Star.
London, England, 1805-04-26 00:00:00

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mil
nsinine. of Nivel Inquiry lhould have "enraged IA
commit a perfon for refuting to anfwer an' sieftiees
'tending to atcufe bimfelf, the cninmon law.lietsid
harrier e.veiteve the man froth his imprifonnsee
the-perfue who committed him would be lie fr itul
a•tdon for'fahe imprifmtment. Were Mr. Witfo . to,
haie laid, I have exisofe.d myfelf to legal guftt. but
'let me explain the erreurnftances, rich' en avowal
wi•uld hae been entitled to the Fere of cals dOur,
but would not have retested Mm from the cottaquen-
,cea of having tranfgrened the law. Whit swoui4 the
,Houfc think if Mr. Wilfon had been difcherged frop
•his lituation upon the bare reputt of the Comma:Goo-
ers ? He was pet atacled,Viat there was not a mem-
ber in the Houfe who would not hare viewed it as
an set of exrretne and unwarrantable feverity. As to
the motion befute the Houfe, he thought it would be
. the Lee plan to deter the confideratton of it for a
iiilrt lihte.

Mr. ROSE wax of opinion that the difmilTal of
Mr. Wilton would be an at of great injuilice. He
recolleeted, when the diforiffal of two Gentlemen,
difurified in confequence of a report of a Commifflon
appointed by the lArown, at the inflance of both
Houfes of Parliament, created as much clamour,
and as Rrong cries of injullice in that Houfe, as
sser had been uttered within it. Thofe per tons (be
alluded to Meffrs. Bembridge and Powell) were or-
dered to be prolecuted ; pending the profecution,
one (if them died, and the other was afterwards
find and imprifoned. A minute of the proceedings'
was tranfmitted from the Treafury to the Paymafter
of the Forces, and' he was difcharged. Some time
after a change of Admioifiration took place, and he
was reflolisd to his former fituation. When that
rettoratioir became the fukiee of difculTion, in that
•Houfe, and a motion was made for his difiniffid, the
Hon. Gentleman on the oppofite Bench exclaimed,
with all•the fire aad eloquence that are pleuliar to
him, " Gracious Gno, will you penifir a man with.
out eargstiry ?" He well recollected the occafion, and
be recollected that the Hon.. Gentleman was as

anxious amd as eloquent as ever he had leen or heard
him upon any occafion. He thought his Honourable
Friend had unjufily fallen under the cenfure of the
Hon'. Gentleman.
-fir. FOX explained, and expreffed himfelf ready
to meet the Hon. Gentleman's attack whenever he
&mild 41)ufe to renew it.

'Sir CHARLES POLE underflood that the Right
Hon. Gentleman had limed, in a former debate, that
Mr. Wilftn had rati-faflorily accounted to the Com-
oriaGontrs of Naval Enquiry for declining to anfwer
thoquttlions which they had put to him. He could
attire the 'Houle that was Hot the fad. That per.
ton, fo far from anfwesing to the ratisfaaion of the
Cominifficners, had, as far as he could, dine every
thing to thWart the progreft of the enquiry in which
they were engaged. His ensidui9 merited that the
Commiffioners &mild have committed him, and, he
as one of that Board, took theme to histifelf for the
lenity they had (hewn him. It would be urelerstither
to continue that Comtnifflon; or to move for the
appointment' of others, for fimilar purports, if the
bill perflin in an office than refute to•anfwer, and
the feennd !hall be allowed to jutlify his refute! be-
cattle his ptincipal has done fo. When that Board
wifited ro obtain copies of paper: in the form they
thought m.iR likely to promote the (Netts of the Com-
iniffion, the Right Hon. the,Treafurer of the Navy
refuted to comply, until he bad called in and taken
advise from the ingenuity of his Majelly's Attorney
, General.

Mr. CANNING had never Laid that the Commif-
fioners of Naval Enquiry bad profited themfelves
fatisfied with Mr. Wilton, although •he could not
help being of npinitra that they had rearm to be Co.
Whets that Gentleman wrote to them, offering an ex-
_planation to tome points of his evidence, they re.
tufa to receive it. Did they report all•the evidence
of Mr. Wilton; He willed for an aniwer aye or no.—
No saws: having been made to this quaint', twice
repeated,
Mr. PLUMER rote, and laid, he mull ohjed to
that unparliamentary mode of proceeding. It was
sot allowable, that the Right Hon. Member Should
call upon any Gendcman for his anfwer in Out pe-
remptory mode.
Mr. CANNING again reverting to his quellion,
Sir C. Pol.& talc!, Aye ; he next wilted to know,
whether they had reported the whole of the corref
pondence, which he, as Treafuter of the Navy, had
with them ; that, however, could be eaSily afcer-
tained, as it was his intention to move for copies of
it to-morrow.

Sir C. POLE raid, that to the fit fi of the Right
Hon. Gentleman's quefliona, he would fay; aye. If
they did not report the whole of the correrpondence
with the Right Hon. Gentleman, it was from a with
not to overh.ad the Report,
Dr. LAWRENCE defended Mr. Burke's conduit,
in ventilating Mefrrs. Bembridge and Powell. He
complimented the Speaker, whom be confidered as
the 'blinded eneace of public virtue, on the truly
patriotic and contlitutional vote which he gave on a
former evening. He could by no means approve of
the mode propored by the Attorney General,to defer,
the motion until the Houfe fbould have regained its
proper tone of moderation : it was nothing more
than a project of the fill Law Officer of the Crown,
to get rid of the quellion entirely. He had ferious
objections to the conduct of the Right H.,nourable
Gentleman (Mr. Cloning), who had taken the word
of Mr. Wilton againfi the Report of the Commif:
rimers of Nina Enquiry, and who, inflead of faci-
litating, as he fhuuld haVe done, the enquiry, had
thrown <Anodes, altogether unexpected, in the way
of the Crunmillioners.

Mr. CANNING, Dr. LAWRENCE, and Mr.
ROSE, Paid a few words in explanation.
The SOLICITOR GENERAL obferved, that
tome topics, certainly not in an immediate manner
connefted with the quenion before the Hoofe, had
been alluded to is the courfe of the debate. The
Learned Donor had reproached his Right Honour*.
ble Friend near him, with catechifing and potting
quettions to the Hon. Admiral who was at the head
of the Commiffion ; but it could not be out of the re-
collation of the Hoeft that his Right Hon. Friend
had been attacked, and charged with not making
out accounts, which, if not impraeicable, were at
lead highly inconvenient. The Hon. Admiral com-
plained that the perfons interrogated did dot anfwer
quetlions which might criminate thernfclves —(Here
a try of No, o from the oitofirifdr.)—fi hc
deritood the 'don. Admiral, he did not *ilk, in the