The Sun.
London, England, 1828-07-16 00:00:00

FOREIGN WOOL.

Lord WHA.RNCLIFFE reminded their Lord-
ships that when a Noble Friend of his (the Duke
of Richmond) moved for the appointment of a Se-
lect Committee to consider the propriety of placing
an additional duty on foreign wool, the Noble
Duke at the head of his Majesty's Government then
consented to the Committee, stating at the same
time that in his opinion an additional duty was not
only not necessary, but that it would be absolutely
injurious. The Committee collected a large body of
evidence on the subject, and he (Lord W.) was now
anxious to know from the Noble Duke, who of
course had made himself acquainted with all that
evidence, whether it was the intention of his Ma-
jesty's Government to propose the imposition of a
fresh duty on foreign wool; if the Noble Duke should
refuse to answer, it would greatly embarrass many
large manufacturers, who had embarked capital to a
great amount in trade.
The Duke of WELLINGTON felt bound to say
that, as far as he had perused the papers which the
Noble Lord opposite had alluded to, they had not
caused him to change his opinion in any degree
whatever. Indeed the opinion he had formed pre-
vious to the meeting of their Lordships' Committee
on this subject, had been confirmed rather than
otherwise, by the perusal of the papers since laid
upon their Lordships' table. At the same time such
a mass of information had been collected, and he
having had so little time carefully to peruse and con-
sider those papers, lie felt it would be improper in
him to pledge his Majesty's Government as to
any particular line of proceeding on this subject
hereafter, from such perusal and consideration. It
was very improbable, however, that his Majesty's Go-
vernment would do any thing: as far as he had been
able to collect, the papers proved clearly that there
had been a great fall in wool. They proved clearly
that the lighter and poorer lands of this country,
where sheep were usually fed, did not yield the
rent they formerly did. But he thought likewise, that
the fall in British wool had been occasioned greatly
by the improvements in the agricultural state of the
country, as well as by the steps taken to increase the
quantity of sheep, and the alteration in the breeds.
The farmers had endeavoured to increase the size of
their sheep, by that they had increased the quantity
of wool, and by having increased the quantity of wool
grown they had gradually deteriorated its quality.
Meanwhile the taste of the country had changed; men
who formerly wore inferior cloths insisted now on
wearing superior cloths, which could only be manu-
factured from foreign wool. Under these circum-
stances, to lay a tax on the importation of foreign
wool, with a view to what was called protecting
English wool in the market, which wool was not fit
for the manufacturers to make the common
wearing cloth of the country, would be neither
more nor less than to protect it for the sole benefit
of the grower, and to encourage a course of smuggling
contrary to the law of the land. These were the
opinions the Noble Duke had formed, from a perusal
of the documents laid on their Lordships' table by
the Committee, and from which Noble Lords would
feel that he could not be supposed to support any
measures calculated, as it was said, to protect
the British wool. He would not enter further
into details on this occasion,• having said what he
thought sufficient to satisfy the Hattie what his sen-
timents were - •

Earl STANHOPE thought the. sooner the coun-
try knew what the NOble Duke's sentiments were
the better.. He sincerely hoped that the farmers
would. find 'other means of protection, either by
throwing up their leases, or demanding a reduc-
tion either of a great part, or of the entire
of their rents. He presented two petitions from
farmers and wool-growers, praying for protection.
Lord REDESDALE- thought the Noble Duke
had taken a very narrow view of this question. The
real question he conceived
.to be, not whether the
wool-growers, but whether the corn of this country
should be protected. He was surprised that the
Noble Duke ,should have answered the question,
deeming it impossible that he could have read through
the mass- of papers laid on • the table with the at-
tendon they required.
Dr. PIIILLIMORE and others brought up the
Cinque Ports Bill.
Mr. Spiller presented the Fourth Report of the
.ComtitisSioners for building Churches in the High-
latulf;, • • .
The Dtike:of•RICHMOND having just entered
the House,. complained of the want of courtesy
on -the ',part • -of the Noble Baron, who had
introduced this, subject in his absence. He had
beeti -ektretnely unwell for thelast ten days, but the
Noble Baron might have expected that he would
have appeared in the House to-night. He had
been informed with extreme regret of the reply
which the Noble Duke had made to the question
put to him, which he was sure would cast the
deepest gloom on the landowners throughout the
country, as it would lead to their total ruin, and cause
the- labouring class to fly to the work-house
of the different counties, that they might not die
through sheer starvation.—(Hear.)--He contended
that the wool trade was of late materially deterio,
rated ;*and to prove the correctness of his asser-

