The Sun.
London, England, 1819-04-03 00:00:00

• .brnee of loaded pistols So that it appeared, if
lie they had not seized these in their own defence,
"1141 have brow,.l.°
ht the qu n estio to a more
Pid conclusion than could have been desired.
After this tvas done, it appeared that the Ge-
neral had tviih him what was not always tnund
in a Gentleman's bed•chber, a dagger der
the bed-clothes ; hut fortunamately for the offitincers,
he happened to seize on it by the point, leaving
the hatolle open to them, so lila( he, in the strug-
his
Xle hic lz fol lowed had only the sheath left in
hand, while they got the dagger, which they
did not use so improperly as the General was
disposed to use it. When this was over, lie lock-
ed and sealed his portfolio, and the officers cool-
otr remonstrat;'d with I;bn oil his situation, and
the propriety Of his suffering himself to be
senrive!,ed quietly to the carriage. The same spi-
t" which bail previously animated him caused
E:im to disregard tire advice which they gave ; and
its he had not sn'cceetled in the house, he deter-
, Illined to try what he could effect mit' of it, by
;111.111g, " Murder—Robbery—and Rescue," in
hope of raising a mob in his behalf to prevent
" execution of the warrant. Now, if any vio-
lence had been used it was not till a f'cr• his out-
rageous conduct had made it necessary. -One of
The Officers, in consequence of the efforts he
blade, was „wally knocked down by sonic per-
, harp in the crowd. Alr-Capper offered to pay
every attention, but his dignity waz then too
"telt offended to m acct of th ose accom-
410d letations which were at hisep com mand. On his
Iva
ac to Harwich he acted a similar part he
-trk one of the officers, and endeavoured to
one
at the Populace to attempt a rescue. When
Harwich
.he had been taken before the Mayor,
' Ith° had looked at the warrant, and explained to
qbi the necessity of yielding obedience to it. He
then offered his ti
portfolio, but as he nder-
ilth "(1 General Las Casas had been detained some
• lee waiting, for his papers, he preferred having
it nt-
after him to Hamburgii. He could only
1%1 this, he was confident no Officers front the
thite:loft the Secretary of State woold have cotn-
-1 so brutal an outrage as had been charged
1161„ He would now leave the case to the
tort till the time arrived at which it could be
4er discussed.
th,:ra.„l::;hDerouGLaAS. • reed with the Noble Lord,
ioaig. would anti-ye for dehatiog
/114 is, Tiestion, however, could not regret the
he had asked early in the Session, and
;,afl that be had then sat dow•rt svisfied with
answer lie had received, as to have acted other-
sis vv°4l,l have seemed to throw doubt on the
it ra
."'",13 of the Hon. Gentleman. But he thought
Ih4ther hard that it should now be coMplained,
°le matter had not been b,oug!it torwarl
farttaSill", in pOint of fact, it had been brontOt
Iten-'atri by himself, and Inc had only been pre-
eel from following it tip by the auswer he had
te ved itcen the Hon. Gentleman, The present
hen 'lit most urgent case. New matter had
or
ti °tight -forward since it had laSt been men-
lip.le .4 rd. and he hoped it -would n w
- nw be folloed
he character of the itteividual acainst whom
L%lc
lioo aRe had been committed, bad, in iris opi.
The"thing to do with the merits of the cast,.
!Itnye°‘P.se pursued under the Alien Act it was:the
%ye 1'
the House to ware; with tle"'-11,ar
ca-
det Two l
points were o be attended ;o--first,,
riv(ycilland'oi the General to carried :nefnre the
s ()tiocil; and, secondiv, the detention of
Ilere;;-°l'etty. On the first it was to be, remem-
laN the only remedy that was left to the on-
% th':4le alien lay with the Privy Council, arid
latis• b% great stress bad been laid, when the Bill
Ilitiiere?(lte the House. But then it was said,
Gourgaud had not desired to be car-
t° Lee are the Privy ,
Council, but had wished
*as it taken before a Magistrate. Good God .
