Star.
London, England, 1815-03-23 00:00:00

ctrtular letter was in forei ; and when the Act for
continuing the Alien Act was submitted to the House.
no notice was taken with respect to passports for fo-
reigners, who wished to come to this country. On
the contrary, there were passages, directly nega-
tiving the possibility of such a thing as passports
having been granted. The House knew nothing of
that fact, and would not have known it at present, if
Sir James Duff had not relied on this letter for his
justification. But if the Legislature for good and
wise reasons thought proper to depart from a general
system, and to entrust to the highest office: of this
country a temporary power under the Alien Act, was
it fit that the Secretaries of State should delegate any
of those powers without the authority of Parliament.
And who were the persons to whom such powers were
delegated ? He wished the House to consider the si-
tuation in which Consuls in foreign countries were
placed. It was justly remarked by an Honourable
Friend of his on a former occasion, that if such a.
power had been entrusted to Consuls at the revocation
of the Edict of Nantes, none of the victims of Louis
,XlV.'s tyranny would have made their escape out of
France. It could not be denied, how respectable so-
ever the characters of some of those Consuls might
be, that many temptations might induce them to co-
operate with the Governments of those countries in
which they resided. But it appeared that they were
not only to examine into the characters of the persons
Applying for passports, but also into the objects which
they had in view. Did not the House perceive, that
such persons might have to complain of the conduct
of that very Consul to whom they were to apply ?
Was it not monstrous, then, that the power of re-
fusing passports should be vested in such hands ?
Yet this was not ill ; many of the Consuls were en-
gaged in commercial speculations, and it might hap-
pen, that the party who wanted to come to this
country wished to embark in a similar branch of
trade. It was therefore a high breach of duty in the
great Officers of State to commit the execution of
their powers to any such persons—powers which they
exercised in this country under the controul of the
Legislature. It was sufficient for him to 'thew, that
in no one part of the Act was there any thing like a
power for them to shift the responsibility from them-
selves, or rather, to delegate the powers of the Act
to any other persons. It would be incumbent on the
House to mark their sense of that transaction, and he
would therefore submit his motion to them.
The motion was then read, which was in substance
an echo of the Honourable Baronet's speech.
I Mr. HILEY ADDING'roN thought that the
Honourable Baronet was under con.iderable misap-
prehensions. The letter of which he complained was
a mere measure of vigilant precaution in the Secre-
tary of the lionte Department, to whom the execu-
tion of the Alien Act was entrusted. It would be
for the House to decide, whether, in the exercise of
his powers, there was any thing criminal in this
transaction. On a former occasien, he hechdetailed
the motives which induced the department to which
he belonged to circular.: that order; and lie would
n.iw repeat, that it wa: issued in consequence of the
repeated complaints of the number t.f
le's titan twenty thousand—who were in this country,
and of the necessity of preventing the admission of
those whose characters were liable to suspicion. Va.
ripus instances have occotred of Aliens having ar-
rived at the nut-ports, who were suspected of ill de-
signs, bat who wtre afterwards permitted to proceed,.
because suracient grounds of their intentions had not
been adduced. The principal object, therefore, was,
to re hove those impediments from Aliens in generalg
and to permit them to land and proceed. The per-
sons who were entrusted with the power of gretntiog
passports, were those who must be best acquainted
with the character and motives of the persons apply-
ing for them : but the fact was, that this power was
not delegated, as the Honourable Baronet had con-
ceived, under the Alien Act, but by virtue of the
acknowledged prerogative of the Crown, to refuge
admission to Aliens of any description. Such pre-
rogative existed before the Alien Act was passed :
and, therefore, this letter left Aliens to a certain de-
gree where it found them : it did. not oblige Aliens
to apply for passports, and persons who knew that no
suspicion attached to their conduct could come to this
country without them. Since this regulation was
adopted, not one single instance had occurred of as
individuar coming without a passport, who was rel.
fused admission. He wished to draw the attention of
the House to the general expressions of the letter ;
and he would ask any Gentleman, whether, under
the circumstances in which it was written, it could
apply to any Aliens but those who were strongly
suspected of hostile intentions towards the Govern-
ment of this country ? The letter was dated on the
4th of May, 1813, when the war on the Continent
was not terminated. It bad been much the practice
of Gentlemen opposite, and particularly of the Mem-
ber for Bedford, to charge the Secretary of State kir
the Home Department with• exercising his power
under *the Alien Act with extravagant rigour ; but
he (Mr. Addington) had discovered two papers-in.
