The Sun.
London, England, 1811-03-05 00:00:00

T.. t/ E S .1:). ii 17,

Lll ER PARLL4IIIENI,

110 USE OF PEERS.
MONDAY, MARCH 4.
- B ItKPARY k'ELRAGE.
In a Committee of Privileges it was moved, That
an Address be preseoted to the Prince Regent; prayr
nig his Royal HightteQs %ironid be gracioil:Oy pleased
to appoint a Law Officer of the Crown to attend to
the
.interests of the younger brother in this-impor
tant cati4e. • •

The Resolution wis alterttards reported to the
House, and.an Address moveclaccordingly; •
The Coroner of the County of Surrey, in com-
pliance with the motion of Lord Holland, and the
Ordt.r of their Lordships, prOs,entect a. Copy of the
Proceedings of the Inquest on the Body Of William
Cullatn,‘w Ito died in the Marshalsea prlon, In‘ con
sequence, as it was. of the extreme Waht. of
the necessaries of life: ,

tit4LAND. •
Lord DAnsn4y, alfuding
.to
,certain documents
which hid been moved teipeCting the revenue, and
other circurostanees of Ireland, wished tq know
when these, docuutenis would be produced ? Every
thingvvhich`regarded that p.irt of the Enipire, elaitn-
In hisopinton, the must
,serious.-attention of
their tardshios, particularly n the oreiept 'moment ;
and lie should, feel it his duty to bring these 'oircom-
stances uuder, their,ortishys' timsideration.
Tate Easl of LlVaitPOOle liknovOledgetl, that the
Afriirs of lyelan4 clatmed.twery attention on 'the 'ital.
•
of that. House, airl promised 'to iognire when' the
Pipers referred r% by the. Noble -Lord would be
rracly. 19 be laiO on the table:',,
Cord D'Aususp.v could not now fix-the partidular
day-on Wh,cli he:should bring forward' A motion on
,he subjed. hellactallodeoo, but it. would be some
itne about t close of the' ensuing Week.
FORMA: HUNS EX OFFICIO.

Lord 1-40,L,t4-Nn rose to twing:forward the motion
,f ;which -he had, gi:Veo. dnetiotiee,- respecting the
,of. the number..of infOrmatiOns filed cx
()flier° Majesty's At to'in,y• Oeneral incases of
libel, which had takensplace Within-Oise few years,
and in which, In'hitt'opinion;.trieni might bajust
grounds of suspicion,., that sporitieltl...partiality • and
biai bore, ric).l,Mall'share.:. ht .ventured to
give that noinie, he ciinceiveil he :was seling a part
perfcailY .COnfolmalile to the spirit of the Constitu-
tion, and :indeed; so.:•Cons•ni,atit :to' pat iiamentary
ra4lee, that,l)e, by no
.iiiebns,*apprelitincied that
"1)) 1100 . with any /..pcisition But
be; .h.ni since: leirned Altar' it was the I,:tention of
some Noble Lords to Oppo::e
.il 3 and ta..reture. hit
himself onder.the necosity oflating more leogi
than intended, the grorioos 0t,,.n w
I,e fiad to rest4he propriety of Ili.: rtfotiun.
lie considered the nature i,t tharpOtion, he eettain-
ly was at a 'Gas to, conje4ure the Aort:Ot. ~i;jettions
"fie.n.rged against it. For, in the first •
place,. ,it did not go to plede their•, Lo,dshipas
:House to any partic.ular opinion whittsoever ; but
merely called for the produttion of docutnents rela-
tive to the administration at justice in cases of lithl ;
documents which, in his opinion, should be open to
every one,' and whioJi should be inSpe.ted with frig
gilance and jealousy. At the opening of every Par-;
liameot, a Cumorittee of Justice Word appointed,'
arid to :every case where the rights and liberties 'of
the subjea' were concerned, Mt:attention of Paths-.
tent was dtreae.l, not ocyasionally and ttcc;ident;elly,:
but onitbrtnly and Unrernittingly. In cases of.libel
they lights and liberties were. affe4led, and there—
fore it behoved Parliattient .to inqpireinto the num-
ber and nature of the informations tiled-in the lower:
Courts, and into'the proceedings which had Deep'
had in'conieqneace. 'fbere wag a Committee pow;
sitting- on the nature of the Itevd,nrte Luta, as fat
as they might atiett the life of the subjitet, in order
to gain infOi illation how those laws might be amend-
ed. In the sainemanne. thought there could
be no Stnpioriety in inst ;luting an inquiry into the
objed of his pres'ent motion, without making' any
reference to. any particular .ahuae. It wits well
;known, that, mo later than two or three yea's ago,
an Mt M., 33 pissed, which Otte& the unent;►l
lasii•of th'elai,i to matter of-libel, which .altered the .
ittuititerropteo stream of precedcn:s upon .) inch all
law was founded, and which gave to. the will, to.
the. Sititple con-I/idiot) and conseience. of one Alan,
aft the'torde. of a regular Bill of Indictment, without
the necessity of Offering any reason for such a mode
Aof iirocc;eding, -.The °My reason- *htelt he could see
to tostity-such apractice was, that it alight enable
the. Attorney General to hold the sensed-period to
'bait, and• thus secure hint until he could be:iouve.
niently brought to' trial, Hai this. authority and
power, TeCell Ily •itivested' the Attorney-Gentral,
tended to prevent or rather, has nut their
number' increased ? This was a point he should nut
now dwoll upon j net. 'would he
,proceed on- the
narrow grontul the late alteration in the law. He
might 1-).:!. of pre-111)1,6ot) in calling,the at-
tention of their Lerdships to the adinitostration of
justice in this parilcuLtr, white persons so emioently
quahned for , such an' undertaking, persons so fully
and enrree.tly cenvei:olit with all the-
};race dings,
persons who equally enjoy private.lespeti and pue-
rto admiration;, see: no -necessity for such ati under-
taking. It. Would indeed! be high .pressuropiiou in
hitin to risk such an attempt, 'ii he-was not coutite-
'nanced in it by the u;:inion and authority of the
must dist;ne,niclied ,awyer,), ho' contended -A that
no (lass of, persc.ins should Monopolize to.theatscikes
tlx:'observalions Mar slits* he tuade tor the MI.
provetneot ofthe.law ; and he. not hesitate to
:14,eak tats int:id to that eife(*. it) the presence of a
t‘Yo,oteattd, Lear4d Lsc)t-Li (Ellenborougli) ttiSn by
hotp, justice watt never more: purely or ably, 41Di
nistertd. fie should now Sync the line of, tai
(ion. ohputd not meddle: with tne.la-w ut tine,
till less Would 'lre attempt to define. what a lil e)
the nature of.things.such a deflt4o9ll. was

