The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1804-06-23 00:00:00

And what is Mr. Murrisact's crime? II! is

suspeael of being suspicions, according to the
phrase of some of the former agents of ty-
ranny in France. The Learned Lord blasts of his
information, yet never could deted Mr. Morrison
of any disaffection. Hr. Morrison's servant, it seems,

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did not deprive him of at•.o service. He got up
in the night and thatched the barn. It remains to
inquire if there was any moon, on the night of the
13th of (Moller, and he could at hest have three or

four hours of the night to thatch, as he must set off
early in the morning for his inspenion. On the
whole, he wonU appeal to the lionse, whether
the Lord Advocate, holding such power as he states
of himself, it was a decent proceeding to crush this
man without necessity, and with such cruelty ? The
tn3tion for th., other orders of the day shews the
feeling of the Loid Advocate's friends as to the
motion of censure. If his condua was reasonable,
if his defence was good, they would gladly avail
themselves of the question itself to discuss it fully
andfreely. _ _

Mr. DALLAS argued at some length against
the original motion. lie considered the Lord Ad-
voeate's conduct as composed of those parts given
by Mr. Whitbread's motion, viz. illegal, oppressive,
and contrary to the duties of his office. He would
not take parts of the letter only; there were' ex-
ceptionable expressions in it. But he would take
the whole letter and the whole transaction into
his view. He: maintained that Morrison's conduct
was one entire system of discouragement of the Vo-
lunteers. lie contended, that the Lord Advocate
sifted from public motives—from a sense of duty,
and from no private anger or other motives.
He insisted, that the conic fl of Morrison made
great part of the case, notwithstanding what had
been urged by the Noble Lord (Lord A. Hamilton).
It was that which awakened, and justly awakened,
the suspicion of the Learned Lord. And if Mr.
Morrison were to go to the Court of King's Bench
to move for leave to file an information against a
high officer for , oppression, the Conn would say,
what has your condaS been and would not enter-
tain the complaint, if that had provoked the act
coinplained of. A similar discretion was in that
House. He should, therefore, not vote for cen-
sure; but support Me or.le, of the day.
Mr. KINNAII2.I) said, the course taken by the
friends nlsbe Learned Lird co:trine-el him that they
were conscious they could not defend
.him. He
would advise them to take a Lisren from a transac-
tion in that hunse, when a motion for censuring the
late Minister Was made. A Right Honourable Gen-
tleman (Mr. Pitt), in the cinality of friend, moved
the previous question. 13ut a Noble Lord (Lord
Hawkesbury) rejened it with disdain, as a clear con-
fessirn of guilt. The Lsirned Lord had defended
himself on the state of the country, and the nature
of his office, whicli he described to be al amphi-
bious animal. But none of these things would ex
eu:e tLe undue ULA of the discretion of his other--
No one had presumed to charge Mr. Morrison with
one aft to excuse the letter. No one had been bold
enough, and there were some of his countrymen op-
pofite to him that were bold enough. A Learned
Gentleman ( 'Dallas) had talked of a private
wrong and a private 'Sion. But where there is op-
pression of an individual by a public officer, it is the
Parliament,the nation. that isinsulted, and that should
punish the wrong. The Learned Gentleman talked
of suspicions of Mr. Morrison's eonclua, without any
proof. He thanked God the Learned Gentleman
is not a.Seotchman, and that he will never he Lord
Advocate; and be hoped he never would hold any
high office in this country, in which he could reduce
those detestable principles into priltice. The late
Adininic ration had gained much good will, at least
by one praSice. They never strained the law;
they never departed from the mild and equitable
principles of the Constitution. It was the infant
measure of the new Administration, to reeal the
rememeraitee of former days of horror. He in-
treated the Right lion. Gentleman (Mr. Pitt) not
to follow this course again I for, in s r doing, he
would neither have the love of this coontry nor of
Scotland; he would render the Parliament useless
to the Government, and degraded with the people.
He called on the House to vindicate the honour of
Parliament, by their vote on this importaut oc-

