Star.
London, England, 1817-02-25 00:00:00

was evidence before the Secret Cemmittee, which'
proved, that at one point of reunion of this society in
the metropolis the number was far greater; and this
had appeared from no other evidence than that of the.
very officers-of the Society, who had, with a strange
alacrity, made all their statements and disclosures
with the utmost readiness. These men seemed to
think,. that when they called themselves philanthro.
posts. the very name mint dilarm suspicion:' It was
one characteristic feature" of these reforming societies,
that they all'professed the most' unbounded benevo-
lence—they were all philanthropists—all ifteir plans
and projects, no matter whether directed against out.
persons or our properties, were. if we believe] diem,
conceived in loving-kindness to the human race !
Vicar, hear.) They made 'no scrup!e of avowing
that the object of their society was the deitroictton of
private property; and thus, by a singular, perversity,
this society or association was formed on principles,
the direct tendency of which was the destruction of

the Whole fabric of civil society.—(Hear, hear.)—
As to the other societies, known by the name of
Union Societies, it had been alleged by some indivi-
duals that the London Union Society had ceased
to exist. On this subject he wished explicitly to
state, that the Cimmittee had been put in possession
of documents which proved the existence of Union
Clubs at Sheffield, Manchester, and other places,
which represented themselves as branches of the
Union Club in London. And this had been distinctly
proved, that as late as December, 1816, by the pay.
ment of twenty shillings to the Uni os Club at Shell
field, or any cf the other places, the person who paid
this suns was made an honorary Member of the
Union Society of London—timid ei let ofWear, hear.)
But really it was impossible for the House to attend
to all the shufniag special pleading shifts to which
these Societies resorted. It was no mailer as to the
name, whether they called themselves Union Clubs
or Hampden Clubs; —they seemed all actuated by
the same spirit, they all passed the same Resolutions,
and the Kruse must not atter:et to their paltry nomi-
nal distinctions—they must not Le cheated by such
-means.,—(Hear, hear.) The Spencean doctrines were
recognized and inculcated by all of them. And why
the Spencean doctrines ? Why was it on this that
they all more especially agreed ? It was for this—
because they were founded on the principle of plun-
der and participation of property—V.o.ol cries e.
Hear, hear, from all parts e the Hosea.)—lt was by
plunder that they hoped to work on the mind of the
:poor deluded tradesman. They were all on the same
agrarian.principle—the equal division of property—.l
_the simultaneous rising of the parishes-,the hunting.
'down the landholder ;—nay, so beautiful was thew.
:system, that even the poor landholder was not to be
destroyed, for when he had been stripped of his pro-,
perry, be was to be made a pensioner ut the public..-.
(Hear, hear.) —lf it were not that it would be ours.
seeable to trespass so far upon the time of the House,
he could produce the. creecrof this Society, not writ-
ten in the style of illiterate low-bred mischief-makers,
but with an air of eloquence that would istonish the
House. On the whole, the measures which he should
Iropose,as the most wise which could be adopted, were
Ist. The temporary inept Walt of the Habeas Corpus Act.
Id. To *stead the Aft of 1793 ht the security of his btu
jisty's person, to hie Royal H 1 bone thetrinue. shyest,., due
person exereiiing the Witless of llopelo.
ad. To embody Wm one Act the proshisess of the, AM oft net,
math, to ansultome ineethip sad debashi Godwin, and he
provisions at the Act of the MI off the Mae; whit! *dared
the illegality of all societies bound together by wpm oasis, or
V sec by secret oaths, which a:tasted itself by fraternised,
branch., over the kingdom and totwohe 0 mast, that the no-1
minatia; delegates or masisoloseis, soder stik prawn. to
any ether society of the kind, should be emaildsred as seldom
proof of the illegality of tech societies at gssodations.
nth. o make each esectstests as shout be timeght most ef-
fectual to punish with*. stalest riper say attempt to 'allover
solders or sailors so act, with any association es set of men, and
withdraw Mesa from their allegiance.
