The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1804-06-07 00:00:00

HOUSE. uf CONIMONS.

Mr. Davits Gt Dhoti took the oatl.saud h., seat,
for the 13e..rough of Webttone, in Cornwall, en the
MOM of Lord Fifth Atria, lately appointed one Cf the
land% of the Trea:“ary.
accuut.zs of corn and grain, exported and
imported, were brought up, °Ward to lee un the
table, and to be printed.

_
A Petition a•ai ptercnted frcrn the ship Owrers
of Durham, eg.tibst tltc s44peinion of the N..viga-
tioo laws.—Ordere.l to lie the Tabie. _

Sir Jona W. Asui.aso. brougqi lip a Petition
from certain Proprietors of E:tatcs in the %Vela
India Colonies, against the Bill for the AbAition
tbor Slave Trade. On lee Motion. 'dear the Bill do

lie on the Table till the second reading, and that the
parties be then beard by themselves, or Counsel,
against the said BM;
Mr. WILBERFORCE said, this =centre had
for many years undergone the most minute and ex-
'ensive discussion, and he thereon saw no great oc-
casion for hearing Counsel on the subjeel. At all
events, he thought it could he better not to fix at
present the hearing of Counsel.
Mr. FULLER expressed great surprise at this
iihjeltion, and said, that from his papers he could
assert, that every word spoken by the Right Hon.
Gentleman on this subject, the outer day, was not
founded in fag.
Lehi TEMPLE differed in opinion with the Hon.
Gentle:nail (Mt Wilberforce), as to the obiehii if to
hear Counsel on the 2d reading. He allowed the
measure had certainly undergone the most ample
discussion, but the present state of the colonies re-
quited that the Proprietors of Estates should have
every possible opportunity of delivering their ob-
jeiions to the Bill.
Mr. I)ICKENSON thought that some notice
should have been given of such a motion.
The SPEAKER said, that it was the usual prac-
tice of the House to make an order in ad cases for
the Parties eo be heard by themselves or Counsel, on
the second reading of a Dili. This op crated as a
notice, and if any Member hid an obje&ion to
make to it. he had an opportunity of doing so on
the Order of the Day being read.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER
said, that under the explanation gisenby the Speaker,
he acquiesced for the order being made at present,
but conceived that every Member was at liberty to
oppose the busting of Counsel on the Order of the
Day being read.
It was then ordered that the Petitioners be heard
by themselves or Counsel on the second reading of
the Bill.
Sir W. YOUNG said, the Hon. Gentleman (Mr.
Wilberforce) wed not suppose the foregoing was,
the only opposition to the Bill—these was another
Petition from the Merchants of Liverpool against ite
which was expeeted to arrive by tin murnkng's post,
but which did not.
Lord TEMPLE brought up a Petition from Mr.
Lyal, Colonial Agent fey the Island of Jamaica,
against the Bill for the Aboli:ion of the Slave Trade,
praying to be heard by themselves or Counsel
against the same. Ordered to lie on the Table till
the second reading, and then the Petitioners to be
heard by themselves or Counsel against the Bill.
Lard PORCHESTER gave notice that on Friday
sehinieht he would make a Motion relative to the
Orders sent out to the different Commanders in India.
TtlF. 1.0 tL thetechTes LETTER.
Mr. WHITBREAD rose, and said he had been
induced to give the considerable length of notice he
had done respeining the Motion which it was now
his intention to submit to the House, in order that
the Lord Advocate of Scotland might have an op-
portunity of being present when he brought it for-
ward. He had, however, the ratisfashion to knew
decisively that toe Lord Advocate was apprised of
