Star.
London, England, 1827-05-18 00:00:00

(pile in which he had had a past. But he could not con
Rot to countenance these irregular discussions, and leer-
jpg to those Noble Lords who sere of that taste to pursue
their own mode of seeking information, he was deter•
pined, whenever a fitting opportunity should present
itself, to go item by item through all the charges, whe•
then relevant or irrelevant, founded of unfounded, con-
nected or unconnected with what had passed—gleaned
from newspapers—draw from the transactions of past
times, or searched for in the suggestions of prejudice, and
heaped together, in order to call forth a hostility against
a government which he would take upon him to aver,
war modelled upon principles as honourable as ever'
coodituted the foundations of any Government, in any
gem in any country. Their Lordships could easily
judge what his feelings were, when he heard surmises
which were placed in the dark, and were unintel-
ligible to all; but feeling strongly as he did, even
these would not be sufficient to drive him from that
course which, from experience, he knew was most
conformable to the usages of the House ; and even if
be were otherwise disposed to enter upon the subject,
the lateness of the hour would prevent him from doing
so—particularly when no expectation of such an in
had been excited among their Lordships. He
could not, however, omit noticing the description
which had been repeated to-night, by the Noble
Lord opposite, of the terms and supposed pledges
upon which the present Administration -was form-
ed. That description Was false.—(Hear, hear, hear),
though her was far from imputing to the Noble Lords
that they did not think as they had stated ; but it was
one of the many proofs they had lately seen, of the dis-
position evinced by the Noble Lords opposite, to believe
toe eagerly all that coincided with their o N'n wisi,es,with-
out shewing a corresponding dispositi to extend to
others that justice which they would claim for themselves,
if placed in a similar situation. Men ought to be judged of
by their own conduct, rather than by the imaginary spec
culations of others ; but, whatever might be the pro-
priety of this connection, it depended and subsi ,ted upon
feelings as pure, as honourable, and disinterested, as
those upon which any public connection was ever
founded. If the Noble Lords believed one tenth
of the rumours—(Heir, hear, hear !) spread abroad,
be would not only say they were not doing what
belonged to them in their character of an Opposition,
bat less, if they did not embody all these rumours
and surmises into a substance, and call upon the Ad-
ministration to justify themselves. He hoped, therefore,
his Noble Friend would have the candour and manli:
ness to bring forward his charge, that the principles of
the Opposition, as well as the principles of Government,
might be exhibited not only to the House but the coun-
try, who could well estimate the character of both; and
when that charge should be brought forward in a dis-
tinct motion, it should be willingly met.
The Petition was then read, and the House adjourned
at EIGHT O'CLOCK.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.
Mr. HERRIES presented the Estimates of the Army Exteaor.
_ _

-----
The Marquis of CH ANDOS moved fora New Writ for Buck•
isghani, in the room of the Right Hon. W.H. Freetnantk, who has
accepted the Stewardship of the Chiltern Hundreds.
Mr. HER RIES moved the issuing of New Writs fora Member
to serve for the Borough of Knareaborough, in the room of the
Right Hon. George Tierney, appointed Master of the Mint; for
the Borough of C.eine, in the room of the Honourable J. Aber-
tromby, appointed Judge Advocate; and for the same Borough.
tithe room at Sir J. Macdonald, appointed one of the Comnits7
iussen of the Aftirs of India.

Nr. WARD g.ve notice that he would, to-morrow, move for
leave to bring in a Bill relative to the sale of Bread in the Qty of
London.
Sir E. KNATCHBULL presented Petitions front Deal and
Ramsgate against this Licensing 11111.—Lxid on the table.
Mr. WARBURTON moved for ♦arious Returns relative to the
importation of Timber front Norway, Sweden, Russia, and the
British Colonies in North America and New South Wales since
January, 18.13.—Ordrred.
Mr. HUME brought in a Bill to prevent frivolous arrests and
recovery upon Bills of Exchange, &c. by Mesne Process. Also a
Bill for the more easy recovery of the Small Debts in England
and Wmlei. _ _

