The Sun.
London, England, 1842-05-07 00:00:00

(au olituf4

LONDON :
SATURDAY MORNING, MAY 7, 1842.

Mr. ROEBUCle3:ll9tiee collected a very crowded House
laJt night. The very foremost performer—Ahe great
star of that assembly; in his 'most favourite character of
public mystifier, could not have collected a larger or..
more attentive audience. It must be_a great gratifica-
tion to the Hon. Member for Bath, and a general encou-
ragement to well doing, to learn from experience that
honesty and boldness, under the guidance of skill, may
become as attractive, even in the House of Commons, . as
pompous fudge mimicking sincerity. Mr. WIEBUqi
tobk, as he said, an extraordinary course ; it was
straightforWard and manly, and had, therefore, all the
charms of novelty for that assembly. While his mode
of proceeding was the most remote possible from vul-
gar or offensive, while it was ever courteous, it broke in
upon all the conventionaLsies of the House and
knocked down a multitude of the idols there perpetually

worshipped.
Proceeding on no better foundation than common
fanie; or general rumour, which is held to be no ground
for any Parliamentary proceeding., the Hon. Member
began with Lord CHELSEA, , and politely, but firmly,
asy him, Was he a party to any compromise, violating
the privileges of the House—and, what we regard as of
wort-, importance, violating the, right of the constituen-
cies—for resigning his scat, though declared duty elected
by a Committee of the -House ? Lord-CHELSEA in a
neat, and evidently a prepared speech, declined the
authority of the Hon. Member,; and peremptorily and
unequivocally refused to answer. Set him down, there-
fore, the public will, as
Mr. RITSSELL, the other Member for Reading, having
had the same question put to him, returned a similar
answer, and the public will draw a similar conclusion.
Captain PLUMRIDGE, with tIIF sincerity and openness
which generally distinguish gentlemen of his profession,
admitted that such an arrangement had been made with
respect to his seat for Penryn, but he declared that he
was not cognizant of it till after it had been made. lie
had put himself into the hands of a lawyer, and he
abided by that lawyer's act, though he thought it prema-
ture. Thus it is not even the Members, but attorneys
and barristers, who dispose of seats in Parliament, in-
steud of the constituencies.
t;ir JouN Hounousv stubbornly and dryly refused to
answer.—Verdict of guilty against Sir JOHN, amply
confirmed .by the resignation of his colleague. Mr.
Et.pla&sToNE admitted that he, had been a party to a
compromise, but did not contemplate resigning his seat.
Major BERESFORD treated the matter as a private con-
cern, and stiffly denied the Hon. Member's right to ask
the question. Guilty will be the verdict against the
Member for .Harwieh. Mr. J. ATTWOOD was absent
from. the. House, and Sir G. H. DE LARPENT has re-
signed his scat, allowing judgment to go by default.
Mr. ROEBUCK having thus obtained all the informa-
tion. Ile cOuld; proceeded to move for his Committee,
claiming to be heard, as it was a question of privilege,
and making good his claim in spite of much opposition.
He. grounded his motion on statements which he bad
heard, and said he could show that there were grave
reasons for suspicion against the Hon. Members for
Nottingham, Harwich, Penryn, and Lewes. The accu-
sation was, that they had obtained their seats through
intimidation and bribery. He charged them with
bribery—he charged them with entering into a compro-
mise, in order to avoid the consequences of their bribery;
and he appealed to the House, whether this were Mt a
gross breaCh of privilege. We must quote what the
Hon. Member said of the Nottingham case, perhaps the

A ITZ-*A
44
M " „
•