He was anxious that the House should observe the
distinction which be wished to mate es to the dura-
tion of these measures. • He had no hesitation in de-
daring, that he thought the lasragainst Aggregated
and Affiliated Societies ought to be permanent ; but
he did•not wish the law- against Seditious Meetings
and Debating Societies to be pushed beyond -the ne-
cessity of the case; end he should not wish the pe-
lad so long as on the former occasion. He hoped,
-when the sense of Parliament was declared, and tittl
of all the reasoning part of the community, the symens:l
would fall to pieces by its own degradation. He,
concluded by moving for leave to bring in a Bill for
more of preventing Seditious Meetings.
Mr. PONSONBY was disposed to concur. in the'
neammre fir extending the law for the protection of
tie King to the Prince Regent, and in the law against
the seduction of the King's troops. As to the Bill
fee the union of the two Acts of the Sigh and Seth of
•the King, whets introduced to the table of the Hama
be should give a &twits opinion; but he was sorry to
my that he felt himself obliged to give his decided
opposition to the suspension of the Habeas Corpus.
Acs. He wished the Noble Lord had been a little-
more forbearing in calling down suspicion on the head
of any man against whom there was no evidence be-
fen the Committee; for bad there been any evidence
lsefore the Lbonnittee against any individuals, how.
ever powerful, they would have bad sufficient manli-
ness to have stated it. He did not know wheat ihn
Noble Lord pointed out to seapicion; but suspicion
was directed against some person or other, and tall&
he did not think the Noble Lord justified.
Dad CASTLEREAGH explained.

Sir FRANCIS BURDETT said, that he could
not withhold from entezing his protest against the
new infringement of the Constitution, which they
were now called on to sanction. It was one of a
chain of encroachments upon the Constitution, which
the absurd and foolish delusions imposed on the Gen-
tlemen of England had been intended to disguise.—
Was it really to be imagined that any danger could
arise frcm the absurd project of Mr. Spence ? The
Gentlemen of England were surely nut so tame as to
)ook on and see themselvei stripped of their inheri-
lance ; but d'that were apprehended, the Measures
proposed by the Noble Lord were not calculated to.
Meet the evil. Why did *not the Noble Lord, if he
dreaded such an evil, tale the ConstitntiOnal means
et averting it, and arm property for its °WA defence t
phi the NOW, Lord was no fond of reading pampbkts,
he refaommended him to read the excellent pamphlet
of Sir William Jones, on the Constitutional Means if
sUppressing Riots. By arming the People of t
land in a Constitudonal we?, they might sit at.-,
:ince the Spenerans without throwing ibemselves into
the pew of the sate( le-Speoceese, of whom the

,Noble Lord was one-14 iropi and Ilia)—who
were now, in reality, taking their property from them
while they set forth this contemptible plot, to blind
their eyes, while they were consummating their de-
signs against the People. As the pamphlets of the
Reformers and of Speneeans, or any which could be
raked together, had been introduced as indicative of
the feeling of the. People, he might be allowed to
allude to one which was supposed to speak the semi-
Meats of the Ministers. 'This pamphlet was called
ißeform the Watch Word of Revolution.".--The
writer of that pamphlet. after talking of the happiness
which should result from a state of peace, observed,
that the immediate interest of the Government (if
every country in Europe, on the same principle on
which they had restored the ancient Gove):einent
.of France—( Hear, hear) whicii he (the Honour.
able Baroliet) thanked Goo they bad not altoge-
they been able to .effect—stimulated them to pre-
vent in this country a Revolution which threatened
the tranquillity of Europe.—(Hear, hear,
The writer then warned the people to beware 6. lest
they might lead to the introduction of a foreign army
into this country —( Llear, hoar)—sod thus turn into
a complete despotism the Government they were striv-
ing to reform." He did not know whether the mea-
sure thus pointed at by this Ministerial writer, formed
a part of the Holy League of. which the Noble Lord
was a Champion—and which was indeed a conspi-
racy of all governments against people of all nations.
