The Sun.
London, England, 1832-02-15 00:00:00

MEMBERS' PRIVILEGE FROM ARREST.

Mr. BARING moved for leave to bring in a Bill to
alter the law which exempted Memb-rs of that House from
arrest. All would aeree with him, that those privileges
which were not ca,colated to add to the independence and
the dignity of that House. or to secure in the fullest man-
ner the attendance of its Meintiers, were unnecessary, and
they were the less fit to b- continued, if, at the same tame,
they tended to the degradation of that House, and to the
production of an unequal state of the law between man
and man. When such was the case, the sooner the pri-
vileges were got rid of the better.—(Hear.) The privi-
leges of exemption were of two descriptions—fleet, the
exemption ft= arrest. as respected criminal proceedings ;
and, secondly, the privilege of exemption from arrest for
personal debts. The privilege against arrest on criminal
process hail usually been dealt with in the way of resolu-
tions; and with regard to civil actions in old time, no
suit of the kind could he maintained against a Member of
Parliament. The Act of I J 49. 1., was a declaratory
statute for the purpose of removing doubts upon the sub-
ject, maintaining the privilege, which remained untouched
until the 12th arid 13th of Wen 111 , which was entitled,
" An Act to prevent inconveniences that may happen by
the privilege of Parliament," and by its provisions a Mem-
ber of Parliament might be sued in the intervals between
the Sessions, and then only. The 2.1 Geo. 11. was passed
to enable creditors to sue their debtors, being .]embers of
the House of Commons, not only during recesses, but
during the sitting of Parliament, still preserving them
the privilege from personal arrest. The next statute on
the sulij-et was the 10th Geo. 111., which gave a creditor
the power to proceed against a Member of Parliament by
distress and the seizure of his goods. Hence the House
would see how the subject had been gradually dealt
with by Parliament—privilege accommodating itself to
the alteration of the times, to the progress of know-
ledge, and to general improvement. Jealousy of the
power of the Clown was the early origin of privi-
Itge from arrest; but, as the law became better adminis-
tered, and the authority of the Crown limited within bounds,
that privilege had been converted into a non-liebility
to arrest in civil actions. One of the most remarkable
changes was made by the 52,1 of Geo. 111, which was
passed to deprive M, mbers of their s, ars if they should
become bankrupts, and should not, within a certain period,
pay their creditors in full. This brought him to the
Point of the farther reduction of privilege he p,optised ; he
did not mean o touch the right of exemption from con-
fieement in certain criminal proceedings, nor to destroy
the privilege of freedom from arrest on mesne process ;
his intention by the Bill was to deprive a Member of his
privileges in the event of actual judgment against him,
supposing that within three months (or any other limit,
the House might think proper) aft, r ju lement, he did
not pay the debt. In the words of the preamble to the
52d of Geo. 111., it was " essential to V../ digni y and
character of the House," that no man should be privileged
to sit in it who set his just creditors at (id inee.—
(Cheers.) The statute just named excluded bankrupt
Members ; but many men, especially merchants, became
bankrupts without the slightest imputation upon their
prudence or their honour. Why thin, he would ask,
hull an in fivi to if rho lncurred d bts tetitli the to a:3B
of discharging them he protected ?—(11e•r. hear.) Many
cases of real grievance might he d. but he would only
advert by way ~f illustration to that of Mr R 'bete Christie
Burton, in the year 1820. While confined in the Fleet,
he procured himself to be returned for Beverley, and
claimed his discharge from prison, and his privilege. A
Committee reported in his favour; he came into the
House once—did not make his appearance a second time—
hut left the country and his bail. The exte cite of such a
privilege was degrading to the dignity and character of the
House, and in order to prevent the occurrence of such
cases in future, the Hon. Member moved for leave to
bring in a Bill " for limiting the privileges of Aletnbers
,f the House of Commons as to exemption limn personal
arrest—for vacating the seats of insolvent M .mbere to
custody, and for preventing the election of preeons avow-
edly insolvent, to serve as Members of the House of
Commons."
Mr. HUNT seconded the motion.

Mr. Alderman WAITHMAN bore testimony to the ac-
curacy of what had been said regarding Mr. Burton : he
had been one of the unpaid cred,tors of that gentleman ; for
on the death of his wife, Mr. Burton's sisters bought
mourning at his (Mr. Alderman Waithman's) shop.
Sir C. WETHERELL said, that in limiting the privi.
leges of Members, and levelling them, as eras suppor-d,
to the footing of the rest of the King's subjects, care ought
to be taken that they were not placed in a movie condition.
A Member of the House of Commons, who was ejected
,in account of not being able to pay his debts, would be
exposed ant only to the inconvenience which others suf-
fered, but to a degree of disgrace to which others were
not exposed.
Mr. CROKER supported the motion.
Mr. LAMBERT opposed the Bill.
After a few words Irom Mr. BARING,'I,avr was given.
ENLARGEMENT OF THE HOUSE.
Colonel TRENCH rose to direct attention to the state
of the builoilig for the House of Commons, and the
offices belonging to i'. The Committee, which
i had,a
l-
ready sat on the subject, had in their first rest utio n d
eart d, that the House did not afford sufficient accolano.
•iation to all the Members. •He would not then enter into
the details on which they founded that opinion, but at
once observe, that the same committee, in their second re-
solution, after hearing all the evidence on the subject, de-
clared also that no alteration of the House which h td been
sugg, Bted could, in their opinion, afford such additional
accommodation as the health and convenience of the Mtn.