Star.
London, England, 1815-02-15 00:00:00

CORN LAWS.

Mr. ROBINSON gave notice that he should on
Friday next bring-forward certain propositions with
tepect to the Corn Laws; and the Hon. Member
suns: qiiently moved that the Houle should on triday
resolve into a Committee to consider the Report of
the Committee of last Session, upon the subject of
the Corn Trade.
Lord A. HAMILTON asked whether the Hon.
Member meant to propose a Bill upon this subject,
t r to move certain Resolutions ?
.Mr. ROBINSON apprehended that it would be
contrary to the regular course of proceeding to more
for a Bill at once; therefore his intention was, in the
first instance, to propose certain Resolutions.
Accounts of the quantity of grain, meal and flour
imported into Great Britain from foreign countries,
aad also from Ireland, distinguishing the quantity
from each country ; and also of the quantity export-,
ed, stating to what country, from the sth of January,
ISM to the sth of January, 1815, were ordered to
be l,i.i before the House.

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER
said, that in consequence of the urgency of the ques.l
time to which his HonourableFriend's notice referred,
should postpone until Monday the motion of
which he had given notice for Friday, upon the sub.
jet of Finance.
Upon the motion of Mr. Honwza it was ordered,
after a short conversation between that Gentleman
Messrs. Rose, Robinson, and Lockhart, that
.accounts should be presented of the grain, meal, and
exported and imported (torn the last date in
Mr. Robinson's motion, up to the latest period at
which the same could be made out, an also of the
yiainity of foreign corn warehoused in the
_Rom
London, Liverpool, Leith, Glasgow, and Hull,
rip io the latest period at which the same could be
;rade cut.

SIR JAMES DUFF.
Mr. ROBINSON presented, according to-order,
coyit s of the Correspondence between Earl Bathurst
Anti hirJames Doff, respecting certain conduct of
the latter in Spain.
Mr. W HITB RE AD said, that he thought it ne-
ceisny, on this occasion, to call the attention of the
I-Huse to certain circumstances connected with the
t tik.',oct referred to in those papers. It happened that
our of the Spanish Gentlemen so unjustly :wren-
ailed at Gibraltar, had 'arrived in England, and
thought proper to state his own case with respect to
sh4t surrender, io which statement he had given
'direct contradiction to the grounds upon which Ge-
Iter4l Smith professed to justify the arrest of that
Geittlien'tem ThsrUeneral stated, that Mr. Puiv
•blanch anti his Companion had entered Gibraltar
without perroissien. under feigned names, and that
by thus violating the standinfs orders of the garrison,
they became liabte to arrest; but these two points are
distinctly denied by Mr. Pulgblanch, who had, alter ,
his surrender, been pronounced innocent by the tri-
bunal to which his case was referred, even at Cadiz,'
since rhich aquittal he bed found his way w Zng-
14nd. This Gentleman alleged, that po far from hay,
log entered Gibraltar without pannisoon, sadunder
a fogped name, he entered that garrison In bit proper
tiamsv with a pasipott signed in the ;spat form, add.
ing, VIAL 134 had also Allem ,ai alenentendation 10
•.-mip-cepident Merchants at Gibgaiumt vbich into{
crq presented to 1122 Alum/ tif whom In waS

rested at a public inn, where he had resided for the
three days that he had been is the forms. With
such a direct contradiction of General Smith, he,
would ask whether jt was not intended to inquire into
the subject s+ And he hoped that the minor Officers
of the Administration would not imitate the example
of those great leaders who had announced their reso-
lution to answer no questions—to attend to no inqui.
ries made in that House. He trusted that this ques-
tion would be fully investigated, and if it turned out
that this much injured Spaniard should falsify the
statement of General Smith, proper measures would
be taken accordingly with respect to that Officer.—
But even were General Smith's statement correct, as
to Mr. Puigblanch's mode of entering Gibraltar, that
would not justify the surrender of this Gentleman
and his companion to the Spanish Government. For
that surrender, however, he understood that a prece-
dent was quoted in the case of General Campbell,
who delivered up to the Governor of Ceuta four per-
sons who had escaped from the dungeons of that On.
vernor. But he (Mr. Whitbread) had obtained such
information with respect to the treatment of these
four persons, as must, he was sure, excite the horror
of every man in England, and in Europe, who did
not, like Sit-James Duff, devote himself to the de-
testable Government of Spain. These persons, who
were highly respectable in acquirements and condi-
tion, antigne of whom had rendered great services
to Lord C.amelford when he accompanied Vancouver,
as Lord Camelford's family acknowledged, had sur-
rendered by capitulation to General Monteverde, in
South America,'and one of the articles of that capi-
tulation was the immunity of their persons; yet, by
a most scandalous breach of faith they were arrested
and sent in irons to the dungeons of Ceuta, from
which they contrived to escape to Gibraltar, encou-
raged to hope, as they had been told, that when they
reached any place blessed with the name of English,
they should be secure from tyranny and persecution.
But, vain the delusion 1 they were basely surrendered
to the Governor of Ceuta, in whose dungeons they
still languished, unless relieved from their sufferings
by death. Such, then, was the precedent pleaded
to justify General Smith. General Campbell was
now no more. But after describing the transaFtion,
he could not think it necessary .to make any motion
upon the subject ; for he could not allow himself to
doubt that measures would be taken to prevent the
repetition of such a proceeding by any British Officer.
Resorting to the statement of General Smith, con-
trasted with that of Mr. Puigblanch, he again express-
ed a hope that the case would be duly examined ; and
as to the papers just presented, he could form no opi-
nion of them until they were printed.
Mr. GOULBURN said, that he had not before
this evening heard of the statement of the Spanish
Gentleman whom the Honourable Member had men-
tioned; but upon reporting that case to the proper
office, he could not think that there would be any
hesitation to inquire into the subject. As to the
affair of General Campbell, it had never before come
to his knowledge, but he had always understood that
the surrender of prisoners escaping from either, was
an established custom between the Governor of Gib-
raltar and the Spaniards.
Mr. WHITBREAD denied that such a custom
had ever prevailed, and that, on the contrary, a case
had occurred, in which the Governor of Gibraltar
had refused to give up some Spaniards accused of
murder. There had, indeed, existed an agreement
fcr the reciprocal surrender of deserters, but accom-
panied with this express stipulation, that such deser-
ters should not be punished.
The Papers were ordered to be printed.