Star.
London, England, 1822-06-26 00:00:00

(Mr. Peel) at best but a speech in mitigatiob of pu-
nishment, founded' on his good intentions. But he
thought the Lord Advocate had set an example
highly injurious, he had given encouragement to the
circulation of a paper which contained a series of abo-
minable paragraphs, the tendency of which was to
barbarize all our political diseuenons--(Hear, hear).
The Right Hon. Gentleman hid asked, what would
be the fate of an official man who* should be obliged
to read all the paragraphs of a Newspaper? I.le
would say, whether official or not, he should be sorry
to have to read them, having so little time; but if he
had subscribed money secretly, he should have thought
it hisYuty to have looked a little at the paragraphs
(even as a private man) once in eight months; but in'
the case of the Public Prosecutor of Scotland; who
had suffered a battery which he had assisted, uncon-i
sciously he would say, to erect, to be playing con-
tinually against the character of every man and
woman at all suspected of being disagreeable to any
member of his Majesty's Government, was a gross in-
stance of misconduct in a public officer, and a case
which loudly called for Parliamentary inquiry (Hear).
The inquiry which was called for implied no censure
on the conduct of the Learned Lord; it might be that
the result of it might be a vote of thanks to the Learned
Lord, and sincerely did he hope it would terminate in
a manner the most agreeable to him whatever the
decision of the House might be, it would not'be
ditable to the Learned Lord to be delivered from the
weight of such a charge .by a refusal to inquire—
(Hear, Hcar).—The Right Hon. Gentleman had said,
that from the notice the case of Borthwick •was 'one
which the House was not prepared to enter upon.—
lie (Sir James Mackintosh) hardly thought more
distinct notice necessary, since there had not been
a.iy case in Scotland, from the time ef-the
Rebel-
lion in 1745, which had excited more universal `in-
terest; after an imprisonment of 70 days, charged
with a capital felony, he is set at liberty—(Hear).-
1 he proceeding by the Public Prosecutor against one
the partners of a Paper which he had supported;
but which of them? Why, he who betrays the
,‘ secrets of the prison house"—he who had impeached
his accomplices--who could say that such a case was'
not included in the notice? And he would put it to
the House, whether it was not more for the interest
of pulic justice that the House should inquire, than to
pass it over—whether they ought not to put a stop to
the tide of private slander, or risk, by their silence,
the perpetuation of that detestable system ?—(Hear).,
• The Mai quis cf. LONDONDERRY expressed al
hope that the House would allow him to state his
.te.,v of the subject, and he promised to keep closer
to the argument than the Hon. and Learned Gentle-
man had done. The lion. Gentleman had called
upon the House to form a Committee of Inquiry,
upon three heads: the first related to the Clyderdak
Journal and the Beacon; the second was the trans-
action in which Sir Alexander Boswell seas concerned;
the third head the Hon. Member did not pledge him-,
self to be able to prove. It might be asked why this
motion was made at a period of the Session when it
was impossible to enter upon inquiry? The fact was,
the. Hon. and Learned Gentleman had not come for-
ward in time, and his whole object must be defeated.
Viltat were the grounds on which he had chosen to
call for inqitir) ? The House would not go into in-
quiry to see what might come out with respect to the.
Correspondent, because the Lord Advocate had said
lit knew nothing of it. The Hon. and Learned Gen-
tleman had stated that he did not want to condemn
the Lord Advocate, bat to promote inquiry. It was
no small punishment to put an individual under the
examination of a Committee of that House, and more
especially when the individual was already before a
tribunal of the country. After all, the Lord Advo-
elite was not implicated in the transaction with respect
to Sir A. Boswell beyond suspicion. It was not sug-
gested that the Lord Advocate ought to have taken
any legal steps in his official situation against these
jaurnah. There was no seditious libel, which was
the only one the Lord Advocate was legally, capable
of prosecuting—(Hear).—The law was open to in-
dividuals to obtain redress, and there was not an
instance of the power of the Lord Advocate having
been denied where it was applied for—(Hear, hear).
The Noble Marquis had been told of libels in the
Beacon and Cldesdak Journal, but had never seen
the alleged libels. He was, with respect to any know-
ledge on that subject, a oomplete s.ecvt of white paper
—(A laugh)—lt was a little too much to ask the
-House to criminate. the Lord Advocate, without
having seen one word .of the libels. The Hon. Gen-
tleman ought to have laid on the table all the Jour-
nals containing the calumny. The Hon. and Learned
Gentleman bad levelled the thunderbolts of his elo-
quence at the Journals in question. He had not seen
•them, but whatever their colour might be, the Lord
Advocate was certainly not responsible for what ap-
peared in these Papers. He understood the elides-
dee Journal, like the Morning Chronicle, which the
Hon. and. Learned Member had often praised, was a
Paper of fair character. What the character of the
Sentinel was he did not know ; but it was too much
to make the Lord Advocate responsible for what
it contained. The Beacon.did not always liar the
character which the Honourable. Member had given
• it. -Tile stupidity of that Journal was at one time
• particularly remarkable. His Learned Friend de-
-flied all calumny in those Papers, as far as he could.
.Ile was induced, when the country was in a bad state
in consequence of the effects of the Radical Press, to
subscribe for a Loyal Paper, which was to oppose
argument to argument. To ight, therefore, the game
of the Press and correct libels, rasher than punish by
prosecution. If the Paper turned out bad, was the
Lord Advocate to be responsible? If every one in a
public situation was to be called on to answer charges
of this kind, no man could be safe--(Hear)—lnquiry
would answer no purpose but to throw suspicion and
calumny oo the Lord Advocate. The Noble filar ix!
hat no difficulty in deciding with his Right
Friend, that- the Lord Advocate's charmer 'amid
without reproach—(Hears hear). It woad have base
discreet if the Lord Advocate bad kept' himself
from the Pa —1 hear)—kit awe was
thing which att to his character. As a man
lawyer, none could stand higher. In case the.
motion had applied to a political opponent, the Noble
alas could lay his band on his heart, as an honest
and say be would not have supported it.—(Hear.)
LOCKHART agreed with the Noble Lord in dank.*
nothing appeared • which touched • the character of the
Learned Lord at a Gentleman or a man, bet whew Its saws of
nor as a cunsuiudonal lawyer' to that be awl aims—

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