The Sun.
London, England, 1827-06-01 00:00:00

PENRYN ELECTION.

Mr. MANNING presorted a petition from John Carr,
$ carpenter of Penryn, confined in Newgate. The pe-
titioner stated that when under examination befores the
House on the Penryn Election he became eronfused,- asd
unguardedly stated that he had not seen Stanbary in New-
gate, although he had openly mentioned in the lobby a few
minutes before that he had an interview with Stanbury.
The petitioner, in conclusion, prayed to be discharged from
Newgate, and in consideration of his pOverty, he begged
that he might be discharged without the payment of fees.

Mr. MANNING was about to move on the petition,
but was interrupted by the Speaker, who observed, that it
was usual when an Hon. Member intended to move on a
petition, to give notice of hie intention to the House.

After a kw words from Mr. Hume and Mr. liosHousE,
The petition was ordered to be printed, and laid on the
table.

Mr. MANNING then gave notice, that he would move
for the discharge of the petitioner to-morrow.

NEWSPAPER STAMPS.

Mr. HUME moved for returns of the aggregate number
of stamps issued for Newspapers in England, Scotland, and
Ireland during the last Q 6 years, distinguishing the number

issued in each year, as well as the numbers used by Daily
Morning and Evening, and Weekly Papers.— Agreed to.

TEST AND CORPORATION ACTS.

Mr. HUME presented a petition from Salford, near Man-
chester, praying for the Repeal of the Teet and Corpora-
tion Acts.
W. J. WOOD presented a similar petition from a town
iu the County of Lancaster.
Mr. PROTHEROE presented a similar petition from a
place in Worcestershire.
Mr. KEKEWICH presented a petition on the same
subject from Exeter.
Mr. PAULETT THOMPSON presented a similar pe-
tition from Dover, and contradicted the Hon. Member for
Wells, that the Dissenters of Kent were opposed to the
FautPcipation ni tha Rau Catimlias.
Mr. SYKES said he believed the Dissenters were, like
other classes, divided on the subject of the Catholic Claims.
Sir E. KNATCHBULL said there certainly was a di
ference of opinion amongst the Dissenters on the Catholic
Claims, but as far as the County of Kent was concerned,
he believed that a preponderance of the Dissenters, as well
as of the whole population, was averse to any further• con-
cessions to the Catholics.
Mr. CALCRAFT recollected a county meeting in
Kent, some years ago, when the sense of the meeting was
taken on the Catholic Claims, and, on a show of hands,
the meeting certainly appeared to be against the Catholics;
but he always attributed this decision to the presence of a
number of labourers who were employed in building the
comity gaol, and all of whom held up their bands against
their Catholic: brethren.

Mr. FLEMING presented a petition from Christ:Church,
Hants, for tho repeal of The Tmt and Corporation Acta.
Citnilar petitions were presented from Birmingham,
Aldborough, (Hants) and two places in the county of
Warwick, by Mr. Bennet ; by Mr. Buck from Biddeford in
tho County of Devon ; by Mr. Price, from Kingston in the
County of Hereford ; by Mr. Rowley, from Charsfield in
the County of Suarez ; by Alderman Wood from Gibraltar
Chapel, Bethnal Green ; by Lord Milton from Leeds,
from Morley, from Houdon, and other places in the County
of York.

Mr. CURTEIS3 preisented a petition from the wool-
growers of Sussex, for a ditty on the importation of Fo-
reign wool. .
Mr. ITEATIICOTE presented a petition from Coven-
try against the bill about to pass, for giving a concurrent
jurisdiction to the Magistrates of Warwick.
Mr. KENNEDY brought up the Report of the Com-

le,

a:

tnl

:n into furthvr consideratiol

Weehasedayenext.!
Mr. KENNEDY also awed that a copy of the exami-
nation of -witneeses should be laid before the House.—
Ordered.
. Sir CHARLES WETHERELL postponed his motion on
the subject of the Coventry Election, to Wednesday next,
A ,Message from the Lordseimiounerd their Lord.slaips'
assent to several private bills.
Major BERESFORD presented a petition from Ber-
wick- upon-Tweed, against. tine Salmon Fishery Bill.
THE SIX ACTS.
Mr. HUME proceeiled to move for the repeal of one of
the Six Acts Pastel in 1919, to -preserve the peace
of the country,, He had divided against all those Bills, for
he cnneei:eed they seriously afii.cted the liberties of the tame_
try. "rfe bad determined in the last Session of Parliament to
Ong forward this question, im-t he wee not sorry thatthe
postponed his intention, for he belied that the change of
ministry would prevent his proposition from being met
with opposition. Ai he before ohaetved, the Six Acts had
been passed at a period of great public agitation and
danger. The enaissariees of sedition were abroad, and die.-
content and dissatiefaction-firraded the country. It Was
at this period those Acts were passed wide', he contended
were an infringement on public liberty. Two of tbeee
Acts Leal now expired, and no effort was made to rettiw
than. Four, however, still remained' on the Statute-boqk,
and when he heard the late Secretary for the Home lie-
partnlent vaunt that no Act had been passed doting his Mi-
nistry to abridge the liberty of the subject, nor no Actof
that nature revived which had expired, he thought
that the Right Hon. Gentlemeaa Dir. Peel), if he carried
his reasoning a little Luther, might have seen tl‘t
on the same Enin,slele he ought to have moved the
repeal of the remaining Four Acts, which had not eir-
pired. One of these Bills, that for the repressing of meet-
ings of the, people, expired in 1821, and he was inclined
most strongly to believe that Ministers, in allowing it thin
to esotiire-, admitted there was no necessity for the continii-
ance of those restrictions on the liberty of the subject. Ile
was the more disposed to be of that opinion, because the,
Government, at that time, allowed their Attorney-General
to say, that these Bills were not to be looked upon
but to be taken as& general whole, for the preservation Of
the peace of the country, sanctioned only by the very
peculiar circumstances in which they were placed.—
Another of these Bills, allowing a search to be made
• for fireearme, had also been allowed to expire. Anothir
Bill, to prevent the training of any persons to the uite
of arms--a prohibition in his opinion highly obnoxions
in at country where each individual might be called upon to
defend hie rights=—still existed in force. Another- of these
Acts,. and the fourtle....ethat to prevent the delays of persons
on tnal—waa, 'l his opinion, of the least consequenci,.
although a 'tercet deal had been made of it at the timi.
That 13;r1 was, like the Act he had mentioned before it,
still in operation. The Acts, however, to which he parti-
Warty wished 'to call the attention of the House, were
• thaptera 8 and 9. By the first, chapter 8, called the
Blasphemous and Seditious Libel Bill, every person con-
victed of a second libel was liable to the punishment Of
transportation. It had been his intention last year,
to move for the Repeal of that Act of Punishment;
but finding, upon consideration, that it was but a con-
eequeut of chapter 9, he now meant to propose, first,
the Repeal of the, latter. BY one of the provisions of
these Bills, a. 1.1 printers, before they could erect a press,
for the ;,üblication of works of a certain value, were
hott!!, to find a security of 3001. in London, and
2,50/. in the country. Ity another clause, it was pro-
svided, that no indiVidtial could print or publish any pam-
phlet, containing less than two sheets, and sold for leas
than sixpence, without being subjected to the stamp duty,
provided that it contained.any article of newts or informa-
tion upon commerce. This provision he thought decided
hostile to the liberty of the press; and it was even avowed,
by the Attorney-General, at the time, that his object was
to restrain that liberty. The Attorney-General declared,
too, that the Government did not so much desire to in
awn the revenue, as to put an. end to the twopenny trash
rliich deluged the country,._ Ip a..political country, like
this, he thought such a restriction calculated to check thp
progress of that information; bywlirc7 our best institu'-
tions were supported; and to put an end to the promule
gation of all difference of opinions. 'Since the AA was
passed, every endeavour had been made, by the Governj-
ment and the country to put an end to that state of igno;
ranee in the people, which could alone. render the dal«
eion of retitled knowledge dangerous; -and he conceived,
. therefore, that there novr existed -no - reason why the
progress of information should be checked by a regulation
which was avowedly not intended to. -benefit the Revenue:
—The Honourable Member then proceeded to express
his objections to that regulation, which allowed any inch.
vidual, accused.Of libel; to be brought before two Justice 4
of the Pewee and compelled, without-any appeal to a Jury),
to find recognizances for their answering to the charge of
libel, when they may be called upon. But this was not
all. There was another power to which he also strnnglf
objected—that which gave Magistrates permission to exact
securities from a person thus charged with libel for hii
good behaviour until he might be brought to trial, an,
that, too, without defining in any manner what was the
good behaviour required; the restriction of the printing of
any political work in numbers, until after it had been puhl
lished for two years, was another regulation highly unfa-1
vourable to the diffusion of knowledge. He could not
better define the object of the Bill which he wished to rel
peal than by reading the Resolution moved on the let of
December 1819, by Lord Londonderry, previous to the
bringing in of the Bill : it was as follows : " That all
Pamphlets or Papers commonly so called, and all other'
, Papers containing public news, or intelligence or oca
currences, or any remarks or observations, address, or
letter thereon, or upon any matter established ill
Church or State, printed in any part of the United
Kingdom, to be' dispersed and made public, which shall
not exceed two sheets, or which shall 'be sold or exposed
to sale for a less suns than sixpence, exclusive of th 4
duty to be charged thereon, shall be deemed, and taken to
be, Newspapers, within the meaning of the several Acts
in force relating to Newspapers, " and be subject to the
' like duties of stamps." Upon this Resolution the Bill
was founded, and having now stated its object and its
provisions, he would proceed to explain the reasons whY
he thought it ought to be immediately repealed. As a
measure of revenue, the Act had entirely failed, although
at the time the Bill passed it was alleged that it would, lA
• productive, and the regulation-that no pamphlet should hti
published on the first, second, or third days of the month
was absurd and unnecessary. It was fit to state that he-i
tween the present period and the year 1819 a marked
distinction was to be drawn. In 1819 distress and diffil
culty pervaded the kingdom, and riotous disturbances werd
excited for the purpose of inducing the 'Government to
grant relief. Now the diffusion of information by. the
circulation of tracts, and by mechanics' institution's, had tat
much improved the minds of the people, that all attemptl
to produce.disorder must fail. Excepting some slight coma
motions occasioned by mistaken notions regarding mit-E
chinery, there had of late years been no indication of a tura
bulent spirit. It was inconsistent with the principle of
spreading information that such a check as this Act of
Parliament presented should be continued. The recent
change in the Councils of the Empire warranted an act of
liberality in the repeal of this Statute ; and when he looked,
back at several speeches delivered in 1919 by Honourable'
and Right Honourable Gentlemen, whom he now saw on:
the other side of the House, he found ample reasons for the!
present motion. One Honourable Member bad spoken in!
warm terms of the incalculable services rendered to the,
country by the public press during the struggle withl
France, and strongly censured anything approaching re-1
striction upon it. Another had argued, that it was of.
paramount importance that the freedom of the Press should!
not be trenched upon in the slightest degree; and a
third had adverted to the Clause regarding Securities, and!
had contended that it imposed peculiar and needless!
hardships upon printers and publishers. Of course thesei
Honourable Gentleman would now adhere to the opinionst
then expressed. On the vagueness of the law of libel hel
could have brought down authorities to show that the same
'publication declared a libel, by teelve men in one Court,
had been pronounced no libel, by twelve men in anotherl
Court. In fact, the law was liable to great abuse ; and AI
had been held by a number of the opponents of the Bill,l
in 1.819, that it was nothing less than putting an
mate,- upon the Press of Great Britain. At this moment
the House and Government ought to do their utmost to
conciliate the lower orders ; and surely it would not tend
much to that object to continue a law which, it had been dc.
dared, exposed this country to all the dangers from which
those nations had suffered where a censorship bad been
established. Jn a popular country, if there were one
axiom more true than another, it was this__that where'
the expression of opinion upon public events or public
measures was restrained, the public peace was endangered,,
and violence and outrage might be the consequence. He
could easily enlarge on' these topics, but he apprehended
that few would now disagree with him on the propriety
removing from the statute-book whatever was unsatisfae-