If the system on which the Noble Lord called on
them to en:er were pursued, then. indeed foreign ar-
mies might be found necessary—(Hear, hear) —to
support use Government against the hatred anti anger
of the people. It had been much the fashion to se-
parate the army from the people—not only to habi-
tuate the country° Standing armies, before unknown
to the laws, but to hold them up as the special and
only preservers of the public peace. If this system
were pursued, all freedom was at an end. But it
the arcelleat plan of Sir Wm. Jones, which he had
proved to 'be in the real spirit of the Constitution,
were introduced, the country would possess an armed
force sufficient fur all purposes of security, and the
arms too would be in the hands of people best inte.
rested in the preservation of the pubilc peace.—
But how was the suspension of the Habeas Corpus
necessary t If the absurd pamphlet of Mr. Spence,
which the Noble Lord had described as being written
with such ability, had the effect of inducing the pro-
prietors to give up their lands, it would be an effect
which reason had never before produced in the world.
But if bad that effect—veireti tudla injaeria —the land-
holders being contented, Mr. Spence'etullowere might
divide the land among themselves, and thus In either
ChM there would be no harm to be apprehended
from such persuasion. But as to the attempts to
carry the Ott into effect by forcethey bad been
told of treasons, and consiracies, and associa-
tions, without one iota of prof--(h:ar, hear),
but there were laws against treason,againetconspira-
cies; against blasphemy—them were great powers,
unconstitutional powers as he thought, -lodged in the
Government for the prosecution of libels; the Go-
vernment might lay hold of any writer, and appoint
every part of the Court which tried. him : —the Judge, the At-
torney-General, the Special Jury. If these checks were not suf-
ficient, it was nonsense to talk of the Liberty of the Wait ft
would be hatter at at ere to say that theysinsuid nee endure it-.-that
the pahlae mind was come to such a stain, that the freedosn which
our might enjoy, we were not St to pions. It was bet tee
to do this s'an to aura the people and punish by re pssfactelaws,
as thrtioble Lord seemed to toted to do. As tome treason and
conspiracies particularised 'in the Report, they were for the meet
part what had bees detailettin every Newspaper many 'moths ass.
U they weer Moan with such horrid committees-es, did not the
Noble Loed, by delaying to resort to Parliament (How; hear),
become inflict a party to the conspiracy ?—(Abele-) Why were
they Not revealed In the King's Speech f In that Speech, on the
costrary, they were told of die resignation of the people, a sew
virtue fee which they bad great need, when they were dying ab-
solutely for want. 'I he niters of the people in the short time
which had passed sines that Speech, waned to have vanished,
sad there was inching but creases and discontent in the country.
As to the Clubs et which he had been a Member, he was now ea
account of his caimans with them, branded as a• traitor end
comparison.` He repelled this charge s he owed no allegleMe
to the corruption In that House, or to the BurouLle-meepte,
by. whom k was cossdnued--he was not aware that mere
was a man more clear Irons treason than -Hassell. It was
however plain from this, that the dread of Reform was the
pound cot the measure submitted' to them—and for that were
the ancoossituttenal measures of coercion to be resorted to
to-prevent the fleas mown( by Petition the griev-
awes of which they so much cause to camplabi—(Heirr.l
He (Sir F. Burdat) was Chairman of the Rampart, 0 eh-.that
Club was now held up as the mother of all treason-.-it was
transact too, as they were told, to correspond with petition In
other ports of the kingdom. Mr. Pitt had not been of ibis opi.
won, when, after the American War, he attempted to excite the
whole country in favour of Parlkinestary Reform. Mr. Pitt
In a declaration, which bad petite's some Inflame ow his (Sir
F. Burden's) mind, feeetold, that without a Reform lu Partis-
ans* the country had no se corky against wars trine* prodigals
than that which bad bees that coockeded„ and by arguments un-
answered and unanswerable, showed the socessity of the Meo-
ws, for which the Clubs. now stigmatised as traitorous, coo-
kneed to canard. The-object of the friends of corruption was
to excite the selfish feelings of mat of property, and to urge than
to rally mad the Government to den-edit against the people.
