Star.
London, England, 1819-12-14 00:00:00

TUESDAY-, DECEMBER 14, ISI9.

PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS.

•
HOUSE O_F LORDS, DECEMBER 13.
The Earl of CLAIIII4IOII took the oaths, and his seat.
Mr. 11,1110,-.lt, front the Trehsury, presented certain Papers,
containing itoturns of the Herring Fisheries, and? the Northers?
Light Houses, for the years 1818 and 1819.-ord:red to ikon
the table.
Mr. Parkhouse brought up she Fifteenth Report of the Car-7
vatic (7ommissioners.—Ordered to lie on the table. .
The Earl of LAUDERDALE moved, that certain Returns
respecting the Revenue from the 10th of October, 1817, to the
10th of October, 1819, which had beta laid on the table in con-
sequence of a pr.vitstis motion, be printed.—Ordered.
Mr. BROGDF.N, from the ilotise of Commons, brought up the
Malt, Sugar, and Pension Duty Bilis, which Were read a first time.

TRAVERSE BILL.
The Earl of LIVERPOOL moved, that the Order
of the Day be read for the thir t reading of this Bill::
The LORD CHANCELLOR, after suggesting
some verbal amendments, of minor interest, pro- i
posed Ahe principal clause, Which he wished to intro-
duce; and .% hich he hoped wouli prove satisfactory.l
This was, that in the event of the Attorney-General
not proceeding with the trial %%ilia twelve months
after the information was filed, the defendant should
be empowered to give twenty day,' notice of his in-
tention to bring it on, and that a di-cretionary power
should be vested in the Court, either to grant further
time to the' Attorney-General, or to withhold it, in
which latter case a non pros being entered, the de-
fendant should have his costs. The Noble and
Learned Lord concluded with again expressing his
hope, that this clause would be such as to meet the
concurrence of both sides of the House.
Lord HOLLAND rose, not, he said, for the pur-
pose of suggesting any alterations in the clause, which
was in itself as perfect as it could be framed, but to
express his sincere acknowledgments to the Noble
And-Learned Lord for having done even more than
could possibly_ hay! been expected.. • Though he
meant not to say that 4111-had• been:4lfected which
could be wished, so far as regarded the Bill, yet with
respect to these particular provisions, they were infi-
nitely beyond. what he had ventured to hope for, and
as such he not only gave them his most cordial as-
sent, but should also declare his decided opinion, that
they must materially improve the •proposed enact-
, ments.—The Bill was lead a third time and passed.
stisTATILSIESIT.
Earl GROSVENOR said, no one was more convinced of the
props iety of admitting that privilege, by which the proceedings of
that and the other House of Parliament, were seat forth to the
world, than he. was • nor was he inclined to complain of any
slight misrepresentation of what fell from him in that Wass..
But when he stated to the House the ground of his-present com-
plaint (not a solitary one, but one of many that had appeared
Against him in a. certain Evening Paper was of opinion that'
their Lordships Would agree with him in thinking, that he
bad good reason to complain. lie Mould not have noticed the
misrepresentation, had it been one relating to general politics or
toe staLe of the country; but this was a matter purely permiital.
The Paper he had mentioned. had made him r.fiect on a Right
Rev. Prelate, the Bishop of London : cow, it world be in the
recollection of those .Z; rile Lords who were rrtisent, that he
even went out of bis way to eulogize that Right Rev. Prelate—
(Hear, hear! from Lord Holland). He would occupy no more
of their time en this subject ; but be had a motion to make,
which was a mere transcript of that which he had submitted to
the House during the last and former Sessions; and therefore
be hoped it would not be objected to. 11: then moved fur a
Return of the number of hirxcure Places and Persions, with
the amount of tile salaries and ealok.ments.--Ordercil to be laid
on the table.—Adjourned.
HOUSE OF COMMONS.