The Marquis of LANSDOWNE, without giving'
his opinion upon the subject before their Lordships,
wished to state his conviction of the necessity which
appeared to him of watching the proceedings of
Committees, and what the Noble Duke had just
remarked was calculated in no small degree to
strengthen this conviction. The benefit arising from
information was often greatly deteriorated by altera-
tions, arising sometimes from mistakes made by the
persons examined, and at others through clerical
errors, and therefore a careful examination of all the
minutes of evidence received before Committees ap-
peared to him to be in all cases absolutely necessary.
The Earl of ROSSLYN confirmed the observa-
tion made by the Noble Marquis (Lansdowne).
The Marquis of SALISBURY, in allusion to
what bad been said respecting a deterioration in the
wool trade, contended that wool had not deteriorated
in value in consequence of the importation of foreign
wool. He, however, did think that the agricultu-
rists had established their grievances sufficiently to
call the attention of Government to the subject.

Lord CALTHORPE presented a petition from
the Merchants and Traders of Birmingham, which
was read at length and laid on the table.

SLAVE TRADE.
Lord HOLLAND held in his hand a petition,
which prayed their Lordships to take immediate
steps for the amelioration r,f the Negro Slaves, arid
finally for the abolition of slavery altogether. It
was from Tewkesbury, in Gloucestershire.
Lord CALTHORPE made some remarks, which.
were inaudible.
The Marquis of LANSDOWNE presented a pe•
titian from the Builders of the City of Dublin,
against a Bill for regulating the duty on Glass.
Though that Bill had already-passed, he was not out
of order in presenting the petition.

ELTHAM CASTLE.
The Marquis of LANSDOWNE rose, in accord-
ance with the notice he had given on Monday, to
move for the production of the Lease of the Crown
Lands and Castle of Eltham ; and also for such Re-
ports of his, Majesty's Commissioners and Woods
and Forests as referred to it. The Castle to which
he alluded was connected with some of the most in-
teresting historical records, and Was also a monu-
ment of the most finished specimen of ancient archi-
tecture. On these grounds, he hoped their Lord-
ships would direct their attention to this subject.
He did not know what might be the amount of the
expenses which would be incurred in repairing the
Castle; but if these should be found too great, he
thought the least they could do was to leave the
ruins standing. They should not actually destroy
them. He should move that copies of the papers_ to
which he had alluded should' e.laid, on the table.
The Duke of WELLINGTON held in his hand
.all, the papers relative to the building, to which the
Noble Marquis referred, and he could have no pos-
sible objection to submit them to the House. It
,
had, however, been ascertained that the repairs ne-
cessary to preserve that building, could not be made
under 600,000/. ; and, much as he respected all mo-
numents of antiquity, he must say, that in times like
the present, he, as a Member of his Majesty's Go-
vernment, could not approve of such an expenditure.
Lord GODERICH agreed with the Noble Mar-
quis in the propriety of preserving those ancient
relics ; but it appeared from all the reports they had
received concerning them, that . they could not be
preserved without expending 600,0001.; if there
was a disposition to expend that sum, he for one
should be glad to have a monument connected with
so many historical recollections which it was desirable
to keep alive.
Lord DARNLEY thought that to refuse to spend
600,0001. on such a building was being penny' wise
and pound foolish. •
The motion was then put and carried.
GAME LAWS.
LOrd' WHARNCLIFFE moved the Order of
Day for the second reading of the Bill for the regal.
form.
w t
lation of the, Game Laws. He was anxious their
Lordships
inshotUhl:
present understand
When
snßtihlle wasfil
in-
troduced'l
al-
ready passed by that House had been sent down to
the Commons, in consequence of the penalties im-
posed by it, they (the Commons) had objected to it,
as exercising a power not vested in the -House of
Lords, of imposing what they called taxes; they had
in consequence framed another Bill—that now be-
fore their Lordships. He (Lord Wharncliffe)
thought those assertions were rather strange ; and if
it was supposed that the House of Lords could not

