Star.
London, England, 1801-03-24 00:00:00

firength of rebellion had appeared to be b?oken.'
To this evidence, which his. Lordfhp maintained,
was of itfelf a ftrong prciiimption of the neceflity
of the mcafure, there was added the teflimony of
thole Honourable and Noble Pea ti.ns in both I lonks
of Parliament, and this was fo clear and d&inve,
that no realonable doubt Was left of its mice:Fay.
Lord CAERNAR von reta-obActl the Bill as a libel
on the Britilh Conliitutif.n, and a copy orprifialle
of the a6ts of the svortt Jacobin Government of
France. There was 10) other proof of the necef-
fife for fuch an extraordinary meafure but mere
.ittertion. It had been tried for two years, and
having faittil of attaining its objeC, was a lid-
fiient arpMent to prof,: that it would he wifer
to !etint to another fy dem. The urincipal argu-
ment relied on in. fupport of the meafto c was, that
the progrefs of municipal law was too flow for the
litinithment of trealon ; yet that municif al law
was too quick in kluging culprits to trial, was the
argument urged by the fame party in ftfpp, rt-
in2; the Bill for the fufpention of t.:4e Half-fad
Corpus Ae. The bill on the table, he contended,
would give to the Lord Lkutenunt, or any pertlin
to whom he might pleafe to delegate it, a power
to imprilim or alratrinate any man in the commu-
nay, while it precluded the friends of the perfe-
clued or executed men from appealing to a Court
Juftice, or to any Tribunal whatever for redtvl.
Tice public would have no confidence in Parlia-
ment if this Bill was paired without fome previous
invelligation as to its neceftity.- It would ill ac-
cord with that attention to popular freedom, that
jcaloafy of power which they thould always full
upon, find which the people had a right to exiled
from them. He felt to much horror in contem-
plating the fufferings of Ireland, that he declared
he Ihould rather Ice a French ;fly:Limn in England
than have it the theatre of Inch difgraceful tccnes
as had occurred in Ireland during the lad two
years; for if the Conflitution was gone, what re-
mained to ftruggle for ?
Lord CARLLTON explained.
Lord CLARE denied that he had jttrihuted a
bloody difpotition to the Ira people. He had
alluded merely to a fervant of his own, who, when
leading to execution for Realing arms from his'
bottle, declared to the priell who accompanied
him, on being asked how he meant to make nth of '
thole Arms, that it was his intention to thuot his
Lordship on his domain, and that wretch having
thbfided for 3o rears or. his father's bounty and
Lis own, nothing, he conceived, but a love of blood,
could aduate

The Archbithop of Cast+ EL, in a fpeech clofely
logical, and of nervous and claffical eloquence,
fitted, that when, in 1796, the frills Parliament
armed the Crown with the authority of martial
they did fo upon the fcrious inquiries of the
Secret Committee ; that when they continued it
in 1799, they did not fo without a new and full
invelbgation of fads ; that they exercifed the ut-
moft caution when, in I Soo, they again continuedl
it to the 25th of Match, aot ; that, as an incon-
teftible proof of its being 11111 necessary, he could
Rate the trials under it to have been, in the fall'
two (or one) years, not fewer than 200; thofe with-
in the laft two months, even to the number of 6o;
the condemnations out of thole 60, not fewer thaw
34; that, not a noble Lord then hearing him,
could affirm, on his honour, that civil juflice would
have its due courfe, if the Courts were not under
the prote&ion of martial law; that the only thing
he could regret
,in regard to the Bill, was its not
extending the power of martial law till the time
for the probable commencement of the next Sef-
lion of Parliament; that he would therefore give
his vote decifively for it, as good and falutary fo
far as it went.

Lord Kin° rote only to make a tingle obferva-
tion, namely, that the ground of necefEty urged
for paffing the Bill, a Bill which (truck at the root
of the Conftitution, and of the liberties of the rub-
jeft, Rrongly reminded him of that fort of argu-
ment which Roberfpierre's innumerable trials be-
fore his novel tribunals might have been defended
by. The advocates for the Bill contended upon
the great numbers that had been tried by courts•
martial, convieted and executed, as a proof for
the neceffity for reviving it ; in like manner might
Roberfpierre have Paid, 44 you cannot pretend that
my fyllem of conduit in the adminiltration of juf-
tice has been ineffedual. I have put hundreds
upon trial before my unprecedented tribunals, and
I convieted and gullotined them all." His 1..0rd-
Alp raid, he conceived, that the number tried and
convißed before Courts-martial in Ireland, and
executed there, was an argument again) rather
than for the Bill; conlidenng at the fame time
that the inefficacy of the former Bills (obnoxious
and repugnant to every' notion of Britifh Freedom
as they were) had been acknowledged by all the
Noble Lords from Ireland to be proved, he there-
fore malt objeet to the prefent Bill's palling.
The Earl of WISTKORLiND defended the Bill,
as fuited to the dangerous eircumßanees of Ire-
land. He Rated the various progreffive Alts
which had paired in different reigns, for the punilh-
tnent of Rebellion, and denied that, by Parlia-
ment's adapting fuch Alts to the circumftances
which occurrecfat the time, any jun inference was
to be drawn, of a defign to infringe on the liber-
ties of the fubjeet. In return for obedience, and
thc facrifice of perfonal rights, Government owed
[notation and argued, that without fuel; a mca-
fore as the prefent, the protation of the lives and
Properties of the well-affeeted fubjeets of Ireland,
c.,a1.1 not be enfured. _ _

Lord DAR voLtv fupported the Bill and declared
).Onf,lf pCrfeetly fatisfied of the need:ay es:Ming
fcr it from the Noble Lords more particularly
eont.eat.d with Ireland, but he condemned the
frith Government for producing that neccffity by
their mifeondua.

Lord Ramona expreed his intention to rote for
the Bill at prefznt, but would not again, without
very fall enquiry.
The LOAD CHAVCILLOR fliggefted that this was
the time to propofe an amendment, if any Noble
lard intended it.
Tim Marquis of DowatilltE raid he Mould wills
the Bill to be continued to the next Seffions, but
sy.is unwilling to propofe any amendment, left it
lapuld delay sts progrzfa. He was but dna weeks