Star.
London, England, 1810-04-11 00:00:00

HOUSE OF COMMONS.

Mr. GOL'LBOI•RNE presented an account of the deficien-
cies and vacancies to the Local Militia..—Ordered to lie on the
table.

The Committee on the Marine ray-OMee Bill. on the motion
of Mr. ROBERT Wioto, was postponed ?ill this day three weeks.
A Message from tiw Lords informed the House that they had
agreed to the Southwark Pnor Rates Bill, and several other Pri-
vate Bills, without any amendment.
SIR FRANCIS BURDETT'S LETTER.
Mr. CURWEN rose for the purpose of moving
the Order of the Day.
The SPEAKER observed, that the Hon. Gentle-
man who moved the adjournment of the debate last
n;ght (Mr. W. Wynne) was not present; it was the
usual courtesy to wait to know whether he would
resume the subject or not ?
Sir JOHN NEWPORT said, his Hon. Friend
moved the adjournment with the view of giving the
House time to lot-,k at the letter, and he believed, if
he were present, it was not his intention to make any
motion on the subject.
The Order of the Day having been called for, the
&T.:AEI:It read the Order, that the debate be now re-
sumed, and informed the House that the question
was, " That ti)e letter of Sir Francis Burdett should
be laid on the table." _

Mr. CURAVEN said, he was anxious to catch the
Speaker's eye, to deliver a few observations on the
letter which was the subject of debate. He most
undoubtedly entertained the same principles with
those who maintained the authority and supported
the privileges of the House. His motives for voting
as he did with respect to the former letter of the Ho-
nourable Baronet, he had explained on a former oc-
casion, which induced him not to go the length which
many Gentlemen did who supported the Motion of
th Honourable Gentleman who first brought the bu-
siness before the House. Ever since he had a scat in
Parliament, there was no man more steady than he
was in supporting a moderate Parliamentary Reform,
the necessity of which he at all periods supported ;
but he was persuaded that it was not Reform that the
honourable Baronet wished, but something. 'else.—
Whether blame may attach to his Majesty's Ministers
with respect to the mode of carrying the warrant into
execution, yet as he conceived the letter now under
discussion only as a part of a system tu vilify and
traduce Parliament, he thought that every man who
valued the Government and Constitution of the coun-
try, should, on such An occasion, strengthen the hands
of Government. Let them . therefore act right, and
they would have support. lie hoped there was but
one sentiment with respect to the letter; and, how-
ever he might regret that it was written, yet no man
who did not shut his eyes but must see the motive for
which it was written, for the Honourable Baronet
had, by his conduct, now opened the eyes of the Pub-
lie. The House., in his opinion, would rai,e itself in
the esteem of the country, by not noticing the letter ;
for supposing it proceeded to extremity, in such case
the expulsion of the Honourable Baronet would give
a license to disorder for fourteen days, without the in-
terference
of the military ; for though he expressed a
wish not to sit in Parliament, yet if the Electors of
Westminster thought fit to re-elect him, he could not
refuse to sit. He did not feel himself bound to make
any motion that would lead to any future irritation
of the public feeling, he wished the business to be ad-
journed sine die, and concluded by moving, " That
the farther consideration of the letter be adjourned to
this day six months."
Mr. DAVIS GIDDY rose to second the motion.
He said, when he voted against sending the Honour-
able Baronet to the Tower, it was because he thought
it better, in the first instance, not proceed to extre-
mity, as he thought he would interfere until he called
down the censure of the House and the country. The
conduct of the Honourable Baronet was most atro-
cious. He did not know what epithet to apply to this
letter ; but he was of opinion that the better way
be to solder it to pass unnofi.:ed, as the best means
ef ire at:-.l:iii!r his object.
Mr. ADAM was of opinion, that such a mode of
treating the letter was as*advisable as any other.—
Tiie le! ter was of that sort, that whatever other steps
might be :Act', would not alter the situation in which
the I lon. Baronet was now placed. For his own
part, he was ready as any man to bind himself to:
the suppoi t Government in times of difficulty and
clanger, and id support of the privileges of the House;.
but when he mede this pledge, he could not but de-
stare that what had recently happened was not dif-
(malt to foresee. Ile thought the conduct of his Ma-
jeity's Ministers esceedingly culpable. The scene
which took place in the metropolis for. the last four
days was of a most affiicting • nature, and fOr whiCh,
is Lis opinion, his Majesty's Ministers were answer-
able. of No, iso.) They had, with respect to
tl.e Honourable Baronet, full a fortnight to look into
all the laws of the country for the purpose of pro-
ceeding according to the pure principle of thelaw, and
; i search for precedents. An adjournment was moved
to give them time to deliberate, daring which they
should have considered the-i6te ofihe'cotiritfy. It
was the bounden duty of the Secretary of State for
the lime Derartment to have known the gate of the

