The Sun.
London, England, 1801-05-05 00:00:00

very considerable v:Joe in the Church ? In the
discussion of-this questiop, the House has heard a
great deal of Law-and a great deal of_ Divinity, or
rather, a great' deal of the cant of both For his
own part he did- not mean, in what he had to say,
to use much of either, for both appeared to him
very unintelligible or very dangerous, when not
chastened by the exercise of common sense. He
had read a good deal of Law, and he had also 'read
a good deal of Divinity ; he believed much more
than the Noble -.Lord. But if he had not had
recourse to common sense to chasten and correct
hi's reading, his • Divinity and Law. -together might
have driven him into arrant stupidity and folly.
In discussing this Question, he should endeavour to:
say nothing which the plainest common sense may
not at least understand. The natural manner for
arguing -the Question appeared to him to be, first,
on the reason of it ; secondly on the law of it ; au!
thirdly, on invariable usage and custotn.—But -for
the sake of brevity in the observations which he had
to make, he would depart a little from this atrder..
In the first place, he would attend A little to the
precedents quoted in the' Report :on the Table.
Evidence Thad been called to prove that he had been
in Holy Orders. This was merely for form, for
lie had always acknowledged that he had been in
Orders, and that he had held the Living of Brent_
ford. But to return to the Report, he was at
a loss to know whose Report it was, for he had
found it repeatedly stated in the Report that the
Committee had caused search-to bz made. By whom
was this search made ? Or :how were those who
made the search authoriSed to 'make any Report to
the House ?, It is in yarn to. say that they were
authorised by the Cortunitte the 'Corotnittee were
merely delegates of the flekase for a speeifice purpose,
and there is no maxim of law clearer or more incon-
trovertible, than that, delegates
.cannot , delegate.
He did nut, mean, however, to insist ea this
as an.objeaion to-the Report. Take it then as it
is laid before the House, and he could not here help
observing, that though athe Inquiries are said to
have been carried as far bacli'as the reign of Edward
the First, the -Report itself containa but a verse little
morsel of Old English. He did;cot lay any blame
on the Committee, but he did expeci that they,
would have taken care,- at, least, tintt- those whom
they delegated to make search,
iaheithi.. have beett
acquainted with the Chara&ers in 'which the Doeu.'
ments they were to search into are written. As it
happens, however, there are no leO' than eleven
blunders, in" charaaer, in the course of twentyaotte
lines. (Mr. TOOZE here-made some observations-
on the' Old Saxon Charafler, and its variations, in
proof of his assertion.) Thesc ob,,ervatimis were
not immediately important, but he thought there
could be 'no 'harm in seating-these-things. for .the
improvement of the Delegates cf the Committee,'
should they ever aga.in be ' einployed on : a similar
business. The Report states, that the Committee
have laid before _the House all that bears on the
Question, 'and all the Precedents which -can tend
to guide to a • decision upon it: But he would con-
tend, that they have not given to the House all
that: bears 6.tt the. Question. There hare been
other disputed cases, and there_ have been Reso-
intionseemsed by the 'House, declaring the in-
eligibility of certain persons or classes of persons,
who have aftersvardse • withont any formal reverial
of these eestaltitionse -been allowed to sit -in the
House. Such' has been thecase with the Attorney-
General far :ate titnc being. Resolutions were re-
peatedly come to bYthe House,-declaring his incapa-
city kisit in it. Yerthese resolutions- are never now
brought forward as a-proofol his ineligibility. Inother
cases, respeEting which, the impropriety of admitting
pasta* holding certain Offices was more apparent,
'ittts,of Parflumept were passed declaring their ineli-
gibility. For int Lance,' Ails have been passed, declar-
invy ineligibility of Coramissioriers of Excise and
Customs, o(CoMmissioneri of the
of Pensioners ditrinplelsure, of Contradors,
Now if persons having been or being in Holy Orders,
are improper persons -to sit in this House, why is
not an Alt passed, as in 'AI,: instance he had just men.
doted, declaring their ineligibility ? - should
not oppose such a law, though if it was' introduced
to 7 exclude should contend thati_aa an ex
pa-folio law, it was unjust in the highest degree.
So far as it would afi'en himself he 'should feel quite
ititiiXerent, fora seat 'in , that House lie did no:
consider as any great objea of ambition. However
he cotild not help Thinking it a little cruel in the-No-
bleLord, inst when he Was eraleavouring to (kiwi ve
• him of his seat, to slew him, in the pious and learned
_discourse which tae del:Jo-red, all the great ad-
vantages which he Wothl lose in
,being excluded
from the' House. A Bill to declare the Ineligibi-
lity. of • Persans holding Benefices in the Church to
.sit in the House of Col:mama, tly be a very proper
thing—indeed, if only carried thus far, it should
have his approbation. And were it evens_ extended
to all who ever had been in Orders, he shoald not,
on his own account, objets to it. But till such a
Bill is passed, be would assert that he had as good.
right 'to his Seat as any Member of- the Houk,
and he held
,it his duty to maintain his 'right
as strenuously as if he cared about it. The
Noble Lord has suffered himself to be • very
much misled as to the Law of. Parliament re.,
spefting Eligibility. He has quoted the opinions
-of Coke and Blackstone, bur he could mention no
less than four eminent writers on this subjeft, who
have laid down the Law precisely as he himself.held
it. He recolleded the name of Christian, a coin-
mennitor on Blackstone ; and that of Mr. Hatsell,
the late Clerk of the House, whoae..knowledge on
this subjeft must be supposed to entitle his opinion
to the highest respea. An Hon. Nit:the: of the
House, he believed, he who had a few minutes ago
called him to Order (Mr. Statwoat) has written a
book, in which he asserts that there ate several Re-,
solutions of the House of Commons, declaring the'
ineligibility of persons in Holy Orders to .sit in the
House. That Hon. Gentleman, he believed, was
also a Member of the Commitee by whom the-Re-
p ort is drawn up, but it is unfortunate for him, and
the credit of his book, that in that Committee he
mild not find .any • of these Resolutions which he
says in his book do exist. To. come to the
precedents stated itt-the Report of the Committee, of
which so-much had been said : theyearebut three in
'ntimber. The first:of them-hanpeoed no less than
z 6-8 years ago ; another of them is also of a very