The Sun.
London, England, 1818-06-09 00:00:00

NEW ALIEN BILL.

Lord CASTLEPrEAGH said, in consequence of the amend-
ment which had been made.to the Alien Bill in the Lords,
and the course which that House bad feserailitself called upon
to adopt, it was incumbent to call their attention to a new.
measure which he now rose to move for leave to bring in.—
This measure was not intended to be retrospective in its ope-
ration, and-he thought there would be but one opinion in the
House as to its principle. Whatever differences might exist.
on the various brancheS of the Alien Bill, all lutist he of opi-
nion that it was improper-to permit naturalization to he ob-
tained by any purchases that might be -made of the stock of a
trading company. However liberal and enlarged the views -
of our ancestors, it- never could have-been intended by the
Legislature that naturalization should be obtained fry such
means; and, iu fact, sootautions had it been of this point,
that it had imposed a restraint even on itself, by providing
tliat'a Bill for Naturalization. should not he Proposed that did
not contain a clause denying to the party naturalized the
right of sitting in Parliament. To give an individual the full
rights of naturalization, a special measure must be brought
in to repeal that clause in the Bill which ;mist first be intro-
duced. If.such had been the enactments of the Legislature,
it never could have meant to confide that paramount authority
to a trading Company Which' it denied to itself. It was not
competent frir the Crown to give a military-commission to an
alien without the authority of it positive law passed for that
purpose; but if it availed itself of the. clause which had been
brought forward from an ancient Scottish Act, a foreign army
to any alhount might be obtained ny the Crown, through pur-
chases of stock, independent of Parliament, and even inde-
pendent of the Bank of Seolland itself; for that could have
no jurisdiction over the individuals who might, purchase stock
in it. Such was the present state of the law. Su dangerous
an anomaly might steal to call for more than a temporary re-
medy; but as the subject demanded more consideration than
it could receive to the present aiessMn of Parliament, he bad
thought it better that the evil should be arrested in theprcsent
instance by an Act to suspend the operation of the old Km till
the question could he more deliberately taken up in another
Session of Parliament. Mad been found that there were other
Corporations which,though they gave not all therights of na-•
tural subjects, could mako-denizeos.of foreigners without ob-
serving those forms which the general law of the country r,e=
quired 7 The present Bill was-therefore made to extend to
these; and in the next Session the whole frame of our laws re-
specting such rights would call for the attentive consideration
of Parliament. If the House should concur with him in think-
ing it desirable that the Bill should pass through all its stages
that day, some objection might be raised, on tire ground that
the Corporations with whose rights it interfered • had had no
sufficient notice of the intentions of the Legislature.. He, how-
ever, was of opinion, that the best notice they could receive
would be afforded by a short Bill, which would enable them
to take such steps to protect their interests as should seem
expedient till the subject came next before Parliament, and
they would be enabled, io that case, to take their measures
better than if they were obliged, on the spur of the moment,
to determine on the course to be pursued. The suspension
of the Scotch law for a short and limited period would atlotd
the parties alluded to the best means of providing for their
permanent interests when the. subject should be taken into
consirleratiop, with a view to some final- arrangement. If at'
present it were attempted to give *ens notice of What was
about to be proposed, much political mischief might he done
while these corporations were being put on their guard. No
harm was expected to be done by the course-how pursued.--.
The Directors of the Scotch Bank, he might say, had felt it
to be their duty to call the attention of Government to
the subject, which they had done by a letter to the Governor
of the Bank of Eugland, 'in which they mentioned what had
forcibly struck them, namely,the great number of foreigners
that were seen acquiring stock in their Baskin order that
they might become subjects of this country. Whatever view
they took of their own interests, they had thought it neces-
sary, in a case of such paramount importance, to make known
the circumstance to which the attention of Ministers had
thus been directed. He concluded by moving for leave to
bring in a Bill to prevent Aliens, for a time to be limited,
from being naturalized, or being made or becoming denizens,
except in certain eases.
Sir J. MACKINTOSH by no means intended opposing this
Bill, relieved as it was trims the .retrospective clause of the
former Bill, which be had considered one of. the most outra-,
geous attempts to violate public faith that had ever been made
in this country. Vis that objectionable and abominable part
of the measure lately before them was given up, be should
agree to the present Bill. He coati!' not think the present
mode of naturalizing'foreigners ought to continue—indeed,
he thought such a-system most inconvenient and mire:lstate-
' ble ; he, however, was peculiarly averse from hastily adopt-
ing any nitiesure which regarded Aliens front what had lately
occurred. What a series of discoveries had Ministers made
within the last fourteen days! First,, when. this Bill passed,
they were not aware of this abuse which had been proved to
exist in Scotland. Then, when the Bill came from. the Lords,
they were not sensible that the amendments made in it con-
verted one of its clauses into a Money clause, and thus la-
- terfered with the privileges of that House; and since it
had been found out that other corporate bodies could make
the foreigner who purchased their stock a denizen. This
ought to warn the House against proceeding with- precipi-
tation, such gross blunders, egregious mistakes, anti discre-
ditable negligence on the part of Ministers having transpited.
The measure, as at first produced, it was now admitted on
all hand§ would have been unfit fur the purposes which- ithad
been framed for, while it would hare formed the -greatest
blot that had ever,fallen on the Statute Book.. He would tell
the Noble. Lord he had yet another discovery to make. It had
been argued that the Bank of Scotland, Under the Act which
had been referred to, had rights which-went to abrogate the
.Act of Settlement, and to give-a, foreigner the right of sitting
end rating hi-Parliament. He, however, wonfit refer those
who held this opinion to an Act Which had bern used by Lord
Somers to complete the Union, and ;timid its ihe tith of Queen
Anne, cap. 7.,5ec.30. They would find a clause which en-
acted, that any person disabled from being elected to serve in
'Parliament, or from voting at Elections in Ettgland, was also
disabled-from being elected, or from voting ia any-part:of
Great Britaiti. This enactment made it impossible for an
Alien to sit in Parliament. ne did not know that the:Noble'
Lord ought to he expected to seek for WM-Illation on such
points, but he ought-to have been with it by others.
He then enlarged on the liberality with which Aliens were'
treated in former times, and compared the ancient with the
present systCm of the couutry. He ohjecledao the present
Bill being so very generally wisrded. The Corpotate Bodies,
with whose rights it was to interfere, aught to be defined at
least by sonic general description: He gave notice that he
should move. to supply this defect in the Committee.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL defended the Law Officers
of the Crown from the charge of negligence, and.shewed, if
they had erred, the charge of ignorance _should rather fall on
the Acts of the 14th, 23(1,32(1,34th, and44th of the King than
on them. Ile defended the provisions of the present Bill, and
was of opinjon, that it wits desirable the law against which it
was directed should be suspend. d for a time till Parliament
had an opportunity of fully inquiring into the subject, in
order to decide whether it should be abrogated altogether,
or in what way it should be dealt with. -