public mind, and as a great act was to be ante , ise to decide at once in so extremely delicate a thing ?
was bound most emphatically to provide the I.2l.cilisibo-11hit tteifhing could he more unfair or abstrrd than to
carry it into effect. What was the consocittenoe ?-- aectibe to Ministers the disorders which had taken
Ministers, until a late hour on Saturday outlet; *lee. Let it be remembered under what circurn-
doubted the efficacy .of the warrant, or wisethß., k stances the Gentlemen on the opposite side Were giving
ought to be carried into effect or not. There were their opinions ; they were sittin now perfectly at their
doubts and difficulties in the minds of Ministers as tol easel the event had passed—they had .no responslbi-
the nature and extent of the warrant, and to their ility—(Licar,)--:pci moral responsibility for their opi-
imbecility and indecision he attributed all the mis- nionsestbcy were giving their dicta as if upon •a slues-
chief. As to the nature of the warrant, he had him- i tint of science, or any other the most abstract subject;
1 self no doubt. It was a warrant for comniiteing a land yet tke House *ere to believe that for forty-
person in execution adjudged guilty of a crime. The I eight hours the Ministers had made no exertion. It
case stood on the law of Parliament, which WAS foun- I was true, they felt that it was improper to interpose
ded on reason. The privileges of the House of with any force that was to countervail the due and
Commons were for the prete6tion of the Rights and i common operation eF law; the 7 had 110 right to in-
the security of the subject, and a warrant of the terfere with ally Officer not. their own. ,On the pre-
Speaker entitled the House to the assistance of all I sent subject he should give hii opinion that it would
the Sheriffs, Magistrates, and officers, in every coup- be neither expedient nor necessary to. adopt any Mea-
ty
.and every part of the country. The *arrant, sure of seve'rity-e-Init a Middle 'coarse appeared to be
therefore, when founded on reason, was as efficacious most suitable to du: dignity of the House. When
at Wimbledon as in town, in Kent, in Surrey, or any they had received a letter of thit kind, passing, it over
part of the kingdom. It was the duty of those Who in silence was a very ets' itiOecOl proot Of dl click ;it
had any view in their measures to come down to the was in all cases right to look our duty steadily in the
House with their minds stored with-every thing ne- face: It appeared to . him right, in the present in-
cessary for their accomplishment. But how could it stance, to notice the letter, but to go no farther. gc The
be accounted for in Ministers, that 24 hours before punishment inflicted on Sir Francis Burdett, has been
the execution they were not certain of their right to proposed (said the Chancellor if the tkeliequer) by
break open a door ? He did not blame the Attorney myself.....( Hear, Near)—lmean supported by myself ;
General for advising the mode of carrying the war- the Honourable Baronet *as guilty of resisting the
rant into -execution, but if it had been done in the anthoiity -of the House, aid thereby etilianci;:::.; his
first instance, the House would not now have on its crime. The letter noir read, his, I think, tu4dJ :in
Journals the doubts and apprehensions entertained of !addition to his offence • ' yet as he is now sub oted to
the legality of the warrant. He had no objection to the punishment which the House fixed on hit him, I
the motion, but he could not refrain from expressing shall move a Resolution to the following effe.c: :
his !sentiments. He was of opinion that the privi- " That it is tie opinion of this Ho.use that the said Lacer is a
leges of the House of Commons stood as high, and high aggravation Of the offence of Sir Vrau4a Burdett against
as unitef
s ached, as if their vindication had been pro- le riveanileget ohuatses;irbiu.rat,nitcisagerdcarititigbfasrometn
coolutttet
t at o fAtrhnet slit
perly executed, and be thought the failure was im- to the ower, the House will not proceed to take any farther no-.
putable to Ministers. tice of the Letter." I
Sir JOHN ANSTRUTHER said, he never en- —The consideration of the Letter might be material,,
tertained a doubt as to the right and privileges of the if at any future time the Honourable Baronet should
House for issuing a warrant, nor did he think that by himself, or any Member of that House, petition
any doubt remained as to the mode of executing it. for his liberation ; the Letter might then be brought
He did not think any imputation could be applied to forward with propriety. He (the Chancellor of the
Ministers (Hear, hear,) in whose hand Government Exchequer) never felt more strongly the necessity of
must now be supported ; though their measures were unanimity than on this occasion ; but if any Gentle-
not the best, yet since te question was, whether we man should think his opinion erroneous in any parti-
shall have a Government our not ? the most unanimous cider, lie was willing to do whatever might reconcile
support should be afforded—(Loud cheers)—however all opinions. He would recommend that the original
improper it was to bring things to such a pass. Did motion should be withdrawn.
the Honourable Gentlemen mean, because the mea- Sir JOHN ANSTRUTHER rose, toprotest that
sures pursued were not right, that the Constituti sn of he was only anxious, again and again, to be unanimous.
the country was to he sacrificed ? ( Hear, hear.)— Mr. WHITBREAD said, he wished at that mo-
However he disliked Ministers, he would rather their ment to offer himself to the Speaker's notice, because,
places were hereditary, than that the Constitution however unanimity might be desired by the Right
of the country should be overthrown. For the Right Hon. Gentleman, he found it necessary to say, that
Honourable Gentleman opposite, he entertained the he could not be unanimous, nor could he think of
greatest respect ; and believed they were not incom- countenancing for a moment the Resolution of the
petent in point of talent, to a certain extent ; at pre- Right Hon. Gentleman, by withlsoldireg Isis inmsed-
sent they should not be deserted. With respect to the ate opposition to it. He was glad to see an opinien
motion, be did not think it consistent with the dig- prevail in the House, that they bad gone far enough
nity of the House to notice such a letter ; he was of in this business, and that the sooner the matter was
opinion it would he better to get rid of the question laid to rest, the better it would be for the House and
entirely, and to pass it by with the silent contempt it for the country ; but though he approved the motion
merited —( Loud cheers.) of the Honourable Gentleman for an adjournment of
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER the debate to this day six months, be could by no
regretted, that on a subject where unanimity of sen- , means agree with him in what he had said relative te
timent was so becoming the House, any thing ibis rallying round his Majesty's Government in con-
should be suffered to arise likely to impede that una- sequence of the unfortunate events which had so lately
' nimity. In his situation, he did not think that the taken place. The sudden change in the lion. Gen-,
1 House would be satisfied by his not observing upon tleman's opinion was rather matter of surprise to him ;
the partial views which had been taken of the subject. but he was much more surprised at that which had i
It had been even said that it was the fault of Minis- taken place in those of the Right Hon. Gentlemen op.
tees that there had been disturbances in the streets posite whim. From the warmth with which the Right
for those four days ; he could not conceive with what Hon. Gentleman who had just sat down, and his col.
spirit of since' ity Gentlemen could have made those league who sat by him, had expressed thernseleco the
remarks ; but he found that they were merely anxi- House might very naturally be led to suppose that
oat's to take advantage of every passing accident they bad done their duty ; but he thought quite other-
which might give them an opportunity of attacking wise, and with the leave of the House he would en-
Ministers ; but what wa,uld a fair and candid judge. deavour to thew that they had most grossly failed in
ment sae, with all the circumstances before it? When .doing their duty. The Right Hon. Gentleman op-
one of the Sheriffs of London was telling the people posite had just told the House, flea he foresaw all that
of the impropriety of bringing forward the military i conduct of Sir Francis Burdett which had since taken
force, what would have been said if they had desired place, from the very first introduction of this business
the Officer of that I louse to make use of force ? He before the House; and yet when the Speaker's war-
was
I
not the officer of his Majesty's Government ; rant came to be issued, lie was not, nor weie any of
his act would have been made theirs, if blood had I
Isis colleagues, prepared with the proper means of car-
been shed, and murder ensued, before the strong nc- rying it into execution.—(dear, h:ar, hear, from the
cessity of it appeared. What would have been the 1 Aliniiterial side (f ter House.) The Right Honourable
judgment, the just judgment of the House on the cc- Gentleman had told the Howe, that the Speaker's
casion ?—(1-kei.)—But, for the full performance of warrant had not been resisted at any. fi Teter period.
their duty,. there was no want of courage in his Ma- If he meant this as an excuse for, or paltiation of his
jesty's Ministers. He had no idea of vaunting any conduct, it would not avail ; fiw lie ought at the same
peculiar courage ; but he would not be tit—no man ‘ time to have known, that if it had not been actually
could be fit for any public station, in or out of that resisted, it had been held in, and treated with the tit-
House, who, seeing his line of duty, would turn most contempt. He ought to have known that a per.
away from it. He had foreseen the whole course son lad positively refused to obey it, and had told the
through which the conduct of Sir Francis Burdett messenger, that if he meant to execute it, he must
would run. The last insulting letter to the Speaker come with a much greater force than he had. then
told him no more than he had already expected. It with him. It was therefore the peculiar duty of the
had been said, that his interpretation of Sir Francis's Right Hon. Gentleman to be prepared at ail points ;
first letter was uncandid ; but now there was no want and as he was so eager for the extremity of punish-
of agreement in its meaning. The course of the Bii- ment, he should have omitted nothing that might
tish Government, as the spirit of .British Law, was give effect to the warrant that was to carry it into
'to avoid all use of force till that use was unavoida- execution. On the subject of warrants, he was free
ble, still takinn care that the public security was not and ready to give his decided opinion, that the Spea-
endangered !fear, hear, frvin the Oftitasirion.) The ker's warrants, of all others, ought to be omnipotent.
i
cheering on c Opposite side could not deter him —ln fact, if it was not so, it was nothing at all,
from declaring the principles on which he conceived and had better be kept in 'his closet quiet and
it was the duty of k British Minister to act. KnoW- silent, than be brought forward for the purpose of
ing the nature of tt mob in this city, Would any one creating doubts and reiiiig dilliCultiee as to the lege-
say that it was possible to meet their first violence lity or the-power that was attached to it. He, for one,
every where at once ? or criminate Ministers for not was a friend to a Reform,in the Commons House of
instantaneously coming upon them wherever they Parliament ; he had been long so, but was more con-
might be commencing any act of riot, breaking win-: winced of its necessity from 'the prOceedings of the',
slows, or burning of houses, or even assassination ? last two months than he had ever been before. He.
There was no'neglect in the superior powers. Whew still lived in the hope of seeing a reform; and if it 1
'the Magistrates required force, the force 'was ready for should take place, what would that-reform be without
them ; but whatever his (the Chancellor of the Ex- the omnipotence of the Spea'ker's Warrant ? What.'
chequer's) fears and anxieties might have been for would'he'the prOtection Of the HOuse, if ever its pri-
the danger of individuals, and the injury which might. vileges, which are the -privileges of the people, should
be done to their property, there never was a moment be attacked ? It-had long been asserted, and the °pis
when there was less tb be feared for the country 'or, nion was very generally entertained, that the Crown
the Constitution. He must say that there was no had gained and possessed a c.onsiderahle influence 'if il
delay on the part 'of 'Ministers. The Officer en- *thatliouse, SuppOie a reform should be the means'
trusted with the warrant—an Officer not under the' of getting rid of that influence, what security wouldthe
nomination of Ministers--might have hesitated: Househave tgainsianifuture. attempts of the Crown,
in doing his duty ; but this was not to be '
the, if it was not foethe omnipotence of the Speaker's
crime of Government. He should,- on his ovin; .wairarit'l lie, for I‘s - own part, had always thought
u
opinion, have had no difficulty in saying that the, it legal, and where ,it was -properly 'issued, that it
authority of the House, justified its officer In breaking ought to beomnipotent. The Right Hon. Gentleman
-
open a door ; but if that officer hesitated, upon a fear .00potttee acid the Sectit4ry of State who sat by him,
of incurring the unfortunate consequences of resist-. seemed to take great crechet&theinselves for having
ance ; and it the doubt arose whether resistance might, taken speedy and proper naeasures to luppreis the
not be legal, would it have been wise, in the imbecility riots which had taken place ; and yet the Serjeant had
of an individual judgment, to have taken it upon itself expressly said at the bar, that till the merning ef yes-