his Motion, aad he therefore, in the absence of that
Learned Gentleman, sonceived bizaself at liberty td
speee as freely tespedting the transaction that was
the aubje& of his ..lesion as if he were aetually
present. The Learned Lord, he said, was, from his
official situation, invested with large powers; and
these he had uset in the present Instance i such a man-
ner that he hail not merely ontstepped the law, but
had done so in an unprecedonied decree. From the
nature of the Ss arch law, the situation of the Lord
Advocate was in fa& more respoilsil de than that of
the Attorney General, which answers to it here.
Both are inveoed, for the pubic good, with very ex-
tensive and extraordinary powers, and cases may oc-
cur in both countries, wherein Pa liament ought to
interfere, eit! er as a check to an undue exercise of
that power, or h, ar, iddress to His Majesty to remove
the person who should transgteu the hounds of that
authority, which the Conan mion for the wisest par.
poses had vested in him. hi tier pleient case, he
would assume that the Le rd Advocere had tio right
to calamniate any nibjech whatce". He would
also aunme that he had no power to .rrest .ray sub-
jet, nor to order him to be arreqed, •xi h out due pro.
efts of law. If he prove 1 th.it he bed calumniated
a subjesh, and that he had afterwares excommuni-
cated him from the benefits and ae vantages of the
society in which he lived, without any trial or inves-
tigation whatever,. if it should are ear he had so
far inisconducted himself, he should 'hi .k him unfit
to fill the high andimportantofticea hic he now holds.
Much argument had occurred in the eiscussion of the
clause in the Volunt, er Bill in that House relative
to the colitraet between M ISM% and Servants, and
he thought the best friend of the Volunteer system
would not be bold enough to deny that many cern-
pleints have arhen out of the circumstance of ser-
vants becoming Volunteers, by which they have in
many instances dons so from a positive intention to
injure their masters. This case has occurred in
Scotland. A person of the name of Morrison, a
Farmer in BeAfinire, had a servant named Carrow,
who, contrary to his inclination, entered Stiehl Ve..•
hunter Corps. He atteaded drills and muaters.
from Whitsunday, the day he entered, till the 13th
of o&ober, on which day he absented himself from
k the whole day to attend as inspeetiiin of the
Carps, ordered by the Marques of I ; on
which occarioti Mr. Morrbiin, hi, ma a. r, discherg-
ed him. The servant then apt-1i to the Lord A-
./iicate for his opinifyi as to tiv ntdi CAS he was en-
titled to against ..is -roaster, by a CA st ited in what
is there called a sl..nior al. shr Whi!l)rea..l then
rend the Memorial, ie rhich it was coached that
the sere int entered tore toe corps • itheni his ntss
ter's culture; thee he was allowe h to attetal drills
well he absented hime fruits his work a whole
day, :o atter,' the inspetee it whi:ve mentioned, on
which account he :as di:he:eche Ile then asks
what remedy he has ah. iret menet ? The
Right Hee. (;entleinen .hen sail, that the Lord
Advocate, instead of giving a ober, stseieuh and dis-
passionate opinion. as the case reehred, had set off
in ;ha roost usinstie&he terms. His rim words were
" However an priarintcd and al pre i.e. Mr. 3 orri-
saa's carsdaThwau haw Th s, he couteihred,
was wrong in any person to high in off ee, on a
case as which he allows that the master, Mr. Mor-
rison, had done nothing contrary to law.
opinion was given on ale leeheseeer, and on
the 30th, he addressed a !cue: to the Sheeiff Sub-
stitute of Beaffshitte in oaten he said, .." 14C

