Star.
London, England, 1810-02-07 00:00:00

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eat& wit help chinking that OW* Ike
in the Constitntion, and that the clime!,
the better.. He agreed, that representats* ~ of its
own nature include in it the idea of . . H:
wished them not only to be united in theory, but to be
inseparable in fact; and yet it was but too notorious,
that there were many persons who concurred in think-
ing not only that that House had not the confiden:e
of the country, but that it did not desetve to hair
that confidence. If, however, it was the wish of tai:
House to recover it, he could not see that the most
desirable way to do that was by shutting out the pub.
lic from their proceedings, on a question the most in-
teresting to the public.
Mr. WINDHAM in explanation said, that he d d
net say that the 'change in the state of the county w .s
to be ascribed solely to the publication of their d
bates, and he did say that he was not aware of any
material good consequences that had resulted from
that practice.
Mr. YORKE entered his protest against the pri--
ciple, that any Honourable Member was bound to
give his reason for enforcing the Standing Order in
the exclusion of strangers. Thus saving his owe opi-
nion upon that subject, he should now state frankly
the reason that induced him to enforce that order in
the present instance. It was to prevent the mistakes
and gross misconceptions that had, in a former instal ce.
taken place in the representations of the evidence given
by the witnesses at the bar of the House, in the different
London papers. Having stated this, he would re-
mind the House what it was that they were about to
do, in entering into any such enquiry as that in which
they had been recently engaged. It was no less than
performing their great function as-the grand inquestof
the nation, The Grand Jury of a county, which was
the common inquest, never admitted strangers to be
present during the time of their examining evidence.— •
Howthencould itbethoughtan unwarraatableexercise
of their undoubted privilege, to exercise it at a time
when the House was employed in its inquisitorial
functions. With regard to the misrepresentations (put-
ting aside all question as to wilfulness), could Gentle.
men see nothing of inconvenience, of mischief in the
effects of such inisrepresentntions, forwarded daily
throughout the country ? He thought this a consi-
deration in itself of no ordinary importance. A Right
Hon. Gentleman had asked, why they had not pro.
seeded in the same manner in the course of a tnemo-
rable Inquiry last year? He (Mr. Yorke) said, that
he regretted most sincerely they had not, and that for
his to .k shame to himself, that he did not then
enforce the Standing Order. He declared before GOD
and his Country, that it
.he had had a notion of the
real nature of the case, or of the manner in which it
afterwards turned out, he would-then, as he did in
the present instance, have performed what he thought
his public duty. He had now given his reasons f 4
enforcing the Standing Order, but he wished it to be
distinctly understood, that it should be received as a
matter of courtesy upon his part, and not as the dis-
charge of any duty imposed upon him by the regula-
tions of that House. The Standing Order in question
was a most antient Order—their principle was co be
found, perhaps, in the original constitution of that
House. He solemnly deprecated any attempt to re-
scind them. He disapproved of altering them—
under GOD, the maintenance of the Commonwealth
was owing to the support of the privileges of that
House ; the support of their privileges was essential
to the support of their authority ; and, notwithstand-
ing what had fallen from a Noble Lord, he (Mr.
York) thought the suppc.rt of the authority of that
House essential to the maintenance of the Common.
wealth.—( Hear, 'bar.)
Lord FOLKSTONE, in explanation, said, that he
had not lent himself at any one peyiod to any vulgar
cry, nor had he said that any such influence ought to
have weight with an honest Representative of the
People-in discharging his duty to his constitnents.—
But he well remembered when the Right Honourable
Gentleman was in office, that that Right Honourable
Gentleman and his colleagues urged, as an objecti
to the opinions of certain Gentlemen, the unpopula-
rity of those opinions, when they were even threateuel
with that unpopularity.
Mr. YORKE professed himself incapable of even
guessing at what the Noble Lord alluded to. H
Tie (Mr. Yorke) any charge to prefer against that N
ble Lord or any other person, he should do it op:il-
ly, and go through it steadily ; but as to threat: wino
any Hon. Member, he hoped he knew too well what
became the Gentleman, to do so.
'Lord FOLKSTONE rose, amidst a cry of g, Or-
. der ! Spoke 1" to state more particularly the circuits-
stances. At the time of the Peace of Amiens,
and others who disapproved of that Peace were told of
the great unpopularity of objecting to the measure.
1 Mr. YORKE did not remember the circumstance
alluded to by the Noble LOrd.
Mr. TIERNEY declared, that if he thought the
motion of his Hon. Friend trenched in the slightest de-
gree upon the privileges of the Hanse,he would be the
first man to oppose it.. But the nature of the motion
had been utterly mistaken ; it went not to rescind the
Standing Order, but to refer it the consideration of a
Committee of Privileges. For his own part he was
not himself aware that the Order could be amended ;
but as-he supposed his Hon. Friend was prepared to
state in the Committee his reasians for thinking
that it might be amended, he would support the mo-
tion with thit view alone. With respect to' the en-
forcement of -the exclusion of Strangers, in the pre.
sent instance, he could not see its wisdom. When
had such a step been taken on such an occasion
Not during the whole American war, when no
many Military Enquiries took place. He was at
a loss to co;iceive what inconvenience could have
arisen had the whole of the evidence taken before
the Committee of Inquiry yesterday evening been
published that morning. Had any misrepresentation
occurred, he would have been the first to no:ice it to
the House ; and if it had been deemed advisable,
the futther publication of the proceedings might have
been prohibited without excluding thepablic from the
gallery. He allowed that the reporting of the debates
in Parliament was attended with much inconvi n ence.
He had experienced a great deal of this in his own
case. But he wholly acquitted the reporters of blame.
He acquitted them because it was evident that an ac-
curate account of the proceedings would- be rbe.beee
calculated to sell the paper in which it was contain.
ed, and an accurate account, therefore, he did believe
it was their honest wish to give. The public haslet.
quired a kind of right to know what was passing in
*at House, from the change whicb his 'Honourable

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