.
The Bills wtre read a first time, and appointed for a &tenni]
reading on this day se'nnigbt.
Mr. S. RICE presented a Petition from the Cotton Weavers
of Limerick, praying to be supplied with the means of Emigration.
—Rehired to the Emigration Committee.
Mr. C. CALVEItT rosy to ask the lion. Secretary to the Treas.
eiwy, whether something could not be dune to enable the poor Irish
Mind their Letters free of expense?
Mr. MERRIL'S said, he was sure the Hon. Member would lee,
ayon reflection, that it was impossible to exempt the poor Irish
Men the payment of Postage Duties without relieving the other
?Wet classy in the same manner. There was an arrangement at
,tie Post Office, by which the poor Irish could remit their earnings
how vithout the paying the double postage.
Mr. WESTERN presented a Petition from • Clare, in Suffolk,
against the Corn Bill. The Honourable Gentleman gave notice,
tlist If the me ow in the Lords should be lost there, or when
it came back to that House, he should noose for leave to bring In a
Bill, so far to alter the Act of 1622 as to allow it to come into im-
mediate operation.—Ordered to be printed.
The lion. Bluma also presented a Petition from certain inhabi-
tants of Coggeshall and I:, Leighbourhood against the existing
Game Laws; also Petition, from the same 'mitres, praying a repeal
of the Stamp I)uty on Receipts, and the Abolition of Slavery.—
Ordered to be 1,1
SEDITIOUS MU. LAW.
Mr. HUM K said, that he bad given notice of a motion for repeal
sf the 60th Geo. 1l l. ch. 9, which, for the convenience of the lion.
Gentlemen connected with the Government, he should postpone to
Monday.

GAME LA.VW S.

Clionel WOOD brought in a Bill to suspend the Law prohibit-
ing the sale of Game, which was read a first time, and ordered to be
read a second time on Thursday, the 24th May.
Mr. G. BA NKES gave notice that on• Tuesday neat he should
•ore for leave to bring in a Bill to relieve Roman Catholics from
double Assessments of the Land Tax.

Lord MILTON presented a Petition from the Coroners of the
County of 'lurk, praying an Increase of their fees.

CAP!, or QUODROPE.-SIR RUYAN' DONICIN.
Mr. W. HORTON rose to move for the production
of certain papers relating to the Administration of the
Government of the Cape, but more particularly for
copies of a correspondence between Sir Rufane Dunkin
and the Colonial Department. in moving for these
papers, he should not have said more than the few
words necessary to describe his motion, but for the pub-
lication of what professed to be an answer to a speech
be never made nor ever had the most distant intention
of making. In what he should address to the House

n was not intention to say one ward in reference to
r motion for which a notice stood in their bo9k,, or
t't the question of the Administration of the Care of
(trod }lope generally. it was only his intention to
Ism the charges which had been disseminated by Sir It.
Dunkin against his late Noble Colleague who presided
Itrer the Colonial Deliattment. It had been stated
1°,2 public letter by Sir Rofane Dunkin that he (ilr.
". Horton) had inccirrectly described that cfficer,
to W influenced by acrimonious feelings in making
charges against Lord Charles Somerset, relative to
/Is conduct in the Government of the Colony. He
Would now not only repeat that Sir U. Llonkin had
been actuated by such feelings, but he would add the
"ids "and by personal hostility;" and he would rep-

tare to prcylicsy, that Sir IL Dunkin would not be able
to shew that Isis motives were free from the charge. He
was ready to admit, that the existence of personal hos.
tility was no reason why Sir IL Dunkin should not
bring forward charges against Lord Charles Somerset,
if there was ground for them but if •he let his per-
sonal feelings lead him away into inconsistent and
unreasonable conduct, then his representations were not

entitled to the same confidence as those of an unpre-
judiced person acting only in the discharge of his duty.
The facts of the case were these :—When Str R. Don•

kin came back to this country, he addressed a letter to
Lord Bathurst, in which he stated, that if he were

