The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1805-02-22 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF LORDS —Trial, ay, Fits. 21.
The Bills upon the Table were forwarded in their several

stages.
Among these,' the Geeslaud Whale Fishery and the I,,,yalty
Loan Bills, went through Committees of the whole !louse,

. .
and were severally reported.
Two witnewes wens examined with reference to the Second
ReadingriLinglsain's Divorce Rill, who ascertained the point
of Mn. I m being absent from the coui try. 'Phis fa 1,
*ids what in evidenee on a former occacon, in-
dole& lOW to.give a Second Reading to the RM.
1180.4,11/weßeitera the COMIIIiIIiOACII of the Thames Ravi-
gatiessimalidoilt atasstaserit of the Receipts and Disburse-
reeWitel asst Ceppemeee, during the year 1804.
It was ordered, on the Modes of the Bishop of OXFORD,
that the Thanks of the Hoses be gives to the L'lfil Rilims of
liosiartair.. IN the sscsilent Swam preached by hit Lord,hii,
blilbotbatelowe yotterday, in the Collegiate Church of West.
aialtill,
KR. JUSTICE FOX.
The Duke d CLARENCE addressed their
Lordships in the 'subj.& of the stew of their pro.
coediny with typeset to the- c.bargde uremia 'OM
above judicial literati/v.- It was awe, viewing
the case in its different points of view. of such im-
portance as he felt himself called upon to deliver
his sentiments upon it. The first consideration that
presented itself, His Royal Highness observrd, was,
that their Lordships, the highest tribunal in the
world, were about to exercise the funs:bons in the
case before them. to set a precedent for the condua
of future ages. God forbid! therefore, that any
party views or considerations should enter ir.to its
investigation. Of the individual in question he
:;ad no knowledge whatever. The first he had
heard of him, was by the first notification of the
proceedings in question to their Lordships' House.
they were, he conceived, then to determine what
ought to be the form and course of the procedings
relative to the case of Mr. Justice Fox. Their

Lordships were all aware of the important change
made In the situation of the Judges of England and
Ireland, by the Aa of the Ist of His present Ma-
j. -ty. and this was the flit instance of the kind,
which had c' before them since that period ; this
considerationincreasedtheimportance of thllproeced-
ings before them, and to which were to be added,the
high public situations in which the Judge,: stond, who
were mu: trover the represeiaatives of the Sovereign.
Two differero modes of proceeding presented them-
selver to their Lordships consideration : the first by
so Wei ing the matter to ot i‘-"inate in the House of Com-
mons. where it could he Proceeded with, either by
:ode of address to the Crown for the removal of
toe p-ry, or by impeaching him before the High
Court of Parliament ; or their Lordships could pro-
c• od with the matter as it stood b:tisre them. The
,an:e mode of Froceedirg, thoue:ht, from the
cons+.
eidedly

th:
their li•

ity (.f
nd LIKI
din he

tittior.,,:l

considers/I a ougi. .
disadvantages of the line of proceeding, as already
chalked out, were too obvious to be dwelt on But
one consideration, in particular, struck him so fors
cilay, that he could not forbear urging it. Sup-
posing their L :rdships, on it-eir investigation of the
case, should deem Mr. Justice Fox i .nocent of the
alleged charges, and that the Commons, afterwards,
recourse being had to them, a very possible case,
should vote an impeachmeet, which of course would
come before their Lordships for determination,
what sort of answer could they make? The ease
ought to be considered, and proceeded on with the
utmost coolness and deliberation. What he thought
the most advisable, as the case stood, was to propose
to their Lordships to snlsenil all proceedings, in
their House, for a giver, time, in order to _afford
the Commons an *ppm tunity of taking it up; and,
under the conviltion that this vs as the preferable
mode of proceeding. he moved. that the present
order, relative to the Committee of their Lordships
taking into consideration the matters alleged
against Mr. Justice Fox, be discharged, in order
that the sitting of the Committee be postponed for
:is weeks.
The question, agreeably to the regular course of
proceeding, being put upon the first part of His
Royal Highaess's proposition, namely, that of dis-
charging the present order;
'rhe Lad of LIMERICK observed, that on the
present occasion, of the great importance of which
he was fii:ly aware, he felt no sort of bias whatever
iti his miod : for his own pate, he had no knowledge
of the learned person against whom the complaint
was made, or of the causes of complaint against
him. lie therefore came to the consideration of
the question before their Lordships, with a m7ad
perfeCtly free and ue.biassed. With respeft to the
proposition of the Royal Duke, though he felt re.
gret at being obliged to differ on any point, from
that Illustrious Personage, it was one which, on his
own view of the case, he entirely disapproved of.
Though he n as divested of all personal considera-
lion with regard to Mr. Fox, yet he could not dis
charge from his mind, all considerations of his case,
as an individual, labouring as lie must, after what
had pissed in their Lordships House, under a cer-
tain degree of imputation, which a reference to his
public charaCter certainly enhanced. He must deem
any proposition, tending to delay, or to retain him
in his resent very disadvantareous situation, as
rather b trd. 'Mat the Learner Judge was placed
in rich a situation as he alluded ri, must be obvious,
when it was considered that a Noble Member of
that House. of high charaeter, distinguished ahili.
ties, and commanditig eloquence, had come forward
::s he had done, and whom every one most think
would not have so come forward, unless he Mt
himself imperiously called upon by a sense of his
puillic duty. l'hat Noble Person had, in an address
to :h ir Lardships, equal in point of eloquence and
animation to any ever delivered in that Home, twice

