Star.
London, England, 1804-03-23 00:00:00

At and play !ricks with the returns front evert Bn.
rough ill' his Bailiwick, make double returns, and
einhat tars that Notice and the fitting Members, with
frivolous and vexatious content.. He made fume al,
lotions to the legal doßtines laid down laft niglioby
Mr. Mechlin, and laid, though the Hon. Member
had attempted, in hig.,ll words and warm language;
to &tool the Houfe noon that fubjedt. he was not
afraid-t• meet the fuhjeß as a quellion of law.
Mr. C. WYNNE lamented that the Honfe had
entertained the difettam, or gone into the ezamiaa•
then upon thole documents, beeaule it opened a door
to dilcullions which belnitgot properly to a Com-
mittee ; and if once the Houle fhould indulge the
habit of entertaining fifth debates, it would take the
tenfold. out of the jiarildißion of Committees, where
the law had wifely placed it, and let in attain ..)I the
mil-chiefs which it was the object of Mr. Grenville's
AR to obviate. With tefpeß to the arguments of
the Right Han. Gentleman, of the liabi:ity of She-
riffs to make double returns, and embarrafs the
Houle, and its lawful Members, with frivolous and
vexatious comets, he liemed to forget that the
Sheriffs, by fo doing. would incur the liabiiity of be-
ing fent to Newgate by that Houle, and of being caft
in aCtions at law, with double cods.
Mr SHERIDAN agreed with the Hon. Member
who fpoke tail, and (*Vented, that fume llrnng
gunge had been held towards an Hun. Relation of
his, in the affertion, that an endeavour had been
made to keep Mr. Hufkiffon out of the Houfe; but
he felt it his duty to deny the fail, and to fay, his
Hon. Relation had taken no interference whatever
in the return made by the Sheriff; and, in fail, all
that lie willed was, that the matter fhould be fairly
examined, and Mr. Hufitiffon as fpeedily as poffible
put in polreffion of his right. The Hon. Gentleman
had faid; indeed, that if the Houle fhould not be I
convinced, from the documents now before it, that his
charge of tricks and cheats were founded, he would
be ready to apologize to the parties injured by Inch
language. He hoped he would, and that he fhould
lb rely have an opportunity. The Honourable Mem.
ber. too, had charged him with ufing warm lan-,
{nage, and fehooling the Houfe upon doarines of
;.w. The Honourable Gentleman had on this point
been pretty liberal of his temperate froerities, andfoft
"Perk,. He owned he was fumetimer, in the habit
4.luting warm language. but it was only when he en-
&avow edto lupport his opinion againfl the power-
ful eloquence of (tech antagonias as the Right Host.
Geflll.Mall. As to fchooling the Houle upon points
4,1 law, lb humble were his opinions of his own qualifi-
cations for that purpofe, that he would even fubmit
to be refloated by. and be thankful to receive in:
Ili-naives from the Right Hon. Gentleman, who,
however, certainly had not borrowed from him that
leifon of magnanimity which taught him to attack
the characters of mankind behind their hacks, when
they had not an bpportuuity of vindicating them-
Irises. But with reference to the law upon this cafe,
he would, notwithflanding the confident opinions of
the Right Hon. Gentleman, venture to maintain,
that the letter and fpirit of the Grenville AR was
as clearly mandatory upon the Houfe to fend this
cafe to et Committee, as in any cafe that ever occur-
:ed. He then moved, that the claufe in the Gren.
ville AR he read, w:tich requires that when any
petition, complaining of an undue return, (ball he
prefented to the Houle, that the Houfe (ball; forth-
with appoint a day to take the fame into conlidera.
tion ; which being read, Mr. Sheridan proceeded to
read the words of the Petition, which fpecifically
c,.niplained of an undue return; from which he
contended, it was as clear as words could ex-
prefs a meaning, and faid, he Ihould take flame to
himfelf for having wafted fo much of the time of the
Home, in reafoning on a point In palpable to the
molt humble onderltanding. Mr. Sheridan Rated in
point the Hehlone cafe.
Mr. WM. DUNDAS replied fomewhat picquant-
ly to Mr. Sheridan. He totally difclaimed any per-
Irma' ;Million whatever towards Mr. Thomas Sheri-
dan, in any thing he had raid ; glanced at Mr. She
ridan's ellufion as a lawyer ; reminded him of his
having been himfelf bred to the profelfion ; and
warned him, that whenever he made fuel; allufinas
again to him, be would pay him off in his own coin.
Mr. SHERIDAN affured the Hun. Member, he
never till that moment. knew that he had been bted
to the Law ; for his own part he was ready to ac-
knowledge he had, fu far as keeping CWIIIIIOII4 and
being c.llcd to the Bar ; and he willed he had psi--
fevered. As to the Hon. Gentleman's talking of
giving him suarriag," and of 4. paying him gin
his own coin," he would not pretend to fay how far
filch language was Parliamentary ; all, however,
that he pretended to was, a plain underliauding, and
a with to !Import his opinion with integrity, and a
reafonable (hare of common fettle ; and to long as
the Right lion. Gentleman fliould deal in that fort
of coin, he had nit objeltion to deal with him on any

topic.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER'
role, for the regulatity of proceeding, to remind
Gentlemen that there was really no quellion befire
the Houle.
Mt. BURROUGHS role to propofe a rpieflion,
which he prefaced be a Ipcech of tome length, in
fupport of the opinions of Mr. Pitt and Mr. Intram
and he concluded be m,virT,th n
by the Under Shttitl, as itreguLtr 4 nullit;, be
taken off the file.
4r. 1'117; Lid, the reaf,m !le had not matte
any motion on the outlet L he witneer to
Lear the opinions of other Getrien.to, And arecially
from the grave antborittei, of the Law ()titre% 11, of the

Crown.
The ATTORNEY GENZR Al. r..;,1. if Thell,ufe
Was at lilsetty In go into .he ex.urnn utioa of thole
documents of thernfelves, detached from all other
matters, certainly thete era% enoutAl, t., warrint com•
phance with the motion jolt mule t hot he %vas de-
cidedly of opinion, that the langulaye ol Jae peti!iu.n,
in Ipecifically complaining of an " ur.d.te room,"
came dircaly -tinder that clanfe if Mr. Urenvi!le's
Bull, which referred the enquiry to a OttUpiittek.
Mr. BURROUGHS agoccd to r•itlizraw h's mn.
lion. And after a convert:l6,m of lonic lent;:h he-
tween Melfrs. Bankes, Pitt, Add;nytor.,
and others, it WAS moved, that the
he taken into confider viol. on Ineillay the lc 1!:
April, which, after litre rouse, was cant 41.
A motion was then made ants alueed, that the nu do
nmuld Ise difchai red; and anntluer motior C:1•11Cli
to take the fame into cunfideratiun un dic 17th A. if.

•
Or. ICINNATIto Ore 'notice, th.it tie ;ash s
snail early day. that to every company a' V 01...., v. Ili, r
be attached a lioututumitrapaed Officer. and fah pay to tie •• ekt
pay Officers.
A Nteffape from the Lords announced theii ,fg; pe eirent
lathe Act fat Ming two salons of .at-baguet' dills, and fuverat
private Dill..

vritearttes.
Mr. IiCIRKt Moved the third reading ot the Yo-
luntecr BJI.
Mr. LANGTON complimented knifiers for the
candour they had manifelted In yielding to the fug.
gotions that had been mare to theni in the conde of
the difetilllm of Otis measure.
Colonel CRAUFURD animadvetted on the prin.
ciple and provitihns of the Volunteer fyflem, which
he obleteed itad been termed by its advocates, a dc
licate machine, and truly fo it was, and. therefore a
very bad inn) timdat for war. The foundation of thi
•fyllem he cot:ads-tea to he had, arth the fuperftrut
Lure to be extremely deft live. The Hon. Gentletno.
in the courfe of his ipeech, took n•-'.'cot the ordo-t
laid to be itfued to deftroy-the nr:tr;rron • that nsig'n
he likely, in the event of invafi tn. I. fall into thsi
hands of the enemy. This he ruin Owed, as a dif.
graceful and barbarous dire:lion, a. one calculated
to inflict a ferious injury on ourftives. merely to.pee:
vent a poffible benefit from ariting to the enemy.
After a loud cry of queftioa I queftion I from the
Minillerial Benches,
Mr. WINDHAM coddled, that he felt no furprire
at the uneafinef. which Minitlers betrayed by their
cry for the queftion to get rid of the meafure befoul
the Houfe. It had certainly given them much %roue
We, and was likely to give them and the country
much more. They might, however, Rate, as a jufti-
fication for the filence which they feemed willing to
preferve upon this occafion, that all the arguments
ufed by his Hon. Friend, who had juft fat down, had
been advanced before. This might be for the mok
part true. but he would afk, whether thofe argue
meets had ever been anfwered,and whether they did
not remain entirely unrefuted 1 If 10, then they ought
to he repeated, in order, if potable, to perfuade the
pertinacious adherents of this dangerous fyftem to
yield to their force, and to rcfort to meafures more
confonant to wifdons and calculated to fee= the fafety
of the country. But, perhaps, Ministers bad exhaufted
their eloqu:nce upon this fubjed, and that being tired
of amendment and re-amendment. of commitmentand
roicommitmentof prnpofitions and recantations, they
were anxious to fendthe meafure out of the Houfe,witfi-
out any more wordsabout it. To their wilhes,however.
he was not difpofed to yield, and as this was perha
the laft opportunity of ipeaking upon this Bill, ho
would avail himfelf of it to enter his folemn protek
againft a meafure which he thou ht. if petalled in.
would lead to abfolute ruin. This fentence,however
hunt, he could not heatate to prouounce. as the foill
conviftion of his mind. The Houle, he obfetved, bad
never yet taken a diftinft view of this queftion. The
point material •to be confidered was, not fo much
what had been done towards the defence of the em-
pire, as what had not been done. By the fyftem to
which this Bill referred, no one could lee that any
thing had been aceomplithed of a nature that entitled
it to praife. It could noure pretended that it railed
the volunteers. for had nothing refpefting it ever
erilled, no man could venture to alien that we &fluid
have had no volunteers. This fyftem produced no
advantage to the volunteers, while it materially in•
jured our regular force, and threatened to entail the
muff extenfive miCchids on the country. It was pro-
felled to have principally in view the improvement of
the volunteers in military difcipline, a very defirable
objet no doubt ; but ;that had the claufe of exemp-
tions to do with difcipline 1 To expunge that chafe
would remove a very important oblation to this Bill,
and it was abfurd to fay, that to withdraw that boon-
'ty from the volunteers, would be injurious or unlua.
It might to be lure tend to diminilh the number of
the volunteers, but in return, how much would it
add to the real flrength of the country ? The great
argument ufed in fupport of this Bill is, that under
the prefect circumflances, the volunteers forming our
main force for the defence of the country, their im-
provement ought to be the &ft objea of our atten-
tion; but without Rapping to enquire why or how
the volunteers bad thus become our principal force,
or difputing the propriety of communicating to them
,every poOlble improvement, he would all:, whether
the Bill then under confideration was calculated at
all to improve the volunteer fyftem. and even if it were.
whether that improvement, or any of which the Wiens
was fulceptible, was not inliznificant in value, com-
pared to the price which the country was obliged to
pay for it. in tolerating the exigence of that (Peen
The whole of this cafe, es it appeared to him, might
he refolved into three pi opolitions ; IR, whether this
Bill was calculated to improve the volunteer fyilem
whether, while we w.oe improving this fyftem,
we were not cutting up our real military ilrength ?
and, thirdly, whetter there was time enough to new
model our public farce, and thus to prepare it againli
the dangers which menaced us ? Upon each of thefe
oropolitions the Right lion Gentleman dilated much
at large ; and, in his cootie. took particular notice of
the affertions hi often made by the fupp..iters of this
Bill—that the danger which threatened us was loch
that we Ihritil aa as if it were contain ; and that this
danger was to tranfeendent this, nothing fkould be
put in corrosethioowi.l; the means of providing againd
it. With the tecand aff;rti.ot hr foliy agieed, at the
Me time that lie would not thrfer his mind to be to
wholly enrolled by the •ration of the meant
of reptlifil., it, as to I: the refourecs of out
pet manennecurity—to put char/. preilnt fateti at i!:"
txperce of (awe danger. With teipea to the
that our prefect danger war cei,ain, and immediately
to be apprehended, be thonglit tf.e ; ratite of 1111.44
who were in the habit of tepeatity affertiou WAS
At Variance wi.h their language, • t it was fearer-11
to Itrppofc that if they it..:lv thought the
trlancer fo imminent dn.y w.,uid c,.:•:ent themfelves
With the mere piang : that they would not
tail riot the Volunteers, and pot tl.e country in a more
forniid:thle Hate than it row is ; that they would not
flow in akar pr..grefs. Alter dwelling tonne
rime on the beta ten the means of our pre-
fent at,d pz:rfan.nt laic. y, a dillinetion whtch
ilers app-ared to him Ll,ndir to neeilork, the Right
yr "• 1•t••.', cee Ito nn the
pi. s:!;.‘:.y f the I bet. rc r! c. H. ore, which Ira
c..•..tst!ird %%Ili. a is 11. in he co:littered AS the
l•fginn...g of a lobes i dolcrs: all in confidertn.f
t!'e IA" 'kw to fele of it was by a comp Arr
i• it I tri (Lingers of •11-. -.0
1.1 to-slay with thole t-; ,f.:. •.:f••v: