The Sun.
London, England, 1810-05-12 00:00:00

SIR F. lit.lRl)F. r.

The SPEAKER acquainted the noose that he had
.‘,. t-ived a let it:r.from the Earl of Mo'ra,which, if it
(ri as thesp!easore of the House, would be read. The
let'er was in substance as follows:
"s I _R ' • " St. James's Place, May 8—

". Mr. Carrow, my Solicitor, .has represented to me a cir.
eninstance, which I think incumbent •on me to impart
toyou. It is, that Sir. Francisliurdett has commenced a
suit in the Court of King's-Bench against ine, as -Lonstable
of the Tower, for illegal detention in prison. Ido not write
£his for the purpose of soliciting your interference, as I have
already dire:AO any Solicitor to defend the action, on the
grounds of the Warrant of the Speaker of the House of Com-
mons, and that of the Secretary of State..
1, am, Sir, &c.

fs' MOIRA."
The Letter was ordered to be entered on the
Journals. '
REPORT OF THE com-miTTEE OF PRIVILEGES.

MI. DAVIES GIDDY brought, up the Report of the
Committee on 'the proceedings had and to be had on
the notices, &c. of. Sir F. Burdett. • -
The Caeata then proceeded to read the .report,
which was of considerable length, and to thin fol.:.
lowing purport
Aft,;r recurring to the events of the stll April, the
report proceeds to enumerate the various subjects of
its consideration, namely the Speak is Warrant ;
Sir F. Burdett's letter ; 'the report of the Serjeant at
the Bar, the notices, process, and writ-son the Speak--
er and Serjeant, which latter,The Report observes,
are subscribed with the name of Ellis, Solicitor, and
are tor. the-purpose of bringing as a question in a
Court of Law the condua of the House. ft hen
states the wish of the CorrinAee to colled,as nearly
as possible, in one view, this important' subjed and
tq prove, from Parliamentary History, tlidt:•the right
of the House in committing to prison for breach of
privilege is well feunded on many instaticeSand pre‘
cedents, to state the various proceedings at law, and
their acknowledged analogy so e.e subject in ques-'
lion. These latter topics, however, would be re-
served tbr another report. Tht Committee could
confid, tidy state that, the practices adopted ,were
usual, and founded on the instancos whith arose froth-
the proceeding of Charles I, and 11. when their in-
uoya; ions wan.- resisted, and resented by the House
of Commons ;
.which finally and direetly led to the
Bill of Rights. The Cennmittee did tint hesitate to
say, that an article of the Bill of R directly ex-
tended to the present case. On this aubjed the law
of Parliament is. especially declared in the rolls of
Henry
_VIII. when it appears it was expedient always
to allow -tuft costs and punishment for the protection
,of its privileges.. The report then cites the case of
Sir J. Elliott in 1604 ; and then that of J. Topham
in Jane 1670, who was Serjeant at Arms, and against
wit nn, for discharging the coaananda of the House
a judgment had been granted; on this the HOuse re-
aol, ed, tt the Judges of the King's Bench had been
guilty of a areach 01 privilege; they were accordingly
called,to the-Bar, when Sir F. Pemberton, and Sir
F. Jones, stated that the ri Ho,e was right in its de-
cision.. 'flee report, 'after mentioning. 'a few more
mi.;or ca--es, goes on to state the condo& of the ,•
Hoes".. proceedings of arte=is againstMeni-
bars a!,.1 -:cants ;• on this- subjed it-cited the
opitiinn . - laf Justice 'Jrey,. which 'ls •
.that- if .: .slember or a Member's servant v......
ed, it was the privilege Of the House that he should
b:e. immediately delivered. The Coinre.ittee
,had
twiny in •ancSs of this before them ; howeve:r in the
I 2111 and 13th of and Mary, this privilege
was curtailed, as also in the reign et QUeen Anne;.
still it applied only deliverytrom arias,and• did
not limit the rights of the House with ,respect 4!:i .
breach of privilege.. -It appeared to the Committee
that • institnting an adion, against the House was-.a
.breach of privileges,- and that several instances are ob
record of proceeding not only against, the party who
• institutes the.aalion,. but against" the Solicitor. The
`report cancfuded,by suggesting it as expedient, that
the-House• should give leave to the Speaker and-,
Serjeaot to appeal in Court to explain the grounds
On which they had aded, and to plead in .abatement
of jiirisf4tion.
Mr. D. GIDDY, before the motion for the report
lying on the table, thought it- necessary to state to •
the House the three modes of conduct either of .
which it might pursue.—Firs', he would have ad-
vised a proseciition at law to be entered for a breach.
of the -privileges of the Hoow, hod there, on look-
ing into the Journals, appeared a path of this naa
ture chalked out by the Constitution. The second,
and the better way; would be to commit to prisOns
for breach of privilege, the person who bad served
the process. That this power has belonged invari-
ably to the House is evident ; but if, in the present
instance, it was unwilling to- exert that power, at
the same time it should be understood it was within
• its reach- However, the House would decide -upon
this. - The third mode would be to direct a -Court
below to institute- pleadings. With respect to this
he wished to suggest to the House; that if it
should think • right to allow the Speaker and Ser-
jeant to plead, they must either plead in abate-
ment of jurisdiction or in bar. The latter Would
require -sonic time, but if the fotmer was adopt-
.ed, no, tithe would be-lost. He tinderstOed that
to-morrow was the last day of hearing such pleas.
innved that the Report should lie on the
table. •

• .L,,rd MILTON observed, that no one could st si-
lent atter hearing the conclusion of the fic.4)ur-
able Gentlethan's speech. ',He understociclthat ' the
.objel of the Report was to defend the aaion which
had been io..tituted against the House. Ifthe Speaker
were to appcar in such a situation, tf ihe Court were

.to proix-ed' ith ihe a(-,lion, the House should Consi;.
!der the situation in which-it Would be placed. We are
aboln,mid the. Noble Lord to defend an action in an
infcrier,C.ourt, %%hen' we,know dint the only appeal
.is to thnflouse of Lords; the consequence resulting
.froth= t'iris is, that r):`11- piivileges are to be decided on
Ilouse. 'Was this House now to give 'pp the
advantages it had obtained in the.:ease of the Ayles-
-bury eledion, and•traceback the path it Dad proceed-
- ed in for a'century ? Whatever might be done with
-,the report, he considered of inferior. moment, but
enfreatrd Gentlemen• to• consider therfatal con=
equctiees which may ensue if tbiS doctrine is adopt-
ed. Were the pi ivilttges of. the. House of Commons
to he overturned in the Court Of. -King's Bencil
AV,ItTe they to be 'then • frittered away He 'over- -f
heard a 'Noble Lon! near him '.(Lord Folkstone) call. •
;0'5,..1 privileges illegal, but he would miintain -they
ere not so.---they..were foutfaed on the law of the
lai:d; and it perinitted thus td be-attacked and taken
fr.t'ay one after another, those privileges by which
the country was protected, would soya cease i 9 exist.