Star.
London, England, 1801-02-13 00:00:00

IMDITION TO ETRIOL.

Lord HAWRESIURY wilbed to know whether
the Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Stun) who had given
notice of a motion relative to the Expedition to
Ferrol, for this day, had any objeetion to Rpone
it to next Thurfday, as a Right Hon. Friend (.1
his was unable to attend ?

Mr. &roar confented to poilpone it to the day
mentioned by the Noble Lord : but declared he
could not again put it off for any reafonwhatever.

IGYPT.
Mr. Jour, poltponed his motion relative to
Egypt, which flood for Tucfday next, until this
day fortnight.

STATE OT THE NATION.

Mr. 'Filial' ZY inforned the Houle, that his Hon.
Friend, whofe motion relative to the State of the
Nation Rood for Monday next, would not bring
it forward till Monday fe'nnight.

COLD-LATH-FIELDS
Colonel ELPOSD was proceeding to comment
upon the Ratement given by an Hon. Baronet
(Sir F. B. Jones) on a preceding evening, relative
to the harnt treatment of a pri(oner in the above
prifon, when he was interrupted by
The Sr EAR ta, who wifbed to know if the Hon.
Member intended to make any motion upon the
fubjee, as his obfervations would be otherwife ir-
regular.
Colonel ELroao faid, if it was confidereil irre-
gular for him to adduce any remarks upon the
Statement of the Hon. Baronet, without making a
motion, he would make a motion, in order that
he might comment as he wifhed, upon what he
conceived to be a mifreprefentation.
The S re A K ra obferved, that if the Hon. Mem-
ber meant to make a motion, he had undoubtedly
a right to be heard; but he would put it to, the
candour of the Hon. Gentleman, whether it was
pea-sally fah w malt mention merely for the
purpofe of giving his remarks to the Houfe ?
Colonel Exroari then proceeded to comment
upon what had been Rated by the Hon. Baronet
(Sir F. B. Jones) on a former evening, relative to
the fuppofed cruel treatment of one Hudfon, a
prifoner in Cold-bath-fields Prifon. He Paid, that
in confequence of what the Hon. Baronet had
Rated to the Houle, he went himfelf on the follow-
ing day to the Prifon, and made a minute inquiry
into the particulars contained in the Ratement of
the Hon. Baronet. He then entered into a detailed
account of the circumfiances be had colleficd, re-
lative to the reported ill-treatment of Hudfon, Rat-
ing, he had examined the Governor, the two per-
Cons whom the Hon. Baronet had mentioned as bis
allMants, Hudfon himfelf, and the Surgeon who
attended him—from the latter of whom, whore
Ratement, as Hudfon admitted him to be a kind
and good-natured man, he particularly attended
to—he colleacd that the illnefs of Hndfon proceed-
ed merely from a cold, attended with a flight le% er,
and did not by any means originate from the wound
in his head, which he (Colonel Elford) examined,
and found to be very flight. It alto appeared
that the kale. which the Hon. Baronet alledged
to have occurred on Sunday lag, had taken place
above a fortnight ago, and that Hudfon had con-
tinued for &mil days afterwards regularly to eat
bis allowance ; and when be complained of foam