eh.,., an such quibbles that the uofortunate
rer was
; to be deprived of the benefit which
Ittlie(7:4'slalute had intended for him ? If he
talia:° he taken before a Magistrate, he ought
hi;e been told that it was to the Privy Coun•
na,Dtte4l must be made ; and he had to coin-
ed great injustice, since such information
trlaZ been afforded. The papers of the Alien,
;:3 is-tai"ed, ouOrt not to have been seized. To
hp:"8 to act 10 direct opposition to the prin-
h-ightwhith the Alien Bill was passed. What
rPartad the officers to take them to the Foreign
r'st• Vor security it Would he said. But
hard whose curiosity was it necessary to
its hY, against the Home Department
iteheFY at 111(.111'
c"8 tdd s' if such a measure • wet e ne-
,ttl"-rt a. It was said his papers were
trar healer) all'
and under lock and key. But the
,I,°l)ee ~,,Was stated on the part of the peti-
'tot ' &ler
Ron e then was assertion against asser-
tl-No flit, this tv,s soThient to justify an inTory
tt. wntrir'l Merits ot tl:e case. He, for his own
e')Ilet„41:1 rather take the assertion of the Hon.
be did on, Lthati that of General Goorgatol, whom
to ; but the House bethought was
•tt I"t•er dn more to the statement of the peti-
'and
17,,,,ewaSl'ia1,8 a Member of the house, he thought
rterdi ‘'lltv to do i). The conduct' of the
i‘ad 41 - .
Attl
avvrich, with respect to his portfolio,
00nlor the road to that place, appeared to
tti e than might be expected. The manner
eevii ieli lit4d been treated I viewed as one of
snece Lnl/
tlitmneoutrni,s'arilY springing out of the possession
Vvi•l'esista PO‘ver. Weat bad been said of
tro'tell the hee he had made, and of the danger to
firlts. it he had
had been exposed, was ludi-
tte;' thereminded hint of Major Sturgeon's nem,-
411 alleb
itr.Parce,
the misfortune which had
f4,).,rr,bbed 'self and his brother officers. who were
stripped, and beaten, by 'a
single
ti • e
11% HAT
tNithat noußsr thought it extremely improba-
Lid tiorded ,flicers employed to arrest Gen. (lour-
lit Ladle It eommi, led an outrage like that
y been ,
astrii 'aid to their charge. The probabi-
to 3,1i1:1 1Y the oilier way The Hon. Gentle-
ttia sub. te called the attention of the House
il'°as tujT CallY in the Session ; • he certainly.
,e Papers of General Gourgaud, but
rt b coil-141 •
;141
,ers tract! lain of the brutal conduct said to
tto
.I'slqn.Prim the seizure of the General ;
L. • tleto, touched
d had Only remarked that Ibis
it,
40
.„ bad s upon before. The Hon.
NI Frio) , that he would sooner believe
44
1 but " (Mr. Clive) than General Gour-
e4r,
tv 11,4
id 5e he thought be was bound
-e
°I the retitioller. But did the

Hon. Gentleman mean to pay no attention to
facts stated on the opposite side of the ques-
tion. Would he, for instance, say that. there
had been no resistance, or that such resistance,
which caused the severity complained of, formed
no part of the case ? The whole conduct of Ge-
net al Gourgand proved that he had never had any
wish to tippeal to the Privy Council. But it was
said, ! what a quibble-it was, because the Ge-
neral had, through ignorance, demanded to he
carried before a Niagistrate, to say he had no de-
sign to appeal to the Privy Council. This would
be all very well but for two things—the one was,
that, General Gout-gaud Lad been told he might
appeal to the Privy Council by the Under Secre-
tary of State ; the other, that he had received the
same information front the Honourable General
(Sir R. Wilson). The troth was, he had some
confused notion that he bad a right to bring an
action against those whom he accused of 'robbing
him, but be had no wish to appear before the
Privy Council.
Mr. F. DOUGLAS explained.