casion.
The SECRETARY at WAR M.(l, the Hon.
Gentlemen on the opposite of the Howl seemed to
have forgotten the recommendation of the Hon.
Gentleman who brought forward Ole Motion, that
the subject should be dispassionately discussed, for
two more inflanirnetory speeches he had never
herd L!elivered than those of the two Hun. Gentle-
men who sp7k: list. Ile thouiht the letter of the
Lord Advocate was entitled to the indulgence pf
the House, when it was recollected that it WAS written
iu a moment of warmth, by a person pressed and
hurried by most iergeot business, and whose mind
was racked by the variety of important affair he
had to attend to. He begged the Hone would
permit him to snac a few dispassione•e ohscr v t-
'ions on die case, as it Lon- stood before ti,e Honic.
He had known the I,!ernei Lord from his yonth,
and he WAS CCT.A;II he WAS nut capable of
oppreuing any nu.; ; but he did not wish to rest-
his defence on and t. ug':e might s..y in his behalf;
he could rest it o:: t..c voice of his country—he
could 5:17 !'' rest on the 117, Mon of the present Com-
mander is Sentl.:.l.l (Earl f Moira), who
never knew the Learned laird, Aid he went down to
take did command; and who, tram whet he had
seen of his public conduit, now entertained the
highest regard fur him. lie said. the Lord Advo-
cate had been most atively engaged in promoting
the re ising of Volunteer Corps. in which his endea-
vours had been crowned with the most flattering
success ; but if all men had aged according to Mor-
i-is condua, where would now have been the
Volunteers ? He would not detain the House longer
then to make one cbservation, in order to correa a
misapprehension which an Hon. Gentleman (Ir.
Grey) entertained, respeaing an indiament. That
Hon. Gent:twin had said, no indiament could be
preferreu Lut by the Lord Adrocarf. This was rot
the cast—an indiament may he preferred, and the
Lord Adyncate is obliged to give his samaion to it.
Mr. W. S. it rH observed, there was a very ma-
terial difference in the Lingtiaze use by the two
lest speakers; that of the Fast consisting entirely of
? .tlli Hon anal excnoc, and that of the Learned Gen-
tleman who preceded him. of entire and unqn:diiiin!
Ault:cation ; and of ..uch jostificai.en as he never
espe.:-J to hear fr.. in the month of any ErLilish

