Star.
London, England, 1810-05-11 00:00:00

HOUSE OF LORDS, THURSDAY, MAYI S.
The House, in a Cammittee of Privileges, was for a length of
time employed in hearing Counsel, on the claims to the Banbury
Peerage, and the Judges attended to deliver their opinion on a
point of law.
Several private Bills were brought up from the Commons, and
read a first time.

Lord BORRINGDON moved for a number of papers Madre
to the late Campaign in Spain and Portugal,
The papers were accordingly ordered.
The Bills on the Table were forwarded in their re.rectlve
stages, after which the House adjourned.

greater, expedieney of proeeeding by trial
in cases similar to those to which it alluded,
it prayed for the liberation of Sir Francis Burdett
and John Gale June's,

The Petition was ordered to-lie on the table.
Mr. SHAW LEFEVRE then rose, and said hi
held in his. hand another Petition, which he begged
leave to offer to the House. It was voted at the
same meeting, and transmitted at the sane time with
the petition just received, and prayed for a reform in
the representation of the United Kingdom in the
Commons. House of Parliament. It was couched in
decorous and respectful language. .It stated that the
'necessity of reform was more than ever apparent,
since the commencement of the present war, It adver-
ted to the opinions expressed in former petitions and
discussions on the subject, and also to the opinion ex-
pressed by the Speaker on the point of obtaining
seats by purchase, and it prayed for the establish-
ment of triennial instead of septennial Parliaments.
He moved that the Petition be now received,
Mr. SIMEON seconded the motion ; but begged
leave at the same time to observe, that although the
requisition to the Mayor for convening the meeting
at which the petitions were voted, had been signed
by a number of respectable per Sons who were voters,
yet the meeting consisted of the inhabitants at large,
whether voters or not, who were very numerous ; so
that the voice and opinion of the real electors might
be completely drowned by the voice of those who had
not the elective' franchise, which might mislead the
' House. There was nothing to guide the House but
the names subscribed to the Petition; and here there
were 'mly twelve names subscribed, though he did
nett doubt but there was a numerous meeting of dif-
ferent descriptions, and many other voters amongst
them. Those who had signed were very respectable
in situation and character. He had noticed this dis'
tinction. the rather because those who were in general
the secret engines of these meetings (he did net say
that was the case here, the requisition to the Mayor
having been signed by a considerable number of vo-
ters) were desirous, for their own purposes, of bring-
ing in a multitude of persons, whether electors or not,
to carry a favourite point ; not considering, or else
intentionally concealing from the real Cectors, that it
was an act of political suicide on their part to suffer
their opinions to be swallowed up by a slew of hands '
of every person present, of whom, peT:islps, pine-
tenths might not be voters. This was an intimida..
tion of the real voters, who ota!taps durst not ex.
press their opinions upon popular subjects, urged by
artful demagogues, for fear of the multitude th:tt tar-
rounded them. He admitted, and gloried in the
admission, that the humblest peasant as well as the
wealthiest gentleman should be the object of our care
and attention ; and that the property, and privileges,
and life of the poorest man was as much entitled to
protection, and had a right to petition this House,
upon every thing he felt to be a grievance, as the
richest : all he meant to argue was, that those wno
were the legal electors were the constitutional judges
of the conduct of their members, and of the represen-
tative body which they had elected : and that their
political opinions, for the sake of themselves and of
their own independence, ought to be kept separate,
in order to preserve their character and weight in the
Constitution ; for they would speak with more weight
when they were to speak the pure voice of the consti-
tuent body.
Mr. WARD said, it was impossible to suffer this
petition to pass without some answer to what had fal-
len from the Hon. Gentleman. Was it possible that
any Member of that House could say there was any
man in this kingdom who had not as good a right to
discuss and to sign a petition of that nature praying
for a Parliamentary Reform, as any freeholder or bur-
gher in the kingdom, however legally authorised ?-----
If any one argument could be stronger than another
for Parliamentary Reform in the conatitution of that
House, it would be the denial of that right to discus-
sion and petition in the persons who are not I reeholders
nor butters in corporate towns. Would it be said
that the inhabitants of those great and wealthy ruanu•!
facturing towns, Manchester, Birmingham, and others
he could name, had no right to discuss nor to petition
Parliament for keform, or for any other purpose in
which their interests were concerned ?

Mr. SIMEON rose to explain. He had been much
misunderstood by the Hdnourable Gentleman. He
had particularly guarded against the construction
which had been put upon his words ; for he admitted
in the fullest manner, and rejoiced in the right of
every one, even the humblest Find lowest subject of
the realm, to petition the House upon any subject of
grievance, whether he was an elector or not ; but the
opinion of the real Electors upon the conduct of their
Representatives, or the House, for the sake of their
own weight and consequence in the State, ought to be
exercised as purely and distinctly as their. franchise
was exercised in giving their Votes for electing a
Member of Parlunent, and' that those who for pri-
vate purposes called in persons' who had no vote to
mix in tic deliberations of those who had a vote,'de-
stroyed or lessened the consequence of the real Occ-
urs, and wisLl-to govern by a mob. The sePara-
tion did not deprive those who had no vote of the
right to petition, or lessen it. With the greatest re.
specs to the Petitioners, he was bound by his Consti-
tutional duty as .a Member of this deliberative Assem-
bly, to suspend any opinion upon the important sub
jects to which it alluded, until after he bad heard
them debated. Saving, therefore, to himself, such
opinion as he was bound to form and ace upon, after
hearing all the arguments that could be urged upon
lany proposition that might be (*red for the public
good, he was happy to second the motion for receiv-
ing the petition offered to the Honourable Colleague.
The Petition was accordingly brought up, and or-
dered to lie on the table. •

LON DO% DOCKS.

The Order of the Day being read for the third read-
ing of the London Dock Bill,
Mr. H. THORNTON rose, and said, that the
former Bill passed undet an express clause of making
reasonable compensation to all persons sustaining in-
jury from the buildirg of those docks; and he was
himself one of the committee appointed to investi-
.
gale claims, and to settle compensations. But he was
sorry to observe that a great number of persons, who
had suffered losses in their property and interest by
the formation of those docks, so far from being com-
pensated, were totally 'ruined. He thougl t there
never was a case to which justice more strongly at-
tached the principle of compensation. He understood
that an application had been made upon the subject

- led of the. great
PARLMMENTARr PROC.EEDINGS, Iby Jury, in cas