The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1818-03-19 00:00:00

HOUSE OF COMMONS, WEDNESDAY, Kitten 18.

Mr. Caleraft, from no Andit Office, permuted certain pa-
pers, which were ordered to lie en the table.

Mr. licactsvan a presented • Petition from certain inha-
bitant• of Liverpool, against the Liverpool Cu Bill.
Mr. Tmomrsox prevented • Petitioci, signed by fervent
thousand tuhabitaats of the loan of Kingstosi.upou.flull,
praying an equalization of the Poor Rates, nod that ',hip-
ping and per:ttal property slight be rindered subject
thereto.

General TlllOlllll7Olll *OW rive no opinion on tlw first
part of the prayer, but ibuisglit that to subject personal pro-
perly to the Puor Rates would increase the evil.
Mr. PIROTUESOIt said the shipping could nut bear such
as inermiliou.

The Petstioo was ordered to be priuteJ, and referred to
the Committee uu the Poor Laws.
Mr. P. Moons presented a Petition from certain rib!
'coven of Coventry, complaining of distre,s, and prs‘ing
fur new regulations in their waged.—On the motion of. the
Hon. Member, it was referred to the Ribbon Wearers' Com-
mittee.

-- - .- .
A smiler Pelilliuls was preseoted by the same Member
from certain watch and cluck-makera of the Mate Ogee,
and on his motion, referred to a Committee.

IRISH EXCISE LAWS.
Geoeral HART presented • Petition from the parish of
Clonkaw, in the county of Donegal, stating the unjust ex-
actions of Excise officers, sad the hardships they otifftweal by
the p►esent Excise Laws for Ireland; which was ordered to
he ups the table, and, together with another lately present.
ed by him, ordered to be printed.
He (Gen. Hart) said, that Wrote, of Evidence before a
Court of Inquiry at Louduaderry, relative to the conduct of
certain officers of Excise, having been at length presented to
the House and 'bruited, he took that opportunity of statirig,
from Iris own certain knowledge, that facts material to the
information which he wished to be afforded to the House,
bad been suppressed, and that it was not a full and current
detriment, such as it was the duty of those who were bound
to afford such information should have given. He should,
therefore, after the remiss when • faller atteudance of Irish
Members might be expected, bring this subject, as ales
those of the Petitions now on the table, from use county he
had the hodour to represent, under the cousideratiou of the
House.

REFORM IN PARLIAMENT.

Mr. BIRCA presented Trillions from Harriagtun, certsii
Inhabiting's of Liverpool, mid of Prinees'..sipiare, Notting.
ham, praying that the elective franchise might be exteaded
to all subject to laxalioo.—Ordered to lie ou the table.

QUARTERING OF SOLDIERS.
Lord PaLursgfog brought i• a Bill to Az the rater of
aishaiateuce to inn-keepers and lathers fur the quartering of
soldiers.-111 was read • brat time; and after a few words
from Mr. &saw Lirgruitsi soul Lord PALMERSTON, it was
ordered fur • accrual reading to-morrnw.

FEES IN covars OP JUSTICE.
Mr. Aseneaostso complained that the ti..conti Report
*Me Comitsissiou appointed tu ioinirr into the Fees of
Courts of Justice, Romeo Completed, had nut brew pretest.
ed to the House. He must easels& it had brew wilfully
withheld by Oldie whose duty it win to bring It op. To
supply their tailor* of duty be would move, " Tint there
be laid before the House lb, Second Report of the coin.
mi.euierTh.pp,...o.4 to ',quire into the Fees of Court. of
Justice, respeniug the Court of Chewer, sad the Court of
limes Lletielt."
Alter a couvenaties %eleven Mr. AtEgCROMIT and Mr.
G•ul.sule, the Repotf was entered.
SCOTCH SAVING BANKS.
Mr. ITN. Dinumas said, that the slate of Sirius Wink.,
as by the existing laws there established, had excited a very
remit atternino throve' SeetlaWd. A Hill had' been very
lately introduced law the House, fur the prinettiou to/ these

LOA L ohserre.l, that the Cninnik-
blotters were obliged to go by tile Act. The re-
medy utio,t be by an alteration of the Art. lie
would, at 1413i1,' future tame, tuove to refer the Pe-
fibrilla to u Co iiiii tittee.

