Star.
London, England, 1824-06-02 00:00:00

,

1.

Mr. hum, from the quitarian Christians of Bolton-le-Moor; and
by lylVa?uoewat,from‘o-nhabitants of Southampton.
orsthamoraalks been read,
Mr. BROUGHAM addressed the Speaker in near'y
the following words: " Sir, I confess that in bringing
forward the Motion of which I have given notice,
feel some degree of annoyance, I might perhaps say
disheartedness, when I contrast the intense interest
which this question has excited out of doors; interest,
not surpassed by any feeling excited by any pti-
Tate occurrence within my memory ; I say that I,
cannot but feel in some degree disheartened, when I.
compare that anxiety with the indifference manifested
in a quarter from which I least of all expected such in-
difference—an indifference amounting, I will say, to
a considerable degree of aversion to agitate this ques-
tion. I confess that I do feel annoyed, if not dis-
heartened, when I see such indifference manifested by
men who are generally alive to all questions of indivi-
dual hardship or oppression, by men who are generally
alive lito any undue exercise of power, and by men
who view with an eye of jealousy any invasion of our
Constitution—any, the slightest infraction of the law.
To my astonishment, Sir, I have heard such men treat
this question with no little levity ; but, on the contrary,
for no better reason than that they did not wish to go
into the details, endeavour to avoid what to me appears
to be an important portion of the performance of their
duty. One says, what signifies to us what passes at the
other side of the Atlantic ? as if, Sir, the distance of the
place was a reason why those transactions should escape
the notice of this House—as if this House should pass
over what occurred in a place whete we have no Re-
presentative—a reason which, in my mind, was the
strongest in the woi Id for our interference—(Hear).—
Then, says another, all these petitions, these meetings,
and this anxiety out of doors, are about the case of an
individual, a Mr. Smith, a poor Missionary ; and by the
way of making the thing the more unpalateable, the
word Methodist was added. This is the first time which
I have heard, avid I trust that I never shall again hear
in this place, that the weakness of one party—that be-
cause the unprotected was opposed by the powerful—
that because the weak man Stood single and alone
against i.ower—l say that I have, for the first time,
beard such facts stated as reasons why we should shut
our ears to his complaint (Hear).—But, Sir, this ques-
tion is not, as some persons assume, taken up solely by
Methodists ; and even if they alone had taken it up, 1
would say it would be much to their credit not to sul
fer such an injury to be ieffcted unjustly upon one of
their representatives. But, Sir, I shall not argue that
question now; and to avoid delay and ciicumlocutioe,
shall come at once to the point. Mr. Smith, ai lam in-
formed, was not a Methodist: he was a Missionary, not
employed by the Methodists, but a Missionary em-
ployed by the Church Missionary Society—a Satiety
composed, Sir, of Churchmen and Dissenters indiscri-
nrinately. Mr. Smith, as lam informed, was an Inde-
pendent—a member of a numerous, conscientious, en-
lightened, and much to be venerated class of religionists,
on accoutt of their universal and unqualified toleration,
a member of a body to whom this country in all ages
owed a debt of the deepest gratitude—of a body of men
who, notwithstanding some excesses to which they may
originally have been driven, and which, if carried fur-
ther, may have given just ground for blame instead of
laughter, yet; taking them altogether, were a class
whom I shall be the first to proclaim as men the put icy
of whose minds rivalled the purity of the early Chris-
tians—as men whose zeal as martyrs, and skill as war-
riots, by combatting and conquering, laid the founda-
tion of our civil and religious liberties—(Hear, hcar).—
I say; they are a body of men who are justly venerated,
not the less because by their unqualified toleration they
ir4ve reached a pinnacle of glory, which in that respect
not even the most liberal and enlightened of religionists
has attained, although I am happy to say that great
and near approaches have been made, and ale being
made daily by other sects. All I ask for those men is,
that those Fersons who seem inclined to feel an aversion
to enter into this question, will not allow their indolence
(for to no other feeling can I attribute that aversion) to
prevent them from looking more or less into a ques-
tion which has excited such an interest out of doors. I'
think, if this question were only taken up by one indivi-
dual, and rested solely on its own merits, it ought to
command the respect and attention of this House. As
I wish, without farther preface, to come at once to my
object, I shall abridge my observations, and state to the
douse that the charges which I have to prefer, have
arisen out of the proceedings which have led to the
trial and conviction of Mr. Smith ; and I undertake to
spew to tho,e who honour me with a hearing, that from
the beginning to the end of these proceedings, there
has been the greatest illegality, the grossest violation
of justice—down to the mere violation of the most
comnion forms of justice—a violation of justice such
as the history of modern times could not furnish a pa-
rallel to—(llear, hear). I have uied this experiment, I
have conversed upon this subject with persons out of
doors, with members of the profession of which I have
the honour of being a member, as well as with persons
whose experience with judicial proceedings was not
such as could enable them to form an opinion respect-
ing nice violations of the forms of judicial proceedings ;
but I have never met with any man who made the least
objection to this statement, that 41 the more those pro-
ceedings are looked into, the greater attention is be-
stowed upon the details, the more complete and unqua-
lified will be his assertion, that this proceeding was a
breach of law, a violation of justice, and a gloss outrage
of the ordinary forms of justice."—(Crier ref I lear, hear)
It is necessary for me, in the first place, to call the at-
tention of the House to that part of General Murray's
Proclamation which gave general alarm to the inhabi-
tants of the Colony. In consequence of certain resolu-
tions which were unanimously adopted by this Haase,
and an Address to the Throne, which was in consequence
presented, certain instructions were sea out to the Go-
vernors of those West India Colonies which were more ini•
Paediatric under the power of the Clown. Whether these
instructions were the best which could by possibility be
devised to carry into effect the object of those resolu-
tions—whether Ministers ought to have gone a step
farther, or have stopped a step shorter—whether it were
fitting to begin the proposed reformation in West India
society, in places where there were but few masters
with a few slaves, among men who knew their masters,
and saw the symbol of their severity in the lash of the
drivers—or whether it were better to begin by attacking
that symbol—are questions which I shall not stop for
a moment to inquire into. Suffice it to say, that certain
instructions were sent out to Demerara, where they ar-
rived somewhere about the 7th of June, or rather a few
days before; I say a few days before, because I presume
they *ere-acted upon shortly after their arrival. The
arrival of those instructions excited great alarm and