The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1818-01-29 00:00:00

IMPEI:IAL PM:LUMEN I.

HOUSE OF LORDS, WeDNF.KDAY, JAN 28.

Tilt Duke of Noo.Tillialnallll.AND, and the Bishop of
look the oaths soil their rests.

lir. !heels, front the Moron preacnted the Ynteul
contemn: the office of Clerk of Parliament, by revcraium,
upon George Henry Roar, Eaq.

THE SLAVE TRADE.
The F.srl of LI V POOL Mist on she table a Copy of a
Tteasy roucludrd between his Britasnic Majesty and She
Kiux of Spans, by uhu•h tla• latter ',minimise his subjects
from rarr)inx on she Stowe 'Froth.: within certaiss
REPEAL OF THE ACT FOR SUSPENDING THE

LIBERTY OF THE SUBJECT.
bird SlDlaotriril brought in a Bill for to relied
as Ar•t or the last Session, eimblitig his Majesty to
imprison mid detain iii confinement persons sus.
petted of disaffection towards Ins ilaje-ty's person
iisol Grows 1111 l en%

•Elie 8111 !wino' read a firq time, the Noble Lord
di-sired that the Order of the House, of the :Nth of
Jane, 1715, forbidding aBM to piles th gli more
than one stage on the saute night, should be read,
for the intrinwe of snowing its suspension with re-
gard to the Bill before the House.

Toe Order was read,sill suspended ; and on the
tonti 4444 for the seetstrd reading of the 801 l
Lord I N o rose—.' 1 sin not going In op
;nose the riiceeditigs atow adopted by the Noble
Lord, hilt I c.tnuut permit them to ;sass altogether
without observati .... , test they might seem to imply
an assent on illy par!, that the passilig of the Act
of the last SerSloll was justified by necessity. I
am ready t.. acknowledge that his Majesty's Mi-
nisters, in repealing that Art, sod iu su-peorliii:
the Oiler of the House to facilitate that repeal as
much as possible, have done much more than I
could have expected; but with this niggardly c -
mend:dims they must remain satisfied, fur that Ant,
iu suspeorling the liberties of the subject, I shall
ever consider as one of the most singular calami-
ties that had of late years visited us--a calamity not
only as being productive of molly evil consequences
while it existed, taut of other evils which this coin-
annuity will long continue to sutler ; and impressed
with this belirf—whether the Ministers had acted
upon erroneous information, or whether they had
willingly listened to any suggestions that might ex-
cite umsecessary apprehension' in the ;white mind, on
taint+ they might futiml a system of arbitrary power
—and feeling deeply that the Act had been harshly
and cruelly exercised, I ,hall slot rest a sti,fird with
a mere measure of repeal. Nothing can, in uty
wind, lie more ilsstructive to society than the
suspension of the rights of individual liberty—a
right not given by Huy Act of Parliament—not con-
ceded to the people by any indulgence of the
Crown—not asserted, for the first time, by the
Act of !Libras Corpus; but a right inherent to the
people of this country, equal iu antiquity with the
first records of our existence—equal to the right
whereby, my Lords, we vote in this House—and
equal to the right by which his Majesty holds his
Crown.—/hyraces of Hear, Beats.)-1 therefore
consider, that %heti Parliament agrees to suspend
the liberty of the subject, it commits au act
not leis violent Iliait that of tuthioeuditig the
right of the itself, anti I hold our ito less
thisit the other to hP a lelit.iiii:o33ry 30. W01111(b•
Of this d, vription ealinolt be Iliilleied on the Con-
stitution', atilt again lightly healed, without liimrg
behind some scar to tarok the previous so ii
I lailw then that sill soleitiii
inquiry into the ealiNes of rai its bitrary a proceed-
lug—nut by MeUlla of ex.parte evidence, nor of
such as might be presented by ',articular indivi-
duals, but by coofrouted aid that you
aid fully examine into what had ;passed before the
ell:sewn-0 of the law, to jut ify such a measure;
mid what has Larsen I toter, to ascertain the manner
iii which :outflowy so high has been exerted. I
know it will be considered trite and iiitueersatery to
dwelt MI earnestly orison this subject hut the right
I contend for is Mien°, not even-to that of Aisles'',
itself, and yet su alleged conspiracy was 11 gist
sufficient cause fur Its repeal. gut, my Lords,
ask yourielvra whets the Act for securing that right,
alms tie Act of Habeas Corpus was parsed, and
by veto persona it was prepared and ettletred My
buds, it was enacted iu the reign of Charles 11. it was
ue.u.ally draw"' up by au ancestor of a Noble Lord
now opposite to me [alluding, we presume. to the
Karl of Slisitealnery], and who, by that one acti
compensated for all the alleged guilt imputed to
es lin, whether justly or tint, by lon,
iistorians.
oleo ton was chosen for the purpose ',lien bush
houses ui Pat lisment rung with 41111111 IS of trca4ons

