The Sun.
London, England, 1821-07-04 00:00:00

qUainted with the-Case of this individual, but that he had no
dc: ,t that with respect to the bail required the Judge had
es-
ereised a sound discretion, and that the Petitioner had nothing
to complain of-- beyond others were subjected to. He
inert ninarli, however, that it appeared rather strange that his
friends were ready to pkdge theinOves to his appearance, but
that l*is conduct i',ad been such- that no one would le. him-
elf for his good beha-;i,Jur. With respect -to the postnone,
.neat of 1..!-!e Sittings after Term, in consequence of. the (2oro.;:,
nation, he did not supput that notion was well grounded.
if, however, it s'Aould appear to be so, as far as he was con-
cerned he would wilEngly exercise his authority to shield the
Petitioner from any additiond_incoovenienee on. that account.
- obtaining his discharge upon such security as he could

TOT

fi ea:r.)
.Mr. 110BHOITSE said., that after whet had fallen from
the Hon. and Learned Gentleman, he should say no snore on
thesubject, than merely to observe that the Petitioner's friends
fdarful of becoming hail fin his good behaviour, when they
were told that a fresh indictment, which might be supported on
(else testimov,y, would expose them to the loss of their sureties.
Ile hoped also the Hon. and Learned-Gentleman would take
into his consideration that the: Petitioner had already been six
weeks in prison.
Me. SCARLETT expressed his satisfaction at i.hat had fal-
len from the Attorney-General; and he hoped the House would
now sec that, however re4,ectable the Association, innumerable
abuses of its power might be made, by leaving it to be exer-
cised at the diieretion of a single attorney. The Hon. 'Member
expatiated on the.danger to which a bookseller was exposed of
indictments being found against him. He quoted the case of
Mr. Johnson. bOokseller, of St. Paul's Chutch-yard, which oc-
curred about the Early part of the French Revolutio.s. That
individual had actually been convicted and punished for selling
a libellous book which he had' previously refused to print or to
sell ; because, one of his men in his absence purchased a copy
of it from another shop to accommodate a customer with. If a
man, therefore, was liable in this manner, for an act of the- corn-
Mission of which he w,s in perfect ignorance, it surely well be-
came that HonSe to look wiZh jealousy at-those who assumed
the exercise-of such a power. With regard to the postponement
of the Sittings after Term, he feared the Attorney General
would 'find it was but too probable. He could not help re-
marking that such appeared to be the increasing.state of busi-
ness in die Court 9f Bench, that they were not far from
that period when the Counsel would he obliged to attend the
•Court from Christnias to Christmas. If it were desirable that
those who followed the profession of the law, should have the
:education and manners of Gentlemen, they must not make it
necessary for them to put their Wig. and gown on every day
•in the year. No Judge could support ,such labour,, and he
hoped that some measure would be adopted to remedy this in-
creasing evil.
M. A. .TAYLOR thought the staternimt of his Hon.
; and Learned Friend required the attention of the Legislature.
If the House would look at the
.increased burden Of business
upon the Lord Chief Justice and the'other Judges of the Court
of King's Bench, they must be startled at the proSpect. With
all the activity and intelligence. of the Chief Justice, he had
been unable.to get rid of the arrears of business of the last two
years. • The Court of King's Bench was overloaded, and for
the benefit of the public, there ought to be another Court of
Criminal Judicature in Westfoinster-Hitll.
Mr. DENMAN said he should look with great jealousy at
any alteration on the ancient Constitution of Westminster Hall.
The Court of King's Bench was certainly overloaded ; but if
the suitors were dissatisfied, he saw no reason why they should
not remove their causes to other Courts. With regard to the
case of W. Benbow, he thanked the Attorney-General for what
he had promised to do. The petition was then ordered to be
printed.
A Message from the Lords announced their Lordships' as-
sent to the Coasting Trade Bill, and the Rum Importation
Bill.

CAPTAIN ROMEO. .
Colonel DAVIES rose to present a petition to which he
wished to call the attention of thenouse, but more especially of
the Noble Marquis (Londonderry). It was from a person of
the name of Romeo, of.whom the House bad heard.before, and
who was now compelled to throw himself on its justice. In the
year 1811, when the British Government was in possession of the
Island. of Sicily, there was reeeson to suspect that a cdbspiracy was
carrying on for the overthrow of the British and the introduction
of the French Government. In order to defeat their designs
it became necessary to obtain the -confidence-of the conspira-
tors, and in order,to effect this purpose Captain Romeo was em-
ployed, and in him they placed their entire confidence. By
this means it was discovered that a plot as dark as ever was en-
gendered in hell had existed against the British subjects. The
French army was to have been gamed over, and the Sicilians
were to join, and the island to be surrendered ; and it also ap-
peared-, that the Queen of Sicily 168 in the plot. These facts
. appeared .in evidence before a military tribunal, and owing to
the zeal and exertions of this individual_ the whole was dis-
covered. The Hon.:Gentleman theil read some extracts from a
' letter of General Maitland, corroborating- the statement of Cap-
tain Romeo, namely, that he was employed to obtain intelli-
gence, and that by this means he had excited the enmity of the
Neapolitan Government. Captain Romeo was seized in his
house in Calabria, and taken prisoner. He demanded to know
his offence, and got no answer; and to this hour he was igno-
rant of what offence he had committed. He had also suffered
great-pecuniary losses ; but setting aside all that, he contended
that any man who had- been banished as Capt. Romeo had far
services rendered to the country, had a claim upon. the British
Government; and should at least be allowed the Means of sub-
sistence. The Hon. Gentleman then read some letters from
Lord Wm. Bentinck and General Campbell, stating that Cap-
tain Romeo had rendered essential services. He assured the
House Captain Rorie° • did not Wis% to give any trouble ; he
only demanded not to be condemned unheard, and that he
should not be deprined of what the meanest subject in the
realm would obtain, an impartial trial. He should therefore
move that the Petition be. referred to a Committee.
The Marquess'of LONDONDERRY said this was the se-
cond time the claim of Capt. Romeo had been brought before the
House, although the House had before decided that it was not
' a case in which they should interfere. The- question divided
itself into two parts: first, whether any pecuniary relief should
be granted ; and second, whether the grievances of which
Captain Romeo complained were such as the British Govern-
ment could interfere in. On the latter of these points he should
say a few words.. In the year 1817,_ and afterwards in 1818,
he had given the most pointed instructions to Sir William
A'Court to inquire inn:it:he alleged grievances of Capt. Romeo,
'which inquiry Sir William A'Court immediately instituted.—
His information did not rest, solely upon the statements of the
Neapolitan Government, but- upon the statements of persons
who acted with Captain Romeo, and al-So of persons residing in
his neighbourhood ; 'and if from these inquines the British Go-
vernment were, satisfied that the Neapolitan Government had
taken no proceedings against Captain Romeo on account of his
connection with the Brutish Government, he saw no reason why
the House should interfere. Nothing could be more awkward
in point of precedent than to submit this correspondence to
the House, but he could assure the House, he never saw a
more conclusive case in his life. He had offered the Um.
Member for Aberdeen (Mr. Hume) to let him seethe corres-
pondenee irnhis office ; but he could not go farther. . The
HOuse of Commons could not summon the Neapolitan Go-
vernment to.their bar, and he was sure the Hon. Gentleman
(Colonel Davies) must see that this was not a case in which the
House could interfere. With respect to the second point, name-
ly, wbether any pecuniary remuneration should be granted,
lie should say that previous to Capt. Romeo's being employed
in this occupation, he had been in Murat's Army, and being
charged with some crime; he was arrested and put into prison.
When in custody he offered to undertake the ofhce, and it was
considered nuite a sufficient remuneration for him to receive at
the time 80 dollars a month for his secret service to the Police ;
and he must admit that he pat fonned his functions as spy upon
the conspirators -with great propriety.- If Capt. Romeo felt he
had claims upon the British Government, it is surprising he
did. not piefer them before, or that he did not apply to the Noble
Lord (Bentinck), cr others, who had unlimited funds at their
command ; and it must be remembered that Captain Romeo
was but a subordinate agent in the transaction, and by no means
so important a personage as in modern times, since he had
written some books, 'one of which he saw very handsomely
bound in the hands of -the Hon. and Gallant Gentleman oppo-
site (Col. Davies). He had sent in a claim for 2,6001., and one
Of the items was 1,5001. for the mistress of a Freneh General,
for services performed by hei.—(A laugh.)—He had mentioned
that circumstance before, and it was scarcely. worth repeating.—
An annuity of 501. a year had been granted to him, and he
said if he got the value of the annuity he should quit the coun-
try, and give no more trouble. A sum of 3901. was given to
him, and he applied to him (the Marquis) for a passport; but
not being in the habit of giving pas Sports except as letters of
character, he der fined giving him one, as-the information he i
had received respecting Captain Romeo was not such as .to in-
duce him to testify for his character and conduct. He hoped
the House was satisfied with this eaplanation, that thik was not
a question in which the House should interfere; this was the.
second time it had been brought forward, and he must be ex-
cused if he declined again taking a part in the discussion:
Lord WM. BENTINCK perfectly agreed with the Noble
Lord, that if Captain Romeo had claims upon the English Go-
vernment, he should have preferred them before ; but he was
of opinion lie had no claims upon the Government. But the
question for the House to consider was, whether this individual
had not been made. the victim of - his attachment to the British
Government. The contrary of this statement depended upon
the mere ipse dixit of the Neapolitan Government, and he
would not take the word -of the Neapolitan Government,
which had been so often violated. With respect to the pension
wen to Captain Romeo, he was of opinion that it should either
have been more or nothing at all. If be had been sulllciently