time, he would refer their Lordships to the evidence originate or repeal any Bill which included pecuniary
whith had been laid by the Committee upon the penalties, the sooner the two Houses came to an
table of the House, and he felt confident that if their understanding the better. He could not admit that
Lordships read over attentively the entire of the their Lordships were not to take any steps further
evidence, they would all come to the same conclu- I than merely sanctioning what was done in the other
sion: The Noble Duke, in order to skew the igno- House. If such were the case their legislative power
ranee of many of the wool manufacturers who were would be very slight indeed, and they would be
examined before the Committee, referred to the ter- ; deprived of that part of legislation to which they,
timony of some of the witnesses, who he contended !as certainly the first legal officers in the land, were
were inconsistent in their statements. On one occa- ' peculiarly qualified. He hoped that, whatever might
sion, having Oared a sample of South Down wool be the fate of the present Bill, this question should
itpoiithe table, he (the Duke of Richmond) asked ,be settled. With respect to the present: Bill, he
the witness who was examining, what kind of wool was well aware of the efforts made by some Noble
it was—to which he replied that it was good Merino, I Lords to defeat it, but he could inform them that
and on his subsequently asking him its value, the though they might be successful in this instance,
reply was, 8d• per lb., at which the Committee their labour would not even then be over ; for such
could scarcely suppress their laughter. He certainly l was the general feeling throughout the country of
did net intend to have introduced the subject to the necessity of making the alterations which this
their Lordships' notice during the present Session, Bill proposed, that if it were thrown out this year it
and particularly at so late a period of the Session, would come before Parliament next year in another
when so many Noble Lords were out of town; but shape, and again and again until it should have
he felt assured that if the Noble Duke had attended passed.
to the plain honest statements of the country farmers, The Earl of WESTMORELAND should move
and compared them with the theoretical, evasive, and that the Bill be read a second time this day three
prevaricating statements of the delegates of Leeds— months.
(A laugh)—he would have come to a different con- I Lord FALMOUTH was opposed to the principle
elusion upon the subject. The Noble Duke had only lof making any change in the law unless it tended
listened to one side of the question, without attend- to promote a great public benefit.
ing at all to the plain honest statements of the The Marquis of SALISB URY supported the
country farmers. He, however, should not feel that Bill.
he had done his duty until he had brought forward The Earl of CARNARVON said, there were
some motion on this subject, and never should he some objectionable clauses in the Bill which might be
believe that the House would refuse protection to altered in Committee. There was one clause to
British growers until such appeared by the report which he was so much opposed, that if it were in
of the contents and non-contents, regularly taken. the Bill on the third reading, in its present state, he
Lord WHARNCLIFFE apologised to the Noble doubted whether he would not vote against it.
W
Duke for his want of courtesy. He confessed that What he allnded to was the mode of enforcing the
he had not, as, he ought to have, looked to see penalties imposed. Sixteen shillings was the lowest
whether the Noble Duke was present ; but, he penalty, and W. the highest. He thought those pe-
assured the Noble Duke that it was entirely owing
nalties were too small, but the mode of enforcing
to want of thought upon his part. He thought
them was by imprisonment, and the rate of impri-
that the imposition of an increased duty on foreign sonment was one day for every 25.; so that, in de-
wool wsould tend much to the deterioration of the
fault of paying 10s., the offender was to be confined
wool trade. As to the importation of foreign wool, for five days. The period was so short that it could
not excite terror, while it carried with it all the de-
he looked upon it as a great advantage to this
country; and if the quantity of wool imported was gradation of a long imprisonment. The principle of
greater than on an average it is at present, the
the Bill had his most hearty concurrence.
country would, he thought, receive an additional The Earl of ROSSLYN said, one of the objec-
advantage. tions urged out of doors to the Bill was, because it
Lord TEYNHAM was of opinion, even from permitted the sale of game; for if that were granted,
the evidence, that the wool growers of the country it was said every thing else must follow. But if that
had made out a strong case for protection. were permitted to great holders, would the country
Earl STANHOPE expressed a hope, that when endure that others should not have the same power?
the question.,,was brought before their Lordships in (Cries of " Question ! question !")
the more definite shape of a motion, it would meet The House then divided on the Amendment,
with all the consideration, and be discussed in a when there appeared—
manner that such an important subject appeared to For the second reading, present........
Proxies
7 61
him to demand. For the Amendment, present.. 36
Lord ELLENBOROUGH was unwilling to say Proxies 5B-94
a word upon the subject, but as a Noble Duke had
alluded to the evidence received before the Com-
mittee, and in consequence of his being himself a
Member of that Committee, and he trusted as im•
partial a one as even the Noble Duke (Richmond),
he felt himself called upon to say, that the manufac-
turers seemed to him to give their evidence in as fair
and candid a manner as others of an opposite inte-
rest. He really thought the term " incorrect reason-
ing" would have been at least better applicable than
" prevarication."
The Duke of RICHMOND acknowledged that
he had used the term prevarication ; and, while he
felt surprise at men of education, as the manufac-
turers examined before the Committee certainly
were, having given their evidence -in the manner he
had stated, he certainly did not think that he was
guilty of a mis-statement when he said they did pre-
varicate.