43 1110

MARcu 1811.

very difficult. The la w4fli.belmftPr.titePitillittiop,;,
of tr::?.son, stands on - more cliff-knit- iioutitit-iliqt
aaty other, beCause how can libels well be t4eparated
from. the political feelings of the dziy, or froM
,exislimprejedices with respeCt to the persons whop'
they linty ateed ? This influence pervades r veb the
J'‘iries, and even those. who bring such -offrndei-s, to
punishment may-, be copal lered as !So-biassed that
they are led already, to hold the accosed in thelight
oft!, Por in cases of libel, as well as of.
treason, it is tiaiural to feelunfavoutably.with.regard
to those \t lio-would stand up in'opposition to power; ,
and men are inclined to consider, ti iibellguit • these
who attempt at free disotssion, and to treat ttiern air
. such, 'chiefly with a viesvo stifle tree di,,eussion,.
It is impossible so anxiously to guard against such a
disposition, as.would check the (rhCllViioll of public
'affairs, nod prove fatal to the liberty of the press.
In what he had- to offer on these points, he slteuld
be guidel by the highest law au:horities, nor would
he deny, that in no case„, and under no.neCe4sity,
were Informations .r.z. officio legal. Their Lereestdp,
Would recoiled t be dioium of Lord Hale on ► hit coh..
jed, which was afterwards adopted by 'Chief Justice
ttolt, viz. that it wits the ahuse, and not the legality of
I(tch information ihat vvas to be'cptestioned, alkw-
ing the expediency or necessity of the existence of
such a power--.-neither did ire wish to s•uppresi
power, when-it Was eltdreiseii‘*vith- a view to the
Const.nution. It was the jitinse of it; Whieh he
'dreaded, and therefore would he- propose inquiry, it)
orrdertt# deted and punish the it existed.—
If he looked to taier authorities who disapproved of
the power assunmed by infOrtnations oticio_, he
had ots his side My. \V. a !rrnirnel' and Mr. Dun-
mow, whose acutene,o. of ju(lgrwin and knowledge
(ft- raw was only equalled by lii-ilove-nt liberty.
,Now
there 'were two modei of pr(:.-,..edhcge.:l;linst li el,
the one by civil action,-the other by inditttnent—
the former was only as tiet'weem party-and party.--
In the Titter, •no man coidd be convicted of libel r
rilistierueabor iti.lcFs weie proved before