long
rankled in the minds of trthe PeOple, and it became a
liberal Government like t!.-Lti present to free the statute-book
from laws fore eA trpon the Legisiatttre by the circum-
stances of the time: The only reasonable -obje'eti-Oir he
Cot.'ll anticipate to his. motion *tit, that it did not go
far enough, and the!! ought to have included the re-
peal of thettlth Geo. 111. e. 8, as well as of the 60th Geo. 111.
c. J ; but he first wished to remove that law which pre-
vented the circulation of cheap pamphlets. Ile was willing
to leave the remaining-part of the work to Minister's, who,
at their leisure, might consider the subject. They were
now only recently in their situations, and during the vaca-
tion they would have time to deliberate upon the abroga-
tion of the other objectionable Acts which the motion
rim
offered tiia not touch. The first and Most desirable object,
in his vie*, was, the dittioution of expenditure and the
reduction of tatiation ; and, next in importance teas the
adoption of some proposition, testifying the liberality of the
principles on which the existing Government meant to act.
He moved for " leaVe to bring in a Bill to repeal the 60th
Geo. II!. e. 0."
The ATTORNEY GENERAI—It seemed the opinion
of the Hon. Gentleman, that the recent changes of Go-
vernment afforded a favourable opportunity for repealing
the statutes to which lie objected. If this opinion were
sincere, it was rather surprising that the Hon. Gentlenrian
chose the present moment for his motion. The Adminis-
trationdhad only been .reeently formed t time Was required
for deliberation and concert; and if they should ulti-
mately be disposed to comply with the motion, they might
nevertheless, in the first instance, object to the precipita-
tion with which it was forced upon them. A man tof
ordinary judgment, therefore, who wished well to his prio-
fessed object, would have pursued a course diametrically
opposite to that which the Hon. Gentleman had taken.
The Hon. Gentleman bad declared that he brought Ore
question forward in a friendly tone; and, iii a friendly
tone, on the very night he, (Sir J. Scarlett) took his seat,
after his re-election, be had received a note from the HOD.
Gentleman, informing him, that if he (Sir J. Scarlett) did
not move the repeal of the 60th Geo. 111. C. S. he (Mr.,
Hume) would submit such a proposition. The Hon. Gen-
tleman had stated that such a course would render the
Government extremely popular; hut if so, it was hardly
fair for him to endeavour so rapidly to run before the Go-
vernment, and deprive it of that popularity which be pro-
ruited.—(Cheers.)—The Hon. -Gentleman, in a friendly
tone, no doubt, had 'favoured the Hmise with various Oil-
skins to the speeches of 1819 ; but it ought not to be for-
gotten, that. that was a period of great public agitation, and
when it was least reasonable-to expect that Members should
be bound by the extreme opinions they had uttered.--
(Hear,' hear.)—The Hon. Gentle:mari had omitted, how-
ever, to state..--wbat was very material, though not for his
purpose—that the speeches applied to the Bill in its first
shape, and that in its progreers through Parliament, perhaps
in consequence, jn some degree, of those very speeches, it
received considerable* alterations and improvements. Time
Right Hon. Member for Knaresborough, who 'toak the
lead in the discussions, expressly- stated his approbation of
that part of the measure which put certain periodical pub-
lications on a footing with newspapers. Besides, it was
neither Parliamentary.logic, nor just reasoning (however
consistent with the Hon. Member's usual mode of think-
ing), to say that, because a Bill is hypothetically opposed,
depending upon experiment, those who resisted it in the
outset were bound to support its repeal after a lapse of
nine or ten years,' daring-which it had shewn itself a use-
ful agent in the prNervation'of the well-being of the State.
—(Hear, hear.)--Looking at the merits of the 60th Geo.
111. c: 9, he should say, that there were some parts of it so
advantageous that he would not consent to the repeal of
them : its object was to place upon the Same footing
as newspapers all small periodical publications published at
a shorter interval than 26 days, and containing narra-
tives of public events or comments upon them. The rea-
son was obvious—that what were in fact newspapers might
not be published once, twice, or three times a week, or
oftener, at the price of only twopence. In that form a
number of seditious and blasphemous productions, the
existence of which was reprobated and regretted on all
sides, had been circulated. Various modes were suggested
for putting an end to their distribution among the lower
orders in particular : some thought that prosecutions by
the Attorney-General ought to be more frequent, and he
(Sir J. Scarlett) had been among that number ; others
were- of ,opinion that a measure was wanted that might
lead to the detection of the authors of the poison so indus-
triously disseminated ; and no man doubted that if such an
object could be attained, it would be highly advantageous
to the public interest. It was in a great degree accom-
plished by requiring the affidavit at the Stamp-office, for
pamphlets of a certain size and price,- in the same-manner
as the proprietors of newspapers were registered. No man
doubted the policy of the law imposing the necessity that
the names of some of the proprietors of every newspaper
should be seen at the Stamp-office. It' enabled parties
libelled to trace the authors .and. to obtain a remedy, tulle
it had not at all prevented the Press from attacking with
severity either public or private men. -He (the Attorney-
General) was a warns friend to the Freedom of the Press at
all times, and in all places, and he would assert that there
never was a period in its history when it possessed greater
freedom than at the present moment. The Hon. Gentle-
man had adverted to the title of one of the Bills, but he
'(the Attorney-General) was not aware that there was any
individual with whom lie was acquainted or connected,
who was particularly desirous, at this moment, of having
an opportunity of putting forth blasphemous or seditious
publications, to which the 60th Geo. 111. c. 8. was an
obstacle. The Hon. Member might be differently circum-
stanced, and some of his friends or acquaintance might
therefore naturally wish for the repeal of the law.—(Hcar,
hear.) The Hon. Gentleman complained that, as a mea-
sure of revenue, the Act had failed of its effect; it might
be so ; but if it were, the information would come with
more propriety from the Chancellor of the. Exchequer, as
soon as he had had time to ascertain the point. In 1819,
opinions were much divided on the subject of the Six Acts;
they all received general opposition, but certainly that
which was the object of the motion of to-night was looked
at with much less antipathy than the rest. Neither did it
follow,. that -because an Act was resisted as a whole, there
were not parts of it, which, taken by themselves, might
not be approved. The Hon. Gentleman had contended

that because a temporary law had expired, a perpetual law
ought to be abrogated ; anti by a felicitous mode of reason-
ing peculiar to himself, he had argued that temporary and
permanent Acts were to be viewed precisely in the same!
light. Such logic, perhaps, became the Hon. Gent. to use,
but would not become the House to adopt.—(Hear.) It did
not satisfy his (the Attorney-General's) understanding, al-
though it might be quite convincing to the mind of the
lion. Gentleman.—(Hear, from Mr. Hume; answered
by laughter from the Hou.e.)—Mcat of the Honourable
Gentleman's arguments were consistent with the form of

syllogism which has with him so peculiar a favourite. In
his (the Attorney-General's) judgment the Act ought not
to be repealed ; and in 1819 he had been of opinion, that
a great part, of it ought to be made the permanent law of
the land. Of the facts he knew nothing ; and probably
the Honourable Gentleman AV tl3 far better acquainted with
the grievances of printers and circulators of small publica-
tions than he could•be. Whatever had been his specula-
tive opinions (and he did not' chink from them), on the
securities of which the Honourable Gentleman had spoken,
he should not think of repealing even that part of the
Bill at this moment, on a sudden, and without previous
examination of the subject. The Honourable Gentleman
had said a great deal about the diffusion of information,
and he (the Attorney-General) appealed to any man,
whether the Act in question had at all checked that diffu-

sion in cheap publications.—(Hear, hear.)—lt only ap-
plied, in fact, to a certain species of publication—periodi-
cal, anti of a certain size and price—and they were sub-
jected to the stamp imposed upon a newspaper. He (the
Attorney-General) should be glad to hear why they ought
not to be subjected to it? The Honourable Gentleman
was sometimes the warm advocate of the Daily Press; and
why should the Times or Morning Chronicle be exposed
to a stamp duty, while publications under two sheets, and:
containing the same matter and similar remarks, were free
from such an exaction ? He did not know that the public
press had any feeling about it; but if it were right to im-.
pose a stamp duty at all upon newspapers, which had not