Mr. BENNET believed the statement ,of General
Gourgaud, and thought it could be proved by the
evidence of the two servants of the house in
which he bad resided to be quite correct. He
believed the outrage committed to belong natu-
rally to the exercise of arbitrary power, which
decided that those who resisted should be beaten
to the ground. He was not surprised that Ge-
neral Goorgaud had invoked the interference of
the populace, abused and persecuted as he had
been. Theme was one point on which the lion.
Gentleman and the Noble Lot d had not said one
word : he would ask, Did they read the papers
belonging to the General ? Did they comntit fe-
lony, and break the lock of his portfolio ? Let
them say no,,if they could. He did not say they
could not do so, but they had not as yet. Now
then he called npon them to say, did they read his
papers or not ?
Mr. SINCLAIR said, that he did not intend to
enter at large into the merits of the case which
was now before the House ; but lie was fully
persuaded, that, if any inquiry should take place,
it would Appear that the ill usage complained of
by General Gourgaud was occasioned by provoca-
tion and resistance on his part. It was incon-
sistent with the national character to aoppose
that any Englishman,- and especially a person of
acknowledged humanity and reputation, would use
any 'violence towards a prisoner in the General's
situationwithont adequate cause or necessity. He,
(sir. S.) had chiefly risen to state his entire dissent
from the opinions expressed by the Hon. Mover
and others upon the sithitlct of-the Alien Act ;he
thought that enactment highly salutary and ex-
pedient. It was consistent with the best interests
of the country that a power should be vested in the
Executive Government of removing Incendiaries
from flit Kingdom, who, after having employed
ziter whole lives in endeavouring to overturn
the Establishments, and perpetuate the misery
of other countries, came here for the pur-
pose of persisting in the execution of their
mischievous designs. It was far from being
Isis wish that 'Great Britain should be com-
pelled to foster serpents in her bosom, who, after
having been nurtured by the genial warmth of
English hospitality and benevolence, would em-
brace the earliest opportunity to sting their bene-
factress through the heart. He hoped that a dis-
cretionary power, would continue to be entrusted,
to his Maje tv's Ministers, in whom he had suffi-
cient confidence to believe that they would never
wantonly abuse it.
Mr. HuTcrusisorr condemned the Alien Act as
the most disgraceful measure the country had ever
known. The subject now before the House de-
served their most serious consideration. A ques-
tion more important to • the vital interests and
-glory of Great Britain was, in his opinion, never
discussed in Parliament than that connected with
this Petition. The statement of the Hon. Gen-
ileum!) opposite had, been far from satisfactory ;
Rod the Noble Lord and the Right Honourable
Gentleman who followed had said nothing but
this, that had the General submitted to have the
bed-clothes taken off front him, to be carried
naked through the Hall, and thrown into the
coach ; had he, in fine, submitted to every possi-
ble indignity that could be offered to him, then
he would not have been so severely beaten. They
had represented him to have used violence, but to
have been treated with none; hut this he con-
tended, as well as what had been said of his en-
deavouring to excite the populace to a rescue on
the road, did not wear the face of probability.--
He wished to know. who the officers were that bad
been concerned in 'the seizure of General Gout.-
gaud, which he regarded as a violation of princis
pies that in this country had ever been held sacred.
He hoped an inquiry would take place, that
General Goorgroof might have an opportunity of
proving his case, or that Ministers might have an
opportunity of refuting his statements. The case
was one as serious as had ever been brought be-
fore the House, and the defence as lame a one as
had ever been heard itt it.
Sir J. COCKBURN, as some Hon. Members bad
spoken of General Gourgatui as having been ruin-
ed by his fidelity to his former master, begged to
offer a few words on that subject. He had one
day, at St. Helena, said, when speaking of Gen,
Bertrand, " It was all through that scoundrel
(thus he spoke of the General) that i came here."
