The National Register.
London, England, 1818-02-16 00:00:00

ON THE SECRET COMMITTEE.

THE powers which the Suspension of the Habeas
Corpus Act at any time, places in the hands of Mi-
nisters, enable them to commit acts, which, when these
powers are withdrawn, subjects them to suits at Com-
ities Saw. present this, it Ira* ever beers the prac-
tice or the two Muses or Parliament to grant them a
Bill of Indemnity,' by which they are secured front
the necessity of pleading as individuals, in defence of
sots done in their Ministerial capacity. To obtain
such an Indemnity, the present Ministers, are, like all
their predeceasors who have been placed in similar cir-
cumstances, no doubt extrentely anxioas, nor can curb
sacc,urity with any propriety e deaied, when the Le-
gislature is satishe: that the great powers intrusted to
the I.x:tetra:ye hare not been ribused. To ascertain
this, is practi able throagii the labours of a Cora-
nr,ittee, sad to this Committee, the conduct of the
present Minister:: has been submitted The only points
at issue betwean the two appacing parties hi the [louse
of C0M1110713, ate; the manner i, which that Committee
has been formed, itaa the .:in of information which
has been communicated to it, by which its opinion of
the guilt or inneeence of the Nliaisters must be regu-
lated. We are free tc confess that we are among the
number of those aho approve of the Commiltee being
secret, but with the moaner of its form at ion we arc less sa-
tisfied, c:- rather we shuuld say w e o.re dissatisfied with the
manner in which s-uchConimittees arc usually furmed,for
thernmmoupractice hod not been in thisinstancedeparted
from. If by ballot be decimal a proper mode of proceed-
ing in the formation of a Committee, it ought to be
fairly and honestly done, and no juggling tricks be re-
.,Ortcd to, as was the race last session, when upon some
oecasi.m, which we have now forgot, Mr. Brougham..
previously to a ballot, produced a list, which he had
somewhere obtained, and which corresponded exactly
with the names afterwards chosen by the ballot ! Of
this description we strongly suspect the recent proceed-
cg to have been, and we lament it the more. because
we think, notwithstanding all that hasbeen said, M inis-
mrs might safely trust themselves in Ora hands of a
Committee fairly chosen. Not all the asperity of Mr.
Bennet,nor the more solemn and ostentatious, arguments
of Sir Samuel Romilly, will be able to persuade the na-
tion, that under the Suspension Act, Ministers did not
"bear their faculties meekly." Those who actually
suffered by its operation, may complain and heap cU
manner of abuse upon:their persecutors, as they choose
to call them, but to us who can firm a pretty correct
estimate of the value of Mitchell's evidence given to
Mr. Bennet, the sufferings which are narrated with all
the aggravations which party hostility can give them,
appear to be but slight punishment furtive offences which
many of the pristmers committed. It has been, oddly
enough, made :natter of charge against the Minister,
that he did nut apprehend an individual of rank under
the tusdeesion, ea I the same gentleman who made this
charge, in the same breath accused him of having thrown
a drag net over the country, a ndtaken all that came in
its way ; Without observing that one part of this charge
beics the other, we would appeal to every dispassion-
eta man whether the conduct of Ministers was such as
to deserve this ? How many obnoxious men might they
act " with bare-faced power," have swept from their
sight, "and bade the law avouch it !" had they been
diepoeed to stretch their power to the utmost.
Bat to return to the Committee. It is charged upon
the Ministry as a crime that they have made it secret;
and it is argued that ecereey was no longer necesdary
since, by their own account, 01 danger Waal past ; , but
can there Le no imp.: %.,;1.,..%.• in mewing names and
c*.rculustanctiovhich 11.,,ia1.t involve intlividuale