been questioned, where was the Justice of exposing them
to a contest so unequal ? So with respect to the other part
of the question, although he was not prepared to assume
that the Press was not so seditious and blasphemous as

when the Act waa passed, yet it might be that it was
not so, and it might he that the Act bad assisted in the
reformation. If the llonourable Member for Aberdeen had

confined his observations to particular clauses of the Act,
l►e (the Attorney-General) might have taken a different
course. He begged, however, not to be considered as
pledged on the subject. He had not the slightest inten-
tion to say any thing offensive to his Honourable Friend ;
but really, with all his respect for his Honourable Friend,
and feeling much obliged to him for the good he had done
in certain respects, he was by no means prepared to take
his Honourable Friend as an authority on subjects of ge-
neral legislation. As his Honourable Friend had not been I
able to state any particular fact of evil produced by the
measure, he (the Attorney-General) was not prepared to
rely on his judgment and opinion with reference to the
question of its general character and tendency. Hu hoped
he should not offend his Honourable Friend by this decla-
ration. His Honourable Friend had many claims on the
gratitude of the public; but he had no claim to make him

a sound authority on all points of legislation. He thee&
fore Would not pledge hiMself with respect to this or any
other Bill. Certainly, nothing that had been said by his
Honourable Friend would induce him to adopt his Honour-
able Friend's proposition ; and therefore, however kindly
his Honourable -Friend no doubt meant it, he must op-
pose his motion; aml he begged to add, that he did so
without any concert or_comrntinicatioh with others, always
wishing to act without any regard to popularity. For
these short reasons lie should give his decided negative to
his Hon. Friend's motion.
Mr. PEEL obserVed- that no man had any right to com-
plain of the course which the Right Hon. and Learned
Gentleman had taken. 'lt was undoubtedly a much more
manly and honest proceeding than if he had absented him:
self in order to evade the difficulties of hie task. He also
honoured the Right lion. and Learned Gentleman for the
candour of his declaration, that in the official situation in
Which he was placed, he could not lightly determine on the
question proposed for his decision, but must take time to
examine and consider whether the 'practical merits of the
measure to which the Hon. Member for Aberdeen had
called the attention of the House were or were not such as
would induce him to support its continuance.—lle (Mr.
Peel) must say that he wished that certain other indivi-
duals had followed the example of the Right Hon. and
Learned Gentleman ; and, having foiled reasons to resist
the measure when originally pioposed, had been good enough
to state the reasons which now induced them to resist the
proposition made by the Hon.. Member for Aberdeen. Such
a step would have been much more creditable to the per-
sona to whom he alluded, than staying away, and shrink-
, ing from the performance of what no doubt was a difficult
and delicate undertaking. But, while he acknowledged the
superior manliness of the Right Hon. and Learned Gentle-
man's conduct, he certainly did not think that the particu-
lar grounds on which he opposed the motion of the Hon.
• Member for Aberdeen were at all satisfactory. He meant
satisfactory, as respected the Right Hon. and Learned
Gentleman's reasons ; for they were most satisfactory in
reference to the reasons of those by whom the measure
was originally proposed. Recollecting the obloquy which,
In 1819, had been thrown upon those measures, which it
was declared had been devised for the purpose of impos-
ing restraints upon the liberty of the people, it was cer-
tainly satisfactory to him to hear his Majesty's Attorney-
Genoa! maintaining the policy of the measures; it was
certainly satisfactory to him to find even this tardy tribute
paid to the memory of a Noble Friend, who had been more
grossly calumniated than any statesman that ever
lived in this country. Time late Marquees of Londonderry
was the person by whom these measures had been propos-
ed : and for proposing which in times of great difficulty
and alarm—in times when the tranquillity of the country
was threatened in a variety of shapes--his name had
been loaded with the deepest obloquy. • From that ob-
loquy, however, it was now relieved ; and the speech of
the Right lion. and Learned Gentlenian had retrieved his
Noble Friend's memory- from the odium which had been
so unjustly and-ungratefully cast upon it. Some of the
measures which were passed in the' year 1819 were tem-
porary, and had been allowed to expire; the one. under
consideration was of a permanent chatalder. The Right
Hon. and Learned Gentleman had said, that this particular
measure bad been but slightly opposed at the time of its
enactment. The fad, however, was, that -these was no
one of the measures referred to which met with more de-
termined opposition. In its progress through the House,
various 'Amendments were introduced into the Bill ; but
those Amendments were by uo means satisfactory to . its
opponents ; which was proved by the fact that the third
reading of the Bill, after all the Amendments bad been in-
troduced, was strongly resisted. While lie stated all this,
he at the same time repeated that the Right Hon. and
Learned Gentleman had done his duty. The Right Hon.
and Learned Gentleman, whatever might have been his
reasons for resisting the Bill in 1819, was perfectly right
in stating that it had not been found in practice to invade
any of the great priociples of the constitution which, at
period at which it was passed, it was said were menaced
with utter destruction. In justice, however, to his Noble
Friend, lie must take advantage of the- Right lion. and
Learned Gentleman's admissions. If• the practice of the-
bill had not been that which had been predicted ; if it had
not imposed fetters on the press, depriving it of every sem-
blance of liberty—let the memory of his- Noble Friend be
rescued from the foul imputation under which it had la-
boured. He (Mr. Peel) by no, `means quarrelled with
the Right Honourable and Learned Gentlenian'e vindi-
cation of his present conduct, . he only begged leave to
observe that the vindication comprehended a compute
vindication of the conduct of his Noble Friend in 1819.
When his Noble Friend had proposed' this measure, he
wet - told that its tendency would be to repress the ris-
ing genius of many a young- man, who; like Burke, re-
sorted to the press and to the exercise of hie talents as a
writer for the means of honourable subsistence. All this his
'Noble Friend had positively denied. It now appeared that
in that denial his Noble Friend was perfectly justified. The
admissions of the Right Hon. and Learned Gent. proved
that he was so. It was now-proyed that in point of fact,
the measure had not been productive of all those dreadful
mischiefs which its opponents had anticipated from it. If it
were, or might be right, to continue the measure at present,
in times of comparative quiet and security, when the va-
rious attempts which had been made to disseminate sedi-
tious and blasplaemotneeentiments had utterly failed, hav-
ing been repressed—not only by prosecutions, by the good
sense and right feeling of the public ; how- much more
justifiable was it on the part of his Noble Friend to
propose the measure in 1819, when the most insidious
and persevering efforts were making to corrupt the pub-
lic mind by the diffusion of the most infamous publica-
tions that ever disgraced the press of ally country.—..
The House would recollect that in 1819 the Grand Jury of
Chester approached either Parliament or the Throne (he
did out recollect which,) stating the evils which they
apprehended from the ceaseless exertions which were

'ttling to corrupt the people by the circulation of sedi-
tious and blasphemous publications. They especially in-
stanced as a proof of the existing danger, that the servants
of families were actively corrupted by the gratuitou's and se-
cret introduction into the very houses of their 'masters 'of
publications replete with sentiments hostile to all the in-
stitutions of the country, and calculated to sap the foun-
dations of every moral and religious duty. If a reference
were made to the correspondence of that period between
Sir John Byng (who was in the command of the Northern
district). and his Majesty's Government, it would appear
that in one week, six attempts had been made to corrupt
the soldiers in their barracks. He (Mr. Peel) reverted to
all these facts as affording a conclusive proof that the con-
duct of his Noble Friend, not only with reference to the
temporary measures which had been allowed to expire, but
with reference to the permanent measures, one of which
was under the consideration of the House—all of which.

though more or less resisted in their passage through Par-
liament, his Noble Friend had eventually carried—was not
only justifiable, but in the highest degree praiseworthy......:
His Noble Friend had been subjected to lunch odium as
the author of these bills, and it was but just that an oppor-
tunity like the present should be embraced to dear him
from every imputed dishonour.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said a few words in ex-
planation, the tendency of which was to show that he still
retained his objections to several of the clauses of the Act;
and that indisposition had prevented him from taking a
very active part in the discussions in 1919.

Lord MILTON thought that it was very:difficult to as-
certain whet was the Right Hon. Gentleman's main object
in the speech which he had just addressed to the House.—
It wan difficult to determine whether his principal purpose
had been to excidpate his Noble Friend, the late Marquis
of Londonderry,-fer his conduct in 1819, or to attack cer-
tain other individuals for their conduct at the present day.
In both instances he (Lord Milton) thought that the Right
lion. Gentleman bad entirely failed. The Right Honour-
able Gentleman had defended the conduct of the Marquis
of Londonderry, in 1819, on the ground of the resistance
now made by his Right Hon. and Learned Friend to the
motion for the repeal of one of the Acts of 1819, to which
particular Act confessedly the slightest objection was at
that period made. Because his Right Hon. end Learned
Friend, in 1827, resisted a motion improperly and incon-
sistently made, the Right Hon. Gentleman defended the
whole set of measures passed in 1819, although those mea-
sures had been opposed by his Right Hon. and Learned
Friend, as welt as by other persons, on whose absence from
the House--whether absent or present he (Lord Milton)
neither knew nor cared—the Right Hon. Gentleman had
been pleased to remark. To him it appeared to be very
singular that the Right Hon. Gentleman should think that
he had succeeded in defending his Noble Friend, because the
repeal of the least objectionable of that Noble Lord's measures
was now opposed by an individual who might, perhaps,
have voted against all the measures originally. For him-
self, he was too humble an individual to have his opinions
adverted to by the Right lion. Gentleman. To whom
exactly the Right Hon. Gentleman referred as absent, he
(Lord Milton) was at a loss to know; but it did appear
to him to be exceedingly singular that the Right Hon.
Gentleman should fancy that he had made a triumphant
defence of his Noble Friend. If I,e understood his Right
Honourable and Learned Friend, he had said that the
continuance of some of the remaining Acts might re-
quire consideration. He (Lord Milton) thought that
some of them might, in a future Session, be advantageously
repealed. There were, some, of -the remaining measures.
to which a stronger objection than to the rest originally

