Star.
London, England, 1810-03-23 00:00:00

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PARLMM:ZATART PROCIEDINGS.
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..HOUSZ OF LORDS, MARCH 24.
WM/8$ presented *meal papers relative to the affairs.of
the ,Fee India ,Company.—Ordered to lie on the table.
Lord BUCKINGHAMSHIRE rose, and moved for the pro.
dualnrillf fnit/lar *peas respectlrg.the same subject.—.o tiered.
' The'Exelseenbr Antoity BBL NI. and several private Bills.,
t wero-fsrauallsvp.frore the common and read 'a brat title.
The+LORD CHANCELLOR having quitted the
woolsack, proceeded m give jadgrnesit in the Appeal
Cisme from the' Court of Session ittleotiand—
• . arkerlatTON v. 941INCL/1.30.101 Min tYrHERS.
His Lordship anti he had. on a former veining, 'adverted to
*pan:refer poinui whic.h,the House had tenet late conside.
ration. •It had been strenuously argued that this case shotild be
derided on Merits which the law of Scotland slid net. recognize.
By *e English Corporation: Law, a disttilinta was made in rho
wade of proceedlag pursued by Corprra•e•Boelitti, When they
masted .11: a deflante or an indtfinire number; sad also between
those whose charters specified that " 4 major parr idlould concur
in any official act, and those whose charters did not con-
tain such a provision. But he found, by a case decide.' by the
Scotch Courts, so fat back as the year 1747, that nb dhtinction
of that kind was then admitted. in Scotland; soda, brroother tles
cision, t.f.the year Iso3, the same systemscemod f.o be acted upon,
He therefore thought it would be attended with the most dau.
gemus consequences, to alter or abrogate thit.course 01. proceeding
which bad,prevailed lire the Scotch Cotirfi fifelhalf a oentury. The
second point which had been argued was, that thotetbroplaining
of theta done by a minority of the CurposashspeiCuiross, had
no legal right to conlplain, inasmuch as they_thetnvelves were
sniff lly absent. Now, this was a very .good Frei, if sufficient
legal evidence had been adduced to place the wind! abgence Veyond
doubt. Bet, although he himself suspected, 'lta!‘ although as an
individual, he believed the absence of Malta* have been inter.
tonal, yet suspicion, however strung, was not a ground upon
which their Lordships could decide—legaland undoubted evidence
of the fact was absolutely necessary. ft had been alto contended,
that in point of fact, a majority hadaisembled at the'time speci-
fied—now the Corporation consisted of eighteen persons, and
those making this aseruon allowed, that but nine of those persons
had been collected; " but," said tioey, in order to prove that aim
was a strihrity of eighteen, " one of those persona had a raving
vote," as tf because when the -wide hay met, this casting vote was 4
e'lowed, that, therefore, it should be allowed in aril ocher cases.
''Litz tnore he thought of this proposition, the:more was he con.
tinted that it could not be tolerated. Under 41 these circuna.
stances, he should' move, " That the decision of the Court of
Session be affirmed."--,Agreedto. • ' '. .
• Titn MUST. ' "0.7 1 ' ais
Lord DARNLEY rose, pursuant to notice, tti
call the attention of their Lordships to the presonti
state of the regular defence of the gountry.—He
had sore time ago put a question to his Majesty's
Ministertrespecting a report that wergenerally pre.'
vailed,of an intention, on the part of - Government;
to send almost the whole of the regaltrr force in the,
country on foreign expeditions. To that question he
received' no • satisfactory answer. He therefore re.
solved to bring forward a distinct motion, the object •
of which would be to ascertain what number of regu.
lar troops, and of what description, bad- been sent
out of the country since the month of September last.
After themelancholy proof we have had of the disasters
and disgraces which the ignorance and incapacity of
Ministers have brought upon the country; after the
glaring indications they have betrayed of their utter
i unfitness to manage the military means of the country,
were they to be permitted blindly to.run in the same •
mad career, and to squander away our remaining
force, to which alone the nation could now look for
protection and security ? With the fatal effects of the
calamitous Expedition to Walcheren, staring us in
the face, were we to permit. Ministers to doom the
remainder of our regular troops to the same unaVaill
ing sufferings, to the same dishonourable fate ? He
trusted their Lordships would interpose and rescue
the army, and indeed the country, from The inciscre.
, tion and mismanagement of the present Administra-
' lion; and not allow the means of our 'domestic secu-
rity to be fruitlessly wasted away on foreign exeedi.
lions. With that view he should wish their Lordships
to be informed respecting the number of troops which
have lately been sent on foreign service ; and in order
to procure that information he should now move an
humble Address to his Majesty, praying his Majesty
would be graciously pleased to give directions that
.there be laid before that House a return ot the num-
ber of troops, in infantry, cavalry, and artillery, which
have been ordered-for foreign service since the let .
September, up to the present time.
The Earl of LIVERPOOL opposed the motiod.
Indeed the Noble Lord had himself, on a former 611.
casion, anticipated the objection upon whichhe should
now greufid that opposition. He saw no reason why a
it should be supposed that his Majesty's Government
were misemploying the military force of the country.
The Noble Lord had adduced no argumentbn'which
to justify such a suspicion. He had stated no specilit
reason on which to rest the "propriety of acceding le
his motion. He, however, felt it liable to many ob.
jections, and particularly to the danger of conveying
information to the enemy. Was the enemy to be
apprised to what quarter we were directing the ap-
plication of this force ? Were we to tell them that
we were sailing a supply of troops to Cadiz—that
we were dispatching a reinforcement to Portugal ?__
Surely the Noble Lord could not have seriously
reflected on these effects of his motion, and yet per-
severe in making it. Upon these grounds, however,
he should think it is.duty to oppose the motion.
Earl GREY was surprised to hear the Noble Se.
cretary contend that there were no grounds of HBO.
cion that Ministers would continue re mismanage the
military. means of the country as they had hitherto
done: Had not,tlieit Lordships the most lamentable
experience of dMif Ignorance, their imprudence, and
their incapacity in this respect?—lead their Lordships
ridt seen- the miserable consequences of the fatal
tie' cam-
Under Sir :so' n Moore ? Yelp wits that said et.
It *and* admobition before their eyes, have they
likaa ii still more lamentable. campaign in 1809, a
flo,, , ,
hpaign far more dismal in its effects, as there was
tbinda.nt information to warn us against embarking '
ii. - had they not shit* seen the most diiastrous
#o# Tact all -expeditions in which this coon.
V WO, ciit• ivied, ending in shame, add. sorrow,
lind ' 'ob nbt* be described? Yet, with these
ittpekterittid'keititnulated instincts of the incapacity
''6l liii Majesty's present Ministers, 'their Lordships
woe ii be Wallet no gtrund had bias *Mood if
e.
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