Star.
London, England, 1810-05-12 00:00:00

. A Tuesday ne—
Lord LAUDERDALE postponed his motion till Friday next,,
uioncerning East India Affairs.
The Duke of ATHOL moved to postpone, oft account of tbs.
absence of the Marquis of Buckleghani,the second reading of the j
Gas Lights Bill, till Tuesday next.

breads of privilege; they were accordingly
the Bari when Sir F. PeMberton, and Sir
stated that the House was right in its de-
Report, after mentioning a few more
cases, goes on to state the conduct of the
various proceedings of arrests against Mem.
their servants ; on this subject it cited the
' Lord Chief Justice De Grey, which was,
Member or Member's servant was arrested,
_. ravening. -- privilege of the House that he should be
The.two motions following the resolutions were then put ; the , immediately delivered. The Committee bad many
first efwhich, after same words from the Archbishop of Carrie ' instances of this before them • however, lh the 12th
TLIBURT, and the Bishop of LONDON, was withdrawn. Tne
and 13th of William and Mary, this•privilege was
second, after some observations from the Archbishop r' Catir x It..
soar, the Bishop of %%MUM, and Lords HOLLAND and ; curtailed, as also in the reign ot Queen Acne ; still
Haymow:lr, was negstieed.—Adjourned. ; it applied only to delivery from arrest, and did not
, 1 limis the rights of the House with respect to breach
HOUSE OF COMMONS. 'of privilege. It appeared to the Committee, that
On the motion of Mr. W. POLE, the Dublin Hospital BM
;instituting an action against the House was a breach
was read a third time and passed.
of rivileges
Mr. WILBERFORCE postponed the second reading of the p rand that several instances are on 4re-
Overseers' Bill to Tuesday. ' cord ot proceeding not only against the party who '
institutes the action, but againet the Solicitor. The.
'rise Committees on Irish Veit, and Ways and Means, were
poitponed till Monday. , . Report concluded by suggesting it as expedient, that
On the motion of Mr. WHARTON, the Oil of Vitriol Bill . _
the House should give leave to the Speaker and Ser.
read a second time, and referred to a Committee of .the
;role House on hlontk.---On his nint.on the West India hi- jeant to appear in Court to explain the grounds on
surarce Bill was read a second time and committed. , which they had acted, and to plead in abatement of
'
Mr. LUSHINGTON brought up the Report of the Excho- jurisdiction.
quer Bills Annuity Bill. The amendments were agreed to, and i
Mr. DAVIES GIDDY, before the motion for the'
ordered to be engrossed.
Mr. lANG presented a Petition from the Market Gardeners report lying on the table, thought it necessary to
of Surrey, Kent, Essex, and Middlesex, praying an exemption ' state to the House the three modes of conduct, either
from certain clauses in the Highway Act. It was ordered to lie of which it might pursue.—First, he would have ad-
on the table. . vised
into a prosecution at law to be entered for a breach
Sir J. SINCLAIR postponed the further consideration of the
Report of the Highway Act till this day six months. He moved o f the privileges of the Horse, had there, on looking
that the Report of the Turnpike Reads Bill be now taken into the Journals, appeared a path of this nature
consideration.--'llie Bill was ordered to be re-contained, upon : chalked out by the Constitution —The second, and
which ! the better way; would be to commit to rison, for
Mr .BYNG moved that the Petition of the Market Gardeners
should be referred to this Committee. 1 breach of privilege, the person who had served the
The House then went ittto the same Committee, when the process. That this power has belonged invariably to
various clauses were agreed to and the Report received. the House is evident ; but if, in thesprescnt instance,
The Irish Stage Coach Bill went till-neigh a Committee. The lit was
unwilling to exert that power, at the came
Report was ordered to be received on Monday.
The LORD ADVOCATE of SCOTLAND obtained leave to time it should be understood it was within its re.ech.
bring in a Bill for Repairing the Roads of the Highlands; and However, the House would decide upon this. The
Bridges of Scotland. He then brought
,in the Bill, which was third mode would be to direct a•Court below to in.
read a Pr,t time, and ordered to be lead' a second tune cit Wed-
sti•tute pleadings. With respect to this he wished to
nesday r.ext.
Mr. ABERCROMBIE, as he saw the Lord Advocate of Scot. ! suggest to the House, that if it should think right to
land in hi: place, took the opportunity of asking him it heintended I allow the Speaker and Serjeant to plead, they must,
foltilling the solemn pledge he gave last Session of brining in a j either plead in abatement of jurisdiction or in bar.—
Bill to Amend the Bankrupt I.aws of Scotland. iThe latter would require some time, but if the former
The LORD ADVOCATE of SCOTLAND, in reify, stated
that he certainly bad been called on to male this eledgt, but had :was adopted no time would be lost. He understood
refused. However, he wished it to be understom: that to had re- that to-morrow was the last ciay of hearing such
ceived such information as led him to think that the People of ' pleas. He moved that the Report should lie on
Scotland would be more pleased, if those laws, withea few Lacer- '
dons, were allowed to remain as they are.