existed in ins mina ; ants the "force of which objection
he still fully felt. He particularly alluded to that Act
which inflicted, as the punishment of a second conviction
for libel, transportation for life. That Act still disgraced
the Statute-book. .He was bound to say, that a great deal
of his confidence in his ,Majesty's present Government
would depend on the scanner in which they dealt with an
Act so inconsistent with.the liberty of the subject, and so
lital to the freedom of the press. With respect to the
Measure now before the House, it Appeared to him--after
the declaration of hiS 4ight Hon. and Learned Friend,
that these measures must come under the consideration of
his Majesty's Government—that it was of little consequence
whether or not. it was repealed in , the present Session.
The Right Hon. dentlenian must therefore pardon him
fur thinking that those whom he (Mr. Peel) had twitted
with their absence, were justified in not being present At
the discussion of a motion for, repealing a measure the pre-
cise period of the repeal of which was of so little import-
ance. The Right lion., Gentleman would give him leave
to remind him of his own declarations with respect to the
merits of those measures generally ;—these measures the
expediency of proposing which by his Noble Friend he had
so warmly defended. When on quitting office -the Right
_Hon. Gentleman had stated to the House the circumstances
which had induced him to do so ; in the expositien into
which he had entered of the motives by which lie had
been actuated,, be had never dared to take credit for not
renewing the Acts which had expired.—{Some one ob-
served that Mr. Peel had taken credit for not proposing
the renewal of the Acts in question.)—That then was his
(Lord Milton's) case. If the Right Hon. Gentleman did
take credit for not proposing the renewal of these Acts,
his doing so proved that he considered them to be ob-
noxious measures. Unquestionably they were measures,
the general character of which was inconsistent with the
spirit of the English Constitution. As, however, they
were so soon to be taken into consideration by his Majea-
ty's Government, it appeared to bins to be of very little
importance Whether he voted in favour of the motionjof
the Hon. Member for Aberdeen or against it, or walked
out of the House and abstained from voting at all.
Mr. PEEL, in explanation, observed that he had already
described, and justly described, the Act for the repeal of
which the Hon. Member for Aberdeen had that evening
moved, is one of the measures Which had been most warmly
opposed in 1819. The Seizure of Arms' Bill bad not been
opposed at all ; nor had the Training Prevention Bill.
The Bill for preventing Traverses in Courts of Justice,
and the Seditious Meetings' Prevention Bill (which had
expired, and to renew which he had been applied to, but
bad refused), were opposed with great pertinacity; but by
no means with greater pertinacity than the Bill the repeal
of which was now proposed. He repeated that he thought
those who had opposed the measures in 1819, and who had
recently accepted office, would have chosen a better course
if they had followed 'the example of the Right Hon. and
Learned Gentleman.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL.. explained : but his
explanation was directed across the:table, and was in so
Jew a tone of voice that it 'was utterly inaudible in the
Gallery.
Mr. LENNARD
.thought it was a little unfair, on the
part of the Right Hon. Gentleman, to attribute to the
Right Hon. and Learned Attorney-General approbation of
the whole Six Acts, because he had not expressed unemii-
Vocal disapprobation of one of them. He begged to recall
to the House, that he haul himself moved for the repeal
two of the Acts. He had not included the Act under con-
sideration in his motion, because he did not at that tithe,
nor did he at present, think that its total repeal was neces-
sary. But he saw that there were persons, both in and
out of that House, who were very much inclined to misre-
present the whole question. Although he was not dis-
posed to support the total repeal of this Bill at the present
period, there were clauses in it which at a future period he
thought might be very advantageously got rid of. The Bill
was divided into two parts. The first related to the Re-
venue, and put small periodical paniphlets on the same foot •
ing as newspapers. As far as that part of the Bill went,
no case had been made out against the Bill. Nothing that
had fallen from the Hon. Member for Aberdeen had any
tendency to snake out such a case. When he looked at the
other part of the Bill, however, he allowed that it contained
some very objectionable provisions. One was a clause call-
ing on a .printer to enter into certain recognizances pre-
viously to his commencing trade ; another, a clause em-
powering, Magistrates to
,call on persons brought before
them for libel to give security for-the preservation of the
peace. The first was an unnecessary restriction on the li-
berty of the Press ; the licentiousness of which he believed
the old law was abundantly adequate to repress. He would
not trespass longer on the attention of the. House. He bid
frequently expressed his anxious desire that the Press should
be unfettered; his opinions on that subject yemained un-
changed. Nor, did he , consider that he could he justly
chargeable with inconsistency if he did not vote for the
:motion of the klon. Member for Aberdeen. He had for
some. years supported many of the measures of the present
Right Hon. Chancellor, of . the_ Exchequer and his collea-
gUes. would give them his confidence as long as lie
found that they Were not disposed to sacrifice what appeared
to him to be indiapensible principles. He should vote
against the motion ; but he begged at the same time to ob-
serve that on a future, occasion he trusted the House would
have an opportunity of . considering, with a view to their
repeal, the two cladies in the Bill which he bad described.
Sir ROBERT WILSON, said, that while he admired
the motives which had induced the Right Hon. Gentlemah
who had' lately held the.office of Secretary of State to eulo-
gize the memory of his Noble 'Friend, he could not but
think that such. eulogies were something indiscreet, anti
were often calculated to provpke injurious discussion. - For
his own part he had never heard, either in that House or
out of it, but one opinion, with respect to the measures of
1819. The Right Hon. Gentleman, in his own state-
ment of the motives which had induced him to retire from
office, had, as his Noble Friend the MeMber for Yorkshire
had justly observed, taken credit to himeelf for conduct
which was in direct contrast with that of his predecessor.
With respect to the present motion, he (Sir R. Wilson)
thought that the Right Hon. and Learned Attorney-Genes
ral had most properly and wisely recommended that the
consideration of the subject should be adjourned to another
Session of Parliament. The repeal of the Act might bring
with it some popularity to ministers, of which it would be un-
fair to deprive them by any premature proceeding. It would
not only be unfair to Ministers, it would be unfair to the
public—the welfare ofwlsom he most sincerely believed was
connected with the existence and strength of. the present
Administration. For that reason, if he had no other, he
should oppose the motion of the Hon. Member for Aberdeen ;
the taken by whom on the present occasion he the more
particularly regretted, as that
,Honourable Member, haul
pledged himself to him (Sir R. Wilson) individually to with.
draw his intention of bringing forward the motion. Such
conduct could not be too strongly censured. He (Sir R. Wil-
son) had passed over to the side of the House on which he
then sat, not. by the circuitous movement which others
had adopted in similar circumstances; he passed boldly
anti unblushingly. Ile went over to that part of the House
_ .

where he saw the colours of liberal principles flying;—tna
Ministry whose object it was to support freedom, and to
enlighten the country;—to a Ministry who maintained the
Royal prerogative and asserted the liberty of the subjeat ;,
to'a Ministry who preserved at the same time the favour of
the Crown and the suffrages of the people ;—to a Ministry
who, if they persevered in the course which they had com-
menced, would consummate the safety, prosperity, and
glory of.the Empire. It was this consciousness of the
liberality of the present Government ,which had induced
the Catholics to suspend their prayers for the present Ses-
sion, and to trust to the course of events and the progress
of intelligence for the success of their cause. It was the
consciousness that the dearest interests of freedom were no
longer in jeopardy which kad induced the Advocates of
Parliamentary Reform to .enspend their efforts, and to be
satisfied with the hope of ultimate success, which insist
flow from a Government ably and honourably adminis-;
tered. It was the consciousness of the liberal tendency of
the policy of the present Administration Which had so
. _

lately induced ,the Dissenters of the Empire to defer their
solicitations for relief to another Session. It was the same

feeling which induced him (Sir R. Wilson) to vote against
the motion of the Hon. Member for Aberdeen; and to
resist any attacks which might be made upon his Majesty's
present Ministers, whether they proceeded from an open
and generous foe, or from a sly and insidious friend. He
would do all that he could to defend them, either from
open assault or from secret sapping.
Mr. CANNING said, he could not abstain from adding
a few words to what had already been said upon the sub-
ject, as he was anxious to state the grounds upon which he
thought himself compelled to resist the proposition of the
Honourable Gentleman. The whole basis of that Honour-
able Gentleman's motion was false. If it were true that
every man, because he had supported or opposed a measure
in its progress, was bound to continue to support or oppose
it after it had passed into a law, the consequenCe would be,
as the Honourable Gentleman contended in the present
instance, that a partial change of Government ought to be
accompanied by a partial change of measures, and that a
total change of Ministers should be followed by an entire
sweeping away of all the former acts of Government.
This appeared to him to be about as reasonable a proposi-
tion to address to the Attorney-General, as it would be to
address him in that capacity in which he excelled all other
men—the capacity of an advocate—saying, although the
Judge, the Jury, and';the Lawyers decided against you,
and the country acquiesced in their decision, i, Deverthe-