flight ;finer*, the Keeper propofed to bring
the Surgeon, which he rcfufed, Rating' that he had
no occalion for him. He alfo found that the blow
the Governor gave Hudfon was provoked by Com,
cruel treatment he with others had given to t of
his fellow prifoners, which, when the Govet nor per.
ceived, he ordered him to be locked up. Hudfon re-
filled the order, and from that the feu file arofe. He
(Sir W. Elford) few the mark ou the Prifoner, a
mere pimple, whkh, ofeourfe. had been cansid
his own bad condud. From there fads he drew a
coneltdion directly oppofite to that of the Hon. Ba.
meet, contending that Hudfon alone was to blame,
and that the Governor exereifed only a neceflitry
feverity. He did not, he faid, in the moll dillatit
manner, charge the Hon. Baronet with wilfiillv
inifreprefeating the cireumftances of the cafe tn.
the Houfe, bat he was of opii.ion the Hon. Bans.
net had haired his humanity to get the better of
his judgment, that he had too ealily believed the
factious and interefted affertions of Ruction, aunt
had thus come down to the Houfe with an ex pert,
flatement, which could only ferve to miflead and
deceive. Influenced by thefe confideratimu, and
walling that the public might be thoroughly fatic.
fied as to the truth or fallAood of what had been
publicly Rated relative to the Prifon in queftion, he
thought it neceffary to move, “ that the Governor
of the Cold-bath-fields Peifon be called before the
HonlN"
Mr. Wp. Pusoss feconded the motion,
Lord Haver ssuav complained of the motion
being !nought forward without any previous no-
tice, contending it sac the invariable pradiee of
'ha Houlb to gay!) a previous notice of any motion
which, like the prefent, required mature confidei-
ation and difcuffion.
Mr. WM. Du NRA s raid, he was convinced, from
what had fallen' from the Noble Lord, that the mo-
tion was not perfectly regular, and he would there-
tore withdraw his feconding.
The SPEAKES. obferved, It was the pradice of
the Houle for Members to give previous notice of'
any motion requiring elifeuffion ; but if the prefent
was fecouded, it mutt of courfe be difpofed of.
Sir FKANCIS BVitraTT begged leave to fecund
the Motion, for it was gaining a Rep towards
that inveftigation which he had diligently prole-
cnted for two years pall. He thanked the Hon.
Mover for his fpeech, and the fads he had pro-
duced, although they did not in the flighted man-
ner touch upon the cafe he had brought fens-arch
Who were the perfons who had give n the Hon. Mem-
ber all his information refpeihng the tranfadion
Were they not the very perfons ace aced of the fhock-
ing barbarity which he offered to prove had been
pradifed ? Was this infamous Governor, who war a
difgrace to thofe who held him in office, fufficicnt
evidence in his own caufe, and who had found rheto.
ric enough to convince the Hon. Gentleman that he
was not guilty f The other two perfons named as
authorities,likewife,are two wretches, who are kept
in boarded rooms with fires, faring fumptuoufly,
is comparifon to their fellow prifoners, who in this
inclement feafon are lodged in damp none cells,
and fed on bread and water; and for what ? That
they may be fpies on the others,and who find it their
interell to cringe to, and fupport the affertions of
their gaoler, at the expence of thole unhappy mot
who Ell underhis difpleafure,andfeelthe oppreun
of his tyranny. An Honourable Magiftrate, and
a Member of this Houk, had with lumfelf vifited
this abode of wretchednefs, mifery, and cruelty,
and they were )hewn into a clean room with 4
fire in it; and the Governor came to them with
great readinefs to give every information, of-
fered his book for istrpe6tion, and gave them pens
and ink ; but he (Sir F. B.) was not fatisfied with
filch information. But to return to the Rory—it did
not differ in any effintial part from that which he
had delivered formerly to the Houfe. The Gover-
nor had acknowledged his own barbarity ; he had
confeffed that he had beat this man; and could it
be allowed in a country in which a fpxk of huma-
manity or juftice remains, that a Gaoler (hall be
allowed thus to maltreat, beat, or murder 1....f0r
he fhould on a future day prove that murders
had been committed on the perfons in his
cullody. Even allowing that the prifoner had
really (truck the Governor, what dreadful ufage
mull he have received, before he could be.
come defperate enough to commit fuch a rails
Rep Infanity alone, produced by the molt
barbarous ufage, could have prompted him to
ffrike fuch a Gaole ras Aris l He (Sir Francis
Burdett) had yeaerday examined Thomas Han.
bury, the Governor's fpy, whom he found to be
an ignorant man, neceffstated to ad as the
Governor prefcribes ; but he got from him the real
matter of fad. An Honourable Member had
been the preceding day examining him like:
wife, but had not received the fame information.
" I afked (faid Sir F. B.) the reafon why he had
not told the Gentleman who was there the pre-
ceding day the fame (tory as he now told nu ?"
He anfwcred, ; don't know—l told him all
I was allied—he did not wait long—he foon went
away." If fuch was the manner that Gentlemen
meant to acquire information into fads, they might
as well Cave themfelves the trouble of going about
the bufinefs at all. It was not by warming their
fingers at Governor Aris's fire, and Acing a few
flight quellions of ignorant men, and thole in-
termed in hiding fads, that Gentlemen were to
learn the barbarities pradifed in Cold-Bath-Fields.
I would, and I have propofed, and am now ready'
(faid Sir F. B.) to give up my time to the inveffiga-
tion of this bufinefs. The Secretary of Sate libelled
mycharacter throughout the country—the pri-
e of a Member of Parliament was attacked
in my perfon—orders were given not to admit my
vifiu to that goal ; and for what ? Becaufe, as an
independent Member of Parliament, I ftepped
forward to perform my duty, to refeue the wretch-
ed from misfortuhe, and my country from the
famyever attendant on the practice of national inhu-
manity."—(4 cry sf beer Ivor I) It was not, how-
ever, the obloquy call upon him by men in power, it
was not the orders of the Lord Lieutenant, that
fhould deter him from hisduty cry olives! hear!):
He had perfifted, fruidefsly indeed hitherto, io
his endeavours to drag this Golder to jullice, and •
to render the Ricans not the difgrace of the coun-
try ; but uo threats, no [Under, thould compel

