Star.
London, England, 1809-04-18 00:00:00

AMERICA.

Lord SELKIRK made tuo motions for the proluctien of the
correspondence that lad taken place between the British acid
American Government on the conduct of Officers, subserosend)
to the encounter of the Leopard and Chesapeak ; both of which
were negatived without a division, on the kart of LIVIA!.
POOL'S observing, that .In the present delicate situation of bosh
countries, and whilst negociations were pending, he thought it im-
proper to enter on this subject. He then moved, that the licute
be sammoned on Friday se nnight, when he intended to move for
information relative to the conduct of America.
THANKS TO Tug ARMY AND NAVY.

The Earl of LIVERPOOL moved the Thanks of the House
to the Ofbcers and Men who had reduced the Island of Marti-
nique. _

Lord GRENVILLE did not oppose the Vote of Thanks. It
wan merited by the Naval and Land Commanders, Officers, and
Men. kie wished only rot to bethought to approve the policy,
or rather impolicy, of which Government bad been guilty, in ad-
ding another sugar island to those which we already possessed,
and the produce of which could find no market. Did Ministers
think they had sent a sufficient force to Spain;when they boasted
that this Wt at-Indian I.:xi:edition had not diminished our dispo-
sable force ?

The Earl of LIVERPOOL vindicated the conquest of Marti-
nique, on account of the strength and position of the island
Had he viewed it merely in a commercial light, he would have
probably entertained the same opinion as the Noble Lord.
The Vote of Thanks to the Generals, Naval Commander,
Officers, and Men, then passed/L./7. dire.—Adjourned.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.
The Savoy tridi;e Bill iNdS read a seccod time and ordered to be
committed.

*1 he Scotch Creditors Bill and Scotch Records Bill were seve-
rally read a third time anti passed.

Mr. POI4SONBY gave notice of a motion on the Spanish Pa-
pers for the 28th instant.

Mr. YORKE gave notice of a motion on the sulject of the
Correspondence between Sir H. Dalrymple and the i3ishop of
Oporto, for the purp: s, of putting in a proper point of view the
conduct of Sir H. Dalrymple while in Portugal.
Mr. R SHAW moved that the accounts relative to the Paving
of !he City of Dultim be printed.--Ordered.
A Message from the Lords stated that their Lordships had
agreed to the Pensions Duty Bill, the Officers' Widows Pensions
Bill, the Spirit Drawback Bounties Bill, and several other Bills.
Lord A. HAMILTON postpcined his motion relative to Lord
Castlereagh, founded on the Report of the Fast India Offices
Committee, from Thursday next till to-morrow se'nnight.
Lord CASTLEREAGH had no objection to the arrangement
proposed by the Noble Lord, it being understood that the business
should he brought forward on the day for which he had now
fixed it.

Mr. CROAKER brought up the Trish Recognizance Bill,which
WAS read a first time, and ordercd to be read a second time to-
morrow.

MINUTES OF EVIDENCE ON T7IE LATE INQUIRY.
Lord FOLKSTONE rose according to his notice,
to make his promised motion relative to the Minutes
of Evidence upon the late Inquiry. He was not
disposed to trouble the House at any length upon the
subject, as he could not possibly anticipate any op-
position to a motion to which there could not be any
objection. All must recollect, that on the late In-
quiry, evidence of corrupt practicts to a very great
extent had been given ; but the House could not as-
certain, frcm evidence relating to another definite
object, to what lengths such corruption had gone.—
On one occasion that evidence was so precise, that a
Committee had been in consequence appointed, va-
rious discoveries made, and mal-practices developed..
From the tenor of many other testimonies, it was
plainly apparent that .various places under Govern-
ment had been disposed of by persons in town. This
the House could not possibly suffer to proceed with-
out taking some steps for the punishment of the
guilty, and aplying a remedy to the acknowledged
abuses. Many facts had come out also, by which it
was plain that much impropriety had Frei/ailed re-
specting the sale of commissions in the army—that
Officers had been appointed through the agency of
Army Brokers, and that the established regulations
of the Army had beeu infringed upon. To establish
this assertion, Le need only remind the House of the
facts which had been developed respecting French's
Levy, and the inferences to be derived therefrom.--
It appeared, that at the time this levy was on foot,
many other Ipvies were also going forward, and that
this levy was distinguished from the rest by the at-
tention which had been paid to it ; and yet in this
levy the utmost corruption had prevailed. 'Was not
this then a sufficient ground for the interposition of
the House, with respect to the othd levies, which,
being less watched, were not of course more pure—
(Hear, hear ! )—When he had given his do!ice? these

