Star.
London, England, 1801-05-14 00:00:00

PALIAMINTART P.ROCzsDhvGS.

HOUSE OF LORDS, WEDNESDAY, MAY 13.

SCOTCH APPEALeCOIIafeI were heard in a
<Auk, wherein Stewart Menzies, of Culdares, in
the county of Perth, an infant, by the Honour-
able Henry Etikine, his guardian, is appellant,
and Mrs. Elizabeth Mackenzie Beresford, wife of
John Claudius Beresford, of the city of Dublin, is
refpondent.—Ordercd to proceed on Friday next.
DIVORCES.

The Order of the Day refpeeting Cope's Di-
vorce Bill being read, the Counfel for the petition.
er appeared at the bar, and Raied to their Lord-
ihips the with of the party that leave might be
given to withdraw the Bill. On this application,
The LORD CHANCELLOR exprt fled his difappru.
batioa of the conduit of the parties concerned,
with repel to the Bill in queftion, and which he
felt it his duty, with a reference to the honour of
the Houfe and the purity of its proceedings, as well
as to the general intereft of the morals of the
country, not to let it pars without animadverflon.
Itillead of complying with the requeft of the party
to have the Bill withdrawn, he would move, that
the Bill be rejected.
The Earl of RADNOR conceived, that on the oc-

cation of Divorce Bills, the attendance of fome

Law Officer, properly qualified, was neceffary.—
' He inftanced the cafes of Claims for Peerage,
where the Attorney or Solicitor General conflant-
ly attended on the part of the Crown, in order to
fee that the interefts of that branch of the Legit
lature were not trenched upon, as well as to affiff, if
neceffary, the Houfe in its deliberations. He
thought that the affiftance of fomc profeffional per-
foe, on fuch creations as that in queftion, would
be attended with goon effects ; and who, by invef-
tigating the circumfiances of the cafe, and report-
ing his opinion of the fame, would be an addition.
al fecprity to the Houfe, that nothing improper for
their Lordthips to entertain, or objeftionable in
the points of view alluded to by the Noble and
Learned Lord, thould path unnoticed.
The Logo CoasicELLoa alfo fuggelled the pro-
priety on fuch cecalions, where applications were
made to the Sheriff's Court, of appointing fome
perfon of competent legal knowledge to affift that
officer on the trial of fuch cafes.
Lord Tit IILOW tbortly delivered his fentirnents
upon the proceedings in quettion. He feemed tb
agree in what had fallen from the Noble Lords
who had juft fpoken.—The queftion was then put
for the rejedion of the Bill, which was inftantly
carried in the affirmative.
The Order of the Day refpeCting Campbell's Di-
vorce Bill, was then read : when
Lord Ayr AAAAA obferved, that a decided inter-
pofition on the part of the Legiflature was necef-
fary to check thefe radices conneled with Di-
vorces, which, he was lorry to perceive, were, at
the rate they were going on here, likely to bring
the country in thofe refpeets into as wretched a ti-
tuation as were the inhabitants of Paris at the worn
periods of the Revolution. His Lordflup then
touched upon the leading circumflances of Mrs.
Campbell's cafe, which he reprobated, as one of
very flagrant aggravation. The tendency of what
he had to propote in the prefent in fiance, agreeably
to the notice he had given, was, that the thould re-
ceive no advantage from her criminal condul,
but be obliged to remain in a fimilar Rate as far
as the reftriftion would apply, to that the would
have been in were her conduit unimpeachable.—
It was to prohibit her from contracting any fccond
marriage during the life-time of her prefent huf-
band, Dr. James Campbell. With yelped to the
point of prohibiting her, particularly with refped
to the adulterer, he would not then touch upon it,
conceiving it to be unneceffiry, as well as his under-
'landing that the parties were within the forbidden
degrees—what he now propofed did not involve the
general principle upon which, though that Houfe
had decidedly declared in its favour, the other
Houfe of Parliament thought proper to reject, nor
did it affimilate to that fpecial claufe which their
Lerdfhips were lately pleafed to difapprove of.—
All that his propolition would require was, that
Mrs. Campbell thould not be permitted to enter
into that facred Wale which the had fo feandaloully
difgraced, heft,' e the period in which the thould be
able to do fo, had her condu& remained aridly
proper and virtuous. His Lordtbip then moved,
that a claufe be added to the Bill, to the effeft of
prohibiting Mrs. Jelle Campbell from contracting
any fecond marriage during the life-time of her
Paid huthand, James Campbell.
The Earl of Rossiya feconded the Motion.
Lord MULORAVI obferved, that no pef fon, on
that an occatlon, ever came with leis pretenfions
to the indulgence of that Houfe than did die wo-
man in quettion ; or. this, he conceived, there could
not exitt two opinions in the Houfe, neither could '
there be entertained the kali idea, that any man
thould be fo depraved in mind, fo poor in fpirit, or
fo weak in underftanding, as to be found capable
of marrying fuch a woman ; but it was not with
a reference to either of there confederations that
the propoßtion of the Noble Lord thould be con.
fidered ; it way, as to the effeft it would produce,
which, he contended, would be to introduce a
, principle in Legiflation with refped to Divorces,
which both Houfes of Parliament bad on different
occafions decided in the negative. He did not
think an argument in favour of the Claufe could
be urged, under the impreflion of the bafenefs of
Mss. Campbell's conduit ; that carried a kind of
prevention within itfelf ; and, with refpeft to any
apprehenfion of her marrying her companion in
criminality, the Houle would recoiled, there at
prefent esifted a bar to that. He obferved, ano-
ther objection to agreeing to the Noble Lord's
Classic was. that it would in a great degree go to
Ore-judge the other Bill. If the view was to pre-
ferve human nature in general from the corrup-
;ions of Mrs. Campbell, why not reftrain her from
marrying through life ? In fad, his Lordtbip
obferved. it was introducing the lately rejeeted
rinciOe by a tide wind, and rather going farther,
as this was a general prohibition, and the liefat-
tempt was only at a pardid reftridinn. With refpc
to the point of the parties being within the degrees