his office, which would stew what precautions were
resorted to under former administrations. The first-
was written when the .Honourable Baronet himself
held a disCriguished situation, and when alnnst re
spectable Noblenian was at the head 'of the Home
Department. It was dated December 16, 1806, and
was addressed to Mr. Reeves, directing that no'
Aliens who had not resided in Eegland were to 'he
permitted to come from the Continent, except under
the following regulations:—they were to' specify, in
a detailed manner, who and what they were, their
motives for coming to England, and the port
from which they intended to embark : and no Alien
enemy was to be suffered to come, without the pass-
port of one of his Majesty's Ministers, resident on
the Continent. The other letter, of a *subsequent
date, was nearly to the same effect; and 41 he
meant to shew by them was, that these precautionary
measures did not originate with his Noble Relative:
—At the time that those instructions were given to
the Consuls abroad, nobody could have' dreatnt of
the probability of peace being so soon restored, H.
ices, however, prepared toprove that, independent
of the Alien Act, the Crown had the rgatrve'of
sending strangers out of the country. 'UPI read
an extract from. Blacisto'ne,
,which stated, othai es
'to every thing relating to safe conduct for strangers,
rtiffelidoif had justly *observed' that every 'crown
:Oust he alliairid to judge' with feiptct to the admis.
slim of strangers ii,to its t4ritobes." . Afthe tune,
however, that the illiea:Ad: was gissedl. the Oat
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i• •. .

111Sjotity of the House was decidedly agreed on
the adoption of a measure of this nature. He was,
however, ready, freely to admit,
that the Secretary
otState would be responsible' for any unnecessary se-
verity in carrying the act into.execution.
Mr. WHITBREAD said, it was strange that the
circular letter which had been alluded to had never
been recollected till it was brought forward by Sir
James Duff in justification of a most unjustifiable
act. It had been said, that the delegation of this
extraordinary power to the Consuls was done for the
convenience of Aliens themselves, and to save them
trouble when they came. The siecretary of State had
not the tight, under the Alien Act, to delegate any
such power; he had, in this case, exceeded in his de-
legation the powers he himself possessed. The Right
Hon. Gentleman had said, that not a single Alien
who had come to this country without a Consul's
passport had been refused admission into this king-
dom ; then where was the necessity of this delegated
power to the Consuls ? but although no one had been
refused admission into the kingdom without a pass-
port, who had applied for it, yet how many persons
might have been prevented coming here, supposing
that they could net come without one ? How many
acts of injustice might have been done by Consuls,
whicb had never come to light, as had been the case
with Sir James Duff, who had not merely refined
passports to Alien enemies, but to Alien friends,
who were flying from the tyranny of their own Go.
vernment, to seek shelter in this coutar y ? and when
a charge was brought against him for this ofZeuce.
he produced the letter of the Right Hon. Gentleman
as his authority for having acted as he had done.—
But this was not all—he (Mr. Whitbread) had to
complain of the Secretary of State having delegated
too much of the powers of the Act to the Portuguese
Ambassador, as in the case of Mr. Correia, IA fr,,se
case had already been so fully stated to the I I 'use,
and who had been sent out of the country for writing
some lampoons reflecting on the character of M.
Settee, the Portuguese Ambassador. This was an
offence which, if true, should have been punished by
legal process, hut did not come within the limits of
the Alien act. The pamphlet could not h :ye endan-
gered the safety of this country, or co:a-opted the
army. It had been written in Portuguese, and never
was translated into English. therefore could have
done no harm in this country, and could by no means
have formed a subject for the exertion of the powers
of the Alien Act. He trusted the Right Hon. Geii-
tleman would give him some explanation on this
subject, otherwise he should he under the necessity
of moving for the Papers, relative to the proceedings
under which M. Correia was sent out of the country.
Mr. H. ADDINGTON was ready to give ail the
explanation which he was called on by his situation
to give to the Honourable Gentleman. The tran-
saction, as he had stated to the Honourable Gentle-
man on a former occasion, hAd not taken 11 ice ender
the administration of his noble relative or himself,
but six years ago, under the administration of Mr.
Rider, and upon grounds far different to those which
the Honourable Gentleman had assigned. The Ho-
nourable Gentleman had said, that M. Correia had
been sent out of the kingdom for a libel on the Por-
tuguese Ambassador. He had before said, and he
now repeated it, that those %sere not the grounds on
which that foreigner was sent away. The Right
lion. Gentleman then proceeded to contend, that
the Honourable Gentleman (Mr. Whitbread) had
not made out any case on which to ask for any pa-
pers on the subject of.M. Correia, any more than he
could call for papers relative to the case of the first
per son that ever was sent out of the kingdom under
the Act. With respect to the question now before
the House, he should move the previous question.
