The Sun.
London, England, 1805-04-26 00:00:00

been, the retiof the law was nugatory. Mr. WO-
son, though he expressly stated he had not pnclteted
It farthing of the money, may have incurred a 'very
penal degree of legal' guilt. By whatever other law
-he might have 'beera committed to prison, for re.
fusing in disclose this illegality, he could not top.
ceive how it could be by a law proteding this par.
titular species of silence. • Anal surely it was not
braving the House of Commons, which had come
to nOdecision on the sullied, `to employ Mr. WO.
ion, whose riaine was only incidentally mentioned in
the Report.
• Mr. FOX, in explanation, said he meant to say,
that • the employment of Mr. Wilson was:bravint
the Lsgislature.
SULICITOR.GENERAL could not' con.
ceive how it Was.braving the Legislature to employ
a man who Kati only taken advantage of a proteding
Clause in an •Ait of Parliament ; though he•had
hesitation to say, that if any aft of contamination,
.or any corruption, appeared in Mr. Wilson's conduft,
he ought to be dismtsied.
Sir C. POLE, said, it was in vain to attempt to
tract the public money, if one person after another
WAS 'entitled to withheld answers lest they should
be themselves. involved in sonic irregularities. He
had•not made, any attack on the Treasurer of The
Navy ; it was not his disposition to attack any
man, and therefore ho had been silent during the
whole of the discussions on. the Tenth Report. •
The SOLteITOR CsENERAL explained..
Mr. Stljratit PEST maintained, that Mr. Wil.
son being acquainted with the illegal conduft of
Mr. Trotter, ought tit have given sinks of it to
his superiors. The. question of the propriety of
continuing him in office after he had refused to
explain may be illustrated' by this parallel—whe.
ther a servant or steward would be continued in the
nienagemente'of any man's private' affairs, ' who,
on being questiOned as to his, for Mer comiud, re-
fused to answer. lest he •should betray himself.—
With resped to the facility with which the Tree.
Surer of the Navy. furnished the Commissioners of
Inquiry with. accounts, it appeared that no simmer
Whatsoever was given fur two months, anthhen the
Treasurer of the 'Navy said he had consulted the
'ATTORNEY GENERAL. If any difficulty existed,
why not represent it direftly to the Commissioners,
who would, .of course, make every allowance for
any difficulties in the way of the public business, anti
who were fully cOmpetent to judge of any impedi.
=not arising front the law. But when Fennel, the
Clerk, tvas.cxamined, it turned out this important
Pottiness was nothing -more than making up Lord
Bayning's account of twenty years stanAing.
Mr. WARD contended'. that every thing was
done to faeilitate the Inquiry, without losimg sight
of the public business of the department, Wbich the
rerson the head of it was bound to attend to as
the first duty of his office. Mr. Wilson ,was not
in the situation of a public defaulter, for he had
never touched a farthing of the public money.%
lie wished to know. 'whether the Honourable BA.
fonet (Sir CHARLES POLE) at the head of the
Commission meant to abide by his declaration, that
he should have sent to prison persons refusing to
;answer as Mr. Wilsos did. If so, the lion. Baronet
Was the most unfit person in the world to be at
the head of this Commiasionta ere of Hear! Thar!).
He was glad to find the time was come when, Bri.
(141 sentiments may with safety be spoken by a
Member' of the House of Comtnons, with the hope
of being able to go home in safety, and not being
assaulted and stigmatised because be. held a place.
He knew these sentiments were not held in the
House, but out of the House they had been exerted
to the utmost, to intimidate Gentlemen to vote in a
certain way before the.decition, and to keep them
constantly its the track they had once taken fur the
occasion. The spirit of justice required that the
condad of the Treasurer oh the Navy with respeCt
to the acc.unts should be judged from the whole of
the letters, and not from any partial statements.—
With respeal tie the Paper liefOte the House, he
thought it necessary it should be read over again to
give. the How a fuller conception of its name and
chatatter.
Sir' RO RT uxrom observed, that it would
be for the convenience of Gentlemen to have time
allowed them tit consider 'the matter of the para.
graph, and to judge whether or not they ought to
have the Printer before them. And he su'auitted
it to the Hon. Gentleman w,ho had made the Mo.
time, whether it would not be desirable to have his
Motion this day considered es a notice, and to multi
tits :Motion to.morrow.
'The SpeArtEa informed the, Hon. Member, that
the Clerk: had beets in a Course to read the whole
article, puteoant to the''desire of amither 'Honour.
able Gentleman.
The paragraph was then read,
Mr. FOX declared, that the metier contained in
the context was no palliation.
Mr. WaIRD replied, that though it was no pal.
Nation, it afforded a. Hosed , and sufficient reason for
hevieg the Whole inquiry prosecuted with. tent.
per, particularly by' persons whose families might
appear to have been delimiters to. a tonsidettable
amount. ..
Mr.sifERIDAN, did not mean to enter into
the debate. Indeed the Houe seemed to be agreed
119 to the general question. it was not his wish to
endeavour to crush any individual, neither should
he depart from that temper which had been advert.
ed cob), tine. him. Member, in whetever sheee he
might heve,in the discussion. He had risen merely
with a view to the notice that had been given by
the Right Hon, Member (the CHAN.CE LIAR of the
EXCH EQU ER.) of a
.Motion fur continuing the .Corn 4
mission ut Naval, inquiry. If It was tight thaa
the Commission should be continued, it: was also
right that the characters of the Commissioners
shutrid be maintained. they deserved the cha.
railer that had been given of them by 'the Learned
Gentleman(Mr. WARD); if the Han. Baronet at
the hem! of the Commission merited the obierva.
tit,n of the Learned Gentleman,: that he was not fit
to be at the head 'of the commission, unqUestion.
ably if the Commtastota avat to be renewed, the,,
oug,-,r not to he appointed ass it. Rut in order to
vindicate the charade'. of the Cowmissiontr4 front
tits effed of such insisuatioo3,, be' belt it his'cluty
tip
give notice, that on Wednesday next he shetdd
move the '['hanks of the i-low.tc to the C ntutis.
stoners oh. Naral Inquiry.