The Sun.
London, England, 1830-07-10 00:00:00

GEVERAL DARLING.

Mr. O'CONNELL, after swing the ease to be
one of great hardship and severity., moved that an
humble Address be presented to his Majesty, pray-
ing that he would be graciously pleased to order
that there be laid before the House n copy of the
deptssitions and other proceedings against Dennis
MiCue, prisoner of the Crown in New South
Wale&

Mr. HUMZ took the opportunity of rising in
consequence 001tritat bad occurred in the House
yesterday on the subjeet of :New South Wales.
The opinion which he had formed of. General Dar-
ling was founded not on the case to which his Hon.
Priend the Member for Clare had just called the in-,
tendon of the House, nor on the ease of the pai-
-1 tioner of yesterday, but on what appeared to be the
general tenor of his Rotoluct. From every quarter
he bad heard of charges against biro. indeed be
submitledi whether the bare fact that u Governor
of a colony found it necessary to have retains° to
prosecutions for libel against himself, the unfortu-
MIN editor aharged with which was tried by a Jury
seven officers ticketed by the Adjutant, ought
I,ot. to open the eyes of the Right lion Gentleman
awl coneince him diet there was something not
right, which it was atterepted to stifle? These
pretended Mode .:were read in the Rouse the other
evening, and he was persuaded that not even the
Attorney-aerteral Of this.coontry, with all his tena.
Icity on the subject, would consider them deserving
of notice, When he saw General Darling, how„
ever, prosecuting for libel every -
newspaper irr th`•
colony,- it we-, in his opinion, at least priina facie
oidouee that there was something wrong in his con.
duCt. The Right lion, Gentleman might refuse to

cell the Governor back, to ansiger for his conduct;
bet, in the next Parliament, it would be indiSpen-
sable to bring the subject again under the considers-
lion of the House. He hoped, however, that care
would be taken to retain the individual hose peti-
tion was received yesterday, that he might be a wit-
ness on the case, and not be sent out of the wily to
some distant settlement, as his evidence must be of
considerable importance. He had been requested
to state by his lion. Friend who presented the pe-
tition yesterday, that the petitioner had considered
it unnecessary to mention any of the circumstances
which had occurred at Chatham, and which had
occasioned his , imprisonment. The serjeaut there
bud ordered him to receive some coffee instead of
soup; he refused, as it was contrary to the regula-
tions-of the army, and because he would not pay for
the coffee, he was declared guilty of. what wits
termed insubordination, and remained in the guard-
house nine weeks waiting for the decision on his
case of the Commander-in-Chief, when he was con-
demned to two months' imprisonment and hard labour,
a sentence which was not carried into execution, as
it was declared to be contrary to law. It was singular
that the officer who took the most active part
against the petitioner at Chatham was Capt. Grey,
who was Adjutant at Sidney when the petitioner's
original punishment took place. There might be
nothing in it; but the unfortunate petitioner found
it difficult to separate the two circumstances. He
would now advert to the Address which had been
presented in the colony to General Darling, a copy
of which he held in his hand. It was sagned by
115 persons out of a population of 30,000. That
Address was prepared by the Colonial Secretary,
and was carried round privately for signatures. If
General Darling bad been conscious that his Go-
vernment deserved approbation, he would have
called a public meeting, such as that in February
last, when four or five hundred persons assembled
to petition for an extension of their rights. Of the
115 persons who had signed the Address, 45 were
Magistrates (out of 150 in the colony); 22 were
persons who had not been six months in the
colony; twenty were persons who were peti-1
tioners for lands and other benefits at the dig-
posal of the Governor. Such was the way in which
this Address had been got up. He was prepared
to prove that an official officer who had refused to
sign it had been since sent home. In fact, the
power which the Governor possessed in the colony
was much gieater than that of the King of .Eng-
lund. He could grant a thousand or two thousand
acres in any favourable spot. He could grant to
any individual as manyservants as he chose. He
could create Magistrates. He could give importance
to any one. With so much influence the wonder
was, that there were so few signatures to the Ad-
dress. He understood that several of those who
had signed the Address had since received grants
of land. if the Right Hon. Gentleman opposite
' would look at the list of grants, and then at the
list of the signatures to the Address, he would
find among the latter the names of several per-
suns who bad recently arrived in the colony, and
who had since received grants of land. It was
a singular thing, that out of 115 persons who
had signed an address declaring that the Governor
' had been traduced by the Press, ninety-six took in
the identical papers, the conductors of which, they
declared, bad behaved so extremely ill. The means
which the Governor had resorted to for protecting
his character were such as must destroy every paper
in the colony. In the next Session he hoped that the
subject would be brought fairly forward, and that
justice,would be done to the colony. If Governor
Darling should be able to give the lie to all the
charges preferred against him, he (Mr. Hume)
should be most ready to allow that he had been
deceived. He was at present, however, satisfied in
his own mind that such was not the case, and that
the interests of the colony of Now South Wales re-
quired the removal of the Governor, and the placing
of the colony under the influence of the English
laws, so that no man should be allowed to promul-
gate what law ho pleased.
Sir M. W. RIDLEY defended the conduct of
General Darling.
Sir G. MURRAY said that the Hon. Member
for Aberdeen stated the information, which he hail
probably derived from some of the most violent and
prejudiced persons in the colony, as if he had re-
ceived it from the most authentic sources. That
Hon. Member, as well as the Hon. Member for
Chine, had talked of the danger of an abuse of
power in the colonies. But might there not also
he abuse of power by a Member of that House ?
Might not an Him. Member of that House throw
out imputations upon a public officer, derived from
sources' unworthy of credit, but which received im-
portance from the distinguished station of the person
who uttered them? He confessed that be could harshly
conceive a more indiscreet use of power;. especially
where the individual (barged was at such a distance
that he had no immediate power to reply. The
lion. Member for Aberdeen had, for instunce, read
the statement of the soldier himself, as if it could
be considered authentic. As to the Address which
had been alluded to, he (Sir George Murray) had
no doubt of the respectubility of the individuals by
whom it had been signed. But it was not for him
to be influenced by any consideration of that nature,
By the evidence, and by the facts alone, must he be
guided. At present, he felt perfect confidence in
the Governor; but if, on strict investigation, it
should appear that his conduct had been improper,
he would certainly not defend it. But he must
strongly object to such statements as that which
had been made by the Hon. Member for 'Aberdeen.
It had been imputed as a crime to General Darling,
that the Juries in New South Wales were military;
but that was in conformity to the regulations of the
Act of Pediment.