aed conspiracies, %Atli the resotry was 111 tumult
and agitattinio, weed wbe plot woe staccereled by ow-
Mher. whew *we wee the it%tr-howse Plot, aw.d the
ewl-tub Piro; and yet tio* it is thought sulicielet
to Poetry the cruel. barite total unfeeling exercise
ArhitrAry power, if au imaisuatiem be thrown out
of a coaspinicy, toil used, perhaps, by the dreigna
init. eels of Gower ##### test informer,. 'This I speak
with the more toistitleticei us nothaug has (sectored
meter loot &easiest' to prove the necessity of such a
Plutlisisg transpired at the trials in the
Metrepolse, nothing et Derby, liothiug in Scot laud.
In Scollaud, indeed, we had heard of treetentlems
oath'. the wiry reading of which would Curdle
etw'o Wood; bet the Lee Ofileere of the Crown
in that pert of the Iva:plod, failed in their at-
tempt to convict testy ineliVidthal. We shell, Noe-
ever, I e told, that much ittisishief wee prevented ty
the act. winds is called a ptecautiunary measure.—
Good (J..d ! shall the liberty of the people, she I the
eel eseetite of the Constitution be eusileittled„ arol
shall it, in courtly phreee, be wily called a pit.
cautionary measure ? We certaitaly ate iie a better
state at precut thou we were lost year in she revival
of trade, and iii respect to the prices of provisions
awl till all., is attributed to these itteetorsittliTeiy
measures ! But see the felicity of Ibis argument ;
should the country cat the end of the year be be
safety, the Minitters will, of course, say, it lies been
caused by their measures; but should these nice-
sures, on the contrary, and as might filet Lieu ex-
peeled, drive the people to madness, they
turn its you, mid point to the consequetieee of tlt.:
law as a proof of its necessity /leer, bear.)—
One alleged object of the law was tic mimeo-sakes
of blasphemous publications. AI itch has beet. spoken
about trials on Ulla subject ; but slurs tiny nue
imagine that blirpliensy has beets rto.pre.arrl hiy
the prosecution of Mr. flour? On such a subject I
am unwilling to speak it. a public usseinhly ; sow
should I he willing to !raid any coutetenatice It. rucu
productions. At a molter of taste, cf
suet even of decency, they ought to lie thscourrgail ;
but I
must ear, that the prosecutious, exhihittag
the grossest 'cents of hypocritry, were possibly still
more duigurting these their object. It is absuril:u
imagine that the defence of religion was %%hist .-
duced Ministry' to prosecute Mr. Hone ; let am'
one who thisiks so. say, whether, if the obj' et of the
parodies had been to eidicule the Oppusitton, that
the Ministers would have ordered the Law I)Iri eta
of the Crown to punish them ? I reatierulter,
:if ter some Omni's of Mine had retired from vend
that it parody far ere tilting in its 11.41,1,1-
any lately prosecuted, because it was its I..ticrela
parody on the very words of °UR Loan
appeared •gnisist Mr. Paull, in all the era spit' rt,
melee the thfluence of the 'Treasury. And It t nur
say, that however reprehensible it may lee to iltht
with levity any port of the liturgy of our Church,
still the crime is of a very different character whets
the words isstrodted tore only a bonnet' production,
from that of impiously udiculitsg the very words eel
GOD. Ido not say, shat because alien I,lreisetio
have beets passed over test others sl let be etalftred
with impunity, but I most condemn that feeling.
that, u tide r lime pretence of inuterrlitt;
will ems at a political purpose, aiiil draw ru
OdOoll UllO5l a titan, that. under the statue of
our °Wetter, he should be puoitheil iii reality
for another. I inn desirous of knowteg what may
be the Noble Lord's intention respecting lie neepitty
to whir li I have alluded. I understand that nob, e
has been given in another place of the
Oft. Ciiilliniltee to investigate this neater. To a
Committee I have lio objection ; but 1 motet say,
that it their Report be, re its the rarlairr imagist:re,
founded altogether upon evidence prepared by the
' Miteistere only, without viva race evidence, without
having the doors of the Cu ttttt titter-room throo is °pro
' to every species of information, nu mutter w;tence
' prover:6llg. to my wind it will carry no corivic•-
tins., Mud will, I fear. be far from satisfactory to the
country. Stone of' the inquiry onus!, of cower, Ise
secret ; but if tillUrmatiois be received hum every
souse.. I believe it call be proved, that nut only
had Ministers themselves been grossly misled,
but that they lead withheld from the Committee
such informatiou of which they themeelves were
possessed. which, if properly submitted, must Imre
neaterodly altered the tendency of the Reports.
bliall trouble your Lordships 110 further; by having
this couviction or my mind, 1 could slot rest semis-
litd with a silent vote on this subject."
Lord Stostourit—" The niggardly praise with
which the Noble Lord lets honoured the present
act of his Majesty% Ministers, seems to have been
lie only part of his speech that related to the imb-
ject betore your Lordship:4, but the Hill now lying
an the Nide is a stlfficit sit answer to Ills I.ollllllCost.
The Noble Ler., eta out with waling that no neces-
sus existed for the measure whicii this
Bill re-
p.eal.. and lie lois thought limper to :e•peit t,l.it his
,%jajemy's Alinoters had presented to the Secret
Committee garbled anal penli it statements, while
they ur a contrary deacriptior.
The Noble Lad, 14111 Confident. would test snake
any statement which he ili,l not think was loutioled
in truth ; but I can assure hnu, that, on this point.
his infermation was Wholly talee, nor were stay
deewue:its withheld from the ...°onsissittee 014
tnielit ruul.lr diens to form a etstrect upbeat's
on the suite of the country. The Noble NO
hiss said tlitet the sisearause bud Neu of ten' use
in nisiestaisiing the tranquillity of the country, wheels
had been solely effected by other meow but no twee-
son hos oteerwted—aml it bas been distinctly ackuow-
ledged in the Prince Regent's Speech—sal:sr trot be
this measure alone *boob, the 'freesia improved
state of the country be attributed-aaliat ienieovt-
mesa which is so legitimate a cause of cone:route-
t 1111 l and which proves that the Noble Luca* opteo_
site, whatever may be their gills, are not mellowed
with the gift of prophecy—for molting could he
more different than the prrstet,t state of the country
with what their gloomy furebading• had propfievied;
that inlirruceinent was however, its iso soma
gree the result of that nieesure, used in no-
thiog .etc its good etkets vaiire evident tindi