The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1803-04-05 00:00:00

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PRICE SIXPENCE.

of the worthy Baronet was to obtain further time,
and he believed the Bill w:is to be read a third time
to-day.
Mr. BYNG said, it was with regret he felt him-
self obliged to objeet to the Petition. After the se-
cond reading of the Bill there was an interval of
twenty days, and, after that again, five days in the
Committee, to consider of its he therefore saw rep
reason for delay, as every necessary extent of time
had been already allowed ; he therefore moved, as.an
amendment, that the words from the word e T4f
ble," to the end, be omitted.
Sir FRANCIS BURDETT said, the Hon.
Gentleman had not shewn that any degree of incon.
venience would result from delay. He hoped,
therefore, the House would comply with the prayer
of the petition, fur the purpose of satisfying the
minds of the parishioners. It would be a hard case,
when a Bill was so much altered in a Committee
that the parishioners could not be acquainted with
its contents, not to suffer them to be hea;el resped-
ing it ; and as the Bill now stands he waKonfideet
that was the case.
Mr. HURST said, this Bill was of great importance
not only to the palish of Pancras, but to the Public,
'there were 7,000 families in this Parish paying scot
and lot ; and there never w.ts an instance of any
, class of people being deprived of their franchises,
except for some misdemeanor, or without being
heard in their defence. During the last eighteen
'years, the affairs of the parish were so well coo-
duded, that no one instance of litigation occurred,
reTeding Parochial matters ; and at the highest
time the Itates never exceed 2.5. 3d. in the potiod.—
There were only .250 signatures to the Petition in
favour of the Bill, and it was but common justice
td grant a hearing to the other party. The parish
was uniformly prosperous and peaceable, and he
saw no reason for changing its government.
Mr. COURTNEY was for receiving the peti-
tion. No evidence had been given in favour of the
Bill which wx; a proof that they had none to offer.
He would therefore state sonic fads against it, which,
if not controverted, he-imagined, would be suffici-
ent to convince every one of the injustice of the
measure. This Bill went to establish a set of
guardians, who were to be independent of the vestry,
and under no controul whatever. But what wag
most extraordinary, these guardians were to be self-
named, or self-eleded, like the Senate in France :
this was a kind of Jacobinical principle, which, he
trusted, would not be countenanced by this House.
These guardians were also to be perpetuated for
life : none were to go out every year, as is usual in
other boards. They are a committee, made au-
ditors of their own account ; they spend the money,
and settle the accounts afterwards among them-
selves. These were fads which were uncentrovert-
ed, and he trusted they Would suffer the petitioners
to be heard by counsel.
Mr. ALEXANDER said, the guardians were not
to be self-cleacd ; they were to be appointed by the
House, and counsel had already been heard on the_
subj eft .
Mr. HILLIARD said, the Bill appeated to be ab-
solutely necessary ; counsel had been already heard
respelling it. The parish of Pancras was -ightevn
miles in circumference, and contained thirty-two
thousand inhabitants, and the present Bill wc:it not
merely to the building of a workhouse, but embraced
the whole system of the poor. He thought the Bill
had a fiiir and candid trial, and was against the per
tition.

Mr. SHERIDAN said, the question was not whe.
ther the Bill was a good or a bad one, but whether
the petitioners should be heard against a new Bill,
which the present one was, to all intents and pur-
poses, having been entirely altered from its original
state. The first Bill, it seems, contained clauses
which, for tyranny and absurdity, were totally
unprecedented ; and those who altered the Bill,
so as to render it entirely a new one, should
give an opportunity to those whom it con,
cerned to be heard on its merits. The pre.,
sent was rather an unfavourable time for those
who opposed the measin e, as when there was
a controverted ele&ion fur Middlesex, some might
suppose there was a tendency to bias the popular
party ; but he trusted no such insinuation would be
made, as he was convinced the proceedings were
not liable to it. He had not heard one argument in
favour of the nip, that in the smallest degree con-
vinced him. One Hon. Gentleman had said, that
the business would be entrusted to persons of good
information, and who were well acquainted with
each other ; they would be a very pleasant society.
no doubt (a laugh). AnOther Hon. Gentleman said,
that the increase of property required it • but that
was a strange reason for supposing, that: people
were not able as usual to govern themselves; it was
no ground for disfranchising them. He considered
it a hard case that no notice was served, as is usual
in cases of enclosures, canals, and the like. The
Bill had been br&ught surreptitiously into the House,
and it was that which the petitioners complained of.
He could not obtain a printed copy of the Bill, as
it now stood, nor does he believe many Gentlemen
in the House could produce one; but he had heard
a boast that it was completely altered and amended.
But he should make a few observations on the Bill
as it came to his hands. There was one clause, for
providing against disputes basetre the guardians
(among them, he said, would have been better gram-
mar), and the operation of this clause went, under
such circumstances, to remove the whole of them;
which was an Hibernian way, he would say, since
the Union bad taken place, of providing agaiast an
evil. Another clause, which went to the prevention
of profaneness, swearingond kwd conduct (a 'augh)
me ::ions, that they were to be punished in dirt and
dress ;by which he must.suppo:e was m' a. strip- -
ping anu starving (a Lod luaith).. Now wilat dia.e
worthy gnat& .ans teas; thiulaneetint try to correa, as
coming under the denomination of lewdness, could
not easily be defined. But sonic. unfiirtonate Pan,
eras Aland (a luuk6) would no doubt soon disc..-
vet, when consigned to their dkeretion. Anotler
anise. enaas, that a y person who- ,h-ied Lt•;i. r.
ea. 'workhouse, with ailv iirtoe,s furnish