Star.
London, England, 1817-02-27 00:00:00

ing under it on die present oecaiior. Vet hehad lis
doubts if any thing but the absolute stliper.;:ion of the
Habeas Corpus Act would be efficient to coerce the
dreadfully-perverted spirit which had gone abroad
among the people at the present• awful crisis. tie
certainly did regret that other and milder means had
not been resorted to at an earlier stage of this conta-
mination, hut he feared it was now too late.
Mr. YORKE believed this was the first time in the
history of Parliament, that a Bill sent from the
Lords to that House had been objected and argued
against, without its being read. How was it possible
its contents could be ascertained by the House ? He
objected, to this mode of proceeding, and entreated
the House to inform itself upon the subject.
Mr. SMITH (of Cambridge) had waited with
great attention upon the reasoning of Ministry and
their advocates, to disci ver any thing like an tide-
quate reason for the adoption of these violent and
dangerous measures now proposed in the tibiae of a
Bill for suspending the Constitution, for shutting up
the mouth; of his fellow-subjects, groaning under the
weight of their taxation; and sufferings. Their hy-
pothesis he could not grant. It was taken for granted
the country was in that alarming state that called for
these measures; and a Right Honourable Gentleman
(Mr. Canning) had said on a former night, that it
was matter of historical notoriety how frequently the
active few had overpowered .the heedless many, and
effected by this activity the overthrow of powerful
States, in despite of the wishes of the greater part
of the population of such countries. The argument,
he must observe, bore strongly against the part he
feared the Ministry had acted in the transaction. If
they had, as he found, been inactive, and slumbered
upon their posts, they had ill performed the part-of
the accredited watchful guardians of the public wel-
fat e confided to their care. Great was the responsi-
bility they had drawn down upon themselves,
and severe indeed roust be the _censure of the
country upon that negligence—(Hear, hear.)
The French Revolution had been adduced as an in-
stance to illustrate the Right Hoe. Member's hypo-
thesis ; but he would tell him, instead of the active
few in France, it was the active Dimly, who wrested
from the powerful and tyrannic few that Reform in
their Constitution, if'such it might be called, which
had been loudly called fur, until at length the public
became impatient, and in heir hatred of the tyranny
of past times, bore down all the mounds which form-
ed and supported the fabric of society— (Hear, bear.)
And yet all this was done notwithstanding the rulers
in France never had wanted those extensive powers
to arrest and confine suspected, or, indeed, any de-
scription of persons. If the Noble Lord or the Right
Hon. Gentleman wished to know the real cause of,
the French Revolution, he would tell them it ori.ti-
nated in the want of an Habeas Corpus Act in that
kingdom—in the want of a Constitution adapted to
the progressive improvement and information of
society at that period. Frenchmen then, like Eng-
lishmen at this day, would have felt such an act as
the great bulwark of their liberties, their-pride and
glor y—(Hear, hser.)--.Great terror had beeq affected
at the progress of their *mean doctrines. He kit
convinced they would hies fallen innocuous had they
been published during the ordinary state of society
but in the resent irritated, aad alolost frenzied
crisis, these doctrines no &tuft had operated with
increased effect upon the minds of starving labour-
ers, artificers, and mechanics. Upon the complaint
respecting the atrocity and blasphemous tenkney
of the libels, and other production. issiowg ,from
this body of theorists, he had only to ask e iry were
they not prosecuted. by the proper Law Officers ?.
The Attorney-General hid coeceded to these pro-
ductions such uncommon iarilreufuhsess (he thought
this was the term applied) diet it was impossible to,
fit upon the treason. But would it not be tar mires
just and fair, it it were found so difficult to frame as
indictment upon the offence, to amend the defect is
the laws as they at present stood? This . would be
more equitable, than for the *I lodged offences of a few,
to rob the community of the benefit of, the trial by,
Jury. There had been certainly much done to able.
viate tire present distresses of the country. When had
the handof charity been so widely and generously
extended ? When so much pains taken to inquire
into the state of the poor and distressed ? The Poor,
Laws bad always been considered the most ample
securities for the peace of the country at large; yet,
atter all these securities—these alleviations of the
public distress—Mieiders proceeded, in 'direct viola.
lion of the best interests of the country, to suspend
the benefits of the Constitution to all his Majesty's
subjects, directly in the teeth of that well-known
axiom of law, that it were better the guilty mast.
*should escnpe, than the innocent few be included in
their punishment.
Mr. ROBINSON said, the Committee had been
unanimous inconsequence of the weight of the testi.'
moray brought before them. The Gentlemen on the'
opposite side of the House would not have agreed to
it otherwise. It *as impossible in this House to state;
the facts in the way they bass been bruught before
theirs is the Committee, because names and other
material circumstances must be suppressed, all which
would be necessary to produce -complete conviction.
Many Gentlemen seemed disposed to undervalue the
statements of the edeunidee with respect to the es:
tent of the danger arisen from the Spenceans, bat
tithe danger was not at All magnified. The principles'
of these men wetesabmitted to a Committee in i
. when .the measure now proposed-had been adopted.
They Were thets celled. Spensonians, and furnished,
even at that time, grounds for proceeding against
them. Their' ptinciplis then, is now, went to the
catinction of all pfdperty, so that they were not to be
i'dejilt, with' as a 'new sect. Though then counter.
noted, they were since revivedwitb additional strength.
An- Honourable: Gentleman opposite CM4 Broog
poun) said, they had been persecuted into importance.
,It was no.such thing, they did not require the aid et
persecution to.make thins popular among a certain,
•clasa, They were peculiarly calculated to propagate
themselves; for DO dOatifiti could be More palatable
to the igneitant diantheirs. They combined all the
principles of treason...(Heer. hear) The mischief of
them was most subtle In its combination and most
tremendous in its
.effects. A Noble Lord opposite
(Cochrane) bad s.id that their numbers were not more
than one hundred. "He would be more accurate if lie
added thousands so tire hundreds—Veer, heer.r-r
Though their principles may differ in enne respects;
twin those of, the other societi:s, the views of them all
were Vectly:the,semse. • Taw( wAa esse. polies dr-