Mr. FOSTER brought up the Annual Account of the Licences,
1 Ilse
Ltoarlicli
e.
MILTON observed, that no one could sit
paid by Lottery Office Keepers in Irsland.—Ordered to he on 'he ! silent after hearing the conclusion of the Honourable
table. He then moved that the House should resolve into a I Gentleman's speech. He understood that the object '1
Committee, on Monday, to consider the Irish Susar Dress back of the Report was to defend the action which had
Act, which was ordered. I
. been instituted against the House. If the Speaker
POIIFICX SILK.
The House went into a Committee on Foreign Silks. I were to appear in such a situation, if the Court were
,
Mr. ROSE moved the following Resolution, " That the Chair- Ito proceed with the action, the House should consider
man should move the House for leave to bring itt a Bill to profile I the situation in which it would be placede 'We ate
i bit the Importation of Foreign Silks, and to increase the shares of i about, said the Noble Lord, to defend an action in
l officers in seizures."
Sir J. NEWPORT had no objection to the Resolution, which I an inferior Court, when we know that the only appeal
was agreed to. 1 is to the House of Lords ; the consequence resulting
Mr. LUSHINGTON accordingly moved the House, and oboe j from this is that our privileges :lee to be deciLl.al on,
tained leave to bring in the Bill. ;by that House. Was this House now to give up the
Committees were appointed to take into consideration the
Militia ostenatel of Great Britain and Ireland. i advantages it had obtained in the case of the Ayles-
Mr. GRENFAL gave notice that he would on Monday move i bury election, and trace back the path it had been
for copies of the correspondence between his Majesty's Ministers , proceeded in for a Century ? 'Whatever might be
and the Commissioners of Assessed Taxes, on the subject of re- done with the report, be considered of inferior mo-
trospective surcharges. • ! ment, but he entreated Gentlemen to consider the
Alderman COM BE brought up the Report of the Embezzle-
ment Bill ; the Amendments were ordered to be engrossed, and i fatal consequences which may ensue Weak doctrine is,
the Bill to be read a third time on Monday., ; adopted. Were the privileges of the house of Com-1
Sir I. ANSTRUTHER brought up the Report of the Cons- Mons to be overturned in the Court ef King's Bench ?i
mittee on East India Affairs, which was ordered to be printed. Were they to be then frittered away ? He overheard'
The Foreign Linen Bill was read a third time and passed.
Mr. R. WARD postponed his motion relative to the Navy i a Noble Lord near him (Lord Folkstone) call those
Estimates and additional Seamen, till Monday. ! privileges illegal, but he would maintain they were
Mr. SIIER I DAN stated to the House, that in consequence of i not so---(Hear, hear.) They were tisunded on the law!
a number of other Spanish Papers being necessary to be addend to 10f the land, and if permitted thus to be attacked and
those he already wished for, he intended postponing his motion
one a f ter another, those privileges by
on this subject. On looking into the Order Boqk, he found the taken
hingtut day he could fix on to be Friday sennight, un which he i which the country was protected, would soon cease
should positively bring the question forward. to exist. Granting that one of these privileges was
slit FRANCIS BURDETI. improperly used, was the House on that account to
' • The SPEAKER ,acquainted the House that he give up one of the greatest safeguards it and the lei.
bad received a letter from the Earl of Moira, which, tion possessed ? He hoped that Pitmans:Kea would
if it was the. pleasure of the House, would be read. eavert the day that the Speaker of the House of Com-
The letter was in substance is follows : Lmono should appear a pleader at the bar of the Court
" st• lateen ruessMay S. 'of King's Bench • then might their privileges be said
s'Sta...-Mr. Arrow, my Solicitor, has represented to me a to
'
be at an end.
circumstance, which ! think incumbent on me w impart to you. i
It is, that Sir Francis Burden has commenced a suit in the Court Lord FOLKSTONE did not intend to addrkss
of King's Bench against me, as Cqpstable of the Tower, for ille- the House, had not an expression of his been over-
, gal detention in prison. Ido not write thts for the purpose of heard by the Noble Lord who had just sat down.—
I soliciting your interference, as I have already directed my Solicitor
He contended that there might arise a state of privi-
-1 to defend the action, en the grounds of the warrant of the Speaker
of the House of Commons, and that of the Secretary of State. lege illegal enough to be disputed in a Court of
I am, Sir, etc. " 1401 RA." Justice ; for instance, if it huh assumed the power of
The Letter was ordered to tx entered on the Journals. , pillory; suppose it had sent Mr. Gale Jones on a
REPOItT CF THE COMMITTEE OF FRIVILEGiLS. horse, with his face to the tail, to Charing-cross,
b .