Upon this amendment, Sir J. NEWPORT rose
to reply t and contended, that under the Alien Act
the Secretary of State could have no right whatever
to delegate the powers of it to any person whatever.
If it had been thought necessary to delegate these
powers, the delegation ought to have been sanctioned
by Parliament. Under these circumstances, he ti usted
the House would agree to his motion.
Lord CASTLEREAGH thpught the arrange-
ment now complained of, instead of being an inva-
sion of the powers of the /tit, was a mere regulation
of it; and one which the Secretary of State ought to
have the right of adopting. The regulation did no-
thing More than make an application to the Secretary
a sort of appeal. It did nothing mere than require
that the Alien, if possible, should get a sort of gime
ral recommendation from his own country ; but even
though he should fail to do that, the regulation did
not prevent the Alien endeavouring to get admission
into this ct until, under the general law, as respected
Aliens. The Noble Lord observed, that be thought
the regulation a wise one, and therefore he could not
agree to the Right Hon. Baronet's motion.
Sir J. MACKINTOSH thought the present dis-
cussion had given rise to a question of much greater
importance than the original question was ; and that
aew question was, as to thg prerogative of the Crown
—and on this subject he should wish to hear the opi-
nion of those persons who were best qualified to give
it, the Law. Officers of the Crown. The Honote able
Member then proceeded •to observe, at considerable
length, on the statute and general law of the land!
as related to the prerogative of the Crown, and espe-
cially on the subject of the Aliens; and Observed,
that there was no doubt the King and Parliament
united had a right, if it should be thought proper to
do so, to pass a law to exclude all foreigners froth
the kingdom ; but the consideration was not now
what laws might be adopted, but what had been the
general practice in this country on the subject? The
Right Hon. Gentleman opposite ( Mr. H Addington)
bad said, that not a single Alien had been pktvented
coming to this country in consequence of the powers
thus delegated to Consuls. Yet Sir James Duff's
own letter stated, that from May, 1804, not a
single Alien hild been suAered to quit the port of
donnhtybhahpap d .though
bsenpa during the
thCivh4deolgreuiz'o ofd:etshrtientvgitoilfEtyrain7 raging with
from its effects.—
hiaßosyndpthistialshiatyredgn
hbealintbeil:xhatiirtgoarsinfistlyhethgematelsandd..Bduritriinsgh
114; san
rdepes;trooi dmthp7troihhoopricsuoicuneuitrniduriso..:4ivwhaerenocewcaloonuaolsidr
woet,adhsetlsouWifiise have
dungeonsi t tri
ititimpolicy of these regulations
Which were contrary ftithaer make 'en the
subject -or Aliens.
?re Honothible Manber
idyl that Al' Act wAil a won severepeaa;
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statute. and might, therefore, in compliance with,
general policy, to be constreed.in. a. manner most fa-
vourable to those who might fall under its influence
whereas, on the contrary, the regulation which had
been adopted had the effect of rendering its' operation
doubly severe upon aliens of every description.
Mr. H. ADDINGTON .said a few words in ex-
planation.
The SOLICITOR-GENERAL Aid; the ques.
don now before the House was not whether Sir J.
Duff had well or ill executed the power delegated to
him by his Majesty's Government, b•it whether the
delegation of such a power was legal at all ? Tl;e
Honourable Gentleman then proceeded to take a re-
view of the prerogative of the Crown, as laid do v;•
by Mr. Justice Blackstone, and contended, thit it
was well established that tl:e King !Ltd a right, undo;
his prerogative, to send Aliens oct of the kingdom;
and it would be ridiculous to say, that having the
power of sending Aliens out of the kingdom, the
Crown should not have the power, it it should see ft
so to do, to prevent Aliens entering the kingdam—
and this the King had a right to do, independent
any powers given him by the Alien Act. The
nourahie and Leartied Gentleman also eonteodee,

that this pnwer was vested in the Crown by the clause
of Alava Charts. which had been alluded to in the
muse of the cl;sciission. The Crown had eertelnle
the raver of sending Aliens out. nt the Kingthm,
though it might he a question, as to the moors:
which that power was tn exe.cwed.- Weir
to the letter sent to th' Consuls.- it wart 7 .1 e,
a sine va :on ; and teen though. tbe pat,, s'ecuLi
be ref tried, there was nothing whatever to p:earra
the Alien.sayinK," thetigh I-cnn,ot get ire rt,s.
nom yet I nal sail go to Eagian4," anent) England
be might come.