They weee told that a batted was excited amongst the people
towards the privileged a dors. He knew if no privileged ort-
dery but the House of Pans, in which no persons. except the
Spescessis, had ever wished to mote any thane. All other
dune were the Contatense-all. were septet lit the eye of the
.law—and against all equally was the system of corruption
directed, and for nine of them was there any security, but by
a Reform In Parliament. It appealed alsothat be (Sir Francis
Burdett), though, until he was sr/minded of it, be bad for-
genets it, had been formerly a Member slim Union Society.—
that body heed only, It appeared, uttered one Address, and bad
'spired; sod en this account also he was Wended as a traitor cod
conspirator by the Noble Lord. The charge' he would not bed- t
tate to retort. , He accused the Noble Lord as a subverter be
Coestitution—as a person detected In practices subversive or it,
foe lithith he deserved inmeacluisent, aid for which he neuti
have been inwesehed, had not the notorious extensiveness of the
crime emanated the presemal criatioality of the Noble Lord.—
be Noble Lad had dose mom to bring into hared and con-
terispitbe Coostkutioo then all the Clubs, whether Hampden or
Spitooms, and all the trash which the Committee bad rased to.
gather. The Noble Lord; condoled doe Hunourabk Banner,
.4 (I mein no "mond Imputation on him,) is an old offends,—
(Hear.) I warn the House to pause before It CIVISCS the threshold
which leads to the fatal tours, which the Irish House of Com-
mous onee,purned. The same Moody track which the Noble
Lord marked out in Ireland we niust.fullow, if we once throw
away the Conatiution. The transactions in that country are yet
engraren in our memory. They are matter of history, horrible its
they are. The scenes whiclipassed were terrible. I am afraid to
deectibestionsi,.init their effect would lead to itiolence.--(Hear.)
Seems such as these, though the Nate Lord rotund to them
with so much cahoots" would ratan a stain in, English
(&.r, hem), I warn the House agate* suffering kr& to tie lid '
inn the same path. The Noble Lord bad been not only rintail
dinky Mina In Parlismost Ins Pagland,but ha has sold the Irish
Parliament by whaiessie. (a fed,) He realered it so Wives to '
du House of Cameros, so 0430111 to the Mtn people, that they '
were snaloos to get rid eke Parhanient ekoseteer—and the No.
Ide Lewd than tunnel tousand animals to do one act of
by conunittieig aikido. It wain ens so dens is; have heat*
with my sum ears the Speaker of the *Ms of -C;oanstour
Mho to prom tt nt the boa The fp., gamut sad, tbai tic

Were In Ililck the treasonable plots were detail:tea were hew
They were add to be confined to the lower daises. Pew, if ant,
it was said, of the higher classes were engage.: Few, if any •
there any T—(Hoer, .leer)—lf there *ere, why wee,
they not named t What right Inui the Committee to insinuate ,
Marge which it could nor substantiate ?—(Hear, hear)....u, the
CoMmittee, from their Report, he could not judge immoral:lv
though it contained some names which he remicted. fin '
Gentlemen were chosen front that side Of the Howse
but it war front among throe who were note,rinue alseeni,t,
1. (Hear, hear)—lt was not long ago that one of them (Lord mg.
ton) said he trembled at Parliamentary Reform; like Dam,
Quickley, who could bear cheaters but out sWaturcr,, he o,oo‘
"as 'twere any aspen leaf." at thee. ry h'ea .If Reform. -1.6 4
Committee thus composed be could not give sufficient credit..!,
deliver asp every in England to an unconstitutional pew...
