The Sun.
London, England, 1836-04-22 00:00:00

stanec—it was mere pettifogging.—( Hear. her. 111 1:49.
mid Learned Member gave 14,2itiep plow4ra:l of 4oiri3Olith Ago,
that he should call fi.tt att:ention 'eV "the 1-16t‘t e tC) the eVidence
taken before thu earlbw Elee'6'n AloArrqil-e. Why did he
nut then specify Vy,lialt il‘W ii6.14.1ie of his Motion was to e ?--7
(hear) heat". Vtl'iy did he suffer the Hohle:---:,Wby 'id be
:stater kiln, against whom thy 'cb4rl,e `it'
,y. ,1% ti6l,;Jt7-77,t0
till,
I",:',rnain in total ignoOtieqf ‘4O 10., motion was to be,
until three .dap iii-'6, P-r 4; ..ear, hear.) Has his conduct to
pia betel), Itik4- ri it never happened to anybody else in thLF
Ite'.l;e to be treated as I have been by the floin.,tin,d J"..ea'r'Aed
Member for Bradford. What i." tlift,T.eit'Aea 1”e;:-1,;er s ex-
cuse for treating me in
.t,111*,i‘911),, c` ,:hy that Hon. Members
would not read f.W, f' Mort of the Committee during the vaca-
tion z t1.0431'e he postponed his motion till after the vaea-
tii)n. because Hon. Gentlemen would not read the report
during the vacation, he gave them the, whole fa,,f, the t'atitiai
not to read it in. That wal the
.to,at tngllsti of it.—(Laugh-
ter and cheers.) ; tot that Ido not now stand up here to
defend tuntelf:;-::-.1 rely on the report of the Committee. The
Hon, and Learned Member has not called for the appointment
'et another Committee; if he had, I would have Pecootleti his
motion, because I never would bare shrtinl; frOili inquiry.—
( Hear, hear.) I confess, hownvet), I thould have been sorry
to have been compelled to de iii, out of respect for the Gen-
tlemen who cernpeiioa the former Committee..—( Hear.) I
have political. ikulMositics ; the Hon. and Learned Member
.a.ys I hall political purposes. To be ea're I have.,..-4 neat.)
Is it n Crime in a Member of Parliament to entertain a political
purpose ?—( Hear.) In this ease the Hon. and Learned Gentle-
man accuses me of political corruption, and to support his accu-
sation, he reads a letter of mine, in which, having a son of my
own already returned for a borough, I offer to sacrifice 1,0001. to
proture his return for a county. And the intellect of the
Hon. and Learned Gentlemen is such, that he reads this letter
as a matter of charge against me.—(A laagh.) This puts me
in mind of a counsellor at the Irish bar, who was counsel on
one side) and of use to the other.—(A laugh.) The Hon.
any{ Learned Gentleman reads that letter to prove my political
corruption. The original tharge against me was that of pecu-
niary corruption. It Was so stated in the Times. The Timeg
no doubt tirade a great deal of money by ine-.4 near, hear,
and laughter.) It was so stated in the Morning Post, and I
suppose I was a small matter of gain to the Post too.—( Hear,
hear.) The original eltarge was a charge of pecuniary cor-
ruption, but the Hon. and Learned Member for Bradford,
feeling that facts were too strong against him, the moment I
claimed an acquittal from that charge, on his own assertion, he
instantly withdrew it.—( Hear, hear.) Now he puts it forward
again. But I will not trespass on the House. If I have been
a little more warm than I ought to be, Hon. Gentlemen will
perhaps find an excuse for me in their own bosoms. I stand
on the Report of the Committee—until that is set aside, I can
afford to despise the little cavillings of little minds.—( Hear.)
I beg pardon of the House. I have done.—(The Hon. and
Learned Gentleman sat down amidst a general cheer.)
Mr. R. COLBORNE felt that when the question at issue
first tame before the House there were too many on both sides
who looked rather for triumph than wished strictly for justice.
The Committee met it with the determination to be biased by
no feeling, and to do their duty, and no more. If the House
affirmed the resolutions of the Hon. Member for Bradford, it
would indirectly come to a decision that the Committee had
most inadequately performed that duty--(hear)—nay, more,
that it had grossly neglected it. —( Hear, hear.) He trusted,
however, that such would not be the case. It was impossible
for a Committee to be more fairly selected; it was taken from
both sides of the House, without favour and without distinction
of persons. He never saw a Committee more anxious and more
determined to do its duty, and he had watched its proceed-
ings closely and attentively.—( Hear.) They were resolved to
act honestly, and independently of party views and political
feelings, and to come to a decision on the grounds of truth,
right, and justice alone. There were two nominees, one on
each side, who acted fully up to the high character which they
bore with the profession and the public. To these the Committee
decided upon leaving the conduct of the case. They resolved
to hear alone—not to examine, and to decide upon what they
had heard. If once they had begun examining witnesses, they
might degenerate into partisans, instead of being, as they
should be, impartial judges. Their report was now before
the House. He believed it to be honest and just ; and all he
could say on the subject of it was, that he fully adhered to
every particle of it, and would not wish a single word of it
changed. It completely acquitted the Hon. Member for Brad-
ford of having brought the charge through factious motives ;
and it exonerated the Hon. and Learned Member for Dublin
from all blame beyond indiscretion. The Hon. Member for
Bradford might now think it his duty to bring the subject
once again before the House by way of experiment, but he
(Mr. R. Colborne) candidly confessed that he did not think
the Hon. Member could show any justification in the course he
had taken.--( Hear, hear.) He (Mr. R. Colborne) concurred
completely in the words of the report, that the whole tone and
tenour of the letter of the Ist of June, from the Hon. and
Learned Member for Dublin to Mr. Raphael, were calculated
to excite much suspicion and grave animadversion ; and he
had no doubt that the Hon. and Learned Member felt it, as it
had been intended, as a rebuke of the Committee ; but there
could be no second opinion upon the nature of the connection
which the Hon. and Learned Member for Dublin had with the
transaction. With the evidence of Mr. Vigors and the other
witnesses before them, the Committee could come to no other
conclusion than they had come to. The Hon. Member for
Bradford might have easily found stronger extracts in defence
of the Committee, and exoneration of the Hon. Member for
Dublin, than he had in inculpation of the one, or doubt of the
decision of the other.