forced to do so, he could disclose things of Lord
Charles Somerset which would shock and astonish his
Lordship (Lord Bathurst), and cover him (Lord
Charles Somerset) with utter ruin. Upon this, at the
request of Lord Bathurst, he (Mr. W. Horton) wrote
to Sir R. Donkin, saying, that if he could make any
such disclosures, his Lordship desired him to commu-
nicate the nature of the charges at once, for that
it was imperariie upon him to have them investi-
gated. In his answer to this, Sir It. Donkin etpressed
Iris wish to avoid coming forward with the charges to
which he had alluded ; but he (Mr. W.H.) again wrote
to him to say, that Lo►d Bathurst could in no degree
relax his demand to have the charges substantiated, un-
less Sir It. Donkin was prepared to go the extent of a
complete retraction of what he had advanced. The an-
swer of Sir R.Donkin to this was,that if by retraction was
meant that he should unsay what he had said as being
contrary to the facts,it was impossible that any Gentleman
could consent to such a step, which must drive him from
society with di lionout.llut if he Mere to take the word re-
traction in its literal and grammatical sense,that of draw-
ing back what lie had advanced without due consi dera-
tion,then he was ready to retract what he had represented
to Lord Bathurst. All these circumstances were corn•
municated to the Commissioners appointed to inquire
into the affairs of the Cape of Good Hope, and they hid
made their report, upon them, which Report he should
that day present to the House. ft would then be for
the !louse to form a deliberate judgment upon the mu-
tual recriminations which had passed between Lord
Charles Somerset and his successor, or locum teems, Sir
Rufane Donkin. The House must not forget that there
existed the most unanimous feeling in 1825, as to the
nec,:ssity *of Lord C. Somerset's coming here to meet his
accu'ers. At that time Lord Bathurst felt strongly, and
his Noble Friend now at the head of the Colonial De•
partment, let strongly, too, that no steps could be
taken by the Government until the whole of the charges
were preferred against Lord Charles Somerset, and the
case made up. But, what had been the facts? The
House was aware, that the charges of Mr. Bishop Bur-
nett had been upon their table ever since the month of
March last; yet no tine proof whatever had appeared
in support of them. It was, therefore, held by the
Government, that in justice to Lord C. Somerset he
should be considered as acquitted, until any of the
charges should be sustained by proof. With respect
to the motion of which the Hon. Member for Arundel
had given notice upon the subject of the maladminis-
tration of the Cape, he conjured the Hon. Member
to take care that, before they were called upon to
decide upon it, the House should know what the
charges were upon which his motion would rest. His
complaint against Sir R. Donkin was, that as the letters
he was moving for would sheet he was at one time
ready to prefer charges and at another time not; that
when he was called upon for proof he shrunk from
maintaining his assertions. The report and the
documents now to be laid before the House would
inform them upon three important points; that of the',
settlers at Bathurst Town, tire defence of the frontier,
and the fiaancial administration. He should not go into
any details as to these controverted questions, and he
deprecated in the highest degree any discussion of that
iltrature upon the present occasion. There was one par-
ticular acusation of Sir Rofane Donkin's against the Co-
lonial department, to which he would briefly allude, as
affording an indication of the frame of mind in which
that Officer had brought for ward his charges. And here
he must protest against any Officer, after having a com-
mand of the nature of that which liad been entrusted to
Sir R. Donkil, publishing in a pamphlet the private offi-
cial documents communicated to him in his official
capacity. The pa, ticular part of the case he wished to
I mention, was that of the accusation respecting Mr. Par-
ker. Sir R. Donkin had stated that Mr. Parker, being his
and Colonel Bird's friend, was sent over to England to
give information to the Government as to the state of
'tbe Colony, at the puLlic expense; that after he arrived
bete he was received as a witness to criminate them,
and that the Colonial Department lent themselves to it.
The fact is, that Lord Bathurst received a letter of re-
commendation from Mr. Parker, written by Sir R.
Donkin, describing that Gentleman as troublesome in
his own private affairs, of an extremely speculative turn
of mind, and prone to consider all public measures with
suspicion. Was this a character from whom the Go.
vernment were likely to receive information ? or
was Sir Rufane Donkin likely to have sent such a
person to Lord Bathurst for such a purpose. at the
Same time making him the bearer of such a letter?
Another complaint which Sir Rufane Donkin had pre-
ferred against Lord Bathurst was, that the Noble Lord
had refused him a personal interview for the purpose of
stating what he knew of the Administration of the Cape.
The interview was not sought for that purpose; but in
order that the Noble Lord should gain for Sir R.
Donkin some mark of the Royal favour. Now, any
body acquainted with public business and public service
would know that such rewards for having been in a
Governmen., or rather the 'locum knots of one, for a
year and a half, was altogether out of the question.—
The Hon. Member concluded by moving that the Papers
may be laid os the table of the House.
Mr. MA BERLY said that the Gallant Officer alluded
to by the Hon. Gentleman had requested him to say a
few words on his behalf, and he should not be acting
the part of a friend, if to were not to put the House in
possession of the facts of his case. The Gallant Officer
never had off.-red to become the public accuser of Lord
C. Somerset. On the contrary, he had always refused
the repeated requests of Lord Bathurst, that Ire should
publicly bring forward charges against him. From re-.
ports which had gone abroad, Sir It. Donkin was forced
to defend himself, and his defence had been taken as an
accusation against Lord Charles Ssnierset. He never
offered to become a public accuser ; he only offered
to co►mnunicate what he knew to Lord Bathurst,
and being unable to get access to that Noble Lord
to justify himself, he was compelled to publish his
pamphlet. The Honourable Meniber then went into a
vindication of Sir 1{• Donkin's Government in the Cape,
strewing from the documents, that it had received the
sanction and acknowledgments of Lord Bathurst, the
Chief Justice, mid Civil Authorities of the Colony, the

