The Sun.
London, England, 1803-04-21 00:00:00

WYFTINCIIANI ELECTION.

Mr. [l.4;i7C/ WYNJ ttioved the (Wet.
,
of the 11.1 y I•ri' taking 111(0 consktetatton. the Re_
at t)t't.ic appoint,o tc.p try the rtierlts
- • , T • gi• •
rsiOt ttil1;.14:0 3`.ia.tir,ll. Ile then ntovea. thAt
fast. 44,.t.sottitt;At read. It was read
kesoiwti, 'l' ha: it appears to this CotnrnittA, that John
bentg the Rtitirsttug Other at the last. Etc:salon for
thr. Tekvn County of the l'ovitti of NottinAharb,-aehm
<ontrary to his duty ',nor:ming :t Poll, and Kocretitug to Lace
for the tot. about an hour, and no.-
'tit tow; Etortoi..; hot there tn,ing,- during the
,tq:ot; of t;fog, no tou•J . •

Mr. FL .131towNEt moved that its -consideration
thonid be postpon,,,:d, which was itgreeti to.

, . .
T ht• tu.contl Resolution was then read ai follows :
That it apv.tr4 to this Committee, that afterthe tirst day of the said, Elediult, the frcetioto at the Elediptt
was abkiiy vi6tatctl by thaturlianco ui t riott4, accoinpanted
per:;un.4,l intilobtatton and *violence, pradisod And con-
tiouvd donut; the tii 4 sitbeciltent'dglyti of potting' '

Mr. ft BRow N 1 moved that. the liguse should
;pre with the tiaid Resolutionwhich was also
?greed to. , 0`
The third Resolution was read and agreed to, as

the above ;
Resolved, That it appears to this Committee, that the PG.
litioaa, Daniel Parker Coke, Esc). after sustaining several
reititts anti Sulteritrg personal. VlOteliCe, Vvia Obliged, front
th; ja,l appreheniion of hazard to trig lite, to lenv,.; the
4j1,1,,,0iiitl not veitture to retorn ; and that 3. large: number of
tretotii. in his interest, were deterred hum exert:l4oi; their
of voting•
die fourth Resolution "]king being read as

pi,:ti Ns : • ,
Atl.,)10;11, Th4t.it appe,ar* to this Ciimmittee; that Tolin
P;olion, the Alayor, tint! Joseph (Mhlknow, ,anci 'rhom:is
0141:now, two cif the Aldermen or thy said Tawa 44;,,-I ,:p.iii,
4; T ty of t;laWit of. Nottingham, took no etittattal etvp.,ini3 to
Ict.:l'vt: thc freedom at Eleetioo, or restore it' wile:; s 0 via.
1,,i, pf la puni:h the bNilders; - . ,
--.%t ~ ,
1,0-, 1-.) . 1)33,,v90 It moved that the !louse should
ertc• to the I,es.t) ,111, p.
. . ,
• ,t.ir, For t,,dj, I;I: fore qui san.;liop 'ci Ili; flot
• I
lie i l.)e vs •
wu 'pv:,:tl t,..) Li:I!, ....t.o)iup.ca.u., 4 tvot iwoittett

to
eiriCerVe, tttar It Ilia nor appear I tic %; v
dence adduced before the committee, that arty blame
could be attached to the Magistrates. I":othing.
had yet been said sufficiently strong to convince the
House that the Mit:,ktrates had b'en guilty of
'miscondua, mid he was sure, from a minute.
investigation of, the sphjett, that the House
be satisfied with the ecind,iti of th:,se Gentlemen
Whose names are wrninued in the kc,olution.

•
The Question was then put,,*and the' Resolution
was agreed-to. •
The. fifth Re.soluion. being read as follows ;'
Resolved, That itappears to this Committee, by. ap Entry
in the Corporation Hook of the Town en County of the
Town of Nottingli::M, that at a Common Hall, held on
Thorsdak"the Rth day of lsnttary last past (after. reciting the
t'etitions referred to this Committee), .it was " Resolyed,
" that this Corporation will defray all such legal Expences
" as have already th.,.m, or shall hereafter be, incurred lay
" them the said John lliviann, loseph Oldknow, Thomas
" Oldknow, and John Allen, or either of them, or George
" Coldham, under their direction, in 'preparing tilt., or mak-
s, ing, their. Defence ; aLd that the Chamberlains for the time
" being be hereby authorized and threetcd, from time to
" titne, tcradvaoce Mr..Culdharit ail and eery such sum
" and sums of money as may be necessary for this purpose."

.Mr. HAWK, NS BRowNE said, as this Re'salution
had no immediate connection with the 13111, he
moved that it and the other,Reiolotions should he
postpoped ; which the House agreed to. 'He also.
obseried that he should tike an early opportunity
to move for leave to ;bring in a for the better
regulation of Eleetions at Nottingham.

