The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1804-07-25 00:00:00

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PARLIAMB,Nt.
siotesE OF LOROS—Tootoar, Jeu.r 24.
Irish Revenue Regulation Bill, ane the Irish
Spirits Wareetersing Bill, went *rough a Com-
mince, and the report was ordered to be received
to-morrow.
INSOLVENT DF.BTONS*
On the order of the day beingiead for the House
resolving itself into a Committee on this AIL;
The LORI) CHANCELLOR, having di* • the
woolsack, said, he must exp. se his surprise that the
Noble Lords who petronised this Bill, should not
have condescended to make the House acquainted
with the reasons for brineing a measure of this kind '
forward et so late a period of the sessions. The
manner in which it w.us introduced was signior.
dinary lie ventured to say, that no Noble Lotel,
that held the office of jadec, or had ever held that
office, had been info! med of its contents ; or hal
heard of it, till it was handed to their Lordships bar
from rbe Commons. He must enter his protest, -in
the ...rongest terms, against thus mannes of in-
troducing such a BilL; ter he would have it mown
to the public, both debtors and creditors, that the
passing of such Bilk, which is an ate of 'wrier; sitel
never be considered as a matter of course. It was a
violent measure their Lordships adopted, eh ••nliley
passed an a& of insolvency ; no less than'eo dissolve
the contraas made between debtor and creditor, to
the injury of the latter, who made them nailer the
sanamin of the Legislature. There was sometimes,
indeed, a grear good in such east but theu •was oftener
a gs'os; evil in deem. They were, he befieveJethe
strongest engines of swindling that yield be devised.
There was more humanity in justice than massy pee.
.ple were aware of. He would ask with what equa-
lity Jo their Lordships deal towards the cretheurs,
and whist is their Immunity to them ? A Learned
and Noble Lord, who presided over the hip'sest
Court of Common Law, had rent notes to him on
this Bill. From that learned LorJ lie Lad le retied,
that prodigious benefit was done to v numbers of
honest inJustrions people, by the failure is.. year of
an insolvent Bill. If it had peeled, freetireds. who
were debtors, would have walked out of prison and
hundreds of those, who were then creditors, wield
have gone into prison for wait ref ever debts .. tee 1.
paid. What was the fat? Many se r, before that '
Aet was agitated, were negotiating with their erect-
tots, for a compromise, and wh• r ceased to negociate
when it was before their Lnrdehipc, afterwards peel
a considerable compromise, and !fins saved mane
honest people from distress. Enormous noones were
done by these Aas. 'Filen' Lordships would not
believe the num"er of solvent persons whom they set ••
free, who chose far a while to live in prison, better
than their creditors can- out of it. -A, to debtors
thrmselves, he was firmly persneded that re. greater
kiesteets sueld be ta1100461110, than b drekes foe*
this time tha: no such kill should pan; that tar law
should be left to of erate in its usual cruse, ;soigne
all who will run into debt, without tee me era to
pay. But if it were right to depart finin !hit rat r;
was it fit to bring in a bill at this time of th ,
which required explanation; and dem :siren at
least, a cautious eneuiry into the moms ef die.
tinguishing between the fraudelent and the netor-
tunate debtor t The Learned L.ird, to whom he kid
already alluded, was necessarily absent on the d t-
ees of his office. Had his Lordship been pre: n',
be would ventute to assert, he would have she we
their Lordships unanswerable reasons, why the Bill
should be at least delayed. If, however, their-ten d-
ships were of opinion that the Bill might be com-
mitted, he should submit several Amendments in the
Committee, taken from the communications of the
Noble Lord. He sleet] I only say further at pre.
sent, that the Bill ad •1 s that such Aels ate gene-
rally an evil ; yet, as . wou'd thew, if the Billy
were committed, it gave .e.ere man in the cou
try, who is a debtor for no n. •e ban 1.5111, tl`
power to be free, by an Aa that ni ty be done eve,
to-morrow. II • hest thought proper to sip; t.ss hi;
strong feelings of the injustice and umpo:ici reit'
Rill:. and of the impropriety e iris which this td
been introduced. Ale would only ad t, if the Rill
should g:v into a Committee, he shoal l not consieLe
himself pledged (by any thing he might do to ren-
der the Bill what it ought to be, if passed) to vote
far the third reading.
His Royal Highness the Duke of CLARENCE
rose. He declared his ender surprise at what tee t
Learned and Noble Lord had said. He certainly
did not expeel to hear his Lordship oppose the Bill's
being coutrnitted. He was entirety unprepared to
meet his Lordship's opposition. As to what the I
Learned Lord had addressed so pointedly to him—
Vote the Lord Chanettle. rep, e.sd
that)—the Learned Lord says it was not spok •n to
him. But he would tell the Learned Lord, whit
share he had in this business; and then, perhae , he
would see that his sentiments did not ditcr meteri-
allYfrorn his Lordship's. He hal sat sixteen *Yeers
in that Honer, and had never before Interfered ia
etch Bills. Many Lords world hear him witness,
that in the Trills that had originated in that Buse,he had taken n part. And- the reason was, that
he thought it a sublet of extreme delicacy. Ito
had always been taught to revere oar Constitution
and Laws; and was unwilling to do any thing that
vi' lently broke in upon their or (finery prieciples.
Whet such topics were before the House, he left
them to those of their Lordships, whose profession
and dnties better qualified them to decide upon dif-
ficulties of that nature. When he did presume to
offer his opinion to their Lordships, in no case (ez.
cept in what might be called politics) was he inch!). ,
ed to take that part to which men of his age usually
leaned. He never courted popularity; that is, he
never did* thing merelybeeause it was popular. He
steed upon convietion only ; and wasalways inclined
to support reason nainq populer,clamour. 'the pre-
sent Bill he had mks up, at the instance of a Noble
Friend of his, who was compelled to return to a
high military command he holds in Scotland. Their
Lordships n etild know to whom he alluded lie
.

•IMPS