Mr. FINLAY obtained leave to bring in a Bill for Ligbtirg
the City of Glasgow with Gas.
Lord A I.TIIOB.PE gave notice that he would on Wednes-
day. next move for leave to bring in a Bill to amend the Act for
the Relief of Insolvent Debtors.
Mr. 1.. iu the absence of a Right Don Friend,
movea that the motion which stood tin this evening, relative to
the Linen Beard of Ireland, should be postponed till Wednes-
day.—Ordered.
Ni. Alderman WOOD gave notioe, that he would move for
leave to bring in a Bill to-murrow (this day), for the better Em-
ployment of the Pour of Ireland.
On the motion of vir. LUSIIINGYON the Malt Duties
Bill was read a third time and passed.
On the motion of Sir IL PEEL, the Cotton Factories'
Amendment Bill was committed.--Report ordered to be re-
ceived to-morrow (this day).
BRIBIERY
Sir C. BURRELL moved the second reading of!
the Bribery Bill.
Sir C. HAWKINS opposed the Bill. •
Sir C. BURRELL said, that it was not necessary
for him to say malty words in support of the Bill, af-
ter the evidence which had been hears on the sub-
ject at the bar of that House. It was not surprizing
however, that the Hon. Baronet and his constituents,
should regard the *AI with such decided hostility -
but the testimony on which the Bill was founded,
and which had been given both above stairs and at,
the bar, in the course of last Session, was too clear
and convincing, to require further argument.—'l
Nothing had transpired on the trials which the House)
had ordered, that tended to invalidate that evidence.
Under such circumstances, he trusted, that the great
majority which had agreed to the Bill on the first
reading, had no reason to refuse carrying it into a law.
The Bill was then read a second time, and ordered
to be committed vs•toorrow (this day).
BREACH OF PRIVILIWZ.
Mr. COURTENAY moved that the Order of the
Day requiting the attendance of Robert Stodart, at
the bar of the House, be now read.
Mi. EI.LICE rose, and said, that the writer bathe
pamphlet, which had givenirise to the order, did not
wish to give unnecessary trouble tO the publisher
or the Ilouse, and he had, therefore, no objection to
avow himself, and attend the bar of the House, when
called upon ; his name was John Cam Hobhouse.•
Mr. COURTENAY said, as the House bad made
an order requiring the attendance of the publisher,
it was still necessary, notwithstanding the avowal, to
to call upon the publisher, that it might be seen
whether due obedience had been paid to that order.
The Order of the Day was then read, and the
SPEAKER desired the Serjeant at Arms to inquire
whether Robert Stodart was in attendance? and on
being answered in the affirmative, he .commanded
hint to be called in. Mr. Stodart appeared at the
bar, and was interrogated by the Spatter
What is your name'—A. Itabert Sto4ast..,