The ercond rest:jog of the Land 'nix Assessment
Bill was pobtputwil to the 13111

SPANISH CLAIMS.
Dr. Pitt !Jammu{ rose to suakt, his motion re-
lative to Spanish claimants, alio !tome obtaioostl
sesstenee of seatitution from the Court of Admi-
ralty of vessels engaged its the Slave Trade, or of
damages equivalent. The louse was aware, that
by a Treaty c laded between Isis Britannia I
has Catholic Majesty, the sum of 400,0001. loud
been granted by this country to the latter Mu-
tated', in lieu of all claims by Spanish subjects
for losses 111 the Slave Trade. This was intended
to afford ind ty to sill who hail a reasonable de-
strand. But by a Petit' f a Mr. Page,
an agent, then on the tattle, it appeared. that
many individuals had entertained apprehensions of
having their t loins regarded in Spain, and had nit-
plied to that House, in order that the reittences pro-
nounced in the Tribunals here might be enforced.
All tl►e claims on this country committed three
closets. The first comprehended those of persons
who had been condemned by the Colonies, and laud
beets too late for on appeal here ; the second con-
tained such cases where appeals to the Comte here
were its prugreas ; the third comprised those
where people were actually its possession of sen-
tences ofrrostitisison pronounced by our own Courts.
His motion 'tool no reference whatever to she fir►t
or second class ; it related solely to the third, He
watt perfectly bee to state, that the King of Spans
'night (without any colour of a right to Sisteifere
on our part) adopt what regulations his might think
advisable. resuming; the elision* of Isis own sub-
jects. He rind not desire to trench on the right in
the first or second class. It might be asked,, why
lie would except the third ?—wloy suit (cave them
to the justice of the thug of Spain? Ile would
answer, became there were others concerned its the
sati►flction of these claims as well MI that Poten-
tate. lit the liqustistsos► of them, the character of
the country was at stake. The country hail pledg-
ed its Will to see all the claims settled, %WPC jus-
tice had beets reoigosised by insown Courts. From
Use Petition alluded to. it appeared there had beets
four cases its which sentence of resiitutiou had beets
gurees; ivro in January. the third its May. the
fourth in the beginning of I)eceisaber, ISI7.
date of the ratification of the Treaty was the 47th
of November. 'rise sentence of rest►►ution Was
to br looked ens as the drove of it tribunal
rPtiddislied by the law of. stations. It was not
comm.:est wills ualiousl honour and the high
post this comasy tuaintained antoug the
na-
tiuus of the world, to sutler such a sentence to be
a mere dead letter. Happily. the law regulating
the proceedings of that nature between dillertut
commits through all liiirope. did not proceed on
abstract prion..iples of tight mid wrong. but bar( at-
tained. particularly 111 our loco, the etrbsiuty and
precisitni of municipal. law) dud though it Nil

"That they have punned the course presefibed by
law for this realittition.;. and at a great taproom: •
" That the House being deeply interested in flee invinta-
hilily of judgments pronounced is the competent legal in.
stitutions of the land, rerunonsgads 40 Royal Highness
the Prince Regent to take Me proper ►teps to give the par.
ties aggrieved the full effect of the adjudications they have
already obtained."

Lord CASTLEREAGH was ready to bear the fn Pest
te.tiinoity to the fair and clear manner in which the:
Ilion. and Learned Gentleitum hit:idol:l this subject
ler the consideration of the House, mid 1w
looped he should have the satisfaction of rensrving
the impressions under which the Nun. nod Learned
Gentleman laboured, mid Convincing I • that the
cases to which lie Order' by no awaits .innueached.
the equity of the arrangemeitta with sPain. He
did nut know:that the Hominid Leirsitd Gentleman
would dispute the proposition that the Sovereign of
one comitly was veiled with the
.supreme authority.
of entering into any composition or arrangement with
the Sovereign of soother, on the subject of theclsima
or rights of hii subject*, and Omit hm nail the power
of either revoking or commuting them. The Sove-
reign was the repiesentative cattle State, and it ‘lls
his imperious duty to watch over the rights of his
sitbjecis, and see into the mode in which they were
administered. If the Crown bad not this power;
than there must result an endless litigation about
individual claims, or et4oustlStat warfare on the sub-
ject with neighbouring st.,tes: , The Crown had,
the right of making this arrungetneid, according to
all writers on international law. But the corium'
was lint left for discussion on its mere abstract
ground ; far there were two cases iu point where
the SoVerrigoi had Eirreised this sight. One was
the Treaty of Vienna, in 1715. wherein it wins sti-,
palmed that the King of Portugal should re-
ceive 300.0006 as a full satisfaction .for the claims
of his subjects oils case like die present., l'lse
other was the American Treaty of 11763. In that case
there had bier's several suijistliiiiiitoss obtained in
the Anserican,Conrta by British subjects,
.fur 441 j 11,
ries sustained by them glom% the was ; mid yet they,
were all finally arranged and /vermeil by the stipu-
lations of the Treaty entered into between the, tiro
Governments, and without individual reference in
the judgments of the Murder's Courts. In that
case, indeed, the Goveramem acceptejl t~oiri Ame-
rica a sixth or a 'seventh of tikatanitist of the actual
r• losses of British subject's ; shout lioo.ttooL it' lie
recollected right, was these tateu for.clairysof nem ly
6,000,0001. ; whereas id thqpreSedi. Treaty with
Spain. the sum given vas tie jibe full extent a rem 11..
iteration of all the Chiles ofAllipartiat subjects fur the
losses complained of.—(Hestr.)-&The 014 quer.-
firm therefore Was (for the rigitt;t( the Sovereign an
Make the arraugemeot was, lie ittipreliendedi
Inssis—
potable), whether the arritogsuneist was a wise and
roper oeto for this counerg. 4 wasp ',O course. 110
eetivideristints here, hug far the .If 'elf Spain hurl
Knardad the rights of his own su lap cit. it was clear
that the stipulation did Hot destroy, as;. had hee.i
said, the rights of the individuals in ol.tain redress,
neither did it impeach the trilinnak before which
the cases were pending ; It twilit to transfer
the effect of these jittlgoueass to the Crown of Spain.
It was worth considering, with reference to the judt.r,-