tertiary he nester had sufficient atsistande to enable him
to execute the Speaker's warrant. The Right Ho-
nourable—(Thar, hear, from the Ministerial side)
if Gentlemen would listen to the end of the eentence,
they would hear what he meant to say. The Right
Hon. Gentleman and his colleagues had suffered the
tOthei:itfm.rimi;aiidniiinatnyi
stutieffterimnistrienpolitoungrtiwei
ta.dehm:
e:e nl.rthirloTtaniei att
ryrhydahnelaae:dt eFs
lattlinrildened:nintrYkCkeeflyfr:.-ie.e:inl'
1:(.1.1.1
rnatettatoiltht
inexperienced, unlearned, harrassed and
I - learning,lt the.
with
task
st
allko
the
Ifatigued Officer of the House, to carry it into erect'.
tion by his own . means.' He *as, however, glad to
find from the Right Wit: Gentleman vho spoke last,
that during the l,thiSle of the time these disturbances
I lasted, there was tad pldt not 4ppearance of a plori
which in any_ endangered.the public !security ,e! ...
e the safety of the State. ..He Wag tiO more an apoln.
gist for the coodua.of Sir Francis Burdett than !.er
was for that of ICll36ter I. if, Sir Francis reahy
thought the • I,pedieri..::Yrralt illegal, he was co l,
scientiously right in resiitihg it ; but he thought i,e.
might ;Save a,ne it iii sah 4 :4,.- as to make it corn.
plite, ;lad jet scarcely friaore floor a nominal resist.
ante, sse fn. tl.bsreforc he thought Sir nintis !ma
acted wrong ;boot if Sir Francis himself thmight other-
, wise, and choc? to Make a mere stubborn resistance,
Mil-1 no,; ht oht to-have been prepared for it, and to
. .
' have put An end to the business a long time before they
I had done so. The 'fiat Honourable Gentkmai;,
,
eta those around hiM, might en•learour to throw all
the Wines en the Serjeant at Arms, an unlearned
' aim of the House, without any precedent in his
office to guide him. But could the Howe be in the
' least degree seirited at his hesitating to execute a
warrant that he knew would be resisted ; in the doing
which, if a death ensued, he rendered himself liable
to an indictment for murder ? when the learned late
Attorney General was the First Lord of the Treasure,
. and the other learned Gentleman near him, who had
quitted the law for political pursuits, as well as the
learned Secretary of State, were all so unpreparea as
to the law of the subject, that the learned late Att•e-
ney General, on the Saturday evening, advised the
Serjeant to sake thc opinion of the present Attorney-.
Ge.leral, which was not given till Sunday night ; and
yet they expected the Serjeant to know more late thin
all of them rut together. They mii:ht, however,
throw all the blame on the Serjeant ; might say he
should have been prepared with e precednts ; that he
should he a judge Beth of law and gospel ; yet, he
i •thouoht, that, except themselves, no one, either in
that HohSf: for oat of it, would be of the same epini !n.
1 The Right Hon. Gentleman had said the SOertffs
differed with the Magistrates. When had they done
this Mr. C lman sa:. s that they readily offered lone
'nret*V as•ioaece in o.eir po.,fer the moment he asked.
it. in it hat, then, did the Sheriffs differ from the
I Magistrates ? The tact was, the civil p,-=ever was
I "frays ready to do its ditty, and it vas the duty of
' Ministers to see that the military should be ready to
tid them, whenever that aid might be found nem-
: ary. Faur days, however, had been suffered to
!lapse ; and all London continied in a state of alarm
during that time, from the doubts and difilcultke
raised by Ministers as to the execution of a warrant
which might have been performed in as many hours.
The HonourAble Gentleman behind hirat who began
this dabate had talked of rallying round the Govern-
ment. It' using the word Government, dial he mean
.to rally raund the rrtnere Ministers? The secirjs
' were> in !eel too oaten confOunded and identified with
each other. If, however, he meant to rally roand
the present Mieistere, ha cautioned the I-lonoinahle
Gentleman to he on his guard, fist they were a node
and if he leaned on them they could not support him.
They were pusillanimity and imbecility eembined.
If he meant to rally round the Law and the Const:.
tution, round the speaker's warrant, when properly
issued, he (Mr. Wlabread ) would CliCen-liity join hime
but if his rallying point was to be the pfesent Ministers
he might set off es soon as lie pleased. He (Mr. Whit-
bread) would stay where he was, and beg leave to
decline any such connectien. He advr:ed to what
bad fallen franc Mr. etirwen rehoive to the danger
of having an election for Westminster, and assured
the Honourable Gentleman he was mistrken on that
head ; for he believed such an election might now be
held in that city with as much safety and as little an-
noyance to the inhabitants as in any other city in the
kingdom. He did nut, however, think it would be
1 Avis ible to try the experiment on the present OCC3.
i
i sion. Ile would ads is: the Eouse• to remember the
i case of Wilkes, and nut run into the sante errors.—
What liel could not but much lament was, that Mi-
nisters, be these vacillations and delay, had, in the
minds of mauv, brought into doubt the legality oldie
warrant, v hitch they would never have d ired to doubt
of but for the imb ..!cil ity of their proceedings. The Right
Honourable Gentleman had made a slip in sayi',ilte
proposed the commitment. He ceireeted himself,
however, immediately. He might, however, have
proposed it to some one &se to move it. He would
now ask the Honourable Baronet who did propose
the commitment, whether lie did not wish dirt this •
matter had not Leen pushed to such este:m.4y ? He
would ask the Member for Srmervohira, avlrm lie
did not then see in his place, it*he did not wish he 1):4
never meddled withit ? Tie might, hnirever; have
some future opportunity of asking that question, and
receiving an answer from the Hononrab;e MenTher.
He hoped, however, that Gentlemen would not suf.'
fer the fervour of the moment to lead them tssvaY
hereafter to catch at any pamphlets or wrinees the:
might'be published on the present subject, anal; I L' a
late Member of that House tic induced to bring forward
such miserable publilations as that of Gale lines,
which had laid the foundation of all thosedtarsh nrea-
sum which -had taken place, and the various mise-
ries and misfortunes that had been the consequence
of them. If his Honourable Friend behind hm.(Mr•
1. meat, he hoped they -would not put the sword into
Curwen) and others would rally round the Govern-
thelands of tFe present Ministers, who were 'mete
children of imbecilitY,
and alt, gettojr unable to
wield it 'for any worthy purpoaes. They had -too
much identified their •names 'wish that of the 0-0-
erentment ; but he hoped the House.would not sme-
tion theta in such fin usurpation ; lee: would look
on them as 'he did-s-Mxisters totally
inadequate
to the task of administeringthe affairs of Gcremete,it.
'He helped sib time would' be lost. in 'waking the :tie-
cessary inquiries into 'the re& act of the melarl ..,1
events which had been transacted in the coulee ut tale.
four last days; that the deaths which had unleTrily