" Had Mr. O'Connell's name been mentioned or suggested
by you before Mr. Raphael, in answer to your question of who
the friend was he wished to consult, named Mr. O'Connell ?
Mr. O'Connell's name had been mentioned, but not as the
friend or negotiator. We had mentioned his name, for, in fact,
I had been speaking of other candidates to whom we should
most likely apply in case of his refusing us ; and, in order to
urge him to an immediate decision, I mentioned that there
were other names, and in the course of that conversation Mr.
O'Connell's name was incidentally introduced ; but the propo-
sition of leaving the settlement and completion of the treaty to
Mr. O'Connell originated entirely with Mr. Raphael.
" Was Mr. O'Connell mentioned in any way, except as you
have stated, as the person who would be in communication with
others likely to become candidates, or in any other way except
as referee, as you have now mentioned ?—ln no other way ex-
cept as referee.
" Did you endeavour to see Mr. O'Connell after that ?—I
made it a point to see him as soon as possible afterwards.
" And how soon did you see him ?—The same evening.
•' What communication did you make to Mr. O'Connell ?
I mentioned the conversation that I had had with Mr. Ra-
phael, and I told him that I wished that he would follow it up,
and I.mentioned the particular terms on which I authorized him
to conclude the arrangement with Mr. Raphael.
" Will you be so good as to state what the terms were ?
The terms were those which I had proposed to Mr. Raphael,
1,0001. to be paid immediately, and 1,0001. to be paid on his
return.

