The Sun.
London, England, 1858-02-20 00:00:00

U 7 that he could not deny that to a certain extent this
country was a den of assassins. (Hear.) I must that is an exnressinn newerthv ta r e eble ler and t e neei-
! bon he helee.
these ex He says, you must not think too 100011 of
pressione, because they are not inconsistent with
tha usage which has long prevailed among the military.
antherities in France, and he adds that they have been
.in-
lasted in the paper in question inadvertently. Knowing
we do that the public press of France is gagged, and
rt !nasty of its literary men have been expatriated, I say
is idle to say that these articles have been inserted Lied-
tPrtentlY• No, sir, they were inserted for the purpose of
intimidating this country— (no no ! and counter cheers)--
and for the purpose of extorting from us the concession
rnhollied in this bill, which I regret the noble lord, with
all Ili,
pest antecedents and his former credit, should have
I:eonieecended to introduce at the instance of such dicta-
::e n• (Cheers.) But, when it is said an apology has
f n made for the insertion of those offensive addresses
Treat the colonels and other officers of the army in France,
woald ask has any apology been offered for the very strong
t and unseemly expressions that recently fell from
1:loe Presidents of the two Legislative Chambers of France,
thth. of whom. appear to have been utterly. forgetful of
g eir, Position, and of that careful expression of feeling and
rignified demeanour which are so conspicuous in the per-
uill'lding kindred offices in thiecountry? (Hear.) What
°ea M. tie Mainly Bey Why, that England is a lair of
beastsand a laboratory of assassins. (Laughter.) I
;I) ready to make every excuse for the courtiers of Louis
as.,llle,°n (a lau h)—l know perfectly well the conditions
14tite"Ing to a position like that. holds lSlorn is only
Id:sting a predecessor in the office he in the. time of
ere first Napoleon—M. Chempigny—who said his master
elaeoleon Bonaparte was an angel—(laughter)--sent
.friobm
lab_eaven to bless that time, and, like the great Invisible
:lag, he governed the we'll by his power and his ieflu-
e„-"teee• (A. !allele ) Sir, I must ssy those expressrus are
More
far-feeceleed. But the other day an expression far
bin Powerful was used towards Louis Napoleon by one of
-"6 flatterers, who thus apostrophised him in the course of
Laddrese he' was presenting, ' Sire, you are too fond of
el 3 7." (Laughter.) I think, after that, we may well ex-
with hMadame Roland, " 0 Liberty, what crimes
4"s:emitted in thy name !" But, Sir, this bill was not
PcBidere t necessary before the commencement of this ses-
-1
i,l". It has only been consider° t necessary after what
on the 11th of January. Now, t'9 of us opposed the
on the fist reading, and yet I am sorry to say that it
been insinuated that we did so philo-assassins, as we
4-8
Called. (Laughter.) I have heard that expression used
bil More than one occasion. Now, we who oppose this
4d m't want to preserve the right of asylum for persons
6 Orsini and Piorri, or f r assassins of any dee?' iption.
the °Amite this bill on motives the most conssien;ious and
Le most Pure, believing, as we do, that if it passes into
l:, it Will be attended with injurious consequences to the
t nghtibem
••entersts of the countr. (Cheers. I agree with the
gentleman that wye
should ha) e given some ex-
iipret_Sioll of our horror and our detestation of this wicked
p'll:lpt. I should have been ready to join in such an ex-
efee—elBl°ll, which would, I am sure, have been unanimously
curred in by this house. But, Sir, we can't consent to
re to a bill which is evidently submitted as a lesson to
hit house at the dictation of those who should have known
sentimentsee better than to ask us to pass such a
tecrtroe e
of fancy legislation. I have said that this bill is pro-
ied to us by a Liberal Government, by members of the
bend party, and is supported by those who have little
Vilittansathy naturally with the noble lord. Ido not regret
et
this bill is submitted to us by the noble lord the pre-
seepn Prime Minister. I should have thought he, at all
teetit", would have been the very last man to condescend
v.conee before the house with such a measure. (Hear.)