I_

,---'-

•
. should be carcfulle 'enquired into, and the i Minisiers lila nd iight- tg, give him directions in tilt
• ,r, plea
ti",„ a ined ; and when this was done, he hoped mode of extenting his Watra.ni, and that the 'cat
ti,c'ell'el— Sissec2rlw4ould take the same into their considera. was a doubtful one, which arose from thesnitnner 'ii
i %viola adopt some measure to Convince the which the Honourable Baronet chose to resist the ex-
fon, :a ,
i -alive to every thing which might ! ectifton.of the warrant. •
..7,. •,;,tr, ,sere
have produced the death of a citizen, in -I Sir JOHN Sdi
EBRIGHT thotitlit that le Honk I
f:'• :-:-or..it,:ly
emanating froM the pro- ; and the miry were under the, giniteit "ObligatiOni
te
cc''"llnce of any thing
r -I- House.He must prefer the motion to the Hort. Gentleman wile had,prOpoied proceeding
,re. •s or the .
(f,72.jcournrnent to the Resolution of the Right Hon. to the utmost extremity agaiiiit Sir Francis -Burdett.
Gotteman, because he
.thoughtlfthe reason
Fi
iiAdduced He could not have conceived it possible that he could
ifs support of it was against . . Sir eanc s uedett I have had recourse to . the violent:maim:el he had
shatim see his errors,
.and
,petihtionld the Honse, he adopted; for if he had merely "wished to trya question
thooast all traces of animosity son be done Oval., sr of legal right:, there.was no use in stirrialatnig The mob
and tie, Letter should never be remembered more ; to tumult and ccmfasion. Why dill *stiffer:We mob
insaad of which the Right Honourable Gentleman . to crowd before his door on Suridiylast, aird'oblige
san ..
es it for the purpose of holding this Letter up id bat everybody who passed it to take off their hats? He;
of his petition being attended to
.by. the Hpuse. He for his part, would not, for twO or three days, pass i
should therefore support the motion for adjournment. through Piccadilly either on horseback. or •in a- car-
Lord
TEMPLE said, that from the whole state- riage ; for he did not chuie tiihe cbineidled by .a.nioli 1'
teent he had heard, be was completely convinced of to pull off his hat. He lamented*Much to'see, that
tle misconduct of Ministers. It. appeared. - that on: whatever was the subject•of disciiiioh, something was'
einlay niglit the Speaker desired the *waist to in- always extracted: from it to serf e the purposes of
fail) Ministers that the warrant would be resisted, pairtY—(Losid cheeriagfrom the Miseisterialßenchiv.).
nap) demand assistance from the Secretary of State He agreed most perfectry with his Iron. Friend' (Mr.
....yet nothing had heen done till Monday morning. : Curwen), and should his motion.- As to the
ved Ministers entirely to• blame, and looked Serjeant at Arms, he couldnot avoid saying•of him,
No concei
•,„ aern as answerable for all the blood that had that he did not know any man who was titter for a
bbetP;aisecl, and all the lives that had been lost on the situation where activity and personal courage were
etca,,, .
.. 1• As to the motions before the House, he ;necessary,,
slotad prefer that of the Right Honourable Gentle- 1 Sir SAMUEL ROMILLY was for the postpone-
arm, because it took notice of Sir Francis Burdett's 1 ment of the question. He felt as strongly as any
letter to the Speaker as an aggravation of the offence, ; Member the gross impropriety of the Letter which
of might be
produced in bar to any petition or other I was the subject of the present debate ; but at the
appc,ttiOn to the House for his release from confine- same time having already delivered his opinion, that
sa:::. l.the original Letter of Sir Francis Burdett to his Con-
Tie ATTORNEY GENERAL said, that it had ' stituents, with the argument subjoined to it, did not
b.cn stated in pretty strong terms that if Ministers : amount to such an offence as to merit the severe cen-
hadforieeen the consequences of executing.the war- , sure of the House, he could not now vote that this
rant, they never would have advised it. He, for his , Letter was an aggravation of that offence. As to the
part, ag-eel entirely with some of his Honourable ! conduct of Sir Francis Burdett in his manner of re-
friends, that even if the consequences could have been .i risting the warrant, he did not mean to justify or pal-
entirely foreseen, the House would have been still ! Hate it in any manner. lie really was astonished
land to aseet their privileges in the manner they 1 that the Hon. Baronet could have been advised to
had done. He regretted as much as any man what• i take the course he had pursued. If he had a mind
fret calamities had taken place ; but still this consi- i to try a legal right, he might as well have chosen to
(laation would have bed no weight in determining his i try it on a motion for haLeas corpus, or an action for
vote. When it lied beet: decided that it was an of- ! false imprisonment, as put it to the chance of an ins
fence which came properly i;eihir the cognizance of 1 dicrment for murder. if he had submitted upon the
the House, he then only looked to the quantity of the i warrant being exhibited to him, there was no Law-
dime, and the mischief it was calculeted to produce. 1 yer who could say, that be would thereby have given
It was clear that no greater insult could be offered to up any of his legal rights, or deprived himself of any
the House of Commons, than that which the Hon. remedy which the law could give him. He did,
Liroaet intended to convey in that paper upon which however, feel some surprize, when he heard Honour-
the House had decided ; and he drought that an of- able Members in that House say, that if they bad
fence of such a nature ought not to be punished foreseen all the consequences, they would have
easaly hv a reprimand. In case of a reprimand being voted as they did. Net to say any thing of the cab.
core:Wei a sufficient punishment, there were always mities which had taken place, he would ask, was it
tiro parties considered, namely, the person who was to nothing that the character of the Home should
fie the reprimand and the person who was to receive live suffered lay having that power now called
is NOW, %viten the person who was to receive the re- in question, which was before supposed unques-
C:aind stated such nn utter contempt of the autho- tionable ? ' As to supporting the dignity of the
Se sf those who gave it, as the Honourable Bare- House upon this occasion, those who talk most
:el 11 professed to feel, the reprimand would be no of its dignity opposed the expulsion. of Sir Frans
i.lirecn,.. It would lea like ordering hint to receive cis Burdett, from tl.e idea that not only the rah-
:eeriest:id from his own servants, in his servants i hle or mere bays, but that the householders of the
Lii. (:ita-sours of disaMmlation.) He meant that greet city of Westminster conceived that House to
iiis was the light in which the Honourable Baronet be so much in the wrong that they would undoubt-
nigh feel a reprimand frem the House. It appeared edly re-elect him, if he were expelled.—(llear, hear.)
kallni that l:e set no mine value upon the authority What kind of dignity, then, was that which had no
of tletHause than a Right Hon. and Learned Gen- reference to character or the opinion of the corm-
*lran win had filled that chair formerly professed, try ? When it was asked from the other side, did
(ti!r Vicar:Gibbs here alluded to Sir Fletcher Norton, those who sat on his side of the House, foresee the
ah, ai2, that he would pay no more attention to the consequences of the vote, he would sly for one, that
rec:eitee of that House than to those of a set of drun- he did, and warned the House of the consequences ;
tcl f rters). Ile blew no punishment adequate to but if he had foreseen more clearly what would have
via an tart:ace except imprisonment. However he taken place, he could not have spoken 'more expli-
sesetted the calamities which had happened, if the citly, without being li.tble at the time to the charge of
li.;.)us had ordered any punishment slighter than that suggesting things that otherwise would possibly not
l; imprisonment, it would have beer supposed that have taken place. He certainly thought the conduct
they were afraid of consequences ; and if it were once of Ministers blaineeble (an expression of disapprobation
reposed that this House was governed by considera- from the Ministerial Beaches.) He did not know how
eons of that nature, its character would he entirely to reply to these inarticulate arguments, bat would
last. If it were said that Minisr*:.s were deserving of wish to hear what was to be said on the oilier side.
sarious blame, for not foreseeirat all the possible con- Captain PARKER, in a tone of great animation,
seeences which might follow from the execution of animadverted upon the alledged impropriety of the
I
the warrant, he would answer, that it was as much Learned Gentleman's aiding, by his councils, the
the duty of the Gentlemen who spoke from the other , efforts of the Honourable Baronet, to exalt in the
We of the Hianse upon that question to have foreseen i country a standard of sedition and tumult.—(Cries of
those consequences ; and if they had foreseen them, ! Order, order.)
it was their duty to have stated them. Ministers cer- 1 Mr. PONSONBY rose to order, and was proceed.
Willy did rot expect that sort of resistance which had ! ;lig to comment upon the highly unparliamentary
led to the present discussion. When the House had ! language that lied been resorted by. the Honourable
voted for the committal of Sir Francis Burdett, he Gentleman, when
took it for granted generally that the warrant would i Captain PARKER readily ncknowledeed, that he
hare been executed, and he did consider the particu- , had been inadvertently hurried into an expression that
lap circumstances which might take place. He would I could not at all apply to the Learnes! Gentleman, and
ask, did any oneof those who voted against the ma- I apologized to that Gentleman and the House for the
;linty foresee or anticipate the sort of resistance : error he had been momentarily heti-ey ed ;tam He
which was made :—lt certainly occurred to, him, I could not, however, help expressing his-wisli, that the
and to many others, that some resistance wan ex- ; House would adopt the proper course at once, and 1
peered from abroad. It never occurred to him ' expel . Sir Francis Burdett. The objection to that
that the resistance would have come from the Ho- ! seemed to be, that Sir Francis would be returned
trisrable Baronet himself, who had so recently I again; hnthc had too good an opinion of the good sease
declared under his own hand, tliat the House had ! of the Electors of Westmin•ace to believe that possible.
aright to commit its own Members. if he had been s, He was satisfied, that when once they knew all the
then asked his opinion, •he womb! have said con- , particulars of his late condi at, they would never return
4mlY, that he did not believe the Honourable La- - him to represent them again in that House.
mot would have _ AttICER 17111.. i
pt7r0011:illy resisted the execution of . Sir SAMUL:I. Resiteee and Captain P
the warrant. It had been imputed as criminal in his ' tually explained. The farmer said that had Sir Francis
lijiestrs Ministers not to have made up their minds Burdett been now in the House, his-speech would pro-I.
*tiler on the legality of breaking open an outer door. be* have been called one of dangerous tendency by
A must, however, he recollected that the Serjeant at that Hon. Baronet, as it was now by the Honourable
ATMs had twice been admitted into the presence of Gentleman,
;;.ir Francis Bei-dell, and had opportunities of execu- 1 Sir JAMES PULTENEY siid, that if die had a
sing his warrant each time, in which case that ques- hesitation at first in giving his vote, he was now con-
don of doubt would never have arisen. Sir 'Francis vinced that his* vote Seas right. As to the interference
Might have been arrested either on Friday or Satur" ' of the military, he knew that they had prevented a
Lay, %%Wait the necessity of breaking open a door. good deal of-Mischief.
4w hoped that he would not be blamed for not being , Lord PORCHESTER thought no language could
able to give =immediate opinion on a case which be too strong to reproach the conduct of the Hon.
_
*as ntt governed by precedent,. and where he had Baronet, from beginning to end. He Mt himself
onlyto tom an opinion from anaolo,,v. If the rase obliged, upon this occasion, to rally round the House
hail•
tilt been a doubtful one, and within '.the general and the authority of the Speaker and his warrant ;
custom of Parliament, the Speaker would have been but at the same time he thought that the calamities
able to have given the Serjeant-
-a decided opinion ; which had taken proceeded as 'much from the
but it was because it was a doubtful case that it was backwardness of Ministers is &Om the intemperate
;',thteitted to legal inions. Had he been in the passions of misguided individuals. He could not
l'"ez of the Serleant at Arms, be wouldhave broken avoidconderiiningtheopiniOn given by a Right Hon.
(.Pll the door in the first instance ; bat he could not and Learned Gentleman (the Attorney-General) that_
-"7""! the Serjeant to have taken uPon himself math •a reOrinnind from that House to Sir Francis Burdett,
-r*l4nsibilit - w.ththe tl 't of l al -advice. would be like a
/fa, ~ ), i out au ion yr .eg . . reprimand in the servants' ball from
dadwe berleant at Arms had had recourse to rothrarY his own servants. He could not-see the justice ofahis
parison, or how it could be adduced as an•argu-
. in the first 'instance, without trying - the • civil
r.":2r, and lives lead been lost, he would have justly 'Mein for iniprisonment instead of reprimand. It had
elPea A. himself to severe attacks from Gentlemen on
4iie aa, .: been' asked Whether Gentlemen on that snic• of the
-_ey .de. fie thought' that itithio evident. that, House appraheadetinny oppoar.tion to the warrant ?