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ciremistailces had made sprat impression on his
mind, and various discoveries had since been added
to strengthen that impression: Such a 'Mass of evi-
dence had come before the Eakt India Committee,
that no person could be at a loss to ascertain the
truth—and that truth was, that abuses to an enor-
mous extent had taken place. This the House would I
not, he was confident, be forward to dispute ; and •
upon the acknowledgment of this as a basis, his mo-
tion rested • for if in what had been inquired into
abuses had been discovered, suspicion must attach
to what had remained concealed—(Hear, hear!)—
He would now trespass no longer on the House, but
reserve himself for any objections which might he
made against the motion which he would submit,
and which was as follows :
" That a Committee should be appointed to inquire into the
existence of corrupt practices in the State, as to the purchase and
sale of commissions, and as to the issuing of letters of service—
and that such Committee shouhlseport the result of their pro-
ceedings to the House."
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER
said, the Noble Lord having collected some appa-
rent abuses from the late investigation, wished to
institute a general inquiry, in order to ascertain
where guilt existed, and on whom punishment.fhould.
be inflicted. From what he had collected from the
Noble Lord's speech, he understood he stated, that
pet sons appointing themselves brokers of commissions
had disposed of promotions in the army in a corrupt
manner, unknown to those whose influence had pro-
cured them, as in the case of Mr. Thellusson, who
had stated that he had no knowledge whatever of
the existence of such abuses as he had been supposed
to participate in. Thus many instances might pro-
bably be brought before the House of persons having
gained money by corrupt practices, through the inte-
rest of persons who were wholly unconscious of their
being made accessary to such abuses. But if the
persons could be found on whom punishment might
with justice be inflicted, he did not think it would
be proper to set on foot an inquiry into the abuses.
which might have existed during the last half cen-
tury, to keep the public mind in a ferment. Many
were not aware how inexpedient it might be to raise
such a ferment. He would have them consider if it
was proper to give a Committee such unlimited
power, without having a specific object in view. He
did not conceive that any new delinquency could be
brought before them after all their researches, which
they were at present unable to provide against.
When the provisions contained in the bill which he
had brought into the House became known, he trus-
ted they would see an industrious attempt to remedy
the evils which had been proved to exist. When it
was printed, Gentlemen could see how far its provi-
sions did extend, arid judge how far these provisions
ought to he extended. He opposed the motion from
the convict.on that nothing new could be brought to
light, for which they we-e not at present competent
to make a provision. Were such a C,,mmittee ap-
pointed, he believed it would be thQ first ever insti-
tuted on general surmise, to seek for muses when
unconnected with any particular indiVidual. On
these grounds he opposed the motion, and on these
grounds he trusted the House would not grant it
their support.
Lord A. HAMILTON supported the ;notion.—
The Right Hon. Gentleman, who had just sat down
had spoken of the impropriety and danger of keeping
the public mind in a ferment. For his part, he could
not think the suppression of inquiry by any means cal-
culated to allay that ferment, but on the contrart he
was of opinion that nothing could be more likely to
heighten it.
Lord FOLKSTONE said, what had fallen from
the last speaker, rendered it unnecessary for him to
reply to tome parts of the speech of the Right Hon.
Gentleman opposite. One of the grounds on which
he opposed this motion was, that he had introduced
a Bill which he thought sufficiently provided against
every abuse that might exist. Ignorant as the ouse
was of the provisions contained in that Bill, he
thought it a strange kind of argument against the pre-
sent motion, and could not feel himself' satisfied with
it. The Right Hon. Gentleman was of opinion they
would find no new culprit. But he would ask the
He use, if, after what had recently transpired, they
would feel greatly surprised should new instances of
con'uption be discovered, if they could think such a
thing impossible ? The Hon. Gentleman had much
surprized him by endeavouring to show there might
be an impropriety in seeking for abuses ; now he did
think, that if any one subject had greater claim to
the attention of the House than another, it was the
subject of such inquiries. If the Right Hon. Gen-
tlemen were of opinion the researches of a Committee
like that he proposed would be wholly unsuccessful
in their efforts to discover abuses, he would be the
first to support the motion. The last sraker had put
it well to him : ‘` It he thought the suppression of
inquiry calculated to allay the torment excited in the
public mind ?" It was necessary shat such an inquiry
should be made, that such corrupt practices should
be punished if they could be proved, and if they could
not be discovered, that his Majesty's Ministers should
be set right in the eyes of the nation, that the people
might have confidence in the integrity of their tilers.
Lord H. PETTY thought no objection (night to
be made to an inquiry merely because a sufficient pro-
vision against abuses was supposed to have been al-
ready made. In Order effectually to remedy evils, it
was proper to learn to what extent they might exist.
He differed, therefore, most decidedly from the
Chancellor of the Exchequer. Hess however, could
not give the Noble Lord's motion his support without
doing considerable violence to his feelings. He had
not the slightest idea of the Noble Lord's motion
when he came down to the House. He expected it
would have been one he should have felt himself bound
to support, as he understood ft to be his intention to
proceed against those whose corrupt practices had
been disclosed in the course of the late investigation.
He would submit it to the Noble Lord himself; if any
advantage could he expected to result from the fro-
ceedings of such a Committee that would not be ob-
tained if the allegations were specifically made to the
House itself ? }..yery such allegation he should feel
himself bound to support, as he was by no means for
checking inquiry. From the only precedents he could
recollect for such a procedure (the one at the end of
the reign of Qneen Ann; the other at the close of
Sir Robert- Walpole's Administration he was not
aware that any peculiar advantages had been derived.
He thought it best to confine the inquiry to a specific
object ; the House could then avail itself of the in-
power it possessed, which qgght not to lie