Mr. DAVIES GIDDY brought up the Report of there to be put in the pillory, and afterwards sent tol
the Committee on the proceedings had and to be had Newgate, in such a case it would be unjust ; if theta.;
on the notices, &c. of Sir Francis Burdett. was no redress, it would be monstrons if it had exer- t
The Clerk then proceeded to read the Report, cised such a right. He wished the House to take,
which was of teonsiderable length, and to the follow- I into consideration the suggestion of pleading in bar. 4
I
ing purport : He thought the report deficient in many points on
After recurring to the events of the sth of April, which it pretended to inform the House. He advert-'
the Report proceeds to enumerate the various sub. ed to its statements respecting the proceedings in a
jects of its consideration, namely the Speaker's war- Court of Justice is the third of Charles I. and its ar-
rant ; Sir Francis Burdett's letter ; the report of the summits on the Bill of Rights, which he said.did not
Serjeant at the Bar ; the notices, process, and writs relate to any thing in but out of Farlhuneet. The
on the Speaker and Serjeant, which latter, the Report case of Sir J. Elliot, which had been contended as a
observes, are subscribed with the name of Ellis, So. breach of privilege, had been tried in the Court below,
licitor, and are for the purpose of bringing as a ques- nor was the declaration then sufficient till a writ r I
tion in a Court of Law the conduct of the House.— error bad been entered in the House of Lords. The
It then states the wish of the Committee to collect Report had taken notice of the case of Sir F. Peni-
as nearly as possible, in one view, this important sub- i berton, but he conceived it impossible on this ground
ject, and to prove, from Parliamentary History, that ! to maintain the doctrine of pleading in abatement of
the right of the House in committing to prison for jurisdiction. If this were persisted in, it would be
breach of privilege is well founded on many instan- impossible not to examine the privileges of tile House,
ces and precedents, to state the various proceedings hut if it had been acted upon according to those pri-
at law, and their acknowledged analogy to the sub- j vileges, which he acknowledged to be a known
ject in question. These latter.topics, however, would I law, titough as Lord Coke observes, not much
be reserved for another Report. The Committee I sought after.
could confidently state that the practices adopted 1 Mr. WHITBREAD rose to order.—The question
were usual, and founded on the instances which arose I before the House was, whether the report should lie
from the proceedings of Charles I. and 11, when their i on the table ? The Learned Gentlemen, he said, who
innovations were resisted, and resented by the House ! framed this paper, should tell the House what they
of Commons ; which finally and directly led to the I intended to do, and not endeavour to take advantage
Bill of Rights. The Committee did net hesitate to 'of what might be now said.. To the question itself
say, that an article of the Bill of Rights directly ea- he had no Objection.
tended to the present case. On this subject the law ' Mr. W. WYNNE agreed with the doctrine of the
of Parliament is especially declared in the Rolls of ; Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Giddy). He was of opinion
Henry VIII. when it appears it was expedient always '..that whatever related to the privileges of the House,
to allow full costs and punishment for the protection should be discussed here and no where else. In this
of its privileges. The Report then cites the case of principle he could see nothing contrary to reason or
Sir J. Elliot in 1604; and then that-ot J. Topham justice. He then quoted the case of Mr. White, who
in June, 1679, who was Serjeant at Arms, and against in the year 1669 had been fined £lOOO for being
whom, for discharging the commands of the House ' guilty of a breach of privilege. It is certain that
a judgment had been granted ; on this the House re- the House might have abused its privileges in one or
solved, that the Judges of the King's Bench had been two instances, but it did not therefore follow, that it

.. - %. .
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- - , , Ihd. lie had in his conytiatiosi 11Atit an Noble Ph ta br
APO
PARLIAmENraRr PIiOCZEDINGS. ..Irl (HAITOWby ) Oil this subject heard nothing of oaltetiPto thi
he clause. Had he known of itAe.should not have F. lunes, sta
.--, j proposed his Resolutions. He would withdraw them t oisiPn• The
HOUSE OF LORDS, MAY 11. i Or, inserting 'this clause in them, let 'them take the minor cases,
Several private Nils were brought up fro& the Ceorohnli . sense of the House. House in var
The Marquis of LANSDOWNE, in consetisence of other
The Earl of HARROWBY thanked the Noble bens and thei
p nay.;:g been moved for, postponed his motion till Friday
DM :Lord for the candid manner in which he had brought opinion of I
Lord MELVILLE postponed his motion respecting the Ad- the business forward, and stated that he did not know that if a Men
iniralty, till Tuesday_ next. .
.. /of the.clause himself till that morning. .it was the pi
.