dds that might have resulted frotn the Cale 'lost.- It
would 'not be said that his M.-,;esty's Ministers ,were
unacquainted with the scenes that took place, as they
might have learned -them from one of the;s;nwa.b'n4l
--.(Lord Weemorlanntl, who Thal ttneassailrti cpith
forxt
inthi the mob.) Ministers .were culpable for having
left Piccadilly during the whole of:Friday, in the poe.
session of a' riotous collection, who nbhged-all that
passed through that street to takb off their huts to the
majestrof the snob.- Afew constables, employed in
titte, would:have -dispersed-the assemblage of:boys,
scarcely 15 engaged in that riotous proceeding.—
'The :nob that attacked the House of his Honourable
Friend .(Sir JOhn Anstruther) might have been din.
.perted in the some way'; as well as that which .had
-assailed the House of . the Noble -Lord opposite (Lord
Castlereagh). None but boys were at first concerned.
in the-disturbances ; butwhen it .vras found. that thay
were left so to tact with impunity,. others beat upon
more serious -mischief joined, and th.as their fist
march was to Downing-street. The military were
resorted to upon that occasion, but not until, theniot
had come -under the very noses of his Majesty!s. Mi-
nisters. The Serjeant at Armsliada right to.expect
that those whoaupportedithe issue of the warrant,
should have pointed ounto.,him•how it was to be exe-
cuted. If the .Serjearit had:gone to consult his Learned
Friend (Mr. Adam); he was convinced he would
have received mach-better advice than inappeared.he
had received.• His Hon. and Learned. Friend had
very properly not considered: the questicm.on.narrow
grocadi of legal analogy, but rested it:upon-much
higher grounds.; The Ifousemust haveevern power
necessary to give effect' to its.warrant. 'What. other
Court had the same power to sendits °Meer to search
the house of a Witness for papers, as;that: Hymn had
done last year in the. case of Captain Sandon ? The
House unquestionably possessed all the powers necess
sary to enforeits warrant, and it was with regrerhe
found these powers weakened, by being placed upon
lower grounds than those upon which ther„actuatly.
rested. The warrant was an attachment of a: crimi- •
nal nature,
,as having issued upon a conviction de-
clared by a vote of that House. With respect to the.
question before them, he could not help agreeing to
the Amendment of the Right Hon. Gentleman (the
Chancellor of the Exchequer), though; with in view
to unanimity, lie should throw out the propriety oft
substituting for "a high aggravation of his previous
offence.," the words, n that the House had received
the paper with great indignation." If his Honourable
Friends should agree to a resolution so worded, they
might pass it with unanimity ; but at the same time,
he must add, that he had himself no. objection to the
words of the Amendment as it then stood.
Mr. BERESFORD observed, that however inde-
corous or disorderly it might be for Gentlemen to in-
terrupt others when speaking, by expressing the words
is yes," or to no," the House would excuse him when
he admitted that he was one of those who had so in-
terrupted an Honourable and Learned Gentleman ia
that manner. If that Honourable Member were the*
present, he should gladly make an apology to him.
The ground of his interruption was, that to a ques-
tion put by the Honourable and Learned Member, he
was anxious to answer that he did not regret the vote
which he had given in the former instance ; fear how-
ever enigmatical it might appear to others, it was his
opinion, that except the shedding a little blood, much
good had resulted tot the Constitution and the coun-
try from the whole proceeding. He had voted tor
sending Sir Francis Burdett to the Tower*, because he
thought his object was to overturn the Constitution,
and revolutionize the country. \Vhen he had used
the words " No, no," it was to spew that he was no:
afraid that, in case of his expulsion, the electors of
Westminster would re-elect this sanguinary man ; he
could use no other term, because, if he were not san-
guinary, he might have maintained his principles
without hazarding the effusion of blood. He was not
to be intimidated ; nor did he think the House would
be intimidated by any apprehension from-a mob. If
he was not aware that he should not carry the feeling
of the House with him, he should move for the ex-
pulsion of that Honourable Baronet. He should,
tnerefore, vote for the amendment of the Right Hon.
Gentleman (the Chancellor of the Exchequer).
Lord MILTON meant to confine himself to the
subject actually before the House. They iced two
propositions before them, one for passin over the
letter without any notice ; the other a resolution, that
it was a higher aggravation of the former offence.—
To the fret he could not give his concurrence, and
still less upon the arguments employed by the
nourable Gentlemah, its author, in rceommeind. ng it
to the House, because,' if good for any thing, these
arguments would be good against taking any steps
against the Hon. Baronet. He agreed that it would
be unworthy of the magnanimity or the dignity 4
the House, to be intimidated by any fear of the moli,
or by the terrors of a Westminster' Election. But as
he could not support the motion, so neither could he
agree in the amendment, because whilst it agreed that
the letter was a high aggravation of the previous of-
fence, it still stated that it was not necessary to take
further notice of it at present. The letter either was'
or was not an. aggravation of the fl::.ruer offence.. If
it was an aggravation, the House should notice
In evading any notice of the letter, the Amendment.
would have the same effect as the Motion. 'lf it.was.
no aggravation, it was better not to take any notice
of it. But as all were agreed that the letter was ate
aggravation, the Itesulutton should be worded in
another manner. The House was bound to take
some further steps, which it was not for him to point
out. And here they had experience of the embarrai-
meat resulting from their vote for commitment.—.
Had they stopped short at reprimand, they might
have still something in their hands. But they had
expended all their antiwar:6on, and had inflicted the
greatest punishment at once. It they had stopped
short, they might, in this instance, send the Honour-
able Baronet to the Tower. As he could not agree
in either the motion or the amendment, he should
not feel himself at liberty to vote for either, and
should consequently vote against both.
Mr. LYTTLETON said, if ever there was an ac.
casion in which unanimity was required, this was the
occasion. He was surprised at the speech of the Fro-
nourable. and LearnedGentlemanopppsite ( Stephen ),
opinion
and was decidedly o(that much of the' -
arising from the late sanguinary proceedings rut
upon Ministers. As that, however, was not ftir
question, he should not indulge in it at present
should content, himself with sating that such •
conaketion... Thep g 41,4.1, he t -was convinced,