. .
lawyer. The Leantrol elentleman had asked, whe-
ther any man woo'," cay the condua. of Morrison
ought not to be considered in the present question?
He was the man Wil.) would say it ought not, be-
cause the Lord Advocate had aped on ex park
evidence; aaJ whatever might have been the 43-
tiers of Morrison, and how:ever the Lord Advo-
cate might have a:ted is in intEiidual hying in
h?s ncighbourimpsi, yet, as a public officer. he
was undoubtedlt.ttwrong. He denied that Mor-
rison could have had any recompence by an anion
for damages. What recourse could he have
applied to in Scotland for redress? Why to the
Court of Session. He did not mean to insinuate
that any Court there would a& partially or cor-
ruptly; but the Judges in that Court were all Civil
Judges, some of them however were also Judges
of the h:gbest Criminal Tribunal in the country.
He thought the defence of Learned Gentleman.
(Mr. Dallas), was not fitted to the meridian
of the House. It reminded him of a defence which
he had heard made at the bar of that House, which
appeared to him very well calculated for Asia, but
not at all for England. So the argument (.1 the
Lord Advocate, if addresses' to the prilline and
feelings of the northern parts of the United King
dom, might be consonant thereto ; hut was not so to
this part of it. He thoeeht the throe were highly
obliged to his Hon. Friend for lir; s:ing forward the
measure, and that the motion for the previous
question was neither manly nor consistent with the
Learned Lord's defence of himself, and therefore he
should oppose it.
Mr.WINOHAM said, that the variety of defences
which had be n set up on ele present occasion by
the Learned Lord, who was the snlsject of the mo-
tion, and his particular Friends, male it impost:ll'e
for the House no: to look on it in a very sci isms
and important poiot of view. It was highly im-
portant for the House to know the extent of the
power attached to the ()Min of Lord Advocate. He
always thought it en office of high constitutioral
authority, but now found that it contained all the
powers that can well he entrn ;tend to any indiv al.
How far it was proper an office shoed exist, armed
with inch powers—a kind of imperieni is
possessing, powers not possessed by any great offictr
of state in this country, he would leave to the House
to determine. He thought, however, that the
greater the power was which he possessed, the more
cautious he ought obe how he used that power.
No man ought to carry loaded aims with the seine
carelessne.s as a walking-stick. I here were, he said,
two views of this question. The first WAS as to the
prop! icy of bringing forward the present motion,
in which he agreed entirety with the Hon. Gent.
who moved it; and the second, what decisioo the
House should come to on it. It had been said the
party might take his redress in law. When lesions
in law is to be obtained by a person in a high :ra-
tion against a in a low one, such redress may
be recommeneedrstoo be pursued ; but when the con-
trary is the ease, it would be mockery in any
man to try it, especially in such a case as thiowhere
the Learned Lord himself has allowed he had so
many hands held up for him as to make it dangerous
for a man to enter the city on such a purpose. This
is a case Which the House of Commons ought to tote
up, because the Courts of Law are not open. This
is not a question of giving damages to Morrison ; he
has nothing to do with it It is giving damages to
the jurisprudence of the country; and the poorer the
person who claims rotes:lion. the more he isentided
to the interference of the House. In this case the
man who is at the head of justice has endeavoured
to promote the volunteer cause by forcing a man to
do what the law does net require him to do. It was
necessary to determine how far it is fit the House
should leave him in his high situation ; and how
would it look if, after such a charge so defended, he
should be left in it without any censure. It was, he
said, of great consequence far the I:ouse :o
dor whether, if they put this question aside, and give
no judgment on it, they do not sheer an indifference
to the situation of the people, and deliver thorn
over to a tyranny dreadful to think of. He saw no
other course left, than for the House to come to a
decision on the suhjdk one way or other.
Lord CASTLEREAGH thought the argument
of the Learned Gentleman under the gallery was
perfectly just; for if this motion was not followed up
by another, to remove the Lord Advocate, it would
be nugatory. As matters stand, there was no case
made out to watt the House to address the Crown
to remove the Lord Advocate, and it was certainly
unnecessary to pay attention to an abstract motion.
As there were means of redress by law, the House
ought not to preclude thove means. If the House
decides now ou the question, they will put the Lord.
Advocate in a worse situation, than if he had ac-
tually arrested Morrison, and done what he has not
done. If be had done less, it would have a tame
execution of his duty, if not an eh:lnd-nun:no If
the noose should proaouace a judgment aeainst
him, it would not only di- race and derasle his
honour and charaCter, but he a loss to the public, of
a faithful .usd zealous servant. l'or these reasons he
should support the Amendment.
Lord H. PETTY said, be would tmiable the
House with but a few words, and be cruli assure
them, his observations should not be inflammatory.
It appeared clearly, froet nil that had be. 'n
heard that night, that dr. Morrisoa, a sobjen
or thelting, has been subjeCted to a punishment as
heavy as can well be h.fli:ted on a man, without
having been heard in his defence, though he might
have been heard by his agent, if the Lord Advocate
would have listened to him. He hoped the I Louse
would, for its own honour, come to a decision, and,
as such, the motion had his hearty concurrence.
Sir JOHN NEWPORT said, be hoped the doc-
trines held by the other side of the House would
meet with the reprohat:on they so much deserved.
He was not siirprised the Hon. Gentlemen were so
much in favour of strong measures. They had been
used to support strong measures, and to oboara Bills
of lademnitn afterwards. (Jr:c Bill of Indemnity
WAS Found not to be sufficient to cover their strong
measures, and a second was obiged to be passed in
order to take in the ads of a public officer, v hich
the first was not able to include in it.He shoed most
cordially support the origiosil motion.
Colonel VEREKER said, that if these Bills of
Indemnity, to which the Hon. Baronet had alluded,
had not been passed, and if the Magistrates and
Gentlemen in the cro—reo, kr whom they were
passed, had ty