Majority against the second reading... 30
The Jill was consequently lost. —Their Lordships
hen adjourned.

HOUSE OF COMMONS, TUESDAY, JULY 15.

At four o'clock the Speaker's presence was re-
quired in the House of Lords, to hear the Royal
Assent given by Commission to several Bills. Upon
his return he informed the House that his Majesty
had been pleased to signify his Assent to the Hotel
Licences Bill, Criminal Justice (Ireland) Bill, and
various others.

Mr. SUG DEN brought in a Bill for consolida-
ting the laws relating to the property of infants and
lunatics, which was read a first time, ordered to be
printed, and read a second time this day three
months.

Sir J. MACKINTOSH withdrew the considera-
tion of the petition of Mr. O'Reilly, until next
Session of Parliament.

Sir J. MACKINTOSH presented a petition
from Aberdeenshire in favour of the abolition of
Slavery.
Mr. F. BUXTON presented petitions from Dub-
lin and Altam against slavery ' also similar peti-
tions from Rodborougb, Bandon, and Market
Bosworth.

Mr. C. GRANT presented a petition from the
Freeholders, Heritors, and others interested in the
growth of wool, and resident in the county of
Inverness. The Right Hon. Gentleman, in present-
ing this petition, said it was not at all necessary for
him to state his opinion on the subject of the wool
trade ; all that he then felt called upon to do was, to
bear testimony to the respectability of the persons by
whom it was signed. He then presented another
petition to the same effect from the sheep farmers of
the same county.
Mr. F. BUXTON rose to move that an humble
address be presented to his Majesty, representing
that the House had viewed with great satisfaction,
that the inhabitants of South Africa had always
been considered as free subjects, and praying that
his Majesty would send out such instructions to the
Cape of Good Hope, as would secure to them the
enjoyment of the privileges of subjects of Britain.
He originally intended to contend at some length that
those people had been treated as slaves, although
entitled to their freedom, but as he understood the
Right Hou. Gentleman opposite (Sir G. Murray)
did not wish to give any opposition to the motion, it
would be quite unnecessary for him to dwell upon
the necessity of the address.
Sir G. MURRAY said lie certainly had no ob-
jection to the motion, for he entirely concurred in the
views of the Hon Member towards the British sub-
jects near the Cape of Good Hope.
Sir R. WILSON expressed his satisfaction that
the Right Hon. Gentleman had acquiesced in the
motion, and said that the Hottentots were capable
of fulfilling all the duties which might be imposed on
them.