..„
Merchants, and from the Settlesi•lle had very eon-'
siderably reddced the expendituro the Coleny,anslin
defending his own measures it was very natural for.hiiii
to contrast them with those of Lord Charles Somerset.
He stated that what he had done had produced security
and happiness, and that it had been undone to give
way for another system, which had been followed by
murder, plunder, dissatisfaction; and complete ruin to
the Colony.
Lord E. SOMERSET said, that he' id not rise to en-
ter into all the topics which had been brought before the
House ; but feeling an anxiety for the fullest inquiry,
he could not refrain from expressing his satisfaction at
the production of these documents, which would enable
the House to enter into a full, fair, and dispassionate
investigation of the conduct of his Noble Relation,
which he was confident would come out of that investiga-
tion with honour, and cleared from every calumnious
imputation. In what had been stated that day, the
House would be enabled to see the spirit which actuated
the conduct of Sir R. Dotikin, and to judge whether it
was so devoid of personal and rancorous hostility as he
wished to represent it ; or whether his conduct had been.
so far removed from that of a public accuser ? This
was not the proper time for going into the questit n,
and un it that time should come, he entreated the House
to exercise its usual candour and suspend its judgment
upon the es parte s•a•ernents and gross calumnies which
had been circulated in the newspapers and other publi-
cations almost day by day for years past.
Mr. BEAUMONT expressed his opinion that Lord
Charles Somerset had bean treated with great hard-
ship, in suspending these charges so long over his head
without the proof being brought forward.

Mr. HUME hoped that all the charges had been
laid before the Commissioners, and that they had.
reported upon them. He defended the conduct of Sir
Rufane Donkin, and was perfectly satisfied that that
Gallant Officer would be most happy to find that the
documents—the whole of the documents connected with
the subject—were to be laid on the table of the House.