It was natural for him (Sit John Cockburn) to
remark, that he supposed he came to St. Helena
with Buonaparte because he wished to be of
the number of his followers. He said, " No, that
was not the case," and further observed, that he
had seved under Buonaparte in Russia, where he
attracted his notice, and was made a Lieutenant-
Colonel. He afterwards served in that campaign
which cost Buonaparte the loss of France ; and
while Napoleon was at Elba, he (General Gour-
gaud) re-appeared in France. He was of course.
absolved from his oath, and served in the Royal
army. The Due de Berri took great notice of
him, gave hitn the Croix de Louis, and in various
ways distinguished him. When Buonaparte re-
turned from Elba, Gourgand hastened to meet
him, and applied for employment. He,was ap-
pointed to a command, and the next day waittd
on General Bertrand to thank him for his good
offices. But the General last mentioned gave him
rather a cool reception, and told • him no thanks
were due to him, for, bad bit master bun

ruled by his ad eke, he would have had nothing
to do wilt such Girouettes as Gen. Gourgaud. But
fur that foolish speech, he said he should not
then have been at St. Helena, for he should have
turned again, and he was confident that he should
have been very well received. It was, therefore,
not his fidelity that had carried him to St. He-
lena ; if it had been, no one would have known
better ho iv to respect it than himself. He no -
ders ood a report had gone :Abroad that General
Goorgarld had been sent out of the Country at
the instance of a person connected with the Navy.
This was routine.
Mr. LAIIBTOISI, in reply, remarked, if the char
racter of General Gout gaud was so very had, it
was remarkable that he had been repeatedly per-
mitted to dine a' the house of one of his Ma-
jesty's' Ministers. The statemetos of the violence
of General Goorgand, whet), seized, rested on the
aothority of Mr. Beojlinin Capper. This person,
it appeared front the Itercut of the Police Com-
mittee in S!3, had entered a gamiog-house,
dressed in au officer's uniform, with a drawn
sword in his hand, and seized tine money then
lying on the table, which the Gentlemen to whom
it beloogeii were afterwards unable to get back
from him. Any statement from such a quarter
be should feel inclined to doubt. He call-
ed upon the Noble Lord, if he had any
regard for the character of the present Ad-
ministration, to grant an inquiry into the
merits of the"case. It. ivas said, that on the
road to 'Harwich General Gourgaud had struck
and ill-used some of the officers. The im-
probability of this had been sufficiently strewn by
his lloa. Friends ; but he (Mr. Lambton) was
informed, that on the road the General had been
struck by one of his attendants with a cane, in
such a way that his head bled trout the blow,
and in that state he was taken into Harwich. lie
stated it to be his inteotion to move that the pe-
tition should be printed,
Mr. BECKETT had known Mr. B. Capper for
some years. ,While he was connecter' with the
thrtca of*the Secretary of State he had behaved as
well as a man could do. The proceeding alluded
to in the gaining-house was'avholly under the di
fection of Mr. Graham.
Mr. RENNET referred.to the 'report which his
Hon. Friend alluded to, and after reading, what
appeared there against Mr. Benjamin Capper, Ire
declared he for one would 'not credit what he
might shy..
The petition was then ordered to lie on the table.
On the motion that it should be printed,
Mr. FluToutalsosi objected to tire printing of
the petition, if all infinity were not to be instituted
into the merits of the case.
Lord CASTLEREAGH said, it would be for the
House to determirie On another occasion, when
the petition , should be prir,ted, what steps they
would take on it.
The petition was ordered to be printed.. .
CHIMNEY SWEEPERS,
Mr Bata:as:a- brought in. a Bill for,the better
Regulation of Chimney Sweepers' Apprentices,
which was read a first and ordered to be read a
second time On Monday.
BANKRUPT LAWS.
Mr. J. Smnrit, in [(roving the: second reading Gf
the Bankrupt Law Amendment Bill, detailed the
proceedings which had taken place within Ur- last
and the preceding Session, upon the subject of the
Bankrupt Law. The defects of the Law, as it
stood, be stated to be principally the ditficolty rrf
getting possession of the property, books, and pa-
pers of a bankrupt, the facility with which a man
could be made a bankrupt, and' the imperfect
manner in which bankrupts accounted to their
assignees, and assignees to the creditors, together
with the mode of obtaining certificates. These
defects it was the object of the present Bill to
correct ; and also to make farther arrangements
with regard to who ought to be liable to the
Bankrupt Law, limiting tire present system, in
some instances, and extending it in others. In
the present Bill also it was proposed to settle in
a more satisfactory manner what should be deem-
ed acts of bankruptcy. By the existing law it
was scarcely possible to make a trader a bank-
rupt, if he himself desired not to become one.
