r, who aid •
maintained there• wait no reason to gnu..time the
privileges of that House; sell would they be Nis.
posed to overturn sto-h great authorities, by that of
a case, suppled nude by the deel-,rat or, of
Lord Kenyon. In tweet of the dottnne• hr now