comue4sated before, he should haVe received nothing ; but if
he had sacred in consequence of his attachment to this coun-
try, a larger pension Should have been given. He knew the
money he had received was ail spent, and he was now in the
deepest distress, and he biped the House would take the case
into.their consideration. •
Mr. GOULIIURN defended the commutation of the pension
which had been made. - Its was disposed to agree with the
Noble I4ord in what he .had 'said-. with respect to the pertion
granted to Captain Rameo and if those-facts had been knbwn
•
at the. Office with which 113 was connected, which had si ce come
to his knowledge, he was inclined to think that theealtel`Rative
suggested by the Noble Lord would have been adopted, and
that no pension would have been granted:— But at that time he
came before them merely as an individual, claiming to be re-
warded for services performed. There was then no question
%idiether, o not he had suffered froM the -NeapelitaatioVern-
- meat for his attachment to England—his was merely-a claiM for
remuneration for services,perfornied. The, Noble Lord admit-
ted that not having preferred his claim at the proper time he
was not entitled to prefer it now. This individual was shewn
to have been employed in the service, bat it appeared that he
was subordinate to another Officer, and his reward had been
proportionate to what his superior Officer had received..
Lord A. HAMILTON objected to the grounds upon which
the Noble MarqueSs and the Hon. Gentleman had placed the
question, in stating that Captain Romeo had been remunerated
at the time the services were performed ; but surely this Gen-
tleman could never have contemplated at that time the circum-
stances which had since occurred. Part of the services had been
performed by Captain Romeo while wearing the British uni-
form, and in consequence of this had excited the enmity of
another Government. The Noble Marquess had indulged in
what appeared to him rather unbecoming levity ; but the charge
of the Noble Marquess had been completely removed. The
money to the French mistress was given to save his own life,
and the lives of forty others ; and, therefore, the jocularity of
the Noble Lord was quite misapplied.
The Hon. C. HUTCIIINSON said, if he -had known no-
thing of the case before he had come into the House, the state-
ments which had been made would have induced him to sup-
port the. claims. The question Was not whether this Gentle-
man had been sufficiently remunerated for his'services in Italy,
but whether having performed essential services to the British
Government, having been persecuted for these services, and
having appealed to the British Government for protection, that
protection :vas to be withheld from hiM now, a banished and
persecuted man.- And what was the argument of the Noble
Marquess? tie said he had applied to-.the Neapolitan Govern,
ment for information ; and what was the complaint of Captain
Rothe° ? why, thathe had been persecutedby the Neapolitan Go-
vernment. Then the case carnesiniply to this, that the Noble Mar-
quess had applied for information to that very quarter by which
this individual complained he had been persecuted.—(Hear.),-
The Noble Marquess had asked, with rather an unbecoming
sneer, wily he had not made an application from 1815 to 1817 ?
He would tell,hirn the: reason why. It was, because part of the
time he was imprisoned in Italy ; and the other part, he • was
on the desert slims of Egypt. Captain Romeo stated he was
persecuted, and he had the authority of the: Noble Lord near
him (Lord W. Bentinclo to corroborate the'statement. fle had-
demanded a passport to quit the country, stating that he •'was`
anxious to assist his countrymen in recovering their •liberties_a_
and it was easy to see why the British Government refused the
passport, -having night after night opposed the cause of liberty.:
His Noble Friend (Lord A. Hamilton) had very properly ex-
plained the circumstance respecting the money given to the.
French mistress. Captain Romeo had been taken prisoner in
Calabria, and through the influence of this Lady he had escap-
ed with forty others. These were the plain statements of the
case, and he thought the House would not sustain its own dig-
nity if it refused these just clairns.--(Hear, hear!)
Colonel DAVIES replied. He produced certificates signed
by Col. Corbone, Gen. Maitland, and other Officers, to prove
that Capt. Romeo had been employed to obtain information,
and in other ways to promote British interests in that quarter.
He hoped the Government would again take Capt. Romeo's
cam into their consideration.—The Petition was ordered to lie
on the Table.
CLAIMS FOR COMPENSATION.
Mr. WILBERFORCE Presented a Petition from a Mr.
Robert Wood, complaining of having been deprived of his
Commission.
Lord PALMERSTON said, that it was found that the Pe--
titioner had been largely. indebted ; his Commission was sold to
meet part of the debt ; the balance was not
.claimed: from him,
lie not being able to. pay.—The Petition was ordered to lie on
the Table.

EXTENTS IN AID.
Mr. W.SMITH presented a Petition from certain merchants
and traders of London, relative to evils arising from the present
arrangement of Extents in Aid, and praying for their ameliora-
tion. What both he and the petitioners had to complain of was,
the inefficient operation of the Bill brought in about f6tr years
ago. Before. that time the number of prosecutions by extent
was nearly 200, but since that Bill they decreased to from 20 to
30 a year. Still the system wanted improvethent. During the 1
year 1020 there were 20 extents issued, and only 13 individuals
were found to fly in the face of justice and the country, by pro-
secuting their debts in this manner. He was well aware that
nothing could be done on this subject during the present Session,
but he now'gave notice, that he should at an early period bring
it before the House. The systeth was one which could not be
too much deprecated, but it was now too late to do any thing
effective on so very important a subject.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL regretted he was not aware
this:petition,Was intended. to be presented, as he should then
haVe taken care to be prepared on the subject. lie did -not
think it fair that a sweeping charge should be made against all
those parsons who had issued Extents in Aid. Whenever the
subject was brought before the House, he should be ready to
meet the Hon. Member.
Mr. W. SMITH explained, and saki, that weeks ago he ex-
pressed his intention of bringing this subject before the notice
of the House. 'Hi:4 charge was certainly a sweeping charge, Or
every one of those persons said they would not be able to pay
the Crown unless they obtained an extent in aid for a debt of a
few hundred, or a few score, pounds, while in point of fact they
Might be. worth hUndredi a thousands. Many persons avoided
taking the oath, although they could thereby obtain their debtS ;
while many others took it. whb, when they had done so, could
not then obtain. them.—Ordered to be laid on the-table.
Mr. S. DOUGLAS presented :a petition from certain
Brewers, complaining of the late duties on Malt.—Ordered to
be printed.

CHIEF BARON O'GRADY.
Mr. C. W..WYNN brought up the report of the Select
Committee on the 9th Report of the Commise.ioners on Courts
of Justice in Ireland. The Committee had made their report
in this mode :—They stated separately each charge, and the parts
of the Chief Baron's letter which applied to that charge, select-
ing from such documents as were before' them the passages that
had reference to the several charges. To each of those propo-
sitions of charge and explanation the Committee had added
their own opinion. On some of the parts they stated that they
had not sufficient inforrnation, and to others they had act a suf-
ficient answer in the Chief Baron's letter. They recommended
that a .Commission should collect, during the prorogation of
Parliament, sox': documents as might give fuller knowledge of
the case. If by the time Parliament met again, there should
not be sufficient. information, it would be for the House to de-
cide the case by their own means and by their own authority.
The Marquis of LONDONDERRY said that means Would
be used that would by another Session furnish the information
required.
Mr. S. RICE felt it hie,duty to abstain from urging his pro-
position for referring. the question to a Committee-Of the whole
House, in consequence of the information which the Noble
Marquis pronnSed to see furnished to the House upon the subject.
Mr. O'GRADY said he had stated before, and he still
thought, that the more information should be obtained, the
better. There had been some misconstruction of what he had
said on a former night. He had not complained of the conduct
of the Commlssioners; hut of the conduct of the lion. Member
(Mr. S. Rice) es being chargeable with partiality and unfairness
respecting the Courtof Exchequer.. If the conduct of the Hon.
Gentleman did not proceed from abstract love of justice, he
• could not conceive his motive.
Mr. S.RICE explained.—Where had motives were entertain-
ed, they generally betrayed themselves. Ha hoped he had not
betrayed any bad motives.—(Hear, hear !)-lf he hoed, he-should
hold himself not only an unworthy Member of that House,
but of civilized Society. He had mot seleeLd the Court of Ex-
chequer to make an example of it; though ha might have been
warranted in doing so, as there was not' one thousandth part of
the abuse' in the other' Courts.- BUt he was not in Parliament
when the other reports had been made, andlie -was not answer-
al3ile for the conduct of others. The lion. Member had there-
fore no ground for so unjustly, unjustifiably; and he would say
cruelly, questioning his motives.
Mr. O'GRADY explained.—He bail admitted the Hon.
Member's motive to be good and just; but he complained that
he had pursued his object in a partial and unjust manner.
Dr. LUSH INGTON expressed a hope that the inquiry
would be immediately made, es it was obviont how detrimental
it must be to let an imputation of this nature long hang over the
Chief Judge in a Court of Justice.—The Report was ordered
to be printed.
DIVISION OF THE COUNTY' OF YORK.

Mr. C. W. WYNN said, that when he had formerlyinen-
tioncd his intention-of bringing in a Bill to divide the county of
York, so that the West Riding should return two MerriVers,
and ie East and North Ridings the other two, the Noble Lord.
(Milton) bad e:,:pre.ssed a wish, that the Bill should he in-
troduced this Session, in order that it might be maturely
considered. He had not given notice of such a motion, but
perhaps the House would allow him to move now
.pro forma,
for leave to bring in Bill fqr the further regulation of elect