The SPEAKER informed the Hon. Gentleman
that it would be agreeable to the custom of the
House, to move far leave at that time.
Mr. ff. BROWNE then said, that having had
the honour to be Chairman 'of the Nottingham Com-
mittee, it became, his duty to address the House on
a subject which in, his mind was of considerable
importance to the inhabitants of the town and county
of Nottingham ; and in offering the present measure
to the consideration of the House, for the better re-
gulation of Eleitioos for that County, he did not
mean to acpuse any partitsular set of men with
illegal conduit, yet he thought the numberless evils
which attended the fast eleition at Nottingham,
called loudly for the set ious investigation of Pat lia.
ment, and their immediate interference, to prevent
similar riots from attending any eleition for Not-
tingham, The scenes of wickedness praCtised due.
ing the late eleelion exceeded all description. It
Was impossible to give ,a pilurc 100 highly.ooloUr-
ed of the riots .aitti contusion which accompanied
that eleilion : it was therefore necessary a strong
measure should be adopted, for the proteftion of
Electors, and the Freedom of .Eleftion. The Bill
he intended .to propose would not go to dis.
franchise any body of persons : it was by 'no
means oppressive, yet he could not but observe that
if the Magistrates had been more attentive to the
duties of their office, and,had made an endeavour to
have kept the/populace from that' outrage they suf-
fered theM to indulge in, there would have been no
occasion for the present Etll ; but the Magistrates
exhibited' no inclination to keep the public peace,
on the contrary, they evinced a perfect negligenee
Of every duty belonging to their office.. The Bill
he should submit to the wisdom of Parliament,
would authorise a concurrent jurisdiction; by which
means the freedom of Election would be preserved.
He therefore begged leave to ni:ne for leave to
bring, in a Bill for nyire cfreClually• securing the
peace of the town and county of Nottingham. , ,

Mr. PIER REPON said, since he hAd•tliehn.
nour to be a Member of that HouSe, he did not re.
colleft any case that called more foully for the in.
terterence of the Legislature, th.in the Sobjea
discus&ion. He was in the Town.during the Mae.
tion, and it was impohsible :to describe the scene or
confusion and riot which daily interrupted the busi-
ness of the Eledion, and which he could venture to
say, was owing to the negligenec of the Magi...
stratcs ; he did not mean to say, that they po,i_
tively gave their ;sanftion to. the "wickedness that
pervaded every corner of the: Town---.but he was
sure, they might 'have prevented Much of the dis.
turbance which took pkee on that occasion. lie
thOught, the Bill moved for by the Hon. Gentleman,
would he highly serviceable to the County of Not.

Mr. FOX said, he must express his surpri,e that
so much should have been said against the Magi.
strates of Nottingham, by those Gentlemen who
had just told the Itolse, that they could not accuse
the Magistrates of wilful 'wrong, but of a negli.
gence which amounted to an a4't of criminality in the
Opinion of the Committee. He hoped the House
would 'not depeOd too much on mere opinion, and a
statement riot fairly proved .to the House by such
evidence that would place the condo& of the Ma.
gistrates beyond the possibility at doubt, before the
House could lend itse:f to.the support.of the present
Bill. If, the Magistrates had ailed as the Hon.
Gentleman has stated, hr, for one, would say they
'deserved the "most severe censure ; but from. what
he knew
,of thase Magistrates, and the minutes now
lying on the Table,; he was sure they did not merit
this attaek ; he was satisfied a minute inV6f. :;.at
,of their conduit would render them the objea4 of
approbation, notensure,and instead Of receiving the
castigation of Parliament, they would' receive the
thanks of the House for their impartial cutout} at
the late Elation. He had,authOrity for what he was.
gf,i,i; to state, that. the Magistrates made every
endeavour to subdue the riot ; he had no doubt but
that they had Made every endeavour to keep the
public peace, and support the freedom of elettiob.--
Bitt he would ask
.the House whether riots were not
the common attendantron dealt:Jos, and where was,
the member who had riot' witnessed confusion and
riot, at either 1113 own eleetion, or that of his friend ?
Notwithstanding the Magistrates have used their
utmost. vigilance to keep peace, yet their:cab:ls
have
,in general, proved . ineffectual. The Ma.
gistrates in the present case had giVen the
police officers :the necessary instrodions to do
their best endeavours to keep the peace, and
give their legal and impartial support to the
contesting Candidates. It was true, as head
been observed by .some Pentlenten cntintited
'With the tleCtion, that ,the Magistrites hod
not c..-01e4 but the Militia for the; s4fetk of the
robli7. pence—Such an .ad firs tlrit part would have
H.Qll::`;;.' to Law: it was a thing ttnlcnown in_
ihOrogirsh Cf.-materiel.); anti if- the 1V1404;-iiie-b;0
FOattnitted such an outrage prOpOry,