less, bind you at all future times to the strict expressions
of your opening speech, and you are at my call to sup-
port the arguments which you then used. If experience
were to go for nothing—if the law, and the acquiescence
,of the country in that law, were to pees for nothing—if
this were not the case, it was utterly preposterous to go
back to the opposition offered to the passing of this Statute,
and to call for its repeal upon the grounds that it had met
with opposition at the time of its enactment. Did be
(Mr. Canning) therefore ineen, that if the country found
the operation of an Acr to be inconvenient ; if it dis-
appointed the expectation with which it, was passed, or
had created evils of more importance and of greater mag-
nitude than those which it was intended to correct—did he
mean to say that it was not subject to repeal ? Did he
mean to bold as a doctrine, that- because a Bill had passed
into a law it was therefore immortal ? No such thing !
All he meant to say was, that the question of repealing any
Statute must stand on its own ground. Upon the newse
sity alone must the question of repeal be decided, and not
in reference to the circumstances under which the Bill was
introduced. The question upon this, as upon all similar
cases, was not how the law 'originated, but whether in the
law itself there were anything so absurd or inconvenient
that Parliament in its prudence and wisdom was called
upon at that precise moment to repeal it ! The argument
of the Hen. Gentleman (Mr. Hume), that because this
law was part and parcel of a system of laws passed at the
same time, and a portion of which was perishable, there-
fore the perishable part, when it died, sheuld connect its
mortality to that which was intended to survive—sueh
an argument, he thought, was so absurd, it was so incon-
sistent, that he knew not how to deal with it. If, at the
time of passing these laws, Parliament had judged that
some were to exist perpetually as part and parcel of the
law of the country, and that others ought to die, it was
clear that Parliament had anticipated when it might
repeal some of the laws, and that it wished to avoid
that inference as to others: Was it to be argued from such
date. that Parliament was now bound to repeal the laws
that had been enacted permanently ? Was there any
thing so objectionable in the nature of this law, that the
House was called upon by the voice of the country to re-
peal it ? If it were so, all he could say was, that never
was the voice of the country more silent. They might go
from one extremity of the kingdom to the other ; they
might wander in every direction, and they would he obliged
to tell the people that such a law existed, before they could
get theth to form an opinion whether they ought to object to
it or not. A more wanton excitement of the knowledge of
the country for the purposes of creating objections, could not
be found in the history of Parliamentary proceedings. But
it seemed that this law extinguished the liberty:of the press.
It checked its energies, depressed its spirit, and changed its
tone. It converted its complexion of health and vigour to
a sickly hue—so Gentlemen opposite would have the
House believe. He (Mr. Canning) should like to see any
foreigner coining among them, or any man returning after
an absence from England of 10 years—he should like to call
upon him to state what special grievance he observed to
exist in the country. Would ho answer. " Why nothing
now is printed—nothing is said of anybody by the Press
—there is a total stagnation of satirical jokes, of sarcasm
and slander. What has.become of the freedom of opinion ?
Everybody abstains from animadversions upon private cha-
racter—every thing is sleeping or dead. The Press is
broke up—its occupation gone ; there is
.no such thing
now as type and paper." This would be the great grie-
vance pointed out; and to remedy such an oppressive, in-
tolerable evil, the Hon. Member opposite brought forward
kis Bill.—(Laughter,)—What would be the effect of car-
rying this measure, and how would its success stop the
chasm which the Hon. Proposer lamented ? The existing
Bill pressed against blasphemous publications comprised in
two sheets. The Hon. Member for Aberdeen said,—
"Let us have blasphemous publications in two sheets; I
hope you will, repeal the Bill that prevents our having
blasphemous libels in two sheets.—(Laughter.)—To this
he (Mr. Canning) replied, that the blasphemy to be brought
under the Act must not only be comprised within such a
specific compass, but the author must value the produce of
his brains under 6d. These were the three essential qualities
required to bring a publication within the meaning of the Act,
namely, blasphemy the size of two sheets, and value less than
6d. These were the three objectswhicli the Act intended to
repress, and by which the Honourable Member was of
opinion that the general liberty of the Press was extin-
guished. To be sure, blasphemy was a most volatile,
changeable essence ; but if any men, wished to lay his
hand upon the hallowed work that restrained it, and was
desirous to restore the freedoni of the Press, the object was
not difficult to attain. Let the gentleman who had so
much blasphemy on hand, tack an additional sheet to the
proscribed number of two—let him come out on the 28th
instead of the 26th day—and let him " screw his courage
to the sticking-place," and charge sixpence-halfpenny for
his 'productions, and he avoided the law. . Considering
whom the law affected, and under what circumstances it
operated, he did not think it amounted to a grievance of
the first magnitude. He was confident that this was not
an Act which the people of England viewed with any
great degree of uneasiness; nor did they think that there
was such a deficiency of vigoai or spirit in the press that
its contiimance upon the Statuteelmok should be opposed.
Never was there a period in which' ieful information upon
ail subjects was in the habit of being so extensively diffused
amongst the public, and at so cheap a rate. It penetrated
deeply into the lowest classes of society, and effected a
great moral and intellectual improvement,—(Hear, hear.)
--The adMinistration of a free press, purged of the mis-
chief which this Act was calculated to suppress, was a
source of useful information to the public,
.and Parliament
aught not to 'poison the wholesome stream by letting forth
that current which had been an happily dammed up.
Lord Viscount lIOWICK expressed himself surprised
at the remarkable "discrepancy bet Ween the sentiments
uttered by many gentlemen on this occasion and those
which they had been in the habit of expressing so strenu-
ously before they had quitted the other side of the HOuse.
......(Hear.).--He thought it essential that the House should
assent to the proposition .of the Bon. Member for Aber-
deen ; and he thought it equally essential to the character's
of many that they should not, by opposing the measure, de-
part from what they had formerly declared to be just and
proper. He could not agree with the Right Hon. Gentle-
man opposite (Mr. Canning), that this was a Measure of
little importance. The Act was productive of great mis-
chief. The clause which enacted banishment was no

likely to be called much into practice; but such a law was
disgraceful to the character of the country, and it operated
as a clog upon the energies of the Press. The law, as it
then stood, pressed equally upon proper and improper
works; for no own, in many cases, could guide himself
clearly by the law of libel as it then stood.
A MEMBER, from the Ministerial Benches, observed,
that he did not think this a right time to press for the
repeal of the law.
Sir JOHN NEWPORT said, that papers, such as this
law was aimed against, ought not to be exempted from its
Operations, unless newspapers were equally unrestricted.
Mr. WARBURTON said that it was not right for Hon.
Gentlemen, now on the Ministerial Bench, to pretend that
this Act was not known, or that it was likely to be in
disuse; for, at an early part of the Session, the Hon.
Member for Winchelsea had expressed a wish that it should
be repealed. He wished the motion had been to amend,
rather than to repeal the Acts, as many Members who now
opposed the motion, would then have supported it. It was
not enough to show that no practical inconvenience was,
at present, felt by the Act—who could answer for its not
being put into operation ?—it was sufficient to prove that
-the principle upon which the Act was passed was bad, and
l►e should, therefore, support the motion.
Mr. HUME arose amidst loud cries of "question." The
Hon. Member koped lie should be allowed to reply ; he
was not aware of his having lost that privilege.—(Hear,
hear. )—..He said, he thought lie should be able to show
that some of the. Hon. Members who opposed the motion,
and particularly the First Lord of the Treasury, did not
appear to have read the bill, or to know any thing about
it. The only three things which the Right Hon. Gent.
supposed to be connected with the bill, happened not to be
mentioned in it. A Gallant Officer opposite (Sir Robert
Wilson), had said, that lie came there to defend Ministe►s
against an open enemy, or an insidious foe. If he meant
to apply those words to him, he should only say, that they
were totally inapplicable to the measure before the House,
or to any thing connected with it. The Attorney. General
had most grossly mie-stated the circumstances relative to
his (Mr. Hume's) bringing forward this motion. What
the Attorney-General had been pleased to call the first
interview between them upon this occasion, was, in fact,
the third. The Hon. Member then read a letter, which fully
proved that lie had given the Attorney-General and Sir R.
Wilson full notice of hie intention to bring forward the
present motion. He could tell the Gallant Officer, that
neither in that House nor out of it should his (Mr. Hume's)
actions be such as could not bear the light. If the Gallant
Officer assumed the privilege and right of changing aides
of the Home,. he hoped that he would not refuse him (Mr.
Hume) the equal privilege of remaining where he always
had been. Let the Gallant Officer read to the House the
letter which his (Mr. Hume) had written to hini, and he
(Mr. Hume) was prepared to read the reply. The House
would then see how matters stood with respect to his (Mr.
hlu►ne'e) having given any pledge not to bring this measure
forward. The First Lord of the Treasury and the Attor-
ney-General had defended the whole Act, which prevented
his going into the principal items ; but he must say, that
if general principles in inch a cue were nut to be acted

granted.