The Address was then agreed to.
Mr. HUME said, that he felt it necessary to post-
pone his motion, relative to an individual, owing to
not having had time to read the affidavits which had
been sent to him in support of that individual's
case. The case to which he alluded reflected on the
conduct of a Learned Judge, whom he saw opposite
to him (Sir J. Nicholl), but he regretted that he
had not had time to satisfy himself of the truth of
the charge, and therefore he should postpone the
motion until to-morrow or Thursday, whichever was
most convenient to the Right Hon. Gentleman.
Sir JOHN NICHOLL said, that having had no-
tice that the Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Hume) was
about to present a petition respecting his conduct,
he was there ready to meet it : as to the affidavits
which the Hon. Gentleman said he had not yet re-
ceived, if they were important the Hon. Gent, ought
to have made himself master of them before he gave
notice of a serious charge against a Judge forimproper
conduct in his judicial capacity. However, he (Sir
J. Nicholl) was ready to admit any affidavits which
the lion. Gentleman thought might be made ; lie
was ready to admit also, that all the facts contained
in the affidavits were true and correct, and with
these omissions he was prepared to justify his eon-
duet.—(Hear, hear, hear !)—He intended to leave
town with his family to-morrow, and he hoped the
Hon. Gentleman would now present his petition.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said he did not
think any affidavits could be necessary hi- the case.
This was not -a Court requiring proof by affidavits,
the regular medium of complaint was a
petition.
The Hon. Gentleman had therefore shown no
grounds for delay.
Mr. HUME was sorry the course he had pur-
sued should have given any cause for complaint.
He only wished to read the affidavits to satisfy him-
self that the allegations of the petitioner were true.
If he- had brought forward the petition, and any
one of its allegations played to be unfounded, the
Hon. and Learned Member (Sir J. Nicholl) would
have more reasonable grounds for complaint.
Mr. HUME then proceeded to present a petition
from Peter Watson, a shoemaker, at Chester-le-
Street, in the county of Durham, complaining that he
kad been served with _a citation to compel the ray-
Ment of Easter Offerings--that after. an attendance
of seven days upon the Court, he had been directed
to answer the citation in writing, which, in stamp
duty, would have subjected him to a charge of five

shillings, for the purpose of defending himself against
a claim of tenpence halfpenny. The petitioner was
imprisoned for a contempt Of Court, because he
omitted to put in an answer upon a five shilling
stamp relative to a charge that originally only
amounted to tenpence halfpenny. He was after-
wards discharged from prison on the ground of some
informality in the proceeding. Having brought an
action against the Clergyman for false imprisonment,
he obtained a decree in his favour, but, through want
of money, was unable to have it carried into effect.
In 1821 he was again summoned, as in 1822, for
payment of his Easter offerings, and not being able
to appear, judgment was pronounced against him.
He appealed to the Quarter Sessions of Durham,
where the judgment was confirmed with costs, for
the amount of which he was thrown into gaol in Oc-
tober, 1821, and had remained there" ever since.
The Hon. Member proceeded to argue, if the Clergy
possessed any such right with respect to Easter
offerings, as was asserted, it was only fair that the
Bishop of each diocese should publish the amount of
dues payable in each parish, in order that the people
might know how much was legally payable. The
Hon. Member concluded by expressing a hope that
the House would take the subject of this abuse into
consideration in the next Session.