Mr. \Y. .SMITH gave the measure his warmest approba-
tion.

Mr. W. WI NNE had disapproved of the former measure
as oppressive.. To this Bill he had no objection. He sheaved
that &dm the ease with which foreigners could get made de-
nizens at present made some such law necessary.
Sir W. BURROUGHS spoke to the same effLet, and hoped
his Learned Friend (Sir.l. Mackintosh) would not press the
motion of which he had given notice in the Committee, as if
he did, he (Sir NV. B.) should feel it his bounden duty to,
oppose it.
• .
Mr. BROUGHAM understood that all the retrospective
part of the late measure was abandoned. He hoped to make
it completely, prospective ; and that it might by no one be re;
garded as an ex post facto law, it would be made to take af-
fect, not from the passing of the Act, hut from an early day to
be named. This he thought necessary, as it was desirable to
give some warning to people who) were at that moment 400
miles off, who might otherwise find themselvt s in a very un-
pleasant situation. Some of these persons, for instance,
might have purchased Stock at .Edinburgh, in order to hold
land, twenty-four hoori before news of this arrived in that
city, and in that case they might lose considerably. He would
not speak of the diminished value of their stock, as that would-
.not cause a very great loss, but their land would be forfeited.
Little-inconvenience could result from such a course being
taken, ,as but few could take advantage'of a provision which
only went to secure those who bought, stock while they
thought they had a right to do so, from their ignorance of
that Bill having passed by which their interests might be so
seriously affected. If tile suggestion be had thrown out wei.e
attended to, he in the present case should have no objection

to the standing Order being suspended, that the present Bill
might im►neiiately p4ss through alt its stages.
GeneraLMlTCHF,LLcOncurred with the present measure,
and said he had been in the City that morning, and had
see► within the last two hours many persons giv►ng orders
for making purchases in the Scots Bank before the. Act
should pass.
Leave was then given to bring in the Bill. •
Lord CASTLEREAGH Grouglit in the Bill, which was
read a first time: • •