One of the stogies ot the Union Society had been laid grca; bit t
upon in Another Repon, but had been I, ft out in the iteport.iit
the Conn:lons.. A 'Petition bad been presented on that stiblect
to the House of Lords-s(Crier e Oder.)—a had bee.;
presented to another place, in which the Secretary of tLat g,_
ciety had offered to &sprees the Report of the Holier of
By not making this story a pan of their Report, a C:,et,
mittee of the House of Commons d d not support the
port of the .I.ords. He suspected that if the whole Reywe
were investigated, and proper persons exatnioed, it avnuli•
ie
found to be equally wi-hout foundatio n—(Hear, hear.) It nos
curious to perceive how, in all tyrannical Governments, *tit
transactions were carried on in the same way. They might be
tempted to ask of the plots now presented to them, at had free,
said under ohe of the Roman Ensperoes—rssene delator
leitiGus aiilil riot —stetiola d gmulit etistola veer—(,a buzi)
was said in the Report, that the Traitorous Assuctitticms were
confined to a few individuals, and to particular diadem. it
would be better then, if any law matt be passed, to have
soot' pedal law to confine the particular persona alluded to, it,
keep them in bondage till the alarm had sub ided, or till the par-
pules fur which the warns had been excited by the Noble Lord
were answered (Hear, hcar,) than to deprive the whole hop
.1 .nt of the benefits of the Gonstinai!oo. One of the mcaemo,
proposed was for the protection of the Regent's person. He
agreed, that alt the protection which the law affsnied to the
King anould be eittlhiedi to the Regent —hot he saw on
why the alterations which had been made in the otd treason laws
should have taken place. The laws said, that when so mighty a
I power as the Government was raised against an individual, it
was proper he should be fenced round by peculiar Intentions.
The elect of that alteration in the Laws was to take away thew
protections, and be could not therefore approve of it. Another
of the measures was a Gagging Bill. As the object of these
measures 'was to secure the Parliament against Reform—he
thought it would be better if the attempt to Reform the !fosse
were at axe declared Treason. They should know whether
they were freemen or slaves. In the mean time, he .hoedd de
his duty, mil take sultry step which he deemd conducive to the
desirable end—a litefohn in the House of Commons, within
witted there could not longer be a sena icy either for pence ot
property is this casintry—(Hear, hear, bear.)
Lord MILTON disclaimed that he felt any terror when the
subject of Reform was agitated.
Mr. BROUGHAM protested against the "contest:cgs ale
mantled by Ministers. 1, here were many I.iretonstances roving
that the Committee, in recommeuding new laws to ritt.7t tam-
ing circumstances, were disgracefully ignorant of tho,e sow it
force. The Noble Lord bad launched out, not in charges, bv.
in soniethiug wipe than charges—in insinuations agaitst detect
persons, not eaqipting even Members of that Home, as hilly
couutenaoctaothe lower classes of reformers out of dears,
wiLJ and oxaggerated doctrines. He had sa,d that htsrabers
that Home, in the discharge el their pqblie duty, had inducal
the lower daises of society to embrace dangerous n:
tbey became rep isible to God and man for the cirrsecut:g.
Lord COCHRANE. commented on the Report of the Cost.
ether, and thought if Illegal and unjust to deprive the peopled
England of their liberty upon suds evedene:. It these laws '••:,
sed, the people would have no ether means of restoring the:
rights Man the cicalae of pliyeleal strength. The people c
have no otherconaitut lomat means but that of withholding
money from the taxotatheren--(Loud cries of Order!)
The SPEAKER said, that suds language .could est be tole
rated in that House.
Lord COCHRANE resumed; and said, that nothing was*
tber from his mind than active resistance. He only main pa.
ales resistance' such as was already practised by the qine,et
people In the world, the Quakers.
Mr. CANNING did nut rise to detain the House front tumid
to a Tote, in which be understood that no deference would enc.