No act indeed could constitute him a bankrupt
against his own will, .excepting imprisonment
for two months. But by this Bill it was proposed
that if a trader should he absent from, that is,
if he could not be found at his house by a credi-
tor for seven days, he should be deemed a bank-
rupt, unless he were proved to have been indis-
posed. So if a trader should suspend payment for
thirty days. These provisions, he thought,
would be deemed some improvement. There were
many objections to the law as it stood ; and no-
thing perhaps served to produce frauds in bank-
ruptcy so much as the capital punishment de-
nounced against the concealment of a bankrupt's
effects, because the Pt:verily of the law prevented
prosecution, and thus encouraged the crime...—.
But the difficulty, however; of making any man
a bankrupt was a great evil. It was' a fact, that
under the existing law, 99 bankruptcies out of
100 were concerted—a man being compellable to
become a bankrupt only on his having been
imprisoned for two 'lntroits. The House would
see the situation in which assignees, were placed
by such a system. It was in the power of the
bankrupt to !ton rotund on the creditors, and on
the vitry ground of its being a concerted one set
aside the commissjon. The bankrupt might Oleo
demand the return of the whole of the property,
and in the event of any deficiency., send the as-
signee to prison. Respectable men were fre-
quently not to be found to fill these situatiours.
There was a clause in tire present Bill, therefore,
to protect assignees. One great principle also of
the measure was, to afford additional power to
the Commissioners. Under the existing law they
have not the means of preserving even order at
their meetings. The most disgraceful scenes were
witnessed at the moment when property to an im-
mense amount was to be disposed of, But where
the want of any sound discretion was most evi-
dent was in tire admission of proofs of debt.--
If once the proof of debt was admitted, it was
impossible, though further information might
proie the debt to be ontounded, for the Coln-
missioners to expunge it ; it could not be
clone without an appeal to the Chancellor ; and
it was not to be expected that any one creditor
could tostertake the expence of an application.

There was a clause in the present Bill to allow ,
tae Cotnmissioaers the power of expunging, on
forther proof, at their pleasure, leaviag it open to
the person applying to appeal to the Chancellor.
He apprehended that the would encounter
some difficulty in the provisions 'by which it was •
intended to rcgolaie the lists of Bankr;int Corn..
missioners in the country. At present, niough
the Lord Chancellor apivertted seventy Commis-
siouers for the Mptropolis, yet he refused altoge-
ther-the patronage such appointments would give
in the country. The con.“:quence was that much
abuse prevailed—frequently the friends or the
partners of the solicitors were appointed by the lat-
ter, and a dividend On the estate of a bankrupt
was in some parts of the country a most rare oc-
currence. it was also hit endcd to increase the
powers of the assignees, and to adopt the practice
of the Scotch system, by appointing a collector, at
asr»,ll per receipts, On the reipts, to receive the
debts, and keep the accounts of the Bankrupt's
estate. Every person coo versan! with tile 'hits,
with whom he had convataed, assured h,im, that
this arrangement was essential to any great im-
provement of the Bank, opt -Laws. He had also
to iMpres3'on the House the necessity of giving
to the Conignissioners the power of inquiring into
the previous cote!uct'of the Bankrupt. By the
present law, the Commissioners cannot refuse
their signatures to a certificate provided the Bank-
rupt has conformed to all the provisions of the law; •
how the property was expended it seas out of their
province to. inquire. He himself kirew of an
stance, where a Bankrupt to the amount of 34,0001.
on giving an account of his expenditure, admitted
that part of his property was spent in keeping a
mistress at Hampton, and another at Brighton.
