The Sun.
London, England, 1805-05-04 00:00:00

IMPE 1? Lel Plt I, LLdENT.

110ZISR OZ PEERS.

FR rDAY, mit 3.
• Ttrara Lordships proceeded further in the Ay..
peal, thane; Esq. Trustee for Sir Andrew Carl).
cart, against the Earl of Cassilis. Mr. CLAkiet
Was further heard in reply, after which, the futther
consideration was postponed till Monday.
The Scotch Excise Officers' Bill was read a second
time and committed for Monday.
• Moore's Divorce Bill was ordered to be read a
second time on Monday fortnight.
The Committee relative to Mr. Justice Fux was
postponed from Monday to Thursday next.
Loi“)
Mr. LEYCFMR, and several other Members of
the House of Commons, brought pp a Message,
requesting their Lordships would permit Lord Vis.
count Melville to attend to give Evidence before a
Committee of the House of Commons, appointed to
consiki certain !natters contained in the Tenth
' Report of the Commissioners of Naval Inquiry.
• On the Motion of Lord HAWKIbIaURYI
LEYCrsTEtt and the other Members were called in,
and informed, that the House would send an Answer
by messengers of its own.
Lard iIAIPKESBUR Y then called the attention
of their Lordships to one of their Standing Orders,
dated in 1673, purporting, that no Peer should at.
tend. the House of Commons, or any Committee
thereof, touching any matter of accusation against
under penalty of being committed to the
custody of the Black Rod, or of being sent to the
Tower, -during the pleasure of to.- 1 1,14
having „n (-4...440 the Noble Lord
pioceeded to comment upon the Standing Order,
and •'ltte Message they had just received, ob.
serving, that having heard such a Message had
been ordered to he sent from the Commons, he
had made it his business, in the short interval

t• since, ;to search for precedents, in order to dis.
coVer.how far a compliance with such a request
was conformable to the usage and practice of the
House; FrOM the shortness' olthe time, he had been
losable to, mike himself master of
,the subject. He
had, however, r;aund two appliCable to the present
Which was, the case of the Duke of
Buckingham, in 1627, who was ordered to attend
thel-Nitse of Commons upon a charge against him..
whiCh Order he was forbidden by the House of
Lords.to crimpy with. The other case was that of
the rl Of Arlington, in 467.3, who, upon being
summoned to appear before a Committee of the
kusemiComirnons, was willing to do so, but was
cxinessly l')tbi(iticu by the Lords ; and it was upon
that occasion, that the Standing Order referred to
%vas Made. This being the case, he thought it of
the higheit iMportanee that their Lordships shouttl
pause,- for the puipose of maturely considering
whether, cotbistently- with the Standing Order
whivh, had been read, they could or not authorize
the attendance of Lord Viscount Melville, as re.
vired by the Message of the Commons, It might
be said, that the Message did not refer to any acct.'.
sation against that Noble L ,rd ; but it was,. well
known that the Tenth Report, to which the Mes.
sage did refer, contained matter of accusation
against Lord Melville, and that the Committee of
the Commons was appointed to consider of what
Sums of Money, appropriated to NavalSery ices, had
Been appropriated ro other, Sery ices ; in doing which
• Ow Law might be violated, although from the
etllllbteltlCCS attending such an ail, it might in itself
he me itorions, Still, however, it was matter of
cusation against the person so sifting contrary to
,w, and therefore this case came completely within
the Standing Order, as, from the nature of the Mes,
sage, there must he matter of accusation against
Lord Melville, tJudir all the circumstances, there.
fore, of this case, lie thought their L9rdships should
take time to consider the request which had now
been made: at the same time,'as this was a suhjeCi
in which the Public were peculiarly interested, he
wished that an early day should he taken fur the
e6o,ifletittion of the subject. He concluded by
tnc,v ing to refer the matter
.to the Committee of
vile Art, to bearch for Prectdents, and to report
thereon.

he Earl of DdIiNLEY said, he had been taken
by surprise in the discussion of this aubjedi ; but
upon the first • blush of the business, he could not
help expressing regret that proposition of this
nature 4110111 d come from the Noble Secretary of
State, as it might he supposed, out of doors, that it
was an attempt on the part of a Member of His
M+sty's er.iernment to throw obstacles in the
of what he must call public justice, lie thought
likz:wise, upon cursorily looking at the Standing
OrLler, that it did not refer re ibis case, as it only
to those Peers against whom 411 accusation
was ma,le.

Lou! 1141rKicS11LI RY, in explanation, ob.
served, that lie had done no more than his duty in
calling their Lordships' attention to the terms of the
:Minding Order.
The Ou,fe sf NORFOLK urged that several
Peers had at ditfarnt times attended Committees of
thee Howe nt cOmmuns, for the purpose of giving
the rn informs n with respect to Snbjeas under
their consideration. He adMitted, however, in an.
swot to 4 qutatioo of Lord HAWKE'SIIUky aerots the
—cable, that there was no matter of accusation against
any of the Veers he had 'alluded to. He will per.,
teeily aware that;, heir Lordships could not Compel
Lord Melville to attend .i Coininittec of the house
Cemmona ; hitt he conceived there could he nu
difficulty, if that Noble Lord was willing to attend,
in giving, him permission to do so. He wished to
know d there was any precedent subsequent to
1613 applicable to this eaht
Lord ILswx.saliuuy ohaerved, that his motive in
moving a relerentie to the Committee was to search
for precedents.

The LONU Cll ANGEL LOR ttrged the neces.
sity there Will tor their Lordthips' paying the
strittest attention to their Standing Orderb,
conceived ihdt it did not, Ersr, as the Isiobje a,ke
Itpd'intialted, with L)rit .Melvilie, to say wheiher

or ns►c hc was tivilli►,j; tl►is case to 2t1C111.1 a Cann.

wit lee of t►tc: House fit. Commons; hut, on the con.

tray, it appeared hy the Standing Order, that a

Net litiendir.B under ti; ciKurn,jl,:ce3 thus, men.