I,inhid
)rn,

pm to defift. until he had itecomplithed his
wifties. Knowing, indeed, the order of the Lord
Lieutenant againft his admiffion, he had not
till yefterday ventured to attempt an entrance;
err it could be no agreable circumstance to him,
or an Member of that Houfe, to receive proteet-
• tilt from a gaoler. Yefterdiy, however, he
did go, in company with other members, and he
found all the Itatement he had made on a former
night verified.. He had feen a handkerchief fleep-
ed in the blood which iftued from the flight fear,
the pimple, the Hon. Gentleman had ken on the
face of Hudfon ; and he was extremely happy that
the other fide of the Houfe had at length thought
it time to inveftigate this fubjed, and he molt hear-
tily feconded the motion.
The SPEAKER obferved, the motion he held in
hi, hand did not appear to him to be perfeelly re-
gular. Inftead of being called before the. Houfe,
he thought the motion ought to have been to order
the Governor of Cold-bath-fields Prifon toattend the
Houk on a certain day, for Tome fpecific purpofe.
Colonel ELFOILD wifhed, as the motion was
thought irregular in the manner of its being brought
before the Houle, and informal in itfelf, to have
leave of the Nonce to withdraw it.
The SPEAKER raid, it could not be withdrawn
without the content of the Honourable Baronet
who feconded it.
Sir FRANCIS BURDETT pofitively refuted to give
his content.
Mr. Ryon Paid, he had entertained a hope that
the motion would be withdrawn in confequence of
its extreme irregularity; as that hope, however,
was now at an end, 'and as he thought it highly
improper to difcufs a motion of ibis nature with-
out any previous notice, and without the oppor-
tunity of forming a juft and deliberate opinion
upon the queftion, he felt it incumbent upon him
to move the previous queftion.
Mr. HosHoo se admitted that it might have
been more proper to have given previous notice
of a motion of this nature,but the motion had ori-
ginated with the Honourable Baronet on the
other fide of the Houle. If there was any depar-
ture from the eftablifhed praltice of the Houfe, it
belonged not to his Honourable Friend, (Sir F.
B. Jones). He would advife his Honourable
Friend, who had fo long and fo laudably endea-
voured to bring this fubjed more immediately be-
fore the Houfe, not to content to the abandon-
ment of this motion. He fhould certainly fup.
port the propofition for bringing,the Gaoler to the
Bar of the Houfe, as the belt mode of coming to
the truth of the affair, at leaft one Rep towards it,
which he would with to be followed by another
motion, to bring the other parties forward, and by
enlarging the enquiry, enable the Houfe corn.
pletely to afcertain the truth on a fubjea which
had fo much occupied public converfation. The
condua of the Gaoler he was juftified, from the
report of the Committee of the Houfe, and the
inveffigation of the Magiftrates, in pronouncing
extremely exceptionable, and that was good ground
for a prefumption againfi him on the particular
queftion before the Houk. He rejoiced in the
opportunity which offered on this occafion fully
to probe this bufiners. It concerned the charader
of the Honk, and the adminifiration of jufticc,
to perfevere in the motion for enquiry ; the im-
portance of the cafe demanded that the evidence
Ihould be examined by a Committee of the whole
Hotife..
The SPIAIER fubmitted whether the mode is
which this motion was propofed was not incon-
fi Rent with the general forms of the Houfe ?
When the attendance of any man at the Bar was
defired as an evidence, was it not ufual to precede
inch motion with a refolution, upon which fuch
evidence might be neceffary ? He fabmitted it
to the candour and confideration of the Honour-
able Baronet, who feconded the motion, whether
a different mode of proceeding from that then be-
fore the Houk, would not more completely anfwer
his purpofe ?
Sir F. B. Jonas was not unwilling to fubmit to
the fenfe of the Houfe.
Mr. Hosmouse was of opinion, that before the
motion which his Honourable Friend had feconded
thould be withdrawn, it would be necerary, in
point of form, firft to withdraw that for the pre-
vious queftion.
Mr. Reim thought the Houfe fbould firh con-
tent to his withdrawing his motion.
Sir F. B. Jonas faid;he had fo long ineffedually
Itruggled to bring the conduet of Governor Aris
before the Houk, that if the motion before the
lioufe was not irregular, he (hould be happy in
its adoption. Had he introduced any motion re•
fpei!hng that Gaoler, it would have been that the
Scijeant at Arms should take him into cuftody,
and that the Monte fhould refolve itfelf into a
Committee to inveftigate his condua.
Sir V,' i L Liam GRA d?fapproved of the original
motion, and exprefted his refolution to fupport
that for the previous queftion.
Mr. MARTIN declared his furprife, that though
the mifeondua of this Gaoler Teemed almoft um.
verfally admitted, and though all the inquiries
which had been inftituted relpeeting it prefented
fads againft him, he had Rill been Tuffered to re.
Lain the fituation. He knew not with whom the
power of appointing or removing a Gaoler for
Coldbath-fields Prifon rehed, but he would not heti-
tate to pronounce it a fcandal to the Government
of the Country, and difrefpeetful to the feelings of
the Public, that fuch a man had not been difnuffed
Irons the office.
Mr. PIACITAL confidered it irrevlar to prers a
motion of fuch a nature as that of the Honourable
Colonel.--It certainly could have little operation
to promote the °Ned: of thofe by whom it was
fupported. He would a& the Honourable Gen-
tleman whether, if Governor Aris was at the Bar
for examination, they would rely on any Rawer
be fbould make refpeaing his own alledged mil-
condud ? could the Houle tweet or look for re-
plies from ar.y man to criminate himfelf? He dif-
approved of the views and arguments of thofc
who were difpored torfift in the motion, and
thould therefore vote for the previous queftion. '
Mr. Hosmou se denied that it was inslifpenfibly
necefary, though ufual, to give previous notice
of any motioo, however important.

