The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1820-06-02 00:00:00

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in p.othowl, tiro-thirds have come its, not withstand.
Aug the Alien Bill, and out of such a number onfy
nine bad -been sent out of the rotoitre.
Sir JaYlts MACKINTOSH said, lie sheets! not hove
viten at so late an hour, hail he not been el:tided to
by his Learned Frietid. Hr would not now enter
into she thoensstun of the perticular instances of
'these mentioned by the Rollout General, though lie
thotight the great mischief arid malignity oft his Ines-
suro was its bring so susceptible of abuse from the
operation of private 110IICE, tiled ever. good intentions
on the pert of :11suisters were no security ageirist It.
Ile regarded it tint only with suspicion, hut abhor.
truce— (I lear. hear)—and tummies-ea it the widest
departure of all the inoile.rn eliaciments, from the
true erinciplee of the Constitution. It had been well
saint by the Hon. Member, who spoke.for the first
time so Oily, arid with so manly a disregard of here li
-
ditary attechinent, that it WY/ 3 law for reductur
25,000 itthatetents of this island to slavery ; and
the Noble Lnrd states the great number of persons
to be enslaved as a reason for passing the law.
The everage number of foreigners for some years
past in this country was about twenty-two their.
sand, and it was on the addition of one or two
thousand, on which the argument of the Noble
Lord principally rested. His Learned Friend
hod brought down • mass of authority to prove
'het the supreme power of the State bed the
power of banishing foreigners. Ile would concede
that every country, civilised or barbarous, had the
power; but what was it but saying that the supreme
power was supreme ? There might be a right to
exclude the fureigner from the country. but was it ;
a general right vested in the Crown of England not
only to send him from this, hut to send loin to
his awn country, or any other, however distant
or dangerous to him ? (Hear, hear, hear.)—
The precedent drawn from Elizabeth's reign had
been dog out of the paper office in 1816. when the
Alien Bill was then agitating, the party who sup-
ported it were reduced to great straits, and these
teortroclamations which commended all Scotsmen
(who were then aliens)—(4 laugh)—to quit the
kttiedeto. Many Gentlemen might be reconcil-
ed to this measure if it were now to he exer-
cised the same way : but that could not be. and
they must be content to endure the presence of
Scotsmen.—(44 laugh, and cries of " Hear, hear.")
—But further. agaisiet this there was another au-
thority, the fatal statute of 7th Henry Vii. uutho-
rising the Crown to expel all Scotsmen, under the
venal!). of is forfeiture of all their goods (no very
severe penalty. Gentlemen might think, unless
they had been some time in the country)—(4
loud laugh)—if found in the kingdom forty days
O'er tie King's Proclamation. 'f hat statute was
r?eealed by the Ist James I. and as it was in
lila force in the whole reign of Elisabeth, in-
stead of proving any thing in favour of this assump-
tion, proves directly the contrary. It was never
inentineed in the despotic reign of the most despotic
of the Tudor Princes, for even the subservient
lawyers of Henry VII. did not breathe a syllable of
the existence of such a power. What could now
t.e said of the necessity for having a summary power,
when even in Henry the Seventh's time, so long
• period as forty days was required to elapse before
tot offence could be constituted ? But we were now
grown more jealous then that Tiberius of English
1.•oory. The Proclamations of Elszabeth were in
pursuance of the statute, and no idea was then
entertained uf a common law prerogtive in the
Crown. He defied his Learned to produce from
the year books a single instance of a conviction for
thk aniedeeseanor of disobeying the King's Procla-
milieu. It had been said, that the Crown con-
ducts all affairs with foreign States. Su it did,
but out with foreign individuals—the law protected
individuals till this accursed system cuuntnenced.
There was no analogy Whatever between those rela-
Lone and the power of dealing with foreign itidi-
viduals.—they were temporary subjects, owing •
ietnporary allegiance, and entitled to a temporary
protection. fits Learned Friend had said that
two-thirds of the aliens bed come to this country
• ender these enactments ; but dud he not mean dur.
lag the war ? It never could have entered the mind
of men, native or foreigner, that six years isf.er a ge.
niersl peace, ruck a measure would he in existence
in this country. Ile was happy to observe that the
people of England were not tainted by the example
uf their Goverument—they were still generons end
!marine. As the Honourable Gentleman (Jr. B.
Well) had observed, the reasons now given for
this measure would totted good fur ever; for if
thus was not to be considered as a time of perfect
trenquillity, no time could be so but that which
some dreamers looked for, whose reveries were
well ridiculed by the man who had engraved on his
tomb pas perpetua, to indicate that that was the
only spot where their reveries could ever be realised.
Fer all the reasons which he had stated, he never
give a more hearty concurrence than to the pro.
position of the minim General.
Mr. LASIBTOti complained of misrepresentation
of his conduct io presenting General Gourgaud's
Petition. Ile had then asked the Noble Lord to
grant him a Committee, anti be would prove the
istio;e of the statements of the Petition. but that
was
rejected. He sgrred with his Hon. Friend (Sir
J. Pilackintrish) as to the present measure; and said
that three years ego, to his knowledge, the Govern-
ment had put the powers of the Act in motion, at
tee instance of the Government of the Netherlands.
The Soticeron.GestgaLL explained.
Lord CAITLESFAGH raid, that this country was,
in a diplomatic sense, 110 party to the Holy Atli-
once; and so far from the parties to that Alliance
conceiving there was Hey eittlerstani:log on the
eobject now under catisidertit ;1114 they a distinct
ouderwanding to the contrary. Only two Gueeemenis
heel altered their passports in consequence of the
Alien Law, and those were Sweden stud the Nether-
lauds, and they had given an order that the pass-
ports of the British Government should be vise,
as it was called by their Ambassadors, but on a
representation Ise believed that was not now prac-
tised, and that whatever alteration lied been made
did not arise out of any jealousy of our regulatious.
Mr. LawuTore rose again, but the order for
straogers to withdraw bring incessaut, we could not
gather what he said.
The Gallery was then cleated, and the House
divided. when there appeared—
Ayes
noes
Majority is favorer of briagiig is the
Lord Casnassaos obtained leave to bring in a