Star.
London, England, 1819-03-24 00:00:00

and therefore he hoped the Gentlemen opposite
would not content themselves with merely declaring
themselves favourable to inquiry, but that they would
actively support a proposition to that effect. He
thought it possible that in the course of two or three
days such information might be obtained as would
qualify the Gentleman going out to prosecute the
inquiry with which he was charged, better than any
information he could procure in any other way. As
we continued sending out what were called cargoes
of human creatures to New South Wales, care ought
to be taken that they should be sent out under such
circumstances as would not only prove not injurious
to them, but under such as would tend to produce
their moral reform. With these feelings he thought
those who svent out in any ship with Dr. Brownlow
or Mr. Hamilton, would be more fortunate than
others, from the superior opportunities they would
have of improving themselves. It appeared to him,
in every respect, desirable that an inquiry should
take place without further delay, and he hoped his
Honourable Friend opposite would make no objection
to such a proposition. He had a great respect for
Governor Macquarry, but they in that House who
were acquainted with Governors and Lieutenant-
Governors, ought to remember that there was another
. class of persons who looked up to them for protection.
The weak, the helpless, and the oppressed, wanted
their care ; and however they might naturally be led
away by friendship to favour those with whom they
were connected, it was their duty to attend as much
as possible to the interests of those of whom he had
. just spoken.
Sir JAMES MACKINTOSH said, as the most
perfect unanimity prevailed on the subject, and all
were agreed that an inquiry ought to take place, the
fiends of Governor Maequarry being, as might he
expected, most anxious for it, he only rose, lest his
silence should he mistaken, to repeat his former testi-
mony to the character of that Gentleman, w horn he
had long and intimately known. Ile had always be-
lieved him distinguished by honour and humanity,
and he could not think that he was likely ever to
deviate from principles which he had held to form a
part of his character.
Mr. GOITLBURN said, all were agreed that in-
quiry was desirable; the only difference of opinion
was as to the mode in which that inquiry should be
conducted. In the first instance it. had been neces-
sary, as had been justly remarked, to entrust Go-
vernor Macquarry with powers which went beyond'
those usually given to Governors, and though be
knew nothing of that Gentleman .mwnally, never
having seen him, he was ready to bear testimony to
the propriety of his conduct, so far as this could be
known from the public documents which had come
under his observation. The powers given him to
restrain the convicts, he strewed, were necessarily
extended in their operation to the free settlers. Had
this not been so, the peace of the Colony would have
been very considerably endangered, as the distur-
bances which had broken out on a former occasion,
were actually excited by that very class of persons.
With respect to the case of' one of the Petitioners
(Blake), he had a few words to say. There was a
place called the Governor's Demesne in the Colony,
which was something like Hyde Park. The gates
orcal te. u 1 I rew,:nlit, but the walls having br.pn
broken down, and the park having been made the
scene of many indecent improprieties, the Governor
at last issued a Proclamation, in which he threatened,
that those who should be next detected in breaking
down the walls of the demesne should be punished
in the way that such offences were commonly punish-
ed in that Colony. The Petitioner, with two con-
victs his associates, were soon after taken in the act
of breaking down the walls, and were in consequence
carried before a Magistrate, and afterwards flogged.
This certainly could not have been done in Eng-
land; but since the first establishment of the Co.
lony, it had been usual to visit offences with cor-
poreal punishment, which would be dealt with in
another way in this country. This system was
not new to the Ilouse. They had long since had
it before them in the Report of a Committee.—
As to the manner in which this punishment was in-
flicted, from what I.e had been able to learn from the
best authority, that of free settlers who had returned
to this country, if there was a fault at all, it was that
of which Ire had spoken, as being too sparingly re-
sorted to. Of the case of Williams, as to the lettea
said to have been written by the Governor respect..
ing that person, he had no knowledge whatever.—
Yr ler respect to what had been said of the duties on
the importation of spirits, he had to remark that ever
since the fir st establishment of the Colony, some re-
strictions had been found necessary, on the same
principle that excluded spirituous liquors from our
prisons in England. The duties had been raised or
lowered from time to time, according to the circum-
stances of the Colony. With the information recently
received, it would shortly be his duty to propose a
measure that would have the effect of placing these
duties on a legal footing. On the subject of the pub-
lic expenditure, he had to state, that in New South
Wales, as in every other Colony, the person holding
the public money was bound to advance it on the
warrant of the Governor. The warrant of the Go-
Nernor was the Treasurer's discharge, and it was for
the Government at home to determine whether or not
the expenditure that' had taken place was justified.
It-. this respect, there was not any thing improper
which appeared in the system of New South Wales.
The Honourable Gentleman had thought two or
three persons would be better sent than one in the
Commission now going out. I-Ie had to state, that
the Commission had beer. issued in 1817, but had
never been acted upon till now, from the difficulty of
finding any person properly qualified to conduct the
inquiry, willing to accept the office. Such aperson had
now been found. The Secretary who would accom-
pany him, in the event of that person's decease, was
a person competent to follow up the investigation,
and therefore it was thought better that they should
proceed forthwith to New South Wales, than that
further delay should take place while two other per-
sons were sought to accompany them. On the other
topics which had been touched upon, he declined
entering at present.
1/Ir. IIINNET contended, the Governor of New
South Woks had exercised a power, which Govern-
rirent—which the King himself could not authorise
him to exercise without an Act of Parliament. If
corporeal punishment were inflicted for a trespass, it
might be applied iu civil cases. He also complained