die woul4 say tint he ail tanteMplate an opposition
o' it; Mitt' that' whiCh hadlien7ititiditi the very pal
•t, in which the gentletrie* on the; Other side said
that he • had' ackitoviledged the 'right of'the House
to '
commit iris Members. In that'very- paper, • hbwa
ever, he found fault with a warrant' similar to that
under* which he had been arretted:andtherefote there
*is:reason to-stippote that he vftrald' dot h=ave Sub-
ted tb it. The Serjeant at'Attlis was 'placed in a
most awkvihrd situation. 'Meek he asked fberirili-
tatty. aid, he' *at' tbid; that he should hare it, but that
he *must' act at his °not' peril atdahat' if" any rives
weieloat; andhis condact should tort' out to be ille-
gall he might behaneti forit.' It rearappeared as
Mi if ‘ Osten, upon this' occasion, as ttpon4 former
one (the WalcherenExpedition) first resolved upon a
coup-de-main. ('tter, hear.). Bet afterwards, when
they
,heard that the' Hon: Baronet had actually
locked his dbor and put imp the chain,- this appeared
tb them a combination of circumstances which 'seas
not tb be foreseen. Their coup-de-main had then
failed ; they began to'consider Piccadilly as a'fortress;
and it required many meetings of the -CabinetCouncil-
to determine how it was to be' attatked. ( Hear.)
M'r.-STEPHEN was a little surprised at the opi-
nion of Ris Right Honourable Friend (Sir Samuel
Romilly), that as there was no original offence, his
letter could not properly be called an aggravation.
His Right Honourable and Learned Friend appear-
ed to go the whole length of arguing, that-file' Fian-
cis Burdett ought not to be in any manner punished
for the insults offered to the House in chid letter.--
The amendment which declared it an aggravation of
his former offence, would go so far in punishment;
that if the Honourable Baronet, or any body for him;
should petition for his discharge, this paper would
then be taken into consideration in•assiving the pro-
per measure of punishment. As to t* conduct of
the Honourable Baronet-in the mode of resistance he
resolved on, he was glad to find that no Honourable
Member in that House approved of it; and this was .
a circumstance upon which he might congratulate
the House and the country. The Honourable Baro-
net might have tried the legality of the warrant with-
out adopting the mode of resistance he had chosen. .
It appeared to the other side of the House, that a
warrant which did not allOw an outer door to be bro-
ken was absolutely nothing. They seemed, however,
to have forgotten that there were many writs for "
debt, in civil action, which could not be enforced by
breakink doors. These writs were, however, not •
leckbned as nugatory, nor did he sec that it would
be any impeachment to the dignity or authority of
the House, if their warrant was on the same footing .
as many of the King's writs, which do not justify
the breaking into a House to entorce them. Some
Honourable Gentlemen opposite had said that they
had foreseen the consequences which had followed
from the vote for the commitment of the Honour-
able Baronet. But for his own part, he never could
anticipate any resistance to the execution of the war-
rant, because the whole of the argument against that
vote went to spew that it would be a triumph to the
Hon. Baronet to 7p the Tower, from which he could
issue his libels in abundance. It had been charged
upon-his Majesty's Ministers, that they had not taken
sufficient measures for the security of the metropolis;
as well as that they had not given to the Serjeant at
Arms a sufficient force to enable him to execute the
warrant. As to the first point, he contended, that
all proper measures had been taken to insure the peace
of the metropolis. It was not to be expected, that
the Government, in the expectation of riots, should
have stationed a military force in every street. If
they had so done, their conduct would have been
most loudly condemned by the Honourable Gentle-
men opposite, for having endeavoured to put down
the civil by resorting to the military power. Great
credit was due to the Government for their precau-
tions, as well as to the military, for the moderation
which they had displayed in the course of the painful I
duty they had to perform. As to the charge that no
adequate force was placed at the disposal of the Ser-
jeant, that had been so often already answered, that it
was strange it should still be repeated. The warrant
might have been executed either on Friday or Satur- I
day,
'without any necessity for forcing the outer
door; and in the end the warrant had fortunately been
put in execution without any recourse to military
force, or any effusion of blood. Whilst it was to be
apprehended that lives might be lost on both sides in
case of executing the warrant by force, what would
have been the opinion of Gentlemen respecting the
conduct of Government, if Ministers had ordered the
Serjeant to execute his warrant ? If it turned out to
be illegal to force the outer door, and that lives had
been lost in a conflict, would it have been a justifica.
tion of the Scrjeant, on an indictment formurder, to
plead the directions of his Majesty's Ministers'? When
a doubt existed in the mind of any of his Right Hon.
Friends, it was perfectly right to suspend the execu-
tion of the warrant, till that doubt was removed by
referring .to the highest legal authority. 'From all
the attention which he had been able 1.0 bestow upon
the subject. it was his opinion that his Majesty's Mi-
nisters, so far from deserving reprobation, were on
the contrary, for the whole of their conduct, entitled
to praise. But it bad been tauntingly asked, on a
former night, whether they call this standing by the
King'? To this he should answer, yes. To stand
by the privileges of that House, was to maintain the
authority of Parliament ; and to stand by the Parlia-
ment, was to stand by the Constitution, and -conse-
quently by the King. Upon the whole, he was con-
vinced that Ministers had done their duty ; and if
the Honourable Gentlemen opposite should bring
forward any motion for a direct censure against them,
they would find themselves opposed by an unusually
large majority.
Lord TEMPLE stated in explanation that he
had imputed it as matter of blame to his Majesty's
Ministers that they had not till Monday placed such
a force.at the disposal of the Serjeant as he deemed
necessary to enable him to execute the warrant:.
Sir SAMUEL ROMILLY explained, that he had
never said that he had foreseen the consequences which
had resulted actually from the vote of commitment,
but that be'had foreseen consequences from that vote
Which tie did not deem it proper to state at the time.
Mr: C. WYNNE denied that it had been stated as
a matter of charge against his Majesty's Ministers,
that they had not employed the military in the first
instance. 'The charge was, that the Honourable Se-
cretary of State being atahe head of the civil power,
had not employed'it so soon as he should have done,
and was responsible for 41 the daogcrous consequen-