stato-

upon, the character of legislation was violated. The se
could not be supported by the Attorney-Gerreral, if helm:
consistently with the Opinions he had expressed when sittingo
on the Opposition side of theHouse.---(Hear. )—He had °he
declared that the Bill in question trenched deeply upon the
liberty of the subject, and was altogether objectamable
principle. The Act went to maintain an odious, unconst`
tutional censorship of the Press. The 'arguments °,
the Right Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Canning) were sing!''t
lady fortunate in supporting the cause they meant to as°,
The Right Hon. ,Gentlethan %had argued for the prOPl:le
of continuing the law, because it was of such a nerd's
that any man, by a few tricks or contrivances, could
ois
feat its object.—(Hear, hear, hear.)--Let any man,
sys
the. Right Hon. Gentleman, tack another sheet to his r-'
vious two, and charge more than sixpence foe his prod:,
tions—and by such tricks he evaded the Statute. lt,„J
singular, that any Gentleman should be driven to defers
the policy and necessity of a law, by, proving the foul
with which it might he violated or evaded. If tbe•ht
were really so inoperative and unimportant as the Big
o it
Hon. Gentleman asserted, what a fine opportunity wes
for him to show a liberal spirit, and to pay a tribute tonic
lic freedom, which, whilst it satisfied the public, cost' 4,
Right Hon. Gentleman nothing. The Right Hon.
denim had attempted, by wit, and a joke mixed wit t
series of fallacies, to mislead the House. Amongst the la:
"
ter,• the Right Hon. Gentleman had, to his astonishiees.
assimilated the duty and privilege of a Member of
House to those of an advocate at the bar. He (Mr. fluPic
had always thought that it was the paramount, the 410'1'4
duty of an advocate to take any side, to use any argwifof
or support any principle which could sustain'the
the client who hired him. Such, at least, was' the o°l
privilege of the forensic profession; nor did any lawyer;
eider, that in pursuing such conduct his character-WO,*
7
nished or impeached. This being the case, judge of hie
Hume's astonishment, when he heard the Right lloneP '
isle Gent. (Mr. Canning) assert, in defence of the Ant,
be
ney-Get. era], that the duty of a Member of Parliament er:ss
that of an advocate of a cause—that, consequently t,
to have no principles of hie own, but might follow 1;10
ever the interests of himself or his party required.--4 the
of " hear, hear !" and " no, no !")—Either what ...he
Right Honourable Gentleman said had that meaning, nhe
(Mr. Hume) was totally unable to understand s';ll.3.geil
Right Hon. Gent. did mean: He had certaiUll ue' ode
his friend, the Attorney-General, by giving him
of conduct, of which few men would be willing oetent.j.
lily to avail themselves. When Lord Castlereagh had iai;:j
duced this bill, those who then constituted what was c„,%-ss
the Opposition, had decried it as most objectionable.
that they had assumed what was then Lord Castler.
side of the House, they defended the bill, and °brae' ifs
its repeal. This might be called consistent within the 118
of that House, and might pass without censure ; but tir.4
fact of such conduct would go before the public, who' t.
form their opinions upon its nature, motives, and whew'
results. The Right Hon. Gent., in his anxiety for argY
ments to defend his cause, had stated that no man in it:it
country was aware of the existence of such a law Witee-
te'
just—was it magnanimous, to commit a wrong, or ores or
a right, because the public were not exactly eware
the mischief? What security was there that the pub°
Would long continue in such ignorance ? Who could 11/0
how long it would be before this Statute might be poi
operation? But how could the Right Hon. Gentle's:,
know that the public. were OE were not ignorant of the tot
ietenee of this arbitrary and tyrannical law, except 11`v
appeared before the House? And he would ask if the tab
of that House had not groaned with petitions front e°6if
part of the United Kingdom against the Six Acts? fire
some people did forget one of these Acts, he could 0;14
the Right Hon. Gentleman that there were persons in itis
country-who retained their original objections to this el•ri,
a latitude
sure in all their pristine force. These people were net /0.,,
significant either for numbers,- property, or intellige...ol3
It was not always safe for men to build upon an ignio let?
foUnded in the ignorance of their opponents. . The.
_.7,0
Hon. Gentleman, like many others of very high ets"b—r;
moved in a circle in which he knew but little .of 04
opinion. His friends might pander—he would hardly
to,
to his vanity—but be was of course surrounded by throe
who would not .be very solicitous to tell him tulwet)see
truths. He moved in too high a station to appreciate:A
curately the estimation in which the Six Acts were Poe
in the country, and the present Act amongst the rest' bide
would now come to the three descriptive features Igoe
the Right Hon. Gentleman had given to the Statute. • '„0
first was blasphemy. Waiving any thing that was said
pP be
the undefinable, ever-changing nature of blaspheleP,,ito-
should merely state that there was not a word about
phemy in the body of the Act.
sin the tle.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL (across 'the table)
There
Mr.i UmEti—The title was immaterial. Men wr:-,eDot
.0
condemned upon the title of an Act, but upon whet -

contained in the body of that Act.—(Hear.) ft
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL (across the table)'
is in the ninth section.
Mr. HUME continued. The Hon. Member, after Olt;
further allusion to the.objects of this Bill, concluded void
observing, that if Ministers wished to preserve the 500
opinion of the country, they should show every disrl"
to render the. Press of the country as free as possible. het
Mr. PEEL, in explanation, said that the Hon. geca
(Mr. Hume) had totally mistaken him. twit
Mr. T. B. LENNARD said a few words in expluna_nr
which the noise in the body of the House rendered "'
gether inaudible in the gallery. of
Mr. CANNING explained, and read the preainutte
the Bill, in support of his assertion that one of its nhr-
was to-suppress blasphemous publications; ' deo
Lord W. RUSSELL said he must oppose the Me' 'le
although with regret, as it gave a seeming contradiction „
that which had been the tenor .of his-whole life—Ake °urs;
port of public liberty in its most extended sense. /lc 7,,it
not in that House when the " Six Acts" were passed,
he was opposed to them every ono, with the exception:o,
that now tinder discussion ; and that he was frietiOn, to
because he felt that blasphemous publications ought
be circulated through the country. The Noble Lore
„,,d-
-flounced &high eulogium upon the patriotic sentirnent9,:lo-
high character of the Noble Lord (Lord Howick) near "-
The House then divided—
For Mr. Hume's Motion. , 10
Against it
120

Majority against it
ALE-HOUSES LICENSING BILL.

On re-entering the gallery.we found by
Mr. ESTCOURT on his legs,.but the noise ow—go.
the return of strangers to the gallery rendered the
to
Member inaudible for some time. We understood hin7
0.
say, that the variety of conflicting interests concerned re.A
dered it impossible for him to introduce the measure Whim
he propoied this Session. He .should therefore move, d
leave to bring in. a Bill to continue for one year the .11...„c"..
the 3d Geo. 4, c. 77, for Licensing Beer and Ale in ft'
land, promising that he should next year introduce 113.-
sure which would be found effective upon the subject'
Mr. 11013110 USE; in seconding the motion, are96seg§
a hope that the present mode of licensing public-he:11ot
would be done away with. It was absurd to suppose, A
shuttinguronthe hmouokeralty
'int such
of an
puanebairiley.hour would have any oe-
' Mr. S. BOURNE had no objection to the motionl
He bore testimony to the great and laudable exertions
the Hon. Member (Mr. Estcourt), and was sure that If
matured measure should be introduced, it would be owt°6
to his labours and those of the Committee.
After a conversation, in which Mr. Hume, Mr. Si6Eler,
Mr. Wood, and Mr. Portman took a part, leave was gran
tad to bring in the Bill.
t°
Mr. GOULBURN moved for leave to bring inn Bill
make Provision for Ministers in Corporate To'.4
to
Ireland. And also for leave to bring in a fill .vi..
Regulate and Consolidate .the Laws respecting the P.OO
',ion of Parishes in Ireland; and to make further 0-'ll4'l

for the establishment of Perpetual CurlsCies. g o 0
After a few words from Sir J. NEWPORT, leav"

The Covent tOEVIeEctNioTnRBYinEwLasECreaTIO
aNse.cond
time, ad
9 y
riga'pegitreon GORDON thought, that the averages ° lao
ordered
Housemt on Thursday next. Co
aßomille. then went into a Committee 00 the - .
AfteraAnvd Te
C.
GOA '
E. remarks from Captain Forbes, Mr.
Ca r ill
prices of corn ought to be taken not merely from 361„rir
only, but from the whole of the United Kingdom, e‘urz" '101!'
posed, that instead•of the words "British (Engliebi fro,
the words " Corn of the United Kingdom of Great 13,r.
and Ireland" should be inserted. ' ,
Mr. C. GRANT contended, that this would ratio.' ue
taking of the averages too complicated, and would 01 1
ent 1 •
tend to facilitate the commission of fraud than to pre', Air.
After some observations by Sir Edward Knatchbub;,.o.
Curteis, Mr. Warburton, and Mr. Heathcote, th ti'tigh
rnittee divided on the question, that the words ‘` 13f

(English) Corn" stand part of the Clanse--
Ayes QS
Noes
Majority
Thu Clause of course remains as it originally stood. joie
(Strangers were excluded for an unusually long, t.„,,
during this division, owing, we understand, to a chit" '
sion in the Committee on tl7a following Curio
The Members in the Hewn, it will be ohaelved, with tu`

addition of the two Tellers, and the Chairman, barely
constituted the number requisite for business : but when
'the doors were closed, the Speaker, who, when the House
is in a Committee, sits as an ordinary Member, happened
to be momentarily absent, and without the Right Honour-
able Gentleman the number was but 39. The Speaker's
egress from the House is by a private door, behind the
Chair, which is not closed on these occasions ; and the
Right Honourable Gentleman, who at first hesitated at
rettuaing to the division, was at length included in the
number of dividing Members, notwithstanding the opposi-
tion of Sir Charles Forbes, Mr. Hume, and, we believe,
other Members, who contended that the Speaker was not
entitled, under. the circumstances, to divide. The effect
of his exclusion would have been to put a stop to the bu-
sines.s of the night, and the bill must have been committed
de novo.)
After some further discussion the House resumed; and
the Report was ordered to be brought up to-morrow.
The other Orders of the Day were disposed of, and the
'louse adjourned at a quarter before 11 o'clock.

.; lASI
OF 10 (110 MAJORITY)
TION FOR TAR REP]
car. 9.)
Damien
, A.
liob
Fergusson, Sir R.
hou, C.
limvick, se
Lord'
Lombe, E.

1' OF THE MINOR]
WHO "VOTED IN FAVOUI
'EM, OF ONE OF TRZ 81:

.ITY
/R OF MR. ROME'S MO-
ACTS-(60 GRO. 111.,

Maitland, Hon. Cap- Wood, J.
tain
Monek, J. B. TELLERS.
Pelham, C. Humd, J.
Warburton, H. Wood, Alderman

PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS.

MOUSE OF COMMONS.
QRDERS OE TUE DAY roa THIS DAY.
1. East Retford Election Committee Report,—Tu be con-
sidered.
Frivolous Arrests Bill—Second reading.
3. Larceny Laws Repeal Bill—Further consideration of
Report.
4. Small Debts Bill—Second reading.
5• Holyhead Road Bill—Committee.
6. Sale of Bread Bill—Second reading.
7. Auction Duties (Ireland) Bill—Third reading.
8. Prerogative Court (Ireland) Bill—Committee.
9. Parochial Settlements (Scotland) Bill—Further consi,
duration of Report.
In. Arrests upon Mettle Process Bill—Second reading.
Petty Sessions (Ireland) Bill—Report.
12. Canada Clergy Reserves Bill—Further consideration of
Report.
3. Church Rates (Ireland) Bill—Second reading.
4, Foundlings (Ireland) Bill—Third reading.
5. New South Wales Bill—Second reading.
;6• Clerkships Inrolment Bill—Second reading.
;:* Roman Catholic Land Tax Bill—Second reading.
Court of Exchequer (Ireland), Compensation to late
2 Exarniners--Committee thereupon.
‘ts. Larceny Laws Consolidation Bill—Mild reading.
Malicious lnjuries Bill--Third reading.
Remedies against the Handl. edßill—Further considera-
-2„ tion of Report.
23. Crinainal Justice Bill—Third reading.
Edinburgh Oil Gas Company Bill—Petitions for Com,
tnittee of Appeal to be considered ; consideration of
7 Dest rßepouct2ion rt on Bill.
~
of Houses (Ired) Bill—C
Dissenters' Marriages Bill—lanCommittee.
omusittee.6
2. 3,,t,'PlilY—Committeo.
28 575 and 11Ieans—Committee.
2 • T" —ana Tax Commissioners Names Bill—Report.
• Customs Duties Acts Report thereupon.
81. Gair„fie,,l3ll,,L•Reeond reading.
82, De
--s"A Resignation Indemnity Bill—Committee.
,„. Corn Averages Bill—Report.
;Treaty with Sweden Bill—=Report.
s Malt Bill—Second reading.
36: 41inisters Provision (Ireland) Bill—. Second reading.
Bill_Seeond reading.
, NOtICES Or MOTIOTTS FOR THIS DAY.
2. Ali. Chancellor of the Echequer—Budgt.
Lord Francis Lev n Cxower—Bill fore enabling the
Crown to grant sites for Public Buildings and Ceme-.
tes.'
8.
I,es,
jqr' spring Rice—Bill to regulate the sale of Bread in
4. Ireland.
111 r. Charles Grant—Bill to alter and amend the Irish
s. Butter Acts.
Mr. Manning To move that Joini Carrie be brought
to the Bar of the House, for the purpose. of his be-
ing discharged.

