The Sun.
London, England, 1822-07-20 00:00:00

Mr. SCARLETT, as a lawyer, denied'that the King ever
had, countitutionally, the power which the Bill required. From
various authorities he could prove that the writ of ne exeet rcgno
had been issued at first to prevent Clergymen from leaving the
country. They were, according to Lord Keeper Wright, re-
medial writs, for justice sake. lt was unfortunate that the
generality of lawyers now were desirous of extending the privi-
leges and prerogatives of the King. Lord' Coke, however, had
said that no man could be arrested or imprisoned by the King's
prerogative. Lord Coke was, at least, as good authority as the
Honourable and Learned 3lember for Oxford. Prerogative
lawyers hunted much for specious cases, but if they sought
deeply into the Constitution, they would find that prerogatives,
unless sanctioned by the Constitution, when well understood, and
by modern practice also, were not prerogatives, but assump-
tions of power. Aliens ought to be prevented from entering
into machinations in this country ; but the House ought not to
enact a measure, which would give his Majesty's Ministers ar-
bitrary power. A gallant officer had said a responsible power ;
but the g'allant officer was ignorant of the nature of the Bill in
Isaying so.
Col. STANIIOPE—" The responsibility of public opinion."
Mr. SCARLETT maintained that the Inquisition could as
well be tried by public opinion as the Secretary of State. The
Gallant Officer, if born in a distant possession of his Majesty,
might, on the secret accusation of an enemy,.be sent out of
England. If the Gallant Officer had, instead of being the son
of a Nobleman and a Member of that House, happened to be,
born in Japan, and still be a subject of his Majesty, his stay in;
England could be rendered dependent on the will of his Ma-
jesty's Ministers ; for they could say that he was an American,
and send him away in despite of entreaties, of imprecations,
and of declarations. If his mother had not happened to be in
this country at the time of his arrest, or if the registry and
proof of his birth were not in England, all his efforts against
the accusation of an enemy would be futile, and go he must,
perhaps to thatepart of the globe most distant from his home,
where he might vent his rage or his complaints to the winds.
The responsibility of the Secretary of State to public opinion
would afford no solace to the Gallant Officer, for the secret of
his arrest and of his banishment would rest in the bosom of
that Secretary ; and even the Gallant Officer himself could not
suppose that Secretary to be such a fool as to tell the story of
the Gallant Officer and of his woes to the world, in order to
have himself placed, before that tribunal which seemed so high
in the estimation of the Gallant Officer. As to the Bill itself,
he regarded it as an encroachment on the known principles of
the English Constitution, unqualifiable in policy, arbitrary in
enactments, and desperate in principleS, and as such he would
always oppose it. •
Mr. LOCKHART, amidst loud calls of 44 Question," op-
posed the Bill.
Mr. PEEL, in reference to the case of the Abbe Buonavista,
denied that any severity had been used towards him by this
Government. When he arrived in England, and found that
he could not be permitted to remain, he wished to be sent to
some port in the Mediterranean, but at the time the public ser-
vice did not admit of his being so sent. On the 10th of May,
Mr. Walsh, the superintendent of the alien department at
Gravesend, wrote to Lord Sidmouth, that from the Abbe's age
he required many indulgences which would not be otherwise
necessary. On the 11th a letter was returned in answer, that
the Abbe should have every indulgence he required. On the
13th of the same month, Mr. Walsh wrote that the Abbe wished
to go to Rotterdam. To this it was replied, that Lord Sid-
mouth had no objection. Ile did accordingly go to Rotter-
dam, accompanied by Mr. Walsh, who on his return stated that
he left him in such good health as that lie was enabled to pro-
ceed, the day after his arrival, in a private carriage to Antwerp.
He (Mr. Peel) felt it his duty, in justice to his Noble prede-
cessor in office, to give this explanation.
Sir R. WILSON said that the explanation had not met the
charge which he had made against Lord Sidmouth. He had
charged him with having used unnecessary severity towards this
aged man, by not allowing him to land. He wished to go to
the Mediterranean, but he was refused, (this he had under the
Abbe's own hand), and he was told that he must go to Rotter-
' dam or to Hamburgh, and he chose the former as being nearer
the place to which he ultimately intended to proceed. This he
would say was treating him with the severity of a malefactor.
Mr. PEEL said, that in tracing the correspondence on this
subject, it appekred the Abbe himself had applied for leave to
go to. Rotterdam.
Sir R. WILSON said he had the Abbe's letter in his hand,
and offered it to the Right Hon. Secretary to read.
Strangers were now ordered to withdraw, and the House di-
vided—

For the third reading - 75 I Against it - - 32
Majority for the Bill - - 43
On our return to the gallery we found
Mr. HOBHOUSE moving the following as an amendment
to the title of the Bill—
" A Bill to repeal so much of the Great Charter of England
and of other statutes, as relates to the ingress and free residence
of merchant strangers in these islands, and to assimilate in that
respect the executive authority of Great Britain to the despotic
Governments of the Continent." _ _

After a few words from Mr. PEEL, the House divided, when
there appeared,
For the Amendment, 20 j Against it, 69—Majority 49.
The Bill then passed.
The other Orders of the Daywere afterwards disposed of, and
the House adjourned aE TWELVE O'CLOCK to Monday.

--~~ ljl

MINORITY
ON MR. HUME'S MOTION,

For every Member of the Town Councils of Royal Burghs
being, Resident or having a Residence within Three Miles of

~
the Town Hall.
Abercromby,Hn.J. Denman, Thos. Smith, W.
Bernal, R. Grenfell, Pascoe Tierney, Rt. Hn.G,
Burdett, Sir F. Haldimand, W. Wilson, Sir R.
Rennet, lion. H. G. Hobhouse, J. C. Wood, Ald.
Cradock, Col. Lushington, S. ,
Calcraft, John Moberly, John TELLERS.
Crompton, S. Ossulston, Lord Hume, Joseph
Davies, T. 11. Rumbold, C. E. Monck, J. B.