WC/lIILI
IIdVC DCCn very inaecenr. tte was reany
to alloy that the :Committee might have some
0-nuod of complaint, yet the Magistrates could not
fairly 'he accused of improper condua.
Mr. BOND sai4 he should not follow the last.
Geittlalan 'through alf.his remarks'On the condud
of the Magistrates at, present.; but at a future period,
wheo the sublea is again discussed, he should de-
clare his opinion as to their conduit at the late Elec.
don for Nottingham. It was beyond all doubt,
that a shameful riot was suffered to exist, and if the
power delegated by the Crown to ;Magistrates was
not made use of, for the proreAion of the, public
peace, -and the security of a free Eledion, but. was
rendered inefficient by the negled of those to whom
it was given,.-be- thought it highly necessary to
adopt some measure for the future safety of the
Public Peace and the Freedom of Eledion. The
Honourable Gentleman then gave an 4Ccount of the
dreadful disturbance that was suffered toexist with-
out the least attemet, • on the part of the Magi-
strates, 'to remove it. He said, among a number
of ads of wickedness pralised on that occasion,
there was one carried into execution, with a cant
word as a signal to a certain Party to know those
persons who where obnoxious to them io the elec.
tion. This cant phrase was called. " Punch," and
as soon as a person was called, or malice(' cut as.a
Punch, his garden, or some part Of his property was
nestroyed ; there was also another dreadful evil,
which has long existed, and which he has every
reason to believe is carried 'on at present by a set of
Coen who have self.constituted themselves into a
mock Tribunal, for the purpose of trying tlJose per.
sons who have been inimical to the interests of this
wretched set of unlawful Judges.. Several persons
have-been tried by this mock Assembly, and ducked.
for a supposed offence : this calls loudly for some
regulation. He therefore thought it "as high time
to take some method to support the peace of the
Inhabitants, and the Freedom of Eledion.
Mr. FOX said, he had alluded to former riots at.
Nottingham, not for the purpose of proving that
the present measure was not necessary, but toshew
that if the Magistrates upon former occasions could
prevent riots, which were hostile to interests which
they were supposed to support, there was no ground-
to suppose them criminal, because they had not pre-
vented them upon the present occasion.
Mr. FRANKLAND said, that if it was true
that the Magistrates had not the means of prevent-
ing those riots, it was the strongest reason that
could be for the present measure, which would in fi
great degree remove the evil, by uniting the powers
of' the Magistrates of the County with those of the
town of. Nottingham. It therefore follo..ved, that
the more the House was convinced that there were
no criminal motives in the_ Magistrates of Notting-
ham, the greater must be the.obvious necessity of
the present measure.
Leave was given to bringin the Bill.
Mr. H. BROWNE then moved, " That no new
Writ should issue for the town of Nottingham till
this day three weeks." He said, if the House ap.
proved of the Bill he hoped they would permit it
to pass as soon as possible, in order that the issuing
of the Writ might not be unnecessarily delayed.
He hoped the House would perMit the Bill to be
'brought in and read a first time this day he shoold
then nx. dr that it be printed ; he should then propose
to postpone the second reading for a week, to give
an opportunity to those whose interests were con-
cerned to examine the Bill, After that he htiped
the Bill would be suffered to proceed in the other
stages- day by day. ,
The Motion Was agreed to.
STATE OF THE NATION.

Ccl. P4TTEP' said, he had given notice before
the Recess, of his intenti,nt to submit a Motion to
the House on the State of the Nation. The notice
he gave was
.conditional, but he was rather einboir..
rassed'as to the line of conduCt he should adopt, in
consequOhee of what tell from the CHAttc ELLOR of
the Excutqu ER yesterday,. He did nor wish to
give up his Motion, nor would he bring it forward;
it he expected a speedy communication would' he
made to 'theliouse,; At present, he sWulti fix
Motion for Tuesday next, reserving to. himself the
power of withdrawing it if he should think proper.
•Mr. littowNE brought up The Bill respelling
the'Magistracy of the City of Nattingham, which
was- read a first time. lie then. Moved that it
should be read a' second time on Wednesday flex!.

Mr. FOX said,' he did not mean to oppoie the
Motion, but, considering the distance of Notting-
ham, there would perhaps hardly be time for the
Corporation to oppose it. He, however, wished,
that as little delay as possible, should take place in
the 'issuing of the Writ, because there were'most
scar►dalous practices going on in that Town, licon-
sistent with the freedom of Deakin, and with the
Resolutions. of: that House, lie alluded to the in-
terference of Peers, and men of wealth, with re-
gard to the. Ele&ion. lie wished, therefore, that
any Gentleman who was so unfortunate as to lac-
come a Candidate for that Town, might go to the
Election as soon as possible, before these prattices
could have effect• •

The Motion was agreed to, and the Bill ordered
to be printed.
Mr. FIORROCKS moved for several accounts re.
speding the Importation and Exportation of Cotton
Yarn, &c. front the year 1750 to the year 1788.
Otderecl.

The Committee of Supply and Ways and. Means
Was put off till Friday.
Adjourned at halt- past five o'clock till to-
morrow.