edie have at this moment three ex-Pi ime Ministers, two of
d otas take an active share in public life. I ask this house
at: key think the noble lord the member for London (Lord
ba,ll6ell) would have come down here and.have propose.c
spa of this nature ? No, you must feel quite certain his
tWould have rejected with indignation such a sugges-
ICA (Hear, hear.) I ask you, the right hon. gentlemen
Pre- lit °Pposite, and who are to a certain extent the re-
-IZ, centatives of the opinions of another ex-Prime Minister,
PaLethetv if he had been in power, that noble lord would
e,nsented to propose such a measure to the House of
Pal? Over and over again has the noble lord (Lord
beferierston)
taunted right hon. gentlemen in this house
to ;loathe Crimean war and during that war with truckling
lestil'elgle Powers. I ask this house, would those sight
bill%gentlemen have truckled 100th part so much as this
tbeYif Passed, would make us truckle? (Cheers.) I will
refer to the speech of Lord Derby on the first night of
session in the Howie of Lords. [The Speaker—
tourder.".l Well, Sir, in another peace. (Laughter.) I
eaY that speech hwas a noble expression of opinion on
kis Dar tof the noble lord. (Cheers.) I say that speech in
el this
place was a worthy expression of thepublic feeling
althis country, and one which' ought to hapve found an
bo in the mouth of the Prime Minister of England. But
isl
8 bill 11;aw a very serious and important question. We have
ratio
submitted to us by one who had a re-
leElropean.n for dictating rather than for accepting advice.
rceollect that years ago, the noble lord read some sharp
el4:l3ein constitutional history to the Queen of Spain, and
by tail another occasion he nearly set all Europe by the ears
4, patine his " pieifieatiug" policy down the throat of
atiass":,i4a,g oeGreece. (Cheers and laughter.).
.Thts bill is
to hay to us by the noble lord, whose opinions appear
ieboi.4"e become so changed that he leaves two of our poor
i 6 t1;."1,,t Countrymen to pine unaided and unprotected.
the et.- dungeons of Salerno. (Loud cheers.) This is not
araeter he once bore. In 1850 the noble lord was a
gore,ROinau citizen." (Laughter.) That time, alas ! has long
ito lee 4. I well recollect when the noble' lord delighted
'end —nt Upon the blooming prospects of freedom in every
tlavt;"vhen he ores accustomed to advocate the extension
gtesgass°ntethe world of freedom, improvement, and pro-
the, !low often has he raised a cheer in his own favour
tam3;.4 a sneer at the expense of others by telling them
advocated that despeti m which he despised ! More
France
that, I remember when he told us that our union with
inetis.enended upon mutual interests and identity of
üblona.
Timee have, indeed, sadly changed, bat I do
Free that, anis
—cg the existence of the present regime in
iictraocdo. at ell evente, the noble lord will not attempt to
ter.) cce bore ident'tof • titutions. (Cheers aid laugh-
,e . y ins
eostilite sire as much as any man to see those feelings of
give „cY Mat Once existed between France and England
eesa z.-"ace to more satisfactory sentiments of mutual con-
sod a• I would give anything consistently with the honour
4,5 "IFllity of my country to promote such a union be-
thin en the two nations. (Hear.) But I must say Ido not
to.k by the introduction of this bill you are contributing
-
an end. (Hear.) To my mind the bill bears upon
te)1,440 more than any other bill which has been submitted
t}
••• arliament during the last 50 years the stamp, to use
Words of Bylon, of
"i
es n_ "Meanness, and weakness, and sense of shame,
dnst which thou canst nit strive, thou durst not
me murmur."
as 4.) Against this bill we now protest, and although
p(scbctiedre)_ys
dental majority of 200 members was obtained
an accidental majority, for it did not re-
er-47t one-third of the totality of this house,—notwith-
aide, IPA that accidental majority, I trust, upon con-
k° /410 n, this house will be disposed to resist the further
*iirsess of this measure. (Hear, hear.) At all events I
athic,aYe while thanking the house for the indulgence with
*itt. 44 it Lae slietened tome, that I think this bill is fraught
al3,e considerable danger, and that I, for one, will give it
tee °Mil:mons and pertinacious opposition. (Cheers.) I
IA 4'11% Will never give a vote which I may think will have
Inn e Mealiest degree the effect—and I believe this bill
saii:Sof trenching upon the impact and inviolable free soil
„,c,lB country. (Hear, hear.) I, for one, will never give
tais4,6 that may have the effect, as I believe the passing of
tiactcill would have, of circumscribing the liberal hospi-
-142 With which we have ever received the political fugi-
(‘-'lOl every time, and the unhappy exiles of every land,
lind cheers.)