" Arid to what purposes were those sums to be applied ?
The application of those sums were to election expenses in ge-
neral, and the expenses arising out of the election ; the appli-
cation of the first one thousand pounds was, as I expressed
myself to Mr. Raphael, to be to the payment of part of the ex-
penses then incurred for the petition that had just been de-
cided at the moment, and the other part towards the ensuing
election expenses, the expenses arising out of the contest ; the
second one thousand pounds I generally stated was to be given
to the fund, which I had always mentioned to him it was ne-
cessary for a candidate to subscribe to, for the purpose of pro-
tecting the voters, and registering expenses, and the inci-
dental expenses attending the elections in the county.
" When Mr. O'Connell was referred to, was there anything
said or understood, as far as you could collect from what
passed, that Mr. O'Connell was to have any thing to do with
the distribution of the money ?—Certainly not.
'• To whom was Mr. O'Connell to account for that money ?
—He was to account to me on behalf of the Liberal Com-
mittee. Mr. O'Connell was but the banker in whose hands it
was deposited, and to whom we were to apply as we wanted
the money."
He (Mr. R. Colborne) would next draw the attention of the
House to the bill transaction, because the Hon. Member for
Bradford had pressed hard on that subject. In Mr. Vigors's
evidence, p. 117, were to be found the following facts :
" I find, about the 14th of August, two bills were obtained
from Mr. O'Connell, one for 2751., and the other for 399/.,
the one payable in sixty-one days, and the other in ninety-nine
days, drawn upon a person of the name of Ayre. Do you know
who got them ?—Mr. Fitzgerald got them.
" Were the bills brought to you ?—They were.
" Did Mr. Fitzgerald make that application by your direc-
tions ?----Yes, he did.

" What did you direct him to apply for ?—For the balance,
In fact, of the 2,0001.—0 f the whole money.
" Was your application for the balance in cash or in bills?
—I made no particular demand either for cash or bills. I asked
'or the balance.

" Did you accept the bills for the balance for your own
convenience, or for Mr. O'Connell's accommodation, or for
what other reason ?—I received them with as much case and
satisfaction as I should have done the cash, Mr. Fitzgerald,
at the same time, mentioning to me that Mr. O'Connell had
particularly desired him to say, that if I wished for cash he
would send me cash Instead. I said that it was of no conse-
quence.
" Do you mean to say that in this matter Mr. O'Connell
acted entirely as your agent, or through you as agent of the
Liberal Cornmitteu r,---Dectdedly. .

" Anil In no respect except as agent of you, or through you
of the Liberal Committee ?—ln no other respect.
" Chairman—Are the Committee now distinctly to under-
stand from you that 2,000/. paid by Mr, Raphael was ex-
pended its the lt6gai apenges of the election, find in the de=
knee of the petition ?—Every shilling of it was expended itt
what I consider legal and necessary expenses, and what I am
advised are legal and necessary expenses.
6' Was the 2,000/. always forthcoming when you applied for
it to Mr. O'Connell,. find it'liett t.taid in bills en long (Niel was
there any loss or delay attending them 7__`i he trittney WaS
forthcoming the very instant it was wanted and called for, and
the transaction respecting the bills did not-cause us to lose one
single shilling of the money, nor was there loss to any indivi-
dual in consequence of those bills."
He (Mr. It. Colborne) could assure the House that, if any
doubt remained on the mind of the Committee on any point of
those brought before them, they would not have hesitated to
inculpate the Hon. and Learned Member for Dublin, or to
drag the subject into light. They would not have suffered all
the talents of the Hon. and Learned Member to screen him
if lie deserved exposure ; nor would they show him more fa-
vourl or forbearance than thee would to the least talented man
itiothe 11" w. He (Mr, Colborne) admitted that which the
n• and Learned Gentle a had himself stated, that the
!Divers he possessed in Irelandrn were too great and too dan-
gerous for any individual to hold ; and he belldveci that
ever held such eNtruordinary powero without vs hg them"iniau: