The Sun.
London, England, 1810-02-07 00:00:00

His Hon. Friend had said, he thought it a rnatt6r of
importance ; he for his own part confessed he did
not think it was, This would frequently be the
case., The importance of tbe war had not weighed
bufficiently with his Honourable Friend to bring him
to the House in the various questions concerning it,
though this Standing Order had produced that. effect.
His Honourable Friend had always been an advocate
for the Liberty of the Press. He (Mr. Windham)
was the same; but on other grounds, and what had
been said by his Hon. Friend on the present ques-
tion, seemed to him to be rather, the matter of a
threat than an argument. To allude to the enforce-
ment of all other Standing Orders was a threat, and
not an argument. This Standing Order had ob-
tained and been submitted to for a century, and no
inconvenience had been found. in it till within the
last 30 years. His Hon. Friend seemed' to consider
the right of admission of strangers into the gallery
as a part of the Constitution ; whereas, on the con-
' ttary, it had been granted as a mere matter of fa-
vour. He would first ask, how much the country
had gained in. its affairs since that pra&ice had
obtained. He-could not say in what respeel the
country had gained,any thing : past times might be
conFtasted - with the. present ; but still, from the
daily manner in which the debates were published,
be wanted to know in what way he was to state the

advanrngeS accruing to the country. What Was the
value to their Constituents of knowing what 'was
passing in that House • Supposing they should ne-
ver know, it was only the difference between a Ile-
presentative Government and a Democracy. Till
within the last twenty or thirty years, it not only
was not practised as now, -but it was not even per-
mitted to publish the debates Of that House. So
lately as the time of Or. Johnson, the debates were
• never published but under fiffitious names. He
was one of those who liked
,the Constitution as it
was, he did not like it as it is. If this had been to-
lerated, winked at, and suffered, it was no reason
that it Should on all occasions be continued, and
that persons should make- a trade. of what they ob-
tain .from•the galleries, among whom were to be'
found men of all descriptions; bankrupts, lottery-

office keepers, and decayed tradesmen, He had
heard that the Proprietors of Papers had talked of the
injustice of closed doors. This was taking up the
sabjea as if the admission of strangers into the gal-
lery was a privilege., hut it was no such thing, and
113Qttgt► t►e iiiight perhaps think it useful after having
so long prevailed, he did not allow it to be t privi-
lege. Were that the case we should come into a
state of de:liocracy—a state like that i,f Athens:—
He did n:.t think accounts in the daily papers were
so desiraWe as many others did Tttey liadlately
reviled' Government so far as to assert, that some of
titcir cotemporaries were in the pay of Government.
What aid this prove—not the talue or actual import-

mice .ol papers—but it clearly shewed that if Go-
‘eroment could haire them in their pay, then papers
were liable to be let for hire—to be bought and sod

—,-,and the press, which has been thougilt in this
country the palladium of its liberty, was
.to
be purchased by the higheit bidder. He did not
wislA to establish such a' poWer in' the press as to
enable it to controul Parliament. He did not know

any Df. the ConduCtors of. the Press; but he-under-
stood them to be a set of men who would give into
the corrupt rr:srepreSentations of Opposite sides; and
001 Lo-reno Lis haul] to

abrogate :in order which was made to eorred an
abuse. He-vow saw that it led to, consequences of
a mot tui•chievous tendency—no less than to
'cllange the character of a Representative Govern-
ment into that of a Democracy ; and led direetly to
tit t despotism which had so lately desol ued other
coon:ries. He did not l'ke to part with a Standing
Order, which, thoegh it Might have run to rest,
would not in fortnee tines have led to any mischief,
and he could.seeno reason why it should no vl,' be laid
prostrate at the foot of the very Worshipful, but he
would not say mien?, Corporation of London Prin-
ters. Those gentry Lad their favotiriteS. • His Ho-
, jlOl.ll- ble Fe:end was esteemed and hailed bythern
as a generel : patron of the laonat Press. e
thought the House th H
ought to discard a sort of dis..
gracefill objection to its proceedings, and Maintain
:;;..se rules and orders which have so !Ong prevailed.
He would assert, that the rights of, the House were
now in danger of being lost (torn misuse. It was.
like stintting up the gates of a park, in order to
prevent a custom to a path-way. It was like the
O. P.'s. who had set themselves up as the people of
the COuutry, and by a system of opposition and
Violence had compelled the proprietors of the
Theatre to give then plays at their own price. In
this way the Proprietors of Newspapers told them
that the people most have a daily publication of the
proceedings of that House at their breakfast; and,
to the Dame of the Public, say we have that right,
and we have friends in the House that will support
us in our claim. His Hon. Friend had said the
r,:: racier of the House was at stake ; according to
;vhictrargament, all the Houses for the last thirty
Years had no characier or ability at slake. His
i Friend was now also Brost anxious for the
charade s of Ministers ; he coldd not bl2me him
for that saisibility, but. lie (Mr. Windham) was
anxious for the fame of this House, and could not
see why they should hesitire in supporting a Stand-
ing Order, winch had the sandion of sa m3ny years
in its favour. For these reasons he should eel tain-
ly give hi voce against the motion.
Lord FOLKSTONE felt compelled to declare the
reasons which influenced him to. depart from thee'
• opinion lb it he had formerly held, in common with
the Hon. Gentleman, who had just seoken, as to
the inexpediency of allowing the publication of the
proceedings of the House of •Com Mons. In several
:of the st-ntiments expressed by the
,Hon. Gentle-
man he I-caddy concurred. He believed with hint
th it the venality of the press was great. He was
willing to acknowledge too that the last thirty years
had produced a considerable change in the constitu-
tion situation of the country ; but while he de-
plored this change, it was impossible for bim trot to
attribute it to events wholly unconneaed with the
business before the House; to the accumulation of
;axes; to the continuation of war; to the in-
crease of standing armies ; to the augmentation of
barracks ; to any thing, in short, rather than to the
publication of tae Debates of the House of Com-
onus, • ;Valaangh at a former period of his :ife be
owned that he was disposed to, think that the pub,
icaHnp pf those kbatei nlight occasion much mis •
chief, end although bad the publication of them in
iPPrlcc been connived at, he was by no nvans