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

',Members, he ftlt there
were.warding upon it men who might to
Fre b en on it, amongst lei--•
the lion. r,lember for
nsi irs, who had given all the Morn:at:en, arid trinn whose
motion the Committee had lesn er---• • I ( Hear,hear.)
iu
that ease the usage of the I isosse had lies I, (iciest( d ;soca, I's'.
It was
a'oq. a rule that the at ember who, obtained the appoint-
ment of a Ccminittee, should e t as the Chairman of that Com-
f..
°llttee•—( Hear, hear.) The Eight Hui.. Baronet tool; credit 1; not having put lawyers en the Committee. Now he Mr.
_atann) was not much in favour of having lawyers on
I,:rno.tirnl;,.onstitutional
Co bras
but here was an inquiry both into fact
law, in which the presence of his
Learned Friend the ember for Worcester, Sir Thomas
placeiti,euellt sot to have been dispensed With, soil, on that
, the Solicitor-Gt coral ought alto to Lave been
--(Hear, hear. ) When the question yi as first raised,
where Watson) asked the Right Hon. Gentlemen opposite
e they found the law which enabled them to open letters
Passing through the Post-office. The Solicitor-General told
,sre that it was by the statute of Anne, confirmed by the Act of
t'hetoia, but the house had seen, from the Lori's' report, that
It:e(tat.a.s,gett:of Anne gave no such authority.—(hear, hear. )
hat ittee Act of Victoria made it a misdt meaner to Open tettt•Ts,
104 power to detain letters, on the warrant of the Se-
;4 State ; so that, according to the Lords' rejo,it, the
to cum to open Jetties depended on common law. Now, as
Leeks Mao law, what was the fact? He had examined all the
larch led reports, and he could not find a single authority for
claimed Power,—( Hear, he. r. ) The Secretary of State, now
i
return slue right to si ire, read, open, snake copies, reseal , atm,
B,elt the letters of any individual.—( Hear, ar. ). He, the
seszinuarY of State, was not content to take the bold step of
lad IT Ltid making public use of letters fur 'midis. purposes:csi
raised an done by his predecessors.—( Hear, hear.) This
et Statea great constitutionsl question—" Has the Secretary
b;
.-„st.cm —;:ignt to open private letters passing through the
That • He (Mr. Watson) said there was no such sight.i
pacepatea question which must now be determined. As to t
qes" t° which that alleged right had been exercised, only the
"lane rpm, t
add its subordinates knew.--( Cheri s. ) The
the.i. .liember fur Weymouth said that the courts of law were
newish, before whit h this question should be tried. But
augt° were to be the %kiln •sses 7 The Secretary of State could
vs otbe "attined in t
court..Of law upon the acts of his Go-
eerrne—seht', „The subordinatesa of the Post-office sere sworn to
sis,a;Y•-•-Stlear, hear.) But if the Government were
ease tse Y the legality, let them acknowledge the fact—pro.
es(chue warrants, and bring the whole questiun fairly to, trial.
iialued!"•) General warrants to seize papers, such ae were.
Loth 14 the time of W•lk were issued in the time of Eliza-
the Cr the.
and thet l'sst, and 2d Chat lea. And yet, when
to be yll carne before the courts of law, they were declared
eett -•t,.s.gat• The eases were extremely analogous to the pre-
thes;i"° Particulars were very much in point. One was
lion the Editors of the IVorth Briton. The ques-
vela
e'Raiest tried, and the jury gave large d.damages
14ee th°'ewh ' d the warrants. The Lord Chiet Jus-
-44'14 that occasion, laid down, as it was well known. in law,
donee warrant could be issued except on sufficient e.v_ ;-
Plaintiff, 'he jury were not to consider the. meanness of .he
kistrate condition, hut to bear in mind that they saw a nsa-
Poster.,, °ler all the King's subjects exercising arbitrary
tlisse,ta --(Hear, hear. ) it seemed to him (Nil.. Watson) that
kuld 1.8 Very little difference between seizing a man's papers
(fs., etaitenc,
lies his letters.-
-"ee reading, copying, and resealing h
he 4%2; in I The next case was that of Ent inck, whic was
hto
the 19th volume of the State Trials. There t e
ileata); °' the Lord Chief Justice applied precisely to the pre-
be•-enstlent The Lord Chief Justice said that „the warrant
Tit a e(rd without information previously taken, and that
tati,e re was without precedent, except in. the. case of
lash sacregsa.......
istietl,es let. 8 (Cheers.) " There was no law to justify
if it could be' done, there would be no peace„ in
(Ale me a man's papers were of. er, his dearest proper ty.
Lell'elteg But if that were a right at common law,
leree'ott7l4inis.try could adduce some instance in the books—
Sele-re',9ll, some dictum would appear in some part of the
' our re orts But that could not be law whic
/lagesttetioned by authority whatever.—(Hear,,hear.) But
RZerpleaded in favour of the right In Edward 11.'s
).4i4 all geewarrant. to detain and exa-
ae Kendal received a
Cromwell orders
tters from France. In the time of
suenne
;era t•,; were issued fur seizing papers. But those warrants
ti▪ etr•led in very ditlerent circumstances from the present.—
aestitu.'h‘tear.) Still this furnished no
man's
for secretly
At all
il'ereil,‘teading, and copying a letters.
41411' 'asp had it ever been said that there was any law
e
Pratii 'nine letters. —(Hear, hear. ) But it was said
was
lhitae,rhad existed since the Revolution. Of what valueh
°0...11% J had only a series of illegal acts.—(Hear, hear.
-edelsiouee Yates said, " If von show o, e an illegal act on the.
oir
Ir, that does not make it law. —( Cheers.) Si) said
kssation atson). If you show me this usage from the
Zre 101 l do not make it one jot the less illegal." There
~larr:aktril.Qte.ta authorised by lair, but only when issued upon,
;lee and in these cases there. were none. In theTl
hoesrte-
.iat ant ‘a there was no auth ,rity to open letters.
ttlltiaialtaleeltatuesrea to exempt the Postmaster aster from penalties for
di. et
~._ upon the e
hat was the state
;▪ hate o_aed he called upofn
heSoldiceifteorri-dGedenetriaiel
471dtlet of° what principles law
tiitatease the Government. o. It had been stated as
a, he that discontent prevailed in certain districts.
ah._ aid that citita a . was no justification whatever for issuing
r taut, gainst any individual. The_ disturbed state of
:otted7 did not justify one tyrannical act, when
.thfe
mlaaw.
1%, Pre it It no warrant should be issued unless on in or.
11.ikeigiPlY taken The Hon. Gentleman then read sesera,
Ora the rep. oft of the Committee, to show that they
• th-a"teiige of the grounds on which Sir James Graham
a-bte,arrants, beyond his own word that he had done so
k 111•4• 14 desire to preserve the public peace. it was of
17,6t4' k ow kittr,tl
all remembered,
eto
henre
_, what the information was. In
d warrants were sent down to
othernennll rem mplaces, and it would be remembered
d
--litht afterwards convicted, they were convicted
'kid e eaid n'i'ce;
instigated them—( Cheers)
kt hlietj. new that
*ll°
knew c!
titileiesaVesistiweshodid.not write theeelehtteeerasmteo
Hie ea the which beia. P -t offi
? Hear )
vocals • eed its confirmation •
spened in the Post-office,
of suspicion
Member for Bute last night
it .174 to v." arned Friend the Got or 4 •
.e circumstance of some i
ble misdemeanor,
1,-,,tiyiduals who were tried
larrtaitii„T,heY were tried for a treasurable
kd tat with the Hon. Member
.4;se es, Y never corresponded
istelida,q_ But let them suppose for a momensth t talresier
!Pas edshieuefere their trial, were correspunding.witu •
„,
alta• "thieh 1.41: and send.ne in their letters ioformatios
wa .`"eir defence was to be founded, which would
Vit '4414 let° the heeds of the Government, who were to
f1i441 tiltlt tattoolnr°sr for the purpose of obtaining a conviction.
111,4aat
heatse.. pe unjust
the, hear. ) He
Sheffield,aaa ed not agree with Hon. Member for
ellp„searein'ed of the power possessed by foreign States to open
ht;Zatil correspondence passing through the Post.office. At
tltt,t4tlCha'ilttsialtehelid not consider the practice creditable to any:
na "Toning of letters in England was anconr.
illthit.4 110,— „illegat.—( Hear, hear.) It was most impoi
y4tett I.l4.,4lerribers t be of this opinion, inasmuch as tle
t,Saa—ealeosji".T...,ot brought before a court of law, and the
Ty ^La in the appointment of a Committee of that
tk.kirkti'e' :at Committee should have authority to examine
taißlika •is to report to the House, so that a reso-
meta 1/441,,, e come to as to the nature and character of
gos:'''aes re• This had been the case with regard to the
"cU*ulet session, and the result had been, that the
so.; Tierrttt Possession' of veuable information on the
tot beepe was no kind of arbitrary proceeding which
6-4 ‘- %Il used at some time or other by the Government
441140rY; But he thought it was extremely wrong to
lliet4Wret, !natter of this inquiry. He did think it was
aride.t° the case that the letters had been
to ' the usage of the country. It was no
Le' all ortb°l'e,,tl letters and to turn round and say.
064-nk,ht*:,Whiga had done the same. He repeated it
lbeth, the charge for, he thought it discreditable
Necaell r *tad Tories if ;hey had done so. It would have
lkes ' aati founduettee f
t the Government if, when they came. into
1145 have that their predecessors had exercised this
-diai hat e abolished the practice altogether. Had such a
ttiek:eter• and adopted, it would have reflected credit on the
iittst,''' the r; insured him the confidence of the thinking por-
••ltees•t4 hisl,llle As to the inquiry into the opening of the
Ha th,e,"ive sou" Friend Friend the Member for Finsbury, he could
th 6 ,Ow any human being could object to it. He did
L'Alit'd'i...eeCenvernment had a right to open the letters of his
VkgatZleg to‘'e. was a Member of. Parliament, and had
.64 ,ry,
tittseharge and to have his letters opened, was
h cqlly to him, but to the constituency whom he
I,rkttlipttvbserl°l.lll; to represent.—( Heart. hear.) Even
Leech Mtes neer of Charles the Second, and the
`St pa llorace Walpole, it was considered a high
IN:. et. k-ait'aelntary privilege to detain or examine the
eta
to „ 'ember of that House. It was not a breach of
or, but itatnine the letters of any individual out of that
kales Pitt.° °Pen, there was doubt, the letters of a Mena-
tb, the lareent • it
~%va,rant °ma manifestly illegal,. except were clone
st'alre "ow, the of her Majesty's principal Secretariesn of
kiNfor pius,Y had a right to inquire whether the on.
Vett is end ts eurY s letters had been opened ender such a
ho'leaf`le Bit,i'at was the Only course that could be pursued,
k Ron, Baronet would lay the warrant on the
11441 lel to rile. He must have received information to
itteLae.ualat irnsas.wie the warrant, for he could not have done so
this lad leery motive—at all events, if the Right Hon.
%%det' k 11,Pae_ ell information to justify his issuing the
'kertattlat hart 'ileof privilege had been committed. In 1735,
1.11..4:41:e riseti: aid down and he could not understand
Plc k• Members'opposed the motion for in. quiry.
• 14, 14country ealled loudly for it, and the inquiry
them upon what foundation this power
fr e•is *„.114, (se was based. It was time the country should
lionig " overnment justified the possession of this
lhlse et•aar,, ~. and Learned Friend the Alember for Bute
tin 'no pc-r"'''') las Baronetas pleased to talk
.of the
_feel-
% lig "H
di of on- He said the feelings of the
Must have been hurt, but we:e the feel-
itZitt/-heZheiZetons burt by h' d b te—liad not an in-
,this derogeiV ePon an Hon Nit-Nacre oaf that House? Was
hdie_ouet„ Yto his honour 'to.know that the Government
th teet? tqt'lett received some information to induce them
l'ilkl,ebtlatilterrtiaetiohad been guilty of som , impropriety ? What
tst: Ilets lied it ? the Government had received—how h.ad
!It; fe hut it were their informants worthy of credit ?
right to demand answers to these interro-
.'s, cage had b: information was not just and fair, a breach
llasetildbeen committed by the issuing of the war-
tAe e by the resolution of that House agreed
horny loo_citicen he called upon his Right lion. and.
r.ibry the Howe that the !sower of detain-
hot The S(1 (Cheers lute. the
was founded upon legal evidence and
4* Lie/ rk•
e'er tl TOR rape,
lit, 6.e his • -,"ERAL commenced by stating that
e, the t 1 hi, disareeable and painful.
.debate which it had
arti ' sell-torture .
kttt rukt.4 thou
~t'a listen to within the walls of that
k".tha • It wo..,nt lt had already been sufficiently pro-
as'ereh refers "4, however, have been impossible for him,
,Y th ,se:'e, the , •
I tainted reference which had been made
ktlit:toeis ateoZoble Lord the Member for the City of London,Atr
elibstaia Zi...Leatrned Friend the Memb-er'for Bute, last
441771,441 twith,taw !tesi;laSsing upon the attention of the
111s1,„,' log tleWhieh ba.°Png, he felt most acutely some of the
4tkit'hit(ll_Nrett "Lk" PlaCO 111 that House, and notwith-
moat deeply many of the expressions
tc- s)h- tsp `racted • used, and the ene ne and temper of the
° Inuel ' the ob g . rft 0.
mat ~.et thi d servations wbirsh he should hay? to
qoUse the tubimeu‘.n.t the Whole consistently with the im-
lhe (Hear and the maintenance of the dignity of
With ;ht. raordi,4_"tar• )It appeared to him that they were
5h.4110-`4lt.ttritihration rtkabury, who,
a,,itherforrLposition with respect to the motion of
it seemed, had prepared
Vit,:asitio_ ts_ and care the preposition which he had
lcsetig fin t°
hconsideration of the . House. That
.ttf tk by hin,"e been revised and afterwards
it ta'eltee"oler '"'s • Whether it was by the ad-
th_eteraq.w"Y his own better judgment, be (the
tie:4d be t tWolition. NrcEntr prepared to say. True, bowev",
induced to omit froin
motto was
expressions which he
the
sdlt seeo ated in nectionable and • r 1 the motion
tastlesed t.. 4 night, alernodelled all Ing
n uy - u Hon e form,en at a late period
„Ise, after many arguments had been
;itthtierort, 41'114r. for
..511111,ers who had preceded the Noble
y Which u ierland, to the particular tetras of
r1a.,411 centa. ''''e Propositio
ar4teel. eaul med 1, of the Hon. Member for
*it ncheeelltlenll, forward the Lord the Member for
it tratLrit wa. • At_ 'Tn. an amendment. Another
sraa"er 1147 .not nee to for Shrewsbury, said the
ZDn eel 0i 4°t net
spislt.PPorted him
.(the SolLitor-Gerieral) was this :
coal The Y the Hon alember hnnself in a
Itglleatseswll an INT"Ie Lord the Member fns
that he
wuPaiien and avowed opponent.
30) and they looked for such an