NOTICE GIVEN YEETERDAY.
Thursday, June 7.
Charles Wetherell—That the Corporation and. Ma-
gistrates of Coventry be allowed to be heard by them-
skiver, their ousel, or agents ; and also, to offer
evidence, at the Bar against the Bill for preserving
the Peace within the City and County of the City of
Covent„.„

G t ""))
te
--?
- „ *ult.

LONDON,
FRIDAY EVENING, JUNE 1, 1827.

t The French Papers of Tuesday, ' and the
t°iie of Wednesday morning, reached us last
tight.

The intelligence from the Peninsula is not ha-
Porta
Spanish
-•,,,,
• Desertion continues to increase in the
Army on the Frontiers of Portugal.
Son of
—ethe deserters proceed to Portugal, while
Oth it is •
ers, said, have gone into the interior of
Spain, and there formed Bands in favour of the
Constitution. A letter from Madrid states that
General SARSPIELD, in one of his recent des-
Patches, announces that eighty men had de-
serted in a body into Portugal ; and the same
letter
speaks of the army on the Frontier as not
;°llsi3ting of more than 8,000 effective men.
i 8
now said to be finally decided that M.
is to proceed as Ambassador to Rome,
-11 vi that the Duke of SAN CARLOS will be
Placed at the bead of the present Cabinet.
The discussions on the Budget still continue
atile Chamber of Deputies. The purchase of
a Part of the Bourbon Palace for the use of the
Chamber was carried on a division of 204 to 69.
listressing accounts arc given of the damage
''ne ill the neighbourhood of Geneva and Lau-
;4ll4e by a terrific storm which burst over the
latter town on the 20th ult.
The French Funds are rather lower, the 5
Per Cents. being loof. 4.5 c.;
Cent 70f. 45 and the 3 per
c. Extracts will be found in
another column.

In addition to the intelligence which we pub-
thshed yesterday from Lisbon, we have collected
enother column some further paragraphs from
Portuguese Papers, and some p
private coM-
414ications.
t All the accounts from different parts of the
shew that public feeling is still greatly
ani
° tate& The Spanish Authorities on the
f ontier still evidently encourage the Rebels, and
t°hster a spirit of discontent by the presence of
to°Arm--,
y which they hold out as being destined
h l'ivade Portugal in aid of the Apostolical
Arty.
both ong—
measures appear to us to be necessary
" for the punishment of those who have joined
the acts of rebellion, and for the annihilation of
their hopes of the faction who have so long kept
(0 county ) in a state of disorder. The pre-
,,`of the Emperor, DON PEDRO, would, at
shiLciiBja, be the salvation of' Portugal, and we
""14 hail it as a icatunate event tv that King-

dom, and to Europe generally, if the EMPEROR,
were to verify the reports which are in circulation
in Lisbon, of entertaining an intention to return
himself to Portugal, and send his brother, DON
MIGUEL, to his South American possessions.

Want of space prevents our giving even an
abridged account of the Leeds Pitt Club Dinner,
which took place on Monday the 27th ultimo.
The Leeds Orators seem to have surpassed even
their London brethren in length and violence of
discourse. Their fury against Mr. CANNING
is quite diverting. Of course they exhausted all
the stale arguments against his coalition with the
Whig party, and his desertion of those Orange
principles which it seems now Mr. PITT always en-
tertained. It is true he went out of Office
because the Catholic Claims were not conceded,
according to the expectation held out to the
Irish Nation, with a view of effecting the
Union ; but that proves little in the opinion
of some persons, though we cannot for our part
see how this fact can be got rid of, unless
by charging Mr. PITT with duplicity. Even
Orangemen will hardly venture to insultthat great
man's memory, by so base an insinuation.

But their rage is very impotent. With KING,
Lords, and Commons on his side, Mr. CAN-
NING may laugh at all their abuse.

The Allgemeinc Zeitung of the 25th of May
contains the following Manifesto from the Greek
Committee to the National Assembly. We have
not space for comment :

VIENNA, ILAY 20.

The Austrian Observer contains the following Mani-
festo, which the Greek Committee of Government ad-
dressed on the '7th of April to the National Assembly.

The Committee of Government to the third National
Assembly of the Greeks.-.... The Committee of Government
did not fail to make known at the very beginning, the crisis
by which it was surrounded when it assumed the reins of
Government, as well as the foundation on which it built its
hopes for the salvation of the country. It also did net ne-
glect to declare its ardent wishes to be allowed to resign its
authority, and urgently to desire that the Deputies
might be summoned to continue the labours of the
Third National Assembly. Its apprehensions arose as it
declared from the real danger of the country after the fall
of the glorious Missolonghi, from the moral impression of
this great calamity on the minds of all the Greeks, and the
impossibility of providing for the great expe►ces of the
nation, considering the exhausted state of the Treasury.
The hopes of the Committee were founded on the aid of
Heaven, which has" never abandoned the Greeks, and on
the support of the European friends of humanity and free-
dom, whose zeal became more conspicuous as the danger
of the country increased, and on the firm resolution of the
Greeks to attain freedom and political independence,
which has remained unshaken and unchangeable from
the beginning of the sacred contest. The Committee
now that it sees its wishes (to be able to retire) fulfilled,
congratulates the nation on the union of all the deputies,
in one assembly, and considers it as its duty to call on the
nation to join in thanks to Heaven for its evident support
during so many severe trials. The most ardent thanks
and eternal gratitude are due to the Europeans who have
encouraged us by their ardently expressed wishes—assisted
us by their noble and continual contributions,—and fed
our armies. The nation owes a great debt of gratitude to
the brave Men besieged in the Acropolis of Athens which
they have defended for nine months, and to those
distinguished warriors who, after the fall of Missolonghi
performed wonderi of bravery, freed the continent of
Greece, and then hastened to defend the sacred Acropolis.
The Government is filled with the greatest joy at the unex-
pected change which, in the midst of so many embarrass-
ments, has taken place during the last eight months.
- The Committee proceeds to speak of the advantages ob-
tained at Rachova, Selena, and Distoaio, of the landing of
the expedition in the Pincus, and of the sending of another
against Oropo, and also the appointment of a squadron to
cruise on the coasts of &theca, &c. to intercept the supplies
on their way to the enemy's camp. Karaiskaki
is daily engaged in severe and successful actions
under the walls of Athens, and a corps under
,Genaio
Colotroni is advancing to relieve the Acropolis. Other
measures for its relief are also in progress. The Commit.
tee, however, earnestly represent to the Assembly, the
absolute necessity of immediate and efficient measures to
raise the siege. Lastly, the Committee congratulate the
nation on the arrival of the illustrious Lord Cochrane, as well
ae that of other distinguished men, who have devoted them-
selves to the cause of Greece. The Members of the Com-
mittee having thus performed their duty, returned into the
bosom of the Assembly, as simple deputies, to deliberate with
the other deputies, on the great interests of the nation, at
the same tinie inviting the Assembly to proceed to the choice
of other individuals for the Government of the nation who
may be" worthy of its respect and esteem.
Poros, April '7, 1827.
(With the signatures of the nine members of the Com-
mittee of Government.)

An account has been printed, by order of the
House of Commons, of the Net Public Income
of Great Britain and Ireland, in the years ending
the sth of January 1824, 1825, 1826, and
1827, and of the expenditure during the same
period, exclusive of the sums applied to the re-
duction of the Funded or Unfunded Debt. We
should gladly have published this account in
detail to-day if time and space would have
allowed, as it would assist our Readers in fully
understanding the financial expose which the
'CHANCELLOR of the ExcrIELILTER is to make
this evening. The general results, however, are
as follow

Years ending
sth Jan. sth Jan. sth Jan. sth Jan,
1821. 1823. 1820. 1E327.
Total Income
Including the 57,072,990 09,362.403 57,273,863
►51894,980.
repayment of
Advances
Total Expendil
ture,including

Advances, but
exclusive of 50,902,01& 52,774,600 51.020,027 53885,511
the Sums ex-
pended in the
Redemption of

Debt

Surplus of MI
come over 6,710,984 6,5E0,802 5,6,8,8t1 1..009.448
penditure

Brussels Papers have been received to the
30th ult. They mention that a steam-boat was
in waiting at Cologne for her Majesty the Queen
of WURTEMBURGH, who would proceed in it
to Rotterdam, from whence her VAJISTY will
be conveyed to this country in one of the Royal
yachts.

The rumour of the intention of Don MTGUEL
to proceed to Lisbon, to meet his brother the
is prevalent at Vienna.
Emperor Don PEDRO,

By his Majesty's ship Isis, Captain Patten, which sailed
from Jamaica on the 3d April, and from the Havannah the
3d ult., we learn that the Governor, his Grace the Duke
of Manchester, will return per his Majesty's shop of war
Rattlesnake, having been succeeded in the Government of
that Island by Sir John Keane.

Lord 13*ey entertained a numerous party at
dinner yesterday, at his residence in Great
George-street.