e blame
must 511
tn.ki
ent; but
was his
, be but
fh

one opinion on the subject of the Letter now under
consideration. To tell the Speaker of that House that
he knew the warrant he had signed to be an illegal
wart ant, was a gross insult, was language which no
one Gentleman could be perrnitted to use towards
another, far less to the :eneake: of that House. He
regretted to be obhsten io say so, considering the
esteem he had felt for -the lien. Baronet. Those
Gentlemen who had obsereed she winning manners
and amiable qelitios of the Honourable Baronet,
would believe Itrn e hen he
.said,. that the sentiments
he was now compelled co utter u ere wrung from
km ; but he most discharge his public duty, how.
ever painful and distressing to his own feelings.—
This a case, however, in which there wes no al-
ternative, and he was compelled to &elate that he
was conVinced there was not a single expression in
this letter which could be jineilieds Ai a rriead to
liberty, 1w contd not agree tiles the Honourable Ba-
ronet was warren' eti, lon font- days, to coathme a
system of resistance to the :authority of :hat House,
where I.c had not any reasonable prospect of ulti-
mate success. • A great mar, and .t 7ealons friend to
the liberties of his country, whose loss that House
had so frequently occasion to. deplere, Mr. Fox, had
laid it down that nothing could justify resistance but
the prospect of ultimate success. Woold it be said
'that the Honoorahle Baronet had, in this case, any
such prospect ? But, in addinee, the circumstances
under which the resistance had beensittempted by the
Honourable Baronet made it in Lim a crime. He
could not pass by the implied promi- of the Honou-
rable Baronet made to the Serjeare, which he had for-
feited. This was an act unworthy of the Honourable
Baronet; and he (Mr. Lyttleton) rritnt abjure him
in In; tire, nos only as a political but as a private friend.
There was still :another circumstence which he could
not reconcile in the coeeduct of the Honourable Baro-
net, and it was this, that the Honourable Baronet had
been attended from the first to the last of his uncon-
stitutional proceedings by the brother of a notorious
tr, hear.) He did not mean to say that
the treason of one brother was to he inferred from
. the treason of :mother. He did not wish to be under-
stood to say, that Roger O'Connor was a traitor.—
Bin this he would say, that it teas unbecoming in a
pet son in the situation of the Hon. Baronet to chuse
and select, as his bosom friend, the brother of Arthur
O'Connor. It was well known, that this person was
a professed and open traitor of the 11 :clzest kind; that
le was employed in the service of our natural and
implacable enemy, and that his business was to con-
duct an English Newspaper in Paris, for the purpose
of disseminating his seditious and treasons in this
country. Was it by patronising, encouraging,
,and
introducing foreign papers of this description. that the
Hon Baronet wished to protect the interests, and to
secure and re-eAahlish the liberties and independence
of England ?—(Hear, hear, hear.) He declared,
that he did disclaim the lisincurable Baronet from
the bottom of his heart, and that lie would oppose
him on every occasion.—As he had already said, he
was desirous of abstaining at present from any obser-
vathets on the conduct of Ministers. In stating what
he hal now done, he had discharged his duty ; and
wishing, that on conduct such as that pursued by the
Hon. Baronet, as strong a censure as possible should
p .ss, the minion of the Chancellor of the Exchequer
shoa:tl have his support.
A Mesitent rose and aliudod to the Speaker, and
sta.e.l that it was the duty of that Right Honourable
Ge eleivian to have informed the House that Sir
Francis B n dOtt meant to make resistance.
The SPEAK ER trusted the House would not be
surprised ii he stated semm-thing in justification of
himself. after a Right Honinueible Member had im-
puted to him failure of his duty.—( Hear, hear.)--
The Right Honourable Member had, as he compre-
hended him. asserted nett he (the Speaker) knowing
resintsece was intended, and the House being sitting
when it came to his keowledge, had not notified it to
the House.—(e/car, kair—the Member here said No.)
44 It i mistake not the Right Hon. Member, it may
be convenient fl r him to set me right."
The MEMBER arose and said--" The words I used
were, that you, Sir, not knowing the contrary, but
heaving reason to apprehend resistance would be
offered, did not inform the House."
The SPEAKER—" The Honourable Member
Row says, that I • not knowing the contrary.' It is
in the recollection of the House that I expressly stated
I did know the contrary, for that the Serjeant told
me that he had arranged with Sir Francis Burdett,
and that he was to go the next day to his house, when
he would accompany him to the Tower without force.
(11 ar,hear.)—With respect to the other insinua.,
Lion as to my apprehending resistance, when I was
told that Sir Francis Burdett did not object to go, 1
how could I apprehend resistance.—(.t -ar, hear.)
—The Right Honourable Member also made a re-
mark that I must have apprehended resistance be-
cause I referred the Serjeant for aid both to civil and
military power. It is true the Serjeant said there
was a mob, and that they might give resistance.—l
My apprehension, therefore, it I had any, was ap-
plied to that mob, and it was on that account I refer-
red him to the Secretary of State. With respect to the ,
other prints of the Right Hon. Member's speech, !
those refer to grave matter which was mere matter of
opinion, and cannot be imputed to me as failure of
duty. When the Serjeant doubted his power to en- 1
force the execution of the warrant by breaking open !
the outer door, I had no information to give him, for
in truth no such case had occurred within my know.
ledge, and I believe that no such information existed
—(hear, hear.) For me then to order the Serjeant to '
resort to that expedient, was more than I dare do,
but I might give him advice, and I was bound to
take care that the advice so given should not
brTng in jeopardy the life of the officer, and I not
being the person to undergo that risk—(hear, hear.)
I referred him, therefore, to the law authority.—
I the House will concur with me in opinion
under these circumstances, that I am not highly
to blame in not having commanded the officer to go
and break open the outer door, and for not having
given him precedents for his guide, which I never
could fi•id in practical existence."—( Hear, hear.)
Sir JAMES HALL supported the Amendment.
Colonel HUTCHR4SON trusted that his public
conduct would protect him from the imputation of
speaking disrespectfully of the • Commons of the
United Kingdom. Neither could he be supposed
capable of giving his sanction to any attempt at dis-
turbing the tranquillity of the metropolis, or of any
part of the eta pire. Having thought it necessary to

make these preliminary observations, he could not ac-
quiesce in either of the motions now proposed, to be
founded upon the letter of the Honourable Baronet.
Since first the discussion upon these unfortunate trans-
, actions was originated, he uniformly took a totally
pp o osite course to that of the Right Hon. Gentlemen
who were in Administration. The first opportunity
that he had, he declared his opinion against the com-
mittal of Mr. Gale Jones. He was not in the House
when that question was first brought forward ; . but
on a subsequent occasion he deFr2cated the course
pursued, and was one of a minority of fourteen who
voted for his liberation. Without entering into
any discussion upon the exercise of the privilege
which the House assumed, he did conceive that the
imputed offence of Mr. Jones was the most venial,
and th.tt the exclusion of the public from the de-
i bates of that House at that particular moment, was
a considerable provocation to excite popular discon-
t .nt. If it did not am aunt to an outrage upon public
1 feeling, it was to say the least of it a great unkindness
i towards the country.—(Hear, hear.) When he had
i read the arguments of the Honourable Baronet upon
! that committal, however, he did regret the introdlic-
tion of intemperate language, still he was fully de-
-1 cried that through the whole of that argument, and
in every inference the Honourable Baronet had made,
he was . correct. With such impressions upon his
1 mind, there was nothing in the conduct of the Right
Honourable Gentlemen opposite to induce him to
i alto- his original conviction. He would not directly
1 say, that the Resolutions against the Honourahle Ba-
-1 ronet were first introduced at the will of the Mini-
I sters, however strongly he felt the great interest and
1 impatience expressed by them to press and precipitate
a hasty decision upon that very serious subject. Be-
lieving then, the House chargeable with hardship
against Mr. Jones, and acquiescing in the correctness
of the arguments of the Honourable Baronet, it was
impossible for him to vote for either the motion of
the Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Curwen) or the amend-
! ment of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The for-
mer Gentleman had that night called upon the House
to rally at that crisis round the Government. In an-
swer to such an Appeal, he must say, that whilst he
tinted upon every occasion to prove his attachment
to his Sovereign and country, he still must contend
that no body of men in that House could or ought
to place their confidence in any Ministry who did not
unequiYocally make to the country specific declara-
tions in favour of that reform which every sound
mind now saw was absolutely necessary, and without
which it was hopeless to look for the support and con-
fidence of the people of these realms.
Mr. CURWEN briefly replied to some observa,
tions of the preceding Speaker. He did not think
that in what he had said in the commencement of the
debate, there was any ground for the charge that he
had indulged in insinuations against the Honourable
Baronet. Neither was he chargeable with having
called for a blind and unmerited confidence in the pre-
sent Government, although he did think that there was
some credit due to them for the promptitude and effi-
cient arrangement of the precautions against the con-
tinui:nce of the late unfortunate tumults. He had no
objection to withdraw his proposition, as his only wish
was to get an unanimous decision of the House upon
the letter of the Honourable Baronet.
Mr. WHITBREAD said, he could not assent to
have that motion withdrawn,as it was the only amend-
ment to which he could conscientiously give his assent.
He did not, however, mean to press the House to a
division upon it.
Mr. GOOCH expressed his utmost abhorrence of
the conduct of the Honourable Baronet, and felt con-
fident that the misguided populace would soon sec
his conduct in the same light.
Lord COCHRANE trusted he would be absolved
by the Honourable Gentleman who last spoke, of any
wish to throw the country into confusion. With regard
to the question of Privilege, he did not consider the
House as having a right to commit Mr. Jones, what-
ever authority they may claim over their own Mem- I
hers. He could not admit that they were authorised 1
to break open Sir Francis Burdett's house to secure
his person. With respect to the question before the
House, there were several expressions in the Honour-
able Baronet's letter not necessary to be used, (a laugh)
1 expressions he would call improper ; nay, he would
go farther, and admit they were censurable, but there
were sufficient means of punishing the author, without
recurring to an exertion of privilege. The privilege i
of the House extended only to the punishment of
contempts not punishable by the Courts of Law. He
could not agree with some flonourable Gentlemen 1
on his side, that the Government deserved to be re-
probated for not having acted more promptly. On
the contrary, he considered them as deserving of
praise for their humanity and moderation. He was
informed, that when his Honourable Colleague's
house was forced, the military was the first to enter.
That was not a way in which the orders of the House
of Commons ought to be executed. He would vote
for adjourning the question, or any other motion
that would enable the House to get rid of it.
Mr. BATHURST said, that the Home' had no
evidence before them that any military force en-
tered the house of the Honourable Baronet. Pro-
bably
the Noble Lord was there at the time, and had
of course fuller information. The Hon. Gentleman
expressed his intention of voting for the Amendment
of the dancellor of the Exchequer.
Sir CHARLES BURREL vindicated the con-
duct of the Military as most exemplary in their. for-,
beaVatice, under the infamous insults of a rascally
mob ; amongst whom, he was proud to say, not a
decent individual was to be seen, Some were assas-
sins, who had, even in the vicinity of that House, on
last night, fired at an Officer of the Guards, through
whose hat the ball had actually passed. He repro
bated the conduct of the Honourable Baronet from
first to List, and declared, that he would have surren-
dered himself even to be put in irons, rather than to
be the Cause of tate drop of blood being shed.
Mr. WI L Ul.: It FORC E was still impressed with
the propriety of the icourse he pursued en the former
occasion in voting for the reprimand. He believed it
would have made a much different impression upon the
Honourable Baronet, than was made by the commit-
tal to the Tower. He bad seen an elevated character
approach to that bar in. order to be reprimanded,
with great apparent levity, but he soon saw him so
humbled by the commanding and impressive censure
of the Chair, that he departed lowered, depressed,
and penitent. He did think that the amendment
of the Chancellqr of the Exchequer could be so mo..