Canning being then Secretary of State, concluded I
a treaty on the 12th of March that year, which pro-
vided that all the just claims of the British upon
Spain should be determined by a mixed Commis-
sion, appointed to decide upon those claims in Loa'
don, and to decide, be it remembered, according to
the words of the treaty, " in a summary way." The
Connuission then met in London in October, 18231
arid the number of claims preferred amounted W
about 300. Several individuals put their cases into
one claim, so that the number of claimants
amounted to 1,500, although the number of claims
were only 300, and the whole amount of the sum
claimed was between three and four millions. The
Commission sat, and it was impossible to describe
the various niettus resorted to, to prevent that " sum-
inary" fulfilment of the Treaty which had been re-
solved upon. lie believed the proceedings of the
Court of Chancery might be charged with rashness,
compared with those of the Commission which sat ,
in 1823 and 1824. The result was, that in eighteee
months, out of the 300 claims, eighteen only had
been heard; a certain number had been rejected,
either because 'they related to a period not within
the Treaty, or because they were not contemplated
by it, and four of the claims only were allowed to be
Just. He would leave the House to consider the
case of a number of unfortunate individuals thus de-
prived of their property and reduced to indigence.
Out of 300 cases then, 18 only were concluded,
and four only of these 18 admitted to be good. The
object of the delay was soon very apparent. A sug-
gestion was privately made to the claimants, by
person high in office, in what was now called the
Government of Spain, to the effect, that it would be
better to have a private arrangement, and he advised
them to agree to receive 800,0001. in lieu of their
three Millions. This proposition turned out to be
no advantage to them, and they subsequently met
with as many difficulties as ever, for the only object
of obtaining the proposition was, that it might be
subsequently quoted as a proof, that no more than
800,0001. was actually due ; and when the agent,
Mr. Cock, subsequently went over to Madrid, to
his utter astonishment he found that the Spanish
Minister stated that this sum, and no more, was due
to the claimants. The agent was also told, that as
the claimants had fixed their claims at 600,0001.
they would only be reduced to 500,0001., and that
this stun would be paid in liquidation of all demands.
The next step was, if possible, still more disgraceful.
After a long negotiation, the Agent was told by
the Spanish Ministers at Madrid, that although they
saw no reason for increasing the 500,0001., yet, as o
proof of Castilian generosity, they would agree to,
increase the sum by 50,0001., and make the total
payment 550,0001. Nov, had the House ever
heard of such pitiful conduct—under the pretence of
generosity ? After this, the agent, Mr. Cock, was
invited to go to Paris, to negociate with two Cone
missioners there; one of whom was the Duke de 10
Villa Hermosa, the then Ambassador from Spain to
France. After a long series of negotiations those
two Commissioners entered into an agreement ill
writing with the agent of the claimants, in February'
1827, by which they stipulated to pay a sum lo
Spanish money equal to three millions sterling'
They entered then into a written agreement, and one
of them said in a letter to Mr. Cock, that he v 0.4
fully authorised so to do. The agent returned to
London confident of success, and a month after
wards was informed by the two Commissioners that
the Spanish Government considered they had Cr
ceeded their powers, and that the Count D'Oftilie
was going to London with instructions how to acc
with reference to those claims; the written door
meat was, therefore, to be considered null and void'
The Duke tie la Villa Hermosa had declared that be
had been authorized by his master to make the arl
rangetnent lie had made, yet he remained in the ser
vice of that master, who had set aside his agreement, '
as if it had never been. He (Sir J. Mackintosh/
did not envy the feelings of such a man, howeYt.
high might be his rank, when thus insulted, and, 11
might add, thus dishonoured. Yet, the King
Spain bestowed upon this very Duke the ordef
of the " Golden Fleeee,"', within a month after hd
had thus dishonoured him. Thus the matte
remained until the Count D'Ofalia arrived re
England, and at one time the Count D'Ofahli

Or► the question that the petition be brought up,
Mr. Secretary PEEL said, he knew nothing of
the individual, and should suspend his judgment as
to the merits of the case till he was able to make in-
quiry into the particulars of it.
Sir J. NICHOLL expressed his opinion that the
demand of Easter offerings was perfectly legal—on
which the Clergyman•had a right to enforce, and on
insisting upon which he had only adopted the
usual course. He could not avoid taking that
opportunity to make a few further observations on
the case in which he himself was concerned. The
Hon. Member gave notice of a motion for to-night
directed against him (Sir J. N.), but had postponed
his motion on the ground of not being prepared
with affidavits to substantiate his statements. He
could not help thinking it hard that he and his
family should be obliged to remain in town► in order
to meet the convenience of the Hon. Gentleman.
The lion. Member ought to have satisfied himself
that the allegations contained in the petition were
well founded, before coming forward to impugn
the character of a gentleman who had filled a high
public and judicial situation for twenty years,with-
out the slightest imputation upon that character.—
(Cheers.)—lf the Hon. Member did not think
proper to bring forward his charge to-night, he (Sir
John Nicholl) should not consider it necessary to
attend on a future occasion, but would leave the
matter to the judgment of the House.
The petition was then brought up and read.
Mr. HUME fully believed the statements con-
tained in the petition, but wished to substantiate
them before presenting it. He supposed he might
have a family as well as the Right Honourable and
Learned Gentleman—(A laugh)—and might suffer
equal inconvenience in his attendance of the House.
He considered his time .►s important as that of the
Right Hon. and Learned Gentleman. lie should
state the facts, and the Right Hon. and Learned
Gentleman► could defend himself.

Dr. LUSHINGTON said he was present at all
the proceedings on which the charge was grounded
—he was conversant with every part of the subject
—and, lest any idea should go forth that this was a
serious charge, he avowed it, on the credit of his
own personal honour, that never was a charge yet
brought forward more totally destitute of foundation.
—(Cheers.)—The fact was, the petition came under
the name of a person who was not the author of it ;
it proceeded from a pettifogging attorney, steeped in
perjury, and discredited by attempted -extortion.—
(Hear, hear.)
Mr. HUME gave a flat denial to the assertion of
the Hon. and Learned • Gentleman. The affidavit
was signed by the petitioner, as well as by his soli-
citor. The Hon. Member concluded by moving
that the petition be printed.
Mr. Secretary PEEL objected to the petition
being printed. It was the petition of a person who
had failed in litigation, and it would be prostituting
the privileges of the House to permit the printing of
a petition containing allegations that might be totally
untrue. Nothing could be more unjust- than the
course which the Hon. Gentleman had pursued with
respect to the Right Hon. arid Learned Gentleman
(Sir J. Nicholl). After giving notice of a charge
against the Right Hon. and Learned Gentleman,
was it fair in the Hon. Member to say he had been
out of town, and was unable to make himself master
of the accusation ?—(Cheers.)—The character of
the Right Hon. and Learned Member was a sußi-
cient protection against vague and groundless accu-
sations.—( Cheers.)
Dr. PHILLIMORE censured the conduct of
• the Hon. Member for Montrose, in giving public no-
' tice of his intention to prefer a grave accusation
against the Right Hon. and Learned Gentleman,
and then not being prepared to substantiate it when
the time for doing so arrived.
Mr. HUME, in giving notice of his intended mo-
tion, had acted according to the constitutional rule
of Parliament. With regard to the petition now be.;
fore the House, if the Right Hon. Gentleman
thought it calculated to inculpate any man, he (Mr.
H.) should be the last person in the world to insist
upon its being printed. He should move before the
Session expired that it be printed—giving the Right
Hon. Gentleman time to inquire in the interim as to
the accuracy of the statements contained in it—at
present he was content that it should lie on the table.
After a few words from Mr. W. SMITH, and Mr.
Secretary PEEL, the petition was laid on the table.

Sir JAMES MACKINTOSH moved for a copy
of certain returns relative to the gaols in the various
districts, cities, and towns in England and Wales,
which have local or separate jurisdiction.—Ordered.

MILITARY PUNISHMENT.
Sir FRANCIS BURDETT expressed himself
anxious to notice a communication that had been
made to him, and wished that the Gallant General
(Sir 11. Hardinge) had been in his plaee. That
communication bad been made to hint from Glas-
gow, and stated, that a few days since eight soldiers
of a regiment there had been most unmercifully
flogged, and that one young man had died in conse•
quencc, and was buried yesterday. He did not in-
tend at present to enter into this matter, and would
content himself with observing that, early in the next
Session of Parliament, it was his intention to bring
the subject particularly before the House.
Mr. Secretary PEEL was not aware of the way
in which the communication had been made to the
Hon. Baronet, but thought it right to state that two
privates of a regiment quartered in Glasgow had re-
cently propagated reports which on inquiiy turned
out to be altogether without foundation. It was
possible that the information of the Hon. Barone
might have originated from the same source.
Sir F. BURDETT admitted that this was pos
sible.

CLAIMANTS ON SPAIN.
Sir JAMES MACKINTOSH had to present a
petition to which he begged the most serious atten-
tion of the House. It was the petition of certain
claimants on Spain, and it was sufficient for him to
state, that to that petition were affixed the names of
several of the most respectable merchants in this
country. The claim had its origin in the commence-
ment in that long-continued state of hostility in
which France and Spain were involved, from 1808
down to a considerable period afterwards ; and dur-
ing which many British subjects were induced to
furnish Spain with a variety of articles necessary
for carrying on a defensive war ; many others of
them being acknowledged by the Spanish authorities,
and sorie others certainly having carried on their
eriperiod
‘transactionslraos f
executed;
xBeobct
1808 down
tdl.‘ordi valy 1 ofanother
to a
1f 803
grievance iedev
-whenaloliacne
had arisen .
the From the
Conven-
tionp
Spain being engaged in warfare with the Spanish
Colonies of South America, during which conflict
several British ships were seized upon by Spain„in
2r
violation of the law of nations. All these circum-
stances had taken place between 1808, when the
revolt in Spain occurred, and 1823. In 1823; Mr.

