Star.
London, England, 1820-08-19 00:00:00

fa: kds castses nWha is not oementruptdous hi substituting,
tr-ar.tee chat does not make for it ; btqfput Lordships, who are '
net inflaenced by such prejudiced viehrss and who do not labour
under this professional obliquity of rislgn, camiot but recollect,
that if the absolute necessity for this proceeding be not shewn,
the 13111 ought not to procedafiethltr. But I am told that it is
tea late to argue this question.; that your Lordships have de-
ci4el the ,rater; that the Bill bee been received aced read a Arse
time ; and Wet ,there is now an order upon yuut Lordalips'
table far proceeding to the seta; d readhen. If this be so. my
Loran, wq are, indeed,. mistaken; for we leave ventured to ap-
prehend, that though the 11111 Lai beer. received and rrad a first
time, we were not shut out from ling heard against thy princi-
ple- of the nu. An the (matter!, lay Lords, we conceived, that
far these very reasons—because hour Lordships had received
the Bill, seed read it a first time in the absence of the parties
afietted, and withotit hearing arguments either from or witOin
the Ber, without listening to the reasons which might have con-
vieced your Lordships that uo necessity existed fur such a pro-
cm-ling—for thee:. yen( reasons, my Lords, we felt persuaded
chit your Lerdsidpe would not now. refuse to hear us. Con-
ceiving this to he. the situation in which we are placed, We re-
ninded yoer Lordships yesterday and to-day of those reasons,
tied it now only remains to make a few farther obeervatiohs,
ras:lng over.a re:altitude, which I think I could succisfelly urge
to nee Lordships, and confining myself to those points, upon
which my Learned Ihier.ds on the other side scent more ems-
cially to rely. New ,my Learned Friend the Attorney-General
Lee thought proper :a mete a general and somewhat sweeping
critithun upon the argetuente which have been urged to your
Lordships against the JCL After all the attenticn which he
could give them, it scams, that amidst a great mass of matter,
he (the Attorney-General) could only find ene thing which bore
es t: semblance of an argument. In leaving me this one poor, un-
L ley/ argument, amidst a large mass of declamation, my Learned
Ireeend has at least dealt with. the snore fairly than the man in
tthatdsparable. The reason fur proceeding by impeachment,
1, what my Learned Friend. considers an argument. An im-
paielusent, however, says the Atterney-General, does r.ot
fee A.Uorney-General and myself ale at issue upon the law, for
I contend that an impeachment does lie, and that this gill ought
Lot to be proceeded in. We contended before your leirdships,
that this proceeding should not be had, because impeachment
was the constitutional comae, and that this measure should not
be gene into, because, under all the circumstances of the case,
it was most unnecessary and inexpedient. Now to grapple
with the argument as to impeach:. cne My Learned Friend
did not sheet any remarkable degree of confidence, for nn
sooner bad he said, that our law was wrong, than he adtlhd, if i
i: was not wrong, it was at least extremely doubtful. He first
begins by asserting, that intpeachntent does not lie, and then
ety Learned Friend turns round, and Jays, impeachment is a
eery doubtful preceedieg. Tly Learned Friend appears to be
but little reed in constitetior.al law; and, if a scattered passage
is all he can bring forward "amanst whole paees and volumes,
'Which may be opposed to him under the title of the Law of
Impeachment, ho experience in matters of constitutional law
it, indeed, but of yesterday. What ! no impeachment com-
petent where no law Las been violated? Why, the whole
; nisch:lion of the House, a jurisdiction which, in the words of
lewd Coke, WAS so lame, ample, and capacious, that it as
neither bounds of time nor space, rested 'upon the
gencial principle, that impeachnient lay in such cases. If there
is one maxim In our constitutional law more fixed and irre-
fragable than another, it is this—that where mischief has been
done; ati :.o remedy is otherwise to be obtained, impeach-
ment is the competent redress. My Learned Friend has tacit
upon himself to say, that impeachment is not competent except
against persons in a public and othciel capacity. Now what is
site reason that impeachment ilea In the case of misdemeanours
committed by public functionaries? It is not because no remedy
ii to be obtained elsewhere, and that the distinction applies
only to Met in-which no iudicurnnt can lie. It is because
wrong has been done, and the interest of the State requires that
is should be punished, that Parliament has the power of seeing
right done, of taking-care that justice be administered and pu-
nishment awarced. But does cot the principle admitted by the
atetorney-General apply to this very case? Is the Queen Con-
sort a private person? Is the Queen Consort a petsou endued
with no rights, privileges, and human:ties? Let the Attorney-
General look at his books, which he appears only to have half
read, and a quarter quoted, and he will find that no person un-
der the officer who wears the (Baden', is more recognised in 'a
nablic capacity than the Queen Consort of England. I will prc-
csed to some cases of impeachment in which neither public