dified, as to remove the objections which were enter-
tainei to the term a aggravation."
mr. BQY,LE defended Ministers from the :taper-
siim. of their. opponents. It, was most mischievous,
in his opinion,. to attribute all the calamities, as they
were called, of ,the late 4-iotous proceedings to their
misconduct, rather than to the jacobinical spirit,-
which had so recently manifested itself.
Tne question was loudly called for, and strangers
were excluded. _ _ _ _ _ _

After strangers had been excluded from the Gal-
lery, the question of adjournment was not pressed to
a division. Before we were re-admitted, Mr. Perce-
val had proposed his Resolution of Censure upon the
letter of Sir Francis Burdett to the Speaker of the
House of Commons, which stated the said letter to be
an aggravation of the former •oitence committed by
tie Honourable Baronet. Mr. Perceval added, if he
could thereby insure unanimity,- he would withdraw
the words of Reference to former proceedings. To
which we understand Mr. Whitbread to have said,
that he could not agree to the Resolution with those
words ; because, having contended, that no offence
had been committed by the Letter and Argument
laid upon the table by the Member for Owner-
setshire, he could.not say that had been aggravated,
which, in his opinion, had • never existed. fie was
ready to admit, that the Letter to the Speaker was
a high breach of the privileges of the House. What-
, ever doubt might be entertained of the legality of tthe
commitment of Gale Jones, or of the Warrant
against Sir Francis Burdett, pr of the expediency of
resorting to either of those measures, there could be
no doubt that this was a case in which the House
was aggrieved, and where redress could not be sought
elsewhere; the House must, of necessity, take cogni-
zance of it, itself. It had been objected to him and
others, in the course of the night's debate, that they
had grown confident respecting the mode of executing
the warrant, from their knowledge of the event ; to
this he would answer for one, he had expressed his
opinion upon the force of the Speaker's warrant, if
issned, upon proper grounds, in a conversation he
had held with the Serjeant at Arms, whom he at•
cidentally met, before that Officer had ever been
at the House of Sir Francis Burdett at all. Upon
'he question having been then proposed to him.
how he would act in such a case ? He had said he
would immediately wait upon Sir Francis Burdett,
and ask him how he intended to conduct himself ?
If he intended to go voluntarily, that the utmost
courtesy as to the mode should be used. If he wished
for a nominal force, for the purpose of establishing
his principle and maintaining his action, it might be
instantly applied without difficulty or molestation : if
he would not yield except to actual force, the Serjeant
should forthwith collect such a force as would over-
power him, and render resistance hopeless. The honour
of Sir Francis Burdett had misled the Serjeant into a
supposition that he would accompany him to the Tower
the next morning ; nor was the Scrjeant to blame for
having so conceived of the intention of Sir Francisßur-
dett ; but it was too much to say that Sir Francis Bur-
-1 dett had broke his word with the Seijeant. Upon the
whole, Mr. Whitbread said, he was willing to adopt
any parliamentary phrase, however strong, to cha-
racterize the hoter addressed to the Speaker, pro-
vided no term of r6,rence to any former proceeding
was inserted ; for the letter itself he thought exceed-
, ingly ill composed, and highly offensive.

The SOLICITOR-GILNI.R AI. for SCOTLAND was desir-
ous of retaini:T the original words.
Mr. WHITBREAD could not consent to the word agzrava-
tion, and proposed "flagrant," as a parliamentary word, and at
the sai-e time a word sufficiently strong; and that the expression
should he, " flagrant breach of the privileges of the House."
Mr. TIERNEY wished for an unanimous decision, which he
thought might be obtained if the Chancellor of the Exchequer
would make interest with the Solicitor General for Scotland to give
up the word " aggravation,"
Mr. WILBERFORCE thought the mode proposed by the Ho-
nourable Gentleman (Mr. IVhitbread) would be a more marked
expression of the sense of the House than the retaining the words
of reference proposed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

. .
Mr. OWEN was of the same opinion.
Mr. ADA VI alio expressed a similar opinion.
. .

Mr. GILES thought the House should pass a substantive con-
demnation of the letter w:t hoot the words of reference.
The SOLICITOR G F.NER.-kl. for SCOTLAND disclaimed
any wish pertinaciously to insist upon his opinion.
he CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER was extremely
desirous of unanimity upon this occasion, and wished therefore to
adopt the suggestion of the Honourable Gentleman (Mr. Whit-
bread). In order, however, that it might not appear on the
Journals that the original words relative to aggravation had been
left nut, he requested he might he allowed to propose the words
ingested by the flonourable Gentleman (Mr. Whitbread), as a
part of the original motion.
•
Mr. WHITBREAD consented.

The SPEAKER requ4sted to be im...rmed of the wish of the
House, as to whetb:r the letter of Sir Francis Burdett should
be entered upon the Journals, observing, that there were prece-
dents both ways, and that it was entirely optional with the House.
It appearing to kt the general sentiment, that the letter should
not be inserted on the Journals, the SPEAKER said he would give
directions accordingly.
It being also understood that the Amendments moved should
not appear on the Journals, the See/is:eat said he would give di-
rections accordingly, and the question was put as an original mo-
tion—" That the said Letter is a high and flagrant breach of the
Privileges of this House, but it appearing by the Report of the
Serjeant, that the warrant for the committal of Sir Francis Bur-
dett to the Tower has been executed, this House does not think
it necessary to proceed further in the business."
Mr. PONSONIIY ;toted to the House, that he entirely con-
curred in the sentiments of the Honourable Member (Mr. Lyt-
tleton); and that he,
was of opinion, that if Sir Francis Burdett
was expelled the Houie, the Electors of Westminster, in conse-
quence of his tate conduct, would not re-elect him.
The motion wio aFeed to herniae contradicaste. -
niCIIEQUER BILLS.

The CHANCEI.I.OR of the EXCHEQUER moved for the
appointment of a Select Committee, to inquire into the condqct
on a late o,:casion,q the holders of Exchequer Bills, which Was
agreed to. —Adjourned.

'fl-IE 'EVENING STAR.

LONDON.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11.
PRICE OF srpacs THIS DAY ATONE O'CLOCK.
3 per ;,`.. Cons. money, 69H--a&I 6H 70.
-Reduced 614-4 per Cent. 83H-5 per Cent. Navy 99f f.
ExibesueF pills, 9s. 15s. preen.—Bonds 19s. 20i. prem.

Some of the minor French papers to the 6th inst.
camne to hand last night. The marriagey the mar-
riage i Nothing but the marriage* is talked of in
Paris.

have received Dutch Papers to the Bth ;
front which it appears, that King JosEPh entered
Malaga on the 4th , where he once more had the ef-
froßtery to cause 7 c Drum to be sung for his successes.

ll_