Q, Look at that pamphlet, and state whether you were the
publisher of it?—A. I am.
Q. Do you know the author?—A. I do. •
Q, State his name ?—A. Mr. Hohliouse.
Q. State his name at large?—A. I am subject to deafness ; I
cannot hear distinctly.
Q. What is his christian name ?—A. John Cam Hobhouse.
The SPEAKER themasked if any Member wished
to propose'any other question? which appearing hot
to be the case, Mr. Stodart was ordered to withdraw.
Mr. COURTENAY said, that after what. had
passed, he bad no wish to visit the printer or pal*.
usher with the consequencei of the offence, as the
author was now declared ;but before he proceeded
furthers he would move. that Robert Stodart be dis-
charged from custody ; and he would then move,
that John Cam HObliotHe be ordered-to attend the
House to-morrow (this day).
Mr. ELLICE stated, that he could wish the Hon.
Member would name a more distant day, as Mr.
llebhouse wits obliged to leave town to visit his fa-
ther, who was dangerously ill ; yet, if ordered, he
would certainly endeavour to attend.
Mr.couitTENAY said, that he had no objection
to name another day, but as Mr. Ilobhouse had,
through his friend, given the House to understand
I that he was ready to attend, when called upon, he
thought it better, for the purpose of avoiding delay;
to move that he be ordered to attend the House to-
Toorrow (this day).
'• *The SPEAKER rose, and said;- that with regard
to the first motion of Mri Coorteday, he seemed to
misunderstand the Isiluation in which Mr. Stodart
stood, he was srotsin Custody, and, therefore, there
was no necessity for a motion fps his discharge. As
to the. attendance of Mt. Hobhouse, he begged to
absetre, that if the fact of his being the writer of the
pamphlet, only appeared from the examination of the
publisher, it would be indispensably requisite to order
that Gentleman to attend, because hemight thereby
be enabled to shew that he was not the author, and
that the publisher was mistaken ; but, as by the state-
ment of a friend of the'aecused party, there remained
'no doubt as to the accuracy of the fact acknow-
ledged by the publisher, he did not think there was
any necessity for an order to call Mr. Hobholise to
the bar, however, he wished the House to 'use its
discretion, and judge for itself.
-Mr. COURTENAY then stated, that hehad given
the subject Ahem. before the House a good deal of
zonsideration, and had made his mind up, both as to
,the nature of the offence, and the'manner ip which it
ought to be punished. The offence itself was not
,vague or undefined; a contempt of that House was
taken notice•of as punishable in a sunimarr way by
the highest authorities. For the satisfaction of those
Members who had not paid the same attention to the
.lect, the Honourable Member thought proper to
read some passages from a Report of a Committee'
of the House of Commons upon a former occasion.
By that Report, it appeared that the privileges of
that House were to be considered as part of the fun-
damental law of Parliament, which was part of the
law of the land, or the le.r terra, as recognized by
Magna Charta. Contempt of the Courts below au-
thorized a summary proceeding against the offender,
and a committal following thereupon was as much
the law of the land as th..t which followed a convic-
tion upon a trial by his peers. That House was not
therefore to be deprived of the right of protecting
itself, and maintaining its dignity, which inferior
Courts possessed ; on the contrary, that right had
been acted on from-timeiminemoriar, had been sanc-
tioned by the highest legal authority, and identified
with those laws which protect the lives and proper-
ties of the people, in order to prove that the proper
way of punishing a contempt by the House of Com-
mons was not by giving directions to the Attorney-
General to prosecute, but by the summary mode of
committal. The Honourable Member read an ex-
tract from a speech of Mr. FOX, the purport of which
was, that a libel on the House of Commons ought
not to be punished by the intervention of an inlet ior
Court, upon the prosecution of the Attorney-Gene-
ral ; but should bo looked upon as a contempt of
I Court, and punished by a summary process of com-
mittal, executed by the orders of the House, and by
no other tribunal. The Honourable Gentleman then
stated, that he would submit a Resolution, to form
a foundation for the ultimate proceedings of the
House, by expressing the general feeling of the pam-
phlet in question. fie then moved,
" That the said pamphlet is a scandalous libel, containing
matter tending to inflame the people to acts of violence against
the Constinftion, and especially against this House; and that it
is a high contempt of the privileges and the constitutional amt.°.
rity of this House."
On the Resolution being put, it was carried •with
only one.dissentient voice, that of Sir F. 136nDETT..
Mr. COURTENAY then moved a second Resolu-
tion, namely :
" That John Cam Ilobluntse, Esquire, having acknowledged
himself to be the author of the said pamphlet, has been guilty
of a high contempt of privileges, and the constitutional authority
of this House."
This Resolution was carried like the former, with
only the dissentient voice of the same Hon. Baronet.
Mr. COURTENAY then rose, and said, that as
Mr. Hobhouse had avowed himself to he the author,
and there was no necessity, as had been observed by'
the highest authority in that House, for calling him
to the Bar, it remained to move, that he be taken-
laps the custody of the Serjeant at Arms.
Mr. BROUGHAM said, that before the Honour
able. Gentleman put motion, he wished to inform
titri on a point of whith lie did not seem to be aware;
namely, that by a committal to the custody of the
serjeant at Arms, a double punishment was in-
'curred, that of a fine in the nature of fees, and iro-
rprisonment—besides, there must be delay in that
proceeding. He wished also the Hon. Member to
recollect, that Mr. Hobhouse was called upon by a
,tense of filial piety, to attend to a father, who was
then in an exceedingly dangerous state of health.
At to the manner in ;which the House was to vindi-
cate its privileges, he made no question that it ought
to be in, all cases of contempt by its own act, and
he would always protest against that anomalous