The Sun.
London, England, 1818-03-12 00:00:00

Commission tit 'VOA, in tile year 1-812. le spent
0n to contend, that none of the other witnesses
Ivho had been 'the cause dithe consictiOes were
afterwards in the least personal &meet. ; and as
circemstances could not have varied since 1.812,
be argued that it was perfectly easy t protect the
Persons attempted to be screened by this Bill, with-
out any such measure. He then instanced another
case since, where 100 witnestea had sworn against
the lives of the prisoners, and afterwards went to
their homes without the least molestation. At
Derby, also, there were witnesses to the amount
wiof some hundreds, of whom 30 or 40 were exa-
ned, and no danger had resulted to them. It
as in vain then to say, that because an itnagin-
.arY danger was in contemplation, that a Bill
ought to be passed, setting aside all laws, and
holding out indemnity to all descriptions of per.
sons. It then rested nu the Gentlemen opposite
to slim what made it now, for the first time,
itn-
Possible for honest men, who had only discharged
their duty, to produce their names, without clan-
er to their lives ? Much stress had beet) laid on
the question, why what was asserted to be known
111 the conduct of Oliver at the opeeingot the last
"Session had been kept back ? He would give an
ansWer to this that would set the matter at rest.
Zit Was only within the last three or four weeks
it became safe for people to tell these sto-
jiet"• Until within this time, the Habeas Corpus
1 was suspended, and persons who had pre-
-utile(' '0 speak eta such a subject might have been
tt!inneitted to prison for an indefinite length of
; while those who made themselves the cue-
of Mr. Oliver, were exactly those persons
sons were apprehended. Ilrbet did it signify whe-
ther it was on Oliver's oath or not, as long as it
Ivits known that he was in close cominuoication
With esty'e
j
hislta Government, and a sort of Fa-
o liar In the Office of the Right lieu. Gentleman
17Posite ? It should be recollected that till the last
LePort it was not known but what it was Oliver's
~,21agie oath that had been- the cause of all the corn-
I'Vrneuts that had taken place from the country.
1.1Y6Y, then, were the people to put themselves in
titnation of being ruined and destroyed by this
csereant's breath passing over them, and polka-
:l4,l fur ear. of the Noble Secretary of State ? This
,43 110 imaginary case, but one that had already
`e'irr in fact. It was the case of Scholes,
ecaC,..
svllell hail already come before the House. He
p„ s exactly in the same situation, and had suffer-
IT because lie bad threatened to expose Oliver.
17. this he was arrested, imprisoned, and irre-
t'levahlv ruined in health and circumstances, as
filieared by most respectable testimony ; and all
tiee'nise he was too indignant to exercise precau-
);:`'n towards Oliver, and even presumed to threaten
I,!at•ln 48 hours afterwards he was taken from
;it home, and' thrown into a prison. Was this
r'i'ffling to such then as might know the past that
p 6
;leer took at the Horse Guards ? The honest,
i9ottgli humble imbviduals, who could have given
stvairetd 'l4 information, knew that the fate of Scholes
them, if they had done so. ResPectiiig
Xtire Petitions, he would first allude to that of
; he was certainly a disreputable person, but
Me-St t -.a.ernents persons condemned to die were
etedited hy rec. Noble Lord against Ward ; yet if
ieYIN,le such a i!eelarations with a hope of par-
!)11, how much less right had we to refuse to be-
11eve the dying declaration of others, at the (iso-
late; of execution, whets they knew they would
themselves nothing by their asseverations.
;vbut they were 110: to be believed, because they
ete convicted traitors, though their declare-
il4ls traced to Oliter the plats that had caused
declare-
-1 to stiffer death. The Petitions, there-
fare
-, ought not to be all centhumed as nowt-
'etitie• • lunworthy of credit. He there-
atet ant
the wished for a Committee to enquire into
..1) truth of them, though au Honourable Mein-
er
l '4 called on the House, in the name of truth and
el„ti,es to withhold all such inquiries, by which
(,:ee alone the truth cold be come at It was
o persons, and not he, ho stigmatised all
isistll,titittt es of that House. We had got to the
`jhtsaying, that any man who was unfortunate,
ikil,"l.Catlie a petitioner to that House, must be
deaf a ia'Postor ; therefore though they were boundeil wilbeg ear to petitions, they turned a
ear to them, crying out, pherisaically, we are
tlqr,t4P'esentatives of the People; we open our
14' to all petitions and complaints; but we shall
isildtt them will the assertion, that Wert! was a
fdltllllln. and therefore your petitions must be
t4te sod shall not be listened to. This was not
hatul'taY to shew that the House willingly stood he-
taq.,ll the Members and their Constituents, to lean
ihl" Power, and prove themselves the protectors
'tee': People. Hie Hon. Friend (Mr. Lambe)
tket'ehied that sedition and disaffection was ever
;tae,', 7, whatever might be the prosperity of the
~et(tit,.Y. He had said it existed inall the mantt-
,7enlag districts. But what would the Hon.
141 aNeri %vim represent the mtt
anufecturing con-
liis 4Y to this sweeping charge against them ?
;liti „vas a most foul and wanton charge against
ntanufacturers, who were represented as a
e, ttlen in whom no Government could con-
to46 Itild that there was a treasonable spirit not
Nill'nneti to the men but the places. So these two
f4;4 of subjects were always to be an object
Jeajov
te, .sy to Government, who are to consider
aate t t regards their allegiance, as rotten at the
,41,4 i The Hon. Gentleman's speech proved too
,Net Cl.
it proved that we bad outlived the good
,n(tt; '1" our loyalty, and instead of the Indeumity
"e ()tight to propose the continuance of the
fleet Act. He implores! the House to re-
tliet before they voted, to what kind of persons
}tort!, were tinkling out protection. It was to in-
ti4l;el's and spies, who were even loaded with his
4rii„,' Friend's contempt. He then entered into
IteiTiblorate defence of the opinions of Mr. Pon-
fere'rlYr with whom his mends had only one dif-
loQ, Jee, which was on the Report. He was too
eon td to destroy, by his Vole, the liberties of his
iheri,trY; because he knew that the more stormy
ley
mine
were, the more it behoved us to stick
imtne Constitution. But a plot was in demand,
g, ""t was found, aml Ministers continued in of-
. ft,i'r at the.expense of our liberties. It the House
I,,trits'ed the unconstitutional tootle of rushing
ii!'d() any measure, on the war-whoop of alarm,
:g if they were to rhos plume themselves on do-
Vtheir duty to their coustittients, they would
't
alt
foe r
an avowal that the Constitution was only
fair weather, and that Englishmen could