coadoci of Illorrison is most :Precious!" wit*ootask: •
ing whet the servant had been guilty of in his
meaner of absenting' himself I without asking whe-
ther he had le* his barn unlocked, and his master's
property liable to the deoredati in of any one who
might come that way ;" and then he goes on, " and
eerypo%Tiolc means should be taken to stigma's:, and
punish lam. His condua can only have arisen from
disloyalty ; and therefore as soon as any Frenchmen
ore !turfed in Scotland, I order you lu ;size Murrisun
end pod hen in prior, aid led to lb.', h,$)::;, him widiuut
my order. And 'further, I shall do all f con to prcaht
him from receiving coy csmprneat,un for any part of hi,
properly winch may 6r destroyed either by the enemy or
the Kilg's troops." This, he said, was a monstrous
conclusion of a monstrous mind. It Mr. Mot rison
was a man of feeling, he must say to himself and
to his ft iends, that he had rather the Lord Ad-
vocate had been a tyrant with power to hang him
immediately, tOan thus to hold him up to the
world as an °Neel of public resentment and detes-
tation; as a man with whom no person should
have any dealings or communication, by which his
family; as well as himself, were liable to be entirely
ruined for ever. Resides, supposing the French had
landed, oath a proscription was likely to affea his
life, as every one must know how ready a mob was
to seize on such doarines as 'Awful signals to plun-
der and pillage the objea against whom they were
direaed. These were the bitter sentences passed by
the Lord Advocate against Morrison, and they had
already operated so far as to make a considerable
impression on a person of liberal education in the
same country, who had expressed himself with
great warmth against Morrison. Mr. Forbes, the
Sheriff Substitute, had fortunately advised the
Sheriff's clerk to send a copy of the letter to Morri-
son, and to put the original on record, which gave
the means to the House to come at it. Another
circumstance, which clearly sheered the injustice of
this transaaion in deeper colours. was a letter
written by the Sheriff's clerk, Mr. Patrick Rose, to
Mr. Morrison, in which he advised him to buy off
the man " by making him as handsome an allowance
as possible, as the best means of appeasing the Lord
Advocate." Mr. IVbithread contended, that the
Lord Advocate had au authority, even by the law of
Scotland, to as in the ooprecediatted roamer he had
,one, and diet such a violetiorrof therights of chef
oder& ought to raise the inslignetiort of the House.
It might, perhaps, be said that Morrison may have'
Bois action against the Lord Advocate; but it must!
be very evident, that though the Lord Advocate has
not the legal power to do what he has done, he has
yet very great power indeed ; and small would be
the chance of such a man as Farmer Moe rison, after
all the expenses that must accrue, recevering a fair
compensation in damages from a man in the high
official situation of the Lord Advocate. But even
though he should recover, it became the bounden
duty of the House to interpose for the piotettion
of the subjea, the honour of the Crown, and
the stria but impartial administraticet of pub-
lic justice. He bud proceeded so fee on the an-
thcrity of letters, whit!, he believed to be true and
legal; if they were fergeries. he should have to beg
pardon of the Lord Advocate for the observations
he had made, and of the House, for hevieg tekeii
up so much of its time in vain. He concluded by
moving, "That there be laid before the 'Home a
copy ot so much of the records of the county of
Beeffshire, as contain a letter from C. Hope, Esq.
the Lord Advocate, dated Soth Dec. ISA to the
Sheriff-Substitete, relative to Mr. Morrison ; also,.
a copy of the letter from Mr. Geo. Forbes, the She-
riff-Substitut., to Mr. Patrick Rose, the Sheriff's
Clerk, on the same subjea."
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER
said, it was not his intention to objeet to the produc-
tion of the paper moved for, but he thought this
was not the stage in which the House ought to enter
upon the subjea. He must, however, observe, that,
in his opinion, the coostruaion put on the letter
by the Hon. Gentleman who had brought forward
the motion was not such as would be warranted
when the words of the origin oh letter were fairly
before the Howse. He Lepeol the l louse would not
suffer their minds to ecceive any undue impression
from the observatioas eh eh had been made or. the
present .scrasion, but would, when the matter came
reoularly before them, give it a far and impartial
investigation. He was sure, front his knowledge of
the Noble and Learned Lord Witt) WAS the sutlea of
the motion that n • motives of personal malice or
resentment against an in lividuel could have indu rd
him to take any step is hich should overate to the in•
jury of that and, it must therefole, if any
measure such As via! a meleined of h id taken place,
Lye proceeded entirely from the ecul dpi ordrof
mild, and at 4ht to he regarded accordingly ; when
the Howe ennsidered how much the public was in-
terested in the defence an I support of the clieraaer
of one who has, for such a length of time, fillsd so
high an ofiscial station, with so much credit to him-
self and advantage to hi; country. Some surprise
had been intimated at the \nble and ;earned Lord
alluded to, not being pre -no He weidered, on
the contrary, that as this transaftr ,n took place so
long ago as Oanber par, acid the Lord Advocate
had attended his duty for same 'wicks, this matter
bad not been sooner brought forward. Ile ac-
quitted the Hon. gentleman who now made the
motion of being an, party to the delay, for he be-
hewed he had lost no rime in bringing the mater
forward. As it now stood, tire Noble and leariod
Lord was not able to be present, because he WAS
particelerly en card in the discharge of the duties
tiff his h;el and i,riecntent office.
Mr. PDX said, that as the papers moved for
were to hr granted, he should not detain the House
by entering on the oilaject at present. With re-
spea to die principle, whenever it came fairly be-
foe- the /louse, he leeed that a better defence
would he set up than Me scale:fan drdetst mood, which,
to oiet, was one of I:I' wildest and weakest that
could be iniaoed. 1r -.v much had been heard in
that House of the Fri h Revolution, yet, could
any one say that the 2' • rw'tirs committed, during
that period, and the fa, ao effeas which have follow-
ed, are to be excused, because they were the effeEts
of ankol maids : lie wee sore the House would
never listen to sueh kind of argument on an occasion
of sech impertance.
After a few words of explanation from Mr.
raai.ao, the two Motions were severally put
and aeneed to.
Mr. kerrsoalato snored for leave to bring in a

