The Sun.
London, England, 1803-06-08 00:00:00

frvi PER lAL PARLIAMENT

HOUSE OF PEERS.

'TUESDAY, JUST_ 7.

A r-r ti otne preliminary business was dispesed of, Court
sal and Evidepce were, pursuant .to order, called on the
questinn for the second reading of a Bill to dissolve the mar-
.. nage of EdTiiar•tt :(anterFootc, hsii. with Nina, his new wite,
and to enanl4inn to marry v.gain, &e.
Frootthe statements Olered At the Bar, it appeared, gene-
rally, that the Petitioner, E , J. Foote, Esq. is a Captain in
the Navy, that in far:nary 1793,.be married Nina, the (laugh-
, ter or Sir Robert Ilefties,. Kiat at Madrid, and afterward& at
St. latnas's Church, We,tifillister ; that they rived together
as man and wife, (exCent at such times as Capt.' Fbote was
necessarily absent on His Majesty's Scivicey until Septentber
rfiot,- when he turned iu His Majesty's Ship Seahorsc, for the
East Indies, on the oth of that month, and ditl,not return tc,
England until r.-)to:ier tBo2 ; that soon after his departure
for the East Judie:, his 'said wife entered into an adulterous
interceurst witifill4r: Owen Tones,. a Gentleman residing at
. Warsash, near P.Ortsmouthi. where the Petitioner had taken a
house:for tbc accommodation aids family ; that Mrs. Foote
eloped irons thelonse•at War&ash; in August itioz, and soon
aftt-rwatth, accompuoied_byNr: !ones, . went to Dieppe, in
France, where in,Oelober Okra, she was delivered iota male
child, which,is r,ow liVitlg; that upon learning those cYants,
c'apt. Foote brought his attion against Mr,. Jones, inAlichacl-
ma=; Tenn, saaa, in the Court of King Bench, where judg-
, trent war sulPred tb gd• by default, and in consequence da-
mages were assessed to.-the atootint of pool. The usual
process was afterwards instituted in tilt: Ecclesiastical Courts,
where the Petitionefobtained a Setitchce of Divorce, a nun.ra'
sr thor4;
A coniiderable part of the above statement duly appeared
in evidence,. and particularly, those faCts from which the
adultery of Mrs. Foote washiferred ; after which their
ships aijournzd the further consideration of the. case till,
Friday.
Tim ; : the Ilettse were, in part, forwarded in
'their . •
pi. Lilt wire brought up from the Commons,
first time.
Thu t)cdc:r cf the .Day,' respeaing the Clergy Residence
.J3lll, read.
The, LORD CIIAiVCALLOR quitted the; Wool.
sack, and nude a few general observations re.
eommeml,iti,-.lt of the Bill. Ile adverted to some
parts of the Statute of Henry VIII. which it be.
c:nre nece,sary to alter, and Which was effetled by
the Bill ; at any rate, the.subjeas to which the Bill
rehreil were well worthy the serious and deliberate
attention of their Lnidships, and he expressed his
hope that no serious obicelion would be offered
against the Bill's going to a. Committee, prepara.
to which he would inove that the Bill be read
a second rime. .
The Earl of SUFFOLK took the opportunity to
express lei i opinion, that the Bill, if meant for the
relief of the Clergy, did mit gti far enough. He
regretted that the igformation which he soggested.
on a fornier day was not laid before the House, as in
that ease th,,ir Lordshi.), would have some precise

data to goopon. His;Lordship then entered into
sone detail%„ to shesv.—the distressed situation of
neinV of the lower orders of the' Clergy, and to
establish dic propriety of 'ameliorating their condi.
tion. Some other funds should be added to those
afforded by Queen Ann's Bounty and he suggested
some expedient to that end. He, concluded by ex_
pressing his hope that •something effetlual in the
way of gt..neral regulation would be done for the
suffering and meeiturious persons alluded to.
Lend iIUCKLAND agreed with what fell from
Lis Learned Friend on the. Woolsack, as to the pro-
riot y of x tall discussion of the provisions. of the
which he hoped would be. discussed coolly and
;e:netacely. I lis Vordship seemed to say. beehould
re,,oree deteiled'statenvnt of his opinion for ano.
t .e.r opportunity.
re. Rj.,•Te,p of Se. AS riPIL made a few gene.
T3l olye,ryaeions upon the Bill, with the project of
• re,'.';ich, as it then stood", he wits rather dissatisfied.
He' was Aware of the propriety of some Material
alteration in the Law alluded to 'by cite 'Noble and
:Learned Lord, but. to do. that properly and effec-
tually was the
.question. ' The Learned Prelate was
proceeding, when,
;:i'ke Earl of .ROS'LY Al rose with reference to the
poiet of Order, and reminded their Lordships that
the eiestion'svaS merely for, the'Second reading of
the Bill : he regretted thefrequent prattice of dis.
dossing perticular topics,of a; Bill, when its principle
e;one should be kept in view ;, the only •regular
l'arliatnentary question then before the House.wa,
whether the Bill was fit to go to a second reading.
The
.110 op. of St. in explanation 'said,
he mistook the ;lethal, question befeep the House,
pm' thought- the 'Bill had, been read a second time.
The Dlite of RIPI,IMONp was proceeding to
animadvert upon particular clauses of the Bill,
especielly that which, went to authorise the Clergy
to hold firms to any extent Whatever, when his
Grace vvas;calleil to order by
The
,13ishq• of St. ASAPII, who observed, the
Committee aloee waiethe proper stage of :the. Bill
for that species of discusszon.—ln consequence of
which a few observations with respeit' to the point
of Order was exdt ,nged between-the _Earl' of Rose.
tem,' the Lord CHANCELLOR, and the Duke of
Reclietoets, who' afterWartis _proceeded to. state
sonic objeetionable poiets of view, in which he
coniidered the Btll, and he,particularly alluded to
some of its leading provisions, which went, in his
trond, to place the Reverend Bench in very un.
'pleasant circumstances.
The LORI) 1711,4p/a ELW) I! qeitted the Wool.
sack and in a vete able, erguternrative, and
mates; Speech, delivered his sentiments upon the
eubjeCt before" their Lordships., He described in
some details the tendency and effett of these
yrovislons in the Atts of Henry' VIII. which
the Bill w.ent .to alter or modify ; and in for.
Fibly she wlng The iojurious and oppressive tenden.
ey tinder the 'present circumst;lnces of theie Provi.
coons, evioced the necessity of substituting other
Leeislative regulations in their room. Alluding to
ieo, observation which fell from the Noble Duke,
that the liiii went to take away from the arbitra.
tion of Juries the points to question, he Ctated, that
Miler the existing Laws, the determination unfor.
tunately did not lit: with either Judge or Jury ;
am.i they seere eeestreined in in4lly instances to
dire f; aetl to bring in Verilitts very contrary
ti„; ii. own opine in and feelings; as- to the justice
the c::-e lla instanced several striking instance 6
of th:: H4.(lll,dity `r.f. the ,operation of the present
v;:hicli attached the penalties alike, in cases
Y:le2re, the hviolz of tkltarties amounted to
.4000
or -cool yv,ir3 :mil to those of 9n1)'5011 and in
• .
,Othitr 1)4.0t, Of. "tr els, where this etptally attached
to Clergy Men of the most rperitongus chganer,
;1,14 tLqgf of a Yell 0Pe0640 4c4cfilnigP, 'With