come forward with specific charges against the Learn-
ed Judge, and in consequence, it must be supposed
that a degree of doubt at best must attach to the
eharaCter of the Learned Person, omit such charges
were dispOsed of. This situation must be rendered
the more painful and disadvantageous, -when hi's
jelicial chareter WAS referred to.—Under what a
disadvantage must not a Judge, so circumstanced,
go the circuits, or dispense the law from the s-at
of judgment? Presiding in the circuits was a
consideration very different with the judges of Ir--
hind from what it was with the Jules of South
Britain. Since the recent additions were made
to the salaries of the Judges in Ireland, a great
deal of such increase was mad to depend upon
their wing the circuits ; this was probably done to
ensure their attendance upon that very important
part of their duty. He deprecated whatever might
toad to delay their Lordships decision upon the
we hem. them ; the 'inseams of as iadivieual so
eiannisearaered was to be considered—the length of
tlmeisilrealst be necessary to retain counsel. qi "rap
witnesses in town. A further delay of any time
would have the effetl of sending the Learned Person
back as, for so it must be considered, a disgraced
man. Possibly, in the frst instance, it might be
better the proceedings had origesated in the other
House. But, with re ;pelt to the right, it Incontesti.
bly vested in either House. Not a word it the re-
levant Alts of Parliament could be construed as
vesting the initiative in 'he House of Commons.
He thought that. as the case stood, it would in every
point of view be preferable to let the matter pro-
ceed as it had begun in their Lordship House, who,
in considering the matter, would of course be guided
by no considerations, save those duties, which the
nature and importance of the case imposed upon
these.
The Earl of CARLISLE expressed his difference
in opinion, in certain points of the case, horn the
Noble Earl who had just sat down. Though he
Was certain their objeas, namely those of public
and individual justice, were exaEtly the same thing.
To adopt the proposition recommended by the Il-
lustrious Personage would, even in point of expedi
tion, be preferable. The suspension of the proceed-
ings in that House, for six weeks, would, on the
other hand, involve no surrender or abandonment
of any of the essential rights or privileges of that
House. But it would certainly produce a most
essential benefit. The int.:nded mode of proceed-
ing w0u1.,1, on the other and, involve the great-
est difficulties, one of which was, the probability
of their having to appear in a double capacity
first, in that of a grand jary, and afterwards
by a metamorphosis, not very congenial to the
principles of the constitution, in the charaUers of
. .

The Earl of WESTMOIILAXII ulaterved, that,
viewing the question as he did, the real merits cf
which !ay in R narrow compass, he should give his
negative to the propodtion of the iliestri, us Person-
age. He &Tree-it:A every thing that tend dto de-
lay. Their Lordships wonld reeollea, that the
case stood over since the last session. aqd that the
parties on both sides had been summoned. His
Lordship adverted to the provisions of the ails by
which the Judges were placed in their present si-
tuations, and conceived the ease to be such on the
pan of the House, as it would have been before
those aas passed, with His Majesty's confidential ad-
visers, with.respea to a question for the removal of
one of the'Judges. That the proposition could be
more expeditiously, as well at more regularly or con-
stitiitionally, naed upon, by their Lordsli;ps, he had no
doubt. The advantages which their I.nrdships pos-
sessed in that respell, their power of administering
(oaths, and recurring to legal assistance in particular,
were many and obvious. The idea so much dwelt
upon, of the possibility of a subsequent impeach-
ment by the Commons, he considered as no objec-
tion at all ; the proceedings would go urn dif-
ferent matters of charge, and their Lordships
could thilefore he no way pledged hi any
prior act of theirs. The ease before the House
would, he conceived, only lead to a question of re-
newal ; the consideration of subsequent proceeding
and impeachment would not tend to embarrass their
situ stints, and as to the particular case under con-
sideration, lie never heard of one that more loudly
called for an immediate proceeding upon it. He
conceived, circumstanced as the House was, referring
to what had already taken place, the situation of
the individual, and the steps which had been taken.
they could hardly have an option upon the case;
and their Lordships would do well, on the preset-.
occasion, to bear in mind the maxim in the gre
charter, which prescribed, that justice should bv
administered with es little delay as possible.
Lord AUCKLAND observed, that were it pos-
sible to tread back the steps they had taken in the
business, it would he preferable the matter should
originate in the other House of Parliament. Brit
their Lordships were not now in such a predicament,
and they should bear in mind how the rase stood ;
the matter ores before them seven et eight months,
and a Committee appointed to investigate izs merits
to a certain extent : this, though in the nature of an
rx portietmAminAtinn, would be proceeded in with all
possible deliberatioo. As they were so far embarked,
he saw not how they could well get over it but by
proceeding. Should they, in the course of the in-
vestigation, find grounds for proposing an address,
that should be followed up without any unnecessary
delay, bat discussed with all the attention the im-
portance of the case required, and to the ennsi-
deration of which their Lordships would come with
minds perfealy free from prejudice.
Lord MULG RAVE disapproved of any depar-

insidaration he was able to give it, to be de- Judges, in the ultimate result, upnn the case.— '
r preleraMe. In either of the modes by which In that event, it could not be said, after investi-
mmuns could proceed on such an occasion. gating the case previously. they could come to
l-ordships woeld have an ulterior oppurtu- indgcnent with minds perfeely unbiassed. Upon
dAiberating upon the merits of she case, the whole, be deemed is ,peefezabile .to suspend the
rutting acelsraingly. 'this, ire thoughr, wont& proePidints for a eien time, and take the chance
)e the most regular an-1 esFeditions way, of tl.e other House proceeding in the business ;as
he thought, in such aca Cr all idual I they were, every step they should take would in-
,erstions ougut to be out of the question. The valve UltraI fresh difficoltini,
• ••'Si I. r tare ',l'll' A V•ri •