teesre* he said that when he first read the amend-
fee isaele remarked—" How is man to vote against that,
tad`r,"a as true as the Gospel?" The right hon. gentleman
to ii.niacoe Secretary had admitted that an answer ought
eise'c been sent to the despatch. How, then, was it pos-
se,: f°r them to give a vote against the amendment. lie
tit ° 9nite ready to give the Government every credit for
tole Motives which had induced them to bring this bill be-
esciee,he house If that despatch were not answered there
slatut_d be a foundation. laid for future demands of a similar
ti
_aro. As to the bill itself, he thought, though objec-
tiOeuable in some respects, it would be an improvement, of
really'exi.sting law, and would afford greater protection to
a innocent persens. This was not a question between
Govll country and France, but between the house and tho
ernment; and whether the Government were 'testified
m° t:hot answering that despatch. He thought theyj should
e`se done so, and therefore he would support the amend-
(Hear, hoar.)
cLORD ADVOCATE would oppose the amendment
ilocati ne if carried it would be fatal to the bill. The right
i,tsn• gentleman (Hr. Henley) asked how could the house
er'id voting for the amendment, inasmuch a it was true ?
th_cacne it was no amendment. It had nothing to do with
v:el!nond reading of the bill. Both motions might be
ii!ecl for bk any hon. member of the house as septa
snotions, but the motion of the right hon. gentleman
var. Gie
ts_ e ueon) might, even if true, be negatived simply be-
-1;111 eit was not an amendment. He (the Lord Advocate)
• °aid not go at any length into the legal questions
Itholved in the bill itself. Lawyers had differed as
difference
the necessity of the bill, but there could be no
ifference as to the propriety of punishing those en-
.aged in a conspiracy to murder with a severity equal
2 that proposed iu the bill. He was happy to think that
conspiracy to murder was a rare offence in this country
loheue,
hear)—but still it was necessary to deter as far as
tja),Tole parties from the commission of this crime, and
v_seas the object of this bill. But then it was said,
crearare doing this under foreign dictation, and you are
Hare
a doubt about that protection which this country
If tiban ai'""ays thrown over those who claimed our hospitality."
dee ~6 hill had that tendency he would not support it. He
4(17, think that we were likely to increase the credit we
wieeseir a dignified vindication of our liberty by making
Lest Protestations of that kind. The beginning of the
eil`lon of the right hon, gentleman related to matters
ps were not before the house, such as the recent outrage
14w, raise° and the proposed amendment of the criminal
Isl concluded with an expression of regret that the
thee
eenatch of Count Walewski was not airs
wered. But was
house to refuse to read the bill a second time because
that despatch . had fist been answered? A great many
ppprtaut, delicate, and difficult questions bad been raised
I`4th-ing the debate, and many things had ben said which
• seed
A. better been suppressed. There was noel oubt that a
;,Irabeful outrage had been perpetrated in France, by
thgleb many innocent persons had suffered, and the life of
6 Emperor endangered ; and there could be no doubt
ea": the guilty parties were persons who had taken advan-
q.,,ee of the laws and hospitality of England. The French
sCsverninent and the people naturally felt indignant
otleela Proceedings ; but he contended that the despatch
the Ca proceedings
Walow,ki though calling the attention of
le„; ssiitish Government to these crimes, contained no
Pst'a,ge insulting to the people of this country. The
he, -;:a? Government were entitled to say, " These men
Feel; suatched a conspiracy against the Emperor of the.
nate ea, and we wish you to consider whether you ought. to
to ad to these murderers, and assassins, and their abet-
sele• the
hospitality shown to strangers generally." That
eo, was it not right to consider whether eini. laws
]arse26 improved house expressed that opinion by
\*01• illajoritY, and he The
Lord Advocate) thought the
itan, "Innlerlt of thisconn(trye ha acted wisely in not reply-
-I.;gher tdheen uo' ems rnaat
tc
iho ,n butof in first enacting a law affixing a
aw On referred t punishment to offences of the de-
141er th , 0. Ile al thought it wise not to an-
-3r eitiendoeogfpaatch until theme Government had fret seen
tla ' and amendments of the bill would be proposed.t
teg „ a laugh.) It would have been the mimes was
et.n world to have written a smart despatch, but
Pill,l begetter not to increase the irritation that prevailed,
ntgeeottlirclught the noble lord at the head of the Govern-
neltra_ well afford to act with moderation, temper,
cluiace,,,aLd patience. (Hear.)
us the ``-'-',I:ONE said the principal part of the speech
. L0rd41,13. uvocate referred to the merits of the bill
he house bad been invited to read a second time.