after twelve months residence here, raised the
offer of 550,0004 to 700,000/. It was in this
manner the system was carried on, and carried on in!
way that would disgrace a pedler, in a way of which
the meanest shopkeeper would be ashamed. Since
this, he had heard that the offer had been raised t°
x 00,0001., and after the unfortunate claimants had been
for twenty years exposed to the utmost indigence:
he would not say that it would be prudent in themllo'
to reduce their demands; but if the agents did agree
to receive this sum, what would be the close'
quence? What, but that their abatement would be
quoted against them. Fortunately for them, no one
could deny the general justice of their claims, no 40
could even throw a doubt upon it. To his Majesty '°
Government 110 blame could be imputed, and 11!
hoped they would act wisely in not resisting the
of Parliament to give some mark of support, in code
to enable them to gain the fulfilment of the Treaty'
He was the more disposed to press his motion for
an Address, because he had been informed and be'
lieved that there were certain persons in this coon,
try—Spanish agents—who had dared to assert do'
Great Britain was not in a condition to enforce, ,bi
an appeal to arms, the claims for justice of any pot'
tion of her subjects. The Right Hon. Gentiond
concluded by moving that the petition be brought or
Mr. Alderman THOMPSON could state with
clear conscience, that if the Government of tbi
country—if the late Lord Londonderry—had 10,
manifested a determination to obtain justice for th'
petitioners, which manifestation was followed up bi
Mr. Canning, we should never have been able t 0
have effected the Convention of 1823. (Hesf'
bear.) For these reasons he was convinced th
such measures would be taken on the part of his
Majesty's Government as would enforce the per
formance, by the Government of Spain, of the pr°'
visions of that Convention.

Mr. FERGUSSON supported the petition.
Mr. Secretary PEEL said it was quite impossible
to deny the undoubted justice of the claims of tile
petititioners—claims recognised and ratified by g
solemn Convention, concluded by the representative/
of both the British and Spanish nations. His Nob°
Friend who at present presided over the Foreig4
Department, had been so much occupied by 01,
portant affairs since his entrance into office, that bg
had not been able to attend to that particular subject'
He (Mr. Peel) nevertheless believed, that nothia
was more on his Noble Friend's mind, than to retitle!,
justice to the petitioners.—(Hear.)—lf, having sere
thus much, he (Mr. Peel) should offer any oppoe
tion to the motion of the Right lion. Gentlemall"
he, trusted it would not he attributed to any intonetion to oppose claims, the justness of which he
hb
already proclaimed. He thought the Right Holl'
Gentleman himself must see that the manifestatie;
of the opinion o f the House of Commons would bi
sufficient for his object. He hoped, therefore, tilt
the House would not be called upon to pledge itift
to ulterior proceedings by' the motion of the Rie,
Hon. Gentleman, on a subject respecting which n`o
gotiations. were still pending. He was enabled
say (wishing to speak with all that caution winci
under every circumstance it was his desire to observe)
that a greater probability existed at the present tov.,
ment of an amicable and final arrangement anti settiri
ment of the matter before the House, than at
former period, and it was only an act of justice
the Count D'Ofalia to declare, that he was 01t/ot
anxious to bring the affair to a conclusion:. The C°u/Ilid
D'Ofalia had full powers for that purpose, and 'tee
made a proposition to him (Mr. Peel) the differ t 1
between the sum, mentioned • in whichi..and Oto
claimed by the petitioners, was not so material Obi,
forbid the hope that the affair would be arnica o.lf
settled. Reference had been made to the Courthat
Spain on the subject, and he (Mr. Peel) hoped tA it
that Court would feel that its own honour bowl' •
to make the reparation sought •by the petitioners-
Sir R. WILSON supported the petition. ,
Mr. HUSKISSON had heard with pleasurewit
had fallen from his Right Hon. Friend, the Seer`