In the history of human nature, perhaps, no
instance can be -recorded of so rapid an improve-
ment in the social state of a people as has taken
place in Ireland since the elevation of Mr. Can-
ning to the Premiership. Trading loyalists and
political agitators have been deterred or neu-
tralized by his triumph. Even the' Incendiary
Press, in the metropolis and in the provinces, has
declined in falsehoods, forgeries, calumnies, fe-
rocity, and rancor.—Dublin Patriot,-

THE FUNDS-(THIS DAY).

CITY, Twelve o' Clock.

The English Funds seem to be in a state of considerable
uncertainty this morning, and this seems likely to 1;e the
case' until the contents of the Budget is disclosed this even-
ing. Console opened at 84.3:0, were afterwards 841, but
have since become rather `flat, having gone down Co 844 i;
they are now at the first puke, B.li 1. India .Bonds and
Exchequer Bills underwent an extraordinary rise yesterday
after the depression which took place the day before, and
both these species of property recovered to nearly the highest
premium they have been quoted at. It seems that late in
the afternoon of yesterday the Brokers generally employed
by the Coutt of Chancery came into the market and swept
off all the Bonds and Bills, and were prepared to take even
a larger amount ; as it was they purchased 150,000!., but
whether for the Accountant General or for other persons has
not been ascertained. India Bonds are now 82, and Ex-
chequer Bills, 55 7 pm. Scarcely any business is doing
in the Foreign Funds, Mexicanßonds being 68i 98; Co-
lombian, 31/ ; Danish Bonds are up to 611 ; Greek
were done late yesterday at. 17, but could not support this
price, and are now 16i 1. Shares are almost a dead letter,
so much so that not more than four or five are quoted by
the Brokers, and those at a tremendous discount; the ap-
petite for these once favourite speculations is quite gone by,
and the public scarcely ever inquire about them ; the mar-
ket is completely neglected.
Three per Cont. Consols, shut; Ditto for account, 8.4 1;
India Bonds, 82 pm. ; Exchequer Bills, 55 7 pm.

Two o Clock.

Cons,)l3 have been much agitated, and prices have fluc-
tuated between Slif and 84i, they are now 81* again ;
Exchequer Bills have risen to 59 pin. ; In India Bonds
no alteration. Nothing of importance has taken place in
the Foreign Funds.

THREE 0' CL 0 CK.

Consols, 841, buyers.
FOUR o'CLOCK—CLOSING PRICES.
Consols Danish Bonds 6e-
Do. for Ac. 8411 Greek Do. 1825, 16i
Brazilian Bonds 584 Mexican D 5... 1825 69
Buenos- Ayres Do. 601 Peruvian Do.
Chilian Do. Russian Do. 924
Columbian, 1824, 31 Spanish Do. 11.71

after him for relief for his wife and child. Witness went
with him to Mr. Pugh's, Carnaby market. On being
asked whether the prisoner had said any thing
about a knife. The witness hesitated for some time, and
then said that he did not recollect.. He was taking a glass
of gin at Mr. Pugh's; and did not attend to it. Went to
Mr. Pugh's for a coat and hat for the prisoner. He had
10e. of Mr. Pugh to put into his pocket until he could get
work. He got a coat and Lat of Mr. P. Witness left
him in Oxford-road. He said that he was going to
Barnet. Prisoner said nothing more, but shook hands
and bid each other good night. Did, not see him again till
he saw him in Newgate. . Prisoner had been married
about five weeks. His wife had had a child two or three
months before they were married. Her name was Beadle
before she was married. She had gone by that name pre-
vious to her marriage.
Cross-examined by Mr. CLARKSON—Had had no ac-
quaintance with her himself, but only knew that she had
gene by that name, by report. Prisoner had been, up to
that time, a dutiful son. He had been a humane, hard-
working, and well-conducted lad.
n (On leaving the Court, this witness shook hands over
the bar with his son, and both burst into tears. The
prisoner, till this time, had been unmoved, but he now hid
hieface in his handketchief, and sobbed like a child.)
Robert Davis, the officer of Lambeth-street police—Went
to the prisoner's room after Dalton, and gave the same
description of it. He found a fustian coat on the floor,
towards the back of the room, opposite the window.
It had blood upon it. (It was here produced, and
caused an universal shudder throughout the Court.)
The blood was on both sleeves, and on the front,
the sleeve was soaked, and other parts splashed; knew the
prisoner before this happened ; had seen him often, and
observed his dress ; had seen him wear such a cent as the
one produced ; had seen the prisoner- two or three days
before the 10th May ; could not say what-sort of coat he
had then ; bad even him wear such a coat about- a week
before. Witness had marked the coat, and locked it
up in the Police Office, and it was the same; look-
ed at the child's head as it was on the table, and exa-
mined it; found a mark on it, a sort of dent, and a little
bruise on the front of the scull. In consequence of instruc-
tions, witness went in pursuit of the prisoner, and found
him at a farm-house called "the Lane House," in Radnor.
shire, in Wales. It was on Thursday the 17th May. He was
in the lower room of the house in the chimney corner.
Had searched the same house at three o'clock on the
morning of the same day; could not find him then, but
found him at a little .before ten o'clock in the morning.
When the prisoner saw witness, he said, " Oh, Davis,
is that you will go away. with you." Wit-
ness took him to an inn in Penny pond ; took
him to Radnor; while taking him there heard an old
lady, who appeared to be the landlady of the house, say to
the prisoner, " In God's name, how could you do such a
cruel thing ?" Prisoner replied. "It was not God, it was
the devil." When on the road from the farm house to
Penny Bond, witness asked him how he came to be guilty
of such a thing, and he did not give me any answer. Wit-
ness told him,. when be had . got out of the
farm-house, that 'he . took him in custody on
suipicion of murder. He eaid, "Very well, Mr.,Davis."
That was before the landlady said anything to him. At
Kingston; Herefordshire, witness saw the prisoner change
his shirt ;
.the shirt was bloody.; it was stained with blood
on the left sleeve and on the, breast ; it seemed:to have been
worn a long time ; did not, during the journey, make any
threats or promises. Witness heard him say, " Oh, mji
poor mother, when. she knows I'm taken, it will break her
heart."

Cross-examined by Mr. CLARICBOI4.—Is not the only
person who keeps the key of the closet at this office.
Re.examined.—Had put his name on the jacket when
he locked it up.
James Pugh lived at Carter's Yard, Carnaby-street. On
the May the elder Sheen came to his house for ten
shillings, a coat, and hat, which he took. The son came
in about ten minutes after—then stood at the door, when
the old man came in. The prisoner had the coat and
hat. Witness lent the 10s. to the old man. Prisoner then
came in with the coat and hat on which he had borrowed.

Prisoner's father had said that the prisoner had been
quarrelling with some Irishmen, and had stabbed one of
them ; witness asked him what he had done with the knife
which he had struck the Irishman with ; he gave it to
witness, and told him to burn it, for God's sake. Wit-
ness threw the knife on the sink.

The next morning witness gave the knife to Mr.
Dickinson, the officer. Had known the father,. but had
never seen the son before in her life, but could now swear
that it was the' prisoner.
W. Dickinson, a patrol, received the knife from the last
witness, which he now produced. Every eye was now on
the stretch to get a eight of this instrument, which was a
common claip pocket knife, quite clean.
Mr. CLARKWA requested permission of the Bench to
ask Janet Pugh if there was any blood upon the knife,
when given to her ? She replied that there was not ; it
was in the same state as at present.
' Horace Smith, beadle, saw the head of the child.
Op the back part of the head the skin was very much
notched. Consider.ed that it had been cut off at the upper
joint of the neck at the back of the head. Witness be-
lieved that the heUd could have been taken off by that knife.
Crass-examined: by Mr. CLARKSON—Examined it on
the Friday, and again on the Saturday
_ _

Re-ezamined..—Theie was saw-dust on the head on th•
Saturday.
Sarah Pomeroy recalled.—Re-examined by Mr. Ban-
Dratcx—Had heard the child called " William."

John Sutton produced the baptism and register in which
the child was baptised as William Charles Beadle.
_ _

Mr. CLARKSON submitted that there was not evidence of
identity offered to prove that the child mentioned in the in-
dictment, was the same which had been murdered. The
name in the indictment was "Win. Sheen," when the register
proved, that it was William Charles Beadle ;" conse-
quently, no identity was proved, as the register was evidence
that it was Willam Charles Beadle.

Mr. BRODERICK contended, that it was sufficient for the
deceased to have gained a name by reputation, even if it
were not proved according to the register.
Mr. Justice flocaoyn, however, consulted hie brother
Judges, and gave it as hie opinion that the objection was
fatal to the present indictment. The prisoner must there-
fore be detained till another indictment could be formed.

The Jury being asked by the Clerk of the Court to
deliver a verdict of not guilty, the Foreman seemed in
doubt and observed that if they were compelled to find a
verdict of " Not Guilty," they must do so. But they
would not do it on any other account than a point of law.
The Learned Judge then explained that he was as sorry as
themselves, that the indictment was not effectual.—
It could, however, be remedied by a new indictment.
which should be prepared directly. The prisoner would
still be amenable, and would be,detained in custody. The
twelve Judges would set any other verdict aside.

The Burp then returned their verdict of " Not guilty of
killing, as laid in the indictment."

The prisoner was removed from the bar, exhibiting a
stupid sort of surprise at the proceedings.
The witnesses were then bound over to appear again,
and a bill is to be presented to the Grand Jury imme-
diately.

THE MARKETS.-(THIS DAY.)
CORN-EXCLIANGE.
The supplies of all kinds of Grain this week are moderate,
owing chiefly to the boisterous and contrary state of the wind.
Wheat continues dull at Monday's prices. Barley remains no.
mina]. there being scarcely a sample at market. Beans and
Pease amtinue heavy in sale. Oats of sweet quality maintain
the terms last quoted. other sorts sell very heavily. In Flour
no alteration.

ARRIVALS.
Wheat. Barley. Oats. flour.
English
Irish ---, - 900 --.-
Foreign ASO 1,190 4,600 -