The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1818-02-24 00:00:00

CITY OF LONDON PETITION.

Lord HOLLAND presented it Petition from the
Lord 111.iyor, Aldermen. and Common Council of
London, praying their Lordships to institute an
immediate, rigid. and impartial inquiry into the
conduct of his Majesty's Ministers. during the con-
tinuance of the Act fur suspending the liberties of
the Subject; and that the matter should be re.
ferred to a Committee, of which none of the Mem-
bers should be pensioners, or holding places under
the Crown ; and that they should nut assent to any
Bill which might protect Ministers or their agents
from the consequences of their illegal and arbitrary
conduct.
The Petition was ordered to lie on the table.
REPORT or TFIESECRET COMMITTEE.

The Duke of Mon.:lit:w presented to their
Lordships the Report of Ilar tirriLt Committee,
which, on the motion of his Grace, was read. It
was in substance as folloas :
" The Loads' Committee appointed by this
Honor to examine mud report of certain tempers pre-
sented by the cot iiiii and of his Re. 3 al Highness the
I" i a Regret, in a sealed hag, and to whom other
papers. alto contained in sealed hugs, hate been
subsequently referred, Repot t as follows:
" Your Cominett.e, is, perusing this inquery,
thought proper first to consider such 'rapers ab
contained ilifermaition respecting the state of that
':art of Ertgiatiti wind, was represented as in a
stale of elistutbaiwe it. the Reports of the for-
mer Secret Committees. The former Reports its-
Imisord dint a general rising bud hero resolved
upon in iiiii ny parts of the country, which wus
to take place immediately utter the debates in
Patli.nuent, on the motion for u Reform, and
thut Nottnighain was appointed as the place of
concentration ; that the insurgents were therms 1

to march for London, pliandering the houses on
their way for antis and such oilier ph•ices are
were likely to aftord oily. It ails° appeured
front concurrent information, that the nue
anhorquettily appiorqed for th 9th or 10th of
Jour ; and the iteport addlM, that in con-
sequence of the vigilance of trii Majesty's Govern-
Inca, the activity of Abe Itlagistrates, the ready co-
operation of the regulse,itottps` and yeomanry ca-
vats y, the knowledge of themitention, and the arrest
of the principal leaders, carawl, the postpeuement
of this resolution.
" it mow appear, to your oOlumit tee, that on the
9th *fluor an insurreetsoit did take place in Der-
brayer', headed by a person who had gone thither
ftraMprottiagliata for that ,puepote, and 'better call-
us' lime Nottingham Captaig. This nisurrection
was sqs beestishitle rem Hue jrabon engaged in
it ; bet leseetigis=t4 Wrevass. they athrineed
IttsaavorSelti where they expected W he
jeiose&irli large body of .their. confederates. On
tbeleietweil they plusideeed seventh houses, and one
geilerwee actually roturnittert. They had pro-
raid to reach Not i uglier» early on the morning
of the 10th June, 'eta they might surprise the
military it their hair r„. used thus ebtoih a on
of the town ; but theWdistaisition to plantiertalla dr •
leyed theii ilkftisii4-tsetettlidy to &if;
pease them. nave tee- be no doUbs bat lhat'their
ohject was trt rtelletwassit the 00VCCIIMlelli, howeves'
wild and tlifietilight 444 scheme might appear,.
Hat many of them beeerieb alarmed by the violence
of their own precertlings—b) the murder that had
been coininittetts-And Iseraa.e that their confede-
rates had not arrived, and a disposition hostile to
their proceedings having manifested itself to the
several villages through ninth they passed, many
of than dispersed. This circionstance, though
small in itself, was, however. of considerable im-
portance, ass au evident crii.sequence of wp bast
been detailed in the former !tritons.
*1 Indictments were found against 46 of these
persons by the Gimlet Jury of Derby, and several
of them were arraigned to•fore the Special Com+
mission which W 34 hell io Deiby in (October lush'
Four of them were capitoily convicted, of whom
three were executed ; aud the capital piiiikliment
of the other remitted, on condition of transporta-
lion. li, consequence of these (41111V11:16>I1N, l!)
others withdrew their ideas of Not Gnilly, and
pleaded Gotitty—and the sentelices of death pa-std
ou them in consequence weir reunited for several
considerations.