functionaries were concerned, nor crimes charged, which were
indictable in the ordinary_ Courts of Judicature. Towards the
end of the reign of Edward 111. Richard Lyons, filling the
high public station of one cf the merchants of the City of Lon-
don, committed the indictable offence cf removing the staple of
*void and other eievehattelise. Another offence for which this
Richard Lyons was impeached, was lending money to the King
upon usurious contracts, ar.d en, ring to pay tees King's creditors
fora small advance. This charee of compeer:ding the Khan's
debts upon a small per cereage would, in these days, I appre-
head, be so tar :rue:: being deemed an Gifeu:e, that if the King's
csehitors could othe be made accomplices by consentieg to re-
ceive a small proportion of their debts, it wowed be regarded at
a great Newts to the country.—(Here the Attorney-Geniral
caned upon lilt. Brougham to go on with the list of charges
entir.st Iticha ai Lyons.)—l have not the slightest objection to
ga on. The'cleerge proceeds to state other extortions, deceits,
and oppressions, committed by the said Richard Lyons, as col-
tenser of the King's revenues. It appears, therefore, that this
itsdividual was charged with offences both of a public and pri-
vate nature. Bet yoar Lerdships will observe, and I pray yuer
Lordships atteetion to the fact, tine there are tour several mat-
ters alleged against him, each of these allegations being a sub-
•s rive charge. Now it must be recollected, thai otrmecenors
aid not drew sip articles of impeachment in the slovenly reasoner
in which some of their descinlints now draw Bills of reins and
penalties; therefore any oat of the three impeachable offences
first charged, affords as strong an authority that impeachment lies
for offences commented is a private capacity, and not indictable
at carnation hew, as• if the offence which winds up the charge
had been entirely left out. I will not fatigue your Lordships
by detailing ether cases, but content myself with rcherring to
one in lend, which is the more remarkable, because :dr-Edward
Coke was at that tiros in the House of Commons, and Char
mar. of the Committee appointed to search for precedents. In
the 4 Inst. folio 36 and ee, he alludes o the case of Sir Giles
liornnesson, who etas intrea:brd fur no more teat-ant er in-
dictable an ern:en than that of procuring illegal patents. I
should like to see the Attorney-General, with the aid of his-
iipecial Pleaders, below the 8.-, set about draering art indict-
rietit for procuring illegal-patents. Since the Revolution them:
are instanzes of the s.une kind. I deny the narrow principle
that the moment an offence is nude liable to pechniary penalty,
i: comes withir. the pale of Perliamectar)• itnpeaeinneme My
L.erued Friend applies to cue as a Inver of the Constitution.--
le that character I require the privilege ef-impeachtnent then
!steins grounds than because a penalty of a is emnesed to an
soce. i reeeire it wherever a wrong or inhe f Is done fur
lesit there is no other constitutions' renu.4, anq which. is not
merieahle at common law. This is the sound constitutional
rir.ciele on w hich the law of impeachment ream since the easyL
esti:ming of l'arliaments. In Glanville a ease of inlet schment
is meetioned fur smuggling French silks, ar.d I mention this to
thew how long .red wittiest:etching is the arm of impeachment.
There can be (said Mr. Brougham) no common Bill of Divorce,
cress the Ecetcaiastical Courts have first pronounced a sentence
o. divorce upon a charge of adultery; and never did the Eccle-
siastical Courts proneunce such a sentence, where the libel con.
tened nothing Ltd the words' adulterous intercourse.' The TL
Lel must impute the' foul crime of adultery.' It is very possible
that the weeds adulterous intercourse' may :lin be used, be-
came: the learned persons who draw these proceedings, delight
hi prolixity, for the sale of accuracy, of course, as the purees of
.those who enseloy them can testify. The foul crime of adul-
tery,' however, must be chained in the libel, and without such
a noel, no COnlllloll Bill of Divorce ever passed your Lordships'
House. It is said, however, that his hleiesty dues not coal-
pLein ;•so that here is the anousaleus case of a Bill of Divorce
without a party applying :or it is a Bin of Divorce to all pure
poste, save only that tf i2n particular, that there is no party poe
nmeng to be injured. It is upon this particular, however, upon the
comeleint of some individuai, that sel your Lordships' jurisdic-
tion in cases ofdivorce rests-ev. ithum it you have no right to dis-
solve the secred tie of marsh:fie. There is not a single instance from
the beginning of the world, nut e-;en exc:pthic the reign_of
limey viii. in weieenrasehiment his proceeded to leeislate
ays-ay .t he marriage tie, without an applicetiun front the party cam-
pininieg mie:ry. enthoughthe King, however, does not complain
ise send; a se.lel ing of charges; he desires Parliament to con..
alder them ; sod l:e pledges himself that if they shall be or opi-
nion that a divasce is ash:is:Able, he will cheerfully abide by
it recommelidadon. And this course, is taken, because it
be intamisietsat with the Royal dignity to complito To
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