Star.
London, England, 1817-03-01 00:00:00

liindreilih who might- bal-disposed, he would nat,
sy voting for this bill, ;Oleg himself to the reproach
of hieing aided in this new and unwary table attack
upon the comoitteion.
The ATTORNEY-GENERA I. apologized for
the low tone in which be addressed the Hodse, by
amino' *het he _was sure it would be as greet a
Osatis-
faction to the House to hear ts, it was to him to re-
late, this lie s.ad hien twitting at the conviction Cl 3
the first petrel "ho had been convicted of an infrac-
tion oi the ghee Trade Act; and that having been
eire.at h ows engaged in that arduotu taik—(airee),
he telt so exh.usted, that nothing but an invoice,.
sense of ditty e- uld have maimed him to use on the
present ',scowl). No man entertained a more enthu-
siastic wish than did to maintain the libertset of
*the paisple ; het, in the tia•a place, hr could not agree
. to the eenetal •pii•peiiiieu that had !sten maintained
by imam I lonourable Gentlemen—namely, that nrefer
110 circumstances might the Habeas Corpus to be aIW
.pendrel. Our ance.tuts, jealous as they were of their
• privileges,. had not been of that eptitstm, tor, it lie
misto n- t, they had suspended she Habeas Corpus
nine tines. If it were iillosvad that there were cir-
cuing limes kinder which the suspansion might pro-
pea ly take pl.-ce, the question would then arise, whe-
ther the existing circumstances were ol that kind ? In
his -opinion, so awful a co,:laination of circumstances,
callistg loudly for the measuie, had never been presen-
ted to a Parliameat of England. In an earl) pet of
the uiscussioa, is was ciestenthal, that it there was any
peat or crinwsrAcy, it was merely the plot or conspi.
lacy of Miisivers to hrin.bug the station; .and that in
Lid of this obj.cs, they had had the cunning to de-
pt ire honourable and intelligent men of their powers of
reason, and make them the dupes of their virtu iv ance.
• All this, however, .had been. triumpliently refuted. It
Lad been acknowledged by the Honourable Gentle-
men on the other side of the House who had sit in
that Committee. that the Report was kept down be-
low the tone which the evidence would have war-
ranted. A proof of this was to be found in the infa-
mous, alarming, and blasphemous oath read the.other
evening by the Lord Advocate. The Committee
were aware of theexistence of-this oath ; and it would
have been inserted in the Report had it not been for
the fear that the publication of it would endanger the
lives of the individuals to whose information the pits-
sesition of it was attributable; and that the appreoeu-
sions which had since occurred at Glasgow would
not have taken place, as the individuals there arrested
would have withdrawn themselves, and would in all
probability have inflicted vengeince on the persons
from whom they must know the itiformAtion had pro-
ceeded. In ordinary times the ancient law of high
treason would be quite snfficient for our protection i
but the present were not ordinary time. A Committee
of that H•iuse had given a verdict that a spirit was
now.efloat which tendered it necessary to secure the
person of the Illustrious Individmil esercisieg the re-
gal functions against direct attempts at assassination
(W, Ma). Was there not a Bill on the table ex;
pressly to secure the person of the Prince Regent ?
What was the object of the Bill under discussion ?
That those persons who might be apprehended on
ilformation Inr High Treason, which should appear
to six Members of the Privy Council, or to one of
the Principal Secretaries of :icor, sufficient to induce
either the Members of the Pt Council or the Se-
aviary of mate to commit those persons for High
Treason—ll:amid not he entitled to be bailed, tried,
or discharged, at so early a period as they would be
under the visaing Law. Unquestionably imptisen-
:neat was at all timer a mantle course to which to
resort; and the prolongation of imprisonment that
might take place in consequence of the Suspension of
the -Habeas Corpus, was not pester than that which
frequeutly occurred at present, when material wit-
nesses were absent. and from other causes. All the
Bill gave the Crown was, the power of detaining for
a limited period persons who, consistently with the
saiety of the State. tould not be immediately brought
to trial.. It bad been asked, with reiereace to the
• apprehension of the persons at Glasgow. that having
caught all the traitors there, what necessity there, was
forfora mine powerful Law ? But were those who
Raked that gelation quite sure that all the trauma
had been caught ? Were they quite sure that no
archatraitor had escaped. and that it might be unwise
at once to put his associates on their trial, lest he
:sound ascertain the channels of info: oration possessed
by Government, and be enabled to withdraw himself
in consequence ? It he were asked whether' any delay
would be necessary in the trial of the persons detain-
ed in London on a charge of High Treason, he
would state, that in his view of the case no great
delay was necessary—he meant, no greater delay
than that usurl in cases of High Treason, which
insatiably presented many difficulties, and he so-
lemnly pledged himself, that not a single half
hour of unnecessary delay should take place.—
Az Honourable Gentleman, be understood, had on a
recent occasion accused the present Law Officers of
the Crown with being afraid to do their duty. His
Honourable and Learned Ftiend. the Solicitor-Gene-
:al, 1141:1 repelled this accusation with the disdain
which it deserved. For himself he would say, Altar
the only fear which he felt in the exercise of his offi-
cial functions, was the 'fear that he might not:m.3.-
6st those 'functions in the best way, or take that
CAM which; under all circumstances, would be most
advantageous to the public interest. Heinferated the
House that other prosecutions were in contemplation,
and that he fully sympathized with those Gentlemeu
who felt so much indignation at the many scandalous
libels which had lately been forced ugon the public.
A most infamous parody on the Creed had been
)ately sent th 'Mtn from Norwich (Cries of Read, reed. )
He said that he would not—thif it was inconsistent
wish the dignity of Parliament to listen to such blas-
phemy—that it should be read but once, and that in
a. court of justice. With respect to a great many
more publications of a very bad tendency, he la-
mented to say that they were most difficult to prose-
cute; however, he bad the pleasure to announce that
several of them were in a course of prosecution, but
ep to the present time nothing Goal had been accom.
pihhed. But whether as to libels or riots, the COW)-
.
•
try was in a state in which it could not much longer
remain. 140 one who witnessed the oseetings either
ae Westminster or Spa-fields, together with the pre-
centimes, measures to which they gave rise, but
Most be oonviiced that such a state of thins could
not continue. Misch ridicule, he said. had been east
open the notion of die Tower and the Lusk heists