Star.
London, England, 1820-06-27 00:00:00

NIDER 10,402.

PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDING&

HOUSE OF LORDS, JUNE 211.

earl retertactla took the oaths and his seat.
Lord EiISKIICE presented five Petitions from Occupiers of
I 7.t,t: i:; the County of Nottingham, praying for 'Parliantentary
Frog c:ion to the Agricultural Interests. His Lordship, in pre-
serail g the Petitions, declared it to be his opinion, that none of
the gr,..tt interests of the empire could, consistently with the
I.:wral welfare, become the subject of legislative considetation
u:! :ot exclusive principle; but that the prosperity of all con-
. .:rd in their receiving equal and due regard in their applies-1
t to Parliament, as far as the interference of Parliament was
..e and salutary.
l'htt Earl of LAUDERDALE, presented a Petition from
tie Ch..mher of Commerce in Glasgow, praying for a modifi-
.....:ea of the existing Duties on the importation of Foreign
7.:nher.

Mr. S. WoR/t.tv, Mr. lIoN-rvvroori, and others, brought up
!Ns. Irish Commercial Credit Bill, the l'welye Millions Loan
1..11, the Fended Debt CharT2 Bill, and eighteen Private Bills,
ich were ttil read a first time.

The Population Bill was also brought up by Mr. Davin Cgri-
) FAT, and read a first time.
. Mr. /la tase,from the Trinity House, brought up a Copy of
the Memorial Of the Chamber of Commerce, Plymouth, laid
before that Corpetr..ioo.
Sal GREY said, he held in his band a Petition from George
Guythorne Butt, now confined in Whitccross-street Prison,
praying for whatever relief the house might think proper to
extend to hint under the cireutnstancesof his case. It appeared
by the statement of the Noble Earl, that the Petitioner had
brought an action of false imprisoument against Sir Nathaniel
Conant, fur having committed him on a charge of libel. The
ast.o:i was tried in the Common Picas, and a special verdict re-
tained ; upon which special verdict, .the Judges had resolved
the committal to have been comet, and the Court pronounced
a decision, which bound the Petitioner for the costs of the
;.,:tioa ; for nonpayment of which he was committed. This de-
cision, according to his (Earl Grey's) opinion, was unwarranted
by any law, and he had submitted a motion relative to the sub-
j:-et, at the time when a circular letter was, he conceived, most
illegally sent to the Magistrates by the Secretary of State for
cb Home Department, recommending to them to act in execu-
tion of this assumed power. He had nut heard anything which
caused him to alter his opinion since, nor had he been induced,
by reflecting on the subject, to consider the exercise of such an
:-..nhority, as anything else than an usurped power on the part of
tht: Magistrates, who, in committing for libel, before verdict,
wen: not warranted by old and established law, but were act-
ing in contravention of the Constitutional Liberties of the Press,
the great guardian of all other liberties.. He considered the Pe-
:::inner -to be greatly and deeply aggrieved—but whether the
Petition was sufficiently respectful or not, or whether in conse-
quence of the decision of the Judges, the House could take any
step relative to it, were points for their Lordships to decide
upon. But he could net help thinking that the subject, in some
shape, was highly deserving of their Lordships' consideration.
The LORD CHANCELLOR stated, that he had no objec-
tion to receive the Petition. It was, however, the opinion of
the Judges, that the Petitioner bad no just cause of complaint.
The Petition, however, ought to be received, as it ndght lead
to some further consideration of the subject.
Atter a few words from Lord Easvice, the Petition was
ordered to lie on the table.

PETITION FROM HER MAJESTY.
Lord DACRE rose and said, that he claimed the
indulgence of the House in rising without previous
notice to present a Petition from the Queen, which
had been but a short time before put into his hands,'
and which he held it to be his duty to present, as in
every case where a Petition was properly and respect-
fully worded, more especially as her Majesty had not
been able to procure it to be laid on their Lordships"
table by the hands of their Speaker, which he con-
s eived would have been the most proper way of con-
s.2ying it to their Lordship. As, however, it had
teen put into his hands, he intended to propose such
a measure as it could aushorise and require, and he
tnought their Lordships would concur in it, when
they -heard the Petition read from her Majesty the
Queen. The Petition complained of the mode adopted
by their Lordships of entering into the investigation
.of her conduct by means of a Secret Committee; and
it complained of the mode in which that plan.of in-
quiry was instituted. It also stated, that she had not
been allowed time to procure witnesses from the Con-
tinent to refute the charges against her, and naturally
complained of the impression that might be made
elsewhere by a partial decision before she could be
enabled to rebut the evidence against her, and to re-
move the prejudice consequent upon an es-parte Re-
port. The Noble Lord then proceeded to say, that
he felt it his bounden duty to make this statement
before he presented the Petition, unacquainted as he'
was with the real circumstances of the case, further
than they appeared in the public acts relative to
them, as he never had before a part in any transac-
tion with her Majesty, and never had the honour of
a similar communication. He should have deserted
v.hat he conceived to be his duty, if he had declined
t..) perform the office which be now discharged for a
pet son under accusation, and against whom proceed-
ings had been adopted, in the justice and propriety
of which he could not concur. He had taken a for-
mer opportunity to express his opinion genet ally upon
that subject, but he did not•then express what he now
did, and what had been expressed more strongly else-
'here, that it was unbecoming the character of the
House, and contrary to the best interests of the
Crown and People, to proceed upon a Secret Com-
mittee, suddenly and hastily formed, and against
which the feeling throughout the Nation was notori-
ous—a Committee, too, whose appointment was in
the hands of Ministers, and several Members of which
had already expressed their opinions upon the subject
on which they were to report. if that Committee
was to be viewed in the light of-a Granif Jury, as he
had been ,iven to understand by the Noble and
Learned Loiei on the Woolsack, he implored their
Lordship to consider what was its formation. No
less than four out of the fifteen Members were Cabi-
net Ministers ; there were also two Noble Lords high
in character from situation and profession, high in
authority in the Church, and to whom, he was sure,
the Country looked with hope and respect, yet who,
from. having been parties to the exclusion of her Ma-
s name from the Church Service, must have
considered her unworthy of being personally noticed
in the Liturgy, and therefore could not but have
formed their opinions. One of those Noble Lords was
the responsible person in isdviiing the cancelling of
the Dame ; at least, in the true spirit of the C,pirstrtn-
con, that Most Reverend Prelate could have been
Cie onlrresponsible adviser. He vanyld.not trespass
C. tine time of their Lordships brxemarking parti-