Mr. BENNETT objecte3 to the measure, and
contended that the operation of the delegated power
to Consuls wasohat it. had preventcd Alters ttnhark-
ing fur this country altogether, as appeared frotti
statement of Sir J. Duff himself.
Mr. W. WYNNE said, that the most object.e.ralde
part in this law was, the vesting this discretion in tie
Consuls, persnns sn likely to be influenced by caprice
or mercantile jealousy. •
The House then divided—Tor the previous gee:.
tints US—Against it 2l—Majorify 47.
On our te-admission, Mr. WHITBREAD tea-
movine his Address for the production of the Corre•
spondence respecting A. Correia, a Portngeese.
some time since sent out of this country, under the
Alien Act. He said, he would not press the House
tea a diri,,ion nn this question.
Mr. H. ADDINGTON said, the Honorrable
Gentleman had meda out no prima foci: case agaire
the then Secretary cf State, tor sending Mr. Correia
out of the country. The Hon. Gentleman seemed to
know no more about this question than that thi!.
Gentleman had been sent out of the country.
Mr. WHITBREAD said, the House then was to
presume that the Secretary of State was innocent,
because the Gentlemen connected with that offict
said he was so.
Mr. GOULBURN said, the statemist of du.
Hon. Gentleman (Mr•Whitbread) had been denied;
and surely a denial from them was equivalent to an
assertion from him.
After a fcw words from Sir S. ROMILLY in favour
of the motion, it was negatived within': a d
Mr rONSONBY gave notice of a motion re-
specting the progress of Congress after the holdup.
Mr. WHITBREAD wished to know if the de!
claration published as that of the Congress Was ge•
nuine or a forgery ?
Lord CASTLEREAGH said, ii the HoeouraKe
Gentleman wished to know if it had emanated from
Congress, he could answer certainly that it had not.
ORDER OF Tan PATH.
Sir C. MONCK heti hoped this subject woe!'
have been brought before Parliament by some other
Member more experienced than himself. He ail•
mined the prerogative of the Crown in granting.
hollows could not be placed in any other part o:
the State. Neither had he any objection to bonnets
granted to our Officers, both by sea and land, fait
their services in the late war. He referred to the mi•
gin of the Order of the Bath by Henry the Fourth,
before his Coronation, to pave the way f,r Lis
Coronation, and tea I some ludicrous ordinances of
this Order, commanding every Knight bringing
with him tour men at arms, sec. His alarm was,
the future extension of such ordinances, lest :t should
come into use to call out a power of a certain Order
to attend therservice of the King, at his cost, and
entirely out of the controul of that House. In this
view he considered this enlargement of the preroga•
tive of the Cr own, as a great innovation on the libete
ty (1 t:ie subject He then moved for Copies of the
Letters ratent, declaring the Order of the Bath a
till tary Order; and also, the late Letters Patent, es•
tending the Order.
Lord CAsTLEREAGH said, the want of some
mode of rewarding military merit in this country
had been long wanted. Mr. Pitt in the decline of
his life had recognized this principle. This mode
had been found beneficial in other countries. There
was no instance of any abuse in the new regulation,
that he was aware of; 'and he therefore moved that
the House should now adjourn.
Mr. GORDON said, there was by no means say
thing wanted to create a military spirit i,e thus country,
which every wise and free Goveniment would rather
repress than encourage. • He instanced the case of :4
military despotism in a neighbouring country triter
ling on a peaceful Government. These military re•
wards, now given for exertions against the commix'
enemy, might come to be given for exertions against
the liberties of the country. He had heard that tame
of these decorations had been given from etc
favour, Or 4001 Parliamentary influence t
great oojemies to this was abet it was introducing OP
feign customs into this countty.
Mr. B. BATHURST called on the Honourable
Gentleman to point out the name of any individual
who had received the honour of the Bath irons tout
shows
and not from merit. He thought the Honw
inject this motion.
theM insigniar BBAT
of thek UI
t Order,ST
services of the Military called for some piutltulil
mark of distinction. deafnedndedmatinhtae diniestdr, ibutitita'ola;
Mr. W. WYNNE said, wherever the Gorerernen_t_
was alroilitary despotism, such orders were a wain
of policy. It was especially so in Russia, where til`r
Chancellor was s
Field-Marshal, and the Idattb