On moving that it should be read a second time,
Lord CASTLEREAGH begged to offer.a few words on what
had fallen from the Honourable and Learned Gentleman.—
The Honourable Gentleman might suppose but few indivi-
duals would take advantage of the Bill -wit, being made to
-take effect forthwith, but he (Lord Castlereagh) had as good
a right to assume that many would do so; and those the most
obnoxious individuals, against whom the Bill was intended to
provide. The parties had alr :ady an int imatiorrof what was
about to he done, not only from the notice which he had
given on Saturday, but in the. most grave and formal way
possible from the Amendment which had been made to •the
Alien Bill by the Lords. If, then, uncle; ,such circumstan-
ces they chose to purchase in order to defeat the Legislature,
they must know that they purchased at their peril. - He with
this feeling moved the second reading-of the Bill, which he
intended to follow;up, by moving that it should go through
its remaining stages.
Mr. BROUGHANI,wits sorry be could, not coincide with the
Noble Lord on the present occasion. The Noble Lord had
said, Alii;ns bad bad ail intimation of what was to be (limb.
from the notice he had given on Saturday. But what was the
notice of the Noble Lord more than his (Mr. Brougham's;
notice, or that of any other Member in the House ? Be-
cause such a notice had been. given, was it to be said that
Aliens would have no right to complain that Qieir property
and rights were violated ? This was in fact retrospective le-
gislation, though the amendment of the Lords .i-vtts thrown
out on Friday, because it made the Bill retrospective. It was
saying, " we will not
.legislate retrospectively for a whole
Month, hut .we will legislate so forAS hours back." To him-
it appeared unjtist to say that tlie•Alien had had. proper no-
ticer To maintain this, was, in fact, to say that every Bill
should beoperative from the moment notice seas given of a
motion to bring it in. He -contended at sonic length, that
the course proposed to he pursued in the present instance
was improper; he restated his former arguments, and hoped
the Noble Lord would wholly abandon retrospective
bn this ,ecasion. _

Mr. CANNING agreed, that after the-amendment of the
Lords had been rejected, in the interval that succeeded down.
to the time when notice of the present Bill was given by his
Noble Friend, .that those who purchased under a mistaken
idea that the measure, was wholly given up, were entitled
to protection, and ought to be safe. The Hon. Gentleman
had said the amendment of the Lords was thrown out on
Friday because it was retrospective. He 'wished not to re-
vive the debate, of that night, but the clause was thrown
out. not because it was retrospective, but because it inter-
fered with the privileges of that House.- He contended the
alteration required by the Learned Gentleman was not ne-
cessary to give effect to the fair abandonment of retro-
spective legislation, and in the present case (which was
one where -all were agreed the law ought to be altered)
-he maintained there was not the shadow of .a breach of
good faith. - He was as anxious to guard against..the in-
vasion of private. rights as any man could he, hut when
legislating to secure a great national object, they ought,
in a case like the present, to proceed - with all possible expe-
dition, and if any one should be injured by the course which
it was thought right to take. let him corns to Parliament for
compensation. When the Abolition of the Slave Trade was
under discussion, no argument was more frequently urged
than the invasion of private rights which would take place if
that measure were carried. ,To this the answer was, let the suf-
ferer come to Parliament for redress, and he would now say
the saute to those who opposed the Bill Snider consideration,
on account of its interference with -individual rights. Le-
those who felt themselves aggrieved do this in the next Sect
sion of Parliament, and though he would not pledge himself
to support their claims, he should be of opinion that the
House ought to decide on their merits. He' saw no ground
for the objections urged against the Bill.
Mr. BROUGHAM explained:
Lord FOLKESTONE, t hong!' he more objected to the mode
in which this Bill-was about to be passed, than to the matter
of it, called on the House to say, what credit or confidence
was due to Ministers,. who on Friday asserted, that to make
the Bill efficient, it was necessary that it should operate re-
trospeetively,and who now gave up the principle for which
they so,recently contended. He then took brief review of
the measures • which had occupied Parliament in the present
Session, in doing which he commented with some Severity on
the part Ministers had taken in the Indemnity Bill—the Poor
Laws Amendment Bill—the New Plan of Finance—the Alien
Bill, and the Bill now sunder consideration. lie disapproved
.of the last being liaised through all its stagesin one day, but
as the House did not seem disposed strongly to olaject to it, be
should not attempt resistance.
General THORNTON had heardfrom one high autho-
rity that as the law stood Aliens could sit in that House—
from another high anthorny he had heard that they could
not. If there were any doubt on the subject, he hoped fi
clause wiuuld be introduced into the present Bill to exclude
them. On this subject he hoped the House would be
unanimous.

T The Bill was then read a second time, after which the
[louse went into a Committee. The blanks were filled- up,
the Report received, and the Bill was then read a third time
and passed, and ordered to the Lords.
The• Petition front the Stockholders of the Bank of Scot-
land„.presented on Friday, was ordered to be printed.—Ad-
juurned.

DaURY-LANE THEATRE.