" The fact of the trunsietion hrintr found to tlte
satisfaction ur the Growl Jury of Derby, being sotto-
segurootly proved to the watis.litetion of the lime
Petit Juries who convicted the traitors, and ;novo
also by the pleas or vuilty by vo many persons, Hp-
parietal. tome the credit dile ten the in Cot-
(nation (obtained tY.Miatistry, relative to this exten•
mive insurrectioo. '

" This occurrence in Derby, however, was not
the only proof of a general conspiracy, of *lnds Not-
tingham was to Ile the head. Ou the same night
that this insurrection broke out iii Del by, the town
of Nuttingliain suffered courideretble agoattoo.
the iiisurgeou frosts Derbyshire advanc,d towa,de
Nottingham, one of the leaders was sent forward nu
horseback, who reported Mist the people of Notting-
ham were favourable to them. On the night of the
9th ofJUlte a body of about 100 persons assembled
WI the racecourse of Nottingham Forest, where the
others were to meet then. They were tern there
about twelve o'clock at night, drawn up /two deep,
and armed with pikes and guns, and to remained
until two. The military at Nottinglum were on the
alert fur that night, but were called from their bar-
racks again on the morning of the 10th, when they
were employed to disperse the Derbyshire hill's..
gents.
•• A similar feeling manifested itself about the
same time iu the West Riding of Y..rksliire. Ois
the 6th of Juice deputies assembled! at Thor, hill
Lees. near Huddersfield, where they were surprised
by she Magistrates. The arrest of several of these
deranged their meet/limp; but In the neighbour-
hood of Huddersfield a coosideruble body of armed
men assembled, also fired on the yeonianiy.
ral of these were arraigned, but sufficietit evidreoce
could not be obtained to bring them to justice.
" It appears to your CommitteepAtiat through-
out all these affairs a great reliance seerus to have
been placed twos powerful support horn London,
however effollleoYO such an expectation might in
reality have been. But your Committee heal the
satisfaction of stating, that As great body of people
appear to have remained wholly untainted.

" The arrest of some pavans. the tintl and eon-
victim] of others, had a salutary .fleet in checking
the desire of the people to embrace the drill crate
measures to which distress had unhappily proutpied
Ilitru. But iu London there are lierbutill SaniV at
lively employed in fomenting discontent, with in..
deed diminished numbers and &muss. but still it
appears to your Con aaaaa ttee that the utmost ►igi-
lance of Goys r 1111 l eist mud the activity of the Magis-
trates are absolutely necessary.
4` Your Committee having thus investigated the
state of the country alluded to in the farmer Re-
ports, next proceeded to examine the paprri ir-
Intim; to the arrest and detention of persons by
warrant front the Secretary of State for the Home
Drpafttment, under the Act of the la,t Sesame.,
11.1111 it,pect to those against whom indictments
lard subsequently been found mid convicted, it is
mince• sway to speak. There ore tun persons
against %shorn warrants had been 1,411c.1, hut who
hive escaped. Forty-four persons were arrested
who have toot been brought to trial. Seven of
throe were discliarKed 0,1 rNatal,l4lll:l, .11101 14gainit
17 warrants of detention were i5,u,.41. (it thesf,
three were discharged, .iO,l inc .11,1 in prison.
But, throughout. the conduct of his Maj,st)'s mi-
nisters was peritctly Justifiable. It ovirrato. to
your Committee that no itoityidu;,l hrl irrc at
any time airtsted, except by Minn:: t•, 1. , oath.
and that they were afterwards, flue I:,i,e in tun:,
set at liberty, as the state of 11,c toa..f.ti, 4;;;1 t: