The Sun.
London, England, 1820-08-04 00:00:00

THE (ITTEE.

Mr. Gr.inivg expPessed a hope that the Re-
reembrancer would he ordered to state whether
the Petition of the Court was or was not received
by the House of Lords.

The Court Officer having read the Requisi-

(ion—

17-;
Mr. FAT ELL rose and said, he did not mean
to delay the. Court long after the solemn and
almost unanimous opinion delivered at the last
Court. The Court had thought it expedient to
petition both Muses of Parliament, one of which
had received their petition without hesitation ;
the other had thought proper to reject it, not=
withstanding the respectful language in which
it was. drawn up, and the evidence it bore, that
not'iing offensive was entertained. It had been
stated .by a great authority', that even if a peti-
tion contained treason it should not be rejected.
The Lords were but one Estate of the' realm,
and though very important in their station; should'
not consider the Petition of the City of London
without some feeling of respect. The question
Which they were at present agitating, is certainly
one of great consequence to the rights of the Ci-
tizens of London. The Lord Mayor must feel
pride in being in the situation which Beckford
once filled, and' by doing his duty, in which he
was honoured by a marble bust, and more glo-
riously honoured by the recollection 'of poste-
rity. If the meanest peasant had been in the
Situation of the Queen, as to a charge subjecting
her to a Bill of Pains and Penalties, the same
spirit of proceeding could never be adopted
against her. Whatever might be the result of
the Inquiry, the Court would have the consola-
tion of knowing that they had done their duty.
He then moved three Resolutions, (for which see
Advertisement, in our first page.)
Mr. HuncomßE spoke strongly in. favour of
the right of Petition, which had, in this case,
been interfered with by the House of Lords.
.Mr. Dixon said, he was of opinion that the
Court had a right to petition, but not to dictate.
They had no right to look, upon themselves as
the fourth Estate of the realm. He considered
that a more proper or a more stinging answer had
not upon any occasion been given than upon that
of presenting such a petition : the Court of Com-
mon. Council were not, he assured them, of such
high importance as some of its members sup-
posed, and their conduct upon this occasion was
consideredJy manrimpertinent. The rights and
privileges of the citizens were not violated by
the refusal of what was an instance of the greatest
presumption. The conduct of :Beckford' had
been praised, but' that very man who talked of
liberty kept thousands in slavery. He departed,
in his speech -to the Sovereign, from propriety
altogether. lie then said he should oppose the
it4,solu tions.

Mr: OLDHAM said, that Mr. Dixon had not
answered one argument of his Worthy Friend.
It' was to be. Wished that the Worthy Gentleman
woald_write Out his speech, verbatim et lileralim,
and send it round for the benefit of the commu-
nity: --lie could then have an opportunity of do-
ing what the press did not think it worth its
while to do. Mr. Oldbam then took a view of
the Bill of Pains and Penalties against the Queen.
If there was a body which should be heard at
the bar of the HOuse of Lords more than any
other,' that body was the Corporation of Lon-
hearl)—The rejection of a Peti-
tion from such a body was more dangerous to the
liberties of. the. people, inasmuch as the claim
was more powerful than any other, and the re-
fusalrWas a precedent for a further denial of the
rights of the peOple.
Mr. Wi.f;LiAiis (of,Smithfield) said, that what-
ever might be the view taken by gentlemen
upon this subject, they might with great pro-
pi'iety vote for the Resolutions. The right of
petition 'was an inherent right, and the Court
would be abstirdli resigning their most impor-
tant privileges, if they 'did not hold that lan-
gtike Upon all occasions.
WArrIIMAN Said, the poor and
the ignorant hail time ,right to petition as well
as those who were in the affluent ranks, when
their rights were- in danger. It was quite suffi-
cient if they believed the danger existed—no
pioOf was • necessary to establish their title.
Was there a ,Iw. in the dominions who did
not .knoiv that . the refusal to. receive their Peti-
tion.. was not a stride towards making a prac-
tice of rejecting in. all cases. He was at a loss
to know upon what grounds it had been refused.
nit proceeding was the very reverse of justice.
Why were the soldiers called out ?—what was
tLeAlecessity,.in.a.thne of peace, for reviews, or
for having the metropolis surrounded by• 40,000
or We "inilitafy ? ht was because the public feel-
ing at. those obnoxious proceedings was feared-
15'ecause it. was expected that the people would
be too much Njtated.—(liear lj—The case of
:Anne boleVn Was the only ne that was analo-
geif.4. mifortooate woman demanded a
public trial, and that she should not be tried by
her accusers. She was put to death and the

•
pilbric 'at Chat wine) posterity) touslatiea lies
an iiu woman. _ _

The Loan MAYOR here interrupted the wor-
thy Alderman, and said there was an improper
comparison drawn to the prejudice of the House
of Lords—(Cries of " No, nor)
Alderman WArrnmAN said, it was most unfair
to interrupt him. He was unconscious of having
said an improper word, and was convinced that
the Lord'Mayor should not attempt to rual:e a
comment upon the opinions or declarations of
any Member. He would repeat, that Anne Bo-
leyn was an innocent woman, and that putting
to death an innocent woman was nothing less than
murder.

The LORD MAYOR said, that in intetrupting
Alderman Waithman, he had entertained no idea
of doing more than object to the comparison be-
tween the worst of the times of England and the
present, and to the questioning of the judicial
proceedings of the House of Lords. tie disclaim-
ed all idea of throwing the slightest imputation
upon the Queen.—(llear, hear!)
Mr. BROWN said, it was impossible for Parlia-
ment to adopt any other course than that upon
which the House of Lords was proceeding. This
Bill of Pains and Penalties would be referred to
by future times with pride, as the only safe mode
of discussing this important question. If both
Ifouses agreed in thinking the Queen guilty, he
should, although unwillingly, join in the conclu-
sion. He could not but oppose a Petition which
went in condemnation of a Bill which was, under
such circumstances the most unobjectionable that
•
could be.

Mr. Juan supported the Resolutions.
Mr. T. N. WILLIAMS said, the Petition was,
objectionable, because it was merely upon one
side. The Court were sending abroad t!te apple
of discord, instead of acting as a polar star to the
conununity. lie then charged. Alderman Waith-
man with having said there existed a disposition
in the Houses of Parliament to deprive the
Queen of England of her head.—(Cries of " Or-
der !" and " No, no !")
Alderman WAITILMAN denied that he had said
any thing of the kind, and hoped the Lord Mayor
Would' interfere to prevent such gross misrepre-
sentations.

Mr. T. N. WILLIAMS said, the argument at
least was to that effect. lie finished soon after,
but not without being contradicted very fre-
quently.

Mr.SAUNDMIS supported the Resolutions.
Mr. FAVELL briefly replied, and the Resolu-
tions were carried without a division.

A Petition to the Lords, grounded upon those
Resolutions,.was then moved and carried.
- Upon a Report from the Committee appointed
to watch .over the proceedings of. the -Court of
Aldermen, in their prosecution against certain
Liverymen for an obstruction in Common Hall,
on Michaelmas-day last, the Court agreed to
withdraw their Resolution, prohibiting the
Chamberlain to pay the expenses of the Court of
Aldermen, and passed an order for paynient of
the costs of all parties respectively.

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