Mr. HUME said be WWI willing to produce evi-
dence at the bur in proof of the charge.
The CHANCELLOR. of the EXCHEQUER
said, that to produce the evidence of the accused in
proof of the charge he himself made, was:tot what
he (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) called satis,
t ory proof.

Mr; fIUME said he would also produce other
witnesses to substantiate the charge.

General GROSVENOR could not believe a
permit of so mild a disposition as General Darling
could have been guilty of the charges alleged against
him,

Sir R. VYV VAN wished to ask the Right lion.
Secretary for the Colonies whether it was true, us
stated in the publics papers, that the system of the
New Police had been introduced at Gibraltar.
Sir G. MURRAY said there had been such an
establishment formed at Gibraltar prine:pally for the
purpose of protecting the health of the inhabitants,
but that it was not the intention of Government to
extend it to any of the other Colonies. _ _

Lord 14011,PBTEI presented ft petition in favour
of the Northern Roads Bill.

LATIOUIMRS' WAGES DILL.

Mr. LYTELETON stated, it was not his in-
tention to proceed farther with the Bill this Session.
He felt deep regret at being obliged to do so, not
from his private disappointment, but tram the great
injury wine!: would be inflicted on the manufac-
turing districts by the postponement of the measure.
tie then moved that the House rezolvo itself into a
Committev on this question that day month.
Mr. BROUGIIAM concurred in the feeling of
regret that the measure must necessarily be post-
poned, and expressed his determination to support
it next Session.

Mt% WAnnunTozi, Mr. OURNIIY, and Mr. 110-
BiNsON expressed their satisfaction ut the Din not
being passed without further consideration.
Sir IL PEEL did not think the principle of the
13111 was opposed to the sound doctrines of com-
mercial Wei course.
The Consolidated Fund Bill was read a third
time, and passed, after Mr atvENvoRT had recom-
, lii!nded a system of reatitr economy in all branches
of public expenditure.
>ilr4.. MACKINTOSH in reference to his
umPPed Ora
et respecting the Danish Claims, gave