That man got his certificate, and set up in business
again. Stool a transaction was a disgrace to a
icommercial country. As an instance of the dis-
graceful perjuries that tecre too often practised
before meetings of the COUltnismioners, it wa,
-evidence under the authority of Mr. Montague, a
Gentleman who might be said, trio the avn;A:-
tio.is he filled io those Courts, both as a Cowl-iris-
sioner and a Barrister, to Low lire system inside
Out, that men actually ply Guildhall for hire, to
swear to fictitious debts. There persons were
'also to be found at a house in Doctors' Com-
moos, ready to trade with their perjuries at a
regulated, stipulated commission on the amount.
He himself recollected an instance of a per-
son swearing to a snspicious debt, which was.
opposed ; the proof was however 'allowed, and
in a few days aver he met ate creditor in the ca.,
pacify of an old clothesman—a calling, indeed,
houestly pursued, much more creditable than tire
perjured character he had previously assumed.
Another principle of the Bill was to grant an al•
lowance out. of the estate to •the honest- Bank-
rupt. When it was recollected, that by the exist..
ing law, every severity was dealt our to the Bank-
rupt, without any other motive for a fair sort ender
of his effects than Lite hope of his certificate, it
must be evident that the temptation to conceal-
ment, partial payments, and the tis,ue of
other frauds now practised, was almost invio- •
cible. Common humanity and true policy there.._
fore recommended to make to the holiest but un-
fortunate debtor a liberal allowance. When he re-
flected on the enlightened change that bad taken
place in public feeling relative to the inefficacy of
coercion, in reforming -crime, he had every hope
that this part of the Bill would meet the concur-
rence of that [louse. Happily the time bad passed
when the cry of hang and transport had lost its
influence. That system had bi-en too long tried,
and the increased growth of crime was the result;
but above all, the crime of fraudulent Bankruptcy
had, notwithstanding the severity of the law, be-
come the reproach of the Country. The object
of the clause to which he alluded Was to give the
BAnkropt an interest in every point—to stitrinkite
him to assist his creditors in the recovery of his
debts, by alloteitig hint a liberal per ceatage on
the dividends of his estate. The Hon. Member
proceeded to discuss-the remaining clauses, but
we are prevented, from the pressure of the pre-
ceding part of the debate, from following him at •
length. He concluded with noviog, that the Bill
be read a second time. In the CoMmittee, the
respective clauses would of course become the
subject of separate discussion.
ABOIICRoMBY complimented his Honour..
able Friend on the unremitting attention which he
had paid to a subject of great importance, but
which he feared, though not attractive enough to
obtain a huge attendance or considerable discus-
sion in the House, was likely in the end to be
opposed snccessfuliy by that small, but compact
body, who knew the time to secure their object.,
It was for that reason he recommended to him to
divide his Bill into two parts, one for the regular
lion of the existing law, which might be carried ;
the other, as introducing principles wholly new,
the blending of which would most probably en-
danger the success of the other.
Sir JOHN NEwroRT said, whatever might 'be
the tate .of this Bill, the greatest obligations were
dile to his Hon. Friend tut' his exertions on this
most important subject.
Mr. Alderman Warrnmns; said, the th.anks of
the House and the Conory were due toathe Hon.
Gentleman (Mr. J. Smith) and the Committee out
the Bankrupt Laws.
The Bill was then read a second time, and or-
dered to be committed on the 23d inst.

ATTENDANCE AT BALLOTS.
,On the motion of Mr. BLAKE, the Order for
taking Mr. Martin, of Galway, into custody, as gt
defaulter on an Election Ballot, was, atter some
explanations from the Speaker,. Mr.. Wynn, and
Mr. Blake, discharged, on time ground of that
Gentleman's not being. in the country when the
Order was made.
BARNSTAPLE ELECTION.
Lord Cuvr. moved the Order of the Day for
taking the Report of the Committee on the nem:.
staple Election into further consideration, whiett
being agreed to, his Lordship, after a sOeech of
some length, but delivered in a tone of •voiett
which was not audible in the Galturd, two
Resolutions, the first declaring the opi.nion of the
Committee that Sir Alasseh 'Manasseh Lopez was
guilty of bribery and corruption,
,by bi-.) agents,
in the last Election, and therefore iboqfd be dis-
qualified from serving in the present ParlFment
and tame beCO!)(1 Stating that Such a eysteua of bribery