But there were watillopoints ha an Hon. and Learned Membei
erode, on which he desired to make a few observations. kits!
bees often observed, that those who were ammeters wan .i.•
delouse were MOW apt to draw in the credulity of others; ass&
never saw this' positios Agora fully exemplified, than when
heard the Hon. Member expressing lies doubts on the justice
the Report, and at the same time calling on the House to bob.,

. • a
that the entire conspiracy im.l been fabricated by M • en. 11:
if the House were inclined to give credit to such a suuositirn
they must believe that the Minitter4 !`"! 'tette!! a wild mitt
'Ord scheme—had put it into the hands of a set of frantic persons•
and yet bad formed it with such admirable dexterity, u to ludo
five of the most intelligent men of that House to agree with teem
in their 'eonclusions.—(Hear, Year,)—He defended MitiMei
front the invitations cast oq theta toe their tint having 5..."
awned Parliament when they were first apprised of the rsistr.:,
of this conspiracy. In such a case, it would nut have been ire
dent to withdraw the country Gentlemen from the places wirlt
their presence would have been most serviceable. but did ie
proceedings of those conspirators bear in November such a tie
racer as subsequent facts bad imposed on them ? Did it apor
on the face of the Report that Guvernmeot alight not have*
at that iinaans ignorant of the real obj-:ct of these people, as sr
that mac mime Petition had been preserved that night to 7
House, who had been drawn to the Spa. fields meeting to so
a PaPpet, en their temporary rostrum, without, ..as he iortire.,
sell designs ? lie had been drawn thither in tilt inntrence ..1
vanity pi his heart, and wh le he (Coded that he was only 1..1
lug a splash, be was the unconecious agent of a rrbelihau, rd
(Near, hear f—A serious danger bad been admitted iv; the F.
Gentleman opposite, while they complained° that notl.iti •
peered specific; but .svis there nu danger in eotleavontrin;
religion to destroy the frame of society t•—was there no tit;.
in destroying the frame ot society to excite to rapine, and
engrafting one crime on another, make each alibsereient to 't
perpetration of others progrestively enormous/ He did
puts to the modern philosophers the intention of dividing
' lands of the country. No; but he imputed to them the tai
tion of taking the land to themselves—(Hear, liter )—Nor
he ituasine that they desired the fulfilment of their owl Ai!
rise theory any further than as it attained the spoliation
petty. Muds had been said of the inconsiderable danger
could result from the paucity of numbers of those who cox,'
plated these schemes of personal aggrandisement. Rut did :
the experience of history eternally furnish the exam; le a
few triumphing over the many ?—end what absurd,' y
ip supposing in theory what bad been so often reduced to • Dn..,
pr cute? He contended fur the necessity of the preterit nieloit'
'and prayed the House to consider that on their deacons ••
pended whether the internal security and external n.egtt:
of the constitution should& sacrificed or saved.
The llouse then divided—For the motion 1 9—Against it. :1
Majority a is —The following were the Minority.: .
Aubrey, Sir John Fulksione, Lord Rust. It, Lord
timid, Hon. Thos. Gordon, IL Smith, W.
Fitzgerald, Rt. Hun. Hughes, Colonel Tavittock, Lord
'1 bus. • Ossuiross„ Lord Wai:egtaye, Hut
Ferguson, Sit R. Rancid*, Lard Edit .a.l
1 ellen.— The Hun. H. !Sonnet— Sir Francis
• Lord CAS ELEREAGH thee obtained leave to 3
to amend the s7th in the Ku% for rendering more prii.:l
&canal ot Soldiers; and also a Rill tor extending the pr.'''.'.
of the Act of the 3615 ot George 111. for the protection 01
King's person, to the protectiou of the person of the
Regent.—His Lordship immediately brought in the direr
which were read a first time, and ordered to be read a it:
betin* on Wednesday, and to printed.
The other orders of the day were then disposed of; and a:
past twelve at night the Hou.e adjourned. •
A Flamdere Mad arrived-this moroing. It brings intgl .
r.
eifthe delivery,of the Prince's of °extras of a son, at lit,' if
on the Rlthitattant.,
lau.night received the Paris Papers from the 18:1 t'
itistlochttive. The Loan is said to have been definitively !
ea the 13th, Tn. Chamber of Deputies is stilt engird 111
discustion of sk. Bodget.—The King is nu worse.—Figai'
Price ut Stooks this day at twelve o'clock : —.seduced 5(I
Coos. no. 6Oti—eace. tleli-1 per lieu:. per C. 911
sfr Near tiazuznav the State Lottery will br add ifos

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