Bill for amending an Aa passed in the Parka rent
of Ireland, in the 3Sth of the King, for regulating
the eleftion of Members to serve in Parliament, and
for repealing several ails specified in the said do,
so far as relates to freeholders under 201.

Mr. H. LASCELLES Thiseed;' that the seem('
realing of the Clothiers' Bill be postponed to tr..
morrow, on acconnt of the then state of the House,
which was very thin.
After a few observations from Admiral Bleat-
LEY, and Mr. WI I.BLRFORCE

Lord TEMPLE moved, that the House he
counted, %%hen there being only thirty-five Meners
present, th J louse of course adjourned.

TUE BRITISII 1-)1.il.::.1z).

LON DON,
THURSDkY. JLNE 7.

Various reparts ;we in circulation upon a swim
of extreme delicacy and importance. Of these ae
have reason to believe the following is the most au.
thentic. On Friday Mr. PITT 114k1 an audience of
the PRINCE at Carleton House, at which be stated
it to be the opinion of the Physi:ians that qukt, atd
a total seclusion from business, were necessary to
His MA J EST v's complete recovery, and therefore
he wished to know how far His Royal Highness
would concur in an arrangement to relieve His Ma.
,J EST T from the temporary pressure cf business.
The PCINCE obscryei that he was uninformed as to
the real state of His Ma.; es r health, and that he
could give no answer until he had consulted his
friends. lie iccordingly called a meeting at the
'Marquis of BCC 14:11%Gll St'S on Saturday, when he
communicated the purport of his conversation with
Mr. PITT. It was the general opinion of the meet-
ing, that Royal Highness could take no notice of
Mr. Prrr's communication as to the K tic's health:
hut that the Panics should write to the CIiAN-

desiring that a cull statement of all the cir•
cu m stances blight be made to bins. In consequence of
this, thelLo MD CII4I4.CELIOOI waited upon the PAISES
on Sunday morning, with *report, ,igned•and swcr.:
by all the Physicians, and also the depositions cf
some of the attendants immediately about His Ms.
Jess. v's person, which report agreed with Mr.
PITT'S statement. Heroin believe the matter rests
for the presmt ;butthe report ci.. Regency, to which
it appears to have been the opening, has gained
ground since the Birth-day. The Marquis of litcs-
INCH 4/4, it is said, has had two ir.terviews with
the Lort o CHAisceLLoa upon the subjelt ; and,
according to some accounts, Mr. Fox and Mr.
C tier, on Tuesday, communicated to Mr. Par the
PRINCE'S answer, stating, that he ihad applied to
the Lotto CiI•NCELLoa, as the proper source of in-
formation relative to His Mansrv's 'health, and
that he should take such proceedings upon it, as he
should think necessary. Others say, that the ob•
jed of their visit to Mr. PITT was to apprise him
of their intention to move for a Parliamentary En-
quity into the state of His MAJESTY'S health, with
a view to other proceedings. It is certain, howe-
ver, that His MAJI sr v held a private Levee yes-
terday, nJ spent the Jay in a manner that ought
to make us hear or read these accounts u ith great
CAution.

We have received Moniteurs to due 27th Lag.
The new Ess►taoa is busily employed in receiving
the oath of allegiance from his new titled officers ;
aril the various distrias and departments are busily
employed in giving their votes in favour of the Esl•
eicaull.-1 he 5 pet cents. were, on the 25th, 57,60.

On Monday evening advice; were received at
Portsmouth from, Captain BLNWET, of the Trikor,
of lii. having, in company with the Dead, and ,-
dra, driven thirty-five sail of gun-boats into a no.
near Cherbourg, and that, with the assistance of a
bomb, he was of opinion they may be destroyed ;
in consequence of which, the Prospero bomb, Capt.
C. Joscs, was immediately ordered to join the
squ tdron, and sailed on Tuesday morning.

Yesterday, about one o'clock, the DANISH
n'sssona had .in audience of Lord ria n sow

his office.

On Tue,day night, Mr. W.CIC, the Ntesm
was sent with dispatches t,. the Loki, La
NA•ir Ireland.

"Ilie new plan for the regulat'i, at of t'ae Nlt
Staff; publi.;)ed r-e•igt• ;vet!, in this paper upoi
3t st or March, w.t> stgne.l by His MAJtsTV
the t!'2d

A Court of Direnors was yesterday held .
Ea't luau House, when Captain STLettlIN
of the Moaarcb, tank leave of the Court,
vious to his departure fur Bengal dire&.
Court adjourned at six o'clock sine die.
It is expesied that the Commanders of the
ander and Sovereign will take leave the next Ct
Orders have been sent out by the East
Compan► to their Governments abroad to ciao
as much as possible die culture of hemp in
Samples of hemp, the produce of our pi.ssessii
the t'.tst, have, upon the fairest trial in this cot
been found far superior to any Russian hemi
imported into Great Britain.
We understand that in consequence of thi
War, arrangements have been made in Indi
the addition of ten regiments vf ‘•epoys to di
o. the East India Cowpony, at the
deocy of Bengal.