The Sun.
London, England, 1845-02-22 00:00:00

LAW OF SETTLEMENT.

In answer to a question by Mr. V. SMITH,
Mr. M. SUTTON stated that, on Monday last, the Right
Hon. Gentleman the Secretary of State for the Home Depart-
ment had stated what the views of the Government were with
respect to the law of settlement, so that the time at which it
was to be decided was now in the hands of the House.
Mr. V. SMITH said it was in the hands of the Home-office
whether it would expedite the question or not.—( Hear.)
POST-OFFICE ESPIONAGE.

On the motion of the order of the day for renewing the ad-
journed debate on the opening of letters in the Post-office
being read,
Mr. J. COLLETT said that, before entering on the general
question, he wished to say a few words with respect to the
adjournment last night. No person could regret snore than
he did the inconveniences to which the Right lion. Baronet
had been put ; but in the first place, considering the impor-
tance of the subject, and that it involved considerations with
respect to the liberty of the subject and the rights of Mem-
bers of Parliament, he considered he was justified in demanding
an adjournment. In the second place, he thought that the
state of public feeling required it ; and in the next place, he
thought it was due to the Speaker, who had sat for nine boars
together, and who was to take the Chair again at twelve next day.
In the fifth place—(Laughter)—in the fifth place—(Continued
laughter)—he considered that this was due to the Members on
his side of the House, and to Members on the other side,
who were desirous of addressing the House on this
subject, and for whom it was well known it was
impossible to obtain a hearing at a late hour of the
night.—(Laughter.) The Right Hon. Baronet and the
Noble Lord the Member for the City of London could always
secure a hearing, but the little men were always put down.—
(Laughter.) if they wished a debate to be closed at a rea-
sonable time, the speeches of Members must be limited.—
(Laughter.) The proposer of a motion ought to be
allowed half an hour, and the speakers following him
only a quarter of an hour each—( Great laughter)
for when speeches extended to two hours, and two hours and a
half, tho little men had to chance.--( Continued laughter.)
With respect to the question before the House, he would say
that the report of the Post-office Committee was to him most
unsatisfactory. Previous to the appointment of this Commit-
tee, the Hon. Baronet at the head of her Majesty's Govern-
ment said he was anxious for the fullest and most complete in-
vestigation, with a view to elicit the truth—the whole truth---
and nothing but the truth. The Hen. Member for Finsbury
had brought very grave and serious charges against this prac-
tice of the Post-office; but the Committee, being a Secret
Committee, the evidence most necessary could not be heard.
The Hon. Member for Finsbury had not been made a member
of this Committee, and therefore he was right in not giving a
list of his witnesses when the Committee sent for them. On
the whole, he should say, that not only the entire proceedings
of the Committee, but their report was, ab initio, most unsa-
tisfactory. However, he was not disappointed in it, for he
knew that people could not gather grapes from thistles,
or figs from thorns.—(Laughter.) It was not by
looking over a parcel of musty warrants of former
days that this Committee should seek to make out a re-
port ; but by a bona fide honest inquiry, and by a recommen-
dation:to this House to get rid of this degrading, this uri-Eng-
lish custom of breaking open people's letters—( Hear, hear)--
and that without referring to what warrants had been issued
by this Minister or that as a justification for this abominable
practice.—( Hear, hear.) He had recently read of a trial that
was heard in one of their courts of law upon the identity of a
horse—(Laughter)—large sums of money depended on the
issue ; and the counsel for the defence said in his speech—" if
you want to convince the public, if you want to convince the
judge, if you want to convince the jury, produce your horse."
—( Loud laughter.) Show his age /—( Great laughter.) 'f he
whole question at issue rested upon that, and if the Right
lion. Baronet wished to secure a majority of that House—
though he supposed he was pretty well satisfied about that—if
he wished to influence the public opinion, he would give his
Hon. Friend the Member for Finsbury the opportunity of
having his charges investigated. About the charges the Hon.
Member has made, there could be no mistake. He was
ready to have his mouth looked into--( Great laughter)—as
well as his face.—( Laughter. ) The Hon. Member was not
one of those who one year race under the name of Maccabeus,
and the next under that of Running Rein I—( Great laughter.)
" Justum et tenacem propositi virum,"
—he was always " honest Tom Dunconibe!"—( Immense
laughter.) With regard to the proposition of the Noble Lord
the Member fur Sunderland, he had no objection to it, except
that it did not go far enough. It did not touch the question
whether it was expedient or not that this practice should be
continued. The Right Hon. Baronet had last year an oppor-
tunity of doing justice to his Hon, Friend; he had now an-
other ; and he would say, " better late than never." lie
would therefore conclude by repeating that he hoped, for the
sake of his Hon. Friend, and the sake of the country, he would
agree to some examination into this matter.
Sir R. COLBORNE said, as a Noble relative of his had
taken considerable interest and a leading part in the Com•
mittee of the other House, it was but natural that he should
look with more than usual interest on the fate of this motion.
The (louse of Lords thought fit to appoint his relative as chair-
nun of the Committee, and he undertook the task with the
greatest reluctance ; and he found that the task would be a most
difficult one, anti that the report, from the secret nature of the
Committee, must needs be unsatisfactory. At all events it
would have been impossible to have pleased all parties, espe-
cially those who sought for a vote of censure on the Govern-
ment.—( Hear, hear, from the Ministerial benches.) He
could not vote for the motion of his lion. Friend, because, in-
independent of its merits in other respects, it conveyed a vote
of censure on the Comn.ittee, and consequently on Iris Noble
relative, which he thought wholly undeserved. But it was
not upon this consideration alone that he opposed it. The
Committee was formed of a body of men chosen for their high
honour, and who, there was every reason to believe, would
act independently. There was a strong party bias on this
question—if there were not, he could hardly think
that Honourable Members would inflict so cruel and unjust
an insult as to cast aside the decision of the Committee with-
out hearing any of the evidence which induced them to arrive
at it. These reasons satisfied him, though he felt convinced
they would not satisfy the people of England. The Right
Hon. Baronet chose to make it a Secret Committee—he meant
to say it was the House that made it so ; but they all knew
well that a suggestion of the Right Hon. Baronet was almost
certain of being carried into effect.—( Hear, hear. ) He was
one of those who voted against the appointment of Mr. Dun-
, combe as a member of that Committee. He must say that he
now thought that he acted entirely wrong in so doing; for he
believed that had the Hon. Member of Finsbury been a mem-
ber of that Committee it would have saved them the time con-
sumed in three nights of debate, and the consequent post-
ponement of public business. Great excitement had bean
caused in the public mind by these proceedings; and that ex-
citement had been incrossed by the contemptuous manner in
which the Right lion. Baronet treated the subject when first
it was brought under the notice of the House ; but since then
he had given the fullest explanation which it was possible for
him to give ; and he certainly would not be a party to running
down any Minister.--( Hear, from the Ministerial benches. )
With regard to the power, he differed from the Hon. Member
for Cork in having it done away with, as he could imagine
many ceses in which it would not be only useful but necessary.
The only question was, the amount of confidence they would
put in the Right lion. Gentleman the Secretary of State for
the Home Department. For his own part, he was of opinion
that, let whet party would be in power, they would find such
men to fill the office that their conduct would place them above
suspicion. He utterly denied the statements of the Right Hon.
Baronet that it would be a triumph of party if the amendment
were carried. The only triumph would be the triumph of jus-
tice —( hear, hear. )
Mr. FERRAN D said that when this question was brought
before the House, daring the last session, he had studiously