The Sun.
London, England, 1823-03-27 00:00:00

BANKRUPT LAW.

The LORD CHANCELLOR called to the recollection of
the House,the circumstances of his having, shortly .before the
conclusion of the List Session of Parliament, laid on their Lord-
ships' table a Bill fbr the amenendmentof the Bankrupt Law.
Since then it had been coneeivett to be,better if the whole of the
law on the subject were included in one general Bill, omitting
such clauses as might be thought proper to be repealed.. Some
doubts existed as to' which House the Bill should originate in,
but he pledged himself that such a Bill should be brought in'
soon after the recess, either in ono limo° or the other, •
Lord LIVERPOOL laid on the table copies of dispatches
from therLeid'Lletitenant of Ireland to the Right Hoilourable
Robert Peel.. • ' =

Lord KINO presented a petition from the traders of Read-
complaining of the Insolvent Debtors' Act.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS.

The Earl of LIVERPOOLsaid, he nuw rose, agreeably. to
the intimation whichhe had made on a former occasion, to Ray
that unless some circumstances should arise in the interval,
which might render it improper, it was his intention on Mon
day,the 14th of April,; to lay upon the:table of the House the,

papers respecting the riegociations which had been carried on,
on the subject of the difFerences which had arisen between
France and Spain, which he should acompany with an ex-
planation of the policy of his Majesty's Government relative
thereto. He should not, in doing so, have any view of calling
for any opinion of the House upon the subject of the negocia-
tions, but simply place the papers on the table for their Lord-
ships' consideration.

Earl GREY said, that from what had nosii.been communi.
cated by the Noble Earl, and adverting to the intimatio; which
he had before given, that his hopes of an amicable adjustment
of the difference between France *and. Spain were not extin-
guished, he (Earl Grey) must now understand that, if not en-
tirely, those hopes were all but extinguished. Though the
mode of proceeding proposed by the Noble Earl appeared fair
and proper, yet he must say there appeared some objections to
it. The Noble Earl said he would lay the papers on the table,
accompanied with an explanation of the policy of his !Majesty's
Government, but without any view oftalling for the opinion of
the House. He (Earl Grey) could not 4xelitept himself front a
certain species of d istrust, naturally apposition
to the views of his Majesty's Ministers, and on the present occa.
sion he felt a store than ordinary portion of that feeling; for he
could not but think that if that had been done at Verona which
ought to have been done, and if that tone of language had been
assumed (with a determination to support it) which this country
ought to have held, we should not at this moment have been in
the melancholy and alarming situation that we were. What he
apprehended from the mode of proceeding proposed by the
Noble Earl was, that he (Earl Grey), and other Noble Lords
who thought as he did, might find themselves dilemma,
either by their silence (though they might disapprove and dise
sent from the Noble Earl ( Liverpool), to give an impression to
the public that they approved, or be forced into a premature
discussion before they bad considered the papers submitted to
them. He hoped, therefore, that the Noble Earl would re-
consider the matter, and would lay the papers on the table,
and adjourn his etatement to a future day, when their Lord.
ships, having been in possession of the papers, would be fully
competent to make remarks upon it. There was one more re-
mark that he would make:—ln the state to which things were
fast approaching, nothing could be more interesting than a pro-
per understanding of our existing engagements with foreign
powers, and more particularly with France. He had not had
to-look minutely into the treaties which had been laid on their
Lordship? table, but from the statements which had been made
respecting them, lie considered them fair: He hoped and trusted
there existed no secret engagements that the public were not in
possession of, and Wang such existed, which bad been made at
a former period, and under different circumstances, he trusted
we were not so far fettered by them to the Government of
France as to he obliged to give any support to their imprudent,
nay, he Would say, their iniquitous anti unwarrantable conduct
towards Spain. He trusted that if there were such engage.
ments, contracted with other views, that they would not be
thought binding in the House, or by his Majesty's Gevern-
Ment ; and he trusted that his Majesty's Ministers had felt it
to be a part of their duty to apprise Foreign Governments that
by such engagements this country was in no shape bound..
The Earl of LIVERPOOL said, on the first part of the
Noble Earl's observations he would say only a few words. Of
the propriety of the proceedings at Verona the House would be
best able to judge when the papers were before them, and
whether the proper steps had or had not been taken. All he
would now request was, that the Noble Lord, the House, and
the public, would not prejudge his Majesty's Government, till
they saw what had been done by the Noble Person by whom the
negotiations at Verona had been conducted on our part. As to
the course of proceeding,-he could not conceive that any im-
proper prejudice could be created by stating the contents of the
papers, and what the principles were on which the negociations
had been carried on. He could, indeed, sett a great conve-
niency in that. course to the House, and even to those Noble
Lords who might be desirous of !enticing a hostile nugion. Be-
sides, the House would observe this was not a case where hos-
tilities had commenced. Hostilities were generally preceded by a
Declaration, and the payers then were produced to give validity to
the Declaration ; but the case was different here, professing, as
we did, a strict neutrality. He trusted the House would see
the necessity of the explanation which he proposed to accom.
pally the papers ; .fur, mini the negociations were }tartly conducted
at Verona and partly lit Paris end Madrid, there were many
connecting links without which it would be impossible for the
House or the Public to form a correct judgment, without such
explanation were given. If' the explanations he should 'live
should not be satisfactory, it would be competent for the Noble
Lord to demand further information, and to call the attention
of the house to the whole of .the papers, or any part of them.
With respect to the engagements of
this country with foreign
Powers, lie could say there were no secret engagements with
France which would contravene the public engagonents, con-
tained in the treaties which had been laid on the tab of the'
House. 'Those engagements were. of a completely negative
nature, and-related to the exclusion of the family of the late
Ruler of France from the throne of' that country. This country
was under no obligation except deer
general engagement to con-
cert with other Powers measures for preserving the peace
Europe. The Noble Earl concluded by moving that the House,
at its rising, do adjourn to the 10th of April.
The Earl of DARNLEY, before the adjournment, wished
to ask the Noble Vieconnt (Melville) whether he had PM' ob-
jection to there being laid before the House a. Fairer respecting
the employment of the navel force, to which an addition of <loop
seamen had been voted by the House of Commons ?
Lord MELVILLE said, that it would appear by the votes
of the other House of Parliament, that there had been an aug.
'mentation of the number of seamen from 21,00 to 25,000 ; but
he declined entering into any. discussion iii that House as to the
mariner in winch they were to be employed.
'Earl (IRE Y said he was not desirous of prolonging; this dis.
cussion, but there was one word used by the Noble Earl (Li-
verpool)of which he iambi be glad to have an explanation.—
The Noble Earl said there was not'any secret article which eon-
travened the engagements of the public realities; what he would
alit was this—were there any seetet articles which extended or
gave greater force to-those engagements ?
The Earl of LIVERPOOL said, he had no hesitation in
answering the Noble Lord iii lots own words--that. there was
no secret article to extend .or give greeter force.to thit engage.
melte which would be found in the papers in the possesion ;of.
the .11ouse. •
The conversation then dropped, and the House adjOurned to-
the lUth of April next.