delegated to a Committee, and
else be so well exercised.
Mr. WHITBREAD though
len from the Chancellor of the
' peared as if general inquiry w:
the part of his Majesty's Id
Honourable Gentleman had ni
the existence of abuses—that
Whatever might be thought
generally believed out of door
were set on foot, many abuses
have hitherto escaped exposure.
riourable Gentleman had said
might be discovered, he wou7
tion, on the ground of its bl
was not the time to search for
existed in times past, but to
in future. It had been justly
effectual remedy for the evil,
to what extent it had existed.
in which Poleman and Keyloo
ed, was first mentioned, the v.'
at. The Right Honourable
joined in the laugh. But it
proved that they had carried
tires for years, and no proceei
ted against them. Might nni
some one whose name it mig;
them to know ?. They procui
Church, the Army, and the
possessed the means of gaininl
had long been known, that pi
be purchased ; their advertises
the public prints. Could tl
Cientleman think to stifle the
of by shutting the door again,
nion, it might be dangerous u
quiry, because the motion wa!
think twenty-one Members of
found worthy to have such
as has been proposed by the
mented that he could not say
ago, that he did not believe si
now was of opinion that ab'
abuses as had not yet been di
of former Committees, or till
exertions, were not to be argi
Committee in the present in.
place the necessity of choosing
that Committe., in a luminous
these reasons he supported tin
actions of those who might /
tions were black or white, t
made, that if black they migl
obloquy ; that if white they
proper admiration.
Mr. TIERNEY stated to
motion of the Noble Lord sr:
norant of its nature. Had,he
before what object it was e'
should have said that he w
Lord, putting the Duke aside
matter as had come out in thi
ceedings to be in..a.stigated.
at thus finding the Hous:, w
Lice, called upon to take of
steps that ever had been take(
were heated; and in pi oporti
it became, he had almost sa.
of proceeding with a motion
. the whole of the administrat;(
of corruption. He though:
have certain cases in his eye
don, he did him the justice
case. But why did he rot
come forward openly Kith his
some persons were pleased tot
corrupt, such a motion ought
forward. He-had been in p•
there ready to answer to any
that might be brought againsl
how far back it might be in cm
inquiry. He hoped the NON
GOD'S sake. He gave him Crel
heart ; he believed him imp:
abuses existed to a very tire;
not censure his conduct, but
' persevere. it had been &tit
within were corrupt ; should
sent motion it would be admi
assertion, and saying s. So
verted to the Committee apps
alledged abuses in the East-i
not see what the House had
might as well, on the oath of
Bank, appoint a Committee
And what had transpired bel
Nothing of importance had
stance, whic:i it would ill becl
on at that time. The mode?
don to the Board of Admiral.
in the state, in fine to every
was saying, you are all b;
Committee up stairs to try
farther from his heart than al
the Noble Lord—he did just
when he produced his :illegal
him as far as lay in his pow(
ailing to lay before a Commi
one appointed. 12 the event
be would certainly be cnnsi:
and in that case he would be
he had no object to which 1
direct their attention. (A /dui
ment of respect and esteem
could not think of condemnit
tens in tote without evidence,
Mr. BRAND rose to give
.grounds upon which he foul
dissent from the motion of th
fered from him merely as ti
The motion was so worded, ii
a nature, that nothing like it
history of Parliament. He
thought it more satisfactory
Noble Lord had in contempt:
the House before they appoint
they might be aware of the n
be made to the Committee.
were stated, he thought the mi
and he felt it his duty, how
pose it.
Mr. LETHBRIDGE obi
to the !louse prepared to voi
motion, under the impression
specific charges agaiitst parti