The Sun.
London, England, 1812-01-30 00:00:00

sums charged on the Civil List, and•the probable ex.
penditure of tbe same.

POLICE MAGISTRATES.

Mr. Secretary RYDER "moved to withdraw that
part o(the Order of tht: House of the 21st January,
• respeding Police Magistrates, which required that
they should return an account where and what their
qualifications were. The AO of Parliament imposed
heavy penalties on those individuals who should 'act
without due qualification-, and the Order of the
House to which he alluded, -and which had been
agreed to on the motion of an Hon. Baronet (Sir F.
Burdett) weut to compel the Magistrates to say
whether or not they had,complied with the provisions
of
an Act, .the breach of
,which-, subjected them to
the heavy penaltY_Of 1001.-for every act of Magis-
tracy which they had performed. He bad oteMon-
day given notice of this motion for yesterday. Yes-
terday morning he had sent a, note to the Hon. Baro-
net, intiniat:ng to him his intention ; but to this
note he received no answer. The Hon. Baronet
not appearing in his place yesterday • evening, he
had postponed his motion until this (14 ; but- as the
Hon. Baronet was again ab,ent, he did not thiali it
necessary to delay it any longer.
Mr. WEIITBRg&D thought that it was probable
the Honourable Baronet, by some inadvertence,
was unapprised of the intended. motion, and
recommended that it should he again post-
poned. He- really did not perceive that any im-
proper hardship would be incurred by the Magis-
strates, in complying with the let ins of the order.—
It might be the Honourable
.Baronet's objea to pro- ~
duce, in the only way in which peihaps they could
be produced, cases hrwhich Magistrates had violated
the provisions of the Act of Parliament.
_ _

Alt% Secretary RYDER objected to any further
delay on two grounds, the first, that the return to
the order was direeted by the House " forthwith,"
and secondly, that it would be in the Honourable
Baronet's power, to make a motion on any day he
might think proper to do so, for renewing that part
of the &del' which it was ❑ow proposed to rescind.
Sir J. NEWPORT thought the ljst ground of the
Right Hon. Gentleman &Lost extraordinary. No.
thing could be more indecent than that the House
should vote on one day what. they rescinded on
another, and re•est:tbli,hed on a third. If the Right
Gentleman peristed in his motion, he would
take the sense of the House upon it.
Mr. TIEJINEY opposed the motion.
_ _

Mr. KENDRICK maintained that it would be a
very inipioper use Of the inquisitorial power of the
House of CommOnS to endeavour to obtain from in-
dividuals evidenCe which .miLticcoaviat them of an
offence aaainst the law. .
'Mr. HRNER, argued agaiust the motion, as calcu-

lated to sap the coristitutrolial right of inquiry which
the House of Commons possessed. The proper
officers, and not the magistrates themselves, were
called upon by theorder to lay before the House
information required. But even were the indi-
viduals themselves-to afford the information; had
not the House of Commons a 'right to demand it ?
What was stated to 'that House couhi not be used
as evidence in. the Courts below. The motion
trenched upon one of the constitutional funations of
Parliament, and would therefore meet with his de-
cided opposition.

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER expressed
his surprise, that the Hon. and Learned Gentleman
should think if competent to any person to execute-
the Order of the House but the individuals them-
selves to whom the Order was addressed. If thA
order was for the .production of the qualifications
which the Magistrates 'possessed when they took
their oaths, the Clerk of the Peace might reply to
it ; but as it was not necessary that the Magistrates
should retain . the qualificatiOns which they possess-
ed when theytook their oaths, and as the older ex-
pressly dire Bed that the qualifications which they
at present possessed, and not those which they ori-
ginally possessed, siiould by produced to the House,
it was impossible that that Order could be complied
with but by the Magistrates themselves. Those
returns, if the House permitted their Officers to part
with the custody of them, might be brought in evi-.
dence in the Courts below.

Lord, FOLKSTONR could not see how it was pos-
sible for the House to acquire the necessary infOr-
!nation, unless the original Order were carried into
complete.effed. If the House had any wish not to
destroy altogether the charatter of the Police Magis-
trates, they would be.anxious not to •rescind
,any
part of the original Order.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER had no ob-
jeetion to the produtlioa of the -information, but
only to the mode,in which it was to be produced.
He would not consent to call on individuals to give
evidence, on which t vidence they might afterwards
be prosecuted. It was not to' the Police Magis-
trates alone that the order. was applicable ; there
was not a Magistrate in the country on whom it
might not operate.
After some further discussion by Mr. Tierney,
the Chancellor of the.Exuhequer; Mr. Baring, 'and
Mr. Bankes, .
Lord A. HAMILTON moved that the further de-
bate on the subjea be adjourned to Friday.
Mr. Secretary RYDER declared that he must op-
pose that motion.
The House divided.

For the Adjournment
Against it

. . 2I
- 53

Majority - 32
When strangers were re-admitted, some further
discussion on the subject took place, in which Lord
Folkestone, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and
Mr. Tierney, participated ; alter which the ques-
tion was put on the motion of Mr. Ryder, and
carried without a division. •
HOUSEHOLD OFFICES.

On the question that the Report of the Household
Officers' Bill be brought up being ,put,
Mr.TIERNEY wished to ask, a question, • He
wished to know if a reference had been made to the
Queen's COunc,jl, to ascertain their opinion as to the
probable expence which had been incurred by pe-
dical attendance on his Majesty, and what the fu-
ture expenditure was'likely to be? He had 'oil a
/owner evening, .wished an estimate on the subject
to be' laid before the House, but the House hid not
concurred with him in this wish. He, however,
thought, before the Sum which had been mentioned
as to be appropriated to such expences was voted,