The Sun.
London, England, 1807-07-29 00:00:00

POOLE WRIT.

On the motion of Mr. JEFFERY, the House went
into the further consideration of the complaint Of
the delay in the delivery of the Poole Writ..
Mr. Jonathan Brundreth was called in, and on
examination- stated, that he received the .Writ un
:the morning of the 30th of April, and delivered
it to Mr. James Weston, at two o'clock on the same
day, in Fencherch-street, in the presence of an old
Gentleman, who, he afterwards found, was Mr.
William Spurrier. He recognized Mr., Spurrier
when he. went to Poole to ascertain the delivery of
the Writ. He arrived in Poole on Monday, the
t Bth of May, and saw Mr. Spurrier, who.told him
the Writ had been delivered. 'He was satisfied on
hearing that it was delivered, relying on'Mr. Spur-
rier's veracity. '

Atr. WILLIAM SPURRIER was then called in, and
on examination stated he had received the Writ on
30th April last. He delivered the Writ on the t7th
May, where he was satisfied the Sheriff received it.
His ignorance was the sole cause of his holding
over the Writ so long. No person at Poole knew
of his having the Writ. The Sheriff of Poole is his'
relation, his wife's brother.- He knew of no inquiry
after the Writ till the Saturday before he, delivered
it. He never knew that the Writ was cried at
Poole. He knew of no -person who was not of age
at the time he received the Writ, and who was of
age at-the- time when he delivered it. This .person
could not have voted if he had delivered the Writ
immediately. This person was no relation of his,
neither was any of the Candidates. He thought
that persOn would- have voted for Mr.. Garland, but
I he voted for Sir Richard Bickerton. He' was in
London, and took the Writ to lake care of it; know...
jug it would be in safe hands. He did not deliver it,
becalase, likel Bill of Exchange drawn at 40 days
6 ti ht, he did not think it right .to deliver it till the
p OriOd when. it Should be obligatory to make the
R own. , He paid 30 guineas for the Writ : it was
w, 'IA he was asked to pay.: he wal not -,repaid4:bor
did 'he expect to be. He knew from the
thai t be was to pay money for the Writ, but 'he
did riot know how tuna. He was prepared /to pay
WWI should he asked of him. On a question irorn
the CIIIANCP,LLOR of the ExcHEAtiEtt,'" he admitted
that h ha heard there were to hive been ether
CandiL lines, besides those who stood. Oct. being
questio.led -
.whei he answered, Sir Home ,Popliart;
His Ow Spurrier's) ion also, was expeaed to have
been a Ontididate. Fle admitted that he knew of
a person L' who 'arrived with the most urgent
ex-
i-ledition ft vn'irelatid, and voted for Mr. Garland.
On a que.6ooll heal Mr. JONES, he admitted that

- :
•principitl reason for getting poss,essiOn of the
Writ that his son intended totatrd'been a Can-
didate. He did not look fora receipt2for the Writ,
because he relied on the Sheriff's bonottrOle,char,
racier. Neither the Sheriff, nor any. others en in
Poole, knew that he had had the Writ, till the:pro-
ceedings on the present investigation had been the.
means of letting them into the fa&
Mr. Spurrier having been then ordered to with-
draw,
The CHANCELLOR of, the EXCHEQUER
said, it had . been universally admitted, that same re.!
med.y was nn.ecessars,'itf.the present pralice of issu-
ing Writs. 'A: remedy was to be proposed by an.
Hon. Gentleman. on the • other. side (Mr. Barham).
Every Gentleman would lend his aid to render this
remedy more perfea, and when it should have re-
ceived the oncurrence of the other Branches of the
Legislature, he hoped it would be effea.ual. With
respe& to. the present case, he did not• think it
would be right to press Upon the individkial.: But
as,it was evident that the obtaining and delaying of.
the Writ had arisen from some Motives not perfeEtr
ly correa, he thought w some animadversion
.3hould
take place, though he was of. opinion ,that any
punishment the House should think proper to in-
onht to cease as soon as • an opportunity to
terminate it (limpid be afforded by petittou from the
individtial.

The SPE4 KER suggested, that the first proceed-
ing ought to be a Resolution that Mr. William
Spurrier, in unduly retaining. the Writ for the last
Eleetion for Members to serve in Parliament for the
County of the Town of Poole, for 17 days, ttct b4ert
guilty of a breach of the privileges of that House.
The question being put on this Resolution,' Lord
H. PETTY felt it was quite itppossile:to refuse his
assent to the Resolution, but 'from the universality
of similar pradices, of which some instances little
short of that now before the House had.been com-
municated to him very recently., he thought the
individual now under the anintadVersion of the
House ought to be 'discharged as ~snon. after his
committal as possible. He urged the propriety of
adopting a general remedy for the abuK ; such a
remedy was essential io the honour and charaeter
of the House, in .preference to severity in a particu-
lar instance. , •

The CHANCELLOR if the EXCHEQUER
said,. an Hon. Gentleman on the other side had pro-
posed to introduce a general remedial measure,'
which he was sure every Gentleman would be ready,
,to support. He intended to move that Mr. Spur-
rier.'be committed to the custody of the Serjeant at
Arms ; and though it was not Parliamentary to
speak of an understanding to that effea, he was
sure, that as soon as a proper submission 'should.
be made, the House would give the relief reqUired.,
Mr. BARHAM urged the propriety of:a geueral're-.
medy, and with a view to obtain "some information
calculated to promote that object, proposed to call in
and examine the Messenger of the .Great Seal as to
the general proceedings about the issue of Writs.
'Mr. Rosa objected to the examination of the
Messenger of the Great Seal, who could speak to
nothing beyond the pratliee of his office. The
Messenger of the Great Seal was particularly in•
strut-led to take no fees but thos'e that custom had
established (perhaps without right) ; five gnineas for
a Writ for a(lierough, and twice as much for a Writ
for a County or City. The principal remedy for
the abuses complained of was to provide for the im-
mediate delivery of the Writ to the Sheriff.
After a few words from I‘,lr. SMITH and Mr.
STURGES BOURNE, who had no objection to the:
strietest inquiries into the praelice at the Crown
Office, so far as the Members of the present Admi-
nistration could be affeded by it, it Was agreed that
Mr. Spurrier was guilty of a
,breach of-the privileges
of the. House, and .he was ordered to be. committed
to the custody of the Serjeant at .Artits:
The CHANCELLOR 'Of the ESCHEWER took 'Oc-
casion to state, that the committal of Mr. Brundreth
to Newgatei former night, was grounded on his
Itrirnalitecon a
refusal to answer questiOns. This was
an offence, without the immediate pdnishment and
correction of which the House could not proceed in
any of the investigations and ,niquiries essential ,to •
its Constitution. The nature of the case inquired
into depended upon the taets that should be disclosed
and discovered, and admitted of quite a.ditferent
course of proceeding.
Mr. JEFFERY stated, that the Messenger of the
Great Seal, and the other persons ordered to.attend
at the bar, were not at all implicated in the critni-
nal 'part of the transaelion. He therefore. moved,
that the Order for their attendance be diScharged.
Mr. BARHAM then moved, that the Deputy Mes•
senger of the Crown Ise called to-the Bar.
This was -opposed by Sir JOHN SINCLAIR, and
the gallery was cleared tin a division, but, after some
discussion, we understand that the motion was•with-
drawn.