Mr. FIOWARb thought the Timmer in WhichL
the Gentlemen on the other fide had aged
rather unfair towards his Honourable Friend
(Sir F. B. Jones). The Honourable Member
who brought forward the motion, averred that
he propofed it merely to procure the liberty
of making a fpeech in anfwer to that of his
Honourable Friend on a former day; and when
the fpeech of the Honourable Baronet oppofite
was finithed, a Noble Lord (Hawke(bury) rofe
to fay the motion was irregular without a pre-
vious notice, and the Gentleman who feconded
it, influenced by the fentiments of that Noble
Lord, repented, and revoked his fupport of the
motion, which it was now attempted to get rid
of altogether by the previous queition. He con-
feffed he faw more of ingenuity than candour in
fuch contrivance.

Lord HAVIRISEVIT defended himfelf againft
the charge of unTairnefs. He was not, he laid,
lefs averfe to the motion at the commencement
than at the conclufion of the Honourable Baronet's
fpeech, and the ,teafon was, becaufe he thought
Gentlemen fhould not be fuffered to take the
Houle by furprife on fubjeas of the utmolt im-
portance, by bringing forward motions without the
ufual notice. The precedent would be improper,
and he therefore had oppofcd it.
Mr. W. DUNDAI did not conceive it by any
means difhonourable to plead guilty to the charge,
that he was induced by the arguments of the No-
ble Lord before him to withdraw his Yupport of
the motion of his Honourable Friend. tie was
influenced by a proper confideration of the fupe-
rior knowledge that Noble Lord had of the rules
and forms of the Houfe. It was complained that
his Honourable Friend fhould attempt to make a
fpeech when no queftion was before the Houfe,
but no fuch complaint was urged when the Ho-
nourable Baronet, on the oppofite fide, on the
fame fubjeet, occupied the Houle with an account
drawn up by Goo knows who, and having no
mark of authenticity about it.
Mr. PIER/11.01NT eenfured, in very Itrong
terms, the condull and charafter of the Gaoler of
Coldbath-fields Prifon, who ought, he faid, to be
held up to public execration.
Sir WILLIAM ELLIOT prefented the Report of
the Lords Commiflioners of the Admiralty former-
ly given into the Privy Council refpeeting his Ma-
jetty's Dock-yards.—Ordered to lie on the Table.
—Adjourned till Monday.