thee upon oath. Ilui in the cokes of. which he was
conipm laing; treic in infornvitiior ex organ w.is
filed against an individual, -he.;was brouglit ten trial
as if ii Boil had been' found against him.by a 6iand
Jury. '.To the higtrest ahthonties hich •Ite had
already- Lite'd, he 1ni,;14 .&:4' adduce the faith°.
hty of Jtif..!e Illacksione.--filackstorie was tiot
a mini riiiearita .iy strong in' hil"aniiiniclversiolis' on
the alio& of po.ver. His book; equaliv'conspica-
on, tor the soundne of hiti reasoning and the -de:
gance of his style, might rather .re cottsider,al•as a
panegyric on the Constitution aMI tic 'La ws•ol. Groat
Britain. it.d, if, dares, indeed, that
• . .
the Arorite; lietie;il) m iy piocven oy totnirnations
ex! only he proceed
When the'ortsdetnclinoni ;,,;•Opst Which' he is ''pro-
ceerlinere. .•hat they -thretten the
des•iraeti rt or 6(wOri:oleol, and so urgent and clan-
ge-ous dirt not a moment's delay' should' intervene
oet weeo,the suppressitip and punishment of ti;enr.
What do these observatiOns 'imply ? They imply,
lud4ed, the urecessity of ' the • existence 'of 'Sven a
power," but that' when it is exerted for any purpoies
short of the stippressian of dangers of the twist fatal
magnitude; and. of most, urgent erbergeney, the
exercise of:it is a Most flagrant abuse. -Now who
will' hazird the assertion, 'that the lib'els 'agairm
wbich informations ex officio; have-latelY'beon tiled
in such iminbeYs, •were of • the • deseriptum of that
urgency, and that fatal TrognitUde io the State,
Which :these-great ablhorities -allow may. justify the'
exercise Of •such a power) .Otttbe contrary, was
there any thing in them which carried with it any of
toe characters of snch urgency and. 'ertorinity of an-
'%tylticlt,. was' immediately 'to' be suppressed by'
extraordinary ..exertion of poWer ? and if
these charafters did not justify its.,.are, not '''sare'war-
tatited,' with Bllckstone, in describing •it awn most
flagrant abose ? NoW;• it not onry appears from the
best authorities that' this • power is liable, to,abuse,
bust that such a made of proceeding is less favOura,
ble to theliecused than any other Mode of 'orosecu.
torn, and that therefore n is irreconcilable with the
spirit Of our • la'ws, It the Mere liability -to abuse
ought' to be guarded 'against, w:,,at ought . not to be
clone if rho power Itiontd be: perverted to the worst'
of purposet? • 'ls it not clear .that Aulch s po”Mt' rrray
be exerted wit b'a vleW ite extortions oppresstoo; and
influence ). That it may extend seven icy' ' even be-
yond the Crimes •-.t.vhich it is..employed to punish*.
Itvert •case of a lEbel, what 'delays t-ag.• 'been
allowed to iitterirene between a cooviLtion and
the bringing tip for'. jodgment t Fie hoped their
Lordship, w(Yuld relltt how etivrtnotisly 'this
evil has increased fiir the last thiee_Or. four years.
Since 1806, no leSs thlin forty-two 'persons
been 'iuroceedeui against in' this Manner ; and
oiii of those 4t,i only sixteen have been t;onsiaeu..
Were their otKoices of that deseription, of
enortnour misdeineanOiS,tho pnnishment• of which
ennui not .
be alloed to itsffer a moment's' delay
without imminent danger of ' detruction ,fo the
Staie ? Have 36, of those enormous crimes been stif-
fered to go on unsuppressed, end yet pc:" danger has
accrued train theta-to the power aid security of the
State ?' In what absurdities Would such doetrines and
such praCtices' involve us ? It is also to be.cibserved
that the number of persons so proceeded against has
iiKreased; so also has thit,power been most point-
edly directed againstlhase whO are engaged in the
press. With 'wh*At 'purposes than is not' this power
rif 'information ex officio used, if 'not tar the purposes
tf terror and influence ? He was one of those who
did thiok that soiiie distinction should be trade be-
tween-the inalienius iutettlii4l 61 the•man who utter.'
Rte. libel,- and the situation of the person who,
-withosit ever having. harboered tiny such intention,
might•be entangled in the consequences of it. He
.had with. .hun. in this opinion the ant trinity 'of one
Attorney-General, (Sir A. Pigot), a man of the
most constittuinnal principles, of- the cnob.t unvaiv.
ing steadiness olcharaaer. •During the period that
Sir A. Pigot held. the high office of Attoiney•llene.