Mr. BROUGHAM said that his Hon. Friend, the
Member for Aberdeen, and this Noble Lord (Lard E.
Somerset) seemed to be under some misunderstanding
with respect to what he had said on previous occasions
respecting the conduct cf Lord Charles Somerset, as
Governor of the Cape of Good Hope. He admired the
high spirit and readiness with which the Noble Member
'for Monmouthshire (Lord E. Somerset) had always met
the charges brought or. insinuated against his Noble
Relative ; but he (Mr. B) owed it to himself and to
the House to state what part he had actually taken with
respect to the conduct of she Noble Governor of the
Cape of Good Hope. It was true that during the
last Session he presented a Petition from Mr. Bishop
Burnett, but he must remark that he merely presented
that Petition in fulfilment of his duty as a Member of
that House. He did not vouch for the truth of any
single allegation it contained—he pledged himself to
no part of its statement whatever—and he felt himself
the more called upon to state thus much, because on
previous occasion, when he was absent from the House,
it had been stated that he brought forward the charges.
In consequence of that assertion he had taken the
trouble to refer to the debates, and by the reports, he
found his own impressions, with respect to what he
had siid, fully confirmed. He hat been particularly
guarded in his expressions, and he was at a loss
to conceive bow any one could so far have mistaken
his meaning as to say he had brought forward a
charge against Lord Charles Somerset. He did not
know what was the result of the Inquiry instituted
through the medium of Commissioners; but he under-
stood fh at Mr. B. Burnett was dissatisfied with the con-
clusions they had arrived at. For his own part he
certainly had considerable confidence in the Commis-
sioners, and he must say, he thought it high time that
the question should be brought before the House in some
tangible way, so that it might be decided Aye or No.
(Hear). Whether the alleged misconduct had been dis-
proved or not he would not pretend to say, but he was
convinced that if there were any charges against the
Noble Lord, they ought to be brought forwarcrwithout
any further delay. It had also been stated that he had
pledged himself to impeach Lord Charles Somerset.
He had done no such thing. He would state the truth of
the business. He believed that every charge in Bishop
Burnett's Petition had been examined into except one.
That one was a charge of great gravity, indeed, it was
the most important by far which had been exhibited
against the Noble Lord. By one of those extraordinary
absurdities for which there was no accounting, the Go-
vernot was also the Chancellor of the Colony ; that is,
the man in all probability the least acquainted with law
of any person in the whole settlement was, from holding
the office of Governor, and First Judge. Lord Wellington
might as well be made Lord Chancellor of England.
Now the Petition of Mr. Burnett stated, that while acting
in the capacity of Judge, Lord C. Somerset had been
guilty of conduct which amounted to judicial con uption.
That in fact hethad taken a bribe with reference to a case
in which he was called upon to decide as Judge. He (Mr.
B.) said, at the time he presented the Petition, that he
did not believe the charge to be true; and he added,
that if it could, by possibility, be proved, he should feel
himself bound to impeach the Noble Lord found guilty
of such judicial corruption. The Commissioners had not
inquired into that charge, but he had had occasion to
do so. In his professional capacity, he had been called
upon a few days after he presented the Petition from
Bishop Burnett, to -defend Lord Charles Somerset as a
Respondent to the charge, made by an Appellant before
the Privy Council, and he would put to she House,
whether he could, under those circumstances, prosecute
an inquiry in that House.Herepeated that if any charges
did exist against Lord Charles S rmerset, whatever they
might be, they ought at once to be brought forward.
Mr. WILMOT-HORTON replied. His object in
calling for the papers he did, was to shew that the con-
duct of Lord Bathurst was altogether unimpeachable,
and that Sir Itufane Donkin had no just ground for
complaint whatever—(Hear.) He also called for the
papers in order that the House might be fully informed
upon the subject, before it was called upon to decide
on it. He agreed with the Hon. and Learned Member
at his back (Mr. Brougham), that whatever charges
there were against Lord Charles Somerset, those
who had possession of them, whether they were con-
tained in petitions or sot, were bound to bring them
properly forward to abandon them—(Hear).
After a few words from Mr. Fysna PALMER, Mr.
MASERLT, and Mr. Hums in explanation, the motion
was put from the Chair, and agreed to.